Poll: Voters prefer hemorrhoids over Congress

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Read Time:1 Minute, 24 Second
It's no surprise these days that Congress isn't very popular, but a new poll says voters have a higher opinion of witches, hemorrhoids and jury duty than their lawmakers in Washington.
 
Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-leaning firm based in North Carolina, asked a series of questions trying to gauge support for Congress compared with government-run institutions like the Internal Revenue Service, health problems such as toenail fungus, cockroaches and dog poop.
 
The findings may surprise some lawmakers in Washington, who are currently deadlocked over how to reopen the federal government after eight days of shutdown.
 
Voters say they have a higher opinion of hemorrhoids than Congress, by 53% to 31%. More than 7 in 10 voters say they view jury duty more favorably than Congress, which musters only 18% support in that comparison. Even toenail fungus rates 3 percentage points higher Congress.
 
Overall, voters in PPP's telephone poll gave Congress an 8% approval rating. Nearly 9 in 10 voters, or 86%, say they disapprove of Congress — which is in line with a recent CNN survey.
 
"Congress having an 8% approval rating tells us one thing about how unhappy voters are," said Dean Debnam, president of Public Policy Polling. "But it's even more telling that voters have a lower opinion of it than annoyances like the DMV and jury duty, health issues like hemorrhoids, and even witches."
 
Some bold-faced names making headlines should take note, however. The poll says voters prefer Congress over Miley Cyrus, Lindsay Lohan, Vladimir Putin and Anthony Weiner.
 
Follow @ccamia on Twitter.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Researchers raise concerns about BPA and breast cancer

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Read Time:7 Minute, 25 Second
A growing number of health advocates are raising concerns about possible links between the estrogen-like chemical BPA and breast cancer.
 
Consumer concern about BPA, or bisphenol A, has led manufacturers to remove it from baby bottles and infant formula packaging.
 
Still, BPA also could pose a risk to children long before they take their first sip of milk, according to a September report from the Breast Cancer Fund, an advocacy group. Babies also are exposed in the womb, the report finds.
 
A developing fetus is especially vulnerable during the first 11 weeks of pregnancy, says co-author Sharima Rasanayagam, director of science at the Breast Cancer Fund. "Everything is being developed" at this stage, she says. "The building blocks are being laid down for future health."
 
The report cites 60 animal and human studies, which link prenatal BPA exposure to an increased risk of a variety of health problems, from breast cancer and prostate cancer to decreased fertility, early puberty, neurological problems and immune system changes.
 
In a September paper, too new to be included in the report, Tufts University's Ana Soto found that BPA increased the risk of mammary cancers in rats. In two studies of rhesus monkeys published last year, other researchers found that BPA disrupted egg development, damaged chromosomes and caused changes in the mammary gland that made animals more susceptible to cancer.
 
Soto says it's possible that prenatal BPA exposure makes fetuses more sensitive to estrogen, a hormone that drives the growth of most breast cancers. In that way, BPA could indirectly increase the risk of breast cancer later in life. She notes that even small changes in prenatal estrogen exposure — such as that produced by the extra placenta in a uterus containing fraternal twins — increases the risk of breast cancer in girls and prostate cancer in boys.
 
In a separate action, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Society of Reproductive Medicine also have released a joint report on the broader issue of prenatal exposure to toxins, from BPA to pesticides and other chemicals. That September report notes that in utero exposure to environmental chemicals has been linked to miscarriage and stillbirth, impaired fetal growth and low birth weight, preterm birth, childhood cancers, birth defects, intellectual impairment and thyroid problems.
 
In 2011, the American Medical Association labeled BPA an "endocrine-disrupting agent" because of evidence suggesting that it disrupts the body's normal hormonal regulation.
 
In 2009, the Endocrine Society — a group of doctors and researchers specializing in the hormonal system — called hormone-disrupting chemicals such as BPA a "significant concern for public health," possibly causing infertility, cancer and malformations.
 
"Every pregnant woman in America is exposed to many different chemicals in the environment," says Jeanne Conry, president of the obstetrics-gynecology group.
 
More than 90% of American have BPA in their bodies, research shows. Ten studies have found BPA in fetal tissue, including umbilical cord blood, as well as in amniotic fluid, the Breast Cancer Fund report notes.
 
BPA was developed in the 1930s as an estrogen-replacement therapy. Researchers stopped developing BPA as an estrogen, however, because another synthetic hormone, DES, or diethylstilbestrol, was far more potent.
 
Conry says she's concerned that exposure to BPA could, like DES, change the way that a developing fetus reacts to estrogen for the rest of its life.
 
Millions of pregnant women took DES from 1941 to 1971 to prevent miscarriage, until studies found that women exposed to DES before birth had a high rate of rare vaginal cancers. Studies later linked DES to breast cancer, as well.
 
While concern over BPA has led many manufacturers to stop using the chemical in plastic bottles, it remains widely used in other plastics, such as bicycle helmets, eyeglasses and medical equipment and the linings of metal food cans. BPA also is found in the coatings on many cash-register paper receipts.
 
Since 2011, the Breast Cancer Fund has campaigned to persuade food companies to stop using BPA.
 
Campbell's Soup last year announced that it will phase out BPA, but has not yet announced when that will happen, or what material it will use instead. Eden Foods has sold its beans in BPA-free cans since 1999. It now sells tomatoes in glass jars, which have lower levels of BPA than traditional cans.
 
The American Chemistry Council, an industry group, notes that BPA plays an important role in food safety, because it "helps to extend a product's shelf life and protects food from contamination and spoilage."
 
"BPA is one of the most tested substances in use today and regulatory agencies around the world have repeatedly found that the evidence does not show a connection between typical exposure levels and health effects or disease," says Jayne Morgan, chief medical officer at the American Chemistry Council. "Women rely on their physicians for sound medical advice and access to reliable information. Creating confusion and alarm among expectant mothers will distract from the well-established steps doctors recommend to support a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby."
 
The Food and Drug Administration's official statement on BPA says that it is "safe at the very low levels that occur in some foods.This assessment is based on review by FDA scientists of hundreds of studies including the latest findings from new studies initiated by the agency."
 
However, the FDA also has expressed "some concern" about the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in children, both before and after birth. The FDA banned BPA in baby bottles in 2012, after most manufacturers already had stopped using it. Earlier this year, the FDA formally banned BPA in infant formula packaging, also after formula manufacturers already had abandoned the chemical.
 
