₦airaland Forum

What of Stanbic IBTC result?

My younger brother graduated from this university and there is gross discrimination in the school. It is obvious why she wasn't recognized. She is a second class citizen of this country. The stories my brother told me, made me wonder why the Press has not publicized such level of persecution, discrimination and parochialism. Please note that it is not limited to that school. Why do we keep deceiving ourselves? Have we not followed recent reports of forceful abductions and so-called conversion of teenage girls? It is not new as many would think, just that it is gradually coming out. It's a shame if you know man's inhumanity to fellow mankind.

According to the SGF, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Alhaji Mohammed Buba, a former MD of PPMC as new Chairman of the Board of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Authority (PPPRA). He was described as "seasoned" and if I may humbly add my own, he is clearly "competent". My source is AIT 8pm news.

bashydemy:
Some fools just come to comement based on their hatred for Buhari and his Govt, Did they want him to appoint a junior officer ahead of the senior one to satisfy their region? una no well.

What you are condemning is exactly what the President has done! He has appointed a junior officer (ACG) over and above his seniors (the Deputy CGs). Lets be civil and properly informed/guided in making comments.

bashydemy:
Did you read the write up at all? According to the news, Ja'afaru is the assistant to the retire CG so you guys mean Buhari should appoint junior office over the senior officer? Sorry he is not as dumb as GEJ who appoint Okiro over his senior officers.

Please be informed that he was NOT the assistant to the CG. He was just one of SEVERAL other Assistant CGs and ALL of the Assistants (ACGs) are junior to the DCGs.

Nusaf:
So in order to meet your demands, a junior officer should be appointed to take charge of his seniors. The newly appointed CG is the next most senior officer in the prison service for ur information.

He was absolutely not the next most senior! The service has DCGs (deputies) who are senior to all the ACGs (Assistants). All the DCGs have by implication, being retired to pave way for this ACG. Just setting the records straight.

izzou:
Always read a post before commenting

It helps

Jafaaru was Ekpendu assistant. As Ekpendu retired,Jafaaru took over. Is that tribalistic to you?

For clarity, he was NOT his assistant! The service has Deputy CGs who are senior to several other Assistant CGs. He was one of many other Assistants please!!

Mr Ahmed Ja'afaru is new CG of Prisons.

http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2016/05/24/jaafaru-is-new-controller-general-of-nigeria-prisons/

Mr Mohammed Babandede is new CG of Immigrations

http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2016/05/24/buhari-appoints-babandede-new-immigration-boss/

I want male children because I want my name to continue: "You name your estates after yourself as though your lands could be forever yours and you could live on them eternally" (Psalm 49:11 Life Application). "Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue forever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names" (KJV).

My people,
Please how much on the average would you recommend as payment to an Architect or Engineer who supervises the building of a 2 bedroom flat (bungalow) or semi-detached. Just a fair idea suffices. Thanks.

What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Op, please don't be offended, how and why is he "useless"? And to be honest, labour is divided and this strike (for whatever reasons) is admittedly not as popular as previous ones. I think labour too, needed to have done some public opinion sensing and more robust research. Why are oil sector unions not part of the strike? They may know something we don't? And perhaps, much as it's a bitter pill, some people may have reasoned that perhaps, we should do something differently for once i.e. deregulate and let's see what happens short-medium and long term. So many conspiracy theories but I can not vouch for labour, politicians or the marketers!

Passengers on Arik Air flight W3 308 to Ghana from the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport in Abuja on Monday have accused the airline of treating them in a shabby and disrespectful manner after their 6.30 pm flight were delayed for more than 24 hours.

Some of the passengers who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES described how the airline first refused to provide meals and accommodation for them after the flight was rescheduled on for 9:30 am on Tuesday.

Officials of the airline, our sources said, initially offered to transport the passengers to a “central location” in Abuja so they can arrange their own accommodation afterwards.

But the passengers insisted that the airline must accommodate them for the night, in line with the Nigerian passengers’ bill of rights.

“They expected that passengers would sort themselves out from there,” said Halima Sogbesan, a passenger on the flight.

The passenger said when the airline later took them to a hotel in Lugbe, in the outskirts of Abuja, they were informed that provision had only been made for five rooms and other passengers should pay for their own rooms if they liked to stay in the hotel.

Again the passengers said they would have none of such arrangement. And the airline buckled and agreed to pay for the accommodation of every passenger after an argument that lasted for 30 minutes.

