The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Okomu Oil denies killing strayed baby elephant

    Management of Okomu Oil Plc has denied reports that it killed a baby elephant that strayed into its plantation.

    Some workers of Okomu Oil had ran for safety when they sighted the baby elephant.

    The workers were heard in a viral video saying the mother of the baby elephant may soon emerge.

    Reports later leaked that the baby elephant was killed by some villagers.

    Read Also: Oil thieves set Agip pipeline ablaze in N/Delta

    But Head of Human Resources of Okomu Oil, Mr. Ikpomwosa Osunbor, denied the reported killing of the baby elephant.

    Osunbor said the baby elephant was captured and returned to the wild at the Okomu National Park.

     

  • Judges’absence stalls trial of Madonna Varsity seven

    The absence of Justice Babatunde Quadri of the Federal High Court 2 in Awka, Anambra state has stalled the hearing of the case involving the arrested and detained seven students of Madonna University, Okija

    The six Madonna students and one of their lecturers were arrested and detained by the state Police Command on the orders of the School management for seven months before they were granted bail in July, 2019.

    The allegation against the students, according to the institution, was that they wrote some things against on social media.

    On the date they were granted bail, the matter was adjourned to October 7,for further hearing, but yesterday, the trial Judge, failed to show up, as he was said to have traveled outside the state.

    However, the dejected lawyers for the parties were told to pick a date of which , December 3, 2019 was agreed as the next adjourned date for continuation of the hearing.

    One of the lawyers for some of the Students, Chinedu Igwe, said they were working to make sure the matter came to an end.

    On the issue of the management trying to frustrate the suspects by not releasing their degree results and missing out on serving their father land, Igwe, said it was one of the issues they would raise when the Court resumed.

    One of the parents of the affected Students, Chief Christopher Onyejekwe, told reporters yesterday at the Court premises that they were being frustrated.

    Onyejekwe said there was an agreement to withdraw the case from the Court by the parties in one of their meetings recently in the interest of peace .

    According to Onyejekwe: ” Sequel to the meeting we had with Very Rev. Fr. Dr. Ralph Madu, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Madonna University, the Registrar of Madonna University and The Rector of the Saviourite House of Formation ,Fr. Dr. Oliver Udaya, on 24th day of September 2019 at Assumpta Cathedral Owerri, we; the accused persons of a case before the Federal High Court Awka with suit No:FHC/FHC/C/03/2019 decided to give peace a chance”

    Read Also: UPDATED: Two Nigerian University lecturers exposed in ‘sex-for-grade’ scandal

    “We also took into good view the concerns of many Catholic Bishops especially Most Rev. Paulinus Ezeokafor of Awka Diocese and Most Rev. Hilary Okeke of Nnewi Diocese”

    ” We realised that giving peace a chance will be in the best interest of the image of the church, the image of Madonna and decided to settle the matter on a round table”

    “The conditions for settling the matter out of court was for the university to release the seized results of the affected students and mobilising them for the National Youth Service Corps”

    ” We were optimistic that the voice of reason would prevail, but when the resolution of our meeting was presented to the founder of the university, Rev Father Edeh, he asked us to tender individual apologies to the university”

    “Why should we tender apologies to him; for detaining our children in prison for seven months and ruining their career. We won’t do that. We’ve decided to carry on with the matter in court, no going back.”

  • Yemi Alade up for Grammy Award consideration

    Nigerian afro beat singer, Yemi Alade, has been put into consideration for Grammy Award 2019.
    The singer, who recently dropped her anticipated album ‘Woman of Steel’, took to her Instagram account to celebrate the great news as she aims to move her musical career to global stage.

    “We are up for Grammy Award consideration. Reaching out to all voting members @recordingacademy to consider my Album ‘Woman of Steel’ for Best World Music Album.

    “This has been an incredible project and I would love to celebrate it with all of you.

    “#Grammy 2019 #Grammy Awards#WorldMusicGrammy@recordingacademy#fyc#womanofsteel#yemialade,” she wrote.

