The Nigerian
PUBLISHED SINCE MAY 29, 1968 ART ALIVE Page 18
As
Ahianmwen-Oro
flies home with Egogo today...
REFLECTION Page 23 The feast of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus
• Vol . 39 NO.017• FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2014 • N100.00
Protection Of Govt Property
Gov tasks Civil Defence Corps ADAMS OYIBOKE
BENIN CITY - Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams
Oshiomhole has charged Officers and Men of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to brace up in
the task of protecting critical government infrastructure in the country. Oshiomhole gave the charge yesterday when
he granted audience to the Assistant Commandant General, Zone G, Mr. Aragade Continues on page 2
Maritime Group who declined mention however said it was purely a military affair. O s h i o m h o l e expressed shock at the development as other APC Governors and party leaders were
allowed to fly to Ekiti. He however declined to speak with reporters. The Airport Manager, Mr. Sunday Ayodele and the Airspace Manager, Mr. Ibekwe said they had no hands in the Governor ’s ordeal as
FG grounds Oshiomhole’s . Condemnations trail FG’s action copter By ADAMS OYIBOKE
BENIN CITY - For the second time in a year, the Federal Government, yesterday, grounded the helicopter chartered to fly Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole from Benin Airport to Ado Ekiti. The Governor ’s Ekiti. The Governor who helicopter was first grounded on June 7, last was billed to attend a year, after it was recalled mass rally organized to round-off the re-election mid-air. Commander of the 81 campaigns of the Air Maritime Group, Benin Governor of Ekiti State, City, Air Commodore Soji Dr Kayode Fayemi, was Awomodu told the left stranded at the Benin Governor that he received Airport for two hours “a call from above” that no before Air Commodore private jet or helicopter be Awomodu delivered the allowed to fly out of Benin message “from above”. A source at the 81 Air City to either Akure or
they had no directive to that effect. The helicopter with registration number 5NBQ8 later flew out of the Benin Airport at 1:20pm without its intended passengers. Special Adviser to the
Governor on Media, Prince Kassim Afegbua confirmed the incident and described it as strange. It will be recalled that on June 7, 2013, an OAS Helicopter ferrying the Continues on page 2
Project Execution
Edo ’ll not compromise quality BENIN CITY – Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has said government will not compromise on quality in the execution of projects in the state. Comrade Oshiomhole gave the assurance in Government House, Benin City yesterday when he received the State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) and the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON). The governor who was represented by the state Deputy Governor, Dr.
Pius Egberanmwen Odubu said government will ensure that its projects continue to meet the standards of the western world. He assured the Institute of Building and the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria that government will not hesitate to use them in view of their pivotal role in development. State Chairman of NIOB, Mr. Bamidele O s a m u d i a m e n appreciated the massive investment in infrastructural development since the inception of the present
TIT BIT “If the work you are currently doing does not make you and your client happy; it simply means that you are doing another person’s job”. - Kinglsey Ogbeide-Ihama
- Gov
administration in the state. Head of Service, Mr. Jerry Obazele and some other top g o v e r n m e n t functionaries were present during the visit.
VISIT: L-R: Commandant Idris Haruna, State Commandant; Assistant Commandant-General Zone G, Oragande Joseph and Governor Adams Oshiomhole during a visit of Senior Officers of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to Governor Oshiomhole in his office, yesterday.
EDHA Speaker vows to ensure majority rule
BENIN CITY – The Speaker, Edo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Uyi Igbe has reiterated that they will not let the minority members of the House to overrule them. He made this statement yesterday in his office, while addressing leaders of the APC (Edo North Senatorial District) who paid him a courtesy call. Having thanked the visitors, for their outstanding support and for the visit especially in such a
crises situation, he described the conflict in the House as unfortunate and uncalled for.
He however lamented the misconduct of the suspended lawmakers, who violated the rules
guiding the House, adding that they will allow the law to take its course for the sake of peace. The Speaker also,
affirmed that he will not let some set of people to destabilize the state government led by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. Earlier, the leader of the group, Mrs. Malik Continues on page 2
possible. He made the remark in Benin City, yesterday, while delivering a lecture
titled, “The Government and the Media: Partners in Progress” at the Press Week of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Continues on page 2
Oyovbaire advocates credible Govt, Media partnership
By CLIFFORD AGBAJOR BENIN CITY – Former Minister of Information and Culture, Prof. Sam
Oyovbaire has said a credible partnership between government and the media is
News Gov tasks Civil Defence Corps
Continued from page 1
associated diseases are rather imagined.”
Joseph at the Government House, Benin City. Governor Oshiomhole said, “I watch from time to time some of the achievements of your commands nationwide, in dealing with illegal bunkering and pipelines vandalization among others and I urge you to continue to do your best to secure those very critical national assets for the good of all. “We also readily appreciate the enormity of the problem of monitoring and protecting what you call ‘critical government infrastructure’, whether they are owned by the Federal, State or Local Government and of a particular challenge is the issue of pipeline
vandalization. Unfortunately, there are too many criminals who think that the easiest way to make money is to vandalize pipelines.” Oshiomhole noted “this is not only an economic crime, it is a very serious crime. It is also one that has the capacity to compromise our environment, when they steal oil, as they often do, when they break pipelines to carry out illegal refinery or to extract products and sell to the black market, often time, the area is polluted. “For us whose most valuable asset is land, when that land is polluted, the consequences are obvious not only to farmers whose source of livelihood is readily compromised but even those of us who live there, the pollution affects us and other
Chapel, Benin City, Edo State. Prof. Oyovbaire noted that government and the media can work together particularly in a political system of constitutional and democratic governance when accredited officials of both sides can develop creativity and trust in one another. He lamented extremist violence with the utilization of instruments such as armed robbery, kidnapping, suicide bombing and deliberate attack of segments of the population with a view to annihilate and
cleanse human groups and settlements, adding that twenty years back, these “instruments” were hardly known to the Nigerian state. The former minister however noted that the issue of security opens up a critical test of how much the government and the media can partner for progress in securing the citizens and even provision of welfare of the citizens. On her part, the Benin Zonal Commander of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and other related Matters (NAPTIP), Mrs. Oluchi Ebiringa stressed the
and accountable leadership, that will equally go along with strong and disciplined media geared towards enlightening, mobilizing and sensitizing the public. Earlier, the chairman, NUJ, Federal Ministry of Information chapel, Comrade Besiru Enakhimion noted that the relationship between government and the media should be symbiotic, and that the media need the government to survive, just as the government need the media to survive.
freedom of movement as guaranteed by the Nigerian constitution. “The grounding of Comrade Oshiomhole’s Ekiti-bound aircraft and those of other state governors without any explanations other than ‘order from above’ is condemnable and a descent to dictatorship’, Ugolor said. The ANEEJ helmsman said “the grounding of Oshiomhole’s aircraft as well as that of Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and other delegates to the All Progressive Congress is an open invitation to anarchy in the country where peace is currently very fragile. On his part, a Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress in Edo State, Mr. Dan Owegie said the Federal Government has declared war on the opposition party by the grounding of Oshiomhole’s aircraft. “The Federal Government has declared war on the leading opposition parties few months to a general election”, Owegie who spoke to The NIGERIAN OBSERVER from his sick bed in Houston, Texas, USA said. He lambasted President Goodluck Jonathan whom he said was desperate to hang on to power accusing him and the PDP of wanting to subvert the wishes of the electorates in Ekiti state on Saturday’s Governorship election. Movement for the Political Emancipation of Nigeria, in its reaction, blasted the PDP-led Federal Government for preventing a sitting Governor from his official trip. The group in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday and signed by its President Mallam Abba Jidda said “the Federal Government has introduced dictatorship and totalitarianism into Nigerian state”, and urged President Goodluck Jonathan to re-trace his steps, so as not to end up like other dictators in the world’s history. The movement remarked that whereas PDP governor cris-
crossed the length and breath of Nigeria with their personal private jets and chattered aircrafts, the APC governors were being ambushed and embarrassed. Abba Jidda warned that the federal government action was capable of leading to civil war in Nigeria.
Oshiomhole while appreciating the efforts of the Officers and Men of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps in the area of security of lives and properties said, “For us, when it comes to security, everybody should be an activist. It is about information, it is about intelligence, it is about sharing information and also going out there to physically enforce security”. Governor Oshiomhole however assured the State Command of the NSCDC of government’s assistance in arresting the perennial erosion problem at Lucky Way Area at Ramat Park to
Oyovbaire advocates credible Govt, Media exigent need for good Continued from page 1 partnership governance, responsible Federal Ministry of Information
FG grounds Oshiomhole’s copter Continued from page 1 Edo State Governor to Awka, Anambra State, was recalled mid-air and grounded by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA). The Filipino Pilot of the OAS chopper, Captain James Manahash, had said at the time “we were already airborne when we got the call to return to the airport and was even threatened that failure to do so would lead to complete grounding of the aircraft. The governor prevailed on me to return and listen to them.” Meanwhile, condemnations yesterday trailed the grounding of the chattered aircraft which was to convey the Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole to Ado Ekiti, for the Mass rally organised for the Ekiti State Governor ’s reelection campaign. The Executive Director of Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) Rev. David Ugolor in a statement made available to The NIGERIAN OBSERVER yesterday condemned the Federal Government’s order which according to him was in total violation of the rights of Governor Oshiomhole of
EDHA Speaker vows to ensure majority rule
Continued from page 1 Afegbua who noted that they were on a solidarity visit to the Speaker, thanked the Speaker for his ability to manage the crises in the House, prayed God to continually assist the Speaker to overcome.
CBN refunds N2.95bn excess bank charge to LAGOS - The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday said that it refunded a total of N2.95 billion excess bank charges to aggrieved customers in 2013. Alhaja Summa Dutse, CBN Director, Consumer Protection Department (CPD), made this known at a summit organised by the Bank Customers’ Association of Nigeria (BCAN) in Lagos. Dutse spoke on: “Value-based Banking in Nigeria: Banks and their Customers.’’ Dutse said that 50 per cent of the 4,141 petitions treated by CPD in the last four years were on excess charges by banks. “We noticed that banks in the country often do not make full disclosure about hidden charges of their various products to their customers. “Their staff members, through aggressive marketing, are more interested in getting deposits from customers than equipping them with adequate information that will encourage profitable financial decisions,” she said. Mr Tam Tamunokonbia, Head, Consumer Protection Council, Lagos Office, appealed to Nigerian banks to clearly express their contract terms and conditions.
enable staff of NSCDC have easy access to their office. The Assistant Commandant General, Zone G, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Mr. Aragade Joseph had commended the State Government’s efforts in infrastructural development and provision of employment to youths in the state and requested state government’s assistance in providing conducive working environment to the officers and men of the Command in the State.
Edo Assembly Crisis
Groups calls on lawmakers to embrace peace By RICHARD EWEKA BENIN CITY- Development Alliance Platform (DAP), a national civil society consortium promoting good governance through research, campaigns, advocacy, education and training has called on Edo lawmakers and parliamentarians to resolve to be guided by the rule of law and place the interest of their constituents above all other consideration as this will bring about the desired peace needed in the state. The call was made during a World Press Conference in Benin City the Edo state capital yesterday. Comrade Austin Osakue who is the convener urged the lawmakers of Edo State House of Assembly to immediately sheathe their swords and embrace peace and called on concerned authorities to join hands with DAP to resolve the issue. “We call on traditional rulers, religious leaders, labour leaders, civil society groups and other stakeholders to speak out against the crisis and avoid outright partisanship which only serves to further polarise the parliament and harden positions. We call on political parties to redirect their members towards activities that promote peace, understanding and progress. We commend the security agencies for their effort at containing the crisis from further escalation” Osakue further said the people are tired of the event of the past weeks and are calling on lawmakers to embrace peace as they are lawmakers today because the people voted them to represent them in the House. He added that the people have the capacity to sack them if they fail to address the issues on ground. A co-convener of the conference, Rev. David Ugolor said the group will reach out to all aggrieved parties with the support of the media and other stakeholders to ensure that the state is peaceful. “In the absence of peace, development becomes difficult and to ensure development peace is a vital ingredient needed. This conference is a signal that we need nothing but peace in the state. Another Co-convener, Pastor Olu Martins also said the group and the entire people of the state do not want to know how peace is achieved, urging the lawmakers to settle themselves and ensure peace in the state.
Princess Erediauwa weds Aimiuwu By RAYMOND OSOGBE BENIN CITY- The traditional marriage ceremony of Princess (Barrister) Ikuoyemwen Erediauwa and Barrister Osahon Aimiuwu held yesterday at the palace of the Benin Monarch, His Royal Majesty, Oba Erediauwa. Ikuoyemwen is the daughter of the crown prince of Benin Kingdom, (Ambassador) Eheneden Erediauwa. After the traditional rites, the couple were ushered to see the monarch who offered them marriage blessings. Meanwhile, two of the
artifacts looted by the British during the 1897 invasion of Benin Kingdom (Ahianmwen-Oro and Egogo) will be formally handed over to the Benin Monarch today at a colourful ceremony in the palace ground. The handover will be performed by Mark walker, a great grand son of the British soldier who presided over the looting. Mark is quoted to have said he is returning the artifacts voluntarily because of the dictates of his conscience. He is expected to visit the grave site of the slain British Soldier located in Ugbine, near Benin City today.
SEEFOR supports 6 Technical Institutions with N138m By FRIDAY OBANOR
BENIN CITY –In a bid to complement Edo State government effort in revamping Technical Education, the state chapter of the World Bank Assisted programme on Employment and Expenditure for Results (SEEFOR), has given a grant worth over N138 million to six Technical Institutions in the state. Speaking at a one-day stakeholders meeting and inauguration of Community Oversight Committee (COC_ under public Works Phase 1 in Benin City yesterday, the state Co-ordinator of SEEFOR project Comrade Taiwo Akerele said the grant which fell under component A2 of the project is given to assist the Technical Colleges, for improvement of infrastructure and capacity building as well and to gradually change the institutions dilapidated structures to modern facilities for learning. The kind of institutions to benefit to he said included Agriculture and Skills Acquisition Centres. Comrade Akerele noted that the grant would further assist the institution to get accreditation for Technical Courses which they are offering at the moment. Revealing that about 200 teachers have so far been exposed to information communication Technology (ICT) training in most of the institutions, comrade Akerele also disclosed that each of these six beneficiary Technical Colleges and Skill Acquisition Centres are to receive N23 million each to support the schools to acquire modern learning aids that meet the challenge of Technical Education in the 21st Century Industrial Economy. Using existing structures of FADAMA and CSDP for community driven development initiative as pilot projects, the SEEFOR Coordinator averred that about 23 eligible communities are currently, executing micro projects worth over N78 million earmarked for the 2014 appropriation year to improve the Socio-Economic lives of the people of selected communities which are rural based. According to him, “out of the
N78 million appropriated for the FADAMA project in 2014, about N37 million has so far be released to six local government councils”. On youth employment, Comrade Akerele hinted that Edo SEEFOR under component A1 which is youth Employment through small public works, has so far engaged over 555 youths to carry out public works in 28 roads cut across the three Senatorial District of the state. He said about 150 youths are currently undergoing ICT training in Education Management Information System (EMIS) and Biometrics Identification System (BCIS) with a view to improving education information management in the state. “Today, we are inaugurating the community oversight committee under phase one of public works; membership are drawn from the roads where SEEFOR is already working. “The essence of constituting this committee is to further create awareness and encourage community, ownership support for public work; he said. He therefore concluded by saying that in line with public works guidelines of the International Development Association (IDA) and the European Union 9EU0, SEEFOR will encourage a strong partnership between the beneficiary communities government and the project to ensure maximum utilization of the intervention. On her part, the Acting General Manager of the State Waste management Board, Miss Gillian Ochugbue said the state government is making concerted efforts towards providing for the residents of the state, a clean, safe beautiful and green environment while the SEEFOR project in the area of street Sweeping and Waste Management would increase the present coverage of already existing projects and minimize the challenges of unemployment amongst youths in the state. She therefore encouraged residents not to pay for services not rendered by the refuse disposal agents stressing that it would be unfair and criminal to collect money for services not rendered.
News Bayelsa Community Protests NonCompletiondeplorable Ofstate.Road
NAFDAC Urges Public To Check Expiry Dates of Prodcuts ILORIN - The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has advised members of the public to always check the expiry date of any regulated product before purchase. A NAFDAC Deputy Director, Mrs Abayomi Bolaji, gave the advice in an interview with newsmen in Ilorin, Kwara State. She also urged the public to report activities of fake drug producers to the agency or healthcare providers for immediate actions. Bolaji said that this would assist the agency in its fight against fake drug production. The deputy director advised the citizens to stop buying medicines from street hawkers. “It is dangerous to their health. I urge members of the public to patronise only licensed pharmaceutical companies and medicine stores. “They should look out for the NAFDAC registration number, manufacturer and product name before buying any product,” she said. She said that the agency was committed to ensuring quality of regulated products in the country. Bolaji said that the agency would partner with media organisations in Kwara to create more awareness on the NAFDAC’s activities.
Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State goes through the underground system of the stormwater system at Ewah road and its environs in Benin City recently.
OKOROBA (BAYELSA) Hundreds of members of Okoroba community have staged a protest to draw attention to the pace of work on the 10-kilometer OkorobaOpume road in Bayelsa. More than 1,000 persons carrying placards and leaves marched on the stretch of the road singing solidarity songs in the peaceful protest. Addressing newsmen after the protest, Chief Maurice Igaka, a community leader, regretted that the contractor had abandoned the project and left the road in a
SURE-P To Spend N84b On Roads, Rail ABUJA - The Chairman, Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), retired General Martin Agwai, said Federal Government would spend about N84 billion on road projects under the programme in 2014. Agwai made this known when he featured at the newsmen Forum in Abuja. He said that roads to be covered in the expenditure were
important ones specially identified by the government, adding that some of the projects were ongoing. He said that some of the roads were the Port HarcourtOnitsha-Enugu road which got N11 billion and Lagos-Ibadan Expressway which got N20 billion. He disclosed that provision for funding the projects was made in the 2014 budget of
SURE-P, adding that N10 billion was voted for ShagamuOre-Benin highway. Agwai added that N10.5 billion was voted for AbujaLokoja road, while the dualisation of Kano-Maiduguri road got N12.5 billion. He said that the Federal Government had also committed some money to the building of two important bridges to ease the movement
Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State discusses with some residents of Ewah road in Benin City during his inspection of the stormwater system in Benin City recently.
of people across the River Niger. According to him, the Federal Government voted N10 billion for the ground-breaking of the second River Niger Bridge, but the project will be funded under Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) collaboration. The Chairman said that SURE-P was solely financing the Iweto Bridge, which linked Loko in Nasarawa State with Eweto in Benue state. He explained that when work of the bridge project was completed, journey from the eastern part of the country to Abuja and North Central would be reduced to about 200 kilometres. “That project is ongoing and it is solely financed by SUREP, and it is one of the critical infrastructures that SURE-P is financing,” he said. He said that SURE-P was also intervening in rail projects in the country, adding that it assisted in the rehabilitation of Lagos-Kano rail line, adding that it was working on the rail line that would link the SouthEast with Maiduguri. Agwai also said that SUREP had earmarked N10 billion to facilitate the completion of ongoing Abuja Light Rail project.
Commissioner Urges Patronage Of Sickle Cell Facilities
BENIN CITY – Edo State Commissioner for Health, Dr. (Mrs) Aihanuwa Eregie has called on the people of the State to avail themselves of the opportunity provided by this year ‘s World Sickle Cell Day Celebration to access the health facilities provided by the State Government for genetic counseling, laboratory diagnosis and prompt attention and management of sickle Cell Anaemia. The Commissioner who made the call in Benin City yesterday in her office while declaring the activities marking the 2014 World
Sickle Cell Day open and advised against taking sickle cell disorder as death sentence. Noting that the disorder could be managed, she declared that the State government as poised at sustaining the gains so far achieved in its management by ensuring that affected persons enjoyed good quality of life. According to her, the State government has adequately equipped the Sickle Cell Centre,
Benin City by providing free insecticide treated nets, making routine drugs readily available as well as providing free anti malaria drugs as a way of alleviating the problems of affected persons. She further disclosed that the State government is working out modality on how children under five years could be fully vaccinated against pneumococcal and haemophiliu diseases.
Contributing, Secretary of the Sickle Cell Centre, Benin City, Mr. Imasekhomwan Emma said that 19th June of every year is set aside globally to mark world Sickle Cell Day with the aim of creating awareness and reengineer activities geared toward Sickle Cell prevention through genetic counselling, effective management of sickle cell anaemia, control and possible eradication of the deadly disease.
The celebration featured road work/awareness campaign led by the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Aihanuwa Eregie, where hand bills were distributed lectures on celebro-Vascular Disease (CVD)/ Stroke in sickle cell anaemia by Dr. (Mrs) Yetunde Isree-Aina and Sickle Cell Nephropathy by Dr. (Mrs) Afaeji Oloko, both of University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH). The theme for this year celebration is “Sickle Cell Disorder and the Survival Option in Nigeria”.
He appealed to the Federal Government to ensure a speedy completion of the road to fast track the socio-economic life of the people. He said the community had welcomed the project which construction was inaugurated in 2011 but the current pace of work had compelled them to stage the protest to draw the attention of the relevant authorities to the project. “We really acknowledge the good intentions of the Federal Government under the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan to award the contract for this road to open up our community. “Sadly, the attitude of the contractor who has since withdrawn from the site negates the good intentions and that is why we are protesting to draw the attention of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). “We want the NDDC to know that the contractor has abandoned the project and we urge them to take the necessary steps to make the contractor to return to site. “It is regrettable that since 2011, the road is yet to go beyond site clearing and less than one kilometer of the 10kilometer stretch has been graded,” Igaka said. He explained that the stage at which the road was abandoned had made it impassable for even motorcycles and compelled the residents to trek the distance to go to the market and other endeavours. Also speaking, Madam Owomi Okuma, a 90-year-old woman, lamented that the poor condition of the road had made her children residing in Yenagoa to visit her less often. “With the condition of this road, my children do not come home again to bring food to me. They often call to tell me that they cannot visit me because of the road, and I do not expect them to trek this distance. “Before now when the road was a track road, motorcycles were plying the road but now everywhere is flooded due to the construction and rather than continue the contractor just left the road and we are all suffering. Mr Hitler Adumom, a youth leader, said the state of the road had forced the people to resort to marine transportation with attendant higher costs and risks. Some construction equipment were abandoned at the Opume end of the road while residents said that officials of the firm withdrew most of their equipment in December 2013.