Ms. Sogbesan said the hotel in which they were lodged was substandard and dirty, and that there was no provision for food.




“I had to call the reception downstairs to come open the door for me when I wanted to step out,” one passenger said. “The bathtub was unclean. There’s no Internet. No talk of food too.”

On Tuesday morning, the airline failed to keep a promise to provide a bus to convey the passengers back to the airport.

No staff of the airline was seen an hour before the rescheduled time for the flight departure. The passengers were forced to make alternative arrangements to transport them to the airport.

But when the passengers returned to the airport from the hotel, their ordeals simply continued.

Ms Sogbesan said her and her colleagues endured another humiliating 12 hours of waiting at the airport.

The airline failed to provide food or refreshment for the passengers as it repeatedly announced further postponements of the flight.

The flight only departed at 7:30 p.m., passengers said.

Barnabas Ikyo, a lecturer at the University of Agriculture Makurdi, Benue State, one of the passengers who endured the ordeal, said he was on his way to attend a regional workshop of the Africa Centre of Excellence Project in Accra slated to start at 8 am on Tuesday.

He said about 150 participants, including academics from 10 universities in Nigeria and other academics from other African countries were expected to take part in the workshop.

Mr Ikyo blamed Arik Air’s disregard for customers right on the failure of aviation regulators in the country to come hard on the airline.

“This is unfair and Arik has been doing this. We wonder what the airline regulators in this country are doing that they haven’t fined Arik big time,” he said.

When contacted, the spokesperson for Arik Air, Ola Adebanji, said he should be given some time to investigate what really happened before he commenting.

He is yet to revert to this newspaper as at the time of publication.
http://www.premiumtimesng.com/arts-entertainment/travel-in-nigeria/203652-arik-delays-abuja-accra-flight-24-hours-mistreats-stranded-passengers.html

This issue ought to be treated as national emergency and a threat to our corporate existence. It should attract energy and robust action from government and the security forces.

Ha ha. It looks like this ineffective strike is more effective in Edo than most other States oh!
seems these people deliberately want to embarrass their former oga the Comrade Governor oh!

I don't know how many people including commentators on Nairaland realize that Nigeria is in a state of undeclared emergency. Crude oil prices are down and yet our production has been cut by nearly 50%. Herdsmen have turned the country to a killing field. Criminals are on the prowl, power supply is worse than erratic and epileptic while inflation is spiraling. I do not support criminality in any form and by any group. However, I can tell you that the military cannot protect the pipelines (even if they wish to). Some of us apparently don't understand the pipeline networks or terrain in the creeks. Government needs to demonstrate dexterity and pragmatism in managing the multiplicity of issues. Tough talk is good but sorry, it wont solve this problem. Deal with the underlying drivers of restiveness in the region and thereafter, it will be easier to isolate and deal with the criminals who exploit extant grievances to feather their own nest.

The value of the naira is expected to remain low but relatively stable this week ahead of the rollout of the foreign exchange policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria next week.

Last week, the currency had sold as high as N360 to the dollar after the federal government announced the partial deregulation of the petroleum sector.

Oil firms had been told to seek foreign exchange from the secondary market, triggering an increased pressure on the currency at the parallel market as the naira had declined in value from N321 to N360 within three days.

Oil marketers had last week bought $13,854,387.72 from the CBN through eight commercial banks at N197.5 and their demand for foreign exchange is expected to increase the pressure on the naira at the parallel market.

The president of the Association of Bureau de Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, told LEADERSHIP that the pressure on the naira would continue to be strong but the value is expected to be relatively stable as the market awaits the decision of the apex bank.

“There has been a calm after the initial announcement which saw the naira drop to N360, which it is at now, and is expected to remain so until the CBN announces their plan,” he said.

He, however, said that expectations are that the apex bank would devalue the currency as according to him, there is a lot of pressure from investors and the IMF to do so, stressing also that the dwindling level of the external reserves and low commodity prices makes it expedient. The reserves have continuously been depleted, standing at $26.78 billion as at May 12, 2016, according to data on the website of the CBN.

Gwadabe assured that the parallel market is capable of meeting the needs of the oil marketers, saying, “When the 41 items were banned there was pressure but then it reduced so that the parallel market is capable of meeting the needs of the oil marketers. The Nigerian parallel market is huge even though it is 15 per cent but its activities represent a huge volume.”

