The interview for the feature in the upcoming summer edition of Ms. magazine titled, “A Nigerian-born Writer is Becoming One of the Most Talked about Writers in the US”, has been conducted by Janell Hobson, an associate professor of Women’s Studies at the University at Albany, State University of New York, on Nigeria’s literary icon Chimamanda Adichie.
Hobson also wrote last year’s Ms. magazine cover on Beyonce who on her new album in December, sampled Chimamanda's TED Talk on feminism on the song "Flawless".
Ms. is an iconic American feminist magazine co-founded in the 1970s by Gloria Steinem, a legendary feminist.
Chimamanda, earlier this year won the US National Books Critic Circle (NBCC) Award for her latest novel, “Americanah”. The NBCC Award is widely considered to be the most prestigious literary award in the US as it is awarded by professional literary critics and reviewers.
She has the distinction of being the first Nigerian (and first African) to win this award, as with the Orange Prize that she won for her second novel, “Half of A Yellow Sun”.
“Americanah” was also named by the New York Times as one of the Top Ten books of the Year and has garnered numerous other awards and recognitions in the US and around the world.
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.
The Nigerian military is acquiring new equipment and undergoing more training to face Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in the country, the Chief of Army Staff, Kenneth Minimah said yesterday. Minimah, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), promised that the military would put an end to terrorism in Nigeria, and canvassed collective support for the fight. He spoke at the inter-denominational church service held at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Catholic Church, Mogadishu Cantonment in Abuja.
The service which was to mark the 2014 Nigerian Army Day celebration (NADCEL), had the “Combating Current National Security Challenges through Collective Effort.’’
“We are going through troubled times, but they will soon come to an end, and we shall be glad at the end. I promise you it will come to an end and we will be victorious, Mr. Minima, a Lieutenant General, said. “The war against terrorism is a collective effort of all Nigerians and I appeal to all Nigerians to join hands in fighting this new war of terrorism,” he said.
The army chief thanked Nigerians for their perseverance despite a deadly spell of terror by extremist group, Boko Haram. “I also appeal to them (Nigerians) that terrorism is a new warfare. It requires time and patience for us to defeat it,” he said. “I am very much optimistic that we will deliver. We will win the war. “What we have in the North-east will certainly come to an end soon. “Our job is to continue to protect and preserve the unity of this country and making it stable for prosperity. “Our job is also to uphold our constitutional role, which is to defend the country’s territorial integrity from insurgency and external aggression, and provide aid to civil authority. That, we will continue to do,’’ the army chief said. Using the Niger-Delta, Abia and Benue States as examples, Minimah said peace had returned to these places and everywhere there were peaceful.
He said the army would prevail over insurgents as it used to be in the past, saying they would win the war against terrorism. Minimah said the army was acquiring new equipment, training its personnel and providing welfare for the troops, all in a bid to end terrorism. He, however, said the army decided to have a low-key celebration for NADCEL 2014 because of the current security challenges facing the country.
“A man does not celebrate his birthday if he is bereaved. He has to just mark his birthday. “I want to salute the gallantry of our troops, who have paid the supreme price in the course of defending their fatherland. “These officers and soldiers had died in their duty posts and we will not forget them.’’ In his sermon, Rev. Dawuk Danfulani, the Director, Army Chaplain (Protestant), said Nigerians must unite to faithfully seek God’s support if they were to end terrorism. Danfulani urged all Nigerians to collectively condemn and expose evil deeds in the society, even if the person perpetrating it was a close relation. “If a person is pulling down the system that is supposed to stand, you have the right to expose him or her. “If we condemn collectively and expose evil-doers, they will be afraid to do evil.’’ Taking his text from the second book of Corinthians, chapter 2 verse 11, Danfulani said Nigerians should not be ignorant as children of God.
“So, we should unite and fight these perpetrators of evil. “As Nigerians, as Christians and as members of the Armed Forces, since we have known the source of our problem, we should unite spiritually to fight the enemy. “We must patriotically defend what God has given us, and God will ask us and punish us if we fail to defend it,’’ he said. The prayers were offered for the country, President Goodluck Jonathan, the armed forces and deceased military officers and men. The Nigerian Army, which celebrated its 151 years of existence, was established in 1863. However, the name Nigerian Army was first used 100 years later when Nigeria became a republic in 1963.
