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Why FG is the Enemy of Public Universities in Nigeria and not ASUU

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By Habib Korede

Many Nigerian students resent ASUU because of her perennial strike that has always lengthened study periods.

I believe this resentment is because of the ignorance of the students who lack the idea of what ASUU is always agitating for, and this is because of the deficiencies in ASUU’s students and public relations.

The desperation of the students who are eager to graduate from the walls of the higher institutions without minding the quality of their education also heightened the resentment; this has also enhanced the students to always support the federal government—the enemy of the Nigerian public universities.

The federal government has always been negligent of the standard of the public educational sector, and ASUU has been at the forefront for wanting to revamp the decaying state of the public universities that is rapidly reducing to the current frightening state of the public secondary and primary schools.

ASUU’s strike action has always been a last-resort-necessity for the overall development of the education industry in Nigeria; particularly when the federal government has deliberately ignored other approaches.

ASUU’s conflict with the Federal government started in the 90s when the Union was established, and this is because of ASUU’s undying desire for robust learning institutions.

The strike is the language our government understands better. For example, in 1988, during IBB’s regime, despite the military threats, the union achieved its mission after they had embarked on strike.

Check the records: ASUU achieved under strike action all the major developments in the public institutions. In every public university, you will certainly come across projects funded by either TETFUND which was formerly ETF, or the NEEDS assessment program.

Both TETFUND and NEEDS came into existence under the mandates of ASUU when the federal government claimed she can’t revitalize the public universities.

As a graduate civil engineer, I’ll cite an example in my field. For instance, when a civil engineering student can’t conduct a Standard Penetration Test (SPT); one of the most basic experiments in civil engineering, just because his university doesn’t have the equipment, or it is no longer functioning.

How better do you expect this student to perform when executing a civil engineering project or interpreting the experiment result? What do you think will happen to a multi-story building when the engineer on-site doesn’t even know there’s a rebar tensile test machine used to test the strength of a steel bar to ensure it meets the desired tensile-strength requirements?

The long-term implications of the current situation ASUU is fighting are what we should always consider; that’s what sane people do.

Go to public university laboratories and workshops. Most of the equipment and machinery you will find is malfunctioning or outdated. TETFUND provided the modern ones you will find. The view of the students’ hostel is an eyesore, the government doesn’t even care, but TETFUND is trying its best to revamp the hostels.

Many lecturers have received scholarships from TETFUND to further their Master’s and PhDs programs in several reputable universities abroad. This has improved the quality of education in public universities.

It is a global phenomenon that investment in university education is a catalyst for national development. Quality education is one premier aspect needed to produce students with knowledge and skills that will boost productive research. It is disturbing to know that the level of exposure of university students in Nigeria is far below that of secondary school students in progressive countries.

UNESCO has set a standard for every country to at least allocate 25% of its yearly budget to education, but Nigeria is battling to allocate 11.86% to education. It is only ASUU that has been receiving the bullets of criticism and insults from Nigerians.

ASUU’s offense is because of her zeal to ensure the educational sector receives an adequate budget allocation.

ASUU knows that joining Integrated Payroll and Personnel information system (IPPIS) is not healthy for the educational system of the country and is highly susceptible to foreign spies.

They proposed UTAS (University Transparency and Accountability System) a locally made payment method, yet the federal government rejected it. IPPIS violates public university autonomy, but we all know the government doesn’t care about public education.

A university lecturer is entitled to at least N15,000 per project supervised for a student, but this money has never been paid, and ASUU is not even making any fuse about that because they are particularly interested in rejuvenating the education industry.

Yet, the lawmakers receive millions for sitting allowance. Resourceful projects by university students are lying wasteful in the library. The federal government hasn’t been implementing the findings made by the researchers of the university. The federal government doesn’t appreciate indigenous discoveries. The list of how the federal government has been the enemy of public education is endless.

I once had an engaging conversation with one of my lecturers, and he informed me that no professor at the university is earning up to N500,000. Yet, professor Yemi Osinbajo, a potential presidential aspirant, ridiculed himself by trying to justify the embarrassing salaries of university lecturers. It is pathetic to know that the maximum per annum salary of a university professor in Nigeria is less than six million naira.

Shehu Sani, a former senator representing Kaduna central, once revealed that a senator receives 13,500,000 million naira per month, besides N750,000 thousand monthly allowance. N13.5 million + N750 thousand = 14.250 million naira monthly. N14,250,000 × 12 months = N171,000,000 yearly.

