SOME OF THE ISSUES BUHARI WOULD RATHER NOT TALK ABOUT...

Garba Shehu,the Special Assistant to President Buhari on media just a day ago,made the first official reaction on behalf of the Presidency to an allegation against its Chief of Staff,Abba Kyari of defrauding a contractor to the tune of N30 million in a transaction for the supply of 15 hilux vans to the Aso rock villa.Mr Shehu did not issue a press statement,he tweeted at a newspaper accusing them of publishing falsehood in a matter the Presidency had refused to address in what has become its customary posture towards grievous allegations against prominent members of its cabinet.

The President did not deem it fit to initiate a probe or mandate the authorities to look into the matter with a view to taking decisive action.Kyari had been tried and acquitted indoors.

What baffles most is the utter shamelessness with which the Presidency goes about this business of over-looking critical issues involving its officials and cronies.They don't seem bothered in the least about public opinion.There is virtually no effort most times to even show up for the cameras.

These are 5 issues Buhari wants waved aside...

1.AGF MALAMI'S INDICTMENT BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN THE REINSTATEMENT OF PENSION FUNDS FUGITIVE,ABDULRASHEED MAINA

A 12-man ad hoc committee was set up by the house of reps to look into the reinstatement of Abdulrasheed Maina,a man declared wanted by the EFCC for embezzling what is believed to be up to N17.1bn of pension funds and its findings were that the Attorney-General of the Federation,Abubakar Malami SAN met with Maina in Dubai despite knowing he was a fugitive and pressurized everyone he possibly could to get him back into the civil service.The man was allowed to get away after he was discovered and the Federal government's claim that he had been added to Interpol's wanted fugitives list has been punctured as Maina can not be found anywhere on that list.

Till date Buhari has not acted on that indictment by initiating a probe but it suprises no one considering the fact that the head of service,Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita  has said Buhari was aware of his reinstatement and that she had earlier warned him on the possible implications on his anti-corruption war.Maina himself has said Buhari reached out and reinstated him through the AGF.

Buhari is shameless enough to not bother probing and exonerating Malami even for optics.He is not bothered by an indictment by the 2nd arm of government despite its previous one having led to the sack of the Secretary of the government of the Federation.Integrity my big black foot.

2.THE NON-PROSECUTION OF BABACHIR LAWAL AND PATIENCE JONATHAN

President Buhari had to be forced by public outcry to assign the probe of his former SGF, Babachir Lawal and EFCC boss, Ibrahim Magu to the Attorney General of the Federation.Malami issued a clean bill of health and after more outcry over Babachir's blatant guilt and the AGF's non-suitability for the task,he formed the Osinbajo committee which indicted him.Shortly after which Babachir was removed and arrested by the EFCC.

A lot of people knew not to jubilate as there was a lack of will to punish Babachir in the first place.Their fears have been justified as the EFCC held him for a day and granted him administrative bail 'pending further investigation'.Its been almost 8 months since Babachir was set free in a matter already investigated and acted upon by the Senate,AGF and a probe committee with each's findings at their finger tips.

Patience Jonathan's case has to be the most astonishing of Buhari's anti-corruption crusade.The woman claimed ownership of millions of dollars in the bank accounts of her cronies and even went ahead to sue the government.The mere audacity of that act led to the inevitable conclusion that the Jonathans may either have something very damaging on Buhari or may have 'settled' him.The EFCC even after seizing houses belonging to Dame Patience,still hasn't invited her for questioning.Talk more prosecute her.

3.MALAMI PAYING OVER $17M TO 2 NIGERIAN LAWYERS IN THE RECOVERY OF $321m ABACHA LOOT

The AGF claims that Enrico Monfrini,the world renowned swiss lawyer engaged by the federal government stuck to a 20-30 percent fee rate for the recovery of the mass monies looted by the Abacha family and stashed in various financial institutions across the world.Malami said that agreement was no longer tenable hence the hiring of two nigerian lawyers-Oladipo Okpeseyi and Temitope Adebayo who agreed to a 5 percent fee from the $321m recovered from a bank in Luxembourg.

