photo: Lagos PDP kicks against enforcement of Yoruba language

THE  Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Lagos State has kicked against the enforcement of the Yoruba language preservation and promotion law 2018, calling on Governor Akinwumi Ambode to suspend the law. •From left, Lagos State PDP members  In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr Taofik Gani, the party argued that the bill recently signed into law by the Governor was an early misapplication and revenue coloration in bad faith. The party stated that the lack of due considerations by the Lagos House of Assembly “in making and passing the bill gives one strong doubts on the competence of the house to deliver flawless legislation.” It accused the state government of hastily directing all its tertiary institutions and other schools to demand credit pass in Yoruba language before any applicant could  be qualified for admission. “To the PDP, this is a clear indication that the law is more interested in revenue, thus tainted and in bad faith,” the party stated. According to the party “Frankly speaking the law was not brilliantly considered and its hasty applications make it laughable. To us in PDP and a lot of other groups, the law is ethnocentric and direct attack on all non Yoruba residents in the state. It has also usurped the inherent powers of the Senate in the various institutions to determine their qualifications for entry. Imagine an Igbo or Hausa with 9 distinctions but a pass in Yoruba language. Such will be denied admission into our schools. Whereas by the combined provisions of Sections: 17(2c) (3a) and 18 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the FRN (as amended), all citizens should have equal rights and fair opportunities to education in any part of the country.” Indeed, this vindictive law will eventually be applicable to persons employed or seeking employments in the state establishments” “We will notwithstanding advise Governor Ambode to get careful with bills emanating from and passed by the Lagos State House of Assembly to save Lagosians and the state from further embarrassment.”

photo: Chrisland School releases Statement concerning Child Molestation Case

The management of Chrisland School has released a statement addressing the issue of a supervisor with the school sexually assaulting a 2-year-old pupil.

The supervisor, Adegboyega Adenekan, had been charged to court after the child relayed the events of her alleged abuse to a clinical psychologist, Olive Ogedengbe.

The 2-year-old had described the abuse in detail, a video recording of her session with Ogedengbe showed, and had drawn Adenekan’s private part.

Chrisland School, in the statement, clarified that the alleged abuse was said to have occurred in VGC, not Lekki as is reported.

The school added that although they doubt that the alleged abuse took place, they will also ensure that the truth is discovered, and will prosecute the accused if he is found guilty.

Read the statement below:

Photo Credit: @chrislandinfo

LASU crisis: Students, shuttle operators, NURTW clash over levies

By Monsuru Olowoopejo Lagos—Activities on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway were yesterday halted for hours after students of the Lagos State University, LASU and the shuttle operators clashed with members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW and the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, RTEAN, at the Iyana-Iba motor park over increase in loading levies. LASU It was learned that the ever busy road was blocked while the clash lasted. Vanguard gathered that the clash started at about 11 am after the members of the Union informed the shuttle operators that the loading levies had been increased from N200 to N1, 000 and that the increment took immediate effect. Sources said the shuttle operators plying LASU-Isheri and Lagos-Badagry expressway used to pay their weekly levies to the Students Union Government, SUG, on Tuesdays and another N200 to the NURTW and RTEAN for every trip. According to reports, the transport unions kept the SUG in the dark over the planned increment. The SUG normally would have directed the shuttle operators to comply with the development. Worried by the increment, it was learned that the operators informed the students who  visited the motor park to plead with the unions to shelve the planned increment. But on arrival at the park, one of the students  identified simply as Shola said the union members attacked the students with machete and broken bottles. He said that this infuriated the students who directed  the shuttle operators not to pay the new levy. In retaliation, the Unions damaged over eight shuttle buses that joined the SUG to kick against the planned increment. It was learned that the students blocked the road in a bid to recover their buses from the union and  press home their demands. Ambode,VC, SUG president wade in Another student, who pleaded anonimity narrated that normalcy returned after the state governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun and officers from the Ojo Police Station and the SUG President, Adeyemi Onikoro waded into the crisis. Sources close to the office of the governor, said that a top official from the governor’s office called the leadership of the transport unions, directing that the issue be resolved immediately. Few minutes after normalcy returned, a meeting was held at the office of the Divisional Police Officer of the Ojo division where all the parties were asked to maintain status quo until Thursday when they would be having another meeting to resolve the issue. The reason for scheduling the meeting for Thursday, a SUG official told Vanguard was because the Student union would be conducting their election. Death of female student: LASU clarifies issues Meantime, the University authorities have said the organisers of the party at which a 200 level female student died earlier in the month did not inform the university of the event. The university said this in its official bulletin obtained  in Lagos. It identified the late student as Miss Omolara Gbadeyan of the Department of Industrial Relations and Personnel Management, Faculty of Management Science. According to the bulletin, Gbadeyan attended a party hosted by the History and International Studies Students Association on February 11 at an Event Centre at Igando, Igando/Ikotun Local Council Development Area. It said that the organisers of the party did not inform the university authority or seek its approval for the event. According to the university, this is contrary to the rules and regulations of the institution. “The university authority received the shocking news after the sad event had occurred and immediately swung into action,” the bulletin said. It said the management directed the health service department and the Security unit, Students Affairs Division,  to carry out detailed investigation on the incident. According to the bulletin, the incident was reported to the police while the body of the deceased was deposited at the morgue of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH). It said that autopsy was being carried out to determine the cause of the death and a detailed statement would be released by the university authority as soon as  the investigation was concluded. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Lanre Fagbohun, commiserated with the family  of the deceased on behalf of the entire university and wished the departed soul eternal rest. Fagbohun advised students to remain calm and law abiding as  they go about their academic and other activities dutifully. The SUG president, Adeyemi Onikoro and the Public Relation Officer of the Students Union, Fatai Adebanjo however debunked the claim that the students were protesting, saying; “We have a new LASU now.
We do not engage in such activities anymore.”

