Argentines singing with great gusto!

Hm! Really, Soyinka With all the daily threats to do so? But the counsel of God for Nigeria will stand.

superted87: Let's see some Pictures

Superted87 send me your email address

Happy New Year, All NLanders!!!

My earnest hope and prayer for this forum this year is that there will be so much less tribalism in threads and posts. Let's tackle matters as objectively as possible, and let's celebrate our heritage as Nigerians.

Congratulations!

Any one who has plied the Lagos-East route should please enlighten the house on state of traffic particularly on the Benin-Onitsha expressway.

Thanks,

Thanks a lot, but none of the phones gives the option of delete on hand held only.

Pictures on the way, but please guys, note that this isn't a sales advert per se. This is a call for agents interested in handling the transaction.

♥Dεs•Chγκσ♥:
Save them as drafts or so.

I don't understand.

Tastefully finished, fenced-in modern apartments in a developed neighborhood close to the beach, with Governor's Consent. Please call 08129833987 if you're a competent agent interested in handling this sale.

Thanks

My people, please help me out with this dilemma. I use a Nokia N8 and a Techno M5, and I have my emails linked to both phones. Previously, I could delete a read mail from my phone without losing it from my Yahoo inbox, but now I've found out that whenever ai delete from my N8 phone Yahoomail app, I also lose the email totally from my Yahoo inbox even when I log in online. The Techno M5 also does the same.

Does this have to do with the phone settings or what? How can I avoid this, cos this has made me to leave emails with bulky attachments, which end up clogging my phone memory.

Geeks and experts in the house, please respond, thanks.

Five months after the earthquake that saw all its title editors replaced in one fell swoop on July 1, Nigeria’s leading tabloid The Sun has completed the circle by effecting a change in management. This was announced in a statement published this morning in the paper. The statement reads thus:

The Board of Directors of The Sun Publishing Limited has approved new appointments and promotions to further reinforce the position of the newspaper as the market leader, and the number one choice of readers and advertisers.

At its end-of-year meeting held in Lagos yesterday, erstwhile Deputy Managing Director/Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the company, Mr. Femi Adesina, was elevated to the position of the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief. The appointment takes immediate effect.

Adesina succeeds Mr. Tony Onyima, who retired yesterday after completing a 12-year stretch in executive management position, first as Executive Director (Operations) for eight years, and then as Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief for four years. Onyima remains on the board in non-executive capacity.

Also appointed are Mrs. Ethel Nmezi, Deputy Managing Director, and Mr. Eric Osagie, Executive Director, Publications.

Mr. Shola Oshunkeye, till now, a General Editor, moves to Ghana as Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Sun, Ghana, billed to take off soon.

Other new appointments include Mr. Damola Lajumoke, General Manager, Sales and Operations, Mr. Obioma Ogukwe, General Manager, Finance, Mrs. Neta Nwosu, General Manager, Corporate Services, and Mrs. Ogechi Uche, General Manager, Human Resource.

Paying tribute to the outgoing MD/EIC, Chairman of the board, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, said Onyima had contributed immensely to the growth of the company, right from inception in 2002. He wished him greater successes ahead, and urged him to further make available his wealth of experience as a member of the board.

Adesina, who is also current president, Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), joined The Sun Publishing Limited at inception in 2002 as Associate Editor, and became the pioneer editor of the daily newspaper in June, 2003. He held the position for five years, winning several laurels, including Editor of the Year in 2006, given by the Nigerian Media Merit Award (NMMA).

In 2008, he became the Executive Director (Publications) and Deputy Managing Director/Deputy Editor-in-Chief in 2010.

Mrs. Nmezi, former Executive Director, Finance and Administration, becomes the Deputy Managing Director. She joined The Sun in 2003 as Chief Accountant. In 2008, she was promoted Finance Controller, and became Executive Director, Finance and Administration in 2010. She is a chartered accountant.

Mr. Eric Osagie joined The Sun in 2002 as Editor (Abuja) and later got promoted as Editor, Northern Operations.

In 2008, he was appointed Special Adviser, Public Affairs and Strategy, to Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, and returned to The Sun the following year as Managing Editor. In 2010, he became Executive Director, Special Services.

Osagie has had rich editorial background at Concord Press, ThisDay, and National Interest.

Mr. Oshunkeye, General Editor, has worked at Concord Press, where he rose to be editor, Weekend Concord, Tell magazine as Senior Associate Editor, and he joined The Sun in 2005. He was CNN African Journalist of the Year 2006. He also won Nigerian Media Merit Award Newspaper Reporter of the Year in 1996. He is an alumnus of the US State Department’s International Visitors Leadership Programme, 2006. He proceeds to Ghana as Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Sun Publishing (Ghana) Limited.

Mr. ‘Lajumoke is a graduate of Business Administration from the University of Lagos. He joined The Sun as Circulation Manager in 2002. He is an Associate member of Nigerian Institute of Management.

Mr. Ogukwe is a graduate of Accountancy from the Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu. He joined The Sun Publishing Limited in 2005 as Accountant, with over 15 years work experience. He is an Associate of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria.

Mrs. Nwosu has B.Sc in Zoology with over 20 years experience in Media and Advertising. She joined The Sun Publishing Limited in 2002 as the pioneer Business Development Manager, and was later moved to Corporate Services as Assistant General Manager. She is a member of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON).