Monfrini's attention was drawn to the story being bandied around by Malami and he gave his own version of events,which have by a hundred thousand miles been the most compelling.Monfrini said he had never heard of a lawyer anywhere in the world collecting a 20-30 percent cut in such a huge legitimate transaction and that he charges 5 percent or even less.The records are there,he has been engaged by the Federal government since as far back as 1999.He had completed his job on this instalment and all that remained was for our government to write a letter requesting that the money be transferred down here.Technically,it means Malami hired 2 nigerian lawyers to request the money for a sum of $17m.

Cable Journalism Foundation,CJF,a partner organization of TheCable newspaper have continually written to the AGF requesting information and documents on the said transaction with no response coming from him.It has gone to court seeking an order of mandamus compelling Malami to furnish it with all it is requesting in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act (FoI) 2011.Why would the AGF hire lawyers for $17m to do a job already done by Monfrini?.Neither he nor the government are willing to answer that.

4.KEMI ADEOSUN'S NYSC CERTIFICATE

This pretty much is an open and shut case.Records show Kemi Adeosun graduated from a university in the UK at the age of 22 and the NYSC mobilization is mandatory for anyone who graduates under the age of 30.Much fuss is being made over an exemption certificate which automatically puts her in the wrong even if she does have a valid one.That is if she does because everything points to the fact that she doesn't.

The NYSC said she applied for an exemption certificate and has left it at that till date and hasn't responded positively to enquiries by private individuals and bodies.

First Mr Lai adopted the NYSC statement saying she applied for an exemption certificate as the government's stand on the matter before he and Garba Shehu composed a new tune titled 'Under investigation'.

The woman graduated at 22 and has been parading an NYSC exemption certificate since she started work here.Both very verifiable facts.But again,we have been asked to dance to 'Under investigation'.

5.THE 'TACTICAL AMNESTY' GRANTED DEZIANI ALLISON-MADUEKWE

The EFCC has said it is not in negotiations of any kind with Deziani but a critical look at her case will reveal a shockingly lackadaisical attitude on the part of our authorities..The AGF and Ibrahim Magu, the EFCC Chairman,had both said she won't be extradited to face charges as the UK government was also ready to prosecute her.She had had her £25,000 seized in that country in 2015 and with James Ibori in mind,it made perfect sense that she should be prosecuted there .The UK government said it was going to charge her to court in June 2017 which it didn't and by September 2017 (3 months later),Magu had back-tracked and was talking of on-going plans to extradite her.

Her properties are being seized in Nigeria and the UK but like Patience Jonathan,the authorities aren't too enthusiastic about taking her to court.

The word on the street is that this administration may have negotiated a deal with the UK authorities it had convinced to help bully her for non-prosecution in exchange for a certain amount of her loot in their shores.Exactly a year later,Magu's plans to extradite her are still on-going.

The Buhari government hasn't hosted a media chat since its only one on December 30th 2015 to answer our many questions.Questions it doesn't seem to have any answers to.So much for the transparency and accountability we were promised.

ALBUM REVIEW: BLAQBONEZ'S BAD BOY BLAQ IS AN UNEXCITING VOYAGE THROUGH 10 TRACKS

Bad boy blaq is the last of Chocolate City's LAMB August releases.The expectations were AQ and Loose Kaynon with a pure form of the art.MI,a more flexible side to that purity and Blaqbonez,the inescapable reality album; the game as it is.How true to the culture and far from a vulture was he going to be?.That everyone looked forward to answering.

Judging from a couple of freestyles online,Blaq had shown he was quite enthusiastic about dropping bars than it may seem.Bad boy blaq was going to be essentially a modern day Mc with more recent influences finding the right rhythm between spawning tasty ear candies stacked with sing-alongs and groovy sound bites on one hand and sticking to the ever-constant basics of the art on the other.

Sadly,Bad boy blaq doesn't quite impress.More modestly put,he scratches the surface with little or no cutting edge to the songs on display.If there is one thing to love about the new era Mcs it is the energy and intensity they give towards creating a catchy vibe.Hold onto the key words-energy and intensity.

