Jonathan condemns Kano bombing, assures people of enhanced security in the wake of attack on FCE

The bombing at the Federal College of Education today has reportedly claimed over 30 lives. Below is a State House press release on the incident...

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan commiserates with citizens and residents of Kano State on the loss of lives sustained today during the attack by terrorists on the Federal College of Education, Kano.

President Jonathan’s sympathies and best wishes for a speedy recovery are also with all those who suffered injuries in the dastardly attack.

The President commends the officers and men of the Nigerian Police Force who took prompt action to confront the attackers and minimize resultant casualties.

He urges them to be even more alert and proactive in the future to stop terrorist attacks in Kano and other parts of the country.

President Jonathan reassures the people of Kano and all Nigerians that the Federal Government continues to do all within its powers to further enhance the ability of the Police, Armed Forces and other security agencies to prosecute the war against terrorism to a successful conclusion and provide greater security of lives and property across the country. 

Monalisa Chinda, Alibaba, AY, Tonye Cole, others walk to sponsor 1000 kids

On September 13th, actress Monalisa Chinda influenced hundreds of celebs to walk towards sending less priviledged children to school in commemoration of her 40th birthday. The well-attended walk saw over 550 celebrities, volunteers and children participate in Slum2School Africa's Charity fundraising Walk which held in Lekki Lagos to support the education of 1000 children living in slums and remote communities in Nigeria and build mentorship hubs to facilitate community development. 

The walk attracted AY,  Alibaba, Julius Agwu, Ufuoma Ejenobor, Timi Dakolo, Ibinabo Fiberesima, Tonye Cole, Segun Arinze and so many others. See the photos after the cut...

 

 Slum2School Africa is one of Africa's most vibrant volunteer driven charity organizations that support disadvantaged children & youths in slums and remote communities gain access to education, medical support and empowerment. To be part of what they do visit their site www.slumtoschool.org or follow them on all social media platforms @Slum2School. 0700Slum2School

Nigerian troops celebrate after killing hundreds of Boko Haram men in Konduga

Nigerian troops this morning September 17th successfully crushed another attempt by Boko Haram members who were on a revenge mission to Konduga, in Borno State. According to a statement by Defence HQ, 3 Hilux vehicles, 1 Amoured Personnel Carrier and a cache of arms and ammunition were captured by the troops. Hundreds of the militants were said to have been killed. Troops are now combing the vicinity, in a cordon and search operation to determine the heavy casualties suffered by the terrorists in the encounter. See pics of the captured weapons armored tanks after the cut...

MTO claims Chris Brown and Karrueche are expecting their first baby Soon

Karrueche Tran, pictured above here with Chris Brown yesterday as he promoted his new album in LA, doesn't look pregnant to me, but according to MediaTakeOut, an industry source told them as a matter

 of fact that she's pregnant. Their report below...

"Remember all that talk a few months back about "pregnancy" that Chris Brown was doing on Instagram . . . well it worked. A MediaTakeOut.com insider confirmed to us that Karrueche is telling those close to her that she is in fact pregnant. This ain't rumors y'all - It's fact!"

The insider explained, 

"She's very confused right now, because she loves Chris and Chris wants a baby. But Karrueche wants more than just a child - she wants a real commitment. No more Rihanna jumpoff sessions, no more strippers, just the two of them."

Don't get it twisted though. Karrueche is keeping the baby. The insider explained, "[Karrueche] is preparing her life for the child now."

Congrats Chris and Karrueche . . . we can't wait until she starts showing!!

Photo : Delta State Lawmaker Sent out of Assembly for “Indecent Dressing”

Keston Okoro, a member of the Delta State House of Assembly was 

reportedly sent out of the Assembly floor yesterday for being “indecently dressed.”

A speaker of the house Peter Onwunsanya reportedly gave the order, 

Leadership reports. He insisted that Okoro should not be re-admitted 

into the house until he learned to dress decently.

“My dear Speaker and members of this House, as honorable members, 

we are here to work according to the rules and regulations of this House. 

Therefore, let me draw your attention to the sitting position of the member

 representing Udu constituency and to say his mode of dressing is a 

total disrespect to this honorable House. Our mode of dressing 

should depict us as responsible members of the House, representing 

the people in our respective constituencies,” said Daniel Mayuku,

 one of the House members.

