The Pacesetter Frontier Magazine

Author: Editor

  • Covid 19 : Two professors in UNILAG test postive for covid 19

    There is palpable fear among workers and residents of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, as two more professors including a law lecturer and incumbent attorney-general of Oyo State, Oyelowo Oyewo, have been confirmed positive of the deadly coronavirus disease.

    This is coming on the heels of the country’s new record high figure of confirmed cases as announced on Wednesday evening by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

    The centre had announced a total of 1,664 new cases which ranks as the country’s highest daily figure so far since the index case was first recorded on February 27, 2020.

    But while Mr Oyewo neither picked his call nor replied to a text message sent to him on the matter, the chief press secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Taiwo Adisa, simply said; “I don’t comment on what I don’t know.”

    Meanwhile, a top management official at the university, who does not want to be named due to the confidentiality of the matter, confirmed that both Mr Oyewo and a professor of African History at the university’s department of history and strategic studies, faculty of arts, Rufus Akinyele, are down with the disease.

    The source, however, learnt that while Mr Akinyele has been discharged from an isolation centre at the infectious disease hospital (IDH), Yaba, Lagos, and recuperating at his official quarters on the campus, Mr Oyewo is on self-isolation at an undisclosed location.

    Contact tracing

    The university in partnership with relevant authorities has also commenced the tracing of some contacts following the <span;>death of the institution’s former dean of the faculty of education, Duro Ajeyalemi<span;>, on Wednesday.

    This newspaper exclusively learnt that Mr Ajeyalemi had on December 31 reported at the university’s medical centre before he was referred to the university’s teaching hospital in Idi-Araba.

    The university’s vice-chancellor, Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, who confirmed the contact tracing process to our reporter on the phone, however, allayed the fear of the residents.

    Mr Ogundipe said the doctors and other officials that attended to Mr Ajeyalemi at the medical centre had been asked to self-isolate while they also go for proper testing.

    “We are making efforts to ensure that those to be tested for the disease are able to get tested on time. There is no need for panic, the situation is well under control but we advise everyone to follow the Covid-19 guidelines and protocols adequately,” Mr Ogundipe, a professor, said on the phone.

    Further findings by our reporter revealed that an unidentified daughter of one of the lecturers on the campus was also on Wednesday transferred to LUTH with the medical centre’s ambulance.

    But the vice-chancellor said he could not confirm the report, saying he was yet to be briefed on any development relating to that.

    Panic on campus

    Many academic and non-academic workers who spoke with  The Source on condition of anonymity said they are afraid of moving around on the campus for fear of interacting with possible carriers of the virus.

    The vice-chancellor also confirmed that he had to work from a hideout on the campus on Wednesday to avoid contacts with many visitors who might want to sympathise with him and the university on the death of two retired professors – Oye Ibidapo-Obe and Duro Ajeyalemi.

    The two dons had died within the same week having contracted the disease. Though it is unclear whether they both attended the same event, the rumour circulating the campus was that both Ibidapo-Obe and Ajeyalemi, among other lecturers of Ijesha origin had recently attended a social event in Ikoyi.

    Mr Oyewo was also recently hosted at a reception in his honour over his attainment of the status of a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

    A lecturer in the university’s faculty of social sciences told our reporter on the phone that he would not risk any interaction with anyone, and “so I have opted for virtual channels to interact with anyone.”

    The university’s deputy vice-chancellor in charge of development services, Folasade Ogunsola, had on Wednesday advised Nigerians to avoid partying “at this critical time.”

    The professor of medical microbiology said the best precaution is for people to use masks appropriately and sanitise their hands regularly if they don’t have access to running water and soap.

    Source : www.premiumtimesng.com

  • US : Joe Biden certification by the United States Congress

     

    After the chaotic scenes in the US Capitol Washington where supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the building in anger over his election defeat. The United States Congress has affirmed President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory over President Donald Trump on Thursday.

     

    The counting of Vermont’s three electoral votes put Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris over the 270-threshold needed to win the presidency.

    The certification comes after Pro-Trump rioters invaded the US Capitol on Wednesday.

    Congress rejected challenges to Biden’s win in Arizona and Pennsylvania. Efforts were made to challenge the counts in Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin, but after the mob violence, Senate Republicans dropped objections to Biden’s wins there, eliminating any need for debate.

     

    “The announcement of the state of the vote by the President of the Senate shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the persons elected President and Vice President of the United States, each for the term beginning on the 20th day of January 2021 and shall be entered together with the list of the votes on the journals of the Senate and the House of Representatives,” Vice President Mike Pence said following the count of all the Electoral College votes.

     

    The news source reports that the disgraceful riot at the US Capitol had sent lawmakers scrambling for safety, but members of Congress returned undeterred to fulfill their duty in certifying Biden’s 306-232 Electoral College win.

     

    Some of the lawmakers, who earlier supported Trump’s efforts to overturn the election, made a U-turn after the “shameful” incident that led to the death of one woman.

     

    After the affirmation of Biden’s 306-232 victory over Trump, the president immediately released a statement pledging an “orderly transition“.