The singing rapper isn't quite one to impress with his chords but in as much as Play and Consent are good songs,a little more intensity would have lifted them to the realm of extraordinary.

He may be a better artiste than Bad boy blaq depicts but there is a gaping need to work more on his craft and the first step towards that is understanding his strengths and weaknesses.Accomodate and Denied have a nice ring to them but like in a couple more tracks,we see a rapper with little or no odds of dropping a line to remember trying to flex lyrical weight.That robs Woke of some shine as well.He is basically an artiste cut out for pleasant noise and not mind-blowing lyrics.

Being more pop inclined than the average Mc will give him an edge once he learns to make the most of his skills.Knowing when and how to apply what.Take Mamiwota which is a good attempt at mass appeal.A good instrumental and a nice hook by Oxlade but anything outside that needed more robustness than Blaq could generate.

No sparks,no surges.Bad boy blaq is an unexciting voyage through 10 tracks.

MY TOP 10 SONGS FOR 2ND QUARTER 2018

1. BLACK EFFECT-THE CARTERS

2. PRAISE THE LORD-A$AP ROCKY FEAT SKEPTA

3. GIVENCHY-NASTY C / ANYBODY-DJ HAZAN FEAT C-BLACK, SHINA PELLER & BEEZY

4. WHITE LABEL-NAS

5. HOUSTONFORNICATION-TRAVIS SCOTT / SO MI SO-WANDE COAL

6. KWEKU-CHIEF OBI / SUPER EAGLES DODORIMA- AUSTINO MILADO

7. 4TH DIMENSION-KANYE WEST x KID CUDI / ELEVATE-DRAKE

8.JUNGLE-NASTY C / FRIENDS-THE CARTERS

9. SANTERIA-PUSHA T / BABA-DJ SPINALL FEAT KIZZ DANIEL / SURVIVAL-DRAKE

10. INFRARED-PUSHA T / AFTER PARTY-DESIIGNER

TOP 3 ALBUMS

1.STRINGS AND BLINGS-NASTY C

2.DAYTONA-PUSHA T

3.L.O.D-DESIIGNER

ALBUM REVIEW: MI'S YUNG DENZL SUFFERS FROM A CHRONIC IDENTITY CRISIS

MI's Yung Denzl was the most high profile release of LAMB August and a lot of people expected it to be the focal point of his bid to give Nigerian hip hop a face-lift.The goal of his movement,if we understood it well was to loosen the grip of indigenous and 'pop' rap on naija hop hop and promote the purer aspects of the culture but on this album,we see an artiste distancing himself totally from the naija rap culture and trying too hard to prove he is of international standard.Yung Denzl suffers from an identity crisis so profound the first song-Do you know who you are?.Take your time and meditate on yourself is actually an anti-racist song.."Do you realize a negro is a hunted commodity/Look around you/Observe your ecology".What ecology around me,Nigeria?.

The album is pretty much a one-dimensional work with all songs either on the slow and mid-tempo range which technically puts a lot of dependence on his lyrical abilities,hip hop movement or not.If not thought-provoking then the very intriguing lines.The self-evaluation of Yung Denzl measures up to that standard with the very immersing "All i wanna do" vibe he was on.But on a wholesale,MI quite regrettably fails to do vocal justice and never really puts the icing on a some fabulously made joints.The worst victim being You are like melody.My heart skips a beat.Lorraine Chia is so breath-takingly awesome on the hook,you could listen to it forever and its really sad how MI ruins quite a high with his verses.

He gets the sound right on a couple of message-themed cuts but it doesn't help that he's set the songs up to rest on his flow.He ticks every box on Last night i had a dream about a hummingbird but on Stop! Never second guess yourself he tries to preach self-confidence and loving oneself with a big boss chic narrative.The last person that needs any such sermon.It pretty much captures the lack of effortlessness on most songs.

He beasts through I believe in me.You should too,believe in you  but then there is the sheer arrogance in expecting the audience to feed off his cockiness.He doesn't in anyway try to strike a balance between his story and the listener he seeks to inspire.

