₦airaland Forum

Hopes of quick resolution
of the present face-off
between the Federal
Government and the
Academic Staff Union of
Universities were dashed
on Tuesday as the Minister
of Finance, Dr. Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala, said the
government has no
resources to meet the
union demands.
Foreclosing possible truce
to the five-week old
industrial action that has
paralysed academic
activities in the nation’s
ivory towers, Okonjo-
Iwela said the striking
university lecturers were
asking for N92 billion in
extra allowances,
maintaining that
government lack means of
picking the bill.
Speaking in Minna at the
annual National Council on
Finance and Economic
Development meeting, the
minister said that ASUU
demand was coming at a
time government was
making efforts at reducing
the structure of public
expenditures.
The theme of the meeting
is: “Restructuring Nigeria’s
Finances.”She said, “At
present ASUU wants the
government to pay N92
billion in extra allowances
when resources are not
there and when we are
working to integrate past
increases in pensions. We
need to make choices in
this country as we are
getting to the stage where
recurrent expenditures
take the bulk of our
resources and people get
paid but can do no work.”
She declared that if the
demands of the university
lecturers are met and “we
continue to pay them
salaries and allowances
we will not be able to
provide infrastructure in
the universities.”
The minister argued that
when she assumed office
“the share of recurrent
expenditure in our total
budgets had increased
astronomically.
“In fact recurrent
expenditures accounted
for about 77.2 per cent of
the federal budget and we
are now working to re-
balance this ratio,” the
minister added.

Thanks @Qtsnow, i need a support that I will read legible Arabic nd not translator. Jazakallahu khayran

Please I need your help on how I can read Arabic text on my Tecno N3. I enquired about it on the phones section but could not get a response. I am a subscriber to many Islamic pages on Facebook but unfortunately I can't read any message that comes in Arabic. I have earlier tried downloading a reader from Google Play but it does not work on my browsers. Please if you have any alternative, help me out! Jazakumullahu khayran

Still awaiting official announcement from the Sultan's palace.Reliable sources from the palace say that compilation of the report for the moon sighting is ongoing as the crescent has been sighted in almost 13 towns across the country

Subhanallah, a mu'takif nairalanding!

And when will they lead protests against prostitution, sodomy and lesbianism?

Etisalat just sent me this message :
Etisalat/Tecno Week: Buy TECNO T341 @N2,850 & TECNO P3 Android phone @12K with 1yr free data. Fantastic gifts also available @participating Experience Centers.
K, 1 yr free data? Does this mean that the data will be unlimited?

Hisn al-Muslim (downloadable from Playstore) though I am having troubles with my N3 regarding Arabic support. I will appreciate if you help me out. Jazakumullahu khayran

Samsung,pls try again! Tecno all the way

Still waiting for the announcement from the Sultan's palace

Please how do I get my Tecno N3 to support writing symbols other than English. Any time I encounter such alphabets, it shows some empty boxes. Thanks in anticipation of your response.

These Egyptians will come to regret this move?

Why is this thread not on the FRONT PAGE?

Jazakumullahu khayran. May Allah make it a success nd may He strengthen our brotherhood

