₦airaland Forum

Award-winning actor cum musician, Kwadwo Nkansah Lilwin recently opened his ultramodern school, Great Minds International school located at Ahenkro in the Ashanti Region. Surprising enough, the school which can stand toe to toe with most of the top schools in Ghana in terms of its infrastructure and other facilities, most definitely charges the lowest fees one can ever think off.Yesterday, January 21, 2019, Lilwin embarked on a tour with some bloggers in the school. During the tour, the comic actor revealed that he is currently paying about GH 1, 600 cedis each for his two children who are currently in different schools which is just like the one he built but the school fees for the lower primary in his school is GH 50 cedis while that of the upper primary is GH 100 cedis.Even though this revelation was very shocking to the bloggers who were with him, the talented actor stated that he came to this conclusion because he realized that most of the parents who have their wards in his school are not that financially strong. He added that because he wanted his school to be accessible to all but not just the rich, the decision to charge that amount.

More details;[url] https://www.paxexlive.com/thread/actor-lilwin-explains-why-he-charge-students-ghc50-ghc100-as-fees-for-his-school[/url]

There are people (slowly raises hand) who gripe about having to get up before the sun is up to jumpstart their workday. Then there are people like Walter Carr, who start walking at midnight in order to arrive at their job — located 20 miles away — on time.

I kid you not. Walter Carr is a superhero in disguise.

According to AL.com, Carr’s feat of defiance started when his car broke down the night before he was to start his new job with Bellhops moving company.Unfazed, Carr decided to walk from Homewood, Ala., to Pelham throughout the night, across highways, for some 20 miles or more.

He got to Pelham at 4 a.m., where four concerned officers stopped him to ask if he was okay. Carr explained his situation, prompting Pelham police officer Mark Knighten to step in.

Knighten, along with fellow officers Klint Rhodes and Carl Perkinson, took Carr to Whataburger where they treated him to breakfast and told him to grab lunch to go as well. Then they drove Carr to a church — which they deemed the safest place to leave him until it was time for him to be at work.

Officer Scott Duffey, who was just coming back on the clock then heard the story from his co-workers and went looking for Carr — who had already left the church, dedicated as ever — and dropped him off at his job assignment.

Jenny Lamey, the person that Carr was meant to help move that day, posted about the incident on Facebook after she was greeted by Duffey and Carr.“[Carr] WALKED ALL NIGHT to get from Homewood to Pelham. Because he needed to get to work. For those reading this that are not local, that’s over 20 miles. You could tell how the officer told us this story that he had complete admiration for Walter and by my reaction he could tell I did too,’’ she wrote. “The police officer said they picked him up earlier that morning, took him to get some breakfast and once they checked his story out, brought Walter to our house.”

Lamey told Carr he was welcome to stay, and even offered to let him go upstairs and take a nap until the rest of the crew arrived, but the hardworking student declined and instead got straight to work.

“We chatted while we were working together early yesterday morning. He loved my kitchen and said that it was exactly the kind of kitchen he would want. He was from New Orleans. He and his mother lost their home in Hurricane Katrina and they came and made their home in Birmingham,’’ Lamey wrote. “I asked him if he was tired from all that walking, and he said replied that he wasn’t and that he had a 4-hour nap before he left at midnight.”

Lamey took actions into her own hands, setting up a GoFundMe to help Carr. In just two days, the campaign has smashed its $2,000 goal, raising almost $39,000 as of 9:17 a.m. EDT on Wednesday.

Walter is overwhelmed by the generosity of so many people who have wanted to support him.…

Eventually, Carr’s boss, Bellhops CEO Luke Marklin got wind of the story and decided to help out as well. Marklin drove from Tennessee to allegedly meet Carr for some coffee to thank him for his dedication, but then decided to give Carr his own barely-driven 2014 Ford Escape.

More details; https://www.paxexlive.com/thread/determined-college-student-walked-20-miles-to-new-job-so-his-boss-gave-him-a-car

WINDSOR TOWNSHIP, YORK COUNTY, Pa. - After months of treatment and multiple surgeries, a Pennsylvania baby born with a rare condition is finally going home.

When Andrew Kuhn and Katie Faulkner found out they were having twins, it came as a shock.

The couple welcomed two beautiful boys, Jamison and Jackson, in July of last year through C-section.

However, when Jackson came out minutes after his brother, shock turned to fear.

"I saw that they were examining one of the babies they had the other one and took him away and a bunch of doctors were surrounding," Kuhn said.As Faulkner was recovering from surgery, Kuhn said he was focusing on staying calm.

"I was just like something doesn't seem right something doesn't feel right," he said.

A doctor pulled him to the side and broke the news: Jackson had an imperforate anus, a piece of skin covering his rectum which never fully formed.

Twenty-four hours later, doctors transferred Jackson to John's Hopkins for better equipped care.

After five months, the family was told their insurance wasn't accepted, forcing them to transfer to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, two hours away from their home.

More details; https://www.paxexlive.com/thread/pennsylvania-baby-born-without-an-anus-comes-home-after-8-months-in-hospital

Now 62, Claudine Shoval said that she started bodybuilding to show the world that she can pick herself up.
By the time people turn 50, they start planning their retirement. But this was not the case with Israel’s Claudine Shoval. For her, the life was just starting. After being in an abusive marriage for 24 years, Shoval decided to banish all her fears and redefine her life. She ended her marriage and took up a challenge that most people find hard even in their early 20s – bodybuilding.I mean seriously! Bodybuilding at the age of 50!! Hard to believe but it true. Shoval not just started intense bodybuilding after ending her marriage at the age of 50 but went on to become a champion in the field and remained that for 10 years . Hailed as Israel’s “Iron Lady”, Claudine Shoval shocked everyone when she pulled a big truck.