    The singer, who is also a songwriter, was being considered for a Grammy Award due to the fact that she has acquired over a million global streams.

    Also, for being the first afro beat female to have over 100 million views on a single video which is her hit single ‘Johnny’

    Read Also: ‘Why Nigerian musicians can’t win Grammy award’

    The singer has several landmark achievements, which include BET, MTV African Music Award and MOBO awards as well as changing the narratives with her music outside the shores of Africa.

    She was recently listed as one of the most influential people in Africa in 2018, as she is being introduced as ‘Mama Africa’.

    Her 2013 single Johnny, with over 100 million views is still the most viewed video by any African artiste on YouTube six years after its release.

    Alade is the only female Afro beat artiste with this record without any collaboration.

  • NIGERIA@59

    By Ibrahim Kegbegbe

     

    All blame and complaints go to the driver who seemed to be nothing rather than a drover

    He has been asked to bring out the journey file from the archive to know his aim and the success achieved so far

    After many passengers had sung a song of ballad

    With prayer from the people in the corner seat which looks like abbey

    Not knowing that the driver is a struggling comforter

    Having thought the bus was still fit at its fifties

    No supper, no breakfast, no lunch, they have just been subsisting with a little brunch

    They come down hurriedly in the beach near the desert, looking for something to eat like dessert

    All they can see at the back seat are what they have been looking forward to see

    Many so-called professors who cannot realize and many psychologists who cannot visualize

    Getting to the desert near the beach, all they can see are bleached bitches resting under some bitches

    All of a sudden, a voice comes from heaven: you are all the problems and the solutions

    Even, you are not created to move from one country to another before you eat

    Nor created to sick and die prematurely

    Read Also Nigeria at 59: Nigerians react to Independence celebration

    You are created with all sorts of resources abundant which to other countries of the world are priceless

    You are created with all manners of endowments while others are not as fortunate

    Then, the revolution! The characteristics of human beings are: movement, respiration

    Nutrition, irritability, growth, excretion, reproduction and death

    The acronym of NIGERIA: nutrition, irritability, growth, excretion, respiration, reproduction in all

    Fallacy from the biology professors

    No death, yet these killings!

    No movement from one country to another before eating, yet this hunger!

    Will my song go beyond my nose, especially to the political and religious fanatics

  • Troops rescue three, destroy IEDs in Borno

    Troops of Nigerian Army have rescued three kidnapped civilians from the Boko Haram terrorists at Firgi village in Bama Local Government Area (LGA) of Borno.

    Col. Aminu Iliyasu, the Nigerian Army Operations Media Coordinator, disclosed this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.

    Iliyasu said the troops safely detonated Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) planted on Bitta-Yamteke road in Borno, by the terrorists.

    Iliyasu explained that the victims were rescued after the troops; acting on information blocked and engaged the terrorists in a fierce fire fight.

    He confirmed that a truck loaded with grains was recovered from the terrorists, adding that they succumbed to superior fire power by abandoning the truck and fled in disarray.

    According to him, the troops are still on the trail of the criminals, while the rescued victims have been escorted safely back to their destination.

    Read Also: Boko Haram: Nigerian Army charged to sustain winning spirit against insurgents

    “Troops continue to dominate the area and deny the criminal elements freedom of action within the entire theatre of operation,’’ he said.

    Iliyasu also disclosed that troops have raided hideouts of some identified kidnap kingpins in Obio/Akpor, Tai and Gokana LGAs of Rivers and arrested four high profile suspects.

    He added that the suspects had been on the wanted list.

    “The suspects are currently undergoing interrogations and will soon be handed over to the appropriate security agency for prosecution,’’ he said.

  • Bayelsa poll: Youth leaders from Lyon’s LGA declare support for Diri

    Youth leaders from Southern Ijaw, the Local Government Area of APC governorship candidate in Bayelsa State, Chief David Lyon, have declared support for the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Douye Diri and his running mate, Senator Lawrence Ewrujakpor, ahead of the November 16 election in the state.