If a professor receives roughly N500,000 monthly salary. N500,000 × 12 months = N6,000,000 yearly. If a senator is receiving one hundred and seventy-one million naira yearly, and a university professor is receiving six million naira yearly, then this shows that annually, a university professor is receiving 3.51% of a senator’s annual salary.

In other words; 171,000,000/6,000,000 = 28.5; this also means that in a year, a senator is receiving roughly twenty-nine years’ salary of a professor. Haba! Who in his right senses will justify this gross inequality? Besides, who does more work between a lecturer and a senator? But Osinbajo, who also identifies as a former university lecturer, is repugnantly trying to justify this absurdity.

It is foolery for you to say that a teacher’s reward is in heaven. Why must a teacher’s reward be in heaven? Why not here on earth, and then in heaven? Most lecturers are living in abject poverty for educating the future leaders, future CEOs, future MDs; while the people who are milking the country dry are overlooked and celebrated.

Yet, you are comfortable insulting the lecturers who stood for their rights and sacrificed their all to ensure these greedy leaders do not collapse the public universities so that your children can also be educated. By the way, who else do you expect to know their rights and stand for it religiously if not the lecturers? Yet, ASUU has always been at the receiving end of it all, and not the federal government.

We need to shift our question from why is ASUU going ok strike to why hasn’t the federal government fulfilled the agreement it reached with ASUU? How did the federal government garner sufficient funds to revitalize the National Assembly complex at an outrageous cost but doesn’t have any for the revitalization of the federal universities?

What is the logic behind building new substandard universities leaving old ones to continue deteriorating? Is educational advancement rated by the number of universities in a country or by the number of quality universities in the country?

Anioma Delta Baptist Conference Annual Session Begins Thursday, 17th February

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The Anioma Delta Baptist Conference of the Nigerian Baptist Convention, has concluded arrangements for its 8th Annual Conference in Session.

The Annual Session with the theme: Kingdom People For Kingdom Project will commence on Thursday, February 17 and end on Sunday, February 20, 2022.

New Era Baptist Church, located at number 5 New Era Avenue, by Iwezue Street, off Efiezomor Street, Boji-Boji, Owa in Ika North East Local Government Area, Delta State, is the venue for the main Conference in Session

His Eminence, Rev. Dr. Israel Adelani Akanji, President and Spiritual Leader of the Nigerian Baptist Convention is billed to declare this Year’s Annual Session open, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

His Excellency, Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, Governor, Delta State, is expected to grace the General Session of the highly spiritual event, as the Father of the State and Special Guest of Honour.

The President and Spiritual Leader of the Anioma Delta Baptist Conference, the Rev. Dr. Paul Friday Anyasi, will be Presiding over the Conference in Session, with other great Men of God, drawn from the Baptist Denomination, espousing the word of God through the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Other top Baptist clerics who will be Ministering include, the Chairman of the Anioma Delta Baptist Conference, Rev Monday Opene, Rev. Dr. Simon Peter Dogoboro from Warri and Rev. Light Ugbede.

Also ministering will be the Vice Chairman of the Anioma Delta Baptist Conference, Rev. Johnbull Atamhenwan and Rev. Dr. Dike Utih, a highly anointed Baptist Minister from Okpanam, in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State.

The four day spiritual event will also feature high praise and worship, prayer sessions, as well as spirit filled classical hymns to be rendered by the Rev. Mrs. Nkechi Ewiwilem led Special Mass Choir of the Anioma Delta Baptist Conference.

Over three thousand delegates are expected from the fifteen Baptist Associations that consist of over 140 local Baptist Churches, in the Delta North Senatorial District of Delta State.

All Organizations within the Conference including; Men’s Missionary Union, MMU, Women Missionary Union, WMU, Youth Fellowship, Deacons’ Fellowship and Pastors Fellowship, as well as Christian Education Department, have been mobilized and are set for the four day annual session, which will commence at 9am. each day.

The Conference President and Spiritual Leader, the Rev. Dr. Paul Friday Anyasi, urges members of the conference to intensify prayers as they conclude preparations for the Annual Conference in Session.

Signed:
Deacon Chijioke Williams Ugbolue
Public Relations Officer
Anioma Delta Baptist Conference.

PERSPECTIVE: OKERENKOKO, UBIMA, DAURA AND THE AMAECHI TRAGEDY

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By Oghenekaro Samuel Johnson

“I would rather a thousand times be a free soul in jail than to be a sycophant and coward in the streets” -Eugene V. Debs

On Saturday the 5th of February, 2022, barring last minute changes, the drums will be rolled out amidst ostentatious political fanfare as Rt. Hon Chibuike Amaechi, Minister of Transportation, Catholic Knight of St. John, will be turbaned by the Emir of Daura as the “Dan Amanar Daura”, meaning the “trusted son of Daura”. While Daura will regale in the pomp and pageantry concomitant with an event of that magnitude, there will be eerie silence mixed with frustration from expectation that has been murdered in both Okerenkoko, Delta State and Ubima in Rivers State. Somehow, Amaechi has managed to demonstrate, with carefree gusto and queerness that what is good for Daura is not good for Okerenkoko and Ubima.