     

     

     

    “Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th,” he said.

     

    Biden had called the violence an “insurrection“, saying, “Our democracy’s under unprecedented assault. This is not dissent. It’s disorder. It’s chaos. It borders on sedition. And it must end now.”

     

    Historians said it was the first time that the Capitol had been taken over since 1814 when the British burned it during the War of 1812.

     

    For more than two centuries, the joint session of Congress has been a quiet, ceremonial event that formally certifies the election winner.

     

    Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell, closely aligned with Trump throughout his presidency, had tried to prevent the challenges. He noted that the election results were not even close, and that dozens of courts had thrown out lawsuits alleging irregularities.

     

    “If this election were overturned by mere allegations from the losing side, our democracy would enter a d eath spiral,” McConnell said.

     

    Source : www.punchng.com

  • While Wailing, They Feasted – By Onochie Jon-Igwesi

    While Wailing, They Feasted – By Onochie Jon-Igwesi

    Adaeze finished from a private and reputable secondary school in Enugu at a tender age of 15 and at 16, she had already gained admission into one of the universities in the country to study Architecture, at a time when most of her age mates were just beginning their senior secondary classes.

    In school, she was outstanding as her academics witnessed no setback despite participating in virtually every curricular & extra-curricular activity on campus. By her 300level, she already had a CGP of 4.59. She was a good basketball player and as if that wasn’t enough, she had the voice of the heavenlies.

    To say that Adaeze was pretty was an understatement; she was fit for only Kings and Princes. As expected, boys were always on her matter-without committing to anyone, she just went with the tide. On social media, she was a hottie and influencer. She had a thriving lingerie & perfume business that fetched her extra cash aside her monthly upkeep from her apparently wealthy parents.

    Did I mention that her Dad was a reputable Architect and she already had a position reserved for her in her Dad’s company? One thing was certain-the future was already set for and beckoning on Adaeze.

    Fast forward to her final year, she wrote her degree examinations, defended her project and began the usual clearance preceding NYSC. One fateful day, two months into her wait for her call up letter to NYSC, she complained of feeling excruciating pains in her stomach, she got drugs to relieve her of the pains but when the pains wouldn’t go, she was admitted in a hospital. Three days later, she bade the earth farewell in a manner most painful to her family and friends.

    (Exhales) After all the struggles and seeming promises of bliss and greatness the future held for Adaeze, she died just like that. Her family wept profusely over her inexplicable death, her mum quickly developing high BP from the news. Her demise shattered the walls of social media, trending for weeks, non-stop. Her course mates were too devastated to believe it was true. It just didn’t make sense that one minute Adaeze was alive, apparently responding to treatments and the next minute she was dead; lots of questions with no answers. Well, life had to go on.

    What followed next was the preparation for Adaeze’s funeral. Her family vowed to accord her a deserving last respect. There were invitations to be sent to different groups, radio announcements to be made, uniforms to be bought, distributed and sown, posters to be printed, polo shirts with her face and name to be produced, different kinds of food to be cooked for both the night of songs and funeral proper, drinks to be bought, burial brochure to be produced, cows, goats and fowls to be slaughtered, coffin to be bought, decorators to be consulted, meetings between the church and Adaeze’s family, services of undertakers to be employed; it was as if the list of things to be taken care of were unending.

    After months of careful preparation by Adaeze’s family to which the extended family and friends contributed little to nothing, the D-day finally came; the day the gorgeous and promising Adaeze was to be buried. Immediately Adaeze was interred to mother earth amidst the cries and wailings of family, friends and well-wishers, plates of food began flying around the “event”. People were seriously clamouring for their own share of foods and drinks; voices were raised and the attendants were cussed by those who felt cheated by the sharing formula-tears began to diminish & disappear from people’s eyes. Even Adaeze’s parents were so busy doling out instructions to the attendants to make sure that all attendees were satisfied that they forgot they had just lost their gem of a daughter. Hmmm! At that point, barely no one remembered again that the future of a young and promising girl was just snuffed out in pitch darkness by inexplicable events. Needless saying that all attendees were really satisfied because Adaeze’s burial was the talk of the town for months.

    This is just Fiction. I’m merely trying to use it to drive home a point. Let us go back in time to the creation story-the good old days of Eden. When God made man, He never intended that man would go down six feet deep after a time on earth but due to the fall of man, He gave us death, not as a revel but as a reminder in strong terms of man’s depravity. Suffice to say that today, it appears death and its inevitability has lost its message.

    Funerals have become feasts and opportunities for outrageous merrymaking. The hearts of most are only heavy for as long as the Preacher’s heart-rending sermon during the funeral lasts. You scarcely hear dirges sung in funerals again. Mostly gone are those days when during the funeral of a deceased, family and friends become melodramatic, wanting to jump into the grave and be buried together with the deceased. These things no longer happen. They are now moribund and can only be seen in Nollywood movies.

    At present, aside walking down the aisle, one other easy way to bankruptcy is funerals and woe betide you, if the person you are to bury lived up to 85years and above. You know, we call the funerals of those at that age and above “Celebration of life”. I am not saying that it is entirely wrong to give a befitting funeral to an outstanding person. What I am saying is that the grandiosity of a funeral has never, can never, and will never be a criterion for measuring the essence and usefulness of one’s life.

