Woman Is In Disbelief After A Wild Bird Starts Speaking To Her In English
"I thought to myself, ‘Am I hearing things?’”
The small town of North Rustico lies on the northern shore of Prince Edward Island in Canada. It’s a homey sort of place, where neighbors are always sure to greet one another as they go about their day.
And that sense of friendliness and warmth is apparently contagious.
One day a few months back, local resident Lisa Sandoval was walking near the waterfront when she heard somebody speak to her.
“I heard someone call out to me, ‘Hello! Hello!” Sandoval told The Dodo. “I turned around and no one was there. Then I heard the voice again. ‘Hello! Hello!’ I got a little scared, then thought to myself, ‘Am I hearing things?’”
It was then that Sandoval noticed the only other soul around was a crow perched nearby.
“I stopped and said, ‘Hello?’” Sandoval continued. “And to my shock, he answered me back. ‘Hello! Hello!’”
Sandoval later came to learn that she wasn’t the only one in town to have encountered the talking crow. Rumor has it, years earlier, the bird had been found injured as a baby and nursed back to health by an elderly man living nearby, who often spoke to him during his recovery.
“He let the crow go free when he was well,” Sandoval said. “That bird had learned to say hello.”
A few months after their initial meeting, Sandoval bumped into the talking crow yet again — and this time, she caught his friendly greeting on video:
Crows, much like parrots, are indeed capable of learning to mimic human language. So, if the rumors of his origin are true, his uncanny vocalizations may very well reflect the voice of the elderly man who’d saved him.
“He passed away years ago,” Sandoval said, noting his legacy lives on in the friendly, feathered bird. “[The crow] is popular here in North Rustico. He is around a lot, [but] I am one of the only people who have been able to capture him on video talking. He is so funny.”
Former President Muhammadu Buhari says he does not miss his time as president of Nigeria.
Buhari spoke in an interview with the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA).
In the teaser of the interview posted on X on Sunday, the former president was asked about what he misses from his time in office, and he responded saying: “Miss. I don’t think I miss much.”
Buhari had previously said he would not miss his time in office because he was being “harassed”.
In December 2022, the former president said he was doing his best for Nigerians but it was not good enough.
“I believe I’m trying my best, but still my best is not good enough,” Buhari had said.
“I wonder if I am going to miss much. I think I’m being harassed.”
THE HEALTH QUESTION
TheCable reported that between 2015 and 2021, Buhari spent 171 days on medical vacation in the United Kingdom, with 2017 alone accounting for 152 days away.
When asked about the nature of his illness when he was president, Buhari said: “I think only my doctor can honestly answer this question.”
The full version of the interview — Buhari’s first since leaving office on May 29, 2023 — will be aired on Monday by 10:30pm.
Lagos schools where alcohol, gambling thrive in broad daylight
A school environment is meant to be the epitome of sanctity, devoid of external vices capable of corrupting or influencing the minds of students.
Sadly, that is far from the picture cut by the surroundings of Silver Spring Schools in the Ikotun area of Lagos State.
For a first-time visitor to the area, it would be difficult to locate the school as it is obscured by a series of stalls and kiosks built close to the drainage, by the school fence.
The first impression that comes to mind on getting to the place is that of a fast-expanding local market meant to serve the immediate needs of those living close by.
However, a closer look would reveal something more sinister, a melting pot for gamblers and alcoholics.
Based on findings made by our correspondent, due to easy access to alcoholic drinks packaged in sachets, students in schools around the area find pleasure in converging at the market to indulge and after getting high, would break into fights, disrupting the peace of the area.
How, succour came the way of motorists, residents and business owners, who have over the years complained about the activities of the traders.
Officials of the Lagos Waste Management Authority and the state’s Ministry of Environment stormed the area and demolished stalls and kiosks built by the traders on the drainage channel beside the school.
