Crisis In PDP: Atiku,Oyinlola,Amaechi And 6 Other Governors Form New Faction.

Exactly 15 years after the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was formed, it broke into two factions on Saturday  in Abuja.
The spate of crises afflicting the party  since inception reached its peak when top leaders of the party walked out on President Goodluck Jonathan at the party’s Special  National Convention to form what has been christened New PDP.
Those who left the convention venue to form a factional PDP were a former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar,  seven governors, three ex-governors and scores of Senators and  members of the House of Representatives.
The aggrieved leaders addressed a crowded press briefing at about 4pm at Shehu Musa Yar’Adua where  they sacked the Bamanga Tukur-led National Working Committee of the party.
A former acting National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Kawu Baraje was appointed the new National Chairman of the party.
The sacked National Secretary of PDP, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola was reinstated  as  the party’s scribe.
Sam Jaja was also  returned as the Deputy National Chairman of the party.
Other members of the new National Working Committee would be announced on Monday.
Amidst backslapping and liberation songs, the PDP leaders said there was no going back in putting a new leadership in place for PDP.
Those at the session were Atiku, Governors Sule Lamido; Rabiu Kwankwaso; Abdulafatai Ahmed; Babangida Aliyu; Aliyu Wammako; Murtala Nyako; and Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi.
Others were the Deputy Governor of Sokoto State, Mukhtar  Shagari; the Deputy Governor of Niger State, Musa Ibeto; the Deputy Governor of Adamawa State, Bala Ngilari; ex-Governor Abdullahi Adamu ( who was a former Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the PDP); ex-Governor Mohammed Sha’aba Lafiagi; ex-Governor Olagunsoye
Also in attendance were  some members of the National Assembly including the Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Abdulmumin Jibril, the Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Mohammed Zakary; Hon. Dakuku Peterside; Senator Magnus Abe; and all statutory delegates and members of the National Assembly from the seven states.
As the presence of each of the political heavyweights was announced, shouts of ”  Chanji  dole 2015″ ( Change in 2015 A Must) filled the hall.
The confidence radiated by all the governors suggested that some notable leaders of the party were pulling the strings to effect change in PDP.
In his speech,  Baraje, who was a former National Secretary of the party, said:”We address you today as leaders of PDP, who are worried by the increasing repression, restrictions of freedom of association, arbitrary suspension of members and other such violations of democratic principles by a faction of our party led by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur .
“While we have done everything humanly possible to bring to the attention of critical stakeholders within the party the dangers inherent in the course being charted by that leadership, it has become very clear that the desperate permutations towards 2015 general elections have blinded certain people from the consequences of their actions.
“Not only has the constitution of the party been serially violated  by Alhaji Tukur and fellow travelers, all the organs of the party have been rendered virtually ineffectual by a few people who act as though above the law. “Unfortunately, it is obvious that that they get encouragement from the presidency whose old calculations are geared towards shutting out any real or imagined opposition ahead of the party’s presidential primaries for the 2015 elections.”

Culled from The Nation

Ali Afifi, Egyptian Man Addicted To Stealing Cuts Off Own Hands In Line With Sharia Law

An habitual thief who was left so ashamed by his uncontrollable urge to steal, took the drastic step of cutting off his own hands.
Ali Afifi is believed to have been motivated by Sharia law when he amputated both hands in separate incidents.
The Egyptian lost his first hand by holding it under the wheels of a train five years ago.




His shocked father had him institutionalised, but the 28-year-old repeated the action with the other hand upon his release.
Afifi, who posed for these pictures this week, is said to have asked a Muslim scholar to sever his hands because he could not stop stealing “after losing the war against the devil,” Emirates 247 reported last year.
Afifi said: “But the Sheikh refused my request, saying he is not a ruler or in a decision-making position to take such a decision… he advised me to repent and seek God’s help... I then decided to cut my hands off.”
Describing his addiction as a "disease", Afifi began stealing lunches from friends as a child, before moving onto items in shops, mobile phones and gold jewellery, the Mail Online reveals.
Sharia law is practised in many strict Muslim countries and typically involves harsh punishments for murder, theft and adultery.
Interpretation of the law can vary between cultures, but it is commonly agreed the punishment prescribed for theft is the removal of the thief's hand.
“[As for] the thief, the male and the female, amputate their hands in recompense for what they earned [i.e. committed] as a deterrent [punishment] from Allaah. And Allaah is Exalted in Might and Wise,” Islam Web cites the Koran as saying.
Amputation for habitual stealing is still practiced in countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and northern Nigeria, the Inquisitr points out.
The Egyptian courts have not permitted judicial amputations for many years, though last year an MP called for the application of Islamic law for certain crimes.
"This is God's law and is not optional," said Adel Azzazy.