    When a man dies, what should be of utmost importance are the things to learn from his life, how to extend and bequeath the memory of his legacies to the present and the unborn, not how to canonize a horrible person using a costly funeral. Sometimes, I wish we could take a cue from the Westerners on issues of funeral.

    Even if our funerals should be such revelry then everyone must learn decisively to cut their coat according to their cloth. The rich should bury like the rich and the poor like the poor. I do not see a reason why funerals should put one’s account on red simply because one wants the echoes of a funeral to be heard louder than that of a neighbour.

    Let’s try not to forget the cause of death and the clandestine message it carries. We must not forget that no matter the affluence of a funeral, the same fate awaits us all. We must also begin to be reoriented that after we have gone the way of all the earth, the living shall only remember us because of our works.

  • Explosion : Rivers state residents panic as gas explosion shatters their community

     

    The Rivers State Government and the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency have said they will investigate the gas pipeline explosion, which shattered the serenity of Oduoha and Elibrada communities in the Emohua Local Government Area of the state on Wednesday.

    Sources told our correspondent that the rupture occurred around 3am, resulting in a leakage, which caused tremor, though there were conflicting claims by residents as to whether the incident took place in Oduoha or Elibrada.

    The state Commissioner for Energy and Natural Resources, Dr Peter Medee, said officials of the ministry had been assigned to visit the location as the government would not rely on third party information.

    “I have passed on the information to the Head of Department of Petroleum and Gas. So, they will go there tomorrow (Thursday) to get all the facts, because we cannot rely on any information that is given to us by a third party. They will go there and then feed me back before we can go to the press,” the commissioner stated.

    Similarly, the Port Harcourt zonal Director of NOSDRA, Ime Ekanem, said the agency was aware of the leakage, adding that efforts were on to avert a possible fire outbreak though he did not say if any preventive measure had been put in place.

    “We are aware of the gas leakage at Emuoha and the agency is going to respond. Our investigation is tomorrow (Thursday). By the time we visit the scene and come back, we will be able to give details of what really happened,” Ekanem stated.

    Confirming the incident, the Chairman of the Emuoha Local Government Area, Tom Aliezi, said Oveku and Oduoha communities were affected but no life was lost to the incident.

    Aliezi stated, “Around 3am, I received a call from Eduoha because of the incident. When I asked what happened, I was told that one of the pipelines ruptured. I immediately contacted the security agencies. I called the LNG zonal controller in Emuoha Local Government Area, but he didn’t take his call.

    “Then I spoke to the Controller of Pipelines and he said he was going to immediately make his management know about it. When he called me back, he said they moved in at once and that what they had been able to do was to stop the flow.

    “I was there myself, so I said: ‘I am standing there, none of your people are here. So, whatever you are going to do, please do’. So that has been the situation. They said they came. I didn’t see them. We are still on them. As I speak, I am in Emuoha.”

    Aliezi added that he had reached out to the operators of the oil and gas facility for them to take charge of the situation and advised residents of the area to steer clear of the scene.

    He stated, “I have advised my people to stay clear. So far, there is no casualty and from the information reaching me, I think it is an eroded pipeline, but that is subject to investigation.

    “For now, everybody should stay clear of that place until we are sure that the experts are there to advise on what to do.”

    Earlier, residents of Elibrada and Uduoha had raised the alarm of a possible fire outbreak as the deafening sound of gas leakage could be heard miles away, while the escaping gas could be seen from the facility located in the middle of the forest.

    An eyewitness and indigene of Emuoha, Chizi Enyi, said the area was experiencing tremor due to the burst pipeline.

    He said, “It is a gas pipeline rupture, but it is without fire and it has been making noise since 2am. I visited the site and the noise is too loud.

    “However, we got information that the NLNG and Agip (companies believed to be the operators) people are mobilising to the place.

    “Let me also thank the local government chairman for his quick response in trying to make all the necessary contacts to ensure that the leakage is stopped. So, we are still waiting for the companies to see how they can stop the leakage.”

    Another indigene of the Emuoha said the whole area and nearby communities were enveloped by the odour of gas.

    “We have been calling on the fire service but they have not been responding to calls. We are living in fear. For now, we have not heard of any casualty, but we are afraid there could be fire anytime,” the indigene stated.

    It was gathered that the facility was being jointly operated by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company and the Nigeria Agip Oil Company.

    As a result of the development, it was gathered that some of the residents had fled the area.

    Speaking on the development, the Paramount Ruler of Oduoha, Chief Ferdinand Ogbuehi, said the leakage caused panic in the community, adding that many residents had already fled.

    He stated, “From 4am till now, the people have been living in fear. The vibration has sent many packing. We are not at rest at all. We had not seen this type of thing before. We want the government to come and see what is happening.

    “We have announced to the people that nobody should go to the scene. We don’t want a fire outbreak from that place to destroy our community. We want the government to come. We are afraid of going closer to the place.”