Recalling her life before body building, Shoval, who is now 62-year-old, told BCC REEL: “The violence was aimed at me. My marriage last 24 years. It was humiliating…. raising a hand…. Or if you don’t do as I tell you, I will kill you. He (Shoval’s husband) was just looking all the times for ways to crush me. Nothing was ever enough for him.”However, this has to end one day. If not with her fighting for herself, with her death. But she didn’t waited and showed the world that a woman, if she has decided, can do anything and Shoval is a living example of it.

“I showed the world that I can pick myself up. And anyone who wants to, can do the same. You must sink low,” Shoval said.

More details; https://www.paxexlive.com/thread/meet-claudine-shoval-israel-s-iron-lady-who-started-bodybuilding-at-50

When President Uhuru Kenyatta visited Tanzania recently, part of the discussion with President Pombe Magufuli centred on importation of 1.2 million bags of maize into Kenya. After all, Tanzania is the only neighbour where the country could fetch maize for milling, and at a cheaper price.

DUTY-FREE

After a series of goofs, poor planning and politics, the country is once again staring at a maize crisis. But technocrats and politicians do not seem to agree on what to do. Some fear that another maize scandal seems to be cooking.

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri says the country is running low on maize stocks and must import as per the Cabinet’s directive. He has told off those saying there is enough maize. The national Strategic Food Reserve Trust Fund (SFRTF) chairman, Dr Noah Wekesa, says they are holding 760,000 bags of maize which remained after selling 1.2 million bags from the 1.7 million bags they put on sale in May.

This particular stock of 3.4 million bags was procured by former Principal Secretary Richard Lesiyampe. Although he was later charged in court with irregular purchase of maize at a cost of Sh5.6 billion, it is the same stock Kenya has turned to, to meet the shortfall.Kenya consumes 60,000 bags of maize per day and requires between, 1.5 and 1.8 million bags per month. Although it requires 52 million bags of maize per year, the highest it has ever produced was 42 million bags in 2015/2016.

When President Uhuru Kenyatta visited Tanzania recently, part of the discussion with President Pombe Magufuli centred on importation of 1.2 million bags of maize into Kenya. After all, Tanzania is the only neighbour where the country could fetch maize for milling, and at a cheaper price.

DUTY-FREE

After a series of goofs, poor planning and politics, the country is once again staring at a maize crisis. But technocrats and politicians do not seem to agree on what to do. Some fear that another maize scandal seems to be cooking.

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri says the country is running low on maize stocks and must import as per the Cabinet’s directive. He has told off those saying there is enough maize. The national Strategic Food Reserve Trust Fund (SFRTF) chairman, Dr Noah Wekesa, says they are holding 760,000 bags of maize which remained after selling 1.2 million bags from the 1.7 million bags they put on sale in May.

This particular stock of 3.4 million bags was procured by former Principal Secretary Richard Lesiyampe. Although he was later charged in court with irregular purchase of maize at a cost of Sh5.6 billion, it is the same stock Kenya has turned to, to meet the shortfall.

Kenya consumes 60,000 bags of maize per day and requires between, 1.5 and 1.8 million bags per month. Although it requires 52 million bags of maize per year, the highest it has ever produced was 42 million bags in 2015/2016.

As a result, the country has always had a 10 million bag deficit, which was easier to fill with the Tanzania and Uganda imports. Already, the government has opened a three-month window for the duty-free importation of maize.

Dr Wekesa says the country only needs an extra two million bags – enough to cushion Kenyans before the next harvest in October. But the problem is much deeper than politicians are revealing.20 BAGS

The collapse of maize farming and dwindling of produce has seen places such as Trans Nzoia harvest about 20 bags of maize per acre, down from 40 for small-scale farmers while large-scale farmers manage 30 bags per acre. The problem is associated with soils and the fertiliser used.

Insiders say Kenya will continue to face a staple food crisis as long as yesteryear problems are not addressed.

For years, it has been known that the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) silos are archaic and can only hold 21 million bags — and not for more than six months. Given that the country still relies on rain-fed agriculture, maize production has continued to drop as the population grows.

The Galana-Kulalu white elephant maize project also stalled – and with it billions of shillings went under.

Inside the government, and within the Cabinet, it was known that the stocks procured in the last harvest would last up to June. But within the Ministry of Agriculture, there was fear any procurement might lead to another scandal.

“Nobody wanted to buy from farmers and nobody wanted to sell to millers. Actually, within the ministry, nobody wanted to make a decision touching on maize,” says an insider.

While this fear was partly traced to the prosecution of Mr Lesiyampe and six others, there is also the politicisation and cartel behaviour in the maize procurement.

YELLOW MAIZE

Over the weekend, Mr Kiunjuri took on politicians – including ODM leader Raila Odinga – who have insisted that there is enough maize in the country.

The problem with maize farming is that apart from Uasin Gishu and Trans Nzoia, all the other counties sell their produce as green maize – for either boiling or roasting.

At the moment, a stock-out is likely. Pundits say it all boils down to lack of preparedness and unreliable data.

A report released last year under the Maize Subsidy Programme noted the data used by the country to manage the maize balance sheet “including data on production estimates, stocks, consumption and post-harvest losses were not reliable, timely and adequate”.

The report also projected that unless Kenya maintained SFR stocks at four million bags and allowed importation of yellow maize to ease pressure on white maize, the flour prices would range between Sh120 and Sh150, against the government’s desire to price the 2kg packet at Sh115.

Unless a miracle happens, insiders say, the government will be forced to intervene by either urgently buying maize from local farmers – and subsidising it – or importing from Tanzania.

