₦airaland Forum

Naija I hail

NOTED

CC: Lalasticlala

I was on my way back from Botswana, after attending a conference organized by the Africa Leadership Forum (ALF). This was sometime in the 90s, on that same trip was Professor Tekena Tamuno, the eminent historian of blessed memory. We boarded an Air Afrique flight from Johannesburg to Abidjan, where we were scheduled to join another flight to
Lagos. But Air Afrique at the time had started having problems. Its flights were always delayed, services were poor, and the airline had
become so notorious it eventually earned the sobriquet: peut-etre Afrique. Peut-etre in French meaning “perhaps or maybe.” On this particular trip, the airline lived up to its poor reputation. The flight from Jo’burg to Abidjan was delayed, and we missed our connecting flight to Lagos. Our first instinct was to go to the Nigerian Embassy in Abidjan, after the airline had given us hotel accommodation for the night. When Professor Tamuno and I arrived at the embassy, the Ambassador had closed for the day. We left a message. And lo and behold, the following morning, somebody came
from the Embassy to look for us. The Ambassador, a gentleman to the core, had received our message and he would like us to stop by at the Embassy before our flight back to Lagos, later in the day. A good diplomat on foreign posting will always look out for the interest of his or her country’s citizens under whatever circumstances. We were impressed. But this is not the point of this article. It is as the title suggests, about French language and the need for Nigeria to take the teaching and the learning of the language more seriously and actively promote this in our educational institutions. When the emissary from the Embassy arrived at our hotel, he reportedly searched everywhere for us. We were having breakfast in the restaurant when I suddenly heard the announcement on the Public Address system that two Nigerians in the hotel had a visitor from the Nigerian Embassy. I informed Professor Tamuno, and he wondered whether I could speak French. My French was still good in those days, but French is such a precise and poetic language that does not allow any form of stammering. And if you don’t use it regularly, you could lose it or become so rusty that you dare not speak it again. Persons who speak French fluently cannot tolerate any form of incoherence; one funny look at you, you’d have no option but to shut up. So, I willingly lost my spoken French. But when I listen, I understand what is being said. I have had many more memorable encounters about the importance of French as a second language while attending international conferences and in the course of my work, at a time, as a government official. Virtually every international event has French as a major language of communication. More people in the world speak Mandarin, Spanish and may be Russian. But French is not just the ninth most widely spoken language; by more than 200 million people; it is a language of international relations, and it is the second official language. At international meetings, there are translators who help non- speakers of the main language to follow discussions, but French vocabulary and syntax are imbued with such special cadence that is not fully conveyed in translation. Oftentimes, the translators can be annoying. It is not just the same thing. For many countries, teaching and learning another language is a matter of strategic policy. Countries seek to connect with their neighbours and strategic partners through language. It is instructive that in the United States, Spanish and Mandarin are the two other most popular languages, the learning and teaching of which is deliberately encouraged. The United States has a large Spanish speaking population; its neighbours in Latin America also speak Spanish; the promotion of Spanish as a language in the United States builds many cultural bridges. Mandarin is also popular because of the increasing population of
Chinese-Americans. Is there in Nigeria any active policy to strategically promote language as a vehicle of integration and development? Nigeria is surrounded by Francophone countries: how many Nigerians speak or understand French? When you travel to any of these Francophone countries, or even to the Portuguese speaking ones, you can’t fail to notice the large number of French-speaking persons who can also speak English. While our neighbours make an effort to
learn English, making it easy to relate with them, we practically don’t make any effort to understand their own language. And as a country, we are short-changing ourselves. It is often so
embarrassing to see many of our Foreign Affairs Ministry officials not being able to speak any other language
apart from English, or not being proficient enough, even when they can. When Nigerians attend international conferences within the region, they rely on translators during formal sessions and thereafter they just stand around playing deaf and dumb. Almost all the Presidents in our neighbouring Francophone countries speak English. The day we have a Nigerian President who can have a decent conversation in French, we should slaughter a cow! We need to take a second look at the policy on the teaching of languages in our school system. In 1996, the General Sani Abacha administration introduced a language policy declaring French as Nigeria’s second official language. The objective
as stated in the National Policy on Education (2004) was mainly to “smoothen interaction with our neighbours” by promoting the French language at the primary and secondary
