It's well-documented that young people diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder are more likely to pick up cigarette smoking, start earlier when they do and become more seriously addicted to tobacco than peers without the disorder.

 

Yet a new analysis that pools data from more than a dozen published studies finds that adolescents who are prescribed stimulant medications to treat ADHD are less likely to smoke than those with ADHD who are not treated with the drugs.

 

Those medications include both amphetamine-based (Adderall and Vyvanse) and methylphenidate-based ( Ritalin and Concerta) drugs.

 

The findings are important given concerns raised about the long-term impact of stimulant treatment on substance abuse in general and cigarette smoking in particular, says clinical psychologist Scott Kollins, director of the Duke University Medical Center ADHD Program and senior author of the study published online today by the journal Pediatrics.

 

"We cannot draw any causal conclusions, but at the very least, we can be pretty confident when we talk to parents that this is not going to increase your kids' chance of smoking, and that's important," says Kollins, a professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences.

 

Story: More than 1 in 10 kids has ADHD, government study says

 

Story: Some students don't see ADHD drug use as cheating

 

ADHD "can be very much in flux" around the pre-teen and teen years when smoking experimentation typically begins, says ADHD researcher Paul Hammerness, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, who was not involved in the new study. As teens with ADHD face increasing academic and social-emotional demands, they may turn to smoking to improve focus or reduce restlessness, or "as an example of being impulsive," he says. "This is often a tenuous development period."

 

Evidence on whether stimulant drugs influence smoking behavior has been mixed, with a 2013 meta-analysis combining five longitudinal studies finding no significant relationship between stimulant treatment and nicotine dependence.

 

For the new meta-analysis, Kollins and colleagues combined data from 14 published studies involving 2,360 participants (1,424 were treated with medication; 936 were not).

 

Although their findings were consistent with the 2013 analysis when focused solely on studies involving nicotine dependence, they differed when studies involving a broader range of smoking habits, such as occasional tobacco use, were included.

 

Overall, stimulant treatment was associated with a lower risk for subsequent smoking, and the protective effect was more pronounced in adolescence than in adulthood, in girls than in boys, and in studies in which participants got consistent treatment that was followed by medical providers.

 

"The message is not just that treatment is effective in reducing this risk, but that well-managed and consistent treatment over time is really what's associated with a lower risk," Kollins says.

 

The study results "don't really say anything about those kids who might not actually meet the criteria for ADHD, but who might be getting stimulant medication," he adds.

 

Part of the controversy surrounding the over-diagnosis of the condition and inappropriate use of stimulant drugs stems from the fact "that there are lots and lots of kids out there who have a diagnosis of ADHD, but in fact have not had a good, thorough assessment and probably don't meet the full criteria," he says.

 

Researcher Steve Lee, an associate professor of psychology at UCLA and lead author of the 2013 meta-analysis agrees: "I have little doubt that stimulant medication is being prescribed without careful diagnostic procedures and that's a significant problem."

 

"But it's also the case that in some communities children, and probably some adults, who could respond therapeutically and safely are being underprescribed and not getting the treatment they need," he says.

BEIJING (AP) — China's president has told the country to get used to slower growth, damping expectations of a new stimulus.

 

President Xi Jinping's weekend comments come amid weakening trade and manufacturing. Economic growth slowed in the latest quarter to 7.4% after last year's full-year expansion of 7.7% tied 2012 for the weakest performance since 1999.

 

"We must boost our confidence, adapt to the new normal condition based on the characteristics of China's economic growth in the current phase and stay cool-minded," Xi said, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

 

The ruling Communist Party is trying to steer the economy to self-sustaining growth based on domestic consumption instead of trade and investment.

 

Other leaders have ruled out more stimulus, but unexpectedly weak demand for Chinese exports has forced Beijing to backtrack and launch mini-stimulus efforts last year and in March. Official plans call for annual trade growth of 7.5% but so far this year total imports and exports are down by 0.5%.

