₦airaland Forum

Surname should be distinguishable from other name(s): Surname should be in capital block letter while the first and/or middle name should be in small letter E.g. “ADEDAYO Goodness Esther” or differentiate the surname from other name(s) using comma “ADEDAYO, GOODNESS ESTHER”.

Arrangement of CV Content: List relevant information that stands you out on the job. List in order such as Name at the very top along with Contact Details(address, phone number and email address) followed by Career Profile/Summary/Objective, next is Skill Summary/Areas of Expertise then Work Experience, Education, Certifications and Professional Affiliation and Training, Personal details and Hobbies.

Personal Information such as Date of Birth, Nationality and sex should come after Education and Training. The first step in writing a winning CV requires you to define the position or type of position you are looking for and assess your top qualifications. The importance of your CV is to sell yourself as the ideal candidate for the job. Make sure the first page or half sells your strength.

Career Profile/Summary: When preparing your CV, write your profile summary first. This statement should be concise, focused and compelling. If you are not limiting yourself to a particular job position/industry, and with your years of experience, it is advisable you use a profile summary instead of objective. Avoid self-serving statements such as “I did …”.

Skills Summary/Areas of Expertise: Your skills represent the tools you bring to a prospective employer. They signify your core competencies, key strengths and unique abilities. It is your combination of skills and ability to use them that represent your qualifications for a given position. This should be concise listing with bullet points.

Reported Experience: The most persuasive experience section includes a bulleted list of your major responsibilities followed by your accomplishments within this position, which demonstrates your ability to produce results in this role. Employers are not interested in job duties rather search for candidates that can communicate not only what tasks they can perform, but how their performance can be translated into measurable results. An Action-Benefit Statement is best used to give a strong and clear description of an action you took, which resulted in a tangible, measurable benefit to your organization.

Wrong use of tense: Present job responsibilities should be reported in present continuous tense while past responsibilities in previous positions should be reported in past tense.

Formatting style: Special formatting styles such as indents, tables and shapes should be left out of a CV. The acceptable margins are Normal, Moderate or Narrow which should be used depending on your preference. Any Indent beyond these margin sizes is not acceptable.

Reference section not needed. Most employers today will assume you can provide references if they are requested. Therefore, you do not have to include references on your CV.

Achievements: They are the results that you personally bring about while fulfilling a certain role. It is not the same as duties that you perform as listed in your job description. It might be a process you improved in the company or anything that you did that led a tangible benefit. This does not apply to fresh graduates but persons with 3 or more years of experience

Your cover letter is the recruiter’s first impression of you, and as such is an integral and vital part of the job application process. A high-quality cover letter will ensure that your CV is noticed, and will set you apart from the bulk of competition.

Before writing a Cover letter, a few things should be done:

Analyze Yourself: [/b]Consider what you have to offer and what skills/ qualifications are relevant to the position and organization.

[b]Analyze the Advertisement: [/b]Take note of the description of the work, not simply the job title. Assume that the duties outlined are the ones the employer considers most important and think about how to link your skills and experience directly to them. Always keep the employer’s needs in mind and don’t mention items that are irrelevant to the position.

Note the Qualification Listed: Consider how your qualifications match this list, and if they do not exactly fit, think about how or why you feel your qualifications would be relevant.

[b]Writing the Cover Letter

Introduction (1-3 sentences):

■Name the job for which you are applying and tell how you learned about it
■State that you are qualified to do the job based on your background (give the employer a sense of your confidence in your own abilities)
■State that you are very interested in the job or the organization and indicate a specific or unique reason why this job or organization appeals to you, which in turn shows that you have done some research – keep this brief)
Body (1-3 paragraphs):

■Determine what you are going to discuss in terms of your education, work/volunteer experience, skills, interests, personality and beliefs (focus on the ones which address the job’s most important requirements)
■Subdivide the body into sections – one possibility is: first paragraph describes what you have to offer, the second describes your interest in and knowledge about the organization
■State the skills/strengths you will bring to the job (address all those asked for in the job advertisement) and include examples or descriptions of how you have acquired and demonstrated each skill/strength
■Explain how the skills/strengths you mention would be useful in the new position
■When including an example of your abilities be specific to allow the employer to visualize what you have done and can do (quantify: how long did you do it, how much responsibility did you have, what techniques did you use and why were they useful?)
Conclusion (1-3 sentences):