As the Daura event hits the national airwaves, not a few Nigerians will remember with heavy heart the altercation that erupted between Rt Hon Amaechi and then Minister of State Petroleum, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, at a federal government townhall meeting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, in 2016.

Amaechi, with magisterial swagger, had summarily overruled the continued federal government investment in the Maritime University in Okerenkoko, Delta State, with impervious insensitivity on the phantom ground of “misplacement of priority, insecurity” and what he termed “humongous amount of money” that was paid by the government to acquire the land for the university.

Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, completely miffed by such brazen brashness and callous insensitivity to the people of Niger Delta by Amaechi, courageously disagreed with the Minister of Transportation, arguing that whatever reservation he might have about the processes that had gone into the Maritime University, it was wrong to throw away the baby with the bathwater. “Any facility that is located at the South-South, we should work close to developing it”, Kachikwu had posited, drawing a thunderous applause from the audience much to the chagrin of the grimacing Minister of Transportation.

For his boldness and expression of support for the development of critical educational infrastructure in the south-south geopolitical as in any other part of the country, Ibe Kachikwu was bitterly persecuted and actively blackmailed by the powerful super-minister Amaechi until the hapless man was unceremoniously pushed out of the cabinet.

Sadly, today, whatever reservation Amaechi had about Okerenkoko is a child’s play compared to the massive investment in the University of Transportation Daura and the crippling insecurity raging in that part of the country, but never has it been said by the Minister that the infrastructure should be cancelled. What is good for Daura cannot be good for Okerenkoko.

If Amaechi’s shocking attitude to Okerenkoko was disconcerting, his inexplicable about-turn on the University of Transportation Ubima, which he himself had suo moto proposed will be a study in knavish sycophancy.

The Minister of Transportation, since 2017, had been singing it like a song at the slightest opportunity in every forum that the federal government had concluded plans to build a University of Transportation in Ubima, his home town in Ikwerre LGA of Rivers State, and that the project was to be funded as part of CCECC’s Corporate Social Responsibility by investing a component of their profit from construction of railway in Nigeria.

Back home in Rivers State, Amaechi’s publicist and propagandist, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, has been inundating news outlets in his ceaseless composition of monotonous panegyrics for Amaechi, listing the proposed University of Transportation Ubima as “Amaechi’s achievement for Rivers State” in his scarcely reasonable vituperation.

Not only that, in Amaechi’s community Ubima, countless thanksgiving services have held in churches, with local women wriggling their waist in choreographed dance patterns, carrying offerings of their agricultural produce on their heads in procession to the alter to thank God for this unseen University which their illustrious son said plans had been concluded to construct in their home town.

Even on the political scene, the unseen university had been deployed as instrument of bragging right in Rivers State against the ruling party.

You can now understand why everyone was jolted when, after raising hope to Mount Olympus about University of Transportation Ubima, on one hot afternoon in October 2018, Amaechi announced that the University was now going to be constructed, not in Ubima in Rivers, but in Daura in Katsina.

And before his vuvuzelas could come out to rationalize such disheartening about-turn, perhaps, thinking that the Minister might have been handed down a superior instruction about the location of the university, Amaechi himself came out to say that the decision was not influenced by anyone, that it was his own call, uninfluenced, to take the University to Daura.

As if that was not bad enough, on the day the groundbreaking for the University of Transportation Daura was done by President Buhari, Amaechi, on live television, stood before a stunned and bewildered Nigerian audience and declared himself a sycophant.

He stated, “I have no regrets, Mr. President, siting this university where I have sited, and I repeat quickly that I was influenced by nobody, so if I am being accused of sycophancy, let me admit in advance that I am sycophantic”.

The self-declared sycophant may actually have no regrets at all, but while Amaechi has scavenged personal honours by knowingly depriving his own people the benefit of the University of Transportation Ubima which he himself, on his own accord, had promised to site in his place in exchange for a title from the Daura Emirate, disappointment will envelope his land on Saturday. And so will gloom strangle the neck of Okerenkoko and the South-South for the frustration of the maritime university by the Minister of Transportation.