Saturday PUNCH learnt that this development followed a request made by a lawyer and development consultant, Mrs Iyabo Awokoya to the Lagos State Ministry of Education and the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency via her verified X (formerly Twitter) handle on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, according to the official internet portal for all schools in the state known as ‘Lagos Schools Online’, the Silver Springs Schools, which is situated at Onitire, Abaranje, was started by its proprietress, Mrs Olaide Fawehinmi in 2001.
The school, our correspondent gathered, has about 105 students and has another college located in Ijeshatedo, Surulere.
In a photograph of the school, which Awokoya appended to her post, an array of wooden kiosks and umbrellas owned by traders could be seen adjoining the fence erected by the school.
The traders who ranged from Point-of-Sale operators to those who hawked snacks and pastries had their merchandise placed over the drainage channel, beside the school building.
Findings by Saturday PUNCH revealed that in the past few years, through various press releases, the Lagos State Government had expressed worries over the increasing abuse of setbacks and incidental open spaces around public schools and has sought to check such infractions.
In a series of replies to comments elicited by her post on Silver Spring Schools, Awokoya lamented that the shops had repelled parents from registering their children in the school, noting that its premises had been turned into a marketplace.
She further disclosed that the efforts of the school proprietress, who is her aunt, to eject the illegal traders had failed and she had even become afraid due to the recalcitrance of the stall owners.
The post read, “Dear Lagos State Ministry of Environment, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, LASEPA official, Tunde, Please this is my aunty’s school on Abaranje Road, Ikotun, in Lagos.
“See the way the traders have taken over the setback and have erected permanent kiosks even attaching them to the fence. We have reported in all the possible places to be reported to no avail. Later the Ministry of Education will come with a contravention order. How can a school be rendered to a market?
“And they are vicious. My Aunt is 70 years old and afraid of them now. They first promised to leave when the LGA came with my agent, but then they failed. Then the LGA also relented. There is nothing we have not done. We petitioned the LGA and LCDA, Tunde Sosina,” she wrote in two separate posts.
Govt evacuates illegal stalls
Barely 18 hours after Awokoya’s post, state officials came to the school premises and removed the stalls and kiosks around the drainage setback.
The state Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, in a post made via his X handle, on Thursday, said he gave the directive and urged the school principal to take over the school setback.
He wrote, “As I instructed, illegal kiosks built on drainage setbacks beside Silver Spring Schools, Abaranje Road, Ikotun were earlier today evacuated by the Lagos State Waste Management Authority enforcement team and the Lagos State Ministry of Environment monitoring officers.
“The monitoring officers were directed to request the principal of the school to take over the setback and then beautify it in accordance with the ‘ Greener Lagos’ policy of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led administration.”
Responding to this, Awokoya posted on Thursday, “Wow! I truly can’t believe this. I cried out here yesterday about illegal kiosks that are erected in front of my aunty’s school in Ikotun and right now they are being evacuated.
“Dear Tokunbo Wahab, this is an uncommon favour sir. My aunt just called me to let me know. I am grateful to LASEPA and its General Manager, Tunde Ajayi. Lagos is working. Please Oliver Twist needs a little more help. The okadas that are always parking in front of the school entrance should find another bus stop.
“My aunty was getting so frustrated that she was thinking of selling the school and just keeping her flagship school in Surulere. The (school) expansion led her into a problem. Now, the Ministry of Environment has asked that we beautify immediately and my aunt is a flower lover so I am sure she will get cracking immediately.”
When our correspondent visited the school on Friday morning, he observed that the stalls had indeed been cleared and there were no more encroachments on the school fence.
A resident who gave his name only as Tunji commended the move which he said should not have happened if there had been strict enforcement.
“The stalls were removed yesterday and their owners have been forced to move elsewhere. They constituted much distraction to the students and the school surrounding was beginning to look ugly. Most of the people who patronised them were outsiders and if care hadn’t been taken, the whole place would have become a hideout for hoodlums. This should never have been in the first place if there had been strict enforcements,” he stated.
