In the spirit of current effort at re-branding Nigeria, some Nigerian 419 operators recently targeted the British Justice Secretary, Jack Straw? What a way not to re-brand Nigeria and someone still says Dora Akunyili will succeed with her planned make-over of Nigeria? Where does this effort at re-branding Nigeria, really start? From a president who did not win an election but was imposed on the country by a cabal or a criminal 419 operator who is still scheming his next victim? And it does not matter whether the next victim is the chief law enforcement officer of the United Kingdom? Icheoku says, we do not envy Dora Akunyili as she is between a rock and a hard place in this her improbable effort to make Nigeria, lovable once again.According to sources, some Nigerian 419 criminal fraudsters sent out several hundreds of e-mails in the name of the Justice Secretary, asking for some money. The e-mails claimed Jack Straw had lost his wallet while on a charity-work mission in Africa and needed just $3,500 US dollars to enable him get back to London. The message read, "I would like you to assist me with a soft loan urgently to settle my hotel bills and get myself back home ". Such messages headed the Right Hon Jack Straw MP were sent to several council bosses, government chiefs as well as other British citizens. Secretary Straw confirmed that such e-mails were sent to a "significant number of people" in his address book but he said there were no security issues as it was his Blackburn e-mail address rather than his ministerial account that was compromised. According to him, "I started getting phone calls from various constituents asking if I was really in Nigeria needing 3,000 dollars. It was an issue for constituents, not the government". Icheoku says, whoever falls victim to such idiocy is an imbecile, knowing that there are channels for the Justice Secretary to re-coupe, assuming he is stranded while on foreign mission, other than letter for help to the British public. What is the British embassy in Nigeria or the Office of Foreign Relations in London doing, when a mere phone call or personal visit would have solved whatever financial difficulty the alleged loss of a wallet could have brought upon the Secretary? More-so, such a high State official does not personally pay for his affairs while on official state matters and the whole scam would have been disregarded but in order to throw additional searchlight on Nigeria's effort at re-branding? Even the Secretary acknowledged the stupidity of the emails, when he said "But I think it was so obviously ridiculous that I could go off trekking in Africa and I would lose my wallet." Icheoku says, these Nigerian criminal 419 operators should at least research their ploys better, to know that an official of state such as the British Justice Secretary has avenues of recouping a loss rather than an open letter to the British public. What a hydra-headed dumb and dumber these Nigerian 419 criminals are? With so many such similarly situated Nigerians still out there to prey on unsuspecting victims, Dora Akunyili has a very steep hill to climb with this her re-branding of Nigeria effort!
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Christy 'Apena' Essien-Igbokwe , the wife of Jegede Shokoya of the New Masquerade and Nigeria's lady of songs is dead; she was 51years old. Although her family claimed that "brief Illness" killed her like so many Nigerians; Icheoku retorts that it was most likely AKwa Ibom voodoo and remote control that was used to arrest her. It is on record that she had fallen out with the governor of her native Akwa Ibiom State and have been having a relentless war for political turf with the governor? So who knows whether she was sacrificed to Ekpe cult or even Alusi-Okija as an offal; afterall African science is still very much alive and portent. May her soul rest in peace.
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