Mrs. Uche, the new GM, Human Resource, joined The Sun Publishing Limited in 2003 as Assistant Manager, Human Resource, from where she rose to the position of Human Resource Manager in 2008. She has a B.Sc in Political Science and MBA in Management from the University of Nigeria, Nzukka.

She is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management and a member of Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered).


http://www.newsexpressngr.com/news/detail.php?news=3791&title=SUN-sweeps-out-MD/Editor-in-Chief-•Tony-Onyima-out,-Femi-Adesina-in-•Extends-tentacles-to-Ghana-with-The-Sun-Ghana&scid=46

Sequel to the irregular academic calendar and alleged inadequate facilities, Nigerian parents send their children overseas for tertiary education. The idea is that these schools have state-of-the-art amenities and their graduates are world-class. However, after a 10-day tour of some Ghanaian universities, TEMITAYO FAMUTIMI reports the conditions under which Nigerian students study in this West African country

Welcome to Accra Institute of Technology, a one-block Ghanaian tertiary institution offering first degrees as well as post-graduate degrees up to the doctoral level.

AIT, which prides itself as being modelled after internationally-recognised institutes of technology such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and California Institute of Technology, both in the United States of America, occupies an uncompleted, rented one-block building on the premises of the Civil Service Training Centre of the Ghanaian government.

The institute, with a university status as certified by the National Accreditation Board, which is an agency of Ghanaian Ministry of Education, is boxed in the far end of the compound which also houses Ghana’s Government Secretarial School, as well as a Learning and Development Centre. AIT pays its rent to the Ghanaian government.

Interestingly, over 60 per cent of the students in this institution are Nigerians. Out of an estimated 2,000 students pursuing various degree programmes, the institution’s registrar, Mr. Dominic Osei-Boakye, who spoke with our correspondent in his three-by-four-feet cubicle office, says over 1,200 of its student population are Nigerians. He adds that 15 per cent of the students are from Francophone African countries, while the remaining 25 per cent are Ghanaians.

Shameful facilities

To accommodate students for the purpose of lectures and other academic activities, the AIT authorities have had to construct fabricated metal containers instead of properly built lecture rooms. In fact, when our correspondent visited the school, some students were seen studying on the deck of the structure housing the institution.

Investigation shows that most of these foreign students have either been denied admission into the universities back at home or — in the case of Nigerians — the majority are those that have been frustrated by the incessant strikes usually embarked upon by members of the Academic Staff of Union of Universities. And, as usual with foreign students in overseas institutions, they pay in American dollars.

At the AIT, the school fees range between $1,300 and $1,510 per semester, excluding feeding, accommodation and procurement of academic materials.

Sources at the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana told our correspondent that the Nigerian High Commissioner to the country, Amb. Ademola Onafowokan, was utterly disappointed during his visit to AIT when he had to address Nigerian students in their hundreds under a tree.

One of the sources who confided in this correspondent said Onafowokan had chosen the school for the visitation owing to the sheer number of Nigerian students reported to be studying there.

“The situation whereby Nigerians flood universities that can best be described as mushroom institutions of learning is very pathetic and worrisome. His Excellency, the Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana, Amb. Ademola Onafowokan, had his fair share of this experience during his tour of universities with significant number of Nigerian population.

“At AIT, which is a one-block institution, he (Onafowokan) addressed the students under a tree. You can go there and see things for yourself and witness, first-hand, the environment and the condition in which our compatriots learn,” a top diplomat in the High Commission who craved anonymity laments.

Study centres, shallow standards

Duly registered tertiary institutions of learning in the standing of AIT, with no clear-cut standard infrastructure and basic facilities, are scattered across the length and breadth of Ghana. Apart from AIT, other institutions operating from a one-block structure includes the Sikkim Manipal University, Accra campus; Radford University College, Accra; and Mahatma Gandhi University, Accra campus.

While Sikkim Manipal University is operated by KnowledgeWorkz Limited, the supposed “authorised learning centre” for the Accra and Kumsai campuses, Paramount Academy for Career Excellence boasts being the “authorised study centre” for the Mahatma Gandhi University in Ghana.

The rigorous procedure of gaining admission into Nigerian universities, especially the publicly-owned ivory towers, hardly applies here; and this has made these so-called affiliate institutions attractive to many Nigerian students and their parents.

Investigations reveal that the processes involved in securing admission into these quasi universities are rather too easy for comfort, because they only require the candidate to have a good Senior School Certificate Examination result. This is in sharp contrast to Nigeria where, in addition to scoring at least six credits in the SSCE, candidates are also required to write and pass the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination as well as the Post-UTME of their individual institutions of choice.

Ghana’s public varsities

As for public universities in Ghana, they are widely acclaimed as great citadels of learning, with stable academic calendars, unlike their Nigerian counterparts where lecturers sometimes go on strikes for months at a stretch, disrupting academic calendars and making higher education a bore to most students. Anyway, the lecturers in Nigeria usually do so on principles and with the intention to get the system standardised.

Investigations show that securing admission into any of the nine universities is highly competitive, as a prospective candidate must present his academic transcripts from his home university, the original WASSCE result, while he also has to sit for an internal examination relevant to the intended course, the overall result of which will determine whether or not he will be offered admission.

