₦airaland Forum

*jona:
[b]10 killed as security operatives, kidnappers clash in Abia
National News Sep 30, 2009 By Eric Ugbor

ABA—TEN Persons in cluding two policemen, a soldier and a pregnant woman were yesterday killed when security agents and kidnappers clashed in different parts of Aba South and Obingwa Local Government Areas of Abia state.

This is coming barely one month after hoodlums suspected to be kidnappers sacked the entire police station at Umuobiakwa in the same Obingwa Local Government Area of the state, killing an inmate in their desperation to release one of the suspects held at the police state.

The security situation in Aba and the entire Aba South senatorial zone of the state is now source of concern to residents of the area, as activities of hoodlums continues unabated despite stringent security measures employed by the Abia state government to checkmate their activities.

Last Sunday, at Nnetu in Aba South Local Government Area of the state, the police on a tip-off confronted kidnappers with their victim and in an exchange of gun fire, in which the police overpowered the kidnappers, three of them were killed at the spot, while the remaining two, who ran into the bush were chased and arrested by the special security squad operating in the state.

Unfortunately, the victim of the kidnappers identified as a prominent businessman in Aba, was killed in the exchanged gun fire, while many other residents of the area sustained severe injuries.

And just this week, the latest clash at Abayi in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia state, claimed the lives of two policemen, a soldier, a pregnant woman and three other civilians.

When Vanguard visited Abayi, the village was in mourning mood as residents of the area were seen in corners, lamenting the ugly incident that had befalling their village.
A traditional ruler in the Village, who preferred his name not to be mentioned, told Vanguard that the incident happened when residents of the area arrested two suspected robbers in the village and invited the police to come and take them (suspects) to their station.

Unknown to the villagers, the suspects belonged to a gang and while they were waiting for the arrival of the policemen, other members of the gang got the wind of the arrest and re-enforced and stormed the village.

He said, “when the policemen finally arrived, they met the entire gang, who confronted them and in the process, shooting ensued between the security agents and the gang.[/b]


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/09/30/10-killed-as-security-operatives-kidnappers-clash-in-abia/

vanni:
Its obvious that genevieve is a force to reckon with. No wonder the comments keep flowing. She obviously attracts alot of attention otherwise you would simply have ignored the thread and waka pass. But no, you were struck again by this girl whose achievement knows no bounds. In your littleness and inferiority complex, you cannot comprehend why despite all verbal attacks, contoversy and media mis-information about this STAR, she continues to make waves.

So in your smallness and defeated state of mind, you resort to writing unkind remarks about her appearance on Oprah's show. Face the truth, she has added another first to her many firsts. As a commentator said yesterday " Genevieve sat down in her home in Nigeria and Oprah came knocking" Have you noticed that things which most actresses struggle for Genevieve achieves effortlessly? That's because she is blessed and no matter what you haters say or do, it can't unbless her.

Your opinion of genevieve are entirely yours and yours alone. It probably will begin and perish on Nairaland. Genevieve fortunatley may never get to know it in her lifetime. Being on Oprah may mean nothing to you haters, but mark my words, this is just the beginning of a new chapter in her lfe.

The more you try to bring her down, the more she lifts the bar higher. There is a force behind her unending success and thats the BLESSING of God that maketh rich and addeth no sorrows with it. Thats why her achievements are so remarkable because by strenght shall no man prevail.

You too can be a winnner and be celebrated only if you first celebrate others. For what you do not like can NEVER come to you. The sky is too big for everyone to shine and Genny is LIVING HER LIFE ON PURPOSE. she is doing what she knows best and getting paid for what she loves.

How about you? are YOU LIVING YOUR LIFE ON PURPOSE? Or are you in the wrong profession? You can still make changes. So do that and quit hating.

Those who hate never find love.

*jona:
Nigerian anger over China deaths

[b]There are some 20,000 Africans living legally in China
Nigeria MPs have asked the government to investigate the status of Chinese residents in the country, saying some may be staying there illegally.

The demand follows allegations that Nigerians in China, especially those in jail, are being mistreated.

The MPs asked the government to reject a request by the Chinese authorities to cremate the bodies of 30 Nigerians who have died in Chinese jails.

There are an estimated 700 Nigerians currently in prison in China.

The BBC's Chris Ewokor in Abuja says they are mainly charged with immigration, drug or fraud offences.
Trade between Nigeria and China is booming and an estimated 20,000 Chinese people live in Nigeria, he says. [/b]

Let us find out if all the Chinese in Nigeria are legally resident

MP Samson Osagie
A similar number of people from across Africa are legally in China - and many more are thought to be there unofficially.

In July, a group of Africans staged a rare protest in the city of Guangzhou after a Nigerian man was reported to have died running away from police there.

The Nigerian lawmakers want the government to conduct an audit to determine how many illegal Chinese immigrants there are in the country.

The row comes after the Chinese government, through its embassy in Nigeria, sought permission to cremate the 30 corpses of Nigerian prisoners, saying their relatives cannot be traced.

At a press conference, the head of the House of Representatives Committee on the Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said Nigeria could no longer accept a situation where its people were being "maltreated and dehumanised abroad".

Her colleague MP Samson Osagie told the BBC he believed there should be a "harmonious diplomatic" relationship between Nigeria and China.

But he said Nigerians were not the only people to commit immigration offences.

