₦airaland Forum

LagosismyHome:
Cool that the spirit so get to work.... start seeing how can you understand and do GRE differently and give yourself enough time to prepare but keeping in mind application deadline... i set you a challenge now ...I pay for your GRE through BY Mafit. . Let me know when you are ready to register

Wooooooow. I am seriously impressed. Words can not be enough to appreciate this kind gesture, but my prayer is that God will support you in any project of your life. Please 'House', help me appreciate this virtuous woman. I am very grateful. I take up the challenge, and by His grace, I will not disappoint. 'Mo dupe o'

adeyinka09:
This is benevolence at peak.God bless u Ma

Don't even know what to say. May God favour her on every side

LagosismyHome:
Not to discourage but if you have written it twice.... then what to say your score the third time will not be the same

You have to figure either what you are doing wrongly or vastly see what you can do that improves your GRE learning ability. I dont mean just answering questions but for each one u fail understand the principle / foundation behind the answer ....Best of luck

Thanks Lagosismyhome. I understand your point, but I believe you learn new things each time you fail. My GRE story is not a good one to tell cos of the financial and mental implication. It's the first exam I have ever written twice. Nevertheless, I will not allow a 'GRE challenge' hinder my bigger dream ahead. I will take to your advice since you can't do the same thing over and over, expecting different result.
Thanks again.

Walspring:
Some set of people here who are lovers of this thread have come together and decided to give back to this our great thread by given discount to intending student that are willing to write GRE or TOEFL or SAT in order to use it and get funding or assistant-ship from the schools they are applying to.

Only 10 people will benefit from this initiative and with genuine reasons. You can book down any slot at all and this offer will last in the middle of February 2017 which is Valentine's day..

Do not PM or send me private message because it going to be an open offer right inside this thread, also do no ask me who are these people because they wish to be anonymous.

#Onelove
#Onefamily

I am highly interested in the GRE offer. I have written TOEFL and GRE twice, and the GRE scores have been abysmal (both are < 295). Even though, I lost a grad position in a Supervisors lab due to the low GRE, I have tried to apply to few schools, to try my luck. It seems most schools rate the GRE highly. Kindly encourage me to write the exam again with this offer, coz am a bit frustrated. I have both M.Sc. and B.Sc in Nigeria with very good grade. God bless

ChemEngr01:
At first I wasn't sure whether to post this or not, but after reading that some people on the thread are thinking of rewriting I decided to share my experience so they can gain from it.
Anybody that read my first post would know I wasn't satisfied with my quant score, so I decided to rewrite. I knew I didn't need that much further preparation, so I chose the earliest possible date after the 21-day rule. I finally wrote it again yesterday, about 25 days after the first. I had Q167 V158. The key to having truly great scores in the quant is practise questions! Throughout my second preparation I never opened any textbook, because I knew I already had the basic knowledge. I started with magoosh videos; I only watched about 150 of them before my first test, so I watched the rest. Then I subscribed to high speed internet and practised tirelessly with online resources. The good thing about online resources is, after seeing your scores you can review and get detailed explanation on all questions(including the ones you get right - you might learn a better/shorter way). I started with kaomanfen.com. The questions here aren't too tough, so by the time you solve 10-15 full lenghts, you should be having scores close to 170. (I skipped the AW and verbal sections of the full lenghts.) Then I went to Kaplan's site. They give you access to one full lenght for free, but you can access the other 6 full lenghts with the passcode "response". The six tests were extremely helpful. I had 162 in the first test, but after reviewing answers to all questions, I saw gradual increase in subsequent tests. By the time I got to the sixth full lenght, I had 170! I also did princeton review's online practise questions and a few other random ones.
For those preparing, you don't have to read ALL the textbooks that have been mentioned; stick to one or two and read it from start to finish(I used Nova in my own case). Then watch all the magoosh videos and then do a lot of practise questions. All the best!

@chemEngr, I've tried to use the passcode on the kaplan page to access the online test but all to no avail. Kindly share the details on how to go about it. Thanks

iCool:
@Hisvoice.

Thanks Bro. I appreciate

iCool:
^I meant the Practice Questions booklet by ETS.

Hi Bro,
Can you please forward a pdf copy to my mail or post a link for the download? Thanks

Renewable0216:
Sorry I'm getting back to you a little late.

I just confirmed myexamplanet.com . They have several offices in Lagos,Abuja and PH.
Someone registered this week for 55k for GRE.

I think they offer other exams too at competitive prices.

I hope this helps....

Thanks for your response. I appreciate

Renewable0216:
Okay. I' heard of a centre of 55k in Lagos.

I'd confirm tomorrow and get back to you.

When are you looking at writing?

Hi, am interested in your report if the reg centre is genuine. How much does grefmatoefl accept for GRE registration guys?

Are you in the final year of your program or interested in buying laboratory animals (mice, rabbit) for your research work?

Different sizes of these animals are available for sale at affordable price.

Kindly send me a message to emeraldtunde@yahoo.com.

Wish you success in your academic pursuit.

Are you in the final year of your program or interested in buying laboratory animals (mice, rabbit) for your research work?

