₦airaland Forum

Elder Idongesit Udom wrote:

To God be the glory!
I am alive through the extended mercy, pardon and love of our Lord Jesus Christ. He has forgiven my sins and has answered the prayers of all the Christians, Moslems in Nigeria, Cameroon, United Kingdom, United States, the World Over who prayed for 32 days of my captivity. .
May the good Lord bless you all abundantly in Jesus name, Amen.

May the good Lord bless the Governor of Akwa Ibom State and members of his executive Council, the presidency, the good people of Ukanafun LGA, My family and all the security agencies that had done everything possible to ensure my safe release.
Though I was released with my right hand cut off, I am eternally grateful to my God for the new life. My life was over.
Thanks to the government of Akwa Ibom State, all the pastors, ExxonMobil friends, all other FRIENDS and relatives who have provided for my hospital requirements.

Elder Dr Idongesit Demas Udom.

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

Me: Those who did this to you are wicked and will know no peace.

Cristiano Ronaldo has now scored in three Champions League finals, more than any other player.

Real Madrid scored with their first shot on the match against Juventus.

Real Madrid are the first team in Champions League history to reach 500 goals.

Mario Mandzukic becomes the 3rd player to score in either a European Cup or #UCL final for 2 different teams.

Gianluigi Buffon has conceded 6 goals against Cristiano Ronaldo in the CL (in 5 games), more than against any other goalkeeper.

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored his 600th goal in all competitions for club and country.

Juventus have now conceded more goals in the final than they have in the rest of the Champions League campaign this season

Cristiano has now scored at least twice as many CL goals as any other player in the QF's (20), semi-finals (13) and finals

Zinedine Zidane is the first manager to win back-to-back European Cup/CL trophies since Arrigo Sacchi (AC Milan, 1989 & 1990).

Real Madrid have won their 12th European Cup/Champions League trophy, five more than any other side

Real Madrid are the first team in the Champions League era to retain the trophy.

Juan Cuadrado has become the third player to be sent off in a Champions League final, after Lehmann and Drogba.

Your 2016/17 UEFA Champions League winners!

Bravo, Real Madrid!

A gay dad Trystan Reese who lives in Portland, Oregon, U.S., is pregnant and about to give birth after he suffered a heartbreak following a miscarriage at six weeks in 2016.

Biff Chaplow and Trystan Reese are already adoptive parents to two young children , have spoken of their delight as they prepare to welcome their first biological child.

The married couple have confirmed Trystan is due to give birth in the summer.

In a post on their website, Trystan said that he felt some people are interested to know why he wanted to become pregnant as a transgender person, but were too afraid to ask.

He said that some people think trans people were born into the wrong bodies, and we really hate our bodies, and that’s why we need to transition. For me, just transitioning normally – taking testosterone so that I have a beard and my voice is deep as its ever gonna get – and appear like a man… that’s enough for me.

“I never felt like I needed to change my body, And I for sure do not hate my body”

“I feel like my body is awesome, I feel like it’s a gift to have been born with the body that I did.”

“So if you can start to understand that, then it starts to make more sense that it would not seem totally bizarre for me to want to create and carry a baby.”

He continued:

“I can feel someone looking at my face and searching for the remnants of womanhood,” Trystan told the podcast.

“They kind of squint their eyes a little bit and I can tell they’re trying to take away my beard, they’re trying to de-transition me in their heads.”

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), is planning to conduct supplementary examination for candidates who had hitches in their registration and examination processes.

This was confirmed by JAMB Registrar, Is-haq Oloyede, on Wednesday while addressing newsmen.

“Anybody whose biometric could not be verified will be allowed to do the supplementary examination.
Advertisement

“As at today, 640 candidates out of 1.7million candidates did not do biometric verification, reasons being that some fraudsters registered candidates across online.

“In this case, the students are not guilty of the offence and hence will be made to write the exam again under my own very eyes,” he said.

The Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Saturday expressed confidence in the ability of African youths to drive the continent’s social and economic development.

He said they were not deterred by the failures of the past on the continent.

He said the energy and talent of the youth remained a source of optimism.

According to a statement by his spokesman, Laolu Akande, Osinbajo spoke at the G7 Summit special outreach forum on Africa with selected African nations and leaders including Nigeria, Guinea, Tunisia, Niger, Ethiopia and Kenya.

Osinbajo also met with President Donald Trump of the United States of America and other world leaders.

The event was held in Italy.

“We are investing more in education, insisting on good governance and holding ourselves to account but the greatest reason for our optimism is in the incredible energy, talent and creativity of our young people, male and female.

“They are completely undeterred by the failures of the past and are daily taking advantage of innovation and technology bringing about the Africa of our dreams.”

While assuring the G7 countries of Africa’s increasing collaboration in trade, counter-terrorism and strengthening democracy, Osinbajo commended the seven most industrialised nations of the world for their support in the fight against terrorism.

He singled out the United States, France and the United Kingdom as effective partners in the Lake Chad basin, citing the successes of “our joint intelligent unit which has provided useful and timely intelligence in the war against terrorism.”

On the progress made so far in the country, Osinbajo said there had been massive increase in rice yield over the past two years and distribution of fertiliser subsidies to farmers.

He said the N-Power programme which had started engaging some 500,000 young unemployed graduates instalmentally as teachers, agricultural extension workers and public health professionals “is a breakthrough in mass post-tertiary education.”

According to him, the participants were recruited online in all states in the nation mostly using mobile phones, adding that participants will soon receive their mobile devices and can access an N-Power portal that contains required training materials for acquisition of more skills to carry out their duties.

On the entourage of the Acting President were Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyema; Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Yemi Dipeolu; and the Nigeria Charge d’ Affairs in Italy, Bisi Meshioye.

The Acting President has since returned to Nigeria.

Arsenal won the FA Cup for a record 13th time in a thrilling final by beating 10-man Chelsea, who were denied a league and cup double.

The result means Arsene Wenger is the most successful manager in the competition's history with seven victories.

The Gunners had controversially taken the lead in the fifth minute through Alexis Sanchez, but the linesman had his flag up for Aaron Ramsey, who was stood in an offside position. Ramsey did not touch the ball, allowing Sanchez to run through and slot in.

Arsenal dominated the first half and could have doubled their advantage but Danny Welbeck struck the woodwork with a header and Ramsey chested the ball against the same post on the follow-up.

Victor Moses forced David Ospina into a fine save in the second period, before the Chelsea wing-back was given a second yellow card on 68 minutes for diving in the penalty area.

With 14 minutes remaining, the Blues got back into the game through Diego Costa's shot that bobbled in, but Ramsey headed in the winner just two minutes later. The Welshman had also scored the winning goal in the 2014 cup final against Hull.

Arsenal could have had another late on, but Mesut Ozil struck the post from inside the area.

Wenger had major selection issues with Laurent Koscielny suspended and both Shkodran Mustafi and Gabriel injured, so centre-back Per Mertesacker was given his first start of the season. The German defender put in a dominant display to keep Costa quiet.

Chelsea failed to gain revenge for the 2002 final, which Arsenal won 2-0, and the result ends their run of four consecutive final victories.

'Best display of the season'

Arsene Wenger was right when he said the season has been a tough one for the players and fans, but they turned up today.

They had one mindset, to walk off as winners, and that was clear to see. They played the better football and wanted it more. The Chelsea players were hanging their heads but they had an unbelievable season. On the day, not enough players turned up, they did not deserve to win.

Arsenal defender Rob Holding had a fantastic semi-final too and he was under the spotlight, as was Per Mertesacker. Both players put on a huge display. What a performance Mesut Ozil put in too. Man for man, they were much better than Chelsea.

I cannot believe how ordinary Arsenal made Chelsea look. The Premier League champions could not handle Arsenal's footballing ability in the middle of the pitch. They could not get any rhythm or get on the ball. It was their best display of the season.

As we celebrate the children today, I bring to you these rhymes, to remind you of those days...

1. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!

The original lyrics of this rhyme was in French and told of a young girl tormented by love. A very sad something, not the starry, hopeful tune we constantly recited.

2. Rock a Bye Baby

Rock a bye baby, on the tree top.
When the wind blows the cradle will rock.
When the bough breaks the cradle will fall.
And down will come baby, cradle and all.

Even the lyrics alone are enough to make you wonder what you were saying as a child. This rhyme is basically predicting future harm about to befall a child. The unofficial history of the rhyme says that it was written by a pilgrim who had observed Native-American baby cradles hanging from the branches of trees, swaying children to sleep…and possibly to their deaths.

3. Three Blind Mice

Three blind mice.
Three blind mice.
See how they run.
See how they run.
They all ran after the farmer’s wife.
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife.
Did you ever see such a sight in your life.
As three blind mice.

Now this one is just painful to read, even without knowing the origins of the rhyme. It is believed that the earlier version written by English composer, Thomas Ravenscroft, referred to Mary I of England (“Bloody Mary”) and her execution of the Protestant martyrs, Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer; and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cramner, in 1555. Have you ever heard a more violent rhyme?

4. Row Row Row Your Boat

Row row row your boat.
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream.

This rhyme is as easygoing as it sounds. It really just reminds everyone to take life easier and one “row” at a time. Not such a bad lesson for a child, especially when compared with the other rhymes people were singing for us as children.

5. Pop! Goes The Weasel

All around the mulberry bush.
The monkey chased the weasel.
The monkey thought ’twas all in good sport.
Pop! Goes the weasel.
A penny for a spool of thread.
A penny for a needle.
That’s the way the money goes.
Pop! Goes the weasel.

No, Pop! Isn’t the sound a weasel makes. It’s an old English slang that means to pawn something (that is, sell it at a pawn shop) while “weasel” translates to “coat”. And the rhyme is about how no matter how poor a London man was in those days, he was expected to own a suit in order to dress nicely on Sunday. So he would pawn the suit (“Pop goes the weasel”) on Monday and then purchase it back before Sunday. A very silly tradition if you ask me but we sang it with so much excitement! Using our fingers to do the “Pop! Goes the weasel!” so it’ll sound very well. SMH.