News Edo NUJ Boss Inaugurates serve as a watchdog for the Varsity Association university and beyond. The vice-chancellor of the By OSE EHEBHA
OGWA (EDO STATE) Association of Mass Communication Students (AMCOS) of the Samuel Adegboyega University (SAU), Ogwa-Edo State has been inaugurated with a charge on the executive members to adhere strictly to the ethics of the journalism profession. The seven-member executive council of the association which is to serve as the Press Club of the university was officially inaugurated by the chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Edo Statechapter, Comrade Desmond Agbama at the school’s auditorium. Agbama after administering the oath, advised them be guided by the Code of Conduct of the journalism, adding that accuracy, objectivity, fairness and balancing, were vital in journalism.
university, Prof. Benard Aigbokhan, who was represented by the school’s director of Academic Planning, Prof. Foluso Ogbe lauded the mass communication department students of the University for distinguishing themselves. The vice-chancellor enthused that reports from media organizations where students of the department have undergone Industrial Training indicated that the students possess high journalism standards. He expressed hopes that the event will even further launch their interest and capacity in the noble profession, noting that journalism occupies very important place in the society. Head of Department of Mass Communications, Dr. Chukwuma Nwosu extolled the virtues of mass communication students, saying they have outstanding qualities, while he declaring that the Press Club would
President of the association, Bamidele Oluwaseun in his maiden speech thanked the SAU authority for making the inauguration a reality, adding the outfit would aid mass communication students of the university to have practical journalism experience. The AMCOS executive members include, Bamidele Oluwaseun (President), Eboigbe Anita (vice president), Emmanuel Nyakno (secretary), Samuel Busayo (financial secretary), Timothy Favour (treasurer), Williams Convenant (PRO) and Kilani Opeoluwa (provost).
Mr. Oare Sule From Edo State High Court, Benin at Edo State House of Assembly premises to serve court papers on the four suspended law makers of the House earlier restrained by the court from sitting, being interviewed by journalists . Photo : GODWIN ISEGUAN
NDE To Sponsor Female Exhibitors
ABUJA - The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has said it would sponsor some women on skill exhibition in Geneva in July. The Director-General of the directorate, Malam Abubakar Mohammed, said this in
Abuja when he addressed some participants at the inauguration of skills training for women on income generation, organised by the NDE, FCT chapter. “This is a skill acquisition programme which is aimed at
training 30 women in the FCT on how to use the native material (Ankara) to produce items like hand bags, purse, shoes, note books. “The programme, which is scheduled to last for three days, will assist these women to generate funds and resources to help themselves and their families,” he said. Mohammed said the NDE was able to secure an avenue where some of the women would have the privilege to exhibit whatever skill they acquired through the programme in Geneva. The items will attract tourists’ attention during the summer period, which will in turn generate income for the women. The DG promised to sponsor a few of the women for the international exhibition in Geneva after the
programme. One of the trainers, Mrs Tonye Peters, said that Ankara was an indigenous material in Nigeria, adding that it was a good texture and quite suitable for the environment. “Ankara, if properly utilised, can be used to produce a lot of items,’’ she said. Elizabeth Achor, a participant, expressed gratitude to the NDE for granting them such platform to acquire more knowledge. “I will be dedicated to whatever knowledge I acquire from this programme because it will enable me to start off my own business,’ she said. The programme was organised in 14 states of the federation, including the FCT.
OKADA – The Chairman Ovia North East Local Government Council, Barrister (Mrs) Lucy Omagbon has charged inhabitants of the area to contribute their quota to the global crusade against global warming. Omagbon spoke in Okada, the headquarters of the local government area at a ceremony to mark the World Environment Day. She was represented by the council Director of Environment, Mr. Dayo Amadasun who highlighted the importance of the World Environment Day to include the creation of awareness on the need for conscious efforts to continually protect natural environment against harmful human activities. He implored the people to discontinue improper practices such as indiscriminate dumping of refuse, bushburning, saying they are capable of offending the
environments. He assured of the administrations continued implementation of programme and policies that can promote healthy environment. Meanwhile, as part of activities for the World Environment Day celebration in the council, there was a lecture series in which the lecturers, Egbon Ola and Adesede Oghadomwangbe, both of the Department of Environment of the Council dwelt on the topic, ‘Global Warming’ A threat to life’. They educated the people on the effects of human activities on the environment. The World Environment Day is celebrated on every June 5 globally. The occasion attracted students from Okada Grammar School, Regina Mundi Catholic School and God is Great Academy as well as other people of the locality, including Okada Community leaders and youths.
Council Boss Tasks Inhabitants On Global Warming
Rt. Hon Uyi Igbe, Speaker Edo State House of Assembly (arrowed), Hon Philip Shaibu, Majority Leader of the House (5th from right) and other All Progressives Congress (APC), Honourable members in the House in a group photograph with APC leaders from Edo North during the leaders solidarity visit to the APC lawmakers in the House led by Prince Malik Afegbua. Photo: GODWIN ISEGUAN
Italy To Assist Nigeria Fight Terrorism ABUJA - The Italian Government has declared its support and willingness to assist Nigeria in the fight against terrorism. The Italian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Fulvius Rusticu, gave this pledge during a courtesy visit to the Minister of State 1 for Foreign Affairs, Prof. Viola Onwuliri. Rusticu said Nigeria and Italy had a long tradition of military and security cooperation that could bolster the ongoing fight against insurgency in the country. He recalled that in April both countries conducted a joint naval parade in Lagos, which underscored the importance of the defence cooperation between both countries.
“Italy is a major country in the production of military equipment and we have some experience in tackling terrorism. “We have also conducted training for Nigeria security forces in the past’’, he said. The Italian envoy said his country was ready to be involved in the fight against insurgency in any way the Nigerian government deemed fit and necessary. The ambassador urged the minister to use her good offices to ensure that Nigerian erected a pavilion at the Expo MILAN 2015, with “Food and Agriculture’’ as its theme. He said 143 countries, including 40 in Africa, had indicated interest to participate
in EXPO Milan to showcase their current activities and proposals for the future, around the theme of food and nutrition. Responding, Onwuliri thanked the Italian envoy for the offer and noted that capacity building for Nigeria security agencies was central in the fight against terrorism. “Terrorism is new to us and somehow, our security agencies are not very much prepared for it’’, she said. She, however, expressed confidence in the ability of the Nigeria security agencies to defeat insurgents who had conducted multiple bombings, abductions and indiscriminate killings. On Nigeria’s participation at
EXPO Milan, the minister said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had written to President Goodluck Jonathan and was awaiting his approval. She said the financial implication to rent a pavilion at the Milan Expo 2015 was “huge’’, but did not say whether that foreclosed Nigeria’s participation. Following a presidential directive in January, the Federal Government is implementing a policy that has curtailed foreign travel by government personnel. The directive, which applied to all Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the federal government, was aimed at reducing the cost of governance.
Across The Nation CJN Wants Criminal Law Amended
Theft
2 Truck Pushers Arraigned
LAGOS - Two truck pushers have appeared before a Surulere Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos charge with the theft of three big umbrellas worth N30, 000. The accused are Kamorudeen Adebanjo, 24, and John Uka, 35. The duo is facing a twocount charge of conspiracy and stealing. They pleaded not guilty. But the prosecutor, Cpl. Gbenga Salami, told the court that the accused committed the offences on or before June 14 at No. 17, Tejuoso Road, Surulere. He said the accused at about
6.50 a.m. stole three big umbrellas belonging to Mrs Risikat Ogunubi. “The accused were caught when they removed the umbrellas from where Ogunubi kept them at the close of market.’’ The offences, Salami noted, contravened Sections 285 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. Ruling on the bail application of the accused, the Magistrate, Mrs. Fumilola Lawal, granted them bail in the sum of N20, 000 with one surety in like sum. The case has been adjourned to July 28 for mention.
MINNA - The Federal University of Technology (FUT), Minna, Niger State would graduate 7,482 students at its 21st, 22nd and 23rd combined convocation ceremonies holding on June 21, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Musbau Akanji, said. Akanji told newsmen in Minna that of the figure, 6,394 would receive first degrees, while 576 would bag Master’s degrees. The vice chancellor said 45 others would bag PhDs, while 467 would receive PostGraduate Diploma. A further breakdown of the graduates showed that 82 students got First Class, 1,533
got Second Class Upper division, while 3,000 others had Second Class Lower Division. The breakdown showed that 1,563 came out with Third Class, while 216 got Pass degrees. Akanji said certificates would be issued to the graduates of 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 sessions, while those of 2012/ 2013 would receive copies of their academic transcripts immediately after the ceremony. The certificates of 2012/2013 graduating students, he added, would be ready for collection as from the last week of October, 2014, and attributed the delay to
Hon. Adjoto Kabiru, Chairman, Edo State House of Assembly Committee on Information, Youths and Sports and Hon. Emma Okoduwa, Minority Leader of the House (left), addressing journalists at the Assembly premises before the House adjourned on Monday. PHOTO: GODWIN ISEGUAN.
FUT Graduates 7,482 Tomorrow
Security Challenges
the fact that their results had just been approved by the Senate of the university. “I am happy to inform you that graduates of this university can now obtain their academic transcript not later than two weeks after submission of application of request,” he added. The vice-chancellor also expressed happiness that the university had gained international recognition, and explained that it was currently ranked 64th in Africa and 4th in Nigeria. “Our lecturers have continued to compete and win research grants nationally and internationally, while our
Naval Chief Reiterates Commitment To Training ABUJA - The Chief of Naval Staff, (CNS), Vice Adm. Usman Jubril, has said the Navy would continue to train its personnel to confront the present security challenges facing the country. Jubril made the disclosure when the Shooting Federation of Nigeria, led by its President, Mr Wole Olumide, paid him a visit in Abuja. He said the Federation was at the Naval Headquarters to present the medal won by a naval personnel, Antonia Ikevude, at the 2014 All African Shooting Championship in Cairo. He added that “in view of the present security challenges where navy personnel are deployed to conduct internal security operations, we have no option than to look inwards and train to face the challenge. “And along that line, we shall organise competitions. This year, we will have the 2014 shooting competition.’’ The CNS promised that navy personnel would be released on time for any type of sporting activities. He noted that since he assumed office, he ensured that all
requests for the release of personnel were granted. According to him, if personnel are allowed to participate in sports, they will continue to do better. He commended Ikevude for a job well done, saying she had participated in many shooting competition “and we are happy and shall continue to celebrate ours.’’ Juril emphasised the need for the Navy to have a formidable team of shooters, promising that the management would identify those that had interest in the competition and train them. Earlier, the President of the Shooting Federation, Mr Wole Olumide, said that they were at the Naval Headquarters to present the medal won by Ikevude to the CNS. Olumide said that the Federation was also using the opportunity to appeal to the CNS to have a formidable team of shooters in the Navy. He added that “shooting is not just a sport, but a skill because these men can, at their leisure time, participate in the sport. “We need the assistance of the
Navy to encourage officers to participate in the sport.’’ On her part, Able Physical Training Instructor, Antonia Ikevude, thanked the CNS for the support and promised to always make the Navy proud.
students continue to win various prizes,” he explained. He pledged to rededicate the institution to the service of humanity by engage in relevant
researches and getting involved in community services in consonance with the motto of the institution which is “Technology for Service”.
CBN Redeploys Deputy returns to the Governors Operations, Financial Systems Stability
ABUJA - The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has in Abuja announced the redeployment of its deputy governors. A statement by the bank made available to newsmen in Abuja said that the governor of the bank, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, had approved the exercise. According to the statement by Mr. Isaac Okoroafor of CBN’s Corporate Communication Department, the redeployment is in line with the new governor’s vision of entrenching a more professional and people-focused Central Bank. “With the new changes, Alhaji Suleiman Barau, Deputy Governor, Corporate Services Directorate is now the Deputy Governor, Operations Directorate. “Dr Kingsley Moghalu currently the Deputy Governor,
(FSS) Directorate,” it said. It added that Mr. Adebayo Adelabu, who was in charge of Financial Systems Stability (FSS) had become Deputy Governor, Corporate Services. The statement, however, said that Dr Sarah Alade, who acted as governor of the bank from March to June 2 when Emefiele assumed office, retained her position as Deputy Governor, Economic Policy Directorate. It said that the redeployments would take effect from June 23, 2014. According to the bank, the reshuffling is expected to contribute to the bank’s vision of being the model central bank, delivering price and financial system stability and promoting sustainable economic development.
Hon. Adjoto Kabiru, Chairman, Edo State of House of Assembly Committee on Information, Youths and Sports (right) with some security agents at the Assembly complex on Monday. PHOTO: GODWIN ISEGUAN
KATSINA - The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mukhtar, has urged the Law Reform Commission to look into the nation’s criminal laws to make recommendations to the legislature for possible amendments. Mukhtar made the call on Tuesday in Katsina, at the opening of the fourth Criminal Justice Reform Conference. Represented by Justice John Okoro, Mukhtar said that punishment, whether it was imprisonment, suspended or death penalty, was to serve as deterrence. She said that courts should bear in mind that members of the society were watching to see whether the punishment was commensurate with the offence committed. The Chief Justice said that sometimes the punishment prescribed in the statute was far away from the severity of the offence committed. She said that was because the legislators while drafting the laws to punish offences never anticipated advancement of criminal offences as they were today. ‘’A situation where a person who has stolen N10 billion from the public coffers is sentenced to just two years imprisonment or a fine of N700,000, leaves much to be desired. ‘’Your guess is as good as mine whether the punishment fits or is adequate in the circumstance,’’ she said. In his remarks, the President, Nigerian Bar Association, Mr Okey Wali, called for adequate funding of judicial institutions to ensure effective administration of criminal justice in the country. Wali said this was necessary because criminal justice systems impact on lives of all and Sunday. ‘’As at today, our justice sector institutions in Nigeria are weak. The police are not only underfunded but also lack modern equipment and facilities. ‘’Our prisons are filled to the brim with inmates awaiting trial and the judiciary is grossly underfunded,’’ he said. He therefore, called on the appropriate authorities, especially the National Assembly, to work towards ensuring the strengthening of Nigerian justice sector institutions.
Across The Nation Nasarawa To Commence Fertiliser Sales
Chairman, Ovia North East LGA, Barr.(Mrs.) Lucy Omagbon welcoming the State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Chief Lucky James to the official commissioning of a block of classrooms at Ekosodin Primary School, Ekosodin renovated by Ovia North East LGA.
Jigawa To Spend N28m On Improved Seeds
DUTSE - The Jigawa Government has released N28 million for the purchase of improved seeds for sale to farmers, Alhaji Hassan Girbobo, the General Manager of the state Agricultural Supply Company, has said.
Girbobo told newsmen in Dutse that the company would purchase the seeds and sale to farmers at subsidised rate, before the full commencement of this cropping season. Girbobo assured that all the seeds purchased would be of
high quality, “certified and approved by the National Agricultural Seeds Council. “We buy seeds from renowned Agricultural Research Institutes like the Agricultural Research Institute, Zaria, the National Cereal Research
Institute, Badeggi, in Niger, and the Lake Chad Research Institute, Borno.” He stated that the company would purchase high yielding seeds that are drought resistant and insulated from attack by pests and diseases. The manager advised farmers not to buy fake seeds from unauthorised places, to avoid incurring losses in their production output.
Lagos To Create Database For Grassroots responders and that we need to Emergency Responders constantly share information IKEJA - The Lagos State Government has said it had concluded plans to create database on all local emergency responders across the 57 local government and development areas in the state. Mr Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), disclosed this to newsmen in Ikeja. Osayintolu said the database would assist LASEMA to ensure a better co-ordination of local emergency responders to
enhance emergency response structure in the state. He said that this would promote interactions and also facilitate information sharing for effective response to emergencies among responders. “Our local emergency responders are members of the various communities who have been incorporated into the state‘s emergency management structure. “We established the local emergency management committees in all the local
Road Crashes FRSC Begins Training For Teachers ABUJA - The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has began a teacher training campaign to curb road crashes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The training tagged, “Train the Trainer’’, was organised for teachers by the commission in collaboration with stakeholders under its “Nigerian Road Safety Partnership’’ . Mr Babagana Ibrahim, a retired Deputy Corps Marshall and the project manager for the partnership, said the training was aimed at equipping teachers to be road safety vanguards. “The Nigerian Road Safety Partnership is teaming up with the FRSC to achieve a drastic reduction in road traffic
crashes,” he said. Ibrahim said the approach was conceived to build capacity among members in identified communities for the people to better understand the philosophy of safety on the road. He said the partnership was also aimed at improving signs and markings on the roads. “We chose Garki as a community, we have improved signs and markings on its roads, what we are doing now is to identify people who can offer training and the prime stakeholders are the educationists. “We nominated two teachers from each school in Garki, strengthened their understanding of road safety and they in turn can impart what they have learnt in pupils and students,’’ he said.
governments sometimes ago because LASEMA officials cannot be at the scene of emergencies as quickly as members of the affected communities can. “The idea is that while we are mobilising men and equipment from the state secretariat here in Alausa, our local emergency responders are already on ground to provide some first aid assistance to victims. “This saves some response time. “So, we feel there should proper co-ordination of all local
with them for effective disaster management. “That is why we are creating the database,’’ he said. Oke-Osanyintolu said that government was currently training no fewer than 750 local emergency responders across the state on effective emergency management. He said that the three-day training, which started on Monday, was geared towards equipping responders with the requisite competencies to carry out effective rescue operations in emergencies.
LAFIA - The Nasarawa State Government has said that it would commence the sale of assorted fertiliser across the state next week. Alhaji Danladi Madaki, the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Water Resources, made this known in an interview with newsmen in Lafia. While appreciating the role of farmers in nation building, Madaki gave the assurance that the state government would make the commodity and other agricultural inputs available at affordable rates to farmers this year. “I am reassuring them that by next week, the sale and distribution of fertiliser will commence across the state.” He noted that the state government had already contributed its quota to the Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES) to boost food production
in the state. Madaki also said that the government would provide 200 tonnes of fertiliser this year in phases, adding that approval for the purchase of 70 trucks had been approved by Governor Umaru Al-Makura. The commissioner urged farmers in the state to await further information on when, where and how the inputs would be distributed. Reports state that the GES is the flagship programme of the Federal Government’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda Under which registered farmers receive fertiliser allocation via an electronic platform known as the e-wallet. Under the scheme, private sector agro-dealers distribute the inputs under a partnership whereby the Federal and state governments subsidise the fertiliser cost by 50 per cent.
Check Cases Of Building Collapse, Esuene Urges Engineers EKET (AKWA IBOM) –
Senator Helen Esuene, (PDPAkwa Ibom), urged the Nigerian Society of Engineers and other professional bodies to tackle cases of building collapse in the country. Esuene made the call when members of the Eket branch of the society called on her in Eket, Akwa Ibom. She said the society should work with other professionals to check the menace of building collapse, save lives and also save the professionals from embarrassment. Esuene said that a situation where experts and professionals used sub-standard materials to build had led to the upsurge in building collapse in the country. “Sustainable industrialisation is very key and we don’t want to build houses that will collapse next year. That is not sustainable
and anything that needs to done in industrialisation must be correct. “I want to urge you to do the right thing at the right time and work as a team because that is when you can get it right,’’ she said. She said the society should work as a team to sustain the infrastructural development of the state. “NSE should work as a team to deliver effective services to Akwa Ibom and the nation in infrastructural developmental projects,’’ she said. Earlier, Mr Thompson Manam, the branch Chairman of the society, said it had commenced the building of its new secretariat. He said the society was 12 years old in the area with 250 members.
A block of classrooms at Ekosodin Primary School, Ekosodin renovated by Ovia North East LGA of Edo State.
Lagos Enact Friendly Housing Policy, Expert Urges FG LAGOS- A Town Planning Consultant, Mr Ayo Adejumo, urged the Federal Government to initiate a friendly housing policy that would encourage state governments into the construction of 300 to 600 housing units annually. Adejumo, the Executive Secretary, Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON), made the appeal in an interview with newsmen in Lagos. He said that the policy framework would go a long way in guaranteeing affordable houses in the country. “This kind of policy will pave way for repositioning the housing sector. The policy will influence other societal developments. “It will make other parts of the country attract more residents because of availability of job opportunities, businesses and infrastructure, among others. “Conversely, this will reduce the burden imposed by overpopulation on the existing developed cities like Lagos and Abuja,” Adejumo said. He attributed the high cost of housing to inadequate supply of housing units, accompanied with increased demand. “If there should be at least 300 to 600 housing units across the states yearly, the problem of housing deficit will become a thing of the past,” he said. According to him, successive policies on housing have failed to address the numerous challenges in the sector. He said that successive governments’ efforts had failed to provide affordable houses, particularly for the low income group. Adejumo lamented the inability of the National Housing Fund (NHF) to bridge the gap in housing supply and demand by providing funds to Nigerian workers to build houses. “The scheme (NHF) is burdened by loopholes that have rendered it ineffective in assuaging the housing needs of workers. “But I strongly believe that government’s mandate on the number of housing units to be built annually across the states will ensure increased housing delivery, with the appropriate price bracket,” Adejumo added.
Fuel Theft
Edo State Deputy Governor, Dr. Pius Egberanmwen Odubu (left) receiving a copy of the constitution of Nigerian Institute of Building from the Chairman of the Institute, Edo State Chapter, Mr. Bamidele Osamudiamen during a courtesy visit to Government House, Benin City. Photo: MOSES OBOH.
A Cultural troupe entertaining guests during the official commissioning of Ekosodin Primary School, Ekosodin, Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State. The school was renovated by the Local Government.