I didn't see any punching in the video

In Gombe State, three university graduates,
unlike their counterparts across the country,
didn’t wait for a non-forthcoming white collar
jobs from blue chip companies after their
graduation. Instead, they decided to task their
brains by putting their professional calling into
practice.
These graduates – two chemical engineers and
economist – sourced funds from relatives and
subsequently obtained loan from the Bank of
Industry (BOI), and established a medium scale
fertilizer factory in Gombe metropolis,
producing about 150 bags per day and
employing 60 workers.
Adamu Garba Madi, the chemical engineer, is
the chief executive officer of Amal-Trio Nigeria
Limited, the manufacturers of Diamond
Fertilizer in Gombe. An indigene of Gombe, he
graduated from the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
University (ATBU), Bauchi in 2010.
The two other partners are Engineer Umar
Aliyu, a graduate of chemical engineering from
ATBU and Aliyu Usman, an economics graduate
from Gombe State University. The three
graduates, apart from their calling, also have
experience in mechanical engineering; thereby
they are the same people maintaining their
machines.
How it all started
Madi said the business was conceived to create
employment for the teeming youth in the area.
“One of the motivating factors is to create
employment opportunities for our teeming
youth. Second, is to tap and harness the
abundant raw material deposits we have in
Gombe State for fertilizer production. Third, is
to encourage agriculture which has been the
backbone of Nigerian economy and its
dominant contributor to our GDP.”
He said the business was actually kick started
by partnering with his two friends. “Actually,
we started this business in a form of
partnership between me and two of my
friends. Together we sourced funds from our
relatives and our personal savings to start the
business,” he said.
“We first started with the research because it
is my field of study as a chemical engineer.
This is coupled with some training I acquired
from some fertilizer industries that I have
done some industrial training with, so I can
say we started with research before we go into
production.
“After that, Gombe State government in
conjunction with the Bank of Industry (BOI)
came out with a loan scheme for small scale
businesses. We applied for that loan through a
cooperative society and we were able to get
more funds from them which actually helped
us a lot to increase our production and expand
our market,” he said.
Madi said running the business was made easy
because “one of us is into the business of
selling and marketing the product, so we have
a market channel through him. Another one is
a technician, so we can maintain our
equipment ourselves and we the chemical
engineers oversee the production. You can see
that we have a great team.”
More capital, higher production
Having started with about N3.5million sourced
from relatives in 2011, the intervention by the
Bank of Industry (BOI) came handy when they
obtained the loan of N8.5million. Madi said
“as I am talking to you now, the business has
grown and we give thanks to Almighty Allah for
that. We have doubled or I can say tripled our
capital base at the moment.”
“We have now reached a stage where the state
government is about to patronize our
products. We started as a small garage
business and we are now moving into a small
and medium scale enterprise and in the
nearest future we hope to turn this place into
an industry and not a factory anymore,” he
said.
He said about 80 per cent of their raw
materials are locally sourced in Gombe, with
only few chemicals being imported, adding that
their product is being marketed through
different marketing channels. “We actually
started with the neighbouring states, because
we believed at the initial stage that people
here in Gombe will not accept us because of
the popular saying that a prophet is not
respected in his own domain. So, we started
outside our state, when we got acceptance
from outside our home, we now started taking
our product to Gombe market. And actually
people are enjoying our product and they are
patronizing us very well and our market is
growing day by day,” he said.
The many challenges
He said one of their biggest challenges right
now is capital. “This is a capital intensive
business, it needs you to continue producing
all year round to stockpile and send to the
market so that when the season comes, you
need not to rush into production because you
cannot produce much during the season,” he
said.
“Second, we have a challenge of working
equipment. We need more equipment. We will
need a standard laboratory, as it is now we
have to send to Jos or ABU for test of our
product and that is a great challenge. If we
have our laboratory here it will minimise the
cost of transportation and other
inconveniencies which will help in saving cost,”
he said.
Power, he said, is another challenge they have
to live with.
Out dated machinery is another headache. He
said “the state of our equipment is at the
factory level. As you can see, our equipment
are in dire need of change, we need equipment
that can give us long working hours and for us
to produce in large quantity.”
Short supplies
Some of the fertilizer traders in Gombe told
Weekly Trust that the producer cannot meet
up their huge demand. “I know Diamond
Fertilizer, because the owner of the company
is my relative but we don’t sell the fertilizer in
our shop, because the company has not grown
to meet our large demands of fertilizer,”
Malam Habu Salihu Shehu, a trader in Gombe
main market said.
However, he said the product “is good,
because those who have used it are asking
about the fertilizer. We only direct them to
where they can get it. People like the product.
In a day, they cannot produce more than 600
bags and we sell between five and six loads of
trailers, so you can see that they cannot meet
my supply. If they improve on their
production capacity, we will definitely
patronize them and people are really
commending the fertilizer,” Shehu said.
But another trader, Malam Abdulmalik said he
sells the product in his shop, “but not as much
as the already known products. I sell
between10 and 15 bags of Diamond Fertilizer
in this shop every day. And the reason why you
don’t see it in my shop now is that the market
has not really picked up as the raining season
has just begun.”
Malam Hamza Sulaiman, another trader told
Weekly Trust that “they have two types of
products - the super and MPK. And we are
selling super at N3,200 while MPK is N4,200
per bag. We have not received any negative
complain about the products from farmers.
Most of the people who use the products are
saying it is good and can compete favorably
with the older ones. Farmers are asking about
it more especially the super product.”
What is the government doing?
Gombe State Commissioner for Agriculture,
Buba Biri, said the development is laudable
and the state is ready to encourage such
ventures. “We are buying fertilizer in large
quantity from other places, so, if an indigene
of the state can use his talent and produce it
here in Gombe, it is a welcome development.
Why can’t we buy from him to encourage
him?”
The commissioner said the state government is
already in talks with the producer to fine tunes
ways of offering a helping hand. “Already, we
have had discussion with him and we have
taken a sample of his products to Zaria for test
and once it is proven to be of good quality, we
are assuring him that whatever quantity he
produces we are going to buy from him, not
necessary directly. We have already introduced
him to one of the already known seasoned
dealers. We are going to absorb him into the
system. Once it is proved that the fertilizer is
of good and right quality he can be assured of
the market; there is no problem about that,”
Biri said.
The commissioner also explained that “the
Gombe State fertilizer blending plant has
already been leased to other company here in
Gombe that is WAPCO for a numbers of years.
When the lease expires and we are satisfied
with his requirements for the use of the place,
we are going to lease it out to him. After all,
he is our own and it is to our credit that an
indigene is producing here in Gombe.”
He said that it is the state government desire
to help “anybody with that initiative. We are
going to encourage him to succeed. At the
expiration of the of the current lease period, if
he shows interest to use the place we will give
him not even on a lease basis. If he is going to
use it well, we will give the go ahead to use it
free of charge. It is for the benefit of the
state.”
“At our disposal at the ministry of agriculture,
the best we can do for him now is to
guarantee him market. And other facilities that
government gives manufactures, industrialists
or people who are into small scale businesses
in the state, the ministry of commerce and
industry is there to attend to them and give
them all the necessary support needed for
their growth base on the available resources
and policies they have,” the agric
commissioner said.
Biri explained that though the blending plant
being used by the producer “is out dated. Most
fertilizers now are no longer blended
physically as they used to do, because of the
availability of chemical blending. Fertilizer will
contain all the chemicals potassium, nitrogen
and other materials needed and that makes it
cheaper. Nevertheless we are still going to
encourage him.”