6. Goosey Goosey Gander

Goosey Goosey Gander, whither shall I wander? Upstairs and downstairs and in my Lady’s chamber. There I met an old man who wouldn’t say his prayers. So I took him by his left leg and threw him down the stairs.

Another violent poem about how back in 16th century Europe, most people were busy either fighting off plagues or killing off Catholics. Priests were persecuted for saying their prayers in Latin instead of English and so had to pray, because if they were caught, they would be given a very swift and very painful punishment of being hurled down the stairs. Ouch!

7. Mary Mary Quite Contrary

Mary Mary quite contrary.
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockleshells.
And pretty maids all in a row.

This is another poem that alludes to the Catholic Queen “Bloody” Mary, her “garden” is a graveyard of martyred protestants, the silver bells and cockleshells were her instruments of torture, and the pretty maids referred to The Maiden, an English version of the guillotine. What was wrong with these British people?

8. Ring Around the Rosy

Ring around the rosy.
A pocket full of posies.
Ashes! Ashes! We all fall down!
This one will make you want to cry.

The rhyme alludes to the Black Plague that nearly wiped out all of Europe. The “ring around the rosy” refers to the red blotches caused by the plague. The “pocket full of posies” refers to the packets of herbs used to fight the infection, “ashes” refers to the cremation of the dead and “all fall down” refers to the fact that the plague affected both the rich and poor. Side note fellow Nigerians, it is “Ashes” o, not “a-ti-shoo!” You’re not sneezing.

9. Mary Had a Little Lamb

Mary had a little lamb.
Little lamb, little lamb.
Mary had a little lamb.
Its fleece was white as snow…

This rhyme might actually be the only rhyme based on a real occurrence. A real girl named Mary did take her lamb to school and naturally a raucous ensued. The first lines were written by visiting Harvard University student, John Roulstone who had seen what happened, and the rest – quite literally – is history.

10. Humpty Dumpty

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King’s horses and all the King’s men.
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

Wait first. You might have been thinking, ”wetin Humpty Dumpty go find for wall sef?” But before you judge, you have to know that the real Humpty Dumpty wasn’t really a person but a massive siege cannon used by the British Royal Forces during the English Civil War. It fell, the soldiers could not use it again and they all died because they could not defend themselves. So, well, maybe there were people that died in the end sha.

11. Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush

Here we go round the mulberry bush.
The mulberry bush.
The mulberry bush.
Here we go round the mulberry bush.
On a cold and frosty morning.
This is the way we wash our clothes.
We wash our clothes, we wash our clothes.
This is the way we wash our clothes.
On a cold and frosty morning…

You know how they say sagging originated from prison, well, this rhyme legit originated from prison too. Female prisoners in England’s Wakefield Prison would exercise round a mulberry tree. So every time you sang it…hehehe…

12. London Bridge Is Falling Down

London Bridge is falling down.
Falling down, falling down.
London Bridge is falling down.
My fair lady.

There are a couple of meanings to this rhyme. But the most common one and the one that will definitely leave you shook is the one that connects the bridge in the rhyme with the practice of “immurement“. Which is something they used to do in the past where they’d put someone in a structure and seal it off so that they’d just die of hunger and thirst. This human sacrifice is believed to make the structure strong and last longer and it is believed they did that to little children under the London Bridge. Like, WTH! And they’ll tell you oyinbo no dey do witchcraft, IFIH! But that’s not the freakiest part, you know how as kids we would sing the song and take turns moving under an “arch” that we formed? That was us legit practicing ritual sacrifice without knowing. Mind sufficiently blown? Yeah…I thought so.

13. The Old Lady Who Lived In A Shoe

There was an old woman.
Who lived in a shoe.
She had so many children.
She didn’t know what to do.
She gave them some broth.
Without any bread.
And whipped them all soundly.
And sent them to bed.

The origin of this rhyme is sorta shrouded in mystery and some theories say it has some allusion to the British monarchy – because English people are very full of themselves and everything has to be about them – but just think about the rhyme for a minute. Why so much violence woman? I think maybe there was recession and the woman was just tired.

14. This Old Man

This old man, he played one.
He played knick-knack on my thumb.
With a knick-knack, paddy whack.
Give a dog a bone.
This old man came rolling home…

The origin of this rhyme suggests some unfair treatment of the Irish by the English. Historically, these neighbors weren’t really best of friends and if the Irish were indeed treated poorly and then sent “rolling home” like the rhyme suggests, then it is no wonder.

15. Baa Baa Black Sheep

Baa Baa Black Sheep.
Have you any wool?
Yes, sir, yes, sir.
Three bags full.
One for the master.
One for the dame.
And one for the little boy.
Who lives down the lane.

This rhyme is really all about wool but the earlier version has one difference. Where there is now “one” there used to be “none”. At that time, the farmers were so heavily taxed that after giving one-third to the king and one-third to the church, there was nothing left for the poor farmer. AYA…

16. Jack And Jill

Jack and Jill went up the hill.
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown.
And Jill came tumbling after.

Guys!! Jack and Jill really did climb that hill for more than just a pail of water. But it’s a very tragic story really. According to these guys, Jack and Jill were a young unmarried couple who used to climb the hill for some “rock climbing and chill” so that no one will catch them. That was how Jill carry belle but just before she gave birth, Jack was killed by a rock that had fallen from their ‘chilling’ hill. A few days later, Jill died while giving birth to their love child. That story is too sad. It’s not even fair.

17. Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo

Eeny, meeny, miny, mo.
Catch a tiger by the toe.
If he hollers, let him go.
Eeny meeny miny mo.
This rhyme is just racist.

Well, at least it was before they changed the “nigger” that was there to “tiger”, because really, why would you even think to catch a tiger by its toe?

18. Old Roger Is Dead

Old Roger is dead and gone to his grave,
H’m ha ! gone to his grave.
They planted an apple tree over his head,
H’m ha! over his head.
The apples were ripe and ready to fall,
H’m ha ! ready to fall.
There came an old woman and picked them all up,
H’m ha! picked them all up.
Old Roger jumped up and gave her a knock,
H’m ha! gave her a knock. Which made the old woman go hippity hop, H’m ha! hippity hop!

This rhyme will leave you with more questions than answers. Why did Roger die? Why did they plant the apple tree over his head? Why did Old Roger give the woman a knock? And why did the woman hop? Was it not her head and not her leg that they knocked? Why? WHY? WHY?!!! Too many questions that probably weren’t passing through your mind as a child.

Knowing all you now know about these rhymes, would you teach them to the kids?

As we celebrate the children today, I bring to you these rhymes, to remind you of those days...

1. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!

The original lyrics of this rhyme was in French and told of a young girl tormented by love. A very sad something, not the starry, hopeful tune we constantly recited.

2. Rock a Bye Baby

Rock a bye baby, on the tree top.
When the wind blows the cradle will rock.
When the bough breaks the cradle will fall.
And down will come baby, cradle and all.

Even the lyrics alone are enough to make you wonder what you were saying as a child. This rhyme is basically predicting future harm about to befall a child. The unofficial history of the rhyme says that it was written by a pilgrim who had observed Native-American baby cradles hanging from the branches of trees, swaying children to sleep…and possibly to their deaths.

3. Three Blind Mice

Three blind mice.
Three blind mice.
See how they run.
See how they run.
They all ran after the farmer’s wife.
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife.
Did you ever see such a sight in your life.
As three blind mice.

Now this one is just painful to read, even without knowing the origins of the rhyme. It is believed that the earlier version written by English composer, Thomas Ravenscroft, referred to Mary I of England (“Bloody Mary”) and her execution of the Protestant martyrs, Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer; and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cramner, in 1555. Have you ever heard a more violent rhyme?

4. Row Row Row Your Boat

Row row row your boat.
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream.

This rhyme is as easygoing as it sounds. It really just reminds everyone to take life easier and one “row” at a time. Not such a bad lesson for a child, especially when compared with the other rhymes people were singing for us as children.

5. Pop! Goes The Weasel

All around the mulberry bush.
The monkey chased the weasel.
The monkey thought ’twas all in good sport.
Pop! Goes the weasel.
A penny for a spool of thread.
A penny for a needle.
That’s the way the money goes.
Pop! Goes the weasel.

No, Pop! Isn’t the sound a weasel makes. It’s an old English slang that means to pawn something (that is, sell it at a pawn shop) while “weasel” translates to “coat”. And the rhyme is about how no matter how poor a London man was in those days, he was expected to own a suit in order to dress nicely on Sunday. So he would pawn the suit (“Pop goes the weasel”) on Monday and then purchase it back before Sunday. A very silly tradition if you ask me but we sang it with so much excitement! Using our fingers to do the “Pop! Goes the weasel!” so it’ll sound very well. SMH.

6. Goosey Goosey Gander

Goosey Goosey Gander, whither shall I wander? Upstairs and downstairs and in my Lady’s chamber. There I met an old man who wouldn’t say his prayers. So I took him by his left leg and threw him down the stairs.

Another violent poem about how back in 16th century Europe, most people were busy either fighting off plagues or killing off Catholics. Priests were persecuted for saying their prayers in Latin instead of English and so had to pray, because if they were caught, they would be given a very swift and very painful punishment of being hurled down the stairs. Ouch!

7. Mary Mary Quite Contrary

Mary Mary quite contrary.
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockleshells.
And pretty maids all in a row.

This is another poem that alludes to the Catholic Queen “Bloody” Mary, her “garden” is a graveyard of martyred protestants, the silver bells and cockleshells were her instruments of torture, and the pretty maids referred to The Maiden, an English version of the guillotine. What was wrong with these British people?

8. Ring Around the Rosy

Ring around the rosy.
A pocket full of posies.
Ashes! Ashes! We all fall down!
This one will make you want to cry.

