₦airaland Forum

Can this woman be seeking attention?

Notable Islamic scholars on Monday converged on 112 Olateju Street, Mushin, Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria, to witness the naming ceremony of the baby born with Quran in his hand on 7 May, 2012.

After a lecture that lasted some minutes, an Islamic scholar, Ustaz Abdul Rahman Olanrewaju Ahmed, named the baby boy Abdul Wahab Iyanda Aderemi Irawo.
However, the Islamic cleric warned the baby’s mother not to liken or call the boy a Prophet of God.
He said it pleases Allah to bring the baby to the world in a miraculous way and that does not make him special from other children.
Other Islamic clerics who witnessed the naming ceremony included Sheikh Abdulraman Sulaimon Adangba, the Chief Missioner of Nasrulifathi Society of Nigeria, NASFAT, Alhaji Abdullahi Akinbode and his counterparts from Alifathiaquareeb Islamic Society of Nigeria, a.k.a Quareeb, and Dr. Ramoni Tijani.
Earlier on Sunday, the baby’s mother, Kikelomo Ilori, 32, a cosmetologist converted to Islam. She took the name Sherifat.
According to her, she was born a Muslim but later embraced Christianity.
The baby’s grandmother also embraced Islam and took a Muslim name.
Meanwhile, the venue of the naming ceremony was jam packed with traders who were making brisk business selling souvenirs of the miracle baby including T-Shirts, an almanac bearing the child’s photograph and other Islamic souvenirs.
Yesterday evening, the baby’s almanac was selling like hot cake at Iyana-Ipaja under bridge where Islamic faithful gathered to behold his photograph in the almanac. Many of them bought copies of the almanac.
Controversy has trailed the birth of the baby. While some said it was impossible for a baby to be born with a miniature Quran in his hand, others argued that with God, nothing was impossible.
Medical doctors dismissed the story as a huge hoax.

solomon111: Is this not a federal govt project?
Where do they get this bigoted human beings for God's sake!

It is not a FG project!

HP,LG And Samsung To Lose As FG Enforces Ban On Foreign Computers



Hewlett-Packard, Samsung, LG and other foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) will lose their grip on Nigeria’s Personal Computer (PC) market as the Federal Government yesterday finally moved to enforce a comprehensive ban on foreign computers and technology products in public institutions, including schools.

The aim of the ban is to encourage patronage of ‘Made-in-Nigeria’ products and foster growth in the local Information Communications Technology (ICT) industry.

Cleopas Anganye, director-general of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) made this declaration on Tuesday, at a two-day retreat on draft guidelines for home grown IT hardware products.

Stressing the importance of benchmarking Nigeria’s IT products against international standards in order to make them competitive and marketable globally, Angaye further declared that the procurement by public institutions, of non made-in-Nigeria computers, where certified local brands exist, would be an offence punishable by a prison term and fine, under the NITDA Act.

Industry analysts told Business Day yesterday that Nigeria’s computer hardware market has remained underdeveloped due to poor policy formulation and implementation by government, as well as the attendant high cost of equipment acquisition in Nigeria.

According to the analysts, inspite of the growing number of local OEMs and resellers, and the significant growth recorded in the telecommunications industry after the sector was deregulated in 2001; PC penetration remains very low at 7 per 1, 000 Nigerians.

Angaye noted that the Federal Government’s accreditation of computer assembly plants had expired. This, he added, called for the development of new standards for computer manufacturing in the country. After the conclusion of the retreat and subsequent issuance of the new guidelines, the NITDA boss explained, it would be regarded as economic sabotage if Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) did not patronise Nigerian IT products.

Angaye, represented at the retreat by director, standards and regulation, NITDA, Inye Kemabonta, said the IT implementing agency would in the next fortnight, launch a monitoring scheme to ensure compliance by all public institutions across Nigeria.

According to NITDA, under its enabling laws, three key actions would be offences punishable by prison terms, fines or both, if flouted in the emerging dispensation.

First, the public procurement of non made-in-Nigeria computers and IT products where certified local brands exist, is an offence. Secondly, the display and use of non made-in-Nigeria computers in government offices and for government business, where certified local brands are available, is also an offence punishable by law. Lastly, use of non made-in-Nigeria computers in public schools at all levels is likewise an offence.

In the same vein, Chris Uwaje, president of the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) enjoined government to provide the enabling environment for indigenous computer manufacturers to thrive.

Angaye further added, “To benefit from this policy, multinational companies are invited to set up production or assembly plants in Nigeria.

According to him, with more than half the population of West Africa, Nigeria has a large enough market to justify foreign direct investment in IT. “Instead, one finds that all the multinational firms operate only marketing and sales promotion offices. The transformation of Nigeria into a developed economy cannot be achieved by being a consumer nation.

“Use of non made-in-Nigeria computers in public schools at all levels. NITDA will seek the collaboration of the Federal Ministry of Education to ensure that the accreditation of schools and renewal of accreditation will depend partly on the establishment of Information Technology labs equipped with locally manufactured IT products”, Angaye concluded.