bobthebuilder99: Are you trying to start an African Dark Age?

What do you mean by that? If you have nothing pertinent to write, you can go your way!

A fool @ 62 is a fool forever

Islam doesn't need this sort of purported miracles to prove that it is the true religion

Coz Azazi, the gun-runner, is no more

Gunmen yesterday raided a village in Zamfara
State and killed at least 48 people including
the district head, chief imam and the local
vigilante leader.
The attack in Kizara village of Tsafe local
government area started at about 4am and
lasted for more than five hours, residents told
a Daily Trust reporter who visited the area
soon after the incident.
Witnesses said dozens of unidentified gunmen
arrived on motorbikes, and laid siege on the
village, firing at residents.
Some of the gunmen climbed a hill behind the
village and shot at people trying to escape the
attack as well as those trying to come in to
help from neighbouring villages.
The gunmen also went house-to-house,
shooting men dead. They told residents that
they were looking for vigilante members who
they said were threatening them for a long
time.
During the attack, chief imam of the village,
his deputy and three of his disciples were
killed. Also shot dead were 11 people who
came in from neighbouring villages to offer
help.
The gunmen also set fire to many houses and
shops before they fled the village around 9
am.
Residents said the Divisional Police Officer in
charge of Keta division engaged the attackers
in a shootout for hours but he was
overwhelmed and had to retreat.
Alhaji Ali Hakimi, who survived the attack, gave
an account of the incident to our reporter: “I
woke up in the morning to get my children set
for work on my farm. I suddenly started to
hear gun shots. I listened attentively and I
realized that sounds of the gun shots were
coming directly behind me.
“I then sensed trouble and quickly run into my
house. I saw one of my children standing at
the compound and I told him to hide himself
in a room close to mine but before he did that
they came and shot him dead.”
Another resident, Idi Namarake, told Daily
Trust that when he heard the gunshots, his
wife advised him to hide under the bed, and
soon after the gunmen forced their way into
the room. They asked the wife where her
husband was and she told them he had
travelled. “That was how I escaped being
killed,” he said.
The attack in Kizara came just two days after
the security agents stationed at the village
were withdrawn.
State police commissioner Mr Akila Usman
Gwary confirmed the attack, saying the police
would leave no stone unturned in bringing the
perpetrators to justice.
This was the deadliest in the series of bandit
attacks on villages in Zamfara State over the
past two years.
In November last year, 20 people were shot
dead in a similar attack in Kabaro town. A
month earlier, 27 were killed in Dangulbi,
while in Birnin Magaji 15 were killed in
February 2012. These were preceded by the
August 2011 attack in which 19 died at
Lingyado town.
In most of the attacks, it was believed that the
gunmen were trying to exact revenge from
vigilantes who had previously arrested armed
robbers terrorizing local traders.
Similar attacks have also happened in
neighboring Kaduna and Katsina states. Just
days ago, bandits attacked Kwasa-Kwasa in
Kaduna State, killing two military personnel
and four other people. In previous incidents in
Kaduna State, 20 people were killed in Dogon
Dawa in October 2012; 3 cops died in Birnin
Gwari in the same month; and seven people
were killed in Goron Dutse earlier this month.

