IT'S A CULTURAL THING: I AM ITALIAN. - GOVERNOR CUOMO

ICHEOKU says like Dorothy said to Toto that she has a feeling that they are not in Kansas anymore, Governor Andrew Cuomo should have advised himself accordingly that the New York State governor's mansion is in Albany and not in Palermo or Sicily nor Roma. Therefore, those "Italian" special way of conducting "meet and greet" should have been checked at the door; or better still, left alone. Since it was not  abandoned in the old country alongside other things "so very peculiar" to Italians, he should have just reserved it for only when meeting his Italian folks. That everybody loves pizza, the Sopranos, Ferrari and other great gifts which Italians gave the world, does not mean that everything Italian must therefore be thrown in the bag. 

To plant kisses on non Italians without first finding out if it was an acceptable manner of "meet and greet" to them, is somewhat forcing every head into a one cap fits all. It was an Italian hospitality and endearment gone too far; and it is doubtful if he would have personally liked to be greeted in a manner which some other peculiar cultures greet themselves. For example, some cultures greet people by prostrating fully, belly on the ground and forehead touching the ground. In some cultures too, a man shows how much he loves his visitor by offering them his wife for the night. So, should we all now start exhibiting our peculiar cultures just because that is the way it was in our respective old countries. 

How about the melting pot America or are some cultures finding it difficult to blend into the brew. The governor should probably stop talking and speaking on the matter facing him now and hire a professional spokes person and public relations expert to do the talking on his behalf, going forward. A statement that he is Italian, the reason he kisses people, rubs people on the wrong side.  It is a cheeky cheap attempt to wriggle out of whatever logjam he is currently in with those  #MeToo restless souls out to take him down. How about some cultures which strictly forbids such contact between people who are not in marital or love relationship; or could he have dared plant kisses on a wife of a Taliban or even any Muslim. 

Going forward, the governor should start practicing a "safe meet and greet", the acceptable manner of greeting in a multi cultural society America, with people from diverse cultures, many of which does not see kissing as a way of greeting or even saying hello, talk-less of an expression of affectionate and show of endearment to total strangers in a work environment. Although coronavirus Dr Anthony Fauci has banned handshakes, just saying hello or waving from a respectful social distance will as well suffice until such time that the good old doctor will in his infinite mercy lift the ban on handshake. 

ICHEOKU says fully understands Governor Andrew Cuomo's position that he did not mean any harm to these women, but acted innocently. That should be the extent of giving him the benefit of doubt but he should not labor to explain himself any further, either justifying what happened or reasoning with the public about it. Those women said that they are not happy that he cheek-kissed them, he has apologized and the rest of the people should move on and leave the process play itself out. There is nothing more to see there, except the political hit job which is much in play, geared towards forcing the governor out of contention for the 2024 Democratic Party's presidential primaries. 

Hopefully, the court will finally have an opportunity to sit in judgment over the allegations and resolve them however they see fit. Until then, Governor Andrew Cuomo remains innocent until proved guilty, except that the political machination might have him removed before we can reach the threshold of a court's pronouncement on the matter. It is sad what his coronavirus fame has done to him, rising to relative obscurity of just a New York State governor to a Pandemic Hero of the left and now being dragged through the sewer of sexual harassment allegation which eventually might seal his fate as governor of New York. But hey, the liberal left can devour themselves for all any conservative cares. It is their bed and as they made it, so will they lie on it. 

 #SophisticatedAndVaccinated.

BARACK OBAMA AT 60: CONGRATULATIONS.

ICHEOKU says there is an uncanny resemblance in the swag of his dancing steps with that of South Africa civil rights icon, the late President Nelson Mandela. Momentarily, ICHEOKU saw flashes of Nelson Mandela in Barack Obama as he took those steps towards H.E.R, holding a microphone in his right hand. He was splendid to say the least. 

So, despite what naysayers say in condemnation of the birthday party, the Kenyan have accomplished so much in his lifetime to deserve being celebrated. At 60, he is gradually but surely heading there; so, every day and every year of his life going forward, should be memorialized as convenience permits. So, regardless of breaching all the coronavirus safety protocols of safe distancing, wearing a mask and avoiding large gatherings, Barack Obama has earned our respect and we wish him happy 60th birthday. 

ICHEOKU says does not know why Erykah Badu breached a standing protocol, in defiance of warning not to let the little fellas of the world know about the gathering of the uber rich and world famous individuals at the behest of Barack Obama in Martha's Vineyard. Such act of betrayal and sabotage, which now makes Barack Obama look bad and inconsiderate to the suffering of millions of people, many of who are about to lose their homes due to unpaid rents, and also being anti coronavirus measures, will surely not go unpunished. It is certain that it will blackball her and disinvite her from any future celebrations involving the Obamas. Without her leaked video, nobody would have known what went down; but now, even Joe Biden, will be wondering why his former boss dealt his coronavirus gospel such an under belly blow. 

But hey, the guy is looking good at 60 and also looked splendid in the nearly one thousand dollars Fendi floral shirt. Anyway, congratulations Barack Obama and hopefully there was no coronavirus delta variant that successfully crashed the party, uninvited. Hillary Clinton was conspicuously absent at the shindig, possibly she was part of the scaled down and scaled out crowd who did not make the final cut. Not even Kamala Harris was there and they could have used the opportunity to inhale together and freely pass blunts back and forth since it is legalized in Massachusetts. Also, a covered tent is an enclosure and easily qualifies as an indoor event, a Dr Fauci's acknowledged well known super spreader source, but let us pray that their vaccinations held up and did not permit any breakthroughs. #Obama@t60.

TOKYO 2020 OLYMPICS ENDS: PREPARATIONS FOR PARIS 2024 BEGINS.

ICHEOKU says now that the Olympics flame have been put out in Tokyo, the world now awaits until it is lit again in Paris 2024. Hopefully, by then there will be a real party in Paris without the hangman noose of the Chinese coronavirus still hovering around the world. However, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics succeeded far beyond every expectations imaginable; and would have even succeeded more had spectators been allowed in the venues and arenas, wearing masks. Anyway, it is now done and dusted as the world moves on with its other many challenges. The count down to Paris 2024 has now officially begun. 

ICHEOKU says congratulations to all the participants from all over the world who braved it to Tokyo. Some countries didn't, as they backed out of Tokyo due to fear of the Chinese contagion. While winning medals counts, the reason d`etre of the Olympics is to bring the world humanity together in celebration of sports. This essence was significantly accomplished, although somewhat subdued because of the coronavirus pandemic and for this the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was successful. 

Particular congratulations to the United States of America contingent for coming atop the medal haul with a total of 113 medals including 39 gold, 41 silver and 33 bronze. It is a well earned bragging right that China was eventually put in its place and told not too fast, in their effort to overtake and replace America as the "new it" country of record. China's 88 medals including 38 gold, 32 silver and 18 bronze placed them in second place on the medal table.

Anyway, to Paris the world goes next and congratulations to the Japanese for hosting a successful Olympics despite the constraints of the coronavirus pandemic. So long Tokyo, hello welcome Paris.

CANADA'S WOMEN SOCCER GOLD MEDAL: BLACKS AND PROUDLY GAY TRANS POWER.