Manufacturers of metal cans say there's no clear evidence that BPA linings cause harm.
 
John Rost, chairman of the North American Metal Packaging Alliance, says that recent "studies, coupled with the extensive body of research on BPA that has been thoroughly reviewed by FDA, and multiple international regulatory bodies, continue to reaffirm that the trace amounts of BPA found in metal food and beverage packaging does not represent a health risk to humans at any age or stage of development."
 
A growing number of studies have linked prenatal BPA exposure to genital changes in babies, as well as behavioral changes in children, Rasanayagam says.
 
Still, some breast cancer researchers say there's not yet enough research to know if BPA really increases breast cancer risk, and if removing it from consumer products will reduce that risk.
 
"Yes, we should do the research," says surgeon Susan Love, author of Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book. "But I don't think we should be jumping ahead of the data."
 
Yet Rasanayagam notes that doctors will never have the sort of scientific proof about environmental chemicals that they have for other products, such as new drugs. First, that's because it's unethical to deliberately expose women and their fetuses to a potentially harmful substance. Second, breast cancer can take 60 or 70 years to develop. So even a very large trial would take decades to produce results.
 
Soto says that the evidence for regulating the chemical is as good as it's going to get. "It is no longer a problem of science," says Soto, of Tufts University School of Medicine. "It's a problem of policy."
 
In the face of uncertainty, Conry says doctors and their patients can take sensible steps, such as avoiding plastics made with BPA and not heating plastic in the microwave, which can cause chemicals to leach into food.
 
Yet BPA is too ubiquitous for women to completely avoid, Conry says. That's why the USA should "shift the burden of proof" from individuals to manufacturers and regulators, who should make sure that pregnant women and others aren't exposed to hazardous chemicals. She notes that there are about 84,000 chemicals in use today, and 700 others are introduced each year. Women and their doctors can't be expected to be experts on all of them, she says.
 
"We shouldn't be releasing these chemicals into the environment until they have had adequate study," Conry says. "The burden shouldn't be on the consumer each time these issues come up. That's more than the individual can take on."

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Terrorism: Between Shekau and Kelvin, any link?

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Read Time:5 Minute, 24 Second

The Federal Government’s coordinated war against terrorism and other acts of criminality witnessed a
major boost recently with the arrest and detention of a kidnap kingpin, Mr Kelvin Oniarah, who is believed to be the mastermind behind all kidnap cases in the South East and South South regions.

Without any doubt, Mr Oniarah’s eventual capture by  operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, in the oil city of Port Hacourt brings to an end the dark days of increasing kidnap cases in the Niger Delta region. I am a Niger Deltan and we should all have reasons to celebrate over this huge achievement. It is gratifying to affirm that even members of the international community are indeed pleased with the successes Nigeria has so far recorded against terrorism.

Nigerians equally woke up within the same period to be greeted with wild claims by the Boko Haram group that its former leader who was believed to have been felled by JTF’s bullets sometime in July is still alive!

Discerning Nigerians, especially those who have come to understand the game plan of the Boko Haram sect and its apologists and local collaborators, have since discovered that the video clip released by the group was to divert attention from celebrating the capture of kidnap kingpin, Oniarah by the DSS. Nigerians are too advanced and knowledgeable a people to fall for dummies as presently bandied around by the terror group.

Forget about what President Goodluck Jonathan said about him not knowing whether the man was alive or dead. I believe he was only playing the usual security trick of diverting attention from key events so as not to compromise other efforts of the security agencies.

Nigerians have since realised the obvious fact that the Boko Haram group and other terror groups are their common enemies. These groups have indeed visited mindless terror on Nigerians of different faiths, tribes and ethnicity.

We cannot afford to fall so cheap for this grand plan to divert attention from rejoicing over the capture of Mr Oniarah. Believe you me, the capture of  Oniarah and Shekau’s concocted video clip should be seen for what they are: a planned coincidence by the terror group to divert attention. This incident further revealed the extent to which these bloodthirsty elements could go in their resolve to make the country ungovernable.

Unfortunately for them, the orchestrated plan has fallen flat on its face. Nigerians have discovered that these terror groups and kidnappers are birds of same feather whose past-time is to instill fear in people. There appears to be between them a coordinated network system through which they communicate and share ideas on ways to perpetrate evil.

Long before now, while suicide bombers visited terror on innocent Nigerians living in the North Eastern part of the country, kidnap groups made life meaningless and miserable for Nigerians in the South-South and South East regions. These twin issues gave government at various levels, especially the Federal Government, cause for concern.

Government, obviously was not pleased with the wanton destruction of lives by suicide bombers in the North and rising kidnap cases in the South. A government insider recently said that as a responsible and responsive government, the Federal Government never considered the inglorious option of abandoning Nigerians in the aforementioned regions to their fate.

It stood beside them all through these perilous times. It vowed never to allow criminal elements lay claim to any part of the country. To achieve this feat, it deployed troops to the troubled states as well as going ahead to declare partial state of emergencies in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states. These wise moves, no doubt, produced immense results.

The arrest of Kelvin also known as Ibruvwe calls for celebration and commendation for the DSS .It was gathered that Oniarah was apprehended by a combined team of SSS officials from Abuja and Delta State Command in collaboration with the troops of the Joint Task Force, JTF, in the Niger Delta, Operation Pulo Shields.
This kidnap kingpin is said to be the mastermind of several high profile kidnap cases in different parts of the country. Report says he was responsible for the recent kidnap of a senior lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome, in EdoState, during which four policemen were killed. We are also told of how he was said to have maintained operational bases and detention camps in Warri and Kokori communities in Delta State and Ugbokolo community in Benue State.

A highly elated Delta State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ikechukwu Adaba, who confirmed the arrest to newsmen, described the development as a great achievement in the war against kidnapping and other vices.

Government had earlier declared the kingpin wanted over his involvement in deadly escapades, especially armed banditry and kidnapping in which over 100 persons had been killed in different parts of the Niger Delta. Also on his list of atrocities were the attacks on some high profile personalities in that region. He is also linked to a bloody operation in Warri Federal Prisons, where he allegedly freed some members of his gang, after killing prison wardens.

With the terror acts perpetrated by Mr Orainah and his gang, especially in the Niger Delta region and the lives and material possessions lost to their attacks, Nigerians, indeed have every reason to celebrate his eventual capture. While it will be rather too premature to roll out the drums for celebration, it is not out of place to congratulate security agencies on this great feat.