Local computer manufacturers at the retreat expressed confidence in government’s renewed efforts to develop the IT industry, create employment through local assembly of computers and build the capacity of Nigerian IT entrepreneurs.

“I do not see any reason why our people shy away from locally made PCs. If you open a locally made PCs and other foreign brands, you will find the same components in all of them. We all buy from the same component manufacturer.

If given a chance, we can compete favourably with the foreign brands. We already have the policies on ground that support usage of locally made computers. I think the fundamental issue militating against the development of the industry is implementation of these policies”, Tunde Balogun, president of the Computer and Allied Products Dealers Association of Nigeria (CAPDAN) said

http://www.businessdayonline.com/NG/index.php/news/76-hot-topic/37800-hp-lg-to-lose-as-fg-enforces-ban-on-foreign-computers

Lagos State Government Tuesday inaugurated a rice processing factory, which it said had the capacity to produce 20,000 metric tonnes per annum (equivalent to either 350,000 or 400,000 bags)

.
Governor Babatunde Fashola unveiled the factory in Imota, Lagos along with the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Gbolahan Lawal, and Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr. Alhaji Bukar Tijani Borno.


Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, the governor said the development was a wakeup call on hoodlums popularly referred “to as area boys to vacate the street and key in on the employment opportunities that the factory offers.”


According to him, the factory was situated on a 23,000-hectare industrial estate and had about 10,000-tonnes storage for rice paddy and 45,000-ton capacity storage for finished rice.


He added that time for miscreants to reign in Lagos “is over. The time for wealth without work is over we have provided the framework for you to get your hands busy, get off the streets and go to the farm.


“We will give you farm land. I will give you the support. If you put your mind to it, there is prosperity. Our land is too green for us to be hungry. Our youths must be ready to work in the farms that we are creating.”


The governor reiterated the state government’s commitment towards reinvigorating its agricultural sector, noting that it “is only through such that the nation can summon its economic challenges. We are beginning to see progress and a clear path towards establishing a sustainable agriculture.”


According to Fashola, there was need for government at all levels to begin to consider investment through development of infrastructure, input, budgetary allocation and funding for farmers.


He said the establishment of the rice mill was a journey that started four years ago when it was discovered that the state was cultivating only 30 hectares of farm land per annum, saying it was double to 250 hectares within two years while it has a set target to increase production to 500 hectares.


He urged the Federal Government to release land in Ogun River Basin to enable it increase its production and meet the facility processing capacity while directing the state ministry of works and Infrastructure, energy and commerce and industry to ensure the development of good road network, constant power supply and improve infrastructure within the industrial estate.


Speaking at the forum, Tijani commended the state government for the development of the infrastructure which he described as government’s response in meeting the aspirations of the electorate.


He said governance “is all about responding to those who elected you. The development was in line with President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation agenda of food security through improve agriculture in the country.


“We have to start to produce more rice, we cannot continue to depend on rice importation from countries such as Thailand and Indian, but we have to start now to produce what we can eat.


“Lagos was among the few states in Nigeria that is championing this course while assuring of the support of the Federal government to improve commercial agriculture. We will do more in Lagos when it comes to commercial activity to make food sufficient and improve our value chain.”


Earlier, Lawal said the factory built with Korean Technology to the highest technological and operational standards can process rice which would compare with the best quality rice from any part of the world.


He added that the facility, if operated optimally could produce between 350,000 and 400,000 bags of rice per year.


He said the target of the state was to increase local rice production and enhance food security, saying the country presently depends largely on Thailand and Pakistan for rice which according to him, increases the food security risk level

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/lagos-unveils-mega-rice-processing-factory/115907/

otus4me: This is a fake pics, he can never do that. He didn't have a beef wit sir alex ferguson.

The news is all over England, it is not fake!

medjai: I'm not really enthustiatic about this match.

Chelsea would dull us with their anti-football.

Which anti-football?

Fans were already jubilating

So Manchester United did not just lose the title by 8 goals, they also lost it at the last possible moments of the season. Picture the fans celebrating before final whistle, picture the doom they reflect after the City goals must have filtered in. Now see the board United got ready to display but Aguero denied the world these pictures. LOL

A security report before the presidency indicates that the extremist sect recently received a huge financial donation from a group in the North African country

The extremist Boko Haram sect, which has since 2009 launched sustained attacks on security installations, places of worship, educational institutions and media outfits, recently got cash support of N40 million from an Algerian terrorist group, an intelligence report recently submitted to the presidency has said.

The report, a product of a joint police and military investigations and raids, carried out in Kano and Sokoto in December 2011 indicates that the Algerian sect gave out the funds as its first installment in a planned long term partnership with Boko Haram.

According to the report, seen by PREMIUM TIMES, the Boko Haram sect and the unnamed Algerian terrorist group have met a number of times in their bid to hammer out modalities for a long term partnership.

The document quoted some arrested members of the sect as having made the confession.

The partnership would see the richer, more influential, and more organized Algerian terror gang mentor members of the Boko Haram through trainings in activities that will help it fortify its financial base locally.

The Algerian sect is also expected to train the Boko Haram insurgents in hostage taking and weapon handling.