■If your body section is more than one paragraph, restate that you are qualified to do the job, but make this sentence different from the one in your opening paragraph
■Thank the employer for taking the time to consider your application
■State that you would like to meet in person to further discuss the job and your qualifications or that you hope to hear from them soon
■You may also want to tell the employer where and when you can be contacted if they require further information.
A few more tips…

■Avoid using Sir or Madam, rather take the time to find out the name of the HR Officer or relevant manager within the company, or use the contact’s name if this is present on the job you’ve seen advertised
■Always check for any spelling mistakes, odd grammar or bad punctuation. Check twice, even three times mistakes such as these are sure to create a bad impression straight away
■Avoid waffling. Your letter should be brief and concise. All details are already included in your CV, and the reader will be put off if your letter is too lengthy
■Always sell yourself, within reason, on the specific requirements mentioned in the advert, demonstrating why you are suited to the job in question
■Avoid fancy fonts and formats, and always make sure the font is of a standard size
■Always make sure your contact details are up to date, and correct

www.collpressng.com
New naija news site where every member is an Editor

The N100 million cash gift allegedly given to parents of abducted Chibok girls when they met President Goodluck Jonathan on July 22 at the Presidential Villa is now causing disquiet among the aggrieved parents.

They have reportedly cried out that they have been cheated by their community leaders in the sharing formula.

The Presidency allegedly handed over the money to leaders of the Chibok community in Abuja for onward presentation to parents of the abducted schoolgirls.

According to a report monitored on Hausa service of the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC, however, some of the parents are now alleging that the Abuja-based community leaders have shortchanged them.

One parent, who was among those who visited the President, told BBC that he got only N200,000.

He said: “I got only N200,000 out of the said N100million allegedly received by our leaders in Abuja. Some of us got N300,000 and some less than that.

He also said that he was not comfortable with the way the money was shared among parents of the kidnapped girls.

According to him: “Our leaders in Abuja are using the girls to enrich themselves. In fact, some of the parents were screened out of the entourage by the Chibok leaders in Abuja. Many of them are residents of Abuja, not parents of the kidnapped girls”.

Another parent, who was screened out of the delegation that visited the President, said he got only N7,000 out of the money shared.

“I was at the farm when they brought the N7, 000 to my house and I collected it. Some of us got even less, some got N300 and below,” he said.

The parents stressed that they were not selling their daughters and that the money from the President just came to them as they neither asked for, nor expected it.

One of the community leaders, Pobu Bitrus, who is also a member of the House of Representatives and was at the meeting with the President explained to the BBC that after meeting with the President, monies were distributed to the parents in envelopes.

“After we met with the president, the parents were given monies in envelopes and that’s all. All other things they are saying about N100million, I don’t know about that,” Mr. Bitrus said.

No money was given — Presidency
In its reaction, yesterday, the Presidency however said that it never gave N100 million to parents of the abducted school girls, who were at the Presidential Villa, Abuja last week, saying the story was absolutely false.

In a text message, yesterday, Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, who noted that the government only took care of the parents’ accommodation and feeding, said “the story is absolute falsehood.

“The President did not give any N100m to the visitors from Chibok. Government took care of their accommodation, feeding and transportation.

“Government’s plan is robust rehabilitation and resettlement of the girls who have escaped so they can continue their education.

“The government also plans to rebuild the school and in general terms, repair damaged infrastructure as a result of Boko Haram insurgency in the North East.”

Three months after the Chibok girls were abducted, President Jonathan finally agreed to meet with their parents following an appeal by the Pakistan girl-child education activist Malala Yusoufai. The Presidency had faced intense criticism over its handling of the kidnap of the Chibok girls being held by the extremist Boko Haram sect since April 14.