Gunmen yesterday raided a village in Zamfara
State and killed at least 48 people including
the district head, chief imam and the local
vigilante leader.
The attack in Kizara village of Tsafe local
government area started at about 4am and
lasted for more than five hours, residents told
a Daily Trust reporter who visited the area
soon after the incident.
Witnesses said dozens of unidentified gunmen
arrived on motorbikes, and laid siege on the
village, firing at residents.
Some of the gunmen climbed a hill behind the
village and shot at people trying to escape the
attack as well as those trying to come in to
help from neighbouring villages.
The gunmen also went house-to-house,
shooting men dead. They told residents that
they were looking for vigilante members who
they said were threatening them for a long
time.
During the attack, chief imam of the village,
his deputy and three of his disciples were
killed. Also shot dead were 11 people who
came in from neighbouring villages to offer
help.
The gunmen also set fire to many houses and
shops before they fled the village around 9
am.
Residents said the Divisional Police Officer in
charge of Keta division engaged the attackers
in a shootout for hours but he was
overwhelmed and had to retreat.
Alhaji Ali Hakimi, who survived the attack, gave
an account of the incident to our reporter: “I
woke up in the morning to get my children set
for work on my farm. I suddenly started to
hear gun shots. I listened attentively and I
realized that sounds of the gun shots were
coming directly behind me.
“I then sensed trouble and quickly run into my
house. I saw one of my children standing at
the compound and I told him to hide himself
in a room close to mine but before he did that
they came and shot him dead.”
Another resident, Idi Namarake, told Daily
Trust that when he heard the gunshots, his
wife advised him to hide under the bed, and
soon after the gunmen forced their way into
the room. They asked the wife where her
husband was and she told them he had
travelled. “That was how I escaped being
killed,” he said.
The attack in Kizara came just two days after
the security agents stationed at the village
were withdrawn.
State police commissioner Mr Akila Usman
Gwary confirmed the attack, saying the police
would leave no stone unturned in bringing the
perpetrators to justice.
This was the deadliest in the series of bandit
attacks on villages in Zamfara State over the
past two years.
In November last year, 20 people were shot
dead in a similar attack in Kabaro town. A
month earlier, 27 were killed in Dangulbi,
while in Birnin Magaji 15 were killed in
February 2012. These were preceded by the
August 2011 attack in which 19 died at
Lingyado town.
In most of the attacks, it was believed that the
gunmen were trying to exact revenge from
vigilantes who had previously arrested armed
robbers terrorizing local traders.
Similar attacks have also happened in
neighboring Kaduna and Katsina states. Just
days ago, bandits attacked Kwasa-Kwasa in
Kaduna State, killing two military personnel
and four other people. In previous incidents in
Kaduna State, 20 people were killed in Dogon
Dawa in October 2012; 3 cops died in Birnin
Gwari in the same month; and seven people
were killed in Goron Dutse earlier this month.