Last week, the CBN had sold $93.563 million through nine banks to oil marketers, manufacturers and importers for school fees and travel allowances, and of this amount, oil marketers had taken up $13.854 million.
http://leadership.ng/business/527211/naira-remain-low-oil-marketers-buy-13-85m-one-week

Travellers have been experiencing severe flight disruptions as a result of scarcity of aviation fuel in Nigeria.

Although this has been happening for a while, it got to a head on Sunday when many flights were moved and eventually cancelled, leaving thousands of passengers stranded nationwide.

Some foreign airlines took off ahead of schedule in order to fuel at the neighbouring countries, particularly Ghana.

A stranded passenger told TheCable on Monday morning: “My FirstNation flight from Lagos to Abuja was scheduled for 4pm on Sunday and was cancelled at 7.20pm. It was initially delayed by one hour before the cancellation.

“I had to wait to retrieve my bag, get refund, book hotel, get airport taxi and then check in at the hotel. So I got to the hotel at 9pm.”

TheCable learnt that an Arik flight that was scheduled for 9pm eventually took off midnight.

South African Airways had to cancel its Lagos-Johannesburg flight altogether, while Delta Airlines took off ahead of its Lagos-Atlanta schedule in order to fuel at Accra, Ghana.

All airlines experienced the delay and cancellations.

A senior executive of an oil marketing company told TheCable that the problem would ease as soon as there is forex to import aviation fuel.

“We have been experiencing challenges trying to procure forex to import products. It is a big challenge,” he said.
https://www.thecable.ng/aviation-fuel-crisis-grounds-airlines-nigeria

Petrol stations in the country seem not to be satisfied with the recent hike in the price of petrol to between N135 and N145 per litre, as majority of them now resort to under-dispensing of the product. Vanguard observed in Abuja and environs that a number of the petrol stations, though selling at N145 per litre, had manipulated their pumps, and were now defrauding motorists with incorrect measurements. Petrotec filling station in Suleja, Niger State, along the Abuja-Kaduna Expresway, was selling at N135 per litre, but a motorist complained that he bought 20 litres of petrol but was served about 15 litres. fuel-pump At the NNPC Mega Station at Kado in Abuja, one motorist complained that before the hike, it took N2,500 to fill his tank when it was half tank but was shocked to spend N5,000 to fill his tank in the same position at the NNPC petrol station. He wondered why it would take double the initial amount, when the price was not doubled. Motorists called on the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, and other regulatory agencies to come to the aid of motorists and sanction defaulting petrol stations.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/05/fuel-price-hike-marketers-short-change-motorists/

Another fuel crisis looks set to rock the country as some vessels are stuck off Nigeria, unable to unload their cargoes of petrol and diesel.

At least 75 ships with two and a half million tonnes of fuel are waiting for importers in the country to find the dollars they need to pay for the cargoes, according to ship tracking data and fuel traders.



Some of the vessels arrived a month ago and their frustrated owners have almost given up hope and started to offer their fuel to buyers outside Nigeria, several traders told Reuters.

Our correspondents on Sunday gathered that a number of marketers who were given petrol import allocations for the second quarter of the year had not been able to source foreign exchange for importation.

An official of one of the major petroleum products marketers’ associations said on condition of anonymity, “I am not surprised that vessels are stuck. What I believe likely happened is that so many of our members were given allocations for the second quarter – some for April, some for May and some for June.

“But because they have not been able to source foreign exchange, the people will not deliver until they are sure of getting their money. A number of those that were given second quarter allocations have not been able to source forex.”

The Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Obafemi Olawore, said he did not know if some vessels were stranded due to lack of dollars or not.

He, however, said, “In any situation, there will be challenges and some people will not face any challenge. Some are importing; some are not. But the most important thing is, ‘Is the product available?’ I think so. It means those importing probably are more than those not importing.

“Foreign exchange is a challenge; there is no doubt about that. But people will import. It is their business, and they won’t want their business to collapse.”

A slump in world oil prices has hammered Nigeria’s state income and because crude sales are the government’s main source of revenue, the fall has caused crippling shortages of dollars within the economy that have been hurting businesses for months.

In a bid to break the impasse and head off more fuel shortages, the Federal Government raised the price cap for petrol by 67 per cent, officially sanctioned importers to use the parallel market to find the hard currency they need to get cargoes off the ships and allowed any Nigerian company to import fuel.

