₦airaland Forum

PARENTS in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno
State appear to have resigned to fate over the
possibility of getting back the over 200 girls abducted
from a secondary school by Boko Haram insurgents
from the community in April.
However, the military disclosed, on Saturday, that
over 50 members of the group were killed in a raid
on their hideout in Kawuri area of the state.
Reports have indicated that the Chibok girls’ parents
are calling for a massive invasion of the area by
Federal Government troops to rout the militants,
even if it means sacrificing the long-awaited girls.
An online news medium, Premium Times, reported
the chairman of Chibok Local government, Tsambido
Hosea, declared in Abuja at the weekend that parents
of the children were seeking an end to their trauma,
either by reunion with the girls or their (girls’) burial.
He reportedly made the remark during a protest to
mark the 130th day since the girls have been in
captivity with the Islamist terrorists.
“If the Federal Government has that capacity, let it go
into Sambisa. If there are some (of the girls) that God
says would be rescued, they can be rescued by the
forces and if some have gone, it is better (to know)
than this trauma the parents are going through,” he
said.
He added that the parents wanted to bury their
children, if they were dead, so that they could forge
ahead with their lives, “instead of living with
uncertainty, not knowing if their children are dead or
alive.
“They (parents) cannot do anything. But had it been
they have buried their children, they would have
forged ahead with their lives.”
Hosea spoke further that; “the parents say they don’t
care about their lives, but let them go in; if they can
take care of this Boko Haram, so that they (Boko
Haram) will not spread to other places; so that they
do not continue being a menace. Let the girls be
sacrificial lambs. That’s what they told me yesterday.
“I phoned them, saying that I knew that I was going to
face some (journalists for) interviews today. I asked
them: What is your opinion? So, this is their opinion.
“They are saying the government should go into the
forest. Even, if it is corpse, let them bring the corpse
of the children so that they will bury them properly.
What they are saying is that with these girls in the
bush, it is better for the government to go in with the
forces; with the army might and bring the girls, even
if it is the corpses, for them, so that they can bury
them properly,” he said.
‘Girls moved to Lake Chad Island’
In the meantime, it has been revealed that a large
number of the girls are in custody of a group of the
insurgents on Lake Chad Island.
Security operatives in Baga town of Kukawa Local
Government Area of the state, who revealed that they
arrested two suspected Boko Haram members, said
these suspects disclosed this.
Those in the group , according to the operatives, are
over 1,000 and are planning to take over Kukawa
Local Government and establish their stronghold in
that axis, in preparation to launch massive attack on
Maiduguri, the state capital, in order to extend their
new caliphate.
A security source said that with the revelations from
the suspects arrested, at least, it was known that
about 132 of the Chibok girls were around that axis
and that a surreptitious operation might take place to
rescue them and dislodge the insurgents from the
Island.
Security chiefs lag on information –Source
A top security personnel in Maiduguri, who pleaded
anonymity, said forces had been receiving reports
regarding the operations of the insurgents only for
such reports to end up on the tables of their chiefs
either in Maiduguri or Abuja.
“This is certainly not the first time we have been
receiving security reports on the activities of the
insurgents and nothing is done about it. For example,
they would tell you that they are working on it. Would
the Boko Haram wait for you to finish your paper
work before it attacks?” he queried.
He added that “we have problems with some of us
here or in Abuja. Look at the situation now, from the
Defence Headquarters, they said, Air Force fighter jet
is bombarding those insurgents in Bama, but the
report we are receiving now is that the insurgents
have dislodged our men at Madagali in Adamawa
State.
“They know the insurgents are there; the fighter jet
would come, survey the whole area and throw
bombs on mountains, while the insurgents are there
laughing. We are getting fed up with paper works.
“The boys need action. I believe that only a few
people are now remaining in Gwoza. There is always
collateral damage. The caliphate is still there
standing for over one month and nothing is done
about it. If they bring in new weapons, instead of
giving it out for work, they would say, take it to the