"Let us find out if all the Chinese in Nigeria are legally resident," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

Our reporters says the government is yet to say what action it intends to take.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8274755.stm

igbos

Nigerian emerges best graduating student in Mexico

Port Harcourt—As federal and state government universities remain shut for about three months in the country, a Nigerian has emerged as the overall best graduating student at the Alliant International University, Mexico.

An online mail to Vanguard  from Nigerian Ambassador to Mexico, Chief Lawrence Nwuruku, said the record of the young Nigerian student, Mr. Okebe Jaruius-Onwoke, was “heart fulfilling.”

According to him, Jairus-Onwoke hails from Benue State, North-Central Nigeria and studied International Business Studies and performed so brilliantly that he was honoured with “Cum Laude award” by the management of the institute.

It said the feat of the Nigerian was the first by an African since the school was founded  over 20 years ago. The ambassador said the marvelous performance by the youth has clearly showed that Nigerian youths could hold their ground in academics anywhere in the world.

“Education is paramount for the growth of a nation and its government. The performance of Nigerians in various citadel of learning all over the world is a proof of the present government’s avowed determination and resilience to give Nigeria a brand,” he said.

Nwuruku, with concurrent accreditation to Panama, Guatemala and Costa Rica, appealed to the private sector to partner with relevant government agencies to ensure that necessary infrastructure was made available for students to enhance the standard of education.

“Ensuring that our educational end-products are comparable with others the world over is a task that all and sundry must partner with government to achieve in the interest of our children and for the generations to come,” he said.

The envoy urged striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to call off the current industrial action in Nigeria and called on stakeholders to shift ground to facilitate a quick resolution of the crisis, which has lingered longer than necessary.

He praised Benue State for its efforts at promoting educational development through scholarship and appealed to other states to emulate the Benue state academic formula

MrCrackles:
Chai, Allahu Akbar. . . .
HIV Strain C on the go go. . . .

*jona:
Alarming rate of HIV infections
By Sun News Publishing
Friday, September 25, 2009
Editorial Index


[b]The war against the Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV), the germ that causes the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), has suffered a major setback with the report that Nigeria now records 370,000 new infections annually.

The claim by the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) corroborates the latest report by the United Nations AIDS agency (UNAIDS), which opines that cases of new HIV infections are on the rise globally. UNAIDS affirmed that there are about 45 million new HIV infections yearly and three million deaths. Out of the three million infected people in Nigeria, Benue State has the highest number and the age group that is affected falls between 25-34 years, while Cross River and Ekiti states have eight and one percent infection rates respectively.

In Nigeria, the situation is precarious as about only 350,000 out of the three million people with the virus are currently accessing treatment. This represents less than half the number of people that are supposed to be on anti-retroviral drugs put at over 850,000.[/b]
Another debilitating factor against the fight on HIV/AIDS, is the inability of some State Action Committees on AIDS (SACA) to transform to agencies. As a result of this, the country might lose World Bank’s funding facilities. According to the Director-General of NACA, Prof. John Idoko, when they are agencies, they become legal instruments of the states and as such the states are bound to fund them.

Already, the World Bank has given the June 2011 deadline for states to transform SACAs to agencies or they will not access its loans. Currently, only 15 states have transformed from SACAs and, therefore, have legal status.

It is disheartening that after all efforts to stem the spread of HIV/AIDS, the monster is still rampaging with more new infections on a daily basis. What the situation demands is that all the stakeholders should step up action in the war against the pandemic. Since some states are yet to transform their NACAs to agencies, they should do so immediately to enable us continue to access World Bank’s funding facilities. A situation where only 15 states’ NACAs have transformed to agencies in a country of 36 states plus the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is not good in our fight against AIDS.

The time has, indeed, come for NACA to review its strategy. The recent poor result in containing the disease is a demonstration of the failure of current strategies That more and more people are being infected daily with HIV shows that the sensitization programmes are not working as effectively as they should. It is time to re-emphasize abstinence as perhaps the best strategy in combating the scourge since some of the other strategies appear not be yielding the much needed results. Let the AIDS campaign be driven by abstinence as was the practice in most of our cultures before the advent of Western education and lifestyle.

People can still be in love without sex. In other words, sex can wait till marriage. Condom use, which is at the heart of the current HIV sensitization programmes and campaigns, appears not to be working effectively in halting the spread of the disease. Rather than halt its spread, it is believed to be fueling the urge to experiment with sex instead of abstaining from it until marriage.

Married couples should remain with one faithful partner and shun those behaviours that can predispose them to contracting the virus. Those already infected should not involve in unprotected sex, while those without the virus should engage in health-promoting behaviours that would ensure that they maintain their sero-status. Those with the virus should not think that they have been handed a death sentence. They should understand that AIDS is not the end of life. People with AIDS can, and do, live positively and long too. There is no need to go underground and spread the virus to unsuspecting sexual partners. It serves no useful purpose and those doing so subject themselves to higher risks of being re-infected with greater consequences.

Parents should inculcate in their children the right values that would encourage moral upbringing. Above all, let efforts be stepped up on voluntary testing and counselling so that many Nigerians can be aware of their sero-status and adopt behaviour-modification strategy to ensure healthy living. That, we believe, would go a long way in stemming the spread of the disease.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/opinion/editorial/2009/sept/25/editorial-25-09-2009-001.htm