Man, 32, Docked LAGOS- A 32-year-old man, Stanley Okafor , who allegedly stole 45,000 litres of petrol valued at N 4,165,000 has been charged before an Apapa Magistrates’ Court in Lagos. Okafor, 32, who resides at the Apapa area of Lagos, is facing a three-count charge of conspiracy, stealing and receiving stolen goods. The prosecutor, Sgt. Kalu Umeh, told the court that the accused conspired with others at large, and stole 45,000 litres of petrol valued at N4.165 million, belonging to MIGFO Nigeria Ltd. He said that the accused committed the offences on June 29, 2013, at the Tin Can Port, Apapa, Lagos. The prosecutor said that the offences committed contravened the provisions of Sections 285, 326 and 409 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2011. However, the accused pleaded not guilty to the charge preferred against him. The reports state that Section 326 prescribes 15 years imprisonment for receiving stolen goods, while Section 285 stipulates athree-year sentence for stealing. Section 409 prescribes atwo-year jail term for conspiracy. The Senior Magistrate, Mr M.O. Olubi, granted the accused bail in the sum of N1 million with two sureties in like sum. Olubi adjourned the case till July 3, for hearing.
Make Education Affordable, Association Urges LASG
LAGOS- The President of JOPAM Foundation for the Physically Challenged, Mr Joshua Ebubedike, has appealed to the Lagos State Government to make education affordable, to make youths to embrace education. Ebubedike, who made the appeal in an interview with newsmen in Lagos, said that
making education affordable would encourage youths to shun crime. “The state and Federal Government should look into the challenges facing higher education to prevent youths from being idle. “When these youths cannot afford the fees, there will be possibilities of having more of
LAGOS- An artist, Onyema Offoedu-Okeke, urged African artists to focus their works on African arts and culture which would sell Nigeria globally instead of copying Western styles. He told newsmen at the Temple Muse, venue of his exhibition, at Victoria Island, Lagos, that African artists should be Afrocentric. “African artists are goaded and cajoled into copying western styles which are regarded as more modernistic and cutting edge. “Unfortunately, the meaning of modern and contemporary African art is often lost in the mad rush to please the gatekeepers of global art
platforms,” Offoedu-Okeke said. Reports state that the exhibition with the Theme: “Homeland Memories” will hold from June 23 to Aug. 30. Offoedu-Okeke said that the importance of investigating the past as an artist was to fully understand ones origin and draw from that. “Drawing from deep traditions will make us to differentiate our arts and be distinct from the rest of the world. “Over the course of centuries of indoctrination, Africans relieve themselves of cultural heirlooms in order to be holy or sanitised. “The literary authority upon
them in the streets.” He said that present day leaders never paid so much to go to school, urging Gov. Babatunde Fashola to have a rethink on the high tuition paid in the state.
Ebubedike pointed out that the current economic hardship in the country would make it difficult for parents to cope with high tuition fees, pleading with government to make education affordable for the populace.
He argued that it was wrong for the state and federal institutions to toe the footsteps of private schools because the public schools were meant to provide education to the common man. Ebubedike also urged the government to listen to the plight of students and work out a tuition regime that the students could afford.
Artiste Urges Colleagues to Promote African Culture which their convictions are based has not changed. “But the vaunted galleries and museums in the societies of the African-bound missionaries are today bulging with African ancestral figures, gods and other paraphernalia. “They are considered priceless and of inestimable value because of the mould-breaking designs ideas which are read from the forms, shapes, textures and thematic renderings. “These African deities continually influence notions of arts in their post-African
locations,” he said. The artist, a graduate of architecture from the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), said that “when I say I Am African”, then my art becomes autobiographical in the way it is presented. He said that his series of works touched on human experience, enveloping space and the cosmos from which human imagination draws its inspiration and corresponding beliefs. “Over the last 20 years, my style has attracted both admiration and followership from different generations of artists. “I believe that these new styles of painting have introduced an
important modernist influence in Nigerian art which is in line with my architectural sensibility,” he said. He told newsmen that he was inspired by memories of histories, home, human resilience, ascendency of the subaltern, thought scopes as mechanism of conflict resolution which addressed challenges and triumphs in human societies. Reports state that the artist had published a book titled: “Artists of Nigeria”, a compendium of 100 years of Nigerian art history in 2012. Offoedu-Okeke in his solo exhibition, will exhibit 25 acrylic on canvass paintings about precolonial times till date.
Across The Nation Nat’l Conference Rejects Revival Of Nigeria Airways
Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), Oredo Ward 9, Mr. Ben A. Ogbeide, commissioning a borehole project executed by the Speaker, Edo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Uyi Igbe, as part of his 2013 Constituency project. Photo: GODWIN ISEGUAN.
The Bole hole project constructed by Rt. Hon. Uyi Igbe, Speaker, Edo State House of Assembly as part of his 2013 Constituency project at Wards 9 and 10 First East Circular Road and Wisdom Street in Oredo Local Government Area, Benin City. Photo: GODWIN ISEGUAN.
ABUJA - The National Conference has rejected the recommendation to revive Nigeria Airways or create a new carrier. The decision was taken on the floor of plenary while adopting the report of the Conference Committee on Transportation. The conference equally rejected the recommendation that any driver that causes the death of any person, provided it is proved beyond reasonable doubt, shall pay N10 million fine. It equally rejected the recommendation that such a driver should be sentenced to life imprisonment without the option of fine if he or she cannot pay, while the government pays the fine. The conference, however, voted approved the recommedation for the dredging of River Benue and all other water ways, while the transport sector should be decentralised for efficiency. “For efficient and effective transport system, security and general wellbeing of the sector, all air, sea and land transport should be decentralised and put under the concurrent list.’’ The conference equally recommended that incentives should be given to the private sector to build trailer parks, while major airports should
Assembly Suspends
MINNA- The Niger State House of Assembly has suspended Alhaji Muhammad Umar, the member representing Kontagora 1 constituency for making allegations against the House in a newspaper publication. Umar, the Minority Leader, had alleged in an interview he granted Blueprint Newspaper on June 12, 2014, that the lawmakers were bribed to impeach two former speakers. He also claimed that he personally sponsored four private member bills since the inauguration of the House in 2011. The motion calling for the suspension of Umar was moved by Mr Yusuf Kure representing Paikoro constituency. In a unanimous resolution, the House suspended Umar and barred him from the premises of the legislature unless invited. It also directed its committee on Ethnics, Public Petitions and Privileges to investigate the allegations and report back to the House. Earlier in his motion under matters of urgent public attention, Kure said the
Minority Leader
allegations made by Umar against the House were “untrue, malicious and capable of tarnishing the good image of the House’’. He said that since the inauguration of the seventh legislature, the House had never considered any private member bill. He said that the only bill considered by the House was the bill on public-private partnership sent to it by the executive. Kure described the allegation made by suspended lawmaker that the executive had been interfering in the affairs of the House as unfounded. He also debunked the allegation made by Umar that the governor did not contact the House before imposing a ban on the operations of commercial motorcyclists in the state. Kure said the suspended lawmaker was ignorant of the existence of Niger State Road Traffic law cap 118, revised edition 1989 volume 3 section 40
which deals with the issue. He said that under the law, the governor was not obliged to
forward any bill to the House before banning the operations of Okada riders, adding that the governor acted within the law.
sue beneficiaries of its cab scheme who defaulted to meet their obligations in the revolving loan arrangement. The Commissioner for Transport, Mr. Chuka Utazi, made the threat in Enugu on Tuesday during a meeting with the beneficiaries of the scheme. Utazi said the state government was frustrated by the inability of the drivers to off-set their bills since the inception of the scheme in 2008. According to him, the government is under pressure from the bank to repay the revolving loan for the taxi scheme initiated by Gov Sullivan Chime to reduce poverty in the state. He said the duration for the repayment which was supposed
to be in 36 months had exceeded five years. “People like to do things the wrong way. These drivers were given the cars on hire purchase to complete payment within three years but unfortunately many of them have defaulted in the payment as agreed. “The essence of this meeting is to get feedback from the cab operators who are managing phases one to three of the car scheme which the government put in place. “It is to make the operators to be conscious of what they are doing. The scheme is up to five years now but some people have yet to complete their payment. “The governor has given us the mandate that anybody who benefited from this scheme must
be linked to rail lines for accessibility. Similarly, the conference recommended speedy completion of the Lokoja and Onitsha ports projects and approved the establishment of a ‘coast guard’ to protect the water ways.
The motion for adoption of the committee’s report was moved by Mrs Sarah Ayuba, representing Association of Market Women, and seconded by Esther Andrew, representing Persons Living with Disability.
Judge Confiscates NAN Journalists’ ID Cards
ENUGU- An Enugu High Court Judge, Justice Eno Oluedo, confiscated the identity cards of two journalists from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu. Oluedo also caused the journalists, Mr Vincent Okwor, the Zonal Manager of the agency in the South East, and Mr Nicholas Obisike, a reporter, to wait for the release of the identity cards up until 5 p.m., only to be told that she had gone home through the back door. She had earlier, ordered the seizure of Obisike’s notebook and mobile telephone for not taking permission to cover the proceedings of her court. The judge’s action followed a complaint by the counsel to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Mr Kenechukwu Chukwuma-Eneh, that stories from the agency were published online. According to Chukwuma-Eneh, the names of the judge, prosecution and defence counsels are always
appearing in the Internet, especially in the case involving a former boxer, Ikechukwu Okoronkwo. “I see all the stories involving Okoronkwo online and print media. I also see the two reporters following the case in the state high court, the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court. “This is a contempt of court because they are not supposed to cover the proceedings,’’ he said. The zonal manager, in his reaction, said he had always obtained permission from all the courts in the state for the coverage of proceedings. “I wonder why this case is different. We have not published anything contrary to the proceedings in Okoronkwo’s case or any other case in the various courts in the state. “Besides, a court is a public place for everyone to cover or visit if need be, provided you comply with its rules,’’ Okwor said. The court was still in possession of the reporters’ identity cards as at the close of work on Tuesday.
Enugu Threatens Cab Drivers Over Default In Loan vehicles are grounded?’’ Chime ENUGU- The Enugu State Repayment asked. Government has threatened to pay back the loan in order to sustain the scheme. “The collecting bank, Umuchinemere Microfinance Bank, has the fiat of the Attorney General of the State to commence the suit on behalf of the government,’’ the commissioner said. The Chairman of the Cab Drivers Association, Mr. Tony Chime, blamed the insurance companies handling the cars for failing to provide cover for them during accidents. “We want the government to assist us because the insurance companies have failed us. They park our spoilt cars in their workshop for years without doing anything. “Where do they want us to get the money to pay when our
He appealed to the state government to review the scheme and ensure that the insurance companies lived up to the agreement. Another driver, Mr. Jerry Nnam, expressed dismay at the management of the scheme, saying the government imposed a lot of rules and fines on them which hindered them from repaying the loan. Nnam called on the government to provide an enabling environment for the business to thrive in the state. The reports state that under the first phase of the scheme, the government provided 200 cars for the beneficiaries at N2.7 million each, including insurance for a period of three years.
Abuja
FG Kicks-Off Safe School Initiative With N1.6bn
ABUJAPresident Goodluck Jonathan has commenced steps for establishing the Safe Schools Initiative by directing the setting up of a trust fund in which the Federal Government has committed N1.6 billion. The Minister of Finance, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, made the development known to State House correspondents after a meeting between Jonathan and the UN Special Envoy for Global Education, Mr Gordon Brown. She was joined by Brown, Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno and his Yobe counterpart, Mr Ibrahim Geidam. The initiative is a brainchild of Brown in collaboration with a coalition of Nigerian business leaders aimed at rebuilding and providing security for schools in states affected by the Boko Haram insurgency. It is also part of the growing movement to rescue the over 200 school girls abducted in Chibok, Borno, and to provide support for them, their parents and communities. Okonjo-Iweala said; “Mr president has started this initiative by directing that I open a trust fund in which we have already put N1.6 billion. “The private sector is also putting N1.6 billion. His Excellency Gordon Brown is going to be raising some resources and the governors of the affected states are also putting in commitments. “We are determined to ensure that our children in the states have an environment in which they can come back to school and not have their education truncated,’’ she said. The minister explained that
Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa, who was absent at meeting, would attend a follow-up meeting. Brown, a former British Prime Minister, said that the Safe Schools Initiative was meant for the entire country but would begin in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, which were most affected by terrorism. According to him, the programme is aimed at providing security for the schools and helping affected states with “fortifications, telecommunications, guards and safety equipment that will enable people to feel safe in the school premises. He said, “I have come here with the UN SecretaryGeneral, Ban Ki-moon, giving me his support to do so and to send our sympathies, solidarity and support to the children of Chibok who have been cruelly abducted “ I am also here to give support to the families of these girls and to the whole communities in Borno State. “And I am here to say that as an international community, we wish to do everything we can to back up the efforts of President Goodluck Jonathan and the governors of the states to make sure these girls are returned to their families. “At the same time, I am here to make sure that every parent feels that they can send their children to school knowing they will be safe in future. “And that is why we are launching the Safe Schools Initiative and that is why the president has decided to set up this fund that will allow the international community as well as local donors to contribute to making our schools in this country safer,’’ he said.
Brown added: “It is our determination as an international community to help the families feel secure about their boys and girls going to school with the hope that they will be safe. “We also want to help in rebuilding Chibok schools because we want parents in that area to be sure that when their girls are released they can come home to a school that is rebuilt and safe.’’ In their remarks, the governors of Yobe and Borno pledged their cooperation and
support for Brown and the Federal Government to ensure the success of the programme. Geidam said: “We promise to give him all the necessary cooperation to ensure that the programme succeeds. “We are also going to partner with him (Brown) and the Federal Government under the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure that this programme becomes successful at the end of the day.’’ On his part, Shettima said that this was not time for politics but for “sobriety, maturity and unity of purpose’’ to ensure that the
programme succeeded. “It is an issue that basically boils down to education, poverty, and empowerment. “By the grace of God, we want to give you our commitment that we are going to pursue this thing
Board Wants Regular Interaction With Residents
Sanitation:
ABUJA- The Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) has called on residents of the FCT to interact frequently with the board to achieve effective city
Deputy Head of the U.N. Mission in Cote D’Ivoire, Mr. Arnauld Akodjenou (left), Briefing the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Dr. Chalka Beyanin (right), during her visit to the mission in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire.
ECOWAS Urges Faithful Implementation Of Community Levy Protocol
ABUJA - The President of ECOWAS Commission, Kadré Ouédraogo, has appealed to member states to be consistent in the implementation of the Community Levy Protocol and Mechanisms. Ouédraogo made the appeal in Accra at the 15th meeting of ECOWAS Administration and Finance Committee.
An internally displaced woman assisted by her son, drags a bag of rice given to her at a camp during distribution of relief materials to victims of Boko Haram attacks in Maiduguri.
This is contained in a statement issued by the Commission’s spokesman, Mr. Sunny Ugoh, in Abuja. The statement said Ouedraogo’s appeal became necessary because the regional organisation needed the requisite funds to meet its financial obligations. The president said that the institution was confronted with six main challenges, including the expansion of its operations which was confronted by severe problems of funding from the community levy. “Introduced in 1996 and operational four years later, the 0.5 per cent levy on goods imported into the region from third world countries is to enable the community to fund its programmes. “This would serve as a replacement for the previous regime of assessed dues,’’ the statement stated. Ouédraogo, who was represented by Commissioner for Finance, Mrs. Khadi Saccoh, said another challenge was the re-organisation of ECOWAS’ programmes to accommodate six new commissioners and regional security. There was also the
vigorously with all the resources, human and materials, at our disposal. “It will be completely devoid of politics. “Times like this call for sobriety, maturity and unity of purpose,’’ he said.
coordination of negotiations of the Economi c Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union to enhance efficiency and ensure better use of the resources of the community, it added. “It would enhance efficiency and ensure better use of the resources of the community,’’ the statement added. It said the 2014 mid-year review by the committee was of special significance, being the first since the recent change in the chairmanship of the organisation. Other changes included the expansion to a 15-member commission and appointment of new judges to the Community Court of Justice, it added. It also included changes in the leadership of the community’s health organisation and the InterGovernmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA). He assured the community of the management’s determination to improve efficiency, eliminate wastes and ensure the efficient utilisation of community resources.
sanitation. Mrs Aishat Adebayo, Director of the board, made the call in an interview with newsmen in Abuja. Adebayo said that such interaction would be more effective if done through the Residents’ Sanitation Forum. She advised neighbourhoods in Abuja to embrace the idea of such forum to get optimal benefit of good neighbourliness. “The Residents’ Sanitation Forum is the coming together of people bound by geographical boundaries like neighbours in high rise buildings, estates, staff quarters and others like that to tackle salient environmental issues. “It also serves as an interactive platform through which the board communicates its programmes to residents in her mission to keep Abuja clean. “AEPB encourages such forums as a people-oriented programme of ensuring that every resident of Abuja has a stake in environmental management,’’ said the director. She advised residents to view sanitation of their environment as their responsibility adding that they should campaign for attitudinal change among neighbours. “Every resident of Abuja should have a stake in environment management and they should inculcate decent sanitary habits among themselves. “The overall aim is to build partnerships between residents, communities and businesses for the purpose of securing a quality environment. “This will go a long way to positively change the orientation of Abuja residents towards their environment,’’ Adebayo said. She, however, commended residents of Uromi Street in Garki Area 2, Abuja, for their outstanding efforts to sanitise their environment and urged others in the FCT to emulate them. “The Uromi Street Residents Association is very environment friendly and we at the AEPB are very impressed. “We (board) are, therefore, donating three sets of sanitation equipment to the association as incentive and to encourage neighbourhoods to emulate them,’’ the director said.
Business + Economy A/Ibom Devt Agency Executes 27 Projects In 23 Communities UYO- The Agency for Community and Social Development (ACSD) in Akwa Ibom, says it executed 27 microprojects in 23 communities of the state, newsmen reports. The agency’s General Manager, Mr Ishmael Akpan, Akwa Ibom State made the disclosure in Uyo, when the state’s Commissioner for Economic Development, Mr Ante Okwong, visited the agency’s headquarters. Akpan said that the agency had complimented the transformation programme of the government by touching positively on the lives of people in the rural areas. “The agency has galvanised huge financial inflow and investment in rural communities, boosted local economy and
leveraged the stock of rural infrastructure,” Akpan said. He said that another 35 microprojects across 15 communities in Akwa Ibom would be completed and inaugurated in September. Akpan said the micro-projects were supported by World Bank funds for community development. He said the government was working hard toward meeting the eligibility for additional funding and transition to the next phase of the projects. Speaking also, Okwong commended the commitment of the agency toward the attainment of the organisation’s goals. Okwong assured the agency that the ministry would study its areas of need with a view of assisting them in meeting the needs of the rural people.
LAGOS- FBN Holdings Plc says it is making arrangement to acquire a merchant banking licence through their Investment Banking and Management subsidiary. FBN Holdings Group Chief Executive Officer Mr Bello Maccido made the announcement in Lagos at the company’s “Facts Behind the Figures” held at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The Maccido was quote as saying that the anticipated banking diversification would enable the company to enhance project finance potential. It will also enhamce access to the fixed income and foreign exchange trading market segment. According to him, the initiative will strengthen the company’s funding base and boost the dividend accruable to the shareholders. On the group’s 2014 to 2016 strategic plans, Maccido said that it would invest in its subsidiaries to drive growth and leverage contributions from the nonbanking subsidiaries. He said the company would ensure synergies and improved customer services within the group and increase cross-sales across the subsidiary companies. Maccido also said that the
company would commence general insurance business with the acquisition of Oasis Insurance Plc. He said that FBN Holdings suffered an estimated revenue loss of N32.5 billion in 2013 due to regulatory policies. Maccido identified the regulatory policies to include increase in Cash Reserve Ratio for public sector funds, revised banking charges, removal of charges on Automated Teller Machines (ATM) transactions. He also said that increase in the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) levy from 0.3 per cent to 0.5 per cent of total assets affected the company’s revenue. The chief executive officer said that the company paid N13.6 billion as AMCON levy in 2013 against N7.4 billion in 2012. “The tough operating environment notwithstanding, the consolidated results for the group overall showed marginal growth across all the key indices buoyed by improving performance of our non-banking subsidiaries,” Maccido said. He said that the company’s net interest income grew by 1.5 per cent to N230.12 billion against
L-R: Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State (left), congratulating the New Acting Chief Judge of the State, Justice Aliyu Liman, at the swearing-in in Bauchi on Wednesday.
FBN Holdings Moves To Acquire Merchant Banking Licence N226.61 billion achieved in 2012. The growth of the group’s net income, he said, was due to improved performance of its non-banking subsidiaries. He, however, said that its profit before tax declined by 2.8 per cent to N91.34 billion compared with N93.9 billion posted in 2012. Its profit after tax stood at N70.63 billion against the N76.80 billion posted in 2012. He also said that the
commercial banking group posted a profit before tax of N87.46 billion, compared with N87.14 billion achieved in the preceding year. Maccido said the banking group witnessed 8.9 per cent growth in gross earnings from N341.96 billion in 2012 to N372.56 billion within the
period under review. Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of the NSE, Mr Oscar Onyema, commended FBN Holdings for their commitment in providing the market with investment driven information. He said that FBN Holdings information on their activities had become an index for dealing
members to assess the performance of other holdings, and especially the banking industry. Onyema also said that contrary to other opinions, information provided by listed companies had become a major tool in examining economic policies of the nation.