ICHEOKU says as Canada celebrates its women national soccer team's gold medal win at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics women soccer game, it is important to also celebrate particularly the many black gals as well as transgendered women who helped make the feat possible. A team which featured five black players and five transgendered women, one of which is also black, as well as a proudly gay lesbian coach is a team that should indeed celebrate its diversity. 

It is also racially encouraging that Canada with less than 6% black population had that many blacks featured in its national team, compared to the United States of America with far greater percentage of blacks, which practically fielded just only one black player, the irrepressible Crystal Dunn, throughout the game. 

ICHEOKU says republished the article below following in view of the many black women who played in the Canadian team at the Tokyo Olympics women soccer finals with Sweden. It is definitely a sure sign that things are improving racially in Canada or they were simply the best players available which left the coaching crew with no option but to field them. They also displayed a level of soccer brilliance, masterly and artistry that they outclassed the competition. 

Anyway, congratulations to the Canadians on their gold medal win. In beating Sweden 3:2 on penalty kicks, they consolidated their wins by beating a team which beat the United States of America 3:0, which they also beat; thus making them the indisputable champions of Tokyo Olympics women soccer game.  Canada earned its gold medal deservedly. Once again, congratulations. 

CANADA MADE ME BLACK - YAMRI TADDESE.

The first time someone called me the n-word, it literally stopped me in my tracks. I was a student journalist at the University of Toronto. It was spring, 2009. I had just come running out of St. George subway station, late for an interview. I had a deadline that same evening. I came to a halt when I heard the word. There stood a white man on the sidewalk, inexplicably furious at me. I stopped for a few seconds, long enough to look directly in his face and then I kept on running.

I mentioned the incident to my father that night after dinner. "Oh yes," he said, suddenly recalling something he had apparently forgotten. "Someone called me a n--gger earlier today too." I was stunned. He had been riding the subway when a white woman walked in and told him she wanted to sit on the chair beside him, where he had placed a shopping bag. When he picked up the bag and told the woman she may sit, she told him she wasn't asking for his permission and called him the racial slur. I wasn't sure if I was more horrified by the story or the nonchalant way my father told it. There was no surprise in his tone, as if this was to be expected. To me, he had only ever been Dad. But in that moment, I saw him as a Black man, burdened with all the prejudices that entails. It was deeply disquieting.  

The story of how I became Black is also a story about Canada. It's not always pretty — it's not the story Canada likes to tell about itself. But it's a story that needs to be told. I moved to Toronto from Ethiopia at 15, just a few years before the incident outside St. George Station. Life back home had taught me about differences along gender, class, religious and ethnic lines, but the nuance of racial difference was lost on me. In Addis Ababa, having enough money and familial status and coming from a privileged ethnicity matter. Men and older folks are also afforded greater respect. People offer my father their seats when he walks into a room because he's an older man. But since everyone is Black, nobody really is.

So, when I came to Canada, I did not think much about being Black. I was largely oblivious to stereotypes about Black people, often asking people to explain their racist jokes to me. It felt as though people expected me to know my place and I sincerely had no idea where this place was.

Anyone would agree that what happened to me and my father is vile. Being called a racial slur was jarring and scary, but since coming to Canada this isn't the kind of racism I've come to know and resent.

I've met people who deny the fact that they benefit from white privilege. They get to move through society with unseen advantages, without being prejudged. Anti-blackness has caught me off-guard, in moments when I assumed consensus on my belonging in Canadian society. I was baffled when security guards followed me around the office building I often worked out of, and they later complained to management about how loud I was when I confronted them. I felt the sting when, at an Easter mass in a downtown Toronto church, I reached out my arm to receive the offering plate but the woman who sat beside me skipped over me and my Black friend to pass the plate on to the next white person.

I was snubbed yet again at a professional mixer when I dared complain about the weather — a most Canadian of habits — and someone who stood beside me said "You'd think African immigrants would be more grateful."

Even as Canada actively thrusts a racial identity on people like me, this country often denies it is doing so. Black people are gaslighted when we talk about discrimination. Too many people suggest we're making it all up in our minds. Every "That couldn't happen here" or "I don't believe that, we're a welcoming nation" pushes forward a volatile legacy. The more vehemently our society denies its anti-blackness, the more entrenched I fear the issue is.

In my late teens, I prided myself on being a walking stereotype-buster. I felt I was doing all of us Black folks a favour when I demonstrated that I am in fact intelligent and lovable. Now, I know that was naïve. I am no longer preoccupied with being likeable just so people won't say I'm an angry, aggressive Black woman. Appeasing racists is exhausting. This impossible task should be no Black person's responsibility, no matter how frequently society insists it is.

When I told a Black friend about the experiences I'm sharing here, he wryly pointed out that at least no one ended up dead. He was only half joking. As far as experiences with anti-blackness go, it's tempting to say mine are pretty mild. I don't think experiences like mine should be considered mild. I understand the source of this sentiment, but the ubiquity of Black death in the news cannot mean that is where we draw the line. The standards should be higher.

It's true that for me, a part of being Black on this side of the world has been about constantly grieving the deaths of people I've never met. I learned about Andrew Loku, Sandra Bland, Philando Castile, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice and many others after they became a hashtag, but I mourn their deaths still. Each time a video of police killing a Black person surfaces online, I'm caught in the see-saw of anger and heartache. But this is only part of the story. Being Black has also been about feeling alone in my sorrow and frustration in classrooms and boardrooms, spaces where I am often the only Black person. It's about consistent isolation and second guessing.

Yet, despite the initial shock and consistent prejudice, becoming Black in Canada has also been about a new and profound belonging. I have found a community of Black women — on- and offline — who define themselves and affirm one another. These women validate my stories and offer me courage because they refuse not to bloom. It's in this communion that I have found the joy and beauty of Blackness. It was in the reflection of their light that I saw myself, Blackness and all. 

Although I still refuse to "know my place," I've found sacred spaces where I am both embraced and encouraged to make room for myself everywhere.The story of how I became Black is also a story about Canada. It's not always pretty and it's not the story Canada likes to tell about itself. But it's a story that needs to be told.

(FYi: The original title of this article first published in 2017 was "I didn't know I was black until I moved to Canada.")

TOKYO OLYMPICS USWNT'S BRONZE MEDAL: THE GALS SHOWED UP AT LAST.

ICHEOKU says it was such an exceptional performance that it was in fact gold medal deserving; and you wonder why they saved their best for last especially when it would have yielded them the gold. It was the type of performance which USA women national soccer team is known for, a world class, gold winning team's performance. But it came a little too late as it only yielded them the bronze medal and not the gold medal, because they second-guessed themselves when it would have mattered most. But a half loaf is better than no loaf at all; and we should deem it a case of "a medal is a medal" and celebrate their achievement as golden.

The gals finally showed up at the Tokyo Olympics and asserted themselves as the indisputable reigning champions, admitted playing for a third place. They showed Australia the kind of display which was lacking in their first encounter with them as well as Sweden and Canada. The Aussies also put up a nice display to prove that they are not an easy walkover and nearly forced the match into extra time. It was a beautiful game and the goals poured in 4:3, to the admiration of fans both in the United States of America and down under in Australia. Both teams should be proud of themselves for the stellar show which they put up, as they made their both countries very proud of them. 