The rhyme alludes to the Black Plague that nearly wiped out all of Europe. The “ring around the rosy” refers to the red blotches caused by the plague. The “pocket full of posies” refers to the packets of herbs used to fight the infection, “ashes” refers to the cremation of the dead and “all fall down” refers to the fact that the plague affected both the rich and poor. Side note fellow Nigerians, it is “Ashes” o, not “a-ti-shoo!” You’re not sneezing.

9. Mary Had a Little Lamb

Mary had a little lamb.
Little lamb, little lamb.
Mary had a little lamb.
Its fleece was white as snow…

This rhyme might actually be the only rhyme based on a real occurrence. A real girl named Mary did take her lamb to school and naturally a raucous ensued. The first lines were written by visiting Harvard University student, John Roulstone who had seen what happened, and the rest – quite literally – is history.

10. Humpty Dumpty

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King’s horses and all the King’s men.
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

Wait first. You might have been thinking, ”wetin Humpty Dumpty go find for wall sef?” But before you judge, you have to know that the real Humpty Dumpty wasn’t really a person but a massive siege cannon used by the British Royal Forces during the English Civil War. It fell, the soldiers could not use it again and they all died because they could not defend themselves. So, well, maybe there were people that died in the end sha.

11. Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush

Here we go round the mulberry bush.
The mulberry bush.
The mulberry bush.
Here we go round the mulberry bush.
On a cold and frosty morning.
This is the way we wash our clothes.
We wash our clothes, we wash our clothes.
This is the way we wash our clothes.
On a cold and frosty morning…

You know how they say sagging originated from prison, well, this rhyme legit originated from prison too. Female prisoners in England’s Wakefield Prison would exercise round a mulberry tree. So every time you sang it…hehehe…

12. London Bridge Is Falling Down

London Bridge is falling down.
Falling down, falling down.
London Bridge is falling down.
My fair lady.

There are a couple of meanings to this rhyme. But the most common one and the one that will definitely leave you shook is the one that connects the bridge in the rhyme with the practice of “immurement“. Which is something they used to do in the past where they’d put someone in a structure and seal it off so that they’d just die of hunger and thirst. This human sacrifice is believed to make the structure strong and last longer and it is believed they did that to little children under the London Bridge. Like, WTH! And they’ll tell you oyinbo no dey do witchcraft, IFIH! But that’s not the freakiest part, you know how as kids we would sing the song and take turns moving under an “arch” that we formed? That was us legit practicing ritual sacrifice without knowing. Mind sufficiently blown? Yeah…I thought so.

13. The Old Lady Who Lived In A Shoe

There was an old woman.
Who lived in a shoe.
She had so many children.
She didn’t know what to do.
She gave them some broth.
Without any bread.
And whipped them all soundly.
And sent them to bed.

The origin of this rhyme is sorta shrouded in mystery and some theories say it has some allusion to the British monarchy – because English people are very full of themselves and everything has to be about them – but just think about the rhyme for a minute. Why so much violence woman? I think maybe there was recession and the woman was just tired.

14. This Old Man

This old man, he played one.
He played knick-knack on my thumb.
With a knick-knack, paddy whack.
Give a dog a bone.
This old man came rolling home…

The origin of this rhyme suggests some unfair treatment of the Irish by the English. Historically, these neighbors weren’t really best of friends and if the Irish were indeed treated poorly and then sent “rolling home” like the rhyme suggests, then it is no wonder.

15. Baa Baa Black Sheep

Baa Baa Black Sheep.
Have you any wool?
Yes, sir, yes, sir.
Three bags full.
One for the master.
One for the dame.
And one for the little boy.
Who lives down the lane.

This rhyme is really all about wool but the earlier version has one difference. Where there is now “one” there used to be “none”. At that time, the farmers were so heavily taxed that after giving one-third to the king and one-third to the church, there was nothing left for the poor farmer. AYA…

16. Jack And Jill

Jack and Jill went up the hill.
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown.
And Jill came tumbling after.

Guys!! Jack and Jill really did climb that hill for more than just a pail of water. But it’s a very tragic story really. According to these guys, Jack and Jill were a young unmarried couple who used to climb the hill for some “rock climbing and chill” so that no one will catch them. That was how Jill carry belle but just before she gave birth, Jack was killed by a rock that had fallen from their ‘chilling’ hill. A few days later, Jill died while giving birth to their love child. That story is too sad. It’s not even fair.

17. Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo

Eeny, meeny, miny, mo.
Catch a tiger by the toe.
If he hollers, let him go.
Eeny meeny miny mo.
This rhyme is just racist.

Well, at least it was before they changed the “nigger” that was there to “tiger”, because really, why would you even think to catch a tiger by its toe?

18. Old Roger Is Dead

Old Roger is dead and gone to his grave,
H’m ha ! gone to his grave.
They planted an apple tree over his head,
H’m ha! over his head.
The apples were ripe and ready to fall,
H’m ha ! ready to fall.
There came an old woman and picked them all up,
H’m ha! picked them all up.
Old Roger jumped up and gave her a knock,
H’m ha! gave her a knock. Which made the old woman go hippity hop, H’m ha! hippity hop!

This rhyme will leave you with more questions than answers. Why did Roger die? Why did they plant the apple tree over his head? Why did Old Roger give the woman a knock? And why did the woman hop? Was it not her head and not her leg that they knocked? Why? WHY? WHY?!!! Too many questions that probably weren’t passing through your mind as a child.

Knowing all you now know about these rhymes, would you teach them to the kids?

MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN AKWA IBOM SEASON 3

RED HOT!!!

All is set for the Biggest Pageantry in Akwa Ibom State.

Date: Sunday, May 28th, 2017
Venue: Emerald Event Centre, Uyo
Orange Carpet: 6pm, Time: 7pm

#MBGAK2017: WHO WEARS THE CROWN?

Tickets:
Reg: 3k! VIP: 6k
Table: 20k, Gold 250k

Gunmen suspected to be militants on Thursday morning invaded Lagos State Model College, Igbo Nla, Epe, Lagos, abducting the principals and some students.

The kidnappers were said to have stormed the school in the early hours when the students were at the morning assembly.

The gunmen abducted the principal of the junior secondary school, Mr. Oyesola and Mr. Akirinmade who is the Principal of the senior secondary school. They also abducted some of the students.

Presenting the case to the House of Representatives, the member representing Epe Constituency, Wale Raji, appealed to the House to call on the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris and the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State to treat the case with utmost urgency.

The House suspended other proceedings to attend to the matter and asked the police to mobilise and rescue the principals and students.

ASCENSION, BEYOND THE PHYSICS!
* Act 1 : 1 - 11, Eph 1 : 17 - 23, Matt 28 : 16 - 20.
The Bible recorded that when Jesus saw that many of his followers protested against his teaching on the Eucharist as intolerable language - something preposterous to human reason, he even gave them a bigger poser about his Ascension : 'Does this disturb you to believe? What if you should see the Son of man ascend to where he was before? It is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer', Jn 6 : 63. We need to understand that heaven is essentially a spiritual place not physical. And so the doctrine about Ascension is beyond the physics. Come to think of it, the earth is actually spherical and not a flat surface for one to logically talk about ascension strictly speaking. So, when Jesus says 'In my father's house, there are many rooms', Jn 14 : 2, we know he is only using anthropomorphic terms to describe metaphysical realities. Have we thought about what kind of persons will live in those rooms? Do spiritual bodies dwell in rooms? Where was Jesus actually ascending to? Was he actually ascending, scientifically speaking?

St Augustine tried to visualize what kind of bodies the Angels and Saints will assume after the resurrection and ended up calling it 'spiritual bodies'. Going by what Jesus told Mary Magdalene when she tried to hug him after the resurrection : 'Do not cling to me because I have not yet ascended to the Father...', Jn 20 : 17, we get a little bit confused. One cannot but wonder what kind of body Jesus had then. Yet, we know that Thomas was able to touch and feel it, Jn 21 : 24 - 27. We learn in Physics that matter is anything that has weight and occupies space. If so, Christ's resurrected body is matter. How then did it ascend into the heavens defying all laws of gravity? These are mysteries beyond our scientific minds.

St Paul, speaking about the Ascension says : 'He went up to the heights, He took captives, and gave gifts to humanity'. This is in fulfillment of Christ's promise : 'If I do not go, the Paraclete will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you', Jn 16 : 7. Just like the rainfall. If the sunshine does not take it up into the sky it will not pour down again on the surface of the earth. St Paul concludes it this way : 'The mystery of our religion is indeed very deep (beyond the physical) :He was made visible in the flesh (Message of incarnation), seen by Angels (Christmas message), proclaimed to the Gentiles (Message of Epiphany), believed in throughout the world (the Catholic mysteries of the Light) and taken up in glory (Message of Ascension)', 1 Tim 3 : 16.

Today's celebration marks the the end of the 40 days of Christ's manifestations on earth in his trinitarian capacity as God the Son. He completed that mission and gave the mantle over to God the Holy Spirit, thus ushering in the Pentecostal era. Our 1st reading today says : 'You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and then you will be my witnesses'. Does it mean the apostles having stayed for many years with Christ could not get the spiritual power they needed directly from him? I think we are expected from this season, to move our devotion to another person of the Trinity. Without becoming guilty of theological pluralism , one must realize as Benny Hiln said in his book 'Good Morning Holy Spirit' that 'The 3rd person of the Trinity is waiting for you to meet Him personally. He yearns for a lifelong relationship', pg 49. According to Hiln, the task of the Spirit is to bring into being the commandment of the Father and the performance of the Son. Example, God the Father said 'Let there be light', God the Son came and performed it, Jn 1 : 9. Then God the Holy Spirit brought the light (at Pentecost), Act 2 : 1 - 4. The feast of Ascension closes one era of Trinitarian manifestation and ushers us into another, yet it is the same one God at work. Let's flow with the Church in this apocalypse of Liturgical seasons. The Easter season, like the rainy season of our spiritual life is the longest and liveliest of all.