armoury. And before you know it, Boko Haram will
attack and all the weapons turn to their own; they will
turn back and use them to kill everybody.
“Let me tell you, I don’t know whether you have
watched the Boko Haram video in Gwoza. Before they
arrived, all soldiers ran away because the weapons
were kept in the armoury and those one came and
took away everything.
“I believe that is what they used to attack Bama. Only
God helped us that the fighter jet was ahead of the
insurgents in Bama and it destroyed all the weapons
in the barracks before they got to them, otherwise,
Maiduguri would have been a caliphate by now.
“There is no deliberate effort in this operation. I do
not blame the Federal Government. The president is
doing well, but the Generals want this war prolonged.
“Now, they have taken over almost all Northern and
Eastern Borno. If they motivate these boys and give
them all the weapons locked up, give these boys two
days, they will overrun Boko Haram in all their hiding
places and areas they have captured.
“But if they continue to tell people stories, Maiduguri
is likely to be taken. And I tell you, the people will
begin to call for the ECOWAS forces here. I think
some of us, even among security circle, prefer call
for ECOWAS forces by now. Perhaps, only then will
we be serious in fighting the insurgents.
“If you have been to Cameroon, you will appreciate
military. If Paul Biya, their president, is going
somewhere, even the trees around would know that
security is at work.
Here, we have a situation and still, we cannot do
enough for people to see and be relaxed. If we are
doing well, why are people leaving the town? The
government here will come and tell you stories. Well,
let us continue to pray and hope for the best.”
The source said that were it not for the multinational
task forces in Baga, the area too would have long
been under the control of the Boko Haram.
Sect kills scores in Adamawa
Scores of people were feared killed as Boko Haram
insurgents attacked Adamawa communities in
Madagali and Michika local government areas as well
as Gulak, the hometown of the acting governor of the
state.
The insurgents launched the attacks late Friday night.
The reportedly had a field day in Shuwa, Gulak and
some Michika communities, while security forces
mobilised to repel the attacks.
A resident who sought for anonymity revealed that
the insurgents occupied government buildings and
shot at many people who were trapped in the town.
According to him, many who fled the attacks
reported the death of scores of relatives left behind
in the exchange of gunfire between the insurgents
and security forces.
He said some of the soldiers who were overpowered
by the insurgents after many hours of gun duel fled
into the bush, while others zoomed off in overloaded
vans.
“Hundreds of them carrying dangerous weapons just
appeared from the bush and shot at soldiers and
other security buildings in the town. We escaped by a
whisker, but some were trapped there. We heard
they shot many people this morning,” he said.
Another resident, Ibrahim Sani, said armed men
flooded the town at around 5.00 p.m. on Friday and
engaged soldiers in a gun battle that lasted for hours
before the soldiers fled in various directions.
Some people in Michika and Uba towns said
displaced persons from Gulak trooped to their town
after escaping from Gulak, a development which led
to pandemonium amid news that the insurgents were
advancing.
One of the fleeing residents, Aisha Buba, who spoke
to journalists on phone, said after escaping to
Michika, she realised the town was not safe as Boko
Haram fighters were said to be close to it.
She indicated her intention to quickly leave the town
for Mubi, considered to be far away and relatively
safe. But a relation of one of the deceased, who gave
her name as Kwala, said she lost three relations in
the attacks.
The Chief Press Secretary to the acting governor,
Solomon Kumanga, confirmed that insurgents took
over of the town, saying many people were killed.
But he denied reports that the residence of his boss
in Gulak was torched by the Boko Haram fighters.
Attempt to speak to chairman of Madagali, James
Watharda, was not successful as his phone was
switched off.
Source: www.tribune.com.ng/news/top-stories/item/15382-sacrifice-our-girls-but-destroy-boko-haram-chibok-girls-parents-tell-fg-girls-are-on-lake-chad-island-sect-members-reveal-gunmen-sack-adamawa-s-ag-gov-s-town-kill-scores-military-kills-50-terrorists-destroys-hideout-in-kawuri/15382-sacrifice-our-girls-but-destroy-boko-haram-chibok-girls-parents-tell-fg-girls-are-on-lake-chad-island-sect-members-reveal-gunmen-sack-adamawa-s-ag-gov-s-town-kill-scores-military-kills-50-terrorists-destroys-hideout-in-kawuri

