Nigerian observer 20 03 2014

THE NIGERIAN

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The Nigerian

THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

PUBLISHED SINCE MAY 29, 1968 • Vol. 38 • NO. 444• THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 20 14 • N 100.00

OPINION Page 21

Health hazards of forcing fruits to ripe

Govt begins land reclamation

BENIN CITY- Edo State Government has taken steps to reclaim and protect all Government Layouts and Boundaries that were encroached across the state.

The Hon. Commissioner for

Lands and Survey, Barr. Osikhena-Boih Donald made this known when he led a team of management and staff of the Ministry to Evboriaria and Etete Government Layouts where Bill Board were

Reward and punishment for man

the State Government for the benefit of Edo people.

Barr. Osikhena-Boih Donald also stressed that any person or group of persons who built on Government layouts where the Bill Boards were mounted should Continues on page 2

Edo earmarks 72 more roads for rehabilitation . Work begins

BENIN CITY - About 72 roads in the Benin City metropolis are soon to get a facelift as the Rapid Response Agency (RRA) yesterday commenced rehabilitation work.

MAN AND NATURE Page 27

mounted at strategic points in Benin City.

The Lands and Survey Commissioner said the exercise which will be a continuous one was aimed at reclaiming and protecting all Government Layouts so that they can be put into proper use by

Speaking at the flag off exercise at the First East Circular Road from the Sapele Road axis where work commenced yesterday, the Managing Director, Engineer Mujaidu Dako assured that rehabilitation work will be completed on schedule within two –

three weeks.

While tasking the contractor of the 1st East Circular Road rehabilitation work on quality delivery and mapping of the broken spots and stretches, Engineer Dako stated that work will be executed on daily

basis until rehabilitation work is completed on the roads.

He however explained that the mandate of the Agency does not cover areas that have serious erosion problems because of heavy funding that it will take to execute such rehabilitation, pointing out that they

require direct government intervention. Roads listed for rehabilitation include, Etete Road GRA, Omoma Street -Oko Central GRA, Gapiona

Street, GRA, Aideyan Street, GRA, Aikhionbare Street, GRA, Reuben Agho Street, GRA, Guobadia Street between Etete & 1st

Ugbor GRA, Water Resources Junction by Adesuwa, GRA, OsaOsawe Street by Limit Road ,GRA, Country Home Motel Road Junction (Agip) GRA. Giwa-Amu Street, GRA, Adesuwa Road, GRA, Ugbor Village Road, GRA, Continues on page 2

... As Ex-soldier sheds tears of joy, salutes Oshiomhole BENIN CITY- A retired Army Captain, yesterday, gave in to his

ALL SET FOR EDO TEACHERS’ ASSESSMENT TEST THIS is to inform teachers in public Primary and Secondary Schools in Edo State that adequate arrangements have been made to ensure a hitch-free assessment test scheduled for Saturday, March 22.

We have received firm assurances from the Teachers Assessment Committee under the leadership of Professor Dennis Agbonlahor that various test batteries to be administered on the teachers are ready.

The exercise will hold simultaneously at three locations across the state: Auchi Polytechnic (Edo North); Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma (Edo Central) and University of Benin (Edo South).

Teachers are to be tested only in their respective area of training.

Also, adequate security arrangement has been made to ensure the exercise holds in a conducive atmosphere devoid of intimidation or molestation.

For the avoidance of doubt, the Edo State Government encourages our teachers to make themselves available for the assessment exercise as failure to do so will deny the government an objective criteria to establish their suitability to remain to teach in our classrooms.

Teachers will be admitted into the halls only on presentation of their biometric slips.

Accreditation starts 8 a.m, please.

Signed: LOUIS ODION Commissioner for Information & Orientation

emotions as he shed tears of joy over the reclamation of the Upper Lawani Road and the adjoining roads in Benin City, Edo State by the government of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

The retired Army Captain, Mr. Isaac Eguavoen who lauded the governor for keeping to his electoral promises gave the commendation during the governor ’s inspection of ongoing projects in Benin metropolis.

Mr. Eguavoen who said he is a landlord in the Upper Lawani area of the state capital, noted that past governments in over twenty years had failed to address the erosion problem in the area. He praised Governor Oshiomhole for restoring the belief Continues on page 2

ROAD REHABILITATION: The Managing Director, Edo State Rapid Response Agency, Engr. Mujaidu Dako (3rd right), Secretary, Mrs. Maureen Eradajaye Igho (1st right), Mr. Sam Eboigbe, Executive Director (2nd right) and Mrs Regina Oviasu, Executive Director (1st left) during flag off exercise of 1st East Circular Road relhabilitation in Benin City yesterday. Photo: OSADEBAMWEN SUNDAY.

Immigration Jobs Tragedy: FG cancels mass . Gives automatic recruitments in MDAs jobs to victims ABUJA - The Federal departments and Government has ordered the cancelation of mass recruitment of job seekers by its ministries,

agencies with the exception of the Nigerian Army and the Nigeria Police Force.

The Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, said this when he

on its high tarrif regime.

The tripartite forum was a follow up to the House directive to the committee to wave into

week.

Members of the committee led by its chairman, Hon. Michael Continues on page 2

Edo Assembly holds the matter contained in the petition and present public hearing the report with one

High Electricity Tarrif:

By KEN ABU BENIN CITY- Edo State House of Assembly Committee on Energy and Water Resources has taken Presentations from officials of Benin

Electricity Distribution Company and members of Civil Society Organizations which petitioned the company

briefed State House correspondents on the outcome of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja yesterday.

He said the meeting, chaired by President Goodluck Jonathan, was devoted entirely to the unfortunate incident.

He noted that the council’s decision Continues on page 2

THE NIGERIAN

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THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

News

Edo earmarks 72 more roads for rehabilitation

Continued from page 1

Others are: Government House & Environs, GRA, Adolor Street, Off Ugbor Road, GRA, Limit Road GRA, Ihinmwinrin Road (St Saviour Road),PZ Junction, By Sapele Road, Ehaekpen Street, Plymouth Road, Zabayo Street, Iwehen Street, Ibiwe/ 1st Ibiwe Street, Evbiemwen Street, I.C.E. Road, Lawani Street, Ogbelaka Street, Aruosa

Street, lgbesanmwan Street, Asoro Street. Esigie Stree Ozolua Street, off 1st East Circular Road, Nekpenekpen Street, James Watt Road, Cooke Road, Lagos Street, Idahosa Street, Ihama, Between Ebenezer School and Airport Road, Also to benefit are: Erediauwa Road, off Ekenwan Road, TV Road.

I.C.E Road, Erhunmunse Road, 2nd East Circular

Road, Artiliary Road, Uzama Street, Wire Road by 5Junction, Nevis Street, Wisdom Street, 1 st East Circular Road, Oza Street.

Lucky Way, Ramat Park, Ikpoba Hill, The rest include: Ogbe Road (Back of Oba Palace), Erie Street, lyobosa Street, New Benin, Medical Stores Road, Textile Mill Road, 1st Federal Road, Constain Road, Osaigbovo Street, Ewah Road, Oviawe Street New

Benin. Holy Cross New Benin, Aburime Street New Benin, . It includes Victory Road New Benin, Efehi Street New Benin, Utomwen Road New Benin, Universal Road, Okhoro Road, Oghobaghase Street, Benin Technical School Road, Jemila Road Ikpoba Hill.

Ozolua Avenue off Ekenwan Road, Eghosa Street, Erhunmwunse Road,

National Assembly (CNA) was being rated below the rank of a Permanent Secretary, whereas he is higher than a Perm. Sec., saying that he is the head of the National Assembly, which is an arm of government.

“When we are talking about National Assembly, we are talking about an arm of government. The post of the CNA is equivalent to the post of the head of the Civil Service of the Federation. He is the head of an arm of government; he is higher than a Perm. Sec.” Etok expressed optimism that the President would not hesitate in assenting to the Bill, which he said that the conference Committee of the House and the Senate would meet to harmonize areas of

differences, and then transmit to President Goodluck Jonathan for assent.

Meanwhile, times await human traffickers in Nigeria as the Senate yesterday passed a bill which provides stiffer penalties for offenders in the country.

Among such penalties intended to stop the illegal trade of human trafficking is a provision which prescribes a minimum seven years jail term for offenders, with a minimum fine option to the tune of N1, 000,000.

The bill was passed after a clause by clause consideration of a report by the Senate Joint Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters; and Women Affairs and Youth Development.

Senate passes NASS Service Commission Bill

By JOSES SEDE

ABUJA - The Senate yesterday passed the National Assembly Service Commission Act 2004 (Repeal and Enactment) Bill 2013, just as it also passed the Trafficking in Persons Prohibition Amendment Bill, with stiffer penalties for offenders.

The National Assembly Service Commission Amendment Bill, which report by the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service was considered clause by clause and passed to third reading, was designed to strengthen the Commission and expand the scope of its functions.

Briefing the Press shortly after the passage of the Bill, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service, Senator Aloysius Etok explained that the fundamental objective of the amendment was to create capacity and enhance professionalism in the National

Assembly as an arm of government.

Etok observed that the Act establishing the Commission concentrated on the Commission alone, without giving serious attention to the development and professionalization of the National Assembly staff, who form the fulcrum upon which the legislative institution operates.

He also pointed out that the Amendment Bill further departmentalized the National Assembly bureaucracy into professional or career directorates to facilitate easy movement of the staff from bottom to top, without struggling to get promoted to the echelons of their directorates by hook or crook.

The politician, who represents Akwa-Ibom North East Senatorial District further stated that the Bill, when signed into law, would make it possible for every segment of the apex legislature to have access to the top.

He regretted that, under the instant Act, the Clerk of the

of the people in government.

Governor Oshiomhole assured the retired Army Captain and the people of the

listed for as built survey should immediately come for regularization or risks the loss of such property.

He also maintained that property that have no verifiable document such as certificate of occupancy and building approvals will be

demolished.

The Hon. Commissioner said the exercise which is to be extended to all Government layouts in Edo State is also to ensure that unsuspecting members of the public are not deceived by land racketeers.

President Jonathan had also ordered the cancellation of the recruitment that led to the tragic incident and approved a committee to be headed by the Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission.

According to him, the committee is to conduct fresh recruitment into the service of the Nigerian Immigration Service in place of the botched attempt.

He said members of the committee include representatives of the State Security Service, the Inspector-General of Police, NSCDC and the Federal Road Safety Corps.

Maku further announced that families of those that lost their loved ones during the incident would be offered

three slots each with one being a woman in the new exercise, while those injured would be given automatic employment.

He assured that the Federal Government would take measures to ensure that such tragedy as witnessed in the immigration service recruitment bid did not repeat itself.

He said the President, who expressed regret alongside members of the Council, would pay condolence visits to all families of the victims of the incident.

The minister further disclosed that the council congratulated the President for the successful inauguration of the National Conference.

announcing that further consultations on ways to arrive at a common ground of interest will hold next week.

Members of the committee also took exception to the explanations given by the company on its fixed charge and estimated billing system

which they noted were exploitative in nature.

Meanwhile, protesters led by groups of Civil Society Organizations in the State yesterday marched around the Benin City metropolis, protesting the high tariff regime and epileptic power supply in the state

... As Ex-soldier sheds tears of joy, salutes Oshiomhole Continued from page 1

Govt begins land reclamation

Continued from page 1

realize that their action amounted to criminal trespass and such illegal trespass will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

He added that persons whose property covered or

FG cancels mass recruitments in MDAs Continued from page 1

followed deliberation on last Saturday’s immigration tragic incident where about 20 job seekers lost their lives. ‘’The President instructed all MDAs henceforth never to embark on any exercise of this nature in recruiting people into public service because what happened could have been avoided all together.

“So, Mr President directed that henceforth no one outside the Army and Police who usually recruit people through physical exercises, no other MDA, no other department of government is allowed to embark on this type of exercise that we witnessed on Saturday.’’

The minister said that

Edo Assembly holds public hearing

Continued from page 1

Ezomo charged the electricity company to be in its billing system while also maintaining profitability in order to remain in business.

The committee told members of the Civil Society group to continue its peaceful non-violent approach,

state that his administration would not relent in its determination to bring development to the people.

The governor who also inspected the 2nd East Circular Road said the road will be dualised and completed with walkways, drainage and streetlights.

Oshiomhole said: “we have come to see for ourselves the state of the road. You saw us trying to take measurements.

Now we are going to work on the road. We are going to dualise it so that it will look like the Airport road.

“We are going to put streetlights and walkways. I assure you that before the first week of April, you will see caterpillars working on the road”, he said.

Oshiomhole who also visited Upper Mission, Ogida Road and Upper Ekewan inspected the ongoing works there.

Oshiomhole said “during the campaigns, I promised that all the roads would be built so that people can drive straight to their homes. Before we do the road, we must do the drainage. The problem of Benin is that if you don’t do drainage calculated to take water to a particular destination the road will not last.

“That is why government is spending a lot of resources to construct the drainage first. The drainage being constructed in Benin has been designed to take into account the volume of water, so that the water will flow all the way to the river.

“By the grace of God, the contractors are doing their best and before the rain, they would have completed as many roads as possible so that you can have real development.

People can drive here easily and the value of properties would increase. I promise you we will continue to do our best”, he said.

2 docked for collecting revenue on highway

By VICTOR OMOALU BENIN CITY- Against the backdrop of the state government’s ban on illegal revenue collection on highways, two persons have been arraigned before a Mobile Revenue Court in Benin City for allegedly collecting illegal levy from unsuspecting motorists.

In the suit ERC/1/2014, Edo State Board of Internal Revenue vs Kelly Iloh, 25 and Arasamwan Archimedis, 40, the prosecutor, ASP Ansty Isabemen said that the accused persons were arrested following a tip off that they (accused persons) mounted a road block along the popular Vegetable Market Road, off Airport Road and collecting what he termed as parking lot levy At about 9.00am on Tuesday, information was received by the board (EIRS) that some persons

mounted road block and were collecting illegal revenue along vegetable market, off Airport Road, Benin City. Hence, I led a team of police officers to the scene where the suspects were arrested with booklets each containing Oredo Local Government parking lot fee, ASP Isabamen had stated.

The offence is contrary to section 2 and punishable under section 3 (b) of the taxes and Levies (Approved list of collection) Act, Cap 12, laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2004.

During cross examination, the 1st defendant pleaded not guilty while the 2 nd defendant pleaded guilty to the charge.

His Lordship Ihenyen (ESQ) how ever sentenced the 2nd accused person to six months imprison or an option of fine of 30,000.

The case was adjourned to Friday March 21, 2014 for further hearing.

Ministry of Information and Orientation, Edo State, Ambassador Femi Okuo has said that without social works, a society cannot develop.

Ambassador Okuo stated this while addressing the Nigeria Association of Social Workers, Edo State chapter, who made a stop over at his office in Benin while on a rally to sensitize people on the importance of social works in the society.

The Acting Permanent Secretary advocated making social work a faculty of its own in the universities adding that no department can accommodate the courses contained in social works.

Ambassador Okuo said that community development, youth services, women and gender studies, child and family welfare, hospital social welfare e.t.c ought to be a department under the faculty of social work. He maintained that since there is a Ministry of Women

Affairs, Youth and Community Development across the country, finding a job will not be a problem when people are trained along that line.

Ambassador Okuo also said that the ministry is partnering with the University of Benin in the area of practical training for students who come from the university for industrial attachment.

While thanking the social workers for finding time to embark on the rally, the stressed that social workers should continue to campaign until social work is given the recognition.

Earlier, the state chairman of the Association, Comrade Christian Oseghale said that they were on a rally to campaign for the indegenalization of social work practice in Nigeria to mark her 2 nd social work month.

Comrade Oseghale further said that social work is a noble job, maintaining that they help the society to be a better place.

Perm Sec underscores need for BENIN CITY - The Acting social works Permanent Secretary,

Electronic media to go digital before general elections - NBC ABUJA - The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has said that Nigeria’s electronic media would be digitalised before the 2015 general elections for proper communication.

Mr Emeka Mba, DirectorGeneral of the commission, said this while on a courtesy call to the Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr Imma Niboro, in Abuja.

He said “by June this year the Nigerian electronics media will meet its digitalisation deadline as it offers incredible communication benefits.”

Mba said that the Nigerian media played a pivotal role in the history of the country, as the 2015 general elections drew closer.

He said that the NBC would ensure that the electronics media met the deadline for the

digitalisation, a move which he said would benefit NAN. The NBC boss said that though digitalisation required a lot of technicalities and challenges, it would have a tremendous improvement on communication across the country.

He added that the digitalisation of the electronics would help the rural communities to appreciate the power of communication.

He said that a pilot work on the digitalisation had begun in Jos which would spread to Kano and Kaduna anytime soon.

He added that it would be a “fantastic learning for the country”.

Mba said that NBC was ready to work with NAN, adding that since the agency now had multi media facilities, it should increase its outfit to television like Reuters.

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News

Maputo Declaration: UN Rates Nigeria High

ABUJA - A UN official on Millennium Campaign, Mr. Hillary Ogbonna, has rated Nigeria high on the implementation of the Maputo Declaration adopted

by African Heads of State in 2003 to boost food security.

Ogbonna, the National Coordinator, United Nations Millennium Campaign (UNMC), said this in an interview with newsmen in Abuja.

He said that Nigeria had done well in other commitments related to the implementation of the declaration.

The national coordinator, however, noted that the country had not met the 10 per cent budgetary allocation commitment aspect of the declaration.

Reports state that the Maputo Declaration contained several important decisions regarding agriculture, made by the African Heads of State at the Second Ordinary Assembly of the African Union in July 2003.

Prominent among the decisions was the commitment to the allocation of at least 10 per cent of national budgetary resources to agriculture and rural development policy implementation within five years.

Ogbonna said: “The thing about implementing the Maputo Declaration is that most people record it based on how much you are putting in the budget for agriculture, but it is wrong.

“They are so many other parts of the Maputo Declaration which talks about programmes for agriculture, supporting the farmers which Nigeria is doing well already.

“But in terms of finance to agriculture, Nigeria has not got there; Nigeria has not gotten there for UNESCO which is 23 per cent and AU target on health financing which is 15 per cent of the national budget,’’ he added.

Ogbonna explained that the commitment of Nigeria to implementing the Maputo Declaration had also contributed to the achievement of the MDGs target one on eradicating extreme poverty.

According to him, Nigeria has achieved the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target one of cutting by half

the number of people with extreme poverty and hunger by 2015.

The official noted that Nigeria had received an award from the Food and Agriculture Organisation in recognition of this achievement.

“What the award means is that there is nobody in Nigeria that is suffering from extreme hunger.’’

He also said that Nigeria was making achievable progress on MDGs target five and six.

The MDGs five seeks to improve maternal health while six is to combat HIV/ AIDs, malaria and other diseases.

“Nigeria is making huge progress to achieve goals five and six but the country has

Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole (right) and his Deputy, Dr. Pius Egberanmwen Odubu at the marriage reception of Prince Osama Erediauwa and his wife Patricia at the Oba palace in Benin City.

Photo: MOSES OBOH.

Police Arrest Man With Explosives

By ELIZABETH AGBOEGBULEM

P ORT HARCOURT The Rivers State Police Command has arrested a 30 year-old man who was in possession of explosives.

The Police said the suspect was arrested in Ndele Town in Emohua Local Government Area of the State at about 2:30pm.

Also, the security outfit said detonators and a cordless wire were recovered from the suspect who gave his name as Aliyu Ibrahim.

Parading the suspect before newsmen in Port Harcourt, the State Police Commissioner, Mr. Tunde Ogunsakin, said the suspect was a member of a kidnap syndicate based in Ogbogoro town in Rivers State.

Ogunsakin explained that Aliyu also confessed to be a member of a bank robbery syndicate operating between Port Harcourt and Akwa Ibom State.

He further said that the suspect had bought the explosives in Port Harcourt

with the aim of taking them to one Alhaji in Yobe State before he was arrested.

Ogunsakin said, “The Rivers State Police Command wishes to inform the general public that in its bid to rid the state of undesirable elements, has nabbed one Ibrahim Aliyu (male, age 30 years) from Ndo village in Agbada Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

“He was arrested in Ndele Town in Emohua LGA of Rivers State on March 17, 2014 at about 2.30pm with a huge quantity of dynamite explosives with their detonator and cordless wire.

“The suspect confessed to be a member of a kidnap syndicate based in Ogbogoro Town and a member of a bank robbery syndicate that operates between Port Harcourt and Akwa Ibom State.

Ogunsakin warned kidnappers and armed robbers in the state to leave the state or be ready to face the wrath of

the law when they are apprehended.

“We have continued to warn

criminal elements to leave the state. If they refuse to leave the state, we will ensure that they face the wrath of the law when they are caught,” the state police boss added.

yet to achieve the targets.

“The number of people who are receiving treatment for HIV has doubled over the last two years and in terms of maternal mortality, it has reduced from almost a thousand in the last 10 years to below now 500.

“In fact, there are some states, that their maternal mortality rate is as low as 50 and 45,’’ he said.

Ogbonna, however, said that Nigeria had adopted MDGs acceleration framework to

speed up achieving goal five.

According to him, MDGs acceleration framework is a tool used to accelerate a particular goal.

“What it means is that we are focusing a lot of money, partnership and energy to achieve the goal. “ The partnership among the Ministry of Health, MDGs Office and UN system (UNDP, WHO, UNICEF) and other agencies have increased to focus on goal five at the national and state levels,’’ he said.

Lagos Assembly Urges NASS To Investigate Immigration Recruitment Tragedy

By SURAJI RAJI

LAGOS – Lagos State House of Assembly has prevailed on the National Assembly to investigate the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) recruitment exercise tragedy.

Moving a motion under Matter of Urgent Public Importance during plenary session, Hon. Lola Akande called for investigation into the immediate and remote causes of the incident which resulted to the death of applicants scheduled for interview by the Nigeria Immigration. Hon Akande also appealed that examination body should be involved when conducting examination in future.

In addition, the Assembly also called for the resignation of the Minister of Interior.

Contributing to the motion, Hon. Ipoola Omisore representing Ifako – Ijaye II remarked, ‘‘The minister of interior must resign, National Assembly must investigate the incident and children who lost their lives and parents must be compensated.’’

In the same vein, Hon. Adefunmilayo Tejusho held Federal government

responsible for the death of the applicants.

She advised the Lagos Assembly to send strongly warded letter to the National Assembly, calling for a thorough investigation.

In his contribution to the debate, Hon. Senai Agunbiade, Chairman, House Committee on Judiciary and Public Petition, lamented that the improper interview for employment led to the death of the youths who are the future leaders.

Agunbiade opined that the PDP wanted to demonstrate that they were recruiting for employment and that was why they gathered the youths.

He blamed the Interior Minister for not having foresight. Also, Hon. Jimoh revealed that the causality was as a result of over crowding.

Nevertheless, Hon. Moshood Osun and Hon. Edet described the incident as a National shame.

At the end of the deliberation, the Assembly presided over by the deputy speaker, Kolawole Taiwo, appealed to the National Assembly to conduct thorough investigation and compensate the victims.

Edo State Deputy Governor, Dr. Pius Egberanmwen Odubu (left) congratulating Prince Osama Erediauwa after Osama’s wedding reception in Benin City. Photo: MOSES OBOH.

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Across The Nation Road Rehabilitation: Council Boss,

By KEHINDE OSAGIEDE

OKADA As the comprehensive grading of roads in Ovia North east Local Government Area enters an advance stage, residents especially farmers in the area have continued to praise the council chairman, Hon. Lucy Omagbon and their councillors for delivering on their electioneering promises.

In most of the wards visited by the monitoring team of the council, comprising supervisors and press crew, the grading of earth roads had reached appreciable level, while in some other areas, work have been completed according to specification.

Most of the councillors concentrated on grading of farm road and others that are in very deplorable state that link communities.

This is in compliance with the council boss directive to give priority attention to such areas that have direct effects on the economic life of the rural communities from where farm produce are transported to the urban centres.

In Ofumwengbe ward which Hon. Nosakhare Ikponmwose represents, work was very much in progress on Iguosagie-Agava Road when the council boss

Councillors Get Kudos visited for inspection.

When the monitoring team visited Utoka ward, work on Iguosodin –Utoko Road had already been completed while remarkable progress had been made on the main Utoka-Ite Road stretching a distance of over three kilometers terminating at Emiaghan camp.

Speaking on the progress made so far, the councillor representing the ward, Hon. Omoruyi Osemwengie said he made extra efforts in addition to that of the council towards grading more roads.

He thanked the council boss for giving the councillors the opportunity to give people in their locality, a greater sense of belonging.

Some community members who expressed delight over the grading work in the area, thanked Hon. Lucy Omagbon and the councillor for remembering the remote parts of the local government area, especially Utoka-Ite and IteEmiaghan Roads.