    A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, said that the Committee of Youth Presidents and leaders from all the communities in Southern Ijaw endorsed the PDP ticket during a meeting with Governor Seriake Dickson, at the Government House in Yenagoa.

    He quoted the spokesperson of the Committee Mr. Salvation Ayawei, as saying that they took the decision following the developmental strides of the state government and peace and stability in the area.

    Ayawei commended the efforts of Dickson’s administration on road construction, bridges and other projects in the local government area especially the multi billion Bayelsa International Cargo/Passenger Airport.

    He said that the governor’s decision to make sustained investments in the education sector such as the introduction of free boarding educational system, the establishment of tertiary institutions, implementation of reforms in the public sector among others were commendable feats.

    He said that the youth presidents and other youth leaders from Southern Ijaw would ensure the victory of the PDP at the poll.

    He said: “Your government has brought peace, stability, light and all its take to make life meaningful to us. You declared a state òf emergency in the education sector, you established and funded new tertiary institutions, introduced reforms in the civil service, then constructed the first ever airport of the Ijaw nation in Southern Ijaw.

    “Bayelsans are very happy with this government. The Committee òf youth presidents and the Southern Ijaw youths are behind you in the project to ensure the victory of Senator Diri and his running mate.”

    In his remarks, Dickson urged the youth groups to mobilise support for the PDP and resist all acts of intimidation from persons planning to unleash violence on the state as their only strategy to win election.

    The governor, who urged the youths to be peaceful in the process of the campaigns for the election, stressed that election should not be seen as a war but a democratic process of leadership selection.

    Read Also: Bayelsa stakeholders endorse David Lyon for APC guber ticket

    Dickson said Southern Ijaw was the headquarters of the PDP which brought the party to Bayelsa, produced the first elected Governor, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, and had always remained a PDP stronghold from the commencement of the democratic governance in 1999 to date.

    He said: “Our own candidate, Senator Diri is a product of the Ijaw struggle; he will fight for you. He will fight for the Ijaw nation, he will fight those dividing our people, destroying the environment with the intent to hold them down. The Governor òf Bayelsa must be prepared, must be equipped, must be groomed over the years to take on responsibilities.”

    Also speaking, the PDP Candidate, Sen. Diri, said that the forthcoming election was between those colluding with oil companies to destroy the Niger Delta environment and the true leaders interested in development.

    He said that the oil firms further devised a plot to divide the unity of the Ijaw people by engaging those they call “oil and gas” to work for them, capture political power to promote the selfish plot to hold down the region.

    He promised to continue the current government’s investigation into the activities of the oil firms and the pollution of the rivers and indeed the environment of the area.

    Diri promised to continue with the developmental efforts of the Dickson administration by completing all ongoing projects and initiating and executing new ones in the state.

  • Trio win medicine Nobel for work on how cells adapt to oxygen

    Two Americans and a Briton won the 2019 Nobel Medicine Prize on Monday for discovering a molecular switch that regulates how cells adapt to fluctuating oxygen levels, opening up new approaches to treating heart failure, anaemia and cancer.

    William Kaelin at the U.S. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School was “almost speechless’’ when told that he and two other doctors, Gregg Semenza of Johns Hopkins University and Briton Peter Ratcliffe of Oxford University, would share the 9-million Swedish-crown (913,000 dollars) prize, the Nobel award-giving body said.

    “They were extremely happy, and happy to share the prize with each other,” Thomas Perlmann, a member of the Nobel Assembly, told reporters as the prize was announced.

    The scientists’ work established the basis for understanding of how oxygen levels are sensed by cells – a discovery that is being explored by medical researchers seeking to develop treatments for various diseases that work by either activating or blocking the body’s oxygen-sensing machinery.