    Also speaking, acting Paramount Ruler of the Elibrada community, Abel Obillor, called on relevant government agencies to intervene and protect the area from any harm that the leakage could cause.

    He said, “Around 3.55am, we heard a sound. Everyone in my community ran to the junction. The sound can still be heard from that particular place. I called on my people to stay away from the place and until the government comes to our rescue.

    “We don’t know how this thing came about. We need the government to come and help us and see what is happening here. Our crops and everything will be affected; so, we need help.”

     

    Source : http://punchng.com

  • 2023 Presidency: Ekweremadu, Anyim, others call for zoning to S/East

    NOTABLE Igbo leaders yesterday urged all the major political parties in the country to cede their presidential tickets to the South-East geopolitical zone in 2023 in the interest of justice, equity and national unity. Rising from a cross-party meeting of South-East leaders in Igbere, the home country of Senate Chief Whip and former governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzo Kalu, the leaders said that the South-West and the South-South zones, which together with South-East make up the South had respectively produced presidents in Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.

    In a communique jointly signed by Kalu; former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu; former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim; Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon . Nkeiru Onyejeocha; Spokesman of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu; and Chief Chekwas Okorie at the end of the meeting, the leaders also called on Nigerians across all geopolitical zones and ethnic nationalities to support a Nigeria’s president of Igbo extraction in 2023. The communique read: “Political leaders of the South-East across all political persuasions met at Igbere, Abia State, on January 5, 2021 to discuss the political future of the geopolitical zone vis-à-vis the 2023 general election. “The meeting recalled that Nigerians across political, ethnic, and religious divides fought hard, long, and collectively to enthrone the current democratic dispensation as the surest way to engender national development and guarantee a just and equitable society where every section of the country enjoys a sense of belonging. “The meeting observed that the Presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has rotated between Northern and Southern Nigeria and among the various geopolitical zones. Thus, the South-West and South-South geopolitical zones in the southern part of the country have produced the President of Nigeria. ”Hence as power is expected to rotate to the South in 2023, the meeting noted that the South-East is the only zone in the South that is yet to produce a President of Nigeria in the current democratic dispensation.
    “The meeting further observed that the people of the South-East have continued to demonstrate their commitment to the unity and development of the country. Not only has the geopolitical zone actively supported the emergence of Nigerian President of other geopolitical extractions, the people are also known to be major agents of development and heavy investors outside their zone and often the next in population after the indigenes in any state of Nigeria. Our well-pronounced presence and investments in every nook and cranny of the country represent the firmest and most practical demonstration of faith in the unity, peace, and continued corporate existence of the country, for where a man’s treasure is, there his heart lies also.” Resolutions, demands “In view of the above and after exhaustive and incisive deliberations, South-East political leaders resolved to: “Consequently implore all the political parties to cede their presidential tickets in the 2023 general election to the South East in the interest of justice, equity and national unity. To make good our demand and reciprocate such good faith, we have decided, as a geopolitical zone with substantial presence in every part of the country to give a block vote and throw our full weight behind any major political party, particularly the APC and PDP, that zones its presidential ticket to the South East in 2023 general election. We resolved to work for such a party irrespective of our different individual political parties. S/East govs blast organizers Meanwhile, South-East Governors, yesterday came hard on the initiators and conveners of the Igbere meeting and dissociated themselves from it. The Governors argued that “if there should be such a meeting which they feel is very necessary, the governors must be seen to be informed and be part and parcel of calling such a meeting.” Chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. David Umahi, stated this during a virtual meeting with other governors of the region. Said Umahi: “Today 5th January, 2021, the South East Governors had their meeting and all the governors were in attendance and the meeting resolved as follows: “There was a bi-partisan meeting called today and the initiator went ahead to use the names of governors without consulting them as part of the conveners of such a meeting. “The Governors of South-East frown at such attitude and would want to disassociate themselves from such a meeting. If there should be such a meeting which they feel is very necessary, the governors must be seen to be informed and be part and parcel of calling such a meeting. They strongly feel that Ohanaeze is in part position to speak on such issues. “So, they want to say that the Governors are not involved and they encouraged all their people to boycott such a meeting.” On the issue of security, Governor Umahi said the governors are so much worried on the killings and kidnappings that are going on by our people in south east; killing our own people  and then killing security agencies and the situation is being heightened by the activities of very desperate politicians. “There are so many desperate politicians in all the political parties that are so desperate for power and they have aligned with some bandits in South-East to destabilise the nation.” Umahi further stated that the governors of the zone would ”do everything possible to ensure that all our people are protected; the security agencies and all the people that are from other regions that are living with us. “We have agreed that the South-East Security Committee will be expanded, we have agreed that this year we are going to have a common patrol. Our vehicles are going to be the same, the uniform will be the same and we will do this for our vigilante and we will continue to work with the people of South-East to give them greater protection.”

