₦airaland Forum

President Muhammadu Buhari is not in an enviable position right now. Just a year ago, Nigerians were chanting “FeBuhari” and piling their mountains of soteriological expectations on him. In about six weeks, it would be one year since he won the presidential election and if anything, Nigeria has proved tougher than what body language, or mere force of the President’s much touted incorruptible personality, can successfully heal.

For a man who became President by surfing on the wave of democratic discontent lunged at his opponent, it was clear from the start to any perspicacious observer that his administration would be weighed down by the burden of proof: to show the crowd of fawning admirers,supporters and believers that he was in charge, that their truth in him was not misplaced, and that he was indeed winning the war against bad governance.

One way to do this was to ramp up mundane government activity and milk it of its highest propaganda value.I have been an adult citizen for a while but I cannot recall any other government that ecstatically wallows in pornography of propaganda like this present one. Everywhere one turns in Nigeria these days, it seems there is a loud raucous noise of government officials emoting over the President’s successes in the past months, a pesky din aimed at drowning dissension, reason and well-meaning criticisms.

In the past few weeks, in a bid to share testimonies of government magic, we have been treated to exaggerated claims of government efficacy, larded with what the late Ola Rotimi would have referred to as “terminological inexactitudes.”

One example is the claim that the government has saved a whopping N2.2tn in three months, a feat owing to the Treasury Single Account initiative. Let me acknowledge that all governments in the world routinely lie to their citizens but the nature of the lie, and the depth of thought that enshrouds it, shows the level of respect they have for the citizens. I will not dismiss the N2.2tn story as an outright lie but consider the remote possibility that the truth exists somewhere but only as a thin film of truth that is being overstretched to the point of illogicality.

How does a country that can barely pay salaries save so much in such a short time and yet nothing still changes in her fortunes? Did they mean they save some existing money from being spent or that sum is the amount that could have been wasted if they had not been so diligent? How does this government begin to even convince us that it saved the nation such exorbitant amount when her 2016 budget is replete with errors, duplications and frauds so massive that reading through the items analysed by various media made one tremble in shame at the outright lack of attentiveness that was invested into its preparations? How can you be so grossly incompetent in one aspect and then claim you are opposite in another?

For a President who embodied the image of military discipline and asceticism, this budget deconstructs and demystifies him. From the way the budget was presented and withdrawn amidst lies and denials, a lot has been going wrong suggesting poor administrative capability. Buhari owes Nigerians an explanation and an apology for the inferior effort that went into this budget preparation. Rather than outsource the blame, he should take responsibility for it. In a sane society, whole heads of department would be tendering their resignation by now. One is tempted to ask how Nigeria got to this level but then, has our national existence not been characterised by such slipshoddiness?

Rather than continue to peddle propaganda and spread false cheer about the progress we have made, I think it is time we admitted that our systems are warped, unwieldy and unsustainable. Like the budget itself, Nigeria was designed to sustain the mechanisms through which corruption operates rather than advance the nation. We do not need the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Muhammed, to come up with another excuse to cover sheer incompetence. The lies told by this government are not helping anybody – neither government nor citizens. What it does is to further erode our collective integrity and the will to transcend our shortcomings. Telling lies about defeating Boko Haram in order to overshadow the fact that we are fighting a resilient war with largely analogue methods has not as much as deflated reality, so why not try tell the truth for a change? Rather than the hysterical claim about some officials “sneaking” in huge sums items into the budget, we need a more introspective look at how these things happen. We need genuine answers based on sincere analysis of the problem, not more lies or excuses exonerating themselves from these glaring failures.

How is it possible for anyone – mafia or not – to sneak items into the budget? What of items that were not sneaked in -such as the huge sums allocated to running facilities in Aso Rock at the expense of poor deprived citizenry? What level of oversight went into the preparation that a number of items escaped scrutiny? This is a part I do not understand: Is the budget manually prepared? I mean, do civil servants compute the national budget through manual calculation or they take the smarter, efficient route of using modern computer software, customised for Nigeria? The scale of fraud and shoddiness in that budget suggests that there are too many human interventions in the process. How does a nation progress when it micromanages itself?

For a while, Buhari’s government has had it good with Nigerians who keep extending it a long rope of excuses. Now, the length is enough to hang everyone. Rather than throw up our hands and jump on the same old gravy train of blaming previous administrations, or mouth the same set of impotent excuses of corruption, the government should look inward and admit to itself its own lack of preparations for the huge task that Nigerians handed to it in 2015. There are many days when it seems that the All Progressives Congress was never prepared for the reality of victory until it was too late. That is why they have been floundering, weighing every day of their administration against the unpopularity of their hapless predecessor.

For people who were ushered to power mouthing some of the most outrageous promises ever, their days in office should have exposed him to the cold stinging harshness of reality. They – like many of us – would have learnt that there are no easy solutions to Nigeria’s many problems. Our problems are many, twisted, unending but not insurmountable.

One only needs to pay attention to President Buhari himself to realise that he is overwhelmed and probably privately haunted by the scale of challenges facing his government.

Lately, in a conversation with members of the Nigerian community in the United Kingdom, he stated that he had wondered to himself why fate would deal him an unruly hand – making him President at a time when the nation’s fortunes were plunging; that he prayed for Nigerians who would suffer the consequences of the circumstances. These words, when taken up by the most fanatical of his followers, will expectedly be misconstrued as a testimony of his honesty. Underlining it however is the ruminations of a man yet to understand why he was chosen to occupy office at such a time like this. Buhari has never been a philosopher-king but his private cogitations like this one, voiced out, are less than inspiring. By now he should have known that great leaders are not made in good times. Rather, they are forged in the crucible of dwindled fortunes. Coming into office at the time oil rate is falling is not the problem; not having enough imagination to confront what looms ahead is what dooms us.

source: http://www.punchng.com/buhari-time-we-stopped-lying-to-ourselves/

Many are mad but few are roaming

….demands increase of S-Court Justices to 21

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA—–The Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Wednesday, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that his fight against corruption is conducted within the ambit of the law.

