Jollof Rice Made Me Go To UNN – Pastor Adeboye

The general overseer of Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, has said that jollof rice and chicken being enjoyed by the students of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, way back in 1962, made him to choose the UNN as a university where he would do his first degree.

Adeboye who was awarded with an honorarily doctorate degree of Doctor of Divinity, DD by the University on Tuesday, said that he developed interest in the University when he went with his fellow students on an excursion to UNN in 1962 and saw students eating jollof rice with half a chicken.

Adeboye The cleric said that when he saw the way the students were enjoying then, he decided that he God permitted, he would come to UNN to study and lucky enough, the following year, 1963, he gained admission into the prestigious University.

Carried by what he saw, Adeboye said that, “I took a pebble from the ground asked God to make me come to the University. The following year, 1963, God answered my prayers.”

Adeboye however regretted that he could not graduate from the University as he left in 1966 without a degree. He expressed joy, however, that sixty years later, he has now been awarded a doctorate degree from the same University and professors call him, ‘daddy.’ “I left UNN in 1966 without a degree. Sixty years later, I have gotten a degree from UNN, now not as a first degree but a doctorate degree. That is why I feel elated. I am overwhelmed,” he said. Speaking at the occasion, Pro-chancellor of the University, Mr. Emmanuel Ukala, said that Adeboye deserved the honourary degree because he was a man of achievement.

“It is necessary to point out, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, that the University of Nigeria places high premium on positive, and the road to the attainment of its honourary degree is quite tight indeed. “As a result, anyone that successfully moves through the tight rope deserves our honour and veneration.

I, therefore congratulate Pastor E. A Adeboye for his selection for the award of the honourary degree of the University. Welcome on board as a significant member of the den of lions and lionesses,” Ukala represented by the vice chancellor, Prof. Benjamin Ozumba said.

Vanguard

Should Nigerian politicians undergo psychiatric test?

I don’t subscribe to the psychiatric test. I don’t see corruption as a mental illness. I see it as a social malady. What is sick about our society is our culture. Let us also admit that our culture is fantastic in terms of brotherhood. But our culture is sick when it comes to leadership. What we have is rulership of the pre-colonial culture. We have always had elites even before the colonial masters came.

For instance, we don’t question our obas. They are revered and treated as deities. How did we come about an oba who can confiscate anybody’s land? How did we come about an oba that can take another person’s wife? The locus of the sickness is not in the leaders, it is in the culture that regulates our behaviour. We have a culture we need to put on the table and interrogate.

What our present politicians do is to leverage on the rulership culture – the culture that sees leaders as deities. And if anybody stands up to question it, people will say the person may die. So, the people are subjugated. For me, we have a rulership cultural software that smart politicians leverage on to loot. As a matter of fact, when they steal and come back home, our obas give them titles. • Dr. Adeoye Oyewole (A consultant psychiatrist)

Whoever is suggesting that politicians should undergo psychiatric test is cracking a joke. It is not practicable. If that is the case, almost all Nigerians should undergo the test. What is practicable is revolution, which will change politicians’ orientation and put them on the correct path.

The revolution should not be violent. It should be a fundamental revolutionary change. What is responsible for the negative state of the nation, including what affects politicians, is the socio-economic and political system of the country as well as the political leadership produced by the system. The system encourages putting personal interest first as opposed to a system that is based on putting public interest first.

We have to change the system and make the state to play the leading role in the economy. Before 1966 when the military took over, the state played the leading role in the economy even though the resources were small. We didn’t have this level of corruption then. Was there any corruption allegation against Sardauna, Awolowo and Azikwe? Nobody could steal public money then and get away with it. The leaders then had preference for public interest. •Balarabe Musa (Former Kaduna State Governor)

It has become pertinent for some politicians to undergo psychiatric test due to certain public dispositions they exhibit. There are behavioural attitudes displayed by politicians that need psychiatric evaluation.

The quest to amass wealth stupendously, in itself, is a psychological problem that requires counselling. If not for anything, public utterances from some governors and representatives, at times, give room for the need to ascertain their psychiatric state.  A general psychiatric test should be carried out on them to know if they are fit to handle public positions or not before giving them the opportunity to handle such offices. The result can be made public as it bothers on health and as it is enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution.

Government hospitals should be the proper place for such a test to be carried out to minimise manipulation. It takes a man with mental stability to coordinate a political system. It is too expensive a joke to allow a person of mental instability to man a political office. The economic and political thrusts would be at the mercy of his mental dictates.