Belated already.

Obviously.

ramdris: Haba! What of usman dan fodio university na ?. :

This is meant to be a joke right?

American universities have again outranked more
than 1,250 other higher education institutions around
the world in the annual Shanghai Jiao Tong listing of
the global top 500 universities. And for the 12th year
running, Harvard was placed number one. The global
Academic Ranking of World Universities , or ARWU,
was released on Friday with the usual long list of
United States universities taking 16 places in the top
20, 52 in the top 100 and 146 in the top 500.
Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Berkeley, Princeton, Caltech,
Columbia and Chicago – in that order – were in the
top 10 while American institutions also occupied the
top five places in four of the five broad subject fields
where Shanghai ranks the top 200 universities.
Britain came second with three of its universities in
the top 20 – Cambridge at number five, Oxford at
number nine and University College London at 20.
The UK also had eight universities in the top 100 and
20 in the top 200 with a total of 38 at the 500 point.
That was one behind Germany, which had 39
universities in total in the top 500 but none in the top
20. France and Italy each had 21 universities in the
top 500, as did Canada, and they were followed by
Australia and Japan with 19 each. Switzerland’s
science and engineering university, ETH Zurich,
joined the elite top 20 group for the first time, in the
19th spot, placing the university first among
European institutions.
ETH was followed by France’s Pierre and Marie Curie
University at number 35, while the University of
Copenhagen, in 39th position, overtook Paris-Sud as
the third top university in Europe.
The Swiss-based École Polytechnique Fédérale de
Lausanne or EPFL made its first appearance in the
top 100, increasing Switzerland’s representation to
five – the third highest of all countries in the ranking
but with seven in total. China, with 44 universities
ranked in the top 500, continues to make rapid
advances up the table even though its institutions
only managed to get as far as having nine in the top
200. Even with 44, though, China still had 102 fewer of
its institutions placed in the rankings than the US.
Elsewhere in Asia, the University of Tokyo at 21 and
Kyoto University at 26 topped all others in Asia while
the University of Melbourne in 44th position became
the highest ranked university in Australasia in the
history of the ARWU.
Overall, 16 countries had at least one university in
the top 100 while 42 nations were represented in the
top 500, with nine managing to have one listed and
six having two. This year, 25 universities broke into
the top 500, including Deakin University in Melbourne
plus another nine that also made their first
appearance. South Africa and Egypt were the only
countries on the African continent to be represented
in the top 500: South Africa with the universities of
Cape Town, the Witwatersrand, KwaZulu-Natal and
Stellenbosch, and Egypt with the University of Cairo.
The ranking The Center for World-Class Universities
at Shanghai Jiao Tong first launched the precursor of
the now too-numerous university ranking systems in
2003. It has been criticised in the past for its heavy
reliance on science-oriented sources, using
indicators such as the number of alumni and staff
winning Nobel prizes and Fields Medals, and the
number of articles published in Nature and Science.
The ranking also uses the Science Citation Index and
the Social Sciences Citation Index, as well as each
university’s ‘per capita performance’ in determining a
university’s place in the rankings.
The latter is calculated by the weighted scores of the
other five indicators divided by the number of full-
time equivalent academic staff. The centre says that if
staff numbers are not available, only the weighted
scores of the five indicators are used.
The centre is certainly correct, however, when it
refers to its “transparent methodology and reliable
data” – unlike some other rankings – and its listings
are still regarded as the most reliable, if not most
prestigious, of all the global university ranking
systems.
Performance by field It also publishes other results
of the vast amount of data the ranking collects, such
as the classification of the top 200 universities in five
broad fields as well as in five selected subject fields.
The following lists the fields and the top five
universities in each, which again shows America’s
domination: Natural Sciences and Mathematics:
Berkeley, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford and Caltech.
Engineering-Technology and Computer Sciences:
MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign and University of Texas at Austin.
Life and Agriculture Sciences: Harvard, Cambridge,
Stanford, MIT and University of California, San
Francisco. Clinical Medicine and Pharmacy: Harvard,
UC San Francisco, Washington (Seattle), Johns
Hopkins and Stanford.
Social Sciences: Harvard, Chicago, MIT, Berkeley and
Columbia. And in the subject fields: Mathematics:
Princeton, Harvard, Berkeley, Pierre and Marie Curie
and Stanford.

www.punchng.com/education/us-tops-shanghai-university-rankings-china-on-rise/

anuville: Is this Dolapo UI??

Na me o.

And now some ignorant fellas will be shouting US is always fighting Arabs because Arabs are Muslims and the Americans are christians. US' policies in the middle east and other parts of the world are economically-driven and has nothing to do with religion.

Please if you have been posted to Cross River, let us all drop our numbers here so we can connect. Mine is 08097843667 bbm- 21AF6061.

hopilo: This people must be in the team planning this bombings to know the targets. Western world destabilizing Africa for ages now.

typical African, always blaming others for his woes except himself.

I think one of the criteria for APC membership is having a loose tongue. One thing I notice about them is that majority both leaders and members just open the gutter outlets on their faces that they call mouths anyhow spewing rubbish like poultry droppings.

Coming back.

KANO State governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has
said that going by the high rate of insecurity and
socio-economic problems facing the country,
President Goodluck Jonathan cannot win any of the
19 Northern states in a free and fair contest in the
2015 general elections.
This is just as Kwankwaso declared his intention to
contest the 2015 presidential election on the
platform of All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to his twitter account, Governor
Kwankwaso said he arrived at the conclusion after
comprehensive survey of the northern states.
He said that his findings indicated that none of the
northern states would vote in favour of President
Jonathan.
The governor, who has expressed his intention to vie
for the 2015 presidential race on the platform of the
APC, expressed disappointment that Nigerians in
their thousands were currently in Niger Republic,
Cameroon and Chad, as refugees.
He noted that a government that cannot guarantee
adequate security for its citizen needed not to be
voted for.
tribune.com.ng/news/news-headlines/item/11316-jonathan-can-t-win-any-northern-state-kwankwaso

One thing I notice about most muslims is that they only strive to memorise and recite the quran, they rarely truly understand it.

If wars are won by mouth, Igbos will be ruling the world by now.

When I can't even remember the last time I watched a local tv station. I'll rather increase my DSTV subscription. Imagine paying to watch NTA.