Source: http://collpressng.com/?p=9016

Residents of Maiduguri have been restricted from moving freely beginning from Sunday.

Though the military issued a press statement indicating the plan to stop vehicles from moving on the streets in order to check against the alleged plan of Boko Haram terror group to bomb public places during the El-Eid-Fitri celebration, this was expected to begin Monday.
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In fact, the statement issued on Saturday evening stated that the closure of the road to vehicles start on Monday and end on Wednesday.

But the military swung into action Sunday perhaps because some Muslim faithful are having their El-Eid-Fitri prayer.
The closure of the road has made it impossible for many Christians to go to church to worship

Source: http://collpressng.com/?p=8980

Boko Haram insurgents are daily becoming more daring in their attacks, moving into strategic towns and villages, killing, maiming and sacking residents in northeast Borno State.

The militant group has widened its tentacles and is now in control of more than half of the entire communities in the state.

“The more we thought the security situation would become better, the more the attacks on communities,” says Abba Kakami, Borno State chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ).

Kakami’s view only captures the feelings of Borno residents and others in the two North-east states of Adamawa and Yobe where Boko Haram exert more presence. “Each day is like traveling on a long lonely road in apprehension with a faulty vehicle that could break down anytime,” a resident of Maiduguri who did not want his name in print told Sunday Sun, adding that residents had been living in perpetual fear.

“About a year ago, our hope was brightened when young men with sticks arrested Boko Haram militants. We thought the end has come but it is clear now we haven’t seen the end,” he added. The residents lamented that their initial optimism was gradually waning especially as Boko Haram had found safe havens in southern part of Borno and neighbouring Bauchi state to launch more attacks.



Strategic attacks/movement

Boko Haram insurgents have been very strategic in their operations since 2010 when full scale insurgency was launched in Borno, its birthplace. While in Maiduguri, its initial operational base, the sect expanded its base and camps to Marte, a border community in northern Borno, hilly Gwoza area, southeast of the state, Mubi area in north of Adamawa and Gujba, eastern part of Yobe where it occasionally attacked communities. By late 2011, it began full scale attacks in northern Borno, sacked almost all the communities and by early 2013, it took on the central part of the state, starting from Alao near Maiduguri, Borno State capital. It moved gradually to Konduga, Kawuri, Bama, Pulka junction, to Gwoza. The insurgents burnt down almost all the towns and villages around the area and subsequently moved to the southern part of the state. Residents believed the hilly and good vegetation of the Savannah southern part of Borno provides a fertile ground for Boko Haram activities including establishment of camps and operational base. It stepped up its attacks on communities and educational institutions in Borno and Yobe late 2013 and early 2014, leading to the massacre of over 40 students of College of Agriculture Gujba, Yobe State, over 60 students of Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, St Joseph Seminary School, Shuwa, Adamawa State and then, the April 14 abduction of over 200 Chibok schoolgirls, which attracted international outrage. Gujba and Gulani in Yobe and Mubi as well as Madagali in northern Adamawa share border with southern part of Borno where Sambisa Forest, a major Boko Haram camp and Chibok are also situated.



Boko Haram’s new-found haven

Until now, residents of Borno believed the Christian dominated southern part of the state was insulated from Boko Haram attacks but with the kidnap of the schoolgirls in April and subsequent attacks with less restriction from military forces, it became obvious that the terrorists have found a new haven in the friendly southern area. A security source told Sunday Sun that the insurgents shifted their activities to the southern part because of persistent pressure on them and killing of their fighters by Nigerian military troops. “We didn’t give them breathing space. We smoked them out and rooted their camps in Marte. So they decided to move to southern Borno where they can get cover with the vegetation there,” the source explained. He also disclosed that all the nine local governments areas in that axis are easily linked from Sambisa. “I think it was a clear operational strategy by the terrorists. They simply established their camp at Sambisa, a very large area, to continue their terror in the area having been chased out of the northern and central parts. From this point too, they can easily move to Adamawa by the north and Yobe-Bauchi axis by the east,” he stated.