According to reports, Okoro was reprimanded in accordance with

 Rule 57 (11) of the House, which states “that when a member is 

not properly dressed, he should be sent out until he does the needful.”

The alleged “indecent” outfit he wore was not disclosed.

340 Cases Under Surveillance in Rivers State --Ebola

The Rivers Commissioner for Health, Sampson Parker, on Wednesday 

said there were 340 Ebola Virus disease (EVD) cases under surveillance in the state.

Parker made the remark in Port Harcourt during a sensitization 

workshop at Ogu, in Ogu/Bolo local government area.

He said the state government was not in a hurry to reopen primary 

and secondary schools because of the situation.

Parker stressed that government would announce a date for re-opening 

of public schools after assessing the situation in the next few weeks.

The commissioner advised people of the area to imbibe a healthy

 life style to avert contracting the disease.

Parker urged them to always wash their hands with soap and water.

“We want schools to reopen as soon as possible, but we are still assessing

 the situation before we can do anything,’’ he added.

He called on the people to always report cases of deaths and stop the

 habit of burying dead bodies in a hurry.

The commissioner urged people of the area to alert local government 

disease surveillance officers as soon as there were cases of deaths.

“As a matter of fact, every death must be reported to local government health

 officials before anybody can touch it,’’ Parker said.

England v India: Should cricket introduce red and yellow cards?

The fracas between England's James Anderson and India's Ravindra Jadeja during the first Test at Trent Bridge has raised the question: is cricket too soft on bad behaviour?

Unlike in most other team sports, cricket umpires have no power to eject

 players from the field of play, with any penalties imposed by officials -

 such as the International Cricket Council's match referees - after the match.

Introducing football-style red and yellow cards would enable umpires to deal 

with misdemeanours as and when they occurred, but would be a fundamental 

change to a sport proud of its gentlemanly traditions.

The concept has been frequently considered by the MCC and was 

discussed by the ICC earlier this year.

Here are the cases for and against, plus your chance to have your say.

Behaviour on a cricket field is getting worse and will continue to get 

unless the umpires are given more power to intervene.

We need a system that operates throughout the formative years of a cricketer's career and acts as a deterrent against bad behaviour. Players need to understand that if they behave in a certain way they will be punished, and if they repeat their offence then the punishment will escalate.

Wakankar has been

That is where the idea of red and yellow cards comes in. It may sound radical but they said the same about bringing in coloured clothing 20 or so years back.

The exact working of the system would need more thought and discussion, but I would suggest a yellow card should be shown to a bowler for persistently abusing a batsman. I am not talking about sledging, but personal abuse and foul language that has no place in the game.

The card would result in them having to leave the field at the end of the over for a fixed period of time. If that bowler was in the middle of a great spell, or if the captain has a strategy based around him, it could be really harmful to the team. That evening, in the team meeting, the player could be singled out for having cost his side the game.

If a batsman is repeatedly wasting time, then the umpire could show him a yellow card, meaning he is is retired for an hour or until the next wicket falls. If a fielder misbehaves, he is demoted down the batting order, and so on.

And if something really serious happens - I'm thinking of the infamous dust-up between Javed Miandad and Dennis Lillee or something equally inexcusable - then the umpires would show a red card and you'd be out of the match.

This can all be refined, but the fundamental aim is to handle misdemeanours on the field and let the umpires be the boss on the cricket pitch.

Dennis Lillee of Austra

Let's keep the lawyers out of this. No-one is killing anybody, after all.

 Let the umpire take charge in the same way that the referee does in football, rugby or hockey. Why should cricket be different?

Waiting until after the game and then issuing a fine achieves nothing.

 Unless the punishment causes hurt where it hurts, it has no effect.

Look what happened to South Africa fast bowler Vernon Philander in Sri Lanka.

 He was accused of ball-tampering, and it was established that he tampered 

with the ball and yet what did he get? A fine of 75% of his match fee.

I don't know whether he writes the cheque or whether his board pays it for him,

 but either way it's no deterrent to anyone thinking of tampering with the ball.

Introducing cards would add another level of theatre to the game, but that is merely incidental. The important thing is to make sure the game is played the way it is supposed to be played.

If you introduced red and yellow cards from the grassroots of the game, players would learn to respect their opponents and avoid the kind of behaviour that might see them have to leave the field.

Make the umpire the boss and it will remove all the animosity that is blighting our game.