Different sizes of these animals are available for sale at affordable price.

Kindly send me a message to emeraldtunde@yahoo.com.

Wish you success in your academic pursuit.

Hi everyone,

I am a silent reader of this forum. I have CGPA of 3.28/4 and 3.5/4.0 in my Bsc and Msc in Nigeria, aiming PhD in Microbiology. Please I will like to know about the following;

(i) Which bank has the best exchange rate at present to register for GRE? Though I have paypal linked Gtbank account.

(ii) What should be my target score for GRE? Only few schools states their required score

(iii) Is it true US schools don't usually accept Nigeria Msc?

I have some schools in mind but any recommendation is appreciated. #Team2017fall

Degovmob:
I read those things as well. I am yet to apply,but the two professors have agreed to supervise me and the international offices,after checking my credentials and qualifications, have confirmed I am eligible to do PhD research in their Unis. I have been asked to apply formally by sending my credentials via courier service to their address.

Well done bro. God will bless your hustle. Can you please put me through on how you contacted those supervisors of yours and the possible convincing mode of your mail coz some of this potential supervisors sometimes refuse to reply e-mails. thanks

Hampy:
Bro. I really don't know much about the Phd ish. But I'm sure the good people on this thread will help. Just keep asking and keep checking...someone who knows so well will say something.

Good luck.

Thanks. I appreciate

@everyone here, apologies, No alterior motive for requesting the e-mail address of these two guys. I know all questions are directed to the thread but observed that further enquiry and assistance may require an extension outside here. Nevertheless, I will like anyone to assist answer these questions.

Had a Bachelor degree cgpa 3.6/5.00, Msc points 62/100 of 60point Phd grade. No TOEFL or GRE yet. I want to pursue a Phd in health sciences majorly in infectious diseases and Immunology/Biomedical science in a Germany university. I will like to ask that

What should guide my choice of institution apart from the course?
From your experience, how much overview budget of Naira equivalence should I be working towards? and is it true one can get funding assistance after admmision? Possible schools.
Is it compulsory I write toefl/gre/ielt before admission?

Honest and candid response will be appreciated here. Danke!

Hi guys, I have read virtually every bit of the comment posted on the thread here and I must confess that I'm really impressed by the prompt response and audience given to 'newbies' particularly by @Harpy and @Obiwanne. I've tried to PM @Harpy and Obiwanne but seems the pm link is hitting back. Please guys how can I contact you for an enquiry? Or can you please drop your mails to reach you? Thanks guys.

Please I need someone who has a recent functional HINARI username and password. Kindly share

Africa is blessed with football icon who are proud of their decent and make waves in the world football. Players like Didier Drogba, Samuel Etoo, Yakubu Aiyebeni (arguably), Yaya and Kolo Toure. As these players enter the twilight of their career, let's look at the young prospects who have the potentials to take the barton from them. 1. Kelechi Iheneacho (NIG) of Manchester city. 2. Brendan Traore. (B. FASO) of Chelsea FC. 3. Christian Atsu. (GH) of Chelsea FC. 4. Alex Iwobi. (NIG) of Arsenal FC. 5. Baba Rahmon. (GH) of Augsburg. Let's pray they have a good career. You can add your own.

The NYSC Director of Press and Public Relations, Mrs
Olubunmi Aderibigbe, in a statement released on
Tuesday has denied the ongoing rumour that the
allowance due to corps members that participated in
the 2015 general election was supposed to be N53,
000 as against the N13,000 they were paid.
The statement also showed the breakdown of the
allowance and how much corps members would be
paid in this forthcoming gubernatorial election on
Saturday.
According to the statement, “the attention of the
NYSC Management has been drawn to an online
publication misinforming corps members that the
allowance due to them for participation in the 2015
General Elections is N53,500.00. The originator of
the false publication is also mobilizing them to shun
the next election on 11 April unless this total sum is
fully paid. “Our preliminary investigation has so far indicated
that this publication did not emanate from our corps
members and it is a mischievous circulation by
some unscrupulous elements to discourage Corps
members from participating in the next election for
whatever reasons best known to them.“To correct the misinformation, management hereby
wishes to put the record straight for public
awareness and restate to corps members in clear
terms their true entitlement for the elections. The
allowances for each corps member is as follows:
“Training allowance of N4,500 only paid directly by
INEC to corps members for the training held before
elections.
“For each of the two elections, a corps member is
entitled to N13,000.00 only, which breaks down to
N9,000.00, N3,000.00 and N1,000.00 for honoraria,
transportation and feeding respectively. This implies
that for the two elections, the total allowance due to
each Corps member is N26,000.00 only. The statement added that the fund for the allowance
was approved by INEC and remitted directly into
each of the NYSC state secretariat’s account a week
before the presidential and National Assembly
elections.
It further disclosed that N13, 000.00 for the
presidential and National Assembly elections had
been fully paid and urged corps members who could
not receive the payment to make complaints
through the approved channels.
“Also, Management has directed that the N13,000
allowance for the 11 April Gubernatorial and State
Assembly Elections should be paid in advance by all
NYSC State Secretariats latest by Friday 10 April
2015. However, the body also warned that corps
members, who opted out after receiving the
advanced payment for participation in Saturday’s
polls, would forfeit their April 2015 monthly
allowance. dailypost.ng/2015/04/08/nysc-denies-corps-members-will-be-paid-n53000-for-governorship-house-of-assembly-elections/?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
in Benue State has commenced announcement of
results of the presidential elections in the state with
President Goodluck Jonathan taking the lead in five
local governments areas so far.
The INEC Resident Electoral Officer (REC) in the state,
Mr. Istafanus Dafwang received the results from
collation officers in Makurdi.
He said the five LGAs that had submitted were from the
Benue South senatorial district.
The results in Benue North East and Benue North West
senatorial districts are yet to be collated.
They already announced LGAs include Ado, Okpokwu,
Ohimini, Agatu and Ogbadibo respectively.
The results indicate that in Ado, President Jonathan
polled 7,382 against General Mohammad Buhari who
scored 2,328 votes.
In Okpokwu LGA, Jonathan has scored 12, 103 votes,
while Buhari has 4,757 and in Ohimini, the President
led with 5,909 against Buhari who scored only 4,734.
Jonathan also defeated Gen. Buhari in Agatu, home of
the PDP deputy governorship candidate in Benue John
Ngbede with a wide margin of 9,555 votes against
3,627.
In Ogbadibo, 6,937 votes went to Jonathan on a slim
margin to the APC candidate who has only 6,257 votes.
Meanwhile, the leading opposition All Progressives
Congress (APC) in Benue State has accused the ruling
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of deploying intensive
machineries to manipulate the results of presidential
and National Assembly Elections in the three senatorial
districts of the state. For the breakdown visit benue.com.ng/live-election-results-...