NGO To Inaugurate Insurance Initiative
ABUJA- The Transparent Protection Ltd (TPL), an NGO, says it will inaugurate a Micro and Small Enterprise Initiative (MASI) in August to enhance micro insurance and risk management in Nigeria. The organisation’s Programme Manager, Mr Godson IbekweUmelo, made the disclosure at a media briefing in Abuja. Ibekwe-Umelo said the organisation was partnering with Small and Medium Enterprises Development (SMEDAN) to map and build capacities of the micro and small enterprises in Nigeria. He said the initiative would address the issue of low insurance awareness at the
grassroots, especially among the micro and small enterprises in Nigeria. “The objective is to help reduce the risk profile of the relevant enterprises and have them more properly packaged for increased sustainability. “The programme will be launched in August and will cover the entire 36 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). “The outcome of the partnership with SMEDAN is MASI. “It is an initiative put together as a means of addressing the unfortunate trend of low insurance awareness at the grassroots, especially among the micro and small enterprises in Nigeria,’’ he
Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State (middle), New Acting Chief Judge of Bauchi State, Justice Aliyu Liman (11thLeft), Judges and Commissioners, at the swearning-in of the New Acting Chief Judge in Bauchi on Wednesday.
said. According to Ibekwe-Umelo, over 70 per cent of micro enterprises in Nigeria do not have any form of insurance protection. “A 2010 study jointly undertaken by the SMEDAN and National Bureau of Statistics confirmed this position,’’ he said. Ibekwe-Umelo said micro insurance was already working and lifting many in different climes out of poverty, especially in India, Bangladesh and Malaysia. He said if the sector was well coordinated, it would ensure overall economic growth in Nigeria because the cheapest insurance policy with lowest premium rate could translate to trillions of naira. As a means of promoting awareness and financial literacy, Ibekwe-Umelo said the organisation had produced a quarterly newsletter which over 30,000 copies had been distributed nationwide to stakeholders. He said the organisation had also inaugurated an insurance cooperative society which was aimed at promoting financial inclusion to many illiterates and uninformed in the society. He explained that the organisation had also embarked on a campaign, “Making Insurance Work for Nigeria (MIW4N)’’ with social media being its major tool. “The goal is to promote insurance awareness in Nigeria through popular participation to increase insurance sector ’s contribution to the GDP from
0.68 per cent to three per cent by 2016. “Micro insurance will also not only enhance productivity in the sector but would ensure overall economic growth,’’ IbekweUmelo said. He lamented the number of insurance products being sold online leveraging on some mobile telecommunication service providers in Nigeria. The manager called on the appropriate bodies to introduce rules for online insurance and forge a workable strategic relationship with Nigerian Communication Commission for online insurance policyholder’s protection. Earlier, the Founding Director of TPL, Dr Sam Onyeka, said that insurance was important to jumpstart the economy of Nigeria. Onyeka said the kind of resources needed for housing development in the country could only come from the insurance sector through premiums. He said there was need for micro, small and medium scale holders to insure themselves and their businesses as it would help them to access loans from banks. “If you have insurance policy on life and assets worth hundreds of thousands, it will become vital collateral to access loans from banks,’’ Onyeka said. He called on the government to ensure the passage of insurance bill that would help enhance the implementation of the micro insurance scheme.
Politics THERE is the adage in Esan that says a liar has no memory. Yet another one that says any person who betrays his friend or his people will eat from the ground. Similarly the Esan people say it is in the morning that you know the child who will be useful to his parents. In more ways than one, Festus Ebea the suspended deputy speaker of Edo house of assembly symbolizes the imprints of the axioms above. When the nomination or the congress to elect the candidate of Governorship for the A.C .N took place in 2007, it was clear that Ebea will betray the people of Esan South East. He was at that time not only a strong supporter of Charles ldahosa “Alias Charles Temple” he led a very strong brigade of army of thugs to Ubiaja where the congress was held. Festus Ebea was one of the most prominent who with the army of thugs attempted to subvert the nomination of Adams Oshiomhole, to make sure he did not get the nomination and support of the people of Esan South East. Because the Bible says one with God is with majority, at the end, with all his Army of thugs Festus Ebea was defeated and Adams Oshiomhole won Charles Idahosa, Ken lmhasuagbon and others. Since then we have been watching Festus Ebea with our eagle eye. Then came the house of Assembly election, Festus Ebea showed interest to contest, but many people kicked against his candidature. Some leaders refused vehemently knowing his antecedent. Before then even as secretary, Edo State Rapid Response Agency, Festus Ebea was still hobnobbing with P.D.P. One faithful day, he was invited to a meeting at Ubiaja by his friends in the opposition party but on his way to Ubiaja, he had a fatal accident that almost claimed his life . The accident left his leg broken from his thigh. The first set of persons that took him to the private hospital at
Uromi were his P.D.P friend but during his stay at the private hospital at Uromi it was the office of Rapid Response Agency that came to his rescue with cash and kind. Three months after the accident he was discharged but his broken leg was almost rotten, He could no longer move with the leg and so could not come to the office. Despite this his salary was going on, well paid, as at when due for over one year. Again, a time came when the suspended Deputy Speaker Festus Ebea could no longer get out of his rented apartment. He cried to leader Victor Eboigbe and Managing Director Edo State Rapid Response Agency, for help. In response, the Managing Director Engineer Stanley Dako wrote a very powerful and sympathetic letter to the same Governor whom he worked against, during the congress and who appointed him the secretary of Rapid Response Agency despite all odds for assistance. The Kind Oshiomhole, who does not look back at any one’s antecedent, approved that request and gave Festus Ebea the sum of Four Million, Two hundred Thousand naira to go for treatment abroad. Today he no longer limps, He walks with his two legs, that was to be amputated. When the issue of who will represent the people of Esan South East in the house of Assembly came Festus Ebea and Honorable Larry Aghedo showed interest, Some leaders vehemently kicked against the candidature of Festus Ebea because of his antecedents’ in one of our numerous meetings at leader Victor Eboigbe’s house, at about 2 am, with all the leaders in a meeting some leaders told the little they knew about Ebea in Ubiaja politics. Some leaders reminded the people about Ebea’s role in the nomination of Adam Oshiomhole during the congress. That did not go down well with our leader because, what we saw in Ebea was not only
Festus Ebea’s Last Song because blood is ticker than water we were able to manage the situation and the ticket to house of Assembly was given to Festus Ebea. The suspended Deputy Speaker was unable to pay his nomination fee, he was
for the support for Festus Ebea. Next Year, is the house of Assembly Election, and Ebea knows very well that he cannot win his nomination, hence, he think his defection to P.D.P will help him out. Since he became a member of the house of assembly, Festus
unable to print posters, and all were done for him by supporters. Festus Ebea did not even campaign one day on his own. The people of Esan South east did the campaign for him .The Comrade Governor crowned it all by going round the Local Government Area to ask
Ebea has no consistency office. He has never visited his people to tell them what is going on in the house, The people of san South East who he represents, do not know what he is doing. The constituency fund! No one knows about it and the supposed project that follows.
By ELDER SAMUEL EBOIGBE
prophetic but a reality because that was how they could explain the reason they rejected his nomination. Festus Ebea was a very wretched down trodden candidate. Some persons told our leader that Larry was a
Hon Festus Ebea better promising man to be trusted, and we should support him Ebea was almost washing the pants of those he knew would help him, our stand at that time almost caused a rift between some leaders and leader Victor Eboigbe, who incidentally is the youngest among the leaders but
“If Festus Ebea is sincere, or is a man of conscience, he should be able to say the number of projects he as a member of Edo State Assembly since he assumed office executed in Esan South East, our people are not fools. There are many more qualified politicians, but for the luck and the opportunity he had, he would not have been elected.”
For the fear of the questions that will come very soon so Festus Ebea decided to opt out to P.D.P. but he forgot that wherever he goes with the people’s money, he will be invited to account for it when the time comes. Because a liar has no memory in an interview recently, he alleged that there was no single project in his consistency that is why he opted to move over to the P.D.P. If Festus Ebea is sincere, or is a man of conscience, he should be able to say the number of projects he as a member of Edo State Assembly since he assumed office executed in Esan South East, our people are not fools. There are many more qualified politicians, but for the luck and the opportunity he had, he would not have been elected. This is a man who could not host people during his appointment as a secretary of Edo State Rapid Response Agency. Our Esan people say that any man who forgot where he was drained, or where he was sunned is an ingrate. Festus Ebea forgot so soon, how, when, where, he was assisted to become a member of the house of assembly. There is the adage that, any man who deceive harlot once will one day want to go back to her but at that time he will never have his way. Let us quickly remind Festus Ebea that where he thinks is better now, will be worse for him. In Esan South East local government area, where he comes from and the people he represents, there are numerous projects executed by the state and local government. Very soon all these projects will be unfolding in the print and electronic media, because they say picture don’t lie. Finally, we are watching and waiting how far the fowl will fly. Courtesy of Leaders of Esan South East constituency, Edo state.
AS global outrage continues to pour at Boko Haram’s abduction of more than 200 school girls, all students of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State, The NIGERIAN OBSERVER notes with sadness that two months have gone by since the Chibok girls have beenin captivity and their freedom by the dreaded Islamic Sect has been hinged on swapping with their (Boko Haram) members in various prisons and detention camps across the country. THE sect leader, Abubakar Shekau, recently released a video recording showing more than 100 of the girls together in a rural setting in which he offered to exchange them for captured Boko Haram adherents in various prisons across the country. The video clips, if anything, raised the hopes that the location could be found using a combination of ground forces, state-ofthe-art intelligence and surveillance planes. FOR the avoidance of doubt, The NIGERIAN OBSERVER is vehemently opposed to Boko Haram’s proposal to the federal government to swap detained insurgents for the more than 200 school girls abducted by the terror group in Borno State for a number of reasons. FIRST, besides the protests by groups across the globe expressing condemnations at Boko Haram’s action, there is already an international team in place to rescue the abducted girls. The United States, Britain, France, China and Israel as well as Nigeria’s immediate
THE NIGERIAN
On The Release Of Chibok Girls By Boko Haram neighbours, Chad, Cameroun and others have joined in the hunt for the girls. It will be fool-hardy not to allow this team exhaustively carry out its rescue operation than accept the Boko Haram proposal. SECONDLY, it is senseless and thoroughly wrong for the federal Government to condescend to exchanging criminals for abducted girls. It will be a bad precedence and a notorious reference point in future should the federal government start to negotiate with these faceless terrorists along the lines of their proposals. The NIGERIAN OBSERVER considers it a very wrong step to take. The government should never trade the girls but face the terrorists squarely. They are criminals and should be treated as such. IT is our considered view that the government should use all resources at its disposal, national and international to crush Boko Haram. The more reason why the government should do so is the fact that some people have become unnecessarily sentimental, speaking from both sides of their mouth, especially northern Elders whose remarks and language betrayed
support for the notorious Sect. They are a disappointing lot. ANOTHER reason the government should not swap Boko Haram criminals for our Chibok girls is the fact that government would have sanctioned illegality and compromised the essence of leadership and rulership. If the government dares it, it would have provided a new platform for Boko Haram and other terror groups to commit more heinous crimes and then, turn around to ask for this manner of swapping which to us is quite unthinkable. Indeed, it would amount to the federal government negotiating from the position of fear, weakness and intimidation, with all the available international and global support. YET another reason the federal government should not swap Boko Haram prisoners for our abducted innocent Chibok girls is that the students are innocent persons who should not be exchanged for the Boko Haram criminal murderers. This is why it will be morally wrong to do so, because it would amount to equating the girls with criminals. LASTLY, what is the clear agenda of the Boko Haram Sect? What are they actually fighting for? Other than cause the reign of terror through sponsorship of religious extremists and political pugilists who have failed to gain certain positions in government? They are criminals and their sponsors are enemies of the Nigerian State; pure and simple, and should be treated as such.
A
mong the best of the moral virtues taught by Prophet Muhammad which we must learn from his biography is his practice of Sabr — Patient. The Prophet’s patience and endurance were severely tested throughout his life. He was left as an orphan at a very early age with the death of his father Abdullah before his birth, the death of his mother Aminah when he was only six years old, and when the Prophet was a boy of eight, the death of his grandfather who had taken charge of him. The Prophet’s life was full of hardships, Persecution by the idol worshippers and betrayal by the hypocrites. He faced the world almost all alone at the age of forty when the call to Prophet-hood began. It was during this period he equally lost his beloved wife, Khadijah and his uncle, Abu Talib. At the time, almost the whole of the Arabian Peninsula was full of idolatry, and it was hard to imagine how one man could in 23 years transform a land full of idolatry and socio-moral and political malaise into a land of pure monotheism and morality. The Prophet through the divine wisdom was able to exhibit the highest level of patience and endurance in the face of deadly enemies all surrounding him, both in Mecca and Medina. The Holy Prophet said in one of his Hadith narrated by Abu Sa’eed (may Allah be pleased with him) “And whoever patiently perseveres, Allah will bestow patience and perseverance upon him, and no one is ever given anything better and more generous and encompassing than patient perseverance” The Arabic word Sabr is most often translated as patience, however, it literally means patience, perseverance and endurance. The full linguistic definition of Sabr also includes restraint and forbearance — restraining the soul from panic, anger, fear, greed, and so on; restraining the tongue from complaint; and restraining the limbs from improper action. Thus, patience and bearing affliction for the sake of Allah involves restraining oneself from what is harmful and enduring what one dislikes, with a sense of acceptance and submission. Patient perseverance is a quality needed by every human. Some aspects of patience and perseverance are inborn, while others are learned as we grow. Without patient, life with all its mishaps and challenges becomes almost impossible. Some of those who cannot endure the challenges of life, because they lack patience, take the seemingly easy way out: Suicide has become common in most secularist societies. The Holy Prophet also verbally recommended patience and set an example of patient through his chosen lifestyle. Therefore, every Muslim is required to practice patient and uphold the truth as an essential moral precept of success in our earthly trials. The Holy Prophet further described the affairs of Muslims who practice patient as amazing, for there is good in all their affairs. When something pleasing happens to them, they are grateful to Allah and that
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Every Friday With Mallam Abdulfattah Enabulele Chief Imam of Benin
“The Arabic word Sabr is most often translated as patience, however, it literally means patience, perseverance and endurance. The full linguistic definition of Sabr also includes restraint and forbearance — restraining the soul from panic, anger, fear, greed, and so on; restraining the tongue from complaint; and restraining the limbs from improper action”
Patience And Endurance (1) is good for them. If something displeasing happens to them, they exercise patience and forbearance, and that is good for them too. The importance and significance of patient is also further emphasized in many verses of the Glorious Qur’an. In fact, in over 90 passages of the Qur’an, Almighty Allah recommended patience. ALLAH, the Exalted says: - By the token of time (throughout the ages) - Verily Humankind (man) is in a perpetual state of loss, - Except for those who believe and do righteous deeds, - Join together in the mutual teaching of truth, - And exhort one another to patience and perseverance (1 03:1-3) ASR means time; history; succession of ages; the afternoon; or the evening. AL-INSAN means man —the hasty, the contentious man, or the man who opposes Divine Messengers. It is History’s infallible testimony that those individuals or nations who do not make proper use of the opportunities that come to them in life, and who defy the eternal natural laws which determine human destiny, inevitably come to grief. It is such individuals and nations who are the losers in the race against time and it is to these that the world Al-Insan in the chapter particularly refers. Divine laws cannot be defied with impunity. In this chapter and at several other places in the Qur’an, believers have been enjoined not only to adopt right and good principles and right ideals themselves but also to preach them to others and thus to help in the creation of a healthy atmosphere around them. They are further enjoined not to be discouraged or dismayed by opposition or persecution they might have to face in the discharge of their every difficult task but to bear it with patience and fortitude. The chapter in one brief verse has laid down rules of conduct by observing which one can lead a happy, contented, prosperous and progressive life. “Only those who are patient will receive their reword in full without reckoning” (39:10) “0 ye who believe! Preserve in patience and constancy; via with one another in such perseverance; strengthen each other and fear Allah that you maybe successful.” (3:200) “Patiently persevere, for your forbearance is only from Allah. Do not grieve over them, and do not distress yourself because of their plots. For Allah is with those who restrain themselves and those who do good’ (16:127-128). And given glad tidings to As-Sabirun (the Patient). Who, when afflicted with calamity, say: Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return. They are those on whom are the Salawat (i.e. who are blessed and will be forgiven) from their Lord and (they are those who) receive His mercy and it is they who are the guided ones.” (2:155-157) “Those will be rewarded with the highest place in paradise because of their patience.
“Patient in the face of hardships and mishaps, as well as acceptance of Allah’s decree in His will and wisdom in such matters, are indeed proof of our faith in Allah. This is not to say that dislike and a feeling of sadness for the afflictions that have occurred is wrong, for indeed feelings of loss, frustration, and pain are only a normal part of human life, as long as they do not go beyond the limits of the Shari’ah ordained by Allah”
Therein they shall be met with greetings and the word of peace and respect.” (25:75) CATEGORIES OF PATIENCE Muslim scholars past and present have classified SABR into three important categories: a. Patient in obeying Allah’s orders. b. Patient to refrain from disobedience. c. Patient in the face of trials and afflictions. The first is patience under adversity encountered when obeying the commandments of Allah. Patient in obedience is required, since the human soul always seeks comfort and ease, is reluctant to give those things up and by nature dislikes subjection to another’s commands. A man is patient upon obeying Allah’s commandments when he devotes himself entirely to worship Allah in the exact way the Messenger of Allah instructed to follow, without complaining, neglecting or failing to do any of the worship practices. Ceasing to do so will lead to his win and misery. On the other hand, once he realizes the great reward he can have for worshipping Allah sincerely, all the practices of worship will become easy to perform even with pleasure. If he does one good deed in good faith and out of pure intention, he shall be rewarded as if he has done ten good deeds. That will also multiply to seven hundred times as many, and to even a multitude of times as many. Allah multiplies the reward for whomever He wills, and His favours and graces have no limits. And finally, we must show restraint and be patient after completing the good deed to ensure that we show no pride, nor boast, nor expect praise and gratitude from our fellow humans. The second is patience upon resisting the temptation of succumbing to the forbidden deeds. To refrain from falling into doing what Allah has prohibited, whether it is related to Allah’s rights or to people’s rights. However, once the Muslim realizes the punishment in this life and the Hereafter for disobeying Allah and defying his orders and prohibitions, he will refrain from being defiant and sinning, and will be willing to be patient and resist the temptation. The true believers must conduct their lives so that they struggle to restrain themselves from all forms of disobedience and stay within the limits of Islamic law. Therefore, they are not free to do whatever they like, but instead submit themselves to the laws of Allah. A Muslim should also realize that some of the punishments in this world do not only befall the sinner himself, they may also be collective punishments that befall the entire society, like catastrophes. Therefore, the sinners may be few, but the consequences of their sins may encompass the whole community. Yet, when they all die in a collective punishment, each one of them will be resurrected and dealt with according to his intention. O Allah! Help us to be patient when afflicted, be grateful when favoured, and seek Your forgiveness when sinful. Forgive our sins and wrongdoings and have mercy on us. You are indeed the Merciful and the oft-Forgiving. Ameen.
Insight
Continued from penultimate week
EXCORCISING INSURGENCY AND INSECURITY FROM THE LAND IT is for the gravely weighty implication of the above observations that one would digress cursorily, with the Caution: that the seeming combative engagements of the pro-Northern Stake-holderships against the spirited Efforts of the Federal Government in the face of the recrudescence of the insurgents’ aggression, were as unfortunate as they are ironically uncalled for: that is, given if there‘s not more to it than meets the eye; neither any intent for pussy-footing on the part of either party; and if political differences must be sunk in lieu of the gravity of the looming ‘offensives’; it is to be found that options of more resultoriented and tactfully logical attention and action abound: this is what exigently calls for a pertinent and pertinacity of the exact response by every concerned interest; from the purview of what ought to be done initially, that should be considered aptly expedient even now. – this is in order of First-thing-First, that centres on due process with judicious dissection of the peculiarity of the very reasons and/or grievances of the warring Sect: that a first-hand spontaneous reaction be dispassionately established, from the stand point of the fraternity and aboriginal
concerned Body of the Muslim Hierarchy, and the pantheon assemblage of the Northern Governor ’s Stakeholderships, with the eminent personages of Northern descents, along with the ex-Heads of States, together with the Royal Fathers including the Emirs and the preeminent Sultan - all together of whom with such majestic patriarchate to say “No”! “That the out-break of the terror incident is abominable to our Founding Fathers, and to our Motherland, and even as it is, a profanity and anathema to the peaceful Brotherhood of Islamic Faith, and our common humanity under Allah”! That all of the stakeholders to meet jointly in the spirit and manner in which a parent would, for example, tend to one’s child or ward with a first-aid attention, in a situation of sudden injury or attack of affliction – such as this to be the initially mediatory exercise to be complemented in earnest with fairness and firmness, to ‘spare not the rod and spoil not the child’; and a thrust of a skin-deep conciliatory rapport with the said sect, that their mind may be tempered, by the robustly unassailable clouts of the said leaderships of the Northern Statesmen, which include the overriding advantage of the congeniality of their kindredship as fellow indigenes; and in the order of the conducive logistics and proximity of the geographic locality in which the sect operates
Nigerian Leaders
predominantly - with the candor and sincerity of purpose that are bound by the comparative aboriginal lineage, nay, the dog-don’t-eat-dog goodwill, as would be conjured by the inherently collective filial aura of the said Northern Prime Movers, that cannot fail to put the ‘Northern intervention’ to be drastically on top of the matter: such amicably tactical moves in a family setting to be equally anchored sideby-side by the Federal Government (perhaps by the representation of the Amnesty Committee), that cannot but yield much sooner to a fullscale peaceful resolve; this as such calculated moves would have enhanced in-depth scrutiny into the anatomy of the Sect’s posture of the said insurgency … which would have provided a chance for the eminent Islamic Doyens and worthy Northern paternity to deploy persuasion and enlightening didactics towards their reorientation; to enlist their remorse towards voluntary surrender of the unprovoked hostilities. This is more so against the backdrop of the Sect’s enigmatic and hard-to-decipher culture of guerillawarfare inclinations: This now being a way that would be in favor of their longings, perhaps, for a self-assertive bid for clemency that they may be saved to save
them from themselves: needless to say that this would be a concisely dignified way to meander tidily out of the Sect’s spasmodic insecurity menace; and of noteworthy would be the foray of this envisaged trouble-shooting masterpiece, that it is not only without prejudice to the limits of the concerns and commitments of the Federal Government so far (especially with the Schedule of the State-ofEmergency), but would ultimately be seen to reflect an all-round judicious decisiveness, in which the embattled Federal Government is not entrapped with a precipitate political step that may turn out to be a boomerang of a dangerous precedence, that would seem to scotch-the snake-in-thebush…:, an action that would not be a seeming open license for other similar criminallyminded to be rather spurred in their ‘trade-instock’, as regards the handling of the somewhat amorphous magnitude of the unfortunate insecurity saga: just as one would be equally mindful of the victims of the fratricidal attacks who now lurk in the waiting and moaning for a befitting justice! This is for the so bewildered Northern Region and the rest of the Nation to heave a sigh of relief; and that the aftermath degree of success thereto, would be a triumphant credit to the
“That all of the stakeholders to meet jointly in the spirit and manner in which a parent would, for example, tend to one’s child or ward with a first-aid attention, in a situation of sudden injury or attack of affliction.”
