₦airaland Forum

A killer whale whose calf died on Tuesday shortly after birth has been spotted pushing its body in waters off the west coast of the US and Canada.

The mother was last seen with the deceased calf at 7:00 pm local time on Thursday (2:00 Friday GMT).

The newborn died on Tuesday off the shores of Victoria, British Columbia.

Killer whales have been known to transport and support their dead calves for as long as a week.

The baby's carcass was sinking and being repeatedly retrieved by the female whale, according to the Center for Whale Research, which studies the Southern Resident killer whale and works on its conservation.

A team member with the research centre first spotted the newborn calf swimming with its mother, a whale dubbed "J35", and other members of the pod on Tuesday.

But the calf appeared to die after about a half hour when a team of researchers arrived, the US-based centre said.

The calf's mother was seen carrying the newborn on her forehead and pushing it towards San Juan Island in the Pacific Northwest near Washington state, according to the centre.

The whales can travel an average of 120km (75 miles) a day.

A resident of San Juan Island, quoted in a release by the centre, said she spotted a group of five or six female killer whales at sunset with the deceased calf.

They "gathered at the mouth of the cove in a close, tight-knit circle, staying at the surface in a harmonious circular motion for nearly two hours", she said.

"As the light dimmed, I was able to watch them continue what seemed to be a ritual or ceremony. They stayed directly centred in the moonbeam, even as it moved."

Both Canada and the US list the Southern Resident killer whales as endangered. The whales depend on Chinook salmon - which have been in dramatic decline in recent years - for food.

The community of three pods, made up of some 75 whales, is frequently encountered off the southern end of Vancouver Island in Canada and in inland marine waters of Washington State in the US.

Research indicates that only about a third of the Southern Resident killer whales that have been born in the last 20 years survive. No pregnancies in the last three years have successfully produced viable offspring, the centre says.

Following the defection of former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), his spokesperson, Binta Spikin, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari will not win in Kano State in the 2019 general election.

She said this to PREMIUM TIMES while reacting to Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi’s comment on Mr Buhari’s chances.

According to Punch Newspaper, Mr Amaechi had on Friday said Mr Buhari will win in Sokoto, Kano and Bauchi States in the 2019 general elections even if he was taken to the states “on a sick bed”.

Mr Amaechi also said the governors of Sokoto and Kwara states, Aminu Tambuwal and Abdulfatah Ahmed, will leave the APC.

“On those that defected at the House of Representatives and Senate, where do they come from? They come from areas that the President is comfortable. Do you honestly believe that the President will lose election in Sokoto? We are not God, but it’s one of his comfort zones,” the Punch quoted the minister as saying.

Mr Amaechi heads Mr Buhari’s 2019 campaign organisation.

“If you bring the President on a sick bed to Bauchi and Kano, he will win and he has never lost election in Bauchi. But that is a bit arrogant on our side; we should not underestimate them,” he said.

In her response, Mrs Spikin said Mr Kwankwaso’s defection will not only affect the votes in Kano State but has brought down the APC.

“I think his defection will greatly affect the votes in 2019. His defection will not only affect the chances of the APC in Kano, his defection has brought down APC.

“If you look across Nigeria today, not Kano alone, there’s nowhere in Nigeria that you don’t have the presence of Kwankwasiyya (supporters of Mr Kwankwaso).

“Kano is his home base and he is well grounded in Kano. Even without the government, he had a 60 percent of the voters, so what do you think will happen now that he has joined forces with people like Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau?” she said.

She further said the government needs to know that there is a path that is blocked “even if you fight it.”

“Even if the government puts whatever in place, there is no way President Buhari will win in Kano, there’s no way.”

When asked if Mr Kwankwaso stands a chance of winning the 2019 general election should he officially declare his ambition to run for presidency, she simply said, “He stands a very good chance to win Buhari. We are covered.”

Mr Kwankwaso was one of the 15 senators who defected from the APC on Tuesday.