In Uhen ward, Egbeta farm Road down to Ihengbuda camp was the focus of the councillor of the ward Hon. Matthew Oguntimehin who highlighted the economic benefit of the farm roads to the people.

Some farmers, while expressing delight over the grading of their roads, thanked the council boss and the councillor representing the area for a job well done.

They however appealed to the council boss to sink water borehole in Ihengbuda camp.

Also in Adolor ward, which Hon. Uyimwen Ugigue represents, Ekiadolor Iguedaeken, Ekiadolor-Iwu and Ekiadolor Primary School Roads have been graded satisfactorily including some streets within Ovbiogie town.

Meanwhile, the Odiowere and some residents of Ovbiogie community have commended the local Government Chairman and the councillors for fulfilling their electioneering promises.

By CLIFFORD AGBAJOR

BENIN CITY- Edo State Deputy Governor Rt. Hon. Pius Egberanmwen Odubu has commissioned the official Secretariat of the state chapter of the Association of Community Newspaper Publishers of Nigeria (ACNPN), situated at Urubi Street Benin City.

Dr. Odubu commended the association for being able to acquire a state secretariat, stressing that the secretariat would no doubt serve as a meeting point for the publishers.

He said the publishers could always share ideas at the secretariat towards the development of the state and the country in general.

The deputy governor called on ACNPN members to always portray Oshiomhole’s government objectively in their reportage of government activities.

The association’s chairman, Deacon Ralph Okhiria thanked Dr. Odubu for honouring the invitation to commission the ACNPC secretariat.

Road Rehabilitation

Commuters Commend Council Boss AFUZE - Motorists motorcyclists and commuters plying the Otuo-Ikhin road in Owan East Local Government Area of Edo State have lauded the chairman of the council, Barr (Chief) Jimoh Ijegbai for rehabilitating the road in record time.

Odubu Commissions Community Newspapers Secretariat Deacon Okheria said the secretariat has always been the desire of the association and thanked God for making it possible.

He appreciated the deputy governor’s fatherly role as patron of the association.

The president of Pentecostal fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) Rev. Felix Omobude was represented at

Rt. Hon. Uyi Igbe, Speaker, Edo State House of Assembly, displaying the Rules of the House at plenary recently. Photo: GODWIN ISEGUAN.

the ceremony by the Resident pastor of His Glory New Covenant Gospel Church, Rev. Paul RossImienwanrin.

The road, which a fortnight ago was in a terrible state, is now wearing a new look devoid of the potholes which before now characterized the stretch of the road from Otuo to Ikhin.

Motorists and motorcyclists who were full of praises for the council boss during his inspection of the road, spoke of their harrowing experiences on the road before its rehabilitation.

Mr. Andrew Ijegbai, an indigene of Ikhin, commended the council chairman for rehabilitating the road, which he said has made motoring pleasurable.

Also, Mr. Charles idomu Arowaje of Ikhin said the Ikhin-

Otuo Road was in a very bad state before its rehabilitation by the Ijegbai –led administration.

Mr. Jonathan Edeki, a driver who plies his trade between Ikhin and Otuo said that with the rehabilitation, they now spend between 10 to 15 minutes from Otuo to Ikhin.

While appreciating the council boss for coming to their rescue comrade Bamidele Ohilebo was optimistic that with the rehabilitation of the road, the transport, fare between Ikhin and Otuo will drop from N150 to N100 once the fuel scarcity abates.

Mr. Dipo Oyewole, a produce buyer from Ondo State equally

Co-op President Highlights Gains BENIN CITY- -The Of Co-op Benin City recently by Dr. cooperative model concept members and their family Christopher Iziengbe Ada has been defined as the best form of business concept that impacts positively on its

members.

This was disclosed in

Rt. Hon. Uyi Igbe, Speaker, Edo State House of Assembly (arrowed), in a group photograph with the President and members of the University of Benin Student Union Government shortly after observing the House plenary recently. Photo: GODWIN ISEGUAN.

Okungbowa, President, University of Benin, Faculty of Agriculture, staff Multipurpose cooperative society Dr. Ada-Okungbowa spoke on the occasion of the official commissioning of the N100million cooperative shopping complex in Uwelu, Benin City.

He paid tribute to Prof.

Godwin Osayuki Osodin, the Vice chancellor, University of Benin (UNIBEN) for his proactive response to payments of staff salaries a development, he added made it possible for the cooperative members to pay their subscription as of when due.

The cooperative boss expressed gratitude to the Edo State government for providing the enabling environment for cooperatives to flourish in the state.

lauded the Owan east Council boss stressing that it was a nightmare traveling on the Ikhin –Otuo Road, as it took motorists between 25 minutes-30 minutes for a 15 minutes journey.

Vigilante Boss Appeal For Logistics Support

By JOEL CHUKWUAGHONIM

EWOHIMI - A Vigilante Group Chairman in Ewohimi, Esan South East Local Government Area, Edo State. Mr. Steve Favour has appealed for security logistics to enable the group function optimally.

The chairman said the security men needs security equipment to enable them combat crime in the area.

Speaking with newsmen in his Ewohimi country-home he noted that since the inception of the outfit in Ewohimi the government, and philanthropist have not shown any interest in the outfit.

He therefore appealed for logistics such as vehicle for patrol, uniforms, arms and monthly stipends and other logistics Mr. Steve appealed to the three tiers of the government to approve security logistics to enable the security combat crime in the area.

According to the chairman criminal cases are reported to the police, while civil cases are reported to the elders in the community palace.

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Across The Nation Fayemi Tasks Governors On Security Challenges

Hon. Philip Shaibu, Majority Leader, Edo State House of Assembly (left), receiving Centenary Award from Comrade Osifo Osasere Favour, President Student Union Government (SUG), University of Benin for his contributions on the floor of the House. Photo: GODWIN ISEGUAN.

Non-Remitance Of N34.7m Workers Taxes

LASG Shuts 15 Firms LAGOS- The Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) said it sealed 15 companies in the last two weeks for failing to remit N34.7 million personal income taxes of their workers.

The Head, Distrain Unit, of LIRS, Mrs. Folasade CokerAfolayan, said this in an interview with newsmen in Lagos.

She said that the tax liabilities were for period ranging from one year to three years.

Coker-Afolayan reiterated that tax payment was a civic responsibility of citizens whose

proceeds were being used by government to provide the infrastructure.

“Tax is a major source of government revenue. It enables government to provide infrastructure and improve citizens’ standard of living,” she said.

Coker-Afolayan said that the LIRS would continue to sanction tax defaulters.

She said that some employers of labour were in the habit of deducting workers’ taxes without remitting them to the government.

She promised that LIRS would continue to enforce tax laws to recover funds belonging to the state government.

Coker-Afolayan advised companies to remit taxes promptly to avoid embarrassment, adding that it

was a criminal offence to tamper with government’s seals on sealed companies.

It will recalls that the LIRS sealed 44 companies in the last two months over non-remittance of N460.6 million personal income taxes of their workers.

LAGOS-Governor .

Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State has said that governors would be shirking in their responsibilities if they failed to provide security for their people.

Fayemi said this in Lagos at the third Nigeria Governors‘ Forum (NGF) retreat under the chairmanship of Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers.

He attributed the country‘s security challenges to inequality among the people, the situation e described as alarming.

“I think we owe it a duty to figure out how to address issues of random violence in our country,’’ he said.

Fayemi called for multilevel policing in the country, which should have a framework that defines the jurisdiction of the various levels of government.

He expressed the hope that

Injunction On Obiano’s Inauguration

CJ Was Not Served - Chief Registrar AWKA - The Anambra Judiciary has said that it was not served any court injunction restraining the state chief judge from swearing-in Gov. Willie Obiano and his deputy, Dr

Nkem Okeke.

A statement from the state’s Chief Registrar, Mrs. Nkechinyelu Ezeani, in Awka said that contrary to other opinions, the alleged court injunction was not served on the Chief Judge, Justice Peter Umeadi.

“Knowing the chief judge, he will not evade service of any court process. He would allow access where it is to be served on him personally or received in his chambers in his absence.

“It would certainly come to his notice and he would abide with same,” Ezeani said.

She said the suit in question did not show that injunction was procured against the chief judge of the state.

“The chief judge is a nominal party in the suit. Even at that, he has been bestowed with powers and rights pursuant the Constitution of Nigeria to swear in the governor-elect and deputy governor-elect duly present.

has advised doctors to keep abreast of the ethics of their profession, to avoid litigations.

Aturu, who is also a legal practitioner, gave the advice at a scientific conference entitled: “Medical Ethics and Litigations: The Rights of Doctors and the Patients,’’ in Lagos.

The reports state that the scientific conference was organised by the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba chapter.

Aturu said that it was the duty of medical practitioners to obtain prior consent from their patients for the purpose of diagnosis and treatment.

He said, “No medical treatment can be carried on any patient without his/her consent for the purpose of treatment, research purposes, disclosure of

medical records and teaching.

“Every patient has every right to demand for his/her medical records from the doctor which is why it is an implicit requirement to keep meticulous records of patients.

“If the patient lacks capacity to decide on the kind of treatment he wants, then, the doctor may use his discretion to determine what to do.

“If a doctor is in doubt of how to treat a patient or release a patient’s record, it is advisable to seek legal advice.”

Aturu urged the stakeholders in the country’s health sector to modernise the ethical practises of the nation’s medical profession.

“There is a need for the modernisation of the ethical practises in the country’s medical profession for a sound

the forthcoming national conference would look into the issue of having a multilevel policing in the country.

Fayemi maintained that it was necessary for the conference, due to commence on March 17, to look at such proposal with a view to addressing the country‘s security challenges.

In his speech, former Minister of Police Affairs, Dr Ibrahim Lame, called on the federal government to empower the police force and strengthen the institutional linkages.

Lame also said that effort should be made to formulate and implement social protection programmes that would facilitate the empowerment of vulnerable groups across the country.

He added that the component states and individuals should be given specific roles to play in ensuring security of the country.

The former minister stressed the need for social institutions and their interface to collaborate effectively with security services at the national level.

He also charged traditional authorities to be involved in the fight against corruption.

The reports state that the retreat was the third in the series organised by the forum.

Aturu Urges Doctors To Keep Abreast LAGOS- A Human Rights system,” he said.

Of Ethics healthcare Activist, Mr. Bamidele Aturu, Also, the Chairman, LUTH

Hon. Philip Shaibu, Majority Leader, Edo State House of Assembly pose for photograph with Comrade Osifo Osasere Favour, President Student Union Government (SUG) UNIBEN, shortly after receiving the centenary award. Photo: GODWIN ISEGUAN.

Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), Prof. Chris Bode, advised doctors to keep good records for accountability.

Bode said, “Doctors should keep good records, in order to defend themselves when sued by patients.

“They should also be the agent of change they want to see in the nation’s health sector, and not to allow others to impose unfavourable change.”

In his remark, the President of the association, Dr Omojowolo Olubunmi, advised the doctors to be well informed on the issue of medical litigation.

“The theme was carefully chosen to reflect the changing times, which is characterised by increasing awareness among the populace on the issue of litigations in medical practise,” he added.

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South-West Obasanjo Stresses Need For Infrastructural Development

ABEOKUTAFormer President Olusegun Obasanjo has called for efficient infrastructure development in Africa to create a competitive environment which can support economic activities in the continent.

Obasanjo made the call at the opening ceremony of the 3rd International Conference on Infrastructure Development in Africa in Abeokuta.

The conference was organised by the Bells University of Technology, Ota, in collaboration with the University of Johannesburg and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

The theme of the conference is “Environmental Sustainability, Safety and Health in Infrastructure Development in Africa’’.

“The creation of adequate and efficient infrastructure, particularly in the areas of energy, telecommunications, transport, housing and other civil works to bring about a positive and internationally competitive

environment for economic activities is needed in Africa.

“Without adequate infrastructural base, efforts at socio-economic development, growth and progress will amount to futility and our youths will wallow in unemployment, frustration and premature death,’’ he said.

He, therefore, called for the creation of a platform for infrastructural development which could address Africa’s environmental challenges.

Obasanjo noted that such could be enhanced through research and interaction with experts from developed and developing nations so as to contribute to the existing knowledge in environmental sustainability.

The former president also called for a change in policies and techniques in order to adequately address Africa’s

challenges of human insecurity such as food, power, transportation and health care.

He urged participants at the conference to break new grounds for progress in infrastructure development.

Earlier, Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Prof.

Olusegun Areola, noted that infrastructure was a critical element of the human

10 Die In Road Crash IBADAN- The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has confirmed that 10 persons lost their lives in a motor accident along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The Commander of Olympic Unit of the commission, Mr Tanya Adeoye, who made the confirmation, told newsmen in Ibadan that the dead were burnt beyond recognition.

Adeoye said that four persons survived the crash which involved two trucks and one 18seater Toyota Hiace commercial bus with registration number BDG 767 XB. He said that the bus, which was travelling from Ibadan to Lagos rammed into by a truck while it stopped to allow another truck with registration number SW 175 EPE to pull out of a quarry.

He attributed the accident to speeding and dangerous driving, saying that “the commercial bus immediately went up in flames and the flames later spread to other trucks.’’

He said that the four people who sustained injuries were in the trucks and had been taken to the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan for treatment.

“The victims who were burnt beyond recognition were deposited at the Adeoye State Hospital mortuary,” Adeoye added.

He disclosed that the commission was making efforts to contact the families of the victims through the driver’s manifest which was not burnt.

His Royal Highness Zaiki Barr. Anthony Ehizojie Abumere II, Onojie of Ekpoma (right), and HRH, Udurhie I, Ovie of Mosogar Kingdom during the annual Ihuen festival at Ekpoma, Esan West Local Government Area, Edo State recently.

FRSC Inaugurates “Operation of vehicles of Crash The Crashes” impounding offenders.

ILESHA (OSUN)- The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Zone 11, has in Ilesha inaugurated a week-long special intervention patrol tagged, ‘’Operation Crash the Crashes’’, along IbadanIlesha-Akure expressway.

The Zonal Commanding Officer RS 11, Mr Sambo Kinya, said the campaign was targeted at checking “overspeeding, over-loading, wrong overtaking and making calls while driving”.

The operation is expected to hold between March 17 and March 23.

“It is our duty to ensure that crashes are reduced to the barest minimum along our highways as the FRSC places a high premium on human lives.

“For this special intervention, we will be very particular about enforcement as there will be mobile courts to instantly try and punish recalcitrant motorists.

“For the seven days, we will step up patrols during the day and night at identified dark spots as well as during the

weekends’’ Kinya said.

He said the operation would be carried out with the combination of the regular and special marshals for maximum effect and broad coverage.

Kinya said the patrol would be backed with arrests and

According to him, the FRSC has not stopped its safe road use campaign as the special intervention is meant to further raise awareness and enforcement.

The FRSC will as from July 1 begin enforcement of the new number plate.

environment system.

Areola, Dean, College of Environmental Sciences of the Bells University of Technology, noted that infrastructure had been poorly developed and managed in most African countries.

He said that the development had resulted in the low capacity of most African environments to facilitate or support productive enterprise.

The chairman said the conference was meant to address such continental challenges.

IBADAN - Mrs Lucy Mbanefo, a nurse with the Central Bank of Nigeria, Enugu has urged nurses in the country to embrace digital technology to boost their profession.

Mbanefo made this appeal in Ibadan while delivering a keynote address at the 14th Annual workshop of nurses at the University College Hospital, (UCH) Ibadan.

The workshop with the theme “Transforming Nursing through Technology’’ was organised by the Continuing Education unit of the UCH. Mbanefo said the time has come for a transformation in the nursing profession, adding that digital technology was imperative for a continued global relevance in the nursing profession in Nigeria.

She said digital technology was now being used by every profession and individual because of its adaptability, dexterity and precision.

She advised nurses to embrace e-health in its entirety.

“Tel e-health is generally used as an umbrella term to describe the direct provision of clinical care via telecommunications diagnosing, treating, or following–up on a patient at a distance.

“Tel e-nursing means using telecommunications technology in nursing to improve patient care.

“The nature of nursing practice remains the same although the use of technology changes the delivery medium of nursing care,” she said.

Earlier, Prof. Temitope Alonge, Chief Medical Director, UCH, Ibadan , said that the theme of the workshop was appropriate, adding that it was long overdue.

He said nurses must be IT compliant in other to have the knowledge of the electronic devices used to provide health care delivery.

Alonge added that management would do everything possible to assist the nurses in ensuring that they become IT compliant in their profession.

In her address of welcome, Mrs Oyebola Oaswuwa, Head Clinical Nursing, UCH, said the theme was relevant to the current disposition in health care and society.

“The theme was also chosen to key into the vision of the Chief Medical Director of UCH, with regards to his computerisation efforts in the hospital,’’ she said.

Expert Urges Nurses To Embrace Digital Technology

Left: Hon. Commissioner for Lands and Survey, Barr. Osikhena Boih Donald watch with keen interest as staff of the Ministry mounted bill board on Government layout in Benin City.

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Lagos

Medview Airline Not Grounded -Spokesman LAGOS-The Public Relations Officer of MedView Airlines, Mr Obuke Oyibotha, said the operations of the airline had not been grounded because of an “air-return” incident involving one of the airline’s planes on March 15.

Oyibotha told newsmen in Lagos that the airline’s

operations were not grounded by the aviation authorities as reported in the social media.

“Our operations have not been grounded by any of the nation’s aviation authorities as being speculated by some people using the social media.

“We want to appeal to the general public and our

customers to disregard the misleading information,’’ Oyibotha said.

He said that safety was the hallmark of the airline.

The spokesman said that the air return on March 15 was a precautionary measure by the airline in line with international best practices.

He noted that he incident did not disrupt the airline’s flight schedule.

Oyibotha said the aircraft involved in the incident had since March 16 undergone mandatory test flights, ordered

by Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and had been certified to re-enter

Don Ofure Osehobo, President, Esan Journalists Association of Nigeria presenting Exemplary Esan Citizens Award to Mr. Serguis Ossasochie Ogun recently in Benin City.

service.

He said that the airline received a clean bill of health for its aircraft after a test the flight conducted NCAA inspectors.

“NCAA conducted a-30 minute test flight with the aircraft to Ibadan and back to Lagos with the inspectors on board.

“On arrival, the inspectors okayed the aircraft to re-enter into service; they found nothing wrong with the aircraft.

“Their findings are that what

Trader Docked For Defiling 7-Yr-old Girl

LAGOS- A 20-year-old man, John Peter, charged with assaulting and defiling a seven-year-old girl, appeared in an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos.

Peter, a trader, who resides at 16, Kushimo St., Ikotun, Lagos, was alleged to have defiled the minor at about 2 p.m. on February 15, 2014, in his apartment.

The parents of the girl were neighbours in the same building.

Odigie said that the victim’s mother was asleep when the

Judges Seminar Stalls Ikuforiji’s Trial

LAGOS-The trial of Mr Adeyemi Ikuforiji, Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, was stalled at a Federal High Court Lagos, due to a seminar for judges.

Ikuforiji is standing trial alongside his personal assistant, Oyebode Atoyebi, on an amended 54-count charge of money laundering.

The suit, which was fixed for continuation of hearing, could not go on as earlier scheduled, due to a judges’ seminar organised by the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).

When the case was called, the prosecutor, Chief Godwin Obla (SAN), said that he was aware of the AMCOM seminar, which necessitated an adjournment.

Defence Counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), also consented to an adjournment and urged the prosecutor to produce his remaining witnesses in court on the next date, to ensure speedy trial.

“I do not know how many witnesses my learned friend has left, but if he will produce them in court on the next date, we will not mind being the

tenants of the court,” Olanipekun said.

Justice Ibrahim Buba, in a short ruling, adjourned the case till Tuesday, March 18, for continuation of hearing.

Buba said that hearing in the case would begin at 9.00a.m. and urged the prosecution to produce its witnesses, so as to make remarkable progress in the case.

The reports state that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had re-arraigned the accused on June 24, 2013, on the amended charge.

They had however, pleaded not guilty to the charge, and were granted bail in the sum of one billion naira each, with two sureties, each in the sum of N500 million.

On November 21, 2013, the prosecution opened its case by calling on its first witness, Mr Adebayo Adedeji, an investigating police officer.

He had testified on how Ikuforiji approved various sums of money from the house.

In the charge, it was alleged that the duo conspired between April 2010 and July 2011, to commit an illegal act

A cross section of Esan Chiefs at the Annual Ihuen Festival at Ekpoma, Esan West Local Government Area recently. Photo: LUCKY AGIE.

was mistaken for smoke that triggered the fire alarm could have been thick fog from the aircraft cooling system.’’

He commended the management of NCAA for timely action in conducting the check on the aircraft and releasing it for normal operations.

Reports state that an Abujabound plane from Lagos made an air return minutes after takeoff when a passenger raised alarm of noticing smoke but the alarm turned out to be false.

of accepting cash payments amounting to N273 million from the LAHA without going through a financial institution.

It was also alleged that Ikuforiji used his position to misappropriate about N500 million of the LAHA’s funds.

The offences are said to contravene the provisions of Section 18(a) of the Money Laundering (prohibition) Act 2011.

accused called the victim to his room.

He said that when the woman woke up and did not see her daughter, she went outside and saw the girl’s slippers in front of Peter’s room.

“The victim’s mother told the accused to open his door.

He opened the door and pushed the victim out of his room,” he said.

According to the prosecutor, the victim alleged that the accused had, on two previous occasions, inserted his fingers into her private part without the knowledge of her mother.

He said that the offences contravened Sections 135 and 261 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge and the Chief Magistrate, Miss S.O Solebo, granted him bail in the sum of N50,000, with two sureties in like sum.

Solebo adjourned the case to April 1 for continuation.

Italy Eases Visa Issuance For Nigerians

LAGOS- The new Italian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Fulvio Rustico, has said that the government of his country had decided to ease visa processing and issuance for Nigerians.

Rustico told newsmen in Lagos that the decision was aimed at promoting stronger relations between both countries.

“As we all know, Italy’s visa system is in line with other countries’ visas requirements.

“But, we are seriously working hard at making sure that visa processing and issuance for Nigerians becomes easier and much faster.

“We have realised that more and more Nigerians want to come into Italy. We do not want to see visas as something that should stop Nigerians from visiting Italy,’’ he said.

The envoy said that his

government would continue to welcome more Nigerians due to both countries’ long-lasting relations.

According to Rustico, there is already a growing population of Nigerians in Italy, just as there are also many Italian investors and entrepreneurs in Nigeria.

“We believe that Nigerians are the Italians of Africa, just as Italians are the Nigerians of Europe.

“That is one reason we will be working within 10 days period to make visas available to more Nigerians,’’ he said.

The Italian envoy said that he was sent to Nigeria by his government to create favourable opportunities for Nigerians.

He expressed his government’s commitment to promoting mutual relationship with Nigeria in the years ahead.

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Across The Nation Voter’s Education

INEC Solicits Stakeholders’ Support

Edo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Foluso Adebanjo cutting the tape to formally commission a new Police Post located in Oko-Ogba Community. Photo: SOLOMON ENAIGBE.

YOLA The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has solicited the support of stakeholders to ensure effective voter education ahead of preparations for the 2015 general elections.

Mr Kasim Gaidam, the Adamawa Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), made the call in an interview with newsmen in Yola.

“Voter education is very important because majority of the people,

2015: Court Strikes Out Suit Challenging KADUNA- The Federal High Court in Kaduna has struck out a suit challenging the eligibility of President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the 2015 general election.

The suit, instituted by Shuaibu Lili and one other, had sought a declaration barring the president from contesting the 2015 presidential election.

Counsel to the plaintiffs, Mohammed Ibrahim, had argued that Jonathan having been sworn twice into office as president has no constitutional right to contest for the post again.

He cited Sections 145, 142 and 146 of the Constitution which limits the tenure of the president and governors to a

Jonathan’s Eligibility

maximum of eight years.

The plaintiffs had also sought for an order to restrain the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), joined as defendant, from fielding Jonathan as its presidential candidate in 2015.

In her ruling Justice Evlyn Enya-Dike, said the plaintiffs had failed to convince the court in all the prayers they sought, and struck out the case.

She said that Jonathan was yet to obtain or declared formally his intention to contest, adding that the suit was “at best hypothetical, preemptive, speculative and

mere conjunctures’’.

Enya-Dike also said that Section 308 of the Constitution insulated the President from civil and criminal actions until he vacates office, adding that the plaintiffs also lacked locusstandi to institute the case.

SUBEB Warns Head Teachers Against Imposition Of Levies

LAFIA- The Nasarawa State Universal Basic Education Board (NASUBEB) has warned head teachers against the imposition of levies of any kind on pupils in public primary schools.

The Chairman of the Board, Mr. Abdulkareem Mohammed,

Nigerians Consume N1bn Worth Of Rice Daily - Association SOKOTO (SOKOTO STATE)- The Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria ( RIFAN) has said that Nigerians consumed N1 billion worth of rice daily.

