In a country where there’s so much to worry about, there are some many negative situations that can drive one into a state of constant stress, anxiety or depression.
As individuals, we must be proactive and careful about our well-being, and also find ways to take care of our body and mind.
We all know that trying to live and maintain a healthy lifestyle in Nigeria is quite expensive. Everyone wants to take the easy way out.
These are a few tips and tricks that can help you maintain a healthy lifestyle without spending too much:
* Eat Balanced Diet – Eating a healthy, balanced diet is one of the core elements of self-care. Our bodies require sufficient nutrients and hydration to exist and be in the right shape. Our daily food choices affect our overall health.
* Exercise regularly – Exercise is not just beneficial physically, but also mentally. Regular exercise can improve your physical health, decrease your risk for serious health conditions, help you feel better emotionally, improve your sleep, help you feel more confident and motivated.
* Getting adequate Sleep – Many young Nigerians suffer from sleep deprivation. For some, it is inevitable; returning home from work or school late, waking up early to beat traffic. For others, they’re simply unable to stop tweeting or watching movies until its well past midnight.
Regularly getting a good night’s sleep is proven to improve your mental and emotional health, increase your lifespan and keep you alert and sharp.
* Spend time around positive people – The people around you have a huge impact on your life. It’s important to consider the people you’re spending time with, the same way you think about what you eat and how you’re exercising.
* Avoid Smoking or drinking irresponsibly – One of the hazardous situations that is injurious to one’s health is drinking and smoking irresponsibly, it affects one’s life span such that the body system of such individual is badly affected.
* Routine medical check-ups – This is so important. Always try to go to the hospital once in a while to see how your body is functioning and if you are living right. It could be every six months
Here are lists of some former governors who have been successfully tried for corruption and jailed.
James Bala Ngilari
Ngilari, a former governor of Adamawa State was sentenced to 5 years in Jail in 2017 with no option in fine for awarding contract without due process to the tune of N167 million.
Joshua Dariye
Dariye is a former governor of Plateau state. He was a serving senator in 2018. He was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment over criminal breach of trust and two years for misappropriation of public funds. He was charged with embezzling N1.162 billion ecological funds belonging to his state. His jail term was later shortened to 10 years.
Jolly Nyame
He was a former governor of Taraba State. Nyame was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment without option of fine after being found guilty of 27 out of 41 counts of alleged diversion of public funds.
Lucky Igbinedon
Igbinedion, a former governor of Edo state was sentenced to six months imprisonment in 2008 for money laundering worth N25 billion. However, he got a plea bargain which made him pay a fine of N3.5 million
A former governor of Delta State who was sentenced to 13 years in prison for laundering $250 million by a London court. Ibori has since completed his time in jail and returned to Nigeria to a ‘Heroic welcome’
Orji Uzor Kalu
Orji Uzor Kalu a former Abia State Governor is the latest in the group of former governors jailed. On Thursday, he was sentenced to a maximum of 12 years imprisonment by Federal High Court, Lagos for N7.65bn fraud, among other multiple sentences ranging from 3 years to 5 years on 27 counts.
Relationship breakup, often referred to as breakup, is the termination of an intimate relationship by any means other than death. Breakup happens as a result of different reasons, irrespective of the kind of bond between partners or friends, be it electro-valent or covalent bonding.
A ten year old relationship can break apart so is a relationship that has been rubber stamped by family and friends, it is something that is inevitable, even when you try to put in your very best into the relationship, you still see the breaking coming, until it finally hit you.
This article is not narrowed only to what causes breakup in a dating relationship alone, it also reveals some causes of breakup in friendship relationships.
Below are six reasons people breakup
1. Betrayal: Many relationships end because of betrayal from friends and spouses. Betrayal might be as a result of exposing secrets of friends given to you in confidence, lying to your spouse and cheating on your spouse. Betrayal can be very disheartening when it comes from someone we really trust.
2. Lack of trust: When you discover your spouse is cheating on you, or your friendly is an ally to your worst enemy, you’ll start to lose trust in them which could in turn cause a breakup.
3. Not celebrating your spouse or friend: This happens a lot in relationships, there are times your friends are celebrating their birthdays or graduation ceremony, and you couldn’t make out time to celebrate them, either by calling, sending texts or gifts, however, you simply ignored feeling it is nothing. That little act of not celebrating a loved one, can cause pain to the person which could lead to a breakup.