Culled from Huff Post

BABY DADDY SYNDROME (BDS)

Trends are quick to catch on in Nigeria. Once somebody does a thing and it's successful or gets a favourable response, a lot of people tend to follow suit.
It happens with business, religion, politics, even child bearing.
It also happened in the music industry. Sometime ago, the music business wasn't as attractive as it is now. Then, it was seen to be a venture for the never-do-wells and academic castoffs. But then, "2face" happened, and the sun of the industry began to shine brighter.
That's when a lot of other people began to have interest. Even people who were doing God-knows-what overseas returned home to catch a piece of the action. And very soon, they dominated the industry (that's a story for another day).The bandwagon effect. That is why lots of people are dropping out of school to pursue music. It's the reason why graduates keep their certificates locked away and head to the studio.
However, there is another bandwagon effect catching on in Naija. It may be detestable to some people though.
I'm talking about nothing other than the baby daddy culture that is fast taking seed among our musicians.
According to my definition, Baby Daddy Syndrome (BDS) is a culture of impregnating a woman without marrying her, yet carrying out other obligations.
The first and the most legendary baby daddy is 2baba himself. That man is such an addicted baby daddy that he had to do it six times. Yes...you can close your mouth now. 2face Idibia actually put three different women in the family way six different times without being or getting married to any of them. Thankfully, he has finally gotten married to one of them now, but that is not our Area Of Concentration.
Following behind 2face is Peter of P-Square fame. This brother is a (proud?) father of two children, all delivered by one woman. When Peter first impregnated his older lover, Lola Omotayo, some of us thought it was a mistake. But then, some years after, another "mail" has arrived; Peter was blessed with another baby boy early this year in January through his regular Baby Mama (BM).
And just as if it's a competition, or a status symbol, Peter's twin brother, Paul, has also made sure that when they are calling sufferers of BDS, his name wouldn't be missing. And he was successful, as just a few days before compiling this report, he was blessed with a son, Andre, through his BM, Anita.
Another famous Baby Daddy (BD) is MayD. The former Square Records signee didn't stay too long with the label, but he stayed long enough to imbibe the BD culture. He had a baby boy with his girlfriend, Debola, in January this year.

Another important member of the BDS club is none other than the Akpako master himself, Terrible Gabriel aka Terry G. You know, I have often wondered on how Terry G would perform as a father (a mischievous fellow even said his baby will be born high). Anyway, it turns out he is a good one. The singer was spotted recently shopping with his baby (whom he flaunts at every oppourtunity) and his baby mama.
Of course, my list wouldn't be complete if I don't mention the Kid who has a kid. Yes, I'm talking about the pakurumo crooner, StarboyWizkid. When he sang "I love my baby" in 2011, we thought he was talking about his girlfriend, but now we know he was singing to his child. Even though the young millionaire and silky voiced singer has come out to repeatedly deny the claims that he has a baby, how can we explain some pictures which surfaced online a while back in which he was posing with a baby who looked exactly like him? Well, he can deny all he wants, but God is watching him in 3D sha.
After all has been said, the kernel of my story is that though celebrities are not preachers or imams, they have huge moral responsibilities to the people. Whatever a musician does goes a long way in influencing millions of other individuals, most especially youths.
The African culture believes strongly and reveres the sanctity of the marriage institution, and one of the reasons for marriage is procreation. As a matter of fact, most religions frown at pre-marital sex.
So what are our celebrities actually teaching us? That we don't need to spend a whole lot of money organizing a wedding? That we can just impregnate someone and voila, a baby is on the way.
Methinks, these entertainers should stop acting so darn irresponsible. If they aren't ready for wives and families, then they shouldn't attempt making babies.
Apart from pregnancy, how about AIDS and the battalion of other Sexually Transmitted Diseases out there?
Surely, BDS is one bandwagon effect that I don't want to catch on

Culled from E24-7 Magazine

Image Of The Day: NEPA And Same Old Story.

Did you see the news headline? That is our once beloved NEPA screaming and  promising ' No More Black-Out' and stating 1986 as a deadline date to achieve this. Here we are in 2013,27 years after, NEPA has change name to PHCN ( name change only) but we are still on the same page singing same old tune.Singing Sunny Okosun song, we are waiting for, waiting for the wind of change.........