In 2016, after facing a similar crisis, the government was forced to take over the milling plants of all private companies, after which it allocated them white maize proportionate to their milling capacity. It also took over all maize supply contracts from the millers and compensated them for the losses in a multibillion-shilling exercise that was both political and strategic for the Jubilee government to win the election.

POOR HANDLING

In order to help stop Raila Odinga’s “Unga Revolution”, the 21 millers were asked to dedicate their milling plants to the subsidy programme and “flood the CBD” with flour, which was done in 22 branches of major supermarkets, according to official government documents.

Insiders say by May 2017, Kenya had zero bags of maize at NCPB stores and all eyes had turned to the principal secretary in charge of agriculture. In 2019, Kenya is facing a similar crisis.

The tragedy is that the SFRTF sits only two times: When buying or selling.

But unlike in 2017 when there was an election pending, the procurement this time is slow-motioned. In that year, Mr Odinga had taken advantage of the maize shortage and was using the crisis to win votes.

“The only way left to us then was to buy maize that was non-GMO”, says an insider involved in the eight-member subsidy task force.

There were three places Kenya could buy such maize from: Tanzania, Zambia and Ethiopia. While Kenya would have opted to buy from Uganda, its maize is never used for milling since it is usually discoloured due to poor handling during drying. Again, Uganda does not use fertiliser during planting and their grains are tiny and not suitable for milling.

In 2017, Tanzania had a good harvest but President Magufuli had closed the border and traders were not able to import maize. “We bought some maize from Zambia, but it was detained in Tanzania,” says a source.

More details;https://www.paxexlive.com/thread/another-scandal-in-the-offing-how-kenya-walked-into-a-maize-crisis

Based on current estimates, of the 335,000 Ghanaians currently living with HIV, only 185,000 knew their status, with the remaining 150,000 having no knowledge, and so could easily be infecting other people.

The Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), has therefore called for intensified efforts through stakeholder collaborations, to address issues around stigmatisation, non-adherence to Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART), and Behaviour Change Communication, to curb new HIV infection rates and sustain treatment levels.

Mr Kyeremeh Atuahene, the Acting Director-General of the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), made the call at the release and media briefing on the 2018 National HIV estimates and projections in Accra on Wednesday.

He said although Ghana was doing well in its efforts to achieve the World Health Organisation’s 90-90-90 targets of ensuring that all persons infected with HIV were tested to know their status, put on treatment, and that all those receiving ARTs attained viral suppression, there was more to be done in order to achieve the set objective by 2020.Mr Atuahene said multiple sources were used to generate data for the spectrum, which brought the total national adult prevalence of HIV to approximately 1.7 per cent, compared to the 2.0 per cent recorded in 2014 in the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS).

The 2018 data, he said, showed that an estimated 335,000 Ghanaians are currently living with HIV, of which only 185,000 knew their status, with the remaining 150,000 having no knowledge, and so could easily be infecting other people.

He said out of the total number of Persons Living with HIV (PLHIV), 305,200 were adults aged between 15 years and above, while 29, 514 were children age zero to 15 years, representing 91 per cent and nine per cent respectively, with 117,199 being males and 217,515 females signifying 35 per cent, and 65 per cent respectively.

There is an estimated 19,931 new infections, of which 16,614 (83 per cent) were adults aged 15 and above, while 3,317 (17 per cent) were children age zero to 14 years, he said.

The Acting Director-General said of the total number of new infections 5,532 was among the youth aged between 15 and 24 years, representing 28 per cent.He said in 2018, an estimated 12,181 AIDS-related deaths were recorded, of which 11,412 (80 per cent) were adults aged 15 years and above, with the remaining 20 per cent 2,769, being children below 15 years.

Mr Atuahene said considering the time frame and the enormous work left to be done, the GAC acknowledges that although Ghana may not be able to achieve all the three ‘90’ targets by the stipulated date, stringent measures and strategies have been put in place to intensify public education especially at the community level, encourage HIV testing, address stigma and encourage adherence to ARTs by PLHIV.

The GAC, he said, would also pay keen attention to the youth due to their current sub-cultural behaviours, and intensify advocacy for the care and support of HIV and AIDS-related orphans, adding that Ghana has the right policies, programmes and human resources to render the required services towards the elimination of the disease.

More details;https://www.paxexlive.com/thread/185-000-of-ghanaians-living-with-hiv-know-they-have-the-virus

Current Wave Of Kidnapping In Nigeria


former United States of America's Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, says the current wave of kidnapping in the country cannot be compared to what used to happen in the past.

He said, "Nigeria is experiencing a wave of kidnappings. In the past, kidnapping has often had a political dimension. In the oil patch, for example, militants have long kidnapped oil company employees to advance a political agenda. Boko Haram in the northeast is notorious for kidnapping young girls, the most famous episode being the 2014 kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls.
"The current wave is different. It is nation-wide, rather than confined to a specific region. It appears to be purely mercenary; the goal is to extract the maximum ransom possible rather than advancing a political agenda. Kidnapping victims now include the entire social spectrum, rather than being confined to those with some money or property. Nobody is exempt."

After several weeks of being held by his captors, an in-law of President Muhammadu Buhari was rescued by the police in a shoot-out recently.

But Campbell pointed out that the Buhari administration like previous regimes might be promoting the crime.

"In theory, but not in practice, the payment of ransom is illegal in Nigeria," he explained. However, the government itself pays ransoms in high-profile cases. So, too, do ordinary citizens. Because both kidnapping and ransom paying are illegal activities, there is little hard evidence about how many kidnappings are actually taking place. Indeed, the lack of transparency may lead to a popular exaggeration of the numbers.

"Nevertheless, Nigerians believe they are in the midst of a kidnapping wave and that the government is largely powerless to stop it.