    Source: www.vanguardngr.com

  • The Front Cover of the Christmas/New Year Edition of The Pacesetter Frontier Magazine

    The Front Cover of the Christmas/New Year Edition of The Pacesetter Frontier Magazine

  • Again, PBIF Holds Annual Medical Outreach

    Again, PBIF Holds Annual Medical Outreach

    …As Indigents Receive Scholarship Up to University Level

    By Onochie Igwesi (Enugu)

    It was a bright day and a fulfilling Christmas for the people of Achi in Oji-River Local Government Area of Enugu State as the Paul Basil Iloegbouba Foundation (PBIF) held her annual medical outreach on 21st December, 2020 at Anglican Girls Secondary School, Achi, Oji-River, Enugu State. The now traditional medical outreach which has continued to hold for about five years, keeps on getting better with each edition.

    Speaking to our correspondent after the outreach, the President of Paul Basil Iloegbouba Foundation, Engr. Paul Basil Iloegbouba said the foundation was set up to give hope to the poor by making sure their physical health was at an optimal level, not forgetting their spiritual health. Iloegbouba who is also a Minister of God at Dunamis International Gospel Centre, Enugu Central, observed that testimonies abounded of healings that had been recorded in previous editions as a result of the spiritual impact made through the prayers usually offered during the outreach.

    This year, the foundation chose to go a bit further by offering scholarships up to university level to twelve persons in Nursery, Primary and Secondary schools. Iloegbouba said he was encouraged to do all these because of what he saw while growing up. “Let me lay a foundation by saying that my Father was a Carpenter and my Mother was a petty Trader. Trying to put things together to raise us as children wasn’t funny. Growing up, we struggled to get basic things done. I didn’t want people to go through what I experienced. Secondly, while growing up, I saw my father as poor as he was, always willing to give or share the very little things he had with people. His joy stemmed from doing that. My mum was also like him in that way. So, all these impacted a lot in me, thus birthing the Paul Basil Iloegbouba Foundation, and we have done a lot, beyond free medical programs, in different places in Enugu and beyond.” While returning all glory to God for enabling him to do the little he had done, he called on other well-meaning Nigerians to partner with NGOs such as his to uplift more downtrodden persons in the society. He also said he looked forward to holding a bigger outreach in the coming year. Other highlights of the event were distribution of food items to everyone present and donation of grinding machines to the shortlisted names.

    It would be recalled that Engr. Paul Basil Iloegbouba is the CEO of Horizontal City Property Developers Ltd, a reputable real estate firm in Nigeria, that had presented a brand new car to their best marketer of the 2020 business year during their recently concluded Gala/Award Night in Enugu. He is also the Director of Thesaurus Schools.

  • NKANU TODAY: Ịkpụite

    NKANU TODAY: Ịkpụite

    By Muna Chinedu

    Ịkpụite (Pottery) has been one of the major crafts that Nkanu people have been known for, for ages and now.

    In Nkanu West, it is predominant among Awkunanaw women. For Nkanu people, it’s some sort of a pride.

    Back in the days, a woman who was a good potter was seen as a full and talented woman. Mothers then taught their daughters how to do pottery at a young age, while a woman that didn’t know how to do it was looked at like she missed from an essential blessing or gift.

    My grandmother once told me how much it took her to learn pottery from her mum.

    One community that has stood out in the practice of Ịkpụite is Obuoffia-Awkunanaw in Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State, Pacesetter’s findings revealed.

    Pottery is not just a skill, gift or talent in Obuoffia in particular, it is a celebration. On the day the pots, earthen bowls, earthen plates, and many other varieties are to be heated through fire, as a way to harden it, or say, bring them to the final stage, to get them ready for use, neighbors turn up to wish the potter well, so her pieces will come out of the fire well.

    Then the best part; there will be food; abacha, fufu and soup, ihuobe, palm wine and other edibles to celebrate the successful finishing of the pottery. The molding and finishing are always done during the harmattan season, perhaps for the dry breeze the season comes with and how it helps harden the clay pieces.

    When my grandma was alive, pottery for her, was pride, and it’s a celebration and still is.

  • THE KANKARA KIDNAP HOAX

    DONS EZE, PhD

    THE KANKARA KIDNAP HOAX

    When we consider the kidnap of hundreds of students at Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State, penultimate week, we begin to see that many things did not add up well. There were many loose ends, which have made us begin to think twice about the whole issue.

    First, President Muhammadu Buhari arrived his home state, Katsina, on a holiday. The same day he arrived, bandits stormed the Kankara school in the same Katsina State and took away hundreds of boys. They travelled hundreds of kilometers on foot with the boys, and nobody noticed the movement, even with high security beef up in Katsina State following the President’s presence there.

    Again, when they decided to let us know about the kidnap, they began to sing different tunes. The Presidency, through the loquacious Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, said only 10 students were kidnapped from the school. The Chief Security Officer of the state, Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, said the number of students abducted from Kankara, were 333.

    Again, they paraded one student said to be among those abducted, but who miraculously escaped, and the boy told us that their abductors had asked him to count the number of abductees in their den, and he counted 540 of them.

    The authoritative Northern Nigeria based newspaper, the Daily Trust, said their correspondent visited Kankara, and through the school register, was able to establish that the number of students missing were 668.