With the wide jubilation that greeted the news of the arrest of Kelvin across Nigeria, I am further convinced that Nigerians are more than ever before united against terrorism.  Terrorists and kidnappers don’t carry out their nefarious acts based on ethnic, religious or political considerations. In fact, these elements tend to be more united in visiting terror on Nigerians.

The million dollar question is, why did Kelvin Oniarah’s capture by the DSS coincide with Shekau’s claims of being alive? I smell conspiracy in this act. How come Shekau and his collaborators have remained silent for months only to resurface that day?

Answers to these questions are not far-fetched, infact, we can find the answers in the questions. It should be seen simply as an orchestrated attempt to divert attention from the arrest of Kelvin.

Mr EmmanUel Goodhead,  a commentator on national issues, wrote from  Asaba, Delta State

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Why Nigeria FG Wants ASUU Strike to Continue

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Read Time:6 Minute, 4 Second

Nigerian universities have been buffeted with agonising months of strikes for over a decade and until now, the story is pretty much the same. Government is still unwilling to give the education sector a shot in the arm.

Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, have been on strike since June 30 and has dialogued with FG over 11 times, albeit, inconclusively. This underscores the lukewarm posture of government towards the striking lecturers and fromASUU’s body language and utterances,  they have made it abundantly clear to anyone who cares to listen that they are ready to continue the strike even if it takes years, insisting that their decision was adequately taken in a bid to revitalise Nigerian universities.

The bone of contention is lucid in itself. An agreement was reached in 2009 that all federal universities would require a total sum of N1.5 trillion spread over three years (2009-2011) to address the rot and decay in the universities. But, in the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed between the union and the government in 2012, FG decided to extend the gesture to include both federal and state universities. After the 2012 review, it was agreed that instead of N1.5 trillion, FG would infuse a total of N1.3 trillion into the universities over four years. Almost four years down the line, FG has refused to fulfill its end of the bargain. Rather than respond to the issues raised by the union that would ensure quick resolution to the imbroglio, government boycotted ASUU to summon a meeting with Pro-Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors of universities, offering them N130billion with a matching order to lecturers to resume work immediately. But the union is insisting that by throwing money at universities in that manner, government has repudiated the 2009 agreement it entered freely with the union and the 2012 MoU. ASUU is not making any fresh demand but has maintained that the 2009 agreement must be honoured.

It is ridiculous that government officials were quoted as saying ASUU’s N1.3 trillion demand is capable of shutting down the country. No. Their insatiable and rapacious greed will. The private jets in the presidential fleet can fly, centenary celebrations is a priority to government, there’s enough money to pay humongous salaries and allowances to federal legislators and other political office holders, enough to forfeit to oil subsidy thieves, enough to pay militants bogus amnesty cheques and phantom contracts while they continue to bunker our crude oil like never before, there’s enough money to beg Boko Haram to accept amnesty but there is no money for law abiding Nigerian students who want to eke out a living using university education as a stepping stone. It is this kind of attitude from the government that provokes the use of brute force by some regional groups to attract government’s attention to their problems.

Government cannot claim it has no money to fulfill this agreement. A country with 109 senators earning about N19.6 billion a year, while N51.8 billion is spent on members of House of Representatives for the same period, totaling N71.4 billion. This sum, N71.4 billion, represents 17.8 per cent of the N400bn yearly intervention fund recommended by the Committee on Needs Assessment of Nigerian Universities. Surely, our lecturers and universities where they were trained deserve more.

When we talk of heath care, government official and the ruling elite go abroad for medical attention; we talk bad roads, they fly private jets; we talk power, they run their homes on 24-7 alternative electricity source; now we’re talking Education, their wards are in some of the best universities abroad. There is no way the myriad of problems bedeviling the country can be tackled if the political elite don’t feel the pangs.

That Mr President has taken out time from his ‘busy’ schedule to constantly parley with the warring factions of his party, PDP, but has never sat down with ASUU members to chart a course for Nigeria’s leaders of tomorrow clearly shows his priorities. Party affairs and chasing perceived enemies of his 2015 ambition around with apparatus of state are far more important things than bending over backwards to pander to the demands of the striking lecturers.

But then, government must take into cognisance the fact that, the longer the students remain at home, chances are that they will be lured into social vices. The aftermath can be disastrous for the state.

There are misplaced calls in the some quarters for ASUU to be ‘reasonable’, accept FG’s offer and return to classrooms. Others lambast them for being self-centered and unpatriotic. It is unfortunate that Nigerians are always looking for quick fix solutions to monumental problems. Less endowed countries like Ghana, Botswana and Angola are making giant strides on all fronts because the citizenry have at one point or the other insisted that the needful be done. Here, anything thrown at us is accepted with glee.

We must get our priorities right as a country. Government must curb its own excesses. Education must be given the attention it deserves. Education of the citizenry should not be subjected to any form of Negotiation. Negotiating the education of our leaders of tomorrow is more or less negotiating the future of the country.

Government deliberately wants the strike to linger, first, to blackmail the opposition. There have been several unsavoury comments from the government’s divide of the negotiation table that ASUU has been infiltrated by moles from the opposition, alleging that the strike has lingered to gain political capital. That is how low this government can stoop. We have seen it before. It is an irresponsible and shameless government, one that lacks integrity and honesty that will blame the opposition for all its woes. It is unbecoming for the government of the day to continue to heap its failure on the doorstep of the opposition and ASUU strike is just another avenue to paint the opposition black before the public.

 

Second, is to send a strong signal to other unions who might be contemplating similar action to have a rethink. Perhaps, government thinks by acceding to ASUU’s demands, other Labour unions might toe the same path at the slightest excuse.

Third, the ultimate aim of government is to paint a bad image of the association to Nigerians, at least, for as long as the strike persists. The Governor Suswan-led NEEDS Report Implementation Committee mediating on behalf of the government has unfortunately taken a position that is false, dishonest, and calculated to misinform the public and cause disaffection towards the union. Rather than seek cheap popularity, Governor Suswan and the rest of the FG team should tow the part of honour by asking President Goodluck Jonathan to honour the 2009 agreement. There’s no basis for turning the heat on ASUU and the campaign of calumny.