Mike Tyson Confession- I Am On Verge Of Death From Drugs And Booze

The ex-heavyweight boxing champion,Mike Tyson, has claimed he is on the verge of dying due to his ongoing problem of drug and alcohol. He said on ESPN's Friday Night Fights,'' I wanna live my sober life. I don't wanna die. I'm on the verge of dying, because I'm a vicious alcoholic.
He admitted to being a continual substance abuser but was hopeful he was finally becoming clean.
"I haven't drank or took drugs in six days, and for me that's a miracle," he revealed.

Nambia's Dillish Wins Big Brother Africa- The Chase

Beautiful Dillish Matthew, representing Nambia, will be going home tonight with $300,000 prize as the winner of this year Big Brother Africa- The Chase.She beat Zambia’s Cleo to the second place to win the ultimate prize.
Congratulation to a beauty with character!

Stowaway Teenager Travel In Arik Aircraft Wheel From Benin To Lagos

A young lad named Daniel Ikehina sneaked into the tyre compartment of a Lagos-bound Arik flight from Benin airport and flew safely with the aircraft to Muritala Muhammed airport, Lagos. The boy beat the airport security at Benin but he was not that lucky in Lagos, where he was arrested after passengers saw him emerging from the aircraft tyre hole.
According to Punch Newspaper, the situation has become a major source of worry among the authorities and has also led to a blame game between FAAN and Arik Airline.
FAAN, in a statement on Saturday, said it held “Arik Air liable for the circumstances leading to the stowaway of a teenage boy on its aircraft at the Benin Airport.”
In a statement signed by Dati, FAAN, said, “Arik Air acted with impunity by not stopping the aircraft to check when the crew and ground personnel’s attention was drawn to an abnormality on the tarmac.”
According to the FAAN spokesman, the procedure for such infraction is for the crew to abort the flight and return to the apron for check-up.
He blamed the airline for the alleged impunity, warning that the airport authority would not tolerate such infraction from any operator.
He said, “This is arrant display of impunity. The aircraft should not have taxied further, but return to the apron until a proper check is carried out on all parts of the aircraft.  FAAN will not tolerate such impunity henceforth from Arik or any airline. Any violation would be met with applicable sanctions.
Dati, however, said the teenager was already giving useful information to unravel this ‘misnomer.’

In a swift reaction, Arik, in a statement, blamed FAAN for the huge breach in security, noting that the incessant cases of security breaches at the nation’s airport had become a major source of concern to the airline.

Cheryl Cole Bum-Covering Tattoo Revealed

This is massive and it is on Cheryl Cole, it goes all the way from her lower back covering her bum.Tattoo artist, Nikki Hurtado , who worked on Cheryl Cole, posted the image above on his Instagram with a caption "Here is a in progress shot of a Tattoo I've been covering up and reworking."Really excited to show healed shots. It was some intense tattooing sessions. She's tough as nails,"
Cheryl confirmed it took 15 hours in total but painful.
I can not imagine what this tattoo will look like when Cheryl grow old and her body is saggy including her bum.
.

Image Of The Day: Wedding Cake

Lesson: Cut your coat according to your size (pocket)

Legal Luminary and Human Rights Activist, Mike Ozekhome Kidnapped

Mr Mike Ozekhome(SAN) was kidnapped on the Auchi-Ehor route yesternight. Edo state commissioner of police, Mr Foluso Adebanjo, while confirming the story,said four policemen were killed during the attack on Mr Ozekhome.

Image Of The Day: Mr Barber

Can you allow this barber to give you a nice hair cut. 

Lesson: Desperate times call for desperate measures

8 Successful Women Who Were Once Fired

Most people who have made it to the top of their field have hit some roadblocks along the way, such as failed projects, bad bosses and being passed over for a promotion.

What about those who were actually fired, and worked their way up from the bottom again?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for adult women is 6.5 percent. Over 500,000 U.S. workers were laid off in 2012. Getting fired happens, for reasons ranging from the practical to the purely ridiculous. But losing your job does not mean that your future is over.

Here are eight women who have been let go from jobs, but didn't let it stop them from finding huge success later on.

1. J.K Rowling

According to Business Insider, Rowling was fired from her job as a secretary because she spent too much time daydreaming about book ideas. Clearly that daydreaming served her very well down the road when she wrote the "Harry Potter" series.

