Connect with us

News

UK And The World Say Farewell To Queen Elizabeth II

UK And The World Say Farewell To Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II will be laid to rest on Monday, after a state funeral attended by leaders from around the world and a historic last ceremonial journey through the packed streets of London.

Huge crowds gathered in near silence to watch as the queen’s flag-draped coffin, topped with the Imperial State Crown, her orb and sceptre, was carried slowly to a gun carriage from parliament’s Westminster Hall where it has lain in state since last Wednesday.

To a shouted order and the sound of pipes and drums, the gun carriage — used at every state funeral since that of Queen Victoria in 1901 — was then drawn by 142 junior enlisted sailors in the Royal Navy past Parliament Square to Westminster Abbey.

The thousand-year-old church’s tenor bell tolled 96 times at one-minute intervals — one for every year of her life — before the service began at 11:00 am (1000 GMT).

The longest-serving monarch in British history died at Balmoral, her Scottish Highland retreat, on September 8 after a year of declining health.

Her eldest son and successor, King Charles III, dressed in ceremonial military uniform, followed the solemn procession, alongside his three siblings.

Late Sunday, Charles, 73, and his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, said they had been “deeply touched” by the public’s flood of messages.

“As we all prepare to say our last farewell, I wanted simply to take this opportunity to say thank you,” he said.

‘She was my boss’

Britain last held a state funeral in 1965 for the country’s wartime prime minister Winston Churchill.

Then, the cranes that once unloaded the spoils of Britain’s vast empire that Elizabeth inherited were lowered in respect as his coffin was borne up the River Thames by barge.

In the six decades since, Britain’s global reach has been much diminished and its place in the modern world has become less certain.

But the country has dug deep into its centuries of tradition to honour the only monarch that most Britons have ever known.

Many people young and old and from Britain and beyond have camped out for days to witness the elaborate spectacle of pageantry, pay their final respects and share a moment of history.

“It’s once in a lifetime,” said student Naomi Thompson, 22, in the crowds at London’s Hyde Park.

“It’s a moment of history. She’s been around for our lifetime. She’s everyone’s granny,” added engineer Alice Garret, 28.

Others unable to be in London gathered in cinemas and churches around England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to watch the service and procession on big screens.

Auto engineer Jamie Page, a 41-year-old former soldier, stood on Whitehall to observe the funeral procession, wearing his military medals from service in the Iraq war.

“Sixteen years old, I swore an oath of allegiance to the queen. She’s been my boss. She means everything, she was like a gift from God,” he said.

But on Charles, the oldest person yet to ascend the British throne, Page added: “Who knows, time will tell.”

The funeral was due to last just under an hour, brought to an end by a bugler playing The Last Post, before two minutes of silence and the reworded national anthem, “God Save the King”.

Biden’s tribute

After an hour-long procession that passes Buckingham Palace, the coffin will be taken west by road to Windsor Castle, where thousands had lined the route since early morning.

Some 6,000 military personnel have been drafted in to take part in proceedings in what Britain’s highest-ranking military officer has called “our last duty for Her Majesty the Queen”.

The queen will be buried alongside her father king George VI, her mother queen Elizabeth and sister princess Margaret, reuniting in death the family who once called themselves “us four”.

The coffin of her husband, Prince Philip, who died last year aged 99, will also be transferred to lie alongside her.

Elizabeth’s funeral could not be more different from Philip’s at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, in April last year.

Coronavirus restrictions limited mourners to just 30, led by the queen, a solitary figure in mourning black and a matching facemask.

But now more than 2,000 people, including heads of state from US President Joe Biden to Japan’s reclusive Emperor Naruhito, packed Westminster Abbey, whose 1,000-year history has been tied to royal coronations, marriages and funerals.

“You were fortunate to have had her for 70 years; we all were,” Biden said on Sunday after signing a book of condolence. “The world is better for her.”

‘Out of place’

In the abbey pews was Liz Truss, whom the queen appointed as the 15th British prime minister of her reign just two days before her death, in her last major ceremonial duty.

All of Truss’s living predecessors were there plus her counterparts and representatives from the 14 Commonwealth countries outside Britain where Charles is also head of state.

Whether they remain constitutional monarchies or become republics is likely to be the defining feature of Charles’s reign.

The queen’s death has prompted deep reflection about the Britain she reigned over, the legacy of its past, its present state and what the future might hold, as well as the values of lifelong service and duty she came to represent during her 70-year reign.

Select members of the public won invitations to the abbey for the funeral after outstanding service to the community.

Hundreds of thousands of people are estimated to have queued, sometimes for up to 25 hours and overnight, to file past the queen’s coffin as it lay in state.

Chrissy Heerey, a serving member of the Royal Air Force who joined the marathon queue twice, was the last person through the doors and described the experience as “amazing”.