Another

More funny reactions

The Cross River State logo which has had blue and white as it colors may be changed in the coming days information from Government House Calabar suggests.

The Governor, Senator Ben Ayade had informed the State Executive Council last week Thursday that a new flag has been designed which eventually turned out to be the new logo.

He promised to forward the design to the commissioners and now a photograph obtained by CrossRiverWatch seems to suggest Ayade has released the new logo.

The design; Bright red with a white circle containing 18 red stars and a white Bull in the red circle charging towards the right and encapsulated by the ring of stars.

“The 18 stars represent the 18 local government areas of the state,” a top government official said.

Ayade had openly voiced his frustrations that the current blue and white does not offer enough options for creativity and playing around with the colors.

“The state has gotten to 50, it has arrived at the destination, what is the way forward from here? These are all to be taken into consideration and how best to convey resilience and an enterprising state,” said the official.

The bull represents an energetic state, government officials said.

Since 1999, successive administrations have tinkered with the state colors and brands with the most publicized being the “Destination Cross River” which enjoyed an aggressive marketing drive by the Senator Liyel Imoke’s administration.

But, this marks a clear deviation from the past and will be unveiled officially in a few days sources said.

However, many Cross Riverians have taken to the social media to express funny views about the Govt's plans to change to State logo

Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester City and Liverpool all set or equalled Premier League records of some description in 2016-17 – and they weren’t the only ones.

With the big clubs reasserting themselves after Leicester City’s shock success last season, the final Premier League table has a much more familiar look to it – but it has still been a remarkable campaign for several reasons.

It’s the first time Arsenal have finished outside of the top four under Arsene Wenger for starters, while Manchester United down in sixth is a clear sign of just how competitive it has been in the upper echelons.

So competitive, in fact, that the 15-point gap between Everton in seventh and Southampton in eighth is the largest in Premier League history.

Conversely, the gap between Southampton and Watford in 17th is only six points. Stoke in 13th recorded their second worst ever Premier League points tally yet were only two points off the Saints and their highest ever finish.

Here are the most interesting facts concerning every club…

Arsenal
Arsenal set a new record high of 75 points for the team finishing fifth in the Premier League era.

Both Arsenal and Manchester United have finished outside of the top four of the top-flight for the first time since 1978-79.

Arsenal scored 17 headed goals in the Premier League this season, more than any other side.

This was the second consecutive season that Arsenal inflicted the heaviest Premier League defeat on the eventual Premier League champions. In 2015-16 they defeated Leicester City 5-2 away, and this season they defeated Chelsea 3-0 at home.

Alexis Sanchez scored 15 away goals in the Premier League this season – the most by an Arsenal player in a single league campaign since Ted Drake in 1934-35 (also 15).

Bournemouth
Eleven different English players have made 20+ Premier League appearances for Bournemouth this season. That is the most of any Premier League team since Aston Villa in 2000-01 (also 11 players).

West Ham and Bournemouth lost the most points from winning positions this season in the Premier League (22 points).

Burnley
Sam Vokes (10) is only the second player to reach double figures for goals in a Premier League campaign for Burnley, after Danny Ings in 2014-15 (11).

Tom Heaton made 141 saves in the Premier League season, more than any other player.

Burnley picked up 33 of their 40 points at Turf Moor.

Chelsea
Chelsea are the first side to win 30 games in a single Premier League season.

Their tally of 93 points is the second highest in Premier League in history, behind their own record set in 2004-05.

Chelsea won home and away against 12 different opponents in the Premier League this season, equalling the Premier League record of their 2004-05 side and Manchester United in 2006-07.

Chelsea have now won the league in each of the last four years that there has been a general election in the UK (2005, 2010, 2015 and 2017).

Including Chelsea, seven of the last eight seasons have seen the team top of the league at Christmas go on to win the title.

Chelsea used all three substitutes in every Premier League game this season (114 in total) – they are only the second team to do this in a 38-game Premier League season, after Manchester City in 2014-15.

Cesar Azpilicueta became the fourth outfield player in Premier League history to play every minute of a title-winning season (after Gary Pallister in 1992/93, John Terry in 2014/15 and Wes Morgan in 2015/16).

In May, Cesc Fabregas became the first player to make 10+ assists in six different Premier League seasons. He is also now in second place in the all-time assist charts in the competition behind Ryan Giggs (107 assists).

Thirteen Premier League players have scored 100 goals before turning 30, but only one has recorded 100 assists before turning 30 – Fabregas (107).

John Terry scored in his 17th different Premier League season. Only Ryan Giggs (21 seasons), Paul Scholes (19 seasons) and Frank Lampard (18 seasons) have scored in more.

Diego Costa became the 16th player to score in every month of a Premier League season, and first since Charlie Austin in 2014-15.

Costa became the third player to score 20+ goals in a Premier League season for Chelsea on two occasions (Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in 2000-01 & 2001-02 and Didier Drogba in 2006-07 & 2009-10).

Without Costa’s 20 Premier League goals this season, Chelsea would have been 15 points worse off – his goals were worth more points than any other Premier League player this season.

Antonio Conte became the first manager to record a league double over Pep Guardiola in the Spaniard’s coaching career.

Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace became the first team to win on three consecutive Premier League trips to Anfield since Chelsea in October 2005.

Everton
Everton won 43 points at Goodison Park in the Premier League this season, their most in a top-flight campaign at home since 1989-90 (45).

With his brace against Hull City in March, Romelu Lukaku became the first Everton player since Gary Lineker in 1985/86 to hit 20 league goals in a season.

Lukaku is also only the fourth player in Premier League history to score 80+ goals in the competition before turning 24 years old (also Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler and Wayne Rooney).

Leighton Baines became the first defender to reach 50 Premier League career assists.

Hull City
Hull City became the 26th different team to top the Premier League (top on August 13, 2016). They also became the eighth side to be top and bottom of the table within the same Premier League season.

Because of their opening day victory against Leicester City, Hull spent one more day on top of the Premier League than Tottenham did in 2016-17 (0).

Hull’s relegation means that 22 of the 25 teams to be bottom of the Premier League at Christmas have ended that season in the relegation zone.

Hull gave away 13 penalties this season, the most of any side in a single Premier League campaign.

Despite making his last appearance for them in the competition on January 14th 2017, Robert Snodgrass ended the season as Hull’s top goalscorer (7) and created more goalscoring chances than any other Tigers player (45).

Leicester City
Leicester won just 44 points in the Premier League this season, the lowest haul (assuming three points for a win) by a reigning English top-flight champion since Liverpool in 1902 (42 points).

Leicester scored first in 12 different Premier League matches this season – in those games, they won 11 times and drew once (losing none).

Craig Shakespeare became the first British manager to win each of his first five Premier League games.

Liverpool
Only Chelsea (457 minutes) were in a losing position in Premier League matches for less time than Liverpool (471 mins) this season.

Liverpool won more points from losing positions (18) than any other team.

In a head-to-head league including just the top six sides, Liverpool won the most points (20 from 10 games).

Thanks to their 4-0 away win at West Ham United in May, Liverpool won a Premier League match at a 52nd Premier League stadium – more than any other side.

Philippe Coutinho has scored 15 goals from outside the area since his Premier League debut, more than any other player.

James Milner now holds the record for the most Premier League games scored in and never lost (47 Games: W37 D10 L0).

Manchester City
Manchester City have now finished in the top four in the Premier League in seven consecutive seasons, the longest active streak of any team in the competition.

City recorded their 12th away win in league competition, their joint-most in a single campaign (also 12 in 2001/02).

Sergio Aguero scored 33 goals in all competitions for Manchester City this term, his best ever return in a single season for the club.

Kevin De Bruyne assisted 18 goals for Manchester City in the Premier League this season, a record by a Man City player in a Premier League campaign.

De Bruyne hit the woodwork nine times this season – the record in the Premier League since Opta began analysing (2006-07) is 10 by Robin van Persie in 2011-12.

Pep Guardiola suffered six league defeats this season, his highest tally in a single league season as a manager.

This is the first time Guardiola has finished outside the top two in a league season as a manager.

Manchester United
Manchester United have now finished in each spot from 1st to 7th in a Premier League season, the only team to do this. They never finished lower than 3rd under Sir Alex Ferguson, finishing 7th, 4th, 5th and 6th in the last four seasons.

Manchester United went on a 25-game unbeaten run in the Premier League between September 2016 and May 2017 (W13 D12 L0) – this was their longest-ever unbeaten run within a single top-flight season and the eighth longest by any side in a single top-flight campaign.

Manchester United became the first team to win 600 Premier League matches (P962 W604 D209 L149).

Manchester United also became the first team to win 2000 points in the Premier League, with victory over Watford in February.

Between December 4, 2016 and March 17, 2017, Manchester United spent 104 consecutive days in sixth place in the Premier League.

Both Arsenal and Manchester United have finished outside of the top four of the top-flight for the first time since 1978-79.

This is the first time Jose Mourinho has finished outside the top three in a league season as a manager. 2016/17 also saw him record his lowest points total in a full season (previous lowest was 82 points with Porto in 2003-04, Inter Milan 2009-10 and Chelsea 2013-14).

Mourinho made more changes to his starting XI (120) than any other manager this season.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic became the only Manchester United player to score 20+ goals in a season since Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013 (28).

Ibrahimovic also became the second Manchester United player to score in the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Europe and the Community Shield in a season (along with Javier Hernandez, 2010/11).

At 35y 125d old, Zlatan Ibrahimovic became the oldest ever player to reach 15 goals in a Premier League season.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan became the first Armenian to score in the Premier League and in doing so Armenia became the 96th different nation to see a player score in the competition.

Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough won just 28 points this season, their worst ever return in a Premier League season.

Middlesbrough were 14th in the Premier League on Christmas Day but have become just the 12th side to be this high in the Premier League table at Christmas and still be relegated.