school level. But since then, that policy has been only on paper. The teaching of French language was first introduced at the secondary school level in Nigeria, around 1956, at King’s College, Lagos and Government College, Ibadan. Later, it became a subject of study at the Universities of Ibadan, Ife, UNN, and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and over the years, other Nigerian universities established Departments of French or Modern Languages. Colleges of Education also later started offering French, but only as a subject to be combined with a Nigerian language. At the secondary school level, it was however treated as an optional subject, and it was not taught at all at the primary school level. If there had been a determined effort to promote French as a second official language, by now so much progress would have been made. There are over 2 million Nigerians reportedly living in Cote D’Ivoire alone and more in the other Francophone countries in West Africa, particularly Niger, Chad, Togo, Cameroun, Mali and Burkina Faso. Nigeria may be the biggest market in Africa, but access to other West African markets makes that market even bigger. There are millions of Nigerians travelling all over West Africa, engaged in profitable commerce on a daily basis. Some of them pick up the French language out of necessity but a properly executed language policy can fast-track Nigeria’s integration with the sub- region, encourage regional commerce and promote co-operation and understanding. We need that integration if indeed Africa is the centre-piece of our foreign policy, beginning with our immediate neighbours. Other West African countries and even French-speaking African countries like Gabon and Burundi are consciously promoting the learning of English. Their stated reason: Pragmatism! Language connects people. Language defines and strengthens. I have seen situations whereby in the absence of French or English as a connecting language, Nigerians who speak Fulfude, Hausa and Yoruba connect so instantly with their West African brothers and sisters who speak the same languages. Nigeria cannot effectively perform its leadership role in the sub-region if its people do not speak or understand the language of their neighbours. General Sani Abacha was certainly right on this point of making French, Nigeria’s default second language. ECOWAS by the way, is working on a West African Highway Project, from Lagos to Nouackchott. Is that meant to be a highway of the deaf and the dumb, trapped in cultural spaces? The greatest beneficiaries of linguistic integration will probably be ordinary people. Multi-lingual Nigerians do better than their mono-lingual compatriots, relatively speaking. To get certain international appointments, you need that extra language. A friend told me that Akinwunmi Adesina, former Minister of Agriculture, stole the show at the preliminary screenings for his current job as AfDB President, when he switched to French and spoke with such power of articulation and insight. There are thousands more. We need to produce more Nigerians like that. And we need those other Nigerians too, who can sell whatever from Cotonou to Lome to Niger, Chad, Abidjan and Cameroun, undeterred by language barriers, switching linguistic codes with ease. And it is better to catch them young. Children learn and absorb language almost by osmosis. We need to start preparing our children for international life, within the region and beyond, by teaching them French and for those who have the capacity, Nigerian languages and other languages as well. We must begin to prepare our future Presidents of international corporations, and Nigerians who will also, in future become Secretary Generals of the United Nations and other multilateral institutions. The obsession with wealth and the transient is making us lose focus as a country. Our greatest asset remains our children, the young, untainted ones, who need to be captured and built up, before they get sucked into the prevalent, abnormal normative value system in the country. By now, it should be clear that this is not just about the teaching of French as a second official language but more about the gaps and the chaos
in Nigeria’s education system. Our disruptive governance process, the forever-begin-again culture of governance, truncates so many things,
and the education process gets poorly served. I have dealt with aspects of this in earlier writings and I just want to repeat the point that the education of the Nigerian child and the re- schooling of society are so tied to all matters of progress and development that we just cannot stop talking about them. In the same manner in which we promote regional integration, we should also use language to bind the country together. Nigerian languages should be taught in schools as compulsory subjects. Where language barriers do not exist, people are always willing to listen, and in a world where the wisdom of the tribe prevails,
we should encourage people to talk and listen, and remove barriers. There are many young Nigerians studying abroad whose parents are spending a fortune to get them to plug into this global trend but even if those children speak all the languages of the world, they may be lost to the country forever. They have little or no attachment to Nigeria’s education system and their parents may not be keen about linking them to a natal origin where electricity remains a problem, infrastructure deficit continues to grow and the future is permanently uncertain. This is why in simple terms, in this matter, the change process must begin at home at all levels. In the end (you see?), everything is linked, but we are optimistic that all will be well, because after all, we are Nigerians: we manage to be happy in every situation. Meilleurs voeux.

Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka says the current anti-corruption fight by the federal government has revealed an unprecedented level of corruption that has never been recorded in Nigeria before. Soyinka said this when the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai
Mohammed, paid him a courtesy visit at his home in Lagos today January 9th. "We have not had a case where it had been alleged and increasingly proven that money supposed to be
spent on defending ourselves, our nation, our neighbourhood, has been shared among individuals. We never had experience where we were in a state of critical emergency where children are being kidnapped under our noses. Never had there been a situation where we are helpless and our soldiers are sent to the front to defend our very existence and we are not backing them up with conduct that shows integrity and commitment. Because of these reasons, corruption is really desperate and has chosen to fight back, but I am confident that corruption will be tackled," Soyinka said.

I dey cum

Skiborobo, oshey baddest. Chidinma has being a hit back to back, from DammyKrane to Flavour to LilKesh! Egbon Reekado you can come and taste her also. Attendance registration ti take over

as if i was d only one dat notice diz

Hmnn.... I just digest this, nice write up

Tunami:
both pdp and apc polithiefcians are all criminals.

Thats just it. But some will never accept the fact

A 22-year-old man in Omu-Aran, Kwara State, Sola Akangbe, died in the early hours of Saturday following wounds from a fire allegedly set on him by his biological father, Kehinde. The deceased, a wheelbarrow pusher, was said to have suffered high degree burns and was confirmed dead by doctors at Ajisafe Hospital, Omu-Aran,
where he was rushed to by the police on Friday. The News Agency of Nigeria reported that doctors at the hospital battled to save his life as the fire affected most parts of his body. The deceased was said to have been accused of stealing an undisclosed amount of money from some roadside beggars on Friday and was apprehended and handed over to his father. The father, a commercial driver, allegedly drove his son to a nearby bush on Omu-Aran-Isanlu-Isin road, tied his hands and legs before setting him ablaze. Sola, who was still alive when he was rescued, told his rescuers that his father was responsible for the act. The mother of the deceased, Rachael, was seen crying in the hospital after the death of her son was broken to her. The mother, who is a trader based in Odo-Owa, another suburb, said a friend had notified her of the development on the telephone before she rushed to the hospital to check on her son. The mother, who acknowledged that Sola was an unrepentant troublesome fellow, however, expressed shock at the father's action. She disclosed that although she gave birth few weeks ago, she had divorced Kehinde about seven years ago as a result of irreconcilable differences. Mr Ajayi Okasanmi, the Police Public Relation Officer in the state, confirmed the incident, saying that the suspect was already in police custody and that investigation was ongoing.