overall leadership sagacity of which the North is traditionally not known to be a push-over neither a Lilliputian but an inimitable stalwart. This is also not only for the hostility of the insurgency war to be won preferably with ease, and at its costeffective ratio, but for the
preservation of ultimate peace that is the ensuing desire … Just yet as such victory would have evinced a profound breakthrough in a somewhat Litmus Test for the nation’s leadership generally; such that would usher in opportuned moment not only for hopes in the said nation’s leadership to rise to the delight of the citizens, but would also attract a far-reaching and gratifying nods by the international community to be resilient in the confidence that Nigeria, after-all, has what it takes in latent Leadership Preserve to
By DR PAUL AMEN-AIF
be so entrusted with the leadership chair, not just of the Continental Negroid Race, but as a formidable selfesteemed leadership that can be reckoned with at the strata of the larger World, that is now a global village. Thus from the
foregoing, it bears emphasis of a notion again, that all of these passing diabolical incidences plaguing the LAND are simply the signs and apparitions of the hang-over of the toomany-a-systemic-defect in the administrative machinery of the nation’s statehood: such as hitherto sketchily alluded to, as being the cumulative background with a somewhat metaphysical undertone, that formed the retarding stasis which reversibly demagnetizes the nation’s otherwise s t u p e n d o u s
i b t t r c r c g f d i u b c e a o i p p l d
Insight
hip Can Make It
FUWA
endowments from GROWTH way back in time; and this is as is deductible to originate from the basis of the said Arrows of Disunity, as are present in the twists of the prevailing fragile ethnic cohesion – being another angle of a dire
implication of the biorhythm of nature thereto, which goes with the immutable laws of recompense: as the course of sowing and reaping: likewise the concept of “nothinggoes-for-nothing” – all for which there is desperate need for investible cord of mutual understanding within the body of the nation’s citizenry: towards equitable win-in-win aggregation of equality of interests to be instilled in the mainstream of the populace at interpersonal and inter-group levels; such that should derive statutorily and
habitually from within the endearing spirit of participatory and partnering social incentives as in faith and confidence-building between the symbiotic relationships of the leaders as a party on the one hand, and the followers on the other. This is to saying that it is
only the two who are in agreement that could work together; this is even as buttressed biblically in the aphorism that when two or three are gathered together…, shall their prayers be answered: this is ostensibly to demystify the aura of estrangements in the gaps between the haves-and-the-have-nots; the-rich-and-the poor, etcetera: for there to be a malleable ground of positive co-relationships amongst the populace that should be at ease, in order to get carried along with sufficient enthusiasm and solidarity in a bandwagon of cooperation with the Leaders in their onerous
administrative dispensation – while this also is that the nation becomes constructively better pedestalled with a regime of leaderships that are predetermined and ‘regimentally’ focused on the nation’s progress target. It’s on this premise that the simmering public outcries and social restiveness in the land, cannot but be viewed with ironic mix-feelings: that some well meaning irate-members of the society are suing for radical change, which strikes as their pent-up angers and apparent reaction to the diluvia of difficulties and challenges that had overwhelmed the nation: such mob cynicisms being more from irritability and emotionality, that are rather unmindful of the vagaries of the inherent causative factors why the nation is in floundering chaos; because, mob and insurrectionist-reversalaction or radicalist eye on a break-up, are hardly an equation or answer to the puzzling predicaments that confront the nation and her populace: for even if the nation is split into bits of smithereens to the levels of one’s own preferences for a given existing geographic locality, for example, it would still bear no difference; for as long as it is virtually the same spirit and culture and
sociology that relatively rules the people as inhabitants that may only be so geographically different. This is, given the self-consciousness and parochial nature of humans and the attendant sensitive self-interest along with intricate moral hazards that are ever in conflicts amongst any given people who share common demographic dwellings - even from the family fold, through the ambits of communities to the strata of the conurbating larger societies - such that were being the curious issues of social concerns: needless to say that this universally puerile stigma of the humans had been the relative necessity for the formular of the Rule-ofLaw as encapsuled in the instrumentality of democracy - more or less as arbiter and the Danielcome-to-Judgment and as a Goal of harmony and tranquility for the Body of Mankind; but this is the same skillful devise for ‘Peaceful Co-existence’ as envisioned by man for man, that has been so defiantly abused and bastardised by the acts of the same man - out of which are the spillages of all the sordid ills that are antithetical to the orderly environments in which a society may thrive: save that the antidote against these social pestilences beyond the law cannot be from anywhere else than the nugget of proficiency with which the State’s
POWER are managed at the prerogatives of the State’s Leadership Stakeholders in our given democratic sphere. This is contextually, for the Government of the Day to bank doggedly on the will not to get distraught in the outrageous density of the prevailing sociopolitical clouds plaguing the nation; but to have vibrant administrative thrust that must zero-in on a proactively resultoriented strategy to eliminate the social canker of disunity: as the adherence to the tenets and dictum of corporate oneness of purpose is a Golden Key to lock out the bitter fears of one another; while it suffices to say specifically that the Nigerian Nation’s peculiar situation comes across as a rippled water as per the prevailing socio-political events under which the leadership stakeholders have been in the eye of the storm for obvious reasons: This is such that calls for a need for the imbalances in the political ‘covenant’ between the nation`s leaders and the citizens to be streamlined, with priority for conciliation and remedial normalisation: for the vista of the two interests to be seen to ally in agreeing to agree as hitherto illustrated. This sanctified socio-political understanding between the citizenry and the leaderships that had long eluded the nation, must be the providential era to dawn for the nation to be due to be recipient of the
long sought breakthrough in facilitated sociopolitical-economic progress ... only at the threshold of the obedience to a nationally mutual empathy and accommodativeness of the leaders and the rest of the people! It’s at this juncture again, that the order of the protocol of nature takes precedence: as regards what needs to be done as it borders on the imperatives of the ‘first-thing-first’: as a seeming preamble that precedes the conjuring of an answer being sought against the circuitous challenges that confront the Nigerian nation: for which is the desperate want that something should ‘give-in’ exigently and exclusively on the part of the leaderships, to serve as a culturing and psychological balm and/ or olive-branch in preparatory stance towards the redress of the dismal trends that had rightly or wrongly but allegedly, so attributable to the excepted errors and omissions of the said Leaderships, which had formed the vicarious grounds of disgruntlements amongst the populace; from which are the ensuing uproars with manifest upsurge of anarchical and multifaceted anti-social vices!! Indeed, this is for there to be a remarkable quidpro-quo gesture of whatto-give as a token of good-turn by the leaderships to the People from whom to expect much and also to deserve another. To be continued
“This is contextually, for the Government of the Day to bank doggedly on the will not to get distraught in the outrageous density of the prevailing socio-political clouds plaguing the nation; but to have vibrant administrative thrust that must zero-in on a proactively result-oriented strategy to eliminate the social canker of disunity.”
Art Alive
With Francis U. Odupute
As Ahianmwen-Oro Flies Home With Egogo Today... CALL it restitution, call it soft reconciliation… Today, the Palace of the Oba of Benin Kingdom will witness a rewriting of history as posterity will meet face-to-face with history.
By 12:00 noon today, all roads lead to the Oba’s palace, for the “Reception ceremony” for the return to their place of origin of two of the thousands of artifacts looted by British soldiers
during the punitive expedition to the great Benin Kingdom in 1897. 117 years after the Benin massacre and looting of ancient Benin artifacts, most sons and daughters of the Benin Kingdom, children and adults alike, indeed all Nigerians and friends of Benin, shall for the first time ever, see with their eyes the very objects of their imagination and agitation for which countless local, national, regional and international dialogues and negotiations have been made, yet to no avail. Have we got news for you? Mr. Mark Walker, the great grand son of captain Phillip Walker-one of the British soldiers who invaded Benin Kingdom in 1897 and looted the artifacts – is the person making this magnanimous and heroic offer to return
“Ahianmwen-Oro” and “Egogo” Benin bronzes to his Royal majesty, Omo N’Oba N’edo, Uku Akpolopkolo, the Oba of Benin, Oba Erediauwa CFR. As the epoc making event holds today, what message will this repatriation of the two looted artifacts by Mark Walker send to all Nigerians, the British people and the global community in general? Will it be a clear statement that what is right to do is right to do? Will it be a premise for us all to stand to insist that nothing is impossible if we are willing to deploy our will power to do the right thing in lieu of greed and covetousness? Will this mark of respect for the Benin people, our national heritage and the Oba of Benin in person, inspire the government of Nigeria and the British government to see this as a fillip to unselfishly and sincerely rethink the ages-long call for the return of all the looted Benin
Artifacts in the custody of Britain and around the world? Alas! Who may want to take the glory for this cultural revolution about to take place? For what the “Federal might” was unable to achieve for Nigerians for over a century now, royal grace has done it for us. Congratulations to His Royal Majesty, the Oba of Benin,
for this event happening in his time, which is a signal that his good and peaceful reign shall be very long and bring about the willfully return of more (if not all) of the looted Benin artifacts-Africa’s heritage to the whole world. See you at the reception ceremony as AhianmwenOro flies home with Egogo (after 117 years)!
Oba of Benin, Erediauwa
...The Benin Plan Of Action Re-Echoes As Edo people and all Nigerians troop out to Oba’s Palace today to see for themselves two of their objects of history and cultural heritage repatriated to their original home, memories of the Benin Plan of Action come to the minds of many Edo people and Nigerians in general, who were present at a two-day strategic meeting of some museum professionals in Europe with holdings of Benin art collections and top officials of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) The “Benin plan of Action” being read out to the press by NCMM Director-General, Mallam Yusuf Abdallah Usman. PHOTO: Francis Odupute.
A cross section of participants at the meeting with European Museum Professionals. PHOTO: Francis Odupute
held in Benin City in February, 2013. While nothing seems to be heard yet about the progress made so far by the collaborating institutions and the NCMM on the matter, the return of two looted Benin Bronze works by Mr. Mark Walker to the Benin Monarch today, has amplified one of the key goals and objectives of the Benin Plan of Action – a “plan” which seemingly is yet to see the light of the day,
that is, to the effect that the 7-point MoU, was to lead to the public display of the looted Benin objects in Nigeria. With the historic return of two of these looted Benin artifacts to Benin Kingdom today after 117 years in captivity, not only will there be just a public display of the artifacts, but indeed a final home-coming of the looted works – as heralds or forerunners to thousands others yet to be returned; besides,
it is another strategic opportunity for the palace of the Oba of Benin, and all Nigerians indeed, in consultation with the NCMM, to interface with more ‘cultural power brokers’ far and near for more efficacious cultural negotiations and dialogues that will make it possible for the Benin Plan of Action to come to reality soon. And all Benins and friends of Benin say: “#BRING BACK OUR ARTIFACTS!”
Art And Culture
With AMBROSE EKHOSUEHI
Importance Of Trees In Culture TREES are large plants with branched woody trunk which plays the most important part in culture, such as in house building, furniture, transport, and in paper making etc. They are very necessary for people to live comfortably. Important products are obtainable from trees. Turpentine use in paint, resin, chemicals called tannins are obtainable from certain trees and these tannins use to tan the leather for shoes, cases, footballs and other leather goods. Trees are the most important trunks that shade the forest and their canopies provide beautiful places for human beings, birds and animals. Trees provide food, fodder, fuel, medicine, cultural value, protection of environment, climate change and other biodiversity in culture. Food from tree is sometimes a stapple. It is needed as a supplement for dietary diversity and nutrition. Leaves are used in soups, stews and relishes that add flavour to stapples. Some leaves are high in fats, others are high in protein; and most are good sources of vitamins, and minerals. Seeds and nuts are high in calories, edible oils, fats and protein. Palm nuts oil, coconut oil, castor oil, olive oil etc. are good examples. Roots and tubers provide carbohydrates and minerals; while some roots like corkwood-oghonhen, provide drinking water
during drought. Mushrooms are highprotein food and a good source of minerals, particularly calcium and iron. Saps and gums are energy foods. They are cooked for sweets and fermented for wines. Gum is used as a stapple. Insect species from trees are high in vitamins and minerals. Caterpillars edible worms have been described as nature’s vitamin pills. Bee honey collected from wild hives in trees is high in calories. Trees and shrubs can help to ensure a nutritious diet for livestock. Trees help to protect grazing land while providing animals with fodder. When the grasses dried out, browse from trees and shrubs are vital for the survival of livestock. Most pastoralists recognize the value of trees and have established protective codes, however, the traditional migrations of pastoralists which allowed time for pasture and browse to recover are being restricted to ever decreasing ranges. Fuel wood is the main source of energy in the developing world. Human health often depends on access to fuel wood. Boiling water is essential for
disease prevention, germs, diarrhea, bacteria and viruses. Fuel wood is needed for commercial activities
medicines; the ingredients in some prescription drugs come from medicinal plants. Trees have featured in
such as tea drying and brick-making. Trees and plants are source of many medicines. The majority of the world’s population still depends on natural medicines. Uses of natural medicines range from treating stomach ache, diarrhea, skin infections and tonics for the heart. Trees can play a preventive role in health care. Research into traditional medicine has led to the development of many modern
history, religion and folklore. They are often described as God’s gift to human beings and animals. Several themes related to trees run throughout the body of mythology. The regenerative nature of trees is found in fertility symbolism, both maternal and phallic. Cosmic trees link heaven with earth, human beings with their ancestors; and home for the spirits. Wooden masks are used in religious rites,
religious artifacts, symbolizing gods, spirits and animals. Statues, musical instruments and toys are made from wood. Trees are protected in groves which may be used for special religious and cultural events or as the meeting place for elders. Trees as protector of environment can be used to control wind and water that are principal agents of destruction. Water erosion is the most common form of erosion. Water erosion causes landslides and by silting up rivers, increases flooding and degrades drinking water. Siltating reduces the effectiveness of dams and hydro-electric system. Productive land is also lost when its nutrient content is depleted, when it becomes too saline. Trees can protect the soil and improve the quality of water supplies. Trees and vegetation reduce the effect of water erosion by softening the impact of rainfall, by stopping floodwater from sweeping over the land and by holding the soil together. This binding effect is particularly important on sloping slip prone land. Landslides are more frequent in such areas following the removal
of trees. Trees bordering rivers and streams act as a buffer, catching sediment and filtering out chemicals and pesticides that pollute the water supply. Many trees restore nutrients to the soil by protecting humus. They safeguard natural fertilizer supplies. Trees protect the environment in coastal wetland and shallows, particularly estuaries and mangrove swamps, provide food and shelter for waterfowl; fish, crustaceans and mollusks. They are breeding grounds for shrimps, and protect the coastal line from wave damage and tidal surges. Tree has some impact on local climate; whether proving shade, shelter or acting as a wind break. Trees influence regional climate pattern. Trees play a balancing role in the carbon cycle by absorbing and storing carbon dioxide (C02); and provide oxygen; fresh air. Promoting trees product and uses of wood that store carbon dioxide will play important role to slow global warming. Nitrogen fixing trees act as natural fertilizer by absorbing nitrogen from the atmosphere and fixing it in soil and other important roles of trees in culture.
“Trees as protector of environment can be used to control wind and water that are principal agents of destruction. Water erosion is the most common form of erosion. Water erosion causes landslides and by silting up rivers, increases flooding and degrades drinking water.”
Life Cheaper By The Dozen! Maternal Mortality:
WITHIN A spate of one week, two young women that I had known over the years, one in her twenties and the other in her thirties, died from pregnancyrelated issues, or complications in pregnancy, and coincidentally both women were pregnant with twins! That is an aside. So between Thursday the previous week and Monday this week, two families that I know like my gears are in serious mourning, totally broken by the untimely demise of their daughters. I am broken too! First, my neighbour came home the week before, on Thursday to be precise, and in tears broke the sad news of the death of her niece who lived in the Ugbor axis of Benin City. The couple had just completed their own home and were to move into it the same day she died. Because of the communal nature of the neighbourhood, everyone ran out to commiserate with my neighbour, including the woman we called Iye, the woman who would lose her own daughter in the same circumstances in four days time, this Monday, in Lagos. Monday morning came. We heard unusual screams of prayers coming from Iye’s house, exchanges of frantic calls and then the unimaginable, the unexpected: Faith, Iye’s last child who got married in 2012, a beautiful young lady who was so full of life had also passed on in a Lagos Clinic where she was rushed to after she collapsed while sweeping the compound that morning. It was a shocker, and to say just the least, I felt goose bumps breaking forth all over my body. Shock was an understatement, I thought it was the coming of Armageddon! Fear was so palpable!! Aside being young persons, the circumstances surrounding their deaths were similar: First, they both collapsed while doing domestic works, one was in her new home putting finishing touches to the painting job, the other was sweeping the compound. Both women’s blood pressure was said to be ‘very high’ and that for any treatment to be effective or seen to be properly administered, the blood pressure had to be put under control first. Unfortunately, it turned out to beyond medical intervention. Both women died, both twins couldn’t make it too. Now, the questions are endless. The suspicions are
Afterword ∗ BringBackOurGirls ∗ Support an orphanage ∗ Embrace peace, eschew violence ∗ Register for antenatal care in a good hospital and take your routine checks seriously. ∗ Be prayerful, without ceasing at all seasons!
FEMINIQUE
With IJEOMA UMEH email: ladywithegoldenpen@yahoo.co.uk rife and equally endless. Witchcraft and the occultic Tel: 08182382839 have been fingered, same with negligence on all parts. The pain and bitterness are boundless, even medical environment also came up. One relative timeless. Unable to bear it, one of the families, told me: “when I went to the private clinic where being a traditional one, has gone ahead to enquire my sister was receiving antenatal and where she of the dead. They pointed out that that is the only died, I wept. It was a dilapidated structure and way they would have peace. We wouldn’t discuss everything about it was odd and unbecoming. The the outcome here on this platform. place was not healthy in appearance. I didn’t want While wishing the souls of the departed peaceful to believe that my sister would be attending such a repose in the bosom of the Lord and the families clinic.” strength to bear the irreparable loss, FEMINIQUE They also complained about medical intervention is however concerned about the role of
FEMINIQUE writer, Ijeoma Umeh, right with Late Faith Osagborue (middle) and her hubby at the Oredo Registry in 2012.
hypertension in pregnancy and the causative factors, not that we are unmindful of ‘the Arrows’ that fly by day and night. When asked, Dr. Banwo Ekhator, a gynaecologist, stated that hypertension, or high blood pressure is only a secondary symptom of a primary ‘malaise,’ or underlying illness. While talking with both family members, medical conditions like eclampsia (leg swelling), renal failure, and conditions like loss of speech after collapse, paleness of the eyes, bloated stomach after surgery, were recurring complaints, the situations they found their relatives in before they died in hospital. The issue of prompt medical intervention and
not being prompt. “The CS would have been done as soon as both women presented with their issues” However, Dr. Ekhator stated that high blood pressure must be treated first before any surgery. The United Nation’s report that women die by the minutes from maternal related causes is not in doubt, for the data could be gleaned in our common neighbourhoods. The duty of care in order to prevent, or reduce maternal mortality/morbidity to the barest minimum falls on everyone, from government, care providers, families and most importantly on expectant mothers themselves. There is no option to ensuring that a woman does not die while bringing forth another life!
“The pain and bitterness are boundless, even timeless. Unable to bear it, one of the families, being a traditional one, has gone ahead to enquire of the dead. They pointed out that that is the only way they would have peace. We wouldn’t discuss the outcome here on this platform.”
International Features IT was the sound of the front door being kicked in that woke the Izrayqat family early Wednesday as Israeli troops barged into their home in Taffuh village near Hebron. Even the four children were sleeping because school had ended and the summer holidays were already under way. “They kicked in the doors at 7:30 am (0430 GMT) and told us to get out,” Umm Omar Izrayqat told AFP, describing the moment when troops came searching for signs of three Israeli teenagers believed kidnapped by the Islamist militants from Hamas. “I took my four children. We didn’t even have time to get ready properly, so I put these dirty clothes on and left,” she said, gesturing towards her dress which had been in the laundry pile. Like elsewhere in the southern West Bank, life in this village west of Hebron has been turned on its head since the three teenagers went missing late last week, prompting a massive military search operation. Over the past six days, troops have turned properties upside-down and arrested more than 240 Palestinians, leaving no stone unturned in the search for the students, who disappeared while hitchhiking on Thursday. Israel has accused Hamas militants of kidnapping the youngsters, two of them minors, and has launched a major crackdown on its members. But it is ordinary families who are bearing the brunt of the operation. ‘They searched everything’ After ordering the Izrayqat family out of their home, the soldiers began using the house as an operating base, Umm Omar said. “I went back inside to get my mobile phone and found them asleep on my daughter’s bed,” she told
AFP. “If our relatives didn’t live nearby we’d have ended up in the street,” she said, explaining that they had found refuge with the family next door. Other families have had the opposite problem, being forced to stay in just one room inside their own homes as soldiers took over the rest of the house. Karima Khmayseh, 39, said she and her children were forced to cower in a corner of their main room as the army rifled through personal effects. “They put us all in one room and then searched it, even going through our personal papers, even though I told them not to,” she said. “They searched everything, even the bed.” The three Israeli youths disappeared while trying to hitchhike from the Gush Eztion settlement bloc, with the army focusing its manhunt predominantly on Hebron and the surrounding area, which is home to some 663,000 Palestinians. So far, there has been no formal claim of responsibility, and Hamas has dismissed Israel’s accusations as “stupid.” But the scope of the searches and the tight lockdown imposed on the Hebron area has made life very difficult for the local population, with some accusing the army of lashing out. “This is not an inspection to find kidnappers, this is just destroying out houses,” said 30-year-old Umm Mukhtar. “I don’t think they’ll find the missing Israelis in the bathroom or the washing machine, or in the cupboard,” she retorted sarcastically. But after six days of searches and still no sign of their whereabouts, there appeared to be no end in sight. “A lot of time will pass until the situation in the West Bank returns to what it was, if it
Palestinian Families Bear Brunt Of Israel Teens Hunt
ever does,” an Israeli military official told journalists. And some are warning that “Operation Brother’s Keeper” may run into the Muslim fasting month of
Ramadan, which begins at the end of June. My feeling is their
Ramadan is going to be disrupted,” a senior military official told Haaretz
journalists acknowledging that life in the West Bank was becoming increasingly difficult for Palestinians.