 

Analysts say the ruling party appears willing to accept economic growth below its 7.5% target this year so long as the rate of creation of new jobs stays high enough to avoid political tensions.

 

Speaking during a visit to the central province of Henan, Xi said Saturday the government will focus on longer-term reforms aimed at stabilizing growth.

 

China needs to prevent risks and "take timely countermeasures to reduce potential negative effects," Xi said. He said Beijing will focus on longer-term reforms aimed at stabilizing growth.

 

"This is the clearest sign I have seen that a broad-base monetary stimulus to elevate that current slowdown will not eventuate," said Evan Lucas of IG Markets in a report.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — One of the military deserters who helped found the gang that grew into the brutal Zetas cartel was among six people killed during a gunbattle in a border town, a Tamaulipas state security official said Sunday.

 

The official said authorities confirmed that Galindo Mellado Cruz was one of five gunmen who died Friday in a shootout that also killed a Mexican soldier in Reynosa, which is across from McAllen, Texas. The official was not permitted to be quoted by name for security reasons.

 

The official said that Mellado Cruz was one of the 30 ex-special forces soldiers who created the Zetas gang to serve as enforcers for the Gulf Cartel before splitting off in a bloody breakup with its former ally. The official said Mellado Cruz no longer held a Zetas command position.

 

Tamaulipas became one of the arenas for fighting between the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas and was one of Mexico's most violent states. But the state had calmed somewhat by 2012, before violence re-ignited in recent weeks.

(CNN) — A US Airways flight en route from Italy to the United States was diverted to Ireland after nine flight attendants became ill, officials said Saturday.

Responding to the medical complaints, the pilots switched gears over the Atlantic Ocean, making an emergency landing Saturday afternoon at Dublin Airport.

Nine flight attendants aboard US Airways Flight 715 complained of "nausea, running eyes and dizziness, while traveling from Venice to Philadelphia," according to US Airways spokeswoman Michelle Mohr.

Medical professionals were evaluating the flight attendants at a local hospital.

There were a total of 185 passengers on board the flight.

"There are no reports of illness from pilots or passengers and we are reaccommodating our customers on other flights to Philadelphia," said Mohr.

The Dublin Airport Authority confirms that the aircraft will remain there overnight. Some passengers may have been offered accommodations overnight in Dublin.

According to flightaware.com, the plane is an Airbus A330-200.

(CNN) — A Federal Aviation Administration official warned this week about the dangers of even small unmanned aircraft, pointing specifically to a recent close call involving a drone and a commercial airliner that could have had "catastrophic" results.

Jim Williams, the head of the FAA's Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) office, discussed various potential perils during a presentation Thursday to those attending the Small Unmanned Systems Business Expo. A video of his talk in San Francisco, and those of others, to those who operate, create or otherwise are involved or interested in such unmanned aircraft was posted to YouTube.

After saying "the FAA has got to be responsive to the entire industry," Williams referred to a pair of incidents in which drones caused injuries to people on the ground. One came at an event at Virginia Motor Speedway in which an "unauthorized, unmanned aircraft" crashed into the stands, and in the other a female triathlete in Australia had to get stitches after being struck by a small drone.

Then, Williams segued to a pilot's recent report of "a near midair collision" with a drone near the airport in Tallahassee, Florida. The pilot said that it appeared to be small, camouflaged, "remotely piloted" and about 2,300 feet up in the air at the time of the incident.

 

"The pilot said that the UAS was so close to his jet that he was sure he had collided with it," Williams said. "Thankfully, inspection to the airliner after landing found no damage. But this may not always be the case."

According to the FAA, the incident took place on March 22 and involved as U.S. Airways Flight 4650 going from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Tallahassee.

Flightaware.com lists that flight as a CRJ-200, with a capacity for 50 passengers.

The pilot claimed to pass "an unreported and apparently remotely controlled aircraft … five miles northeast of the Tallahassee airport, according to the federal agency.