The National Vice President of the association (North West), Alhaji Aminu Taloka, told newsmen in Sokoto that the figure excluded smuggled and locally-produced rice.

Taloka said the Federal Government’s plan to ban rice importation in 2015 was a welcome development by local rice producers.

“By the time it is implemented in 2015, Nigeria will be saving more than N365 billion annually,” he said.

According to him, the ban

will encourage the local production of the commodity, put additional food on the tables of Nigerians and curb poverty and unemployment.

“Nigeria has been blessed with abundant fertile land which can be used to produce rice in three cropping seasons a year,” he said.

Taloka also said that Nigeria was capable of feeding the entire West African sub-region with enough rice yearly.

“In Sokoto State alone, there are more than 425,000 hectares and each hectare can give 100 bags of paddy rice per three cropping seasons a year,” he announced.

He commended the Federal Government for sustaining its

“The plaintiffs,’’ she said, “had failed to show that they would suffer any special damage more than any member of the public if the president contests in 2015.’’

The judge, however, did not make any declaration on whether the suit was an abuse

of court process.

Enya-Dike, however, dismissed the case without any cost.

Reacting to the judgement, counsels to Jonathan and PDP, Mr. Nnamdi Ekwem, expressed satisfaction with the court’s decision.

On his part, Ibrahim said they would appeal the ruling, contending that there were many flaws in the judgment.

especially those living in rural areas are ignorant of election processes such as voter registration and right to vote, among others.

“It is the Commission’s mandate to ensure credible and successful election come 2015.

“Therefore, the Commission is hereby calling on all stakeholders concerned to collaborate with it on voter education sensitisation,’’ he said.

Gaidam said that effective voter education would ensure the conduct of credible and fair election, adding that the Commission was making contact with relevant local groups in villages.

He said the aim was to sensitise grassroots communities on the activities of the Commission, and educate them on how to behave during elections.

Growth Enhancement Support Scheme.

“More genuine farmers and their leaders should be involved in the scheme, while the inputs being provided under it should be increased.

“The three tiers of government should also ensure increased access of farmers to agricultural loans and inputs,” Taloka said.

Alhaji Murtala Gagado, the Chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria in the state, cautioned against the politicisation of the disbursement of loans to the farmers.

“The farmers should be able to access loan facilities and without regards to any political affinity,” Gagado said.

gave the warning in an interview with newsmen in Lafia.

He said that the Board would not tolerate any attempt to undermine the state’s free education policy at the primary school level.

“Any such attempt to impose levies on school children will undermine the policy on free

education,” he said.

Mohammed said that the introduction of free education at primary school level was to reduce the hardship faced by parents in the education of their children.

“No head teacher is allowed to collect money from pupils in all public primary schools in the

state except for the common entrance examination fees,” he said.

He advised parents to report any illegal collection or imposition of fees on pupils for necessary action.

Mohammed, therefore, warned head teachers to desist from such acts or be ready to face the wrath of the law, saying the Board would not hesitate to punish anyone found culpable.

Children fetching water in Kwaja a border village with Cameroon, in Mubi South Local Government Area of Adamawa State recently.

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Abuja Focus On Developmental Issues, CNPP Urges Delegates To National Conference in the Niger Delta and the disparity in the level of education between the North and South.

He warned some delegates contemplating to raise the issue of disintegrating Nigeria saying, “how can Nigeria disintegrate when the country has existed for a hundred years”.

Musa advised government to ensure that the resolution of the NEMA Deploys Ambulances To conference is determined National Conference Venue by the three tiers of Plan for Nigeria (NCP) government.

ABUJA- The National

ABUJA-The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), has urged delegates to the National Conference to focus on developmental issues and not those that could disintegrate the country.

The National Chairman of CNPP, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, gave the advice in an interview with newsmen in Abuja.

He also called on the delegates to dwell more on

Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said it had deployed emergency ambulances to the venue of the National Conference in Abuja.

Mallam Sani Datti, Senior Information Officer of the agency, told newsmen in Abuja that the National Contingency

Fraud Sickness Stalls Accused’s Trial

ABUJA- The trial of a businesswoman, Ngozi Ibeka, on 14 counts charge of fraud and breach of trust, was stalled by the accused’s ill health.

Consequently, Justice Valentine Ashi adjourned the case to June 9.

It will be recalled that the EFCC, on Feb. 13, alleged that Ibeka, Managing Director of Em-Lette Nigeria Limited, received several supplies of rice from Stallion Nigeria Limited and issued 14 different cheques in payment.

The EFCC alleged that the cheques were dishonoured by the bank due to insufficient funds in her account Ashi said: “The adjournment is necessary because it is obvious that the accused was not fit to stand trial.

“I have observed that the accused person took sick, I also agreed with the learned counsel who applied for adjournment to enable the accused person to recover.

“I therefore adjourn the matter because the accused person is not in any condition to speak.”

Earlier, Mr Chuka Udemezue, counsel to the accused, urged the court for an adjournment.

Udemezue also told the court to consider the medical report from the Wuse General Hospital which was before it.

According to the counsel, the accused person recently lost her husband, adding that there was a document before the court attesting to that.

The counsel said the accused was suffering from lung infection.

The EFCC counsel, Mr Andrew Akoja, did not oppose the application for adjournment.

how to reduce corruption and “criminal waste of resources”.

“The level of poverty and hunger, insecurity, unemployment and low quality of education and the economic growth in Nigeria should also form part of the agenda of the conference”, he advised.

Musa also drew the attention of delegates to regional issues including environmental degradation

instituted by NEMA would attend to any emergency at the conference.

He said the plan was drawn from stakeholders in disaster management.

Datti listed the stakeholders to include the Federal Fire Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Nigeria Red Cross Society, Federal Road Safety Commission, the police and other security agencies.

According to Datti, the contingency plan was developed by NEMA to enable it to respond promptly and effectively to disasters.

He said the plan was to enable NEMA to respond to disasters through a standard guideline for minimum response.

He explained that the NCP was established with programme objectives, approaches and procedures to respond to situations that might occur.

Members of the Cuban delegation to a Bilateral meeting with Nigeria in Abuja recently.

2015 Elections:

ABUJA- The Northern Elders Forum has urged participants at the National Conference to vote for the use of electronic voting in the general elections in 2015.

The Deputy Chairman of the forum, Dr Paul Unongo, made the call at a news conference in Abuja on Sunday.

“We want a thorough debate on electoral process so that we can make amendment that will accommodate electronic voting to protect the votes of the Nigerian people during elections.

“The yearnings and aspirations of the people must be protected through credible and transparent electoral process to prevent massive rigging and irregularities during elections’’, Unongo said.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb Aminu Wali (right) and his Cuban counterpart, Mr. Bruno Rodriguez, at a Bilateral meeting in Abuja recently.

Forum Advocates Electronic Voting

He contended that nothing should stop Nigeria from using electronic voting if India, with about 1.6 billion people, could use digital electronic machine to conduct election in one day.

The deputy chairman suggested that all elections

in Nigeria should be conducted in one day and should be electronically determined to enhance the integrity of the electoral commission.

Unongo said, “we have been agitating for electronic voting since

1994 to rid Nigeria of electoral malpractice.’’

He expressed optimism that electronic mode of voting would go a long way to address the problem of elections in the country.

He said participants should be allowed to discuss every issue of

interest for national cohesion, insisting that there should be no go areas.

Unongo appealed to the Federal Government to be proactive in the fight against insurgency and corruption.

He renewed the call for granting amnesty to the members of Boko Haram.

Man Jailed For Attempting To Rape Minor

ABUJA- An Abuja Magistrates’ Court has sentenced a truck-pusher, Onyekachi Okwonkwo, 18, to three months in prison for attempting to rape a minor.

Okwonkwo of Jabi Upstairs, Abuja was arraigned on a count charge of attempt to commit indecent assault.

The Magistrate, Mr Musa Jobbo, sentenced Okwonkwo with an option to pay N2,000 fine following his plea of

guilt.

“The punishment is to make you change your lifestyle from that of crime to being a good citizen,’’ the magistrate said.

The convict in his plea for leniency said: I had an urge and could not control myself.

Please I am begging for forgiveness, I am an orphan’’.

Earlier the Prosecutor, Cpl. Buba Irimiya, told the court that the convict had

threatened to rape the little girl.

Irimiya said that one Salama Audu of Jabi Upstairs reported the matter at the Utako Police Station on March 5.

After the convict’s guilty plea, the prosecutor prayed the court to summarily sentence him under Section 157 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The section states that “if an accused admits that he has

committed the offence of which he is accused, his admission shall be recorded.”

It adds that this must “be nearly as possible, in the words used by the accused and if he shows no sufficient cause why he should not be convicted, the court may convict him accordingly.’’

Irimiya said that the offence contravened the provisions of Section 285 of the Penal Code.

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Business + Economy PTDF To Complete Oloibiri Museum Project

ABUJA-The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has assured the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) of its commitment to complete the proposed Oloibiri Oil and Gas Museum.

This is contained in a statement issued by Mr Kalu Otisi, Head, Press and External Relations Unit, PTDF in Abuja.

The statement said that PTDF Executive Secretary, Dr Oluwole

Oluleye, made this known when he received the NTDC DirectorGeneral, Mrs Sally Mbanefo.

“This is not only to harness the history of oil exploration in Nigeria but also to serve as a viable tourist attraction for the country,” it stated.

It stressed that PTDF had commenced the process of establishing a National Research Centre and oil and gas Museum in Oloibiri, Bayelsa.

The centre, according to the

Sokoto Trade Fair Showcases Investment Potentials SOKOTO- The third Sokoto trade fair is to showcase the country’s vast natural resources to the outside world, an official has said.

The Permanent Secretary in the state’s ministry of commerce, industry and tourism, Alhaji Garba SarkinKudu, told newsmen in Sokoto that the fair will end on March 26.

Sarkin-Kudu, who was commenting on the preparations for the fair holding at the Sokoto

Trade Fair Complex, said it was jointly organised by the state government and the Sokoto Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture.

“It is expected to boost local production, trade, commerce and also attract more foreign direct investment into the country,’’ Sarkin-Kudu said.

He said that local, national and international participants had indicted their willingness to attend the fair.

ABUJA - The Oil firms in Nigeria, especially the International Oil Companies (IOCs), may continue to flare the nation’s gas resources beyond 2015, Prof Yinka Omoreghe, an energy expert, has said.

Prof Yinka Omoreghe, a law professor and an energy economist at the Nigerian Institute of Advance Legal Studies, said this in an interview with newsmen in Abuja Omoreghe, a fellow of the Nigerian Association of Energy Economics, said the 2015 deadline to end gas flaring might not be feasible, attributing this to lack of political will and other factors.

The don said that although the Federal Government tried to end natural gas flaring over the years, the flare out deadline had been repeatedly postponed.

She said that the continued flaring of gas in the country, amidst gas supply shortfall in the domestic market, constituted not only an environmental disaster, but also economic tragedy.

Omoreghe stressed the need for a legal framework and the political will to stop massive flaring of natural gas in the country.

“Why are we the only country that has refused to tackle gas flaring; from what I see, stoppage of the gas flaring in 2015 may not be feasible.

“However, where there is a will, there is a way. Once we put in the infrastructure for gas utilisation, we will be able to stop the flaring.

“Once we are really determined, we will admit to the

need to stop gas flaring; we will shut production in areas where it cannot be utilised and cannot be re-injected,” she said.

Omoreghe said the problem was not that of the international oil companies, “but ours as a country”.

“It is not an IOC problem, it is our own problem. “ It is the lack of political will combined with other factors because there is no reason why other countries were able to reduce gas flaring and we cannot,’’ she said.

Omoreghe, who also called on the National Assembly to expedite action on the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), said its passage could be linked to ending the gas flaring.

According to her, the passage will stimulate activities in gas projects and infrastructure.

statement, will serve as a repository of knowledge and artifacts on the early history of oil exploration in Nigeria.

It added that it would also illuminate the essence of petroleum science education and related environmental issues, including oil and gas research.

“It’s a dream that if finally realised, the museum will be the first of its kind to harness the early history of oil exploration in the country.

“It will serve as an archive where samples of research

outputs will be laid for references.

“This is in addition to its becoming a tourist attraction for people from all walks of life, and especially those interested in oil and gas explorations,” it stated It affirmed the fund’s determination to complete the project as part of its interventionist policy to develop oil and gas-related infrastructures across the country.

“We are building a research museum and conference centre

at Oloibiri in Bayelsa.

“Oloibiri itself should have been a tourism centre a long time ago, considering its significance of being where oil was found in commercial quantity.’’

It pointed out that the country had benefited from oil proceeds over a long period of time and it is therefore a worthwhile venture to develop a centre in Oloibiri to celebrate the early history of its existence in the country.

“We have all been enjoying the proceeds of Oloibiri. The oil actually gave us a quantum leap

Gas Flaring May Continue Beyond 2015

Cross section of Bauchi State Civil Servants waiting to withdraw their February Salary from automated teller machines on Bank Road in Bauchi recently.

in terms of finances and we are committed to developing that project.”

It assured the corporation that PTDF would collaborate and partner with all agencies in the realisation of the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan.

“I believe that we can strike some form of relationship, especially with what we intend to do at Oloibiri, I think that will become a basis for our future cooperation.”

It also quoted the directorgeneral of NTDC as saying that the visit to PTDF was to explore areas of collaboration with the fund.

It described PTDF as one of the critical oil and gas-related agencies of government that the corporation could partner with to promote tourism development in Nigeria.

“PTDF is actually the most important stakeholders that we have and that is why we chose to come here.

“We know that of all the oil and gas agencies, yours is the most dynamic of them all and we believe strongly that we will find a good partner in you.

“What we are doing essentially is to identify who our tourism stakeholders are, we believe that tourism touches every aspect of life.

“It’s not something that NTDC can take personal ownership of, it’s the work of every Nigerian and at the end of the day everything is a value chain,” it stated.

Customs Advocate Proper Packaging Of Exports

ONITSHA (ANAMBRA)The Nigeria Customs Service said Nigerian businessmen and women’s diligence in packaging raw materials and finished products to meet international standards would expand the country’s economic base.

The Assistant ComptrollerGeneral of Customs in-charge of Zone C, Mr Dan Ugo, told newsmen in Onitsha that the Customs had a porter to explain exportation procedures.

According to him, there are six practical steps on these procedures contained in the

porter known as the new Nigeria Trade Hub and that the website address is: www.nigeriatradehub.gov.ng.

“We should export our things so that we create more employment, bring in more money to the government and give us higher visibility.

“And that is why when we are talking about the export procedure, we showed the export procedure; what it takes to export.

“If you need to export to any country, you see from the system you click it, it would tell you the rate of the duty abroad,

Women standing in front of their burnt houses in Koreri, near Giwa Barracks, Maiduguri on Tuesday, after last Friday’s attempted insurgents’ attack on the barracks in which many of the insurgents were killed and some civilian houses destroyed.

how much you need to pay, where to sell it.

“Everything is in the porter that we just developed, which we call the Trade Hub. “So with the Nigeria Trade Hub, you just hold your phone or your system and you can find out everything about export of Nigerian products and how much you need to pay there and

all of that,’’ he said.

Ugo noted that exportoriented business drive would create more jobs as well as tackle youth restiveness in the South-East and South-South zones.

The customs boss noted that all customs offices throughout the country were interested in seeing Nigerians coming forward for export businesses and enquiries.

Management Of Oil Spills

PTDF To Train NOSDRA ABUJA- The Petroleum Staff Technology Development Fund will provide specialised training for staff of the National Oil Spills, Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) for better management of oil spills.

This is contained in a press statement issued by Mr. Kalu Otisi, Head Press and External Relations Unit, PTDF, in Abuja.

The statement said the PTDF Executive Secretary, Dr Oluwole Oluleye, made this known when he received the NOSRA Director-General Mr Peter Edabor, in Abuja.

Oluleye noted that the PTDF had trained many Environmental scientists at Masters and Doctorate degrees under the overseas scholarship scheme.

He promised to extend the training to the staff of the agency that were already on the job.

“Our job is building competencies and capabilities in the oil and gas industry and we are prepared to offer short term training for key staff of NOSDRA,’’ he said.

The executive director challenged NOSDRA to also direct its work to contain the effects of pipeline vandalism and the use of poor construction materials in building petroleum storage facilities.

According to him, this always results in contamination of the food chain due to the release of heavy metals and carcinogens into the ecosystem.

Edabor, NOSDRA director general, said that the visit was in continuation of the agency’s strategic effort at seeking collaboration with relevant government agencies.

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THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014 THE menace of unemployment and its negative impact on the socio-economic development of Nigeria played out on Saturday, when 18 job seekers died at the recruitment exercise of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) which held nationwide.

THE need for gainful employment of citizens in any society cannot be over emphasised, as it provides the key to a chain of other stabilising socio economic as well as political activities in any given society.

MANY a country or society with employment problems have had their social, political and economic structures dislocated as the scourge of unemployment has a spiraling effect on all other sectors of the economy.

This among other reasons explains why countries of the world, make frantic efforts to ensure that unemployment as a problem, is tackled headlong so as to keep it in check DIFFERENT countries of the world, adopt various means of checking the scourge especially youth unemployment The advanced democracies for example, have some cushioning measures like welfare scheme in which the unemployed are given some stipends to keep body and soul together before they are finally fixed up with jobs.

COUPLED with this scheme, are also Employment Agencies which serve dual purposes of acting as data bank and “middle men” for the employers as well as jobs seekers; providing useful information for employers of labour as to the availability of qualified applicants who register with them with details of their curriculum vitae, and to the applicants, who are well fed with vital information of available jobs with details about such job specification, qualification required, remuneration and all other such information as may be required.

HERE in Nigeria, spirited efforts have been made over the years to also address the issue of unemployment, especially among youths who have created social, economic and

THE NIGERIAN

Unemployment And That Immigration Recruitment Tragedy political problems for governments at all levels.

IT will be recalled that as a way of redirecting the attention of unemployed Nigerian youths, the then military government of Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo floated a youth employment scheme which it tagged. “Operation Feed the Nation’ (OFN), the aim of which was to have our youths go back to the land and farm for the benefit of all.

PHILOSOPHICALLY, the scheme was to serve the dual purpose of directing the energies of the teeming unemployed youths into productive venture and also to reduce the army of the unemployed even as Nigerians were to have abundant food to eat.

REALISING the unending scourge of unemployment, the then Alhaji Shehu Shagari’s administration also made effort to contain it by floating the ‘Green Revolution” programme to achieve a zero unemployment status.

AFTER these, the then IBB administration created a body called the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) to try and collate and coordinate the task of registering and giving employment to the unemployed. The OBJ’s second coming, saw the creation of the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP), all aimed at tackling unemployment. IT is imperative to note at this point that all these strategies have not been effective due mainly to policy summersaults and inconsistencies on the part of every succeeding government.

THIS is where the recent tragedy recorded at the recruitmjent exercise of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) wherein 18 job

seekers died from stampede, calls for serious concern.

OVER 500,000 job seekers nationwide trooped out for the recruitment exercise for vacancies available for only 4,556. The stampede that characterised the exercise was not only due to the logistic problem, but essentially because of the huge unemployment bug.

TO effectively tackle the menace of unemployment in the country there is the need to conduct a survey on job creation in Nigeria.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) needs to create a data base on the true state of unemployment in terms of both the skilled and unskilled.

BESIDES, we need to constantly Improve on available information and data on the Nation’s labour market through appropriate statistical methodology for tracking variability in the number of jobs created or lost every quarter.

This is where the readiness of NBS to conduct such a survey is heart-warming.

SINCE accurate, timely and reliable data are major pre-requisites for strategic planning and development, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and National Planning Commission (NPC) should collaborate to boost job creation in the country.

ALSO worthy of mention is the federal government’s resolve to develop people without skills to make them employable, through the establishment of Skills Acquisition Centres nation-wide. This is in tandem with Edo State’s maintenance of its already established Skills Acquisition Centres wherein the unemployed and other victims of human trafficking have been getting rehabilitation over the years.

TO avert a re-occurence of the Immigration recruitment saga, the federal government must begin to seriously consider a hamonisation of its policies with a view to making unemployment less crushing in Nigeria.

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For The Record National Conference

Disrespect Of Traditional African Religion

• Being full text of a press release by Her Royal Majesty, Obi Martha Dunkwu, Omu Anioma, Delta State on the ongoing National Confab.

THE quantum and unprecedented DISRESPECT of the RELIGION of our Forefathers, who God Almighty gave this land called Nigeria even before 1914 when the colonialist joined Northern and Southern Nigeria is alarming.

The Committee set up by the Federal Government to look into modalities for the National Conference recommended that all religions of Nigeria be represented at the Conference, namely Traditional African Religion, Christianity and Islam. For the Federal Government of Nigeria to DISREGARD the essence of our existence by displaying this high degree of limitation of Spiritual Knowledge is a sin crying to God for help. There is time for the FGN to correct this EVIL deed of preferential treatment of imported religions, in as much as on the last day, every human being will account for his deeds, not religious groups. Is there superiority of religion in our quest to know God Almighty, find our purpose in creation with a view to actualizing that purpose? I must remind the Federal Government of what Dele Giwa (of blessed memory) wrote, that “No evil deed shall go unpunished, it shall be redressed, if not now, then later, if not by God, then by man, for the victory of evil over good is temporal”. Nigeria is a circular state according to the constitution. The kind of attention given to Islam and Christianity should be extended to Traditional African Religion.

The way the FGN is treating Traditional Religion is casting aspersion on our practitioners as if we are not Nigerians. It will be calamitous for the FGN to exclude our God-given religion in the constitution that will follow the Confab.

Over 1 billion people in China practice Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, over 90 million people in Japan practice Shintoism, almost 1 billion people in India practice Hinduism. All respected and recognised by their various governments and the world.

Traditional African Religion is practiced and recognized in Brazil, Cuba and other South American Countries. In fact, the German Government recognizes Yoruba Traditional Religion. It is therefore laughable for the Federal Government of Nigeria to “Step Aside” recognition of Traditional African Religion which originated mainly from Nigeria and spread to other

countries where they are recognized and practiced. This shame must be redressed immediately. Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Prophet Mohammed (Peace of the Lord be upon Him) not only protected other people but understood their ideas and beliefs. Did Jesus Christ not warn “Judge not, so that thou shall not be judged”?

Did the Bible not state that “those who are just, cast the first stone”? So the Federal Government of Nigeria is so “Righteous that does everything Right and never sins”? Holy Bible. Please FGN, save our nation from calamity.

Traditional African Religion must be represented at the Confab. I am thanking you in advance for listening to the voice of our people.

It will be unwise in this press release not to touch on burning issues like Security, Politics, Media and Press Freedom; and National Conference.

SECURITY – BOKO HARAM AND THE MILITARY Many nations in the world have faced some security challenges at one point or the other in their history. United States of America, the most developed country in the world could not stop 9/11, even with the best of technology. But they subsequently did something remarkable. Huge resources was made available to their military, FBI, CIA and a decade was devoted to training in Arabic and intelligence gathering which enabled them to catch Osama Bin Laden.

The United States started by identifying sources of funds and cutting them off. It is therefore imperative for the Federal Government of Nigeria to do likewise for our military, DSS, DIA etc. The military cannot fight unconventional and ever changing Boko Haram with conventional military techniques. Our military is doing great work for our nation and must be regularly commended. Demoralizing criticism of our military must be discouraged. Relocating to Borno State is not the answer.

The solution lies in training and retraining of our military.

SECURITY – POLICE I doff my heart for men and women of the Police Force who stay awake so that Nigerians can sleep well. In addition to its statutory duties, the Police has contributed to Sports and Music.

Chioma Ajunwa (a Police woman) won the first individual gold medal in the 1996

By OBI MARTHA DUNKWU

• Her Royal Majesty, Obi Martha Dunkwu, Omu Anioma, Delta State Olympic. Sunny Oyarekhua, a policeman was a member of Nigerian Green Eagles Team that won football gold medal of the Second All Africa Games in Lagos in 1973. The Nigeria Police band has the good reputation of being invited to perform at both official and private ceremonies. The Force has been criticized for extortionist tendency. It has also been suggested by discerning minds that what the police does in this regard is a manifestation of high level of corruption in the society. How do you antiquatedly arm hungry, badly dressed, poorly educated, carelessly remunerated police men and women; and request them to provide undiluted security to those that are relatively well fed and well-of.

Input determines output. But the police can do better by building human bridges of understanding, make success of crime detection, prevention, protection of lives and property and maintenance of law and order.

POLITICS Leadership cannot be taught in two weeks training course. It is impossible to teach conviction. How many people

have the deep-rooted belief in the value of what they are doing and can communicate it to others so that they will follow?