Why are we even arguing about this? If they are equivalent, why is it that in the University of Ibadan for example, applying through Direct Entry into the faculty of Technology with your ND means you'll start in 200l or 300l with HND. If they are equivalent as you claim, why is it that HND holders can only start from 300l? To me they are not equivalent to each other.

I think she could have been beautiful if not for her Suarez-like teeth.

martronilla: A Muslim man is allowed to marry a Christian
woman, but a Christian man is not permitted
to marry a Muslim woman.
I remember hearing an interview on the
radio with a Muslim, a few years ago. As the
interview began, the host asked the Muslim
guest whether he was married. He replied
that Islam is so open and tolerant that he is
married to a Christian. Islam means equality
and no discrimination.
However, the quick-minded interviewer
asked him if Islam allows a Jewish man or a
Christian man to marry a Muslim woman.
The guest’s enthusiasm dropped a little. He
had to concede that Islam does not allow
this. The radio host pressed home the point,
saying that the guest’s first statement was a
little misleading, wasn’t it? They argued for a
moment or two. Then, if I recall correctly, the
radio host sensed his guest’s unease and
changed the subject.
A short article from a Muslim website,
representing many others, says about
religiously mixed marriages:
It is not permissible for a Muslim woman to
marry a non-Muslim man.
It is permissible for a Muslim man to marry a
Christian/Jewish woman strictly under these
two conditions:
1. She is a true Christian/Jew – not by
name and/or ancestral background.
2. She did not renegade from Islam and
become a Christian/Jew.
Why is marriage allowed in only one
direction? Maybe seventh-century Arab
culture will answer this question. Perhaps
the Quran itself does not honor women,
married or not.
What does the New Testament say on the
matter?
The Quran
For the historical and literary topical context
of this next sura (chapter), please click here.
The Quran in Sura 5:5 says:
. . . Likewise you are permitted to marry
chaste believing women [Muslims] or chaste
women among the people who were given
the Scripture [Jews and Christians] . . . .
(Maududi, vol. 1, p. 427)
This verse, as noted, says that Islam permits
Muslim men to marry non-Muslim women
who are Christians and Jews, but a Jewish
or Christian man may not marry a Muslim
woman. (In this article I will address only the
Christian community.) What is the rationale
behind the ruling?
Beyond any doubt, Islam is patriarchal, so a
Muslim man must have final control in the
relationship. For example, Sura 4:34 says
that a husband may hit his wife, but no
verse in the Quran says a wife may hit her
husband—as if domestic violence in any
form is acceptable.
It may be true that Muhammad at first
respected Judaism and Christianity, but he
turned against them later on in his life, as
seen in this article and this one. So this
means that in seventh-century Arab culture
a Muslim man may dominate his wife or
wives, but not a Christian man who would
dominate his Muslim wife.
Islam allegedly is the best and final religion
for all humankind, and the Muslim man may
convert his submissive wife. Perhaps in
Muhammad’s mind no woman could ever
convert a Muslim man, if he is a
traditionalist. Today, this is especially true if
he comes from a hard line region in an
Islamic country or a hard line Muslim family.
Therefore, Christian women must be careful
about marrying Muslim men. Islam does not
give the same rights to women as it does to
men. In fact, the Quran clearly says that
women are inferior to men.
Further, to be blunt, but also factual, Islam
generally is a cruel and harsh slave-master.
This article shows that Muslim men are
permitted to have sex with their slave-girls.
This article gives the top ten reasons why
Islam is not the religion of peace. And this
article offers the top ten reasons why
Islamic law is bloody and excessive—six
hundred years after Jesus showed us a
better way. Finally, this article gives the top
ten rules in the Quran that oppress and
insult women. Islam, as the whole world
knows by many, many reports, does not
honor women.
Therefore, Christians must not trade in the
eternal Son of God who sets people free
today and offers the love of God, for a
human and mortal messenger Muhammad
(Suras 3:144; 39:30; 41:4), who is too often
cruel and harsh and misogynistic. Islam
does not honor women.
If a Christian woman marries a Muslim, but
holds on to her beliefs, such as the Sonship
and Lordship of Christ, then ipso facto she
holds on to a false belief and may be
considered a "heretic" or an "infidel," if the
Quran and traditional Islamic theology are
followed consistently.
Also, would the children be Muslims or
Christians, or secular? The answer is clear, if
Islam is followed consistently.
What kind of marriage would this be?
Where is the spiritual connection and
agreement between husband and wife and
God?
The New Testament
The New Testament starts the soon-to-be
married couple on an equal footing in the
selection of a mate.
The New Testament in 1 Corinthians 7:39
says that a Christian woman may marry only
a Christian man (and vice-versa) (see also 2
Corinthians 6:14-18). At first glance, this
divine counsel seems too restrictive, but
looked at more deeply, it demonstrates a lot
of wisdom. If a married couple starts their
walk together with the same faith and
theology, then this takes the pressure off of
possibly converting the partner to the
other’s faith. One partner does not have to
"evangelize" the other partner. Neither
partner starts off as an "infidel" or "heretic."
In Biblical Christianity, the man and the
woman must have a deep, spiritual
relationship with Jesus Christ, individually,
through the power of the Holy Spirit before
they become one flesh in marriage. This
means their spiritual intimacy with the Lord
will be shared in the couple’s own intimacy
with each other.
Also, this true spiritual equality takes away
any patriarchy. The woman already agrees
with the husband in matters of religion, so
what need does he have to control the
relationship and lay down religious law?
In a way, Islam acknowledges this
restriction when it forbids a Muslim from
marrying a polytheist or idolater (Sura
2:221). They are too far apart theologically.
Likewise, though neither religion is
polytheistic, Islam and Christianity are too
far apart theologically and spiritually, notably
in Muhammad’s denial of the Sonship of
Jesus Christ, an essential, non-negotiable
doctrine in Christianity. Islam wrongly
demotes Jesus to a mere prophet. The New
Testament everywhere affirms the Sonship
of Christ.
On a heart-felt level, the Muslim does not
receive the Holy Spirit because he does not
receive Christ as Savior and Lord. In fact,
Islamic theology erroneously reduces the
Holy Spirit to the angel Gabriel. This means
that a marriage between a Muslim and a
Christian would be unequal. And this is risky
for the Christian, since she would be most
vulnerable to a particularly strong patriarchy
that may rear its ugly head later on in the
marriage.
Remember, the Quran gives permission to
husbands to hit their wives if the husbands
merely fear high handedness or rebellion in
their wives (Sura 4:34).
Besides this practical reason, if a Christian
understands the New Testament, then he or
she must not marry a Muslim, for spiritual
and theological reasons.
A Christian couple must keep spiritual unity.
They must raise their children in spiritual
harmony, as followers of Christ.