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.
Barely three days after the incident involving the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT)buses and the military, where one of the buses crushed a soldier to death, yet another incident with the BRT took place yesterday, this time, sending three people, a motorcyclist and his two male passengers, to an early grave. Eyewitnesses told THISDAY that the incident happened when the motorcyclist who was fleeing from policemen who were chasing him for plying the highway, against the law, ran into a BRT Bus while in motion. The cyclist was said to be going at a break-neck speed so as to evade arrest. The incident took place at Awoyaya bus-stop, along the Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos. It was gathered that in the process of speeding to evade arrest, the rider who was on high speed, collided with the said BRT bus and was crushed to death alongside his passengers.
Infuriated at the turn of events, some neighhbourhood boys were said to have descended on the police van and burnt it to ashes before the arrival of the Quick Response Group (QRG) of the Nigerian Army, which stormed the scene to calm restore order. In another development, the President of Women Arise Initiative, Dr. Joe Odumakin, weekend threatened to mobilise pregnant women in Lagos to protest the case of the pregnant woman, Mrs. Rashidat Oyelowo Abdulmajeed, who was assaulted by a police officer two weeks ago. She said the protest would take place if the police officer who was identified as Arthur Okeke is not disciplined. The incident first surfaced on the Internet through a video clip which was uploaded by the victim's sister-in-law and it showed where the policeman harassed the pregnant woman and tore her hijab despite her condition. Odumakin who called on the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar to take on the erring officer for disciplinary action, warned that the spate of police indiscriminate molestation of citizens is on the increase and no longer acceptable. She said: "I trust the IG of police that he will take action on this and bring Arthur Okeke to book. But failure to do this, we will mobilise all pregnant women and protest police brutality on the street for the sake of Mrs. Rasheedat."
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.
Almost a week after about 50 suspects were picked up from different parts of Lagos State, following the twin explosions that rocked a tank farm along Creek Road in Apapa, killing four persons, the police have said the arrests were preemptive raids. As at yesterday, it was still unclear if the suspects, who were mostly foreigners, had been cleared or charged as the police had planned earlier. The police had days after the blast kicked off a massive mop up of suspects and transferred them to the state Special Investigation Bureau (SIB), Ikeja where they were profiled.
A police source had disclosed that the foreigners who had smuggled themselves into the country without the appropriate pass, would be deported if they are cleared after investigations. When contacted, the Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), said he was not aware of such raid by the state command but promised to find out. He, however, said if such an incident happened, then it must have been a preemptive raid on the part of the state command as part of measures to look for evidence to help prevent a reoccurrence. He said: "It must have been a preemptive raid which is different from arresting the real suspects behind the incident. We need to be careful so as not to create the impression that the people behind the incident has been arrested. "Such raids are crime preventive strategy and it is a sweep operation which aims to prevent further occurrence of such an incident and also helps the police look for evidence.
"The thing about those kinds of raids is that evidence garnered might be connected to the first crime, which will aid the police to try to disrupt any criminal arrangement on ground. So if there was any arrest, it must be in this direction." But when contacted, the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) Public Relations Officer, Lagos Command, Muyiwa Odunubi, said the service was yet to receive any of such persons from the police either profiled or otherwise. He said: "Nobody has been brought to immigration neither have the police informed us of plans to do so. We can only act when they send us the profiled foreigners. "Even at that, we will only deport them if after screening and it is discovered they do not have the proper valid documents and did not come in through the recognised points of entry."
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.
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), yesterday inspected the traffic gridlock points at the Mile 2 under bridge of the Lagos – Badagry Expressway undergoing expansion and Creek Road in Apapa, extracting a commitment from fuel tanker operators to ease traffic on the roads leading to Apapa within one week.
Residents of the two areas have in the last few weeks complained to the government over the pains of traffic gridlock on the Mile 2 Road caused by a combination of continuous trading on the road and dumping of refuse in the drainage; and the Creek Road and adjoining areas in Apapa rendered impassible by fuel tankers seeking to load fuel from the tank farms in the area. Fielding questions from journalists after the inspection of Creek Road which has been taken over by the fuel tankers, Fashola said government was prepared to wait for a week as promised by the operators to organise the parking of their tankers in a way that traffic could move on the road, adding that if they complied voluntarily there would be no need for enforcement. He told journalists, “It is when people don’t comply voluntarily that you need enforcement. When people comply voluntarily, there will be no need for enforcement”, adding that government only intend to make the tanker operators realise the amount of pain they are causing residents and other businesses in the area by their operations. “What we intend to achieve here is to make the tanker operators here, NUPENG and their affiliates, to understand that their business operation is inflicting pain on residents of Apapa and once they understand that, it is important then to see what kind of empathy that they bring to the business.”