2. Anna Wintour

In October 2010, Wintour spoke about losing a job early on in her career at Teen Vogue conference, telling the audience: "I worked for American Harper's Bazaar ... they fired me. I recommend that you all get fired, it's a great learning experience."

3. Kate Walsh

Before the "Private Practice" and "Grey's Anatomy" star got into showbiz, she was fired from her after-school job at Burger King. "The assistant manager didn't like me!" she told People magazine.

4. Kerry Washington

In May 2013, the "Scandal" actress revealed that she had a number of "heartbreak moments" before gaining success. "Before 'Scandal,' the only other two pilots I'd ever done were shows that got picked up, but I got fired," Washington said at theHollywood Reporter's Emmy Roundtable. "They recast my character on both shows." We're glad she stuck it out anyway.

5. Oprah Winfrey

The queen of daytime television was once fired from her job as a news reporter for Baltimore’s WJZ-TV. “I was removed from the 6 p.m. news exactly April 1, 1977,” Winfrey told the Baltimore Sun in 2011. “The general manager called me upstairs, and I thought it was an April Fool’s joke when they told me, ‘We have bigger plans for you; we’re going to put you on the morning cut-ins.’”

6. Felicity Huffman

The "Transamerica" and "Desperate Housewives" actress was fired from TV sitcom"Thunder Alley" in 1993. She went on to win a number of awards including an Obie in 1995, an Emmy in 2005, and a Golden Globe in 2006. She also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

7. Monica Potter

The "Parenthood" actress was fired from her role on "The Young And The Restless.""I was fired because I was terrible," she said in a 2010 interview. Lesson: when you fail, it's always best to have a sense of humor about it.

8. Sallie Krawcheck

Krawcheck, often called one of Wall Street's "most powerful women," was fired from her high-level position at Bank of America in 2011. She is now a business leader at 85 Broads. “I got grateful when I got fired,” Krawcheck said at the Third Metric conference in June 2013. “I said ‘how many people get to get fired and it’s on the front page of The Wall Street Journal?’”

Culled from Huff Post

Who Is Lying? Dame Patience or Amaechi?

Madam Patience released a press statement  earlier during the week in response to why she shunned the Deputy Governor of River State government at P.H airport in her last visit to the state to make final arrangement for her mother's burial. She said that while several groups and individuals from across the country came to condole with her, no official of the Rivers State government deemed it necessary to pay the family a condolence visit.
But the Rivers state government released the above picture on Tuesday, showing  the wife of the Rivers State Governor, Judith Amaechi, signing the condolence register during her visit to the First Lady, Patience Jonathan, on the death of her mother.

So who is lying but picture,they say, do not lie.