We have seen and heard of political leaders committing domestic violence against their family members and assistants. Some have also displayed childish behaviour publicly. • Osazee Edigin (An activist)

Mrs. Farida Waziri’s recommendation that politicians should undergo psychiatric examination for reason of grand corruption that we see in our public life is a hackneyed recommendation. The first person that made this recommendation over 20 years ago was Prof. Adeoye Lambo, a famous psychiatrist and a former Vice-Chairman of the World Health Organisation, who was astounded by the level of corruption then.

I don’t think that is the solution. That may be begging the issue. I don’t think defence of insanity, which is a defence in criminal law in answer to criminal allegations, avails against allegations of corruption and abuse of office. The reason why people engage in large scale corruption is not because they are insane either technically or factually. It is because they feel confident that if they engage in massive corruption, they will get away with it.

We shouldn’t trivialise this issue (of corruption) by saying perhaps politicians are insane, and we should subject them to psychiatric test. And for the person this recommendation is coming from, the question I want to ask is: are politicians the only ones who are supposed to undergo psychiatric test? The test should include bureaucrats, law enforcers, etc. Are police officers taking bribe on the road mad? So, it is not about psychiatric evaluation.

The antidote, in my opinion, is an unrelenting and thorough enforcement of our anti-corruption laws in such a way that public officers who infract the law, the law should take its course against them no matter how highly placed they are. In other climes, such as Israel, Malaysia, we see presidents and prime ministers go to jail. One is ongoing in Korea. So, if our anti-corruption laws are implacable, those public officers that Nigerians want to assume are stealing because they are mad, will no longer be mad. Once people get punished for the crimes they commit and they are disgorged of the illicit money they have stolen, you won’t see them as being mad as it is now suggested. They will behave with all decorum and decency in public offices. And nobody at that stage will be suggesting that they be subjected to psychiatric examination.   • Jiti Ogunye (A human rights lawyer)

With respect to the kind of attitude our politicians have displayed, they may not be considered to be psychiatrically sound.

There is no gentleman in Nigeria that will want to seek political office because of the kind of the banditry politicians display. The test should be genuine and the persons that will carry it out should be tested too.

It is a good move and should be mandatory. It should be enshrined in the constitution.

This will create sanity in the system and ensure proper management of public offices, including public funds. • Mr. Olasubomi Okeowo (A lawyer)

Yes, they should undergo psychiatric test based on the behaviour they exhibit on assumption of office such as unequalled quest for money and insensitivity. Less than two weeks for the seventh National Assembly to end its proceedings, the legislature went ahead to pass over 30 bills at one sitting. This is not thinkable at all, no matter the type of democracy we operate.

In Edo State, we are talking about how to conserve funds. But the House of Assembly went ahead to set aside the rules of the House by amending the pension bill just to favour the past governor. So, it goes to show that they (politicians) are not even in consonance with what is actually happening to the people. So, if they go for mental check, they will be able to know their level of depression.

Most of them are unable to manage themselves because of the pressure from their respective constituencies. So, if you want to be a governor, there must be a provision in the constitution that you have to undergo a psychiatric test. It does not show that you are insane. It is just for us to know your state of mind, so that when you get into office, we will know how best to regulate you.

 The test should be psycho-social; it should focus on depression, drug level, etc. The test should be conducted in government hospitals so as to reduce the level of manipulation.

But before aspiring, they should be told (about the test) and their consent sought to make the result public. It should be a law. Other conditions can be managed but a psychiatric case demands greater monitoring. •Jude Obasanmi (President, Conference of Non-governmental Organisations, Edo State)

Compiled by Afeez Hanafi and Alexander Okere

2016 Nigerian Movies To watch This Holiday

Holiday is almost here,  and there is just one thing that completes it all - movies,  not just any movies but great movies that was well prepared to engage you throughout this yuletide .  Enjoy my list below and best viewed via iroko tv . 

MMM Port-Harcourt chapter donates borehole to Ogoni community

Bothered by the dearth of potable drinking water faced by residents of Kedum, Kaani ward, in Ogoni community of Rivers State., the MMM-Nigeria’, a community of mutual financial aid and donations, Port Harcourt chapter, Sunday, commissioned a borehole in the community, saying it’s its own little way of ameliorating the plights of residents in Kedum area and other neighbouring communities.

A Guider in the ‘MMM Community’, Ndukwe Joseph Ndukwe, said the project was motivated by the desire of the group to affect the society positively especially now the country is faced with excruciating recession induced hunger and poverty.

“That is what defines us as a community of people providing financial help to each other on the principle of gratuitous, benevolence and reciprocity,” Ndukwe stated. Present at the commissioning of the project were the MMM Nigeria, PH chapter number one man,Abiye Johnson (100k+ Guider); Nonso Onwuneme (100k+ Guider), other MMM Guiders participants, Kedum community leaders and members of the community who could not hide their joy.