“When they came to me and said, ‘right, you’re the last person’, I said, really?!” she told AFP, before heading off to join the crowds for the coffin’s procession through central London.

“A long day but very well worth it. It’s nothing compared to what the queen has done for the country.”

Big Ben tolls

Throughout the procession, Big Ben, the giant bell atop the Elizabeth Tower at one end of the Houses of Parliament, will toll and guns will fire at one-minute intervals.

At Windsor, the Sebastopol Bell — captured in Crimea in 1856 — and the Curfew Tower Bell will also sound.

A vast television audience is expected to watch the funeral worldwide and live online, in a sign of the enduring fascination with the woman once described as “the last global monarch”.

Those lining the streets of London — already jammed at sunrise on Monday — said they had to bear witness.

“I want to take part in history,” said Jack Davies, 14, camped out for the procession with his parents at Hyde Park Corner, where the coffin will be transferred from the gun carriage for the drive to Windsor.

“I will talk about this moment to my children. I’ll say: ‘I was there!’”

At Windsor, the queen’s crown, orb and sceptre will be removed and placed on the altar.

The most senior officer of the royal household, the lord chamberlain, breaks his “wand of office” and places it on the coffin, symbolising the end of her reign.

The lead-lined oak casket, draped with the queen’s colours, will then be lowered into the Royal Vault as a lone bagpiper plays a lament.

A private interment ceremony will take place at the adjoining King George VI Memorial Chapel at 1830 GMT.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

Army frees 230 detainees cleared of ties with Boko Haram

The military has released 230 suspected Boko Haram terrorists made up of two hundred and nineteen males and eleven females after profiling them.

A source within the military says the suspects were cleared after it was established that they are not terrorists but were conscripted against their will.

The source added that the 230 suspects were handed over today to the Borno state government through the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development for reintegration.

Continue Reading

News

Presidency denounces circulating fake list of ambassadors

The Presidency has debunked the list of ambassadorial nominees currently circulating as fake news.

Mr. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, dismissed the claims, emphasising the list’s inauthenticity.

“There is no official list as of today. There is a list in circulation. That is fake news. The foreign affairs list will still go through certain processes before it is released.

“Don’t forget that the ambassadorial list has two components. There are career ambassadors and political ambassadors. So, whichever one they submitted, it will still go through a long process,” Onanuga said on Tuesday.

In November 2023, a senior official in the ministry said: “Names of new ambassadors are being compiled.”

Although it was not clear if the nominees were political or career diplomats, feelers indicate that they primarily comprise the latter.

It is believed that while career diplomats are determined by their career progression, as recommended by the foreign service, political diplomats are often appointees of the President.

In December 2023, a high-ranking official in the nation’s foreign service, who spoke anonymously to The PUNCH, indicated that one of those considered for the top diplomatic jobs is the Founder of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc. Mr. Afolabi Adeola.

Adeola, according to him, will be designated Nigeria’s Ambassador to one of the world’s top three economies.

The source stated: “Yes, the President has a list of recommended persons and is considering it already.

“One of those I saw is Fola Adeola, the Founder of GTB.

“He is being considered as the Nigerian Ambassador to one of the world’s top three economies.”

Aside from Adeola, it was gathered on Tuesday that a Senior Special Assistant to the President, a former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Olufemi Pedro, and the Speaker, Katsina House of Assembly, Tasiu Maigari, are also being considered for ambassadorial jobs.

Explaining the rationale for the choice, the source noted that the Tinubu administration was keen on deploying technocrats and captains of industry as its front persons in foreign lands.

“The President is reserving many of the slots for technocrats, people who have built a strong reputation in their respective fields and have built companies employing thousands of Nigerians. We need people who can use their influence to secure deals and partnerships for the benefit of their country.

“It is not a new thing. When choosing envoys, the most developed economies send their best hands for those jobs. And Tinubu is following that path.

“For example, Adeola is an investor and is not a strange face on the foreign scene and the global business community. He knows them and they know him. And he is not the only one. You can see that this speaks of the administration’s pursuit of more Foreign Direct Investment,” said the source.

On the process followed in compiling the nominees, sources told our correspondent that the Federal Government had set up a committee to recommend qualified individuals to fill the roles.

A source, who did not want to be named, said: “A committee was set up to make recommendations for career and political ambassadors.

“You see, most of the career ambassadors already know they are next for appointments. But they don’t know to which country they will be sent. There are countries where Nigeria has delicate political interests. For these ones, the government usually sends political ambassadors.

“If you remember, President Buhari appointed his former service chiefs as ambassadors to some African countries.”

Nigeria has 109 missions, 76 embassies, 22 high commissions and 11 consulates globally.

On September 2, 2023, President Tinubu recalled all career and non-career ambassadors operating the country’s diplomatic missions, embassies and consulates globally.