How many of our leaders in business, politics or otherwise can you identify and honestly say they are ‘guided by faith and matchless fortitude as John Milton declared of Oliver Cromwell.

However, in his letter to his son’s teacher, late American President Abraham Lincoln wrote “he will have to learn, I know, that all men are not just, all men are not true. But teach him also that for every scoundrel there is a hero, that for every selfish politician, there is a dedicated leader. Teach him to listen to all men, but teach him also to filter all he hears in a screen of truth and take only the

good that comes through”. It is unfortunate that many politicians in our country are only thinking about ‘me, myself and I’. It is therefore necessary to commend and support those who take holistic view of our challenges and willing to pilot our nation to the next level. As a people, we must still believe in ourselves.

MEDIA AND FREEDOM Over the years, the press in Nigeria faced a lot of persecution, but of recent the media is relatively free to inform, educate and entertain our citizens. Adolf Hitler wrote “This monster called freedom of the press poses a mortal danger par excellence… if anything in opposition to the state”.

However, Joseph Pulitzer, the father of American Popular and Modern Journalism stated “the only way to keep democracy going is by getting things out in the open, let people ridicule them, sooner or later, public opinion will sweep them away”.

Read what former United States Supreme Court Judge, Justice Oliver Wendel Holmes Jr said “The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a crowded theatre, thereby causing stampede and some people trampled to death; and in his defence, he claims freedom of speech. Must not the shouter bear responsibility for the resulting deaths and accident?”.

The role of the press as societal watchdog is indispensable in the development of our nation. But, we must beware of selfdestructive criticism. It is therefore my opinion that the watchdog must watch itself. Let us enjoy freedom but weigh the implications of what we say, do or write. Every right has corresponding responsibility.

For those on the receiving end, don’t be afraid of freedom of the press. Afterall, Voltaire wrote that “the only way to compel men to speak good of you is to do good”.

N A T I O N A L CONFERENCE It is understandable that some support the National Conference while others oppose it. Nigeria, a nation of over 167 million intelligent men and women, beautiful children, fertile land,

devoid of natural disaster, must not break up. The world respects us because we are the most populous black nation on earth and the most populous nation in Africa. It is no use breaking up into small inconsequential countries not respected by the international community.

As a guide to delegates at the National Conference, I am putting down some quotes of our Founding fathers. “No, let us understand our differences …

By understanding our differences, we can build unity in our country”. Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto, “And for posterity when the new Nigeria comes, tell them for their tomorrow, we gave our today.

And for Nigerians of North and South, as my moustache and bow tie are parallel and inseparable, so shall the unity between the North and South be indestructible” Herbert Samuel Macaulay.

“In a true federation, each ethnic group no matter how small, is entitled to the same treatment as any other ethnic group, no matter how large” Obafemi Awolowo. “Tribal loyalties and activities which promote tribal consciousness and sectional interests must give way to the urgent task of national reconstruction” Major General Aguiyi Ironsi. “On no account should this country, either by commission or omission, be allowed to disintegrate. The inviolability of the country has been settled forever and ever, by the civil war; we paid dearly for it and the blood of Nigerians has sealed the union” Justice Kayode Eso. This generation of Nigerians and indeed future generations have no other country than Nigeria. We shall remain here and salvage it together” General Mohammadu Buhari. “Perhaps, this is one of the finest countries to live in” General Ibrahim Babangida.

It is my opinion that the National Conference, must not come out with ‘in case we don’t like what is happening in Nigeria, we will break away.’ At the end of the Confab, we will hopefully start again on a fresh canvass and paint a new picture that will be a masterpiece for this generation and generations unborn.

“Nigeria is a circular state according to the constitution. The kind of attention given to Islam and Christianity should be extended to Traditional African Religion. The way the FGN is treating Traditional Religion is casting aspersion on our practitioners as if we are not Nigerians. It will be calamitous for the FGN to exclude our God-given religion in the constitution that will follow the Confab.”

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Ajuwaya

NYSC Scheme: THERE is an adage which says that, What makes a man is what he can do to proffer solution to a problem. If the foundation of a house lose its qualities, automatically the house will be devastated, this best describes the NYSC scheme. And when a house is devastated, it needs a reconstructure or renovation.

National youth service corps (NYSC) as conceived by the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon’s lofty ides is worthy of its aims because the nation just emerged from a civil war, a war that could have been averted if all the principal actors in it had a genuine love for the nation called Nigeria.

What more would a country that is just coming out of a self – induced war need than peace.

Understanding our differences as said by the late Northern premier is the fulcrum behind the establishment of NYSC. Its establishment in 1973

Need For Reformation

By MBA PRISCILLIA

can not be faulted as youths of different ethnic groupings or background transverse the nooks and cronnies of this country.

Youth as it were are tools for peace.

Living in a dynamic world like ours is a challenge and the earlier we realize this dynamism, the better for all of us. The idea behind the establishment of NYSC may have been eroded by the present hardship that abound in every area of our life, the lack of accommodation for corps members in various States of the Federation make a huge mockery of the whole scheme, poor sanitary situation and the lack of portable water in different orientation camps makes the whole scheme a charade and this call for reform.

A tour to different orientation camps is a testimony to the fact that the scheme has turned a moral burden on our leaders, in fact, discussing experience with fellow

corps members from different States shows a uniformity of feelings and it calls for alerm. The Government should know the best Ideas to put in place to obtain success of the scheme. Otherwise abolishing the scheme would be more meaningful to youth who are exposed to illtreatment emanating from lack of accommodation, poor sanitary condition and harsh weather.

The establishment of a governing board to me, may not be the turning point the scheme needed, but a genuine approach to it by those concerned is all that matters.

Recently Government are contemplating on how

to make the scheme two batches instead of the three batches that was formed. The scheme should be reform and make it more valuable and attractive to prospective corps members. It is ironical for corps members to be subjected to unpleasant situation simply because they have to serve their father land. In fact, the four cardical points of NYSC are defeated and when the foundation of a house is destroyed the house cannot stand and this best describes the scheme. Decree 51 of 1993 by the then military President. Gen. Ibrahim Babagida which made it mandatory for graduates below 30 years to partake in the scheme is due for

reform. Nevertheless, the urgency it deserves can only be likened to the urgency in reforming the economy.

Furthermore, NYSC as we all know, was established after the civil war as one of the vehicles for National integration.

After existing for so long, it is imperative to review the scheme against it original objectives and the prevailing realities in the country need to make NYSC more relevant; need to ensure that there is commensurate return on investment to all it stakeholders..

Research shows that people are querying the relevance of NYSC because they are no longer certain about the value NYSC scheme is adding to the participating corps members, their families and the country at large.

This is strong case for reformation. So, need to reposition the scheme makes it more effective and align it with present realities.

Moreso, Looking at the scheme in a holistic way and trying to identify and confront issues that are standing in the way of its effectives.

The first is to look at the area where needs to be served, of course National integration is still relevant, but is no longer a sufficient justification.

There should be need for value addition. Also there should be need on how to shift NYSC to something that people look forward to, the only way we can answer both questions, is to ensure that the programme adds value to

the country and the participating corps members.

According to This day Newspaper 23 may 2013, the Federal Government was committed to restructure the National Youth Service Corps to reposition it as a tool for national transformation and encouragement of self-reliance among corps members.

Furthermore, the minister of youth Development, Mr. Inuwa Abdulkadir gave this assurance when he inaugurated the NYSC National governing board in Abuja where he said that the government was particularly interested in promoting vocational training and entrepreneurship development to encourage selfreliance among graduates.

Abdulkadir added that the scheme needed to be repositioned as a tool for National integration especially at this critical period in the national politics. “One of the urgent steps needed is to explore ways to facilitate memorandum of understanding (mou) with employers especially in the private sector for them to retain corps members after their service year”; “The practice where corps members are regarded as a source of cheap labour who can be discarded annually should not be allowed to continue”.

In a nutshell, if all these are highly re-engineered and NYSC is properly reformed serving the father land will be a thing of joy to the corps members.

“National youth service corps (NYSC) as conceived by the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon’s lofty ides is worthy of its aims because the nation just emerged from a civil war, a war that could have been averted if all the principal actors in it had a genuine love for the nation called Nigeria.”

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Child Health & You

Childhood Tuberculosis (1) ACCORDING to the STOP TB partnership 9 million people get sick with tuberculosis every year and of these up to one third which is 3 million persons do not get the care they need. Most of these persons live in the world’s poorest and most vulnerable communities. To build public awareness about the global epidemic of tuberculosis and the efforts to eliminate the disease the World tuberculosis day is celebrated on March 24th every year. This date commemorates the day in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch announced to the scientific world that he had discovered the germ that causes tuberculosis. The theme for this year’s world tuberculosis day is “Reach the 3 million: find, treat, cure TB”. This is a call to ensure that all who suffer from tuberculosis have access to adequate including diagnosis, treatment and cure. In this write childhood tuberculosis will be discussed.

Tuberculosis is a disease caused by a germ called Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

There were 8.6million cases of tuberculosis worldwide in 2012. These resulted in 1.8 million deaths of which 0.3 million were in persons with Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The reported proportion of global tuberculosis cases that are in children varies between countries from 3% to as high as 40%. In 2012 there were 530,000 cases of tuberculosis in children aged below 15 years representing 6% of the global 8.6 million cases.

74,000 deaths from tuberculosis were reported in children also in 2012. Majority of the cases and deaths are from the 22 high burden countries in the world of which Nigeria is one. It is believed that childhood tuberculosis is underreported because of the difficulties in diagnosing tuberculosis in children. Also deaths reported as being due to pneumonia, meningitis and HIV may actually be due to tuberculosis.

Nigeria had 180,000 new cases in 2012 with 27,000 dying from the disease.

However not all of these cases are detected or notified.

97,853 cases were reported in 2012 with 5.8% (5,587) being among children.

The germ causing the disease is spread from person to person. When a person with tuberculosis coughs or sneezes the germ is released into the air. Susceptible persons then breathe in the germ and become infected. The inhaled germs settle in the lungs. Some

By DR (MRS) AYEBO SADOH / PROFESSOR OSAWARU OVIAWE

of the germs are killed by the body’s defence or immune system while others are simply contained so that they cannot grow. These germs that cannot grow remain dormant. For individuals whose immune system cannot kill or contain the germs, the germs continue to grow and destroy the lung tissue causing tuberculosis of the lungs (pulmonary tuberculosis). The germs can also spread to other organs in the body causing extrapulmonary (outside the lungs) tuberculosis such as tuberculosis of the abdomen, bone, kidneys, central nervous system, skin etc.

The risk of children being exposed to tuberculosis is higher if there are adults and adolescents with tuberculosis with whom they have contact in the community. Children most often acquire tuberculosis from adults but they rarely if ever transmit the infection to others. Thus if a child is found to have tuberculosis the adult contacts must be screened to identify the person who has transferred the infection to the child.

Increased contact (as would be found in a family setting), overcrowding and poor ventilation are factors that increase the risk of exposure to tuberculosis.

Not everyone who becomes infected with tuberculosis develops the disease. There are several factors that predispose an infected person to develop disease. These factors include: Age: Up to 50% of children who become infected develop tuberculosis disease with 2 years of becoming infected.

The risk of progression to disease is higher in younger children (0-4years) but more so in the new born period hence BCG vaccine at birth.

Immunity: Conditions that weaken the immune system of the child Increase the risk of progression from infection to disease. These conditions include HIV/AIDS, being on corticosteroids (a class of drugs)and poor state of nutrition Infections: Certain acute infections like measles and whooping cough can predispose a child to developing tuberculosis Malnutrition: Children who are malnourished are prone to tuberculosis and are more likely to develop disease when infected. This is because they have low immunity.

Poverty: Most cases of tuberculosis occur in among the poor who also more likely

to be malnourished and live in crowded poorly ventilated dwellings. Tuberculosis is more common in low and middle income countries.

What are the signs and symptoms of childhood tuberculosis?

Tuberculosis may be present in a child for prolonged periods without the parents noticing that the child is ill.

The symptoms of tuberculosis are many and the symptoms not restricted to tuberculosis alone as they may be found in other disease conditions..

the evenings. This is why it is commonly unnoticed by the family.

Other features include reduced playfulness, change in behaviour ( i r r i t a b i l i t y, c o n f u s i o n , agitation), enlarged lymph nodes( swellings commonly seen in the neck, arm pit), increased angulation of the back bone (gibbus or hunchback). The presence of any of these features in a child who has had contact (within the preceding two years) with an adult or adolescent with chronic cough, or who is being treated for tuberculosis or is

Some of the features include: Cough: Cough that is present for more than 2 weeks.

Older children may cough up blood. This is a sign that serious damage has occurred in the lung.

Weight loss or failure to thrive: A child who fails to gain weight or is not growing or is loosing weight despite adequate appetite and nutrient intake may have tuberculosis.

This is why it is important for parents to weigh their children regularly as it may provide an early sign that all is not well. This service is offered at immunization/child welfare clinics of the Institute of Child Health at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital(UBTH).

Fever: A child who has recurrent episodes of fever that respond only transiently to antimalarials and antibiotics may have tuberculosis. The fever may or may not be associated with drenching night sweats. The fever is usually low grade, occurring in

known to have HIV/AIDS or who has died from HIV or tuberculosis should prompt mothers to seek for screening for tuberculosis in the child.

The diagnosis of tuberculosis in children is very challenging.

This is contributory to the high burden and mortality from tuberculosis in children since the diagnosis is often missed or delayed. Also the traditional tests used in adults such as sputum test and culture test often produce negative test results. This is because young children swallow their sputum and malnourished children demonstrate negative Mantoux test result. Gastric washings which is method of trying to get the sputum swallowed by the child provides less positive result compared to sputum. However the introduction of the new diagnostic test for tuberculosis called GeneXpert is expected to lead to detection of more cases of childhood

tuberculosis. GeneXpert is available in different hospitals in Nigeria.

Early identification of tuberculosis with commencement of treatment is important as this ensures survival without disability.

Children who commence treatment late may develop long term complications such epilepsy, mental retardation, pus in the lungs etc.

The main component of tuberculosis treatment is the use of ANTI TUBERCULOSIS drugs and the minimum period of treatment of tuberculosis is six months. The child will be required to take his/her drugs daily for the entire duration of therapy. Tuberculosis is

CURABLE if treatment is started early and the medicine is applied as prescribed. There is a centre for treatment at UBTH. You can ask for the location of the centre nearest to your house from your nurse or other health provider.

Compliance with treatment is of utmost importance as failure to comply or failure to complete the treatment has grave consequences for the individual and for the community at large. Non compliance or failure to complete treatment results in the development of resistance by the germ causing tuberculosis. This means that the drugs are unable to kill the causative germ and the child will eventually die from the disease.

Drug resistant tuberculosis is difficult to treat. It requires a different set of drugs which are more injurious to the body and also more expensive. The treatment of drug resistant tuberculosis requires a longer duration of 20 months. The

success rate of treatment of drug resistant tuberculosis is not as good as for drug sensitive tuberculosis.

Although children are unlikely to transmit tuberculosis it is important that they comply strictly with therapy to achieve good outcomes. Adults who develop drug resistant tuberculosis may spread this form of tuberculosis in their environment with disastrous consequences. This is already happening; there were an estimated 450,000 cases of drug resistant tuberculosis in 2012 globally and in Nigeria 2,500 of notified tuberculosis cases were drug resistant. The poorer outcomes for drug resistant tuberculosis will mean higher death rates.

DR (MRS) AYEBO SADOH (Senior Research Fellow /Consultant paediatrician) And Professor Osawaru OVIAWE (Professor of paediatrics/Consultant paediatric Pulmonologist) University of Benin/ University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City Edo State, Nigeria.

‘CHILD HEALTH AND YOU’, a Weekly Thursday Feature, is a collaborative initiative between the Institute of Child Health, University of Benin, and the Bendel Newspapers Company Limited (BNCL), Benin City.

Comments on this page should be forwarded to The Editor, Bendel Newspapers Company Limited, Benin City or Director, Institute of Child Health University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State.

THE NIGERIAN

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THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

Media

INTERVIEWS THERE are many forms of interviews and many different reasons for conducting interviews. However, the common goal is that of gaining more information from and understanding of other people, through a planned process of questions and answers Press, Radio and Television journalists use interviews as a means of collecting information and opinions.

Interviews can be used to provide entertainment as a chat shows, they are the most common means of selecting people for jobs or students for courses. They are a major method of data collection in the social Sciences The kind of questions widely used in interviews are: 1. Open Questions: These are broad and usually unstructured and often simply introduce a topic under discussion in a way that allows the interviewee a good deal of freedom in answering 2. Closed Questions: There are restrictive, offering a fairly narrow range of answers from which the interviewee must chose.

3. Primary Questions: These introduce the subject under discussion 4. Subsidiary or Secondary Questions: These follow up the answers to primary questions.

5. Neutral Questions: These do not suggest any preferred response 6. Leading Questions: These suggest a preferred response and are not normally used in research interviews.

The interview is one of the most common methods of disseminating information and communicating with reading and listening public. It is considered a very suitable method for digging into persons issue and coming up with facts and figures which may otherwise be hidden from the public; its suitability derives from its inherent informed and authentic characteristic.

The producers, broadcasters or reporters representing station or public ceremonies create an avenue for the interviewe (source) to talk directly in a way largely reminiscence of what takes place in every day life when people talk with one another (see chapter 10 the laws of Broadcast Journalism volume 1 by the author 2005). The art of interviewing is best learned by experience. But there are certain skills that can be studied.

First never go into an interview “Cold” if you can help it.

Nothing is more annoying than a reporter who asks obvious questions, the answers to which are readily available for an interview as well as possible. For example, if you are to interview an industrialist, look for him up in “who’s who” and the “Directly of Directors”. Look up his company and note the silent facts about it, see if the cutting library can produce any background information on development in that industry.

Important people are often surprisingly tolerant of silly questioning because they realize that unless the facts are given to reporter, he will probably produce an ignorant and untrue interview.

One chief in Nigeria well known for his interest in amateur football in his youth was once asked by a reporter from the Daily Times. “Chief are you interested in football at all?”

The chief kept quiet a little and answered “Yes, I do enjoy football and he went on to explain that he goes to stadium every time there is football. I have followed the Football, Supper Eagles of Nigeria to international context out of the country paid my own expenses”. At least, the reporter was able to get the facts right, having briefed yourself on the background for an interview, plot the questions you want to ask. You may not follow the script as the interview proceeds.

One line of questioning may suggest another and the person being interviewed may go off along lines of interest of his own.

Do not try to cub the interviewee unless it is obvious that he is avoiding the questions, know that it is what he has to say that is interesting, and it may be more interesting than your questions.

The listener on the other hand may want or be made to want to hear an interviewee because of what or who the interviewee is, or what he has done. The reporter or the interviewer who is a producer, editor, director of programme must be on his guard against parochialism.

The tough, questioning of some television interviewers give some young journalists the impression that interviewing should be brusque and sharp. Remember that the television interviewer plots his interview in advance often with the person being interviewed.

The television interviewer has a very limited amount of time at his disposal and must decide whether his questioning should be direct or indirect, soft or hard, is it open, closed, primary, secondary, neutral or leading questions?

Unveiling Today’s Print And Br

Some people respond well to being asked hard. Direct questions, other respond better if the interviewer leads up gently to the main point. The journalist must work out within the first few minutes of meeting someone which approach is likely to be more fruitful. Always try to go to the man at the top. Watch out however not to fall a victim of interviewing the public relations of the firm by divertion. You should ask and insists to see the man at the top.

Never be frightful to talk to the important and influential, remember that they probably need good paper, television and radio publicity as much as you used an interview with them.

If a journalist is courteous and have good question to ask, they will give good answers.

If you are interviewing a particular busy man, get clear at the beginning how much time he propose to give you. Ask his secretary while you are waiting to go into his office, if you are there at 2p.m, 3p.m or 3.30p.m and she knows he has a meeting of the Health Committee at 3p.m she will tell youand you will then know that you have got to get through the interview within a half an hour, or have been tapping the desk and the secretary buzzing to remind him of his next appointment when you are just about to ask the key question.

The interviewer must go straight to the subject. He should not express his own opinions, he should avoid emotional entanglement with the interviewee. He should try to ask question in such forms as not to elicit monosyllabic answers.

He should know when to come in with them.

Some reporters find that people more easily interviewed if the interviewer does not flourish a notebook and ball point to ostentatiously under there noses can be used.. A small notebook is often preferable to a large one, and if you can safely balance it on your own it distracts the interviewee less.

Some reporters use tape recorders while television reporters use camera.

Vital Facts An interviewee can produce detailed figures and statistics.

Take them down deliberately and slowly. If necessary, ask the interviewee to pause while you do, and then read them over to him to make absolutely certain that you have got all the answers to your questions correctly. No one minds the checking of vital facts but when a reporter does so, it indeed adds to the mood of confidence the reporter must build up. If during an interview the subject makes some startling assertions or comments, the reporter has a right to ask: “Please, may I quote you on that? This makes absolutely certain that he knows that he is likely to be quoted, and can hardly complain after wards that he said no such thing.

One may be surprise that how many people say things when questioned which they have never uttered. This is the reason why the reporter should always keep his note book for at least for some months after an interview, so that if a statement is challenged he can produce the note made at that time.

A reporter should always identify himself “I work for the Vanguard. This days’ ‘Observer’. Daily Times ITV, MT. NTA, EBS, BBC, my name is David Soje. This should act as an intimation to the person being questioned that what is said may be published in the paper. Some professionals or experienced reporters usually work out a set form of introduction and get into the habit of using it to preface every interview and telephone calls. Such a reporter is actually guarding against the possibility that he will forget to warn someone that he may be quoted in the media. If an interviewee says that he is talking off the record”, the reporter must preserve this confidence.

But there are sometimes, when people talk’ off record’ they make statements that seem innocuous and quotable. If this is so the reporter must ask the interviewee if such statements are still “off the record” or whether you may quote the interviewee on those statements and those statements only.

Sometimes, statements that are made to the press are not attributable. This means that they may be published but the source may not be named and that he may subsequently deny having said any such thing.

Such statements are published at the reporters — radio’s — television or paper’s risk. When a reporter had got his information, he has to write it. This is the point expert journalists described as the point of the greatest conflict between those who are interviewed and those who interview.

The reporter must definitely write something that will be read.

What is interesting to the person interviewed may not be interesting in the same way to the listeners, viewers or the readers of paper. This off course does not mean that the reporter must sensationalize, though some will, but it does

By OSAYOMWABO O. ERO

mean that he will often pick out some statement or fact to lead his story which the interviewee will not consider the most important statement or fact.

When a reporter has obtained as many facts as he can, he must assemble the story. He may do this either by returning to his office to write by telephoning it back to his office. In either case, if there is news relevance, he will first of all telephone or sent tape to his office for instructions. Always keep in touch with the office, and on going out, a reporter must leave the list of places he is visiting at specific times with telephone numbers. The opening sentence of a news story must always be short direct and should generally contain the main fact.

When beginning, it may be helpful to note down the most important facts in a story and then check to see those facts are in the first few lines or paragraphs. Always check when you have finished a story to see that you have got the facts right, that names are correctly spelt, that quotations are accurate, that technical terms are explained and that no vital link is left out. For more about interview, (see chapter 11 on Talks and News Programme).

Interviewing Official When a police or fire official does detach himself for an interview the reporter takes down his name and rank since much of the information in the story is likely to be attributed to him.

It is also a sound idea to ask the officer for a phone number at which he can be reached later if more facts are needed. Here are some basic questions a reporter should ask officials at the scene of a police or fire story.

1. Where there any deaths or injuries, if so, how many are the victims names and addresses available.

2. To what hospital were the injured taken?

3. What caused the deaths, injuries, fire, cave in, riot, plane crash, etc.

4. Have any clues be found?

What are they?

5. Are there any known witnesses? Who are they?

6. Have any arrest been made? If not, are any expected?

7. What is the estimated amount of property loss?

8. Is arson suspected? (In case of fire such as the California fire in (2007 October?) Dana air crash

Ikeja, Lagos Nigeria 2012?

9. Are any victims still trapped in the building, mine, automobiles etc?

10. How were the survivals rescued? If somebody was a hero, he should be credited, besides it adds interest to the story.

11. How does this disaster compare with others?. (more accurate data is likely to be found in the newspaper morgue or library but a veteran fire chief may be able to snap off an educated comparison.

12. How much police and

incide when alone? answe volunt Inte Whe the fir used t event a a rich exhibi mentio 11 an newsm The himsel not pre officia unethi

Journalists on duty

fire manpower and equipment are at the scene?

13. What role has different organistions or individual played during the incident in evacuating the victims?

Follow up questions are important. The reporter has a duty to pursue any inquiry if the answer leaves doubt or holes. He should go beyond the officials responses to give the story more meaning and depth. Policemen are mainly concerned with carrying out their obligations and have little time or inclination for human interest in details that perk up a story.