Mr Incredible appeared to be having a mid-life crisis when he said he was better than 95% of american rappers and 2 years down the line, Yung Denzl only proves he still harbours such laughable thoughts.He says on I believe in me.You should too,believe in you that Pusha-T should be honoured to be mentioned in the same breath as an African King of the mic and that he was kin to BIG,2pac and Jay-Z.Thats highly outrageous.

Only bested by the irony of a rapper chastising his peers for singing on You rappers should fix up your lives and doing so himself on Love never fails but where there are prophecies,love will cease to remain.

Loyalty is probably hip hop's 3rd favourite subject after nothing to something and stunting on the haters.Hip hop isn't just music,its a culture and everyone keys into its universality with their very own reality.

MI talks loyalty to Choc city on Another thing! Do not be a groupie and it felt quite odd listening to him try to make a big deal of sticking to a label he became partner and Vice-President at since blowing up.Word had always been he was responsible for signing every artiste since Jagz and Ice Prince.Its as off as a father yelling for accolades for paying school fees.

Hip and catchiness to appeal to the core of the nigerian music market and a distinctive lyrical edge to re-awaken the consciousness of the average hip hopper.That is what nigerian hip hop needs and not a total inculcation of foreign values.MI's work can't seem to get a grip of anything.Loose and AQ's Crown works despite not having the mass appeal element because it is a lyrical magnum opus.And also noteworthily because they don't try too hard to be alien.

MI does.

ALBUM REVIEW: CROWN IS TRUE,PURE AND AS REAL AS IT GETS

Sheer hypocrisy!!!.That was the problem most people had with MI's declarative You Rappers Should Fix Up Your Lives.Mr Incredible hadn't done anything for the culture other than show up when he had an album and a following mixtape to drop with his last coming 4 years after his sophomore release.These rappers were a lot more active and could reasonably raise 'adjusting to times' in their rapid drift into popular music.Nobody was disputing the fact that MI Abaga was Nigeria's number one rapper.The question was how much different was he from anyone who had accepted the status quo?.He has answered that a year later.

MI is making the most conscious effort ever to revive hip hop in these shores with the LAMB releases all scheduled for August and that no one is giving him the 'he think he Kanye' treatment all attests to the wide acknowledgement and  support of his generous moves.

Crown; the first of the 3 albums is a collaborative one by AQ, a rapper finally rewarded for staying true to the game and Loose Kaynon, one most people feel they were yet to see the best of.This was either going to chart a course for MI's hip hop movement or give the ever vocal pessimists the upper hand.

We'll look at the album from 3 perspectives.

DEPTH

No,you got it twisted if you expected a glorified battle rap treat.These artistes actually gave us an evenly balanced work that embodies the art in virtually all shades.They drop bars over 9 cuts with the soberly introspective,the strong message and the lyrical bravado elements perfectly in place.Songs like Out Of This World,Regrets and Hustlers Prayer not only contain so much power,they are fabulous replications of the golden era of hip hop and the fact that a work in these parts not only dares to venture into hip hop's best times; when it had grown to have its purity whipped to just about any form but to also do it oozing so much class is priceless.The humming on Hustlers Prayer,Debbie Romeo's gripping vocal performances on Regrets and Out Of This World all ensure these tight Mcs give us not just great lines but whole songs to remember.

We are guaranteed a new era feel in Blaqbonez's upcoming album; the last of the trilogy but if the aim of MI's hip hop movement was to take back the game from the vultures,Crown and indeed his  would to an appreciable degree,have to key into rap in its present state to not just skool the rapping artistes but to set an example for the incoming breed of cats.The 'trappy' God Wants Us To Be Too Lit does that best.Its such a beauty.The Blaqbonez effect on Off Black gave it a fascinatingly 'now' edge too.

The album title track; Crown along with SDC is the lyrical show piece but don't sleep on Gang Gang.The only track with an indigenous touch has both AQ and Loose Kaynon flexing some mean lyrical weight.

Crown is rich in content.Probably the richest ever in pure hip hop content.

LYRICISM

AQ, the very flexible and adventurous wordsmith and the rigid and monochromatic Loose Kaynon.That was the impression a lot of people had of these 2 artistes before this album.A whole lot will change once they settle to it.Crown was a joint album by 2 great rappers at the peak of their craft.AQ tones down some of that renowned story-telling prowess for a more robust style complete with the swagger of a rapper finally been paid dues owed him by the rap game.

