Late General Andrew Azazi who recently died in an helicopter crash was buried on Saturday, December 29, 2012. Photo: NAN
1. ARRIVAL OF THE REMAINS OF GEN.ANDREW AZAZI AT
PEACE PARK IN YENAGOA, BAYELSA, ON SATURDAY .
2. CROSS-SECTION OF MILITARY OFFICERS AND OTHERS AT THE
BURIAL
3. WIDOW OF GEN. ANDREW AZAZI, ALERO (L), AND A FAMILY
MEMBER .
4. WIDOW OF GEN. ANDREW AZAZI, ALERO (2ND-L), AND FAMILY
MEMBERS
Late National Security Adviser (NSA), General Andrew Azazi was buried on Saturday at Heroes Park in Yenogua, Bayelsa State with President Goodluck Jonathan, governors and other dignitaries paying tributes to him.
The burial was preceded by a service led by Bishop of Bomadi Vicariate His Lordship, Most Revd Hyacinth Egbeboh.
During the service Mrs. Akpolade Okora-Azazi read the first lesson and Owoye Azazi read the second lesson.
The Corpse of the late military Officer was conveyed to the grave side by a Naval Ambulance at about 3.30 pm and finally lifted into the marble grave by a team of military Officers after observing the last salute and military honours of gun shots.
The Wife, Alero, the children and other family members performed the dust-to-dust rites.
President Jonathan described Azazi as someone who believed in merit and competence which assisted him to the enviable height he accomplished.
” If 50% of Nigerians behaved like Azazi Nigeria will change, ” Jonathan stated.
In his tribute, Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa who said Nigeria has lost one of its finest military officers said the state Government will liaise with military authorities to institute an endowment fund to select best officers of the force in memory of the late General.
Others who spoke glowingly of Azazi included the Chief of Army Staff. General Ihejirika Azubike, Mr. Rotimi Ameachi Governor of Rivers state who said a popular street in Port Harcourt would be to be named after Azazi; former Bayelsa governor, Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha and President of the Christian Association of Nigeria Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor.
Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi has commended Telecommunication giant, MTN, on its contribution towards the development of indigenous culture across the country.
Speaking at this year’s Ofala Nnewi Festival held recently at the Palace of HRH Igwe Dr K.O.N Orizu III, the governor noted that the value of any society lies in its rich cultural heritage, since no society exists without a culture.
“One of the reasons for the breakdown of laws and regulations is because of the lost of cultural values. A society that seeks to grow in values and morals maintains and celebrates its culture. This is what the people of Nnewi are doing with the Ofala Nnewi Festival and it is quite commendable to have a brand like MTN support the festival. This only shows its commitment towards identifying with the interest of the community where it operates,” Obi stated.
The Igwe of Nnewi also thanked the telecommunication company for its sponsorship in the last six years. “Over the years’ MTN through its contributions has elevated our Ofala Festival to a much higher level of attraction,” he remarked.
Expressing MTN’s commitment to the development and promotion of indigenous culture, Dan Nwankwo, the Regional Marketing Manager, South East stated that the “MTN is committed towards enriching the lives of its customers”.
“And how do we do this? By identifying and connecting to their passion points. Ofala Nnewi is one of the cultural heritages, that is, very dear to the good people of Nnewi. MTN sponsorship of the event is to enable Nnewi indigenes do more of what they love especially as regards the Ofala Nnewi festival. This is in line with our theme which is Talk more, Laugh more and Love more.”
The 49th annual Ofala Festival recorded a large turnout of top government officials within the state alongside highly placed industrialist in the state, among who include Dr Obinna Uzoh, CEO Gocuz Group.
Thousands of Catholic faithfuls on Saturday thronged the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity Cathedral Onitsha , Anambra state to celebrate the thanksgiving mass in honour of Cardinalrancis Arinze on his 80th birthday celebration.
In his homily during the service, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, said Arinze’s 80th years on earth was dedicated to the service of humanity and God at different levels, locally and internationally.
Describing the Catholic Church as “clear voice of authentic Christian tradition”, he noted that Arinze was the “indefatigable bearer of that voice”
The highpoint of the celebration was the reading by the Catholic Bishop of Nnewi, Hilary Okeke, of the goodwill of Pope Benedict Xiv, who thanked Cardinal Arinze for his dedicated service to God and the Church and prayed for the outpouring of God’s grace upon him.
Governor Peter Obi in his remarks said that Anambra State Government would seek further areas of cooperation with the Church in a partnership intended to make Anambra State a better place in terms of human development.