 

It calls for worry, that same government that has always maintained that ‘our graduates are unemployable’ and our universities churn out ‘half-baked graduates’ find it difficult to commit the much needed funds to revamp the universities.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Can The National Conference Provide A Legal Basis For A Brand New Constitution?

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Read Time:7 Minute, 6 Second

At last, the Sovereign authorities have accepted the need for a National Conference. Civil society in Nigeria has always insisted that only the People of Nigeria can authenticate, legitimize and endorse a Constitution to govern their affairs. Unfortunately, this simple wish was always denied by the colonial, military and even elected government. So President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s Independence Declaration is a major milestone.

The Late Aka-Bashorun, my most illustrious predecessor, as President of Nigerian Bar Association, the first to clearly articulate the need for a Sovereign National Conference, as long ago as the 1980’s, must be rejoicing in his grave. Civil society has always stated that a National Conference is a vital requirement for a People’s Constitution for Nigeria.

Civil society’s demands have always been straight forward and simple that Nigeria will benefit from a robust discussion on two vital questions posed by Late Bola Ige, when he said “…there are two basic questions that must be answered by all of us Nigerians. One, do we want to remain as one country? Two, if the answer is yes, under what conditions?” I respectfully suggest that Bola Ige’s questions are well framed as the relevant National Questions we need to address, if we are to build a new Spirit of commitment to Nation and service to motherland.

President Jonathan has charged a committee to frame the issues and nature of participation, and most important the legal basis upon which the outcomes of a National Conference can be enacted into law by the National Assembly.

Civil Society on the other hand has expressed the view that the nature of the conference will necessarily have to be sovereign. I will return to the basis of this request by civil society.

What is important at this stage is the utilizing of the limited platform offered by President Jonathan to engage Nigerians in very robust discussions on the Constitution and without “No-Go” issues.

Even though there are challenges about participation, my suggestion is that participants may be drawn from ethnic nationalities and at least the six basic estates of the realm, namely the Executive, Legislature, Judiciary, Media, Civil society and Organized Business. I have defined civil society in a very broad sense to include NGO’s, religious and traditional institutions and of course labour, youth and women.

I agree with Dr. Tunji Abayomi when he said “Every Constitution is preceded by a debate of terms and consensus on principles”. This  simply means that we have to agree. I think the most important key to a successful National Conference is the structure of government and devolution of powers. It is obvious that Nigeria is a very diverse country. Scholars suggest that federalism is the political system best suited to diverse peoples. If this is agreed at the conference, the corresponding question should be about the structure of the federal system and the scope of powers of the autonomous governments, that is the federal government on the one hand and the state government and even the local government, on the other.

I would readily adopt Dr. Alex Ekueme’s recommendation that the new structure of Nigeria should be based on our six geo-political zones. I would further recommend massive devolution of powers from the Central government to the state governments. This is called the principle of subsidiarity. If we accept this basic conceptual framework, it will then be easy to constitutionalise the political arrangements into a Peoples constitution. 

Now to compensate for the non sovereign nature of the conference, I would like to identify four vital elements that we must keep in mind. They are inclusion, authority, validity and legitimacy.

By inclusion I mean every Nigerian must be allowed to freely speak his mind. By authority I mean that we have to accept that the President and National Assembly are the convening authority. By validity the government has to accept that we the People shall validate the Constitution by Referendum. By legitimacy I mean that our discussions shall not be altered by the government, but shall be final and binding and validated by Nigerians

I now turn to perhaps the most difficult subject of all in this matter of the National Conference. Here is the question- after we agree, how do we bring the discussions into legal force? I think Prof. Ben Nwabueze, SAN, has, as usual, provided a simple and lucid answer.

Prof. Nwabueze reminds us that the National Assembly has two types of legislative powers. First, the National Assembly has legislative power similar to that of any House of Assembly of a State. In this context the National Assembly is just one of three of the branches of the Federal Government. The National Assembly makes law in this field pursuant to its powers contained at Section 4(2) of the Constitution. These are the exclusive and concurrent lists. But the National Assembly has a second legislative power. This is covered by Section 4(1) of the 1999 Constitution. Prof. Nwabueze having noted that “Section 4(1) provides that legislative powers of the Federal Republic of Nigerian shall be vested in the National Assembly”, goes on to say that what is so vested in the National Assembly  therein, is the legislative power, not of the Federal Government, but that of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The legislative power in this second field is a term wider than the legislative power of the National Assembly as a branch of the Federal Government. In short the National Assembly has dual power to make laws on the one hand as a branch of the Federal Government and on the other hand for the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

 

The National Assembly is authorized to make laws for the Federal Republic of Nigeria for its peace, order and good government. In this sense, according to Prof. Nwabueze, and I respectfully agree, the entire legislative sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is vested in the National Assembly. It is important to state that the legislative power of the National Assembly to make law for the Federal Republic of Nigeria is not limited to matters specified in the exclusive and concurrent list. It includes, Prof Nwabueze says, and pursuant to Section 4(4)(b) “any other matter with respect to which it is enpowered to make laws in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution”. It is in this context that the National Assembly can exercise powers pursuant to section 4(1) to repeal Decree 24 of 1999 which is the legal basis of the 1999 Constitution and replace it with a brand new Constitution. The legal position will be different if the National Assembly is merely altering the Constitution. This is covered by Sections 8 and 9.

Prof. Nwabueze cites the example of what Parliament did in 1963 when it replaced the whole of 1960 Independence Constitution with the Republican Constitution of 1963.  All Parliament did in 1963 was to repeal the Order-in-council, made by the Queen of England providing for the Independence Constitution and replaced it with a brand new Republican Constitution.

Decree 24 is an existing law under Section 315(4) of the 1999 Constitution. So Decree 24, being a law with respect to which the National Assembly has power under Section 4(1) to make law, is deemed to be an Act of the National Assembly and can therefore be repealed.

Prof. Nwabueze says it would be inconceivable and manifestly absurd that there should be an existing law as defined in Section 315(4) which is beyond the power of the legislative authority of the sovereign state of Nigeria to repeal.

So the way I see it is that, assuming we can agree on the content of the Constitution that can work for us, it should be very easy to constitutionalise the agreements reached at the National Conference by invoking the special legislative powers of the National Assembly and enacting those agreements reached into a supreme Constitutional document. If this process is followed, the Constitution as an outcome of the Sovereign will of the People will have the stamp and authority of Nigerians, validated by a referendum before enactment by the National Assembly. Then as Kingsley Moghalu says in his tremendously important book “Emerging Africa” we can all aspire to a Fundamental Transformational Agenda for Nigeria.