Can you please give me the link to the site or the name of th site proper. I'll kindly appreciate it.

You can only wonder how much the woman invested in all those little things you saw in the video, it might be her life savings or better still all that she's worth for now. Being a widow, how would she fend for her children at home? If she starts begging, she is open to ridicule and would have lost all honours in the society apart from the fact that overzealous task force officials will still harass her. She tried not to beg but work but the "man o.f the people" told her to go and die. If she sleeps around with men to fend for her children, people will label her ashewo and she has lost it all socially. I'm forced to think that is this world really worth living in? What hope do we have in this world of ours? Despite the fact that my mum use to call me a stone-hearted fellow, this woman's tears really made me cry, I felt so much for her. The video was emotional, I couldn't believe Oshiomole would be that callous in his reactions, so cold and savage. No milk of human kindness whatsoever. In saner climes, Oshiomole would have resigned, yes if you watch international news channels a lot, you'll see instances where leaders have resigned for even lesser incidences. If the Prime Minister of Latvia can resign because of a collapsed shopping mall, I think Oshiomole should resign. But do we really have leaders in this country? We only have rulers. Wipe your tears widow, whenever you feel like losing hope, take solace in His words that "I'm coming soon".

David did not kill Goliath. This was the claim of Dr Femi Aribisala in an interview granted to the Pucnh Newspaper. In the interview he claimed David did not kill Goliath. Surely this is a very bold statement to make but he surprisingly had bible verses to back him up. He said and I quote, "Let me quote the bible to you again. 'In another battle with the philistines at Gob, Elhanan son of Jaare Oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite' (2 Samuel 21:19). Did you hear that? Goliath was killed by Elhanan, one of David's mighty men. It is not my position. It is stated so in the bible. "There are contradictory versions of who killed Goliath in the bible. Under Rehoboam, Israel became divided into two kingdoms; one pro-David: the other anti-David. Both gave conflicting historical reports which were later edited into the bible. As a result, the biblical record about David killing Goliath is full of contradictions and inconsistencies. "I have quoted to you the positions stated in 2 Samuel. However, 1 Samuel says it was David who killed Goliath. Having investigated both versions in the bible, it is clear to me that the version about David killing Goliath is pure fiction. The evidence is overwhelming that it was actually Elhanan who killed Goliath. The problem is that Christians don't bother to investigate these things. They simply state whatever their pastors tell them. Most pastors don't even bother to study the scriptures. When you tell Christians the truth they don't know, they shout heresy out of sheer ignorance". What do you all think about this claim?

Anoda

Nigeria's foremost producer and the CEO of Mavin Records has taken to twitter to accuse a popular artiste formerly on his record label Wande Coal of 'stealing' his song Baby Face, while the accused artiste equally responded. See pics.

Activists believe women's education and stronger laws will improve life in Africa's most populous nation.

Child marriage - defined as a marital union with a person under the age of 18 - affects more girls in Nigeria than in all the countries of West Africa combined, according to a recent Ford Foundation study that assesses child marriage in the region’s sixteen countries.