The Executive Secretary, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association, Mr. Olufemi Adewole, had on Friday said, “The crux of everything we are saying borders on foreign exchange. Sourcing for foreign exchange is the key challenge. Marketers have been told to source for foreign exchange.”

Nigeria consumes 45 million litres of petrol a day, or roughly 280,000 barrels, which would require the market to provide some $18m a day.

The naira has already weakened due to the spike in demand for dollars from fuel importers. Last week, the US currency fell to 360 naira on the parallel market, whereas the official exchange rate has been held firm just under 200.

“The risk is that the parallel rate will depreciate even more, giving the marketers a pretext for yet further price increases at the pump,” said Alan Cameron, an economist covering Africa with Exotix Partners.

In an effort to address the looming fuel shortages, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has begun talks with at least three international firms to swap more of its crude for petrol, according to traders and oil executives.

According to the marketers, some of whom got their petrol import permits from the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency last week, the secondary or parallel forex market in Nigeria does not have enough United States dollars to meet their needs.

A senior official of one of the oil majors that got import permits last week stated that the pressure exerted on the parallel market by the PMS importers was the major cause of the continued crash of the naira against the dollar in the past few days.

“How much dollar can all importers access from the parallel market in Nigeria? As I speak with you now, some of us are making contacts with our partners in countries like Ghana and Liberia for forex,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
http://www.punchng.com/dollar-shortage-stalls-fuel-imports/

The value of the naira crashed yesterday at the parallel market as pressure increased over the deregulation of the petroleum by the federal government which saw the product selling at N145 per liter.

The naira, which closed at N323 on Wednesday, shed 5.6 per cent of its value to sell at N341 at the close of business yesterday. The Nigerian currency is likely to further weaken next week as the pressure and impact of the government pronouncement hits the market.

“There is dollar scarcity right now in the market, even at N324 naira you can’t find dollar to buy,” one trader told Reuters. Traders said expected pressure from fuel importers could further push down the naira value in the coming days.

The naira however remained stable at N199.40 to the dollar on the official interbank market, around the 197 official peg rate. The Central Bank of Nigeria sells foreign exchange to banks weekly based on the requests of their customers.

The naira weakened on the parallel market following the guided deregulation of the downstream sector, which increased oil price to N145 per litre as announced by minister state for Petroleum Emmanuel Ibe Kachukwu.

“People are holding on to their dollars in anticipation of an increase in demand for dollars by oil importers,” said Aminu Gwadabe, head of the bureaux de change operators association.

On Wednesday, the federal government said fuel importers were from now on allowed to get dollars from the parallel
http://leadership.ng/business/526325/naira-weakens-n341-fuel-price-hike

Despite the recent and constant massacre and attack on innocent people by Herdsmen who go about with sophisticated weapons such as ak47 and machetes, both the security operatives and the judiciary are yet to bring to full justice the perpetrators of these heinous crimes. However, an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court in Lagos State on Wednesday remanded in prison custody a mechanic, Gbenga Adeoyo, for allegedly being in possession of a double-barrel gun with one life-cartridge. Adeoyo, 32, who lives at No. 10, Shola Daniel St., in Oshodi, Lagos State, is facing a charge of unlawfully being in possession of fire arms. The magistrate, Mrs Omolade Awope, ordered that the accused be remanded in prison custody pending the receipt of legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPPs). “In view of the nature of the case, the case file should be duplicated and forwarded to the DPPs for advice,” Awope said. The magistrate, thereafter, adjourned the matter till June 6, for mention. The prosecutor, Insp. Ezekiel Ayorinde, had earlier told the court that the accused committed the offence on May 23, 2012 at about mid-day at Akinpelu Area of Oshodi, during a stop-and-search. Ayorinde said the accused could not give the police any satisfactory explanation about how he got the gun. He said the offence committed by the accused contravened Section 27 of the Robbery and Fire Arms Act, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004. The accused had been arraigned for alleged conspiracy and armed robbery sometime in 2011. The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/05/herdsmen-ak47-walk-free-mechanic-remanded-possession-gun/