Harry Kane (29 goals) scored more than Middlesbrough (27 goals) in the Premier League this season. This is only the fifth time that a club has scored fewer goals than a player or players in a Premier League season.

Southampton
Southampton recorded the lowest shot conversion rate in the Premier League, scoring 41 goals from 549 attempts (7.47%).

Stoke City
Stoke finished outside of the top half for the first time under Mark Hughes (13th) after three successive ninth-placed finishes prior to this.

Stoke conceded more goals (56) than in any of their previous eight Premier League seasons.

Mark Hughes is now the seventh Premier League manager to make it to 150 wins (Ferguson, Wenger, Redknapp, Moyes, Allardyce and Mourinho).

Peter Crouch scored his 100th Premier League goal in Stoke City’s draw with Everton in February. He was the 26th player to reach this landmark, but the fourth slowest (419 apps).

Crouch scored his 50th headed Premier League goal in their final day match against Southampton – the first and only player to reach this landmark.

Sunderland
2016-17 is the first time ever that one of Sunderland or Newcastle has been promoted and the other relegated.

Sunderland spent 189 days bottom of the Premier League in 2016-17, with 110 of those coming in successive days from February 1st to the end of the season. This means that they spent 67% of the season in last place.

Jack Rodwell broke the Premier League record for longest run of games started without winning, going 39 in a row without ending up on the winning side (two for Man City, 37 for Sunderland) before he started Sunderland’s 4-0 away win over Crystal Palace.

Jermain Defoe became the fourth player to score 10+ goals in 10 different Premier League seasons, after Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard.

Defoe scored 15 goals for Sunderland as they finished bottom of the Premier League – the only player to score more goals for a bottom of the league team in a Premier League season is Charlie Austin for QPR in 2014-15 (18 goals).

Swansea City
Paul Clement’s win percentage of 47% is the best of any Swansea manager in the Premier League.

Fernando Llorente has scored 11 goals at the Liberty Stadium this term; no Swansea player has netted more there in a PL season (also Michu in 2012/13 – 11).

Swansea City conceded 70 goals in the Premier League this season. Only two teams have conceded more in a 38-game PL season and survived relegation – Wigan in 2009-10 (79) & West Bromwich Albion in 2010-11 (71).

Tottenham
Tottenham’s tally of 86 points is their highest ever in the Premier League.

Eleven previous Premier League champions have won the title with a point tally equal to or less than Tottenham’s 86-point tally in 2016-17.

Tottenham’s goal difference of +60 is the highest in Premier League history for a non-title winning side.

Tottenham finished above Arsenal in the Premier League for the first time since 1994/95.

Tottenham were the only club in England’s top four tiers to see as many as three players score 20+ goals for them in all competitions this season (Kane, Alli and Son).

Harry Kane has netted four Premier League hat-tricks this season; only Alan Shearer managed more in a single campaign in the competition (5 in 1995/96).

Kane has scored 17 home league goals this season, the highest number ever recorded by a Spurs player in a single Premier League season.

He now has six Premier League hat-tricks for Spurs, twice as many as any other player for the club (Robbie Keane and Jermain Defoe both with 3)

Kane (29 goals) scored more than Middlesbrough (27 goals) in the Premier League this season. This is only the fifth time that a club has scored fewer goals than a player or players in a Premier League season.

Dele Alli was involved in 40 Premier League goals in 63 appearances before he turned 21 in April. Only three English players in the history of the competition have been involved in more before their 21st birthday: Robbie Fowler (76), Michael Owen (73) and Wayne Rooney (66).

21-year-old Alli scored 17 Premier League goals in 2016-17, more than Steven Gerrard (16 in 2008-09) and Paul Scholes ever netted in a single campaign (14 in 2002-03)

Christian Eriksen has provided more assists in a single Premier League season than any other Spurs player (15).

Watford
Watford conceded 23 goals from crosses in the Premier League this term, the most of any side.

Troy Deeney scored his 100th league goal for Watford this season, becoming the fifth player to reach this milestone for the club.

West Brom
West Brom have scored 16 goals from corners in the Premier League this term, the most of any team.

West Brom scored a league-high proportion of their goals from set-piece situations this season (48.8%). They also conceded the lowest proportion from set-pieces (21.6%).

Salomón Rondón scored a hat-trick of headers in West Brom’s win over Swansea City at The Hawthorns in December. It was only the second time this had happened in the Premier League, with the first coming via Duncan Ferguson for Everton v Bolton in December 1997.

Tony Pulis made the fewest changes to his starting XI (49) over the course of the whole season.

West Ham
West Ham and Bournemouth both lost the most points from winning positions this season in the Premier League (22 points).

Dimitri Payet created the most goalscoring chances for West Ham in the Premier League this season (74), despite playing his final league game for the Hammers on January 2nd 2017

What a funny suggestion!

Real Madrid win La Liga with 93 points; Barcelona 90 points

ArsenalFC Leads Club of Five Unbeaten League Champions

Scottish giants Celtic‘s 2-0 win over Hearts on Sunday ensured they became the latest league champions to go unbeaten through a season.

Here AFP Sports picks out five other teams who in the past won their respective championships without losing a match:

Arsenal

Arsene Wenger led the Gunners to a memorable English Premier League title in the 2003/04 season, racking up 26 victories and 12 draws. There was to be no domestic double for the Invincibles though as Manchester United eliminated them in the FA Cup semi-finals. Wenger’s fellow Frenchman Thierry Henry led the line brilliantly, scoring 30 league goals in 37 appearances. “When I look back now and see the quality of each player, that’s when you realise it was exceptional,” said Wenger on the 10th anniversary of the title win, something he has failed to repeat.

Preston North End

The first ever Football League season ended in memorable fashion with Preston — managed by Major William Sudell — achieving the double in the 1888/89 campaign. ‘The Invincibles’ played just 22 league games — winning 18 of them — and five FA Cup games in which they did not concede a goal. The team assembled was made up in large part of Scots, but in England international striker and club captain Fred Dewhurst, they had a lethal marksman. Dewhurst scored 12 times in 16 league games that season for Preston and one to boot in the 3-0 FA Cup win over Wolves.

Steaua Bucharest

The 1980s was the Romanian club’s golden era and allusions were made about its domestic dominance — three successive league titles without suffering one defeat (1986/87, 87/88 and 88/89) — being due to close ties to then-ruler Nicolae Ceaucescu and his family. There, though, could be little dispute the club — founded by the post World War II Romanian Army — held their own in Europe. They beat Barcelona to win the European Cup in 1986 and reached the 1989 final, losing to AC Milan.

Ajax

Regarded as one of the greatest teams of all time with the likes of Marc Overmars, Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert and Edgar Davids and coached by Louis van Gaal, they went through the 1994/95 season unbeaten in the league — scoring 106 goals and winning 27 of the 34 matches. They rounded the season off by beating AC Milan in the Champions League final. “Ajax are not just the team of the ’90s,” commented Real Madrid coach Jorge Valdano. “They are approaching football utopia. Their concept of the game is exquisite yet they have a physical superiority as well. They are Beauty and the Beast.”

Juventus

Antonio Conte guiding a side to the title in his first season in charge and without the burden of European football… sound familiar? Certainly to Chelsea fans — save the unbeaten part — as he achieved that with Juventus in 2011/12, the team notching up 23 wins and 15 draws. Perhaps a good omen for Arsenal in next weekend’s FA Cup final, Juventus lost their only game of the domestic season in the Italian Cup final to Napoli. The likes of Gianluigi Buffon and Andrea Pirlo played integral roles in delivering Juventus their first title since 2003 — two others having been stripped from them over a match-fixing scandal. Pirlo’s assessment of how they had ended the title drought gives an insight into Conte’s ability to rouse players. “We won the Scudetto at the first time of asking and the success was all his (Conte’s), a triumph of bloody-mindedness that went beyond everyone’s expectations.”

©Afp

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Friday denied rumour of deductions in candidates’ marks in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination. It advised the candidates to disregard the rumour.

Dr Fabian Benjamin, the Head of JAMB Information and Media, denied the reports in a statement in Abuja.

According to Benjamin, the rumour is false, devilish and a ploy to cause disaffection among candidates who participated in the 2017 UTME.

“It is no longer news that all our centres have CCTV camera and we have watched all proceedings at the Computer Based Test (CBT) centres across the nation.

“Those involved in any infraction will be sanctioned in accordance with the provision of the Examination Malpractice Act.

“The board has not deducted any marks from any candidate and is not contemplating doing that as it is not a condition for sanction in any of the provisions of the law against malpractice.

“Again, we call on all candidates to be mindful of fraudulent characters who will send misleading information to create panic and take advantage of the situation to defraud them”.

Benjamin said that the examinations had so far been conducted for 1,698,835 candidates and that the remaining 19950 would sit for the examination on Saturday, May 20.

He said that the board would conclude the ongoing examination on Saturday, May 20, and examination results were being released for candidates to check, except on Friday and Saturday.

Benjamin said that report that candidates, who could not check their results because they owed JAMB some money, was also false.

He advised candidates not to pay any money to anybody as their results had already been sent to their mails and on the JAMB website: http://www.jamb.org.ng

Benjamin advised candidates to login to check the result with their registration number or with email address to print.

He urged candidates with any challenge not to hesitate to contact the board or check the organisation’s Website for detailed information and numbers for enquiries.

The Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, has said that out of the 1,648,429 million candidates writing the ongoing UTME, the results of 1,048,914 have been released.

This was just as he also announced the extension of JAMB’s portal for registration, adding that it will finally close its registration portal on 28th May.

He said that in addition to the 1,048,914 results that have been released, over 30,406 results are also ready for upload before midnight today.
He said: “As at today, 1,648, 429 are taking our examination and we have released the result of 1,048,914. That is the result we have released up till yesterday.

“On the first day, we released the results of Sunday because anything you call CBT, the results are ready, but for environmental reasons, we do not release the results immediately.