Obi who described Cardinal Arinze as a gift of God to humanity and also called on younger priests to emulate his apostolic zeal, said that the State was happy over her collaboration with the Church in the area of education and healthcare delivery.
The newly reclaimed Eko Atlantic City is set to host the biggest cross-over party in Africa as the bouquet of activities by the Lagos State government to mark the Lagos Countdown 2012 gets into full gear.
Part of the high points of the months of preparations for the Lagos Countdown event being driven by the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA) is arrival of experts brought in by the state government to manage the spectacular fireworks and for the first time in Africa, a Lazer Beam and Water Projection Display to herald Lagos into the new year.
Managing Director, Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency, LASAA, George Noah, who met with newsmen while inspecting facilities for the Fireworks, Laser Beam and Water Projection Display at the Eko Atlantic City, venue of the event, explained that “the strategic intent for hosting the event is to put Lagos on the global tourism map in the league of cities as New York, London, Sydney, Paris, Los Angelis and other major destinations that will be commemorating the cross over into the year 2013 in spectacular ways.”
“What the agency is doing on behalf of the state government is leveraging the proposition of Lagos as a premium destination for business and leisure,” Noah stated.
The Bar beach end of the Eko Atlantic City has already become a beehive of major commercial and leisure activities thronged by thousands of domestic and foreign tourists who are entertained every evening by different artistes at the instance of Nigerian Breweries Plc, one of the sponsors of the event who give away various freebees night after night.
The celebration officially began on Thursday 20th December 2012 as the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola officially “switched on” the Lagos Festival of Lights, heralding the holiday season.
It is anticipated that over 100,000 people will converge on the Eko Atlantic City on the year’s eve to welcome the new year in true Lagos style, while millions of people would experience the event via the mass media as well as the social media.
According to the organisers, there will be restriction of movement from the Adeola Odeku junction along Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, from 6pm on Monday 31st December 2012 till the end of the event. This is to accommodate the mammoth crowd expected at the event.
The Lagos Countdown activities will come to a climax with a thrilling display of spectacular fireworks, laser beam and water projection as never seen before in the entire continent of Africa.
It will be preceded and followed by rich musical performances to be led by an array of A-list Nigerian artistes which will include Tu Face Idibia, Dbanj, Tiwa Savage, Olamide, MI, Burma Boy, Ice Prince, Brymo, Dr. Sid, Durella, Jessy Jagz amongst others. Other activities billed for the cross-over night include an interdenominational prayer session for Lagos State amongst other side attractions.
The December 28 deadline for registration for the new academic year at the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos will not be extended despite complaints by students.
The Rector of the institution, Dr M. K. Ladipo who stated this in an interview with CampusLife said the current registration period was three weeks instead of the normal two weeks.
Mr Ladipo who spoke through the Public Relations Officer, Mr. Adekunle Adams said the college was committed to giving quality education and would not tamper with the academic calendar by extending the registration period.
Following the resumption of the new academic session of the college on December 10, December 28 was fixed as deadline for registration. Some students however complained that the time allowed for registration was too short to raise the required fees.
Consequently, the Students Union Government President, Babalola Afeez and VOTESA President, Kunle Taiwo have urged the tudents to comply with the deadline while urging the school authorities to extend the deadline.
“All students should comply with the deadline and avoid extra fees that may be imposed by the college for late registration. Education is expensive but it is a valuable asset,” Babalola stated
In addition to its first ever AfricaMagic Viewers Choice Awards which it is creating in association with MultiChoice, AfricaMagic has confirmed that it will also screen a new season of the hit reality super-series Big Brother Africa (BBA).
Exactly a decade after Africa pioneered the world’s first-ever continental Big Brother , the show will return to DStv and GOtv screens next year with more of the must-watch entertainment, drama and excitement that it’s famous for. And once again, there is a secret twist that producers have worked on to ensure that the new season will capture audience attention once more!
“The demand from audiences for BBA continues undimmed. In some ways it really is astonishing to see the enthusiasm for this particular series, but in other ways it is to be expected,” says M-Net Africa Managing Director Biola Alabi.
“Viewers want to see unscripted television, as it happens, with normal people that they can relate to dealing with completely familiar emotional concepts – happiness, frustration, success, failure, hope, anxiety, friendship, opportunity and of course, love. Big Brother continues to be a ratings sensation from Australia to India, and in Africa, for exactly this reason. And the format’s flexibility is a producers dream because you can do something different every time,” she stated.
Asked if the new season will be fresh, fun entertainment, producers Endemol SA are confident of another successful edition.
“We are delighted with the new concept that has been developed for the upcoming show,” confirms Endemol MD Sivan Pillay.