Invaded by alcohol-selling traders, gambling booths
Another resident of the area, Tobi Fagbemi, lamented that the setbacks of other secondary schools in Ikotun have been taken over by those hawking alcoholic beverages and gamblers.
“These traders have taken over all the setbacks in most of the secondary schools. Especially the Ikotun High School. It started gradually and now if you go around these schools, you will see people hawking herbal concoctions and alcohol in sachets. They also have gambling (Baba Ijebu) and sports betting kiosks.
“During school hours, you will see these students who are supposed to be in their classes learning subjects, sneaking out to hang around these joints. Even after closing hours, they still go there to spend their pocket money, and you’ll see them sipping alcohol in sachets. The government has to ban these shops around schools,” he told our correspondent.
School traders breeding thugs – Teacher
A teacher in a private school in Oshodi, Mrs Bukola Adelani, in a chat with our correspondent, expressed worries over the negative effects the presence of alcohol and cigarette vendors can have on students.
She said, “This problem is gradually getting out of hand because these traders around schools sell alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, and even aphrodisiacs to students. Students go there to take these things and they start misbehaving, sleeping with their colleagues, and becoming violent.
“There was a case where a student went to take one of these drinks and he started sleeping in class. This is how substance abuse starts. Who knows what else they are selling to these children that we have not yet discovered? If you go through these markets springing up around schools, you will find that they sell adult materials to underage students.
“These vendors know what they are doing. They see students in school uniforms, especially the females among them coming to purchase these things and they don’t object. They will even argue that their gin is a remedy for stomach upset.
“The government needs to do something if we are to get rid of the menace of thuggery and drug addiction that is now spreading across schools in the state.”
Commenting on the development, an Ikorodu resident, Saheed Lawal, in his reply to Awokoya’s post on X, tweeted, “Go to United Secondary School and Ayangburen Secondary School in Ikorodu. These schools are adjacent to Ikorodu Road at the garage section, but they have all been taken over by people frying akara, clothes, food, ogogoro (local gin distilled from palm wine) sellers. It is absurd passing there every morning.”
Another, a project engineer on X, Fayemi Olatunbosun, who stated that he was a part of the team that worked on the ongoing road construction in Abaranje, Ikotun, disclosed that the setbacks were allocated by some community members.
“I joined a team of engineers who worked on the aforementioned road. You won’t believe that some people from the community allocated that small portion of the setback to different kiosks at a cost of not less than N30,000. They were doing this even when our work there was ongoing,” he wrote.
Government urges collaboration
In a lengthy post on Friday, Wahab, stated that his office had been inundated with numerous complaints from concerned citizens about noise pollution, flooding, and obstruction of walkways by traders.
“As a ministry, we continue to act swiftly upon receiving these vital complaints, and we are fully committed to responding promptly and decisively to restore law and order across the state. As the custodians of the state’s environmental well-being, we acknowledge the significance of addressing these concerns with utmost urgency.
“Flooding, noise pollution, and the unlawful blockage of walkways represent critical challenges that impact the lives and livelihoods of our citizens. Therefore, the Lagos State Ministry of Environment and Water Resources is diligently organising and implementing a comprehensive action plan to tackle these issues head-on.
“This proactive response will involve collaborative efforts among various departments within the Ministry, in conjunction with relevant authorities, to ensure the effective resolution of these environmental challenges. The ministry urges all residents and stakeholders to join hands in this collective endeavour to maintain a clean, safe, and sustainable environment for everyone in Lagos State.”
Govt must implement EIA – Environmental researcher
An environmental researcher, Seun Awoyinfa, told Saturday PUNCH that the state government needs to implement an Environmental Impact Assessment to tackle the abuse of school setbacks.
“For every project, whether it involves erecting a kiosk or structure, especially around a school, an EIA must be carried out. There is no environmental sustainability without an environmental analysis.
“For instance, a school should not be close to the marketplace because the noise pollution will affect the level of concentration of the students. They should not be built close to a casino or betting spot otherwise, the intellect of those students is in contention due to that level of distraction.