In his reaction, the governor of the state, Abdullahi Ganduje, had said the mass defection will not affect the party’s chances politically.

He also said Mr Kwankwaso’s exit will not be felt in the state: “I want you to go and study the situation on ground in Kano, his (Kwankwaso) defection does not change the political mood in the state. Nobody cares to be disturbed by their action,” Mr Ganduje said.

Mr Kwankwaso has been locked in a fierce political confrontation with Mr Ganduje. Over the past two years, several attacks and reprisal attacks between the supporters of the two politicians have been reported.

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that his administration would look into the constitutional 13 per cent derivation benefit to the Niger Delta region to ensure even spread of development projects across the region.

Mr Buhari gave the assurance when he received traditional rulers and some other eminent personalities from Isoko, Delta, led by Ovrawah, Omogha 1, Odiologbo of Oleh, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Friday.

Mr Buhari assured them that the constitutional provisions for Niger Delta development would be carefully studied for inclusiveness, especially in the prioritisation of Federal Government projects.

He said: “I have listened attentively to your address; I will still update myself with details of development in your area as it relates to oil and gas, and lack of infrastructure.

“I will look at the constitutional 13 per cent derivation and what previous governments have done, in order to know what we can do.’’

The president noted that the Isoko land had citizens who had distinguished themselves in various professions and entrepreneurial skills.

He promised to do his best to ensure that Isoko land would be fairly treated.

Earlier, the president-general of the Isoko Development Union and spokesman for the traditional rulers, Iduh Amadhe, hailed Mr Buhari for “performing well”.

He urged the president to look into the spread of development projects in Niger Delta.

“With eight oil fields of flow stations in Isoko land, we appeal to His Excellency to direct NNPC to establish a gas plant and a modular refinery in Isoko land.

“It will be beneficial to the nation; it will create employments and generate revenue,’’ he said.

Mr Amadhe claimed that Isoko Community had been sidelined in Federal Government appointments, with last appointment of a minister in 1975.

He said that the area had also ignored in siting of federal educational institutions, skill development centres and infrastructure.

“Your Excellency, no meaningful project has been sited in Isoko since the inception of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs,’’ he added.

President Muhammadu Buhari has asked his supporters to suspend campaigns for his re-election in order to avoid breaching the rules of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).The president said this in a statement which Femi Adesina, his spokesman, issued on his behlaf.

Buhari said he appreciated his supporters’ enthusiasm “borne out of their desire to garner support for an administration that is actuated by nothing else, other than service for motherland”.

He added that that there would be ample opportunity for them to showcase his administration’s achievements and campaign for him when the time comes.

“It has been observed that some fervent supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari have begun what may be interpreted as political campaigns in their advocacies and advertisements in the mass media,” the statement read.

“We appreciate their enthusiasm, borne out of desire to garner support for an administration that is actuated by nothing else, other than service for motherland, but we hereby appeal for patience, so that the game can be played according to the rules.

“The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has a timetable for political campaigns, and we urge committed supporters round the country (and beyond) to be mindful of such. There will be ample time ahead to trumpet the good works of the Buhari administration, and solicit re-election, all for the good of our country and her people.

“While a chronicle of the achievements of the administration is in order now, outright canvasing may amount to jumping the gun. We are an administration committed to due process and scrupulous respect for rules, law and order.

“We appreciate our massive supporters nationwide, and urge them to exercise restraint till the race commences officially as stipulated by law.”

In a statement by Femi Adesina, media adviser to Buhari, he asked Buhari’s supporters to be patient while…..

However, supporters are free to publicize the various achievements of the Buhari administration, he said.

According to INEC time-table, party primaries for the presidential, governorship, federal and state elections would begin on August 18 and end on October 7, 2018, while that of the FCT area council elections will commence on September 4 to end on October 27, 2018.

The campaigns by political parties for presidential election would begin November 18, while that for the national assembly elections would start December 1.