The report provides an insight into how the dreaded Nigerian sect has been funding its activities. The sect members have been fingered for a string of bank robberies, and there is also deep suspicion that they receive discreet support from local politicians.

But it has never been this established that the group receives donations from overseas.

Al Qaeda links

The extremist Boko Haram has of recent been associated with links to international terror gangs like the Al Qaeda.

The first official document linking the group to Al Qaeda is a United States’ cable dated June 29, 2009, leaked by Wikileaks. The cable, written before the Boko Haram sect began its terror campaigns in August that year, documented the sect’s link to a well-trained veteran Chadian extremist, Abu-Mahjin.

The cable described Abu-Mahjin as having “limited ties to al-Qa'ida associates,” and was, on behalf of the Boko Haram sect, seeking more funds to facilitate a massive terrorist attack. The extremist sect began its terror attack on the Nigerian state two months after the cable was written.

Boko Haram’s successes in attacking defenceless religious congregations, bank robberies, and vandalization of police armouries validated its growing link with established terrorist groups outside the country.

Previous security intelligence on the sect suggests that its recent transformation, successes, and organization is partly because of the help it received from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a branch of the international terrorist network based in the Saharan states of Mali, Niger and Algeria.

In January this year, The UK Guardian interviewed the sect's spokesperson, Abu Qaqa, who reportedly said his group’s leaders met with high ranking members of al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia during a pilgrimage in August 2011.

The meeting, Mr. Qaqa told the paper, was to finalise the group’s financial and logistics arrangements with Al-Qaeda.

“Al-Qaeda are our elder brothers,” he told the Guardian. “We enjoy financial and technical support from them. Anything we want from them we ask them.”

A UN report released shortly after the Libyan crisis also said weapons from Libya may have been smuggled to Boko Haram in Nigeria.

Both the government and its security agencies had, in the past, claimed the group gets foreign funding and support from other terror gangs like Al Ahabab in Somalia.

Kidnap Training

The intelligence report, which is now lying in a shelf at the president’s office, also detailed how members of the Boko Haram sect recently got trainings in kidnapping from the same Algerian terrorist sect.

The report listed names of nine members of the terror sect who had successfully received trainings in kidnappings, in addition to bomb making skills.

As its part of the deal, Boko Haram is expected to kidnap white skinned foreigners - especially expatriates - in Abuja and exchange them for more money and arms and ammunitions with the Algerian sect. “Or demand ransom as the case may be,” the report said.

As at the time of the investigation, December 2011, the sect had finalised its kidnap strategy and was scouting for houses to keep their kidnap victims and suitable cars to transport them across the desert.

“They are targeting expatriates from (Julius) Berger, and Dantata and sawoe as well as other places they could find any,” the report said.

The report claims that a cell of the sect led by one Abu Mohammad carried out the kidnap of “white men” - a Brit and an Italian.

Both men were later killed in February this year during an attempt to rescue them by a combined squad of british and Nigerian security agents.

The Boko Haram terrorist sect, however, denied involvement in the kidnapping in one of its teleconference shortly after the incident.

Transformed sect

Boko Haram set out seeking to impose a stricter form of Sharia or Islamic law in northern Nigeria and end corruption.

Violence by the group, which had only religious interest in the past, is traceable to the five days of clashes in July 2009 between the group and members of the security forces in Borno, Yobe, Bauchi, and Kano states that left more than 800 people dead, including at least 30 police officers.

The police summarily executed the captured Boko Haram leader, Mohammed Yusuf, along with several dozen of his followers in front of the police headquarters in Maiduguri. Dozens of its members were also arrested.

Boko Haram frequently said its attacks on the government, especially the police, are in revenge for these killings and an attempt to set free members incarcerated by the police.

Political collaboration

Recently, the ideology behind Boko Haram attacks got more confusing with increasing attacks on schools, media houses and almost any soft target with wide media reach.

The National Security Adviser, Andrew Owoye Azazi, in a recent public appearance, said the group was a creation of the disgruntled members of the ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDP.

He said members of the party, angered by the emergence of President Goodluck Jonathan, created the group to destabilize the government. He also admitted the sect had members trained by more sophisticated international counterparts

LeoMax: She must allow the dead to rest in peace. Deed has been done, and where was this powerful and well-respected "Ex-Wife" when Rashidi was cash-strapped and deranged. Hypocrite is an English word.

Rashidi was not that broke!