source (vanguard)

Valentine’s Day: NACA advises young people against risky behaviour

The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) on Tuesday cautioned young people to avoid risky behavior, while celebrating Valentine’s Day to avoid health problems and unintentional injuries. Valentine day Dr Miriam Ezekwe, Project Coordinator, National Comprehensive AIDS Programme in States, NACA gave the advice in an interview with newsmen in Abuja. She identified risky behaviour such as alcohol and drug use as contributory factors to health issues. According to her, NACA’s mandate is to coordinate and sustain advocacy by all sectors and at all levels on HIV and AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs). Ezekwe said:  “you know risky behaviour is associated with alcohol, drug use and all that. “So, we are arming young people with the right information on how to prevent risky behaviour, knowledge is power. “Young people must avoid risky behaviour and use the 10-10-10 rule; when you want to make a decision, the first 10 seconds, how will you feel about it in 10 seconds. “How will you feel about that decision in 10 days’ time and how will you feel about that decision in 10 years’ time. “If you can just spend a little time and review any action you want to take by using the 10-10-10 rule, I’m sure we are going to avoid a lot of risky behaviour tomorrow. ” She revealed plans by NACA to create awareness on radio and TV on risky behavior in order to reduce the dangers associated with it. Newsmen report that Valentine’s Day, which is named after a Christian martyr in the 5th century is celebrated globally on Feb. 14, every year.


NAN

Chibok girls’ kidnapper, Haruna Yahaya’s defence lawyer “pleaded for leniency”

A man involved in the 2014 kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls from Chibok in northeast Nigeria has been jailed for 15 years, the government confirmed on Tuesday. Haruna Yahaya The conviction of Haruna Yahaya, 35, is the first in relation to the mass abduction, which triggered global outrage and sparked a worldwide campaign for the girls’ release. A total of 276 students were seized from the Government Girls Secondary School in the remote town in Borno state on the evening of April 14, 2014. Fifty-seven escaped in the immediate aftermath. Since May 2016, a further 107 have escaped, been found or released after government talks with the jihadists, leaving 112 still in captivity. Justice ministry spokesman Salihu Isah said Yahaya admitted to being involved when he appeared at a special court trying hundreds of Boko Haram suspects on Monday. Nigeria began prosecuting people arrested during the insurgency last October, starting with 1,669 suspects held at a military detention facility in Kainji, in the central state of Niger. “It is true that a member of Boko Haram who took part in the kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls was given 15 years jail,” said Isah. “Haruna Yahaya, who is 35 and handicapped with a paralysed arm and a deformed leg, was arrested in 2015 by the Civilian JTF,” he said, referring to the joint task force militia. “He confessed to having taken part in the abduction.” – Forced conscription? – Isah said Yahaya’s defence lawyer “pleaded for leniency” on the grounds that he was “forcibly conscripted into the group and he acted under duress”. Yahaya was previously a trader in the town of Potiskum, in Yobe state, northeast Nigeria. He claimed he was forced to carry an AK-47 assault rifle during the Chibok abduction. Boko Haram has used kidnapping as a weapon of war in its quest to establish a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria, seizing thousands of women, young girls and men of fighting age. “But the court dismissed his plea on the grounds that he had the option not to take part in Boko Haram activities,” said Isah. Yan St-Pierre, a counter-terrorism specialist with the Modern Security Consulting Group, said not all members of Boko Haram were willing participants. The presence of young boys in the Islamist ranks was an indication of coercion but others in the impoverished region may become involved for financial reasons, he added. Nigeria’s military and government have maintained since December 2015 that Boko Haram is a spent force, despite repeated suicide bombings and attacks. On Tuesday, the army said Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau was “running for his dear life” because of military action against his Borno state hide-out. Army spokesman Brigadier General Sani Usman said Shekau was “desperately trying to escape… disguised as a woman” to avoid detection. “We therefore call on all those remaining Boko Haram terrorists to know that they are following a coward moving about in (a) hijab disguised as a woman,” he added. – Mass trials – A total of 468 of the 1,669 Boko Haram suspects held at Kainji were released last year after it was found they had no case to answer. Forty-five others were sentenced to between two and 15 years in jail, and 28 had their cases transferred. A further 82 pleaded guilty in exchange for a lesser prison sentence or release taking into account time served in custody. On Monday, 19 defendants were jailed for between three and five years, said Isah. Once the cases at Kainji are finished, the courts will move to Iwa barracks in the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, to try 651 others held there. Boko Haram has also targeted Chad, Cameroon and Niger, where fighters have been prosecuted behind closed doors. Niger is looking to introduce deradicalisation and reintegration schemes. – Military abuses – Nigeria’s government initially banned the media and public from attending the trials, sparking criticism from the UN and human rights groups. But the second phase of proceedings at the remote military base have now been opened to some civil society groups, including human rights organisations and the media. Nearly nine years of conflict have left at least 20,000 dead and forced 2.6 million others from their homes, triggering a humanitarian crisis across the region. Nigeria’s military has been accused of arbitrarily arresting civilians and holding them for years on end without access to lawyers. Conditions have been described as overcrowded and unsanitary, while detainees have allegedly been tortured, died from illness or disease or were summarily executed. St-Pierre said questions remained about the reliability of Nigeria’s justice system. “One trial is not going to change years of abuse,” he added. 