What is the circumstances of the auto collision? Where were drivers heading or coming from? Perhaps the occupants of one car had just attended a funeral or a wedding. Was the riot truly spontaneous or had there been signs of tension and discontent in the neighborhood.

A fire was caused by a five or four years old boy playing with matches, how did he get the matches? Frequently some children in Nigeria often caused bush burning looking for animals (rabbits snents) during the dry This has caused a lot of fire

reporter may com radio or Some one of th down b basis of actions i or inve informa by throw requires Extracti are und calling f Howe their int ago tha shaoting It has intervie problem trained a their im unusabl It is ve check th other so are inter places. A intervie name in or his na say any correctn found i outbreak the fact before h

THE NIGERIAN

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THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

roadcast Journalism (7)

nts in the country. Who else was at home the boy took the matches? Or was he ? Frequently, a policeman will have ers to these questions, but he will seldom teer them. He must be asked. rviewing / Witnesses en the reporter finished with the police and re officials, “he next witnesses’, a term to describe both the participants in the and the onlooker. These sources can yield load, but certain precautions should be ited by the reporter as this has been oned elsewhere in the books (Volume 1, d 111) A wrong approach can kill a man’s chances of getting the story. reporter should immediately identify lf and his news organization. He should etend to be a policeman or some kind of al investigators. This style is not only ical but very dangerous. It may lead to

Some witnesses motives is to tell lies to the press by blaming a co-tenant as the cause of fire incident or gas explosion because they had a previous, quarrel, some have known to pull the, reporter just to slander a neighbour by accusing him of the crime under investigation, only to discover that the witness have been waiting for just such opportunity.

An experienced reporter writes much of these down, but he by no means pumps it all into his story. He should watch out carefully, examine and weigh all the statements by removing all the dubious, libelous or malicious narratives from the story. The report must not only warn to balance his news, but to learn to relate facts fearlessly and he certain of his facts.

DOCUMENTARY PROGRAMMES Evolution and origin of Documentary Pioneers of Documentary Programmes Characteristics of Documentary Direct implications of Documentary Is Documentary a work of Art? Mediation on the Screen TV

rs arrest for impersonating officer or the witness mplain later to the management of the newspaper r television station. persons will not talk to a reporter, but this is he hazards of the business. It is better to be turned by a witness than to worn an interview on the f misrepresentation. Some reporters by their intimidate witnesses when they go out for inquiry estigation. The reporter is more apt to get ation from people by acting like a gentleman than wing his weight around. There is no law that s an individual to cooperate with the press. ing facts from witnesses especially when they der an emotional strain is a delicate operation for tact, not boorishness. ever, most reporters and editors this day conduct terviews camely and evenly. They learned long at questions can be asked effectively without g or ‘losing their professional cool. been noticed that even if the witness or the ewee cooperates, the reporter may still have ms, the fact of which is that most persons are not as careful observes. They might mean well, but mpressions may be inaccurate and therefore le in the story. ery therefore important for the reporter to always he statement of one witness against those of the o as to arrive at the truth. If enough bystanders rviewed the pieces usually fall into their proper Another peril that a reporter should mind in his w, is the spectator who simply wants to get his n the paper, his face to be seen in the television ame and voice to be heard on the radio. He will ything without the slightest concern about its ness. This type of people hound for publicity are in the vicinity of major accidents, riots, fire k and other disasters. He is often identifiable by that he will himself to newsmen or camera man he is even asked for a statement.

The producer of Documentary Making the Documentary The use of interview, conducting interview Documentary techniques Making a Documentary Planning/Ideas/Qualities Conductiong Interview Evolution and Origin There is a large field of spoken word programming which cannot readily be categorized as NEWS TALKS and DRAMA which has the truth and urgency of news and uses the techniques of talks and drama. It is factual broadcasting specifically information in character and often directly educational in intent. The word ‘Documentary’ is frequently used to describe it.

Sometimes the term Documentary Feature is used but strictly speaking documentary is one thing and feature is another, However, frequently, Documentaries are produced by the Features Department of broadcasting organization hence the confusion.

There are similarities between Documentaries and Features in as much as both types of programmes are almost invariably factual. Documentary is always factual and is about people, places or events. But features may be factual and can also be about ideas. The Documentary brings the real word to the listeners and viewers while the feature, when factual, is a reflexion or impression of the real world.

The Documentary owes its origins to the cinema. The term “documentary” was used by two French Filmmakers (the Limers Brothers) in the 1880s and 1890s to describe the factual films they made of real events, and differentiate this type of firm from the story film? The term documentaries passed over from the French into English in the early 1930s as documentaries.

The word documentary is derived from the French documentaries and was first coined by early film makers to describe a school of film making which was neither wholly fictional nor wholly factual.

Media The term appealed to the firm making P Lorentz. (an American) Robert Flaherty (Canadian) John Grierson and Cavalcanti of (United Kingdom). The term was used loosely in America radio to describe man fiction broadcasts which, were not talks, interview or discussion. It came to be used much more specifically in British radio after the development of portable field recording equipment which made it practicable to take microphone out, the studio for other purposes than straight forward 0. B. S (Our side Broadcasting in 1939).

The style of documentary film attracted broadcasters who saw in it an exciting way to make radio more alive and interesting. It appealed to talks producer who were tired of radio talks. It appealed to outside broadcasters who saw ‘in it an exciting way to make radio more alive and interesting. It appealed to talks producers. It appealed to outside broadcasters who believed that radio could do more than report sports events and it appealed to drama producers who believed a head of their time that drama could be more realistic.

The early radio documentary strongly reflected the techniques of talk, the outside broadcast and the drama. They were usually made in the studio for lack of that time. They relied on actors to play all the speaking roles. It was later that documentary compete with scripts, actors, mood music and sound effects ventured beyond the studio. Producers began to stage documentaries as live outside broadcasts from museums, factories and national monuments.

They added live short talks and interviews to help get the story across. It was then that the use of documentary was seen as a teaching medium and many documentary producers embarked on series of adult educational broadcast as the forerunners of schools broadcasting with the arrival of the potable recorder (it was at first a disc recorder) the newsreel progamme emerged, then the magazines and “real people” and fewer actors. Magazine and documentary have become very much alike. At times, it is difficult to tell the two apart.

It is easier to describe what a documentary is not, rather than what it is news programmes, drama. Programmes with documentary programmes and feature films and Documentary films are all different methods and forms of expressing or presenting events. The ultimate aim of the news programme is to impart information to the listeners and viewers.

Documentary programme is based wholly and wholly on actuality. The documentary is certainly the real words of real persons their writings published and unpublished. These include letters if they are not living or cannot possibility be reached and there is no record of their voices, the moving pictures of the actions (or photos and drawing, if films or video tape is unavailable or if they lived before motion pictures), the sound and visual of real events — (Robert L. Hilhard 1978). The documentary documents facts or actualities.

Documentary depicts the man in his environment.

Pioneers of Documentary Programmes: Pare Lorentz: Aid that he was attempting in a dramatic way to point to the past mistakes of the American people.

John Crierson of his films that he was attempting a creative treatment of actuality.

Forsyth Hanlly: It is a selective dramatization of fact in terms of their human consequence.

William Van Dyke: A film is usually non fiction in which elements of dramatic conflict are provided by ideas and political or economic forces Jean Benoit Levy Documentary films are those which produce life in all its manifestations — the life of man, of animal, of nature, without the assistance of professional actors or studios in as much as the film represents a free artistic creation.

Chester Wilmot: (an Australian) working for BBC as a war reporter.

George Simpson: (an Australian journalist) turn broadcaster working for ABC. Edward Murrow: (an American) they all gave the genre a world audience the first series of historical (ex-archive material) documentaries called “I can hear it now” depicting man against the background of events and turning later to men as the makers of Events. . Madsen Roy Paul (The impact of film (1973) gave comentary five classical definitions (a) Subject matter (b) Concept (c) Purpose (d) Theme (e) Technique. (a) The Subject Matter: documentary film is concerned with the factual aspects of the lives of men, animals and other living creatures unleavened by fictional concepts or techniques. (b) The Concept: of documentary is a drama of ideas whose thrust is toward social change, not aesthetic satisfaction, entertainment or even education as it is usually defined. (c) The Purpose of documentary is intended to alert the viewer or listeners to some aspect of reality that should be his legitimate concern or serious interest, and to illuminate a social problem. The purpose of this genre is best defined in terms of its classic goals to crystallize public sentiments on an issue to inspire initiative to develop a sense of will to act decisively in the public interest and to establish standards of civilized behaviour. It is an attempt to persuade the listeners or the viewers to act on the solution of today’s problems, today with the intention that any given film be discarded when it has achieved its intended behavioural goal of an improvement in some aspect of a nations life. (d) The Theme of documentary is concerned with what happens to people — it is an emotional statement of the facts in terms of their human consequences. (e) The Technique of documentary film is a motion picture records of real people living, real events, photographed and edited to present the closest possible approximation of their true relationships.

THE NIGERIAN

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THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

Security Issues

Boko Haram: Ending The Unending War “BOKO Haram attacks military base, frees dozens of rebel prisoners”. This was the headline of recent– regular and social –media reports on the searing face-off between Nigeria’s security forces and the insurgents operating in the North-Eastern part of the country in the wake of a recent attack by the sect on a military facility. According to news reports, members of the fundamentalist Islamist Group, Boko Haram, which has been engaging the Federal Government of Nigeria in a war of supremacy in the Country’s North-East, stormed the Giwa barracks, a notorious prison located in Maiduguri, Bauchi State, where some of their brethren were being held, and freed them, after engaging the security forces in a shootoutthat lasted for several hours.

Thedaring attack on the Giwa military base was the latest in aserial orgy of violence that hasgradually turned the North-East into a virtual war zone. Just like initial attacks on both hard and soft targets by the Bokites - since the inception of this conflict –the latest tragedy has left a trail of blood and devastation in its wake; a sad symphony of destruction that is fast becoming a tradition in this part of the country; an acceleration of the conundrum of violence that threatens to engulf the rest of the North and possibly spill into other parts of the country if nothing urgent is done to contain it.Despite claims by the authorities to the contrary, Boko Haram is light years away from being “crushed”.

In 2014 alone, BH is said to have carried out over 40 attacks, which has resulted in the death of over 700 people- one of the highest casualty rates since the commencement of the crisis. Some of these attacks have been targeted at hapless civilians in isolated rural communities, creating a humanitarian problem in the process. According to the United Nations Organization, about 300,000 people have fled their homes since the imposition of emergency rule in some hotbeds of the conflict in the North-East. The deplorable conditions of internally displaced persons, who are said to be struggling

to access relief materials, have been decried by human rights watchers (AFP).

It is sad to note that the worsening security situation in the country’s North-East seems to have defied all attempts to quell it since its inception. From the imposition of martial law, churning out anti-terrorism legislations, training and equipping of its security forces on counter-terrorism strategies, restructuring its security sector, setting up an Amnesty Committee to dialogue with the insurgents on issues at stake, in tandem with other commendable initiatives, all efforts so far expeditedby the Nigerian government to check this crisis seems to have run into brick walls; developments that have raised serious concerns across the country and beyond as to when this crisis willbe put to bed.

What is obvious from the manner this conflict has so far progressed is the fact that the stakeholders - the Nigerian government and the Boko Haram insurgents in this conflict have decided to maintain their strong positions. They have continued playing their strongest cardswhich is that one party should bend totally to the will of the other,rather thanaddressing thetrue issues at stake - their real interests and needs; zero-sum approaches that have upped the ante in this bloody exchange. This is the major reason why the conflict has continued to exponentially accelerate, despite all efforts to check its upward spiral. For the Nigerian government,

With Obuseh Jude 08033310173 its position is that BH is a “terrorist” group without a known mandate that seeks to destabilize the Nigerian State; a group that must be stopped using every means available. For the BH, the Nigerian State isan unjust society that is both corruption-laden and morally bankrupt; an anti-Islam society in every sense of the word; a society that must be reformed.

The enemy images both parties have formed of each other obviously informs their refusal to sincerely come to the negotiation table and talk over the boiling issues animating the crisis; a factor that has defined their preference for the use of force, rather than diplomacy, to achieve their individual goals.Holding on to very strong positions, as has been demonstrated in conflicts - from antiquity till date -at the expense of addressing the key needs of conflicting parties,has always constitutedmajor stumbling blocks to peace.You don’t’ look out for the best case scenarios for yourself alone without considering the interests of the other party. It kind of complicates matters.

The hard posture that is being maintained by both parties in the escalating conflict makes the prospects of peace in Nigeria’s North-East very bleak, indeed.

Like has always been maintained on this page, a negotiated settlement between the key stakeholders in this conflict remains the only way out of the ongoing crisis, despite calls from different quarters for a harsher response from the Nigerian State. Here is further urging for a genuinely open channel of communication between government and the insurgents to be immediately opened, with concrete guarantees given to the representatives of this group - when real contact is ultimately made with them - that their grievances will be given due consideration in the ensuing palaver. So much noise has been made about BH’s reluctance or complete refusal to engage the federal government in dialogue. But you don’t invite somebody to dinner, while publicly deriding and threatening to kill him at the same time. Some confidencebuilding measures must be put in place, first, to encourage this group to participate in any discussions with the government; the need for some level of trust between both parties to be established. The Amnesty Committee has obviously failed to properly engage this group in meaningful dialogue, thus, necessitating a new approach.

A genuine joint-problem-solving arrangement that will produce outcomes that will leave the conflicting parties satisfied is the key to ending the ongoing dance of death - not empty threats by those who should know better to“chase Boko Haram into the high seas”. Here is calling on the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Boko Haramsect to give peace a chance. So many innocent lives have already been lost on both sides for an issue that would have been solved by a simple and honest robbing of mindsby all concerned parties at the latent stage of this conflict.

The real issues raised by the Bokites are not really new to these parts. They are themes that have always animated public discourses since the onset of the Nigerian project.

That is why a home grown strategy that takes cognizance of the realities of practical living in Nigeria must be adopted to permanently quell this violent inferno waltzing across the length and breadth of the country’s North-East.

Peace cannot be achieved and kept by force, but by understanding through dialogue. God save Nigeria!

“In 2014 alone, BH is said to have carried out over 40 attacks, which has resulted in the death of over 700 people- one of the highest casualty rates since the commencement of the crisis. Some of these attacks have been targeted at hapless civilians in isolated rural communities, creating a humanitarian problem in the process. According to the United Nations Organization, about 300,000 people have fled their homes since the imposition of emergency rule in some hotbeds of the conflict in the North-East.”

THE NIGERIAN

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INTRODUCTION: A quadratice expression is an expression with three terms (trinomial) i.e. 1st term, middle term and last term. It is of the general form.

THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

(7). 2x3 + x2 - 1 (8). V2 - 3 v + 9 2

(Hint: The highest power of the variable must be 2).

Mathematics With Stanley Osobase 08023454887 Osobase2001@yahoo.co.uk

Factorisation Of Quadratic Expressions

Ax2 + bx + C (for a > 1) or x2 + bx + C (for a = 1) and a, b, and are constants

Example 2

Factorise: (a). u2 - 3u (b). 6x2 - 15x (c). x2 + 9x + 20 + C ax2 + bx (d). a2 - 2a - 48 (e). 12 - 7d + d2 1st term middle term last term 2 Notice from the above that the (f). v - 12v + 32 highest power or index or Exponent Solution (a). u2 - 3u of the unknown variable is 2. = u(u - 3) Answer Some examples of a quadratic expression are: (b). 6x2 - 15x 2 2 (2)y + 5y + 6 (1) d + 2d =2X3XxXx-3X5Xx (3) x2 - 4 (4) 2m2 -6m + 10 etc. = 3 X (2 X x - 5) = 3x (2x - 5) Answer Note: (1). To factorise a quadratic (c). x2 + 9x + 20 expression is to express the given Product (of last term i.e. + 20) Sum of factors +20 X +1 +20 + 1 = +21 expression as a product of two -20 X -1 -20 - 1 = -21 brackets +10 X +2 +10 + 2 = +12 -10 X - 2 -10 - 2 = -12 (2). You need to have good +5 X - 4 -5 - 4 = -9 knowledge of “vital signs” i.e.

Replacing the middle term with the (a). + X + = + factors to get x2 + 5x + 4x + 20. (b). - X - = + Breaking these four terms into (c). + X - = pairs, we get x(x + 5) + 4(x + 5) (d). - X + = or (x + 5)(x + 4) as well as Directed Numbers or :- a2 - 9x + 20 = (x + 5)(x + 4) Ans Number line. Directed Numbers is a topic you can find in JSS 1 or 2, (d). a2 - 2a - 48 Mathmatics textbooks or scheme of Solution: work.

Product (of -48) Sum of factors

bracket repeats itself. or (a + 6) (a - 8) :- a2 - 2a - 48 = (a + 6)(a - 8) Answer 12 - 7d + d2 You can rearrange the above expression as d2 - 7d + 12 (e).

Product (of +12) +12 X +1 -12 X -1 +3 X +4 -3 X -4

Sum of factors +12 + 1 = +13 -12 - 1 = -13 +3 + 4 = +7 -3 - 4 = -7

replace middle term with factor to get d2 - 3d - 4d + 12 Pair the terms to get d(d - 3) - 4(d -3) :- 12 - 7d + d2 = d2 - 7d + 12 = (d - 3) (d - 4) Ans (f). v2 - 12v + 32 Product (of +32) +32 X +1 -32 X -1 +8 X +4 -8 X -4 +16 X +2 -16 X -2

Sum of factors +32 + 1 = 33 -32 - 1 = -33 +8 + 4 = +12 -8 - 4 = -12 +16 + 2 = +18 -16 - 2 = -18

Replace middle term with Factors to get v2 - 8v - 4v + 32 Pair the terms to get: v(v - 8) -4(v - 8) or v2 - 12v + 32 = (v - 8)(v - 4) Ans

Exercise Factorise the following: 2 (1). a - 8a - a + 8 (FGS, JSS NECO, -48 X + 1 -48 + 1 = -47 APPLICATION EXAMPLES 2000). Ans = (a - 1)(a - 8) +48 X - 1 +48 - 1 = +47 Example 1 -6 X + 8 -6 + 8 = +2 (2). P2 + 6p - 16 (FGC, JSS NECO, +6 X - 8 +6 - 8 = -2 Identify the quadratic expression 2004). Ans = (P - 2)(P + 8) +16 X - 3 +16 - 3 = +13 in the following: -16 X + 3 -16 + 3 = -13 Until next week edition, remain (1). x + 5 (2). x2 - 16 Replace middle term with factors blessed solving Maths. You can also (3). d3 - 1 (4). c2 + 4 tune to EBS TV, Thur. 4pm live, to to get a2 + 6a - 8a - 48 2 (5). y + 2 (6). x - 5x + 6 or a(a + 6) - 8(a + 6). Notice that a consolidate your understanding

THE NIGERIAN

20

THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

Motoring With OSAGIE AIFUWA 08023412452

Basic Safety Rules

Vehicle Maintenance Procedure

THERE is a well-known picture in the mind of everybody, whether he or she is interested in automobiles or not. It is of those sad remnants of all brands of cars, Buses, Trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles, which dies early. You don’t want your car to die a ‘premature death”, do you?

The premature death is not due to substandard material and workmanship but largely to lack of adequate maintenance procedure discussed here is not a substitute to daily and weekly checks. It is on the action to be taken and which ever comes first.

Maintenance of your vehicle starts from the pre-delivery inspection (DPI). Your dealer must have done that before you take possession of the car. It must be followed with first inspection service, which is compulsory after you must have covered I,000 kilometers on one month after the date of purchase.

Due to the state of our roads and poor handling of motor vehicle by motorists, It is suggested that your vehicles should be serviced at every 5,000 - 6,000 km or three or four months, which ever comes first. For the engine to serve you, you must “service” it to keep it in top form always. This is done when you service the engine at regular interval of about 5,000km, which include the following serving procedures.

1. Check Oil level in the engine sump 2. Warm the engine up to attain its working temperature before you drain the oil 3. Oil filter to be replaced with a new one.

4. Check the values clearance and adjust it necessary. Proper care must be taken during adjustment to ensure that it is adjusted to the m a n u f a c t u r e r ’s recommendation.

5. Check the contact point for excessive wear is excessive, A little wear can be corrected by using oilstone or sand paper. After 10,000 kilometers, it is advisable to replace contact.

6. Remove the spark plugs wash them in petrol and use a wire brush to remove outraces

of carbon set the plug gap to 0.75 0.85 (for vehicles).

7. Use compressed air to blow the air cleaner element properly. Replace it after 5,000km 8. Check the tension of the drive belt. It should be adjusted after 5,000km.

9. Use a timing light (ignition timing light ) to set the ignition timing correctly.

10. Set the idle speed (slow running) of the car to the recommended

ALTHOUGH tyre manufacturers balanced tyre and tube , it is often necessary to balance the complete wheel assembly to ensure that wheel rotates free from vibration.

Out of balance wheel may be cause by (a) Static unbalance , and ( b) Dynamic•. unbalance. (a) Wheels are statically balanced if they remain at rest in any given position. Static unbalance wheel always comes to rest in one position, which indicates the presence of a” heavy spot” directly below the wheel axis. A wheel used in this condition will tend to cause the unbalanced centrifugal force to lift the wheel of the road periodically, and produce conditions knows as” Wheel Hop” . Shimmy and uneven l wear (b) Wheels are dynamically balance when rotated . No resultants centrifugal force is

exerted . Dynamic unbalanced wheel if rotated , the centrifugal forces acting through the same line . Wheels should be balanced statically and dynamically to allow even tyre wear and free wheel vibration.

Front wheel alignment is checked with different kinds of alignment equipment available in workshops and most petrol station. In checking front alignment you will measure camber, castor

revolution per minute: The car carburetor is to form the very rapid burning charge needed by the engine. The process of preparing this suitable “charge” mixture of fuel and air is known as carburetion. The idle mixture adjusts screw on the carburetor controls, the amount of fuel air mixture that is being burnt inside the engine. The idle mixture adjust screw should not be touched unless you have a tester. Exhaust Gas Analyzer (spedal tester) is used to set it correctly. Wrong adjustment of this idle mixture screw will cause excessive fuel consumption.

Wheel Balancing and toe – in. The toe - in can be adjusted if found incorrect.

You can measure steering axis - inclination and toe-out on turns which are not adjustable.

If they are wrong, it means parts are bent or damaged and must be replaced.

The level of fluid in power steering system should be maintained between the minimum and maximum level, else the pump will not build enough pressure for the system Leaks should be repaired immediately by skilled mechanics.

1. Keep your vehicle in good condition . Pay particular attention to light brakes , steering , tyres and direction indicator . Keep windscreens and windows cleans and free of abstractions.

2. Use your rear view and wing mirrors before moving off, overtaking, turning slowing down or stopping.

3. Signal your intention in good time and before executing them 4. On the highway, keep well within your lane. Do not wander from lane to lane or change lane suddenly.

5. Always obey traffic officers in the lawful performances of their duties 6. Do not reverse into a major road or expressway and on any road at all. Do not reverse for more than eight metres.

7. Get to know the major traffic signs and road marking and obey them.

8. Park only where you will not obstruct other road users or be a danger to them, If your vehicle breaks down, push it off the road so that it does not obstruct traffic or other road users.

9. Do not drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

10. Be polite and courteous to other road users.

Understanding Steering System THE operation of the steering gearbox can be mechanical as we have on most vehicles on our roads or hydraulic (power steering) also as we have on some cars on our roads . The power steering reduces the effort needed to turn the steering wheel and makes maneuvering in a confirmed space much easier than with the conventional steering (mechanical steering).

With conventional steering some steering wheels may be wrenched out of a driver grip if a tyre bursts at high speed or if the car hits a large bump.

This does not happen with power steering .

Another advantage of the power steering is that car can be steered manually if the power fails.

The main components of a power steering are the same as the conventional type but plus a pump which supplies the fuild driven by the engine, sensing valves operated by movement of the steering wheels or by the deflection of the road wheels, the ram and piston assembly and the connecting pipes.

The maintenance procedure from the two systems are similar. But the power steering has the hydraulic system to be maintained in addition.

“Front wheel alignment is checked with different kinds of alignment equipment available in workshops and most petrol station. In checking front alignment you will measure camber, castor and toe – in. The toe - in can be adjusted if found incorrect.”

THE NIGERIAN

21

THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

Opinion “Because the ones that are not organic have health implications. If we must use those ones that are not organic, we must use them according to regulations.”

Health Hazards of Forcing Fruits To Ripe MRS Amara Egwu, a London-based Nigerian, returned home and bought some bananas for her child only to found that they did not ripen naturally.

Her friend was quick to alerted her that most fruits sold in the market were forced to ripe through the application of carbide and other ripening chemicals.