It will be recalled that in June this year, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, launched the “Clean-Up of Ogoniland” at Bodo, Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State. Ogoni-land. However, since flag-off, the project had experienced hiccups. But the MMM-Nigeria Port Harcourt, in less than a month constructed and handed-over the borehole to members of the Ogoni community.

The community head, who could not hide his joy, stated that when some delegates from MMM visited him and informed him of the project they intend bringing to their community and that they needed a land space for the project to be done, he was thinking that it was normal political promises but to his greatest surprise after three days, the work started and did not last up to a month to be completed.

Vanguard.

50 Nigerian languages to become extinct’

The Linguistic Association of Nigeria (LAN) said unless proactive steps were taken, more than 50 minority languages in the country might become extinct in a few years.

President of the association, Prof. Chinyere Ohiri-Aniche, disclosed this in Jos on Tuesday at the ongoing five-day annual conference of LAN holding at  University of Jos.

Ohiri-Aniche, who was represented by Prof. Harrison Adeniye, spoke of the urgent need to revive moribund minority languages because of their importance to the cultural good of the country.

He, therefore, called on  the Federal Government to “reawaken” the national language policy to prevent the minority languages from going extinct.

“Let me use this opportunity to advise the Federal Government on the need to reawaken the national language policy project which is moribund already.

“There is also an urgent need to establish language centers to prevent possible extinction of most minority languages in the country,” he said.

The LAN president stated that the establishment of the centres to teach local languages will help revive some languages already extinct.

“We would like to use this opportunity to remind you, sir of the promise made on behalf of the university to establish the centre for minority languages in your institution.

“We know this centre when established will go a long way in documenting and revitalizing well over fifty languages, most of which are moribund,” he said.

He urged parents to always speak to their children in their local dialects to enable them to speak in the tongues.

Also speaking, the Vice Chancellor, University of Jos, Prof. Sebastian Maimako, charged the association to revive moribund Nigeria minority languages.

Maimako, who was represented by the Dean, Faculty of Arts, Prof. Tor Iorapuu, said the use of local parlance among Nigerians had decreased.

According to him, linguists have what it takes to address the “unfortunate” situation of language and cultural decline in the country.

NAN

Recession: NYSC asks for subsidized feeding

 The Enugu state command of National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, has pleaded with the state government to subsidize the feeding of the corps members in view of the increasing population of the members.

The state coordinator of NYSC, Mrs. Nwano Ukagha also said that despite all the assistance the state has been giving the command, it is constrained to plead for more assistance, especially in provision of  facilities at the orientation camp.

The command made the request during the swearing-in ceremony of the 2016 ‘B’ corps members at the state orientation camp in Awgu, Enugu State, yesterday. 

The new  corps members of 2016 Batch ‘B’ deployed to the state however told Vanguard that except for inadequate water supply at the orientation camp, other facilities as hostel, electricity and social services were in fair supply.

The state Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, who was represented at the ceremony by the state commissioner for Education, Prof. Uchenna Eze, said government was aware of their challenges and is taking concrete steps to launch an intervention programme. “I wish remind you of the importance of the NYSC programme and the need to be committed to the realization of its objectives.

In order to make success of this assignment, you must be dedicated, focused and ready to apply yourselves to the activities of the orientation course,” said Ugwuanyi.

A total of 2, 169 corps members were registered in the camp, comprising 1, 201 males and 968 females.(Vanguard)

Millions of Nigerians defecate openly

By Chioma Obinna & Gabriel Olawale

On this year’s World Toilet Day, November 19,  the reality of  accessing sanitary toilets remained a mirage for 28.5 per cent of the Nigerian population (51.3 million persons) who have no access to  sanitary toilet facilities., according to UNICEF. 

When it’s time to go to the toilet, this group of people have no option than to defecate in the open, an act that threatens their health, dignity, safety and puts them at risk of public health hazards. Women, girls and younger children with no access to improved toilet facilities at home or in school are especially vulnerable. Beyond direct health risks, shame and potential violence are constant reality for them when seeking a place to defecate.

 According to the World Health Organisation, WHO, 1 in 4 Nigerians defecate openly creating a medium for potential transmission of the wild polio virus, cholera and hepatitis amongst other infectious diseases because they have no access to adequate toilet facilities. 

Additional data presented by UNICEF showed that an estimated 120 million people in the country lack access to improved sanitation facilities, or facilities that hygienically separate human waste from human contact.

 The economic impact of unsafe water, poor sanitation and hygiene depletes the Nigerian economy by almost the equivalent of 1.3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, while 124, 000 under fives are lost annually as a result of diarrhoea. 