“Every year as soon as we know that we are going ahead with a new season, we head into a creative brainstorming session and every year, ideas just go racing around the room. Our teams enjoy the show as much as audiences our audiences do and it shows on screen. And this year, I have a feeling that audiences are going to fall in love with the idea!”
HP’s mobile authentication tool has been awarded a Records and Information Management Awareness (RIMA) Award which recognises information security as a critical aspect of business in Africa.
The award-winning technology uses a unique code on security labels to tell customers within seconds if ink and toner supplies are genuine HP products or illegal counterfeits. This empowers HP customers to spot suspicious printing supplies – turning smartphones into crime-fighting equipment and deterring criminal gangs.
Each code can be validated using a QR code reader downloaded as a smartphone ‘app’ or entered into the HP Mobile Authentication website. An invalid response indicates that the product may not be genuine and automatically gives the user instructions on what to do next.
Responding to the award, Rita Amuchienwa, the Supplies Country Manager, Printing & Personal Systems, English West Africa, said the HP Anti-counterfeiting Programme works hard to protect partners and customers by making it difficult to produce, distribute and sell counterfeits.
“This recent innovation in labels and packaging is an example of HP using technology to stay one step ahead of fraudsters, especially in Nigeria where counterfeiting is a serious issue. We are honoured that this RIMA award recognises our efforts in this area and celebrates the innovation and authenticity which is integral to our brand and products.”Amuchienwa stated.
Oyewole Oyedokun, the President, RIMA explained that the Records and Information Management Awareness Foundation created the awards to promote the proper management and security of records and information.
“We are delighted to name HP winner of the Mobile Information Management category for its vision in creating a technology which uses information and software to protect businesses from illegal counterfeiting.” he said.
In HP’s fiscal year 2012, 1.3 million illicit items were confiscated by law enforcers in the Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa regions, supported by HP’s investigations teams. These illegal counterfeit goods are manufactured by criminal gangs and investigation and prevention of this issue take up the valuable time of government officials.
Counterfeiting is an important issue in Nigeria where fraudsters trick consumers and local businesses into buying sub-standard print supplies using unknown chemicals. According to research conducted by Forrester in 2012, 50 per cent of respondents in Nigeria said they had either been offered or purchased counterfeit or suspect cartridges – the highest number of organisations interviewed in Africa.
The Kaduna Government House was a beehive of activities on Sunday as sympathizers defiled heavy security cordon to pay their last respect to the late governor of the state, Sir Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa and witness the inauguration of Mukthar Ramalan Yero as the new governor.
It was hectic gaining access into the council chambers of the government house for the swearing in of the new government which was performed by the Chief Judge of the State, Justice Rahila Cudjoe at about 1.06 pm.
In his acceptance speech after the swearing in, Governor Yero assured the people of the state of his sincere desire to build on the good foundation laid by Yakowa who he called “my boss” and asked for the prayers and all as well as God’s wisdom, guidance and direction.
Yero who promised to address the state later said “it is with heaviness of heart that I make this speech having just fulfilled a constitutional requirement of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The sad event that befell Kaduna State yesterday, Saturday 15th December 2012 is already public knowledge.”
“Our amiable governor, Sir Patrick Yakowa has suddenly left us by answering the call of our creator. Indeed, from Him we all came and to Him we would all, one day, return. In between these periods is the privilege we have to serve humanity.
“We are living testimonies to the fact that our amiable Governor, Sir Patrick Yakowa who came, did serve humanity, in various and diverse capacity, well and suddenly returned to our creator. His humility, dedication to duty, fairness to all and a sense of humour , endeared him to many, near and far, irrespective of religious, tribal or sectional inclinations. No wonder, he was given a pseudo name of Nakowa.
“The vision of Sir Patrick Yakowa, Nakowa was to secure , unite and develop Kaduna State. He invested so much on this and started reaping the fruits of his labour. He wished to consolidate and advanced on the achievements so far made and hence tagged Kaduna State’s 2013 Budget , which he presented to the Honourable House of Assembly on Thursday 13th , December
“As the “budget of consolidation and advancement.” I sincerely desire to build on the good foundation that my boss has laid. I therefore covet your prayers for God’s wisdom, guidance and direction.
“I take this opportunity to commiserate with the wife and immediate family of his Excellency, Sir Patrick Yakowa, in particular, members of the Government of Kaduna State and the entire citizens of the state over the sad moment we have found ourselves in. May God in His infinite mercies comfort us all. I shall later in the day deliver a state wide broadcast to the citizens of Kaduna state when more details of this sad event are known”. Yero stated.