The governor said the operators had agreed that they would make some changes within one week adding, “It is easier for me when a man says I am willing to change my ways that is hurting people. If we don’t see that change, we know what to do on behalf of taxpayers and on behalf of the people who we represent.” Expressing the determination of the government to ensure that other businesses survive in Apapa, Fashola said owners of the oil companies that have tank farms in Apapa would visit the area in the course of the week as a group “to see for themselves how they make profit and the cost of that profit on ordinary citizens.” “I think once they see this I am sure we will begin to see some organisation and some empathy. Thankfully I have one of them with me here and he has also seen for himself what the people acting on their behalf are doing here and he has given me his word that in the shortest possible time we will begin to see changes,” the governor said. He, however said easing traffic on the road would only constitute a temporary and relieving measure adding that some of the questions that should be asked included what kind of business and economy we want to run as a country and why is fuel being distributed with so much pain.
Fashola asked, “Is it a business and an economy that causes pain? Why is this the only place where fuel is being distributed with so much pain? So what are the NNPCs of this world doing? Where is all the money that is coming out of this port going? At some point it was reported that in half a year this port made N1.4 trillion’ where did the money go, why didn’t we put it back into this business?” The governor continued: “Why are we transporting fuel by road, why can’t we do it by rail? Now make no mistake about it. There is a side of their business that we must listen to. We are the ones using the fuel and about 3,000 trucks load here every day and they have to come here. So this is the place we put fuel, why can’t we pump fuel across the country, from Atlas Cove to Mosinmi and all of that. Why are those facilities not working, what has happened to them?” According to him, “Those are the questions that if we ask ourselves and if we tackle them, will provide a final and long term solution. So it is us really that are the problem and if we sit down and think about it and the agency of the federal government, managing the port, managing fuel should also get up and see what is happening.
“It is not enough to sit down and place adverts to say there is fuel at a pump price. What is the cost of taking that fuel to the people? What is the real purpose, why do I have fuel if it cannot take me to my office? So it is a really hard choice for government and the citizens, but I am sure we can do it”, he said. Earlier, at the Mile 2 stopover, Fashola said he chose to inspect the places and see things for himself because of the incessant complaints by the citizenry in the last few weeks over the traffic gridlock in the area adding that the main cause of the Mile 2 problem was that the contractors have to work while the people use the road. “There are so many issues involved, if you go there now you see that our contractors are working and that is consistent with the commitment of government to continue to provide service. Citizens want roads built and upgraded and already this is not a virgin land, it is a fully built-up city,” he explained.
Noting that it would have been easier for the government to shut down the road for say two months while work was going on, Fashola declared, “But it is not possible. So this is part of what causes the inconvenience, we have to build while citizens use the roads,” adding that the major places where the complaints are highest are Mile 2 and the Apapa area.
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.
Foremost Second Republic politician and elder statesman, Alhaji Isyaku Ibrahim, has said the North does not need funds accruing from oil revenues to survive, considering the region's vast land and the potentials it has. Speaking to THISDAY in an exclusive interview, Ibrahim said the region also holds the voting power to determine President Goodluck Jonathan's fortune in next year's general polls. He eulogised the late Second Republic Minister of Transport Minister, Alhaji Umaru Dikko, stressing that Dikko was not corrupt as viewed in some quarters.