Such close calls are rare, the FAA notes.

The pilot reported that the small unmanned aircraft involved looked similar to an F-4 Phantom jet, and not like a helicopter that might hold a camera that many associate more closely with drones. Such planes have gas turbine engines and can fly higher than an average drone, according to the FAA. Neither the drone in this case, nor its pilot, have been identified.

In its own statement, US Airways said that it was aware of this reported "incident with one of our express flights, and we are investigating."

Explaining why this event is significant, Williams referenced to the so-called "Miracle on the Hudson" from 2009, when US Airways Flight 1549 safely crash-landed in New York's Hudson River after striking at least one bird upon takeoff from LaGuardia Airport.

Airplane crash-lands into Hudson River

Such bird strikes are dangerous enough; a drone, even a small one, getting sucked into a jetliner's engine could be even worse, Williams said.

"Imagine a metal and plastic object — especially with (a) big lithium battery — going into a high-speed engine," he added. "The results could be catastrophic."

All these incidents speak to "why it is incredibly important for detect-and-avoid standards (for small unmanned aircraft) to be developed and right-of-way rules to be obeyed," Williams said. He added that such standards are in the works.

His agency reiterated this sentiment in its statement Friday.

"The FAA has the exclusive authority to regulate the airspace from the ground up, and a mandate to protect the safety of the American people in the air and on the ground," the agency said. "…Our challenge is to integrate unmanned aircraft into the busiest, most complex airspace in the world. Introduction of unmanned aircraft into America's airspace must take place incrementally and with the interest of safety first."

As to current regulations, Williams noted the FAA has appealed a federal judge's decision in a case involving businessman Raphael Pirker.

Pirker used a remotely operated, 56-inch foam glider to take aerial video for an advertisement for the University of Virginia Medical Center. The FAA then fined him $10,000 for operating the aircraft in a "careless and reckless manner."

A judge on March 6 agreed with Pirker that the FAA overreached by applying regulations for aircraft to model aircraft, and said no FAA rule prohibited Pirker's radio-controlled flight.

Pilot wins case against FAA over commercial drone flight

But on Thursday, Williams said that another judge had stayed this ruling pending the FAA's appeal.

"Nothing has changed from a legal standpoint," he said, "and the FAA continues to enforce the airspace rules."

(CNN) — More than 100 state troopers and deputies searched for the third occupant of a hot air balloon that crashed in flames at a Virginia balloon festival, killing the other two people on board, state police said Saturday.

Witnesses captured photographs of the balloon after it drifted into power lines, burst into flames Friday night and crashed into the countryside about 25 miles north of Richmond. Some reported seeing two people either jump or fall from the basket at a dizzying height.

The bodies were found about 1,500 yards apart in a heavily wooded area, Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said Saturday afternoon.

 

Two members of the University of Richmond women's basketball program were among those aboard.

Ginny Doyle, associate head basketball coach, and Natalie Lewis, director of basketball operations, were on the balloon, the university said in a statement.

It said the medical examiner's office has not provided official identification.

"As alumnae, classmates and colleagues — and as invaluable and devoted mentors for our student-athletes — Ginny and Natalie have been beloved members of our community," President Edward L. Ayers said. "Their leadership and friendship will endure in the lives of so many."

The search was scaled back at sundown Saturday because of the difficulty of navigating the terrain in the dark. A full-scale effort will resume at daybreak Sunday, police said.

The basket and the balloon separated at some point; neither had been found.

Earlier Saturday, Geller told reporters the effort had transitioned from rescue to recovery.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

"We will investigate the man, machine and the environment," NTSB air safety investigator Heidi Moats said.

Weather conditions are one of the elements investigators are looking at, Moats said, though there was no inclement weather at the time and, so far, officials don't believe those conditions played a role in the crash, Geller said.

Thirteen hot air balloons had been soaring on the eve of the Mid-Atlantic Balloon Festival in Doswell, and three were landing close to each other. Two landed safely, Geller said, but as the third balloon descended, it hit a power line, sparking a fire that spread quickly.

