₦airaland Forum

noblezone: 17 and 22!

Can you imagine such child abuse! Those who did this to those kids must be brought to book.

Islamic child soldiers is the worst that will happen to Nigeria.

All Islamic schools should be investigated o. Let us look into their curriculum.

Courses like:
Hatred 101, Jihardism 203, Suiciding 107, Shooting 201, bombing 101 and all such courses must be banned.

mekaboy: SHE HAS ENDED HER CARRIER, NOBODY WILL LISTEN TO HER SONG AGAIN, WE DON SEE HER FINISH, WHAT A DISGRACE TO NIGERIAN WOMEN .

maclatunji: We hope!

honeric01: If una chase them from their homes now and they come back to deal with the new settlers, una go dey say dem be animals, no one is talking now o.. WHERE DO THEY WANT THEM TO GO?

torkaka: how come bombs planted at mosques and islamic schools are always discovered?

afam4eva: We're saying the same thing. I was attacking otoxx's view that they should be given an option for fine which is unnaceptable for me. Stringent measures should be put in place to serve as a deterrent for the breaking of law and order.

In deference to the mounting safety concerns raised by parents, state governments and several sections of the public, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has redeployed prospective corps members (CMs) previously posted to “volatile states” in the North.

Parents and several stakeholders, including the House of Representatives, have kicked vehemently against posting CMs to states that have been prone to severe security threats.
Prospective CMs, who were posted to Bauchi, Gombe, Plateau, Kano and Kaduna States and are yet to report to their camps, have now been directed to report immediately to the NYSC Directorate headquarters in Abuja for redeployment. CMs posted to Yobe and Borno States would also now carry out their orientation exercise at the NYSC camps in Nasarawa and Benue States respectively.

In a statement signed by NYSC's Director General, Brig. Gen. Nnamdi Okore-Affia, the NYSC reminded Yobe and Borno CMs that their orientation dates remain July 26, 2012 and August 16, 2012 as earlier announced. Although the statement did not clarify if the CMs would go back to Yobe and Borno for their primary assignments after the orientation exercise,
THISDAY gathered that it would be unlikely as this would generate another national uproar.

“Yobe State prospective corps members will now hold their orientation course at the Nasarawa State NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Keffi, Keffi LGA, and not as stated in their call-up letters. Borno State prospective corps members will undertake their orientation programme at the Benue State NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp at Wanume, Tarka LGA, and not as stated in their call-up letters,” the statement said.

Wednesday, across the country, the theme of most addresses by state governments to CMs shifted noticeably from the ethos of national unity and cohesion to the issue of safety for corps members. The NYSC scheme, which was established to promote national integration after the civil war, first came under fire after the post-election violence claimed the lives of the famous Bauchi-11 in April 2011. Prior to the election, several other corps members employed as ad hoc staff by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), were also killed in places like Suleja, Niger State, as well as in Jos, Plateau State when they got caught in a religious crisis.

Since then, the fierce and relentless attacks by Boko Haram and other violent groups have claimed the lives of many corps members, leading to calls from many quarters for the scrapping of the scheme. Earlier in the week, the NYSC had directed the corps members to proceed to their states of deployment, including the troubled parts of the country. But this generated a lot of criticisms from parents and other stakeholders.

Many corps members refused outright to go, saying their security cannot be guaranteed in those states where many other Nigerians are fleeing. The NYSC then issued a statement assuring them of their security in those states, but the CMs were clearly not convinced.

However, in Kano State, the authorities have increased the number of soldiers that should guard the NYSC camp, by deploying scores of security personnel comprising soldiers, the police as well as other operatives to the NYSC camp at Kusalla in Karaye Local Government Area as part of efforts to provide safety for the 2,500 corps members deployed in the state.

About 50 soldiers, policemen, Civil Defence Corps members and local security operatives known as vigilante group have been deployed in the camp to protect the corps members. The state coordinator of the scheme, Alhaji Bashir Yakasai, warned the new corps members to desist from granting interview to journalists on any issue relating to religion and politics.

Speaking during the swearing-in ceremony of the ‘Batch-B of the corps members, Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, represented by the state Deputy Governor, Dr. Umar Ganduje, said government would do everything possible to ensure the safety of the corps members during the three weeks orientation exercise and afterwards in the various communities they may find themselves.

But while Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State Wednesday reminisced on the primary objectives of the scheme, which is to promote unity, his Ogun State counterpart, Senator Ibikunle Amnosun, decided that the security concerns in the country call for intensified martial arts training for corps members so they can defend themselves at critical times.