All the goals were brilliant, although the purple haired lesbian's second goal did it for ICHEOKU. It was both dashing and smashing; and in fact, reminded every soccer loving fan why they are addicted to the round leather game. It also sealed her record as a very intelligent goal scorer and if she retires now, as many expect she would do, the two goals which she scored against Australia to help USWNT win the third place bronze medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be among her soccer playing career best. ICHEOKU says will congratulate Megan Rapinoe for "manning" up or rather "womanning" up and leading team USA women soccer to a medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when all hope were nearly lost following the 3:0 trouncing by Sweden in their first game. ICHEOKU had criticized her then and by the same token, as an equal opportunity critic, will now congratulates her as well. 

While all the players played their hearts out, ICHEOKU will particularly mention a formidable and in fact, the best player of the team as far as ICHEOKU is concerned. Crystal Dunn, who literarily commands every position she was assigned to, be it forward, midfield or defense is an awesome soccer player. In short, that gal is so dangerous and a complete menace to any opposing side, admitted she does not get the coverage and encomiums which she rightly deserves, having rightly earned same. She is formidable, fearless and ruthless; and she continuously fights for every ball from the first whistle to the last whistle, whether or not a game went into extra time. May be the color of her skin has something to do with why she does not get premium coverage, but her skill and strength compares to no other in the team. 

Carli Lloyd also deserves a specific mention too, both for her two goals in the match and for setting a new record as the most scoring member of USWNT. At 39 years old, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will definitely be her last appearance too as retirement should now be the natural next step for her to take. So, her last outing registered resoundingly. ICHEOKU says had previously called for coach Vlatko Andonovski to be fired following the Sweden disastrous outing and the team's struggling through the rest of their matches until now. But since he had promised that USWNT will do everything possible not to leave Tokyo without a medal and has now delivered, this performance has purchased him a new lease of life. As a result, the earlier call for him to be fired is now placed on hold as he continues to fine-tune the team back to the gold winning team which he inherited from former golden Coach Jill Ellis. 

Anyway, congratulations to the ladies, their coach, his assistants and members of their management team for not leaving Tokyo without a medal. Although their usual gold medal would have been preferred, but their having risen from the ashes of the Sweden drubbing to still get a medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics makes the medal somewhat special and in fact, good enough. It is a case of where a medal is a medal, no matter its color. They played their hearts out and they fought gallantry and therefore deserves our gratitude. Congratulations to United States Women National Team. FYI: Just an aside, that Megan Rapinoe's hair color looks to ICHEOKU as purple and not pink, except it is a special shade of pink. #ProudlyUSWNT.

IRAN SWEARS IN A NEW PRESIDENT.

ICHEOKU says as the Islamic Republic of Iran swears in their new President Ebrahimi Raisi, is there any expectation that the foreign policy direction of Iran will change or is it going to remain same old, same old that kept the country at loggerhead with the Western world. But in a theocracy where the absolute and ultimate power rests with the religious spiritual head, the Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the new president can only pray that he will be allowed more leeway to stride, as he can only stray as far as permitted and authorized. 

Anyway, let us be hopeful that he will find a way to achieve some of the expectations of the Iranian people who elected him into office and also improve Iran's relationship with the West. ICHEOKU says congratulations to the newly sworn in Iranian President Ebrahimi Raisi. It is a new day in Iran. 

GOVERNOR CUOMO: JOE BIDEN DID THE SAME THING.

ICHEOKU says how is what Governor Andrew Cuomo is accused of doing any different from what Joe Biden did? It exposes the #MeToo hypocrisy, a fallacy of selectivity, depending on the agenda in focus. Governor Cuomo must therefore not yield to their call to resign nor quit by his own freewill and volition. He should let the New York House of Assembly do their worse by carrying out their threat of impeaching him. 

That way, the legislators will be responsible for his exit and not that he was turned tail and succumbed to a cajoled resignation. It is unfair to punish a man simply because some women made some allegations. Justice Brett Kavanaugh is in the Supreme Court today simply because he weather through his own #MeToo storm. 

ICHEOKU says the governor should fight until the very end and if the legislature impeaches him, so be it. That way it will not be him that committed the harakiri but the legislators who dealt him the Brutus stab. What he is facing is not an eleven angry #MeToo nut jobs but a Democratic Party machine that wants to besmirch him and make him too blemished to run for president in 2024 and they are hell bent on achieving it. It is a fall out from his stratospherically risen profile, after becoming their Pandemic Hero of 2020; and now stands as the most popular candidate to beat in the Democratic Party's 2024 presidential primaries. It is sad. 

BELIEVE GOVERNOR CUOMO: EQUITY DEMANDS THAT MEN TOO, BE BELIEVED.

ICHEOKU says it is all about 2024, period. They want him gone now in order to get him out of the way and clear the way for a Joe Biden's second term run, thats all. Everything which he is being accused of by those #MeToo 11 and for which he has now been "investigated" by the New York Attorney General, happened before the 2020 presidential election cycle, so why now? Why did these 11 women wait until now, post Joe Biden installation in the White House, to bring their accusations or did they suddenly find their mojo. Is their simply saying so automatically make it so?

Why are these women being believed when many women have lied in the past about their encounters with men. Even the Duke Lacrosse woman later confessed that she made the story of her rape by those university students up. Why lynch the governor based on statements which were not interrogated by cross examination nor in any other way collaborated. Why believe the women but not believe the governor; or are women now the only paragon of truth and that whatever they say happened, automatically did in fact happen. Even the Biblical Potiphar's wife in Genesis 39 falsely accused Joseph of sexual harassment and rape, for which he was imprisoned and later beheaded as a birthday gift for her daughter. 

Making up stories did not start today and will not end tomorrow as some nasty women use sexual harassment as a weapon of choice whenever they have a score to settle with some men.  So, instead of trying to force the governor out from office based on statements by these women, why not at least put their statements through a forensic examination by indicting the governor. Then, his lawyers can have the opportunity to test these women and the other "79 witnesses" veracity for truthfulness through cross examination. 

The governor is being accused of "kissing" women, but Joe Biden probably have kissed many more women than Andrew Cuomo ever did; so why is Joe Biden not equally being investigated and asked to resign? Even when Tara Reade courageously raised her own #MeToo red flag against Joe Biden, she was shut down, completely ignored and nobody ever bothered to investigate her accusation nor forcefully demanded that Joe Biden resigned as a result. So, what changed and why is Governor Andrew Cuomo receiving a different treatment from that received by Joe Biden. 

Further, imagine the speed with which they concluded the governor's "investigation", when United States Attorney John Durham's investigation of the Russian Collusion, which started very much earlier than the Governor Andrew Cuomo's investigation, is practically moribund or to say the least, on a snail-speed ice cold to no where. 

They used the governor as a pandemic weapon against President Donald John Trump and now they want to dump him because he is standing in the way of Joe Biden's 2024 wishes. He was celebrated and honored as the Democratic Party's "pandemic hero" who stood up to "Trump's lies" and who creditably served and saved New Yorkers from the devastating coronavirus pandemic. He was once their emblem of a successful leadership in a time of crisis, one who showed President Donald John Trump and the Republicans how to be a responsible and respected leader. According to one writer, Governor Andrew Cuomo's political stature shot through the roof when democrats were searching for pandemic heroes to present to American people leading up to the 2020 presidential election and settled for the governor.