The pilot began doing his safety maneuvers and "took every step to manage the situation," the spokeswoman said. But then there was an explosion and the basket and balloon separated.

 

Those aboard the balloon pleaded for their lives, witness Carrie Hager-Bradley told CNN affiliate WWBT.

"They were just screaming for anybody to help them. 'Help me, help me, sweet Jesus, help, I'm going to die. Oh my God, I'm going to die,'" she said.

Her daughter told her she saw someone falling out of the basket. Then Hager-Bradley also saw someone plummeting to the ground.

Organizers canceled the festival after the accident.

 

(CNN) — South Sudan's President has reached a cease-fire deal with a rebel leader following five months of violence in the world's youngest nation.

The deal signed Friday in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa comes a week after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with President Salva Kiir.

During the meeting, he pushed for Kiir to hold face-to-face talks with rebel leader Riek Machar.

"I saw with my own eyes last week the stakes and the struggles in a new nation we helped courageous people create," Kerry said Friday after the deal.

"The people of South Sudan have suffered too much for far too long. In this most recent crisis alone, over one million people have been displaced, even more now face the prospect of famine … there have been human rights abuses on a massive scale committed by both sides."

Thousands of people have been killed and more than 1.3 million displaced since clashes erupted in December between forces loyal to the two rivals. The parties signed an initial peace deal in January, but it fell apart days later.

Kerry welcomed the new peace agreement, saying it "could mark a breakthrough for the future" of the young nation.

"The hard journey on a long road begins now and the work must continue," he said.

Mark Simmonds, British foreign minister for Africa, hailed the "long overdue step" but noted the persistence of fighting despite the deal.

"It is essential that both sides ensure its immediate implementation and take full responsibility for the forces under their control. Only with continued engagement and the genuine commitment of both sides will South Sudan be able to pull back from catastrophe," he said.

"This conflict has caused innumerable deaths, forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes, and brought the country to the brink of famine."

The violence started late last year after Kiir accused Machar of trying to oust him through a coup, a charge he denied.

Since the attempted coup, violence spread rapidly, with reports of their forces conducting mass killings nationwide. The violence ran down ethnic lines — the Nuer tribe backs the rebel leader while the President hails from the Dinka tribe.

In April, militia seized the strategic oil town of Bentiu, separated terrified residents by ethnicity and slaughtered at least 400, the United Nations said.

South Sudan celebrated its independence from Sudan three years ago after an internationally brokered referendum.

Los Angeles (CNN) — Singer Chris Brown admitted Friday to violating his probation by getting arrested in Washington — an admission his lawyer hopes will gain his freedom soon.

Brown, 25, wore an orange jail jumpsuit and handcuffs, but he appeared to be smiling as he was led into court in Los Angeles by deputies Friday afternoon.

 

The singer has been in custody for two months and in court-ordered rehab five months before that while awaiting a probation revocation trial. But with that trial on hold because of a delay in his D.C. assault case, Brown lawyer Mark Geragos decided it would be better to settle the case sooner and not later.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James Brandlin immediately sentenced Brown to serve 365 days in jail for the admitted probation violation. He was given credit for serving 234 days because of the rehab and jail time, leaving 131 days left to serve.

But Brown's lawyer told CNN that he expects Brown to be released from custody by the county sheriff within the next week.

"I would expect that Chris should be out of jail before the weekend's up or before Monday," Geragos said after the hearing. "If he isn't out by Monday, then I would expect he's getting special treatment. He's got over 230 days credit on a 365 (day sentence) and generally the sheriff is releasing on a lot less than that."

Brown's probation for the 2009 beating of ex-girlfriend Rihanna was revoked after his arrest in connection to a misdemeanor assault charge out of Washington

Friday's admission in Los Angeles that he violated his probation by committing a crime in Washington should lead to a quick resolution of the District of Columbia assault case, Geragos said.