Amaechi could have sited the University of Transportation in Daura, but he did not have to oppose the Maritime University in Okerenkoko. He could have moved the university to Daura even after the promise to Ubima, after all, he is only a Minister and people will understand if the President’s home town takes precedence over that of the Minister, but he did not have to brag that he was a sycophant who was influenced by no one. Therein lies the tragedy of Amaechi and his place in the history of the Niger Delta.

Bala Mohammed: Doctrine of Necessity, Heroism and National Unity

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By Emma Agu

It is only a thin line between heroism and martyrdom. Time and again, social entities look for leaders with sufficient gumption to bite the bullet on their behalf. When such leaders lose, in the process, they could become martyrs. When they succeed, they are crowned as heroes or heroines.

But between martyrdom and heroism, there is only a thin line. What perhaps distinguishes the two is that, in most cases, martyrs do not live to tell the story. But some heroes do.

The world is replete with people who suffered martyrdom in pursuit of the freedom of their people. Latin American freedom fighter Che Guevara, and the United States Human Rights activist, Rev. Martin Luther King Junior and many more, paid the supreme price in the quest for freedom. Nearer home, Nelson Mandela’s place in history was assured when he chose life in prison for the liberty of his people.

Nigeria is not devoid of great men and women who, at grave personal risk, stood up to be counted against colonialism, official highhandedness and fascism. The late Gani Fawehinmi and Bala Usman, both of blessed memory, are emblematic of a genre of patriotic Nigerians who, through relentless advocacy and public demonstrations, stood on the way of Nigeria descending into fascism as brutal military regimes foisted a reign of terror, on the people. What stands them out from the pack is the boundless altruism that underscored their actions. They were patriots who came at the nick of time.

Today, Nigeria is caught in a new crisis of confidence that calls for patriots to rise to be counted. The country sits atop a time bomb. Forces of disintegration prowl the landscape, ignoring invidious premonitions of danger, even catastrophic implosions. Atop the murky waters of pride, self-delusion and brinksmanship, the ship of state sails perilously towards the precipice. Between 1981 and 1983, as he screamed himself hoarse, a blind elite arrogantly ignored the relentless entreaties of the late Obafemi Awolowo, until the Shehu Shagari Administration was stopped in its tracks by the ‘Men on Horse Back’.

Nigeria was on the same path again in 2010 when the country sailed precariously on murky waters due to the ill-health of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Ardua. The country stood on edge, almost rudderless because a section of the political class, against reason, stood on the path of constitutionalism by blocking the incumbent Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, from taking over from an ailing President Yar’Ardua. The complex logjam had all the trappings of a religious cum ethnic and regional crisis.

Yar’Ardua, a Moslem and Fulani from the North had barely been in power for two years after succeeding President Olusegun Obasanjo, a Christian and Yoruba by tribe from the South (who was in power for eight years) when ill-heath effectively ended his Presidency.

As Yar’Ardua was moved from one hospital to the other, some powerbrokers, predominantly from the North, spewed various theories to stop Jonathan, a Christian from the South, from succeeding the ailing president. Thus, the stage was set for high stake political drama, one which outcome was clearly unpredictable. What was clear was the unwillingness of most Northerners to stake their heads against opposition to Jonathan.

Surprisingly, as hope receded, from unusual quarters rose a patriot, a man of straw, a constitutionalist and statesman who, defying every odd, led a group of compatriots in defence of the Constitution. Contextually, this harbinger of piece, stood out from others, for four significant reasons:

First, he was a Moslem. Second, he was of the Hausa-Fulani political stock. Third, he was from the North. Fourth, he was of the minority All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) that was led at the time by Muhammadu Buhari, who maintained a principled distance from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that controlled a majority in both chambers of the National Assembly.

To those who want to know the implication of the above four considerations, here is a simple response. The promoter of that bulwark of defence of the Constitution, the patriot who led his compatriots to roll back the Armada of conceit against the Constitution, had simply offered his head at the guillotine of Nigeria’s chequered politics. He was on his way to political martyrdom. His head could have been chopped off from Nigeria’s body politics forever. Luckily, he survived and for a country that does not have a great reputation for recognising heroes, his celebration may yet be deferred. Just for a short period.

That man, the mover of the Doctrine of Necessity Motion, that paved the way for Goodluck Jonathan, the unassuming scholar from the Niger Delta, to break the glass ceiling of Nigeria’s tripodal political monopoly, was Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, who is today the Executive Governor of Bauchi State where, the mantra of his Administration is inclusive Government. Through astute diversity management, Bala Mohammed, a doyen of the civil service, a seasoned technocrat, an unrepentant constitutionalist, a compassionate manager of men and an astute politician, has welded disparate emotional strata of Bauchi State into a united front that is preoccupied with the breath-taking infrastructural projects that have received the commendation of eminent Nigerians such as former President Goodluck Jonathan, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former President of the Senate David Mark, APC Leader Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu and a host of others too numerous to mention.

