5 POLY STUDENTS ARRESTED FOR ARMS

Five students of the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Abeokuta were arrested by the Police for illegal possession of guns and engaging in cult activities.

The arrested students are Olawale Olaniyi, Adeyemi Azeez, Olufalo Bidemi, Osilaja Hammed and Bashorun Sodiq.

The accused were charged before a Magistrate Court in Ogun State on a three-count charge, ranging from conspiracy, unlawful possession of firearms and belonging to a secret cult by the Director of Public Prosecution.

They all pleaded not guilty to the charges and the case was adjourned till February 19, 2015.

The defendants are already on bail.

Source: http://campusportal.com.ng/mapoly/5-students-moshood-abiola-polytechnic-arrested-possession-guns/25721/#ixzz3Mwd551HX

Read More

FUTA GRADUATES 4,324 WITH 52 FIRST CLASS GRADUANTS

The Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) held the combined 25th and 26th Convocation Ceremonies for the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 session graudands on Friday December 19th, 2014 at the New Auditorium of the University.

A total of 4,324 students received their first degree certificates with 52 of them bagging first class.

Speaking at the event, the Pro-Chancellor of the University, Dr. Mohammed Shata, implored the graduands to use their new status and the skill acquired to bring about the transformation of Nigeria’s technological, political, social, economic and educational systems.

In his convocation address, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adebiyi Daramola appreciated the Federal Government’s commitment to the development of education by releasing funds under the NEEDS assessment initiative. He pledged a prudent and judicious utilization of the funds.

Prof. Daramola charged the graduating students to remain worthy ambassadors of FUTA and always remember to contribute their quotas to the development of the University.

About 1,761 were conferred with the Postgraduate Diploma, Masters and Doctor of Philosophy Degrees during the event.

High point of the occasion was the conferment of the institution’s honorary doctorate degrees on Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) and Alhaji Bashari Aminu, Chairman Board of Directors of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency for their contributions to national development.

Obinna Michael Okpara of the Department of Biochemistry emerged the overall best student and gave the valedictory speech on behalf of other graduands.

Source: http://campusportal.com.ng/futa/52-first-class-futa-graduates-4324-students/25727/#ixzz3MwbBjYKX

Read More

Buhari’s First Speech After The Military Coup Of 31st December 1983

In pursuance of the primary objective of saving our great nation from total collapse, I, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari of the Nigerian army have, after due consultation amongst the services of the armed forces, been formally invested with the authority of the Head of the Federal Military Government and the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is with humility and a deep sense of responsibility that I accept this challenge and call to national duty.

As you must have heard in the previous announcement, the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1979) has been suspended, except those sections of it which are exempted in the constitution. The change became necessary in order to put an end to the serious economic predicament and the crisis of confidence now afflicting our nation. Consequently, the Nigerian armed forces have constituted themselves into a Federal Military Government comprising of a Supreme Military Council, a National Council of States, a Federal Executive Council at the centre and State Executive Councils to be presided over by military governors in each of the states of the federation. Members of these councils will be announced soon. The last Federal Military Government drew up a programme with the aim of handing over political power to the civilians in 1979. This programme as you all know, was implemented to the letter. The 1979 constitution was promulgated.

However, little did the military realise that the political leadership of the second republic will circumvent most of the checks and balances in the constitution and bring the present state of general insecurity. The premium on political power became so exceedingly high that political contestants regarded victory at elections as a matter of life and death struggle and were determined to capture or retain power by all means. It is true that there is a worldwide economic recession.

However, in the case of Nigeria, its impact was aggravated by mismanagement. We believe the appropriate government agencies have good advice but the leadership disregarded their advice. The situation could have been avoided if the legislators were alive to their constitutional responsibilities; Instead, the legislators were preoccupied with determining their salary scales, fringe benefit and unnecessary foreign travels, et al, which took no account of the state of the economy and the welfare of the people they represented.