"Fear of kidnapping appears to be a factor in middle-class emigration from Nigeria and the wealthy sending their families abroad Recently, the BBC released a video on kidnapping providing a human face to the victims of kidnapping.

The video showed Deputy Police Commissioner, Abba Kyari, and the Intelligence Response Team, set up to fight kidnapping.

Speaking about the video, Campbell noted: "Kyari, known to many as “Nigeria’s supercop,” is the youngest high-ranking official in the Nigerian police force.

"Policing in Nigeria is underfunded, and policemen by and large are undertrained. They are notorious for human rights abuses and have been widely accused of extra-judicial killing. The BBC interviewer raises these human rights considerations with The Network on Police Reform in Nigeria."

More details; https://www.paxexlive.com/thread/current-wave-of-kidnapping-in-nigeria

One thousand two-hundred and fifty-two persons have died from road accidents since January 2019, The Finder reports.

A breakdown of the figure means at least seven people die from road carnages a day. This is two more than the average family size in Ghana.

The newspaper gave a total breakdown in the figures from accidents involving commercial vehicles, private cars and accidents involving pedestrians.
Read the full Finder report below:

Data compiled by the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MMTD) of the Ghana Police Service shows a 3.3% increase in the number of commuters killed in road accidents between January and June 2019 compared to the same period in 2018.

According to the data, the number of commuters killed rose from 1,212 in the first half of 2018 to 1,252 during the first six months of 2019.

It revealed that males 18 years and below killed were 126 while males above 18 years killed hit 808, bringing the total to 934.

On the other hand, females below 18 years who lost their lives were 86 while females above 18 years killed in road traffic crashes totaled 232.

This brings the total number of females who were killed to 318.

On the other hand, the number of pedestrians killed recorded a 7.16% decline from 397 in the first quarter of 2018 to 378 in the same period of 2019.

1,503 Pedestrians knocked down

The number of pedestrians knocked down also dropped from 1,619 in the same period last year to 1,503 this year.

The data indicates that the number of persons injured recorded a 15.5% jump, increasing from 6,689 in the first half of last year to 7,043 in the same period in 2019.

More details;https://www.paxexlive.com/thread/an-entire-family-is-wiped-out-a-day-in-road-crashes

The General Overseer of the Charismatic Evangelistic Ministry (CEM) in Accra, Rev. Steve Mensah, one of Ghana’s renowned evangelists recognized for his immense charity works in Ghana and beyond, has taken one of the boldest steps by launching a project to accommodate and support thousands and persons living with disability in Ghana.

Over the weekend, hundreds of Ghanaians converged on the Charismatic Evangelistic Ministry to witness the official unveiling of the church’s audacious plan by to build what it calls the ‘Ability Village’ on a 2,000-acre land size at Ningo in the Greater Accra Region.

The unveiling comes three years after the General Overseer of the Charismatic Evangelistic Ministry, Reverend Steve Mensah, the passionate philanthropist and partners, launched its flagship program Dubbed ‘Day of Help’ in Accra.

The ‘Day of Help’ program over the years has seen the church and its partners providing Persons Living with Disability some support to get them going.

On the 27th of August 2016, Persons Living with Disability converged on the independence square to receive Free Medical Care, Food Supplies, Clothes, Home supplies and many more. A similar event was held at the same venue in 2017, and in 2018 the Day of Help program was organized in Tamale in the Northern region.It has been the long-standing dream of Rev. Steve Mensah to expand the help given to Persons Living with Disability to a more strategic and long-term solution. This led him to envision a community where Persons living with Disability get to live in decency among other things.

The launch of CEM Ability Village has been in the plans of CEM for the past three years, and those who attended the event were excited and marveled about the size and scale of the dream and what it will take to achieve it.

The Project

The first phase of the CEM Ability village is estimated at $85 million; and will be a community which provides Persons with Disability with Free and/or heavily subsidized medical care, education, vocational training, housing and many more.

Speaking at the event, the Chairman of the Ghana National Council for Persons Living with Disability, Mr. Yaw Debrah, was full of praise for Reverend Steve and the church and indicated the commitment of the council to support the project through to its execution.

He called on well-meaning Ghanaians to reach out to support persons with disability and the project.

On her part, Ms. Farida Bedwei, a Ghanaian software engineer and co-founder of Logiciel, a fin-tech company in Ghana, charged the state to stop ticking boxes in its approach to dealing with issues relating to Persons with Disability.
She stressed the point that Persons living with Disability have a lot to offer if the right environment is created for them.Getting this right will take more than understanding the plight of PWDs; it will require the financial and non-financial support of both the state and the private sector” she said.

The occasion was also attended by the Minister of State in charge of Gender, Children and Social protection, Cynthia Morrison. The Minister, who doubles as the Member of Parliament for the Agona West Constituency charged parents dealing with Children living with Disability to be guided by faith, knowing that a lot can be done by each individual despite the challenges.

She said government was committed to ensuring that persons living with Disability are given the needed help to make life better for them and for society.

Former President John Mahama, who assisted in the launch of the project, encouraged Ghanaians to support Persons with Disability, indicating that Persons living with disability are to be supported and not pitied.

He stated his willingness to support the idea and the vision of Reverend Steve Mensah to create a modern community for Persons with Disability.

Reverend Steve Mensah reiterated his commitment to supporting Persons living with disability.

In an emotional message, he charged the church and the government to ensure that no one was left behind, and used the occasion to invite the investor community, private companies, charity organisations and NGOs to join hands with CEM to ensure that the vision sees the light of day.

More details;https://www.paxexlive.com/thread/rev-steve-mensah-cem-to-build-2-000-acre-ability-village-for-pwds

This is being written with a heavy heart and sorrow. This may very well be a dirge for Nigeria!