He, however, admitted that the attention of the military “was actually on Sambisa and communities around the general area,” adding that they “did not consider possible attacks” in places like Chibok, Hawul or Askira-Uba “because of the understanding that their children are not easily recruited into the sect due to their level of education.” That purported wrong assessment of the Boko Haram activities, gave the sect opportunity to plan and execute attacks on communities in the area.



Boko Haram’s newly captured areas

A recent daring attack on a newly established military base in Damboa, also in southern Borno, about 85 kilometres from Maiduguri, the state capital by Boko Haram, presumably gave away the control of the muddy town to the insurgents. Just last week, the insurgents sacked the town, burnt down almost all the houses and killed over 25 people. The northeast zonal office of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said 15, 204 people have been displaced. Damboa, mostly peopled by peasant farmers and traders, has a population of about 231, 573, according to 2006 Nigeria census. Fleeing residents of the area said two-third of the total 6, 219 km2 landmass that made up Damboa Local Government, have been taken over by Boko Haram with unverified claims of the sect hoisting its flags in the area. Other communities in the local government taken over by the insurgents include Kimba, Madaragrau, Chikwar Kir, Mandafuma, Bomburatai and Sabon Kwatta.

In Hawul local government area, most communities around the Kwajafa district have been largely deserted after incessant attacks.

Chairman of Hawul Local Government Area, Dr Andrew Malgwi told Sunday Sun on phone that the residents of Gaggirang village are now taking refuge on a road around the area after the insurgents took over their homes last Sunday.

“The attackers burnt a woman in her house, shot many and set the whole village ablaze after carting away their food items and livestocks,” he disclosed.

Boko Haram have also sacked half of communities at Askira-Uba, another major local government area, in the southern part of the state. The insurgents killed over 40 people in Dille recently after previous attacks on five villages while Biu, headquarters of Biu Local Government Area, about 100 kilometres to Damboa, remains the only major town still standing in the area, although it has equally witnessed deadly attacks in the past.

The insurgents have ravaged Gwoza Local Government Area, about 135 kilometres from Maiduguri as all the autonomous communities behind the hill are deserted. These communities, which are located along the Cameroon borders include Attagara, Aghapalawa and Aganjara. Over 2,000 residents of the area are now in two camps in Maiduguri at present.

Only Shani, Bayo and some parts of Kwaya Kusar local government areas out of the nine council areas in the southern Borno are enjoying relative peace.

More than half of the communities in Konduga, Bama, Dikwa and Mafa local government areas in the central district have been destroyed.

So how large is the area destroyed and/or taken over by the insurgents? A lecturer at the University of Maiduguri who preferred anonymity, said Boko Haram have destroyed more than half of the communities in the state. “Geographically, Boko Haram’s presence can be seen and felt in almost all part of the state though with more control of the southern and central districts, which translate to more than half of the state.” He also said there are isolated communities in some instances, which are not attacked by the insurgents because they offer some gifts to Boko Haram to pacify them. He declined to mention the villages. “Mentioning them could be counter-productive because the insurgents may go back there to attack them again for leaking what ought to be an agreement between them but of truth, such accord for protection actually happens in some villages,” he stated.



Military efforts

Many residents said they believed the military was capable of tackling Boko Haram insurgency but expressed concern over what they described as unwillingness of the authority to nip the terror act in the bud. “The Nigeria military is capable of handling the situation but it appears there is conspiracy on the part of the leaders not to do so,” Abdullah Ahmed, a social crusader said. There is military presence in most of the major towns in Borno but residents said they often said they have not received instruction from their superiors when alerted to Boko Haram attacks in nearby communities. “We found this very awkward because it looks like an excuse not to act and that is why Boko Haram often attack people and communities for hours without resistance from any troops. It happened at Dille in Askira Uba at Chibok Local Government Area and lately in Damboa,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters has stepped up actions against the Boko Haram, while assuring that it would not allow any group to annex any part of Nigeria.

The Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade said the military had ordered troops to up the ante against the sect in Damboa and other vulnerable areas.

He said: “We have put in place necessary machinery, including the patrol of vulnerable areas, to check the insurgents. Activities are being stepped up to curtail the menace.”