NBA which is the umbrella body of legal practitioners in the country, decried what it termed over-zealousness by security agencies currently engaged in the prosecution of alleged corrupt persons, who it said had by their conduct, exhibited little regard for the due process of the law.

The National President of the association, Mr. Augustine Alegeh, SAN, who spoke at a valedictory court session that was held in honour of Justice Muhammad Muntaka-Coomassie who bowed out of the ‎Supreme Court bench upon clocking the 70 years mandatory retirement age, bemoaned that recently, “security operatives moved inside a court room to arrest a suspect”.

“We wondered why they could not wait for the person to step out of the court before executing the arrest. While we commend the ongoing effort to rid the nation of corruption, what we are saying is that the fight must be conducted within the law.

”The NBA does not condone corruption, our point is that the war can be conducted within the armbit of the law and civility.

“Certainly, it can be won without breaching the principles of rule of law upon which our democracy is built”, the NBA President added.

On the issue of corruption within the Judiciary, the NBA, acknowledged that there are “bad eggs” within the bar and the bench, saying it will henceforth, “petition any Judicial Officer involved in or suspected to be involved in any Corrupt or fraudulent transaction to the appropriate quarters for action”.

Alegeh said: “The NBA condemns in its entirety the generalisation and/or ‎categorization of the Judiciary as being corrupt and an impediment to the zero corruption policy of the present administration.

“While acknowledging that there may be a few bad eggs in the system, the NBA restates unequivocally that the categorization of the entire Judiciary as corrupt is a misconception and will stand solidly behind the Judiciary in any attempt to intimidate or harrass its personnel.

Besides, the legal body used the opportunity to call for an increase of Supreme Court Justices to 21, in line with the provisions of section 230(2)(b) of the 1999 constitution, as amended.It noted that the retirement of Justice Muntaka-Coomassie ‎Wednesday has further reduced the number of Justices of the apex court to 15.

In his valedictory speech, Justice Muntaka-Coomassie, called for more funding for the Judiciary, even as he advocated for more respect for the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria during government functions.

‎On his part, the CJN, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, extolled the virtues of Justice Muntaka-Coomassie who he said rendered thirty-eight years of meritorious service to the ‎Judiciary.

source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/02/you-must-fight-corruption-within-armbit-of-law-nba-tells-buhari/

A man identified as Femi Orojo has allegedly raped and impregnated his 13-year-old step-daughter, Odunayo in Okitipupa town in Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo state.

The suspect who is in his 40s allegedly committed the offence in October, 2015 while his wife and mother of the victim, Mrs Bunmi Joshua was not at home.

According to the mother, who had been married to the suspect for the past six years without any child, the suspect had taken to his heels immediately after confessing.

Bunmi explained that she discovered that Odunayo was five months pregnant last week when she felt sick.She said, “It was one of my neighbour who called my attention to it recently that my girl was pregnant and anytime time I asked her about who was responsible for the pregnancy, she would be crying that if she said it she would die.

“I then took her to my pastor and after much pressure; she confessed that it was my husband.

“She told my pastor that when I was not around sometimes in October, my husband forcefully entered into her room with a machete and threatened to kill her if she did not allow him to sleep with her.

“After gaining entrance into her room, he forcefully had sex with her. After the sexual intercourse, my child said he brought out a red handkerchief to swear and warn her never to tell anybody or she would die. That is why she did not tell anyone. ”

Contacted over the incident, the Public Relations Officer of the state police command, Mr. Femi Joseph confirmed the incident and said the police had started investigation on the matter.

Joseph added that the suspect was yet to be arrested and had been on the wanted list of the command.She said, “It was one of my neighbour who called my attention to it recently that my girl was pregnant and anytime time I asked her about who was responsible for the pregnancy, she would be crying that if she said it she would die.

“I then took her to my pastor and after much pressure; she confessed that it was my husband.

“She told my pastor that when I was not around sometimes in October, my husband forcefully entered into her room with a machete and threatened to kill her if she did not allow him to sleep with her.

“After gaining entrance into her room, he forcefully had sex with her. After the sexual intercourse, my child said he brought out a red handkerchief to swear and warn her never to tell anybody or she would die. That is why she did not tell anyone. ”Contacted over the incident, the Public Relations Officer of the state police command, Mr. Femi Joseph confirmed the incident and said the police had started investigation on the matter.

Joseph added that the suspect was yet to be arrested and had been on the wanted list of the command.
She said, “It was one of my neighbour who called my attention to it recently that my girl was pregnant and anytime time I asked her about who was responsible for the pregnancy, she would be crying that if she said it she would die.

“I then took her to my pastor and after much pressure; she confessed that it was my husband.

“She told my pastor that when I was not around sometimes in October, my husband forcefully entered into her room with a machete and threatened to kill her if she did not allow him to sleep with her.

“After gaining entrance into her room, he forcefully had sex with her. After the sexual intercourse, my child said he brought out a red handkerchief to swear and warn her never to tell anybody or she would die. That is why she did not tell anyone. ”

Contacted over the incident, the Public Relations Officer of the state police command, Mr. Femi Joseph confirmed the incident and said the police had started investigation on the matter.