Governor Seriake Dickson of
the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) has won the Bayelsa
supplementary governorship
poll following official results
collated by the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC), today, January 10. Dickson won seven out of the
eight local governments in the
South south state defeating Chief
Timipre Sylva of the All
Progvressives Congress (APC)
after a keenly contested election Results have so far been
announced in all the local
governments where
supplementary elections were
conducted. Before commencing collation of
the results, INEC had advised
Nigerians to disregard results
being posted on social media. A statement from INEC reads: “Fake results are being
released via the social media.
Those figures are not from us. “Authentic results will be
announced once we get them
from the field.” Naij.com is on ground at the
Collation Centre at the Yenagoa
Council Hall to bring you live
updates of the exercise. Read our coverage below: With the conclusion of the results
read, Governor Seriake Dickson
has been re-elected as the
governor of Bayelsa state for
another term of four years. 7: 12pm: PDP agent said the
cancelled votes the APC agent
raised are that of the PDP,
accusing the APC of perpetuating
violence in desperation to win
Bayelsa by all means. 7: 06pm: APC agent says INEC
Adhoc staff were deliberately
cancelling results in some wards
that did not favour his party. He
alleged that most of the voting
materials were diverted on Friday, January 9, on their way to polling
units. 7:00pm: Southern Ijaw LGA APC – 10, 216 PDP – 23, 081 02:10 pm: Representative of the
APC is protesting again stating
that collation officers at Ekeremor
canceled at least 6,000 votes 02:06 pm: Ekeremor LGA No of voters – 9157 No of Accredited Voters – 3018 APC – 257 PDP – 2695 Total Valid Votes – 2968 Rejected Votes – 42 Total Votes Cast – 3010 01:55 pm Nemba LGA No of voters: 4294 No of Accredited Voters – 2649 APC – 1400 PDP – 1160 Total Valid Votes – 2574 Rejected Votes – 31 Total Votes Cast – 2605 Day Two 01: 45 pm: The collation exercise
of Bayelsa election re-run has
continued. The results are
expected from Southern Ijaw LGA
and some other polling units in two
other local government areas. 02:05am: Professor Akpagu says
results being expected in 3 LGAs
don’t look like getting to the
collation centre anytime soon and
so calls for a break. Results
collation to continue on Sunday, January 10 by 11am. 02:00am: Ogbia LGA No of voters – 4344 No of Accredited Voters – 1551 APC – 139 PDP – 1290 Total Valid Votes – 1449 Rejected Votes – 47 Total Votes Cast – 1496 01:50am: Sagbama LGA No of Reg Voters 2005 No of Accredited voters 326 APC – 119 PDP – 180 Total Valid Votes – 303 Rejected Votes – 21 Total Votes Cast – 324 Supplementary election was held
in one registration area and six
polling units. 01:40am: A little drama is currently
being experienced as the APC
agent insists on airing in his
opinion after comments from the
PDP agent. Professor Akpagu, the
returning officer gives him the go ahead but rules him out of order
much later and walks him out. 01:32am: PDP agent protesting the
results in Brass LGA, calls for
cancellation of the poll in the
LGA. “A particular APC chieftain hijacked all materials
and took them to an unknown
place.” 01:30am: Brass LGA Total Voters 2255 Accredited Voters 1703 APC – 1679 PDP – 05 Total Valid Votes 1696 Rejected Votes 7 Total Votes cast 1703 Supplementary elections were held
in three registration areas and six
polling units 01:14am: Yenogoa LGA No REG Voters 9560 No Accredited Voters 1480 APC – 448 PDP – 839 Total Valid Votes – 1309 Rejected Votes – 14 Total Votes Cast – 1368 Supplementary elections were held
in seven registration areas and 18
polling units. 12:50am: Professor Zana Akpagu,
the returning Officer is currently
going through the results of the
previous election. 12:45am: Professor Akpagu says
results are being expected in 51
registration areas and 527 polling
units from the supplementary
election in Bayelsa state. 12:40am: On-going now is the
welcome address by the Resident
Electoral Commissioner for
Bayelsa state, Prof. Zana Akpagu. 12:27am: The exercise has started
with the national anthem, quickly
followed with an opening prayer by
one of the party agents.
The introduction of officials on the
high table now on-going. 12:08am: Results are expected
in 17 wards in Southern Ijaw
where the rerun election took place
and 101 units in other parts of the
state where the Dec. 5, 2015
election was cancelled due to widespread violence. 12:01am: The collation centre is
located at the complex of State
Electoral Commision at hospital
road in Yenagoa. Security
operatives are conducting routine
checks, press men are still busy positioning themselves, cameras,
OB Van in readiness for the
collation exercise which will
commence any moment from now. 11:32pm: The results of four out of
the seven local government areas
where the supplementary election
took place are ready and collation
will commence any time soon. 11:20pm: The hall is gradually filing
up at the Collation Centre at the
Yenagoa Council Hall and
the seats on the platform have now
been clearly marked with names of
officials posted on them. Cameramen and reporters are
taking their positions to record the
highly anticipated results from the
supplementary poll. 11:17pm: Just as newsmen were
about leaving the centre following
no signs of results, Baritor
Lenusikpugi Kpagih, the resident
electoral officer for Bayelsa state,
the Returning Officer, Prof. Zana Akpagu and some of the national
commissioners have arrived and
seated on the platform ready to
commence the announcement of
the poll result. Newsmen are left
with no other option than to rush back to the centre. Kpagih said he was offered bribe to rig Bayelsa election PIC.3.FROM LEFT: RESIDENT
ELECTORAL COMMISSIONER
BAYELSA STATE, MR BARITOR
KPAGIH;
RETURNING OFFICER,PROF.
ZANA AKPAGU AND ADMINISTRATIVE SECRETARY,
INEC BAYELSA STATE, DR
RICHARD NTUI, DURING THE
COLLATION OF BAYELSA
STATE GOVERNORSHIP
ELECTION RESULTS AT YENAGOA CITY COUNCIL HALL
ON SUNDAY.
7464/7/12/2015/OCC/CH/NAN 11:00pm: The delay in the
announcement of results is tied to
the fact that collation officers are
still being expected at INEC
collation centre as at the time of
preparing this report. 10:50pm: Normalcy has been
restored at the Collation Centre at
the Yenagoa Council Hall after the
centre was looking like results
were not going to be announced
tonight. Two INEC officials are trying to set up display equipment.