“The same applies to allowing pubs or stores selling stimulants or drugs. They should not be sited close to a school because they could have negative impacts on students. The government should ensure that EIAs are carried out at each LGA and LCDA to curb this,” he advised.
benuejosh: Peter Obi the one who transformed Anambra state from consumption to production of Hero beer using market to market management as advised by a mad man is coming.
Any element from Benue is not supposed to be chucking mouth any politicking of another state, cos you guys have handful of negative issues.
The very moment you take them up on what they brag about, they alter direction.
I can bet you manage to feed yourself.
A directionless entity need not place emphasis on direction....am engaging you cos i have a stubborn patient that has refused to sleep, if not...Buzus do not exist.
LeoDeKing: This style of argument is stale already.
After 2 or 3 comment, the person he knows nothing about automatically becomes hungry and has not eaten for 7 days because he is against your wacked argument. Na you dey feed am?
In reality, it won't surprise me the person you say is hungry might even be able to feed you forever without him feeling it.
Small thing, you are poor and hungry.
Very funny pipu
I have many of your type that have swallowed their pride and zombiosis ignoransia, and resort to begging from the perceived enemies camps for stipends.....you are not far from it.
Personally am not like people of your caliber driven by personal gain and money
I want infrastructure like trains roads ports
.
You see how unintelligent you sound.....you want infrastructure and you are playing tribal vibes...are Igbo people you mentioned earlier the reason why you lack the things your wished for your Nigeria? You see why you are always hungry...go get a real paying job no matter how small.
incandescentena: Listed banks below in Nigeria are all useless
Access Bank Plc. Fidelity Bank Plc. First City Monument Bank Limited. First Bank of Nigeria Limited. Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc. Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. United Bank for Africa Plc. Zenith Bank Plc.
Tension grips prestigious 1004 estate in lagos as resident go on the warpath
Tempers are currently flaring today in the 1004 Estate, as residents has massed up in protest over what they have regard as years of neglect by the management of the prestigious home complex.
Things reached a week this weekend as the generator servicing the high-rise complex caught fire on Friday, with apparently no back-up or emergency plan by the Homeowners and Residents Association (HORA).
“We have not been able to as much do any cooking, neither are the lifts and air-conditioners working,” a resident told TheNewsGiant. “This is the result of years of shoddy neglect by the HORA team, since taking over in 2017.”
To make matters worse, residents took their grievances to the HORA office in the complex this morning and none of the key officers to address the issues could be found, nor had the management put in place any visible palliative measures to solve the prevailing issues.
“Things may take an ugly turn as more residents show up to ventilate their grievances,” the resident said. “I have already warned my family to remain indoors.”
Documents sighted by TheNewsGiant shows that previous efforts to make the life rosier in the estate had hit the rocks.
Some of the protesting residents, including expatriate, bore placards, one of which said,
One resident said “What is most painful is the fact that this crisis is unavoidable. But the HORA management teams have just been selfish, corrupt and unreasonable and apathetic tot the general welfare of residents. It is no longer acceptable.”
The 1004 Estate is a luxury residential hub in Victoria Island,with the name derived from the numerous flats in the abode.
It is the largest single luxury high rise estate in Sub-Saharan Africa with over 1004 flats, maisonettes, studio apartment in Victoria Island.
originally owned by the Federal Government, when it was opened in 1979 as a high amenity and upscale estate accommodation for senators and members of the House of Representatives, it was subsequently privately acquired by investors in 2007.
PHOTOS: First Miss Nigeria Celebrates 93rd Birthday
The winner of the first Miss Nigeria beauty pageant held in 1957, Grace Oyelude, has been celebrated on her 93rd birthday.
This was disclosed in a post on Instagram by the Miss Nigeria Organisation on Thursday, November 16.
The caption read, "We are immensely delighted to celebrate the evergreen beauty and brave leader, Chief Grace Atinuke Oyelude, on her 93rd birthday.