So, in a way, they created the "Frankenstein monster" who is threatening their Joe Biden's 2024 rerun and they had to take him down. It is for the governor to continue to fight, admitted the amassed army against him looks insurmountable as they will use whatever tool in their toolbox to get him neutered. The irony of the whole thing is their refusal to charge him to court with whatever crime they unearthed through their investigation. Instead, they are using political pressure to force him out and if that fails, to use their New York State legislature to impeach him. 

ICHEOKU says does not for how long the governor can hang in there, but so far, he has shown that he is really a tough Yankee, who is not easily pushed around and will not be pushed over without a fight. He has defended his right to be a man as he has remained adamant to the call for his resignation, and to the chagrin of the hound dogs who want him gone. But for how long will he persevere, except there is a recourse of law which would allow him to obtain an injunction against any possible impeachment? How else could the governor inoculate himself from these rabid hyenas who want to have his political career for lunch. What other options are available or has he ran the full course of his resistance to the Democratic Party machine's plan to put him down and cast him away. 

Anyway, ICHEOKU says all the best to Governor Andrew Cuomo as he really needs it, now that he has in fact met a real impossible mountain to climb, with no hope of ever reaching the other side. The Democratic Party is somewhat a hierarchical cult with no room or tolerance for real freedom as members must do as told or they stand condemned, pilloried and alienated. For them, any means that reaches a desired end is always good enough, as the end always justifies the means. It is sad that Governor Andrew Cuomo is being cleverly taken out of the 2024 Democratic Party's presidential race, under the guise of "sexual harassment" of some 11 #MeToo women. 

They want to force him out and should the governor resign today, all his "sins" will be automatically washed away and nobody will ever mention them again. Even the threatened possible prosecution of him by the four counties in New York will also miraculously disappear as well. It is a political hatchet job, the reason they are pushing him to resign with a threatened impeachment be swayed over his head like the Sword of Damocles. As everybody knows, political intrigues come in different dimensions and his are coming through 11 #MeToo rebels. It is sad that #MenToo are not believed as well. Why is the discrimination or is truthfulness now gender biased?

GOVERNOR CUOMO SHOULD FIGHT ON: IT'S ALL ABOUT 2024 DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES.

ICHEOKU says suddenly the #MeToo saga is back now that Joe Biden have been successfully installed in the White House despite Ms Tara Reade's effort to #MeToo him. New York State's Attorney General said that she believes the eleven women who came forward to accuse Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual improprieties, but why was Tara Reade not believed when she similarly accused Joe Biden or is she not a woman? Could there possibly be a gender bias against the governor or are we supposed to believe that the attorney general completely checked her intrinsic human disposition and propensity to take sides. But if Governor Andrew Cuomo indeed truly "sexually harassed multiple women, and in doing do, violated federal and state law", why was he not arrested immediately and charged with the offense? 

So, they reviewed thousands of documents, interviewed 179 witnesses and there were 11 women who came forward to say #MeToo. These women inspired Attorney General Letitia James, she believed them and thanked them for their bravery; but where is the justice for them when the governor will not be prosecuted? Where is the justice for the governor who was not represented at the investigation nor had the opportunity to confront the witnesses and his accusers. When did a crime discovered during a "civil in nature" investigation become non prosecutable? Something definitely does not add up with the narrative, suggesting that there is more to the ongoing hunting of Governor Andrew Cuomo than meets the eyes. It might have something to do with the 2024 Democratic Party's primaries, in an effort to take him out now, being a potential formidable for to a Joe Biden's second term run. 

ICHEOKU says is strongly leaning on the side of "alternative realities" as both sides most likely misunderstood and misinterpreted their interactions, akin to the six blind men of Hindustan who went to the zoo to see the elephant. As it appears, one of the accusers supposedly is a "mind reader" and knew that the governor was "trying to sleep with her" even though he did not "explicitly" say it, but implied that she was old enough. ICHEOKU says old enough for what exactly? Does "being old enough" restrictive in interpretation? Is "old enough" incapable of being interpreted with so many other connotations outside sexual dalliance? What if the "old enough" was "old enough" to get another top job elsewhere or go to graduate school or marry and have children or even buy a house or establish a business of her own. 

Nobody is denying that women does not know when a man is making a "come on" at them; but to exclusively pin a remark "old enough" down to only for having "sex" with the governor is rather too narrowly interpreted, especially when a man's career and reputation are at stake. To punish a person for such a very subjective innuendo is rather too harsh as it should require some more intrusive act by the governor rather than mere personal perception of the accuser. Saying that someone is "old enough" does not rise to common "attempt" and even falls drastically short of "preparation" if a crime were to be grounded. People ask such intrusive personal questions all time to people who are close in their close quarters, colleagues, workers, employers, employees, bosses, friends and families. It behooves on the "offended" party to summarily call the attention of the questioner and ask them to stop immediately, telling the "questioner" that the line of questions is out of bound and not acceptable or agreeable to her. It is only when the questioner persists that it then rises to offensive harassment, but not before that. 

If the governor engaged in "unwelcome and nonconsensual touching", made numerous "offensive comments" of a "suggestive and sexual nature" and created a "hostile work environment for women", on whose perception of what took place were all these based? The women, of course; except that no one has asked the governor his state of mind while these things were taking place to truly ascertain his intent while conducting these "hostile" interactions with these women. Why has none of these traducers of the governor listened to his own interpretation and explanation that majority of what took place was his "way of doing friendly banter?" Why does nobody believe the governor or are men not supposed to be believed the same way women are believed? 

The governor said that he "never touched anyone inappropriately" nor "made inappropriate sexual advances" to the women. He also admitted that he "do kiss people on the forehead, cheek and hand", but that such contacts are not sexually premised. So, where is the benefit of doubt being extended to the governor as to his explanation that he acted jovially and innocently in these interactions. The governor said that he never knew at the time of the interactions that he was making anyone feel uncomfortable; that he never meant to offend, hurt or cause pain to anyone; that he feel terrible sorry that some of the women felt uncomfortable, hurt and pain from their interactions; and that he feel embarrassed and bad about it. So, why is his explanation not enough and sufficient to assuage all the "hurt, pain and discomfort" felt and suffered by these women. 

There is definitely something more going on. It increasingly looks like a "take him down now" before 2024 is the play. His risen profile following the peak of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic and unceasing attacks of then President Donald John Trump enamored him to the hearts of millions of democrats, many of who started a campaign then to even replace their candidate Joe Biden with the governor. As is the case with politicians, they are killer sharks and they do not tolerate any threat to their position. Governor Andrew Cuomo is most likely being harangued now in order to gut him before 2024 and diminish his viability as a likely Joe Biden's opponent or replacement candidate. So, it is possible that behind the scenes manipulators are working overtime to kneecap him and render him unfit and unsuitable for a 2024 presidential run.

Ironically, the same Joe Biden who did not withdraw from the 2020 presidential election following Tara Reade's #MeToo attack against him, is now asking Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign and you ask yourself based on what? Such a call is simply laughable especially coming from Joe Biden as it is a case of a kettle calling the pot black. ICHEOKU says wonders if Joe Biden in his head, lives in a morality free zone. On which legs is Joe Biden standing anyway in asking Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign just because some women interpreted their interactions with him differently from his own understanding of it? 