Governorship, state assembly and FCT area council candidates are not expected to mount the rostrum before 2nd, December.

The last day for the submission of nomination forms to INEC is December 3, 2018 for presidential and national assembly elections; December 17 for governorship and state assembly and December 14, 2018 for the FCT Area council elections.

Presidential election would hold on February 16, 2019, while governorship and state assembly elections would be conducted on March 2, 2019.

The Ibibio seem to have gift for naming villages and towns similarly. I guess it is universal as the meanings of some renowned towns and cities in the world may leave one in fits of laughter!

I would like to do the same if I did come by the means someday. My mum dreams of visiting America one day.

[quote author=nma4god post=69644112][/quoteo]
Cutie, I actually didn't mention Achebe hall. I only made an analogy between what I read in one of Achebe's books "There was a country" and what the lunatic did at Uniben.

nma4god:
you went to MOUAU?

No, but why did you ask?

This incident reminds me of how a lunatic took the chalk and taught a class local history during Achebe days as a student, as narrated in his work.

I have come to the conclusion that the only religion worthy of being a member is that of love and humanity. Religion, if it must exist, should be universal in humanity and love and not as a tool for stupidity and exploitation.

There is a case of robbery and one man is more concerned with how another man spelt lord. Na wa!

.

Her body, her business!

Easier said than done, we will still talk about this policy implementation in the next five years!

The prevailing sentiment is seeing Africa, a continent, as a country. In that regard, one may not blame them as we Africans tend to see ourselves as one once we are out of the continent without regard to the states created by colonialists to break our solidarity.

Looking like armed robbers? Those guys are armed robbers!

The key word is rehabilitation and not retributive. It is the way to go!

He seems to have come of age

My kind of guy!

I advise the university to involve the law enforcement agencies to get her to come forward. Sexual harassment claims are capable of undermining the integrity of any institution in this age!

BluntBoy:
That is not the issue.

The issue is that no one called them GEJ's nephews. No one even thought much about them until a Fulani man became president.

During the last administration, there were those who believed that GEJ was behind the Boko Haram problem, and it was a reason quite a number of northerners voted against him. I was in in the north at the time, precisely Maiduguri, though I am from the south, so I am informing you from experience. So tagging or associating the alleged herdsmen attacks on others with Buhari is not new. It is perennial to Nigerisns!

Don't say men, they are boys, stupid and randy boys!

Quite unfortunate to see this scene playing out under a supposedly man of integrity. Buhari seems to have squandered every bit of goodwill he enjoyed before he became a president!

I advise people to choose private schools, if they lack funds to school abroad and have to do it in Nigeria. The public schools have become largely antiquated. Even the operators of public schools are aware of this embarrassing fact!

Did my HIV test a week ago, will go for another in three months time.

BreakupNigeria:
Where did you get your statistics that yorubas number 42 million and Igbos 30 million from??
You shouldn't be proud of Bayelsa because they are way down the table, almost at the bottom, a place reserved for Northern states Your line of defense that Bayelsa has a small population does not hold water because Ekiti and Ebonyi equally have small population but they are way doing relatively much better.

Enrolment rates fluctuate year in year out. States should be judged based on performance. I am very sure that the Bayelsa at number 31 will not occupy that the same position when results are out. Shalom.

Teeisaac:
Bayelsa boy no like sch .na our oyel Dem go dey shout up$down

You are not smart, my friend. Bayelsa is the least populated state in Nigeria with just eight local government areas, which means we can't compete with highly populated states in terms of JAMB enrolment except people have stopped enrolling for JAMB. I think we should be judged based on performance, and I can bet you we will come out among the top ten at the end of the day. What I am saying is this: Please judge us based on quality and not quantity. Shalom.

I was feeling weak for a while, so went for the test yesterday. The waiting period was not easy. A lot crossed my mind. And then I was called in again and told the result showed negative. The sigh of relieve was unfathomable. Abstain from sex and be careful with sharp objects. Go for test in another hospital.