The fact that there is a groundswell of support for Bala Mohammed’s second term among both Muslim and Christian religious groups in Bauchi State, all in a bid to thwart speculations that he is nursing a presidential ambition, is ample evidence of his diversity management credentials, in a state that was previously characterised by inter-group suspicion, fuelled by elite insensitivity.

It is also to Bala Mohammed’s credit that, before Bauchi, he had set a record in diversity management, as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) between 2010 and 2015. Groups fell over each other with awards for him, all in recognition of the inclusive nature of his administration. He was able to achieve unprecedented stakeholder buy-in because he ensured that the FCT represented Nigeria in word and in deed. Uppermost in his management credo, at the time, was an unwavering commitment to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

By his antecedents, so far, Bala Mohammed has demonstrated that he is, at, once a true Moslem, a proud Northerner a patriotic Nigerian, a humanist, a bridge builder and an avowed Constitutionalist. He has also maintained the position that a conference of Nigeria’s constituent nationalities had become imperative to resolve the sore points that threaten the country’s fragile unity and stability. It is this pragmatism that throws Bala Mohammed up as, perhaps, the prospective elixir to the deep-seated political and socio-economic malaise presently ravaging Nigeria.

He possesses the genuine disposition, sacrificial spirit and political will, to repress the DNA of parochialism that is the root cause of Nigeria’s political woes.

More than ever before, if anybody is in a position to damn sectional Czars and re-enact the 2010 constitutional feat, that saved Nigeria from self-destructing, Bala Mohammed can be trusted to provide that leadership.

Will he get the chance? That is the Zillion Naira question which answer depends on many factors. From what I know about him, Bala Mohmmed’s eventual response to the several endorsements he has received will depend on the way, the raging debate over what part of should produce the President is resolved. Besides, his party parades a crowd of highly qualified candidates such as former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim, renowned pharmacist and quintessential industrialist Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa and Governor Aminu Tambuwal, not to mention Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a statesman for whom Bala Mohammed has the highest respect. It is a mark of that respect that informed Bala Mohammed’s decision to invite the former Vice President to commission a major road project in Bauchi State, to mark his (Atiku’s) 73rd birthday, a day that was almost treated as a public holiday in Bauchi State.

It is within the above context that Bala Mohammed’s much touted call on the former vice president to step than for younger elements should be seen and understood. What needs to be added is that Bala Mohammed, by birth and training, revers age, tradition and achievement. He is passionate about seniors, particularly ex-servicemen and women whose patriotic services form the anvil on which the unity and progress of the country revolve. If, in the end Bala Mohammed runs for President, it will be because of his belief that the labours of our heroes past shall never be in vain and that, just as our forefathers preserved this great nation for us, his (Bala) generation has a moral duty to prioritize the legitimate demand of the millennials, for a just, fair, inclusive and prosperous society.

Edevbie will make a huge difference in Delta – Olori

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David Edevbie

Renowned industrialist and one of the oldest leading employers of labour from the days of Midwest/Bendel State, Olorogun Morrison Olori, has assured Deltans that the frontline aspirant for the Governorship of Delta State, Olorogun David Edevbie, will make a massive difference in the development and growth of the state when elected.

Chief Olori gave the assurance in Ughelli on Monday when Edevbie took time off his consultation schedule to felicitate with the octogenarian on the occasion of his 83rd birthday anniversary.

The seasoned investor in various sectors, ranging from breweries, mining, automobile to real estate, said with his experience in business, he recognises Edevbie’s capability to drive the economy of Delta State into a glorious era.

“There is a difference between education and knowledge, but Edevbie has both the education and the knowledge.

“I am confident and can assure Deltans that he will make a huge difference in the economy of the state as Governor.”

David Edevbie, three-time Commissioner of Finance, former Principal Secretary to President Umaru Yar’adua and immediate past Chief of Staff to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, is widely acknowledged by Deltans for his professional competence, private sector expertise in development finance and management both locally and internationally, his high education and his proven experience in public service both at the state and national levels.

Chief Olori, the Obaseki of Ughelli, is reputed for his ownership of Sparkling Breweries, producers of Sparkling Lager beer and Olo soft drinks, Olori Motors, Olori Estates and First Delta Mining Company, with which he provided thousands of jobs for the people.