    Read Also: Three Lagos teachers get President’s award

    Their work centres on the hypoxic response – the way the body reacts to oxygen flux – and “revealed the elegant mechanisms by which our cells sense oxygen levels and respond’’, said Andrew Murray, an expert at Britain’s University of Cambridge who congratulated the three.

    Randall Johnson, a professor at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute where the annual prize is awarded, noted that since “oxygen is essential for life and is used by virtually all animal cells,’’ the work is central to how the body functions.
    “It’s a prize that really tells us the fundamental truth about how cells work,” he said, adding “for example when you’re exercising, you’re using up oxygen at a much more rapid pace … and this is a switch that helps the cell figure out how much oxygen it’s getting and how it should behave”.

    “If you have a stroke there’s suddenly no oxygen going to the brain… Those cells, if they are going to survive, need to find a way to adapt to that level of oxygen,” he said.
    Medicine is the first of the Nobel Prizes given each year.

    The prizes for achievements in science, peace and literature have been awarded since 1901 and were created in the will of dynamite inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel.

    Nobel medicine laureates have included scientific greats such as Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin, and Karl Landsteiner, who identified separate blood types and so enabled safe transfusions to be widely introduced.

    Perlmann said he had reached Kaelin by phone early on Monday, after first having dialled the wrong number.
    “He was really happy, almost speechless,” Perlmann said.

    Ratcliffe was at his office and Semenza was asleep, he said.

    Last year American James Allison and Japanese Tasuku Honjo won the prize for discoveries about how to harness the immune system in cancer therapies.

  • Aregbesola urges more determination in tackling security challenges

    The Minister of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, has urged the Nigerian military and other security agencies to be more determined in tackling the various security challenges facing the country.

    Aregbesola made the call at the opening of the Leadership in National Security Course 3, organised by the Nigerian Army Resource Centre in collaboration with Peace Building Consult on Monday in Abuja.

    He said that the issue of national security was all encompassing, adding that everything starts and ends with security.

    The minister, who defined security as the “banishment to the existence of anxiety and threat to human existence”, urged participants to develop template for addressing the Nation’s security challenges.

    According to him, every Nigerian should be interested in security because of its core role in any civilisation.

    He commended President Muhammad Buhari for his support for the military to limit the threats of insurgency.

    “I am here to join forces with those who are sacrificing their comfort and safety to ensure the security of Nigeria.

    “With your determination, security of lives and properties will be guaranteed in this country,” he said.

    Earlier, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, said that that yearning for a peaceful environment was of fundamental importance.

    Buratai, who was represented by the Chief of Policy and Plans, Lt.-Gen. Lamidi Adeosun, emphasised the need for national security discourse for peace and sustainable development.

    He said that the Nigerian military especially the army, had contributed enormously in tackling the myriad of security challenges bedeviling the country.

    According to him, national security requires the involvement of all stakeholders in the management of security challenges.

    “It is my sincere belief that the knowledge the participants and the stakeholders will acquire at the end of this course will be of tremendous benefit to the system.

    “Let me seize this unique opportunity to re-assure this audience that with continued collaboration and deepened synergy between the security agencies and the citizens, the myriad of security issues besetting the nation will be ameliorated for enthronement of peace and tranquility,” he said.

    The Comptroller General of Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS), Mr Ja’afaru Ahmed, commended the organisers of the course for the initiative, assuring that the service would continue to collaborate with other security agencies.

    Ahmed, who was represented by the Deputy Comptroller General, Human Resources, Mr John Mrabure, said the course, which was aimed at equipping security managers and civilians with basic understanding of national security was timely.

    He urged that all hands must be on deck to provide urgent solution to the myriad of security issues confronting the country.

    Read Also: Insecurity: Experts urge tech-based policing for Nigeria

    According to him, in discussing the prevailing security concerns however, the role of leadership in policy formulation as well as operational supervision cannot be over emphasised.

    “Leaders must be seen to be on top of their game to provide solution and bring these vices to appreciable end,” he said.