“That is to ensure we go through the CCTV camera to see whether there are report of malpractice and prevent the situation whereby those who do not pass become agitated at the CBT centres.

“We have released the results of Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and we are going to release today’s result before 12 midnight. This morning, the results of 30,046 will be released.

Asked about the performances of candidates so far, he said: “The candidates have not done badly from the results released so far.” As soon as the last person finishes writing the last paper today, we will upload additionally over 30,406 results before 12 midnight today.”

Oloyede also disclosed that JAMB’s portal for registration has not closed, adding that it will finally close its registration portal on 28th May.
He said that he got the mandate from the Senate few weeks ago to increase the UTME registration period by one month, which according to him will elapse on 28th of May.

“As I speak, we have registered additional 1,100 candidates,” he added. Oloyede who disclosed during this during his visit to one of the CBT Centres in Lagos said that in 2018, fingerprints may no longer be required.

He explained: We have now been able to catch those people who registered two people with the same names. The impersonator and the one being impersonated went in collaboration with the CBT centres after screening them.”

He said: “Both the impersonator and one being impersonated used each fingers. While, the impersonator used two thumb fingers, the impersonated used eight fingers to register. Thus, we have ten registered fingers and the ten fingers were not from one person.

“In some centres, when we tested all their fingers, we discovered that they were impersonators who had used two of their thumbs in both hands.

“By next year, we may not use fingerprints, there are other technologies whereby with the technology, everything about the candidate is captured. We need to move in that direction.”

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has conducted Computer Based Test (CBT) for 1,144,198 candidates since the test began on Saturday.
JAMB’s Head of Information and Media, Dr Fabian Benjamin, told newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja that results were being released within 24 hours of completion of the test.
CBT is the mode JAMB is conducting its Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
A total of 1,736,571 candidates registered for the 2017 UTME taking place in 642 centres in the country.
Benjamin advised candidates to check their results in their electronic mail boxes or JAMB portal.
“We have sent results to the candidates’ respective e-mail boxes.
“If it is not there, they should check on the portal.
“Saturday and Monday examination results are out, and we are already processing those of Tuesday, May 16,’’ Benjamin said.
The spokesman said that the breakdown of the results would be published after the last set of candidates would have completed the examination.
“The examination is still on, when we finish, we will come up with the statistics,’’ he said.
He said that the examination had been hitch-free, adding that JAMB set up a team to receive and address complaints about the examination.
The examination will end on May 20 in all centres.

The Registrar, Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB Prof. Is-haq Oloyede has warned candidates sitting for the exam not to fall victim to fraudsters who claim to have prepared answers to the examination questions being conducted by JAMB, adding that those who bought and used such papers have already failed.

Prof. Oloyede warned the candidates to desist from buying fake question papers being sold by organised syndicates with the hope that such questions are the authentic JAMB questions which would make them get high marks in the exam.

Reports have shown that some unsuspecting but gullible candidates writing the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted by JAMB have and may still be buying fake question papers, thinking they are authentic ones.

The reports claim that the candidates pay as much as N200,000 to obtain the fake questions papers from ‘organised syndicates’ who have promised them the papers are real ones that will help them get high marks in the exam. However, Professor Oloyede who spoke during the monitoring of the ongoing UTME examination with Minister of State for Education Prof. Anthony Anwukah in Abuja said such candidates have already failed because the fraudsters take past questions, change the dates and then proceed to sell to unsuspecting candidates, promising them the papers are current exam questions and that they have the correct answers to them.

“Some of the fraudulent persons simply take past question papers and redesign them by changing the date and then sell same to gullible candidates, who might not have prepared well for the examination,” he said.

He said some candidates fell for the trick, paying huge sums of money to purchase the question papers only to be disappointed on the examination day.

“This morning, somebody sent me questions. They call it Orijo and he bought it for N200,000 and when I saw it, it was our questions in 1984 and he just put 2017 on it and started selling it and people are buying it.

“So, if people are corrupt, I won’t have any sympathy if they are duped by corrupt people like themselves. They are just being wise. They went into the past questions of JAMB and just changed the heading.

“Somebody else called me and said he had all my questions. I asked him to send them to me and when I checked, I just laughed because none of that was in our questions. What people are just doing, they are making money because people are gullible.

“We appeal to people to do things according to the rules. No cutting of corners will work with JAMB and that is why many of the candidates who fell for such blackmail are disappointed.”

The results of the examination conducted on Saturday have been released, he said. Oloyede expressed satisfaction in the smooth conduct of the examination so far, but decried the poor performance of students from the results of Saturday’s examination.

“The result of UTME has come out and the performance is not too bad. But we are sure that this is the performance now rather than thinking you can get result one way or the other.” No fewer than 440,000 candidates out of the 1.7 million that registered for the UTME sat for the examination on the second day.

This is as stated in the NYSC Batch A 2017 official Time Table. Consequently upon this, Management of the scheme has scheduled the 2017 Batch A Orientation course to commence from Tuesday 23rd may to Monday 12th June 2017 Nationwide.

Prospective Corps members are expected to log on to the NYSC Portal to commence printing of their call-up letters from 18th may to 23rd may 2017. While those who did not subscribe for online printing should start collection of Call-up letters from 18th may from their various institutions of graduation.

When you eventually receive your call-up letter either via email or institution, make sure you read it very well, at least three(3) times before printing it out.

Those that will receive via email are in better advantage because they have the opportunity to print their call-up letters, anywhere, any time and many times.

They cannot lose their Call-up letters because since they have the opportunity to print and re-print many copies at any time.

Those that will receive via institution are in less advantage. Well, we advise you to guide your call-up letter with your life if you’re in this category. If anything happened to it, no more, you cannot retrieve it.

You must go to camp with your call-up letter which must be in colour format

A Lagos medical practitioner, who identified himself only as Dr Itan, has accused policemen from the Area M command of stealing N45,000 from him.

The victim, who works with a private hospital in the Iyana Ipaja area of the state, said he was returning from an emergency around 1am, accompanied by his wife, when he was stopped by a police team.

He said his explanations on where he was coming from was rebuffed by the men, who demanded N100,000 from him failing which he would be charged with robbery.

Itan said after being detained for about three hours, the policemen led his wife to the nearest Automated Teller Machine, where she was forced to withdraw N45,000 for them.

The doctor said four other motorists, who were also stopped, were forced to part with various sums of money.

He said, “I live in Ikeja, while the hospital where I work is at Iyana Ipaja. I was at home on April 9 when a nurse called me that we had a patient that had problem passing urine. The man was in pain and I recommended some drugs.

“But the nurse called back that the situation was getting critical and I decided to drive down. I got to the hospital with my wife; and by some minutes past 1am, we were done.

“I was driving back when I sighted a road block by a police team at Moshalashi Roundabout, Iyana Ipaja. I saw different Rapid Response Squad vehicles at the junction. They asked me to park and I did.

“They asked why I was wandering at that time of the night and I told them that I was a medical doctor and I had an emergency which I had to respond to. I showed them my identity card and complimentary cards. The policemen checked my vehicle documents and driving licence, which were complete.

“But one of the policemen said anybody could be a doctor during the day and a robber at night. I told them that if they had issues with where I was coming from, they could follow me back to the hospital. But they refused.”

Itan said four other vehicles were stopped on the road, adding that the policemen said they got a tip-off on a robbery operation in the area and they were all suspects.

He noted that before they were driven to the Area Command, the policemen asked him to pay N100,000.

“They said as a doctor I didn’t need to get myself embarrassed and that I could just settle them and leave. Since I didn’t have any money, I did not pay anything.

“They took us to the Area M Police Command on Idimu Road. But instead of driving into the station, they asked us all to park our vehicles at a car wash beside the command.

“I asked them to take me to the Area Commander, adding that I was ready to be investigated. But they only demanded my car key and kept silent,” he added.

The victim said some of the other motorists started paying some money to the policemen and were released.

He said later, a Deputy Superintendent of Police approached him and after he identified himself as a medical doctor, the DSP asked the policemen to search his vehicle.

Nothing incriminating was said to have been found in the car.

“He then held my pouch, which contained my driving licence, passport, hospital ID card and the ID card of another hospital where I was formerly working.

“He asked what I was doing with two ID cards of different hospitals, and I explained to him. I also told him it was not a crime if I had ID cards of two hospitals if I was working in one and consulting for the other. He became angry.

“When it was getting to about 4am and I didn’t bulge, one of them came to me and said I was not supposed to follow them to the area command in the first place and that since they had brought me there, they might have to charge me with robbery. I told him there was nothing I could do because I didn’t have any money on me.

“At that point, they volunteered to follow my wife to the Automated Teller Machine to withdraw some money. I told them I didn’t have N100,000. But the policeman said I cannot give them small money because all of them, including the DSP, will share it.

“Later, they decided to collect N45,000. They drove my wife to the ATM where she made the withdrawal before we were eventually released,” Itan added.

Itan said the policemen advised him to always move in an ambulance whenever there was an emergency or in the alternative he should tell his hospital to write the area command.

While expressing sadness over the incident, he said he reported his ordeal to the management of his hospital, but was advised to let go.

“The hospital said it was what they did every time and I was surprised because I was new in the place. They said since they were in that environment and they always had to respond to emergencies from time to time, they didn’t want to be victimised.

“But I want those policemen punished for the act. The police authorities should go after them; they are always at that junction, robbing innocent motorists,” he added.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, urged the doctor to approach the command for redress, saying the state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, would not condone such act.

He said, “Please, ask him if he copied the tag number or name of any of those policemen and if he can identify them. The CP has ordered that once we get any report like that, we should get the culprits apprehended to face the wrath of the law. We will not condone such. Tell him to come to the command on Tuesday (today).”

In his reaction, the doctor said he could recognise the policemen, adding that he wrote down the name and number of one of them.