The sad tale of Abba Kyari and drug dealing

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By Ugo Egbujo

The sad tale of Abba Kyari and drug dealing

Let me break it down.

Abba Kyari called an NDLEA officer on 21 Jan 22.

The man missed the call and returned it.

Abba wanted a private meeting after Jumat that day.

After Jumat they met at a rendezvous

Abba said his boys had arrested a drug dealer who came in from Brazil with 25kg cocaine. Abba’s went from Abuja to Engu to pick their man.

Now this is the deal

Abba and his boys have taken out 15kg from the seizure and replaced it with dummy packages.

The Police boys took 8Kg. The informant, another drug dealer, took 7Kg.

1Kg= 7 million naira

The suspects are with Abba’s boys in the IRT cell

Abba’s boys will have to hand over the suspects to the NDLEA and clean up their tracks.

But drugs suspects always keep their eyes on the seized cocaine.

They will tell the NDLEA the real weight, and often seek to repurchase them through the back

If the NDLEA detects the dummy, then Abba’s boys are in boiling soup.

So Abba proposed to sell 5KG for the NDLEA so that the NDLEA will get only 5KG of real cocaine and 20KG of dummy as seizure

Upon take over of the suspects, the NDLEA will carry out an arranged testing of some of the packages in front of the suspects. Abba’s boys had marked the real cocaine packages. so therandom sampling will be arranged sampling. That way the arrested drug dealers wont know about the deal.

The officer briefed his bosses. They asked him to play along.

Abba proposed to send his brother to drop the cash value of 5KG ie 35M in dollars. The officer refused.

Abba turned up with cash at secret rendevous. Officer insisted on picking it in his car. Car was alreday wired.

After reviewing tape the NDLEA summoned Abba.

Abba has been nowhere

All these happened between January 21 and last weekend

The rot in the police is deep. This might consume the IRT

Sad.

Kudos to the NDLEA.

That officer deserves a national honour

NOA COMMITTED TO INSTILL SENSE OF PATRIOTISM, LOYALTY AMONG NIGERIANS

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NOA logo

The State Director, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Jigawa State, Malam Shu’aibu Haruna has said that the Agency would not relent in its efforts to instill sense of patriotism, self-discipline dedictation and loyalty to the father land among the citizens.

 

Haruna stated this in the side line of the 2022 Valentine’s Day celebration which the Agency has leveraged upon to promote love for Nigeria in a program titled “Fall in Love with Nigeria: My Role in Making Nigeria of My Dream” in Kazaure on Monday 14th February, 2022.

NOA logo

Highlight of the event was the presentation of award to Government Junior Secondary School, Kanti, Kazaure which emerged as the Jigawa State winner of the maiden edition of Integrity Club competition organized by NOA to further enlist young Nigerians in the fight against corruption and other social ills as well as rejuvenate our lost values of honesty, patriotism, self-discipline as a nation.

 

Stakeholders from the State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Local Education Authority, SBMC committee etc. commended #NOA for the laudable initiative that is anchored on achieving a better Nigeria.

Tinubu: Shaka Momodu’s Jaundiced Viewpoint

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By Tunde Rahman

Shaka Momodu again last Friday walked the path of the inflamed mercenary with the verbal ooze he dared to call a journalistic article. Shaka seems troubled on all sides by ghosts and ghouls, which he claims show the evil spirit of others. In reality, these troubling spirits are solely internal to him. He is obsessed with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to an unnatural degree. Such obsession is usually the by-product of unrequited admiration turned into resentment and evil imagining. Poor Shaka, he blabbered almost every insult known to man and not a dent was made by all of his exertions. Shaka, the stones you wanted to throw were too big for your petty hands. Try as you might, it was inevitable that you would not reach your target. All you did was crush your own feet. Yours was but the desperate heave of a mind shattered by hate and envy.

The things that you wrote show that you have abandoned all pretence at journalism. You are hurt to the quick by the achievements and status of Asiwaju Tinubu. In reality, you are the newspaper equivalent of a stalker. You probably have a picture of Tinubu on your ceiling above your bed so that his is the last face you see before entering the nocturnal realm of Morpheus. You probably have his picture on your favourite Egusi soup bowl so that you see him every time you dine.
What you have written is beyond propaganda. As you have done in the past, you have engaged in slander. You are so angry that you must have demolished several keyboards pounding out your torrent of hatred. Yet, in the end, what you wrote says more about your state of mind than it will ever say about Tinubu. Yours was but a desperate heave by a desperate soul.