 

Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, SAN

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Air crashes: Rumours of Sacrifice, Agagu and Stella Oduah – by Femi Fani-Kayode

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Read Time:13 Minute, 35 Second
Last year on June 3rd 2012, there was a plane crash in Nigeria in which over 163 people were killed. The plane was owned by Dana Air. The day before that on June 2nd 2012 a Nigerian cargo plane owned by Kabo Air left our shores and flew to Accra, Ghana where it overshot the runway, crashed into the main road behind the airport and killed many Ghanaian motorists. What made this all the more tragic was the fact that Ghana had never experienced a plane crash at Kotoka International Airport before this incident. It is a pity that it had to be a Nigerian plane, with a Nigerian crew and cargo that had to break that enviable record.
Over one year later on 3rd October 2013, which was last Thursday, there was yet another plane crash in Nigeria in which 13 people died. The plane was owned by Associated Airlines. Worse still the following day, which was 4th October 2013, a Saudi Arabian-bound Nigerian plane which was owned by Kabo Airline and which was carrying 400 passengers on board from Sokoto, almost crashed when both it’s tyres exploded mid-air and it had to crash land.
Had that plane actually crashed we would have lost another 400 precious souls on that day. Before the first crash took place last year and between the two major crashes there were numerous other smaller ones involving light aircraft, private jets, military planes and helicopters that were not publicised. All these unfortunate events occurred under the tenure of Princess Stella Oduah, who is the current Minister of Aviation. Under her watch close to 200 souls have been killed in air crashes in the last two years alone.This does not surprise me given the nature of the individual that is involved. What does surprise me however is the fact that just one day after those that perished in the latest crash were killed, before the victims were buried, before the site of the crash was cleared, whilst the charred bodies and burnt parts of the victims still lay at the crash site and before any formal investigation into the causes of the crash have commenced, the ruling PDP, through their spokesman Chief Olisa Metuh, has told the world that they have ”full confidence” in Stella Oduah and that ”she should be allowed to continue her good work”.
Is there any greater evidence of the fact that the PDP is a sick party that is led by sick people than this? Such insensitivity is rarely seen anywhere in the world. Only in Nigeria can this happen. Not only am I surprised but I am also utterly disgusted. How many more people have to be killed in air crashes before our President realises that he needs a new Minister of Aviation?
The truth is that there is far more to aviation than beautifying airports. The first and most important consideration has to be the safety of the passengers and the airworthiness of the planes followed by a solemn and avowed commitment to ensure the discipline, professionalism and efficiency of the aviation parastatals. Most important of all when a plane crashes, whatever the reasons or causes, the Minister ought to assume full responsibility and even offer his or her resignation. Failing that he or she ought to be redeployed to another ministry or completely removed from the cabinet. This is because it is his or her primary responsibility to keep air travellers safe and alive.
Sadly it does not appear that this is likely to happen anytime soon. As a matter of fact I am convinced that even if 1,000 people were killed in air crashes in the space of just 6 months under President Goodluck Jonathan he would still not redeploy or sack Stella Oduah because our President just ”doesn’t give a damn”.
Each time a plane crashes it saddens me deeply because to anyone that has ever worked there before aviation is like a family. Worse still those people that lost their lives were our people – they were our fellow Nigerians. 
It really does hurt. Suffice it to say that there were no air crashes under my watch and not one drop of blood was split from the air whilst I was Minister of Aviation, whether it be passenger plane, private jet, helicopter or light aircraft. I thank God for that because if it had happened I would not have been able to sleep at night. I am the only Minister of Aviation in Nigeria between 2002 to date that can lay claim to that. I put it down to hard work, prayer and the grace of God and nothing else. Unlike some others, I was literally paranoid when it came to air safety and security because it was obvious to me that there was more to the whole thing than meets the eye.
Permit me to go into a little detail. The year before I became Minister of Aviation there were 5 plane crashes and 453 people perished from our skies. The airlines that crashed were Bellview (2005), Sosolisso (2006), a Nigerian military plane carrying a large number of senior army officers (2006), ADC (2006) and a private light aircraft in Kano which had on board the adopted son of the PDP National Chairman Ahmadu Ali and a pilot (2006). At the time that all these crashes took place Professor Babalola Borisade was the Minister of Aviation. In November 2006 Borisade was redeployed to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism where I was Minister and I was sent to Aviation and by the grace of God from that point on my team and I, with the full backing and support of President Olusegun Obasanjo, put a stop to the crashes and we broke the cycle.
We left office in May 2007 and almost immediately after that the standard dropped again and the cycle of terrible air crashes returned to our shores. They have not stopped since. As I pointed out in another essay which I wrote last year after the Dana crash, 90 per cent of the crashes that have taken place in Nigeria in the last 11 years have taken place at weekends.
 