At least majority of their interactions happened in public with other people around, unlike Joe Biden who Tara Reade alleged waylaid her, lifted her skirt and inserted his finger into her vagina. With his own #MeToo medallion hanging on his neck, Joe Biden has no moral grounds whatsoever to even condemn Governor Andrew Cuomo, talkless of asking him to resign. But it is largely a political hit job in an effort to take the governor out now before he takes Joe Biden out of the 2024 Democratic Party's presidential primaries. 

Anyway, ICHEOKU says the governor should continue to fight on in order to clear his name. He should dare his traducers to charge him to court for a crime and have the opportunity to interrogate the witnesses as well as the accusers. But unfortunately, such a scenario might never come up because the attorney general has no case against the governor, otherwise she would have charged him. Sexual harassment is a crime but declining to prosecute in this case only shows that she has no prima facie crime against the governor, talkless of meeting the heavier burden of proving it beyond reasonable doubt. She has no evidence except the "interpretations" of some women of their interactions with the governor, majority of which took place publicly. These are not crimes because crimes are not a subjectively based understanding, they are expressly codified.  

ICHEOKU says were the allegations to have met the threshold of punishable crimes or convincing acts of sexual perversion, would have been in the front asking for the governor's "head"; but they did not and it does not matter how the women later decided to interpret them. It is unfortunate that #MeToo has become such a weapon of mass destruction of men and many men have since fallen as a result. Governor Andrew Cuomo must remain strong and resolute, not succumb to their sword of intimidation; and should not resign because the interactions he had with these women were not horrendously unwanted as to rise to the level of sexual harassment. 

Therefore, to the call for his resignation, he should stand his ground and not yield even an inch to his traducers and for additional effect, can always remind them that Joe Biden did not resign when Tara Reade threw her own #MeToo dart at him. A matter made worse because Tara Read was nearly completely ignored and her case was not even investigated nor accorded much airtime in the media. Nobody among these now now calling for Governor Andrew Cuomo to commit a political harakiri ever lift their voice to ask Joe Biden to step aside last year when Tara Reade raised up her own #MeToo flag. Such a selectively indignation is to say the least very hypocritical and not fair to any man being hounded by the #MeToo felines after Joe Biden was passed over. It is 2024 election, stupid!

PRESIDENT ASHRAF GHANI LIED: TROOPS WITHDRAWAL WAS NOT SUDDEN.

ICHEOKU says like a bad workman who quarrels with his tools, he is pointing elsewhere as his woes. Instead of looking inward at his crass incompetence which left him flatfooted as the Taliban threatens his presidency, the man who loves to adorn his Ahmadzai Pashtun tribal regalia is now blaming America for doing something which was long overdue. What is abrupt or sudden or hastily or speedily in a 20 year notice of intention to withdraw forces from Afghanistan or did he think that it was going to be an open ended engagement of United States forces in Afghanistan. 

Any rational man and a president for that matter, should have anticipated that a day certain would come when all the "foreign" troops in Afghanistan will withdraw and then made preparations in advance for that eventuality. He should have raised a well trained fighting force army of one Afghanistan, incorporating into it all the various militias in various regions of Afghanistan. He should have also embarked on a mass orientation of Afghanis to lure them away from the Taliban. He should have also allowed American forces the free hand to kill enough Taliban and that way, put the fear of God in them never to again raise up arms against the Afghanistan government in Kabul. 

He should have also outlawed or banned the Taliban, declare them a terrorist organization and proscribe them from Afghanistan and made being a member of the Taliban a death sentence offense. He should have, for added measure, threaten them that he will authorize Americans to nuke them if they don't put down their arms. Within the seven years he has been president, from Barack Obama to President Donald John Trump and now Joe Biden, he should have cuddled America more and showed American troops in Afghanistan much love. But no, he continued from where his predecessor, Taliban Hamid Karzai, stopped and continued to criticize every collateral damage, no matter how minutiae and unintended. His desire was to be seen as the Grand Imam of Afghanistan and a leader who knows best what is good for Afghanis. 

Unfortunately, his showboating has brought him and his country to the cusp of annihilation in the hands of the Taliban, who vowed that his time as Afghanistan president is over and that they will bring him to justice. possibly by hanging him in the city center of Kabul. The Taliban said that the Afghanistan nation has decided to prosecute the national traitors and bring them to justice and declaration of war on them, making false accusations against them and also providing false information about them cannot prolong President Ashraf Ghanis' life, inshallah. If the Taliban does not speak for the majority of Afghanistan people, why is their message spreading so fast and support for them growing in such large numbers that many Afghanis are joining forces with them, fighting and dying, against the government in Kabul? 

If Taliban is not the preferred government by Afghanis, why are Afghanistan soldiers defecting to them, with weapons turned over and thus increasing the firepower at the Taliban's disposal? Those Talibans are 100% Afghanis and they are more popular than the government in Kabul as shown by the rapid manner in which they are taking over villages, towns and cities. It  shows that the government of President Ashraf Ghani is unpopular and does not represent the majority of the people of Afghanistan; and in a democracy, majority rules. So, instead of President Ashraf Ghani making excuses that the speedily deteriorating situation in Afghanistan was caused by the abrupt withdrawal of American troops, which he warned Washington against, he should rise up and live to the oath of office which he took to defend  Afghanistan from all enemies, foreign and domestic. 

As he correctly pointed out, the protection of Afghanistan people is his duty and nobody else, not even the departing American troops. Therefore, as he promised, let him now live up to it, maintain it and in any other event, including his inability or incompetence to meet the expectations of Afghanis, his office let another take. He should resign now and run away into exile or bravely face the fate which a victorious Taliban will surely administer to him, an assured hanging in the public square in Kabul. Former President Hamid Karzai deserves to be dealt with too, except that he is a closeted member of the Taliban himself and might be spared the noose because of some "sacred" blood allegiance. 

There is something about those Afghanistan leaders that spells "cannot be trusted." They are two faced and they play hanky-panky with their society as well as those "foreigners" who came to help them secure their country. Their time of reckoning has finally come as the Taliban will very soon hold them accountable. They should be left to their own device, to defend and protect Afghanistan and if they cannot, because of various tribal disloyalties and sabotages, then let Taliban take control, mete out justice to them as only the Taliban knows best how to; and then forcefully unite Afghanis using their time tested instrumentality of harsh Islamic imposed extreme sharia order. 

Good enough, Afghanis have been surviving for thousands of years and they will still keep on surviving and even possibly thrive under the Taliban, regardless of whatever repression they may be forced to live under. Afghanistan's neighboring countries are definitely supplying the Taliban weapons, logistics and funding; so why hasn't Kabul done something about it, using good neighborliness diplomacy. But no, instead of finding ways to break the backbone of the Taliban by cutting off their lifeblood, the leaders in Kabul are embroiled in old tribal disloyalties and ancient treacheries to the detriment of the Afghanistan. The Taliban are having a feeding frenzy on the disunity in Kabul. Anyway, tired of Ashraf Ghani's excuses, will revert when it  finally falls to the more popular and much loved by Afghanis, Taliban.

AFGHANIS HAVE NO LOVE FOR THEIR COUNTRY: SO TALIBANS CAN HAVE IT.