The institutions are the University of Ghana, Legon; Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi; University of Cape Coast; University of Education, Winnieba; University for Development Studies, Tamale.

Others are the University of Energy and Natural Resources, Ahafo; University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa; University of Professional Studies, Legon; and the more recently established University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, in the Volta Region. All of these tertiary institutions have standard facilities and structures.

High varsity fees

As stated earlier, Nigerian candidates seeking a spot in Ghanaian government-owned universities are not only required to have very good grades in their Senior School Certificate Examinations, as international students, they also pay very high tuition fees, compared to domestic students.

The university fees are higher than those charged by the study centres, and they include fees for accommodation (excluding feeding) which range between $6,000 and $8,000 per session.

Foreign students studying medicine pay more, as their tuition is sometimes as much as $18,000 per academic session. Again, excluding feeding and other incidentals.

Lone private varsity

Nigeria currently has 34 private universities, many of which have graduated several thousands of students; and there are plans to found more; while the Federal Government also established six more universities, scattered across the country a few years ago. This is unlike what obtains in Ghana which has a lone private varsity with the power of full autonomy.

Indeed, out of the over 50 private universities certified by the Ghanaian government, only one of them is a full-fledged institution chartered to award degrees — the Valley View University, belonging to the Seventh Day Adventist. Situated on Accra-Dodowa Road, near Oyibi in the Greater Accra Region, VVU awards degrees on its own, without recourse to any government-owned or foreign university.

This is contrary to what obtains in the so-called affiliate Ghanaian universities that issue certificates in the name of their mentor universities. The same thing applies to the study centres and satellite campuses, which also depend on the foreign institutions they are affiliated to for all their academic needs.

While statistics from the Nigerian High Commission puts the number of Nigerians studying in Ghanaian universities at over 110,000, local media report that Nigerians in Ghana’s public universities are a little above 2,000. This probably means that the majority of Nigerian students are spread across various Ghanaian institutions that are affiliates, study/learning centres or satellite campuses, with the exception of VVU.

While various countries have had cause to confront the menace of unapproved or unlicensed universities, the state of affairs in many accredited tertiary institutions in Ghana leave much to be desired.

Scandalous structures

From uncompleted buildings, one-block apartments to two-storey structures, many of the accredited private universities in Ghana appear to be mere money-making ventures for their owners. More worrisome is the fact that in many of the universities visited by our correspondent, Nigerians form the bulk of their student population, while they also top the nationality of guests at their admissions offices.

Sikkim Manipal University, Ghana, a licensed university operating as a “learning centre” under the auspices of Sikkim Manipal University, India, is sited in the seven-storey Abena Ateaa Towers in the Ghanaian capital’s Ring Road Central.

The Abena Ateaa Towers also houses the Nigerian-owned Access Bank, as well as the NIIT.

This single-structure institution can be likened to a Nigerian university away from home, considering the huge number of Nigerians there.

And though the university authorities kept sealed lips on the exact number of Nigerian students in the school, independent investigations by our correspondent revealed that over 90 per cent of its students are Nigerians.

In one of the offices, assorted statements of result of the final examination of the National Board of Technical Education, as well as those of the National Examinations Council, littered the table of the admissions counsellors as well as that of the institution’s assistant registrar in charge of admissions.

As nationalistic as they can be, when the news of President Goodluck Jonathan’s illness during his recent London visit filtered in, all the 13 Nigerian students seated on one of the corridors of the school engaged in heated conversation that later digressed into a PDP/APC argument.

‘All the tribes are here’

When our correspondent sought to confirm their nationalities, one of them replies, “Guy, you dey funny oh. Seems you are new here. Na we full here. There is no tribe you are looking for that you won’t find here.”

The young man who hails from Imo State adds, “The population of Nigerians here is over 90 per cent of the entire student number.”

They revealed that their school operates what they describe as “a very flexible schedule,” such that admission is on a continuous basis, and the exercise goes on until one month to the examination period.

Three years for B.A, B.Sc

One of them said, “For first degree programmes, we spend only six academic semesters which add up to three years. Chop-chop, you are done with school, rather than putting your academic life in the hands of some lecturers and greedy politicians who care less about your future.”

Again, this is different from what obtains in Nigeria where an undergraduate who is admitted straight from the secondary school spends four years for a Bachelor’s degree; while those who secure direct entry spend three years. For this latter category of candidates, they have passed through a polytechnic, monotechnic or college of education; and they are usually holders of the National Diploma or the National Certificate of Education.

Nigeria’s loss, Ghana’s gain

Although privately-funded universities such as the Wisconsin International University College, Accra; and All Nations University College, Koforidua in the Eastern Region have huge Nigerian student population, the Ghana campuses of Sikkim Manipal University based in India appears to have profited the most from the five-month ASUU strike.

The ease of securing admission into SMU, which is run by KnowledgeWorkz Limited, a learning centre, coupled with the three-year duration for all its first degree programmes, has attracted Nigerians to the institution.

Many Nigerian students in SMU who spoke with this correspondent said they were happy studying in the school. Twenty-six-year-old Haruna Umar was, until November 11, a first-year student of the Department of Statistics, Uthman Danfodio University, Sokoto.