Nigeria has recorded a feat with the recent
launch of a locally made in Nigeria motorcycle
constructed by the National Agency for Science
and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI).
Speaking at the launching in Anambra State,
the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the
agency, Dr.Mohammed Haruna, said the made-
in-Nigeria motorcycle called “NASENI M1” was
proof of the potential capability of the agency
to provide necessary engineering and
technology infrastructure for Nigeria’s
industrial development.
Haruna said that the 80C engine motorcycle
was conceived, designed and manufactured
using local materials by Nigerian engineers at
the National Engineering Design Development
Institute (NEDDI), Nnewi , Anambra State -one
of the nine Research and Development (R&)
institutes supervised by NASENI.
The EVC disclosed that the product was
basically one of the targets of the Agency in
response to President Goodluck Jonathan’s
vision 20:2020 economic transformation
agenda.
He said, “The Federal Government which the
Agency is part of, has promised Nigerians a
better socio-economic deal by year 2020 even
as Mr.President has also committed the
government to elevate the economic status of
Nigeria to be among the 20 fastest growing
economies in the world by 2020.”
He remarked that by NASENI’s reckoning, a
country could only be self reliant and
economically developed when her citizens
begin to exercise and assert their ingenuities in
productive capacities or real time
manufacturing towards technological
advancement of the country.
According to him, “Nigerians must demonstrate
real capacities for engineering technology
development, and production of manufactured
goods and a service, saying that is why NASENI
had taken this bold step to demonstrate to
Nigerians that Mr.President’s dream is both
realizable and is even being realized.”
He called on the federal government to ban
the importation of motorcycles as he declared
bravely that Nigeria has perfected the
technology and manufacturing capacity to
mass produce motorcycles in Nnewi, South-
East Nigeria.
“About 20 million Nigerians today rely on
motorcycles as a means of transport and many
unemployed youths and men support their
families or earn a living from running
motorcycle as a commercial venture. Imagine
the large number of jobs that will be created if
only Nigeria could close her borders against
the importation of motorcycles and allow
entrepreneurs to invest in the manufacturing
of the parts including production of the
motorcycle locally.
“Nigeria, no doubt, has all the materials
needed to produce motorcycles in Nigeria, 100
percent. NASENI has both the raw materials
survey, their locations, equipment and the
critical human capacity, design, feasibility
studies and the business plan for running a
successful plant to produce motorcycles. What
we are waiting for now is for Nigerian
entrepreneurs to come forward and take
advantage of this profitable investment to
manufacture of the motorcycles,” he stressed.
He reiterated the need for the private sector,
especially the Small and Medium Scale
Entreprises (SME’s) to collaborate with the
agency by buying into the technology and mass
producing them, stressing that doing so will
not only contribute immensely to the nation’s
Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but will also
depopulate the growing unemployment market.
“The law establishing NASENI and its institutes
does not allow it to embark on full scale
manufacturing of products and or become full
scale player in the market but for every
technology and engineering products
developed within the agency system to be
ceded to the private sector for commercial
purpose or mass production. Its mission
includes hitherto establishing and nurturing
appropriate dynamic science and engineering
infrastructure base for achieving home
initiated and home sustained industrialization
through the development of relevant
processes, capital goods and equipment
necessary for job creation, national economic
well-being and progress,” he added.
He further said that the primary target of
NASENI is to empower SMEs through
impartation of technologies, engineering
principles and practices for production of
equipment that will meet international
standards as well as sustenance of a flourishing
local capital goods or industry.
In a statement signed by the Chief Information
Officer (Media and Protocol), Mr. Segun
Ayeoyenikan, it said hitherto, NASENI’s
mandate is concerned with activities in the
areas of capital goods research, production
and reverse engineering of parts with respect
to engineering materials (iron, steel,
nonferrous metals and alloys, plastics, glass,
ceramics, polymer electronics and
nanotechnology); industrial and analytical
chemical materials including industrial glasses;
scientific equipment and components for
education, research and industry including
measuring instruments, electronic
components, communication equipment and
computers, solid minerals machinery and other
heavy equipment manufacturing.

Perhaps another emergency landing!