Joseph added that the suspect was yet to be arrested and had been on the wanted list of the command.
http://www.punchng.com/man-wanted-for-raping-impregnating-13-year-old-stepdaughter/
source:

The Nigerian Army has announced plans to close designated markets in Yobe and Borno where traders have been found to be aiding Boko Haram terrorists with logistic supplies.The acting Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, made the disclosure at a news conference in Abuja on yesterday. He said the plan was part of measures adopted to contain attempts by some unscrupulous elements to sabotage recent gains recorded by the military in the war against insurgency in the northeast.

Usman said any breach of the order of the closure of
thehe markets would be punished and appealed to residents of the affected areas to support new measures, aimed at ending the insurgency permanently.

“It has come to the knowledge of the Nigerian Army that as concerted efforts are being made to finally clear all remnants of Boko Haram insurgents in the northeast, some unscrupulous elements have been thwarting the efforts for pecuniary gains.

“They engage in all manner of illegal commercial activities, such as trading and smuggling, especially during late hours, all aimed at sustaining terrorism and insurgency.

“Consequently, the Nigerian military and, indeed, the Nigerian Army are highly concerned with these unpatriotic acts .
“The Army is, therefore, taking drastic steps to curtail this illicit trading with terrorists, from now on, some markets identified engaging in this illegal trade with adversary in Borno and Yobe will be closed,’’ he said.


Usman said the military was making concerted efforts to consolidate on the gains recently recorded in the war against terrorists in the northeast.

Usman also announced the arrest of two Nigerian Army Explosive Device personnel at Yola Park, Adamawa, with different kinds of ammunition and military hardware.

He said the two privates were arrested on Sunday with the unauthorised military items to unknown destinations.

“ The items include smoke grenade, over 2,000 live rounds of special ammunition, 50 live rounds NATO ammunition, five magazines of AK47 rifles, two Browning machine gun live rounds of ammunition.

“Others include one jack-knife, nine jungle hats, 11 pairs of camouflage (nine desert and three woodland green camouflage), one green beret, two general duty belts, 12 Army T-shirts, two raincoats and five pairs of desert boots,’’ he said.

Usman said that in spite of the setbacks, the military had recently recorded successes in its determination to flush out the remainder of the Boko Haram elements.

Usman said troops in different operations in the northeast had killed many of the terrorists, rescued hundreds of persons held hostage and recovered several arms, ammunition and vehicles in the operation.
He said several hideouts of the insurgents in remote villages in Borno and Yobe had been destroyed in the operations carried out by troops under `Operation Lafiya Dole’. (NAN)

source : http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/02/military-to-close-markets-in-borno-yobe-aiding-insurgents/

President Muhammadu Buhari has ended his five-day vacation in London and has returned to Nigeria.

According to a tweet by Sahara Reporters, the president left for Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital this afternoon from his London vacation residence.


source: https://www.naij.com/726419-just-president-buhari-ends-five-day-vacation-returns-abuja.html

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has said the Federal Government is concluding plans to complete the reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Road, Lagos, within the next two years.
Fashola also stated that the Federal Government inherited a debt of N1tn as outstanding payments to road contractors across the country.

The minister, who spoke on Tuesday while addressing a joint session of the House of Representatives Committees on Works/Power/Housing in Abuja, added that the government’s total commitment to roads was in excess of N2tn.He explained that the government had decided to prioritise road projects in the country by identifying major ones in the six geographical zones with a view to completing them.

Going by the prioritisation plan, Fashola mentioned the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway as one of the projects that would be completed within 24 months.He said N50bn had been proposed in the 2016 budget to speed up work on the reconstruction of the expressway.He stated, “The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway has been prioritised as a major traffic artery. The bulk of our imported cargo comes from Apapa, Tin Can ports through this road to other parts of the country.

“Food items and livestock from the North also reach the South-West and other areas through the road. It’s in our national economic interest to fix this road.”Another road, which the minister mentioned as having been prioritised, is the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Road in Lagos.
Other roads, named by Fashola as belonging to this category, include the Abuja-Lokoja and Nasarawa-Oweto-Otukpo roads.He explained that the roads would be broken into a three-year plan (2016-2018), with the first phase being roads to be completed in 2016.

He added that 2,000 kilometres of roads would be completed each year, translating to 31 road projects in 2016 and 55 roads in 2017.“Every zone of the country will be essentially served within available resources,” he said.According to the minister, the total budgetary proposal for the entire works sector and the parastatals in 2016, is N285.3bn out of which N268bn is earmarked for capital projects this year.

The former Lagos State governor explained that faced with funding challenges, road tolling and payment of other forms of taxes, had become options the government could no longer overlook.

“There is a government policy on tolling, which is still being fine-tuned at the Federal Executive Council level. It will soon get to you (the National Assembly).“For long, we have not been paying for services. We have to tell ourselves the truth now that this is the way forward,” Fashola said.

He stated that the government would no longer condone a situation in which contractors would collect money and abandon site.“There are contractors, who have collected advance payment of 70 per cent and they are still not on site.“In the environment where I came from, we will not give you a kobo until you have completed the job,” the minister said.

Fashola called on the National Assembly to consider reviewing some of the laws on road development in the country in order to attract private-sector investments.The Chairman, House Committee on Works, Mr. Toby Okechukwu, told the minister that the government should articulate its funding plans for the road projects.Okechukwu argued that the funding plans must be well spelt out so that most of the roads would not end up being abandoned again.

The session was not devoid of drama as lawmakers accused the government of favouring some sections of the country by constructing more roads in such zones.Members from Bauchi, Ebonyi, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Ogun, Ondo and Kano states among others, complained that their areas were marginalised.Fashola said the government was not prioritising roads on the basis of states but geographical zones.

source: http://www.punchng.com/lagos-ibadan-expressway-ready-in-24-months-fashola/

FolarinLondon:
I forgive u being my fellow Futerian. Aburo, go to labour market to look for job and sin no more...