APC Governors: The Hope Of A New Nigeria By Joe Igbokwe

Every nation has its own heroes and villains, cerebral and non-cerebral, strong and the weak, educated and non-educated, performers and non-performers, the good and the bad leaders, etc. In every serious nation, it is the work of the intellectuals to help fish the good guys out for the good of the commonwealth. It is the same intellectuals (the honest ones) that set the template for the leadership. They prepare the road map and the way forward. This is because they know that whatever good things that are happening in any successful country are byproducts of the good thinking of the honest intellectuals. They act as a bridge between the poor and the rich, the leaders and the followers. They are stars in conflicts resolution mechanisms.
Today, I want to once again take the calculated risk of engaging Nigerians on the need to embrace the eleven APC governors and some performing PDP governors as the new face of leadership in Nigeria. As we get closer to 2015, history is beckoning on anybody that wishes Nigeria well to stand up to be counted in the quest for a New Nigeria. We must admit that we have a leadership crisis in Nigeria. We must ask questions on how we got to this sorry pass in a country so blessed with both human and material resources. I am told that crisis in any serious country helps to usher in good and dedicated leaders. Yes, we must ask questions because those who ask questions can only be fools for five minutes but those who do not ask questions remain fools forever. The future belongs to the curious, the man who wants to know and the efficient.
Asking the right questions and opening our eyes to the realities of today can compel us to look at the direction of the opposition governors in APC and their friends and colleagues in PDP. I am talking about the Fayemis, Okorochas, Fasholas, Aregbesolas, Oshiomoles, Al-Makuras, Amosuns, Ajimobis, Shettimas, Yaris and the Geidams. Their colleagues in PDP like in Babagida Aliyus, Amaechis, Nyakos, and others are also in the picture. These men have what it takes to drive Nigeria to greatness. Nigeria is like a brand new vehicle without a driver. A brand new car needs a good driver to move it to a destination. The APC has thrown a frontal challenge to take Nigeria away from the paths of ruination. They are doing this through the performance of their governors and staking that as the most enduring requisite for future leadership of a misgoverned country like Nigeria. We have wasted fourteen long years of our national life and the APC is advertising itself as the credible alternative to recovering the long years lost to locusts.
A school of thought suggests that since we go to driving schools to learn how to drive a car, why should our leaders not go to leadership school before governing. Having served their states for four or more years and did well too I want to believe that they have got some reasonable training to move this country forward. Nigeria cannot be still looking for leaders with these trusted and tested guys in place. I suggest that Nigeria should trust these men even for a change. This is the time to make investment on these men for the benefit of Nigeria. This is the time for Nigeria to put its best men forward for the job to recue the sinking giant. This is the time we make deliberate efforts to fish out the brightest and the best for leadership. Leadership of Nigeria should no more be a game for mediocres and incompetent men who do not know the route to progress and success. I believe that is the greatest challenge the APC offers to Nigerians today. It is the greatest issue the coming of the APC and its make up brings to the Nigerian table.
The biggest problem facing Nigeria today is what to do with federal government of Nigeria. When you look around, there is nothing on the ground to justify the trillions of Naira Nigeria budgets every year. The positive developments one sees in Nigeria are always at the state level which leaves one to wonder why the center records little or no progress while appropriating hefty chunk of the national revenue. How do we get good drivers to drive the functional vehicles? How do we manage the huge human and material resources to build the new Nigeria of our dreams? How do we address the excesses of impunity in Nigeria? How do we deal with the power problem? How do we create jobs for our children? How do we feed our teeming population? How do we deal with the health sector that has gone almost bankrupt while our people die from preventable diseases? How do we create a healthy population? How do we deal with the problems of insecurity in Nigeria? How do we reduce corruption to the barest minimum and free our national wealth to work for our people? I can go on and on.
One good man on the Presidential chair in Abuja in 2015 can make the difference. One good man supported by these governors cannot derail. We cannot solve our problems with the level of thinking that created them in the first place. This is the central message the APC governors are sending today and they have shown, by words and performance that they are the future hope of the country. Nigerians should hearken to this call.

Rhyme Of The Day: Ise Loogun Ise

Did anybody remember this rhyme? If you do, then you are from 'Alawiye' set (meaning you don tay small). However, the words of this rhyme is ever relevant and it emphasised on the importance and beauty of hard work. It is written by J.F Odunjo, the author of  Alawiye series and other Yoruba novels such as Kuye : Itan omo odi ti eda ro pin.

Check out the meaning below:

Work is the antidote for poverty

Work smart my friend

Work brings Success

When there is no one to rely on, its like we are lazy

When there is no one to trust, we focus more on our work

Your mother might be rich,

Your father might own a thousand and one horses

If you rely on them,

In truth, you might be on sinking ground

Your arm is your family, while elbow are like your extended family

If you are loved by the world today

If you are rich, they will love you tomorrow as well

Or you in an exalted position

People will keep on cheering you

If you unfortunately lose money or position

See how people will turn their back on you

There is suffering for the foolish child

There is sorrow for a wayward child

Do not waste your formative years, my friend

Work hard because time wait for no one

*Hard work does not kill, wrong work does- Bishop David Oyedepo*

FG Vs. ASUU: The Game Goes On By Raheem Oluwafuminiyi

What has consistently escaped most Nigerians in this entire travesty is the fact that mediocrity destroys the very fabric of a country…ushering in all sorts of banality, ineptitude, corruption and debauchery. That…is precisely where Nigeria finds itself today! —Chinua Achebe