“I was really shocked when I noticed the whitish substance on the banana; but I never gave a thought that it was carbide.

“The effect of calcium carbide on fruit is that it appears to be ripened and therefore look attractive to a customer, while it is not as sweet as it ought to be had it matured naturally,” Egwu observed.

Experts say that ripening is the final stage of the maturation process in

By OKON EDEM/EDITH NWAPI

fruits when they change colour, soften and develop flavour, texture and aroma.

It is a process when fruits become more palatable, sweeter, less green, and softer; and it occurs naturally.

However, most fruit dealers and traders now engage in the habit of forcing fruits to ripe prematurely by applying chemical substances including carbide.

Experts warn that this practice is dangerous to human health and can cause damage to the liver and other vital organs of the body.

Miss Ebere Nwachukwu, an industrial chemist, condemned the practice of forcing fruits to ripe through the application

of chemicals.

Nwachukwu said that this practice could cause fruits to lose their natural ingredients and supplements they were meant to provide.

“Fruits are widely distributed in nature, commercially important and nutritionally indispensable food commodity.

“Being part of a balanced diet, fruits play a vital role in human nutrition by supplying necessary growth enhancing ingredients essential for maintaining normal health.”

Nwachukwu said that treating fruits with carbide was hazardous to health as they contain traces of arsenic and phosphorous

which, when dissolved in water, produces acetylene gas.

She explained that acetylene was a chemical compound not good for the body.

According to Nwachukwu, the consumption of such fruits might affect body organs and cause health problems like headaches, dizziness, mood disturbances, sleepiness, mental confusion, and memory loss.

She stressed that the practice of ripening fruit with chemicals should be discouraged due to the associated health hazards.

“Even though the acidity of fruit increases as it ripens; its higher acidity level does not make it sweeter.”

“However, most fruit dealers and traders now engage in the habit of forcing fruits to ripe prematurely by applying chemical substances including carbide.”

The industrial chemist further explained that the harmful effects of diseases like obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disorder and cancer could be limited by the potentiality of fruits, if they were allowed to ripe naturally.

Corroborating Nwachukwu’s views, Dr Adamu Onu of Garki Hospital, Abuja, said that forcing fruits to ripe prematurely was dangerous to health, adding that it could cause damage to the liver and other vital organs of the body.

Onu added that the application of chemicals on fruits can distort the natural taste and flavour of fruits.

Prof. Peter Onwualu, Director-General, Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), also warned against the use of nonorganic substances to ripen fruits.

Onwualu agreed that some non-organic chemicals if applied on fruits could be harmful to human health.

According to him, organic substances refer to a class of molecules that contain carbon, adding that the class of molecules includes everything likely to be considered edible.

Onwualu advised people to be careful of the kind of fruit ripening substance they apply, adding that some could be injurious to health.

He called for a regulation that would discourage the use chemicals for fruit ripening.

He said that the use of chemicals for fruit ripening was an issue for regulatory agencies like the Standard

Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and NAFDAC to take seriously.

He urged the regulatory agencies to conduct checks on those who use non-organic chemicals to ripen fruits and bring them to book.

“Some of the chemicals are dangerous; what the council recommends is that if people must use fruit ripening materials, we recommend more of organic-based ripening substances.

“Because the ones that are not organic have health implications. If we must use those ones that are not organic, we must use them according to regulations.

“Because there are regulations that say it must not be more than a certain concentration, so that it does not affect the health of people,’’ Onwualu said.

He advised Nigerians to embrace natural means of ripening fruits, saying that natural means were the best.

Mrs Alice Akudo, a fruit seller at the Wuse market, said she cannot deny the practice among her colleagues.

“It is true that most of our fruit dealers indulge in the use of strong chemicals to force fruits to ripe prematurely.

Experts say that calcium carbide is a dangerous and corrosive chemical compound that is made of carbon and iron, and commonly used for welding purposes.

They advised that the relevant agencies should educate fruit dealers on the danger of using carbide to ripen fruits for human consumption.

THE NIGERIAN

22

THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

Health

BALDNESS or hair loss is usually something only adults need to worry about.

But in a few case, teens lose their hair too and it may be a sign that something is going on.

According to KitsHealth.Org, Hair loss during adolescence can mean a person may be sick or just not eating right. Some medications or medical treatments, like chemotherapy for cancer, also cause hair loss. People can even lose their hair if they wear a hairstyle that pulls on the hair for a long time, such as braids.

Losing hair can be stressful during a time when you’re already concerned about appearance. Most of the time, hair loss during the teen years is temporary. With temporary hair loss, the hair usually grows back after the problem that causes it is corrected.

HAIR BASICS Hair is made of a type of protein called keratin. A single hair consists of a hair shaft (the part that shows), a root below the skin, and a follicle, from which the hair grows. At the lower end of the follicle is the hair bulb, where the hair ’s color pigment, or melanin, is produced.

Most people lose about 50 to 100 head hairs a day.

These hairs are replaced, they grow back in the same follicle on your head. This amount of hair loss is totally normal and no cause for worry. If you’re losing more than that, though, something might be wrong.

If you have hair loss and don’t know what’s causing it, talk to your doctor. A doctor can determine why the hair is falling out and suggest a treatment that will correct the underlying problem if necessary.

WHAT CAUSES HAIR LOSS? Here are some of the things that can cause hair loss in teens; ILLNESS OR MEDICAL CONDITIONS; Endocrine (hormonal ) conditions, such as uncontrolled diabetes or

thyroid disease, can interfere with hair production and causes hair loss. People with lupus can also lose hair. The hormone imbalance that occurs in polycystic ovary syndrome can cause hair loss in teen girls as well as adult women.

Medications: Some medications that have hair loss as a side effect may be prescribed for teens. These include acne medicines like isotretinoin, and lithium, which is used to treat bipolar disorder. Diet pills that contain amphetamines also can cause hair loss.

Chemotherapy drugs for caner are probably the most well-known medications that cause hair loss.

Alopecia areata: This skin disease causes hair loss on the scalp and sometimes elsewhere on the body. It affects 1.7% of the population, including more than 5 million people in the United States. Alopecia areata is thought to be an autoimmune disease, in which the hair follicles are damaged by a person’s own immune system.

(In autoimmune disease the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells, tissues, and organs in a person’s body).

Alopecia areata usually starts as one or more small, round bald patches on the scalp. These can get bigger, and in a small number of cases, can progress to total hair loss. Both guys and girls can get it, and it often begins in childhood. The hair usually grows back within a year, but not always. Sometimes people with alopecia areata lose their hair again.

TRICHOTILLOMANIA: Trichotillomania is a psychological disorder in which people repeatedly pull their hair out, often leaving bald patches. It results in areas of baldness and damaged hairs of different lengths. People with trichotillomania usually need professional help from a therapist or other mental health professional before they are able to stop pulling their hair out.

What You Must Know About Hair Loss

HAIR TREATMENTS AND STYLING: Having your hair chemically treated, such as getting your hair colored, bleached, straightened, or permed, and applying heat to hair (like using a hot iron or hot blow drying) can cause damage that may make the hair break off or fall out temporarily.

Another type of baldness that results from hair styling actually can be permanent.

Weaving hair pulled so tightly that it places tension on the scalp can result in a condition called traction alopecia. Traction alopecia

can be permanent if the style is worn for a long enough time that it damages the hair follicles.

POOR NUTRITION: Poor eating can contribute to hair loss. This is why some people with eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia lose their hair. The body isn’t getting enough protein, vitamins, and minerals to sustain hair growth. Some teens who are vegetatians also lose their hair if they

By ISEMHENBITA FAITH

don’t get enough protein from non-meat sources. And some athletes are at higher risk for hair loss because they may be more likely to develop iron-deficiency anemia.

DISRUPTION OF THE HAIR GROWTH CYCLE: Some major event can alter the hair ’s growth cycle temporary. For example,

delivering a baby, having surgery, going through a traumatic event, or having a serious illness or high fever can temporarily cause shedding of large amounts of hair. Because the hair we see on our heads has actually taken months to grow, a person might not notice any disruption of the hair growth cycle until months after the event that caused it. This type of hair loss corrects itself.

ANDROGENETIC

“Some major event can alter the hair’s growth cycle temporary.

For example, delivering a baby, having surgery, going through a traumatic event, or having a serious illness or high fever can temporarily cause shedding of large amounts of hair.”

ALOPECIA: Among adults, the most common cause of hair loss is androgenetic alopecia, sometimes called male or female pattern baldness. This condition is caused by a combination of factors, including hormones called androgens and genetics. Sometimes, the hair loss can start as early as the mid-teen years. It also can occur in people who take

steroids like testosterone to build their bodies.

WHAT CAN DOCTORS DO? If you see a doctor about hair loss, he or she will ask questions about your health and family health (called a medical history ) and check your scalp. In some cases, the doctor might take hair samples and test for certain medical conditions that can cause hair loss.

If medication is causing hair loss, ask the doctor if you can take a different drug. If your hair loss is due to an endocrine condition, like diabetes or thyroid disease or female- pattern baldness, proper treatment and control of the underlying disorder is important to reduce or

prevent hair loss.

If your doctor recommends it, a product like minoxidil that can increase hair growth in male-pattern baldness also might be helpful. Alopecia areata can be helped by treatment with corticosteroids. If nutritional deficiencies are found to be causing your hair loss, the doctor might refer you to a dietitian or other nutrition expert.

CATASTROPHIC HAIR LOSS Hair loss can be the first outward sign that a person is sick, so it may feel scary.

Teens who have cancer and lose their hair because of chemotherapy treatments (especially girls) might go through a difficult time. It can help to feel like you have some control over your appearance when you’re losing your hair. When getting chemotherapy, some people like to cut their hair or shave their heads before the falls out. Some even take the hair they cut off and have it made into a wig.

Many options can help disguise hair loss, such as wearing wigs, hair wraps, hats and base ball caps. For most teens who lose their hair, the hair does return including after chemotherapy.

TAKING CARE OF YOUR HAIR Eating a balanced, healthy diet is important for a lot of reasons, and it really benefits your hair. If you’re losing hair, some doctors recommend using baby shampoo, shampooing no more than once a day, and lathering gently. Don’t rub your hair too vigorously with a towel, either. Many hair expert suggest putting away the blow dryer and hair drying your hair instead. If you can’t live without your blow dryer, try using it on a low-heat setting.

Style your hair when it’s dry or damp. Styling your hair while it’s wet can cause it to stretch and break. And try to avoid teasing your hair, which can cause damage.

Finally, be careful when using chemicals such as strengtheners or color on your hair, and avoid frequent use of chemical treatments.

THE NIGERIAN

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THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

Religion

Divine Prosperity (5) HARVEST is usually a time to reap what you have sown. If you have sown nothing then you have nothing to reap in harvest time. In order to reap financial harvest if you are a Christian you have to sow in your tithes and offering.

Believe me, it works wonders! I like my readers to know I was in the, early years of my ministry shy to talk of tithing let alone practise it.

My church and the members dwindled into financial insignificance. It was when I learnt the secret of tithing and I began to encourage my congregation with biblical proofs to tithe and they began to practise it then things began to change dramatically for the mission and the members. I am about to unfold this secret to you.

Please you can help yourself by simply removing any trace or ioata of biasas and open the scriptures with me to understand what God wants you to learn. It can change your own situation also.

The history of tithe dates back to the Abrahamic period - Abraham was the first to tithe and he tithed to Melchizedek the king of Salem (Gen 14:18-20, Heb 7:11-2) “For this Meichizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God… Abraham gave a tenth part of all” Heb7: 1-2 Melehizedek received the tithe and blessed Abraham.

Meichizedek in biblical theology “is like unto the son of God”. He had no beginning and no end (Heb 7:3) Then on mount Sinai the lord through Moses the prophet, established the tithe as an ordinance to the people of Israel and was a condition for which he would recycle blessings unto the people.

They were to observe it faithfully. They were to pay one tenth to God of their harvest in fruits or herd or flock or convert the product in cash or money Ler 27:3234, Deut 14:22-25. If they tithed, then he added, “that

the lord thy God may bless thee in all thy work of thine hand which thou doest” Deut 14:29.

Then came the era of the generation of Malachi the prophet, the people stopped or became nonchalant with their tithe and paid less attention to it —God saw it as a way to forsake him and to abandon the ordinance.

Nothing worked out well for them. For they had forsaken God and God had equally forsaken them. Mal 3:6-7. That same way a child of God who refuses to tithe is seen as forsaking God and God will equally forsake him; so he will never get his prosperity from God. Now God spoke to the People of Israel what to do for a remedy.

“Return to me and I will return to you, saith the lord of host: Mal 3:7. How were they to return to God? But ye said, where in shall we return? Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me in tithes and offerings Mal 3:8.

Now the lord commanded “Bring yea all the tithes to the storehouse that there may be meat in my house AND PROVE ME HERE WITH .. .IF I WILL NOT OPEN YOU THE WINDOWS OF HEAVEN, AND POUR YOU OUT A BLESSINGS THAT THERE SAHLL NOT OOM ENOUGH TO RECEIVE IT” MAL 3 :10.

The prophecy explained how the lord would do it “I WILL REBUKE THE DEVOURERS FOR YOUR SAKES and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall cast her fruit before the time in the field . . .And all nations shall call you “ blessed” Mal 3:1112. What is obvious is that the tithe is an ordinance from God — the lord is delighted and for which sake he can release supernatural abundance to those who tithe He will “open the windows of heaven,” is a synonym of the supernatural move of God in provision of abundance to them that diligently tithe to

God. That is why tithing and offering can be regarded as sowing financial seed in the house of God for which you will reap abundantly by the supernatural hand of God as your financial harvest. Hence the Apostle Paul wrote: “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully” 2Cor 9:6.

I believe in tithing and offering as planting a seed faith for my financial harvest. God will do

proper place with God. He dose not know that he is also God’s heir. He does not know he is a prince or a princess of the kingdom.

As soon as you realize that you are a prince or a princess and your heavenly father is a king with abundant resources under his absolute command, then you should begin to believe and act as a prince or a princess not as a beggar. A prince who turns

it supernaturally. Believe this, try it out by faith and see what the lord will do in return; for Gods word shall stand forever.

Isa 40:8.

TAPPING FROM GOD’S RESOURCES God is absolutely rich. He is the source of divine wealth.

Every genuine wealth that is achieved can be attributable to him. I dont mean fraudulent wealth. Genuine wealth is from God whereas fraudulent wealth is linked to Satan. Now I am talking of tapping from the wealth of God. A Christian who lives in penury and disease or a defeated life of failure lacks knowledge of God. He has not taken his

to be a beggar is no longer a prince but a prodigal son, for though he had enjoyed the benevolence of the father, he had squandered it. As a child of God, and a born again Christian, I am a prince. My heavenly father is the king of the whole universe. So why then must I suffer lack?

Cant you try to imagine this misnomer as a strange anomaly? The Bible tells us clearly that our God is rich and owns the whole universe — in the following bible verses: The earth is the lord’s and the fullness there of Ps 24: 1.

“For every beast of the

“A Christian who lives in penury and disease or a defeated life of failure lacks knowledge of God. He has not taken his proper place with God. He dose not know that he is also God’s heir. He does not know he is a prince or a princess of the kingdom.”

With REV. DR. A. A. OPARA forest is mine; and the cattle upon a thousand hills. ... For the world is mine and the fullness there of Ps 50:10-12.

“The silver is mine and the gold is mine saith the lord of host” Hag 2:8. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the father of lights” Jas 1:17 Moses had said also to the people of Israel that God is the repository of divine wealth.

“BUT THOU SHALL REMEMBER THE LORD THY GOD: FOR IT IS HE THAT GIVETH THEE POWER TO GET WEALTH”

DEUT 8:18 ‘THERE SHALL BE NO POOR AMONG YOU; FOR THE LORD SHALL GREATLY BLESS THEE” DEUT 15:4.

Now if these words are Gods words, which never lie and which standeth forever according to the scriptures (Num 23:19, Isa 40 :8); then why should a CHRISTIAN SUFFER LACK, POVERTY AND DISEASES? lord Jesus told us what to do first to begin to receive abundance from God. When he said: “SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS AND ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE ADDED UNTO YOU” MATT 6:33 Now if you are a born again Christian sure you are a heir in God’s kingdom, you are to exercise the authority of a

heir to tap from God’s resources. I will teach you some principles: but first let us learn the lesson of the ants.

The proverbist wrote-“Go to the ant thou Sluggard, consider her ways and be wise which. ... provideth her meat in the summer and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep . . . sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

So shall thy poverty

come”Prov6:6—11.

What do you understand from above? That even though you are born again; full of prayers- don’t go walking the streets, thinking of picking coins on the ground for a testimony. Yes if you are born again and you happen to see some lost coins on the ground, or a bag of money, presume in the first instance it is a lost amount of money for which the owner is weeping and is looking for it. Kindly return such money to the rightful owner; for, it will do you greater good than pocket what does not belong to you and pretend it is “manna” from above. When “manna” falls from above you surely will know it by the revelation of the Holy Spirit. So you must not be a sluggard. You must work and not sleep away your precious and valuable time if you want God to bless you.

THE NIGERIAN

24

THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

International Taiwan Protesters Occupy Parliament Over China Trade Pact

Egypt security forces stand guard outside the Police Academy in Cairo recently.

TAIPEI - Hundreds of Taiwanese activists were locked in a tense standoff with police yesterday after they stormed parliament to try to stop the government ratifying a contentious trade agreement with China.

Around 200 protesters — mostly young students — broke through security barriers and took over parliament’s main chamber on Tuesday night, the first such occupation of the building in the island’s history.

They barricaded the doorways with piles of armchairs, blocking out hundreds of policemen who failed to push their way in early yesterday.

Egypt General, Colonel Killed In Clash With Militants

CAIRO - An Egyptian army brigadier general and a colonel were killed in a raid yesterday on a jihadist hideout, as security forces close their pincers on militants in the Nile Delta.

The Islamist militants have increasingly shifted their campaign from the restless Sinai Peninsula to the capital and other Nile Delta areas, with bombing and shooting attacks on security forces.

In the early morning raid north of Cairo, five jihadists with the Al-Qaeda-inspired Ansar Beit al-Maqdis group were also killed in the hours-long shootout, the interior ministry said.

The group has claimed responsibility for some of the deadliest attacks in a low-level insurgency that has killed more than 200 policemen and soldiers since the army overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July.

The cell targeted was suspected of involvement in a Saturday attack on a military checkpoint that killed six

soldiers, and the assassination in January of a deputy interior minister in Cairo.

They were hiding out near the Nile Delta town Al-Qanatir AlKhayriya, roughly 30 kilometres (19 miles) north of Cairo.

The officers killed in the raid were bomb disposal experts who participated in the operation alongside police, the military said.

It said “a large quantity of explosives” was found in the hideout, with the interior ministry saying militants had used explosive belts during the confrontation.

Most of the attacks following Morsi’s overthrow have taken place in the lawless Sinai Peninsula, where jihadist leaders are believed to be based.

Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (Partisans of Jerusalem), has spearheaded the attacks, claiming responsibility for bombing Cairo police headquarters in January and downing a military helicopter in the Sinai with a heat-seeking missile.

The group said last week that its founder, Tawfiq Mohamed Fareej, was killed recently when a car accident set off a bomb he was carrying.

Fareej was the “field commander” of an August 18, 2011 cross-border raid into Israel that killed eight Israelis, the group said.

He was involved in the failed assassination of the interior minister in September.

The group also acknowledged the death of one of its militants in a shootout with police in Cairo earlier in the month.

Mohamed al-Sayid al-Toukhi was killed in a gun battle with police after they tried to arrest him on suspicion of involvement in the January bombing of Cairo police headquarters.

Several new militant groups have cropped up amid a deadly security crackdown on Morsi’s supporters, which has killed at least 1,400 people, according to

Activists occupy Taiwan’s parliament yesterday to protest moves by the ruling Kuomintang party to ratify a countentious trade agreement with China.

Amnesty International.

A new Islamist group claimed responsibility this week for a spate of attacks on policemen in the Nile Delta it said targeted 28 security men.

Ansar al-Shariah, a name used by jihadist groups in other countries, recently announced its formation in Egypt, and issued a statement Monday taking credit for the attacks.

CHANGE OF NAME FALUYI – We, formerly known and addressed as Mr. Eghosa Faluyi and Mrs. Isoken Faluyi now wish to be known and addressed as Mr. Eghosa Uyi and Mrs. Isoken Uyi. All former documents remain valid. Concerned authorities and the general public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME OMOSUN – I, formerly known and addressed as Omosun Juliet .P. now wish to be known and addressed as Osemunu Juliet Ose. All former documents remain valid. Concerned authorities and the general public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME OYABURE – I, formerly Miss Itohan Oyabure now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Itohan OyabureOkafor. All former documents remain valid.

Zenith Bank Plc, general public and all concerned authorities and the general public should please take note.

Some 2,000 police including riot officers were mobilised over the course of the day to guard the parliament, said Taipei police chief Wang Cho-chun.

They attempted to keep order as hundreds more protesters swarmed into the grounds.

Parliament speaker Wang Jinpyng called for calm after 38 policemen were slightly injured following the early morning scuffle. At least ten civilians also received treatment for minor injuries. So far four people including three students have been arrested, police said.

“We will try to resolve this peacefully,” speaker Wang told reporters.

President Ma Ying-jeou appeared unfazed and called on parliament to pass the trade pact.

“Otherwise the international community will think we do not have the resolve and we are not sincere and trustworthy,” Ma told a meeting at ruling party headquarters.

Protesters vowed to stay in the

chamber till Friday, the day lawmakers are set to hold a full session to review the pact, student leader Lin Fei-fan told AFP. “We are not a mob and we are against violent means but scuffles could be inevitable if the police try to remove us, and the government should take full responsibility should that happen,” Lin said.

The pact signed in July is designed further to open up trade in services between China and Taiwan, which split 65 years ago after a civil war.

But the protesters say the agreement will damage Taiwan’s economy and leave it vulnerable to political pressure from China.

Inside the chamber demonstrators sang and waved placards, while stacking up large supplies of food and water.

They have accused the ruling Kuomintang party of “illegal” moves to ratify the agreement, and are demanding a clause-byclause review of it.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

KOKONMA – I, formerly Mrs. Jayne Kokonma Diji is now Mrs. Jayne Esohe K o k o n m a Obamwonyi.

All former documents remain valid. Mainstreet Bank Limited and general public should please take note.

OBA – I, formerly known and addressed as Mabel Idemudia Oba now wish to be known and addressed as Florence Esememe Ehidiame. All former documents remain valid.

Concerned authorities and the general public should please take note.

PUBLIC NOTICE

MISSING CERTIFICATE

I, Maureen Agahro wish to bring for the information of the general public that my WAEC certrificate of May/June, 1999 to 2000 has been declared missing since December 24th, 2009 in Benin City, and all efforts made to trace the said certificate proved abortive.

Concerned authorities and the general public should please take note.

PUBLIC NOTICE CHRIST GLORIOUS AND GRACE ASSEMBLY

The general public is hereby notified that the above named Church has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under the Companies and Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990 BOARD OF TRUSTEES 1. Blessing Osagie - General Overseer 2. Favour Osagie - Secretary 3. Gloria Onyeme 4. Suru George Isoken 5. Patricia Idogeni 6. Osarugue Aragua AIMS & OBJECTIVES 1. To preach the gospel to all nation of the world in accordance with the words of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2. To preach and train Christians to possess the good Christian virtues.

3. As a church we seek to promote unity amongst Christians, by de-emphasing those things that divide us.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar- General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420 Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication. .

Signed: Barr. Bright Agbonifo

THE NIGERIAN

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THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

International Italian Ships Rescue Over 2,000 Migrants ROME - Italian naval and coastguard vessels rescued more than 2,000 migrants travelling in boats from North Africa over the past 48 hours, authorities said yesterday, underlining the scale of illegal migration into southern Europe.

The announcement came a day after some 500 people forced their way into Spain’s North African enclave of Melilla, the largest number to storm the border in almost a decade.

The Italian navy said 2,128

migrants had been rescued by ships operating in the Mare Nostrum taskforce off the southern coast of Sicily, including 596 picked up at sea on March 17 who were expected to arrive in the port of Augusta on Wednesday.

Three merchant ships also took part in the rescue operation, the navy statement said.

Italy has struggled for decades with a steady stream of migrants travelling in small, unsafe boats from North Africa to the tiny

JERUSALEM - A roadside bomb wounded four Israeli soldiers on the occupied Golan Heights Tuesday, prompting artillery fire into Syria and a sharp warning that Israel would act forcefully to defend itself.

The army said one of the soldiers was severely wounded in what was the third such incident in two weeks along Israel’s northern frontier, prompting a blunt warning from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Recently the border with Syria has filled with jihadists and Hezbollah elements, which represents a new threat for the state of Israel,” he said, referring to Lebanon’s powerful Shiite movement, which is fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s troops.