As Nigeria joined the rest of the world to mark the day themed “Toilets and Job”   calls have been made for the circulation and sustenance of proper hygiene promotion messages to become a social norm in addition to provision of improved sanitation facilities.

 In Lagos, stakeholders demanded provision of  functional and sanitary toilets in schools and other public places across the city.

Provide sanitary toilets in schools, public places — Save The Children 

Addressing thousands of school children in Shomolu and  Bariga areas of Lagos during an event organised by Save the Children (an NGO committed to welfare of children)  to mark the day, Behaviour Change Programme Manager for Save the Children, Mrs. Amaka Efionu, said to end open defecation and  attain the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, target on sanitation,  government and all stakeholders must come together  to increase functional toilets in the various communities particularly in schools and public places. 

“Toilets play a crucial role in creating a strong economy. Lack of toilet facilities at work and home has severe consequences, including poor health leading to absenteeism, reduced concentration, exhaustion, and decreased productivity,” Efionu explained. She said availability of functional toilets would encourage behavioural change in sanitation and hygiene, noting that Lagos has 570 public toilets serving 21 million people. 

Efionu said in partnership with the Lagos State Government,  the efficacy of the WHO/UNICEFs 7- point plan for the management and control of diarrhoea in children under the age of five, was being put to test. 

“We need functional toilets in the sense that the toilets will not just be a physical facility but one that will meet the needs of the population with water available at every point in time, child- friendly and easy to flush after use.  By making these things available to the citizens of the state, we are saying no to open defecation. In no distant time we will be able to say Shomolu and Bariga are free from open defecation.” 

Representative of the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs, Mr Bello Akeem who spoke on the importance of toilets said: “We are promoting toilets to put a stop to diarrhoea and ultimately stop deaths from diarrhoea. It has been   on record that if we use toilets in the right way, we can prevent incidences of diarrhoea by one third, that is 1 out of 3 chances of contacting diarrhoea would have been prevented.  It is also important to have hand washing facility,” he added. 

Adopt regular handwashing habits — LASG, RB 

At a forum organised by RB West Africa, makers of Harpic, to mark the World Toilet Day 2016, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, urged Lagos residents to adopt regular hand washing habits even as he advocated improved sanitary facilities. 

Ambode, represented by Special Adviser on Environment, Mr. Babatunde Hunpe,  observed that it was a challenge providing adequate amenities such as water and public sanitation in the state due to its large population. He remarked that there were 570 public toilets sited at various locations across the city, but lamented that they were inadequate to meet the needs of the huge population estimated at 22 million. 

Awareness creation 

He said the theme was  appropriate because  awareness creation about the havoc of open defection and urination could minimise the menace as well as create job opportunities.

 In his contribution, the Managing Director, RB West Africa, Mr. Rahul Murgai regretted that Nigeria still ranks 5th in the world among countries where open defecation is a major problem.

 Murgai hinted that as reinforcement by Harpic’s Vision and commitment to arrest the problem of lack of access to sanitation and open defecation, there was ongoing partnership  with the Lagos State Ministry of Environment that led to upgrading of toilet facilities within Apapa LGA in the state, 

On her part, Marketing Manager Harpic, Bamigbaiye-Elatuyi Omotola said Harpic’s toilet hygiene programme    in Nigeria is a scaled initiative across 16 cities and reaches over one million homes annually to educate people about the importance of good toilet hygiene

Kano Disabled Farmers move From Begging to Bagging

A group of Kano farmers with special disabilities.

Traditionally, people with special needs were seen almost same as street beggars. Though different approaches to end street begging have been adopted and implemented, yet the phenomenon seems to have persisted.

However, in recent times, a new approach to tackle the issue was introduced by Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) through Sasakawa Africa Fund for Extension Education (SAFE) where people with special needs were given training in agricultural practices using modern techniques and also assisting them with land, insecticides, farming among other farming inputs.

Sabi’u Halliru, is a 46-year-old man living in Bunkure Local Government Area of Kano State. He said he lost his arm in an accident some years back, and that ever since he has been living under the mercy of his family.

Sabi’u added that with the introduction of SAFE programme, he is now a farmer cultivating rice and soya bean.

“It is no longer an issue of begging to most of us that belong to the farmers group of people with special needs. Our members no longer go out to beg; we are now happy that this programme has seen the potentials in us and it is trying to make us explore them. This year, I harvested 13 bags of rice from my farm which clearly proves that disability isn’t inability,” said Sabi’u.

It was also revealed that such is the case in all the states that run the programme. A visit to some farmer groups of people with special disabilities in Kumo town in Akko Local Government of Gombe State revealed that the farmers with special needs are now fully engaged and those that go out to beg no longer see it appealing.