    But when later news about the rescue of the students was released, they put the number at 344; not 10, not 333, not 540, and not 668, as variously bandied. Interestingly, all the abducted students were returned safely, with no scratch, no injury, nobody fainted, nobody died, in spite of the fact that the boys travelled hundreds of kilometers on foot, and might have gone through serious trauma, emotional breakdown, and perhaps, inhuman treatments in the hands of their captors.

    At first, when news abiut the kidnap of the students were announced, the Minister of Defence said they knew where the boys were kept, and that the military would soon storm the place to rescue them, while Governor Masari said he was in contact with the abductors and were negotiating with them for the release of the boys.

    While all these things were going on, the Commander-in-Chief was not disturbed. He was fully relaxed and enjoying his holiday. He even took out time to visit his cows, but spurned those who wanted him to visit Kankara and have first hand information about what happened, or give comforting words to traumatized parents of the abductees.

    Six days later, Governor Masari told us that the abducted students have been released and that it was Miyetti Allah, a group of cattle rears, that facilitated their release. Everybody was happy, and began to sing alleluia.

    But the Nigerian military was not happy about the claim that it was Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeder Association of Nigeria that facilitated the release of the boys.

    A Defence Headquarters spokesman, John Enenche, posited that it was the military that rescued the captives, stating that “the members of general public who volunteered information are also appreciated. He said the students were rescued “on the heels of credible intelligence by the gallant troops”, with high degree of professionalism to ensure they were all rescued alive.

    His words: “Keeping to its promise to ensure the safe return of all abducted students of Government Science Secondary School Kankara, Katsina State, troops of Operation HADARIN DAJI rescued all 344 abducted students on Thursday 17 December 2020. The Military High Command commends troops of Operation Hadarin Daji, including all security agencies for their dexterity.”

    Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, came with his own bombshell. According to him, it was through foreign support that the abducted schoolboys were released, but however declined to give details about those foreign individuals or countries that supported Nigeria during the process of rescuing the schoolboys, and the type of help given.

    Probably, as a result of these discordant tunes, the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere described the Kankara school kidnap episode as a “practical joke” that points to the direction that “Nigeria is finished.”

    In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Yinka Odumakin, the group said: “We in Afenifere are in serious pain that we are called fellow Nigerians with some people at this sad period when human lives have been made to be totally worthless officially.

    “We are not in doubt that the lives of these boys must have been used to swipe the card once again and more money will be available to terrorise Nigerians.”

    On our part, we would like to pose the following questions that would help clear some doubts currently raging in our mind, if properly answered.

    Were the Kankara boys actually abducted, or was it a stage-managed affair? If it happened, who did the abduction? Boko Haram initially claimed responsibility, but the government said no, that it was done by bandits. Who were these bandits, and what was their purpose for abducting the boys?

    Governor Masari had earlier claimed that they were negotiating for the release of the boys. Was it the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeder Association of Nigeria that they were negotiating with, or was it any other body? In other words, were the Miyetti Allah the bandits that abducted the boys?

    Between the Miyetti Allah and the Nigerian military, who actually secured the release of the boys? Each is claiming the glory. Let those who know better tell us.

    Also, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said that foreign countries were involved in securing the release of the boys, who were those foreign countries, and the type of help they rendered?

    Until these loose ends were properly tied, we would continue to see the Kankara kidnap saga as a hoax. May be the administration was anxious to redeem their toterring image for not facing squarely the security challenges in the country, or that some terrorist groups were hard-pressed financially, and wanted to make more money from government.

    This appears plausible, because we had hardly done away with the Kankara episode when bandits again swooped on another secondary school in Katsina State and took away 84 students. We have just got news that the students have been rescued, perhaps, after paying some heavy ransom, even though the government will continue to deny that no such thing ever happened, even after they have told us that they “negotiated”, for the release of the captives, which in our own thinking, involved the process of give and take.

    Dr. Dons Eze, KSJI

  • Nwabueze Nnamani – A man on a Mission

    Nwabueze Nnamani – A man on a Mission

    By Chukwu Emmanuel Uchechukwu

    Since the 1950s, when the federal system of government came into operation in Nigeria, local government administration has received mixed views on its existence.

    Local governments, among other beneficial reasons, are created with the ultimate goal of bringing government closer to the people at the grassroots. In Nigeria particularly, the local government is aimed both to accelerate development and to enable the local population participate and hold those in power accountable for their governance roles.

    However, there is an alarming misconception of this third tier of government, hence the reason a young leader said and I quote, ‘Local Governments in Nigeria is just ceremonial’.
    In the contrary, I suggest that instead of using the betrayal of Judas to judge the remaining 11 one needs to say “some local governments are ceremonial” because as far as we have seen, the Local Government Chairman of Nkanu west (Hon. Nwabueze Nnamani) is developing Nkanu west Local Government Area to becoming the hub of Nkanu land which it has always been.

    The Executive Chairman popularly known as “Ikeoha” among Nkanu west Indigenes has proven within his stay in office that indeed Nkanu west deserves a selfless leader who knows what it takes to lead the people of Nkanu.