I’ve never been angrier with Kannywood film stars and their nonsensical movies. This is because of their seeming acceptance of their incompetence and inability to portray, to a minimum satisfactory level, our culture, religion and the searing political climate of our society. Similarly, because of their refusal to accept whatever correction they were helped with by professors and those who patronise them, I, for more than seven years now, stopped watching them for they, without doubt, crossed over to anti-Islamic, anti-Hausa cultural and anti-intellectual practices.
Having set the ball rolling, I think I have to hit the nail on the head. Yesterday I saw some filthy pictures of Ali Nuhu who is believed to be one of the successful film stars in Kannywood. Successful or unsuccessful? I believe the latter adjective is a better description of his pathetic self. My reader can reason with me that this star is spiritually declining and tilting towards filmic suicide. This is because, the moment he is hated by his audience he is dead, buried and forgotten. And now he has risked his fame by going overboard on his filming calling. He chooses to shamelessly act in obscene scenes that deflate his popularity. My greatest worry however is that, the frequent appearance of such vulgar pictures and scenes may silently decriminalise pornographic scenes in Kannywood films. But one may argue that the pictures I saw are not from a Kannywood movie. Be that as it may, the actor is from the “wood” under discussion and, also, known to be a representative of the industry. Therefore, his biological, cultural and religious attachments with Kannywood Film Industry are all that matter. His audience cannot, undeniably, think of him as somebody else from, say, Hollywood or Bollywood. So his fame is in death throes.


Moreover, this hasn’t started yesterday. The history goes back to Maryam Hiyana incident down to Sani Danger’s. No doubt that these good-for-nothing people bring nothing but calamity upon us. The level of moral decadence brought about by their films is unimaginable. In terms of dressing, Abida, in her famous movie, Kauna, breaks, not opens indeed, the door of scanty dressing in our midst. Today we have girls and women going about half naked and boys going with half their ass open. Girls are crazy and shameless today in showing their backs, their hips and bosom. In fact there is no part in their body they are shame or afraid of exposing. This bad culture is really calamitous as it opens the eyes of once shy Hausa people. It brings out women from the culture of purdah and drives them crazily out on the streets. Now women raise their voices, clap and walk like men on the streets.
Similarly, our cultural Hausa dialect has been ruined. New anti-cultural words and expressions are, on daily basis, added to the language. They teach rudeness in talking back to people. They change our polite way of addressing elders, change our polite style of greeting (e.g. ya kake/ ya kike?) and they teach all sorts of vulgar expressions as in “ka fishi Iya hakan rijiya”. Now, many kids pick such bad expressions, whether they know the connotation or not, alarmingly. Primary school teachers complain of vulgar language of their pupils and, as such, some irresponsible and lecherous teachers use that to their advantage to discuss sex issues with the kids and finally practice it whenever they get the chance.
Conclusively, I call on parents to stop watching these people, at least, with their kids for it is no more a secured entertainment. May be this is the way out so long as we want to bring up better children.
Mubarak Ibrahim Lawal, Kano
Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/letters/kannywood-and-moral-decadence-in-hausa-land/146247.html#CqF3Edo8C3dX4zCX.99

Just manage

I was conducting a clinic recently when my patient related his ordeal in the hands of a surgeon. Apparently, my patient had undergone two botched operations for a broken bone in his arm. The highest-ranking medico performed the operations: the consultant. It seemed that the outcome of the operations was no better than what a local traditional bonesetter or nature could do.

To be fair, without the right atmosphere and proper management, most hospitals are an embodiment of incompetence. The fact is that with poor funding, poor internal resource allocation and an abject state in most hospitals, medicine in Nigeria today is about 20 years behind what obtains in progressive communities.

For example, most of our national orthopaedic hospitals lack materials and equipment required to do their jobs. Patients are daily given a list to buy things required for surgery. Surgeons are performing operations long outdated and keeping patients for long periods in hospital for nature to heal them. This is mostly because they do not have the right equipment and so they make do with what is on ground.

Similarly, medics have to wait for patients to go and buy life-saving drugs before treatment can be carried out. Relatives have to donate blood or you do not get any from the dry blood banks.

Sadly, when the minister comes to visit, he is shown a window dressing: a smokescreen that hides the true situation on ground. Nobody will tell him the truth: that the health of our nation is in coma. Why do hospital managers lie and pretend all is well during these visits?

Relish

Anyway, a patient, a lecturer, was lambasting doctors before I reminded him that teachers were no better. Our educational system has been run aground on their watch and no one is happy with the downturn in the standard of education in the country. University graduates are no better than pupils in their readiness for the workplace.