Ibrahim, famous for bankrolling the election of Alhaji Shehu Shagari as president in 1983, upbraided some South-south leaders who said they would block the flow of oil to the North if President Jonathan is stopped from contesting next year. Some ex-militants had recently said they would ensure the North was blocked from getting oil if the region fails to support the president's second term bid. But Ibrahim said the threat was not only comical but also ridiculous as it had no basis in current global economic profile. He said: “Oil is no longer a big deal in global economy as agriculture is fast taking over. See these people talking about oil, they are ignorant. Please help me tell them that oil is no longer the basis of many economies around the globe. And with many countries discovering oil, there is a shift in focus. Oil is no longer the biggest bargaining chip for any nation. Rather food security is what is trending. The era of oil is fast fading. America, with its discovery of the shale technology, doesn't even buy our oil anymore so what is it they are talking about? We in the North have a serious edge they don't have. We have food and we can also deny them food if the issue now is about denying one part of the country a resource that is every one’s. God has blessed us with an abundance of food and this is what they don't have. So please don’t come and start intimidating us with all that oil talk. That is in the past and some people ought to wake up and smell the coffee."
He noted further that the vast land in the North and its population are also a source of superiority. He said: “We have a land mass of 275 million square meters. That is strength. We have a means of communication. If I speak in Hausa to say BBC or Voice of America, over 70 million people from Nigeria here to Mauritania would understand me. That is power. We also have food like I said. From Lokoja to Jibya, bordering Niger Republic, all you see is food by the road side. Besides, this oil they are boasting about, we have it in abundance from Maiduguri to Niger State." Ibrahim, noted that some people are courting crisis. He said the South had not been fair to the North in its accusations that the region only depends on oil. "From 1914 to 1960, the North contributed immensely to the national economy. We have wheat. We can feed Africa with wheat. In the first budget of the First Republic prepared by Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh, 17million pounds of the 30 million pounds earmarked was from the North. The oil itself was the handiwork of Muhammadu Ribadu, the first Minister of Power and Steel, who commissioned Shell to explore the mineral resource. But it was revenue from other resources around this country, most of it from the North, that was used to develop the oil economy. So please no one should be blackmailing the North over oil wealth. If you deny us oil, we can deny you food. And we have been feeding the nation for a long time. Have they forgotten the rail line from Kaura Nomada to Port Harcourt in the 20s? We were moving meat, vegetables, fruits, yam and other food stuff to the south since the earliest part of the 21st century and even before. So who is a parasite?" he said.
On President Jonathan's second term bid, he said the North would play a determinant role. "We have the voting power. Of course the President can run. We are not stopping that as it may be his ambition. But we can stop him from becoming president through our numerical strength. The president should not even be one in the first place because has no pedigree. He's just not qualified. There are three conditions to determining who becomes the leader. The first is that the person did not look for the position. Second, the person is not full of anger and vengeful thoughts and that he or she has a pedigree. Can you locate Jonathan in all of these?" On Dikko, Ibrahim, who said he knew him when he was five years old, said the late minister was not corrupt. "There was a time President Shagari sacked over 30 ministers on corruption charges. Umaru was not one of them. He was a good man whom I knew very early in life because he was born in Wamba. His father was the first Native Authority treasurer, Maaji Dikko." Recalling the events on the day Dikko was abducted, Ibrahim said but for his quick intervention, the late minister of transport would have been successfully deported.
“I couldn’t understand how the government of that time came up with an idea to kidnap a man and put him in a crate. That was a barbaric act. There are ways to get someone extradited without recourse to that jungle behaviour. So on the day when Betty called me to tell me Dikko has been picked; I ask if she has called the British Police. She said she has not. I said fine. And I got to work. I was in America and I didn’t want her to tell the police because I wanted to handle it politically. And in 15 minutes, the Queen of England knew about it. In twenty minutes, the Prime Minister knew what happened. And you know the irony of it all was that when they picked Umaru, they took him to the Nigerian House in London. I said irony because it was Umaru, as a student union leader, who advised the visiting Prime Minister, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, to support the building of an office where Nigerian students can visit and stay while in England. The Prime Minister agreed. And it was here they brought Umaru years later as a captive. In any case, the plot failed.”
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.
Indications emerged at the weekend that the purported removal of the Alhaji Aminu Maigari-led Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), had been flayed by top football chiefs in the country, with most of them, along with state football association chairmen, saying it was done in bad taste.
They concluded that the move would damage the gains made by Nigerian football in the last four years. Among those against the move are former Nigeria Football Association (NFA) Chairman, Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima, Delta State Football Association Chairman and Executive Chairman of the State Sports Commission, Amaju Pinnick and 33 state football association chairmen in the country who asked to be anonymous.