    Revamping the Local Government Secreteriate: Following his take over as the transitional Chairman, Hon. Nwabueze saw the need to give the Nkanu west Secreteriate located at Agbani a great look it deserves. He took a bold step by clearing out the grasses and fixing the office link roads in the Local Government Area. He went further by renovating some offices that belonged to some other government establishments that offer services to the citizens situated in the Secreteriate.

    Being readily available to handle serious matters when it arises
    Hon. Nwabueze proved that a leader should always be prepared when he took a first hand measures in the fight against Corona Virus when it was intense. He made sure he enlightened the people through organised radio programs and also by taking a surprise tour to health facilities to checkmate and encourage health workers in the zone.
    Major renovation works were carried out at Umueze health centre and other health centres across the local government by Ikeoha,he also intervened with providing hospital equipments at newly built health centres at Obe and Ugwuafor.

    Maintaining a rapid infrastructural growth in Nkanu West.
    Hon. Nwabueze has maintained a steady rapid infrastructural growth in Nkanu West.
    Some of these projects includes the Unity Monument at the Agbani round about, construction of a modern motor park in Agbani town,Ikeoha’s administration is currently constructing a bridge at Nvene River in Akegbe Ugwu. and other notable projects still under construction accross the Local Government.

    Driving Towards a digital Nkanu West.
    Hon. Nwabueze believes that the world has already gone digital and therefore to meet up with the demand of technology, mayor had equipped so many schools in Nkanu West with digital learning facilities.

    Youth Engagement in active leadership.
    Another notable thing that the mayor of Nkanu west has done is by engaging the youths in active leadership in the Local Government Area. This has notably filled the gap that had existed between the Local Government and the youths of various political wards in Nkanu west. This was achieved through his numerous town hall meetings with the youths and also through youth empowerment programs.

    Improved Security in Nkanu West.
    In line with Governor Ugwuanyi’s security vision for Enugu state. Hon. Nwabueze was never left behind in getting a good security score as Nkanu West has enjoyed heightened security presence since he took over. This is evidence through the rapid response of these security personnels to security issues when it rises.

    Having given the above achievements of Hon. Nwabueze out of the numerous achievements which he has recorded within a short period he has been the chairman, one would wish that if he’s given more opportunities, he would confidently deliver good stewardship to the people.

    Chukwu Emmanuel Uchenna writes from Nkanu West

  • Timi Frank Gives FG 14-day ultimatum to rescind appointment of sole administrator for NDDC

    Press Release
    20/12/20

    Timi Frank Gives FG 14-day ultimatum to rescind appointment of sole administrator for NDDC

    …Says Akpabio’s defense insult to Niger Deltans

    Political Activist and former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, on Monday, gave the Federal Government a 14- day ultimatum to rescind its illegal appointment of a Sole Administrator for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) or face legal consequences.

    Frank in a statement in Abuja also insisted that the defense put up by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio for appointing his cousin, Effiong Akwa, as the new helmsman of the NDDC, was an insult to the people of Niger Delta Region.

    He warned the Federal Government to immediately nominate a substantive board for the NDDC as provided for in its establishment Act or face massive streets protests in the Niger Delta region and lawsuit after the expiration of his ultimatum.

    He described Akpabio’s claim that Sole Administrators had overseen the affairs of the intervention agency in the past as untenable saying “illegality 20 years ago remains illegality today and tomorrow.”

    The Bayelsa-born political activist insisted that that there is no law that says that a statutory board of the NDDC cannot be in place while Akpabio is carrying out his phony forensic audit at the Commission.

    He called for the arrest and prosecution of Akpabio for violating his Oath of Office by working against the interest of the people of Niger Delta and the development of the region.

    He called on the Governors of the Niger Delta states, Ijaw Leader, Chief Edwin Clark, traditional rulers and all federal lawmakers from the zone to speak up in order to rescue the NDDC and stop attempts to destroy it and by extension the hopes and aspirations of Niger Deltans – living and those yet unborn.

    “I appeal to all leaders in the Niger Delta to break their silence on this criminal hijack of the NDDC by Akpabio and his collaborators in the Presidency as God will not forgive us if we allow the future of our children to be mortgaged by greedy ambition and illegal scheming at the Commission,” Frank said.

    He equally called on the National Assembly, especially the leaders of the opposition caucus – Minority Leader in the Senate, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe and his counterpart in the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndidi Elumelu – to ensure that the 2021 Budget of the NDDC is not approved or handed over to Effiong Akwa for onward delivery to his uncle, Akpabio.

    He said that failure to act in the public’s interest on this issue would make the National Assembly an accomplice in the ongoing anti-Niger Delta arrangement to illegally divert the resources of the NDDC by one family.

    “Minority Leaders in both chambers must ensure that the budget of the NDDC is not passed except they have chosen to aid and abet a ploy to arrest the development of the region.

    “They must use their positions as opposition leaders in the National Assembly to ensure that the people of the Niger Delta derive maximum benefit from the Commission in terms of concrete socio-economic enhancements,” he said.

    He said that the hijack of the NDDC by Akpabio portents doom for the Agency and people of the region who have continued to languish in abject poverty occasioned by environmental degradation following decades of oil exploration in the region.