For example, I drove into a little village in the United Kingdom at night. On reflex, I looked down the street to see if the streetlights were on. It took me only a few seconds to realise that I was not in Abuja and that ‘NEPA’ was not in control here. Still, you wonder. Why is it that not a single university has come up with a plan or proposal for the solution to our energy crisis? No bright sparks? No clue? Where are our engineers? The fact is that no one is happy with anybody as we are all in the same soup of mediocrity.

Okay, let us focus.

Mediocrity is the new excellence

You read in the news that a teaching hospital performed its first open-heart surgery or a kidney transplant in 2016. It is sad to read about this especially when kidney transplants have been performed for over 60 years. The first successful kidney transplant was performed in 1954 and thousands of kidney transplants are performed yearly in the United States alone.

In fact, even in Nigeria, St. Nicholas hospital performed the first renal transplant surgery over 10 years ago. They were the first hospital to perform kidney transplants in Nigeria and the sub-region and since then have carried out over 300 successful transplants. The hospital has a dedicated renal transplant team, recording a high rate of success.

Talking of success

The problem with kidney transplants or open heart surgery is not whether the hospitals performed the operation or not. Not even whether they used indigenous teams or foreigners, but whether the patients are alive and well, in a month, three months or a year later. That is what we never hear about as the Commissioner for Health or the Chief Medical Director rushes out and invites journalists to a crummy press conference.

Who is monitoring these pronouncements and looking after the interest of the patient? Who goes back six months later to see what progress if any, have been made? Not the Federal Ministry of Health, for sure. They have no clue what is going on in their backyard let alone in a hospital in Lagos State. They will rather blame the budget.

So, for the discerning individual, there is nothing new in reporting kidney transplantation. It has been done before, it is being done daily in other climes and performing your first transplant in 2016 is not worth bringing the drummers out.

Bottom line

Our public hospitals need to keep an eye on the little things instead of relishing in talks about stuff they cannot sustain. Boasting about renal transplants, open-heart surgery and other ‘flash in the pan’ feats does their hundreds of unhappy patients a massive disservice.

Instead, they should concentrate on improving patients’ outcomes following simple abdominal surgeries, pregnancy and delivery and the care of patients with back pain or broken bones. Ensure that patients do not leave their sick beds to go looking for Paracetamol.

That is the meat in the soup.
http://www.punchng.com/medicine-nigeria-20-years-behind/

I’ve never been angrier with Kannywood film stars and their nonsensical movies. This is because of their seeming acceptance of their incompetence and inability to portray, to a minimum satisfactory level, our culture, religion and the searing political climate of our society. Similarly, because of their refusal to accept whatever correction they were helped with by professors and those who patronise them, I, for more than seven years now, stopped watching them for they, without doubt, crossed over to anti-Islamic, anti-Hausa cultural and anti-intellectual practices.
Having set the ball rolling, I think I have to hit the nail on the head. Yesterday I saw some filthy pictures of Ali Nuhu who is believed to be one of the successful film stars in Kannywood. Successful or unsuccessful? I believe the latter adjective is a better description of his pathetic self. My reader can reason with me that this star is spiritually declining and tilting towards filmic suicide. This is because, the moment he is hated by his audience he is dead, buried and forgotten. And now he has risked his fame by going overboard on his filming calling. He chooses to shamelessly act in obscene scenes that deflate his popularity. My greatest worry however is that, the frequent appearance of such vulgar pictures and scenes may silently decriminalise pornographic scenes in Kannywood films. But one may argue that the pictures I saw are not from a Kannywood movie. Be that as it may, the actor is from the “wood” under discussion and, also, known to be a representative of the industry. Therefore, his biological, cultural and religious attachments with Kannywood Film Industry are all that matter. His audience cannot, undeniably, think of him as somebody else from, say, Hollywood or Bollywood. So his fame is in death throes.