Olukolade, however, declined to explain the military activities, saying: “I won’t go into details on the actions we have taken. I cannot disclose military plans.

“We will not say when troops will take charge of Damboa to avoid a repeat of the last ambush of these committed and loyal soldiers. But we are firming up deployment of troops to Damboa and other places.

“We are ready for the insurgents but we will prefer to keep our strategies to ourselves because of the nature of the battle ahead.”

Source: CollPress Nigeria

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, said yesterday that the agency has not been formally notified of the existing vacancy in the Adamawa State Government House.

Jega, at an interactive with journalist in Abuja at the behest of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said although as citizens of Nigeria, they read and heard in the media of the impeachment of Governor Murtala Nyako, INEC has not been formally notified as is required to prepare for a replacement. He said also that in the preparations for a clean election in Osun State next month. INEC has appointed an Acting Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in reaction to allegations that the all.

“We have investigated the allegations against the Osun REC and found them spurious, but in order not to be seen as insensitive and to assure parties that we are doing our work as unbiased umpire, we have appointed an interim REC for the election.

“Our REC is not indicted and we state that clearly, but because we want to demonstrate transparent fairness, we have appointed a new person to supervise. We did it in Anambra, Edo and some other states in the past to avoid allegations of bias. So, after the election, the Osun REC remains in office.”

On the preparedness of INEC to conduct election to fill the vacancy created by Nyako’s impeachment, he said INEC has not got formal notification to that effect.

“Yes, we have heard of the impeachment of the former governor just like every other Nigerian heard, but we have not been formally informed as to start making preparations to conduct an election to fill the vacancy. We need to be informed of the vacancy to start preparing. But all the same, we are law abiding citizens, so we already know what is involved and would do our best to comply with the requirement of the law to conduct another election.

And the law is also very clear that whoever fills that vacancy, completes the tenure of the impeached governor. So, the meaning is that after conducting an election in Adamawa in the next three months, there should be another gubernatorial election in the state next year during the general election.”

Regarding the Osun poll, Jega assured that INEC is fully ready and has done all possible to ensure it comes out one of the best the body ever conducted.

“We admit, like I had done in the past that there were some mistakes in Anambra State earlier in the year. But many people took that little error to overshadow all the things we did right.

We did well in Anambra, no doubt, apart from the little flaw in Idemili North.

“But we improved on that record in Ekiti last month expectation, given the preparations on ground that Osun would be better than Ekiti. For instance, we continued with the colour coding of ballot papers in the local governments areas (LGAs), where particular colours of ballots were specifically for particular LGAs. It was a means of checking fraud, so that if a particular colour of ballots meant for LGA B are seen in LGA K, the intent to rig and manipulate would be easily noticed.

We are continuing with that in Osun and we also have furthered our plans to beat riggers or those that plan to truncate the system.” not to conduct elections next year in the states with emergency rule as a result of insecurity. “I said it earlier and was misquoted or misunderstood, and I wan to repeat that INEC is prepared and ready to conduct elections next year in all the states of the federation, including those states where the emergency rule applies or is in force as a result of insecurity.

We have no reason to exempt them from elections, therefore, elections, just as in other states, should be expected there And must hold there.” And in order to make the work more transparent and acceptable, he said INEC was ready and plans to stagger next year elections to stretch into two weeks to make for better implementation.

Source Collpress News

This will definitely sound incredible. But it’s true. Many illegal private universities across the country are awarding PhD certificates, even as those studying for masters degrees pay as much as N1.5 million to complete their programme in just six months.
This was the shocking discovery by the National Universities Commission (NUC) Committee on the Closure of Illegal Degree-Awarding Universities when the body stormed two unapproved private universities in Lagos.
The committee stormed the private universities alongside officials of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), State Security Service (SSS) and some journalists.