4. The Attack

In June/ July the same time frame as the peak of the IED offensive, ethnic cleansing and major operations in Cameroun, Boko Haram began to move fighters down from the Mandara Mountains to Ashigashiya and physical occupy the area in the vicinity of Gwoza. The local people used to constant raids and massacres realised that in fact Boko Haram was not going anywhere and began to leave. Much the same way at a local level Boko Haram would isolate a target area and then attack, having isolated the Nigerian and Cameroun battlespace they began their main offensive confident that their flanks and rear were secured. Their technique consisted of the constant attacks on villages, generally depopulating the countryside, leaving the main population centres which contained the garrisons, cut off and vulnerable.

Boko Harams tactics in major attacks appears to begin with an assault by waves of foot soldiers, who are brought forward on motorcycles or dropped off from vehicles nearby. At a guess one would presume these are forced conscripts, child soldiers or less experienced fighters. These initial human wave attacks have the dual objective of fixing friendly forces and causing a huge expenditure of ammunition. If they are successful they proceed with the normal looting, murder and burning, if unsuccessful then the second wave attacks consisting of more seasoned fighters supported by vehicles mounted with heavy weapons. Boko Haram propaganda videos have shown mortars and captured artillery pieces, it is unlikely that they have the correct aiming systems or appropriate skills to use these weapons accurately but as area weapons for harassing fire they would suffice.

The enemies’ strongest assets in the attack is their mobility which gives them the ability to concentrate forces and firepower at their convenience against thinly spread friendly forces are so they can confidently advance form up and concentrate forces for an attack confident that there is a high probability they won’t be detected and if they are there are insufficient forces that can respond quickly before their attack develops. The second strongest asset is their ruthlessness. Their willingness to inflict heavy punishment on civilians puts psychological pressure on friendly troops who feel both vulnerable due to the incessant attacks around them and impotent due to their inability to stop them.

5. Defend:

Boko Haram has consolidated their gains by aggressively defending the captured areas. This has been made all the more easier by friendly forces insistence on generally attacking in a predictable manner using the main roads and deploying from nearby towns. As Boko Haram has already isolated these areas by destroying bridges, cutting roads and ambushing lines of communication, the assaulting forces are channelled into easily laid ambushes. The element of surprise is lost by the fact that troops deploy from towns which are generally close to the fighting and by logical extension already under observation by the enemy. The advantages of airpower appear to be negated by the enemies’ skilful use of camouflage and by embedding themselves in civilian areas. By making maximum use of their mobility and attacking new targets they also keep the security forces constantly off balance in having to react to new crises.

6. Conclusion

Boko Haram’s strategy for this campaign appears both ancient and modern in construct. They have essentially laid siege to Maiduguri by incrementally cutting off the roads leading to the city and capturing towns along those roads.

Short of a major counter offensive which pushes them out of the captured towns, they are well poised for a prestige battle at the gates of Maiduguri. Logically there is no way they should be able to capture or hold a city of 1.2m, but their tactics of isolation and psychological warfare combined with an unimaginative defence could allow them to actually penetrate the city.