Brown still must complete about 700 hours of community labor at a rate of three days a week once he is released from jail. Geragos, however, said Brown has "enjoyed" the work because it is "at a facility that has allowed to him to kind of expand his horizons."

His probation office calculated that his probation, which began in August 2009, should end on January 23, 2015.

Until then, he must attend several anger management and family counseling sessions each week and submit to random drug tests the judge said.

Friday's resolution is a relief for Brown after languishing in jail for the past two months, his lawyer said.

"We're gratified that he was not sentenced to state prison, gratified that he's still on probation," Geragos said. "I think that Chris has learned quite a bit through this experience and I'm anxious to see how he does, as I think everybody else is."

The last one month has shown what happens when the military and security services take their eyes off the ball in the war against terror. What with the massacre of scores of college boys at Buni Yadi, the cowardly seizure of our girls at Chibok and the two consecutive bombings in Nyanya along with other under-reported and un-reported massacres, kidnappings and bombings, the malfunction of the counterterrorism strategy is screamingly obvious. It is time to re-tool and re-calibrate this strategy.

 

 

At the heart of this malfunction is the failure of intelligence. The failure of the military as well as the intelligence community to successfully end if not manage this conflict can be traced to their incapacity to procure and properly manage intelligence whether strategic and tactical.  

 

The failure of intelligence can be seen in the fact that five years after Boko Haram began its ultra-violent revolt against the authority and integrity of the Nigerian state, not one Operations Commander or even field officer of the group has been captured or killed outside the country whether by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) or by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), the two agencies responsible for foreign covert action operations.

 

This is despite the fact we have been constantly told that these murderous nihilists traverse between borders and receive trainings as far afield as Somalia and raison d’être of having Intelligence stations in Nigerian Embassies abroad is to gather information about the intentions of both friends as well as hostile elements and to neutralise these threats before they become active. Clearly, in failing to detect the clear and present threat to the integrity of the state by Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda and its North African affiliate, AQIM, both the National Intelligence Agency and the Defence Intelligence Agency have proved themselves not fit for purpose. Of course, as always happens in Nigeria, no one will take responsibility for this failure and no one will pay a price for it. 

   

The history of the N.I.A, an offshoot of the then Research Department of the Ministry of External Affairs makes it incredibly incapable of effectively undertaking critical intelligence operations overseas. Apart from keeping tabs on diplomatic soirees chit-chats, open source information analysis and monitoring Nigeria émigré groups overseas, this glorified detective agency has been of little or no use to the Nigerian tax payers.

 

The failure of intelligence in the war against terror can be linked to the failure of ANALYSIS. Neither the office of the National security Adviser nor the Intelligence Service (N.I.A) nor the Security Service (SSS) nor the Defence Intelligence Agency (D.I.A) possess a meaningful Analysis Directorate that analyses the quality of intelligence procured by these organisations and make projections as to the strategic and tactical implications for the country. Without credible analysis by experts, the President is unable to make critical decisions. One is therefore not only suspicious of the quality of intelligence presented to the President by the security services, I am inclined to posit that the absence of credible intelligence both raw and analysed, leaves the President unable to make rational and credible decisions not only about the war on terror but also about the general welfare of the country.

 

I will be the first to admit that terrorism is difficult to eliminate as experiences from Israel, India, Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka have proved. However terror campaigns can be contained if not eliminated. This however can only be done with a military that is fit for purpose. The war against Boko Haram is a war that must be won with the enemy raising the while flag in surrender. It can be done. It was done in Sri Lanka with the Tamil Tigers defeated and destroyed in spite of their decades of murderous rage of terror. To effectively win the war against terror and to make the military fit for purpose, I posit the following:

 

In the war against Boko Haram, the decision by the Military Apparatchik to hand over the supervision of the counter-insurgency campaign from Defence Headquarters (JTF) to the Nigerian Army (newly created 7th Division) was a strategic miscalculation that has led to problems of coordination, planning and response. The outcome of this miscalculation has been increased and emboldened attacks by Boko Haram on hard targets that the JTF had hitherto successfully denied them including Army barracks and Air Force Bases in Maiduguri. I posit that THE COMMAND AND CONTROL OF THE COUNTERINSURGENCY OPERATIONS IN THE NORTH EAST SHOULD BE UNDER THE DEFENCE HEADQUARTERS AND NOT THE ARMY.