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/02/chibok-girls-kidnapper-haruna-yahayas-defence-lawyer-pleaded-leniency/

Tinubu: 2019: APC ‘ll remain ruling party –

In ABUJA – NATIONAL leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu Tuesday boasted that the party will still win the 2019 presidential election. President Buhari meets with APC Leaders Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Chief Bisi Akande in State House Asiwaju Tinubu who stated this after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, also told former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and General Ibrahim Babangida who recently advised President Buhari not to contest the 2019 election to go home and enjoy their retiree club and pension. The former Lagos State governor accompanied by the pioneer interim chairman of APC, Chief Bisi Akande said that the concern of every Nigerian now was on how to build a formidable country. While fielding question on the chances of the APC to win the 2019 presidential election, he said, “You are asking me an obvious question. I belong to this party. My commitment is for this party. We have a better chance and we are strongly determined to prosecute the election in the most transparent, democratic manner and we will win.” On how he felt on the appointment by President Buhari to head the reconciliation committee of the APC, he said, “Well, l feel greatly honored with the mutual confidence that the president has reposed in me which is equally a very strong political challenge. We have started in earnest. “I was honored and with the mutual confidence that the president has reposed on me which is equally a very strong political challenge. We have started in earnest, he has given me free hand to put cohesion, confidence, and trust in the party. “Democracy is about conflict resolution mechanism, it is a process, you can’t do it without resolving the conflict. We can’t build it without understanding the conflict and the sources of where we are coming from. “But we want to leave a country with legacy, not about Mr President that is what he is telling the nation, it is about our country and there is no other choice to a democratic fineness than through political party platforms. “It is one of those rare things around the country, around Africa who had the experience both wars, fought a battle to save Nigeria and come to politics to save Nigeria, very rare people have such an opportunity and experience in their lifetime. “And that is what we are talking about legacy and where we are for all those challenges what we should do and I am enjoying the challenges so far.” Also on his take on the letter of Chief Obasanjo and General Buhari to President Buhari not to contest the election, he said, “I don’t address those shadows, the question is we should let our former presidents enjoy the retirees club and take their pensions but participate in our politics if they are interested because it is a free world and this freedom is not served a-la-carte,it is taken but we should be allowed to move out country forward, it is a challenge to every Nigeria.

Buhari in a trance – Soyinka

Prof. Wole Soyinka

Gbenga Adeniji

Revered playwright, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has said President Muhammadu Buhari is in a trance.

Soyinka, while reacting to a question on the three things he would tell the President if he meets him, stated, ” I will say Mr. President you are in a trance.”

He added that the sooner the President got out of the trance, the better for the nation.

Asked the form of trance the President was in, the Nobel laureate said, “I don’t know. So many unforced errors. Take for instance the suspended Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Usman Yusuf,  reinstated by the President.

“What is that about? What is going on?”

Soyinka had earlier held a press conference in Lagos on the state of the nation titled ‘Nomads and Nation: Valentine card or valedictory rites.’

Details soon.

source (punch)