It is the opinion of this reviewer that Boko Haram does not intend to capture or hold Maiduguri nor do they have the capability to do so, a more logical intent would be to attack the town hold a portion of it and force friendly forces into a brutal and embarrassing prestige battle to push them out of Maiduguri. A series of attacks on Maiduguri or even gaining a toehold on the city would provoke a ferocious response, most likely with artillery and air strikes. This would serve the double purpose of drawing friendly forces into the meat grinder of urban warfare, and causing devastation to the people and city of Maiduguri, for whom the enemy seem to particularly dislike.

The destruction, civilian and military casualties would generate huge embarrassment for friendly forces as well as a humanitarian disaster. Unless friendly forces can score a devastating victory leading to a headlong enemy retreat, a slow, grinding counter offensive to painstakingly clear the towns, villages and surrounding countryside of Boko Haram will follow, causing more casualties and destruction.

I will add one final caveat, this is the opinion of an observer who is trained in Western doctrine based on maps and open source reporting. I have this interpreted this campaign in a way that makes sense to me and it might not in any way correspond to Boko Harams thinking or planning. I have not touched the interesting internal politics that has seen this amalgamation of forces or factions. One cannot fully understand what objective they would have in capturing Maiduguri or Borno State or how they can translate any success into anything other than an embarrassment for the state and suffering for the people but then again I do not live in or understand their world or way of thinking.

This is a strange campaign in which hunter has become the hunted. The general convention is that the security forces have to win every time and insurgents merely have to not lose. However if Nigerian security forces defend Maiduguri successfully, they have at least ‘not lost’ but they are still far from victory.

In the next instalment we will look at the campaign from friendly forces perspective and attempt to identify counter measures (hint: Cameroun will feature heavily).
culled from Begeagle's blog courtesy PECCAVI

Boko Haram’s Ramadan Offensive 1:

The current Boko Haram campaign has been going on for at least a year, I have chosen to characterise this as the Ramadan Offensive (9th-28th July) because it’s catchy and because I believe the decisive phase began in June/ July as I will try to lay out below.
It is difficult (and unfair) to try and analyse an ongoing campaign sitting safe, thousands of kilometres from theatre but it is still an important and interesting exercise, although I will add all the necessary caveats that this involves a huge amount of opinion and educated guesswork.
Introduction

Boko Haram’s campaign appears to have the capture or reduction of Maiduguri as its objective. In order to better understand the campaign I have broken it into 5 phases

1. Preparation of the Battlespace

Boko Harams preparation for this offensive has been long sighted and meticulous. It has combined an intelligent understanding of their opponent’s strengths and weaknesses and a ruthless singleness of purpose. There have been at least 3 key preparatory actions.

Finance: Boko Haram has been ruthlessly fundraising, with generous contributions from France via the kidnappings of the Moulin-Fourniers, Francois Collomp and others, ransoms from kidnapped Nigerians and Camerounians, a systematic taxing of Camerounian and Nigerian traders, villagers, smugglers, market people and business people in the border areas as well as straight forward armed robbery and highway robbery.

Logistics: Boko Haram has stolen large numbers of trucks and other vehicles in the past 12 months. It is believed that fuel is obtained in the form of tax on fuel smugglers from Nigeria, bought legally in Cameroun and stolen in Nigeria. Ammunition and heavy weapons are believed to be sourced through the Sahelian and Central African arms market. At the same time Boko Harams most generous suppliers have been the Nigerian people and security forces. Weapons, ammunition and equipment captured from the Nigerian forces has significantly boosted the stocks of Boko Harams. Food seems to be obtained sometimes benignly by purchase whilst on most other occasions is stolen from villagers’ or vehicles in transit.

Manpower: For the past 12 months Boko Haram has been actively recruiting more fighters from 3 key sources. Al Majiris i.e. disaffected, unemployed or impressionable youth from Northern Cameroun (and to a lesser extent Northern Nigeria). Forced conscripts young men (and women) abducted during raids or at illegal checkpoints in Nigeria. And finally mercenaries: professional criminals and fighters from Nigeria, Cameroun, Sudan, Niger, Chad and Central African Republic employed as foot soldiers, weapons specialists and in some cases junior commanders.

2. Shaping the Battlespace

Boko Haram appears to have skilfully shaped the battle space using various methods the key ones I would list as urban IEDs, ethnic violence, raids and propaganda.

Boko Haram painstakingly rebuilt their urban IED networks and systematically reactivated them. The focus of the early attacks was Borno State with 5 attacks up until April with 3 VBIEDs being detonated in and around Maiduguri. In April came the first attack outside the North East with a VBIEDs in Nyanya, Federal Capital Territory. Nyanya was attacked again in May with an attempted attack in Yobe State in May and 2 attacks in Kano and Jos, Plateau State each. June saw a female suicide bomber in Gombe State, 1 attack in Yobe, 2 in Kano, 1 in Adamawa, 1 in Abuja, 1 in Bauchi and then in July, 1 in Gombe, 1 in Bauchi, 2 in Kaduna, 2 in Borno, 2 in Yobe and 7 in Kano State.

As can be seen the urban IED attacks reached their peak in number and geographical spread in July (i.e. during Ramadan). These attacks generated powerful images of destruction, inflicted high casualties (but not as high as those being created every week in rural areas) which had the effect of diverting strategic and operational attention to urban population centres. Troops and intelligence assets and resources were dedicated to attempting to interdict IEDs and protecting the population centres.