Thank you sir

ellguapo:
I'm with you. I was being sarcastic

yea i know was just buttressing your point

FolarinLondon:
Aburo, don't even think about Insulting me cos if u try it, i ll show your ass why i graduated as a best overall graduating student in 1996.

lol so I should shiver because you graduated as the best in 1996? This is a public forum, if you want to be a boss prolly when I am under your payroll. your previous post has shown exactly the kind of person you are, hence your attack towards me . There is more to life than been a tribalist life is too short Oga

FolarinLondon:
What an absurdity at its peak!!!

How pathetic can one sound!!!

I was once a student of that school and of course an indigene of that city called Akure; Odo-ikoyi to be precise.

That school was founded in 1981 and since then, historical feats have been achieved by both yoruba students and Niger-delta students without beating their chests.

You need to go and check Futa record and come back here to apologise for beating your chest on behalf of Igbos simply cos an Igbo guy graduated as a best overall graduating student in 2014. What a shame!!!

Do you have comprehension problem? if you read my post well , there was no bragging there I made reference to it to buttress my fair representation position. whats your problem? you disputed my earlier position and when I provided you with evidence for you to comfirm you have now resulted to insulting me. Its you that is trying to give it a chest- beating undertone. lastly , you are no more a futarian than I am so save me your history.

FolarinLondon:
Liar!!!

Tell me how many Igbos have graduated from FUTA as best overall graduating students in FUTA history?

I need their names and faculties

Lol i laugh at your naivety. That you dont agree with my position doesnt mean I am a liar.The said person is even my personal friend. Anyway get a copy of 2014 convocation brochure look up for the best graduating student. hint.. he finished from biochemistry. are you happy now.. lol

Flyoruboy:
I was also speaking to a close friend from Nnewi, Anambra the other day, and he complained bitterly that Igbos are fast becoming more and more lazy and resorting to cocaine-trafficking, because they claim 'trading is no longer paying'.

lol chai

BayLord01:
And we won't be so worry in the south west is that when I was in service in Abia state, all External exams was boldly written for them on the chalkboard. We have practice that in the south west but return back to read and pass when we detected the gap in the higher institution. At the University level! Are they the best? Compare the number of first class graduate south west produce to south east, Are they the best in Jamb? Are they the best in law school? All r No. we are mature than malpractise

I had all my education in the south west so lets not go there. when humans are not saints there is no state that is not involved in malpractice. Granted, the south east are also involved but saying that malpratice is the reason for their recents success is fallacious

Nicepoker:
efejoku off head? Abi off hand

lol any one professor wole soyinka

[quote author=HomeOfMe post=42755713]In my opinion,I think one of the reasons why Lagos is doing so badly in waec is because of social media and gadgets. In the east,you hardly see secondary school students with expensive phone;the highest you'd see with them are those phone which cannot browse that they sell for 1500 or 2k. Lagos has the highest percentage of smart phone users among junior high and senior students. This in my opinion is making them lose concentration in their studies. Since my husband bought my 10year old son a smart phone,he dropped from 1st position to 3rd,and his teachers and headmistress sent for me just yesterday to complain. That same yesterday the headmistress said they caught a girl in jss 3,same class with my son watching pornog.raphy in her class after school hours with her phone. What has the world turned into. They should start by banning the use of smart phone by high school students until after WAEC![/quote

Very concise. While technology has its own merits , it would be undoing of nigerian youths if things are not put in place. you are still talking about phones I know of some 10 year old that can sing shakitibobo from begining to end. I had to warn my sister to guard against her kids. my nephew knows almost all the adverts on tv word for word. while it is good in one aspect , if not watched it might turn to an addiction. we tend to take things with levity. we are too lax with other inanities such as pdp vs apc, igbo vs yoruba to see the danger that lies ahead

enigma2007:
Interesting analysis... Personally, i find it really alarming that kids of nowadays watch TV programmes without control unlike what was obtainable in the past especially here in the South West (Can't say much about states in the SE region). Parents are using this to distract their wards from disturbing them rather than enforcing the "Go and read your books" mandate...

1000 likes for you. the trend is very disturbing and if it continues this way I wonder what the futute holds. The media do not help matters as most kids are now exposed to sexually explicit content all in the name of musical videos.. wahala dey

NeoDfirst:
Why you too Dae lie like Dis.... as at last year when jamb was written wasn't David mark d senate president?? abi have jamb been written dis year?

lol did you read my post well i said post utme exam. that was last year .

eph12:
Bros are you talking about this year jamb that has not been written or last year jamb that held before Saraki was sworn in?

last year post ume in a fed university not jamb around sept or october I think

ellguapo:
This is still an attack on the north. Nigeria is not quasi anything, this entity is just an effing anchor. Needs to be cut loose

They have the population and the power, they benefit more from the entity. Ironically the millions that are out of schools sees the elites as gods. They are happy witth the system so its going to be a long wait before the north catches up. Unless northern elites face reality education would remain the same there. The more educated her populace are, the more they ask questions and demand their right. the mafia dont want that so the status quo remains the same

TamunoRichard:
But the south west would still dominate in the bussiness and labour sector because all we the south south and the south east think is only school while the people from the south west after or before schooling are going for other proffesional training and leadership certifation programmes to boost their cv, therefore beating you with 9 A's in the labour market any day any time.

We can beat them in exams, but they calculates the bussiness and the labour market more than us.