Nigerians are rapidly, quickly and speedily driving Nigeria towards an epochal cliff and precipice to happily fall to oblivion!

Nigerians, many of them, are currently doing everything illogically possible to make Nigeria become what Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, Libya and Syria have become in recent years; quickly sadly, sadly in the most extreme sense.

Any reasonable human being would have thought that Nigerians, upon being familiar with the dire human conditions which have persisted in Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, Syria, Libya and the Central African Republic in recent history, would do, all, any, and every, thing, to avoid a repeat in Nigeria, the cataclysmic events which led to the continuing catastrophes and tragedies in these aforementioned failed nations!

Too many Nigerians are unwittingly asking for the sorts of genocides which took place in Rwanda and Darfur Sudan, some two decades ago. These Nigerians are literally begging for genocidal horrors, brutalities, anarchy, civil war and the ultimate disintegration of Nigeria, while pretending not to see the consequences and unintended consequences of their pronouncements and actions?

Nigerians and Nigeria are (not merely sleepwalking), but sleep-sprinting towards a free-fall-off, of the face of the earth!

The Rwandan genocide will be a seeming picnic or child's play, in comparison to the looming genocide, horrors, brutalities, anarchy, war and disintegration which may consume Nigeria

When, as it happens, a crime is committed against a Nigerian, a group of Nigerians from the ethnic group of the victim of crime, picks at random, a person from the ethnic group of the ALLEGED perpetrator(s)'s ethnic group, and cavalierly slaughters him, without care for law, due process and certainty of guilt, then, such a society is begging for genocide!

The Rwandan genocide of 1994 was consequent upon ethnic hatred, and killings and revenge, vendetta and reprisal killings which consumed thousands of Hutus and Tutsis! There were no winners in the aftermath of the ethnic bloodbath in Rwanda!

Quite unfortunately and disgustingly, like play, like play as Nigerians say in local parlance, Nigerians are excitedly demanding and insisting on repeating the Hutus and Tutsis barbarically disgusting blood bath festivals of killings, whether to see and determine, what group of Nigerians can slaughter the other group more?

Nigerians are, on a daily basis, engaging in appallingly reprehensible, repugnant and unjust ethnic bashing, ethnic demonization, ethnic stereotyping and ethnic stigmatization of the Fulani ethnic group, without circumspection or reflection.

Nigerians are behaving like unreasoned drunks in their haste to cast aspersions on the Fulani ethnic group, in hasty generalizations, in which all Fulani are lumped together as guilty for all kidnappings, robberies and sundry insecurities, which are occurring nationwide in Nigeria, while making President Muhammadu Buhari as the poster-boy of Fulani criminalities, as an enabler, protector and patron, all at once!
All of these, because of the Fulani are Fulani and President Muhammadu Buhari is himself, a Fulani!It must be a tough time to be a Fulani in Nigeria and in the world!
But why are thousands of Nigerians engaging in these group think? Why are thousands of Nigerians indulging in this dangerous herd’s mentality? Forgive me for the pun that fit! But, the truth is my witness, there is so much group-think or herds mentality currently going on in Nigeria, unbridled, and unmitigated!

It is nonsensical magical thinking by the thousands of Nigerians, perhaps millions? of Nigerians who appear to live in alternate universe who are adamant in insisting on their claimed knowledge of Fulani involvement and or absolute ownership of Nigeria's current widespread kidnappings, armed robberies, criminalities and nationwide insecurities, and yet, same multitudes are unable to pinpoint and or lead police and other law enforcement agencies to these notoriously vicious Fulani Herdsmen....

The next day, the next week and the next month, these same fraudulent and disingenuous narratives are repeated by Nigerian politicians, pastors, journalists and even some Nigerians in law enforcement agencies, without sanctions or consequences for false accusations of crimes, heinous crimes, carte blanche against the Fulani!

There is a call by former President Olusegun Obasanjo for a National Conference to discuss pervasive, pervading and spiraling-sprawling insecurities nationwide. Really? What is the job description of our politicians in the National Assembly? Why can't Senators and the House of Representatives members discuss this Urgent Matter of National Importance? What is the job of the National Council of States? What is the job of the President and the Governors' Forum? Constitutional amendments are all it takes! It is revealed that the just sworn in senators and house of representatives members have, upon arriving in Abuja at the National Assembly, received a so-called "welcome package" of 35 and 25 million Naira respectively, but cannot debate and solve Nigeria's presently overwhelming nationwide insecurities?

Henceforth, any Nigerian, private citizen or public official, who reports crime, with ethnic variable or ethnic colorations must be required to report details of such ethnic characteristics leading to the conclusions, as such, that the perpetrator(s) is adequately, accurately and properly described.Nigerians should join me, in tasking our national government, states and local government officials to give Police, Army, Navy, Air Force, State Security Service, Nigerian Civil Defense Service etc the equipment, money and all the resources to enforce our laws objectively.

Nigerians need to put the collective feet of these Law Enforcement Agencies to the fire! We need to demand and insist, as an extremely urgent manner, the matter of national insecurities, which has now assumed an existential threat to Nigerian continued existence as a single corporate sovereign entity nation state!

Nigerian Security Apparatuses should be given all the resources they need, and then, be tasked with solving our national insecurities and promptly. Nigerian governments at all levels, should monitor performance and outcomes of Nigerian Law Enforcement Agencies with rewards, and or punishments accordingly.

The Nigerian landscape is currently littered with a million roadblocks, police obstacle courses at every mile, and yet, there are kidnappings everywhere!

It is one of two things, the police officers have allowed themselves to be distracted and detracted from their official functions, with their underpaid, ragtag outfits or, our police officers are in conspiracies, connivance and collusions outright with kidnappers, armed robbers and sundry purveyors of our current national insecurities nationwide!