A high drama played out at a three-bedroom flat, which served as study centre for Evangel Christian University of America and the shopping mall used, as Clinton University when the proprietor and bursar claimed they had approval to operate but could not back up their claim when the chairman of the NUC committee, Prof. Adebisi Balogun, requested for their approval papers.
When the NUC and ICPC team, which included Mr. Moses Awe, Dr. Lawrence Ogugua, Mr. Adewale Adenuga, Mr. Kingsely and Mr. Folurunso Ariyo and some journalists stormed the two degree-awarding mills, what they saw, including students’ admission lists, receipts for tuition payment, organogram of principal officers and numerous completed projects baffled them.

At Evangel Christian University of America, which was being run in a three-bedroom flat, the NUC/ICPC team met the Bursar, Dr. Philip Nnaji, and a lady administrative officer. When confronted by Prof. Balogun that the school was operating illegally, Dr. Nnaji, with all the confidence he could muster, said the school was a study centre, insisting that its America affiliate awarded the certificate.
He said: “The school has proper documents to back up its operation and could not register with NUC. Sir, the university is duly registered and the necessary documents are with the vice chancellor. I am the bursar of this centre. We have students. I teach also. We have lecturers, who come from outside the university. I don’t know when the university started but I got my PhD in 2013 from the same university.”
“People are attracted to study here because of where the certificate is coming from. We also award diplomas. It takes one year for a student to bag his/her PhD. We also offer BA degrees, which take four years whereas it takes students one year to bag a masters degree.”
Investigations revealed that Evangel Christian University of America started business in 1976 and has since graduated thousands of students. It claimed to have been accredited by Transworld Accrediting Commission and had study centres in Aba, Umuahia, Port Harcourt and Akwa Ibom.
After the place was sealed off, the team went away with vital documents, including forms sold to students for N10, 000, completed projects, answer scripts and receipt, bearing $1,050 paid to Dr. Nnaji’s account. Thereafter, he was arrested and taken away by men of the State Security Service (SSS).

At the shopping complex located at Ojokoro Housing Estate, the proprietor of Clinton University, Mr. Clinton Uranta, and two of his staff were on ground, working on students’ application forms. When confronted about the operation of the illegal university, Mr. Uranta produced a letter and told the team that he applied to NUC in 2013 and that based on that, he was invited to Abuja through a text message.
Uranta added: “When I got to the NUC office in Abuja, they refused me because I came alone. This year, I applied for registration of the proposed Clinton University. We went for interview and succeeded. The NUC wrote us in June 2014, asking us to come and pick the approval papers to run the institution.”

When Prof. Balogun told him that even if he had applied to run a private university, it did not mean that he had the right to start running a university without going through the 14 steps required and that he had just taken the first step, Mr. Uranta cut in, saying, “we prepare students for professional/external examinations.”

Following Mr. Uranta’s persistence that he had complied with NUC regulations, Prof. Balogun took time to explain to him that he was running an illegal university. “You only applied and now you are selling degree forms. You ought to know the law and know your limit. We have seen evidence that you started the process but you went ahead to start operation.”
When told that he was under arrest for operating an illegal degree-awarding university, Mr. Uranta told the ICPC and SSS personnel that it was unfair to take him away because from the evidence on ground, he had complied with the requirement for registration. He said: “The process is on, even if it will take me up to ten years. Out of NUC 14 steps, we have got to the third step.”

The NUC/ICPC team took away several documents, which included admission list, receipts for payment and computer hard ware. The entire second floor of the shopping mall, which the university occupied, was sealed off. It was discovered that application form costs N10,000 while tuition fee for Master of Science (Msc.) in Information Technology costs N1 million. It was discovered that the illegal institution ran courses, leading to the award of B.Tech, LLB, PGD, MBA, LLM, MLIR, MPA and Msc. degree certificates.
After their arrest, the proprietor of Clinton University and the Bursar of Evangel Christian University of America, were taken to SSS office in Shangisha where they would be asked to make their statements in writing.

Speaking to newsmen after the operation, Prof. Balogun explained that in 2001, the Federal Government gave NUC the mandate to check the operation of illegal-degree awarding institutions and in 2006, the commission set up the Committee on Closure of Illegal Private Universities. He explained that for over three years now, the name of Clinton University had been appearing on the NUC list of illegal universities adding, “we have been monitoring them for a long time.”