APCsupporter:
Who told pdp not to fight corruption? Fighting corruption is the same as fighting pdp. Understand that

Sorry APC supporter, am not into politics but since the time EFCC has started the arrest of people that are corrupt as they say. why is it that its only PDP members they arrest without even charging them 2 court like d case of Metuh. U mean its only the PDP members that are corrupt. Bukola Saraki who did false declaration of asset is not corrupt, tell me what work did he do that makes him have 17 trillion in his account and the list goes on.

link...

www.musicnestradio.com/witch-hunt-jafaru-isas-release-vindicates-us-pdpsays-efcc-compromised/

...CC; Mynd44, Lalasticlala

Read the press statement below… The Peoples Democratic party (PDP) says the
release of the associate of President
Muhammadu Buhari and APC chieftain, Brig.
General Jafaru Isa (retired) by the EFCC
barely eight hours after arrest while its
spokesman Chief Olisa Metuh remains detained and without being charged to court
since last Tuesday, vindicates its position that
this Federal Government is not fighting
corruption but on a clamp-down mission on
PDP leaders. The party said that its spokesman, who was
arrested without invitation by the anti graft
agency has remained incarcerated since
Tuesday while the APC chieftain who even
disregarded the commission’s invitation and
had to be arrested was quickly released after the EFCC boss meeting at the Presidential villa. The PDP in a statement signed by the National
Legal Adviser, Barr Victor Kwon on Sunday
said there can be no clearer indication that the
APC-led administration is on a man-hunt
against PDP leaders, and that it has a personal
grudge against Chief Metuh, ostensibly for his stance as opposition spokesman, particularly
his recent exchange with the government and
the APC over their dictatorial activities. The party queried the action of the EFCC in
freeing Brig. General Jafaru Isa, eight hours
after his arrest last Wednesday night while
Chief Metuh is still being detained even when
the two are being investigated over same
allegation of receiving funds from the office of the National Security Adviser. “The release of Jafaru Isa, a known associate
of the President and chieftain of the APC eight
hours after his arrest while our spokesman
remains in detention even when the two are
being investigated over same allegation, clearly
shows that the President Buhari-led APC government is not fighting corruption but using
the much hyped crusade as a cover to
persecute PDP leaders and decimate the
opposition, a project the EFCC has clearly
yielded itself as a willing tool. “We have information of the marching order
from the Presidency for the immediate release
of the President’s associate and that his issue
is one of the major part reasons for the
repeated visits of the EFCC Chairman to the
Presidential villa within the period of his arrest. Of course, there is nothing hidden under the
sun. “We ask, how can the EFCC now explain to
the world that it is not corrupt and teleguided by
the Federal Government to persecute PDP
leaders? What happened to the illegal holding
charge upon which it has detained the PDP
spokesman beyond the limit stipulated by section 35(5a) of the constitution and in
violation of his guaranteed personal liberty
under the law? “Are there now two separate sets of laws; one
for PDP leaders and perceived foes of the
President Buhari-led government which allows
them to be detained beyond constitutional limits
without being charged to court and another set,
for associates of the President associates and APC leaders, which guarantees them a slap in
the back and immunity from investigation and
prosecution, and if arrested, an immediate
release? “Is it really true that the fund Jafaru Isa was
alleged to have received from the former NSA
was traced near the corridors of those who
today bestride power in the country?
Furthermore, can the Federal Government and