So the SE or SS don't go for leadership and professional certification too? your argument is not valid except you provide a statistics that shows otherwise. In the federal civil service and private firms, the SW and SE have fair representations. As for business, I don't know the type of business you mean. If you are not talking about Mike Adenuga's type of business an average Nigerian knows the south-easterners dominate small scale business in Nigeria. One mistake people make is that they feel those guys don't go to school.. lol, very wrong things are changing and changing fast. The new crop are graduates that have taken up their family business or those that are fed up with the unemployment rate. so instead of waiting for an imaginary shell offer they resort to doing one business or the other to keep body and soul. One thing you should appreciate the easterners for is that in all fronts they have fair representations and are not lacking even if they do not dominate. From the entertainment industry to sports to business and now to education that used to be the pride of the sw. In futa where I graduated from, it is not out of place to see Igbos graduating with first class year in year out and also as the "best" in their class. In 2014, an igbo guy was the overall best graduating student in the school, I know of two that were the best in their departments in engineering in the same year. Last year an Edo guy was the overall best these feats were very uncommon ten years ago. In fact, if not for federal catchment policy fed universities adopt a university like Unilag might have equal numbers of sw and se students in a class. So it is still better to have fair representation in all formal and informal sectors which I think the south easterners are doing quite well. Gone are the days when you would hear statements like " anambra people na only business then sabi" because if you name the sector you think you dominate you would find out that the so-called "business guys "are giving you a good run for your money. In all, I think true federalism or regionalism would be best for Nigeria. Let all regions develop at their own pace

From the south-east to the south-west and down to the north education is generally bad in Nigeria and needs urgent attention. Apart from the lack of infrastructures and incentives from the government to teachers, kids these days do not show any desire to learn. How can one explain the fact that an average eight-year-old in lagos knows the lyrics of efejoku off hand but doesn't know how many continents we have in the world ?. Take a trip to any jamb center most prospective undergraduates students writing the exam are more interested in any expo they can lay theirs hands on before the exam starts. The moral decadence social media has caused is a topic for another day. That was how one jamb student boasted to me how he scattered post ume exam immediately after the test. well, I was curious to know the type of questions that was asked. He told me in the current affairs they asked "who the senate president was", I was like the questions are cheap oo. something just told me to ask him and when I did he said " is it not David mark" I shook my head in disbelief with all the news of saraki then when his corruption case just started with CCT I knew he would fail and yes he failed woefully.

PunchNG: Last week, the 2015 West African Senior School Certificate of Education result was released. The Punch chose to publish the story with an attention-grabbing headline: “Again, South-East leads in the WASSCE performance chart.” The report showed that Abia State dethroned Anambra. The states were ranked according to the percentage that had a minimum of five credits, including in English Language and Mathematics.

But the surprise in the report was that almost like in 2014, no South-West state except Lagos was on the top 10 of the chart. The top 10 states were the five South-East states, four South-South states and Lagos: 1st – Abia (63.94 per cent), 2nd – Anambra (61.18 per cent), 3rd – Edo, 4th – Rivers, 5th – Imo, 6th – Lagos, 7th – Bayelsa, 8th – Delta, 9th – Enugu, and 10th – Ebonyi. Ekiti was 11th; Ondo was 13th; Ogun was 19th; Oyo was 26th; while Osun was 29th. In 2014, the top 10 states were similar: Anambra (65.92 per cent), Abia (58.52 per cent), Edo (57.82 per cent), Bayelsa (52.83 per cent), Rivers (52.78 per cent), Enugu (51.91 per cent), Lagos (45.66 per cent), Imo (40.64 per cent), Delta (40.12 per cent), Kaduna (36.12 per cent). Ebonyi was 11th with 36.05 per cent.

For 2014, the states with the least performance were Northern states: They were Yobe (36th), Zamfara (35th), Jigawa (34th), Gombe (33rd), Katsina (32nd), Kebbi (31st) Bauchi (30th), and Sokoto (29th). In 2013, the result was similar: 28th – Katsina (10.45 per cent), 29th – Adamawa (8.75 per cent), 30th – Jigawa (7.47 per cent), 31st – Sokoto (7.12 per cent), 32nd – Zamfara (6.65 per cent), 33rd – Kebbi (6.30 per cent), 34th – Gombe (5.68 per cent), 35th – Bauchi (5.28 per cent), and 36th – Yobe (4.85 per cent).

Someone from the South-East or South-South could see it as a reason for chest-thumping, but for me, it portends grave danger. Why do I say so? I will explain shortly.Those who had not been following the trend in education could dismiss this as a flash in the pan. But it is not so. I have followed the trend since the late 1980s. From 1996 when the late military dictator, Sani Abacha, created 36 states out of Nigeria, the three states that have been producing the highest number of applicants in the examination organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board have been Imo, Anambra and Delta.

The Guardian of August 26, 1999, page 31, had some statistics about the 1999 UTME examination. It showed that the six states with the highest number of applications were: Imo (44,274), Delta (36,375), Anambra (34,206), Ogun (33,375), Edo (29,057), and Osun (22,950). Conversely, the states that produced the least number of candidates were all Northern states: Borno (1,572), Katsina (1,054), Taraba (882), Sokoto (782), Kebbi (794), and Yobe (535). The Registrar of JAMB then, Prof. Bello Ahmad Salim, lamented the poor showing of the Northern states, noting that the 65,000 applications from the 19 states of the North were just 20,726 higher than the number of applications from only Imo State. If Imo and Delta states’ applications were combined, that would amount to 80,649 applications: over 15,000 higher than the applications from the 19 states of the North.

In 2007, The Guardian newspaper of June 1, page 3, published the results of the 2007 University Matriculation Examination. The top six states with the highest number of candidates were Imo (93,065), Anambra (64,689), Delta (61,580), Edo (57,754), Akwa Ibom (47,928), and Ogun (47,227). The last six were: Kebbi (4,682), Sokoto (3,925), Taraba (3,832), Zamfara (2,904), Jigawa (2,541), and Yobe (2,516).