In February just prior to the restart of the IED campaign well-armed fighters described as Fulani began attacking villages in the Middle Belt, North Central and North East. The attacks were as widespread as Zamfara, Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kaduna, and Taraba States but in an area roughly between longitude 7⁰and 12⁰ and latitudes 7⁰ and 10⁰. These fighters although described as Fulani did not appear to be Nigerian and generally attacked tribes or villages that had historical disputes with Fulanis and Muslims or pastoralists and farmers. Thus these attacks not only caused civilian casualties but reignited the pre-existing cycles of violence, tying up large amounts of military, police and intelligence resource, to first stop the attacks, neutralise the attackers, maintain the peace and then attempt to stabilise the conflicts.

At the same time Boko Haram mounted vicious and well-coordinated raids against towns and villages mainly in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa States. These raids were characterised by extreme and indiscriminate violence particularly against civilians and destruction of property.
Boko Haram also increased its propaganda efforts with crude but effective and consistent messaging reinforced with brutal ‘propaganda of the deed’ activities such as circulating footage of beheadings and murders of captured servicemen and civilians, spreading rumours of attacks, random attacks farms and village, using ‘night letters’ to threaten villagers etc. Videos released to the media all supported their central messaging and maintained the central themes of condemning democracy, secularism and western influences, paying tribute to fellow jihadis worldwide (to the best of my knowledge they are yet to return the compliment), boasting of past and future deeds, showing off weaponry, threatening other local Islamic leaders and railing against Western powers and national leaders (both alive and dead). Their highpoint was the GSS Chibok abductions and resultant #BringBackOurGirls campaign which in all probability had an effect far out of proportion to their expectations however they very skilfully exploited the notoriety they gained to achieve one of their most coveted goals, of being considered a major jihadi player in the international media.
Their propaganda efforts have also been inadvertently assisted by the confused and generally poor messaging from friendly forces.

Terse press releases, contradictory statements, negative local and foreign reports of mutinies and desertions, allegations of war crimes, allegations of corruption, poor welfare and resourcing of troops all resonate with Nigerians who are used to stories of corruption and incompetence. This narrative is further enhanced with reports of purchases of VIP aircraft for the political elite whilst troops (incorrectly) complain of insufficient arms and ammunition. The failure of friendly forces to counter this narrative in a believable, accessible and consistent manner is fairly strange and it is important to not underestimate the fairly decisive effect the loss of the media battle has had on Nigerian military and civilian morale.

Collectively these actions had several effects; they diverted the attention of the security forces, fixed large amounts of security and military personnel and frightened the populace by creating an impression of an all-powerful, brutal enemy with a wide indiscriminate reach. The refugees and IDPs from massacres and ethnic cleansing created a humanitarian crisis and depopulated these areas making it much more difficult for the security forces to gather information but conversely making it easier for the marauders to manoeuvre and hide.

The most important effect it had was of dispersing Nigeria’s combat power, forcing the military and police to mobilise and deploy more and more units to deal with different crisis. Forces had to be found to secure the urban population centres against IEDs as well as prevent the rural ethnic attacks as well as conduct operations in the Niger Delta, North East and Foreign Peace Keeping Operations.

This dispersion of combat power is key to many of the issues facing the current counter insurgency effort. Forces deployed in North Central, North East and Middle Belt are manoeuvring over huge areas characterised by poor infrastructure, difficult terrain and isolated population centres. This means the enemy using pickup trucks, motorcycles and their legs almost always have the initiative and majority of the security forces time is spent reacting to insurgent attacks after they have occurred.

In order to protect the population the security forces must be widely dispersed, however this means the outposts are usually undermanned and thus vulnerable to attack requiring huge logistics resources to sustain them. If the logistics cannot keep up with the pace of operations it means food, water, fuel and ammunition either runs out or has to be rationed, vehicles, radios and weapon systems cannot be properly maintained, all of which has a depressive effect on troop morale and makes commanders less keen on risky proactive offensive measures for fear they will have no way to evacuate casualties, replenish expended ammunition or stores or be cut off without relief.

Troops being dispersed over vast areas in small numbers can barely maintain a sustainable sentry rotation system much less go out on patrol or pre-empt attacks, meaning that they are generally unable to have an effect beyond their base positions against which of course the enemy can concentrate their forces at leisure.

From a strategic point of view it also ruins the troop rotation system for example troops from 3 Div or 81 Div for example who should have been replacing those in 7 Div or at least providing a reserve element or battle casualty replacements end up deployed themselves and needing troops from other Divisions to backfill them, leading to troops stuck on operations for extended periods and becoming tired and demoralised.

3. Isolate the battlespace:

The enemy has used isolation operationally and tactically with positive results by ignoring international borders in order to facilitate their attacks and protect their withdrawals, develop safe areas and generally protect their flanks and rear.
International: The key terrain (in this observers view) is the axis from the Northern tip of Lake Chad down to Mubi, Adamawa State, encompassing the Mandara Mountains. This area is key to the enemy for training, moving between the 4 border countries, storing arms, fuel and ammunition, recruiting and attacking and withdrawing.