 

Counter-terror operations are special warfare operations and it therefore follows that at the heart of the military’s counter-terror campaigns should be the use of well trained Special Forces. In the fight against Umkhonto we sizwe in South Africa, the South African Security Services employed the strategy of specialist but overwhelming force through the use of special counter-insurgency/terror units made up of operatives of military intelligence, the Bureau of state security (BOSS), and Army/Naval special Forces to engage and overwhelm the armed cells of the ANC’s Umkhonto we Sizwe. In times of war and peril to the life of the state, unconventional warfare becomes necessary. This strategy has worked in South Africa, Angola, Mozambique, Algeria, Israel, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and North Ireland. THERE IS THEREFORE AN URGENT NEED TO CREATE SPECIAL ARMY RANGER UNITS TRAINED SPECIFICALLY IN DESERT WARFARE to be part of the 7th Division. These units will effectively patrol and guard the large stretch of the Nigeria-Niger, Chad and Cameroun borders as well as undertake infiltration and counterinsurgency operations in that operational area.

 

There is need to beef up the capability of the Nigerian Army to respond rapidly and effectively to active threats against the integrity of the state. The ability of the Army to do this will depend on its mobility and capability. An airborne unit is perhaps the most effective means of do this. It is incumbent that each Division of the Nigerian Army (7 of them) has embedded in them Airborne/ Special Forces Battalion that would serve as the first line of response to active threats in their operational areas of responsibility.

 

The Niger-Delta region is in my view, a region simmering with latent tensions that have the capacity to become active overtime. The military needs to be prepared to engage forcefully and effectively in the region. This is more so because the AMNESTY programme has been ill-managed in a manner that has excluded many of the ex-combatants and citizens of the region while a few of the militant leaders were compensated with official patronage that included securing national assets. I posit that contracts offered to former militant leaders to secure national assets have the potential of being sources of violent conflicts in the future. Note that in Libya, Ibrahim Jadran a militia leader who was part of the armed groups that overthrew Colonel Muammer Gaddafi was entrusted in late 2012 by the post-Gaddafi government with guarding the Eastern Port as well as oil installations in the East. 

 

A year later, he took over these assets including hundreds of oil wells and refineries, declared a republic of Cyrenaica and is now in a violent conflict with the state whose army has proved incapable of dislodging his militia from the region they control. Handing over the security of the nation’s prime assets to an armed non-state institution can only turn around to boomerang in the future. The military must be prepared to act when this happens.

     

To ensure that the military is prepared to engage in a future conflict in the Niger-Delta region, there is an urgent need to put the Nigerian Navy at the forefront of offensive capabilities in the region. To do this, there is need to create a Naval Infantry Force of Division level (15,000-20,000). The Naval Infantry should be part of the Navy under the command of the Chief of Naval Staff and headed by an officer of the rank of Major-General/Rear Admiral. The Naval Infantry should complement an Amphibious Division to be based in the region. This will give the military an effective and efficient capacity to manage conflicts in the region.

 

Whether in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Sri Lanka, etc the most veritable instrument for engaging the enemy in any theatre of operation has been the HELICOPTER. The use of helicopters by armies in small scale conflicts, insurgencies and counterinsurgencies has largely helped in rapid response, aerial surveillance, effective assault, search and rescue, etc. For the conflict in the North-East, Kaduna and Jos to be effectively contained, there is need for the Air Force to deploy and saturate these areas with combat helicopters. Therefore, it is incumbent that future acquisitions of weaponry for the Air Force and to a lesser extent the Navy emphasise more of helicopters and less of fighter jets that are only effective in large operational theatres with strategic assets to degrade.