ICHEOKU says a close observation of the category of Afghanis fleeing in the face of Taliban's continuous advance reveals one disturbing fact. Pictures and videos seen so far reveal that majority of those fleeing are able bodied young men and women, a group which usually constitute the fighting age of any society or country. If this group of people are fleeing, who else is supposed to confront the Talibans. Who else is supposed to protect and defend Afghanistan from being once again captured by the fundamentalist jihadists, who want to reimpose on Afghanistan their medieval way of life and raw understanding of Islam. 

Who do they want or expect to stand up against the Talibans and/or even die defending their country for them if they chose to run away rather than stay and fight? Is it their aged parents or the unappreciated foreigners who have already sacrificed a lot in blood and treasure for more than two decades defending them? Is twenty years not enough time already for them to have firmed their backbones, man up and stand up to the Talibans? Why are they not volunteering to be recruited into the Afghanistan army and join in the effort to keep the Talibans at bay, defeat or even crush them for good; and in that way secure their country forever. 

Do they not know that they owe a sacrifice to their own children and children's children, a future Afghanistan that knows peace and which lives in harmony and prosperity. If foreigners can bleed and die for their Afghanistan, why not themselves, since Afghanistan is for Afghanis and no one else. Majority of the foreigners who were defending Afghanistan belong to the same age bracket as those Afghanis fleeing in droves through boats and all manners of other transportations such as donkeys and camels as well as by foot into Eastern Turkey. They are fleeing instead of fighting for their country and you ask yourself what is wrong with this young Afghanis. 

Why have they become so cowardly and very indifferent to having a secured country where they can live in peace and thrive; and have instead chosen to abandon it to the Talibans. What will they tell their children is the reason Afghanistan fell to the Talibans and they no longer have a country where they can freely exist without being subjected to archaic practices of ancient Islam. It is disheartening to see this particular group of Afghanis abandon their country just because their freeloading on America and the negligible allies of the "willing" finally dried up. 

ICHEOKU says Joe Biden remaining resolute on ending American troops presence in Afghanistan is one decision that might attract him additional votes if he runs in 2024. It is a right decision, having correctly read Afghanis' plan of enjoying a never ending American troops presence on their soil protecting them. They did not want to ever grow up or mature into a formidable country, capable, willing and able to take charge of their affairs. They do not want to do the heavy lifting necessarily required in having a country which they can truly, indeed call their own and proudly so. 

Even their foul mouthed former President Hamid Karzai is no where to be found leading his Afghani people in battling the Talibans. After all he said against America, accusing American troops of al manners of war atrocities against his people, it is surprising that he has not yet adorned military fatigues and with AK47, charging against the Talibans. But it is obvious that he cavorts with the Talibans and it also appears that majority of Afghanis love their Talibans, otherwise why are they not fighting them with fervor instead of fleeing. Therefore, in the unfortunate event Afghanis allow the Talibans to overrun their country, so be it. 

ICHEOKU will not break a tear for such an outcome because it appears that Afghanis are not serious about having a peaceful and secured free country that will not be under a Taliban imposed acute Islamic bondage. Nobody can love Afghanistan more than Afghanis themselves, so as they lead so should everyone else follow in the matter of Afghanistan security. It is the responsibility and duty of Afghanis to safeguard, defend, protect and secure their country. They can source weapons but the manpower is strictly theirs; or the mercenaries which they can hire. No more American blood and treasure for Afghanistan and on this, Joe Biden's lead is germane. 

ABBA KYARI ON HUSHPUPPI'S SPEED DIAL: CORRUPTION RUNS VERY DEEP IN NIGERIA.

ICHEOKU says crime does not fester and thrive in any society without the active connivance and sometimes even participation of the society's police and other law enforcement officials. Therefore it is not surprising that the infamous Internet conman and social media negative influencer, Nigeria's Ramon Olorunwa Abbas aka Hushpuppi of Dubai, the "Billionaire Gucci Master" ratted out Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari as an accomplice to his crimes. He also allegedly mentioned a famous local blogger who claims that she became a "billionaire" just by writing a gossip blog which is pedestrian at best; a former Senator whose wealth could not have been ordinarily acquired merely from being a Nigerian senator and also an online "morality pastor". 

So, yes, the FBI could not have successfully petitioned for warrant of arrest of the police chief unless there are some incontrovertible evidence linking him to some criminal activities as revealed by Hushpuppi which the court reviewed and found credible enough and which met the probable cause threshold to warrant issuing same. Desperate for a plea deal, Hushpuppi must have persuaded the FBI by the weight of evidence which he produced in order to make them want to deal. 

Anyone who is conversant with the United States of America premier crime fighting bureau  knows that they hardly accede to plea bargain unless there is a convincing reason to do that. Most of their cases are usually successfully prosecuted to conviction of the accused, so they have no incentive to make plea deals. It is usually only when they have some bigger fish to net that they accept a plea bargain by a smaller fish, who is desperate for a reduced term of imprisonment because all Federal sentences run their full term, unless commuted by the president. Therefore Hushpuppi must have been persuaded by his counsel to give up all his criminal accomplices, aiders and abetters, in order to get a reduced term in prison.  

It does not matter what some Nigerians are saying in defense of the police chief implicated in Hushpuppi's criminal enterprise. The only thing that matters now is for him to start getting ready to navigate the intricate web of the United States of America justice system where judges are not bribed and prosecutors are not easily compromised. His saying that it is a "lie" or that he was just a friend with Hushpuppi will not fly nor be enough as there are paper trails and electronic signatures which the FBI have in their possession before they persuaded the judge to grant the warrant of arrest on the police chief. 

The police chief must therefore explain what connects him to Hushpuppi and what the various amounts traced from Hushpuppi to him were for. If they were payments, for what services? If they were gifts, for what? Birthdays, wedding or "friendship" gifts? He must also explain the numerous phone calls and messages which both of them exchanged; as well as reason fo his trip to Dubai to visit the Billionaire Gucci Master. Equally important is the SOS phone call which he claimed he received from Hushpuppi and whether it passed through normal police procedures. Was it received and processed through official police channel or through Abba Kyari's personal direct line, asking him to do the needful for a reward of a certain percentage of the recoverable. 

Who were the other officers involved in arresting Mr Kelly Chibuzor Vincent as directed by Hushpuppi? Was the incident, the complaint, arrest and interrogation formally recorded in official police crime data base or was it a hush hush, side job, which he did outside the chain of command and official police investigatory duty, for which he was rewarded handsomely. But we will not know the answers to many of these questions unless he is extradited to the United States of America, interrogated by the FBI, put on trial and cross examined; assuming that he will testify and not plead the 5th.

Coincidentally, Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari seems to enjoy the company of  "business" men of questionable income sources. He once went to Dubai to visit Hushpuppi, the Billionaire Gucci Master. He hung out with the Invictus Group Forbes magazine rated youngest "billionaire" Obinwanne Okeke who is now doing ten years term in a United States of America prison for Internet fraud. Just recently, he was at Obi Cubana's mother's funeral extravaganza at Oba and even wore a matching uniform with the Cubana mogul. So, why was he at Oba and what was his business being there and if it was on invitation, what business relationship exists between him and the Cuban Group. There is no other plausible relationship between them except that it is a continuation of his pattern of giving cover for criminal activities.