Cameroun constituted their rear/ safe area, where they took advantage of the underdeveloped area to develop bases and support structures and forge links with local politicians. In the main they limited their overt actions to high profile kidnappings (the proceeds of which flowed through the hands of the regional elite), recruitment of poor disaffected youth and preying on poor townspeople who generally have no voice anyway. This situation could not last as this commentator predicted in the previous articles.

After the #BringBackOurGirls abductions in April, it would appear that Boko Harams high profile contacts were no longer able to protect them and Cameroun began to move against them. Boko Haram skilfully pre-empted serious counter measures by kidnapping more foreigners and launching attacks upon border towns in several Prefectures of Extreme Nord Region such as Mayo Sava and Mayo Tsanaga.

In July Boko Haram began major operations in Cameroun attacking Gendarmerie, Customs, Police and military posts in the vicinity of Zina, Zigague, Fotokol, Amchide etc and bases in major population centres such as Kouserri and Kolofata.

Attacks on these outposts had the effect of pushing Camerounian forces away from the border, whilst attacks on the main bases and ambushes along the highway had the effect of forcing the thinly spread Camerounians to focus on defending these towns and trying to keep lines of communication open, preventing them from interfering with Boko Haram operations or interdicting their supply lines to Nigeria.

National: Within Nigeria there have been persistent and repeated attacks on towns such as Bama, Buni Yadi, Gamboru Ngala, Damboa, Gwoza, with these attacks preceded by attacks on surrounding hamlets and villages, with Boko Haram cutting off access roads with ambushes and IEDS.

In June Boko Haram’s raids began to include attempts to destroy bridges with IEDs, with bridges at Dhimankara, Garkida, Gamboru and Katarko damaged or destroyed. This had the effect of further isolating communities and channelling civilian and military vehicles through certain routes, which Boko Haram could easily interdict with illegal checkpoints and ambushes. These routes become impassable to all but the most heavily armed units, which again by virtue of being road bound could only advance on a very narrow front thus were also extremely vulnerable to ambush. By these methods, Boko Haram has systematically, isolated, cut off and then captured several towns and villages and eventually whole Local Government Areas and denied huge swathes of countryside to friendly forces.

It can be seen that Boko Haram have not only managed to isolate the Camerounian battlespace from the Nigerian battlespace but with the capture of Gamboru Ngala and Dikwa to the north east, Bama, Gwoza and Madagali to the south east and Damboa and Buni Yadi to the south west they have succeeded in isolating Maiduguri, leaving only the West-North west axis free for reinforcement or withdrawal which is in itself vulnerable to interference from enemy forces in Buni Yadi.

A jealous boyfriend left his girlfriend covered in blood and convinced her top lip had come off when he bit her during a kiss.
The pair argued about a new guy the lady has being chatting with wen he saw the messages on her account.
Rhys Culley, of South Shields, Tyneside, had asked Chanttelle Ward if she loved him before he sank his teeth into her face during the horrific attack.
She said: 'He put his whole mouth around my lips and pulled, I thought that my whole lip had come off. There was blood everywhere.'

Jealousy is a signs of affectionate but could be dangerous.How do you manage yours?

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2742218/Jealous-shopfitter-BIT-teenage-girlfriend-s-lip-bid-disfigure-away-work-feeling-

The primary aim of using cellphones is to make calls.The introduction of camera phones,smartphones and webcam laptops has initiated another malady among the youths with the older people not left behind-Sextape/Nude pictures. One attribute of man that is difficult to check is the ability to go extra miles than usual.Apart from welldressed snapshot,nice selfie,group pictures and remarkable event recording that these machine can do,it has totally being converted to nude shot and sextape recording. Some make this nude shot when the so called love is driving them 'gaga' (crazy) or feeling hor.** while some try to see how good they are in their new dance style by mimicking the music stars (Beyonce whinning).Some even tried to see how far they could match up with the porn stars (even though they are paid to do it). Though we may argue that everyone is entitled to his/her actions,the fact is, the damage caused by the leak of this 'personal items' outweigh the fun.Aggrieved lover may release the picture after the love go sour or somehow,the tape may be released.I recently met a lady who attempted suicide when her recorded tape was leaked because she didnt clear it up from her laptop recycle bin.It's unfortunate that some countries are even noted for this act..Some tapes and pictures are already leaked while some are still underway. Ooooops,tout and agberos who ordinarily could not shake your hand may now have access to your nude videos. Note,you can control your actions but not the consequence of the action.Be wise!

1miccza: I beg to disagree marriage is an institution where we would test our self discipline and our capacity to be trusted,you can have a million friends from the opposite sex and still be free from infidelity....

. True..but not having opposite sex as the best friend that you crave to be in company with after marriage. Self discipline and trust always have 'set boundaries' and 'friendship limitation' on their checklist. Even at that,situations may shake our discipline..Are you saying CRUSH disappears after wedding? Pls make me learn

Henrypraise: The problem dat dis post addresses is a serious marriage issue dat no one wants to talk abt.