But the true star of this show is Loose Kaynon if you would have to choose.Think again if you thought you knew that brother well.

The Loose on Crown is as lyrically dope as anyone rapping.Lyricism is always the main criteria when someone comes waving that true hip hop banner.People say rap originated from poetry and whatever is been done today came from hip hop.AQ and Loose Kaynon in very simple terms,had us all loving rap again and that is loving skilful metaphors,brilliant word play and mind-blowing punchlines.Still stuck between Loose Kaynon's verse on Off Black and Gang Gang's AQ massacre on the favourite album verse question and that there are a hundred and one other answers out there testifies to just how lyrically dope Crown is.."F**k a twitter account/Can't cash it/They verify my bars tho/Am doin more numbers than a bar code/They tryin to take shots but they got froze/They tryin to throw shades but i'm astro".Thats AQ on beast mode.

The album title track had SDC on it and with his verse on MI's Popping arguably the flamest ever since,he was everyone's favourite to nail it.The track lives up to its billing as a jaw-dropping lyrical slugfest and Loose Kaynon is the unlikely chief slayer."Think you the shit?/You must be something i ate".And thats just a slice.

Crown is resurrecting hip hop and placing it on a pedestal too high for the culture vultures.

IMPACT

Admittedly,Crown's break from the norm isn't a harsh one and you have to love the Choc City team for that.It makes a huge effort at navigating through the very basic and general aspects that tie together how it ought to be done and how it is being done and pitching its tent at a good spot for the former to appreciate the latter while setting a clear path for it.

For the real hip hop movement to achieve its aim,it must get the current crop to completely trust the process of flipping its purity to any state possible.MI himself jumped on the commercial bandwagon on the Chairman album to illustrate how big a task he and his crew hope to accomplish.

The pollution of hip hop started with the obsession for a catchy sound over lyrics and in as much as God Wants Us To Be Too Lit is a fantastic attempt at merging how it ought to be done with how it is being done,Crown needed more of the 'nigerianess' of Gang Gang.The average nigerian artiste isn't looking to blow up his neighbourhood or chat group,he is looking to have the number one hit.Or at least,get as close to Wizkid and Davido as possible.Some of that local spice is what is needed to convince the subscribers of the present status quo as to the workability of the 'pure' model.

Nevertheless,if hip hop is predominantly lyrics then Crown is substance.You can't change that.

THE MAKING OF A SCAPE GOAT AT THE VERY TOP

I really must say President Buhari's handlers have improved remarkably.First,Lawal Daura was fired in response to the invasion of the national assembly by masked operatives of the DSS,then they allowed Vice-President Yomi Osinbajo take all the credit before letting the world know Buhari authorized it and had it in his plans to sack Daura even before the incident.At the end of it all,the senate president,Bukola Saraki is being accused of using him to witch-hunt himself and that has stuck like glue.

But here is the thing.About 2 weeks ago,DSS operatives along with some police officers,blocked the gates to Saraki and his deputy,Ike Ekweremadu's houses in a purported bid to stop them from conducting a plenary session where 15 APC senators were scheduled to decamp to the PDP.The news of their defection from the APC over-shadowed the other events of that day and very few bothered to pay a little extra attention to the gestapo-style invasion of the residences of the number 3 and 5 citizens of the federal republic.President Buhari and Vice-President Osinbajo did absolutely nothing.Nothing concrete was adduced to wave off the accusing fingers pointed at them.

In as much as it sounds like a very good strategy to endear himself to the average nigerian; a testament to the improved handling of the Presidency's excess baggage,it is simply impossible for the Presidency to sit back and do nothing after Saraki 'staged' the first blockade at his residence by the DSS and police operatives.Buhari wouldn't stay mute while Daura and the IG of police,Ibrahim Idris helped him to hero status except of course,they were complicit.Anyone selling a 'Saraki witch-hunting Saraki' theory would have to tackle that extensively.