    He said: “The NDDC is not a family empire where Akpabio can appoint his cousin as Sole Administrator.

    “It is disheartening that the primary objective of setting up the NDDC was abandoned immediately Akpabio took over as Minister and made sure that the agency was removed from the Presidency and placed under his ministerial portfolio.”

    He equally vowed to a legal action against the leadership of the National Assembly should they proceed to approve the 2021 budget of the Commission under the present illegal management being supervised by a Sole Administrator.

    END

    Signed

    Comrade Timi Frank
    Political Activist and former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC (more…)

  • Edebor Foundation Donates Educational Materials to School Children

    Edebor Foundation Donates Educational Materials to School Children

    …charges others to imbibe the act of giving back to the society

    “At the end, it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished. It’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back.” Denzel Washington

    Driven by the above quote to leave indelible prints in the annals of history, with a view to leaving the mother earth much better than he met it before the inevitable call from the Great adventure could connect, Egnr. Daniel Okwudiri Ohaa, a recalcitrant-self-sacrificing Civil Servant of Nkanu West descent, thought it wise to co-find the EDEBOR FOUNDATION, a pet project saddled with the responsibility of giving a sense of belonging especially in education, to indigent children, and possibly activate a level play ground for all; such that there could be little or no limitations to the distance the children of the poor can travel in achieving their potentials when compared to their counterparts from a richer background.

    Whereas conceptualising this lofty but worthwhile dream was made easy by the rather rough and tough personal experiences Okwudiri had while growing up, notably, during his school days, actualising the Idea became much easier by his unprecedented willingness to give, backed up by yet an uncommon zeal to Search for the most appropriate recipients of his generous gestures. For it is one thing to be willing to give, but yet another thing, which of course is the most important, to search for the most vulnerable members of the society – the downtrodden; for while many are poor, more are wretched. It’s said that he who stepped into the river first, knows where it is deeper, and warns those still ashore of impending danger areas. This young Engineer and by the grace of God, the Enugu State Chief fire Officer, does not stop at signalling the red areas, he goes further to bridge the gap between the threats and the threatened. This, he has shown  again today by alleviating to some reasonable extent, the suffering of some parents in paying the Education bills of their children.

    On 10th December, 2020, the EDEBOR FOUNDATION, in her maiden outing in Okwudiri’s home town – Umueze Awkunanaw in Nkanu West LGC, hosted over 500 Primary School students from Community Primary School Umueze, Obuoffia Primary School 1 and Obuoffia Primary School 2. Over Six Thousand copies of exercise books, Six Hundred pieces of ruler, One Thousand pieces of pen and Five Hundred pieces of Mathematical sets, were donated to Three Primary Schools in Nkanu-West LGC, in the first tranche of EDEBOR Foundation’s outreach, sponsored singlehandedly by Egnr. Daniel Okkwudiri Ohaa.

    In his welcome address, Engr. Ohaa maintained that though the donation was from his personal savings, not as a politician, but a civil servant with a definite income; he went further to explain that the writing Materials were packaged by his foundation to be a source of succour to the parents of the benefitting students for at least one accademic session. He surprisingly insisted that his foundation was even ready to augment any shortfalls that may surface from any benefitting students as a result of the materials being exhausted within the accademic session in view. He finally gave all credence to the Enugu State Governor, His Excellency Lawrence Ifeanyichukwu Ugwuanyi, HELIU, for finding him worthy to serve.

    The Nkanu West Local Council Chairman, Chief Nwabueze Nnamani, in his separate speech, emphasized on the irreplaceable importance of quality Education to every child, irrespective  of background. He described Education as an inalienable right to every Nigerian Child. He extolled the daring approach of Egnr. Ohaa in always giving back to the society.

    The Enugu State Commissioner for Education, Professor Uche Eze, described Okwudiri’s gesture as an ‘enhanced opportunity for Education’. According to him, Education is everybody’s business, as not even the Government can do it all alone. He enjoined other stakeholders to emulate  EDEBOR FOUNDATION’S stance on mass Education, as a means of relieving the Government of some burdens.

    The Chairman, Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board, Chief Ikeje Asogwa, represented in the occasion by the director Quality Assurance Department of the board, Mrs Oby Igwe, could not hold back his happiness for what a Civil Servant could do in promoting Education in Enugu State. He said that Egnr. Ohaa and his EDEBOR FOUNDATION will go down in history as two of the most selfless bodies in Nkanu West in particular and Enugu in general. He encouraged the donor to keep moving and not relent, as they will be remembered positively by posterity..

    Other dignitaries in the event include:  Rev. Chris Nwadike – Priest incharge, Methodist Church Nigeria, Umueze;  Onyema Okoani – Creative Director Black Jaguar Book Club; Rt Honourable Uchenna Ejim – Legislative Aide to Nkanu West LGC Chairman; Prince Onochie Igwesi – Chairman/Publisher, Pacesetter Frontier Magazine; Nnamani Samuel Freeman – Co Convener, Nkanu Concerned Citizens; Hon. Bartholomew Ebuka Okoh – Director, Barth Special Agro; and so many others.