The Ogun State Coordinator of NYSC, Mrs. Theresa Anosike, explained that the 2,000 corps members (comprising 999 males and 1001 females) would be trained in martial arts to equip them with self-defence skills in addition to the normal para-military drills and physical training during the three-week orientation programme. She stressed that the training is meant to “instill discipline in them, toughen their resistance, and imbue in them Spartan-like resilience that will prepare them for whatever challenges they may encounter, during and after their service period.”

Amosun, however, assured the new corps members of their security, stressing that “Ogun State is a haven of peace and security.”

On his part, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State charged the 2,426 (1,355 male and 1,071 female) corps members in his state to be security conscious throughout their service year in the state. The governor urged them to be potent instruments in checking the menace of terrorism in the country, adding that this was the only way by which they could save the country from the international embarrassment caused the nation by the terrorists.

According to him, security should be seen as the primary responsibility of every citizen, adding that the corps members should continue to work harmoniously with the security agencies to rid the country of terror attacks. “You are all aware of the security challenge which is gradually turning the nation into a terrorist nation before the international community. I charge you to see yourself as instruments to check the menace. Be security conscious at all times," he said.

The NYSC State Coordinator, Mr. Tunde Baba-Ahmed, hinted that NYSC, in its determination to strengthen national unity, had arranged its platoons and hostels in a way that would allow corps members of different cultural, ethnic, religious and social backgrounds to interact freely.

In Enugu, the issue of safety of corps members also dominated the speech of Governor Sullivan Chime, who tasked the security agencies in the state to provide adequate cover for the corps members wherever they may be posted in the state. This was reinforced by the NYSC Coordinator in the state, Hillary Nasamu, who assured the corps members that the agency had put measures in place to guarantee the safety of over 2,500 corps members posted to the state.

Chime said the measures he ha put in place were meant to demonstrate the high premium which the government places on the safety of the corps members. He urged them to strive towards achieving the NYSC objective of national integration despite the security challenges currently facing the country.

LAGOS — Nigerians have been forced to pay as much as N150/litre of kerosene instead of the government subsidised rate of N50 because the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, chose to sell kerosene to depot owners rather than retail outlet owners as required of it.

A Report by the Technical Committee on Payment of Fuel Subsidies, submitted to Mr President and exclusively obtained by Vanguard, revealed that the NNPC flouted the policy on its monopoly to import kerosene, which comes in as Dual Purpose Kerosene, DPK, at subsidized rate to serve the masses.

Rather than deliver the product to retail outlet owners so that it could benefit the masses for which it was being subsidized, the NNPC, instead, chose to sell it for patronage, or what the committee described as “rent” to depot owners.


The struggle to buy Kerosene, an household commodity for cooking, becomes more challenging even at a NNPC petrol Station in Lagos. Photo by Lamidi Bamidele
The depot owners who got the product at N40.90/L ex-depot price, in turn sold it to marketers and retail owners at between N115 and N125/L depending on the operator, a development that led to the masses buying the product at 300 per cent increase at N150/L instead of the recommended price of N50/L.

“The distribution of DPK which was being imported solely by NNPC was skewed in favour of depot owners who have no retail outlets. Two-thirds of the kerosene sold by NNPC between 2009 and 2011 was sold to depot owners and “middle men” who in turn sold the product to owners of retail outlets at inflated prices of between N115.00 and N125.00 per litre (compared to the ex depot price of N40.90), leaving consumers to pay higher prices than the N50.00 per litre directed by Government,” the report said.

It added: “For several years now, the country has been incurring huge subsidy bills for kerosene and its citizens are not receiving the benefit – instead the country has been financing “rent” for the middlemen.”

Kayusfity: THANK GOD. WHEN WILL GEJ AND HIS FAMILY BE MURDERED?

akthedream: You must be very sup!d for posting such comment..Jonathan and Obasanjo are both christains right?Can u please hight there achievement since their combined reign of about 11-12yrs?People like you and bokoharam should be held responsible for the religious crisis currently in the north..Mumu like u.

maclatunji: It is called D-E-M-O-C-R-A-C-Y. Majority have their way, minority have their say. How can you seek to deny the Egyptian people the right to choose their leader as they see fit?

moderatorr: egypt may attack israel again!

RICHIE BOI: The voice of the people must prevail. i dont think the relation btw America and Egypt will change. mohamed morsi received his Ph.D. in engineering from the University of Southern California in 1982. He was an Assistant Professor at California State University, Northridge from 1982 to 1985. Two of his five children were born in California and are U.S. citizens.

Dawdy: Alhamdulillah!

Aahammed1: Congrat to the great people of egypt also congrat to muslim brotherhood

ashson: Allahu Akbar!!! Alhamdulillah! Long live the new president! if you dont support him, just shut up!

auwal87: Almighty Allah has protected His House, Alhamdulillah