Netanyahu said the ceasefire line in the Golan had remained largely calm, despite the threeyear civil war raging in Syria, but that Israel would not hesitate to act in self-defence.

“We will act forcefully to preserve Israel’s security,” he warned.

Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility, analysts pointed to similarities with an explosion last week targeting troops along the Lebanese border, which was blamed on Hezbollah, and a similar attempt in the Golan on March 5.

An Israeli security source said Tuesday’s incident targeted a patrol driving along the ceasefire line near the Druze town of Majdal Shams.

“The soldiers were in a jeep near the fence and they saw something suspicious, so they got out and that’s when the device went off,” the source told AFP. The Israeli army confirmed four soldiers had been wounded by an explosive device, prompting troops to open fire on Syrian military positions.

“We view the Syrian army as responsible for this incident...

this indicates our response to the attack,” military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner told reporters, saying it was the most serious incident on the Golan since the outbreak of the Syrian uprising in March 2011.

He was unable to confirm whether or not Hezbollah had been involved in the blast, which he said struck “adjacent to the fence, east of Majdal Shams, in the area under Israeli sovereignty.”

island of Lampedusa, midway between Tunisia and Sicily. But the problem has ballooned since the “Arab Spring” turmoil of 2011, the breakdown of order in Libya and civil war in Syria.

According to latest data from Frontex, the European Union’s border agency, more than 20,000 people entered Europe illegally through Lampedusa and other parts of Sicily in the third quarter of

2013 alone. They accounted for almost half of all illegal border crossings into the 28nation EU. Italy has stepped up naval and air patrols off the coast of Sicily since hundreds of

migrants drowned last year in two separate disasters near Lampedusa.

But the number of arrivals is expected to rise as sailing conditions improve with the onset of spring.

Israel Vows Response As 4 Troops Injure

Israeli soldiers prepare to evacuate a comrade injured in a blast on the occupied Golan Heights recently near the village of Majdal Shams.

Turkish Gunman Kills 7 In Suicide Attack

Anti-government protesters travel on a pick-up truck near the Interior Ministry building, which is being surrounded by fellow protesters in Bangkok recently.

ANKARA - A gunman yesterday stormed a branch of Turkey’s statistics agency, took colleagues hostage before opening fire and killing six of them. He then turned the gun on himself, officials and reports said.

Eyup Tepe, the governor for Kars where the attack took place, said the shooting was not political or terrorism-related. He said the gunman, identified as 33year old Veysi Erim, was employed as a sociologist at the agency and was receiving treatment for psychological problems.

“It is believed that Erim who was suffering from

psychological problems and was receiving treatment, carried out the attack during a state of hysteria,” a statement from Tepe’s office said.

The statistical agency, TUIK, said Erim was an employee, denying earlier media reports that had said the man had recently been dismissed.

Tepe said the dead included the agency’s manager and five employees. One other employee was injured in the attack.

The private Dogan news agency said there were some 40 employees at the agency at the time of the attack.

increased, moving from the restive northern Sinai Peninsula closer to the capital.

Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, based in Sinai, has claimed responsibility for most of the major attacks in and near Cairo. The most recent attack came Saturday when gunmen stormed a military police checkpoint, killing six soldiers, in an area not far from the workshop raided yesterday.

Egypt’s military-backed interim government has accused the Muslim Brotherhood — which rose to power following the 2011 ouster of longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak — of orchestrating much of the violence and has declared it a terrorist organization. The Brotherhood, from which Morsi hails, denies the charges, insisting it is pursuing peaceful means to reinstate him.

Egypt Bomb Factory Raid Kills 2 Troops CAIRO - A raid by Egyptian police, military and special forces on a suspected bomb factory outside of Cairo turned into an hourslong gun battle with insurgents who detonated car bombs, fighting that killed two military officers and five militants, the Interior Ministry said yesterday.

The ministry, which is in charge of police, said an investigation showed that

the al-Qaida-inspired militant group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, or Champions of Jerusalem, used the timber workshop in Arab Sharkas village in Qalioubiya province to build and store bombs.

During the raid yesterday morning, militants opened fire on security forces and set off the car bombs, sparking a gun battle that lasted several hours, the ministry said.

The fighting killed a brigadier general and a colonel, both explosive experts, military spokesman Col. Ahmed Mohammed Ali said in a post on his Facebook page. Authorities arrested four suspected militants, the ministry said.

In the eight months since the military removed Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, violence targeting police officers and soldiers has

THE NIGERIAN

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THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

International

XI Jinping, China President.

the Korean War in 1953.

Its leaders have been trying to compensate with more realistic training scenarios, including joint maritime search and rescue exercises with other nations. “ E v e r y o n e understands, without anything being said, that the U.S. has unmatched search and rescue capabilities that reflect the size and sophistication of its air and naval forces,” said Avery Goldstein, a China security expert at the University of Pennsylvania. “China’s capabilities in this

international stage for the P-8 Poseidon, one of the newest additions to the Navy’s air capabilities. The Navy touts the aircraft as the world’s most advanced anti-submarine and antisurface ship reconnaissance plane and says it can cover 15,000 square miles (38,850 square kilometers) in a ninehour flight.

China, meanwhile, has sent most of its ships involved in the search toward Singapore, where they will split into two groups, one traveling north and the

regard are improving but not yet in the same league, especially for operations at great distance from the Chinese mainland.”

Given new clues from radar and satellite data that the missing Boeing 777 turned west and flew on for several more hours, the search has shifted to a vast swath of land and sea stretching from the southern Indian Ocean up to Kazakhstan.

That’s an area that neither China nor the U.S. has traditionally put much emphasis on, and has forced both to rethink their strategies.

The U.S. Navy decided that long-range naval aircraft were a more efficient way to search such a vast area, so will be relying on P-3 and P8 planes, while the two destroyers go back to normal duties.

The mission is one of the first on the

other south. They will be searching two huge blocks of ocean off the coast of Sumatra and near the Andaman Islands — a total area of 300,000 square kilometers (186,000 square miles), or roughly three times the area they searched in the South China Sea. A big problem for China is its bad blood with virtually all of its neighbors, many of whom are key players in the search. China has territorial disputes with India, Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam, and many other countries in the region are wary of its efforts to exert more control over Pacific shipping lanes that could impact their freedom of trade.

“China is strong in terms of hardware, but it lacks experience and good security ties with

Search For Lost Jet Tests China, US Capabilities

FINDING the missing Malaysian jetliner would be a coup for any of the more than two dozen countries out there looking. But for China and the United States, it’s a lot more than that — it has been a chance for the two rival powers in the Pacific to show off what they can do in a real-life humanitarian mission across one of the world’s most hotly contested regions.

The hunt has major ramifications for Beijing, which has been rapidly improving its military while aggressively challenging neighbors over territorial disputes. Washington is looking to prove it’s still the top dog to allies worried about how seriously it takes the threat China poses to the Pacific status quo.

So far, neither country has come up with anything significant. But they have been vigorously waving their flags.

China has the most at stake and has been taking an unusually high-profile role. Almost immediately after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared March 8, China dispatched its largest-ever rescue flotilla to the initial search area in the South China Sea, which Beijing considers its

own backyard.

Beijing sent four warships and five coast guard and civilian patrol service vessels, along with helicopters and fixed-wing surveillance aircraft. Among the warships are two of China’s largest and most advanced amphibious docking ships. The 20,000-ton vessels are equipped with helicopters and a range of small boats, including up to four hovercrafts.

“On the one hand, China is simply doing its duty in orchestration with other countries,” said Ni Lexiong, a military expert at Shanghai’s University of Political Science and Law. “On the other hand, this operation offers an opportunity to assess the Chinese navy’s willpower, efficiency and ability to carry out operations far from home, especially in comparison with the U.S.” Fresh off a massive relief effort after Typhoon Haiyan devastated the Philippines — which China barely got involved in — the U.S. was once again quick to respond. Within days, the Navy had two destroyers in the South China Sea participating in the search, the USS Kidd and the USS

Pinckney. Both are both based in San Diego but were training in the area when the jet disappeared.

Since the flight was bound for Beijing and two-thirds of the passengers were Chinese, the public expects the government and military to pull out all the stops. With more Chinese traveling abroad than ever — 100 million last year, more than double the figure for 2009 — they are increasingly reliant on their government to assist and protect them when overseas, and they are looking for proof that it can fulfill that role.

National prestige is also a huge factor.

Though the U.S. remains the dominant power in the Pacific, China deeply craves that role. Sizable chunks of its defense spending, which has grown significantly over the past two decades to $131 billion, have been devoted to boosting its ability to project force for both military and humanitarian missions.

China’s Achilles’ heel is its relative lack of experience, not having fought in a major conflict since the end of

regional states,” said China expert Li Mingjiang at Singapore Nanyang Technological University. “The U.S. sailors have far better networking with their regional counterparts, making it more possible for the U.S. to play a leading role in the search and rescue effort.”

Chinese officials haven’t done themselves any favors by criticizing Malaysia’s leadership in the search effort. Some saw that as an attempt to shift public attention away from its own shortcomings, and Beijing’s weak militaryto-military relationship with Malaysia probably exacerbated the issue.

Japan, which is Washington’s staunchest ally in Asia and is locked in a tense dispute with China over several small islands, has been watching Beijing’s response especially closely. Experts in Tokyo say that while they remain skeptical, there is hope that by coming together with other countries to pursue a common goal, China may learn to work more amiably with its neighbors.

“Some people say China is trying to use the mission as a way to show off its presence, but that also means they are stepping up their efforts and capabilities in disaster relief,” said Kyouji Yanagisawa, a former Japanese Cabinet adviser on national security. “This is a search operation and I think it could be an opportunity to cultivate trust among participating countries, rather than conflict.”

“Though the U.S. remains the dominant power in the Pacific, China deeply craves that role.

Sizable chunks of its defense spending, which has grown significantly over the past two decades to $131 billion, have been devoted to boosting its ability to project force for both military and humanitarian missions.”

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Man & Nature

With O.C Madu

Reward And Punishment For Man MEN arouse yourselves at last. The fruit of every thought will return to you, here or there and you have to taste of it. No one can escape this reality. Face the facts bodly. You thereby, make it easy for yourselves, for here progress is quicker (Abdrushin).

Make a start, but realize that all old debts must be settled.

Do not expect blessings to rain down upon you immediately, as many fools do. Perhaps some of you still have a long chain to expiate.

But he, who despairs on that account only harms himself, because, it cannot be spared and remitted for him.

Through hesitation, he only makes everything more difficult for himself, perhaps for a long time impossible.

This should spur him on not to delay another hour, for he only begins to like when he takes the first step. Happy is he, who plucks up the courage to do so for link by link, he will be released. He can rush a head with giant strides, jubilantly and gratefully overcoming also, the last obstacle for he becomes free.

The stones that his previous wrong-doing had heaped up before him like a wall, inevitably barring his advancement will be carefully laid out before him, so that, he may recognize and surround him as soon as he has evidences of his good will (Abdru-shin).

With tender forbearance, the way will be made easy for him as a child’s first step aided by its mother. Should there be things in his former life that were silent source of apprehension to him and which he would rather let sleep forever, quite unexpectedly, he will be placed directly before them.

He must decide, he must act in a sticking way, he is urged to do so through the enchainment.

Abd-ru-shin the author of

grail message says if he then ventures to take the first step, trusting in the victory of the good volition, the fateful knot is severed, he passes through and is freed from it.

But hardly is this debt settled than already the next one in some form or other presents itself to him, requesting as it were also, to be settled. Thus, one by one, the fetters that restricted him were bound to weight him down are burst. He feels so light and the feeling of lightness which some of you have surely experienced at one time or another is no illusion, but the effect of reality.

The spirit thus, freed from pressure, becomes, light and in accordance with its lightness, it now belongs.

And so, it must rise steadily upwards towards the longed for light and the evil volition presses the spirit down and makes it heavy, whereas, a good volition uplifts it.

For this too, Jesus has already shown us the simple way for deep truth lies in the simple words. “Love thy neighbour as thyself”. With these words, he gave the key to freedom and ascent.

Because, it is an irrefutable fact.

Abd-ru-shin admonishes us that what we do for our neighbour, we in reality only for ourselves, solely for ourselves since, according to the eternal laws, everything returns to us without fail, good or evil, either already here or there, it will surely come. Thus, you are shown the simplest of ways in which this step to the good volition is to be understood.

The admonition is: you should give to your neighbour with your being, your nature, not necessarily with money and goods, for then, t hose without means would be excluded from the possibility of giving. And in this being, in this giving your self in relation with your

neighbour, in the consideration and respect, you voluntarily offer him, lies the “Love” of which Jesus speaks, it also lies, the help you give to your neighbour, because, it enable him to change himself or ascend further and because, he gains strength from it.

The returning radiation Abd-ru-shin says however, will quickly uplift you in their reciprocal action. You will

enforced atonement is in sight of such great value is this that all the treasures of this world cannot out weigh it.

He thus, struggles free from the chains that fetter him.

Which he is constantly forging for himself.

Therefore, rouse yourselves from your enervating sleep.

Let the awakening come at last.

Away with the intoxication

Only that which does not conform to the laws of creation Abd-ru-shin says can have an unnatural effect, just such things.

Through creation, God also, speaks and clearly shows his will. To recognize this will is the duty of man. And son of God in His Holy Word showed the right way to do so. Because, men had made no effort toward it and had

eagerness to work, most gratefully looking up to God because recognition links him for all time through the knowledge.

It is dogging that is to blame for a great number of those who, in their antagonise, seek to overstep the mark altogether, very often against the certainty living within them. The hour is not far distant, however, when spiritual awakening will

receive continually new strength through them. With a soaring flight, you will then be able to strive towards the light. Poor fools are they, who can still ask: “What do I gain by giving up so many old habits and changing myself”.

The moment a man begins to exert his good volition, he also, marks the end of his obligation to make atonement, which he must fulfill and can never escape.

In this respect, no one else can take his place. Thus, with this resolution, the end of the

that beings the paralyzing delusion that redemption through the saviour has become a letter of safe conduct, enabling you to spend your whole life in careless elfishness, provided that in the end you embrace the faith, turn back and depart this earth believing in the saviour and his work. Fools to expect such miserable detective piece work from God head. That indeed would mean cultivating evil.

Therefore, remember this and free yourselves.

thus, entangled themselves more and more in the self acting laws of creation.

Reward and punishment for man lie in the weaving of creation.

Which is perpetually and unswervingly guided by the will of God itself. In it lies rejection or redemption. It is relentless and just, always impartial, never arbitrary. In it lies the indescribable greatness of God, his love and justice that is in his work which he made over to man and to many other beings, as a dwelling place and a home.

Abd-ru-shin says that the time has now come for men to acquire the knowledge of it, so that, with complete conviction they will come to the recognition of God’s activity which is expressed in his work. Then, every earthman will stand quite unshakeable here on earth filled with the most joyful

come, when the works of the redeemer will be rightly interpreted and his great work of redemption rightly grasped, for Christ brought redemption from the darkness by pointing out the way to the truth, by showing man the part to the luminous height.

And with his blood shed on the cross he set the seal to his conviction.

Truth has never yet been different from what it was even then and is today and still will be ten of thousands of years hence, for it is eternal. Only the heeding and recognising of the lawfulness in creation and its application to earth-life, brings about genuine progress, ensuring not only earthly benefit but above all spiritual values.

Therefore, learn to know the laws contain in great book of the entire creation.

“Through creation, God also, speaks and clearly shows his will. To recognize this will is the duty of man. And son of God in His Holy Word showed the right way to do so. Because, men had made no effort toward it and had thus, entangled themselves more and more in the self acting laws of creation.”

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THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

Money Can’t Buy Success LIVERPOOL manager Brendan Rodgers has insisted heavy investment in players is no guarantee of success.

Chelsea have spent 112.7 million pounds on new arrivals in the last two transfer windows and Manchester City 102 million pounds, but Liverpool have

Brendan Rodgers

-Rodgers

surged up to second in the Premier League on a relatively meagre transfer outlay of 50.2 million pounds.

Their 3-0 win at Manchester United last Sunday left them four points off leaders Chelsea, having played a game less, with Jose Mourinho’s side and fellow title rivals City still to go to Anfield.

As Liverpool mount a challenge for their first league title since 1990, Rodgers ascribed the club’s upward mobility to his players embracing his philosophy.

“Teams spend a billion quid and it does not guarantee anything,” Rodgers said. “Once you put your ideas in place and the players start to crack it, we will have success. Money can’t

buy that.

“It is about coaching and manmanagement and dealing with people, having a great staff, finding a cause for the players to fight for. All of that comes into it and that is something we have done in the period I have been here.

“Of course we will be in the market for good and top players but there is more to it than that.”

He added: “You know when you’re employed by Liverpool it is not to sit in seventh. You have to be up there and try to be the best. The players believe in it, the work has got them the rewards, and I’m not surprised by it. It’s a bit earlier that what I thought, maybe by a year, but I am not surprised.

“Having the money is great and we will be in the market to compete but what is important is still having a vision of how you want the club to progress.”

Liverpool Drubbing Has Changed Nothing MANCHESTER United manager David Moyes insists that the 3-0 loss to Liverpool has changed nothing.

The Scot is enduring a torrid opening season at the Old Trafford helm and hit a new low at the weekend, when a pair of Steven Gerrard penalties helped United’s arch-rivals silence the Theatre of Dreams in a 3-0 win.

With United trailing Greek underdogs Olympiacos 2-0 ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League last-16 second leg in Manchester, Moyes remains bullish amid renewed speculation he will be relieved of his duties.

The 50-year-old said: “My future has not changed one bit.

I’ve got a great job. I know exactly the direction I want to go in. It’s not been the season

Chelsea Ready To Face Big Guns, Says Mourinho

JOSE Mourinho insists Chelsea have no fears about facing one of Europe’s super-powers in the Champions League after his side strolled into the quarter-finals with a 2-0 win over Galatasaray. own trumpet and instead Mourinho’s team barely had praised his players for a to break sweat to see off composed and clinical display. lacklustre Galatasaray in the “I never lost in the quarterlast 16 second leg at Stamford finals?

I never thought about it.

Bridge on Tuesday as first half goals from Samuel Eto’o and Gary Cahill sealed a 3-1 aggregate victory.

The scoreline didn’t do justice to Chelsea’s dominance, but sterner tests lie ahead for the Premier League leaders, with the likes of holders Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Paris Saint Germain already through to the last eight.

Facing one of those starstudded sides would be a major step up in class for a relatively young Chelsea team that Mourinho believes is still to reach its full potential.

But the Blues boss is confident his players can hold their own against anyone and he expects they would relish the chance to knock out one of the giants of the European scene.

Samuel Eto’o celebrates “All the big teams are there, all the big candidates to win the competition. We welcome any of them,” Mourinho said.

“It will be very good for our evolution as a team if we can play one of the best. We wait for the draw.”

GALATASARAY striker While the likes of Eden Didier Drogba has expressed the Hazard, Oscar and Willian are mixed emotions he felt when he enjoying their first serious returned to Stamford Bridge on assault on Europe’s elite club Tuesday evening. prize, few managers are more The Ivoirian and his team battle-hardened when it comes were eliminated from the UEFA to the latter stages of the Champions League after competition than Mourinho.

The Portuguese has already Chelsea recorded a 3-1 won the Champions League aggregate win over Galatasaray with Porto and Inter Milan. following a 2-0 victory in the Asked if he felt his reverse fixture in London. impressive European pedigree Drogba says it was a “great would make Chelsea a feared feeling” to be so warmly opponent even in such welcomed back by the Stamford illustrious company, Mourinho Bridge crowd, but the result for once declined to blow his disappointed him.

I know that I have a lot of matches in the Champions League,” he said.

“It was a very good performance. We were solid and compact with no fears.

“We were very much in control. We had the best chances and maybe the result could have

Drogba Left With Mixed Emotions “[A reception like that] shows that you have achieved something at a club,” he said after the game.

“It was very nice, it was a great feeling but in the end the result makes me a bit sad because we are out of the competition.

“But our team is young and we are learning and I hope we come back to this stage again.”

Drogba won the Champions League with Chelsea back in 2012, scoring the decisive penalty at the Alianz Arena against Bayern Munich.

been bigger because we were much better than Galatasaray.”

Chelsea’s progress to the last eight was tinged with sympathy for Galatasaray striker Didier Drogba, the Blues legend who cut a frustrated figure on his first return to the Bridge since his exit in 2012.

Drogba, who won the Champions League final against Bayern Munich with his last kick for Chelsea in 2012, was given a tremendous reception before the game and Blues fans chanted his name throughout the match.

But Galatasaray were so poor that the 36-year-old rarely had a chance to shatter his old club’s European dreams.

“I think the most difficult thing was the way his team played. When you are a striker and your team doesn’t produce attacking football you feel a lonely man,” Mourinho added.

“It can happen to any striker in the world. He didn’t do much but Gary (Cahill) and John (Terry) did a fantastic job against two very good strikers.

Because of that we didn’t see Didier in many attacking positions.”

Galatasaray boss Roberto Mancini, an old rival of Mourinho’s, cut a downcast figure as he contemplated the latest Champions League flop of his long career.

Mancini, who failed to make any impact in the competition with Manchester City and Inter Milan, said: “It is difficult to say much about the game because we didn’t play well.

Chelsea were much better than us. We didn’t have any chances. I am very sorry for our supporters.

“I don’t know how to explain it. We knew it was an important game but after the way we played in Istanbul I thought we were in the tie and had a chance to score. But it didn’t happen on the pitch.”

we had hoped but I’ve got ideas to put in place when the time is right.

“The most important thing right now is to get the Olympiacos game played. If we can get past them, it’d be a massive lift for us. We’ve got a lot of belief and we have to make it show by playing well in the game.

“The support inside Old Trafford has been phenomenal.

I think the players will tell you that the first thing I mentioned was that we need to start giving something back now. We need to give them a night to be remembered.

“The biggest assurance is just that they let me get on with the job. We never discuss it - we just talk about the future, making plans for the years going forward. This club is not a club that works on a short-term vision. It works on a long-term vision.

“When you lose in the fashion we did to one of our biggest rivals, there’s always a lot of disappointment. It was always going to be a big week with Liverpool and Olympiacos.

“As soon as it was over, we

-Moyes

were focused on this game. It’s the only thing that matters now.

“I see the players every day and the qualities they show me, they know they can play better.

I’ve got belief in the players because I see what they can do and hope they show it.”

On his relationship with former United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, Moyes added: “I speak to him regularly and when he’s at the games.

“He has been very supportive.

He told me it would be a difficult job before I came in, but he and (vice chairman) Ed Woodward are very supportive.”

David Moyes

Ameobi Frustrated By Lack Of Game Time NEWCASTLE Untied striker Shola Ameobi has admitted that he is growing increasingly frustrated by a lack of game time.

The Nigerian marksman has started only 10 games for the Magpies in the league this season, the last coming in the humiliating 3-0 defeat to rivals Sunderland.

The 32-year-old has struggled to find the net, while the likes of Loic Remy and Yoan Gouffran have accumulated 19 between them.

Ameobi has in fact yet to score in the current league campaign, but hopes he can turn things around and help the club finish strongly.

“It is frustrating for me, but I just have to bide my time,” Ameobi told the Shields Gazette.

“I have loved my time in Newcastle, now more so then when I’m playing.

“I just want to help the team.

When that doesn’t happen it is frustrating.

“I know the manager picks a team he thinks can win. We have to respect that as a player, but it doesn’t stop it being frustrating.

“Hopefully, I can help us in these last nine games and get us as high as we can.”

Shola Ameobi

‘We Have Nothing To Lose’ TOTTENHAM Hotspur winger Andros Townsend has expressed that Spurs have nothing to lose heading into their second leg tie with Portuguese outfit Benfica on Thursday.

Spurs’ chances of reaching the last eight are hanging on a thread, following a 3-1 loss at White Hart Lane in the first leg.

Despite their deficit,

Townsend has hinted that the North London club will play an attacking brand of football as they look to complete in unlikely comeback at the Estadio da Luz. “We have got nothing to lose,” Townsend told his club’s official website.

“We are two goals behind from the home leg, so we can go there, have a go and see what happens.”

CMYK

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Barca Success Became A Curse Pep Reveals PEP Guardiola has revealed he decided to leave Barcelona in 2012 because he felt he could no longer reach his players, telling the Audi Annual Report his glittering reign had come to feel like “a curse.”

Guardiola, now with Bayern Munich, succeeded Frank Rijkaard as Barca coach in 2008 after an impressive spell in charge of the club’s B team and, in a remarkable four-year spell, won 14 trophies including two Champions Leagues and three La Liga titles.

However, throughout his tenure he had always refused to commit to the club long-term and, in April 2012, he announced that he would be leaving at the end of the season, telling a news conference: “I have nothing left and need to recharge my batteries.”