It is obvious why you wrote the two-page ugliness when you did. You and the shadowy masters behind you were sent aghast and placed on your heels by the show of genuine support and respect accorded Tinubu on his birthday, and particularly exhibited at the colloquium bearing his name. Your masters fear that this same support and respect would follow him even more if he decided to announce his candidacy for president. You all were agitated by fear because you well know that neither you nor the political operative whose bidding you perform can ever attract such attention.

While Tinubu’s presidential candidacy is unannounced and a subject of ample speculation, one thing is beyond speculation: that is if you should announce a colloquium in your name and advertise it non-stop for ten long years, you would have but two attendants in the end- you and the ghouls that inhabit your mind. Thus, you must disparage Tinubu for doing yearly what you can never come close to in an entire lifetime of unanswered cravings.
Through your piece, you danced long if not very well for your masters. Although a clumsy and and over the top effort, no one can fault your expenditure of energy. You truly wasted yourself. Shaka, you accuse Asiwaju of “overbearing influence and corruption”. You focus your venom on Alpha Beta, a firm engaged in tax consultancy with the Lagos State Government, based on allegations made by its erstwhile and discredited Managing Director, Mr. Dapo Apara. The firm is engaged in a legitimate business with the Lagos State Government. Its work has brought tremendous benefit to the state and its people.

By increasing IGR, the firm has helped increase the state budget, enabling it to engage in programmes and projects vital to development that otherwise would not have been done. Shaka, why do you leave out this part? Despite the unprecedented length of your writing, you also left out that Alpha Beta also has other states and international clients, engaging them on the same basis by which they have contracted with Lagos. Guess those ghosts and goblins in his mind kept my dear Shaka from writing the truth.

Also, they seem to have convinced Shaka from revealing that there are petitions against Mr. Apara and that those petitions are more convincing and evidence-based than his claims. The company books have been audited and the books have been deemed in order. No wrongdoing has been found on the part of Tinubu in the matter because no wrongdoing has been committed. All this shows that Shaka has downgraded himself from being at least a semblance of a journalist to being an unabashed merchant of lying gossip. If Momodu is so confident that Apara is right, then Momodu should write an equally long piece convincing the fugitive Apara to return to testify and to withstand the testimony against him. No, he rather believes Apara argues this from afar because he is afraid the conclusion will not match his narrative.

Only recently, the founding EFCC Chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, asserted that Obasanjo tried to clamp Tinubu but to no avail. According to Ribadu, “One state we investigated most during my tenure as EFCC Chairman is Lagos. We sent information to all our allies in the Metropolitan Police, the FBI, etc. I remember I told the National Assembly when EFCC could not get any wrong about Tinubu in Lagos. I said we must wait for the international community because they were also doing their own investigation. We were all waiting to expose Lagos corruption but even the international community didn’t indict him; they found nothing. That is why Lagos under Tinubu was the only state EFCC didn’t charge to court.” Momodu, I guess the demons in your eyes rendered you blind to the Ribadu statement!

Shaka shamelessly brings Asiwaju’s son Seyi into the picture, claiming that Seyi should not have a successful advertising business. First, Shaka overinflated Seyi’s position among the outdoor advertisers in Lagos State. He does not have a dominant or even the leading position. Yet, Shaka bears down on the young man for wanting to make a place for himself. It is crazy to chastise the boy for wanting to be successful. Guess Shaka would be elated if he were a failure. However, if the boy failed or merely sat at home, Shaka would lambast Tinubu for having a spoiled, indolent offspring.
Second, Shaka claims Tinubu should be prevented from running for the presidency because of his role in the election of President Muhammadu Buhari. Shaka’s illogic on this point is audacious even for him. Yes, I admit we have stiff challenges. Despite the problems, a lot has been done diversifying the economy especially revitalising agriculture, completing important infrastructural projects abandoned under the PDP, investing into social programmes like N-power, Tradermoni, Marketmoni, etc to help the most vulnerable segments of our society. The Buhari government has worked hard to improve life in the world of complex reality. This is more than can be said of the crazed scribe Shaka who has immersed himself in the waters of unrestrained fiction.

In addition to the fictional nature of his assertions, Shaka’s position has outrageous implications. By his logic against Tinubu, then the people who voted for Buhari should also not be allowed to vote in future elections as well. Shaka does not want democracy. All he wants is to have his own way. Yet he levels criticism at those who work within the democratic context. Shaka is a full-fledged hypocrite.