As a result of our inability to cultivate financial discipline and prudent management of the economy, we have come to depend largely on internal and external borrowing to execute government projects with attendant domestic pressure and soaring external debts, thus aggravating the propensity of the outgoing civilian administration to mismanaged our financial resources. Nigeria was already condemned perpetually with the twin problem of heavy budget deficits and weak balance of payments position, with the prospect of building a virile and viable economy.
The last general election was anything but free and fair. The only political parties that could complain of election rigging are those parties that lacked the resources to rig. There is ample evidence that rigging and thuggery were relative to the resources available to the parties. This conclusively proved to us that the parties have not developed confidence in the presidential system of government on which the nation invested so much material and human resources. While corruption and indiscipline have been associated with our state of under-development, these two evils in our body politics have attained unprecedented height in the past few years. The corrupt, inept and insensitive leadership in the last four years has been the source of immorality and impropriety in our society.

Since what happens in any society is largely a reflection of the leadership of that society, we deplore corruption in all its facets. This government will not tolerate kick-backs, inflation of contracts and over-invoicing of imports etc. Nor will it condone forgery, fraud, embezzlement, misuse and abuse of office and illegal dealings in foreign exchange and smuggling. Arson has been used to cover up fraudulent acts in public institutions. I am referring to the fire incidents that gutted the P&T buildings in Lagos, the Anambra State Broadcasting Corporation, the Republic Building at Marina, the Federal Ministry of Education, the Federal Capital Development Authority Accounts at Abuja and the NET Building. Most of these fire incidents occurred at a time when Nigerians were being apprehensive of the frequency of fraud scandals and the government incapacity to deal with them. Corruption has become so pervasive and intractable that a whole ministry has been created to stem it.

Fellow Nigerians, this indeed is the moment of truth. My colleagues and I – the Supreme Military Council, must be frank enough to acknowledge the fact that at the moment, an accurate picture of the financial position is yet to be determined. We have no doubt that the situation is bad enough. In spite of all this, every effort will be made to ensure that the difficult and degrading conditions under which we are living are eliminated. Let no one however be deceived that workers who have not received their salaries in the past eight or so months will receive such salaries within today or tomorrow or that hospitals which have been without drugs for months will be provided with enough immediately. We are determined that with the help of God we shall do our best to settle genuine payments to which government is committed, including backlog of workers’ salaries after scrutiny.

We are confident and we assure you that even in the face of the global recession, and the seemingly gloomy financial future, given prudent management of Nigeria’s existing financial resources and our determination to substantially reduce and eventually nail down rises in budgetary deficits and weak balance of payments position. The Federal Military Government will reappraise policies with a view to paying greater attention to the following areas: The economy will be given a new impetus and better sense of direction. Corrupt officials and their agents will be brought to book.

In view of the drought that affected most parts of the country, the federal government will, with the available resources, import food stuffs to supplement the shortfalls suffered in the last harvest. Our foreign policy will both be dynamic and realistic. Africa will of course continue to be the centre piece of our foreign policy. The morale and combat readiness of the armed forces will be given high priority. Officers and men with high personal and professional integrity will have nothing to fear.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria and all other holders of judiciary appointments within the federation can continue in their appointments and the judiciary shall continue to function under existing laws subject to such exceptions as may be decreed from time to time by the Federal Military Government. All holders of appointments in the civil service, the police and the National Security Organisation shall continue to exercise their functions in the normal way subject to changes that may be introduced by the Federal Military Government.
All those chairmen and members of statutory corporations, parastatals and other executive departments are hereby relieved of their appointments with immediate effect.

The Federal Military Government will maintain and strengthen existing diplomatic relations with other states and with international organisations and institutions such as the Organisation of African Unity, the United Nations and its organs, Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, ECOWAS and the Commonwealth etc. The Federal Military Government will honour and respect all treaties and obligations entered into by the previous government and we hope that such nations and bodies will reciprocate this gesture by respecting our country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Fellow Nigerians, finally, we have dutifully intervened to save this nation from imminent collapse. We therefore expect all Nigerians, including those who participated directly or indirectly in bringing the nation to this present predicament, to cooperate with us. This generation of Nigerians, and indeed future generations, have no country other than Nigeria. We shall remain here and salvage it together.May God bless us all. Good morning.

source: Thehearaldng.com 

Read More

THE ‘PANTLESS WAIST’ OF THE CALABAR GIRL 1

Calabar Carnival street (dry-run) party scene, 2014

Well, for those who may not have been privileged to witness the Calabar Carnival, here is a tip of the ice for you.