Moreover, this hasn’t started yesterday. The history goes back to Maryam Hiyana incident down to Sani Danger’s. No doubt that these good-for-nothing people bring nothing but calamity upon us. The level of moral decadence brought about by their films is unimaginable. In terms of dressing, Abida, in her famous movie, Kauna, breaks, not opens indeed, the door of scanty dressing in our midst. Today we have girls and women going about half naked and boys going with half their ass open. Girls are crazy and shameless today in showing their backs, their hips and bosom. In fact there is no part in their body they are shame or afraid of exposing. This bad culture is really calamitous as it opens the eyes of once shy Hausa people. It brings out women from the culture of purdah and drives them crazily out on the streets. Now women raise their voices, clap and walk like men on the streets.
Similarly, our cultural Hausa dialect has been ruined. New anti-cultural words and expressions are, on daily basis, added to the language. They teach rudeness in talking back to people. They change our polite way of addressing elders, change our polite style of greeting (e.g. ya kake/ ya kike?) and they teach all sorts of vulgar expressions as in “ka fishi Iya hakan rijiya”. Now, many kids pick such bad expressions, whether they know the connotation or not, alarmingly. Primary school teachers complain of vulgar language of their pupils and, as such, some irresponsible and lecherous teachers use that to their advantage to discuss sex issues with the kids and finally practice it whenever they get the chance.
Conclusively, I call on parents to stop watching these people, at least, with their kids for it is no more a secured entertainment. May be this is the way out so long as we want to bring up better children.
Mubarak Ibrahim Lawal, Kano
Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/letters/kannywood-and-moral-decadence-in-hausa-land/146247.html#CqF3Edo8C3dX4zCX.99

President Muhammadu Buhari has challenged state governors to find lasting solutions to the persistent cases of farmers/herdsmen crisis in the country.

The president gave the challenge at an interactive session with members of Katsina Elders’ Forum organised by the Katsina State Government in Katsina.

He tasked the governors to go back to a comprehensive study and report carried out by the defunct Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) on how best to address farmers/herdsmen conflicts.

“When I was in PTF we did a comprehensive report on grazing reserves and cattle routes across the country.

“Grazing reserves were carved out; cattle routes were marked out, dams, water and veterinary clinics were also established with the help of our leaders, traditional and district heads at that time.

“Any herdsman, who allowed his cattle to destroy farm land then, was fined and when he fails to pay, his cattle would be sold to pay the fine, and if there are monies remaining from the sale it would be handed over to him.

“But, now what do we see. The grazing reserves and the routes had been taken over by the rich and politicians,” he said.

According to the president, the disappearance of the grazing reserves and the cattle routes has been causal factor for the persistent conflicts between farmers and herdsmen across the country.

He said he had already directed the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and the Governors’ Forum to study the PTF Report with a view to addressing the menace.

In his contribution at the parley, Alhaji Isa Funtua, a member of the Katsina Elders’ Forum, called for the establishment of vocational training centres in the three senatorial districts of the state.

He said the centres, when operational, would address the problem of delinquencies and unemployment among the young population in the state.

Funtua expressed his readiness to partner with the state government in establishing such training centres.

Other speakers at the event commended the foresight and vision of Gov. Aminu Masari for organising the Katsina Business and Investment Summit aimed at attracting investors into the state.

NAN reports that a Presidential Dinner in honour of President Muhammadu Buhari was also hosted by the Katsina state government.
http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2016/05/10/find-solutions-to-farmersherdsmen-crisis-buhari-tells-governors/

Aero Contractors, Nigeria’s domestic carrier, on Monday, said limited supply of JET A1, also known as aviation fuel, was disrupting its flight operations in the country. The airline made this known in a statement signed by its Media Consultant, Mr Simon Tumba, which was obtained by newsmen in Lagos. Some passengers of the airline traveling from Lagos to various destinations on Sunday night and Monday morning were delayed for several hours at the Murtala Muhammed Airport. However, the statement attributed the disruption of Aero Contractors services to the scarcity of aviation fuel. The statement said: “Aero wishes to apologise to its dearest customers over the delay and cancellation of flight operations last night and this morning. “We are experiencing fuel scarcity as our contract fuel suppliers are unable to supply fuel to us, while the other suppliers are unable to supply fuel to us due to scarcity of aviation fuel. “We are taking appropriate measures to address this issue as soon as possible by engaging other suppliers to ensure a smooth, safe and secure flight operations for our customers.” It, therefore, thanked the passengers for their patience and understanding, adding that the situation would soon be resolved. Meanwhile, a former President of the Aviation Round Table (ART), Capt. Dele Ore, has advised the Federal Government to work towards local production of aviation fuel, in order to end its lingering scarcity in the country. Ore said in Lagos that the government should ensure the refining of the product at the country’s refineries, which would put an end to its importation. According to him, Jet A1 fuel shares similar characteristics with kerosene and can be refined locally when the refineries have been restored to their full production capacities. He said that apart from ending its scarcity in the country, Nigeria would be able to export the product to other neighbouring countries in the West African sub-region and generate more revenue. - See more at: http://independentnig.com/scarcity-of-aviation-fuel-disrupts-aero-contractors-flight-operations/#sthash.hwlgzkpX.dpuf

The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) on Monday said it would begin to confiscate vehicles with expired or substandard tyres.