Waziri Malle of Kumo town is a 48-year-old man, who lost a leg and resorted to begging. He said, however, that with the SAFE intervention, they had formed a farmer group and are presently engaged in full time farmers .

“We are now self-sufficient; we no longer leave our town for the cities to beg.

“With the assistance we received from Sasakawa, we are able to utilize our potentials to be fully engaged on the farm. What we need is more support from the programme in order to expand. It will interest you to know that this year, I have gotten 15 bags of maize and we are very much sure that with more support, we will do more,” said Waziri.

Shedding light on the initiative, SAA Country Director, Professor Sani Miko, stated that, under the programme, the association identified people with special needs and asked them to form social fund groups. He said the SAA then assists these farmers through the groups, by providing training and other farm inputs to them.

Addressing newsmen in Kano during a press conference to mark Sasakawa’s 30th year of existence in Africa held at the Sasakawa head office in Kano, Professor Miko added that the association figured out that people with special needs were excluded in virtually all development programmes on the belief that they were not productive. He added that the intervention has also shown that people with disability have potentials of being productive and that all they needed is a push and motivation.

Daily Trust

Glitz and Glamour @ SSA YouTube Awards 2016

The first ever Sub Saharan Africa YouTube Awards was held in Johannesburg, South Africa last weekend. It was an evening of fun, excitement and glitz as the big names in the YouTube platform were recognised and awarded plaques.

Granted it was held in Johannesburg, so many Nigerians – nominees and guests – added more fun and thrill to the compact event, which also brought together so many Africans across the continent.

Saturday Beats gives you some of the gist of the event.

And Africans unite

Africans have a way of having a united front and at the YouTube Awards, it was not a different story. Though so many people from different parts of the continent converged, it was a period everybody used to talk about their culture and exchange ideas and get to know one another better.

The rain came in torrents

It was supposedly summer time in the city of Johannesburg but at the award night, the heavens opened and the rain poured in torrents. But did it affect the event? No way! Guests had massive fun and never allowed the weather to dampen their mood.

Online personalities are celebs too

Celebrity status is not restricted to onscreen celebs; indeed, if care is not taken, online celebrities will certainly outshine those seen on TV daily. At the YouTube Awards, so many online celebs have come to be known off screen with their huge following. No wonder screams and shouts of excitement rented the auditorium each time a winner was announced.

Jaiye… the keytarist guru

Known as Jaiyekeys, Nigerian-born keytarist, Jaiye, opened the event, showing his expertise on the keyboard. The young man mesmerised the guests who just couldn’t help but get on their feet as he played some oldies with his keyboard.

Tofo Tofo brings Beyonce back

 So many people are in love with Beyonce’s ‘Who Run the World’ video but not many may know that the dancers who performed in that video are Africans.

Known as Tofo Tofo, the young lads from Mozambique brought their unique dance steps to the YouTube awards. They first performed Queen Bea’s song before moving on to other songs. Their dexterity and creativity on the stage made guests give them a standing ovation after their performance.

And Nigerians clinch awards

Nigerians didn’t lose out at the SSA YouTube awards as they came out tops in some of the categories.

Young Emmanuella of the Mark Angel Comedy won the Top Subscribed creator in Nigeria, Channels Television won in the broadcaster category, Ndani TV won in the entertainment category while Ibaka TV won in the Top Subscribed Nollywood channel.

Flavour, Davido lose out

In the music category, once the names of Davido, Flavour and Tanzania’s Diamond Platinum were mentioned, not a few felt either of the above mentioned three would clinch the award because of their popularity. However, it was Yellow Brick Cinema that took the plaque in that category. The group had over one million subscribers and they were even awarded a YouTube Gold Play Button in recognition of that feat.

Timaya never tires

The self acclaimed Egberi Papa 1 of Bayelsa, Timaya, was among the artistes that performed at the event. Timaya is indeed, a performer! The young man got everybody on their feet and so many people danced to his beats. Some dancers used the opportunity to show off their assets as they almost bared their vitals for everybody to see while dancing erotically to Timaya’s songs.(Punch ) 

Focus on agriculture to avert famine, says Oyedepo

The Chancellor, Landmark University, Bishop David Oyedepo, has said that agrarian revolution will avert the impending famine in the country next year as warned by the Federal Government.

He urged universities and other tertiary institutions in the country to lead the agrarian revolution in order to address food insecurity, national economic recession, lack of industrialisation and the high unemployment rate.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, had warned Nigerians to brace for an imminent outbreak of famine by January next year following a huge demand in the global market for Nigeria’s grains and cereals. 