For the 2012 results released by JAMB and published by Vanguard of March 31, the top five states were: Imo (123,865), Delta (88,876), Anambra (84,204), Osun (73,935), Oyo (71,272). The least five states were: Jigawa (11,529), Kebbi (7,364), Yobe (6,389), Zamfara (5,713), and Sokoto (5,664).

In the Unity School admission of 2013, the states that got the highest cut-off marks were: Anambra – Male (139) Female (139); Imo – Male (138) Female (138); Enugu – Male (134) Female (134); Lagos – Male (133) Female (133); Delta – Male (131) Female (131); Ogun – Male(131) Female(131); Abia – Male (130) Female (130). The states that got the lowest cut-off scores were: Zamfara – Male (four) Female (two); Yobe – Male (two) Female (27); Taraba – Male (three) Female (11); Sokoto – Male (nine) Female (13); Kebbi – Male (nine) Female (20); Bauchi – Male (35) Female (35).

[b]So, for those from the South-West and North who may give the excuse of the South-East and South-South states getting these results by the help of “special centres,” it is a case of trying to hide behind a finger. Instructively, the South-West, which was the first to receive Western education, and was ahead in education, has lost its place in education in Nigeria. Something is killing the interest of the South-West children in education. The six South-West states need to see this as an emergency that transcends party affiliation. This scenario is a source of danger because the South-East and South-West have been counter forces to each other. Whatever feat the South-West produces, the South-East counters it, and vice versa. We can see it in the literary feats of Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka, the football feats of Shooting Stars and Rangers, the political feats of Nnamdi Azikiwe and Obafemi Awolowo, the academic feats of University of Nigeria, Nsukka and University of Ife, Ile-Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), and so on. This healthy rivalry enhances stability, peace and growth in the nation.[/b]

But if this downward trend continues, in future, that balancing of forces between the South-West and the South-East will no longer exist. And given that the indigenes of the South-East and the South-South dwell in large numbers in the South-West, a time will come when the South-West could feel angry that the indigenes of the South-East and South-South are taking over positions that the South-West indigenes should occupy in the South-West. This may cause problems as witnessed in the xenophobic attacks in South Africa last year. So, it is in the interest of all that the South-West stage a come-back in education.

The case of the North is scarier. Many commentators keep quiet about this worrisome issue because of political correctness, but only someone who loves you can tell you that you have mouth odour. It is dangerous that there are 10 million youths in the North with no formal education.

The rise of Boko Haram has worsened a bad situation in the North. The few who want to go to school are scared away by this unconscionable terrorist sect.

There are those who have erroneously said that the lack of interest in education in the North is caused by religion (Islam). But there are many nations with high Islamic population even in West Africa that embraced education. Furthermore, Northern states like Taraba, Plateau and Benue have a predominantly Christian population. Yet, there is a low interest in education there.

There is no proof that Northerners have lower IQ than Southerners. All men are created equal. The prevailing environmental conditions make the difference.

So, the quota system is an enemy of the North that every Northerner who loves the North must speak against. Without competition and challenges, there is no burning desire in man to excel.

Nigeria runs on a quasi-unitary structure with each link coupled to the other. It moves as a unit. It can only move as fast as its slowest link and perform as good as its weakest link. It is in the interest of Nigeria that the fire of education is rekindled in the North. This will expand the opportunities available for Northern youths and reduce the tensions and suspicion that exist between the North and the South.

We must also jettison this failed feeding-bottle federalism that we have and adopt true federalism that allows the federating units to move at their own pace and be competitive. A country that does not promote competition abhors excellence.

source: http://www.punchng.com/education-why-south-west-and-north-should-be-worried/

The Senator representing Borno Central, Baba Kaka Garbai has said that the story that the insurgents have been degraded is nothing but a lie as the terror group still hold on strong to about 50 percent of troubled Borno State.

Garbai who spoke to journalists on Saturday evening during a condolence visit to Dalori village where 65 persons were reported killed last week by the insurgents said, the truth about the accomplishment of the military in Borno State was never truly spoken as the Boko Haram and the Nigerian nation are presently administering about the same territories in the state.

He said both the military and Boko Haram have full control of three separate local governments in troubled Borno State and share control in all the 21 other local governments.

Garbai, who was in Dalori with financial and material assistance to the people of the village, said: “I feel highly demoralized, devastated in the sense that this is the village we came during the election and they were going about their normal business. The activities that were ongoing was like confidence building.

“They actually got the signal a few days before the attack that the insurgents were likely to attack them, they reported to the constituted authorities but nothing was done.
I will like to appeal to the military to intensify their effort in ensuring they beef up security around the villages and communities that share borders with Maiduguri metropolis. It is very important and more so that this place is porous, there could be attack from any direction.”

He said it was a lie and misconception that the insurgents have largely be overpowered by the military, insisting that: “It is a wrong assumption that most of the local governments in Borno are recaptured from the Boko Haram. In reality this is not true in the sense that apart from Maiduguri Metropolis, Bayo and Kwaya Kusar, these are the three local government that are under the occupation of the Nigerian government where the military and police are maintaining law and order.

“Mobbar, Abadam and Kala Balge are 100 percent occupied by the insurgents. There are some local governments that are partially occupied by the insurgents especially as the local government secretariats have been liberated but their hither-lands are still controlled by the insurgents.”

Garbai gave an instance of Konduga which was liberated but still has many communities in the local government area under the insurgents.

He also said “though Gwoza town has been liberated there still remain six wards in Gwoza local government area still occupied by the insurgents.”