Now, with Hushpuppi and the Invictus fella captured, many people who are questioning the sources of Obi Cubana's wealth are now more invigorated and doing some arithmetics, adding the numbers, with Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari as the common denominator. Hushpuppi once passed off his fraudulent activities as real estate investments. Obinwanne Okeke once passed off his own Internet fraud as new Media and real estate investment. So are we seeing another likely to be unmasked Obi Cubana passing off his own "money secrets" as night clubs and show businesses? It is also deducible that the two businesses are the preferred methods of laundering money by criminal organizations. 

But time will tell as no crime ever goes unpunished. Hushpuppi and Obinwanne Okeke never knew few years ago that their run on the criminal freeway will meet a dashed hope so soon. So for now, lets just suspend our disbelief that "hard-work" minted Obi Cubana's wealth. Until the United States of America caught Hushpuppi through the Dubai authorities, many gullible Nigerians believed that "real estate" made him a wealthy man; ditto Invictus Obinwanne Okeke. Currently, the same Nigerians now believe that Obi Cubana made his money through hard-work as he claimed and you wonder why wheelbarrow pushers are not all extremely wealthy. So, until he is similarly unmasked someday, we shall grant him the title of the "Hardest Working Man Alive in Nigeria." 

But before these newbies, there were the Ezegos, the Fred Ajuduas, the John Nebolisas, the Ade Bendels, the Emeka Ofors, the Nwudes and all other 419 scions who rode the streets and highways of Nigeria with unabashed impunity, serenaded by minstrels and accompanied by stretched motorcade convoys and police escorts. Nigerians were told similarly then that these fraudsters were international "business men", but where are they all now? Time humbles everything, including very idiotic and undisciplined louts who flaunt what they are supposed to be circumspect and discrete about. But in a land of abject poverty, their only concern is how to impress the vainglorious and use corrupt police officers for maximum effect. 

How rich are these people anyway or is it a case of in the land of the blind where the single eyed is the king? What exactly is their wealth portfolio? How many payroll do they sign off each month? How many financial statements have they filed in the past five years and how much did they pay in taxes? How many industries have they built? How many research foundations have they endowed? What legacy will they leave behind? Aliko Dangote is building a $10 billion refinery and someone else is busy, happily bankrolling a $200 million funeral through the proxy of "friends". A matter made worse because he is supposedly "educated" but chose to live such a life of advertised profligacy. 

it is what Nnamdi Azikwe Jr once referred to as primitive wealth, popularly called "money miss road"; otherwise imagine the number of people which such amount of money would have empowered in a society with nearly 58% unemployment rate and where so many children go to bed every night on hungry stomachs. ICHEOKU criticized Jeff Bezos for wasting resources on a junket to the edge of space, but at least he has Amazon and employs hundreds of thousands of people. But these fellas? Anyway, back to Hushpuppi and his Abba Kyari runs man.

Anyone who is conversant with Nigerian Police Force knows that some of them collaborate with criminals and sometimes even participate in criminal activities as the criminals themselves. This is the reason crimes are not regularly solved in Nigeria because those tasked with solving crimes are themselves the criminals or are facilitating the crimes themselves for a percentage cut in the proceeds. Hushpuppi is not the first criminal to enjoy the services of a police officer in Nigeria for an agreed payment of a fee and he will not be the last. So, instead of all the effort to confuse Nigerians by declaring his innocence, Abba Kyari should prepare for the United States justice system because a United States of America judge would not issue a warrant for his arrest unless there is convincing evidence of probable cause of a crime which implicated him. 

It might be in telephone calls, texts and other electronic messages, bank account information and money transfers which Hushpuppi ponied up which were then investigated and collaborated before the FBI successfully secured a warrant for his arrest. The Justice system in America, unlike Nigeria where some financial inducements can easily influence outcomes, is not as compromised. So Abba Kyari most likely have a case to answer which persuaded the court to finally issue a warrant for his arrest on a third try by the prosecutors. It shows that they were able to finally meet the threshold of probable cause based on substantial evidence of Abba Kyari's complicity in the fraudulent schemes of Hushpuppi. 

International financial crime always leaves paper trails or electronic signatures; so it will not be enough for Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari to merely "deny" any involvement in Hushpuppi's criminal activities or try to explain it away as merely "aiding a friend in need" who later paid some money for some traditional outfits made by his tailor. He will need to do more to explain his innocence, admitted the prosecution has the onus to prove what they are alleging. But as a high ranking police officer, he owes the Nigerian public a satisfactory explanation about  his involvement with world's notorious fraudster Hushpuppi. What business brought them together and how did Hushpuppi obtain his private personal telephone number. 

Many people know about the Nigerian factor and how men and women of means easily influence outcomes in Nigeria. With their money, they easily have their way with anybody who gets on their wrong side and upon an agreed sum paid to corrupt police officers, such people can easily disappear never to be seen or heard from forever. It is extrajudicial killing and Nigeria police are notorious for it. As commentator observed and ICHEOKU completely understands, "there is nothing to be surprised about the allegation that Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari was involved in some fraudulent activity with Internet fraudster Hushpuppi." So many police men and women in Nigeria, from rank and file to the topmost, are somewhat involved in aiding and abetting crimes. The only reason Hushpuppi is being held is because he was arrested outside Nigeria, otherwise he would be moving around freely if he was in Nigeria with even police escort for effect. 

Since the Nigeria Police Force has reaffirmed its commitment to the pursuit of justice and the strengthening of its professional relationship with the FBI and other international crime fighting partners, the only thing now expected of them is to immediately turn over to the FBI their wanted suspect, Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari. There is a valid warrant for his arrest for  money laundering activities involving Hushpuppi and Nigeria has no choice in the matter because they have a treaty with the United States for cross extraditing criminals. If at the end, he is found not guilty by the court, he will, as a matter of course, be reinstated to his duty position. 

But until then, he has been grossly compromised and is no longer fit to continue to serve as a policer officer, especially one entrusted with such a very high profile position as Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the Inspector General of Police Task Force. Such a position requires optimum integrity and unblemished candor, both of which a suspect in a crime whose warrant of arrest has been issued, no longer possess. Abba Kyari should be suspended immediately or placed on leave from the Nigeria Police Force until the final resolution of the matter. Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari is now a shame of Nigeria as the Nigeria underbelly of police corruption has gone international because of him. It is shame. 

MARTINE MOISE'S NEW YORK TIMES INTERVIEW: WHAT SHE IS NOT TELLING.

ICHEOKU says Haiti's bereaved First Lady and widow of slain President Jovenel Moise has not come clean with what happened to her late husband. Although she has been trying so hard to get ahead and stay on top of the story, but each time she tries, she ends up throwing more curve balls than clarity, into exactly what happened on that fateful tragic night when gunmen murdered her husband in their bedroom in Port-Au-Prince. 

Previously, we were told that she was at the corridor beside their bedroom entrance door where the assassins stormed their home. Now, the story has changed as she tells us that her late husband asked her to lie on the floor beside the bed and you wonder which husband, fearing an immediate armed intrusion in their bedroom and harm to his wife, would ask her to lie down on the floor beside their bed. 

Every husband would naturally implore their wife to run and go and hide somewhere far removed from their bedroom. At least if the husband had time to make two different telephone calls to two different security officers, it means that she had time to have ran away from the bedroom into hiding. She also said that she went to their children's sleeping area, woke them up and hide them in a bathroom with their dog. So, why did she not hide with them in that bathroom or at least hid herself somewhere else instead of rejoining her husband in their bedroom to be told later to lie down on the floor. 