Oyedepo said during the 7th matriculation of Landmark University in Omu-Aran, Kwara State on Friday, “Apart from the security threat facing us in Africa, the greatest threat to the survival of this continent is the worsening food crisis, which has the potential to wipe off the people all together.

“This is why we cannot afford to wait for this closely impending scenario to become a reality. And this is the vision and mission of Landmark University.(Punch) 

Nigerians Advocate The Use Of Local Languages In Education System.

Nigerians have advocated for the adoption of major local languages in the country as official languages for teaching and learning  to ensure proper assimilation of subjects by students.

The participants at a one day seminar on Skills Building, Career Mentoring and Development for students in Government Secondary School in Nigeria agreed that solving language barrier in learning process would go along way to improve standard of education and enhance value orientation.

Mr Obasi Sunday, one of the participants at the seminar organised by the Skills Outside School Foundation in Abuja said in an interview that use of local languages in teaching and learning by countries like China, India, etc facilitated their advancement socially and technologically.

According to him, “If Nigeria continues in the light of what we are doing today we are not going to see the light of the day interms of advancement.”

The Programme Manager of SOS, Bar. Ann Eze, noted that several factors contributed to the poor standard of education in the country.

She maintained that every child in Nigeria is talented, disagreeing with the submission by some quarters that Nigerian graduates are not employable.

Ann, who explained that the workshop was to equip growing up students with requsite knowledge needed to assist them in choosing their long-lasting career, disclosed that the fundation would still give scholarship to disadvantaged bright students (Punch)

Innoson Vehicles presents Military grade Vehicles to Military High Command

Chairman of Innoson Group, Chief Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma OFR has presented the latest version of Innoson IVM G12 designed solely for military operations to the Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen T. Y Buratai.

The Army Headquarters received the vehicles at the Tactical Headquarter of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maimalari Barracks Maiduguri, Borno State.

7 Years Old Burnt Alive Because He Stole Garri!!!

Hehehee!  Seriously this country  called Nigeria is truly a zoo like my roommate will always say.

Just  on Monday a man was shot and brutally killed for some stupid reasons known to them and today,  a 7 Years Old was burnt because he stole Garri. Ah! 

This is just too much,  am short of words and this is something that rarely happen to me.  For Christ sake even if he stole diamond or gold - such death penalty is just too inhumane and unacceptable.

Worst is the very people standing around and watching this evil go on.  Whereas they have done worst and still will do worst. And here is a child out of hunger and frustration - stole Garri and he was killed.

Where there no religious fanatics  among the people there,  where was those that  carry  Bible in the morning to disturb their neighbor's sleep,  where was the early morning mosque goers, where was the upright in heart,  the Mr perfect and Mrs perfect that are quick to judge  others evil, where was the supposed religious Nigerian that parade this country. Hmmmm.  The same God will call on and do all sorts of evil under his shadow will judge us.

Like am wowed.... Ihe n'eme Kwa oooo.

Am afraid of people and how black lives matters indeed.

Tufia Kwa oooo.

Researchers produce bio-gel cooking fuel from moringa plant

Researchers from the Institute of Agricultural Research & Training Ibadan, Oyo State, in collaboration with the Raw Material Research & Development Council, University of Ibadan, have produced bio-gel, a cooking fuel, from Moringa stem.

The process of the production was exhibited on Wednesday at the End-of-project workshop on climate change & fossil fuel reduction and environmental conservation using Moringa Oleifera plant at IAR&T.

The workshop was organised by Lifebuilders organisation, an NGO, in collaboration with IAR&T and Raw Material Research & Development Council, Oyo State.

Speaking at the event, the IAR&T Director, Prof. James Adediran, noted that the bio-gel production was consistent with one of the institute’s objectives of mitigating effects of climate change.

He said the use of Biochar for soil fertility management, botanical for plant protection and planting of improved varieties of crops adapted to Southern ecology received attention in the institute’s programmes.

Adediran said: “All our efforts in these areas contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases.

“Science is now exploring ways out of fossil fuel for an environment-friendly source of energy and all hands must be on deck to make a success.”

The Executive Director of Lifebuilders organisation, Chief Grace Oluwatoye, said it decided to invest in Moringa because of the plant’s numerous micronutrients required for the body.

Oluwatoye said: “For the first time in the history of the world we have been able to generate bio-gel from moringa plant.

“The plant’s potential ought to be explored; so, we call on other researchers to join hands to escalate the breakthrough.

“Through this we can generate a lot of jobs for rural and young people, we have the POP sector, organic fertiliser industry, etc from it; investors, who could use the waste product of the plant should invest in it.