Commissioners of Police and Divisional Police Officers should be held accountable, punished or rewarded for effectiveness and efficiencies or absences of same, in their command or areas and jurisdictions of authority.

It is the case that, presently, policing in Nigeria is hodgepodge and nonsensically reliant on over politicizations and manipulations by local thieving and thuggish politicians. Nigerians are aware of some pastors that have police officers escorting them to church and journeys to extramarital rendezvous, instead of law activities in the communities!

Community policing is certainly not police officers in uniforms, with guns and tear gas etc holding umbrellas over the heads of pastors, to shield from rains or sunlight! Nigerians have given Nigerian police free-rides, Nigerians have given our police plentiful get-out-of-jail-cards!

Our police should solve crimes and not give us excuses, and we must STOP giving our police excuses and cover, with pointing fingers at easy or political targets! Nigerians must view all kidnappers, armed robbers and fraudsters with equal displeasure and disdain! Criminals are CRIMINALS .They are not Igbos, Yoruba, Tiv, Kanuri, Esan or Urhobo!

Though state governors are the so-called Chief Security Officers of a given state, they appear to exploit police operations as an intimidation tool, and when and where that is not the case, some state governors are in constant battles and conflicts with police commands in the state governed by such a governor.

One of the old arguments against the establishment of state police in Nigeria, was that, such state police might be misused by the local politicians and might be ethnicized. This would be problematic in a multiparty system. The Nigeria Police force is presently all these, despite the federalization or federal status of Nigeria Police!

The American model, after which the Nigerian democracy and constitutionalism is modeled, has multilayered policing practiced to the letter! Every local government, known as County, has its' police. There are State Police or Troopers, then, Highway Police, followed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation or FBI. Furthermore, there is the Bureau of Firearms and Tobacco, ther presidential protection force known as the Secret Service, then, there is the Postal Police of the United States Postal Service.

In New York State for instance, you will find, the above named United States policing departments, and in addition, New York State Troopers and Highways Police, New York Police Department with policing limited to only the 9 million citizens of New York City, as opposed to the 20.4 million citizens of the entire state of New York with localized police departments in all counties or local governments.

New York City also maintains a branch of the New York Police Department (NYPD) which is dedicated solely to housing, known as Housing Police, and yet, another branch of the NYPD which is dedicated solely to policing in the trains or Mass Transit systems, which includes the Subways and surface train lines and buses.

A nation without law and order, a nation with multiple levels of insecurity, cannot expect economic development. A nation with these plethora or myriad insecurities fosters underdevelopment.

Nigerians cannot expect economic development and prosperity, in the midst of a million security uncertainties. Nigeria cannot receive investments from Nigerians at home or abroad, or from so-called Foreign Direct Investors as the profound absence of public infrastructures and basic amenities such as electricity and water, roads, bridges, trains and airports are compounded by kidnappings and robberies.

No investors or tourists will consider kidnappings and armed robberies as attractions or magnets. In fact, a majority of Nigerians are afraid of travels within Nigeria. In view of such clear and present danger in Nigeria to Nigerians, how can Nigeria hope to make these multiple variables of negative factors be considered inviting to a-would-be investor or tourist in Nigeria?

Nigerians and Nigeria are minutely starring at looming anarchy, war, disintegration brought about by plentiful insecurities nationwide. There is still time to wake up, there may be no tomorrow!

Police officials must be required to find lawbreakers and criminals and solve criminal activities. The police must cease and desist labeling any ethnic group as responsible for particular crime or types of crimes.

The Nigerian Press, electronic, print and social media journalists must be required to restrain themselves from giving ethnic labels to any crime or particular sets of crimes, as a crime committed solely or mostly by a particular ethnic group.

Furthermore, all Nigerian private citizens, public officials, police officers and journalists in traditional, and, or social media, will be subject to sanctions and punishment(s) if and when the mentioned categories of persons, or class of persons refer to Nigerians accused of crime(s) with ethnic or linguistic appellations or togas.

More details;https://www.paxexlive.com/thread/nigeria-s-looming-genocidal-horrors-brutalities-anarchy-and-war

Ugandan police arrested celebrity musician-turned-politician Bobi Wine after he was charged over his role in a street protest last year against a tax on social media.

Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, was charged with holding an illegal public assembly and detained on Monday at Naggalama police station, about 30km east of the capital, according to a police statement.

Police spokesman Fred Enanga said Kyagulanyi led the protest in Kampala in July 2018 without prior police authorisation.

He is with the police and investigations are on," he told AFP news agency.

Asuman Basalirwa, one of Kyagulanyi's lawyers, said his client was arrested after he answered a summons to the Criminal Investigations Directorate.

This time we have not been informed why he has been detained," he added.

Kyagulanyi, who entered parliament in 2017, had been under house arrest in Kampala since Easter Monday when police officers blocked his way when he tried to leave for a concert at his nightclub.

Last week, police spokesman Enanga described the situation as a "preventive arrest" imposed when the authorities decide someone is about to commit a crime.

The cancellation by the authorities of one his performances last week led to clashes between opposition supporters and baton-wielding police who also fired tear gas.

The 37-year-old opposition MP, who has said he plans to run for president in elections in 2021, has since called for mass protests.

Vocal presence
Kyagulanyi has built a large youth following through his criticism of Uganda's long-time leader President Yoweri Museveni - who has been in power for 32 years - both in parliament and through his music.

The rapper made international headlines after an arrest last year and alleged torture by Ugandan security forces in detention. The government denies the accusations.

On August 14, Kyagulanyi was arrested and chargedwith treason for allegedly throwing stones at Museveni's presidential motorcade during a by-election campaign.