Afghan Candidate Seeks Halt To Runoff Vote Count
PRESIDENTIAL candidate Abdullah Abdullah has demanded that Afghan electoral authorities stop counting ballots from a weekend runoff vote, citing new allegations of widespread fraud. Abdullah, a onetime aide to a famed warlord during the Afghan anti-Soviet guerrilla campaign, said monitors deployed by his campaign to the polls had recorded massive ballot box stuffing and other irregularities. He also announced his team was
Ghani Ahmadzai mars what Western officials had hoped would be an important step toward democracy for the troubled country as the U.S. and its allies wind down their 13-year combat mission. Both candidates have promised to sign a security pact with the United States that would allow nearly 10,000 American troops to stay in the country beyond the end of this year to train
committee under U.N. supervision to resolve the issue. A spokesman for the electoral commission, Noor Mohammad Noor, said the vote count was continuing with national and international observers monitoring the process. Preliminary results are not due until July 2, followed by final results on July 22, according to the official
Afghanistan’s presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah, right, leaves after a news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 18, 2014. The front-runner in Afghanistan’s runoff presidential election has called for vote counting to stop over fraud claims
suspending relations with the Independent Election Commission, accusing it of interfering in the vote and inflating turnout figures. The finger-pointing in the June 14 election pitting Abdullah against Ashraf
“Over the past six days, troops have turned properties upside-down and arrested more than 240 Palestinians, leaving no stone unturned in the search for the students, who disappeared while hitchhiking on Thursday.”
Afghan security forces and perform counterterrorism operations. President Hamid Karzai, the only leader the country has known since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion that ousted the Taliban, was constitutionally barred from seeking a third term. Abdullah’s team has said its exit polling shows Ahmadzai with a 1 million-vote lead in the current round and claimed election workers and government officials had engineered fraud to help him. “We announce that we have no confidence or trust in the election bodies,” Abdullah said at a news conference. “The counting process should stop immediately and if that continues, it will have no legitimacy.” He proposed that the two candidates form a joint
timetable. Electoral officials have said they would release partial results before that. “The process will not be stopped. This is Independent Election Commission’s decision,” Noor told reporters. “We have a code of conduct for both candidates. We hope they both will obey that code.” The U.N. mission in Afghanistan called for respect of the country’s laws and electoral institutions, saying Abdullah’s announcement had caught it by surprise. “Regrettable as this step may be, we will continue to engage closely with both campaigns and the electoral commissions, consulting with them on a way forward,” the U.N.’s special representative in Afghanistan, Jan Kubish, said
in a statement. “For their part, the electoral bodies have to demonstrate the highest levels of transparency and integrity and continue to proactively respond to valid candidate concerns.” A spokesman for Ahmadzai’s campaign accused Abdullah of reneging on the code of conduct they both had signed. “Abdullah’s reasons for wanting the counting process suspended are not sufficient,” spokesman Faizullah Zaki said. “We strongly reject all accusations of fraud being engineered, and we see that as disrespecting all those citizens who accepted many problems twice and participated in the election.” A spokeswoman for Karzai’s office, Adela Raz, said the outgoing president has respect for both candidates and hoped the problem could be resolved. An initial turnout estimate suggested 7 million voters defied a Taliban threat of violence to cast ballots, which would be 60 percent of the 12 million eligible voters and equivalent to the first round. Abdullah’s comments come as he is fighting for his second chance at the presidency. He was the runner-up to Karzai in disputed 2009 elections, but he dropped out of the race before a runoff could be held because of widespread voterigging. The first round of voting on April 5 went relatively smoothly as six other candidates were eliminated and Abdullah and Ahmadzai emerged as the top votegetters. But the campaign tone for the second round has been sharply more accusatory with the field narrowed to two hopefuls. The Obama administration is watching carefully, eager to show progress in the country and get a security agreement signed after announcing it would leave 9,800 U.S. troops in Afghanistan at the end of this year to continue training the Afghans and conduct counterterrorism missions. That number would be cut in half by the end of 2015, and most of the remainder would leave by the end of 2016.
Religion Mystery, Babylon The Great, Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth - Her Downfall IN Revelation18:2, the angel of God announced the fall of BABYLON, THE GREAT. Through her wealth, many merchants are waxed rich. This identifies this religious system as a wealthy system that glorifies herself and lives deliciously. And she prides herself in her worship of the Queen of heaven, and in the carnal false security of her wealth, as written in Revelation18:3, 7. In Revelation 18:10, her judgment is passed. In Revelation18:4, the angel of God, from heaven warned the people of God, to come out of her so that they will not partake of her sins and of her plagues. In Revelation18:17, it is written, that her riches will come to naught. BABYLON, THE GREAT, that is, this religious system enriches her merchants and traders during her festive seasons like Christmas, Easter, New year celebration, Valentine’s day, etc. And many of her merchants and traders anxiously wait for the festive seasons of this religious system, to hoard and hike the prices of their wares for maximum profit, thereby enriching
themselves. In Revelation18:1213, it is written “ The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.” BABYLON, THE GREAT, is portrayed as a religious system of commercialization, because some of her wares and goods, put on sale during her festive seasons, are highlighted in these verses. No wonder, some of the harlot churches, that came out of the womb of this Mother of harlots, have now gone “commercial.” Some have established private tertiary Institutions, where they charge exorbitant school fees, beyond the reach of the children of their poor members. Some have established hospitals with exorbitant hike in
hospital bills, beyond the reach of their ‘poor’ in their large congregations. Some have established bible schools, turning out half-baked so-called pastors, establishing false churches all over the place, with orchestrated miracles to draw crowds to themselves. In Acts 8:9-24, Simon, the sorcerer (a wizard) and a native doctor by profession, believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, and he was baptized. He enrolled in the free school of Philip and continued with Philip. But Simon desired to be like Peter when he saw the demonstration of the power of God in Peter and John. And so he decided to offer money, to purchase the gift of God, but was rebuked by Peter because the gift of God is not to be commercialized; he had not repented of his wickedness. And so, many unrepentant “Simons”, are being turned out of commercialized bible schools, to-day, through the purchase of the “head” knowledge of the word of God, which is supposed to be a free
With
REV. OLU GEORGE
gift from God. In Revelation18: 14, it is written “And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all”. All these wares that the souls of men ‘lust’ after and making frantic effort to purchase during these festive seasons shall someday depart from them as part of God’s judgment upon this religious system. How and when God will bring it to pass, no man knows. In Revelation 18:15, it is written that the merchants of the merchandise of this religious system, who have been made rich by her, will weep and lament over their losses when this judgment begins to happen, and will have no choice than to fold up. As many children of God that will come to the knowledge of this truth about BABYLON, THE GREAT will eventually come out of her and cease to patronize her traders and their wares during these festive seasons. And this shall heralds the beginning of the fall of BABYLON, THE GREAT and her commerce.
In Revelation 18:2122, it is written “And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he
be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee”. Therefore, BABYLON, THE GREAT, as a religious system that promotes worldly celebrations, merriment and craftsmanship of graven and carved images shall be no more, as the aftermath of God’s judgment on her. COURTESY: REV. OLU GEORGE
CHRISTIAN
GOSPEL CHURCH (The Truth Centre)
“In Acts 8:9-24, Simon, the sorcerer (a wizard) and a native doctor by profession, believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, and he was baptized. He enrolled in the free school of Philip and continued with Philip. But Simon desired to be like Peter when he saw the demonstration of the power of God in Peter and John.”
“In Revelation18:17, it is written, that her riches will come to naught. BABYLON, THE GREAT, that is, this religious system enriches her merchants and traders during her festive seasons like Christmas, Easter, New year celebration, Valentine’s day, etc. And many of her merchants and traders anxiously wait for the festive seasons of this religious system, to hoard and hike the prices of their wares for maximum profit, thereby enriching themselves.”
Reflection
With REV. FR. JOHN DAMIAN ADIZIE PHONE: 08076635886
The Feast Of The Most Sacred Heart Of Jesus
THE Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Today is another special day in the history of salvation. The Catholics all over the world and some orthodox Christians are celebrating the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is the feast that highlights the importance of the Heart, as the symbol of love. It is on a day like this that we reflect on the nature of the heart of Jesus as the most sacred, the most affectionate, the most wounded and most caring heart. The heart of Jesus is so large that it accommodates all. It is a heart that feels what we feel, a heart that is meek and humble. The human heart is the central or innermost part of the body. It is an amazing organ that pumps oxygen and blood throughout the body to sustain life. It is an indispensable organ in the body. It is the heart that sustains the human body. The human body ceases to exist whenever the heart seizes to pump. Whatever affects the heart affects the entire human body. The heart represents a person’s will or desire. It reveals one’s true nature and mortification. The bible describes the heart as the seat of faith. Authentic faith comes from the heart. The writer of the book of Hebrew states clearly that “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Salvation comes through faith in Christ Jesus. Faith comes through the heart. The heart is therefore the centre of human belief. Without the heart there will be no faith and without faith there will be no salvation. Generally, the heart is often depicted as the symbol of love. It is the root of true and authentic love. True love comes directly from the heart. The Lord says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God
is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Our love for God is incomplete without the heart. Our love for God must come directly from the heart. The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: is one of the most widely practiced and wellknown Roman Catholic devotions. This devotion takes the physical heart of Jesus as the representation of his divine love for humanity. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “The prayer of the Church venerates and honors the Heart of Jesus just as it invokes his most holy name. It adores the incarnate Word and his Heart which, out of love for men, he allowed to be pierced by our sins (CCC 2669). We Adore the Heart of Jesus because it is the most sacred and most caring heart. It is a heart that is wounded by love. The heart of Jesus was physically pierced with a lance. After his crucifixion on the Cross, the Soldier broke the legs of the two thieves that were crucified with him but “When they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water” (John 19:32-34). The lance pierced through the heart of Jesus. His heart was wounded because of our sins. The prophet Isaiah gave a spiritual interpretation of this wounded heart of Jesus. The Prophet wrote concerning Jesus, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4-
5). The heart of Jesus was wounded not because he committed any sin; he was wounded because of our transgression. Each time we commit sin we are wounding the heart of Jesus a second time. Our Lord Jesus Christ possesses the most humble, the most caring and most affectionate heart. Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus: emphasizes the purest love, the longsuffering and compassion of the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ towards humanity. The origin of this devotion in its modern form is derived from Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, a Roman Catholic nun from France, who learnt the devotion from Jesus
Lord Jesus Christ to those who are devoted to his sacred heart: 1). I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life. 2). I will give peace in their families. 3). I will console them in all their troubles. 4). Hey shall find in my heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of death. 5). I will
you will find rest for your souls; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:29). Jesus is not as heartless as most leaders. He is compassionate and love. When people are hungry Jesus is hungry with them; when they are sick he is sick with them. When Jesus saw the hungry crowd he was moved with pity for they were like sheep without a shepherd (Mark 6:34). Out of compassion, He took his time to teach them. He even fed five thousand men with uncountable women and children.
during a series of apparitions which occurred between 1673 and 1675. In one of such apparitions, Our Lord appeared to Mary and revealed devotions to His Sacred Heart. Jesus said to her: “Look at this Heart which has loved people so much, and yet they do not want to love Me in return. Through you My divine Heart wishes to spread its love everywhere on earth.” Jesus made some promises to her telling her how he would help those who honor His Sacred Heart. The following promises were made by our
pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings. 6). Sinners shall find in my heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy. 7). Tepid souls shall become fervent. 8). Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection. 9). I will bless the homes in which the image of my sacred heart shall be exposed and honoured. 10). I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts. 11). Those who propagate this devotion shall have their name written in my heart, and it shall never be effaced. 12) The all-powerful love of my heart will grant to all those who shall receive communion on the first Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; my heart shall
“The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: is one of the most widely practiced and well-known Roman Catholic devotions. This devotion takes the physical heart of Jesus as the representation of his divine love for humanity.”
be their assured refuge at the last hour. Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus consists in attending Holy Mass and receiving Holy Communion in reparation for those who do not receive Our Lord, who do not love Him and who wound Him by their sinful lives. The Feast of the Sacred Heart has been in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar since 1856, and is celebrated on the 19th day after Pentecost. As Pentecost is always celebrated on Sunday, the Feast of the Sacred Heart always falls on a Friday. Besides, First Fridays of the month is also set aside for special devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Child of God, you don’t necessarily have to go through all the rigorous devotions to the Sacred Heart for you to be devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. A journey of many miles begins with a step. You can start with the invocation of the Sacred Heart as revealed to Mary: “O Heart of love, I put all my trust in Thee; for I fear all things from my own weakness, but I hope for all things from Thy Goodness.” You can as well start with short ejaculatory prayer such as: “Most Sacred Heart of Jesus – Have mercy on us!” Immaculate Heart of Mary – Pray for us! The more you say this prayer in your heart the more your heart is purified and transformed into the temple of God. Repeat this prayer wherever you find yourself. Say it when you are in examination hall. Say it while you are cooking, or when you are walking along the way and even when you are driving or travelling. As you are about to sleep let this prayer be on your lips. If you form the habit of saying this prayer, you will never experience bad dreams again. You will start experiencing inner peace. Your heart will be filled with love and joy. You will never be separated from the presence of God. You will succeed in all your endeavors and it shall be well with you, in Jesus name – Amen!
International
Israel Tightens W/Bank Grip, As Abbas Blasts Kidnappers JERUSALEM - Israel tightened its grip on the West Bank, arresting another 65 people, as Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas lashed out at those behind the disappearance of three Israeli teenagers. As the hunt for the youths entered its sixth day, there was no let-up in Israel’s drive to deal a crushing blow to the West Bank infrastructure of Hamas, which it has blamed for the kidnapping. But as troops pressed their biggest arrest operation in years, imposing a tight lockdown on huge swathes of the West Bank, Abbas blasted those behind the teens’ disappearance, saying
they were trying to “destroy” the Palestinian people. And he defended the security coordination between the Palestinian and Israel, sparking a furious denunciation by the Islamist movement Hamas. “Those who kidnapped the three teenagers want to destroy us. We will hold them accountable,” Abbas told a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Saudi Arabia. “It is in our interest to have security coordination with Israel, because that would help protect us,” he said. Israeli soldiers take part in a search operation for three Israeli
teenagers believed kidnapped by P … “We will never have another intifada (Palestinian uprising) — that would destroy us.” Hamas denounced his remarks as “harmful” to a fledgling reconciliation deal between it and the Palestinian leadership, which saw an interim government of technocrats replace rival administrations in the West Bank and Gaza earlier this
month. The exchange was the first public sign of a major dispute between the sides since the unity deal was signed in April, ending years of bitter and sometimes bloody rivalry. Pundits have said Israel is seeking to use the massive military operation in the West Bank to bring about the collapse of the newly formed unity government, established with the backing of its Islamist foe. “President Abbas’s statements
on security coordination with Israel are unjustified, harmful to Palestinian reconciliation,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said. The Palestinian leader ’s remarks in Jeddah were also “a psychological blow to the thousands of Palestinian prisoners suffering a slow death in the occupation’s jails,” he said, referring to around 5,000 detainees being held by Israel. Although Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directly accused Hamas militants of being behind the kidnapping, the movement has dismissed his claims as “stupid.” Palestinian militants have long backed a policy of kidnapping Israelis for use as bargaining chips in securing the release of prisoners. In October 2011, Israel began the staged release of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier held in Gaza by Hamas militants for more than five years. So far, there has been no claim of responsibility for the teens’ disappearance.
Taliban Attack NATO Supplies In East Afghanistan KABUL - Four Taliban militants struck a NATO post in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar yesterday, destroying dozens of trucks and sparking a gun battle with polices, Afghan officials said. The attack took place in the parking compound of a NATO base near the Torkham crossing on the Pakistani border, near the Khyber Pass and a main supply route for NATO-led forces in land-locked Afghanistan. Militants on both sides of the border have for years been attacking supplies bound for NATO-led forces in Afghanistan. Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said one attacker blew himself up while police killed the other three. He said 37 trucks containing fuel and other supplies were destroyed in explosions set off by the attackers. One Afghan driver was injured, a witness told Reuters. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid confirmed that the militants, fighting to expel foreign forces and bring down the U.S.-backed Kabul
government, were behind the attack. Afghanistan’s Taliban have sustained a high level of violence even though most foreign troops are due to pull out of the country this year leaving Afghan security forces to face the insurgents on their own. Taliban fighters killed scores of people in attacks on Saturday on a second-round, run-off presidential election. Afghanistan’s allies hope the election can usher in a strong, stable government but accusations of cheating have raised fears of a deadlock between the two rival candidates, both of whom support a security pact with the United States. The Taliban dismissed the vote as a U.S. ploy.
President Jacob Zuma delivers his state of the Nation address at the South African Parliament.
S/Africa’s Zuma Targets Economy Reforms CAPE Town, South Africa - Besieged South African President Jacob Zuma made his first public appearance in 10 days delivered a state of the nation address pledging “radical socio-economic transformation”.
Zuma, 72, who was hospitalised for two days for fatigue and tests before taking a week off, made a similar commitment at his inauguration for a second term last month. He said that “the
Israeli soldiers take part in a search operation for three Israeli teenagers believed kidnapped by Palestinian militants, in the West Bank village of Tapuah, West of Hebron.
economy takes centre stage” in efforts to combat poverty, inequality and unemployment 20 years after the end of apartheid. To achieve transformation “we will embark on various measures and interventions to jumpstart the economy,” he said. But his keynote address was thin on specifics apart from plans to tackle the country’s failing energy supply, which has led to blackouts as the winter sets in. “The successful electrification programme which has changed the lives of many households was achieved by tapping into artificial electricity reserves, which had not been designed to cater for mass energy distribution,” he said. “This situation calls for a radical transformation of the energy sector, to develop a sustainable energy mix that comprises coal, solar, wind, hydro, gas and nuclear energy.” He said controversial shale gas “is recognised as a game changer for our economy” and would be pursued “within the framework of our good environmental laws”.
Zuma was speaking after a battering of bad economic news against a background of high unemployment, a crippling miners’ strike and protests over housing and service delivery. Africa’s most developed economy contracted in the first quarter of the year, partly because of a protracted strike at the world’s biggest platinum mines. Last week two key credit ratings agencies issued gloomy assessments of the country’s economy, with Standard & Poors lowering South Africa’s sovereign credit rating to just a notch above junk bond status and Fitch revising its outlook to negative from stable. - ‘Remove obstacles to investment’ In a direct appeal to investors, Zuma said: “The low level of investments is a key constraint to economic growth. “We are determined to work with the private sector to remove obstacles to investment.” Last month, South Africa’s Reserve Bank slashed its growth forecast for this year from 2.6 percent to 2.1
percent. With unemployment above 25 percent and inflation rising, Zuma’s administration has pledged to implement a National Development Plan aimed at cutting unemployment to 14 percent by 2020 and boosting the growth rate to 5.4 percent. He blamed slow growth in part on the global economic slowdown and on “domestic conditions, such as the prolonged and at times violent strikes, and also the shortage of energy”. “Given the impact of the untenable labour relations environment on the economy, it is critical for social partners to meet and deliberate on the violent nature and duration of the strikes.” For its part, the government would “investigate the possibility of a national minimum wage”, Zuma said, without providing details. Twenty years after Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress came to power at the end of apartheid, Zuma won a mandate for a second term in May 7 elections despite being embroiled in a scandal over the spending of some $23 million dollars on his private rural residence.
International
Watchdog Accuses Syria’s Kurdish Party Of Abuses
DAMASCUS - An international rights group has said that Kurdish authorities ruling three enclaves in northeastern Syria have committed abuses, including arbitrary arrests of political opponents, and have failed to address abductions and unresolved killings in areas under their control. Human Rights Watch said in a new 107-page report that the Kurdish Democratic Union Party also has used children in its armed wing known as the People’s Protection Units. Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Syria, making up more than 10 percent of the country’s prewar population of 23 million. They are centered in the impoverished northeastern province of Hassakeh, wedged between the borders of Turkey and Iraq. President Bashar Assad’s forces largely pulled out of Hassakeh in late 2012 when the Syrian military was stretched thin by fighting with rebels elsewhere in the country, effectively ceding control of the area. Their withdrawal sparked a fierce competition between rebels and the Kurds.
The Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD, is affiliated with the Kurdish PKK movement in Turkey, which long fought for autonomy in the southeast. The PYD declared its own administration in the northern Kurdish areas in 2012, after driving out Islamic militant fighters allied with rebels trying to overthrow Assad. While there are still clashes between Kurdish forces and Islamic militants of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and the extremist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the fighting has declined slightly in the area as militants moved on to other rebel-held parts of the north. “The Kurdish-run areas of Syria are quieter than (other) parts of the country, but serious abuses are still taking place,” said Nadim Houry, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The PYD is firmly in charge, and can halt the abuse.” Human Rights Watch documented several cases in which the PYD-run police, known as the Asayish, have arrested members of Kurdish opposition parties because of their political activity. In some cases, Kurdish opposition members have been convicted in apparently unfair trials, on trumped-up charges of being involved in a bomb attack, the report said. At least nine political
opponents of the PYD have been killed or have disappeared over the past two and a half years in areas the party partially or fully controlled, the group said. Security forces controlled by the PYD have carried out mass arrests in raids that followed bombings. Human Rights Watch said its report was based on interviews with former detainees, local lawyers and activists. The PYD gave Human Rights Watch access to the three areas under their control, but the rights groups said it only visited one of them because of security concerns. In February, HRW researchers visited two prisons under the party’s control and had unrestricted access to officials, prisoners, and others. In addition to a police force and an armed wing, PYD-run courts are also part of the Kurdish administration. While party officials and civil administration officials say that the local courts, known as the People’s Courts, are independent, lawyers and rights activists told Human Rights Watch of political interference in investigations and trials. In some cases, judges have apparently convicted people based
Iranian soldiers march during the Annual Army Day Military parade in Tehran.
only on their confessions, and disregarded complaints of abuse during interrogation, the report said. A Syrian refugee girl weeps during the visit of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR … Several detainees told HRW activists that the security forces had beaten them in custody. In two
recent cases involving the Asayish, the beatings victims died, the report said. The PYD has denied responsibility for these incidents but has apparently failed to conduct genuine investigations, HRW said. Now in its fourth year, Syria’s conflict has killed more than 160,000 people and forced another 2.7 million to flee the country. The head of the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, visited Lebanon,
where he met with some of the more than 1 million Syrians who have round refuge abroad. Speaking to reporters south of Beirut, Antonio Guterres appealed for compassion and solidarity with both the Syrian refugees and the countries hosting, saying this is “needed more than ever.” “What the international community is doing is very little compared with the suffering and the needs of the people,” he said.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres shakes hands with a Syrian Child during his visit to Khaldeh, South of Beirut, Lebanon.
Libya Condemns US Arrest Of TRIPOLI - Libya has Benghazi Suspect condemned the United States for snatching a man suspected of masterminding the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, describing the arrest as a violation of Libyan sovereignty. President Barack Obama authorized Sunday’s operation in which U.S. Special Forces captured Ahmed Abu Khatallah in Libya for transfer to the United States. The action is very sensitive for the weak Libyan government which is under pressure from various militias, Islamists and armed tribesmen who helped topple Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 but defy state authority in the vast desert country. In the first official reaction from Tripoli, Justice Minister Saleh al-Marghani said Khatallah should be returned to Libya and tried there.
“We had no prior notification,” Marghani told a news conference. “We expect the world to help us with security. We expected the United States to help us, but we did not expect the United States to upset the political scene.” He said Khatallah had been wanted by Libyan authorities for questioning but they had been unable to arrest him due to the security situation. Diplomats say Libya has done next to nothing to make arrests over the 2012 consulate attack in which four Americans died, as the government has little sway in Libya’s second-largest city. Libyan foreign ministry spokesman Said al Saoud said: “This attack on Libyan sovereignty happened at a time when Benghazi is suffering from many problems.” He asked that Khatallah receive a fair
trial. The September 2012 assault on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, since closed, killed four Americans including the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens. A similar U.S. special forces operation, grabbing al Qaeda suspect Nazih alRagye, better known as Abu Anas al-Liby, in Tripoli in October 2013 had drastic consequences for the government. A militia briefly kidnapped the then prime minister, Ali Zeidan, from his hotel suite, accusing him of having known about the operation. Al-Liby was later charged in a U.S. federal court in New York in connection with the 1998 bombing of the U.S. embassy in Kenya, which killed more than 200 people.
International
Kenyan Massacre: Police Arrest NAIROBI - Kenyan police said they arrested several suspects Wednesday amid high political tension in the wake of twin massacres on the coast, claimed by Somalia’s Islamist Shebab but blamed by the president on local political networks. The assault on the town of Mpeketoni late on Sunday and a nearby village the following night left at least 60 dead, and were the worst attacks since last September ’s Shebab
attack on the Westgate shopping mall in the capital in which 67 were killed. “We have arrested several suspects,” police chief David Kimaiyo said, including the police officer in the town, the owner and driver of a vehicle used by the attackers, and a suspect accused of running fake Shebab social media accounts. “More suspects including leaders are being interrogated,” Kimaiyo added. Despite an immediate claim of
Suspects
responsibility for the latest carnage from the Al-Qaedalinked Shebab, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta instead blamed “local political networks” along with an “opportunist network of other criminal gangs”. The charges have been greeted by scepticism and confusion — but are also seen as raising the spectre of fresh ethnic violence inside Kenya.
“The emerging scenario points to a dangerous political situation that could easily escalate to violence if not well managed,” the Daily Nation newspaper said in an editorial. Although Kenyatta mentioned
no names, Kenyan media said it was clear he was accusing opposition leader Raila Odinga, a former prime minister and Kenyatta’s main rival. “The president was pointing the finger directly, even without mentioning names, at opposition leader Raila Odinga
who... has led a series of highprofile political rallies to press demands for a national conference on problems afflicting Kenya,” the paper said. The Star newspaper also said “the political temperature in Kenya has risen to dangerous levels”, and called for Kenyatta and Odinga to meet.
Israel Fears Iraq Crisis May Spark US Concessions To Iran
JERUSALEM - Israel fears that a jihadist offensive that has swept up swathes of Iraq may prompt concessions to arch-foe Iran from its longtime ally the United States. “If Washington needs Tehran’s help to solve the Iraq crisis, the United States will need to be more flexible in negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme,” public radio cited a senior official as saying. Tourism Minister Uzi Landau warned: “We’re in a situation where, to confront the threat from the global jihad, we rely on Iran and its allies.” The rise of the jihadist Islamic State in Iraq and the
Levant (ISIL), which has seized Iraq’s second city Mosul and a swathe of its north and centre over the past 10 days, has prompted talk of possible cooperation between Washington and Tehran to help stop the insurgency. A top Iranian official said on Wednesday that Tehran could consider working with the United States over the crisis in Iraq if talks on its nuclear programme are successful. The Iranian official’s comments came after US Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday he would be open to cooperating with Iran on Iraq. “I wouldn’t rule out
anything that would be constructive,” Kerry told newsmen when asked if the United States would cooperate militarily with Iran, one of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s key allies. US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns held a brief meeting with Iranian officials in Vienna on Monday on the sidelines of talks between Tehran and the major powers over its controversial nuclear programme. Israel — which has the Middle East’s sole if undeclared nuclear arsenal — is deeply opposed to the talks, which also involve its US ally and aim for a long-term deal to set out clear limits to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
An Israeli soldier walks past Palestinians in the West Bank village of Taffuh, near Hebron.
Militants In Iraq, Syria Plan To Attack Britain - PM Wednesday that Britain’s LONDON - Prime
Kenyan soldiers inspect the remains of burnt-out vehicles after heavily-armed militants attacked a police station in Mpeketoni.
Minister David Cameron warned Wednesday that militants making advances in Iraq and fighting in Syria were also planning to attack Britain. “I’d disagree with those people who think this is nothing to do with us and if they want to have some sort of extreme Islamist regime in the middle of Iraq that won’t affect us — it will,” Cameron told the House of Commons. “The people in that regime, as well as trying to take territory, are also planning to attack us here at home in the United Kingdom.” He was speaking before
chairing a meeting of the government’s National Security Council (NSC) on the militant offensive in Iraq, which is being spearheaded by jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). At a news conference on Tuesday following talks with Chinese premier Li Keqiang, Cameron said that ISIL in Syria and now Iraq “is the most serious threat to Britain’s security that there is today”. The main concern is that British citizens fighting there may return to attack their homeland, and Cameron said on
BAGHDAD — Sunni militants hung their black banners on watchtowers at Iraq’s largest oil refinery, a witness said yesterday suggesting an everincreasing stranglehold on the vital facility by insurgents who have seized vast territories across the country’s north. A top Iraqi security official and a militant fighting for control of the plant said the government still held it. Militants lay siege to Iraq’s largest oil refinery Associated Press The fighting at Beiji, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Baghdad, comes as Iraq has asked the U.S. for
they were in regular contact with Baghdad. The refinery’s workers had been evacuated to nearby villages, he said. He said the insurgents took over a building just outside the refinery and were using it to fire at the government force, he said. The army officer in charge of protecting the refinery, Col. Ali al-Qureishi, told state-run Iraqiya television by telephone that the facility remained under his control. He said his forces had killed nearly 100 militants since Tuesday. Hussain al-Shahristani, Iraq’s deputy prime minister in charge of energy affairs, praised “the heroic sons of
the armed forces” at the refinery in a statement. They “are putting up a spirited fight to prevent the terrorists from reaching its walls despite the ferocity of the repeated attacks,” he said. The Beiji refinery accounts for just over a quarter of the country’s entire refining capacity — all of which goes toward domestic consumption for things like gasoline, cooking oil and fuel for power stations. Any lengthy outage at Beiji risks long lines at the gas pump and electricity shortages, adding to the chaos already facing Iraq. It produces around 300,000 barrels per day.
Militants Fly Their Black Flags Over Iraq Refinery airstrikes targeting the militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. While U.S. President Barack Obama has not fully ruled out the possibility of launching airstrikes, such action is not imminent in part because intelligence agencies have been unable to identify clear targets on the ground, officials said. The Iraqi witness, who drove past the sprawling Beiji refinery, said militants also manned checkpoints around it. He said he saw a huge fire in one of its tankers. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared reprisals. One of the militants laying
siege to the refinery confirmed by telephone that the facility remained in government hands and blamed the deployment of helicopter gunships for what he said their failure to capture it. The militant identified himself only by his alias, Abu Anas, but there was no way to verify his identity or location. The security official, however, said as many as four helicopter gunships have been deployed over the facility since daybreak. The Iraqi security official said the government force protecting the refinery was still inside yesterday and that
security, intelligence, and policing resources were focused on the Middle East. Cameron told parliament: “The estimates are now that this is a greater threat to the UK than the return of foreign jihadists or fighters from the Afghanistan or Pakistan region.” He said that “we’ve already stopped a number of people travelling, we’ve taken away passports”, although he did not give any further details. Around 400 Britons are believed to have gone to fight in the conflict in Syria over the last two years, authorities believe, and around 20 have died. After the controversies of Britain’s participation in the US-led invasions of Iraq in 2003 and Afghanistan in 2001, there is little appetite for direct British military intervention to stop the militants in Syria and Iraq. But Cameron said: “I think it would be a mistake to believe that the only answer to these problems is the hard attack of direct intervention.” What was needed was a “long-term, hard-headed, patient and intelligent” approach, focused around ensuring that governments in the region were “fully representative” and did not allow space or support for extremists, he said.
EVERY FRIDAY WEEK 49, 2014 LAST SEASON RESULT Anderson Richwell 1.2. X. Forecast
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Cameroon Implode As Assou-Ekotto Head-Butts Team-Mate Logo
Pepe, Pereira Handed OneMatch Ban FIFA confirmed the punishments amid reports that the Portuguese Football Federation had appealed Pepe’s sending off, but both he and Pereira are suspended for the next match. Pepe was given his marching orders after headbutting Thomas Muller following a tangle in his side’s 4-0 defeat to Germany on Monday. Paulo Bento claimed referee Milorad Mazic “showed bias” in awarding a penalty as well as a red card, but the Portugal coach will now be without the defender for their second Group G clash with the United States on Sunday. Pereira will also miss his side’s next game, which comes on Thursday against England in Group D. The Benfica full-back was dismissed for kicking out at Joel Campbell late in the 31 defeat to Costa Rica on Saturday. Uruguay’s clash with England will prove crucial in determining who progresses through the group after both teams lost their opening games.
Cameroon went down fighting as they exited the World Cup with Benoit Assou-Ekotto head-butting team-mate Benjamin Moukandjo. The pair clashed in the Samuel Eto’o to calm down closing stages as frustration the Tottenham-owned boiled over during the ill- defender. disciplined African nation’s 4The incident came off the 0 hammering by Croatia. back of Alex Song’s dismissal A clearly riled Assou-Ekotto for an off-the-ball elbow into was seen stalking down the the back of Croatian striker tunnel at full-time, despite the Mario Mandzukic in the 40th best efforts of team captain minute of their Group A clash
to reach the quarter-finals, the 2014 edition is a poor imitation. More known for illdiscipline and considered fortunate to qualify after they lost to Togo but were awarded the points after their opponents fielded an ineligible player. Even after qualifying they almost didn’t make it to Brazil after refusing to board the plane while a bonus dispute rumbled on. National team coach Volker Finke said the players were complaining that the 50 million CFA francs offered was not enough. In Song’s case it was arguably too much. His stupid act left his teammates to amble around chasing Croatian shadows in the stifling Amazonian humidity as the Europeans expertly made the most of the extra space afforded to them to rack up the goals and set up a showdown with Mexico for a place in the knockout stages.
Assou-Ekotto Head-Butt
Assou-Ekotto (right) head-butts team-mate during Cameroon/Croatia match.
Cameroon coach Volker Finke has vowed to get to the bottom of why Benoit AssouEkotto head-butted teammate Benjamin Moukandjo during the nation’s 4-0 defeat by Croatia. Cameroon’s heavy loss versus Croatia, their second
Ghana Can Deal With Muller,
FORMER Ghana international Otto Addo is confident the Black Stars can cope with the threat posed by Thomas Muller after the Bayern Munich star destroyed Portugal with his hat trick in Germany’s previous match. Addo, who works as a development coach with Hamburg SV in the
Says Addo
German top flight, has been keeping the tabs on the Europeans for Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah and is convinced there are weaknesses that the Black Stars can exploit as they look for their first three points of the tournament.
Van Persie Ban Changes Nothing
THE Dutch striker will sit out the Group B finale - a dead rubber, as both sides have already qualified for the last 16 at the FIFA World Cup - after picking up two yellows in the first two group games in Brazil. Sampaoli, fresh from steering Chile to a momentous 2-0 win over Spain that eliminated the defending champions, insists he will not be dictated to by the make-up of their opponents. “I won’t change my style because Van Persie is
in Manaus. Song’s red card was Cameroon’s eighth red card for Cameroon in seven World Cup finals appearances. “It’s clear we have to find the reasons what’s going on because such behaviour is really disgusting, it won’t do, it’s impossible,” Cameroon coach Volker Finke said. “A result like this is a shame for Cameroon. I think until the
red card it was a little bit of a match (when both teams played) at the same level, perhaps the Croatians were more efficient but Cameroon also had good some chances,” he said. “We have to sleep and do an analysis and then we can announce something,” he added, apparently referring to possible disciplinary measures after the unsavoury scenes. “There will be consequences stemming from this.” The unwanted red card total since their debut in 1982 can only be matched by Argentina, who the Indomitable Lions recorded their most famous World Cup victory against in 1990 despite having two men sent off in a 1-0 win in Milan. While that side boasted dogged determination and the dancing and goalscoring talents of Roger Milla as they became the first African side
suspended,” said Sampaoli of their Monday fixture in Sao Paulo. “We’ll play the same way.” Meanwhile, Sampaoli’s men were jubilant after beating Spain at the Maracana on Wednesday, with midfielder Marcelo Diaz comparing it to the famous win by Uruguay over Brazil in what was effectively the 1950 final at the same venue. “(This) is the real Maracanazo. History is made to change it,” Diaz said.
- Sampaoli
“This is just the beginning. We still have not played our best football. “Chile is worth celebrating. A historic day.” Goalkeeper Claudio Bravo echoed his teammate’s sentiments, labelling it “a perfect match”. “It’s a historic moment for Chile,” Bravo said. “More than anything, I’ll take all the sacrifice of the team. “It’s the kind of game you dream about the day before. It was a perfect match.”
“There are many weaknesses but they are issues I will discuss with the coach and I hope we will find the right decisions and the players find the right decisions to win this game,” Addo said. “I think everybody knows that we have to improve. We did quite well, created a lot of chances and had a lot more possession but we
definitely have a chance to beat Germany.” Addo feels Germany is a well-rounded team but says Muller who has now scored eight goals in the last two world cups is a major threat to Ghana. “The whole team is good and Thomas Muller is one of them. He is very, very dangerous because he plays very simple and his moves are near to perfect. We have to do our best to stop him. We have our quality players at the back who can stop him. I am sure about that.”
Stuns Finke
of the 2014 World Cup, confirmed they cannot progress beyond the group stage of the tournament. The match in Manaus was an enduring 90 minutes for Finke’s side, who had Alex Song sent off before half-time for an elbow in the back of Mario Mandzukic and then in the second half they saw Assou-Ekotto and Moukandjo clash. “It’s unimaginable. I saw this happen and I need to find out exactly what happened, why exactly these two players exploded,” Finke said, according to the BBC. “I hate to see that. It’s not the image of Cameroon I want to project.” Song, meanwhile, later apologised for his part in the off-the-ball scuffle with Mandzukic which resulted in the Barcelona player heading back to the changing rooms ahead of schedule. In a statement the 26-yearold said: “I’m very sad at the moment as I feel I have let my country and myself down. “It was a stupid moment and I’m truly sorry. If I could do anything to take it back I would. Please forgive me.’’
Today’s Matches Friday, June 20, 2014
Thomas Muller
5:00 pm
Italy
v
8:00 pm
Switzerland v
France
11:00 pm
Honduras
Ecuador
v
Costa Rica
End Of An Era:
Why Spain’s Team Is Finished
THE bigger they are, the harder they fall. With 20 minutes left in a packed Maracana, the majority of the crowd made up of Chileans and Brazilians began chanting ‘Eliminado! Eliminado!’ though perhaps it shouldn’t
Logo
Elimination for world champions Spain after two games is a major surprise,
be. The last two World Cup winners from Europe have both failed to get beyond the
Spain players dejected after the match against Chile.
Spain Exit ‘Horrible And Vulgar’
THE Spanish newspapers were filled with pain and sadness but also an enduring sense of pride on the morning after Wednesday’s 2-0 defeat to Chile had knocked Vicente del Bosque’s previously allconquering side out of the World Cup after just two games. Marca’s simple ‘The End’ front page showed Andres Iniesta walking alone into the distance, and summed up the feelings of a country shocked by such a brutal end for a team which had given so much over recent years. “It was nice while it lasted,” said the AS cover — with Iniesta and a forlorn captain Iker Casillas pictured. Inside Juanma Trueba’s match report began: “The end was horrible. It had to come some day, that was accepted, but we never imagined such a painful goodbye, so unrecognisable and so vulgar. Goodbye, World Cup.” Jose Samano in El Pais likened La Roja to the Titanic, and said this had been a harsh way for things to finish: “Destiny was especially cruel with Xavi [Hernandez] and some others, like Iker and [Xabi] Alonso, the other two icons of this Spain.” Elsewhere in El Pais Ramon Besa wrote that it was somehow fitting that such a
singular side had collapsed completely when its time had come. “The problems all surfaced at once, and there was no way to rescue even one virtue, or even to negotiate a dignified scoreline,” Besa said. “Maybe because Spain was not a conventional team, one of those who sometimes win and sometimes lose, but one with an admirable uniqueness, impossible to copy or clone. Nobody played with the football like La Roja. But over time the ball was inflated so far that it burst — and the national team was left naked at the World Cup.” Inside Marca an analysis
Costa
piece headlined ‘The end of a unique generation’ reminded Spain’s fans that in time this painful end would not overshadow the incredible past achievements of these players. “It is logical that Spain’s fans are disappointed, but the respect owed to this team must be eternal,” wrote Javier Estepa. “They achieved what no Spaniard imagined they could achieve. They made millions of Spaniards happy. They made it so the whole world feared this team. Everything ends in this life and in the Maracana was written the ‘adios’ of a unique generation.”
group stage which followed: France in 2002 and Italy in 2010. Spain in 2014 will become a lamented third. Vicente del Bosque’s side can have few complaints like the Spanish national teams of yore who could genuinely curse their bad luck and misfortune. Not now, for they’ve they’ve been comfortably beaten by two better sides, out-fought and out-thought. Spain’s players no longer have the same hunger. If you’d won everything there was to win, would you? Spain and their allconquering, intricate, style are not finished, but a generation of fantastic players who played it to great effect are. Xavi Hernandez, David Villa, Iker Casillas, Carles Puyol, Xabi Alonso were all victors as Spain won the European championships in 2008 and 2012 and the World Cup in 2010. Their triumphs lifted the mood of a country in the pit of a deep economic recession, but as Spain’s economy finally looks like it’s picking up, so the fortunes of their national side are going the other way. History will remember them as world class footballers among the finest of their generation, but their time has gone. Spain were a distant second last Friday, conceding five. Though it was only two in Rio against a terrific Chile, there was a humiliating element to the defeat. There was history too. In two of their previous competitive matches at the Maracana against quality opponents, Spain lost both heavily. They lost the first 61 against Brazil in 1950 and, more recently, 3-0 against the same side in the
Confederations Cup final a year ago. Spain is obsessed with cycles in football. If a successful Barcelona or Real Madrid side lose two games then it heralds the end of a cycle. There’s often a comic knee-jerk edge to the claims, but it’s hard to argue that the current Spain team isn’t finished. Failure to get out of a World Cup group stage albeit the toughest one of the eight - is still failure when you’re ranked number one in the world. Spain were slow and second best in both their games so far and their normally resolute defence has been burst open. They conceded three goals in eight qualifying games; they’ve conceded seven in two games when it matters. This team is over but Spain’s fans and admirers should not despair. They have an emerging generation of players who could go on to replicate the achievements of the ageing legends. Spain’s Under 21 team have won the last two European Championships and in players like David de Gea, Koke, Ander Herrera, Thiago Alcantara and Javi Martinez they have a generation of future stars. Diego Costa, 25, looks to have a bright future for his adopted country too, but his World Cup has been a nightmare. He’s been abused wherever he travelled by Brazilians who accuse him of turning his back on the country where he was born and bred. They have a point, but there’s an element of envy
too, for Costa - or at least a fully fit and in form Costa is the one Brazilian now playing for other countries who’d get a game for Brazil. The hapless Fred isn’t the new Romario. In their two games so far, Spain have conceded seven goals and didn’t score one from open play. Costa looked exhausted after a magnificent season with Atletico Madrid. He’s not the only one. Both Madrid teams reaching the Champions League final was a huge success, but it drained all of the players. Costa did manage a magnificent overhead freekick to set up Sergio Busquets in the second half, but the Barcelona midfielder missed an easy chance. Del Bosque put his head in his hands. It was that type of night for the champions. Iker Casillas, who superseded Andoni Zubizarreta as the Spanish player with the most games in the World Cup, didn’t hide from the cameras after the game. He may look like a haunted figure these days, but he was strong enough to credit the victors and asked for forgiveness. There was little of that from a mocking crowd, including Brazilians who held up an ‘Adios Espanha’ flag. They were overjoyed because one of their main rivals have been eliminated. It’s the modern way to celebrate the humbling of the mighty, but before mocking remember just how good they’ve been and what they have achieved.