Former Super Eagles’ defender, Benedict Iroha has commended the late Rashidi Yekini for waving off salaries paid to him while he plied his trade with Gatewawy Football Club, Abeokuta.
In the opinion of the 42-year Aba-born coach, playing the game of football as a pleasure for a club amounts to losing business opportunities that abound in the round leather game.
Iroha told Nationsports"While Yekini played for Gateway FC, he told the management to give his salary out to the less privileged as a form of charity on his part. I will never do that. I mean play football for free for a club."
Iroha who confirmed that it was only a few players in the 1994 set that were in the mafia, however, denied Yekini was played out of the team by some members of the Eagles’ 1994 squad.
" I don't believe there was a mafia in the Super Eagles then. Normally when the likes of Amuneke passed the ball to Yekini, he scored. Yekini was the highest goal scorer.
Just like what happens in Barcelona, the ball is passed to Messi, and he brings in the goals, and they are happy because it is a team work. The only Mafia we had, we had six of us that were six, captains. Keshi was the chief captain, we had me, Rufai, Ike, Eguavoen and two others. I remembered the time, Yekini came in to camp in 1993, he came to my room and I told him we were playing as a team and not as individual so there was nothing like mafia in the 1994 team, "Iroha said.
The former Assistant Eagles Coach, also denied the popular beliefs in some quarters that the ‘godfather’ syndrome has become a menace in the national teams
Iroha said: "There is nothing like that, it is an open team. If you play well, you will get called."
On whether Nigerian Coaches are agents to their players, Iroha said: " I don’t think it is true, I have been there, and I have trained the junior team, what I did when I was coaching with Yemi Tella was like, guiding,
most times people come to us(coaches) because they want security, mine is to recommend. If I see a good player as very good as a coach, I will tell the agent I know the boy is good, I will tell the agent to go and meet the parent."

Biyi1471: You can imagine! Intelligence that supposed to be kept secret exposed just like that.. Mtcheew

You just spoke my mind. Take US for instance, they never discussed their plan to attack Osama with anyone, not even the country that Osama was in. Nigeria does her thing differently. Must they talk about it in public?

Goodyman: Up to this moment, Allison Madueke still retains her position as the Petroleum Minister. Perhsps, when the Subsidy Probe is finally submitted to the Federal Government and the recommendations therein are implimented, then we would know where those who are indicted in the Report would stand.

Thanks

I just heard a news from one of the local radio station the the minister of petroleum, Allison Madukwe has been removed

Ekwy Omalicha: So what happens if tomorrow these ones threaten Lagos state with strike action? May be Fashola and co ‘ll then recruit student doctors……..very soon our Lagos hospitals will be flooded with quacks.

It has always been flooded with quacks!

The double agent who helped foil an al Qaeda plot to blow up a US-bound plane was a British national, possibly of Saudi origin, American officials have said.

UK intelligence played a central role in the operation that thwarted the plan to send a suicide attacker onto an aircraft with an underwear bomb, they added.
The undercover investigation reportedly involved MI5 and MI6, and the foiled plot ended with the explosive device being delivered to the FBI.
Its experts are examining it to see if it could have passed through security and been taken on to a plane.
The spy reportedly infiltrated a terror group in Yemen in a rare coup for Western agencies.
The individual is believed to have grown up in Europe where he was apparently radicalised.
He was subsequently "turned" and recruited by Saudi agents last year, it was claimed.
The reports were neither being confirmed nor denied in the UK.
The Obama administration had reportedly been under heavy pressure not to disclose the role of British authorities in the investigation.
US officials revealed publicly on Monday that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, known as AQAP, attempted to arm a suicide bomber with a non-metallic device.
It was an upgraded version of the failed "underwear bomb" which failed to detonate on a Detroit-bound plane on Christmas Day 2009.
US officials had said the plot was foiled by the CIA and allied foreign intelligence services, without identifying the allies.
The officials added the operation was severely disrupted when leaks of some of the details began to emerge.
And they believed the operation could have continued at least another week or two if the leaks to the media had not occurred.
The director of National Intelligence has opened an "internal review" of US intelligence agencies to determine whether there were leaks of classified information related to operation, while the FBI is conducting a separate criminal investigation.
Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, a former CIA director, said: "I am fully in favour of a full and thorough investigation of this matter."
"When these leaks take place, I can't tell you how much they damage our ability to be able to pursue our intelligence efforts," Mr Panetta told reporters at the Pentagon.
A Department of Homeland Security official said that because the device was similar to the one in the failed 2009 attempt, security steps taken since "would have been able to prevent this device from bringing down an aeroplane".
Experts suggested airport body scanners, which use light doses of radiation to scan through a passenger's clothes, may have been able to detect an "anomaly" such as the device, which could then be further examined in a hands-on, pat down search.
However, the scanners have not been deployed in all airports across the US and are in very limited use elsewhere.
AQAP's master bomb-maker has previously been identified as Ibrahim Hassan al Asiri, a Saudi fugitive.
Officials believe the latest bomb could have been produced by al Asiri or one of his proteges.

Lagos State government on Monday, made real its threat by sacking all the striking medical doctors in the state. Each doctor was served a dismissal letter dated Friday, May 4, 2012 and signed by the CMD of LASUTH, Professor David Oke.

In the letter, the Personnel Management Board, PMB, the disciplinary organ of government which met between 11 and 13 of April, 2012, established against the doctors a case of misconduct and absence from duty without leave or reasonable cause.


The letter read in part:  “The committee therefore recommend your dismissal from service in accordance with the provisions of the civil service rule No 04502, 04507 and 04508. The board has therefore approved your dismissal”

“Therefore you are to convey the possession of the properties of the state government in your custody to the Chief Medical Director CMD”.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of Medical Guild, Dr. Olumuyiwa Odusote, while reacting to the  sack of his members described it as a confirmation of the government’s insensitivity and insincerity to resolve the issue on ground, stressing that the Guild has handed the case to the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA for further action.