When ASUU’s strike seemed to go on without any end in sight, Umar shifted base to Ghana and enrolled in SMU where, alongside several hundreds of other Nigerians, he is pursuing an undergraduate degree. Since his new institution does not offer Statistics, however, Umar said he had gladly settled for Information Technology.

“I finished senior secondary school in 2011 and I had to wait till 2013 before securing admission into Uthman Danfodio University. After wasting two years of my life, ASUU again embarked on strike. It is so pathetic. I had no other choice than to seek university education elsewhere and that was what brought me here,” Umar, whose elder sister pays his tuition, declares.

Umar, like his colleagues, have had to choose between the morning, afternoon and evening sessions to pursue his degree programme in the institution due to space constraints occasioned by the student population. Each of the session takes two hours and Umar, a fresh student, says he has settled for the morning session.

Enrolment before basic qualification

Apart from the undergraduate programmes that these universities offer, the majority of them also run certificate and diploma programmes for foreign students.

Findings by this correspondent reveal that a good number of these private institutions also admit Nigerian students with deficiencies in their SSCE for undergraduate programmes. However, such students are expected to make up for the deficiencies within a stipulated time, such that their credentials will then be attached to their files at the later date.

The implication of this is that in real terms, students jump academic procedures by commencing degree programmes when they have yet to fulfil basic requirements. Experts say this is never the case in the stiffly competitive Nigerian university system.

The schools’ authorities say the admissions of those who fail to make up for such Ordinary Levels deficiencies within the stipulated period are terminated.

Curious diploma award

As for those who fail to meet academic standards as undergraduates, they still go home with something — the institutions award them diplomas stating the number of courses they had passed.

It is doubtful, though, that they can use these diploma certificates to secure admission or jobs in real world.

Indeed, a woman who works with the Ghana Christian University College’s Institutional Advancement Office sheds more light on this curious diploma award. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, she said, “All hope is not lost for candidates who have one or two deficiencies in their Senior School Certificate Examination, as they have the opportunity of being admitted.”

The GCUC has 62 foreign students, 52 out of which are Nigerians. The arrangements are in place for all categories of students, irrespective of nationality.

Obviously, the GCUC doubles as a pre-varsity centre — the type that litters many Nigerian cities, preparing students for university admission by helping them to beef up their ‘O’ Levels results prior to admission into universities. The Nigerian outlets don’t award diplomas, as all they do is to teach the students so that when next they write the SSCE, they can secure enough credits for varsity admission.

The official adds anonymously, “While they get admitted and take courses to pursue a degree of their choice, they are also given special coaching on the (‘O’ Levels) subjects they have deficiencies in to enable them to do well during the next examination. More often than not, the majority of such students pass those subjects due to the quality of learning they are exposed to.

“But in the event that such students do not pass the SSCE subjects at the stipulated time, they will cease to be students of the school, while a certificate will be issued to them based on their area of specialisation.”

Exporting cultism from Nigeria to Ghana

Some Ghanaians hold the opinion that the influx of Nigerians in the country had shot up the increasing cases of cultism in their tertiary institutions. This notion was given weight as the Nigerian High Commissioner, Amb. Onafowokan, explains that it is true that some Nigerian students “are trying to introduce cultism” to Ghanaian universities.

He, however, says although there are some bad eggs, Ghanaians should not generalise and brand Nigerian students as either cultists or criminals. He warns that the Nigerian mission to Ghana will not hesitate to expose anyone convicted of engaging in cultism.

“When I was at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Technology, the vice-chancellor spoke highly of Nigerian students there in terms of their academic performance and behaviour. They are doing very well. However, they are trying to bring some cultism into some universities and we at the High Commission have sounded a note of warning.

“I am watching out for them. If I see any traces of that, I will write to the Ghanaian government. This is because such an activity will tarnish the image of Nigeria. In fact, the universities here are also very careful. If they get you (cultist), you are sent away,” he says.

http://www.punchng.com/news/out-of-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire-1/

Sec5: They want corrupt man like themselves

Sec5 who's the corrupt man here? The suspended Prochancellor or the VC?

Saw this coming....
Go UNN, Go UNN, GO!!
Y'all need to take this battle to it's logical conclusion.

By Emeka Mamah
Residents of the university town of Nsukka, woke up Wednesday morning to the largest demonstration of members of staff of the University of Nigeria Nsukka, UNN, since the university was founded.

Academic and non-academic workers of both campuses converged on the campus in a spontanous peaceful demonstration to demand the reinstatement of the Chairman of the Governing Council, Prof Emeka Enejere, who was said to have been suspended.

They chanted songs saying it was the Vice Chancellor, Prof Bartho Okolo, instead, who should be sacked.

After marching for half of the day and some members of staff addressed the press at the Freedom Square, they however, dispersed, promising to return for daily demonstrations until the Council Chairman was reinstated and other ills of the university which they alleged originated by Prof Okolo were corrected.

A professor told Vanguard that ”the Federal Government would have to choose between only one man (Okolo) or working with all of us.”

More stories coming

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/12/breaking-news-protest-unn-sack-chairman-governing-council/#sthash.Cl8VNTuw.dpuf

This news comes to me as a rude shock. Was in UNN only last week and I was fully briefed on the ongoing efforts of this Pro-Chancellor to probe the monumental corruption and stagnation going on there.