Since the beginning of yet another strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities ASUU last month, which not surprisingly has entered its second month, one wonders when we as a nation would remove ourselves form this wanton mortification of making the education a laughing stock among comity of nations. The question all stakeholders enmeshed in this opprobrium should be asking is whether something fundamental is not wrong with our collective consciousness, else, how come that in every two to three years, the news of ASUU demanding that its overlords in Abuja implement an agreement both entered into and which in turn leads to a painful strike, reverberates the whole nation?
Are we lacking in foresight as to understand that the Nigerian universities are dying gradually? Have we looked around to ask ourselves why the nation, whose youth out-numbers the old and very young, cannot remove itself from the shackles of societal malfeasance and hold forth the appellation: “we are the future leaders of tomorrow” by taking their destinies into their hands? For as long as the Nigerian youth accepts redundancy, fails to think for himself, cannot see where the rain began to beat him or take the bull by the horn, like many of their counterparts in developed nations, then it will be succinct to claim that the education sector which is supposed to train, build, inculcate, mould and educate vibrant youths against the morrow have failed in its entirety to bequeath such for a people who will take up the reigns of leadership from the old guards, a fault which is not theirs anyway.
If ASUU once again and for the umpteenth time has called for a strike, it is not because they do not see the peck in their own eyes, as it is evidently known that their own house is also not in order, but because from the very first day government whose responsibility is to pay very good attention to the education sector keeps faltering and reneging on agreements she entered into. For many who are of the belief that ASUU has no reason or justification to embark on this strike which has become one too many in recent times, they must understand that though it may look more like Oliver Twist asking for more, in the situation our education sector finds itself, once and for all, drastic measures ought to be taken in ensuring we do not become a pointer to ridicule anywhere in the world anymore.
If we have to look well enough the reason ASUU had decided embark on this strike and we feel the shame our universities have put up with, especially if we have to balance it with the education the likes of our parents had in the 60s, 70s and 80s and the pitiable ones our children have today, we then must understand ASUU’s pain and anger. Nobody likes to strike, nobody wishes to allow it take so long, in fact, it is not a good story to tell in our nascent democracy. Yet when a country is bequeathed with leaders who have no foresight, lack understanding of the socio-political terrain, remain clueless in tackling simple political arithmetic, and is occupied with how to remain in power until 2090, then strike becomes an option and a weapon to bring such government to its senses.
Many Nigerians cannot understand how we practice democracy in the country. Democracy and good governance go hand in hand and therefore, policies embarked upon by one government or the other must necessary be a continuum and should not shift unless necessary. One finds it very difficult to grasp well the story peddled by this government that the agreement it voluntarily entered into in 2009 with ASUU should be re-negotiated. It is the worst of arguments this writer has heard in decades and one wonders if this government is truly committed to transforming the education sector, if the so called campaign promise in 2011 is anything to go by. One would have thought the government of the day should have put forward the same argument during negotiations with the Nigerian Labour Congress NLC in the last subsidy protest. Perhaps, the vast majority of Nigerians wouldn’t be where they are today looking weary, fatigued and hopeless in the midst of plenty.
Even if government in its usual volte-face had thought the agreement needed to be re-negotiated, why didn’t it bring it to ASUU’s table long before the latter deemed it fit to embark on its ignoble strike? From this, there is no disputing the fact that there is so much insincerity among those in power and it is the reason the vast majority of Nigerians do not trust their leaders.
It is an irony that the education sector, more than ever, faces this type of humiliation, especially when the president of this country was once a university teacher and his minister of education, a professor in a vibrant field of academic study. No country in its right senses would have such individuals in power and watch as rot engulfs their education sector. With leaders like that who cannot engineer viable transformations within the sector they once held sway, we cannot but feel sorry for the entire country.
Our universities are no more role models for other countries to follow. Even the so called first generation universities have lost it, while mediocrity reigns supreme in the new ones. Individuals who lack the capacity to teach or engage in ground-breaking discoveries now fill our faculties and departments. Students who lack the intellectual vigour to learn now fill our departments with little or no capacity to communicate, write or engage their lecturers in intellectual debates. Most worrisome is the fact that one cannot find viable tools to hold experiments in our respective laboratories, reminding one of the total neglect in our secondary school laboratories. The structures which the Sardauna, Azikiwe and Awolowo had patriotically erected over 48 years ago still stand rickety today with nothing to show for a better one or even critical repair of the old. One could count the number of ICT-driven universities in the country and if one is lucky to find any, the structure is not enough to train students who are supposed to have pre-requisite knowledge of the ICT world like their counterparts elsewhere.
Our classrooms have become a national embarrassment where students now sit on windows and outside to receive lectures. University libraries are littered with books the like of Isaac Newton had used during his time yet librarians are employed year in and out without any innovation coming from them to transform their departments into world class. It is most saddening that more than 80 Nigerian universities cannot boast of a state-of-the-art library where students can get up-to-date books to embark on their research. It is no wonder that even reference materials used for PhD thesis today are as old as the country itself, when new materials have been churned out by the same author over five times. Most PhD thesis today appears unconstructive, lack coherence and almost adds nothing to problem-solving. A don once pathetically noted that there are a lot of questionable PhD’s today in Nigeria.
We seem to forget that strikes in our ivory towers have lasting implications for the future direction of the country. A medical student who is supposed to spend seven uninterrupted years in medical school suddenly faces a three month strike in his quest to become a medical doctor. At the end, he spends about eight to nine years for a seven year medical programme and is in turn given license to practice thereafter. If we do not know, we have bred a murderer and with his shaky training as a medical doctor in the murky world of medical school as a result of incessant ASUU strikes, we are bound to find our loved ones at their mercy. God help us if they survive with the way things keep going in this country!
If we continue to pretend as if all is well, we will only find ourselves to blame if not now then tomorrow, as the future does not even hold anything to cheer about