4. Pride: This is known as the downfall of man. Pride has caused a lot of people their relationships; this is because the act of saying sorry has been overtaken by pride. You know fully well you are wrong, but you make up your mind never to apologise. Pride can cause a relationship of 5years to be history. We should learn to be humble and always say sorry when at a fault.
5. Being open minded: When something is wrong or things are not going the way you planned them, you should be able to communicate with your friends or spouse, instead of bottling everything up, expecting them to understand what you are going through. Not being open-minded with your friends and spouses might put a strain on the relationship which could lead to breakup.
6 When the relationship is one sided or driven by one person: A relationship without equal love will lead to no where. Your friend or spouse do the calling, provide all the necessary things you need, they sacrifice everything just to make the relationship work, still the love is not balanced, this can bring an end to the relationship.
When any of our family members fall prey to drug abuse, it affects us in a great way. Their addiction can have a significant psychological, emotional, and social impact on the entire family. At the same time, a family member can make a serious difference to the life of an individual that has fallen prey todrug abuse.
Mentioned below is a step by step guide to help you cope with a drug-addicted loved one or family member and if any of your family members ever fall into this trap, immediately seekhelp from Addiction Rehabilitation Center:
Educate Yourself about Drug Addiction:
Carry out a detailed online search to find out detailed information about your family member’s form of addiction. The optimum addiction rehabilitation and management plan may vary based on the substance your family member is addicted to. There is a lot of information on the web about drug abuse, but everything found online is not reliable. Therefore, try to focus only on medical or science related websites.
There are many organizations that offer extensive programs designed specifically for the family members of drug abusers and alcoholics. These programs provide useful support to help deal with an addicted family member and understand different key aspects of addiction and recovery. These programs can also help individuals recover from the emotional impact of getting involved in a relationship with an active addict.
Seek Help from Specialists and Professionals:
In many instances, drug addicts may end up developing other conditions such as mental issues. These undiagnosed conditions often contribute to their state of addition. Therefore, in order to ensure permanent recovery for your addicted family member, try to find out a local rehabilitation center or detox clinic that can take care of the overall health condition of the person.
In addition to rehabilitation and detoxification, your family member may need to attend independent or group therapy sessions. These sessions are run by organizations comprising of former addicts that are currently engaged in supporting the addicts lead a drug-free life.
Leading everyday life with a drug-addicted person can very easily lead to serious stress for other family members. In such instances, family therapy can be extremely useful for stressed or confused siblings, parents, or even romantic partners.
Try to accept your family member’s drug addiction and always be respectful to the addicted individual. Encourage your addicted family member to attend a detoxification clinic, rehab center, anonymous support group session, or therapy session.
Intervention Plan:
To ensure that your intervention provides the desired result, it must be planned thoroughly and a professional should lead the plan. A careless intervention can make your family member’s addiction problem even more serious.
In addition to a trained family counselor or drug therapist, include the addict’s friends, family members, and teachers and other influential people in his or her life in the intervention plan.
Persevere:
Remind your addicted family member that you are always available for help. However, avoid providing money to purchase drugs or alcohol.
In these situations, it is important that both parties are able to express themselves properly. Howe you address your drug-addicted family member can make a significant impact on his or her recovery chances. Try to engage in meaningful and effective conversations instead of blaming, shouting, or spreading negativity.
In many instances, drug abusers are rather reluctant to attend support groups and therapy sessions alone. Tell them that you are ready to accompany them in these sessions if that helps.
Finally, if the behavior of the person goes out of control, be prepared to separate yourself to maintain personal safety.
It is extremely painful to see a loved one suffer right in front of our eyes. Unfortunately, all we can do is to ensure the best possible treatment and rehabilitation for them.
As we approach harmattan in mid-December, a dry and dusty month when we feel bunged up trying to breathe through our nose.
It is important to pay attention to the warning signs of cold before it gets hold of us, leaving us hibernating under our bed-sheets.
However, experts say that treating the symptoms early enough can banish the cold before it takes a grip of our sinuses.
Here are the tips we need to follow in the morning, afternoon and evening whenever we think we might be down with a cold to rid the symptoms in just 24 hours.
In the Morning
Start the day with a hot shower. This can ‘loosen secretions’ in our noses as the steams helps clear blocked sinuses.
The warm water can also bring relief to the aching limbs which we often experience when we fall ill.
It is important to always take vitamin C by including oranges in your breakfast, or other vitamin C fruits or the supplement.