How could assassins who were firing their automatic machine guns from shoulder or waist level, strike someone who was lying on the floor first, before riddling the body of a person who was standing up, after making the frantic SOS telephone calls to security officers. Why did they wait in the bedroom to be killed and not take any evasive action such as hiding, to at least delay the inevitable and help them buy some time before the summoned help arrived. If they only shot her on the arm and elbow, how did blood get into her mouth since such happenstance usually occurs as a result of internal bleeding and no part of her torso or thoracic region was breached by the assassins bullets. 

If as she "recalled", her mouth was filled with blood and she was unable to breath, how did she have the presence of mind to remain still and pretend to be "dead" while the assassins ransacked their bedroom drawers. How long can someone hold their breath, especially one that her mouth was full of blood? Even if she breathed through her nostrils, did she not make gargling sound because since her mouth was full of blood, that leaves her with only her nose for both breathing in and breathing out. She also failed to tell us if the lights in their bedroom were on or off. She also said that the only thing she saw before they killed her husband were the assassins boots and she then closed her eyes and did not see any other thing else. 

Yet she said that they shot her first which means that she did not close her eyes when they shot her otherwise she wouldn't know who was shot first. So, where beside their bed on the floor was she lying down; was she lying supine or sideways; otherwise how could bullets fired randomly not penetrate her body but only wounded her arm and elbow? It shows that her gunshot wounds were specifically and methodically placed and was not as a result of random firing by unknown assailants who stormed their bedroom to assassinate the president. There is more to the story than she is telling and she needs to be placed on the investigation list, at least as a person of interest, with vital information in the assassination of her husband, the former president of Haiti Jovenel Moise. 

She closed her eyes and did not see anything else, her mouth was also full of blood but she maintained her composure throughout the ordeal and even when the assassins shone a flashlight on her eyes? It is a difficult narration to believe and will require the suspension of logic and disbelief to accept her story as the true account of what actually took place in that bedroom on that fateful night of July 7th, 2021. It is extremely difficult, if not humanly impossible, the excitement of the commotion considered, for her to pull off such a composure under such stressful circumstance. Moreso, how could assassins who riddled her husband's body with bullets and made sure that he died, not spend similar effort riddling her body with bullets and made sure that she died before evacuating from the scene. 

Someone with mouth full of blood, her eyes firmly shut closed and lying motionless on the floor, listened as the assassins ransacked the room, speaking Spanish as they searched methodically for something in her husband's files and saying that's not it, that's not it, until finally that's it". We also assume for the sake of this piece that it was not all of the assassins that conducted the search and that the whole thing took a while, at least more than some seconds. So why did, at least one of the assassins, hear her grunt or breathing and made sure that she was dead too before they left? As they filled out, one of them stepped on her feet and waved a flashlight over her shut-closed eyes, which possibly was to signal her that she can now get up and continue play-acting her part as an assassination survivor? 

Why would paid assassins "thought" that she was dead, instead of confirming that she was dead by also riddling her upper torso with bullets as they did to her husband; or even putting some pointblank shots into her cranial walls. ICHEOKU says agrees with her but to the extent that the central question remains not only who ordered and paid for the assassination of her husband, but also what role did she play in it? What role did Haiti security hierarchy also play in it too? If the 18 Colombians and several Haitians so far detained as suspects killed the president, why did the president's security detail sign off on it? 

It is irrelevant whatever their motivation was, including whether one doctor and pastor Christian Emmanuel Sanon conspired with Colombia mercenaries to kill the president because he wants to seize political power. Where was the over 30 security agents who make up the president's protection unit? Why was none of them killed or at least wounded that night while defending the president? And yes, the rich and powerful always hold sway in every society and they do not take kindly to any elected official including a president wanting to disturb their groove. So, Haiti is not an exception and their rich and powerful oligarchs possibly had a hand in the assassination but there is still a lot of grey areas not being illuminated by Martine Moise. 

This is a woman who conditioned her interview with New York Times on their non disclosure of her hiding location somewhere in Southern Florida, yet she declared that she is not afraid of her husband's killers. Why then did she want her location off record if she is not afraid that his killers might want to finish her off. The only possible explanation is that she knows them and that they will not hurt her; because they did not hurt her when they could have easily done so inside her bedroom in Port-Au-Prince on July 7th, 2021. Also, her desire for her location not to be exposed could be that she possibly wants some quiet time to nurse her hand back to life; but then, how did New York Times get invited to do the interview? 

ICHEOKU says her story does not add up. It is either that she is still suffering traumatic memory lapses or she is trying to cover her role in the entire scheme. According to her, they were asleep when gunfire jolted them to their feet. Then she ran to wake her two children up and made them hide in a bathroom, hurdled with their dog. What type of dog would not bark after sensing danger and harm coming to their owners? Her husband then grabbed the telephone and called for help; and she still had the presence of mind under panic to use "Honey" while asking him who he called? He then told her that he found Dimitri Herard and Jean Laguel Civil and they told him that they are on their way. 

Then the assassins entered the house "swiftly and unencumbered"; and the husband told her to lie down on the floor so that she would not get hurt. That's where I think you will be safe he told her, but he did not prefix his own statement with "Honey" or "Darling"? If a burst of gunfire came from outside their bedroom, why then did the bullets strike her first? Was she already lying down on the floor as instructed or was she still standing up when the gunfire penetrated their bedroom? How long did the operation last and how many files did her husband have with him in their home that they could so easily find what they were looking for on the shelf. If what they were looking for was that valuable, why would the president just leave it lying on the shelf and not in a safe or strong room? 

And yes, everybody should have died that night, but everybody did not die because it was somewhat an inside job with somebody very close to the president involved and fully participated in orchestrating his assassination. Now, she wants to run for president herself and you wonder whether it is her reward for her role in the killing of her husband. ICHEOKU says whatever vision President Jovenel Moise may have had for Haiti would have been better fulfilled with him alive and piloting the affairs of Haiti and midwifing the vision. But as it turned out, he had none, the reason Haiti was stalled and remained an all motion and no movement society throughout his presidency. 

Anyway, Martine Moise needs to come completely clean with everything she knows about the assassination of her husband President Jovenel Moise and what role, if any, she played in it. But until she does, the shadow of a black widow will continue to hang over her because all the circumstances considered, it could not have been just mother luck that kept her alive; with only precisely placed gunshot wounds on her arm to show for it. It does not make sense, especially when her husband's body was riddled with bullets and they saw her lying down there beside the bed. ICHEOKU strongly believes that she was shot only after her husband was murdered and on the part of her body of her choosing, just to make it look as if she was also a victim. 

Her story does not make sense and the place of her gunshot wounds does not conform with a random gunfire shots, moreso for a "victim" who was lying down on the floor. But the world might never know the depth of the conspiracy that actually killed President Jovenel Moise as the same people who possibly acted in concert are now doing the investigation. Only an expanded team of investigators, comprising of world experts, can truly unravel what happened in Port-Au-Prince on that deadly night of July 7th. So, until that happens, whatever anyone says about the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, including the tale by moonlight being pinned by his widow, Marine Moise, should be treated as pure hogwash. It is sad.