May Allah guide him aright. Amin

A storm is building over the absence of a place
of worship for Muslims at the Rivers State
University.
In the Rivers State University of Science and
Technology, for hundreds of Muslim students
freedom of worship and lawful assembly have
taken on the character of an illusion.
There is mounting disquiet in the university
community. The Muslim community has
accused the management of religious
intolerance, following the demolition of a
makeshift Mosque where some students and
staff of the university worship. Daily Trust
investigations revealed that the Mosque was
acquired about eleven years ago, but there was
no structure built there. The worshippers used
to observe their prayers on the floor.
However, eight years later when the population
of the students increased, the local chapter of
the Muslim students society of Nigeria put
resources together to erect a tent on the site.
“But the management of the university used
security operatives to remove the tent’’ said
Sulaiman Abdul Awwal, an executive member
of the Muslim students society of Nigeria,
MSSN. According to him “thereafter, notable
people from the state gave us money to
construct another makeshift shelter. But we
decided to lay a few blocks to separate the site
from other facilities.” After the structure was
raised, the management was said to have told
the students that the Mosque was built on an
unapproved site. “This prompted us to apply
for a piece of land to build the Mosque,”
Sulaiman added.
Daily Trust obtained a series of letters written
to the management of the university to
allocate a permanent site for the construction
of a new Mosque, but their efforts met a brick
wall as none of the letters were acknowledged
by the university authority. When the structure
was renovated on December 3 2011 to make
the Mosque more conducive for worshippers,
the university authority, through its director of
works, directed that the work should stop. The
works director argued that the Mosque was the
only illegal structure that was erected in the
campus, and threatened to demolish the
structures two days after. A threat he carried
out to the letter. However, the works director
on January 25, 2012, brought in a bulldozer to
flatten the structures. Despite pleas by the
students to the demolition team, their
properties were thrown away as the building
was reduced to a rubble. Since then hundreds
of Muslims in the university have had no place
of worship.
Daily Trust investigation revealed that Christian
faithful such as the Anglican, Roman Catholic
and Pentecostal worshippers have befitting
places of worship in the university campus,
which was constructed by the university
authority. There were a series of letters written
by the Students and addressed to the National
Universities Commission, Rivers State
governor, the office of the Vice Chancellor, as
well as the Supreme Council for Islamic affairs
to intervene in the matter. Despite all these
letters no action was taken to remedy the
situation. One of the letters addressed to the
National Universities Commission and dated
7th March, 2012, reads in part “On behalf of
the Muslim students, Muslim community and
other affected and concerned Muslims of
Rivers State University of science and
technology, we wish to express our grievances
over the manifest intolerance and continued
discrimination against Muslims, which resulted
in the demolition of the only Mosque of the
University of Science and Technology, and the
eventual arrest and detention of law abiding
Muslim students by the authority of University
of science and technology.”
“It is worthy that we bring to your attention
that since the year 2000, the Muslim students
and Muslim community of the school, as well
as some Muslim organizations in the state,
have made repeated demands, and numerous
letters have been written to the school
authority for the allocation of a parcel of land
for the erection of Mosque in the School
premises, as enjoyed by other organization
especially our Christians counterparts of
different denominations.”
Another letter dated 11th April 2008 and
addressed to the Rivers State Governor
Chibuike Amaechi on the same issue, did not
yield any result. The letter signed by the
Muslim Students Society of Nigeria reminded
the Governor of the need to provide an all
round development and transformation of
youths into individuals that are reformed, and
positioned to contribute positively to the
growth of the society.
Part of the letter reads “the development
includes the integrate areas of academics,
social and religion. On the area of religious
development the authorities of the University
have done well in providing and aiding in the
provision of mega structures for the Christian
students. It is however sad to note that the
Muslim faithful have not been catered for in
this regard.”
“We have been observing our religious rights
from a makeshift tent, susceptible to harsh
climatic conditions, which itself is constantly
under demolition threats from the school
authority as of the case of 19th March 2005
when the tent was demolished and our
properties carted away.”
The student’s appeal to the governor to come
to their aid and ensured that a befitting
Mosque was constructed for them as was done
for their Christian counterparts, did not
receive any positive response. The appeal did
not see the light of the day as the Students
were again ignored.
In pressing further their demand for equal
treatment, the students sent several delegates