After being released on bail nearly two weeks later, Kyagulanyi was re-arrested in September while trying to leave the country to seek medical treatment in the United States for his injuries.

Eventually, Kyagulanyi was released and allowed to travel to Washington, DC, to be treated in hospital.

Kyagulanyi is the figurehead of a new generation who grew up under Museveni but want to see change. His anti-government songs have helped win him a significant following

More details; https://www.paxexlive.com/thread/bobi-wine-arrested-again

The eight suspects, who were recently nabbed in connection with the kidnapping of two Canadian ladies in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, returned to the city where they were captured recently.

The suspected kidnappers, including Seidu Abubakari, aka Mba, believed to be a ring leader, were in the city in the company of heavily armed police investigators from Accra to ‘recreate’ the crime scene.

The other suspected kidnappers are Sampson Aghalor, Elvis Ojijorwe, Jeff Omarsar, Yussif Yakubu, Abdul Nasir, Safianu Abubakari and Abdul Rahman.They were in Kumasi for what we call in police as ‘Search Without Warrant’,” a source disclosed to DAILY GUIDE.

The source also disclosed that the suspects stayed in Kumasi for two days (Wednesday and Thursday) and as part of investigations into the kidnapping of the Canadians who have since flown back to their home country after their dramatic rescue.Kidnapping Hideout

The eight kidnappers were reportedly marched to the uncompleted two-bed room house at Kenyasi Achiase, where they kept the victims for several days.

The top police investigators were said to have asked the eight suspects key questions, especially regarding how they brought the hapless ladies to the place.

The suspects, according to reports, were also asked about how they managed to force the girls into a waiting Uber car at Nhyiaeso and sped off to Kenyasi Achiase for hiding.

Rooms Searched

The investigators were also said to have visited the various homes of all the suspects, where they thoroughly searched their rooms for evidence.

The investigators visited places like Sawaba, Dichemso, Asokore Mampong and a hostel at Sawaba Junction where the suspects were residing.
Seidu Rents 5 Rooms

In the course of the search, it came to the attention of the investigators that Seidu Abubakari had rented five different rooms at different locations in Kumasi at the same time.

They then marched him to all the five rented rooms in the city and searched the places thoroughly without anybody knowing about it.

For security reasons, the source did not disclose as to whether the investigators managed to retrieve any offensive or illegal item during the ‘Search Without Warrant’ operation.

Kidnappers Back In Accra

The eight suspected kidnappers were taken back to Accra on Thursday evening to continue with investigations in the case which had gained worldwide attention.

More details: https://www.paxexlive.com/thread/canadian-girls-kidnappers-storm-kumasi

It was once “strictly 4 Madonna.” But now, a handwritten apology letter that Tupac Shakur wrote the Material Girl a year before his death is going to auction.

Two years ago, Madonna attempted to stop its sale when she told a judge that her celebrity “does not obviate my right to maintain my privacy.” An appeals court overturned that injunction last month. The letter is headed to the auction block on July 17th with bids starting at $100,000. Auctioneer Gotta Have Rock and Roll estimates it will go for between $200,000 to $300,000 even though scans of it have been floating around the Internet for years

The three-page letter, dated January 15th, 1995 — a year and change before he was fatally shot — he apologized to the singer for not being “the kind of friend I know I am capable of being.” The artists dated briefly in the Nineties, though they kept it secret; in 2015, Madonna said that Shakur had riled her up before a shocking 1994 appearance on David Letterman so she was “feeling very gangster” when she said the word “Bleep” 13 times on air. But they kept their relationship secret. In the letter, Shakur wrote that he felt uncomfortable being seen with a white woman because he “would be letting down half of the people who made [him] what [he] thought [he] was,” whereas dating a black man would help her career. He wrote that he also took umbrage to her allegedly saying it was her job to “rehabilitate ll the rappers and basketball players.”

“Those words cut me deep seeing how I had never known you to be with any rappers besides myself,” he wrote. “It was at this moment out of hurt and a natural instinct to strike back and defend my heart and ego that I said a lot of things I have since come to regret.” He followed that by writing that he had “grown spiritually and mentally” since then.

Part of the reason he wrote the note was because he wanted to tell her how he felt “in case anything happened 2 me.” He added that “everyone is not as honorable as they seem … let my five bullets be proof of that.”
In July 2017, a judge stopped the sale of the letter and 21 other items after Madonna filed an emergency court order. Bidding on the letter had reached $100,000 by that point. In her filing, she wrote that she wasn’t aware that the letter and other potential auction items were out of her possession; much of the auction had been donated by her former personal assistant, Darlene Lutz. In April 2018, a judge ruled in favor of the auction house, saying that Madonna should have known Lutz was in possession of things like the letter and didn’t make any attempt to stop the auction before it had begun. That ruling was upheld the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court on June 4th of this year, according to the auction house.

US actor physically assaulting underage girl and posted video on instagram .


The LAPD has opened an investigation into actor and influencer Ray Diaz after disturbing videos appeared to show him verbally and physically assaulting an underage girl, who were allegedly dating at the time.

On July 5, a disturbing clip was posted to 17-year-old Angelica Salek's Instagram account featuring a man alleged to be Diaz, who has 3.1 million followers on Instagram alone.


In the video, the man can be heard screaming, threatening Salek with violence, and hitting her. The clip was deleted, but it's since been reuploaded to other social media accounts, including by YouTuber Keemstar on his most recent DramaAlert episode.



youtube.com

In the episode, Keemstar also included a lengthy interview with Salek, who said she was emotionally and physically abused in what she called a yearlong relationship with Diaz. She began dating the YouTuber when she was 16.


"I was just so scared always because he would yell at me always," she said. " ... It was my fault if somebody would ever have any suspicions that him and I were dating. He would yell at me for hours."
She also described a recent incident on July 3 when Diaz forced her to hide in his bed's box spring when police arrived searching for her.

"I had to be quiet and not make a sound," she said.

On July 6, Diaz responded to the release of the first video, claiming that he and Salek were simply "acting."

"It was fake. It is acting lessons, and it does sound crazy, but it is an acting bar," he told TheHollywoodFix.com during a recorded FaceTime interview. "It's something you learn in acting class if you studied in New York City. It's just screaming and yelling, and I do this before every single audition with Angelica just to get the juice flowing — the emotions flowing."



TheHollywoodFix.com / DramaAlert / YouTube

Salek later told Keemstar that she was coached by Diaz to go along with this narrative when she posted a video to Twitter. She said she was coerced to lie and tell everyone that her mom had stolen the clip from her phone and posted it publicly to manipulate the situation.

"That was a lie that Ray and I made up to try to cover the situation. It was real," she said. "It was such a tough situation because I wanted to help him and I was feeling guilty, and I didn't know what to do in the situation."

She said she has since filed a restraining order against Diaz. BuzzFeed News has reached out to Salek.
On Thursday, a member of the DramaAlert team posted another clip of the two to social media, this time stating the footage had leaked.

In the video, a man purported to be Diaz is heard calling Salek a "bad person." He threatens to punch her and tells her to "kill [her]self" and "die."

Salek is heard crying as he continues to violently berate her.

Over the past week, people online have expressed worry and support for Salek. On her Instagram she said she's "home safe," but some are not fully convinced.

Some are commenting and advising people to remain "skeptical" in the event that Diaz still has control over her life and social media accounts.



instagram.com

Salek told Keemstar she wants justice for Diaz's actions.

"I hope and pray that something does happen here, that he does get put away. I don't want this to happen to any other girl," she said.


On Friday, the LAPD announced via Twitter that it is "aware of several social media posts related to a social media personality, alleging physical abuse and sexual relations with a minor."

"We take these allegations seriously. Currently, the department has directed a group of investigators to look into these allegations," the LAPD tweeted. A commanding officer of the department told BuzzFeed News it has no further comment or updates at this time.

Neither Diaz nor his team responded to a request for comment from BuzzFeed News. He has since privatized his Instagram account.

Indonesia's Moluccas islands have been hit by a series of aftershocks after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake killed at least two people, prompting hundreds of people to flee their homes.

The United States Geological Survey said Sunday's quake was centred 166km southeast of Ternate, the capital of North Maluku province, at a depth of just 10km. Shallow tremors tend to cause more damage than deeper one.

Agus Wibowo, spokesman for Indonesia's national disaster agency, said on Monday two women were killed by collapsing houses and more than 2,000 people had relocated to temporary shelters. The earthquake was followed by at least 65 smaller aftershocks.

The hardest-hit areas, Sofifi and Labuha, can only be accessed by a 10-hour boat trip from Ternate or by small plane, Wibowo said.
"We don't wish for more victims, but we cannot rule out that possibility since access to the area is difficult and we cannot yet collect all the data regarding casualties," Wibobo told reporters in the capital, Jakarta.

Even though the authorities said there was no risk of a tsunami, many people ran to higher ground, and television footage showed panicked residents screaming while running out of a shopping centre in Ternate.

Ikhsan Subur, a local disaster agency official in Labuha, the town closest to the earthquake's epicentre, said several hundred people who were afraid of aftershocks took shelter in government offices and mosques.

He said a police dormitory and several houses of villagers in South Halmahera district were damaged.

With a population of around one million, North Maluku is one of the less populated areas in Indonesia, a country of more than 260 million people that is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location along the Pacific "Ring of Fire".

A powerful Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in 2004 killed a total of 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Indonesia.

Last week, a magnitude 6.9 undersea earthquake caused panic in parts of eastern Indonesia and triggered a tsunami warning

https://www.paxexlive.com/thread/earthquake-hits-indonesia

According to the latest health ministry figures, issued on Saturday, 1,655 people have died from the notorious haemorrhagic virus since August 1 last year, when the disease broke out in North Kivu and spread to neighbouring Ituri.

Nearly 700 people have been cured, and more than 160,000 been vaccinated.

The Goma patient is a Christian pastor who had preached at a church in another town, Butembo, where he would have touched worshippers "including the sick", the health ministry said Sunday.

His symptoms first surfaced last Tuesday.

The preacher on Friday took a bus from Butembo, one of the towns hardest hit by the outbreak, and arrived two days later in Goma where "the results of the laboratory test confirmed that he was positive for Ebola", the ministry said.

"Given that the patient was quickly identified, as well as all the passengers on the bus from Butembo, the risk of the disease spreading in the city of Goma is low," it added.

The pastor was swiftly taken back to Butembo, about 300 kilometres (180 miles) from Goma, the governor added.

The other passengers on the bus, 18 in all, and the driver will be vaccinated against Ebola on Monday, said the ministry, urging the population of one of Africa's largest countries to "keep calm".

The United Nations was convening a "high-level event" in Geneva on Monday to discuss response and preparedness for the Ebola outbreak.

It will be attended by government ministers from the DR Congo and Britain, senior officials of the World Bank, the World Health Organization (WHO), and other UN agencies.

Last month, the WHO said the outbreak did not qualify as an international threat -- a category that significantly ramps up global response to a contagious disease.

Its decision took into account cases of infection that surfaced in Uganda among a family that had travelled to eastern DR Congo to see a relative stricken with Ebola.

https://www.paxexlive.com/thread/pastor-brings-ebola-back-to-africa