Having established that the powers at the very top have made him a marked man,then the next thing would be to fill in the blank spaces.Why was the invasion of the national assembly called off and why was Daura made a scape goat?.

The invasion is widely deemed an act of frustration against the senate leadership after they got wind of plans to impeach them and rallied their troops to check it.What the orchestrators did not expect was the amount of attention it would generate in the international community.Prominent foreign governments through their envoys,were said to have reached out to the Presidency and expressed grave concerns over what manner of threat against national security would necessitate the sealing off of the legislative arm of government by the DSS?.At that point,there would only be one scape goat,Lawal Daura.The aides who followed him to the villa to meet Osinbajo were summoned back to the office and he is presently said to be staying at a guest house of the police meant for high profile suspects.The presidency would really have to go the extra mile to disprove the notion that there weren't privy to his clandestine activities.

They would have to do much more than EFCC investigations that will not end in prosecutions or leaking false atrocities with no tangible proof.A strategically unverifiable report of him claiming to be taking orders from Adams Oshiomole,the APC chairman surfaced and got debunked.Another one claiming Abba Kyari,the President's chief of staff asked him to do it has also been planted.In this PR strategy,even the truth could be bandied and made unconfirmed in an attempt to lead everyone back to the official narrative.

The freezing of 3 bank accounts belonging to the Benue state government by the EFCC after it opened a case against Governor Ortom days after his defection to the PDP and one belonging to the Akwa-Ibom state government in what appears the first shot by the APC on behalf of its latest convert,Sen.Godswill Akpabio in an impending battle for supremacy between him and the PDP state government, all point to a renewed vigour in clamping down on political foes by the government.The foreign powers can't interfere in matters like these and the APC is having a ball going at its 'traitors'.

From where i stand,Lawal Daura is not an enemy of the government.As a matter of fact,he loves it enough to take a fall for it.What remains to be seen is whether he will stay fallen.

FALLOUT REVIEW: MISSION IMPOSSIBLE NEEDS TO STEP UP TO THE NEXT LEVEL

'Ethan Hunt and company eventually contain the threat at the last minute'.The outcome everyone already knew before Mission Impossible 6: Fallout was released.Its 2018 and a sixth instalment with a guaranteed outcome owed us a more robust story-telling with richer sub-plots but sadly,we didn't see that.It was all pretty too vintage to stir up as strong an adrenaline surge as it did back in the day.The intensity of the 2015 release; Mission Impossible 5: Rogue Nation coupled with the much more richer action scenes may have made it a quite decent watch but the lacklustre Fallout has more than anything proven the MI configuration needs to be revisited.

Mad technological effects in line with time and trends seemed a sure thing but some way some how,Fallout seems to fall short of even set MI standards.Benji Dunne (Simon Pegg)'s eye glass transmitter in the previous Rogue Nation outclasses everything on display here.That along with very ordinary fight scenes and a solely Ethan and gang V the bad guys plot all combine to make Fallout a very ordinary spectacle.

Ethan running into his ex-wife,Julia at a medical camp was just the type of twists needed to spice up the too direct outlay but in the end it was uneventful and did nothing for the story.When Henry Cavill (August Walker)'s good guy cover got blown,it seemed pretty convenient that the CIA director not in on his schemes,selected him to accompany Hunt on a chase of the stolen plutoniums.These,especially Julia's re-emergence were points the producers would have woven beautiful sub-plots round to add more glitter to an uninspiring fast-paced movie.MI has thrived over the years on the very direct route but it becomes a huge problem when there is an absence of some nail-biting suspense to cater for the predictability factor.The Solomon Lane break out scene was the most intense of the movie and the flaws therein were of the gaping kind.Notably Hunt starting his motorcycle late after closing down the alley with Walker in their van; how those shots by pursuing cops all miss Hunt at point blank range is incredible to say the least and having a man wear a black hood on the passenger seat of a speeding car during a man hunt with cops in the opposite side of the road not noticing was a pathetic watch.

We all love MI and Fallout may have opened to a franchise-high $61.5M from 4,300 theatres in the US but it will have to go down as one of the worst (if not the worst) screenplay(s) of the series.