to well meaning Nigerians, prominent among
them were Jamaatu Nasril Islam under the
leadership of late Sultan M. Maccido, who sent
the Emir of Illorin, Alhaji Sulu Gambari to
plead and request on behalf of the Muslim
community in RSUST, that the school should
consider the interest of the Muslim students,
by allocating land for them for the building of
their Mosque, which also failed.
The recent in the illegal acts of the authorities
of the University occurred on 25th of January
2012. While the Muslim students were
observing their morning prayers, some officials
of the university came and forced their way
into the makeshift Mosque that was erected by
the Muslim students, and in a gestapo manner
these officials started demolishing the
structures. The makeshift structure was
brought down and some Muslim Students were
arrested and handed over to the Police.
Ustaz Oloyede, the Imam of Muslim
Community and chairman of welfare, League of
Imams and scholars, Rivers State chapter told
Daily Trust in Port Harcourt that the Muslim
community in the State have explored all the
avenue for dialogue to ensure that the Muslims
in the university are carried along in the
scheme of things. He said that having failed to
achieve that through dialogue, the Students
decided to seek legal action in the matter.
A legal action was instituted by the Students
against the university authorities in the Federal
High Court Port Harcourt, presided over by
Justice Lambo Akanbi. The applicants which
included the ninety eight Muslim students in
the university in a suit no FHC/PHC/
CS150/2012 asked the court to declare that
the failure and the refusal of the respondent
[university authority] to allocate a portion of
land to the applicants for a construction of
Mosque to be used as a prayer house amounts
to a flagrant breach of the applicants
fundamental rights to freedom of thought and
religion.
The applicant therefore sought the order of the
court to compel the respondent to allocate a
parcel of land within the university premises
suitable for the construction of a Mosque
“required for the congregation of the
applicants and the observance of their daily
worship.”
The court thereafter granted the applicants
prayer and in a Judgment delivered on 19th
February 2013 by Justice Akanbe ordered the
university authority to allocate a piece of land
to the Muslim students for the purpose of
construction of their Mosque. Since the
judgment was delivered the university
authority has refused to comply with the
judgment, as the students are yet to secure a
place of worship in the university.
Counsel to the Students Oloriegbe and co. in a
letter dated 7th may 2013 and addressed to
the Vice Chancellor of the university reminded
the university authority of the need for
immediate compliance with the 19th February
Federal High Court judgment, which directed
them to provide a parcel of land suitable for
the construction of a Mosque for the Muslim
students of the University. The counsel in the
letter stated “we have noticed with very much
concern, the continued disobedience of your
person and office to the clear mandatory and
validly given orders of the Federal High Court
sitting in Port Harcourt in the above matter,
and which disrespect obviously persist even as
we have patiently waited and observed the
cynical disposition of the school authority to
the said judgment, three months on.”
While waiting for the university authority to
comply with the court order, the counsel said
“Please be informed that we have advised more
patience on the part of our clients and assured
them that in the event of your continued
failure to comply accordingly, we shall be left
with the inevitable option of returning to the
court in furtherance of our complaint of your
continued belligerence, while the famous form
48 and 49 shall be employed to compel your
good self and all persons defying the
authority.”
Desmond Wosu, the university’s Public
Relations Officer, ignored several telephone
calls made by our reporter to get the reaction
of the university on the issue. He did not also
reply to three separate text messages sent to
him concerning the matter.

Welcome to Nigeria,Dr Zakir Naik

usayab: This is a slap on our faces (we muslim). Must we import everything, even a preacher to our country! Don't we know that we have more than three(3) Naik in each state in Nigeria. I'll ranther listing to Gombe ,Gero or Maiguduma than listining to Naik.

So you xpect a preacher to stay only in his country to preach God's word?

The authorities of Usman Dan Fodio
University (UDUS) have ordered the
immediate and indefinite closure of
the university. The decision followed
demonstrations staged last night by
students at the university’s permanent
campus in Dundaye. The students were
protesting against incessant electric
power outages at the institution. “We
can’t study, we can’t rest, we relax, we
can’t do anything when there is no
light,” a second year political student
of the university told
SaharaReporters.”
Hundreds of irate students demanded
that the management of the university
restore electricity or face widespread
destruction of buildings and other
assets of the institution.
Sokoto state is one of the areas in the
northern part of Nigeria hit by acute
shortage of electricity for more than
one week. The lack of electricity has
crippled economic and social
activities, said our correspondent.
The management of the university
ordered all students to vacate the
institution by noon today.