Though it is technically unlawful in Nigeria, girls in some regions are sometimes married by age nine.

One girl, Maimuna, is determined not to be a child bride.

Maimuna (who did not want her last name published) is a teenaged girl from a rural village in northern Nigeria. A pink colored hijab surrounds her head and her voice is soft.

"The best gift any parent can give to their child is education," she says. 

Maimuna watched her childhood friends get married one by one, but she refused to join them. She knew that getting married early might threaten her hopes to attend university and become a healthcare professional.

She continued going to school, despite the disapproval of her relatives. She said they told her that educated children, especially girls, end up irresponsible.

But she did not listen. Her father also refused to listen. He supported her academic goals, even though he could not afford her school fees. The Isa Wali Empowerment Initiative, an organisation based in northern Nigeria, stepped in to fill the gap.

Amina Hanga, the executive secretary, tries to intervene in the lives of girls in Nigeria before they get married early, but oftentimes it’s too late.

"The girls in the programme are usually married by fourteen," she explains. "They think that’s the way it’s supposed to be."

Hanga sees child brides on a regular basis and helps some of them receive literacy education and vocational skills training in cooking, jewelry making, processing groundnut oil and sewing. Recently, she noticed a drop in attendance in one of the literacy classes and later found out that some husbands and male relatives had stopped some of the girls from coming to class.

"The men were feeling threatened that if the women were to learn how to read, then they will dominate them," Hanga says, admitting that the changing the reality on ground is a daunting task.

More than a dozen of Nigeria’s 36 states have not enacted the 2003 Child Rights Act, which states 18 as the minimum age for betrothal and marriage. The statistics in Nigeria reveal a wider trend. The United Nations reported that in sub-Saharan Africa nearly 37 percent of young women between the ages of 20 and 24 were married by their eighteenth birthday and projects that an estimated 70 million minors in sub-Saharan Africa are at risk of being married by 2030. 

Research shows that once married, a child bride will likely remain financially dependent on her husband and may not have access to quality healthcare.  Her risk of pregnancy-related complications will increase, just as her chances of contracting a sexually transmitted disease will rise.

The rate of child marriage is most concentrated in West Africa. The Ford Foundation study reports that 49 percent of girls under 19 are married in West Africa.

Confronting culture and tradition

Activists ending child marriage aim to confront the social values and traditions that deem the practice acceptable and harmless.

If people don’t know the consequences of child marriage for the girl, they will be less likely to change it

-Lakshmi Sundaram, Girls Not Brides

"If people don’t know the consequences of child marriage for the girl, they will be less likely to change it", says Lakshmi Sundaram, the global coordinator of Girls Not Brides, a global partnership of more than 300 non-governmental organizations in over 50 countries working to end child marriage.  

She says the topic is still taboo in many cultures, emphasizing that it’s the perception of girls as being "lower" than their male counterparts that largely contribute to the continuance of the practice of child marriage.  

Hanga says that customs in the predominantly Muslim northern Nigeria, where illiteracy and poverty along with the incidence of child marriage is the highest in the nation, limit a girl’s social interaction and mobility, mandating her to seek permission from a male relative before leaving the home.

"So even if you have some health issues, you cannot go out to a hospital and you are waiting for your husband to return to allow you to go," she says.

Despite these cultural challenges, Hanga moves forward with her advocacy through community-based initiatives. This year, her organisation will set up girls clubs in three secondary schools in Nigeria’s Kano State. The clubs will be a safe space for girls to talk openly about their problems and to mentor one another.

"We want to make the girls ambassadors for change," Hanga says.

The Way forward to protecting girls

Nigeria has made significant improvements to address the factors leading to and resulting from girls marrying early, by implementing programs to increase girls’ school enrollment, treating fistulas caused by young mothers experiencing complications during pregnancy and awarding scholarships for girls.

The government needs to do a better job with creating awareness about the importance of education for girls

-Amina Hanga, Isa Wali Empowerment Initiative

However, a recent review of a constitutional clause sparked a national debate when a senator, who allegedly married a 13-year-old Egyptian girl as his fourth wife in 2010, argued that Islam places no restriction on the age of marriage for a girl. Hanga asserts that the issue should not be about religion but about structural policy change.

"The government needs to do a better job with creating awareness about the importance of education for girls," Hanga says.

After a pause, she begins to speak about a woman in her early 30’s who was attending the literacy class.  The woman was married before the age of 15 and was pregnant with her 11th child, to which she later died of complications.

The memory of the woman renewed Hanga’s determination to change cultural beliefs and traditions.

"Here, you’re being programmed to think that the ultimate for a woman is marriage and nothing else," she says.
Source: Aljazeera

Bola Hammed: So who told u Muslims doesn't wake up at night to pray?