Actor KOK, At Last, Get Federal Appointment

Nollywood actor Kanayo O Kanayo has been appointed board chairman of The National Institute for Hospitality & Tourism Studies. He is amongst those who made the list of chairmen and members of the governing board of federal government agencies and parastatals as announced by the Secretary to the Government yesterday. 

There is time to sow and time to reap. Congrats to KOK.

Nollywood Stars Do Care About Flat Bellies

This is a rejoinder to an article written by a blogger (no name please) that said Ghollywood stars care more about their bellies than their Nollywood counterparts. He  mentioned the likes of Jocelyn Dumas, Yvonne Okoro, Juliet Ibrahim and Eassy as the likes of  Ghollywood stars with flat tummy but I think he need to look further into real nollywood stars and not wannabe stars.
Below are the pictures of some Nollywood stars that have given birth to kids (yes, even some have got up to 4kids) and still rock their shapes with flat bellies.

Omoni Oboli : A-list actress married with 3 boys, in her mid 30s.




Genevieve Nanji: 'Julia Robert' of Africa. In her early 30s and a mother to a 15years old daughter.






Omotola Jalade Ekehinde: A married mother of four kids.






Dakore Egbuson: A married mother of one.





Kate Henshaw: An ever relevant face in Nollywod, a 42years old mother to a 13years old daughter.