That in itself is strange but what is even stranger is the fact that there are two ten year cycles of major crashes that have been in operation in our country since 1992. I call them ”sacrificial cycles”. The details are as follows.
There was a major crash in 1992 (C-130 military airplane in which 160 army officers were killed). Ten years later there was a second major crash in 2002 (EAS Airline in which 105 people were killed). Ten years later there was a third major crash in 2012 (Dana Airline in which 163 were killed). This represents the first ”ten year cycle” of crashes and if it is not broken there will be another major crash in 2022 which will result in a large loss of life.The second ”ten year cycle” began in 1996 when ADC crashed with the loss of over 160 lives. This was followed by another crash ten years later in 2006 which involved another plane from ADC and which again resulted in the loss of over 160 lives. If the cycle is not broken I have little doubt that there will be another major crash in Nigeria in 2016. These observations have nothing to do with superstition but they are based on painstaking research, facts and logic. There have many other big and small crashes within and between the dates of the two major ”ten year cycles” but what seems amazing and strange to me is the recurrent and definative pattern of the ten year cycles themselves.
It is almost as if it is some kind of pagan or religious obligation or debt that is being paid to some hidden and dark forces. Some may dismiss all this as mere coincidence but the actual day and month that all those crashes took place on tells another story which I will not go into here. Whatever anyone else may believe or think I have no doubt whatsoever in my mind that there is a spiritual dimension to these matters and I have been saying so publicly since I was at the aviation ministry. Other than sheer hard work, an insistence on full compliance with safety standards and the display of the most rigorous form of discipline from the top to the bottom, in order to break these patterns and cycles of crashes and protect our skies, much prayer and intercession is required. There are a number of other rather startling and strange patterns, as well, but I am not prepared to share those with the public in order not to create any panic.One thing that I know, though, is that God is in control and that, as the bible says, ”He reveals to redeem”. There is absolutely no cause for any fear or alarm. I have written and spoken many times on this. I have pointed out the problems over and over again and suggested how it can be stopped. It may not stop though because there are some depraved people in our country that do not want it to stop, that benefit from it, that delight in it and that believe in it. This is the bitter truth. That, together with the fact that in Nigeria not enough people care for or truly value human life. We only pretend to care.
For more on this, I urge those that are interested to read my essay titled ”Air Crashes In Nigeria, Sacrificial Cycles and the Weekend Phenomenon” which was published in a number of newspapers after the Dana crash last year. They can also read the first segment of my submissions at a public hearing of the Senate Aviation Committee in 2008 which was titled ”My Mandate At The Ministry of Aviation”. They are both on my website… or they can just be googled.
My views about the crashes and their causes are well enunciated in both. Other than that I will not say anything about air crashes in Nigeria because what I have said and exposed has already caused me more than enough trouble from those that believe such matters ought to be kept secret and away from the public for reasons best known to themselves. Suffice it to say that my conscience is clear and that I did my very best to save and protect Nigerian lives whilst I was Minister of Aviation. That is all that matters to me and because of that I sleep very well at night. To God alone be the glory.
One last point. I find it nauseating and distasteful that some people would relish the fact that the corpse of Governor Agagu went through all that it did when he was being flown to Akure for his final burial rites and that they seemed almost joyful at the fact that the plane crashed resulting in the loss of all those innocent souls. This is a disgrace and I feel utterly outraged by it. The shameful refrain, which is all over the social media, is that Agagu somehow deserved to die a ”second death” from the skies because so many people had supposedly been killed in plane crashes under his watch as Minister of Aviation. This is false. It is also sheer wickedness. As a matter of fact it is evil
 
 
Only God knows how each of us will come to our end and it is not true to say that the harvest of deaths that took place in the aviation industry whilst President Obasanjo was in power took place under Agagu’s watch. He was appointed Minister of Aviation in 1999 and remained there until 2001 when he was redeployed to the Ministry of Power by the President. I am not aware of ANY plane crashes that took place during Agagu’s tenure as Minister of Aviation. The string of consistent major crashes in Nigeria really began in 2002 when EAS Airline crashed in Kano killing over 105 people including the then Minister of Sports, Mr. Mark Aku. At the time of that crash Mrs. Kema Chikwe was Minister of Aviation and not Agagu. The last major crash that took place before the 2002 EAS crash in Nigeria was the aforementioned ADC crash of 1996 where 160 were killed.
 
The most pronounced years of tragedy and carnage in aviation, which involved 6 major crashes and numerous smaller ones, were really between 2002 and November 2006 when the carnage was finally brought to a halt. Sadly it began again almost immediately after we left office in May 2007 when small planes, light aircraft and helicopters started dropping from the sky. Then came the mysterious disappearance of Ibori’s ”Wings Aviation” plane with a number of fatal casualties from our skies in 2008 and things really went downhill from there.
 
In the last 11 years, between 2002 and 2013 over 850 people have been killed in air crashes in Nigeria- 453 under Borisade and just under 200 of them under Stella Oduah. This is an atrocious record of air safety and I believe that I am right in saying that it is a peace-time world record. Whatever the case it is nothing to be proud of and it reflects badly on all of us, particularly those of us that were once Ministers of Aviation.
I have done my research and I have the details of every single crash that has taken place in this country over the last eleven years whether it be a private plane, light aircraft, military aircraft, passenger plane or helicopter. As long as such a crash resulted in the loss of life I have the record of it and all the details. None of those crashes took place under the watch of Dr. Segun Agagu and I implore those that are doing so to stop attributing the sad events that preceeded his burial to some kind of divine retribution for what purportedly occured when he was Minister of Aviation. Nothing can be more cruel than this and nothing could be further from the truth.Permit me to end this contribution with a few words to the families of those that were lost in the crash. It is always a painful thing when we lose someone dear and this is especially so when it happens in such a painful and violent manner. My heart goes out to each and every family that lost their loved ones in this latest crash. May the Lord comfort each and every one of them and may He heal their wounds with the balm of Gilead. My commiserations also goes to the people of Ondo State and particularly to my dear friend and brother Governor Olusegun Mimiko who is a man that I have tremendous respect for, a practising and committed christian and a man of immense integrity and spiritual fortitude.
 
To my dear brothers that were lost in that terrible crash themselves, including Mr. Tunji Okunsanya and his son Tunji jnr. (whose MIC company buried both of my parents in 1995 and 2001 respectively), Mr. Deji Falae who was the Commissioner of Culture and Tourism for Ondo state and so many others, I say the following- may God have mercy upon you. May He forgive you of all your sins. May He cause His face to shine upon you. May He grant you peace eternal. May you abide with Him in eternity. May your souls be blessed forever. May the watchman and the boatman grant you safe passage into the higher realms. May the halls of Valhalla, where the brave shall live forever, be open unto to you.
 
May you never be forgotten and may your names wax strong in our hearts and minds from generation to generation. May the memory of your beautiful smiles continue to give us strength and bring us hope. You were a real blessing to so many. Rest in peace. Until we meet again.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Flash flooding forces evacuations in Louisville

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LOUISVILLE — Hundreds of Louisville residents were affected by flash flooding late Saturday and early Sunday after more than 6 inches of rain fell in 24 hours in parts of the Louisville area, prompting more than 1,000 calls to police, 84 evacuations, hundreds of assists and 12 rescues by firefighters.
 
No one was reported hurt, but dozens of roads were closed and many homes and cars damaged. The Red Cross on Monday will begin estimating how many people were displaced and may be in need, said Janine Brown, the disaster director for the Red Cross in Louisville.
 
Joseph Baker returned home Sunday to grapple with insurance and temporary housing as he prepared to replace walls, carpets, furniture and appliances lost as fast-rising flood waters forced their way into his home.
 