Bola Hammed Opeyemi you abi

Haywhymido: See segregation of d highest order.since d schools av bin merged if xtians r allow to attend muslim public schools,y will d xtians stop d muslims 4rm attendin dia schools.I av said it b4, na dis xtians go start religion war 4 southwest.n dey do preach abt love ur neighbour as urself. Arrant nonsense.

Oponu ni e. What is it with this your warped thinking? Christians didn't say muslims should not attend their schools, they merely said the don't want the use of hijabs in their schools. Talking about Christians attending muslim schools, more muslims attend christian schools in any part of the country if you care to know. Christians are more tolerant as against your silly assertion. If christians are not tolerant I dare say the level of illiteracy among muslims would have been higher in any part of the country and they would be seriously playing catch up had the early Christian missionaries not thrown the school gates opened to all and sundry whether christians, muslims or traditionalists. Whether private or public, more muslims attend christian schools than christians attend muslim schools. So the next time you wanna argue, use your head and not your heart bro.

Report exposes sexual abuse of UK minorities

Shocking investigation lifts the lid on sexual exploitation of Asian and Muslim girls in Britain.

London, UK - Farhah was just 12 when her older boyfriend raped her, took compromising photographs of his victim - then began blackmailing her into having sex with his friends.

By the time she was 13, she was regularly being plied with drugs and alcohol so that scores of men could force themselves upon her, sometimes for money.

This case of sexual exploitation of a child would be shocking enough in any society, but the fact that Farhah (not her real name) has a Pakistani background and these crimes took place in the UK heightens the impact of her story.

Her tale and stories of other girls litter the pages of a ground-breaking report that lifts the lid on a major taboo among minorities in the UK and exposes how authorities are failing one of the most vulnerable sectors of society: Asian and Muslim girls.

The authors believe they may have identified a problem that is far more prevalent.

Our report proves beyond doubt that they are being sexually exploited

Shaista Gohir, report author

They are now calling on the government to undertake more research into sexual exploitation by gangs and groups among minorities - and to ensure that a review of children’s services now underway does not overlook the special risks faced by girls in these communities.

“This report challenges the stereotype that child sexual exploitation is a racial crime in which Asian offenders target white girls only and Asian girls, Muslim girls, are not being sexually exploited,” said Shaista Gohir, the author of the report published by the Muslim Women’s Network UK (MWNUK).

“Our report proves beyond doubt that they are being sexually exploited.”

Unheard Voices: The Sexual Exploitation of Asian Girls and Young Women, recounts a litany of crimes by paedophiles against girls aged on average 13 to 14 - and punctures a potent myth that in recent years has steered British media reports and official responses advancing a narrative solely about organised groups of Asian male offenders preying on white females.

Sue Berelowitz, Britain’s Deputy Children’s Commissioner, said the “extraordinarily courageous and important” MWNUK report confronted these myths head on.

She said: “The stories of some of the victims in this report are amongst the most shocking I have encountered, and never again should anybody doubt that Asian and Muslim children are not as at risk of sexual abuse and exploitation as other children.”

Unheard Voices indicates that Asian girls may, in fact, be even more vulnerable to exploitation by sexual predators because they are less likely to report abuse for complex cultural and social reasons.

Organised exploitation

Crimes against children have risen up the British political agenda in recent years and a major two-year inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Gangs and Groups was launched by the government in 2011 and is due to report in November.

Its interim report found that 2,409 children and young people were confirmed victims of child sexual exploitation in gangs or groups between August 2010 and October 2011. The inquiry said that between April 2010 and March 2011 16,500 children in England were at high risk.

The report examines organised sexual exploitation by gangs and groups in the UK’s Asian and Muslim, Hindu and Sikh communities - Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi, Somali and Afghani - but also notes the involvement of white offenders.

Some of the victims include Imaan, abused from a young age by her father and then her Quran teacher; Aisha, sexually abused at six then later groomed for sex through the internet; Safa, raped by an uncle at the age of 14 then handed around his friends; Nazia, hooked on heroin by her boyfriend then prostituted by him; Hasina, who was was 10 when she was sexually abused by an older boy then lured into having sex with a network of youths; Parveen, who was 12 when her stepfather’s brother and his friend blackmailed her into having sex with them and their friends.

The report highlights occasional complicity among other women who turn a blind eye to this crime for fear of bringing shame and dishonour on the family.

Gohir said: “What was really astonishing was the number of people coming forward and telling us case studies of sexual abuse within the family - something that we were not looking at."

Victims and offenders

The report reveals that victims are usually preyed on by men of the same ethnic background, and girls are often first abused at home or by an older “boyfriend” and then by his peers.

In some cases, girls are specifically targeted - with boys being paid by older men to look out for vulnerable girls and then introduce them.

Gohir said: “One girl told us that taxi drivers will drive around outside school and look out for the pretty girls, see their route home, then call a younger brother or cousin in the same age group as the girl to then meet her en route and pretend it’s an accidental meeting and chat her up, get to know her and try and become her boyfriend. It is quite organised, it’s not random.”