“This will earn Nigeria a lot of money that will save its foreign exchange.”

She emphasised that the organisation was registered for health and sustainable development interventions targeted at young people and rural dwellers.

She said: “Part of our goals is to enhance self-employment among women and out-of-school youths in the non-formal sector including agriculture and other vocations of their choice.”

Earlier, the Project Implementation Committee Chairman, Prof. Lateef Taiwo, said the project was funded by UNDP and commended the NGO for deeming it fit to embark on such a project.

Taiwo said: “This is the end of the first phase of the project, we have put in another proposal to UNDP for the next stage; we are optimistic that they will support us and we will make more progress.”(Punch) 

Immigration intercepts 50 Nigerians travelling illegally to Europe

The National Agency for the Prohibition for Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, rescued 50 persons in the past four days, an official said in Kano.

The Kano Zonal Commander of NAPTIP, Shehu Umar, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Kano on Tuesday that the victims included women and children.

He said that the victims were intercepted by the Nigeria Immigration Service in Katsina on their way to Europe through Niger and Libya.

“There are males and females as well as three minors in the group and they all fall within the ages of three and 45 years,” he said

The zonal commander said that the victims hailed from Abia, Delta, Edo, Enugu, Imo and Kwara states.

Mr. Umar said that the zonal office had rescued a total of 343 victims this year.

He said that the victims comprised 321 females and 122 males.

Mr. Umar said that the victims were discovered due to three main reasons – lack of legal documents, lack of enough fund and use of illegal routes.

He appealed to members of the public to volunteer to the agency, useful information on suspicious people and their movements.

He advised parents to suspect anybody who would promise to take their wards for employment abroad.

He, however, said that traffickers changed tactics as government uncovered their plans.

The zonal command has secured eight convictions this year and is currently investigating eight cases and prosecuting six.(Punch) 

Reps seek life imprisonment for terrorists, sponsors

The House of Representatives moved on Tuesday to prescribe tougher penalties for terrorism, including “a maximum of life imprisonment.”

A person, who facilitates the escape of a suspect held for an act of terrorism also faces a life prison sentence.

Sponsors of terrorism face the penalty of life imprisonment as those who commit the act itself.

Under the new law in view, planning a terror act is punishable even when the act is not committed eventually.

The provisions were contained in two consolidated bills, which passed second reading at the House in Abuja.

They bills were a “A Bill for an Act to Make Provisions for Offences Relating to Terrorism, Prohibit the Financing of Terrorism and Consolidate all Acts Relating to Terrorism and for Related Matters” and “A Bill for an Act to Amen the Terrorism Act 2011 for the Purpose of Applying Stringent Prison Terms for Offences of Terrorism, an Remove the Ambiguities in the Act and for Related Matters.”

The bills were sponsored by Mr. Mohammed Monguno and Mr. Ahmed Kaita.

While the first bill sought to repeal the existing terrorism (prohibition) law and make entirely new provisions for offences, the second bill sought to amend the extant law by strengthening it.

Section 19 of Monguno’s bill states, “A person who knowingly, directly or indirectly (a) aids and abets, (b) induces, instigates, instructs, (c) counsels or procures another person by means to commit an act of terrorism, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to life imprisonment. “

It adds, “Where the offence of terrorism is not committed, to an imprisonment for a term of 20 years.”

The bill defines terrorism broadly to mean any “deliberate” act of “malice”, which may cause harm/damage to a country, its government, economy, national assets, international organisations or result in loss of lives.

Kidnapping and the use of biological or chemical weapons, among others, are classified as terrorism under the bill.

It also includes “interference with or disruption of the supply of water, power or any other fundamental natural resource, the effect of which is to endanger human life.” (Punch) 

$50 up for grabs in Socialmediacreatives.com #BlackFriday contest

$50 Is the cash price up for grabs in the social media creative design contest, organised by Socialmediacreatives.com

Socialmediacreatives.com the new free do it yourself social media creative design website is assisting small businesses to get the most benefit possible from the upcoming black Friday (25th of November 2016) with a contest to promote early creative campaign start and good creative designs for black Friday sales.

Black Friday is a day when most big online businesses make the highest sale on a single day while few small businesses take the advantage.

The main reason why most small businesses don’t make many sales taking advantage of the black Friday is because most small businesses start campaign late and don’t use professional social media designs to engage their audience daily long before black Friday. The late campaign start and poor social media creatives, results in low/ poor brand awareness and visibility ,leading to poor patronage for small businesses ,during the black Friday opportunity.

The total value of transactions on Alibaba’s Singles’ Day shopping festival on November 11, 2015, was estimated at $14.32 billion, big Nigerian e-commerce brands also earned revenue in multiples of what they earn daily.