He disclosed that the operation of the illegal degree awarding mills was affecting the quality of education in the country as well as the quality of graduates produced while accusing the operators of milking innocent people.
He warned: “We will continue to clampdown on illegal universities. Parents should go through NUC weekly bulletins to know the approved universities instead of sending their children and wards to the illegal degree-awarding mills. They are wasting their money. And at the end of the day, the certificates will not be recognised.” (Sun).

SOURCE: CollPress

The National Chairman, Chibok community, Pogu Bitrus, has said that four more parents of the abducted girls of the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State have died thus raising the number to 11.

An online newspaper, The Cable quoted Bitrus as saying that seven of the parents of the girls abducted by members of the Boko Haram sect on April 14 from their hostel at Government Secondary School, Chibok, died of heart attack and frustration.

Bitrus was said to have made this disclosure on July 5, this year.

But speaking with the The Cable on Tuesday, Bitrus added that four more of the parents would not see their daughters again as they have lost their lives to the trauma visited on them by their children’s abduction.

“One father of two of the girls kidnapped just went into a kind of a coma and kept repeating the names of his daughters until life left him,” Bitrus said on Tuesday.

Bitrus added that at least four more parents died of heart failure, high blood pressure and other illnesses that the community blamed on trauma due to the abduction 100 days ago.

Seven fathers of kidnapped girls were among 51 bodies brought to Chibok hospital after an attack on the nearby village of Kautakari early this month, said a health worker who insisted on anonymity for fear of reprisals by the extremists.

Chibok community leaders alongside the 160 parents of kidnapped girls and 51 girls who escaped ‘met with President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja on Tuesday.

SOURCE: CollPress

Source: CollPress
Commercial transport boat operators and passengers have decried rising cases of armed attacks by pirates following Friday’s incident that killed three people.

Bayelsa Police Command had confirmed the death of three passengers in a boat along Nembe-Brass waterways in Bayelsa on Friday.

A boat sailor, Johnson Kenebai said on Tuesday the Maritime workers Union had convened an emergency meeting to review the situation.

“The menace by sea pirates has threatened the marine transport sector and most times the boat drivers are the prime targets before the passengers, the last time in May this year it was three Dutch Nationals and there were three more kidnap incidents in June.

“The frequency is just too much and we cannot continue this way, we are considering all options including withdrawing from the waters for the time being.

“The patronage has dropped because people no longer travel frequently to the coastal areas for fear of pirates, this is a threat to our business,” Kenebai said.

The Bayelsa government had earlier established a marine component of the state’s special security outfit christened ‘Doo Akpor’ and deployed to the waterways and creeks to ward off the pirates.

The marine security team currently escorts passenger and market boats from Twon Brass to Yenagoa.

It was gathered that due to the shortage of logistics and personnel, the state security outfit is unable to provide such escorts to other coastal settlements in Bayelsa.

Mr Morris Alagoa, an Environmentalist who frequently navigates the creeks in Bayelsa described the situation as sad and disturbing and capable of scaring away potential investors.

“The activities of these pirates pose dangers to travelers and transporters especially in Southern Ijaw, Nembe and Brass Local Government Areas of the state.

“As an environmental activist working for a grassroots organization which involves frequent sailing in the creeks I often get restricted to travel as I should.

“During one of my trips last Friday, I saw that ‘Doo Akpor’ was escorting market boats at some locations, the JTF also escorts passenger boats leaving Twon Brass to safe zones before returning.

“These efforts are highly commendable and should be extended to other communities in Bayelsa, funds, equipment and men should be mobilized to smoke out the pirates from their unholy dens.

“The negative impact of these pirates attacks takes a toll on the growing tourism sectors in Bayelsa and the foreign investment drive of the government so it is imperative for government to make every part of the state safe,” Alagoa said

Tithing Principles

Deuteronomy 14 Vs 22-28

22 “You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. 23 And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. 24 But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the Lord your God has blessed you, 25 then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses. 26 And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household. 27 You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you.

28 “At the end of every third year you shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates. 29 And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.