"I wasn't expecting it at all," said Baker, 47, who owns a landscaping business. "We lost a lot."
 
Authorities on Monday plan to assess damage and continue to help serve the displaced after the torrential rain that caught weather forecasters off-guard. In a matter of hours overnight, between 2 and 5 inches of rain fell on Louisville, depending on what part of the city you were in, said weather service meteorologist Robert Szappanos.
 
Originally the weather service forecast called for less than 2 inches of rain to fall late Saturday into Sunday. But by 8 p.m. 3 inches had fallen, and forecasters issued the first of several flash flood warnings shortly after 10 p.m.
 
The flooding was mainly in central Jefferson County, including Okolona, Beuchel and Whispering Hills, said Jody Duncan, spokeswoman for Louisville Metro Emergency Management.
 
In Okolona, the Jefferson County Water Rescue Team performed 250 assists and had to use watercraft to rescue a dozen people from their homes, she said.
 
For some of those people, "if (the rescue team) hadn't been there with the boat, the people never would have gotten out," she said.
 
 
At a Red Cross shelter set up at Atherton High School, flood victim Donna Whitehouse, 52, who lives at Guardian Court Apartments, was fretting about the damage and what she'd do in the immediate future after being rescued by inflatable boat around 3 a.m.
 
"I was in there just cleaning up when I seen water just come in the door," she said, adding that she looked outside and "it was all flooded over the cars."
 
Residents of Village Park Apartments tried to flush water out of their cars Sunday morning. Several residents said that the water was waist deep around midnight on Saturday.
 
"Everything toward the creek was under water," resident Bobby Stinnett said as he vacuumed water out of his car. "It had to be 2 to 3 feet of water."
 
In Southern Indiana, police reported no evacuations and only one rescue, which occurred in Corydon, Ind., around 9 a.m. Sunday when firefighters waded into 2-foot-deep waters to help an elderly woman whose compact car stalled after she'd driven onto a flooded street.
 
Measured from midnight to midnight during a single day, Saturday's 5.91 inches of rainfall made it the third wettest on record, according to the National Weather Service.
 
So much rain fell in a short time that it might take until Monday morning before the city's sewer system is drained completely, said Steve Tedder, spokesman for the Metropolitan Sewer District.
 
Chris Poynter, a spokesman for Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, said the city plans to assess the cost of the damage but that it initially appeared that it would not meet a threshold for an emergency declaration that would trigger federal aid.
 
For affected homeowners, he said, "the first line of defense is to contact your insurance company."
 
The week ahead should bring with it time for things to dry out. After a high Monday in the low 60s, the rest of the week is expected to be in the 70s with little chance of rain.
 
But that's of little solace to flooded residents such as Baker, who moved his truck to higher ground before the flood that later forced him to spend the night in a hotel. Surveying the damage Sunday, he could see that the water had broken the basement windows of the home next door, and the nearby creek was strewn with chairs, trash barrels, limbs and other debris.
 
Baker said he has insurance, but isn't certain how much it will cost to repair his home.
 
Contributing: Laura Ungar and Grace Schneider, The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Emotions run deep for military’s mortuary workers

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Read Time:6 Minute, 1 Second
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. — It is sunny, breezy and a bit cool out on the tarmac. And, save for the wind, quiet. Overhead, an incongruous fragment of a rainbow appears in a break in the clouds.
 
Slowly, six soldiers in their combat camouflage, black berets and desert boots carry a flag-draped silver transfer case, the first of two this day, down a C-17's lowered ramp. Their carefully measured steps take them across the Dover Air Force Base runway to the rear of a white panel truck. The official party renders salutes, and the silver case is slowly rolled into the truck.
 
Now begins one of the hardest jobs in the military: coming face-to-face with the dead at the place where every service member killed overseas comes home.
 
The fallen troops are returning at a far slower clip these days, a pace reflecting a now-ended war in Iraq and the dwindling U.S. presence in Afghanistan.
 
But the drawdown hasn't lessened the emotional impact on those who've helped receive, examine and prepare for burial the bodies of the 6,770 troops who've lost their lives in the war theater over the past 12 years.
 
"We deal with death here," said Col. John Devillier, commander of Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations, or AFMAO, the Dover, Del.-based organization that serves as the Defense Department's primary mortuary. "This is a tough place to work. There's no other organization in the DOD that sees the war the way we do.
 
"I cry a lot," he said.
 
One of his veteran sergeants had to stop to compose herself when asked about how she deals with facing so many fallen troops.
 
"I try not to put too much into it," said Master Sgt. Elvira Jameson, who helps dress remains for burial in picture-perfect uniforms. "Sometimes, there's no way around it. You see things that are there; you've just got to look through it, and press on."
 
Jameson, a member of Dover's 512th Airlift Wing who has been temporarily assigned to mortuary affairs operations five times, was here when the military and civilian casualties from the 9/11 terrorist attacks began arriving. "That was devastating," she said.
 
'They're feelings'
 
Devillier and his 108 workers operate what amounts to the Defense Department's No. 1 funeral home. Next door, the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System, or AFMES, conducts autopsies and forensic examinations and, upstairs, operates the military's largest DNA lab.
 
It's tough work that wears on even the steeliest minds. Workers at civilian morgues and funeral homes rarely see the sorts of devastation that war can wreak on a body.
 
"I must admit, I was shocked. I was just shocked," said Army Col. Ladd Tremaine, a forensic pathologist and the director of AFMES, referring to 2006, his first year with the organization. "It's really hard to process and describe. I mean, they're feelings."
 
For Navy Capt. Stephen Robinson, a veteran medical pathologist who's been with AFMES since 2004, a difficult moment came when one of the troops shared his son's name.
 
"One of the decedents had my son's name. Same name. Very disturbing. Especially since he was about the same age my son was then. … That one bothered me for a couple of weeks, actually."
 
It's important, some workers say, to not push the sadness away but rather acknowledge it, and allow oneself to feel empathy for the fallen.
 
"You have good days and bad days with it," said the 512th's Senior Master Sgt. Antoinette Worthey, who has been assigned to AFMAO about 10 times since 2003 and, like Jameson, worked a variety of jobs, such as overseeing the placement of dressed remains into caskets. "If you're ever to the point where you don't have those bad days, it's probably not the place for you to work."
 
Some say they can perform with a clinical detachment.
 