Boboye Oyeyemi, the Corps Marshal of the agency, stated this at a stakeholders’ forum in Abuja, organised by the FRSC to enlighten motorists on the dangers of bad tyres.

Mr. Oyeyemi said the measure became necessary to curb incessant road accidents usually caused by poor tyre usage in vehicles.

“What we’re going to commence immediately is that any vehicle that has expired tyres or substandard tyres, we’re going to impound the vehicles,” Mr. Oyeyemi said. “Enough is enough to this. All the crises we’re talking about from February this year to April, they were all tyre-related.

“After impounding it (the vehicle), we’ll ask the owner to go and replace it with a genuine one. The passengers we’ll arrange for their continuous journey so as to reduce the pains. But I will not allow an expired tyre fitted on a vehicle to continue the journey,” Mr. Oyeyemi said.

Mr. Oyeyemi also decried the lack of tyre manufacturing companies in the country and appealed to appropriate authorities to do their utmost best in ensuring that the situation is addressed.

“It’s not a problem that started today, we’ve been raising this alarm since Dunlop and Michelin shut down in Nigeria and relocated,” the FRSC boss said. “So it’s a result of this that led to over 250 different distorted substandard tyres in the country today and we appeal to Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and Nigerian Association of Chamber of Commerce Industry Mines and Agriculture to do their very best in looking into this and see how tyre manufacturing plants can be brought into life.

“Nigeria is too big not to have a tyre manufacturing plant. That is the bane of the problem we have on ground today.”

Maximus Emeka, a participant at the forum, said the FRSC had used the event to add more value to public understanding of tyre hazards.

Mr. Emeka, a regional manager at Peace Mass Transit, urged participants to change their daily attitude towards tyres.

“It’s not just about hearing, it’s about doing and changing their behaviour towards their tyres,” the transporter said. “It’s about implementation. There will be more value when people make good use of what they learnt from this forum.”

Mr. Emeka called on road safety authorities to convene similar forums frequently, saying doing so would afford more Nigerians the opportunity to participate.
http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/203134-frsc-begin-immediate-confiscation-vehicles-expired-tyres.html

A senior Customs officer and other passengers who were incensed after their flight was delayed and later merged with an evening flight allegedly destroyed Arik Air’s equipment at the airport.

It was gathered that the Customs official, identified as Mr. Olarenwaju Tajudeen had purchased an Arik Air flight ticket to Port Harcourt from Lagos for 5:00 pm, but when he was informed that there was a 3:00 pm flight to the same destination, he decided to book for the earlier flight.





Olarenwaju, a Customs Comptroller in Port Harcourt was said to have paid the modification fee of about N3000.00 as request by the airline officials at the counter, after which his flight was rescheduled for 3:00 pm.

It was learnt that the 3:00 pm flight was delayed later merged with the 5:00 pm flight, prompting the Customs official to request the refund of the amount he paid as modification fee to secure an earlier flight.



Trouble reportedly started when the airline officials refused to refund the money on the ground that the airline does not refund modification fees.



Incensed at the decision, Olarenwaju allegedly pulled the airline’s computer monitor out of its cable and smashed it on the ground after which other passengers, who were also infuriated at the airline for the flight delay, teamed up with him to destroy the system completely.

This reportedly prompted the airline officials to alert the Aviation Security (AVSEC) officials at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), who arrested Olarenwaju and took him to Tango City, a detention facility of the agency, from where he was taken to Police Airport Command at Beesam.



The police at Beesam confirmed the arrest of the Customs official, but explained that he was granted bail on self-recognition. A police source said the case may be taken to court.
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/05/09/flight-delays-irate-passengers-destroy-ariks-equipment/

Why is he just "crying out" helplessly?. The situation calls for dexterity, pragmatism and some socio-political and security sagacity. Benue State voted massively for APC and he should exploit access to the Federal Government. He, George Akume and Audu Ogbeh should visit the President and put pressure on him to act more decisively. People are getting killed and frustrated. I think they can handle this matter better than this.