Speaking of the creative contest, one of the co–founders of Socialmediacreatives.com, Sobowale Temiloluwa, said “We want to create a level playing ground this year for small businesses to compete with the bigger businesses come 2016 black Friday,so we have come up with a creative design contest to reward the best creative designer during this two weeks contest starting from Today. Our winner will be rewarded with a $50 cash price.

Daily customer engagement is key so interested organisations have to create image designs daily using www.socialmediacreatives.com (10 designs, is the minimum required to qualify) over the next 14days (Friday 11th November-Friday 25th )and engage their audience with such over the next weeks.

Contest guidelines

1)create design on socialmediacreative.com
2)Download your free design from www.socialmediacreatives.com
3)Use the #blackfridaycreativecontest and tweet your image design numbering it appropriately by days it (#blackfridaycreativecontest #day1, (#blackfridaycreativecontest #day2…………..,(#blackfridaycreativecontest #day10).
4)Create 10 image designs over the 14 day period and tweet them all to qualify.

Our creative directors will choose the best design using the guidelines below

Qualification and ratings criteria

Every design submitted attracts 10 points and total of 100 points will be used for all contestant, meaning if your designs are not up to 10 your chances of winning is limited as someone with 10 designs has the better chance of winning.

Designs will be rated on these five creative criteria

1 General creativity of your copy (text /content) 2 points
2 Creative positioning/alignment (2points)
3 Use of background and images (2points)
4 Use of fonts, and colours (2points)
5 Over-all blend of creative design (2points)
Total per creative (10points)

The final winner of the $50 price will be announced on Monday 28th November on Twitter @smediacreative.

Only designs done on Socialmediacreatives.com qualify to be used for contest submissions. Designs from other creative platforms will be disqualified.

Join now, start creating ,start engaging your audience take advantage of the black Friday sales and you may also win our best creative designer award.

You may start at any time but note your 10 designs must be tweeted before the end of day 25th November 2016 using the #blackfridaycreativecontest and proper design labels #day1……………………. day 10

JAMB To Reduce 180 Cut-Off Mark

There are strong indications that the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) may approve the reduction of 180 cut-off mark for admission to tertiary institutions.

The Registrar and Chief Executive of JAMB, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, who made the disclosure during the 2nd Technical Committee Meeting for 2016 Admissions to Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria, at the Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri, stated that the decision became imperative as a result of the inability of some of the institutions to implement the cut-off mark.

According to the Registrar, “it was in a meeting of the Board of higher institutions and other Stakeholders that a decision of 180 as the 2016 National cut-off mark was reached”.

He continued that, “however, many Institutions, though part of the decision, have expressed concern on their inability to effect this cut-off mark as they are finding it difficult to fill a reasonable percentage of their quota if the rule is strictly applied as we insist.

“A large number of institutions, particularly the budding ones, have applied for a waiver to enable them admit candidates who in some instances scored below 180 marks. For some, this may sound unreasonable with the largely false impression that a large percentage of those who score above 180 and are qualified for admission cannot find any placement in our institutions.

“I think this cry needs attention, otherwise, some of these institutions whether public or privately-owned may soon begin to wobble or even close shops. This will be counter-productive and even defeat the Government Policy of expansion of access to higher education and manpower development”.

Oloyede therefore added that, “as a Board, we have studied the trend of admissions and have come up with a finding that hardly do the institutions collectively fill their quota annually. Indeed, in some cases, up to 50% of approved quota is wasted particularly by upright institutions which do not circumspect the rule. Unfortunately, a large number of institutions flagrantly disregarded the cut-off and many other policies yet they found a way to eventually regularize the illegal admissions through corrupt process”.

He however noted that the new flexible cut-off will only be applicable to institutions that have exhausted the list of candidates that scored the 180 cut-off mark.

“As a Board, we have collated the requests from the various Senates and Academic Boards and have made your pleas known to appropriate authorities . Just this morning we received a green light on flexible cut-off mark only for institutions which have exhausted the list of candidates with 180 and above, subject , of course to a minimum acceptable to JAMB and meeting of other pre-requisite”, he added.

He however assured that the Board would cooperate with the various institutions in carrying out the mandates of their respective Senates and Academic Boards on admission matters, adding that, “the Board would not impose candidates on them but, as a referee, would ensure that no applicant is unjustifiably denied the opportunity of access to Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria.

“In this respect, together, we should be seen in a conspicuous and proven manner that we have the interest of the nation in mind in carrying out our statutory functions”.

He warned that no institution, whether Federal or State, will be allowed to continue with admission of students after the November 30 deadline. (Today)