    Ahmed said that training and retraining was necessary so as to enable security personnel and other stakeholders to deploy the appropriate mechanism as well as build the right relationships necessary to ensure safety of lives and properties.

    He said that the course would help enhance the capacity of those championing the fight against insecurity.

    He, however, urged participants to pay attention and make useful contributions to the discussions toward addressing the challenges of national security.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the four-day course would feature discussions bothering on political leadership and security management; national security and economic development among others.

  • Nigeria’s democracy maturing – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday said that the peaceful conduct of the 2019 general elections was clear proof that Nigeria`s democracy was maturing.

    Buhari stated this in Abuja while declaring open the 25th Nigeria Economic Summit (NES) with the theme: ‘‘Nigeria 2050: Shifting Gears’’

    He added that the resort to the rule of law by aggrieved candidates in settling disputes arising from the elections was another sign that democracy was improving.

    ‘‘The elections have come and gone. Our country, once again, has shown the world that we can choose our leaders in a peaceful and orderly manner. Apart from a few pockets of unrest, majority of voters exercised their civic rights without hindrance.

    ‘‘Furthermore, we also saw an increase in the number of aggrieved candidates, and supporters, who took their concerns and grievances to the courts as opposed to the streets. This is how it should be.

    ‘‘Ladies and Gentlemen, what this clearly shows is that our democracy is maturing,’’ he said.

    Read Also: Nigeria Economic Summit

     

    The President, who is attending the Summit for the first time since he assumed power in 2015, said poverty reduction and inclusiveness was at the heart of the All Progressives Congress (APC)`s economic policies.

    ‘‘During the elections, almost all candidates proposed their vision for the economy and for the country.

    Our party, the APC, put before the country policies that focus on delivering prosperity to all Nigerians through enhanced security; eliminating corrupt practices in public service; supporting sectors that will create jobs; and promoting socially-focused interventions to support the poorest and most vulnerable among us.

    ‘‘These areas are all interconnected and are equally important in creating a prosperous society for all,’’ he said.

  • Kogi guber poll : PDP cautions APC against ethnic politics

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday cautioned the All Progressives Congress (APC) to desist from playing the ethnic card ahead of the Nov. 16 Governorship Election in Kogi State.

    The National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Hon. Kola Ologbondiyan, gave the warning in a statement in Lokoja, saying the divisive politics on the basis of ethnicity would not in any way take the APC too far.

    Ologbondiyan said that the APC should get ready to face the electoral consequences of the serious issues of poor governance it foisted on the people of Kogi State since 2016.

    The PDP also warned against the recourse to violence by the state Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, the APC and its supporters.

    ” The ongoing attempts by the APC to ethnicise the Nov.16 governorship election is dead on arrival.

    “Bello should get ready for his electoral defeat as he has an empty score card despite the over N700 billion he collected on behalf of the Kogi people from federation account, internally generated revenue, bailout funds, ecological funds, infrastructural development funds and others,” he said.

    Ologbondiyan described the APC administration under Bello as a complete failure and an embarrassment to the indigenes who are known in the country and beyond for their integrity and industry in all areas of human endeavours.

    He said that the people of Kogi State had suffered untold hardship, pains and agony under Gov. Bello and the APC, adding that they were determined to take back their state.

    “The people of Kogi State have suffered enough under Gov.Yahaya Bello and the APC.

    Read Also: Bayelsa, Kogi elections hold in 2019 – INEC

    “Many of our citizens have lost their loved ones and their breadwinners; they have lost husbands, wives, children and other loved ones to the excruciating hardship caused by non-payment of their salary and pensions by Governor Bello.

    “There is no way he can be re-elected, ” he said.

    Ologbondiyan, assured that the issues of non-payment of salaries, allowances and pensions would become a thing of the past under a PDP-led administration as from Jan. 28, 2020

    He urged the electorate to remain firm and resolute in their standing with the PDP Governorship Candidate, Mr Musa Wada, “in the collective quest to rescue the state from anti-people forces.”