He said: “From my count, only three local government are fully liberated, 21 local governments partially occupied by insurgents, that is there is still some level of Boko Haram occupation side by side the military or any other constituted authority. The local government fully occupied by Boko Haram are Abadam, Mobbar and Kala Balge.’

He advised that: “We should not live under the illusion that Boko Haram are decimated or weaken, these are not reality and neither a true reflection of the reality. The reality is that most of the local government in Borno is partially occupied by Boko Haram.”

On the proposed reconstruction, rehabilitation and relocation in the troubled areas, Garbai said it was inadvisable at least for now.

He said: “If the people are moved back to their homelands you are making them vulnerable to attack. Unless you provide maximum security and return of law and order in these areas, relocating these people would be endangering their lives.”

The Senate Leader, Mohammed Ndume, representing Borno South in the Senate however believed that much had been achieved by the military in retrieving captured Borno communities from the insurgents.

He also said it was not out of place to begin the reconstruction, rehabilitation and relocation of the destroyed communities.

He told journalists in Maiduguri on Sunday that: “I still have confidence in our military, I still want to believe that our military are on top of the situation. What is happening these days is the issue of intermittent suicide bombing and desperate attacks by the insurgents because their supply routes have been cut off and they attack in other to get supplies. They have been carting away foodstuffs of attacked communities.”

He said that the reconstruction and relocation should still continue in spite of recent attacks. He however admitted that if not immediately, at least the preparation should not be set aside.

The Senate Leader while arguing that the insurgency is winding out, said the recent setbacks are not limited to Nigeria alone, insisting that United States and recently France have come under isolated terrorist attacks.

He noted that the people of Borno displaced by insurgency are willing to go back to their homelands. He particularly mentioned that the people of Gwoza, his homelands are ready to return home, insisting that arrangements have already been concluded for this.

source: http://www.punchng.com/boko-haram-controls-half-of-borno-senator-garbai/

Nice recommemdations there if only the buharist wont label Ena Ofugara a wailing wailer

We need the right environment and a great of of investment in research and the world would reckon with Nigeria. I would advise this brilliant young man to seek foreign sponsors. waiting on the government is like expecting the second coming of christ

.. .. .. .. ..... .. .. ... .......... .. ... ... .... .. .. .. .... ... .. .. ...... .. .. ...

pic 1: Emeka poses near MGBANWE C12, a machine that turns non-biodegradable wastes like plastics, waterproof nylon, etc. into “petrol, kerosene, diesel and some other heavy oils and interlocking stones”. Photo: Karo Kanye Akamune

Pic 2: MGBANWE C12, a machine that turns non-biodegradable wastes

pic 3: An interlocking stone that was allegedly produced by MGBANWE C12.

Ugosample:
The responses to this thread disgusts me.

Igbo better than Yoruba, Yoruba better than Igbo nonesense.

Are we the only two tribes in Nigeria?

I tell you. Its really pathetic thats what nairaland has built over the years ... . tribalism. sometimes i hesistate to comment here cos if your arguement doesnt tally with their position you are labelled IPOB abi na IPod. if you arguement favour the yorubas you automatically become ndi ofe.. lol

PentiumPro:
Enjoy your miracle performance

http://lightonline.com.ng/index.php/2015/10/22/miracle-centres-kill-our-children-omenugha/

https://www.nairaland.com/1823420/anambra-close-486-exam-miracle



Make una no dey open una yansh with this sort of threads.

At Least 486 centers were closed down. which shows the state government do not condone such how many have been closed in your state?. Your hatred wont allow you see your through your quoted text.

. who sponsor them to far away states because of miracle centers”. . Its simpe those students were not part of the assessment in their state. They did their waec exam in other states. If I am from kano but school in lagos my waec result would not be part of the assessmnet in kano but in lagos. Lets stop all these ethnic bigotry and promote peace. cheers

No candidate qualified for university admission from four Federal Government colleges in the 2015 West African Senior School Certificate Examination where Abia State topped the performance register, CHARLES ABAH writes

Details of the May/June 2015 West African Senior School Certificate Examination emerged on Thursday with states in the South-East, again, leading in the performance chart of candidates who obtained credits in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.

Abia State topped the chart with 33, 762 of its 52, 801 candidates.This came as no candidate obtained five credits and above, including English and Mathematics from four Federal Government colleges.The schools are the Federal Government Girls’ College, Bajoga, Gombe State; FGGC, Bauchi; FGGC Gboko, and the Federal Science and Technical College, Kafanchan.

To secure university admission in the country, a candidate must obtain credits in five subjects and above, including English Language and Mathematics.

Anambra State came second with 28, 379 out of 46, 385 candidates. While Abia State scored 63.94 per cent, Anambra got 61.18 per cent out of 100 per cent.Edo State took the third position with 38, 052 of its 62, 327 candidates getting five credits and above. It had 61.05 per cent. Rivers and Imo states came fourth and fifth respectively.

In the 2014 May/June WASSCE rankings, Anambra State led the pack, while Abia State came second.

However, with 4.37 per cent, Yobe State came last on the 2015 rankings list with only 646 candidates obtaining five credits and above including English and Mathematics. Fourteen thousand, seven hundred and eight-four pupils, comprising 10, 807 males and 3,977 females, sat for the examination in the state.

Aside from Yobe State, seven other northern states occupied the rear positions in the rankings involving the 36 states and Abuja. They are Zamfara (36th), Jigawa (35th), Gombe (34th), Katsina (33rd), Kebbi (32nd) Bauchi (31st) and Sokoto (30th).Lagos with 68, 173 out of 141, 963 candidates that sat for the examination placed sixth on the rankings. In fact, 32, 595 males and 35, 578 females obtained the required benchmark for university admission.