Friendzoning is d bedrock of dis emotional infidelity. So many married pple ar guilty of dis.

Also wen u start seeing n takin ur kids as ur partners or ur brothers and sisters as ur partners whilst neglectin ur husband/ wife, my dear u ar havin an emotional affair. Ur husband/ wife shud be ur partner in almost all tins n shud cum first.

I quite agree with you. Another main reason is that communication is missing in so many homes and most partners tend to find solace elsewhere (Work place,church,internet,etc). Also, some people have turned themselves to a 'local counsellor'..You will hear things like 'am just helping her' 'advising her'. Wetin be Ur own? Mk he/she go see professional cousellor na..Can count few who fell into extra marital affairs through this...Life!

Joavid: I guess that would mean my best friend cannot be from the opposite sex
Your bestie is suppose to be your confidant, you know?

Possibly..Marriage makes you lose your best friends though the line of connection may not be totally cut.I know you won't like it either if your partner is having opposite sex as bestie..

okparaugo: Emotional infidelity.

Married women are guilty here.. The way ladies jump around when they meet old male friends even in the prensence of their husbands makes me pity their husbands..

Sometimes these men withdraw privileges from their wives owing to little things like this. One man I know has not allowed his wife drive his jeep again since he noticed her smiling so excitedly at a junction they pass everyday waving a face he the hubby doesn't know.

It can be that bad..

Really?...that bad?

onome710: Really a twist!
But why didn't chelsea take advantage of this to bring him back so as to fulfil their quota of English player in a team and also it would have been a source of motivation for fans and the team with Lamps bk.
Anyway, if I were him, I won't kick a ball against Chelsea while in man city.

. Man city is an affiliated club to New York City that he signed for.Both are owned by Man city owner.The possible option for him is to go an Austrian club in a less competitive league which is also owned by the same Monsour.That is football for you.Who could believe chelsea would sign fabregas or mata would go to Man Utd? Let EPL begin....

Waspy: Nice piece...Lots of loose emotions playing around these days, especially at workplaces

. Yes bro..Serious crush from both sex.I wonder why there is emotional attachement with other people even after 'Yes,I do'.God help us

The former Chelsea star is set to join the Premier League champions on a loan deal and his new manager hopes he will be available for every match during his time with the club. Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has confirmed that Frank Lampard will start training with the club following his move to New York City FC from Chelsea.

Goal revealed on Friday that the England midfielder was set to sign a short-term deal with the Premier League champions as part of their partnership with the new MLS outfit.

And following the Blues' penalty shoot-out defeat to Olympiakos, Pellegrini revealed the midfielder will join the club prior to the start of the Premier League season.

"As you know Frank has signed a contract with New York City and will start working here in January as the season starts in March," he told reporters. "From next Wednesday he will start working with our team and will play for us until then.

"At the moment he will work with the squad and be a member of the squad. He will fight for a position.

"He knows we have a very good team, we have a lot of players in his position. He is one player more.

"We have a lot of games particularly with the Champions League - so he's very important for our team."

Reports have suggested that Lampard would refuse to play against Chelsea when his new side face Jose Mourinho's team in the 2014-15 season.

But Pellegrini is hopeful that the player will be available for every match and plans to discuss Lampard's availability with the veteran midfielder.

"I will talk about all those things with him but he'll be a player for City and he'll play every game he needs to play.

"Is Lampard a six month loan? For the moment he will start working with our team from now until January and we'll see after that.

"He's a player for New York City and we'll what happens when he comes to us."
Lampard could make his first appearance for Manchester City when they face Arsenal in the Community Shield on August 10. http://m.goal.com/s/en-gb/news/5000620?ICID=HP_HN_4

A new sort of infidelity has been on the rise for decades, and it’s one of the biggest threats to marriage and courtship: ‘emotional affairs.’ Today’s workplace has become the new danger zone of opportunities for ‘emotional affairs,’ surpassed only by the Internet.

A relationship without sex can be just as intense, or more so than the intimate one. Why the crisis?

To understand the intensity of emotional infidelity, it helps to see the dynamics as an addiction, a form of addictive love. That’s because it’s easier to let go of a toxic pattern when you depersonalize the experience.

It’s not about ‘how’ special the person is or makes you feel, it’s about the neurochemicals that get activated when you think and behave a certain way that keeps you stuck in the damaging pattern! It isn’t a coincidence, for example, that persons with alcohol and other addictions are more likely to get into toxic relationships. Seeing the problem as an addiction also gives you access to proven steps to identify and break free of the toxic patterns.

Why addictive?

An addiction to an activity, person or substance puts a person’s brain and body in an intoxicating trance that, on the one hand, does not allow them to think clearly and make informed choices, and on the other hand, ‘rewards’  them for the toxic behavior with the release of certain chemicals that provide quick-fixes of pleasure in the body. Albeit temporary, there is also pleasure from lowering or numbing pain, shame or guilt, as it provides distance from taking responsibility to resolve the real issues of life and marriage (which risk failure). What are the warning signs?

There are at least 12 warning signs to alert you to take action to protect yourself and your relationship from ‘emotional infidelity.’