Amaechi: Okupe is Jonathan’s Worst Enemy

Rivers State Governor,  Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, has described the Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, as President Goodluck Jonathan’s worst enemy, urging the presidency to check his activities.
In a statement issued yesterday by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), David Iyofor, Amaechi described as “grossly irresponsible, repugnant and contemptuous” statements, which Okupe made on a radio programme last Saturday against the person and office of the governor.
He said Okupe’s comments on the political crisis in the state, especially the role of the Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mbu, did not reflect the true position of things in the state.
Amaechi said Okupe’s arguments were warped and showed his lack of understanding of the real issues, and the interest of the presidency in the whole crisis.
According to the statement, “Okupe sank to a new low when he falsely and indecorously claimed that Amaechi used the police to harass, intimidate and punish people unjustly and could not provide one instance or any evidence to back up his claims. He bragged about some phantom text messages from ‘ordinary people’ whose families have suffered grave injustice in the hands of Amaechi and, yet again, did not tell us the content and senders of the text messages. What does Okupe take Nigerians for? The phantom text messages exist only in the devious mind of Okupe.
“The presidential spokesman then sank even deeper as he condescendingly descended to become the chief advocate and defender-in-chief of the Commissioner of Police in Rivers State, Mbu Joseph Mbu, whom the National Assembly had resolved categorically, should be removed from the state.
“Okupe’s warped argument is that the call for the redeployment of Mbu from Rivers State by the state government is because Mbu has refused to be a ‘tool in the hands of Amaechi’. Pray Okupe, if that is the case and Mbu is such ‘a professional with dignity’, why then did the House of Representatives and the Senate (which sent committees to the state to investigate the issues) pass two separate resolutions calling for the immediate removal of Mbu from the state?  If Okupe’s trend of agbero logic is anything to go by, his likely response would be that it’s because Mbu refused to be a tool in the hands of the National Assembly!
“With comments like that coming from a presidential aide and spokesman, Nigerians now have a better insight into why Mbu is still in Rivers State and continues to act with impunity, in spite of the call by eminent Nigerians and the resolution of the National Assembly that Mbu should go. What interests does Mbu serve for Okupe and his co-travellers that they are bent on keeping Mbu in Rivers State?”
He noted that it took a lot of resources and political will to restore peace, security and order to the state from the dark days of pre- October 2007.
“To destroy all that in the name of playing politics portends grave danger for our polity and will do no one, more especially, the presidency any good. No responsible government plays politics with the lives of its people,” he said.
The statement also said: “It is certainly rude, uncharitable, ill-mannered and hypocritical for Okupe to falsely and superciliously allege that Amaechi is a ‘willing tool’ to any person or group against President Jonathan.  Where was Okupe when Amaechi led Rivers State electorate to overwhelming give the president over two million votes, the highest by any state in the last presidential election?
“For the likes of Okupe and his ilk in the presidency and Abuja, Amaechi only became ‘willing tool to the opposition’ when he, like most other governors, insisted on governors and governors alone, to determine who would be their chairman, the Governors’ Forum (NGF) chairman and not some hawks in the presidency. Amaechi’s only ‘sin’, to the Okupes in the presidency, is his penchant for seeking justice and fairness for all, and his ability to speak his mind and say the truth at all times. This, obviously, is not in conformity with the kind of politics Okupe knows and understands.”
Iyofor said Okupe’s constant comments against Amaechi and other Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors would not help Jonathan or the party in future elections.
“Pray, how will Okupe’s uncouth, relentless and constant tirades against Amaechi and some other PDP governors assist his principal now or in 2015? Or help our party, the PDP, in winning elections? Nigerians are more interested in what the PDP controlled presidency is doing to better their lives, not the petty, cheap politics of hatred, acrimony and unbridled outbursts of an inconsequential presidential aide who is trying so hard to play to the gallery and earn his pay,” he said.
Meanwhile, as the political crisis rocking the state chapter of the PDP rages, the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, has said Amaechi would not control the structure of the party again.
Wike said this yesterday at the dedication and inauguration of members of the Grassroots Development Initiative (GDI), at Ahoada, that he learnt that one of the conditions being peddled by Amaechi’s supporters for an end to the crisis was that the party structure should be returned to the governor.
He said since the state did not operate an emirate or a monarchy, the structure of the state PDP would not be returned to Amaechi.
His words: “I was watching television last night and I heard some of them saying one of the conditions they have given is that they should give the party structure to the governor.
“But I say we don’t operate emirate system. We don’t operate a monarchical system. So, we don’t ‘dash’ out party structure. It is the people that voted for them. So, we cannot ‘dash’ out party structure. It is you (the people) that voted for him. So we cannot ‘dash’ them anything.
The minister commended members of the GDI for their support for Jonathan and urged them not to relent in their effort to mobilise for the President should he decide to run again.
He noted that Jonathan has performed excellently and should be encouraged to run again.
Wike insisted that the people of the state and the South-south geo-political zone would not settle for any position less than the presidency in 2015 and rained abuses on anti-Jonathan politicians, praying that they would continue to cry.
“Those working against the ambition of President Jonathan are now moving from one place to another crying and crying shall be their portion in Jesus name,” he said.
Earlier, the former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Chibudom Nwuche, explained that the people had been deceived in the past, adding that the masses would not be deceived again.
He said the people had decided to take their destiny in their hands and that they would mobilise the people for Jonathan.


Source: Thisdaylive

Money Laundering:Akwa Ibom LG chairman arrested for smuggling $82,000 into the US

The Maryland State Police Department, USA on Sunday morning confirmed the arrest of the Executive Chairman of Udim local government area of Akwa Ibom state, Mr. Nse Ntuen, for smuggling $82, 000 into the United States without declaring it with the Customs officials both in Nigeria and the US.

Nse  Ntuen, the Chairman of the Akwa Ibom State Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), was on Friday arrested by operatives of the Maryland State Police Department at the BWI International Airport, Baltimore.

When contacted by our correspondent, Mr. Strike Thomas, an official of the Maryland State Police Department at the airport, said that the suspect only declared $5,000 when he got to the airport, adding that it was further security checks that indicated that he was still having some bundles of US Dollars in his bag.

The official who agreed to be quoted pressed further that the chairman who flew into the United Stated from London, United Kingdom was later taken to their investigation room where an additional $77, 000 was found in his bag.

It was gathered that Hon. Nse Ntuen accepted that he truly smuggled the money into the USA with the aim to use it as donations at the just-concluded Annual International Convention of the Akwa Ibom Indigenes in the United States and Canada which was held at the Marriot Hotel in Washington, DC.

The suspect was later made to write and sign a statement where he accepted that he brought in items which he failed to declared to both the Nigerian and United States Custom agencies.

The official, who spoke with our correspondent, further disclosed that the Akwa Ibom state ALGON Chairman who was held for over five hours was later released after the whole $82, 000 he admitted to have smuggled into the country was confiscated by the Maryland State Police Department.

*See the highlighted- A local govt chairman donating 13million naira. Donation indeed.*

Source: Leadership Newspaper