Meanwhile, only three state football association chairmen attended the emergency congress held Tuesday in Abuja. Galadima in his submission, said the same brazen manner in which he was removed from office as NFA Chairman, was again being displayed, with only FIFA standing for the truth at the moment.
“If the sports ministry and the National Sports Commission (NSC), say they are using the Jos High Court judgment to displace the present executive committee, then they have flouted the court order, because the court also said there should be no congress. So where did they get the powers to appoint an administrator and to sack all management staff members, it is absurd, illegal and we pray that common sense will prevail,” he said.
He continued: “As far as some of us are concerned, the country is retrogressing instead of moving forward internationally in football. If it has to do with funds management then we can understand and there are better ways of going about it instead of putting Nigeria in bad light for the wrong reasons internationally.”
Galadima called on the minister to, if possible, retrace his steps and look for better counsel, instead of grandstanding on the removal of the executive committee of the NFF. “This matter is not about any individual but about the nation and the bad report and possible damage this development will do to our football.”
“We hear the minister and another official are going to FIFA headquarters when the World Cup is ongoing, it will amount to nothing. Let’s settle at home.” In his own submission, Amaju, said he had been able to tell the Sports Minister, Tammy Danagogo, his own feelings regarding the present logjam.
He said the country’s image and football must be protected from politics. “What we are seeing is attempt to rubbish a very good man in Aminu Maigari, yes he may have his limitations but in reality, Nigeria has not had it this good for a long time with a football administrator as Maigari has demonstrated.
“The minister may have his points of argument but Nigeria should supersede all, otherwise by Tuesday we will be banned by FIFA and that will take us several years backwards because we cannot be against the international politics of the game. Amaju said he believes that if the presidency actually approved the removal of the executive committee, it was ill-advised and there must be a way to correct the anomaly and save the country from the looming FIFA ban.
“We should stop making ourselves a laughing stock before the international community, because to be honest, football is one of the sectors that has been thriving in the country and we must make it better instead of fighting ourselves. The minister and the NFF must find a common ground to resolve this issue for the good of the country. We even hear they want to bring back some characters whose only source of livelihood is football, we must not go there because we know the antecedents of these men.”
Also, the 33 state football association chairmen said they were shocked at the turn of events but will play the waiting game to ensure that they do not run foul of FIFA rules and also thread the path of honour.
However, the THISDAY investigation revealed that Danagogo, had written to Maigari to account for the federal government subventions, FIFA grants and sponsorship money before the latter's tenure as the President of NFF came to an abrupt end on Saturday, after the congress of the Nigerian football endorsed the dissolution of the executive committee and the immediate termination of the employment of all management staff of the federation.
The letter, written on July 2 by Justice Jaffa, a Special Assistant to the minister, gave Maigari 48 hours to render a detailed accounts of the receipts estimated to be over N7billion.
The congress, headed by Effiom Johnson, had indicted Maigari for failure to resolve the World Cup appearance fee with the Super Eagles at the World Cup, until a guarantee by President Goodluck Jonathan convinced the players to honour the round of 16 fixture against France in Brasilia on June 30.
The congress pronounced the incident as ''unfortunate'' and an episode that had caused Nigeria a major international embarrassment.
Maigari was detained by officials of the State Security Service (SSS) last Friday when he arrived Abuja from Brazil after the elimination of the national team from the World Cup, and a day after, Justice P.L Lot of the Jos High Court granted an order of interim injunction, sacking him and other members of the executive committee of the NFF.
FIFA viewed the court order as interference and had given Nigeria a ultimatum which expires tomorrow to reinstate the constituted board, failure which it might result in ban from all international football activities.
But THISDAY learnt of the intrigues, power play and suspicion of bogus spending which built up before the congress, met at the Bolingo Hotel and Towers and impeached Maigari a month to the election NFF which he was aiming to re-contest.
Danagogo, in the letter obtained exclusively by THISDAY, specifically demanded from Maigari how NFF expended the N150 million monthly subventions from January 2013 to date.
The total subventions released by government during the period totalled N2.2 billion. The letter also asked the embattled former football federation president to account for N850 million released by federal government for the preparation of the Super Eagles for the World Cup campaign.
It deemed that the allocation was outside the separate $1.5 million (about N240 million) FIFA gave the federation as grant to prepare the team for the World Cup.
Danagogo also sought for money received over time from national team's sponsors, including Globacom, adidas, Samsung, Guinness among other partners to be accounted for.