The announcement had followed a 3-2 aggregate defeat to Chelsea in the Champions League semifinals, when the Blues came back from 2-0 down in the second leg at the Camp

Nou to claim a 2-2 draw despite being down to 10 men after John Terry’s dismissal.

Guardiola said that match, which had hinged on a Ramires goal on 45 minutes and a Lionel Messi penalty miss after the break, had convinced him he could no longer continue at the club with which he had made his name.

“That was a moment of great sadness — as if suddenly someone had switched the floodlights off,” he told the Audi Annual Report in one of his rare interviews. “We were better than our opponents but in the second leg conceded an unnecessary goal and the next thing we knew we were out of the competition.

“That was a very hard defeat for me. I had the feeling that I

was no longer able to reach my team, and if you can no longer reach your players then it is time to move on.”

Guardiola, who was a player in Johan Cruyff’s legendary 1992 European Cup-winning side, said his unprecedented success on the Barca bench ultimately proved his undoing.

“We were incredibly successful — 14 titles within four years meant the best era in the club’s history — but such things can also be a curse,” he said. “I found it increasingly difficult to motivate my team.”

The former Spain international ultimately spent a year away from coaching as he recuperated in New York, during which time he was heavily linked with jobs in the Premier League — notably Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United — and AC Milan in Serie A. However, in January 2013 it was confirmed that he would

Keller Takes Heart From Schalke Loss

SCHALKE coach Jens Keller was pleased with his side’s display on Tuesday night, despite seeing them crash out to Real Madrid in the Champions League.

The Royal Blues went down 3-1 in Madrid in their last-16 second leg, losing 9-2 on aggregate.

“We’re disappointed to lose, of course, but despite that I’m very pleased with my team’s performance,” Keller said, while explaining that there is no way “to completely shut down Real.”

Keller added: “The only frustrating thing was making two errors after 75 minutes that led to us conceding two goals.

Nevertheless, the team reacted well after the first-leg defeat.”

The Schalke boss, who started eight academy players, four of them still under 21, in Madrid, went on to praise the 19-year old Kaan Ayhan’s Champions League debut as “very impressive.”

Jens Keller

He was, however, left angered by captain Benedikt Hoewedes’ injury.

“Benedikt Hoewedes’ injury is frustrating. We don’t have a clear diagnosis yet and have to wait on an MRI scan,” he said.

“It’s something muscular, in any case. He probably won’t be able to play against Eintracht Braunschweig.”

Schalke sporting director Horst Heldt thanked the travelling fans who made the trip to Madrid in their thousands, despite the 6-1 defeat in the first leg.

“You probably don’t find that anywhere else, our supporters are unique. It was a home game atmosphere at the Bernabeu,” he said.

Heldt then singled out the fact that eight academy players started for Schalke.

“We are proud of our outstanding work in the Knappenschmiede [Schalke’s youth academy]. That’s also our way for the future,” he said.

“Many clubs talk about backing the youth players, and we just do it. We’ve got many talented players in our club.”

One of the many talents is Julian Draxler, who may have made his last Champions League appearance for the Royal Blues, with the Germany international being tipped for a summer transfer away from the club.

“We were much better than in the first leg, but we shouldn’t have conceded those goals after

half-time,” Draxler said. “We did a good job for a long time, but you could see that Real can place the ball anywhere and dominate. We’ll remember this match as a highlight and learn from it.”

The German press were also satisfied with the result, with Bild running the headline: “Thanks to [goalkeeper Ralf] Faehrmann! Schalke only drowns a bit.”

replace Jupp Heynckes as Bayern coach at the end of the season, and he revealed he had first made contact with the German club’s hierarchy during a preseason tournament in 2011.

He said: “Over an espresso I discussed my career plans with [chief executive] Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and [president] Uli Hoeness. Bayern’s current success was not foreseeable then.”

The news of his appointment was first reported by Sky Italia, and Guardiola believes he knows the source of the channel’s information.

“It appears that Silvio Berlusconi, who was president of AC Milan and the Italian Prime Minister at the same time, talked — maybe because I did not sign for his club,” he said.

Pep Guardiola

Martino ‘Set To Revamp Barca Squad’

A list of possible transfer targets drawn up by Barcelona coach Tata Martino has been revealed, reports in Spain claim.

Mundo Deportivo cite a story from ESPN Brazil that says Martino came up with the list in October and passed it to then president Sandro Rosell, with a view to making signings in the winter transfer window.

The window came and went without any arrivals to Camp Nou while Rosell himself stepped down to be replaced by Josep Maria Bartomeu due to the on-going Neymar case.

There are eight players on the list - four defenders, two

midfielders and two strikers.

Mundo Deportivo points out a goalkeeper isn’t included despite Victor Valdes’ departure being known as Borussia Monchengladbach’s MarcAndre Ter Stegen was already on the agenda.

The defenders requested by Martino were Borussia Dortmund’s Neven Subotic, Botafogo youngster Doria, Atletico Madrid left back Filipe Luis and Santiago Vergini, the Estudiantes player since loaned to Sunderland.

In midfielder, Martino

Alves Relishing Clasico

BARCELONA defender Dani Alves has revealed how much he loves playing Real Madrid, rating the Clasico second only to a Cup final.

Alves told GoIT that the Clasico provides a stage for the greatest players to show their worth, and added he even enjoyed the period two years ago when Madrid and Barca played each other repeatedly in close succession.

“A Clasico is the best game you can play, not counting Cup

Dani Alves

finals,” Alves said.

“When you really like football it’s the most desired game. When you play football professionally, the Clasico is the best game to play and I can’t wait,” he added.

“I was happy, delighted [in 2011-12 when Madrid and Barca played in the Champions League semi-final and the Copa del Rey semi-final] because the game I like was repeated four or five times.

“You have to make the most

of it. We know everyone is watching. That’s why you have to concentrate. We know there are plenty of people watching who think they can do better. “[The 6-2 win at Santiago Bernabeu] was a historic game for the supporters. But it was worth three points, like if we’d won 1-0.

“That was for the fans. What we gained winning 6-2 at the Bernabeu was worth three points for me.”

wanted either Dortmund’s Ilkay Gundogan or Atletico’s Arda Turan.

The two attackers named by the coach were Miroslav Klose, Lazio’s experienced Germany international, and Sergio Aguero, Manchester City’s Argentina teammate of Lionel Messi.

A price for Doria is quoted +7m (£5.86m) - as is a fee for Subotic.

The BosniaHerzegovina international was expected to cost +17m (£14.2m) and two friendlies with Dortmund, which Mundo Deportivo argues is a sign negotiations had been held.

Subotic’s teammate, Gundogan, is marked out as costing +22m (£18.4m), but there is also a notation that Cesc Fabregas and Sergi Roberto ‘need more minutes.’

Aguero is given a similar price tag of a fee plus friendlies - +28m (£23.4m) and two friendlies with City and a Barca B friendly.

Klose was expected to cost +2m (£1.6m) and the 35-yearold was marked down as a short-term signin

Asamoah Insists Juve Haven’t Won KWADWO Asamoah has quoted as saying on Title, Yet was insisted that Juventus have Ghanasoccernet.com. not yet won the Serie A title despite holding a 14 point advantage over second placed Roma.

The Bianconeri are sitting comfortably at the pinnacle of the league table heading into Week 29, and are well on course to acquiring their third successive league title.

And despite most of the

world’s media suggesting Antonio Conte and his troops have already got both hands on the title, Asamoah is not taking advantage of anything.

“We must not lose focus, because there are still too many games until the end of the season. However, if we continue like this we will arrive at the finish line,” he

“What I can say is that we are not making a lot of mistakes, we are doing things right. We are on the right track.”

Asamoah already has one Scudetto title to his name after winning it last season with Bianconeri in his debut campaign after joining from Udinese.

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Maradona Urges Napoli To Scoop Up Balotelli DIEGO Maradona has urged Napoli to take advantage of Mario Balotelli’s uncertain future at Milan and sign him in the summer.

The Italian international’s future at the club has increasingly grown in doubt after he was on the receiving end of more heavy criticism from the Milan fans.

“Napoli, get Balotelli!”

Maradona said in an interview for +Ntv. “It would be a sensational coup.”

The Argentine legend also went on to discuss the form of compatriot and Napoli striker, Gonzalo Higuain, this season.

“Gonzalo is a great person,” he told Radio Kiss Kiss in a separate interview. “I know his father too because we played football together and I must say he knows a lot about this sport.

“During the 2010 World Cup Gonzalo and I spoke at length.

“I hope he wins the next World Cup in Brazil and soon after wins the Scudetto wearing a Napoli shirt because, I can assure you, it’s the best thing in the world.”

1974 AFCON Star Kalambo Dies EX-Zambia midfielder and

Diego Maradona

2014 World Cup Final

Julian Green

that format was used in a final.

Meanwhile, Kalambo went on to become a coach and his last appointment was with National Assembly in 2011 and prior to that handled Konkola Blades.

The ex-Ndola United player also had coaching stints abroad with various clubs in Botswana.

Kalambo is survived by a wife and six children.

Kaiser Kalambo

Brazil Minister Pokes Fun At England

BRAZIL’S sports minister couldn’t resist making a playful joke at England’s expense regarding the weather in Manaus, where the Three Lions begin their World Cup campaign in what is set to be stifling heat.

It is a daunting assignment as humidity levels in the Amazon Prior to last year’s World Cup jungle can reach over 80 percent draw, England manager Roy during the Brazilian winter, with Hodgson described Manaus as “a England’s players having little or place to avoid”. no experience of playing in such However, England were drawn conditions. to play Italy in Manaus on in But Brazilian sports minister their opening World Cup group Aldo Rebelo said British match on June 14.

Bayern’s Green Chooses To Play For US Over Germany BAYERN Munich winger Julian Green, who has represented both Germany and the United States at the youth level, has pledged his international allegiance to America.

A dual citizen, Green was born in the United States and raised in Germany. His father is American and his mother German.

Green represented Germany at the Under 16, Under 17 and Under 19 levels, and the United States at Under 18s but said he was applying to the world’s governing body FIFA

1974 AFCON silver medallists Kaiser Kalambo has died.

The 60-year-old pioneering member of the famed 1974 team died in Lusaka on Tuesday after a long illness.

“He passed on around 10h00 hours on Tuesday and he was in hospital for three weeks,” his son Luka Kalambo said.

Exactly 40 years ago this month in Egypt, Kalambo and his team mates under the Croatborn coach Ante Buselic made their Africa Cup debut and later stormed to the final on the first attempt.

Zambia lost that final to Zaire in an epic replay in Cairo after drawing 2-2 after extra time in the first game on March 14 before the latter won game two 2-0 two days later.

It was the first and last time

for a one-time change of association so he can commit to the United States.

If his application is approved, the 18-year-old could be eligible to play for the United States at this year’s World Cup in Brazil.

“Obviously this was a big decision, and I spent a long time discussing it with my family,” Green said.

“I was born in Florida and my father still lives there, so I have deep roots in the US I’m very proud to be representing the United States.”

US head coach Juergen Klinsmann, who was part of the German team that won the 1990 World Cup, said he was delighted that Green had opted to play for his country of birth.

“As we have said, he is a very special talent. We wanted him to feel comfortable with our program and listen to his heart when making this decision,” Klinsmann said.

“I personally want to thank Kalle Rummenigge and everyone at Bayern Munich

for their support through this process. He is an exciting player with a tremendously bright future.”

Green was recently invited to join the US team camp before their friendly against Ukraine and said the experience convinced him that he should play for the United States.

He cannot play for the United States until his application has been approved but has been invited to join the team in a training camp before their next friendly versus Mexico in April.

“A big part of the decision was the experience I had in Frankfurt. All the players were super nice and welcomed me from the beginning,” Green said.

“Clint Dempsey gave me a jersey with my name on it, and the way they supported me gave me a lot of belief. The coaches have shown a lot of trust in me, and now I hope to do everything I can to earn a spot on the World Cup roster.”

imperial history in South America, which included control of the now independent state of Guyana, would help England acclimatise.

“The weather of Manaus is not totally strange to the English, “ Rebelo told a news conference in London on Tuesday. “It’s tropical weather that the subjects of the Queen already knew when they had the Empire where the sun never set.”

Hodgson, speaking after the draw, said: “It (Manaus) is in the middle of the Amazonian jungle and the temperatures and humidity are much, much greater than any other place in the country.

“I’m not even certain that Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia would have been jumping for joy if they were drawn there as it’s a difficult place to play. “I’ve never known Brazil, for example, to play any of their home matches in Manaus.”

However, his comments led to criticism from the city’s mayor, Arthur Virgilio Neto, who said England were “not welcome” in Manaus and also accused Hodgson of being “uneducated”.

However, Hodgson wrote to Neto, saying: “We are extremely happy to be visiting your city as part of our World Cup experience. “I know the city of Manaus will be a fine location for our team to be based ahead of the group stage match against Italy.”

And last month, after visiting the Amazonas Arena in Manaus,

SHEPOLOPOLO have bowed out of the Costa Rica 2014 FIFA Womens Under-17 World Cup after losing 4-0 to

Venezuela yesterday morning.

A second half hat trick by Gabriela Garcia ended Shepolopolo hopes of keeping

Hodgson told the BBC: “It is hot here, but World Cups are played in the summer.

“It was hot (in 2010) in South Africa and it was very hot in America in ’94,” he reflected, having been coach of Switzerland at the 1994 World Cup in the United States.

Roy Hodgson

Venezuela Eliminate Shepolopolo

Sepp Blatter

their quarterfinal dreams alive when their fate was sealed with a game to spare in their debut appearance in an international competition.

Shepolopolo are bottom of Group A on zero points together with hosts Costa Rica who are third after losing 1-0 to Italy on the same day.

Meanwhile, Venezuela took a 1-0 half time lead in the 14th minute through Deyna Castellanos.

Garcia then hit the target in the 47th, 59th and 86th minutes to seal Group A leaders Venezuela’s quarterfinal passage.

Shepolopolo will face hosts Costa Rica in dead rubber clash on March 23.

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Confed Cup

Warri Wolves Go For Goals

Flamingoes

Flamingoes Star Promises Glory And More Goals

NIGERIA striker Rasheedat Ajibade has said the team are capable of winning the U17 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica, while hoping to score more goals.

Ajibade broke the deadlock in Nigeria’s 2-1 win over China and has said she looks forward to getting more goals.

“I feel great and on top of the world to score the goal.

I will give my best all the time to the team, I want to score more goals,” Ajibade vowed.

“All we want from my Nigerians are their support

and prayers By God’s grace we won’t let Nigerians down, we won’t disappoint the country. By his grace, we will bring the cup back to Nigeria.”

Nigeria will play the second Group D match against Colombia today by 3.am Nigerian time, which is 8pm on Wednesday in Costa Rica.

Mexico lead the group

after they pounded Colombia 4-0 in their opening game of the competition.

Meanwhile, Flamingoes coach Bala Nikyu has insisted his team will not underrate Colombia.

“There won’t be any easy game at this tournament and we are not going to underrate Colombia just because we beat China 2-1 and they lost 4-0 to Mexico,” the coach said.

“We are going to approach the match against Colombia

Bayelsa Battle Unknown How “I was dizzy during the Bayelsa United captain Mine FC game, so I couldn’t continue Salomon Junior has said they hope to go past unknown How Mine FC of Zimbabwe in the CAF Confederation Cup. Bayelsa will fly out from Abuja to Zimbabwe to keep a date with How Mine FC on Saturday for the second round, first leg clash.

“It is going to be a good game for us, though we know nothing about our opponents, but football is the same everywhere, we just want to go on to the pitch, do our job and get a good result. We are gunning for victory,” Junior told MTNFootball.com Bayelsa United beat Kondzo of Congo 2-0 on aggregate to reach this stage of the competition, while

How Mine defeated St.Michel of Seychelles 6-4 on aggregate Bayelsa United goalkeeper Gambo Gideon, who was substituted against Gombe United in a Nigeria league match Sunday due to injury, has recovered and has been listed for the trip to Zimbabwe, while secondchoice Kazeem Yekeen is a major doubt as he suffered a hamstring injury against Gombe.

Gideon suffered dizziness and could not continue the game before Yekeen replaced him and suffered hamstring injury.

Gideon said he will be fit for the game.

the game. I suffered similar experience during the second leg of our CAF Confederation Cup game against Kondzo, but I managed to finish the game. I have started taken my medication and I am sure I will make the trip,” Gambo told MTNFootball.com Former Kwara United goalkeeper Yekeen was not lucky as the hamstring may keep him out for over a week and may miss the Confederation Cup clash.

“I don’t think I will play the Confederation Cup game. I am injured, I have hamstring injury but the medics here said they will observe me till Wednesday,” Yekeen told MTNFootball.com

with all seriousness and improved performance than we had against China because our objective is to win the first title for Nigeria.

“We are looking forward to the game knowing fully well that all the teams at this championship are here based on merit.”

Warri Wolves plan a big home win against Tunisian club CA Bizertin in a CAF Confederation Cup second round first leg tie on Sunday.

Wolves need want a convincing win over the Tunisians to have a good chance of advancing to the playoffs of the competition.

“We have to double our efforts to see that we get a favourable result and this is the first leg so we need to score goals,” said coach Paul Aigbogun.

The available information at our disposal confirmed that they are good and are currently doing well in their league but we are going to do our best.”

Warri Wolves forward Joshua Obaje told MTNFootball.com they are looking forward to a resounding victory.

We are taking this game very seriously because we know the importance of the game to our ambition,” he said.

“We will go all out for a convincing win since this is the first leg and we are playing home, a good win here will put us in a comfortable position for the return leg.” arri Wolves beat Union Douala (Cameroon) 4-3 on aggregate to reach this stage, while CA Bizertin beat Desportivo Huila (Angola) 3-0 on aggregate after winning both home and away.

The Nigerian club will be without star forward Etebo

Oghenekaro, who is away at Italian Serie A club Udinese for trials.

CHAN Eagles striker Gbolahan Salami is also out of this clash as he was not registered for the competition.

Warri Wolves media officer Moses Etu told MTNFootball.com Salami is not eligible to play the competition because he was not registered.

“Gbolahan (Salami) won’t play against CA Bizertin, this is because he was not registered for the CAF Confederation Cup. He joined us after registration for the competition has been done. We will register him when there is an opening,” Etu told MTNFootball.com Salami is yet to debut for Warri Wolves since his move from relegated Shooting Stars.

However, the cheering news is that skipper Azubuike Egwuekwe has rejoined the team after he missed the first leg match against Union Douala in Cameroon due to international duty for Nigeria.

Aminu Maigari

Lionel Messi Holds No Fear For Keshi

Nigeria head coach Stephen Keshi claims that he is not worried about the prospect of facing Argentina’s Lionel Messi in Group F at the World Cup. Messi this week broke Barcelona’s all-time scoring record when he hit a hat trick

• Lionel Messi

against Osasuna to take his tally to 371 goals in 453 games for the club. He is tipped to lead Argentina’s charge to the World Cup trophy in Brazil this summer, but Keshi is not

thinking about one player above any other when they clash on June 25 in Porto Alegre.

“Messi is probably the best footballer in the world but we cannot lose sleep about him because there will be 10 others on the pitch that day,” Keshi told Supersport.

“I didn’t feel bad about the fact that we will play against Argentina in the group stages because even if we didn’t draw them, we would have met teams like, Spain, Germany, Brazil or England.

“We have been drawn against Argentina. There’s nothing we can do about that.

We just have to get ourselves ready.”

Nigeria, who won the 2013 African Nations Cup last year, face Iran at the Arena da Baixada, Curitiba on June 16, then Bosnia-Herzegovina in their second game at the Arena Pantanal, Cuiaba, before finishing off against Argentina.

CMYK

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THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

Campaign, Sensitization And Gimmickry We live in a world of oddities where one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. The best time to decide whether to climb up or not is when one is yet on the ground, not after one has climbed half way. In essence, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, should by now be deciding if it is honestly prepared to conduct the 2015 general elections.

We think INEC is unprepared.

How else does one explain a situation where INEC would issue a time-table for the 2015 events, in which it clearly states that political parties must not engage in campaigns until a particular date; but barely a day after that pronouncement, the big elephant party breaks that rule and INEC is looking the other way? In breaking the rule, the elephantine party, perhaps in active connivance with the supposed umpire, changes the language of engagement from campaign to sensitization. At first, we thought that the line that separates campaign from sensitization was, at best, very fuzzy.

Meanwhile, a favoured group had gathered at one end of Rivers State on a particular day for sensitization; and another group gathered at another end of the same Rivers State but theirs was quickly dubbed a campaign.

While the former was tightly protected by the powers-that-be, the latter was dispersed with tear gas plus rubber and live bullets; but not before some of its members had been killed or maimed.

This is the type of duplicity that has characterized the actions of the political parties since then, with President Goodluck Jonathan and his party leadership gallivanting the entire country,

sensitizing but not campaigning. If only for the records, INEC cannot even point the erring party to order for breaking its rules and yet we are under the illusion that INEC is ready to take us to the Promise Land!

How do we categorize the circus that gathered at the Onitsha bridgehead the penultimate week?

We shall set it out in the form of multiple choices: (a) Campaign; (b) Sensitization; (c) Political gimmick; and (d) All of the above. The correct answer is (d) – all of the above. They were in a familiar terrain. Since 1999, the revelry over the Niger in the name of a Second Niger Bridge has become the cheapest weapon of the PDP in trying to con and deceive Ndigbo into getting their block votes. In 2003, then President Olusegun Obasanjo mounted a monstrous carnival in the name of flagging off the Second Niger Bridge.

That was the first time that the vain ceremony closed down Onitsha market and in the end, the carnival paid off handsomely – PDP collected all the votes!

This is where the Obalende free women are smarter than even the smartest politicians. The moment they recognized Chucks for his over-size hammer head, none of them ever opened her door to him a second time. For Ndigbo, the same dirty tricks of the Obasanjo years have worked perfectly for President Jonathan. All they needed was to keep expanding the vain promises and Ndigbo kept falling for them.

By 2011, Jonathan’s list had grown to include the Second Niger Bridge, superlative autobahns in the South East, refineries, industries, an additional State, redressing their marginalization and so

on. Without a formal name change, Jonathan rechristened himself Azikiwe– pretending to be one of them. He then vowed that if the Second Niger Bridge was not provided by 2015, he would go on exile. He, however, did not promise that another flag off exercise was in the offing.

All the promises have since ended in smoke!

They should know that the Onitsha bridgehead show was a total sell-out.

What is so significant about providing a one and half kilometer bridge for a race that had been handed the short end of the stick in a nation that prides itself of being oil rich?

Without the necessity for all these futile flag off ceremonies, General Ibrahim

show of shame. It is coming at a time when Chief Olusegun Obasanjo is cutting all the red tapes, commissioning real, meaningful projects all over Rivers State and by contrast, all that our dear Ndigbo have is Jonathan commissioning shadow,

• Prof. Attahiru Jega, INEC Chairman

Recently, it took the Obi of Onitsha to remind Jonathan of his 2011 election promises. That Onitsha bridgehead show had to be hurriedly put together.

At the sensitization level, a lot is required to inform Ndigbo of what their so-called leaders are taking them through.

Babangida built a twelve kilometer dual carriage bridge across the Lagos Lagoon and yet, our Ndigbo brothers are being regularly insulted to roll out the drums in celebration of endless flag offs!

A lot of sensitization is required to locate the timing of the Onitsha

empty ground breaking ceremonies for projects that may never commence.

As we speak, contractors are working 24/7 to ensure that the solid four-kilometer Unity Bridge connecting Khana and Andoni Local Government Areas of Rivers State is ready for

commissioning in the next few months.

Governor Chibuike Amaechi was not fixated at any flag off level. Governor Raji Fashola did not do any flag off for the close to two kilometers suspended bridge he provided in Lagos in less than two years.

Again, why are Ndigbo so excited at the likely prospect of a bridge for which they are going to pay through the nose? This is going to be the first FG-owned toll bridge in Nigeria, which means that those who pass through it will pay its cost. Ndigbo must think twice if they cannot even get free passage to go and bring the votes!

It cannot be said that the Patani-Adugbabiri and the YenagoaAmasoma bridges are any less important to the Ijaws than the socalled Second Niger Bridge is to Ndigbo.

Yet, the former were provided from the common purse while Ndigbo must be made to pay for their own bridge. This is most unfair!

Jonathan knows his people. Ndigbo must now shine their eyes well-well. Their portion must be in the commissioning of completed projects, not on vain promises.

Again, why are Ndigbo so excited at the likely prospect of a bridge for which they are going to pay through the nose? This is going to be the first FG-owned toll bridge in Nigeria, which means that those who pass through it will pay its cost. Ndigbo must think twice if they cannot even get free passage to go and bring the votes!

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