In the final analysis, this is yet another evidence of the general state of comfort between GEJ administration and corruption with impunity.

So sad.

Regardless of what the rabid GEJ lapdogs may choose to think, the fact is that there is NOTHING you can do with a man that does NOT keep his word!

By Dr. Segun Ajiboye
Following the protracted strike action by ASUU to enforce the funding agreement of 2009 with the Yar'Ardua/ Jonathan Administration there have been attempts to shift the focus of the public from the real issues and portray ASUU as an insensitive organization. We have tried to explain how we tried desperately to avoid the strike by virtually begging for meetings with the Federal Government for over three years to no avail.

As a last option to draw attention to our plight and get the government to talk, ASUU has had to devise an instrument of warning strike to force a dialogue and hopefully avoid the need for a strike. We believe that Nigerians remember that a warning strike was applied without the desired attention from government. Over and over again, we have been advised to adopt alternative methods to strike actions. ASUU has a permanent lobby in Abuja and regularly seeks the help of traditional rulers and influential individuals to persuade government to talk to her. Nigerians should not forget that governance in Nigeria is a big racket and leadership has one focus; unbridled appetite for power and money. Those who talk about the need for dialogue to resolve labour issues need to understand how the Nigerian Government and political environment functions. ASUU does not have the financial means to induce support of officials and mobilize the political apparatus. Even if we had the means, it is against our policy to give or accept bribe.

Those who accuse ASUU of being insensitive need to realize that it is easier for ASUU to concentrate on its conditions of service alone (as some have repeatedly suggested) and leave the government to do what it likes with the Universities. We have ready examples of national assets such as NITEL, RAILWAY, and NIGERIAN AIRWAYS among many others that collapsed because the workers paid attention only to their narrow interests. Members of ASUU often go without salaries for months during strikes and are subjected to untold hardships and indignities. Wouldn’t it just be easier to take our salaries and leave Nigerians to decide the fate of their institutions? Is this what Nigerians want? Do they want to finish off the Universities as was done to public primary and secondary schools? Will there be opportunities for the poor to have university education if we fold our hands and allow the public universities to be destroyed? Will the poor be able to send their children abroad or pay the exorbitant fees of private universities owned by politicians and their friends?

IS ASUU DISRESPECTFUL TO THE PRESIDENT?

There have been insinuations that ASUU has come up with new demands following the meeting with Mr President. In spite of the fact that we believe that Mr President could have thrown his weight behind a resolution of the crisis very early in the strike and in fact, he could have prevented the strike from happening, ASUU was very appreciative of his intervention. It is important to note that while the political machinery of government was more interested in the resolution of the current strike, ASUU, in addition, was more concerned about ending strikes for the foreseeable future in order to bring the university system to stability. Perhaps, government did not see the need to find a sustainable solution to the problem. Following the discussions with Mr President, a number of decisions were taken. Out of respect for Mr President, ASUU did not insist that the minutes of the meeting and decision extracts be produced, vetted and signed before leaving the venue of the meeting. ASUU’s experience in its dealing with government has been that Civil Servants routinely doctor minutes of meeting for political and selfish ends. We are also quite familiar with the fact that successive governments starting with the Abacha era have consistently disowned agreements with ASUU at the slightest opportunity. Nigerians are familiar with the burden of history and the “integrity challenge” which those in the highest offices in the land bear. The spoken promise of a President should normally be cast in stone. However, is that our experience in Nigeria? If agreements are not important then what is? If leaders violate agreements entered into with the cream of its intelligentsia, then the mass populace is doomed. We should not turn against the man whose rights have been violated because we think it is the fastest way to peace.

It is important for Nigerians to know that nothing new was demanded by ASUU. In fact, we were simply winding down the strike when our former president, Professor Iyayi was killed by the Governor of Kogi State. What was left after the meeting with the President was mere paper work and implementing our constitutional process for calling off a strike. The paper work was simply to ensure that ASUU and Government were on the same page. ASUU wanted the government to deliver on its promise by releasing immediately the 200 billion naira it promised earlier in the strike. It also requested that a high- ranking government official be assigned to sign the resolutions reached at the meeting with the President. Please note that one of the grounds given by the SSG Chief Pius Anyim for repudiating the 2009 agreement was that it was signed by a person of inconsequential status, a mere Permanent Secretary.

We had been reliably informed that Government was not really interested in fulfilling its agreement notwithstanding our meeting with Mr President. Nevertheless, ASUU did not think that the highest office in the land will be involved in gimmickry and politicking with the destiny of our youths. Moreover, we had been advised even by some of the vociferous critics of ASUU that it was unlikely that any funds not released by the end of this year will ever be available next year because government will be mobilizing all available resources for the elections.

What Nigerians do not know was that there are some influential officials in power who actually hoped that ASUU will not respond positively to Mr President. Remember that soon after the death of Iyayi, it was stated in some circles that ASUU will not call off the strike until 2014. It was a rude shock to these individuals that ASUU went ahead to start the process of calling off the strike.

Is ASUU engaged in subversion?

Was government truly interested in ending the strike? If indeed, it was serious, the frantic escalation of the crisis at a point where only paper work was left to call off the strike is very suspicious. Does the minister of Education have another agenda or is it just a case of immaturity and power intoxication on his part? Is ASUU engaged in subversion as suggested by the President? Over the years, ASUU has been accused of playing politics and acting like an opposition because of its principled position on the funding of education in Nigeria. It is yet unclear to Nigerians what constitutes subversion in ASUU’s insistence on minimum requirements of civilised conduct. An agreement is a sacred document which should be respected and not treated as a mere text in a sheet of paper. The same mindset that has led to the breaching of ASUU’s agreement also has informed the impunity with which the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has been treated over the years. It also explains why laws of the land are not respected and why the nation has become a fiefdom of a few powerful individuals who must maintain power and relevance at all cost. These individuals think that governance is about wearing a bowler hat, talk tough and take inspiration from Africa Magic. Leadership is not a movie.

Those who are engaged in subversion are those who use state apparatus to do oil bunkering, who fail to tackle corruption and are profiting from terrorism. They are the ones who fail to fund the educational system adequately, but send their own children to schools abroad. These individuals go to cure a headache overseas while leaving the poor to die in derelict health facilities at home.

Is ASUU also responsible for the crisis in the health and power sectors? Are we to blame for the fact that in all development indicators we are at the bottom of every positive indicator and at the top of every negative one? Nigerians should not be deceived. In the 80s, the heroic actions of the NUT were subverted and today we have the kind of primary and secondary schools that turn out illiterates.

The NEEDS Assessment report of government shows clearly that ASUU is not crying wolf. What we hear from critics is that we should relent and pray for divine intervention. ASUU believes in work and pray. While some people closed their eyes, they allowed the vultures to build nests over our heads. While we slept, the enemy sowed tares in our field. And now at the apex of national affairs, have emerged agents of midnight!

We implore all Nigerians to hold their future in their hands and rise up to challenge every form of oppression and corruption. We cannot afford to let the privilege few who have cornered our common wealth to turn our children to slaves in their own country. If the nation lacks resources , let it affect everyone down the line. If we need to tighten our belt, let the leaders give example. If they truly believe in our country, let them show patriotism by withdrawing their children from foreign schools to Nigerian Universities. If these schools are not good enough for their children, why must we be the ones to carry the burden always?

ASUU is resolved to see an end to this strike, and other strikes in the foreseeable future. Hence, we need the support of all Nigerians to ensure a sustainable resolution of the current crisis so that strikes will become a thing of the past in the university system.

Thank you.

(Being the Text of a Press Briefing issued at Congress by the Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Ibadan Chapter,Dr. Segun Ajiboye, today Monday, 02 December

http://saharareporters.com/article/truth-about-current-state-ASUU-strike-dr-segun-ajiboye

Passengers onboard a Delta Airline flight to Lagos, southwestern Nigeria, emerged from the plane half nude on Friday night following a hellish heat on the aircraft, witnesses said.


It was not clear what caused the air-conditioned system of America’s first class airline to collapse but witnesses described as hellish the last minutes of the flight from New York to Lagos.

It was learnt that about six people collapsed under the terrible heat, a source said.

“Passengers said the heat was unbearable. Many people removed their clothes, men and women were naked,” a source who saw and spoke to some passengers said.

“The cooling system failed and the heat was terrible,” the source said.

Many Nigerians prefer to travel with foreign airlines because of the comfort and safety record, but the latest incident may leave many passengers wary.

http://www.nigerianeye.com/2013/11/passengers-emerge-semi-nude-after.html

I can understand what the chap means. It's not very easy to rally Muslim soldiers or soldiers of any creed around a cause centered at fighting perceived fellow adherents of the same creed. One strategy that most nations fighting Islamic insurgents use is that of ISOLATION, whereby you create the impression in the public psyche that these bad guys are against everyone and therefore don't belong to anyone. However, we all know that Islamic insurgents are Moslems, insofar as they have faithfully recited the shahada. Who then is Badeh or any other Christian leader to claim that their fight has no religious coloration?

I wish the NAF al the best in this media blitzkrieg.

Nigeria's 14th leader Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan was born on this day, November 20, 56 years ago. To honour of the occasion, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) held a brief ceremony before its weekly meeting.



Jonathan and family
The President was absent, as he, it will be recalled, has left for London, United Kingdom, to preside over a three-day meeting of Honourary International Investors' Council (HIIC).

Vice President Namadi Sambo said Jonathan is a "gift to the nation," and went on hailing President's style of leadership and his commitment to transform Nigeria.

"We are privileged Nigerians sharing from the grace of God upon his life," Vice President stated. "There is no doubt that the great destiny of this man has helped our individual destiny.

"What really can we give him in return but only to thank God for his life, but to also commend him to the guidance, protection and the care of God.

"We will continue to pray that Mr President succeeds in this noble course of transforming our dear country."

Special prayers on behalf of the Council were offered by Ministers of Transport and Agriculture, Sen. Idris Umar and Dr Akinwumi Adesina, respectively.

Before cutting the birthday cake, the Council, led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim, also entrusted the Vice President with a birthday card for onward presentation to the President.

Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan was born in Otueke, Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. Our President is a Zoology BS degree holder, he also holds an MSc degree in Hydrobiology and Fisheries biology, and a PhD degree in Zoology. Before entering politics in 1998, he served as education inspector, lecturer, and environmental-protection officer.

Prior to his role as President, he served as Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Governor of Bayelsa State and Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Jonathan has two children together with his wife
Patience.

http://www.nigerianeye.com/2013/11/jonathan-at-56-gift-to-nation-federal.html

Good one from BRF, but, WILL THEY HEAR?

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, (SAN) has charged officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), to focus on their primary responsibility of ensuring free flow of traffic across the metropolis rather than apprehending erring motorists.


Fashola gave the charged on Tuesday at the induction of the new Special Traffic Mayor and meeting with LASTMA Personnel held at the LTV 8 Blue Roof, Agidingbi, Ikeja.

The governor said rather than allowing the enforcement of the law to generate traffic gridlock on the highways, they should instead allow the traffic offenders to go so as not to defeat the purpose for which the agency was established.

“The primary responsibility of LASTMA is to keep the state traffic moving. And this is the reason why the agency exists. Arresting traffic offenders is secondary. If making an arrest will increase the traffic, let the offenders go. I say this not because I don’t want law breakers to be apprehended and brought to justice, but law breakers cannot undermine our main objective.

“The longer people stay more in traffic, the more money is wasted and fuel is burnt and when people stay more in traffic, this leads to increase in the price of goods in the state. But with a moving traffic, price of goods will be stable,” he stated.

Fashola urged the traffic management personnel to always draw government’s attention to bad portions of the roads in their areas of operations.

“Part of the LASMA duties is to report to us regularly about the area they are posted that have bad roads. This government has moved away from only constructing roads to also do maintenance through the Public Works Corporation. You are our primary source of data and we have spent a lot of time and resources training you,” the governor added.

http://www.nigerianeye.com/2013/11/be-focused-on-ensuring-free-flow-of.html

Ha ha ha. I laugh in politricks.
Well, if APGA has long been seen as working for PDP AT&T he Center, it stands to reason also that PDP may well be seen as working for APGA in Anambra state.

I see our guys seriously upping their ante in this match. I pray and expect we'll do well tonight!

Congrats Nigeria!

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola was greeted with series of embarrassing songs as he arrived home of late political activist, Baba Omojola after the his body arrived home for his lying-in-state at his family's residence in Surulre, Lagos State.

The governor arrived with his convoy unable to go into the premises due to presence of a van that contained speakers blaring comradely songs for the activists at the venue.

The van was used to obstruct movement of vehicles into the residence. Upon his arrival however, aides of the governor who wanted to take their convoy in ordered that the van be removed for the governor, but the activists insisted the governor must alight from own his car and walk into the premises like others did. One activist, Debo Adeniran, who coordinated the van said with sarcarsm, that the governor could call his LASTMA officials to tow the van out of the way.

Upon realizing the seriousness of the activists, Mr. Fashola stepped down from his car and walked into the premises.

But as Mr. Fashola inched towards the house, more activists who had learned of his arrival took the microphone to sing anti-oppressor government song. Some lines in their songs tagged the governor "Ole-ole", translating to the calling the governor a thief.

The activists also substituted imperative words into their chorus, asking Mr. Fashola to leave the event to avoid his further embarrassment.

It was not known whether the governor had intention to stay long enough to address participants, but he left soon as the chants by activists gained more tempo.

Asked why Mr. Fashola had to be rejected at the event, the activists told Saharareporters that the governor was only a hypocrite pretending to be familiar with the late Baba Omojola.

A comrade said: "You won't believe they (government) don't allow Baba into their office whenever he was there on pressing public issues that affect the masse. But now that Baba is dead, Fashola is now here to show fake familiarity"

Another activist said it was now common for politicians to take advantage of the death of Comrades to woo families and relations of the bereaved.

"They did same when Gani Fawehinmi died. They hated him when he was alive because he spoke bitter truth to them and also challenged them to court especially on fake Toronto certificate of Tinubu, but after his death, they began pretending they were best of friends with him and began creating park and programs to deceive the public", a civil society leader who was present during the incidence said.

"That has become their forte. They suppress voices of the masses but whenever a strong activist whose voice gave them nightmare dies, they rejoice by sponsoring his funeral", he added.

The Lagos State Government tarred the Chief Onitana Street where Baba Omojola lived as part of gestures for his funeral. During a brief chat with SaharaTV crew recently, son of Baba Omojola, Akinola Omojola commented that it takes a prominent person to die for Government to repair a road in Nigeria.

It would be recalled that Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa was also booed recently as he strayed into the night of tributes and socials in memory of Late Chief Gani Fawehinmi.

"They are all hypocrites and we will continue to embarrass them if they won't stop insulting us to our face by pretending they were friends with our gone heroes", a protester said.

http://saharareporters.com/news-page/activists-protest-governor-fasholas-presence-baba-omojolas-burial

It's rather unfortunate...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It looked like a typical Sunday morning at any mega-church. Several hundred people, including families with small children, packed in for more than an hour of rousing music, an inspirational talk and some quiet reflection. The only thing missing was God.

Nearly three dozen gatherings dubbed "atheist mega-churches" by supporters and detractors have sprung up around the U.S. and Australia — with more to come — after finding success in Great Britain earlier this year. The movement fueled by social media and spearheaded by two prominent British comedians is no joke.

On Sunday, the inaugural Sunday Assembly in Los Angeles attracted several hundred people bound by their belief in non-belief. Similar gatherings in San Diego, Nashville, New York and other U.S. cities have drawn hundreds of atheists seeking the camaraderie of a congregation without religion or ritual.

The founders, British duo Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans, are currently on a tongue-in-cheek "40 Dates, 40 Nights" tour around the U.S. and Australia to drum up donations and help launch new Sunday Assemblies. They hope to raise more than $800,000 that will help atheists launch their pop-up congregations around the world. So far, they have raised about $50,000.

They don't bash believers but want to find a new way to meet likeminded people, engage in the community and make their presence more visible in a landscape dominated by faith.

Jones got the first inkling for the idea while leaving a Christmas carol concert six years ago.

View gallery."Attendees play a game with each other at the Sunday …
Attendees play a game with each other at the Sunday Assembly, a godless congregation founded by Brit …
"There was so much about it that I loved, but it's a shame because at the heart of it, it's something I don't believe in," Jones said. "If you think about church, there's very little that's bad. It's singing awesome songs, hearing interesting talks, thinking about improving yourself and helping other people — and doing that in a community with wonderful relationships. What part of that is not to like?"

The movement dovetails with new studies that show an increasing number of Americans are drifting from any religious affiliation.

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life released a study last year that found 20 percent of Americans say they have no religious affiliation, an increase from 15 percent in the last five years. Pew researchers stressed, however, that the category also encompassed majorities of people who said they believed in God but had no ties with organized religion and people who consider themselves "spiritual" but not "religious."

Sunday Assembly — whose motto is Live Better, Help Often, Wonder More — taps into that universe of people who left their faith but now miss the community church provided, said Phil Zuckerman, a professor of secular studies at Pitzer College in Claremont.

It also plays into a feeling among some atheists that they should make themselves more visible. For example, last December, an atheist in Santa Monica created an uproar — and triggered a lawsuit — when he set up a godless display amid Christian nativity scenes that were part of a beloved, decades-old tradition.

View gallery."British comedians and co-founders of the Sunday Assembly, …
British comedians and co-founders of the Sunday Assembly, Sanderson Jones, right, and Pippa Evans si …
"In the U.S., there's a little bit of a feeling that if you're not religious, you're not patriotic. I think a lot of secular people say, 'Hey, wait a minute. We are charitable, we are good people, we're good parents and we are just as good citizens as you and we're going to start a church to prove it," said Zuckerman. "It's still a minority, but there's enough of them now."

That impulse, however, has raised the ire of those who have spent years pushing back against the idea that atheism itself is a religion.

"The idea that you're building an entire organization based on what you don't believe, to me, sounds like an offense against sensibility," said Michael Luciano, a self-described atheist who was raised Roman Catholic but left when he became disillusioned.

"There's something not OK with appropriating all of this religious language, imagery and ritual for atheism," said Luciano, who blogged about the movement at the site policymic.com.

That sentiment didn't seem to detract from the excitement Sunday at the inaugural meeting in Los Angeles.

View gallery."Michael Harvest, 75, listens to a message at the Sunday …
Michael Harvest, 75, listens to a message at the Sunday Assembly, a godless congregation founded by …
Hundreds of atheists and atheist-curious packed into a Hollywood auditorium for a boisterous service filled with live music, moments of reflection, an "inspirational talk" about forgotten — but important — inventors and scientists and some stand-up comedy.

During the service, attendees stomped their feet, clapped their hands and cheered as Jones and Evans led the group through rousing renditions of "Lean on Me," ''Here Comes the Sun" and other hits that took the place of gospel songs. Congregants dissolved into laughter at a get-to-know-you game that involved clapping and slapping the hands of the person next to them and applauded as members of the audience spoke about community service projects they had started in LA.

At the end, volunteers passed cardboard boxes for donations as attendees mingled over coffee and pastries and children played on the floor.

For atheist Elijah Senn, the morning was perfect.

"I think the image that we have put forward in a lot of ways has been a scary, mean, we want to tear down the walls, we want to do destructive things kind of image is what a lot of people have of us," he said. "I'm really excited to be able to come together and show that it's not about destruction. It's about making things and making things better."

http://news.yahoo.com/atheist-mega-churches-root-across-us-world-214619648.html

I know that when the sparks begin to fly on this one, El Rufai and his apologists will be quick to point out that he was only re-tweeting someone's words. Well, in as much as I'm very vocal in criticizing GEJ's administration whenever I believe they've dropped the ball, I can't help but feel that such baseless, childish, virulent attacks from El Rufai and his ilk will only result in drawing the sympathy crowd to vote GEJ back in come 2015!

Okay. Thought 'they' said the late Speaker was an alhaji?

DR PYGRU: ......Remove wicked people 'cos of divine agenda.

Economy: watch out and see what I will do for there is going to be a wind that will sweep across. That wind will.......

The Igbos, the Igbos, there is a game plan to paralize and criple the economy of the Igbo.
....I have raised Igbo, Igbo race as men that will bring industralization to Nigeria.
Their birthright must be returned to them.......

Was this really mentioned? Did anyone else catch this part? Where can one get the footage of this event, please?