It will be recalled that over 1,000 doctors under the aegis of Medical Guild had embarked on an indefinite strike over the alleged failure of Lagos State government to fully implement the earlier agreed Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, CONMESS

The Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno State and the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, were yesterday locked in a shootout at a wedding in Maiduguri, leaving three guests dead and several others injured.

It was learnt that a detachment of the task force stormed the wedding at Sabon Layi, Gwange area following a tip-off that notable members of the sect on its wanted list would be there.

On sighting the military men the Boko Haram members in attendance allegedly opened fire prompting response from the soldiers.

Witnesses said several people were hit by the flying bullets. Three died on the spot and others were injured.

It was gathered that most of the Boko Haram members in attendance shot their way out of possible capture.

 

Confirming the incident in a statement the JTF spokesman, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa said: “Credible information at the disposal of the JTF Operation Restore Order revealed that two top Boko Haram terrorists on the wanted list of the task force sneaked into Maiduguri to attend a wedding Fatiha of one of their own in Sabon Layi, Gwange in Maiduguri metropolis.

“Consequently, at about 0835 hours today (yesterday), the task force mounted surveillance about 200 metres away from the wedding venue.

“The terrorists within the Fatiha sensing danger opened fire sporadically on the surveillance team and the area. This led to the death of three civilians and two wounded from the fire of the terrorists and two were arrested.”

The spokesman said an AK47 rifle, 20 rounds of ammunition and a vehicle used by the terrorists were recovered.

He, however, said two soldiers sustained gunshot injuries but are stable and responding to treatment.

 

Musa warned the member of the public not to attend any wedding organized by members of the sect

A 94-year-old grandmother is seriously ill in hospital with a fractured skull and partially severed finger after being beaten in her own bed as she slept.
Police said Emma Winnall also suffered a broken arm and wrist in the "vicious" and "sickening" assault at her West Midlands home.
Her carer raised the alarm at 9am on Tuesday but detectives said the attack, which left her with potentially life-threatening injuries, could have occurred at any time from 9pm on Monday night.
Mrs Winnall, of Pensby Close, Moseley, in Birmingham, was taken to hospital and remains under sedation after emergency surgery, which involved inserting metal plates into her arm.
Detectives have been unable to determine a motive for the attack. Nothing was stolen from the property and the interior was largely undisturbed.
A photograph of Mrs Winnall in hospital has been released at the request of her daughter as part of a police appeal for information.
Detective Chief Inspector Sarb Johal, of West Midlands Police , said police believe "an implement of some sort" was used in the attack.
Officers said Mrs Winnall is showing signs of improvement in hospital.
DCI Johal continued: "This is a truly sickening attack on a defenceless, frail lady as she slept in her own home.
"Mrs Winnall had nothing of note to steal. It was a senseless assault and I'd urge anyone with suspicions about who may be responsible to get in touch straight away.
"The attacker may well have mentioned something to a friend or relative, or perhaps someone remembers a person acting oddly that evening or the following morning."
Anyone with information is asked to contact West Midlands Police on the 101 number or the independent charity Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555 111