The statistics obtained exclusively by our correspondent on Thursday also revealed that Osun and Oyo states placed 29th and 26th respectively. While 8,801 candidates out of 48,818 obtained the basic entry requirement for university admission in Osun, Oyo State recorded only 21.03 per cent success in the examination.

Of the 78,896 candidates Oyo State presented, only 16,588 of them obtained five credits and above including English and Mathematics.The breakdown, according to a WAEC source, is the consolidated results approved by the council following its National Examinations Committee meeting held in November.

One million five hundred and ninety thousand, two hundred and eighty-four candidates sat for the examination in which only 562, 413 candidates obtained credits in five subjects and above including English Language and Mathematics.

In other words, 1,029,871 representing 64.63 per cent failed to obtain admission requirement to the nation’s universities.The former Head of National of the council, Mr. Charles Eguridu, announced the release of the results last August.

A further breakdown of the 2015 results, showed that the seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th positions went to Bayelsa, Delta, Enugu and Ebonyi states in that order. Ekiti State placed 11th with 8,954 out of its 21, 333 candidates that sat for the examination getting the required admission benchmark.

Kaduna, Ondo, Abuja, Kogi, Benue, Akwa Ibom, and Kwara states came 12th, 13th, 14, 15th and 16th in that order.Ogun State with 75,994 candidates occupied the 19th position. The state bagged 32.89 per cent with its 25, 006 candidates, comprising 12,059 males and 12, 947 females, obtaining five credits and above including English and Mathematics.

In the 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25 slots are Cross River, Taraba, Plateau, Nassarawa, Kano and Borno states in that order. While 15,903 candidates out of 62,511 obtained the benchmark in Kano, 5,347 out of 21,695 got the same results in Borno.

Niger and Adamawa states occupy the rankings list ahead of Osun State. They placed 27th and 28th. While Osun State recorded 18.03 per cent success, Niger and Adamawa states got 19.66 and 18.08 per cent respectively.

Meanwhile, in the performance register for the 104 Federal Government colleges in the same examination, the Federal Government Girls’ College, Benin, outshined the others with 230 of its 232 pupils getting the university admission yardstick.

The Federal Government Girls’ College, Kazaure, occupied the second slot with only two of its pupils also missing the benchmark. But while FGGC Benin, obtained 99.14 per cent, its Kazaure counterpart, got 98.10 per cent.

The breakdown showed that the Federal Government College, Rubochi, came third with its 146 candidates, comprising 94 males and 52 females, out of 156 that sat for the examination putting up good showings.

The Federal Government Academy, Suleja; FGC, Okigwe, and the FGC, Nise, came fourth, fifth and sixth.From the Unity schools in Lagos, the FGC, Ijanikin, which occupied the seventh position in the rankings, emerged the best in the state with 357 out of its 387 candidates that sat for the examination obtaining the basic university entry requirement.

It came ahead of the over 100-year-old Kings College (18th), Federal Science and Technical College, Yaba (21st) and the Queens College (54th). While 361 out of 452 candidates obtained their papers at KC, 181 out of 413 females succeeded at QC.

Occupying the eighth, ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th positions are the FGC, Okposi; FGC, Ikole-Ekiti; FGGC Efon-Alaye; FGGC, Minjibir, and the FGC, Jos, in that order.

From the statistics, The PUNCH findings revealed that of the 74 candidates that sat for the examination at the FGGC, Bajoga, no one got the basic admission requirement.

It was the scenario at the FGGC, Bauchi and Gboko. Whereas 143 candidates sat for the examination in the Bauchi school, 144 females did the same at the FGGC, Gboko.

For the FSTC, Kafanchan, of the 40 candidates, comprising 29 males and 11 females that sat for the examination, no one also obtained the minimum entry requirements to the university.

Of the 26 Unity schools occupying the rear positions on the performance chart, 22 of them are located in the North. The other four colleges are the FGGC, Ikot Obio Itong, Ukam at 89th position; FGGC, Calabar (92nd); FSTC, Uyo (93rd) and the FGC, Idoani, Ondo State occupying the 96th position.

In the May/June 2014 WASSCE, 529,425 candidates, representing 31.28 per cent of the candidates, obtained the minimum university entry requirement. One million, six hundred and ninety-two thousand, four hundred and thirty-five candidates sat for the examination that year.

In May/June 2013, 639,334 candidates, representing 38.30 per cent, qualified to seek admission to university in the country. One million five hundred and forty-three thousand, six hundred and eight-three candidates sat for the examination.

source:http://www.punchng.com/again-south-east-leads-in-wassce-performance-chart/

Talent that could be harnessed but this is Nigeria where the government is a dream killer. That hummer looks cool though. The funny thing is that some of these guys haven't seen the four walls of a university yet they master the intricacies of automobile building . Nigeria needs to think of the future and invest massively in technology

Idrismusty97:
They should just go to war already! Saudi Arabia the western whöre would be obliterated. I wonder what would be of Saudi Arabia without Western/Zionists backing. Iran is hardened and independent as hell.

Exactly. Even the west and Isreal are scared of Iran's nuclear program cos they know whats up. Iranians are quite brilliant and even the west cant take away their technological prowess from them.

Major reason was because of the threat of retaliation from the Iran's Government and because protesters in Tehran set the Saudi's embassy on fire. Well, Saudi's cannot withsatnd the military might of Iran. Its high time the Iranians put saudis where they belong. The USA government would act deaf now despite saudis executing activist under the guise of terrorism. If this happened in Africa, Nato's fighter get would have graced the skies. Things like this makes core Americans drum support for trump. He will so deal with the saudis