A statement by Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Ministry confirmed the recall of the ambassadors, saying: “Sequel to the inquiries on the letter recalling the Nigerian ambassador to the UK, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, has clarified that all career ambassadors and non-career ambassadors have been recalled on the instructions of President Bola Tinubu.”

The envoys were directed to return to the country on or before October 31.

They include the 41 non-career ambassadors and 42 career ambassadors appointed by Former President Muhammadu Buhari in July 2020.

Continue Reading

Development

Abiodun Promises More Infrastructural Development, Commissions Siun-Owode Road

L-R: Ogun State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Engr. Ade Akinsanya; Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Yemi Sanusi; a member of the House of Representatives, Olumide Osoba; Kwara State Governor, Mallam Abdul-Rahman Abdul-Razaq; Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun; his Deputy, Engr. (Mrs.) Noimot Salako-Oyedele and the Speaker, Ogun State House of Assembly, Rt.Hon Oludaisi Elemide, during the commissioning of the 6km Siun-Owode Road in Obafemi Owode Local Government area of Ogun State on Thursday.

Ogun State Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun on Thursday said his government will continue with its infrastructural drive, especially in the area of road construction as a catalyst for economic growth and development.

Abiodun spoke at the commissioning of the six kilometres (first phase) of the Siun-Owode-Ofada road in the Obafemi Owode Local Government of the state.

Speaking at the event, which was attended by the Kwara State Governor, Alhaji AbdulRahaman AbdulRasak, Governor Abiodun emphasized the importance of road construction in the overall development of the state.

The governor described the newly rehabilitated road as an alternative to the ever busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, adding that it would also impact positively on the socio-economic development of communities along the road.

He said the construction of the road was a testimony to the dedication to strategic and methodical development of infrastructure across the state to enhance the socio-economic landscape as enshrined in the “Building our Future Together” agenda of his administration.

“The road represents a vital link between communities to boost local economies and connect all those coming from Abeokuta to Siun, Owode up to Mowe. This local government is where people work in Lagos but reside and commune daily.

“The road is an alternative for people from Abeokuta to Lagos. It will significantly impact the socio-economy development of the state,” the governor noted.

He added that the road is the first to be commissioned this year, just as the Mowe-Ofada road has been completed, adding that his administration would soon commissioned more roads including the Ilaro -Owode road and the Gateway International Cargo Airport at Ilisan.

Governor Abiodun listed Obantoko, Gbonogun, Ikorita Meje-Aderinde-Olokotutu, Olomore-Sanni, Somorin- Kemta-Idi-Aba, Panseke-Adigbe as well as the Olusegun Osoba-Toyin- Agbado as some of the roads that have been attended to in Ogun Central Senatorial District, even as he pledged that more roads would be put in good shape soon.

Abiodun who spoke on why some road projects were delayed, blaming the development on the high price of construction materials.

He said: “We have had a slow down on construction due to the situation of things in the country in the last few months which has not allowed for objective pricing of construction materials.

“But for us, construction represents a lot. Besides the fact that road construction allows for movement of goods, services, and people, the construction industry is the largest employer of labour. So, we will continue to prioritize construction.

“We have harvested priority roads in each local government area. We will begin our reconstruction all over again as a result of the price stability. Our contractors will go back to sites. All the roads harvested during our last town hall meetings, you will begin to see construction on the roads.”

He called on the people to take ownership of the road and other infrastructure provided by the government by protecting them as they were commonwealth and taxes were used in providing them.

The Kwara State Governor, who is also the Chairman, Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), Alhaji Abdulrahaman Abdulrasak, praised Governor Abiodun for the infrastructural revolution going on in the state.

According to him, the Abiodun-led administration has judiciously invested the commonwealth of the people.

He said he has visited other states in the country but was impressed with the level of development in Ogun State.

He called on his colleagues from other parts of the country to take a cue from Ogun State by providing their people with the needed infrastructure to enjoy the dividends of democracy.

The Senator representing Ogun Central Senatorial District, Shuaib Afolabi Salis, recalled that the road was pencilled down for reconstruction in 2022 and expressed appreciation to the governor, for not abandoning the road like his predecessors.

He called on the people to make good use of the road as it belongs to them.

The state Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Yemi Sanusi, described the road as historic to the Egba people because of its interconnectivity to various communities and its importance to the commercial activities in the communities along the road.

The Chairman, Obafemi Owode Local Government Area, Hon. Adesina Ogunsola appreciated the state government for reconstructing the road and for providing a 7.5 KVA transformer to Owode to restore power to the town.

In his welcome address, Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Engr. Ade Akinsanya said the road, which was in bad shape for many years, was reconstructed with a standard drainage system to conform with the federal government’s specification for highways.

The event was attended by prominent dignitaries, including the Deputy Dovernor, Engr. Noimot Salako-Oyedele, former deputy governors, members of the National and State Assemblies, traditional rulers, party stalwarts, among others.

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending