₦airaland Forum

It was a mild drama on Sunday, the 11th December as a marine turtle was caught by the local fishermen at the 'Point Of No Return', a popular tourist attraction beach in Badagry, Lagos. The turtle was then sold to female handlers who loaded huddled onto motorcycle for onward transportation to a fish market in the town an have it sold for consumption.
Seeing how much this beautiful Olive Ridley turtle "meat" (as it's been referred to by the locals) had suffered in the hands of the handlers and subsequently sold as delicacy.
@metropolexpress publisher, Segun Adebiyi who was at the scene of the event pleaded that the reptile be released to it natural habitat, Adebiyi explained the need to preserve these special creatures to prevent their extinction. After much negotiation pleading and bargaining, Adebiyi paid N25,000 to have the creature returned to the ocean.
But the fishermen insisted in catching the turtle again immediately after it's released to the ocean it had been brought, it then belong to them again, to which the purpose of buying the special specie would have been defeated.
Realizing the fishermen were not ready to shift ground, the turtle had to be transported in a car to another nearby Sultan beach, there another drama erupted as the beach boys and the community boys prevented Adebiyi and his team from releasing the turtle into the ocean.
Again, N5,000 was given to the boys before the creature was allowed to return back home where it belongs. The most rewarding moment was to see turtle as it swam back to the ocean.
Sea turtles are generally found in the waters over continental shelves. During the first three to five years of life, sea turtles spend most of their time in the pelagic zone floating in seaweed mats.
Green sea turtles in particular are often found in Sargassum mats,in which they find shelter and food. Once the sea turtle has reached adulthood it moves closer to the shore. Females will come ashore to lay their eggs on sandy beaches during the nesting season.
Human activities have tipped the scales against the survival of these ancient mariners. Nearly all species of sea turtle are classified as Endangered. Slaughtered for their eggs, meat, skin and shells, sea turtles suffer from poaching and over-exploitation.
They also face habitat destruction and accidental capture in fishing gear. Climate change has an impact on turtle nesting sites.
It alters sand temperatures, which then affects the sex of hatchlings.

http://metropolexpress.com/news/item/7942-publisher

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Every African following events will agree that President Mugabe is one of the funniest World Leader today. Following what he was quoted to have said about Zimbabwe's Olympic Team. I opened this thread for readers to post one quote theyknow from Mugabe, here's mine.


http://metropolexpress.com/component/k2/item/7422-mugabe-orders-police-to-arrest-olympians-on-arrival-in-harare-the-rats

The time you have today will not always be there. Time is transient and it’s one of the true luxuries you can have; once lost, you cannot recover it back. Don't wait till when you are old and far spent. Follow your dream, pursue your purpose and serve the Lord with your heart and strength. Stop the excuses. It is not about having time, it is about making time. If it is important, you will make time. Time is free but yet it is priceless. You cannot own time but you can use it thus, use it wisely. Don’t wait until regrets sets in.

An old dying man was taken to the hospital and got into a conversation with his doctor: “Doctor,” he called. “Don’t worry. I know I am going to die. I didn’t want to come here but they brought me here.

Please don’t worry about me, look at my hair, they are gone. I am so old but you are so young. I have learnt a lot from life, if you don’t mind I will tell you some of them before I die.

When I was 4 years, I use to think the world is about me. When I turned 14, I wanted to rule the world. I thought I would be the greatest man that ever lived. When I was 21, I wanted to be the richest man, when I was 25, I wanted to find love, when I was 40, I wanted to be helpful to everyone.

Now that I am here, I want to die. You see, I wanted so many things at so many times. Most importantly, I wanted to be happy. I thought the best way to be happy is to listen to others. When I wanted to enter the University, I wanted to study Zoology but everyone said I should study Engineering that I will be a great Engineer. So I listened to them. I had no one to pay my fees, I had to work and also pay my fees.

In my third year, I couldn’t cope with my studies, I had to drop. When I dropped, the same people told me "you should have studied Zoology"! When I turned 28, everyone said I should marry. That I needed a wife. So I listened to them, I got married. 6 years into the marriage, I caught my wife sleeping with my neighbor. I asked her why and she slapped me. I was angry and didn’t say anything. The next day I returned from work, she had run away with my children, now I am dying a lonely man. At 40, I got a huge contract. My name was in the news. The next day, all my friends and families were at my house, everyone had a serious problem.

Within one week, I spent all the money on them with the promise that they will pay back. I could not complete the contract because they refused to return the money as promised. So I was sent to jail for 6 years. I stayed in jail and I came out. When I came out, they were nowhere. There was one mistake I made through all this time. Now it is clear to me. Let me tell you about it. I refused to listen to myself. I ignored my own self and listen to others. Now that I am here, the only person that is with me is I.”

Let me make it clear, there is nothing wrong in listening to others but this you must do with the right kind of people. It is wise to seek right counsel but it is very dangerous to ignore your own self. It is very dangerous to refuse to pay attention to your heart.

Take out time, sit down, Close your eyes if you want or open it if you choose, then talk to yourself, reason with yourself. You can walk down the road alone and as you walk, begin to talk to yourself. The only person that can overrule you is God, after God, listen to yourself next. Don’t let the robbers of time and destiny put a lid over your life.

God has made the provision; you can be all that He has created you to be. Your life is a result of your choices. Make the right choice and with the help of the Lord you will experience the glory of the Lord in the land of the living. Do what you love to do and if God gives you a second chance at something please don’t waste again.

God bless you big.
http://metropolexpress.com/more/opinion/item/7062-the-fluidity-of-time-from-gbenga-owotoki-florida-usa

The time you have today will not always be there. Time is transient and it’s one of the true luxuries you can have; once lost, you cannot recover it back. Don't wait till when you are old and far spent. Follow your dream, pursue your purpose and serve the Lord with your heart and strength. Stop the excuses. It is not about having time, it is about making time. If it is important, you will make time. Time is free but yet it is priceless. You cannot own time but you can use it thus, use it wisely. Don’t wait until regrets sets in.

An old dying man was taken to the hospital and got into a conversation with his doctor: “Doctor,” he called. “Don’t worry. I know I am going to die. I didn’t want to come here but they brought me here.

Please don’t worry about me, look at my hair, they are gone. I am so old but you are so young. I have learnt a lot from life, if you don’t mind I will tell you some of them before I die.

When I was 4 years, I use to think the world is about me. When I turned 14, I wanted to rule the world. I thought I would be the greatest man that ever lived. When I was 21, I wanted to be the richest man, when I was 25, I wanted to find love, when I was 40, I wanted to be helpful to everyone.

Now that I am here, I want to die. You see, I wanted so many things at so many times. Most importantly, I wanted to be happy. I thought the best way to be happy is to listen to others. When I wanted to enter the University, I wanted to study Zoology but everyone said I should study Engineering that I will be a great Engineer. So I listened to them. I had no one to pay my fees, I had to work and also pay my fees.

In my third year, I couldn’t cope with my studies, I had to drop. When I dropped, the same people told me "you should have studied Zoology"! When I turned 28, everyone said I should marry. That I needed a wife. So I listened to them, I got married. 6 years into the marriage, I caught my wife sleeping with my neighbor. I asked her why and she slapped me. I was angry and didn’t say anything. The next day I returned from work, she had run away with my children, now I am dying a lonely man. At 40, I got a huge contract. My name was in the news. The next day, all my friends and families were at my house, everyone had a serious problem.

Within one week, I spent all the money on them with the promise that they will pay back. I could not complete the contract because they refused to return the money as promised. So I was sent to jail for 6 years. I stayed in jail and I came out. When I came out, they were nowhere. There was one mistake I made through all this time. Now it is clear to me. Let me tell you about it. I refused to listen to myself. I ignored my own self and listen to others. Now that I am here, the only person that is with me is I.”

Let me make it clear, there is nothing wrong in listening to others but this you must do with the right kind of people. It is wise to seek right counsel but it is very dangerous to ignore your own self. It is very dangerous to refuse to pay attention to your heart.

Take out time, sit down, Close your eyes if you want or open it if you choose, then talk to yourself, reason with yourself. You can walk down the road alone and as you walk, begin to talk to yourself. The only person that can overrule you is God, after God, listen to yourself next. Don’t let the robbers of time and destiny put a lid over your life.

God has made the provision; you can be all that He has created you to be. Your life is a result of your choices. Make the right choice and with the help of the Lord you will experience the glory of the Lord in the land of the living. Do what you love to do and if God gives you a second chance at something please don’t waste again.

God bless you big.
http://metropolexpress.com/more/opinion/item/7062-the-fluidity-of-time-from-gbenga-owotoki-florida-usa

The time you have today will not always be there. Time is transient and it’s one of the true luxuries you can have; once lost, you cannot recover it back. Don't wait till when you are old and far spent. Follow your dream, pursue your purpose and serve the Lord with your heart and strength. Stop the excuses. It is not about having time, it is about making time. If it is important, you will make time. Time is free but yet it is priceless. You cannot own time but you can use it thus, use it wisely. Don’t wait until regrets sets in.

An old dying man was taken to the hospital and got into a conversation with his doctor: “Doctor,” he called. “Don’t worry. I know I am going to die. I didn’t want to come here but they brought me here.

Please don’t worry about me, look at my hair, they are gone. I am so old but you are so young. I have learnt a lot from life, if you don’t mind I will tell you some of them before I die.

When I was 4 years, I use to think the world is about me. When I turned 14, I wanted to rule the world. I thought I would be the greatest man that ever lived. When I was 21, I wanted to be the richest man, when I was 25, I wanted to find love, when I was 40, I wanted to be helpful to everyone.

Now that I am here, I want to die. You see, I wanted so many things at so many times. Most importantly, I wanted to be happy. I thought the best way to be happy is to listen to others. When I wanted to enter the University, I wanted to study Zoology but everyone said I should study Engineering that I will be a great Engineer. So I listened to them. I had no one to pay my fees, I had to work and also pay my fees.

In my third year, I couldn’t cope with my studies, I had to drop. When I dropped, the same people told me "you should have studied Zoology"! When I turned 28, everyone said I should marry. That I needed a wife. So I listened to them, I got married. 6 years into the marriage, I caught my wife sleeping with my neighbor. I asked her why and she slapped me. I was angry and didn’t say anything. The next day I returned from work, she had run away with my children, now I am dying a lonely man. At 40, I got a huge contract. My name was in the news. The next day, all my friends and families were at my house, everyone had a serious problem.

Within one week, I spent all the money on them with the promise that they will pay back. I could not complete the contract because they refused to return the money as promised. So I was sent to jail for 6 years. I stayed in jail and I came out. When I came out, they were nowhere. There was one mistake I made through all this time. Now it is clear to me. Let me tell you about it. I refused to listen to myself. I ignored my own self and listen to others. Now that I am here, the only person that is with me is I.”

Let me make it clear, there is nothing wrong in listening to others but this you must do with the right kind of people. It is wise to seek right counsel but it is very dangerous to ignore your own self. It is very dangerous to refuse to pay attention to your heart.

Take out time, sit down, Close your eyes if you want or open it if you choose, then talk to yourself, reason with yourself. You can walk down the road alone and as you walk, begin to talk to yourself. The only person that can overrule you is God, after God, listen to yourself next. Don’t let the robbers of time and destiny put a lid over your life.

God has made the provision; you can be all that He has created you to be. Your life is a result of your choices. Make the right choice and with the help of the Lord you will experience the glory of the Lord in the land of the living. Do what you love to do and if God gives you a second chance at something please don’t waste again.

God bless you big.
http://metropolexpress.com/more/opinion/item/7062-the-fluidity-of-time-from-gbenga-owotoki-florida-usa

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Solar power on Chile’s central grid quadrupled since 2013

Chile’s solar industry has expanded so quickly that it’s giving electricity away for free.

Spot prices reached zero in parts of the country on 113 days through April, a number that’s on track to beat last year’s total of 192 days, according to Chile’s central grid operator. While that may be good for consumers, it’s bad news for companies that own power plants struggling to generate revenue and developers seeking financing for new facilities.

The main culprit is the northern part of the country, in the Atacama desert. Chile’s increasing energy demand, pushed by booming mine production and economic growth, helped spur the development of 29 solar farms, with another 15 planned, on the country’s central power grid. Now the nation faces slowing demand for energy as copper production slows amid a global glut, and those power plants are oversupplying a region that lacks transmission lines to distribute the electricity elsewhere.

“Investors are losing money,” said Rafael Mateo, chief executive officer of Acciona SA’s energy unit, which is investing $343 million in a 247-megawatt project in the region that will be one of Latin America’s largest. “Growth was disordered. You can’t have so many developers in the same place.”

A key issue is that Chile has two main power networks, the central grid and the northern grid, which aren’t connected to each other. There are also areas within the grids that lack adequate transmission capacity.

That means one region can have too much power, driving down prices because the surplus can’t be delivered to other parts of the country, according to Carlos Barria, former chief of the government’s renewable-energy division and a professor at Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, in Santiago.

Inadequate Infrastructure
The government is working to address this issue, with plans to build a 3,000-kilometer (1,865-mile) transmission line to link the the two grids by 2017. It’s also developing a 753-kilometer line to address congestion on the northern parts of the central grid, the region where power surpluses are driving prices to zero.

“Chile has at least seven or eight points in the transmission lines that are collapsed and blocked, and we have an enormous challenge to bypass the choke points,” Energy Minister Maximo Pacheco said in an interview in Santiago. “When you embark on a path of growth and development like the one we’ve had, you obviously can see issues arising.”

Solar Growth
Solar capacity on Chile’s central power grid, known as SIC, has more than quadrupled to 770 megawatts since 2013. Much of that comes from the grid’s northern sections, the Atacama region that’s home to the copper industry. Total installed capacity increased 5 percent in the past year, with half coming from solar farms, according to the grid operator, Cdecsic. SIC supplies power to the regions where 90 percent of the country’s residential demand is located.

The country is expected to install almost 1.4 gigawatts of solar power this year, up from 371 megawatts in 2015, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

When power companies aren’t giving away electricity, it’s cheap. At the Diego de Almagro substation in the Atacama region, for example, prices didn’t exceed $60 a megawatt-hour for most of March. That’s less than the $70 minimum price for companies that won long-term contracts to sell solar power in Chile’s energy auctions in October and March.

The issue may limit future development because the uncertain revenue means banks will be reluctant to finance new power plants, according to Rodrigo Violic, head of project finance at the Chilean lender Banco Bice. “It’s a big problem,” he said.

Solar ‘Surprise’
Salvatore Bernabei, head of Enel Green Power SpA’s operations in Chile, has 170 megawatts of capacity in operation and 300 megawatts under construction in the country. He wouldn’t say if his company has surplus power.

Bernabei, however, is adamant that change is needed. “The rapid development of renewables was a surprise and now we have to react quickly,” he said.

Until this is resolved, low prices will plague companies that own power plants, according to Jose Ignacio Escobar, general manager for Acciona’s Chile unit.

“Energy prices in Chile will keep declining until there is a solution for the infrastructure problem,” Escobar said in an interview in Santiago. “This situation was expected, but new regulatory measures weren’t taken, infrastructure wasn’t built.”

http://metropolexpress.com/business/item/7015-chile-has-so-much-solar-energy

Just like Hannibal in ancient times, Swiss engineers have conquered the Alps.

More than 2,200 years after the commander from the ancient North African civilization of Carthage led his army of elephants and troops over Europe's highest mountain chain, the Swiss have completed another gargantuan task: Burrowing the world's longest railway tunnel under the Swiss Alps to improve European trade and travel.

European dignitaries on Wednesday inaugurated the 57-kilometer (35.4-mile) Gotthard Railway Tunnel, a major engineering achievement deep under the Alps' snow-capped peaks. It took 17 years to build at a cost of 12.2 billion Swiss francs ($12 billion) — but workers kept to a key Swiss tradition and brought the massive project in on time and on budget.

Swiss Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter, right, walks next to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Austrian Chancellor... +29

Swiss Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter, right, walks next to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern, from right to left, on the opening day of the Gotthard rail tunnel, at the fairground Rynaecht at the northern portal in Erstfeld, Switzerland, Wednesday, June 1, 2016. The construction of the 57 kilometer long tunnel began in 1999, the breakthrough was in 2010. After the official opening on June 1, the commercial operation will commence on December 2016. (Peter Klaunzer/Pool Photo via AP)

Many tunnels crisscross the Swiss Alps. The Gotthard Pass itself already has two — the first, also for trains, was built in 1882. But the Gotthard base tunnel is a record-setter eclipsing Japan's 53.8-kilometer (33.4-mile) Seikan Tunnel as the world's longest — and it also bores deeper than any other tunnel, running about 2.3 kilometers (1.4 miles) underground at its maximum depth.

The tube bores through the Gotthard massif that includes the 2,500-meter (8,200-foot) Piz Vatgira on the way to Italy. It is part of a broader, multi-tunnel project to shift the haulage of goods from roads to rails amid concerns that heavy trucks are destroying Switzerland's pristine Alpine landscape.

The tunnel's impact will be felt across Europe for decades.

The thoroughfare aims to cut travel times, ease roadway traffic and reduce the air pollution spewed from trucks traveling between Europe's north and south. Set to open for commercial service in December, the two-way tunnel can handle up to 260 freight trains and 65 passenger trains per day.

Swiss planners have dreamt of such a tunnel for decades, and Gotthard's 17 years of construction don't include the many years spent to scope out suitable paths.

Switzerland pulled out all the stops for Wednesday's inauguration. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Francois Hollande of France and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi all came to southern Switzerland for an upbeat, glitzy celebration featuring musical bands, dancers and even a theme song for the tunnel.

Under purple neon lights, performers dressed in orange miners' suits and protective helmets danced atop a moving rail car, while others in skimpy outfits feigned wrestling and trapeze artists hung from chains or ropes.

The tunnel runs between the German-speaking Swiss town of Erstfeld in the north to the Italian-speaking town of Bodio in the south, cutting through central Switzerland. The tunnel journey takes about 20 minutes for passenger trains.

Split-screen TV images Wednesday showed two trains in opposite directions entering and leaving the tunnel entrances nearly simultaneously.

The project, funded in part by Swiss taxpayers and fees on trucks, received financial support and industrial know-how from around the European Union. Although Switzerland isn't one of the bloc's 28 members, the EU railway network gets a big boost from this shortcut through the Alps, notably on the route from Germany to Italy.

"The new tunnel fits into the European railway freight corridor, which links Rotterdam and Genoa" — key ports in the Netherlands and Italy, said Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann. "Aside from saving time, more merchandise can be carried through the Alps."

A test run by the EU leaders on Wednesday turned into a sort of mini-summit beneath real Alpine summits: Merkel, Renzi, Hollande and Schneider-Ammann sat face-to-face for a ride in first class through the tunnel. A band played Rossini's "William Tell Overture" after they arrived.

Merkel said it was a "wonderful feeling" to be on the train. Though "more than 2,000 meters of rocks" were above, she said she felt a "feeling of security, because I believe in the security of the Swiss civil engineers."

She congratulated the punctual Swiss and noted how costs were kept within targets.

"That's something Germany still needs to strive for," she added

Hollande, host of the U.N. climate change summit held in Paris last year, pointed to the tunnel's environmental benefits.

"You have created a great European infrastructure," Hollande said at the tunnel's southern exit. "It will be able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, redirect traffic from the road to rail and move passengers and goods faster."

He also used the chance to remind Britons of the unity that the tunnel under the English Channel has brought between Britain and the continent — comments that came just weeks before Britons vote June 23 on whether to stay in the EU or leave.

"More than 20 years ago, a construction was completed between France and the United Kingdom: The Channel Tunnel," Hollande said. "Since then, we are united like never before, and I hope the British remember that when the time comes."

Renzi echoed that connective symbolism, despite the current discord in the EU over how to best handle a surge of migrants from the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

"At a time when some are thinking about building walls ... today Switzerland gives us a beautiful signal about building a tunnel, connecting, and making chances for meeting," Renzi said.

Swiss forces took no chances with security for the inauguration. Almost 2,000 additional Swiss troops were called, helicopters buzzed overhead and air space restrictions were put over the tunnel area.


http://metropolexpress.com/health/food/item/7006-switzerland-opens-epic-12bn-world-longest-tunnel

A 30-year old man, Adeleke Shakiru whose apartment was set ablaze by his landlady, Mrs Adenike Azeez has been sent to Kirikiri prison by the police at Isheri Oshun division in Lagos.
The police arrested Shakiru and his wife, Bosah and charged them before an Ejigbo Magistrate’s court after they reportedly resisted persuasion to withdraw charges against Adenike who destroyed their properties and rendered them homeless.
Last week, Adenike shocked the residents and did the unthinkable when she carried some petrol and went through the back window to set Shakiru’s apartment ablaze in a bid to eject them MPX @metropolexpress reported.
MPX @metropolexpress gathered that the police at the division was not happy that Shakiru did not listen to them when they persuaded him to drop charges against Adenike.
The police then arrested both Shakiru and his wife, Bosah and alleged that some time ago, they assaulted Adenike and kept a keg of petrol in their house which they used to power their generator.
Residents of Ijegun who went to the court where Shakiru was arraigned were in tears and expressed their reservation over police action.
According to some residents who craved anonymity, the senior police officer asked Shakiru to forget about the matter and if he insisted, he would be also be roped in and sent to prison.
Making good their threat, Shakiru was arrested at the court premises and arraigned before the court.
When Shariku was arraigned, he pleaded not guilty. His wife was allowed to go because she was nursing a two-year old baby who was equally assaulted by Adenike.
The presiding Magistrate, Mrs J.O.E Adeyemi granted Shakiru bail in the sum of N50,000 with one surety in like sum.
However, Shakiru was remanded in prison pending when he will perfect his bail condition.
The matter was adjourned till 9 May 2016.
It would be recalled that Adenike set Shakiru’s apartment ablaze destroying all properties including money kept in the room and parlour apartment.
The incident happened at no. 8, Two brothers street in Ijegun where both Adenike and Shakiru reside.
After the incident Adenike fled and was arrested at Alakuko area of Ogun state.
http://metropolexpress.com/metro/item/6679-man-whose-apartment-was-set-ablaze-by-landlady-sent-to-kirikiri-prison

A 44-year-old man whose penis was ripped off in a childhood accident has finally been able to have sex for the first time. Mohammed Abad, from Edinburgh, Scotland, had a bionic penis fitted in 2012 and lost his virginity to sex worker Charlotte Rose, 35, after he was given the green light by doctors.

The divorcee said a ‘big burden’ had been lifted following their encounter which happened after the pair got to know each other over a few days. Mohammed told New Day: ‘I’ve been waiting for this day since I was 18. But now a big burden is off my back and I’m so happy.’

He first met Charlotte, who specialises in disabled clients, for a dinner date and then got to know each other better over a few days and stayed in a central London hotel. Mohammed was nervous and on the first attempt, his penis malfunctioned with one side of the pump failing to properly inflate. But on the second attempt, the pump was able to perform properly.

Mohammed told the newspaper: ‘When Charlotte saw it for the first time, she was silent and I was a bit worried. But then she said: “It’s incredible”.’ After their session together, which lasted for an hour and three quarters, Charlotte said she was ‘impressed’.

Now Mohammed’s goal is to become a father. He previously said: ‘Three years ago I never thought this day would come but now I’m ready to have some fun and sow my wild oats ‘I’ve never felt like a full man but now I’m ready for my life to start and I’ve never felt so confident.’ I want to get the ‘virgin’ tag off my back as soon as possible but eventually I hope to get married and have two children - a girl and a boy.’ Mohammed was given the green light by doctors to test it out and hopes to be in a long-term relationship by next year. He said: ‘I’ve waited so long for this that I don’t want to waste any more time.

I feel like my life is finally starting and I plan to live it to the fullest.’

Charlotte, got in touch when she heard about Mohammed’s plight and waived her usual £160 fee for the occasion. Charlotte, a single mum to two teenage children, told New Day: ‘I wanted to make sure there was no pressure for Mohammed. There was a lot of fun, smiles and giggles. The room got quite heated. ‘In the end, he lasted for an hour and three quarters. I was impressed.’ Charlotte has slept with ‘well over 1,000 men’ but said she had never come across a bionic penis before.

In January 1978, Mohammed was pushed into the street during a snowball fight and hit by a car that dragged him 600 yards. Mohammed said: ‘My penis was ripped off and a testicle was also destroyed. ‘I was taken to the hospital and given 12 hours to live.’Doctors were miraculously able to stabilise him, but there was nothing they could do to salvage his detached penis. Mohammed said: ‘They made me a wee tube that was three centimeters long and I was told to carry on with that. There was nothing else they could do at that time.

From the age of six to 11, Mohammed was in and out of hospital but his situation made it hard for him to fit in at school after news of his accident spread. Mohammed said: ‘I never used to associate myself with girls because I knew if I took the next step it’s going to come back and slap me in the face. I avoided girls entirely just because I didn’t want to put myself in that situation.’

Rest on :
http://metropolexpress.com/business/item/6631-man-with-bionic-penis-loses-virginity-at-44

A United States Academic report for The year 2015 has suggested that the Igbo people of South Eastern Nigeria are the most Brilliant black African Race.
This doesn’t come as much of a shocker taking into account the Two Igbo students who broke records by gaining admissions into 8 Ivy League Schools. The students, Harold Ekeh scored 2270 out of 2400 on his SATs while Augusta Uwamanzu-Nna scored a 101.6 GPA.
17-year-old Harold Ekeh is a senior student at the Elmont Memorial High School in Long Island while Augusta Uwamanzu- Nna is a high-school student from Long Island, New York.
The 8 schools offering the admissions include: Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University.
The report reads: “A search through the promotional materials of school for a black student – all schools and colleges would always show some black faces in their promotional materials if they have any – reveals that they have had at least one black student, and it was, unsurprisingly, a Nigerian Igbo.”
According to two online news portal, NBC News and MSN, the two teenagers are faced with “a big decision to make soon.” as Harold Ekeh has 13 admission offer from universities, 8 of which are Ivy League schools which according to NBC makes the choice-making decision harder than usual.
Ekeh while Speaking with NBC News said: “It’s very, like, stunning. It’s like getting hit with a brick, honestly. When you see congratulations, you’re like, wow your hard work has paid off, definitely.”

MPX @metropolexpress, 9. April. 2016

http://metropolexpress.com/more/opinion/item/6579-igbo-people-most-brilliant-black-african-race-academic-study

How easy is it to forgive? Varying experiences reveals that forgiveness is not the easiest of virtues. As difficult as this is, unforgiveness is not an option. It is a hydra headed monster that have done damage to humanity and ruined many beautiful relationships. The natural tendency for human is a desire to revenge. When someone hurts you, there is this inner craving to revenge at the slightest opportunity. The plot for revenge occupies our mind and drains out positive energy. Forgiveness is for the strong. We do ourselves a lot of good when we forgive. When we are unforgiving, it hurts and makes us bitter and when we forgive, it sets us free.

A teacher once asked her students to bring some tomatoes in a plastic bag to school. Each tomato will be given a name of the person whom that child hates. This way, the number of tomatoes will be equal to the number of persons they hate.

On a decided day, the children brought their tomatoes well addressed. Some had two, some had three and some had five, some even had 20 tomatoes in accordance with the number of people each student hate thus if a student hates 5 people, he/she will bring 5 tomatoes.

The teacher told them they have to carry the tomatoes with them everywhere they go for two weeks. As the days passed the children started to complain about the decay and smell of the tomatoes. The students who had many tomatoes complained it was very heavy to carry and the smell was too much. After a week, the teacher asked the students "How did you feel this one week?" The Children complained of awful smell and heavy weight of the tomatoes especially those who carried more tomatoes.

The teacher said, "This is very similar to what you carry in your heart when you don't forgive people. Hatred makes heart unhealthy and you carry that hatred everywhere. If you can't bear the smell of spoilt tomatoes for a week, imagine the impact of bitterness on your heart as you carry it daily."

Everyone gets hurt and anyone can hold a grudge but it takes a person with virtue to forgive. When you forgive, you release yourself from ‘prison’. Forgiveness doesn’t justify the wrong done to you and it doesn’t mean the person that hurt you should still be welcome in your life; it simply means you have made peace with the situation and are ready to let go.

When we take a look at the scriptures, Jesus points to the importance of forgiveness in this business of loving each other. Peter initiates the discussion when he says, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” The Jewish rabbis taught that you should forgive someone three times, but after that there was no forgiveness. Peter thought he was being large of heart by going beyond the normal bounds of forgiveness, so he was probably shocked when Jesus said, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven.” And if the truth were told, we are shocked that Jesus demands this kind of forgiveness as well. We often withhold forgiveness after just one offence, let alone seventy times seven.

And after Jesus made this shocking statement, he told a parable about a man who owed a king millions of dollars. The king threatened to sell him and his whole family into slavery until the debt was paid — which he would never be able to do. Nevertheless, the servant fell to his knees and begged the king for a chance to repay the debt. And then, in what must have been shocking to him, the king cancelled the whole debt and let him go. The point of this part of the parable is to show how God, the King, deals with us. Because of our many sins, which we can never make right, God forgives all our sins, releases us from all our debt, frees us from our guilt and the bondage of our sin. What this amazing act of grace and generosity should do is fill us with gratitude and a resulting grace toward others.

But in a surprising twist to the story, the man meets a friend of his who owes him a few dollars. He forgets all about how he was treated by the king and demands the debt be repaid immediately. The friend falls on his knees and begs (as he had done with the king) and says, “Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.” But the man refuses his friend’s request and had him thrown into prison “until he could repay the debt,” which was impossible, since he could not work in prison. A shocking turn of events. And their fellow servants report the incident to the king. So the king calls the servant to appear before him and says, “You wicked servant, I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” And then Jesus ends the parable with these frightening words, “In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.” It is such a relief to forgive someone, because when you do you realize that you are the one that is being made free - by your forgiveness — not them.

God bless you big.

http://metropolexpress.com/columns/item/6457-the-prison-called-unforgiveness-by-gbenga-owotoki-florida-usa[b][/b]

Nigeria’s place in the World Happiness Index has plummeted in just 10 months of President Muhammadu Buhari by 25 places to now rank as the 103rd happiest nation of the world, and 6th in Africa.

Before now, Nigeria was placed at 78th. The World Happiness Report 2016 update, which ranks 157 countries by their happiness levels, was released in Rome on Wednesday, in advance of UN World Happiness Day on March 20th.

The World Happiness Report 2016 said Denmark is the happiest country in the world, followed closely by Switzerland.

Other countries among the top 10 happiest countries are Iceland, Norway, Finland, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia and Sweden.

Algeria, while standing at 38 at the global level, maintains its position as the happiest place in Africa.

Mauritius is now the second happiest country in Africa, followed by Libya, Morocco and Tunisia respectively.

According to the report available to MPX @metropolexpress, eight sub-Saharan countries were among the 10 least happy places on earth to live.

The bottom 10 were; Madagascar, Tanzania, Liberia, Guinea, Rwanda, Benin, Afghanistan, Togo, Syria and Burundi.

South Africa and Ghana stood at 116 and 124 respectively on the Global happiness ranking.

The World Happiness Report, an initiative of the UN, is a landmark survey of the state of global happiness, aimed at influencing government policy.

The report reviews the state of happiness in the world and shows how the new science of happiness explains personal and national variations in happiness.

It reflects a new worldwide demand for more attention to happiness as criteria for government policy.

According to the report, leading experts across fields – economics, psychology, survey analysis, national statistics, health, public policy and more – describe how measurements of well-being can be used effectively to assess the progress of nations.

Healthy years of life expectancy, GDP per capital, social support , perceived absence of corruption in government and business, freedom to make life decisions and generosity are some of the factors the report considers.

The first world happiness report was published in support of the April 2, 2012 United Nations (UN) high level meeting on happiness and well-being.
The report was prepared by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Earth Institute at Columbia University.

Prof. Jeffrey Sachs is the head of the SDSN and special advisor to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

http://metropolexpress.com/business/item/6398-nigeria-drops-to-103rd-happiest-people-in-the-world-study

Tanzania’s new president was a relatively unknown quantity when he came to power last year. It didn’t take long for that to change. His headline-grabbing anti-corruption and anti-waste measures soon captured the imagination of a continent. Magufuli demonstrated a humility lacking in too many African leaders.

President John Magufuli, elected in October, has banned these things. It's a hard life for Tanzanian public officials.

Saving money is just part of the 56-year-old president's agenda. The former teacher and chemist is also battling corruption and trying to improve services in Tanzania. Our legislators spent a whopping Sh4.1 billion on foreign and domestic travel in just one year, says Magunufli.

"There will be only juices and water," says Emmanuel Makundi, a journalist for Radio France's International Swahili service in Dar es Salaam. "And maybe some bananas. But the president says, you can take your breakfast at home!"

The president's love of austerity has even inspired a hashtag: #WhatWouldMagufuliDo

He became known as "The Bulldozer" for driving a programme to build roads across the country.

Those close to him say he is keen on details and when he embarks on an assignment he pursues it to completion.

However, this very trait has cost him friends. These are some of the changes the president made within one one in office.

He even restricted the amount of refreshments allowed at official meetings.

No more driving your limousine to villages.

No more flying first class to meetings in Europe.

You can't even send Christmas cards on the taxpayer's dime.

He canceled the country's Independence Day celebrations, saying it would be shameful to spend millions of dollars on fancy parties and military parades in a country battling cholera.

Magufuli made a surprise visit to the 1,000-bed Muhimbili National Hospital and found patients sleeping on the floor. The hospital director was fired. Now doctors are noticeably more attentive.

Firing tainted officials such as Ports Authority Director General Awadhi Massawef and anti-corruption chief Edward Hoseah.

Hear Mr. Mugulifu in one Interview: "I was once on a flight where the Swedish ambassador to Kenya was flying economy class, while a top official of an international organisation that his government was funding was in business class.

Our pampered politicians have acquired a taste for special treatment, like diplomatic passports and chase cars.

Even though some of them went to school barefoot, now they cannot bear the thought of living in a modest house or driving a car costing less than Sh10 million. Remember, many of them did not earn their money through hard work, but through corrupt deals, including stealing public money. This craziness must stop if Africa must grow".

Back in Nigeria, President Buhari rose to power on the promise not only due to his integrity scoredcard, as he had lost elections three times with same scoredcard but for the promise he made to Nigeria to make change in their lives, the question after nine months in power is what change is our president making in the lives of Nigerians today?

Recognition of Fraudulent election that result in current leadership of the Senate

The High FOREX change

Power and Fuel shortage change

Not Selling orå diverting the 10 of the 11 Presiential fleets as National carrier as promised

Budget manipulation, and paddling

Non conviction in the anti-corruuption campaign after 9 months in Governance

The President does not have excuse to fail Nigerians, had 12 years to plan for his Presidency, having constested for a first time in 2003, thus; he was elected President in March, as such he had two months to plan for his cabinet, yet it took him 6 months to present a cabinet, and when conpare to the President of Tanzania or other new heads of Governments, such as Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, one may be compelled to as ask what was the level of President Buhari's prepareness on May 29. 2015 when he took over as Nigeria's new head of Goverment.

Every average Nigerian want this Government to succed, so it's high time our much adored President take a clue from the ever pro-active President of Tanzania, even if it mean steping on toes before the goodwill the President enjoys as the people's General is brought to the mud.

MPX @metropolexpress, 14. March 2016

Source:
http://metropolexpress.com/more/opinion/item/6372-before-it-s-too-late-buhari-must-learn-from-the-president-of-tanzania-mpx

Don't be too swift to judge others; you do not have an idea of what they are going through. Most often, our judgment is based on what we've seen or have heard and not on what has happened behind the scene.
There is a story of young couple moved into a new neighborhood. The next morning whilst eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside. “That laundry is not clean” she said. “She doesn’t know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap”. Her husband looked on, but remained silent.
Every time the neighbor would hang laundry to dry, the young woman would make the same comments. About one month later, the woman was surprised to see nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband: “Look, she has learnt how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this”! The husband said: “I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows”!
And so it is with life.
What we see when watching others depends on the purity of the window through which we look! It is easy to discuss other people, their lives and things that are none of our business.
Yet we tend to forget - our window isn’t that clean after all! Stop labeling people just because they are not like you. There is a difference between judging and correcting someone in love. We should be able to differentiate between both.
When someone judges, it isn't actually about you.
It's about them and their limitations, insecurities and needs. Many people may see who you really appear to be but only few only experience who you really are. There are people who are genuine and have your interest at heart.
They do not present a 'super human' figure about themselves to you. They are down-to-earth and are constantly nudging you to be the very best that you can be and in such process reprimand and correction is very much in place. Find such people and connect with them.
On the other hand some people might turn out to be very critical of you. They never see anything good in what you do. They judge you simply because they have not gone through the situation you have been through. They cast aspersion on you because you are a threat to them.
They try to ‘bury’ you but they fail to realize that, like a seed you will spring up again. You do not need anyone’s approval in order to pursue your dreams. When people reject and judge you,
it isn’t actually about you. It’s about them, their limitations and insecurities. And for those that have made it a duty to play ‘god’ in the lives of others; stop labeling people just because they’re not like you. Stop blackmailing people into doing what you want them to do; it has a way of catching up with you.
Don’t judge a situation you’ve never been in because you do not know how you will react when you are in a similar situation. Treat people with respect. Offer advice and correction in love. Be your own number one judge.
God bless you big.

http://metropolexpress.com/more/opinion/item/6290-be-your-own-judge-gbenga-owotoki-florida-usa

Just how desperate are you to have a child? After exploring all avenues available to you medically, are you willing to seek outside help? Like natural insemination? Artificial insemination is when a donor sperm is introduced into the female vagina with the hope that the patient would eventually get pregnant.
This method is resorted to when the male partner’s sperm counts are too low to father a child – or they are just blanks. All over the world, a lot of women are playing God by sneakily seeking the help of a virile man to help them get the much longed for child.
These days however, with infidelity being condoned, some men have come out to support their wives in their quest to get pregnant, to the extent of agreeing to Natural Insemination (NI). One of such women recently quoted in a foreign press alleged that: “My husband knows what he wants to know.
There is no doubt that it is emotionally charged and my husband found it difficult.
Also, the sex with someone other than my husband is surprisingly enjoyable, sexy and kinky and if we are going to be honest, it’s cheating. We accepted all that and it worked for us.
I wouldn’t have done it any other way.

Rest on:
http://metropolexpress.com/entertainment/love/item/6223-how-much-can-you-sacrifice-to-have-your-wife-pregnant

Mr. Interior Minister, Nigerians Pay More and it ought to be well known to going by the Passport payment policy you offer Nigerians.

In line with the anti-corruption stance of the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, Minister of Interior, Abudurahman Dambazau, has warned Nigerians interested in obtaining an international passport from the Nigerian Immigration Passport offices to refrain from paying above the official fees.
The minister gave the warning on Friday during the inauguration of one of the 18 new passport offices located at the premises of the Government Office Annex, along Roundabout - NPA road in Warri, Delta State.
Danbazau, who was responding to a question on alleged racketeering of passports by officers of the immigration service, said "I was happy to hear the Comptroller- General, Martin Kure Abeshi, reeling out the official cost of Nigerian passport to the audience. "
According to him, "nobody should pay a kobo above the official fees mentioned. We are open to complaints from the public. Whoever experiences such racketeering should immediately report and we will take all the necessary action to deal with the situation."
He reiterated that international passport is an "entitlement for those who use it to travel and there are fees attached to it and these fees are very reasonable and nobody should take advantage of any applicant to charge above the official rate provided and we won't condone such act."
Earlier in his remarks at the event attended by representative of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, Festus Agas, who is the SSG, and ACP Muhammed Muazu, the Area Commander of Nigeria Police, Warri Area Command, the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mr Martin Kure Abeshi, had reeled out to Nigerians what they should pay to obtain their international passports.
Abeshi, in a no-holds-bar mood, declared that a 64-page passport for frequent travelers, which runs concurrently with the 32-page passport, costs N20,000, adding that for children below 18 years, they are to pay N8,750.
Explaining that the official fees are age and gender sensitive, Abeshi said Nigerians between 18 and 59 years old should obtain their 32-page passport for N15,000 while those above 60 years are to pay N8,750 only.
He added that for Nigerians who want to do a change of name as a result of marriage, deceased of spouse or divorce as well as change of data on request, the fees go for N30,000 and N20,000 respectively.
Meanwhile, Governor Okowa has lauded the NIS for the cordial relationship existing between the state government and the service which culminated in siting the passport office in the state government's annex office.
Agas, who spoke on behalf of the governor, said the state government was happy that people in Delta Central and Delta South would now be excused the stress of having to travel all the way to Asaba to obtain their passport.
Assistant Comptroller of Immigration, Edirin Okoto, who is in charge of the Warri Passport Office, elatedly described the inauguration as epochal being the first to be inaugurated among the 18 additional passport offices being built by the service across the country.
However, MPX @metropolexpress findings shows that Nigerians still pay far above the official fees, Nigerians do cough out between N25,000 and N35,000 for the 32 Pages passports while the 64 Pages goes for between N40,000 and N50,000. The most affected are Nigerians abroad who forced to cough out between N65,000 and N100,000 depending on which Mission or Embassy they are applying from.
The NIS created employment for foreigners by engaging the service of an Indian firm Innovative Service1 with office in Avon, US to serve as payment portal for every payment made to the Nigerian Immigration Service thereby not only compromising the information details of Nigerians, but collect processing of $12 from every passport application.
The exploitation of innocent Nigerians didn't there, every applicants are forced to pay additional processing and file fee between $30 and $60 depending on the location of the embassy. Alex these payments are after the official $65 Children/Senior fees or $ Adult had been paid. Questions is are these consular, immigration attachès not drawing their salaries from ,one single government coffers. Why must Nigerians be made to pay in three trenches for one single service?

This is daylight robbery on the part of government on its innocent citizens.

http://metropolexpress.com/news/item/6168-don-t-pay-above-official-specified-passport-fees-danbazau

Onyeka Onwenu has reacted to her sack as Director General of the National Centre for Women Development (NCWD), noting that, their was an ethnic agenda against her.

Onwenu, one of Nigeria’s most celebrated musicians, stated that there was no sense of professionalism or commitment to duty at the Centre until her arrival.

She pointed out that the acting Director General, led a Northern agenda against her. “Their Chief organizer, the acting DG, went about whipping up ethnic sentiments against me. Late 2015, the same officer had gone to the Center’s Mosque to ask for the issue of a Fatwa against me, claiming that I was working against the interest of the North. We nipped that in the bud by calling a townhall meeting and asking that proof be provided. The Fatwa was denied and peace reigned for a while,” she said in a statement.
She then advised that the Federal Government should really look into the parastatals and take note of the fact that many people who work on them do not have the requisite qualification. “Many contribute nothing and many see their job as personal entitlement. They are owed because Nigeria belongs to them and them alone,” she said.
Read her full statement below:

MY DISENGAGEMENT FROM THE NATIONAL CENTRE FOR WOMEN DEVELOPMENT
When the call came on Sept 13 2013, to serve the Nigerian people as DG National Center For Women Development, I took it as a call from God and I answered in the affirmative.
Rest of story on :-
http://metropolexpress.com/news/item/6124-onyeka-onwenu-reacts-to-dismissal-accuses-fg-of-ethnic-agenda

Israel’s former prime minister Ehud Olmert has started his 19-month prison sentence for bribery and obstruction of justice, becoming the first Israeli premier to be imprisoned and capping a years-long legal saga that forced him to resign in 2006 during the last serious round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Olmert walked into the Maasiyahu prison in central Israel hours after he released a video making a last-minute plea to Israelis. In the video, meant to salvage his legacy, he appealed to the nation to remember his peacemaking efforts as leader and denied any wrongdoing in the bribery conviction against him.
The three-and-a-half minute video, released by his office and filmed at his home a day earlier, shows Olmert saying it was a painful and strange time for him and his family and that he was paying a heavy price. He said he has accepted the sentence because “no man is above the law”.
“At this hour it is important for me to say again ... I reject outright all the corruption allegations against me,” Olmert said in the footage. He said that in hindsight, the Israeli public might view the charges against him and the seven-year legal ordeal that enveloped him in a balanced and critical way. “I hope that then many will recognise that during my term as prime minister, honest and promising attempts were made to create an opening for hope and a better future of peace, happiness and well-being,” he said.
Olmert, 70, was convicted in March 2014 in a wide-ranging case that accused him of accepting bribes to promote a controversial real-estate project in Jerusalem. The charges pertained to a period when he was mayor of Jerusalem and trade minister, years before he became prime minister in 2006, a point he reiterated in his statement on Monday.

He was initially sentenced to six years in the case, but Israel’s supreme court later upheld a lesser charge, reducing the sentence to 18 months. That was extended by a month earlier this year after Olmert pressured a confidant not to testify in multiple legal cases against him.
Olmert is also awaiting a ruling in an appeal in a separate case, in which he was sentenced to eight months in prison for unlawfully accepting money from an American supporter.
Israel has sent other senior officials to prison, including Moshe Katsav, who held the mostly ceremonial post of president and who is serving a seven-year sentence for rape.
Having the once popular Olmert behind bars was met with mixed emotions by many Israelis. “When you look at a person like this, who is the salt of the earth, who is so talented, who is so charming, who is so capable, the fact that he is going to prison is something sad,” Dan Margalit, a columnist with daily newspaper Israel Hayom and a former Olmert confidant, told Israeli Army Radio.
Olmert was forced to resign in early 2009 amid the corruption allegations, which undermined the last serious round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and cleared the way for Binyamin Netanyahu’s rise to power. Olmert led his government to the Annapolis peace conference in November 2007, launching more than a year of ambitious but ultimately unsuccessful US-brokered talks with the Palestinians. Olmert has said he made unprecedented concessions to the Palestinians during those talks, including a near-total withdrawal from the West Bank and an offer to place Jerusalem’s old city under international control, and was close to reaching an agreement at the time of his resignation.
Despite his long career as a public servant, former prison officials said Olmert would be treated like any other inmate, despite being held in a special wing for security reasons.
Haim Glick, a former Israeli prison service official, told Israeli Channel 2 TV that Olmert would need to participate in rollcall, be in his cell by 10pm and have limited phone use. “He will receive good treatment like the rest of the prisoners but not any better than them,” he said.

http://metropolexpress.com/news/item/6100-convicted-former-israel-s-prime-minister-edhud-olmert-begins-19-months-jail-today

At least 9 out of 109 members of the Nigerian Senate are enmeshed in criminal cases, with nine of the cases at various stages of trials in courts, while one is still being investigated.

The number of the lawmakers represents 10 per cent of the members of the upper legislative chamber, one of the bodies responsible for making laws for the country.

Majority of the cases are related to allegations of corruption, running into billions of naira that the senators are accused of misappropriating.

About six of the lawmakers have been docked at various courts for trial on fraud charges, most of them former governors.

Two of the senators, however, are facing charges of forgery and drug offences, respectively, while the last one has been interrogated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged fraud.

Among the lawmakers, are the leadership of the Red Chamber, chairs and deputy chairs of sensitive Senate committees.



Bukola Saraki

Topping the list of the senators facing corruption charges is the Senate President, Bukola Saraki (APC, Kwara central). Saraki is a two-term governor of Kwara State (2003 to 2011) and on completion of his tenure he got elected to the Red Chamber. At the moment, he is a 2-term senator and the number one lawmaker in the country.

Saraki as the Senate President is the chairman of the National Assembly, piloting the affairs of the legislative arm of government; he sets the tone and direction for the arm.

He is facing a 13-count charge at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) bordering on false assets declaration while he was the governor of his home state and his spouse, Mrs. Toyin Saraki has a file at the EFCC over alleged squandering of Kwara State funds.

He has denied the allegations, describing them as politically motivated

His bid to stop the trial at the CCT suffered a setback at the Supreme Court last week, when the court dismissed his appeal and upheld an earlier decision by the Court of Appeal, ordering him to face trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

His colleagues, under the auspices of the Unity Forum, led by Senator Kabiru Marafa (APC, Zamfara Central) had asked him to resign and face the charges. But the Senate Leader Mohammed Ali Ndume and his supporters in the Like Minds group said he would resign only if he is found guilty after trial.

The CCT has fixed March 10, for continuation of Saraki’s trial.



Sani Yarima

Senator Ahmed Sani Yarima is a three-term senator and former governor of Zamfara State. He represents Zamfara West Senatorial District in the Senate.

Yarima is the Chairman of Senate Committee on Marine Transport and member of other committees, including Interior that oversees the police, prisons, immigration and the fire service.

In January, he was docked on a 19-count charge of corruption by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) at the Zamfara State High Court in Gusau.

The commission accused him of diverting part of the N1 billion project funds for the repair of collapsed Gusau Dam and resettlement of the victims of flood to other purposes.

The alleged offences were committed in 2006 and mainly in October and November of that year, according to ICPC.

He pleaded not guilty to all the charges.



Danjuma Goje

Danjuma Goje was the governor of Gombe State from 2003 to 2011. He is presently representing Gombe Central Senatorial District.

Goje is a second termer at the Upper Chamber representing Gombe Central. Aside from chairing the Senate Committee on Appropriations, he is the chairman of the North-East caucus of the National Assembly, making him to wield enormous powers at both chambers.

The senator, along with four others, is facing an 18- count charge bordering on conspiracy and fraud to N25bn instituted by the EFCC.

The case was transferred to Jos from Gombe in 2015 on the instruction of the Chief Justice of the Federation over security concerns. Hearing in the case was adjourned to April 12 this year.



Abdullahi Adamu

Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu was the governor of Nasarawa State from 1999 to 2007. He represents Nasarawa West Senatorial District and is the Chairman Senate Committee on Agriculture.

In Feb 2010, the EFCC arrested the lawmaker for allegedly misappropriating N15billion alongside 18 others.

He was subsequently arraigned on a 149-count charge of fraud to the tune of N15 billion, before Justice Ibrahim Buba, who was later replaced on the case by Justice Marcel Awokulehin.

The lawmaker and his co-accused denied all the charges and challenged the jurisdiction of the court to try the case, arguing that the money in question belong to the people of Nasarawa State and therefore does not fall under the purview of the Federal Government and the EFCC to investigate and prosecute.

The court, however, ruled against the accused persons and ordered them to face trial. The lawmaker and his co-accused subsequently appealed the ruling to the Court of Appeal sitting in Markudi, Benue State.

The case is yet to be concluded.



Abdulaziz Nyako

Abdulaziz Murtala Nyako is the son of former Governor Murtala Nyako. He represents Adamawa Central Senatorial District in the Senate.

He is a first timer in the Red Chamber and he chairs the Committee on Special Duties, which oversees the general affairs of the Senate President, Ecological Fund, among others.

In July last year, the EFCC docked Abdulaziz and his father, the former governor of Adamawa State, at a Federal High Court in Abuja cases of alleged corruption.

They were arraigned before Justice E. Chukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on a 37-count charge bordering on criminal conspiracy, stealing, abuse of office and money laundering.

Also charged with them, were Abubakar Aliyu and Zulkifikk Abba. They were accused of using five companies to siphon over N15billion at various times, between 2011 and 2013, from Adamawa State coffers.

They all pleaded not guilty to the charges.



Josua Dariye

Joshua Chibi Dariye is the senator representing Plateau Central. He was the governor of Plateau State from 1999 to 2003 and was reelected in 2003, before he was impeached in 2006.

He is the chairman Senate Committee on Solid Minerals.

Dariye has been standing trial since 2007 on 23-count charge bordering on money laundering, abuse of office and corruption. He was accused of embezzling over N1.2billion ecological funds.

He has denied all the charges.



Ike Ekweremadu

Next to Saraki at the Upper Chamber is Senator Ike Ekweremadu (PDP, Enugu West) who rode on the division in the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Senate to emerge as the Deputy Senate President on June 9 last year, when the 8th Senate was inaugurated.

Ekweremadu, who has been occupying the position since the era of Senator David Mark in 2007, is facing a forgery case at the Federal High Court.

His colleagues, namely Senator Abu Ibrahim, Kabiru Marafa, Robert Boroffice, Gbenga Ashafa and Suleiman Hunkuyi, dragged him and others to the court over alleged forgery of the Senate standing orders, the document used for the conduct of the Senate elections.

Shortly after the inauguration of the 8thAssembly, he was grilled alongside the Clerk to the National Assembly, Salisu Maikasau and others by operatives of the Nigerian Police over the forgery case.

The Federal High has reserved date for judgement in the case.

Early this year, Ekweremadu cried out that he cannot get justice from Justice Ademola, alleging that the judge is romancing with the national leader of the APC, Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu.



Buruji Kasamu

Senator Kashamu Buruji is representing Ogun East. His clash with the former President Olusegun Obasanjo popularized his alleged drug peddling case.

He is facing threat of extradition from the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), acting on request from the United States.

In May, 2015 a Federal High Court in Lagos stopped the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Attorney General of the Federation(AGF) and nine others from arresting the senator for extradition to the United States over alleged drug-related offences.

Justice Okon Abang gave the restraining order in his verdict in a suit filed by Kashamu.

He based his order on an existing judgement of the court that was delivered on January 6, 2014, in which he restrained the IGP, SSS, NDLEA, NCS and the AGF from taking any step from arresting Kashamu on the strength of a petition linking him to a drug offence.

Buruji, who is the vice chairman of the Senate Committee on States and Local Governments raised alarm last week over fresh plot to ferry him to the United States of America (USA) by the the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

He got a reprieve from the Senate as the Minister of justice and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and NDLEA have been asked to suspend further action on him.

His lawyer, Barrister Ajibola Oluyede had petitioned the Senate over a plot to abduct his client and extradite him to USA where he is facing charges bordering on drug peddling.



Godswill Akpabio

Widely known as uncommon governor when he held sway in Akwa-Ibom State for eight years, Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio (PDP, Akwa-Ibom North-West) is being investigated for corruption.

By virtue of his position as the Minority leader, Akpabio is one of the most powerful senators presently in the Upper Chamber. He has firm control of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Red Chamber.

Akpabio, who is the vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, was twice invited by the EFCC last year, over allegation of N108bn fraud.

The invitation was in connection to a petition by an Abuja-based lawyer and activist, Leo Ekpenyong, who accused the senator of looting the said amount belonging to the Akwa-Ibom government and called for his probe.

The Minority Leader has, however, described the allegation as a falsehood bandied about by people with no idea about the workings of government.

It's never been this worst under any regime or administration in the history of the country Nigeria. What does this says about us as a people and as a country?

http://metropolexpress.com/component/k2/item/6083-9-out-109-nigerian-senators-facing-criminal-trials

If you search online, articles, sex education publications, you will find various phrases and terms used for masturbation. Masturbation is commonly defined as touching one's own body, including sex organs, for sexual pleasure

Masturbation is normal and a healthy part of sexual development.

According to a nationally representative US sample, 94% of men admit to masturbating, as do 85% of women. But societal perspectives of masturbation still vary greatly, and there’s even some stigma around engaging in the act, as reported by the Independent.UK.

There are many myths related to masturbation like it causes insanity, blindness, infertility and masturbation can make sexual organs fall off.

But the fact is that all these are just stigma attached to masturbation. Masturbation has many health benefits.

More on :-
http://metropolexpress.com/metro/item/6021-masturbation-can-cut-the-risk-of-diabetes-survey

You are a happily married woman but delaying having kids because you believe that post childbirth your sex life will be ruined, then think again!

You might not believe it but lovemaking gets more passionate after having children, suggests a new research.

Post childbirth, the passion of sex comes with a new vigour and vitality, enabling a couple to enjoy the act of lovemaking more and lead a pleasing sexual life.

The findings are based on a survey conducted by the Britain-based parenting site Channel Mum.

Nearly 1,120 couples with children participated in the survey, 94 percent of whom reported to be satisfied with their sex lives and 57 percent reported that their sexual activities actually got better after childbirth.

Most of the participating couples still found their sex lives satisfying even though the quantity of sex declined after giving birth to children.
More...
http://metropolexpress.com/component/k2/item/5948-sex-life-gets-better-after-childbirth-survey

Catalan Police have busted a sex-trafficking group in Spain known as the Supreme Eiye Confraternity (SEC), or the Air Lords following a raid on their residential building.

The Media was given access by the Catalan police, Mossos D’Esquadra, to an investigation into a Nigerian sex-trafficking gang. He spoke to traffickers and women rescued from sexual slavery before filming an early morning raid in November, which led to 23 arrests. He also discovered that the gang is now using London as a gateway into Europe.

Here’s Media's report on the raid and activities of the group:

It’s 08:00 in the Catalan Police Headquarters on the outskirts of Barcelona and Xavi Cortes, head of the anti-trafficking unit, waits patiently for his 22 teams to confirm they are in position. Finally, he gives the order.

Two-hundred-and-fifty officers quietly climb out of their police vans. Single file, each team approaches a residential building watched by a few surprised neighbours.

On reaching the door, one of the masked police officers uses his fingers to count down. Three, two, one. The door is knocked down, the silence shattered, the officers rush inside.

The raid results in the arrest of the leaders of a Nigerian-based group running an international sex-trafficking ring in Barcelona.

It’s known as the Supreme Eiye Confraternity (SEC), or the Air Lords, and 23 people are now behind bars, with European Arrest Warrants issued for those who have left the country.

This operation was 18 months in the planning and involved monitoring more than a million phone calls, tapping dozens of mobile phones and months of surveillance.

Cortes and his team first came across the group in 2011 during a forgery investigation, but quickly discovered it was a huge network trafficking women and drugs.

A look on the screen screen. On it is a map detailing all the locations they have identified where members of the SEC operate. Cities are marked in Europe, North, West and East Africa, North and South America, the Middle East and Asia.

Eiye in Yoruba, the main language of south-western Nigeria means “bird”. The group’s insignia is an eagle and each city containing members is called a “nest”, with the “mother nest” in Ibadan, about 100km north-east of Lagos.

Rest on the story:-

http://metropolexpress.com/politics/item/5936-busted-catalan-police-arrest-eiye-confraternity

The Eagle has the longest life-span of its species. It can live up to 70 years. But to reach this age, the eagle must make a very difficult decision! In its 40th year, the eagle's long and flexible Talons can no longer grab a prey which serves as food.

Its long and sharp beak becomes bent.

Its old-aged and heavy wings, due to their thick feathers, stick to its chest and make it difficult to fly. Then, the eagle is left with only two options:

Die or go through a painful process of Change! This process lasts for 150 days (5 months)

The process requires the eagle to fly to a mountain top and sit on its nest.

There the eagle knocks its beak against a rock until it plucks it out. Then the eagle will wait for the new beak to grow back after which it will pluck out its talons. When its talons grow back, the eagle starts plucking its old aged feathers. And after this the eagle takes its famous flight of rebirth and lives for 30 more years.

Afterwards, the eagle will fly to some high spot and wait for the winds to come. When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm. While the storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above it.

When it rains, all birds occupy shelter. But the eagle avoids the rain by flying above the clouds. The problem is common to all but the attitude to solve it makes the difference!

Don't be afraid of change, accept it gracefully.

The eagle does not escape the storm. It simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It rises on the winds that bring the storm.

What a great lesson for us; when the storms of life come upon us, we can rise above them by setting our minds and faith towards God.

The storms do not have to overcome us. We can allow God’s power to lift us above them. God enables us to ride the winds of the storm that bring sickness, tragedy, failure and disappointment in our lives.

We can soar above the storm. Remember, it is not the burdens of life that weigh us down; it is how we handle them.

For us to ride out the storm, we too (like the eagle) must go through the change process.

We sometimes need to get rid of the unpleasant old memories, negative habits and our fixed mind set. When we are free from the past burdens then we can take advantage of the present.

If an eagle can make a life saving and life changing decision at the age of 40, why can't we? In order to take on a New Journey ahead, let go of your negative old limiting beliefs.

Open up your mind and allow yourself fly high like an eagle!


http://metropolexpress.com/more/opinion/item/5898-weathering-the-storm-by-gbenga-owotoki-florida-usa

The former APC chieftain spoke against the background of his current noticeable hobnobbing with chieftains of the ruling party.

Osoba on Saturday told MPX @metropolexpress correspondent on the telephone that talks were in top gear between him and the top echelon of the APC on what he called “an amicable reconciliation.”

When asked if he had returned to the APC, Osoba replied, “No, no. But there is an ongoing discussion between us but there is no final decision yet.

I believe that the good cause of the Yoruba and the nation will give us the grace to come to an amicable reconciliation.”

The ex-governor told our correspondent that the split between him and the other progressives prior to the 2015 general election was nothing personal.

He said the issues which led to his departure from the APC were being discussed and addressed in the ongoing talks.

Osoba noted that he had been a progressive and remained one; which was why he had not crossed to the conservatives.

He said, “They (his grievances) are part of what we are discussing. We are discussing the implementation of our constitution. It has been a major issue and we are discussing it.

“There was nothing personal about the whole thing. There was nothing personal amongst us. It was only issues affecting progressivism. I am still a progressive; that is why I won’t go to the conservative rank under any circumstance.”

The SDP chieftain, however, declined comments on the N100m allegedly given to the National Chairman of the SDP, Chief Olu Falae, by a former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Tony Anenih, which was alleged to be part of the $2.1bn arms procurement fund diverted by former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki, (retd.).

On what will be the fate of the SDP should his current talks with the APC become successful, Osoba said, “The SDP remains, because the party has elective members at all levels of legislation in the country. There are state assembly members and members of the House of Representatives.

“Virtually by law, the SDP remains a party. The Independent National Electoral Commission cannot deregister the SDP. But I don’t want to comment further on that.”

The ex-Ogun governor debunked insinuations that his supposed return to the APC fold was in preparation for the 2019 general election, saying it was too early to make such prediction and move.

He said, “The government is less than one year old and none of us is God. One must not predict tomorrow not to talk of predicting 2019.”

http://metropolexpress.com/politics/item/5919-i-am-returning-to-apc-osoba

The government of Zimbabwe says it has secured a 200-million-dollar loan from Africa Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank) to import maize.

The country’s Central Bank Governor, John Mangudya, said on Friday in Harare that the loan was to meet the shortfall in maize production occasioned by drought.

More:-

http://metropolexpress.com/business/item/5895-zimbabwe-gets-200m-from-afrimex-bank-to-import-maize

Shebab militants, Somalia’s Islamist Shebab militants killed around 20 people when five gunmen detonated a bomb before storming a popular seaside restaurant in the capital Mogadishu, police and witnesses said Friday.
“They killed nearly 20 people, including women and children,” Somali police officer Mohamed Abdirahman said, describing it as a “barbaric and brutal attack against innocent civilians”.
The Lido beach area in Mogadishu is busy with restaurants, including upmarket establishments popular with business people and diaspora Somalis who have returned home to the city.
After a huge explosion, gunmen burst into the restaurant on Thursday evening as diners were sitting down for their evening meal at the start of Somalia’s weekend.
“The fact that they have chosen this location during a weekend night shows how merciless the Shebab militants are,” Abdirahman added.
“They wanted to kill more civilians but the security forces rescued most of the people.”
The Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab claimed responsibility for the attack, in which four of their gunmen were also killed, and one captured.
“The mujahedeen fighters targeted the Lido Beach,” the militants said on the group’s Radio Andalus, calling it a “major operation against the enemy of Allah”.
Security minister Abdirazak Omar Mohamed told reporters that four of the attackers were shot dead by security forces.
The minister added that one gunman was captured when security forces entered the building to end the attack.
Survivors described the gunmen spraying those in the restaurant with automatic weapons.

– Point blank range –
Abdirahman Halane was close to the restaurant when the gunmen attacked, and said some of those killed were hit by an explosion as they tried to flee.
“The gunmen entered the popular Lido Sea Food Restaurant from the back door and started shooting… a few minutes later there was a heavy explosion at the front gate while people were trying to escape,” Halane said.
“There was confusion, everybody started panicking, and some of them ran towards the gunmen and they were shot dead, I was lucky to escape,” he said.
Another witness described how some of those killed had died in the large blast, while others were shot dead at point blank range.
“There is a big mess here and many people died, I saw the dead bodies of 19 people who were killed during the attack,” said Hussein Ali, who saw the bodies being carried out of the damaged building.
“Some of the people died in the explosion while fleeing and others were shot dead up close.”
The Shebab, who are fighting to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu, carry out regular attacks in the capital.
Last week the insurgents stormed a Kenyan army base in southwest Somalia, in the latest incident of an AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) base being overrun by the militants.
A Shebab statement said that more than 100 Kenyan soldiers based at the mission were killed and others captured.
Kenya has so far declined to say how many of its soldiers were killed, injured or remain missing.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday visited wounded soldiers recovering in hospital in the capital Nairobi.

http://metropolexpress.com/politics/item/5894-somalia-terrorists-kills-19-in-restaurant-attack

FIFA's Sepp Blatter may have been banned for eight years from the game but he is still receiving his president's salary from world soccer's governing body, a spokesman for FIFA's Audit and Compliance Committee told Reuters on Monday.

Blatter was suspended for 90 days by FIFA on Oct 8 and then banned from the game for eight years last month for ethics violations over a $2 million payment FIFA made to European soccer boss Michel Platini with Blatter's approval in 2011.

But Blatter, a Swiss national who has been president of FIFA since 1998, will continue to be paid until a new president is elected on Feb 26, the spokesman Andreas Bantel said. That would mean Blatter would have been paid for nearly five months during which time he was unable to carry out his duties, and a period in which FIFA has appointed an acting president, African soccer head Issa Hayatou.

The compensation sub-committee of FIFA's Audit and Compliance Committee recently ruled that it could stop Blatter's bonuses but not, according to his contract, his salary.

"Until the election of a new president on February 26, Mr Blatter is the elected president and therefore - according to his contract - is entitled to receive his remuneration," Bantel said.

Blatter's U.S. lawyer and his Switzerland-based spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment.

FIFA is facing the worst corruption crisis in it history as a total of 41 individuals and entities, including many former FIFA officials, have been charged with corruption-related offences in the United States. The U.S. investigation is far from over and FIFA also faces a parallel Swiss probe.

Blatter's bonuses have been stopped because he was not carrying out his duties of supervising the organization, including its general secretary.

Only last week, FIFA announced that Jerome Valcke was fired from his position as general secretary. It gave no reason but an investigation had followed allegations of corruption related to World Cup ticket sales.

COMPENSATION A SECRET

"The duty of supervision is listed explicitly in the target agreements for the payment of bonuses. The compensation committee has therefore decided, at its last meeting, not to make any further bonus payments to Mr Blatter," said Bantel.

The size of Blatter's compensation from FIFA has remained secret although reforms to be voted on at the organization's February Congress call for the disclosure of individual compensation for the president and top executives.

It is also unclear what Hayatou is getting paid to be acting president.

FIFA's finances may have taken a blow in the past year because of the costs and distractions of the corruption scandal. According to a report from the UK's Press Association late last year, the organization suffered its first loss last year since 2001.

Bantel declined to discuss what proportion of Blatter's payments came from his bonuses.

The FIFA Ethics Committee said the payment to Platini, made at a time when Blatter was seeking re-election, lacked transparency and presented conflicts of interest, though both men denied any wrongdoing. Platini has also been banned from soccer for eight years.

http://metropolexpress.com/sports/item/5864-fifa-pays-sepp-blatter-s-despite-8-years-ban

You probably have seen Chiwetel Ejiofor star in ’12 years a slave’ but an adaptation for ’24 years a slave’ might be on the cards following startling revelations about enslavement of Ofonime Inuk.
For more than two decades, Ofonime Inuk was forced to work 17 hours a day in the suburban home of an NHS doctor and his wife.
The Nigerian orphan was just 14 when Dr. Emmanuel Edet, 61, and his wife, senior nursing sister Antan, lured him away from Nigeria with the promises of a better life in the UK.
But once he set foot in their west London home in December 1989, Mr Inuk, now 40, had his passport taken and soon discovered what the couple intended for him .
He was made to cook and clean the house, eat his meals alone, and help raise the couple’s sons as they travelled the country working for a number of NHS trusts.
And at the end of his gruelling 17-hour day Mr Inuk would curl up on a thin foam mattress in the hallway of the property.

Read the rest of the story on :-
http://metropolexpress.com/component/k2/item/5800-24-years-a-slave-in-west-london-inuk-tells-story

As Lagos public schools resumed on Monday, primary school pupils who are supposed to enjoy the ‘A-Meal-A Day’ programme of the State Government did not get to enjoy the meal on the first day of resumption.

Across the metropolis, all public primary schools pupils did not receive the meal, as the state government is yet to start feeding them.

At least, N2 billion is earmarked for the project in this year’s budget by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

There was no sign of the meal being served in the schools as children observed the break period and closed from school without the meal.

A teacher from Seven Day Adventist, Akoka, Yaba who craved anonymity, said the school has not heard anything about the free meal for pupils, saying that government is yet to begin the scheme.

The ‘A-Meal-A Day’ programme not starting in Lagos public schools might not be unconnected with the non-passage of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2016 budget by the National Assembly as the programme is a joint collaboration between the Federal Government and Lagos State.

Ambode had said that the programme would be done in collaboration with the Federal Government, which would provide 60 per cent of the funding.

He said that the state government would provide the remaining 40 per cent, noting that the programme would commence this year but no date was stated.

“This programme promises not only to improve the daily nutrition of our children, but also create an economy of its own, with opportunities for job creation, income generation, poverty alleviation, and so on,” he said.

Also, Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Akinyemi Ashade disclosed that N2 billion had been earmarked for the project.

Efforts to get the Deputy Governor and Commissioner for Education, Dr. Oluranti Adebule on when the free meal programme would start proved abortive as a text message sent to her mobile phone was not replied.

http://metropolexpress.com/education/item/5791-ambode-yet-to-start-a-meal-a-day-program-as-shown-in-2016-budget

In the days of innocence, the preachment was ‘Blessed are the peace makers’. In these days of globalisation, rather than make peace, nations tend to stoke the fires of conflict. So is it with the Saudi Arabia-Iran spat which began with the January 2, 2016 mass execution of forty seven persons after trials which even the usually complacent United Nations described as raising “serious concerns over the nature of the charges and the fairness of the process”

At least four of the victims are Shiite. These included Sheik Nimr al-Nimr who had been identified with peaceful protests. Nimr, a known anti- gun cleric was shot before being arrested, held for eight months and then charged with nebulous crimes like “breaking allegiance with the ruler”. Forty three of the men were beheaded while three faced the firing squad.

Read the rest on :-


http://metropolexpress.com/columns/item/5778-saudi-arabia-terrorism-as-a-state-policy

In the days of innocence, the preachment was ‘Blessed are the peace makers’. In these days of globalisation, rather than make peace, nations tend to stoke the fires of conflict. So is it with the Saudi Arabia-Iran spat which began with the January 2, 2016 mass execution of forty seven persons after trials which even the usually complacent United Nations described as raising “serious concerns over the nature of the charges and the fairness of the process”

At least four of the victims are Shiite. These included Sheik Nimr al-Nimr who had been identified with peaceful protests. Nimr, a known anti- gun cleric was shot before being arrested, held for eight months and then charged with nebulous crimes like “breaking allegiance with the ruler”. Forty three of the men were beheaded while three faced the firing squad.

Read the rest on :-


http://metropolexpress.com/columns/item/5778-saudi-arabia-terrorism-as-a-state-policy