"I try to understand how that person died," said Earl Jarrett, a forensic autopsy assistant who has worked at AFMES since 2004 and teaches related classes at the University of Delaware and Delaware State University. "If I did think about it, I look at it as a learning process."
 
Jarrett said he doesn't decompress. "I keep myself really busy," he said.
 
Helping to cope
 
Jarrett would appear to be in the minority. The overall emotional drain of the work at AFMES and AFMAO is such that the No. 2 job of the seven chaplains the two groups share — after ministering to grieving families — is taking care of the workers.
 
David Sparks, a civilian who was an Air Force Reserve chaplain when he was called up after 9/11, related a recent example.
 
"Just the simple impact of one of our troops seeing a family just emotionally took them to the ground for a little bit," said Sparks. "They needed somebody to talk to.
 
"We address these things so quickly that what could be the long-term negative effects of this kind of work, this kind of stress … we just work very hard that that doesn't get to build up," he said.
 
It's not easy on the chaplains, either.
 
"I have bad days," Sparks admitted. "A family will cause more of an emotion in me than other families."
 
What helps a lot, most say, is remembering that the families of the fallen are relying on them for two things: the truth about how their loved ones died and "zero defects" in handling a case.
 
"You know, in the back of your mind, that you have a family that wants their family member back," Jameson said. "And that's the greatest gift, is for them to have that closure."
 
The chaplains hold classes and prayer or meditation groups and classes on healthy relationships.
 
A favorite among workers, Sparks said, are what he called the "free-flowing, free-form" pizza and conversation get-togethers on Wednesday nights.
 
"What it provides for is a really safe place for the folks who work here … to let off some frustrations about life, work, people, whatever," he said. Troops and civilians also unwind at a large workout area and a comfortable break room.
 
"Everyone has their own way," Robinson said. "Personally, I just go off to myself. Read a book. Watch a movie. Sometimes I'll take a trip. The Lewes (Del.) Ferry into Cape May (N.J.)? A couple days there is good for the soul."
 

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Pipeline explosion kills four brothers in Plateau

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JOS—Four members of the same family in Tariya village of Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State were, yesterday, killed while attempting to scoop petroleum from a ruptured pipeline in the locality.

Assistant Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Chrisantus Longbit, said two of the victims were burnt beyond recognition, while the other two, who were rushed to Our Lady of Apostle Hospital, Jos, died shortly.

Longbit said when the five people went to siphon the petroleum, a misunderstanding ensued amongst them. One of them, who is presently at large, allegedly lit a match that led to the explosion.

He said: “The person who lit the match fled the area, but we have spoken to his family and they gave his name as Idi.

“We have warned the communities and the NSCDC Commandant, Vincent Bature, has on several occasion visited the village head on this issue of pipeline vandalism, but they have refused to listen.”

…another  dies stealing fuel

Meantime, the decomposed body of a 25-old-man, Zayyanu Abubakar, has been evacuated from inside a petrol tanker compartment where he suffocated and died since Friday, October 4, while stealing petrol.

According to reports the deceased fell inside the tank of the vehicle with plate number, XA 640 TBW, parked along Sokoto Western bye-pass and loaded with 33,000 litres of petrol.

The deceased was alleged to have stolen 20 litres from the fuel compartment and had returned for more when he ended up inside the tank.

It took the combined efforts of the officers of the state fire service, the police from Kwanni Division, Sokoto, and some good Samaritans, four hours to bring out the decomposed body.

Yahaya Mohammed, a relative of the deceased, said: “He told his siblings about his earlier successful exploits and they warned him against going back into the vehicle.

“He had told them that he nearly suffocated in the first attempt, but unknown to them, he went back, got trapped and died.”

A fire serviceman, Zayyanu Jelani said: “We were here since around 8a.m., when we were alerted about the ugly development.

“This is the first time we are recording this type of unfortunate incident in Sokoto apart from fire incidents on fuel tankers.”

Spokesman of the state police command, DSP Al-Mustapha Sani, confirmed the story and added that the police would thoroughly investigate the incident.

The remains of the deceased had been deposited at the morgue of Uthmanu Danfodio University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto.

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Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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U.S. Samaritan says he felt ‘intense danger’ in SUV attack

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A man who intervened to stop the beating of a driver pulled from his car on a New York street by a group of motorcyclists says he felt he was in intense danger.
 
Sergio Consuegra told reporters Sunday that he was on his way to church Sept. 29 when he saw an SUV stopped on an upper Manhattan street, surrounded by motorcycle riders.
 
"I made a simple step that day, a simple gesture,'' he said, appearing with local officials at the scene of the incident.
 
"I must say today, to send a message to all that whenever they see a family in crisis, no matter the circumstances, when they cry for help, be there for them."
 
Part of the incident was video recorded, which has drawn wide attention.
 
Also on Sunday, the second man charged in the case, Reginald Chase, was arraigned on gang assault charges and was held in lieu of $75,000 bond.
 
His attorney, Gregory Watts, acknowledged Chance broke the SUV's window but says Chase left the scene before the driver was hurt and that his role has been overstated.
 
Assistant District Attorney Samantha Turino said Chance didn't participate in the beating but helped set it in motion.
 
CNN, meanwhile, reported that a half-dozen of the motorcyclists used their helmets to attack the driver and that one of them stomped on the driver's head and body after he was down. It cited a criminal complaint signed by a police detective.
 
CNN identified the rider as Robert Sims, one of two men who turned themselves in Friday. Sims, 35, has been charged with attempted assault, gang assault and criminal possession of a weapon.
 
Police said the riders attacked the vehicle and pulled the driver, Alexian Lien, from his car after he ran over a motorcyclist, leaving Edwin Mieses Jr. of Lawrence, Mass., severely injured with a broken spine and legs and, according to his family, unlikely to walk again.
 
Inside the SUV with Lien was his wife and young child. Consuegra said that as riders struck the car, one made a move to grab Lien's wife but stopped as bystanders screamed.
 
"I saw a baby inside,'' he said. "She had the baby in her arms. I guess she was protecting the baby from all the glass that was flying inside and outside."
 
"There was more coming, and they feel like they wanted to keep hurting the man — and I felt intense danger at that moment, at that time, and I say to myself, 'Let me not show these people that I'm here to engage in any kind of confrontation but that I'm here to protect the man and the family, so I'm going to keep it cool.' That's what I was thinking," Consuegra said.
 
Contributing: Associated Press

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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