"Her courage, resolve, and great strength of character are excellent qualities that have endeared her to us and many others.
"Happy birthday, once again, to the first Miss Nigeria, Chief Grace Atinuke Oyelude.
"Thank you for paving the way and setting the standards that all Miss Nigeria Queens walkthrough, as well as your priceless contributions towards women's empowerment."
Nigerian Army has a department for reporting harrassment especially on civilians
The only problem is wearing camouflage (impersonation) can land you 2 years imprisonment with the option of fine
.
Please help me explain how wearing camouflage is impersonation, when he never introduced himself as a soldier to anyone or indulge in any criminal activities with it. We wear camouflage over here as fashion. What's the fuse.
Jaan Roose walked on a rope from Sterling Towers to Onome rig, Marina, Lagos State.
Estonian slackliner and Guinness World Records holder Jaan Roose, on Thursday walked on a rope from Sterling Towers to Onome rig, Marina, Lagos State.
The 31-year-old, known for possessing nerves of steel, is a three-time world champion, a holder of numerous world records and the first athlete to execute a double backflip on a slackline.
Slacklining is a sport that entails walking on a rope, suspended above the ground, it is often used for balance training, recreation and moving meditation. It is not common in Nigeria.
Currently gracing the vibrant city of Lagos, Nigeria, Mr Roose is taking his gravity-defying talents to new heights. Suspended on a rope, he navigates train tracks and bridges, turning Lagos State into his own awe-inspiring playground.
The record holder partnered with Lagos State Government in collaboration with the Lagos State Safety Commission to capture the ‘Perfect Lagos Selfie’, from Sterling Tower, Marina Lagos, to the Onome Rig.
Marina, Lagos State. A trending video captured the daring feat, featuring Mr Roose navigating the bridge and train tracks at the CMS bus stop in Lagos.
Red Bull, the driving force behind the project, enlisted Mr Roose known for his jaw-dropping tricks and unique performances.
Gboyega Akosile, Chief Press Secretary of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, shared the vision behind the initiative on Instagram.
“Jaan Roose is an Estonian slackliner and Guinness World Record holder. Slacklining is a sport that can be a balance training, recreation and moving meditation.
“This project is to showcase the beauty of Lagos State and the Red Bull team is working together with the Lagos State Government through the Lagos Safety Commission. Stay Tuned for the Perfect Lagos Selfie.”
Jaan Roose The 31-year-old Estonian dynamo has turned slacklining into a heart-stopping spectacle around the globe.
From setting world records to performing as a Hollywood stuntman, Roose’s journey is as breathtaking as the high lines he conquers.
When he embarked on his slacklining odyssey at 18, little did he know it would catapult him into the limelight, captivating audiences with mind-bending tricks.
As the first and only athlete to execute a double backflip on a slackline, he has become a three-time world champion, holding a treasure trove of world records and pioneering feats in the sport.
His prowess extends beyond the realm of competitive slacklining. Hollywood beckoned, and he answered, performing daring stunts in films like Assassin’s Creed. He even shared the stage with pop icon Madonna during her MDNA World Tour.
For Jaan, the thrill of showcasing his extraordinary talent goes beyond competition.
His globetrotting adventures include a 100m-high acrobatic performance in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2021 and a daring 500m-long slackline traverse between two mountains in Kazakhstan the following year.
In 2023 saw him redefine heights once again, completing a mesmerizing 150-metre walk on a slackline across two points of a single building in Doha, Qatar.
[quote author= post=127006776]Better Kilishi : nothing sweet reach am. We never see kilishi wey bitter. Kilishi sweet sweet sweet sweet sweet.
Dem MANNA busy on the Grills right now.....[/quote]Eyaaa......honest hustle, e for good make you exit political beefing and face this hustle...very honest hustle. More oil to your grill bro, keep the good work going.
Pets › Woman Is In Disbelief After A Wild Bird Starts Speaking To Her In English(Video) by Morbeta11(op): 3:45am On Nov 20, 2023