Kano State, where the number of divorcees is cause for concern, the government is acting as matchmaker to help ex-wives and widows find Mr. Right.
He should be tall. Kind, of course. And generous, especially when it comes to buying all those little trinkets that a woman desires.
“A little handsome,” but not too much, says Altine Abdullahi. “It’s a danger.”
In northern Nigeria, it is a truth almost universally acknowledged that a woman of a certain age, and in a certain situation in life, must be in want of a husband.
But if the woman in that certain situation is a divorcee or a widow, finding a husband isn’t easy, even without the shopping list of desirable qualities ticked off by Abdullahi (a divorcee).
That’s why 1,000 women have thrown their fates into the hands of the Kano state government, which will act as their matchmaker. The religious authority in the Muslim-dominated state, the Hisbah Board, has embarked on a massive husband hunt for divorcees and widows. The first 100 women, including Abdullahi, are to be wed in coming weeks.
“I’m getting married,” she says. “God willing!”
She has no idea who her husband will be. But, like the practical character in a Jane Austen novel, she’s no romantic.
“I know love is something, but ...” she pauses wistfully. “Love doesn’t really last.”
Abdullahi, 44, preens like a fine, glossy bird, creaming her plump lips, powdering her face, fluttering her eyelashes girlishly. Her smiling face, with perfect white teeth, peers out from dozens of photographs stacked on her desk and decking the wall of her office, where she heads the organization Voice of Widows, Divorcees and Orphans Assn. of Nigeria. Her skin is clear, her eyes bright, her silver bangles jangle happily, yet she complains that she looks “tired.”
“Beautiful? You should have seen me when I was young. Then I was beautiful.”
The state-as-matchmaker plan came after Abdullahi made an emotional plea on Kano radio for husbands for desperate widows and divorcees.
In Nigeria, women of marriageable age who remain single are seen as suspect, their respectability questioned. Throughout many parts of the Muslim world, divorced and widowed women are forced to go home to their fathers or brothers and are viewed as a burden and failure. Or they live on the edges of society, shunned and forced into begging or prostitution to support their children.
Sometimes the brother of a dead man will marry the widow and support her and her children. But many divorced women find it difficult to remarry.
In Kano, the state capital, there’s a sense of crisis about the number of divorcees, although statistics aren’t available to back up widespread perceptions of an increase in failed marriages. The problem sharpened here after Kano state and 11 other predominantly Muslim states adopted sharia, or Islamic law, between 1999 and 2001, allowing men to divorce unilaterally simply by thrice stating “I divorce you,” an act that cannot be undone with a simple change of mind.
“With growing cases of divorce among couples, the state has reached an unenviable record in the country. In any social gathering and various fora, the most common discussion in the metropolis is the growing rate at which divorce is taking place,” said a February article in the Nigerian newspaper Leadership.
An everyday quarrel can easily escalate into divorce, says Abdullahi, whose divorce happened as quickly as a car crash, in a moment of heat, instantly regretted by both sides.
The row came after her husband took a third wife who was demanding more nights with him. When he conveyed the demand to Abdullahi (as second wife), she told him it was women’s business. He should send the third wife to her.
He refused. She insisted. He said, “Be careful.”
She insisted. He told her to leave. A few more sharp words and before anyone could stop it, the couple were divorced.
“I started crying. Even he started crying too. We cried together. He said, ‘Just go back to your room and forget about the divorce.’” But she couldn’t. Under sharia law, she says, she cannot go back to him unless she remarries and her husband either dies or her new marriage ends in divorce.
She left their four children with him, as is often the case. (“He treats them very well. So why should I worry myself about them?”) She has seen them once since, in 2005. She left, certain he’d miss her and her cooking, especially his favorite dish, spaghetti bolognese, made from a recipe she’d found in a magazine.
That was 12 years ago.
“I know he misses me.” Still, she says, 40 days can now pass without him entering her mind.
After the divorce, Abdullahi decided to put herself through law school, but being smart didn’t compensate for her lack of a secular education.
“I didn’t understand a word the lecturer said.”
In 2008, the state government’s religious Social Reorientation Program, A Daidaita Sahu, meaning “straighten your lines” in the local Hausa language, urged men to be tolerant of trivial marital problems. One reason for the state’s high divorce rate, the government found, was “the misapplication of power by men to divorce women.”
Many Kano men, who see obedience as an important wifely trait, don’t want to marry divorcees, Abdullahi contends.
“Nobody comes to us. They say we are not disciplined,” Abdullahi says. “We challenge that. They’re our men and if they don’t marry us, who will?”
The Hisbah Board is subjecting all marriage applicants, male and female, to medical and HIV tests, and requires each to fill out a form, providing details of their social “status,” education, likes and dislikes and an outline of what he or she expects in a spouse.
Husbands will pay a modest bride price, but no less than one gram of gold (which Abdullahi wants to go to the bride but usually goes to her family). The state will also pay all wedding expenses.
About 2,000 men have applied to be screened as potential husbands. For men, it looks like an affordable way to get hitched, with the bride price low, the trouble of haggling with the bride’s parents averted and the wedding paid for.
Even members of the Hisbah Board have recently taken extra wives “to set a good example,” board official Nabahani Usman said. (The board sees it as an act of charity and kindness to take in an extra wife.)
For many of the divorcees and widows, the attraction is the protection offered by the board, which will make sure any future divorce isn’t trivial.
Some critics of the marriage plan, such as writer Ayisha Osori, argue that its great flaw is in giving false hope of success in marriage to women when society’s views of wives remain problematic.
“Absolutely nothing has changed. The men have not changed, the state has not changed, and the realities of the women — right where society wants them to be — have also not changed,” Osori wrote in Leadership. “And so the cycle continues, with women in and out of the homes and beds of men who can discard them as quickly as it takes to say talaq,” she added, referring to the Islamic term for divorce.
Abdullahi met recently with Aminu Daurawa, head of the Hisbah Board, who promised to personally select the best available man for her.
He’d better find someone who appreciates a bold, charismatic woman.
Abdullahi’s outspoken ways have been controversial. In 2009 she planned a “million divorcee march” in the streets of Kano to protest the dire situation of many divorcees and widows. Tongues wagged over such a scandalous idea. Men — and women — condemned it.
She was summoned by the Hisbah Board, forced to cancel the protest and had to promise never to talk about it again. She was chastened but didn’t give up fighting.
“I’m a strong woman. I got my strength from my father.”
These days, Abdullahi looks anything but downtrodden. She adores fashion (which can be quite an expensive habit, even in Kano) and goes a little starry-eyed when listing the hoped-for qualities of her soon-to-be-found husband. She may not be romantic but can’t help dreaming big.
“I want a husband who will get me anything I want in my life. It’s not important to be rich. But I don’t want poor.”
And if he’s cruel, miserly, bad-tempered, violent or simply doesn’t suit, she will reject him.
“If he can take good care of me, fine, I’ll stick with him. But if not, I’ll find my own way.”
But can she? The Hisbah Board’s determination to save all but the most dire marriages may cut both ways. If she (or any of the women) doesn’t like the board’s version of Mr. Right, she may be stuck.
http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news-update/45416-kano-seeks-husbands-for-1-000-widows-divorcees.html

Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde, Principal Private Secretary to Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomohole was on Thursday night shot dead in his residence in Benin.
Born in Ilorin, Kwara State, Olaitan attended the University of Lagos and holds B.A in Mass Communication.
A career trade unionist, he started his trade union career with the Iron and Steel Senior Staff Association of Nigeria. He was also the Chairman of Lagos State branch of the Campaign for Democracy (CD). In 2001, he joined the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and was the Deputy General Secretary before taking a leave of absence to work with Governor Oshiomohole

Minority whip of the Federal House of Representatives, Mr Samson Osagie, Wednesday  declared that Nigerians do not deserve to pay N97 per liter of fuel, saying that the fraud recently discovered by the House allegedly perpetrated by the operators of the nation’s oil industry, especially the down stream sector, was a declaration of war on Nigerians.

Osagie who is representing Uhumwonde/Orhiomnwon Federal Constituency of Edo State, vowed that the House would not rest on its oars until the Federal Government implements the recommendations made by the House as regards the reforms in the sector.

His words: “Most of the recommendations we have made are recommendations for reforms for the sector.

And some of them, those reform strategies are already being put in place. All we can say is that we will continue to monitor the implementation of those recommendations.

It will be impossible for me to predict how Nigerians and the House of Representatives that are on the same page on this matter, will react if the government refuse to listen to the voice of the people as spoken by the House of Representatives.

“The President knows how critical this sector is. For us and for most Nigerians, I believe that Nigerians have no business paying N97 for fuel given the level of corruption that we have exposed. Because what is simply happening is that the oil industry down stream sector was highly abused, a lot of theft of our resources were taken away under circumstances that were questionable.

“Imagine one of the items on the report, where from the office of the Accountant General of the Federation, N999million was paid in 128 times, amounting to N127billion. These are things we can sleep over. Whether it is PPRA, whether it is the CBN or the office of the AG, for us we have said that this is what happened. We have a collective duty both Nigerians and government to find out what these payments were meant for.

“There was no evidence that such monies were paid. And we don’t have the expertise as legislators to do some of these things, that is the truth of the matter. I want to assure you that for us it was most unfair for government to wake up in the morning of that January 1, 2012 to ask Nigerians to pay for the theft of our resources that a few contractors and fuel importers and their connivers in government have done. Nigerians don’t deserve to pay N97 per liter.

“It is unfair considering the amount that we have found that had gone down the drain. In any case how much liters of fuel do we consume daily in Nigeria? Our investigation has shown that we cannot consume more than 31.5million liters per day. And whereas the NNPC and the Ministry of Petroleum resources they were telling us that we were importing in the neighborhood of 50-60million a day” he stated

In spite of the rudderless leadership that seems to characterise every level of governance in Nigeria, some beautiful ideas and concepts still occasionally filter into the polity. Barring policy summersault which has become a norm rather than the exception in the country, Nigeria will be taking Africa by storm with the first police university on the continent sited at the premises of the Nigeria Police Academy, Wudil, in the ancient city of Kano.

This, to us, is a monumental development in a country with a police agency that appears to defy any positive definition or qualification. We welcome and cherish the idea.

The university, with the approval of President Goodluck Jonathan, is expected to begin operation in September this year as jointly announced by Caleb Olubolade, minister of Police Affairs, and Mohammed Abubakar, acting Inspector General of Police during an inspection tour of the university project.

The Nigeria Police carries with it an enormous moral burden that has painfully lowered it in the estimation of Nigerians. The agency faces attitudinal, moral and professional challenges every minute of its existence, and this is why we are particularly happy that the IGP recognises that the agency really needs a lot more education to shore up its image and also give professional touch to crime fighting. We hope that this is the purpose which the university is out to serve.

We believe that education liberates the mind, and at university level, it not only rebuilds but also refines, producing in the process an emotionally balanced and stable character.

Perhaps some of the odd and unprofessional conducts associated with police officers, coupled with the negative public perception of the police agency generally, wouldn’t have arisen if there had been a structured learning process, like the type now being put in place, which could have impacted positively on both the psyche and worldview of an average police officer.

Nigeria and Nigerians have seen police officers who mindlessly pull the trigger on defenceless motorists for refusing to part with their money for no known offence committed; they have also seen police officers who resort to street operations in mufti, extorting money from hapless motorcyclists (okada) whose motorcycles are seized and released only on payment of sums ranging from N2,000 to N5,000. The country has also seen a police agency that compromises itself, with officers aiding high profile crime suspects to escape justice.

These are some of the unprofessional conducts of the police officers which we hope the upcoming university would address to bring about a turnaround. It is our expectation that the university should stress teachings that would promote ethics and build professionalism.

It has been observed, and rightly too, that most of the police officers of the lower cadre are emotionally erratic and intellectually inadequate, and would readily throw reason to the dogs while dealing with situations that demand intellect and diplomacy.

Nigeria is today on a sad chapter of its development history with disquieting security challenges arising from social deviants and religious fundamentalists. The country therefore needs a police agency that can rise to these challenges in a most professional manner.