 

The CONTEMPORARY Operational Environment (COE); force design; political and military complexity on the battlefield; joint and combined operations; and mission execution have caused changes that require leaders who can understand strategic implications earlier in their careers than has been required in the past. Therefore, the Nigerian Armed Forces must begin educating officers for strategic leadership positions earlier in the leader development process. The increase in the number, variety, and complexity of missions places a greater demand on the Armed Forces than ever before and creates great ambiguity in the methodology for successful mission accomplishment. Therefore, the Armed Forces must redefine its traditional paradigms of leader development associated with traditional echelons of execution. The need to develop tactical leaders into strategic leaders and to empower them to lead in such a challenging environment has never been more apparent. Strategic leaders responsible for large organizations, thousands of people, and vast resources cannot rely on lower level leadership skills for future success.

 

Finally, I posit that for any counter-insurgency policy to be effective, the policy must encompass several strategic components especially the economic component. No counterinsurgency strategy will be effective unless the citizens are well fed and economically empowered. There is an urgent need therefore to put in place a grand economic reconstruction and development plan that emphasises AGRICULTURE not only in the conflict regions but throughout the country. AGRICULTURE represents the most effective means to provide fast, well-remunerated jobs to millions of Nigerians within a very short period of time. It is a sector that requires skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled human capital. Developing AGRICULTURE and its value chain has the capacity to provide additional million of jobs to Nigerians in the short, medium and long term. 

  

 

Nosa James-Igbinadolor (nosa.igbinadolor@gmail.com) 

(CNN) — Egypt's former military chief doesn't mince words when he describes what would happen if he wins this month's presidential vote.

In an interview broadcast live on Egyptian satellite networks Monday, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi vowed to finish off the Muslim Brotherhood if he's elected, arguing that's what his country's people want.

And he said he had no choice but to run for President.

"Due to the challenges facing Egypt and the targeting of Egypt from inside and outside of the country … any responsible patriot has a duty toward his country and its future, and has the opportunity to come forward to protect this country, and this people, and their future," el-Sisi said.

 

El-Sisi deposed Egypt's first freely elected leader, President Mohamed Morsy of the Muslim Brotherhood, last year following mass protests against Morsy's rule.

The officer is popular among Egyptians who supported the army's decision to remove Morsy from power. His supporters see him as the kind of strong man needed to end the turmoil dogging Egypt since a popular uprising ended Hosni Mubarak's three decades of one-man rule in 2011.

But el-Sisi is reviled by the Islamist opposition, which sees him as the mastermind of a coup against an elected leader and the author of a fierce crackdown on dissent.

In Monday's interview, he said there had been two attempts to assassinate him, but that didn't stop him from wanting to run for President.

"I believe in fate," he said. "I am not afraid."

El-Sisi resigned from his military post in March to run for the presidency.

He'll face just one challenger at the polls, Hamdeen Sabahi, who also had harsh words for the Muslim Brotherhood when he spoke to CNN last month, accusing the group of being "responsible for bloodshed and sponsoring terrorism in Egypt."

But Sabahi said he would scrap a controversial law enacted last fall and backed by el-Sisi, which places severe restrictions on demonstration in Egypt.

"I will issue a law that protects and regulates, not prevents, demonstration. And I will release all the innocent people who were convicted according to this unconstitutional law, and particularly college students in Egypt who were angry because of the excessive force used by the police," he said.

In Monday's interview, broadcast on the Egyptian satellite channels CBC and ONTV, el-Sisi defended the protest law, saying that "irresponsible" demonstrations threaten the state.

Egyptians are scheduled to head to the polls to vote for President on May 26 and 27. Parliamentary elections will be held soon afterward, but dates have not yet been determined, Egypt's state-run Ahram Online reported Monday.