In addition to that, the NSC Chairman demanded for NFF how it intended to expend the $14 million (about N2.2 billion) due from FIFA as Nigeria's share of advancing to the second round (round of 16 ) of the World Cup.
It was also learnt that President Jonathan pacified the players by hurriedly advancing to NFF, $3.6 million (N550 million) to offset the players' appearance fee.
The minister admonished that the advance was not a donation but expected to be refunded upon the redemption of the FIFA World Cup windfall.
''You are to note that the $3.6m Mr President graciously advanced to you for the players' appearance fee is not a donation. You are directed to ensure a refund to the Minister without delay. Funds entrusted to you is for football development and not for any political or re-election bid,'' the memo read.
NFF apparently underrated the players by going to the World Cup without a cogent arrangement to pay appearance fee outside the match bonus structure approved by the National Assembly.
The players were to earn $10,000 as match winning bonus in the first round. The amount would increase to $30,000 per player if the team won the World Cup. The cumulative reward package in anticipation of a World Cup victory was $107,000.
But the players only grossed $15,000 each for the win over Bosnia and draw with Iran and were not entitled to bonus for the losses to Argentina and France.
To make up for this, they saw the FIFA money as their share of the pie upon realising that the body had set aside payout for all teams, the least amount being a guaranteed $8 million for the first round which would increase as the team progressed in the competition. The amount approved by government for the World Cup campaign was N1.2 billion bulk of which was to defray camping cost and allowances, match bonus and flight for the of the team. Additional provisions were also made for the accompanying delegation comprising of government officials and other stakeholders.
But THISDAY learnt that the Maigari-led board, considered the best since organised football started in Nigeria in 1945, dug its own graves over the way some of the country's members of official delegation at the World Cup were treated.
For instance, the stadium sitting arrangement in Curitiba provided the Senate President David Mark, who represented the president and Danagogo, was said to belittle their status.
Maigari also fell out with members of its own board who alleged they were sidetracked and were made to pay for local flight tickets in Brazil out of their estacodes.
Estacode of $13,600 ($425 per day) was approved for each of the 14 board member for their 32 days stay in Brazil. But the sack of Maigari had been challenged by a stakeholder, Aminu Balele Kurfi.
Kurfi described the exercise as an illegal action which FIFA would not allow to stand. He said the congress, which sat in Abuja, violated the order of the court.
Citing Article 4 of the court order, Kurfi said the order of interim injunction restrained the defendant (Maigari) and all the other members of the executive committee from further parading, presenting or holding themselves out as the executive committee and congress of the first defendant (NFF) pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction pending before this honorable court.
''We have to follow due process by not violating an order of a court of competent jurisdiction which sacked the NFF board and the congress. FIFA will definitely not allow this,'' Kurfi, who staged a walked out in protest out of the congress said.
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.
As the strike embarked upon by members of the Nigerian Medical Association, (NMA) enters its second week, the Medical and Dental Consultants' Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) yesterday assured all patients and Nigerians of its commitment to uninterrupted and high quality health care services across hospitals in the country. This notwithstanding, the body also affirmed its full support for all the ideals of the NMA geared towards improving the services at all their tiers of healthcare.
It promised that it would comply fully with the restraining order on all the parties as contained in the ruling, delivered by Hon. Justice M.N. Esowe on June 27, on the motion ex-parte for an order of interim injunction in Suit No. NICN/ABJ/177/2014 filed against the federal government and pending before the National Industrial Court in Abuja. A press statement signed by the National President of the association, Dr. Steven Oluwole, stressed that information received from the hospitals nationwide, and data collected from members during the meeting showed that members of MDCAN, including orthopaedic surgeons, obstetricians, gynaecologists, infectious diseases specialists, physicians and several other specialists had been attending to patients in various hospitals across the country within the limits that are practicable in the current prevailing situation and circumstances.