Whether he likes it or not, Lagos stands as a success story. The foundation for that success were the Tinubu years. The cabinet Tinubu formed constituted many of the best and brightest of the state. They planned well. Worked hard, Accomplished much. Tinubu’s cabinet was a composite of knowledge and competence from across the country. This inclusive tradition continues. Today, an Arewa, Alhaji Kabiru Ahmed, is the Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development while Sam Egube from Delta is the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget.

There is even a more appalling part of Momodu’s gibberish. This rented pen, this writer for easy hire, levies personal attacks about Tinubu’s mental acumen. Such is the case with a dwarf telling a tall man he is too short simply because the tall man cannot reach to the clouds. Asiwaju has proven himself again and again to be a person of deep intellect, Whether it is his track record as governor or national leader of the party or whether through his many public statements ranging from economic policy to the herder crisis, Tinubu has shown remarkable vision and insight regarding the matters of the day. Most of his ideas are far beyond Shaka’s myopia. Even if Shaka could manage a constructive idea, rest assured that Tinubu would have more original thought of a better version of it.

Tinubu seeks the greatness of an entire nation. Shaka just wants to be a great journalistic hack. Never the twain shall meet.
We should thank God for that.

SAD NEWS: One-year-old Pupil Who Received 31 Strokes Of Cane Dies

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News View
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A one year seven months old baby simply identified as Obinna has reportedly died after falling into coma resulting from 31 strokes of cane he received from his school’s owner, Mrs Ogbo, and her son.

The sad incident was made known by Ebenezer Omejalile, Chief Operating Officer of Advocates for Children and Vulnerable People’s Network, a human rights group.

A pupil of Arise and Shine Nursery and Primary School, Asaba, behind Ibori Golf Club Delta State, was given 31 strokes of cane for playing with water and getting wet.

The mother of the victim had said that the act was perpetrated by the school owner and her son, who tied the hands and legs of the baby before flogging him into coma.

The woman and her son, who were initially in police custody but released due to agreement with the victim’s family, have been rearrested on Saturday after the baby died.

Victor Kelechi Reports!

Chris Onwugbolu yes it is truth …the name of the Woman who flogged the child is Mrs Ogbo she is from Oraifite in Anambra State and husband from Akwukwu-Igbo in Delta state

She has been arrested as we speak.

 

Culled from Sebastian Ikpoza’s Facebook comment

OPINION: You can’t blame PDP for not zoning the Presidency to South. PDP currently lacks a “southern material” with NATIONAL APPEAL.

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News View
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By Kenny Oduwale

Despite his relative rich legacy in Anambra state, Peter Obi they could have considered in using from South-east for perfect rotation amongst the 3 major ethnic groups of Nigeria has one of the WORST histories of FULANOPHOBIA, NORTHERNOPHOBIA, ISLAMOPHOBIA & YORUBAPHOBIA (remembering that his campaign of ethno-religous bigotry against Ngige of APC when the latter had in his campaign tour El-Rufai and Fashola during 2013 Anambra guber poll eventually won by Willie Obiano of APGA).

Any attempt to alternatively zone that Presidency to Southwest would be a big slap on the Igbos who have invested so much electorally in PDP for 23 years now.

Hence, to address this dilemma and to win power at all costs, PDP MUST zone the presidency to the north.

As for the APC, given the OWN GOAL scored by Oshinbajo by insulting the “religious/cultural sensitivity and sensibility” of the core northern folk recently, they should not even bother allowing him to contest for primary talkless of presenting him as flagbearer.

OSHINBAJO can NEVER win given the current political mood against him in core northern grassroots. This might sound painful to his supporters. But it is the pure truth. They all know this. But they are pretending not to know.

The only two candidates sellable by the APC from southern Nigeria now to appeal to and appease the INSULTED religious sensibility of the northern folk (who constitute %65 of the voting demography) now is TINUBU or FASHOLA. Anybody other than these two for now from the south will be a big loss to the APC.

As for me I don’t like FASHOLA. He looks more like an ELITIST to me given the way he was always defending the “profiteering & fraudulent DISCOS” against Nigeria electricity consumers when he was performing dual responsibility as Minister of Power and Work from 2015 to 2019.

However, I developed slight soft spot for TINUBU recently when I enjoyed one of his free health legacies via my wife who was catered for FREE OF CHARGE at Accident & Mergency section of General hospital Igando Lagos (not even minding she is Igbo) last year when she suddenly lost consciousness on her way to work. Since that day, despite his MACCAVELLIAN political style, JAGABAN comes as my first choice amongst the money-bag aspirants. I will aggressively campaign for him if he can choose Professor Engr. Babagana Umara Zulum, FNSE, Mni as his running mate as we count down to 2023 Presidential election.

Jumat Mubarak fellow Nigerians!!!

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