SOURCE: The Punch

By Strive Masiyiwa

When I first arrived in Nigeria to set up the country's first GSM mobile network, Econet Wireless Nigeria (now Airtel Nigeria), I had to serve as the company's interim CEO for about six months, until we appointed someone substantive. This meant I practically lived in Nigeria for most of that time. It was a remarkable experience, and one which will remain with me all my life. Nigeria is one of the most exciting countries in the world, and could be the next China before the turn of this century.

I just want to share with you one particular incident which led me to that conclusion: As many people know, today Nigeria has over 120m mobile phones users. To imagine that I made the first ever official GSM mobile call in Nigeria on 6th August 2001 seems almost unbelievable...

Our company Econet Wireless Nigeria was in a race with MTN Nigeria, the only other operator at the time, to meet a deadline set by the regulator for 8th of August. We beat the deadline and MTN by two days, and as Interim CEO, I had the privilege to call the regulator to tell him we were "Live"!

What a moment in my life! It's something I'll always cherish. I don't really care whether I own or don't own a mobile operator there today. My success will always be measured in terms of my small contribution in kick starting the largest mobile industry on the African continent, and it is Nigeria.

Several months before the launch deadline, I'd arrived with over 100 engineers and technicians, drawn mostly from Zimbabwe and South Africa. At the time, since Nigeria had been delayed by the military governments from acquiring GSM, it was one of the last markets without this new technology. President Obasanjo, who had just won the election two years earlier, wanted to change that and had issued three licenses, but one had been delayed.

This meant that when we started operations, Nigeria had no homegrown engineers or technicians with experience in GSM mobile technology. (Today it has more than Southern Africa combined!)

So whilst setting up the network to meet the deadline, we used expatriates from other African countries that already had GSM. We also began the process of recruiting Nigerian engineers and technicians who we would retrain for this exciting new industry to take over from the expatriate team, which wanted to do in the shortest time possible.

We had literally thousands of posts to fill.

In one instance, we placed newspaper adverts in all leading newspapers asking for people qualified in electronic engineering, at degree level, and with minimum five years relevant experience. I'll never forget the response. I came into the office to find postal bags, piled to the ceiling!

"I only want to see the applications from people who meet our requirements, and not from chancers who aren't qualified," I complained.

"Sir, these are the ones we have vetted."

"What?! You mean there were more than this?"

"Thousands, sir."

Then I came up with an idea: "Why don't you separate for me, the most qualified academically. Set aside people with MBAs, and even PHDs."

A day later, another postal bag of applications was delivered to my office. I was staggered!

There were thousands of people with qualifications in just this one discipline with MBAs and PHDs! Many had qualified in the best universities around the world. There were also GSM-qualified Nigerians working internationally, including in America and Europe, wanting to return home!

I was blown away by the qualifications. I thought to myself: "You can start almost any business or industry here. I wish investors would one day discover the wealth of this nation."

Whenever I hear people talk about the wealth of Nigeria in terms of oil, I shake my head to say: "You have no idea what you're talking about!"

The true wealth of Nigeria is its extraordinary human capital, and passion for education. Unleash that and no one can stop them!

#FocusForwardEntrepreneurs!

On this platform, we're working to build a prosperous African continent, together... People, product, process. Lights, camera, action!

#Imagine, build, succeed, soar!

End.

ABUJA – THE Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has released the result of the Computer Based Test of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, for the 57,000 candidates that wrote the examination on Saturday.

This is as racketeers have allegedly duped some of the candidates by selling fake examination questions they tagged, ‘origi’ for N200,000 which JAMB latter discovered that the questions were the JAMB questions in 1984.

Speaking to journalists after monitoring the examination on Monday, the Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede disclosed that the result of UTME that was taken on Saturday by over 57,000 candidates had been released.

He also said that the examination could not go on at the Lagos State University of Technology, LAUTECH because of the ongoing strike in the institution, saying that if the strike was not called off by today (Monday), the authorities of JAMB will have no other option than to relocate the candidates to University of Ilorin which he said was the nearest centre from Ogbomosho.

Meantime, security operatives have arrested one of the “candidates”in Aba, Abia state for allegedly attacking the JAMB officials that prevented him from gaining entry into the exam centre.

Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/05/jamb-releases-57000-results-saturday-utme/

Friday's cyber-attack has affected more than 200,000 victims in 150 countries, Europol chief Rob Wainwright says.
Speaking to Britain's ITV, he said the world faced an escalating threat, and there was concern about the level of potential attacks on Monday morning.
The virus took control of users' files, demanding payments; Russia and the UK were among the worst-hit countries.
Experts say another attack could be imminent and have warned people to ensure their security is up to date.
Mr Wainwright said he was concerned that the numbers of those affected would continue to rise when people returned to work on Monday morning.
"We're in the face of an escalating threat, the numbers are going up," he said, adding that the current attack was unprecedented.
"We are running around 200 global operations against cyber crime each year but we've never seen anything like this.
"The latest count is over 200,000 victims in at least 150 countries. Many of those victims will be businesses, including large corporations. The global reach is unprecedented."
Analysis: How it started
He said the ransomware was unique because it was used in combination with a worm - allowing it to spread through an infected computer through an entire network.
However, Mr Wainwright said that so far "remarkably few" payments had been made by victims of the attack.
BBC analysis of three accounts linked with the global attack suggests the hackers have been paid the equivalent of £22,080.
The Europol chief said it was working with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation to find those responsible, and that more than one person was likely to be involved.
The virus exploits a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows software, first identified by the US National Security Agency, experts have said.
After taking computers over, it displayed messages demanding a payment of $300 (£230) in virtual currency Bitcoin to unlock files and return them to the user.
The UK security researcher known as "MalwareTech", who helped to limit the ransomware attack, predicted "another one coming... quite likely on Monday".
MalwareTech, who wants to remain anonymous, was hailed as an "accidental hero" after registering a domain name to track the spread of the virus, which actually ended up halting it.
The 22-year-old told the BBC it was very important for people to patch their systems as soon as possible.

Candidates for the 2017 Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, examination that began yesterday poured out their frustration over what they described as poor preparation by JAMB as most centres visited started late and had network failure among other issues.
Sunday Vanguard reporters who visited some centres in Lagos observed that aside the delay that characterised the start up in some centres, two hours behind schedule , candidates had to contend with breakdown of server while writing the exam.
One of the several candidates who spoke to our correspondent in Yaba College of Technology center was Busayo Akinyemi who came from Mushin to write the examination.
Akinyemi said she felt sad that JAMB could not live up to its promise. Her words, “ I was here before 6:30 am because I was among the first batch to write by 7am. However, the exam did not start until 11:30. This was after we had shouted at JAMB officials who were still bringing computers into the hall as at 9am”.
The same scenario was witnessed at Career Centre, Iwaya at Sabo/ Bariga area of Lagos where candidates slated to begin the exam at 1:30 pm stood under the sun as at 1pm, even as those who had already written theirs came out of the hall with complaints that only one engineer was on ground to battle the issue of system breakdown or network failure.
JAMB’s reaction
One of the JAMB officials approached told our reporter that hitches were expected but promised that by next Saturday all the issues raised would have been addressed.
“ Today, we expected little challenges; that’s why only two sets were writing. By next week, all the hitches would have been settled and we will have three sets writing. These include the first batch of 7am, second batch, 11 am and the last one that will be by 1:30 pm. Today, only two batches wrote the exam”.
Asked how many candidates were inside the examination hall, he replied: “Why are you concerned about the number of candidates? For the delay, it is normal because today is the beginning of JAMB. “
For candidates who claimed JAMB posted them to far away states, JAMB spokesperson, Dr Fabian Benjamin, while speaking with Sunday Vanguard, said every candidate chose the town of examination, while JAMB chose the examination centre. “JAMB did not choose examination centre for any candidate, each candidate made the choice. What we did was to choose the examination centre,” he explained.
However, Sunday Vanguard findings revealed that candidates, who got posted to far distance either registered late or had the centres they initially wanted full.

This list first appeared on planetfootball.com …
Peter Schmeichel is still widely regarded as the best goalkeeper to have ever played in the Premier League, but he certainly wasn’t the only outstanding stopper of the 1990s.

If you hadn’t guessed already, I love the 90s. I’ve chosen my
favourite playmakers , favourite kits and favourite cult teams from the decade, and now I’ve picked out the 10 goalkeepers I remember most fondly.

Every list is subjective and open to debate, of course, and this one is no different, but here goes nothing…

10) Claudio Taffarel
Brazil are hardly known for their proficient goalkeepers, but Taffarel merits a better reputation than simply being the tallest dwarf. Only three players (Cafu, Roberto Carlos and Lucio) have earned more caps for the Seleção .

Taffarel’s international career began in 1988, and his first major tournament was the 1989 Copa America. He would play in five Copa Americas and two World Cups, Brazil’s first choice as they won in 1994 and lost the final to France in 1998. It was his penalty saves in the semi-final shootout against Netherlands that took Brazil through.

Domestically, Taffarel split his time between Italy, Brazil and Turkey, enjoying a three-year spell with Galatasaray between 1998 and 2001 during which he won two league titles, two domestic cups, the UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup.

Individually, Taffarel was named the third best goalkeeper in the world in 1991 and 1994.

9) David Seaman
It is extremely difficult to judge Seaman’s true place on this list, purely because I have seen far more of him than any other goalkeeper. There is a tendency to underrate English players in comparison with foreign fancies, or overrate them out of patriotic pride; the balance is hard to get right.

What is certainly true is that Seaman was one of England’s best goalkeepers of all time, and a crucial ingredient of Arsenal’s success under Arsene Wenger. He certainly enjoyed his peaks at club level rather than in an England shirt, but the same can be said for virtually every player of that generation.

“He’s still the best goalkeeper in England,” said Wenger of 39-year-old Seaman in 2002.

“I’m very proud of him. He has shown again the calm, the authority and the responsibility on the pitch and that’s what you want from a super professional. It’s about showing how strong you are on the pitch and he’s done that again today and he has always done that since I was at Arsenal.”