The Calabar Carnival is an annual event which lasts for 31days-1^st December to 31^st December. But the street party, which accounts for my concern for writing this piece, comes up on 27^th day of December. It is usually a ‘bomb’ of an event. For those that find themselves in Calabar on that day it is usually ‘’all roads lead to Carnival’’. Do you mind to stay back at home? Silence, boredom, loneliness will threaten you because your neighbours, kids and kins would have leaped through the short-cuts to the streets where ‘it is happening’.

Mothers, daughters, fathers, sons; uncles and aunties; lovers and haters roam the streets whenever Calabar Carnival street party comes calling.

Sleeves go up. Zips go down. Kids, girls especially, make request for new outfits which will showcase the ‘natural things’ that the carnival people want to see. They say it is for 18-plus but...“mummy I want to go to Carnival”, cries the teething teen. That is Calabar Carnival for you.

There are different bands that participate in the street party. There is the Master Blaster Band, Freedom Band, Bayside Band and Seagul Band. At the end of the day, which ever band that wins the contest, goes home with some gifts; courtesy of the Cross River State Government.

Calabar Carnival was introduced by Gov. Donald Duke in the year 2004, as a way to liven-up the tourism potentials of the state. Good and fine, that was an objective philosophy and plan a Governor could have for his people.

But very few people are conscious of the moral challenge the street party portends. Very few people are conscious of the wanton nudity, carnality and sexuality which the street party conspicuously displays each day it comes.

I witnessed ‘dry run’ segment of the street party last Sunday. For those who do not know, ‘dry run’ is a rehearsal for the street party. It starts from last Sunday of November and holds every Sunday till the D-day, 27^th December. Any morally-tuned Nigerian would shudder at the sight of what I saw. You may ask, ‘what took you there? Well, I was doing an investigation...

They said participation at the street party was exclusively for 18 years and above. But at the dry-run, I saw girls whose chin, scapular and ankle bones look so sixteen.

Girls were more in number, with skimpy tights and bumb shorts, showcasing the physical ornaments that rocked romantically as everyone beheld them with admiration and dearness.

So much as it has become, the Carnival street party is sending negative signals to Calabar youths. It simply defines social outing as an event which challenges girls to go topless, pant-less and the boys to go in highness. It features a rapid quest for something that lurks for lust and sexuality. It ravages the moral consciences of the youths and makes to me start thinking that Calabar is one place not to train up a child.

At the Carnival, girls are adlib to tread the streets pant-less, topless and sleeveless. Take a look at the picture attached to this article. One girl can be spotted in that picture. The girl who I know may court your attraction was the red-eye of the day. All eyes were on her. To her and other proponents of carnality, she was the ‘hottest’ babe on the street. She was shamelessly rocking her waste and letting everyone know she had no pants. Yes, she had no pants indeed. She was pant-less, pant-less Calabar girl. She only drew the lower seems of the elastic top to cover her waist. Pretence. Was the waist really covered?  Your guess is as good as mine.

When she was gone, I wondered if she had a mother. Where was the mother? Does she have a boy friend or fiancée or both? Where were they? Did they see her dress like this? Does she have friends? Where were her friends when she was matching out with this outfit?

She was among the camp of the Freedom Band. Well, well, well, I can see freedom indeed. Freedom to seduce. Freedom of dressing. Freedom to be nude and go pant-less on the streets of Calabar.

Think of it this way. Carnival is expected to showcase the moral and social vitalities of a nation, a people and a society. It moulds the conception of outsiders and visitors about a society. With the way things are done, Calabar Carnival is showcasing nudity and amorality. It is creating a conception that Calabar is a place where men can easily go and hook-up with ready-to-go hips and rock all day and all night. It is creating a conception that Calabar is guideless in terms of moral sanity. Is that what Calbar really is? That is actually the conception Carnival street party is creating about Calabar.

The Cross River State Government has task to quickly perform before it is too late. The government should quickly introduce a dress code for carnival street party. If the management of University of Calabar can enforce a dress code for undergraduates, I think Carnival participants should be dress-coded too. It is just a matter of policy. But I think before that should happen, it takes a leader who has identified the trending oddities in today’s Calabar Carnival street party.

EMMANUEL SHEBBS

Read More