1. Thinking and saying you’re ‘just friends’ with opposite-sex.

If you’ve been thinking or saying, “we’re just friends,” think again. If it’s a member of the opposite sex, you may be swimming in treacherous waters. The very words are dangerous to your marriage.

This rationale allows you to make excuses, or more plainly, to tell lies (to yourself and others) about something you know in your gut is wrong. Regardless how strongly TV and entertainment promote the idea of opposite-sex friendships (and this is part of the problem!) as not only ‘okay,’ but also ‘right’ to demand unconditional trust, in most cases, an intimate friendship with a member of the opposite-sex that you find interesting and attractive poses risks.

2. Treating them as a confidant, sharing intimate issues. 

Sharing thoughts and deepest concerns, hopes and fears, passions and problems is what deepens intimacy; it builds an emotional bond between two people, time better used in marriage relationship. Giving this away to another person, regardless of the justification, is infidelity, a betrayal of trust. This is especially true when you consider that emotional intimacy is the most powerful bond in human relationships, much stronger than a intimate one. 

3. Discussing troubling aspects of your marriage and partner. 

Talking or venting to a person of the opposite sex about what your marriage lacks, what your partner lacks, or what you’re not getting to make you happy sends a loud message that you’re available for someone else to ‘love and care’ for your needs. It’s also a breach of trust. And, like gossip, it creates a false sense of shared connection, and an illusion that you, your happiness, your comfort and needs are totally valued by this person (when, in truth, this has not been put to the test!). 

4. Comparing them verbally and mentally to your partner. 

Another danger sign is a thinking pattern that increasingly finds what is ‘positive’ and ‘just right’ about the friend and ‘negative’ and ‘unfulfilling’ about the partner.  This builds a case ‘for’ the friend and ‘against’ the partner. Another mental breach of trust, this unfairly builds a physiologically felt case ‘for’ the friend and ‘against’ the partner, forming mental images in the brain that associate pleasurable and painful sensations accordingly. 

5. Obsessively thinking or daydreaming about the person.

If you find yourself looking forward to seeing the person, cannot wait to share news, think about what you’re going to tell them when you’re apart, and imagine their excitement, you’re in trouble. This sense of expectation, excitement, anticipation releases dopamine in reward centers of your brain, reinforcing toxic patterns. Obsessively thinking about the person is an obvious signal that something is wrong. After all, you don’t do this with your friends, right?

6. Believing this person ‘gets’ you like no other.

It always appears this way in affairs and romantic encounters at the start. It’s an illusion, and in the case of emotional infidelity, one that is dangerous to a marriage because the sense of mutual ‘understanding’ forms a bond that strengthens and deepens emotional intimacy, with the release of pleasurable neurochemicals, such as the love and safety hormone oxytocin. This focus also puts you in a ‘getting’ frame of mind. It means you are approaching your marriage in terms of what you’re getting or not getting, rather than what you’re contributing.

7. Pulling out of regular activities with your partner, family, work.

Being absorbed with desire to spend more and more time talking, sharing, being with the person, it’s only natural to begin to resent time you spend on responsibilities and activities at home (and work?). As a result, you begin to pull away, turn down, or make excuses for not joining regular activities with your partner and family. Family members notice you are withdrawn, irritable and unhappy.

8. Keeping what you do secret and covering up your trail.

Secrecy itself is a warning sign. It creates a distinct closeness between two people, and at the same time grows the distance between them and others. Secrets create a special bond, most often an unhealthy one. For example, there may be a false sense of emotional safety and trust with the person, and an unwarranted mistrust and suspicion of the partner, or those who try to interfere with the ‘friendship.’

9. Keeping a growing list of reasons that justify your behaviors. 

This involves an addictive pattern of thinking that focuses your attention on how unhappy you are, why you’re unhappy, and blames your partner and marriage for all aspects of your unhappiness. It builds a dangerous sense of entitlement and forms a pool of resentment from which you feel justified to mistreat your partner or do what you need to increase your happiness without considering the consequences.

10. Fantasizing about a love or intimate relationship with the person. 

At some point, one or both persons begin to fantasize about having a love or intimate relationship with the other. They may begin to have discussions about this, which adds to the intensity, the intrigue and the intoxicating addictive releases of neurochemicals that make the pattern more entrenched.

11. Giving or receiving personal gifts from the person.

Another flag is when the obsession affects your buying behaviors, so that you begin to think about this person when you are shopping, wondering what they like or would show your appreciation. The gift choices are something intimate items that you would not give ‘just’ a friend. Gifts send clear messages that the two of you are a ‘close we’ set apart from others, and that the relationship is ‘special.’

12. Planing to spend time alone together ot letting it happen.

This is the warning sign that, when not heeded, most often pushes partners to cross the line from a platonic to a intimate relationship. Despite good intentions and promises to one another that they would not let ‘anything’ happen, it’s a set up, a matter of time, when opposite-sex friends flirt with the availability of time alone. http://blogs.psychcentral.com/relationships/2012/07/12-warning-signs-that-its-emotional-infidelity-and-not-just-friendship/