I Want To Stay With Spain -Costa DIEGO Costa is hoping to continue playing for Spain, despite a poor World Cup campaign. Costa, who earned a move to Chelsea after scoring 27 goals in 35 appearances in the Primera Division for Atletico Madrid, cannot put his finger on what was missing from the Spain side but rejected claims there was a lack of quality. The 25-year-old Brazilborn striker opted to play for Spain instead of his birth country and was hoping to fire the champions to their
fourth successive major championship. However, they have already bowed out at the group stage of the tournament with one game left to play. The Spaniards opened their World Cup campaign with a crushing 5-1 defeat to the Netherlands, before they were defeated 2-0 by Chile on Wednesday to confirm their exit. “Of course I want to continue with Spain. I dream of achieving the same successes that Spain has
already achieved,” Costa told Marca. “We apologise, but life goes on. Let us keep working and raise your heads again. “We had many ambitions. No one is tired of winning. We missed something but it was not quality. It is just true that Chile were physically better than us.” Spain will play Australia, who have also been knocked out of the competition, on Monday 23 June at the Arena da Baixada, Curitiba.
Sampaoli Feels For Spain After Exit
Police Nab 2 Over Shooting Incident TWO members of a gang who robbed an ATM in Sorocaba in Brazil on Tuesday have been arrested, a police spokesman said on Wednesday. The gang was the same one which had engaged in a gun battle with police outside the Honduras team hotel in Porto Feliz earlier on Monday, a team spokesman said later. The Honduran delegation had ealier filed complaints with FIFA and the Brazil 2014 World Cup Organising Committee over the incident, in which six shots were heard. Honduras Team Security Chief, Saul Mazariegos, said he learnt of the arrests during a routine meeting with police on Tuesday. He however added that the incident had nothing to do with the Honduras team. “The team had arrived at their hotel just two hours before the shootout, after their 3-0 defeat to France on Sunday. “The shots did not hit the
hotel. We heard them from inside, they were coming from the street,’’ Mazariegos said. Honduras requested security reinforcements, which were increased from the 40 to 50 police officers who travelled with them. Reports say Sorocaba and Porto Feliz, which is 58 kilometres away, are both in the state of Sao Paulo.
Nigeria’s Mikel in action against Iran
Eagles, Any Hope Of Sailing Out Of Group Stage?
THOSE who think the Super Eagles may no longer make it beyond the group stage should have a re-think. That was the impression given by Coach Stephen Keshi. emphasising that even though “The World Cup is not over for they faced some challenges the Eagles,’’ he told a post match during the match against the news conference in Cruitiba. “It Iranians, which was now in the is not over for the Eagles because past. of the goalless draw. “In soccer, you do not rule out “There are two more matches surprises,’’ he added. in the group, ’’ Keshi noted,
FIFA Fan Fest Attendance Reaches 1.3m Mark “We will like to thank the
A record-breaking 430,000 fans descended on the FIFA Fan Fest venues in all 12 Host Cities across Brazil on Tuesday at the 2014 World Cup, a report said on Wednesday. The report by the FIFA Media Office, said the figure took the total attendance so far at the World Cup finals to 1.3 million after the first round of group games. First round of matches in the competition’s first round or group stage were concluded on Tuesday. With settings such as the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Farol de Barra in Salvador and Iracema Beach in Fortaleza, the FIFA Fan Fests have been very useful. They are proving to be the second best place in town for fans without tickets to the matches. Live cultural performances, music shows from top Brazilian artists and activities provided by FIFA’s Commercial Affiliates are helping out. They have been helping to
ensure that the FIFA Fan Fest experience is a true entertainment extravaganza. “The FIFA Fan Fest has been a huge success so far,” said FIFA’s Marketing Director Thierry Weil. “It’s a truly special experience to see football fans from all over the world joining together to celebrate world football’s most exciting event.
Host Cities and the FIFA Fan Fest Sponsors for their huge contribution to the Brazilian population and international visitors. “This has resulted in the provision of fantastic locations where fans can celebrate football together at an event which has established itself as an integral part of the FIFA World Cup,’’ Weil said.
A journalist had asked if Keshi would be afraid of being criticised for his team’s poor performance in their opening match, he said that he was not averse to criticisms. “I have always been criticised, even when we perform well. “I have learnt to live with it and get by.’’ He stressed that the issue at hand was how to make some progress that would put smiles on the faces of Nigerians. “For me what is critical is to ensure that the Eagles restore fading hopes,’’ he said. Some die-hard fans of the national team said that the expectation was that the team would need to win the next match to stand a chance of making it into the next round. “If the Eagles are able to record a win in Saturday’s match against Bosnia Herzegovina, then, that would brighten their chances of progressing,’’ said exinternational, Waidi Akanni. Keshi had, in a response to a query by a journalist, said that
the Eagles could rise ‘from the dead’, just like it did at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in South Africa. Though the Eagles had started the 2013 AFCON on a shaky note, the team eventually improved with the matches they played and eventually lifted the trophy. But some discerning analysts like Ade Ojeikere, a Nigerian journalist and Mohammed Gerri from Sierra Leone, said that the AFCON was a different ball game, compared to the World Cup. “The failure to secure the maximum points at stake in the encounter against the Iranians might prove to be fatal,’ he said, stressing that the Iranians posed no threat. “As pre-match favourites, the Eagles needed to have been patient to create the right chances to win, especially over the fact that they, more than all other four African teams, were carrying the collective destiny of the continent.
CHILE coach Jorge Sampaoli had some sympathy for World Cup holders Spain after his side knocked them out at the group stages of the tournament. Sampaoli’s Chile made it two wins from as many games as they recorded a 20 victory over Spain at the Maracana, inflicting a second defeat on Vicente del Bosque’s team in Brazil. Spain’s 5-1 loss in their opening Group B game coupled with the slump versus the Chileans confirmed they will not progress to the knockout stage despite still having a game against Australia to play. Sampaoli is quoted by the BBC as saying: “In football everything changes. “Spain has played very well over the years and had wonderful performances but today that generation of players couldn’t keep that success going, and that’s normal because success is not forever.” Meanwhile, Sampaoli is eager that Chile maintain their momentum for their final group match against Netherlands, as the two nations battle it out for top spot in Group B. He added: “Against Netherlands we will have the same approach, knowing we need to win to be first in our group. “If we don’t win against Netherlands we will probably have to play Brazil if they win against Cameroon. “Considering our performances the most important thing is to play as a team — and that’s why we have been so dangerous and have had such good results.”
Supporters Want Seized Food Items Returned THE Secretary-General of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club (NFSC), Samuel Ikpea, has assured that the club would ensure the recovery of its members’ food items seized by Brazilian Immigration officials. Brazilian Immigration officials at the Sao Paulo International Airport had on Monday seized Nigerian food items carried by members of the NFSC to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup. The food items included
large quantity of garri, semovita, vegetable oil, fried meat and fish and food seasoning and spices. Brazilian Immigration officials at the airport insisted that bringing in food items without official notice was prohibited in the country. However, Ikpea said the club’s leadership has stepped up action towards ensuring the food items were returned to their members. “We are going to be here
for almost a month and we need our local food to sustain members of the club who are here to cheer the national team,’’ he said. The club’s PresidentGeneral, Rafiu Oladipo, had contacted Nigeria’s Ambassador in Brazil to assist towards the possible recovery of the seized food items. One member of the club who spoke to newsmen on condition of anonymity claimed she spent over N50,000 in buying and
preserving the food items. “It has always been our practice to travel abroad in support of the national teams with our national food items. “I hope we are able to recover these food items, because many of them were already paid for by some members on the trip,” she said. Some of the members of the club, who mostly love eating Nigerian food, said that staying in Brazil would remain difficult for them without Nigerian food.
They said they would have to start eating foreign foods which they were not used to, if they were going to survive the situation. NAN reports that members of the Nigerian supporters club are in Brazil to cheer the Super Eagles who are in Group F at the 2014 World Cup finals. It has always been the practice of the club’s members to travel with Nigerian food items to every international football competition they were attending.
Liverpool To Face Danish Side LIVERPOOL will kick-off their pre-season programme in July with a friendly against Brondby. Liverpool’s manager Brendan Rodgers waves following their final match of the Premier League season against Newcastle United which they won 2-1 The Reds will face the Danish side in the Brondby Stadion on July 16 in the first of seven warm-up games. “Liverpool has a large following across Scandinavia, especially in Denmark, so it’s really exciting that we will be bringing the club closer to our fans through this pre-season friendly against the biggest team in the country,” said chief commercial officer Billy Hogan. Following the trip to Denmark Liverpool will return to England to face Preston and then fly out to America for games against Roma, Olympiacos, Manchester City and AC Milan before returning home to host a final game against Borussia Dortmund on August 10.
Van Gaal Fit For Man Utd Job MANCHESTER United manager Louis van Gaal’s tactical acumen will make him a success in the Premier League, says Ronald de Boer. De Boer worked closely as a player under van Gaal at club level with Ajax and Barcelona as well as with the Netherlands. van Gaal’s old Trafford tenure will officially get under way when the 62-yearold’s time as orange coach finishes after the world Cup and De Boer is in no doubt that the veteran will immediately lift spirits at United following David Moyes’s ill-fated spell in charge. He told MUTV: “I think you are getting one of the best managers in the world so the chance of success is high. “I believe that, especially when you have patience, he will get success because he’s so determined to do well but also he has a great vision. “On his tactics, he will know the weak points of the opponents and what the team needs so he can really make a very strong team and a team that believes in each other. “Sometimes it takes time to get that belief from the players. Some will not accept that and will drop off but, when you have everybody together, believe me, you will have great success.”
Bans On Powell And Simpson Lifted
Asafa Powell
Aishetu Oshiomhole Cup Final Holds Today
THE 2nd edition of Hajia Aishetu Oshiomhole National under-18 Football Championship will come to a close today inside the famous Ikelebe Sports Complex, Auchi. United Star FC, Auchi Government male team will battle against Akpekpe and Rising Stars FC of Youth FC also of Auchi for Auchi fixed for 4pm. According to the the third place winners in National Secretariat of one of the matches billed FEYSOC, the organizers for 9am. of the tournament, the two The female final which finalists in the girls comes up at 2 pm later category will represent today, will be between host Etsako West Local Nigeria at the year’s Aids Government female team Awareness tournament and their neighbour, Etsako coming up in August this East Local Government year in Ghana while the female team, while Divine male finalist will have a Queens and Living Queens playing tour of Dubai, FC of Warri, Delta State UAE in November, 2014. Among the galaxy of finished third and fourth personalities expected to respectively. grace today’s final are the The male final is between Comrade Governor, host Etsako West Local Adams Oshiomhole, cup
donor Hajia Aishetu Oshiomhole, Honourable Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Social Mobilization, Mr. Chris Okaeben, Majority Leader, EDHA, Hon. Philip Shaibu, House Committee
Chairman on Sports, Hon. Kabiru Adjoto, host chairman, Hon. Hassan Kadiri, his Etsako East counterpart, Hon. Suleiman Afegbua and Chief Oseni Elamah and host of others.
AFN Championships
Athletes In High Spirits
URUEMU Adu, an athletics coach, on Wednesday said that athletes for the All Nigeria Athletics Championships billed for June 19 to June 21 in Calabar were in high spirits. The coach who is with the Lagos State Grassroots Sports Programme, told newsmen, that the arrival of foreign based athletes had raised the tempo of the competition. Adu is also leading athletes from the state to the
- Coach
tournament. He noted that the athletes had long expected the competition. “The athletes are well prepared for the 3-day cracker and have been yearning for it with nostalgia. “With the news of the arrival of foreign based professionals for the Games, the athletes stepped-up their training with
Glasgow 2014: Powerlifting Federation
THE Para-Powerlifting Federation of Nigeria says it is determined to win all available medals in the powerlifting event at the forthcoming Commonwealth Games holding in Glasgow, Scotland. The Commonwealth Games holds from July 23 to Aug. 3 Sam Ekeoma, the Technical Director of the federation, made the assertion on Wednesday in an interview with newsmen in Enugu. He said Nigerian powerlifters were not leaving any stone unturned to maintain their
Promises Medals Haul
unbeatable records at the world stage. Ekeoma said that 14 athletes were already camping at the Liberty Stadium, Ibadan. “It is on record that Nigerian powerlifters won all the available medals in powerlifting at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India. “By then, 12 medals were available but there are now 16 medals comprising four gold, four silver and eight bronze
JAMAICAN sprinters Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson can resume competition pending the outcome of their doping appeals, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said on Wednesday. Former 100 metres world record holder Powell and Athens Olympics relay champion Simpson were banned 18 months in April after testing positive for the banned stimulant oxilofrine during last June’s Jamaican trials. The Swiss-based CAS upheld the application for a “stay of the execution” of the bans, which were backdated to last June and due to end in December. “The athletes are free to compete from now on but may have to serve the remaining part of their ban later if the sanction is eventually confirmed by CAS,” the court said in a statement. Both athletes argued that the offence was minor and sought to have the bans, which were handed down by a Jamaican anti-doping disciplinary panel, reduced to three months. The CAS said a hearing has been scheduled for July 7-8. Powell said on his Twitter feed: “God is good! Thank you to CAS for granting me this stay. I look forward to my day in court.”
respectively. “We are not leaving any stone unturned to ensure we achieve the same feat by winning all medals in the events,” he said. Ekeoma said that the athletes were committed to doing the nation proud in spite of all the challenges they faced toward the preparation for the Games. “We may have had financial hitches during the build-up to the Games but the federation is grateful for the intervention of the Director of National Sports
Commission. “The NSC has provided us with all available logistics for a good preparation and we shall not disappoint the nation in Glasgow,” he said. Ekeoma said that the athletes would be embarking on a training tour of South Korea to finalise their preparation for the Games. He called on cooperate organisations and other well meaning Nigerians to supports development of the sport in the country.
a view to be enlisted,” Adu said. According to him, the homebased athletes are undergoing series of training. He added that they had been exposed to national competitions like the Golden League and could wrestle tickets from the foreign based. The athletes coach added that premium should not be placed on the foreign athletes against the local ones. He said that the trials, which were the highest athletics event in the country, should be guided by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) rules. “We expects the best from the athletes at the Commonwealth hence the need for them to prove themselves in the national trials first,” Adu added. Over 200 home-based and about 20 foreign based athletes are expected to compete for the Commonwealth tickets.
Combating Desertification Through Ecosystem Approach SOMETIME ago, Ibrahim Magaji visited his village in the Gurbin Bore Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara after living in Lagos for about 10 years. Magaji was full of expectations that when he got to the village, he would be able to reminisce about his youthful years in the village. However, his dream turned out to be a mirage, as the whole village has virtually disappeared and covered by sand, with no plant or water to sustain livestock or farming. Magaji was also confounded when he visited his relations in Kebbi, Sokoto and Katsina states and found out that over a hundred villages had similarly disappeared. “I saw that the villagers now have land, which could no longer support farming, dried up wells and parched grasslands. “The villagers had since relocated to towns and cities where they took up jobs such as commercial motorcyclists, taxi drivers, water vendors, cobblers or dishwashers in restaurants. “These are people who had never been outside their villages before but they were forced to relocate because their cherished natural resources have been ravaged by desertification,î he moaned. No matter how alarmist Magaji might sound, the scenario aptly reflects the situation in several states across the northern part of Nigeria. Environmentalists say that the impact of desertification is, however, more pronounced on 11 northern states that are regarded as the “frontline statesíí. These frontline states are Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara. The increasing menace of desertification in the frontline states has naturally elicited the growing concern of ecologists. Dr Bukhar Hassan, the Director (Drought, Desertification and Amelioration) in the Federal Ministry of Environment, expressed concern that
some settlements, especially those adjacent to the countryís border with Niger Republic, have been taken over by the desert. He stressed that a lot people from the settlements had been forced to relocate to the “buffer statesíí due to desert encroachment. “The 11 frontline states largely bear the brunt of desertification. Desertification in Nigeria is caused by the southward movement of Sahara Desert into the country and the first ports of call are these states,î he said. Environmentalists describe desertification as a type of land degradation in which a relatively dry land region becomes increasingly arid, typically losing its bodies of water as well as vegetation and wildlife. Desertification is caused by several factors, including climate change and human activities, and it is a major ecological problem across the world. The experts, however, say that anthropogenic factors, such as deforestation, over-exploitation of land, bush burning and over-grazing, combine to accelerate the desertification process. Mr John Odey, a former Minister of Environment, once informed the House of Representativesí Committee on Climate Change that desertification in Nigeria was moving southward at a rate of 600 metres annually. Another ex-Minister of Environment, Mrs Hadiza Mailafia, at one time also raised an alarm that 43.3 per cent of the total land area of Nigeria was prone to desertification. Her words: “40 million Nigerians are affected by desertification each year and this poses serious threats to the livelihoods of the citizens. “The problem is quite alarming and it can cripple efforts to provide land resources-based ecosystem services that are important to a number of development sectors. “The rate of desertification in the country is reported to be high, with the attendant destruction of farmlands and livelihoods, particularly in the affected states. “Also, Nigeria is losing
about 2, 168 square kilometres of rangeland and cropland to desertification each year and this poses serious threats to the livelihoods of about 40 million people.íí Although desertification is somewhat irreversible but experts insist that it could be controlled via an ecosystem-based approach which includes tree-planting initiatives. Moniques Barbut, the Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), said that the adoption of an ecosystem-based approach would protect the
manity. “The loss of arable land to desertification is a huge obstacle to efforts to eradicate poverty and hunger. Every day at IFAD, we are confronted with the human cost of desertification. “The impact of desertification is more pronounced on subsistence farmers, nomadic herdsmen and other people who depend on land and rain for their survival. Their land is less productive and their soil is less resilient. “For millions of people, halting desertification is a matter of life and death.
• Vice-President Namadi Sambo
land from the vagaries of weather, while securing its productivity for present and future generations. One of the global measures put in place to combat desertification involves a partnership between the UN and some intergovernmental organisations which declared the 2010 to 2020 period as the UN Decade for Deserts and the Fight against Desertification (UNDDD). International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is one of the organisations that are promoting the adoption of the ecosystem-based approach in the anti-desertification campaign. Dr Kanayo Nwanze, the President of IFAD, bemoaned the growing impact of desertification on the environment and hu
When people cannot earn an income from the land or feed themselves, they must migrate or starve. “If we are going to eliminate rural poverty and make communities more resilient to climate change, we have to address how land and natural resources are managed,î he added. Besides, Elwyn Grainger-Jones, IFADís Director of Environment and Climate, said that the adoption of a healthy ecosystem-based approach could foster productivity and diversify income-generating activities. “The involvement of grassroots organisations, community groups, women and young people in planning and managing the natural resources which sustain agriculture is essential for an ecosys
tem-based approach,íí he said. Sharing similar sentiments, Mr Umar Dahiru, an environmentalist, said that the planting of indigenous trees across Nigeria would aid efforts to combat the effects of desertification, particularly in the frontline states. Dahiru, who is the Executive Director of Kanobased Africa Desertification Control Initiative, underscored the need to encourage farmers to plant indigenous tree crops in the frontline states, adding that such cultivation was known as deserticulture. According to him, deserticultureíinvolves the cultivation of crops which can be used as cash crops and simultaneously used to control desertification Dahiru stressed the need to plant indigenous trees across the country to strengthen ongoing desertification-control efforts of the Federal Government, particularly in the frontline states. One of the major strategies of the Federal Government to control desertification is the Great Green Wall Initiative, which is aimed at the recovery of over 22,000 hectares of degraded lands in the frontline states. The project, which involves 11 countries, including Nigeria, aims at constructing “a wall of treesíí, stretching 4,300 miles long and nine miles wide across Africa, from the Republic of Djibouti to Senegal. The Minister of Environment, Mrs Laurentia Mallam, recently assured officials of the Pan-African Agency for the Great Green Wall that the Federal Government had started implementing the project. She said that the initiative was a communitybased project and an ecosystem-based adaptation measure, which was adopted to combat desertification in the 11 frontline states. She stressed that the Federal Government approved N10 billion for the projectís implementation, which had started with a
series of activities. The minister said that project started in 2013 with a sensitisation campaign, the planting of 2, 871,415 tree seedlings for forestry and orchards, as well as the establishment a 167km shelterbelt. Mallam said that 113. 5 hectares of orchards plantations and 53 hectares of woodlots had been established under the project, while 146 youths had been engaged as forest guards to oversee the projectís implementation. She said that the ministry was implementing some schemes in 2014, starting with planting of 12, 500 tree seedlings. She said that the other activities of the ministry included the provision of 92 solar/wind-powered boreholes, the establishment of 800 hectares of grazing reserves in four states and supporting the livelihoods of 2,220 youths, among others. “It is, therefore, necessary to ensure the initiativeís sustained implementation, so as to improve the wellbeing of millions of people whose livelihoods were threatened by desertification,íí she added. Mallam expressed optimism that the implementation of the Green Great Wall Initiative would tackle the menace of desertification in the country in a pragmatic way. Besides, the minister disclosed that a bill on the establishment of the Great Green Wall Agency had been sent to the National Assembly so as to fasttrack the projectís implementation. As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to celebrate this yearís World Day to Combat Drought and Desertification on June 17, ecologists urge the National Assembly to expedite action on the billís passage to save the country from the gruesome effects of desertification. They also call on the government at all levels to initiate pragmatic tree-planting schemes, as part of efforts to combat desertification. (NANFeatures).
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