DAILY SUN Friday, August 31, 2012
Memories
Philip Nwosu 08176449110
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Today in History
Atiku’s security aides maul journalist On August 31, 2003, the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) expressed shock and disbelief that Vice-President Atiku Abubakar could be so cold, unmoved and indifferent to the near killing of a compatriot and photojournalist, Mr. Akintunde Akinleye, by policemen attached to him. Chairman of the Lagos State Council of NUJ, Mrs Funke Fadugba criticised the VicePresident for maintaining silence over the brutalisation of Akinleye in his presence by some of his security aides during last Saturday’s coronation of Oba Rilwan Akiolu, the new Oba of Lagos , in Lagos. A statement by the NUJ chairman also chided Mr. Henry Oladele Alake, the Lagos State information and strategy commissioner, for his provocative utterances over the incident. Akinleye of Daily Independent was beaten to a coma by the security operatives while attempt-
2003
ing to take snapshots of Atiku opposite the VIP stand at the Tafawa Balewa Square Complex during the ceremony. The journalist, who was taken for dead while being rushed from the spot in an ambulance, was later revived at the nearby Lagos General Hospital at the Marina, Lagos. Condemning the incident, the NUJ expressed shock at Atiku’s indifference at the viciousness of his security aides. “While Governor Ahmed Bola Tinubu, his host, was shouting himself hoarse to stop the unwarranted brutality of his operatives, he (Atiku) moved away and went on. Tinubu, disregarded by the security men, had to leave to escort the Vice-President to the high table. All the while, the Vice-President behaved as if nothing was amiss and as though he saw nothing wrong in the brutalisation of a fellow Nigerian, whose constitutional rights he had sworn to uphold and to protect,” the union noted.
Princess Diana dies in Paris crash On August 31, 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, died after a car crash in Paris. She was taken to hospital in the early hours of Sunday morning where surgeons tried for two hours to save her life but she died at 0300 BST.In a statement Buckingham Palace said the Queen and the Prince of Wales were “deeply shocked and distressed”. Prince Charles broke the news of their mother’s death to Princes William and Harry at Balmoral Castle in Scotland where the royal family had b e e n spending the summer. T h e
1997
accident happened after the princess left the Ritz Hotel in the French capital with her companion, Dodi Al Fayed - son of Harrods owner, Mohammed Al Fayed. Dodi Al Fayed and the vehicle’s driver were also killed in the collision in a tunnel under the Place de l’Alma in the centre of the city. The princess’ Mercedes car was apparently being pursued at high speed by photographers on motorbikes when it hit a pillar and smashed into a wall. Mr Al Fayed and the chauffeur died at the scene but the princess and her bodyguard were cut from the wreckage and rushed to hospital. The French authorities have begun a criminal investigation and are questioning seven photographers. Tributes to the princess have been pouring in from around the world. Speaking from his home in South Africa, the princess’ brother, Lord Charles Spencer, said his sister had been “unique”.
• November 2, 1956: Ali Obaje, the last Atta of Igala receiving his staff of office from the representative of the English Queen during his coronation. His predecessor, Ameh Oboni had committed suicide some days earlier to avoid being impeached by the Colonial Masters. Ali Obaje reigned for 56 years and died on 16th July, 2012.
Edison patents the Kinetograph Thomas Edison on this day in August 1897, received a patent for his movie camera, the Kinetograph. Edison had developed the camera and its viewer in the early 1890s and staged several demonstrations. The camera was based on photographic principles discovered by still-photograph pioneers Joseph Nicephone Niepce and Louis Daguerre of France. In 1877, inventor Edward Muybridge developed a primitive form of motion pictures when Leland Stanford, governor of California, invited him to develop photo studies of animals in motion. Muybridge developed an ingenious system for photographing sequential motion, setting up 24 cameras attached to trip wires stretched across a racetrack. As the horse tripped each wire, the shutters snapped. The resulting series of photos could be projected as something resembling a motion picture. This breakthrough in the early 1870s inspired another student of animal motion, Etienne Jules Marey of France, to develop in 1882 a rotating camera rather like a rifle, where different pictures were taken in a rapid sequence by a rotating cartridge. Unlike these earlier cameras, Edison’s Kinetoscope and Kinetograph used celluloid film, invented by George Eastman in 1889. In February 1893, Edison built a small movie studio that could be rotated to capture the best available sunlight. He showed the first demonstration of his films—featuring three of his workers pretending to be blacksmiths—in May 1893.
1958