The current position of MDCAN is a fallout of the outcome of its meeting in Ilorin, Kwara State of Nigeria held on Saturday, July 5 to review the state of healthcare delivery in the country. According to the statement, "We note, without reservations, the unnecessary rivalry that had thrown the health sector into endless cycles of strikes and threat of strikes." The body stated that "MDCAN complies fully with the restraining order on all parties, which is contained in the ruling, delivered by Justice M.N. Esowe on June 27. "In the same vein, MDCAN expects the other parties in the suit to comply fully with the terms of the said restraining order." The statement added that "branches of the MDCAN and individual consultants should continue to provide services to patients, but should exercise their professional judgment as to the best care feasible and practicable in the current situation. It also maintained that "all patients and Nigerians are assured of our commitment to uninterrupted and high quality health care services." The MDCAN president further pleaded with the federal government within its power to bring a quick end to the current impasse.
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.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has announced that it would clamp down on all unauthorised high rise structures erected on flight paths. These structures include telecommunications masts, towers and high-rise buildings built without obtaining aviation height clearance from concerned authorities. The regulatory body also appointed Noon Mast to carry out the exercise of removing these structures which impede visibility of pilots and also jeopardise safety. NCAA explained that it was embarking on this action to ensure the safety of all aircraft on approach to land at the nation’s various airports.
It said some of these structures had been found to constitute major obstacles to approach and descent to the airports for aircraft. The authority said to prevent any untoward consequences, it had appointed Messrs Noon Mast Ventures Nigeria Ltd to commence a nationwide identification of such erections and pull down all such illegal structures within the airport environment and along the flight paths. According to NCAA’s regulation, those who are compelled by whatever reason to erect a mast or high-rise structure within the airport environment and along flight paths are required to contact the agency to obtain the appropriate Aviation Height Clearance. Once this request is made, the department in charge would proceed for inspection and give approval for an allowable safety height or advised to relocate the structure entirely where applicable.
The firm had therefore been mandated by NCAA to embark on country wide surveillance, demand for NCAA certificate of clearance as a condition for verification from owners of existing structures and where this was non-existent; they would be pulled down instantly. NCAA said while owners are advised to cooperate with the authority, it was important to note that all violators would bear the cost of pulling down the structure if the need arises. “This action is to further strengthen our regulatory resolve to ensure safety and security of air transport in Nigeria. It is pertinent to point out that violations will be viewed seriously by the authority,” the regulatory body said in a statement signed by the General Manager, Public Affairs, Fan Ndubuoke.
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.
Former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Nigeria's Ambassador-at-Large, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, has called on the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, to use the occasion of the Muslim Ramadan to sheathe their swords and embrace peace. Tukur, who lamented the blood shed occasioned by the Boko Haram insurgency, said the killings of innocent citizens by the insurgents can never please God as a means of promoting the religion of Islam. He said the best way to propagate Islamic religion must be in line with the practice by Prophet Mohammed (SWAT) through peace, good neighbourliness and human dignity. Tukur said no one, not even the insurgents had benefitted anything for what he described as mindless and barbaric killing of innocent citizens of the country.
He said those behind the killings had only been portraying themselves as bad representatives of Islam. The Ambassador-at-Large, during a meeting with some Islamic clerics who paid him a visit at his residence yesterday in Abuja to break fast with him. He told the clerics led by Uztaz Abdulrahman Yelwa, based in Minna, Niger State that it was time Muslims across the country began to rise in unison to chant down the activities of terrorism in Nigeria.
He said: “Islam according to the Holy Qur’an is a religion of peace. We can only propagate the religion through committed evangelism to unbelievers as demonstrated by the great prophets who served Allah diligently and truthfully. “I appeal to our brothers who are aggrieved to stop killing in the name of Islam. Their sponsors too should avoid Allah’s judgment on the last day on the raging act of killing. It is not too late for them to sheath he swords. This is the month of Ramadan; the killings must stop from now. Tukur reminded the insurgents of several appeals to them by President Goodluck Jonathan for dialogue, calling on the leaders to seize the opportunities of the season to open a channel of communication with the Nigerian government without delay. He said: “We have all been eager for dialogue with them. I have personally been emphasising that dialogue can end the spate of insurgency in this country if allowed to happen. I think the ball is now in the court of the aggrieved insurgents to take the initiative, and the government will be there as always.”
The ambassador said he and other Nigerians would not mind to get involved in the dialogue process out of their eagerness to see the problem of terrorism in Nigeria come to an end. He added: “If we are to dialogue, we must know who and who to dialogue with. President Jonathan who I know, will offer any rational sacrifice to end the problem of insurgency and terrorism in Nigeria. So let the leaders come out to talk with the government.”
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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