Alcohol and drugs are also commonly employed by gangs to make sure a girl cannot remember being abused and hence report it.

The report offers various explanations for sexual exploitation but a prominent factor among minorities is blackmail, whereby offenders use the threat of shame and dishonour to control victims in communities that are also dismissive or disbelieving about child abuse.

People from minority communities are partcularly vulnerable.

Dr Daud Abdullah, former deputy secretary general of Muslim Council of Britain

These factors help to foster a climate of secrecy - and hence place authorities under considerable obligation to acknowledge that girls from minorities may be at heightened risk.

Dr Daud Abdullah, a former deputy secretary general of Muslim Council of Britain, said: “People from minority communities are partcularly vulnerable"  partly because of cultural preferences and positions.

"When someone is subjected to it in any way they would be reluctant to report it and would not in any case know where to turn to for help," Abdulla said. "That greatly increases their vulnerability.”

Double standards

Unheard Voices also exposes the double standards of many men involved in sexual exploitation: the report says that Farhah was passed around for sex during the month of Ramadan, and two Pakistani girls were forced into sex with men who, from their Islamic robes, appeared religious.

Gohir described a typical scenario from her case studies: “One lad of about 18 years old spoke to me openly and he said a lot of people know what’s going on, it’s not particularly secretive, it’s not underground, lots of people know.

“He told me some of the lads don’t like doing bad things on Friday because it’s the holy day, mosque day - and that really astounded me.”

The report highlights how cultural factors reinforce a broader failure by frontline agencies in the UK - including the police, social services, and schools - to support girls at risk.

Jon Brown, head of strategy on sexual abuse at the NSPCC, the UK’s main children’s charity, said: “It’s important to remember that sexual abusers target vulnerability because they know they are going to stand a better chance of perpetrating their crimes and getting away with them.

“Minority and ethnic communities don’t access mainstream services as readily or as easily as other communities, meaning that all these factors can compound the situation and make BME children vulnerable to child sexual abuse and exploitation.”

Gohir points out that police are often reluctant to intervene in cases where, although abuse may be suspected, a girl is fearful about going on the record to report a crime.

The Muslim Women’s Network is recommending that frontline agencies now develop plans to ensure they are identifying minority children at risk of sexual exploitation, and has called for the creation of specialist, culturally sensitive helplines for them to report abuse.

The NSPCC is currently trialling its own programme tailored to minorities, called “Protect and Respect”, aimed at victims of child sexual abuse and exploitation.

Nonetheless, Gohir believes that raising the awareness of communities, parents - and boys - will be the key to confronting this issue.

“Obviously you don’t want the boys to end up becoming paedophiles or sexual predators either, so no one is actually warning them about this,” she said

Breaking down the culture of secrecy that has allowed sexual predators to act with confidence because they know they may not be caught is essential.

“Only when we start to have more perpetrators and offenders locked up and the community actually criticising them and saying how bad it is will we start seeing a decline.”
Source- Aljazeera

Who is Junior Pope? Is it the name of a person, animal place or thing or a botanical name?

This is an issue that has been bothering my mind for a very long time. It has pushed me into a whole lot of debates with many people and it is the issue of whether a student should pay tithe. Mind you, I mean a student who doesn't work at all talkless of making earnings. My own understanding of payment of tithe as highlighted in the books of Malachi and Leviticus is that it is the tenth of all the farm products of an individual. Since farming was the predominant profession then, this amounts to the tenth of earnings one makes in this contemporary world. I'm not disputing the payment of tithes as being commanded by God. My own grouse is that, should a student who doesn't work and by extension doesn't an anything in terms of income pay tithe. I've argued with several people including my father who is a Reverend on this issue and I seem not to be convinced a bit. Thus I bring it forward to a larger forum, SHOULD A STUDENT WHO DOESNT HAVE AN INCOME PAY TITHE?

The man is said to have hacked thousands of computers, using them as proxies

Police in Argentina have arrested a 19 year-old man accused of heading a gang of hackers who targeted international money transfer and gambling websites.

Dubbed "the superhacker", the teenager was making $50,000 (£31,500) a month, working from his bedroom in Buenos Aires, police say.

The arrest operation shut down the power to the entire neighbourhood to prevent the deletion of sensitive data.

Police say it took them a year to close in on the teenager.

The young man lived with his father, a computer expert, in Buenos Aires.

"We think he and his brother had set up such a lucrative business that their parents chose not to ask what was going on," an investigator told the Argentine daily Clarin.

In the teenager's room, officials found high-capacity computers.

The hackers allegedly used malware attacks to build up a network of thousands of zombie computers, which were then used to illegally divert money from accounts leaving virtually no trace behind.

The police operation included five raids in the capital and the city of Rosario, about 300km (190 miles) north.

The young man is being accused of three crimes, and if convicted of all, could be sentenced to more than 10 years in prison.
Source: bbc.co.uk