the APC now in all honesty face the world and announce that this administration is indeed
waging war against corruption? “Can the EFCC explain what has happened to
several petitions by Nigerians on corruption
issues against many APC leaders including
those who as former governor looted funds
belonging to their state? Are they now under
immunity for the fact that they are in the APC and that most of the funds they looted where
used to finance APC’s Presidential campaign? “While we reiterate our support for any effort
aimed eradicating corruption in our nation we
stand our ground in demanding that the fight
must be holistic, credible, within the limits
provided by the laws irrespective of political
affiliations. “The PDP therefore restates its demand that
the EFCC immediately releases its
spokesman, Chief Olisa Metuh or charge him
to court if they have any case against him. His
continued detention without being charged to
court is only indicative of the fact that the commission has not been able convince itself
of enough evidence of guilt and is now lending
itself as a willing instrument of persecution
against Chief Metuh. “The public will recall that the PDP is not given
to frivolous claims as evidenced in many
instances including our alert last year of a
meeting between the Presidency, the then
newly appointed INEC Chairman and top
security officers just before the Kogi and Bayelsa governorship elections. “Finally, we state with every sense of
responsibility that now that it is clear, with the
release of Jafaru Isa eight hours after his
arrest, that the continued detention of our
spokesman is politically motivated, this party
can no longer guarantee that it can rein in its members and supporters who have been
exercising restrain since this particular arrest
by the EFCC. Nigeria belongs to all of us and the laws are
made for all of us and must be applied on its
values and spirit without political
considerations. Signed: Barr. Victor Kwon
National Legal Adviser

.

daejavuu:
broses no be me wan drive o...will get someone to do that. And must one be rugged and ready to fight to do such a business?

You must o especially in lagos, cos dem go wan intimidate you if dey notice you are softhearted. Good luck

Toor

Unionised:
Important questions.....
Na you wan drive am yourself?
Are you rugged?
You sabi the terrain?
You fit go naked for police? Lastma?
You sabi fight?
if yes, then carry go...

You fit handle those agbero's?.

Unionised:
Important questions.....
Na you wan drive am yourself?
Are you rugged?
You sabi the terrain?
You fit go naked for police? Lastma?
You sabi fight?
if yes, then carry go...

You fit handle those agbero's?.

Next one please

bigtt76:
Bitter truth from the best never to have won the CAF Best Player award. Not even one Nigerian player playing in a top club regularly in a top league.

You now find Nigerian players in Cyprus, Vietnam, Philippines ..... countries that have never been to the world Cup all becos of the monetary benefits.

They all play not for the love of the game but for the love of money. Such habit can't earn you top player awards.

Gbam, you said it all

New year gbege

Lalasticlala come see baba belle o

If this stuff make front page, na 2 dey pack go maiduguri

SaintHephzibah:
it will be given to you only after registration at the accredited center

thanks

@ Seun, Lalasticlala, ijebabe, mynd44 and other mods. This thin suppose enta FP o...

Please help me out. I just bought a scratch card at zenith bank at the rate of 5,500. I was only given the scratch card, no syllabus no forcardos book or wetin una dey call am. And i ask d lady who sold the card to me, she say i am only entitle to the card

devil is a liar. So them dey vex say oga jona dey move higher upon all the blackmail. if you were to vote for GEJ & OBJ again. whom wil u vote in, like for gej, share for obj

Sambest2:
9:30pm

ooshey. just dey update us here. No light, no fuel.