We advise that the upcoming university should be made compulsory for all police officers without university education, not minding their rank or position. Entry should, however, be based on merit to avoid a return to the status quo.

Monkey post - very small posts without goalkeepers
Tiri kona,1 penarity - if you have 3 corner kick consecutively, you then play a penalty kick in place of the 3rd corner kick

Dedin - fair play

The Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar has said that the regular assault riffles being used by the force will soon be replaced with rubber bullets to fight crime.

Abubakar, who stated this during stakeholders meeting with representatives of various strata of the society including religious groups at the Police Zone 6 Command headquarters in Calabar, Cross River State, Thursday, also said the police and other security agencies will continue to work hard to arrest the activities of terrorist groups and other criminal elements in the country.

The IGP in the meeting attended by representatives of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Muslim communities, the business community and youth groups from Cross River, Rivers, Akwa-Ibom and Ebonyi states, said in order to make the police people friendly, it was imperative to introduce reforms that are in line with developments of the 21st century.

Abubakar said the proposed measure of using withdrawing assault rifles from roads and use of rubber bullets to fight crime was in line with world-best-practices, adding that the ban on road blocks across the country would continue all through his tenure.

“Very soon, the use of assault rifles will be off the roads. We would now be using rubber bullets if we are to fight crime and this is meant to disable criminals. The Police and the environment where they work should be people-friendly and Nigerians should feel comfortable when they approach a policeman or walk into the station.

“Road blocks are gone for good and what we will have now are patrol teams. The mounting of road blocks did a lot of damage to the image of the country and we must correct that. Road blocks had always been when armed robbers and kidnappers were operating freely and will be bribing them. This is the only country in the world where police mount check points using heavy drums and woods among others to block the road,” he said.

Abubakar also said that the Police had recently unveiled an Information and Communication Technology centre in Abuja manned by 15 assistant inspector-generals that will be monitoring activities through cameras in major cities including Abuja, Lagos and Kaduna.

While stressing, however, that crime fighting could not be completely erased from the society, Abubakar said the Nigeria Police will continue to do all within its limit to reduce crime to the barest minimum.

He urged members of the public to always divulge sensitise information to the Police in order to nip the activities of criminals at the bud.

The acting IGP also said that reforming the Force had already commenced with the retraining of 20, 000 officers and men, pointing out that those identified as dead-wood would be shown the way out.

“The intention of the present administration in the Police is to build a Force that will protect Nigeria, provide safety her citizens and guaranty the unity of the country. I want to have the police that will not harass the citizens, a force that Nigeria will be proud of in the 21st century,” he said.

Guy, I have a brother who was like that but he is doing very well now. My younger brother being a reverend father, took him to a religious house and we left him there for almost a year. He was greatly transformed and has since been living a normal life. You can look for a similar place ad take him there

Beaf: This is too big for any family affair. GEJ has made it known that any heads that must roll will roll, no matter who.

And you have not learnt that GEJ can only speak but can not act

Why should he talk in this manner? This Omisore needs to be checked!

A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, has threatened to stop and search the convoy of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

The former lawmaker alleged that the governor was not using men of the State Security Service (SSS) for his security personnel. He addressed reporters in his Ile-Ife home at the weekend.

Omisore said: “We will stop his convoy, search and remove all the arms his thugs are using.

“It is unethical to use thugs as security. Aregbesola should explain why he goes about with thugs. During the last elections, he rigged with the aids of thugs, but this time round, we are ready for him.

“Who wants to kill him? (Asiwaju Bola) Tinubu is more important than he is. He is a common radio technician. If Aregbesola does not trust the SSS, let him resign. We are going to stop his convoy and search him.

“His action is an embarrassment. He is just one of the 36 governors; how can his case be different? Tinubu was governor for eight years, he did not use thugs as security.

“Together with Aregbesola we were in the Alliance for Democracy (AD). We know ourselves very well. Aregbesola was just one of the thugs shouting outside when we held crucial meetings. If not for Justice Ayo Salami, whose judgment favoured Aregbesola and he is now paying for it by being at home wasting away, who knew Aregbesola?”

The former senator said it was not an allegation that Aregbesola was training and using members of the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES) to commit alleged electoral fraud.

He vowed “to crush any OYES member found in any voting centre in the next elections”.

According to him, the politics promoted by the PDP in the Southwest from 2003 to 2011 brought succour to the zone and would advance the Yoruba interest faster than the regional integration of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

But the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Sunday Akere, asked in what capacity Omisore would act, if he plans to stop and search the governor’s convoy.

Describing Omisore’s outburst as a direct confrontation, Akere said: “We shall see how he will do that and get away with it.”

The commissioner, who said no harm must come to the governor, noted that the former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, was murdered despite the security provided for him by the government.

He said: “If Omisore should be bold to say he would search the governor’s convoy, the whole world should note it. And we are demanding that no harm should happen to the governor. We don’t want to take him for granted.”

Akere said the PDP was a bad loser for referring to OYES instead of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the superintendent of elections.

He added that the PDP had performed abysmally.