Andreas Kopke
Probably the most easily overlooked of all the great goalkeepers of the 1990s, Kopke was after Bodo Ilgner and before Oliver Kahn yet still managed 59 caps and played a vital role in German major tournament success.

Named as German Footballer of the Year in 1993, Kopke did not establish himself as national team No.1 until after World Cup ‘94.
He made up for lost time through his brilliance during Euro ‘96 – sorry, Gareth Southgate – and being named as Europe’s and the world’s best goalkeeper in that same year.

He made his mind up to retire after the 1998 World Cup – for which he was also first choice – in order to allow the developing Kahn to take his place. He became the Germany goalkeeping coach in 2004, a position he still holds.

7) Gianluca Pagliuca
There were a plethora of Italian goalkeepers vying for a place on this list, with Angelo Peruzzi the most obvious rival to Pagliuca, but I’ve gone for the man with the fifth most appearances in Serie A history and the most penalty saves.

Pagliuca also represented Italy at three different World Cups. He earned 13 of his 39 caps in 1994 alone; there has never been more competition for one position in the game’s history than for the Italy No.1 shirt in the early 90s.

Nicknamed The Wall, Pagliuca was a very modern goalkeeper even in the late 1980s, used by Arrigo Sacchi and Sven-Goran Eriksson as a sweeper-keeper behind a flat back four, but it was his reaction saves that earned him the most plaudits.

He became the most expensive goalkeeper of all time when moving from Sampdoria to Inter in 1994, having won the Serie A title and Cup Winners’ Cup with Samp and also reaching the European Cup final in 1992.

Impressively, Pagliuca then moved to Bologna in 1999 shortly before turning 33, yet still played more than 300 games in Emilia-Romagna.

6) Jose Luis Chilavert
There were better goalkeepers than Jose Luis Chilavert, but few more memorable.

The Paraguayan began his career in 1982 and did not retire from international football until 2003. He captained his country at two World Cups and three Copa Americas, and was named as the world’s best goalkeeper in 1995, 1997 and 1998.

Add in a South American Footballer of the Year award and a selection in the Team of the Tournament at the 1998 World Cup, and it is clear we are not merely dealing with a cartoon character keeper.

Yet that is Chilavert’s lasting legacy. He enjoyed dribbling out of defence in a similar style to Rene Higuita (who just missed out on this list), but it was his free-kick and penalty-taking ability that is most memorable.

In 1999, he became the first goalkeeper in the history of the game to score a hat-trick, and ended his career with 67 goals.

5) Thomas Ravelli
Ravelli was a throwback to a time before blanket coverage of foreign leagues, when you only saw certain players at major international tournaments and European finals. He spent his entire career in Sweden with Oster and Goteborg, save for a brief spell in MLS with the Tampa Bay Mutiny.

Ravelli’s international career was far more high-profile, earning cult status for his displays at World Cup ‘90, Euro ‘92 and World Cup ‘94.

In the latter, he saved two Romanian penalties as Sweden reached the semi-finals, and was thus named second best goalkeeper in the world, and by France Football as the seventh best player in Europe.

4) Edwin van der Sar
Some will say that Van der Sar peaked at Manchester United, while others will say he achieved the most at Juventus, and thus does not merit representation in a list of 1990s goalkeepers. The Dutchman did not arrive in Italy until six months before the end of the decade.

Yet Van der Sar achieved enough at Ajax to warrant selection. He won the UEFA Cup and Champions League in 1992 and 1995, and was named as the best goalkeeper in Europe in 1995. He was also named Dutch Football Goalkeeper of the Year four times in succession.

Van der Sar was the goalkeeper as Netherlands were eliminated from three successive major tournaments on penalties, but you can blame the abject penalty-taking of his team-mates for that.

3) Michel Preud’homme
Named best goalkeeper at the 1994 World Cup ahead of Taffarel, Pagliuca and Ravelli on this list alone, Preud’homme was a behemoth of Belgian goalkeeping.

He played only 58 times for his country across a 15-year international career that ended in 1994, but he would play for Benfica until 1999.

Named as Belgium’s best player in 1987 and 1989, Preud’homme still packed enough into the 90s to merit selection this high up the list, and 1994 was his annus mirabilis.

As well as being picked in the World Cup All-Star team, he was named both the best goalkeeper in Europe and the world. That earned him the move to become Benfica’s first ever foreign goalkeeper. He became known as ‘Saint Michel’ in Portugal.
2) Oliver Kahn

A man who needs no introduction, Kahn is one of the most decorated players in German football history. He won eight league titles, six domestic cups, the UEFA Cup and Champions League while at Bayern Munich, and was named UEFA’s best goalkeeper four times, a record until Manuel Neuer surpassed him last year.

Kahn is also the only goalkeeper to be named the best player at a World Cup finals, when his form took Germany to the final in 2002, and he was named by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) as the fifth best goalkeeper of the 21st century.

Including Kahn in a list of 90s goalkeepers might seem a push, but he still had six years as Bayern’s No. 1 in that decade and five of his 11 years as a German international, although he would not become first choice until 1998. If only England could have that strength in depth now.

1) Peter Schmeichel
Alex Ferguson didn’t get much wrong, but I’d have to disagree with the assessment in his autobiography when Fergie omitted Schmeichel from a list of world-class players he managed at Manchester United.

Schmeichel was not just United’s last line of defence during the club’s most successful years, but their warrior and inspiration.
More accurate was Ferguson’s tribute to Schmeichel in 2000, when the goalkeeper was awarded an MBE.

“It’s terrific for him and is reflection on his great career,” he said. “He was tremendous value to this club when he was here. He had an immense presence. His record was marvellous. During his time here he never finished lower than second in the league, and his international career was incredible.

“He has won something like 102 caps, and winning the European Championship with Denmark was a tremendous achievement when everybody thought they had only gone along there for the trip.

“He’s had an amazing career and I am very proud of him and very pleased for him and his family.”

Both the best signing Manchester United have ever made, and their greatest goalkeeper.

Alhaji Auwal Abdullahi, the businessman who married Halimat Babangida today in Minna, Niger State, paid a symbolic bride price of N500,000 and 10 cows to her father, former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida.

The groom is the Sarkin Sudan of Gombe, in Gombe state.
Halimat Babangida

Gen. Garba Wushishi performed the symbolic ceremony of handing over Halimat at 2.45 pm in marriage to Abdullahi.
Gov. Ibrahim Dankwanbo of Gombe state received the bride on behalf of the groom, who hails from the state.

At the special prayer by Sheik Kabiru Gombe was offered for the couple. He stressed the significance of marriage in Islam and called on the bride to submissive and loyal to her husband.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan, including his wife, Patience led the galaxy of big political and military figures that graced the occasion.

APC National Leader Ahmed Tinubu, Sen Aliyu Wamakko, Gov of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai, Mrs Aikhomu, Mrs Josephine Anenih, ex-governor Babangida Aliyu, were among the many personalities who witnessed the short ceremony at the Hilltop home of the retired military General in Minna, the Niger State capital.

Among the guests were former vice-president, Alhaji Namadi Sambo, Alhaji Ahmed Makarfi, PDP factional Chairman, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, former Governor of Sokoto state, Alhaji Mahmud Shinkafi, former governor of Zamafara state.

Others were Isa Yuguda, former governor of Bauchi state, Sule Lamido, former Governor of Jigawa, Ibrahim Shema, former Gov. of Katsina, Alhaji Abubakar Dakingari, former Gov. of Kebbi.
Others in attendance were Sen. Pius Anyim Pius, former Secretary of the Government of the Federation, Justice Idris Kutigi, former Chief Justice of the Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Yayale, also a former SGF, Gen. Magoro, Senator Ben Obi, Senator Ben Bruce, Air Vice Marshal Ibrahim Haruna, Chairman IBB Golf Club, Alhaji Sani Zangon Daura.

Also prominent among the guests at the ceremony were businessman, Aliko Dangote and Mr Mark Snoxell, Managing Director, Dornier Aircraft.

Gen. Aliyu Gusau, who served several times as National Security Adviser, Dr Okwezili Nwodo, former PDP National Secretary, Alhaji Modibo, former FCT Minister, Oba Hamid Adekunle, Oluwo Kuta, also came.

Others were Air Marshall Hamza Abdullahi, Gen Garba Duba, Sen Aliyu Wamakko ,Sen Yarima Abdullahi, Sen Rabiu Kwankwaso, Sen Nuhu Aliyu, who was also a former police DIG.

The wedding ceremony scheduled for 11.30 a.m was held after 2.45pm.

As the build up to the twin (second and third) convocation ceremony of the Akwa Ibom State University continues to gather momentum, the Vice Chancellor of the citadel of learning, Prof Eno Ibanga, has given a hint that not less than thirty three students from various fields would be graduating with first class degrees.

The VC made this announcement Thursday during a media parley with Journalists at the University at Ikot Akpaden, Mkpat Enin.

Prof Ibanga who said that the convocation would be holding next week Wednesday, would also witness bestowing of Honorary Doctorate degrees to deserving persons including the immediate past governor and Senate Minority Leader, Chief Godswill Akpabio.

According to him, since his inception as VC, he has regularised and promoted staff of the institution who were due while adding that AKSU now produces one of the best hydraulic paints in Nigeria.

He used the occasion to commend the State government under the leadership of Mr. Udom Emmanuel for consistency in funding the University as the school receives N250m monthly adding that salaries are paid regularly and that government does not interfere with their internally generated revenue.

The VC noted that 94% of AkSU students are from Akwa Ibom, adding that his best achievement as a VC is more accreditation for the school and building of facilities like laboratories, fish pond, cattle stands, office spaces, Aksu multi purpose theatre, studio, ICT, Library, feed mill, oil palm mill, tomatoes farm and staff training.

Prof Ibanga informed Journalist that AKSU has a well established students Union government where a bus has been acquired for them adding that the relationship of staff and students is cordial.