Taking hot drinks like tea and coffee should be the last drink to take because the caffeine content of the drinks might dehydrate you further.
It is better to stick to orange juice instead.
Saltpipe, an inhaler designed to help improve the respiratory systems is recommended as it alleviate coughing and sneezing.
Afternoon
It is advised to stay indoors and keep warm when you feeling a cold coming on.
When a nose gets too cold and more so, when the immune systems don’t work properly, a person becomes more susceptible to infection.
So, staying indoors also limits the spread of infection. If you have to go out, it is advised to wear a scarf around your nose to keep it warm and, if necessary, use a moisturising nasal spray.
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It is good to stay well hydrated by drinking plenty of water to beat that scratchy feeling that develops at the back of the throats when the temperatures drop.
Alcohol can dehydrate you further so it is best to stay off it for a bit.
It is also good to snack on nuts, as they contain selenium which supports our immune systems.
Evening
Saving the best until last, having a cold is the perfect excuse to get a curry in. So it’s not all bad.
Hot spices such as those found in pepper soup can irritate the lining of the nose; making it easier to clear and helping you feel ‘instantly’ better. So stick to it.
In terms of medication, a combination of paracetamol and ibuprofen, following the recommended amount on the back of each pack is also recommended to try.
For the past few weeks, the social media bill, titled; ‘Protection from internet falsehood and manipulations bill’ as sponsored by Sen. Mohammed Sani Musa, a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, representing Niger East Senatorial District has been a subject of discourse. ALAO ABIODUN writes
The controversial social media bill has generated heated debate since it scaled second reading on the floor of the red chamber and so many top Nigerians especially those who are perceived as top personalities in the society have expressed their stands on the issue.
There are two sides to the coin in this proposed bid to regulate the social media — While we have those who have thrown their weight in support of the bill, we also have those have condemned the bill and have come against the bill publicly.
Those in support of the bill are of the opinion that it is necessary to curb and stem the tide of fake news which is doing more harm than good to the country.
While on the other hand, those against the bill have stated that the passage of the bill into law will give room for dictatorial tendencies from the government and also a sort of crackdown on dissidents who air their views or opinions through these media.
THOSE IN SUPPORT OF THE BILL
Mrs Aisha Buhari
Nigeria’s First Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari is one of the top Nigerian personalities who have called for the regulation of social media.
Aisha while speaking at the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs General Assembly and National Executive Council Meeting in Abuja on Friday, November 29, 2019, the wife of the President urged the Federal Government to regulate social media like Chinese government did to its 1.3 billion citizens.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed
Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has been on the front burner of this campaign with respect to social media regulation. Few weeks back, He announced the federal government’s plan to inject ‘sanity’ into the nation’s social media space.
Lai Mohammed declared that no amount of criticism would deter the government from going ahead with the proposed measure.
He also insisted it was the right thing to do as Nigeria was not alone in this regard.
Senator Elisha Abbo
Senator Abbo
Senator Elisha Abbo who is representing Adamawa North under the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, has also thrown his weight behind the bill to regulate social media in Nigeria.
During deliberations on the bill, Abbo said the issue of fake news in the country needs urgent attention.
“The issue of fake news in this country, if it’s not regulated is a cancer waiting to consume all of us. Even conventional media that are regulated are suffering from falsehood.
Few months back, Senator Abbo was the subject of a social media storm after a video of him physically assaulting a woman at a sex toy shop surfaced on the internet.
Bisi Olatilo
Veteran broadcaster and Chairman of Biscon Communications, Mr Bisi Olatilo, has expressed his support for the planned regulation of the social media by the Federal Government, this was made known during an interview with PUNCH Newspaper.
Olatilo, who called for caution among journalists in the dissemination of information, explained that regulation was necessary to promote moderation in the use of the social media in Nigeria.
Festus Keyamo
Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, has broken his silence on the controversial social media bill. He maintained that everyone’s activities must be checked on social media.
In a series of tweets on Monday, December 2, 2019, Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), lamented that critics cannot differentiate the Social media bill from the hate speech bill.
While maintaining that no reasonable person will support death sentence for hate speech, Keyamo maintained that it is not proper for individuals to come online to say something totally untrue that can put other lives in danger without some kind of penal consequence.
Senator Abba Moro
Abba Moro who is with the PDP, is the senator representing Benue South district, northcentral Nigeria has publicly shown his support for the regulation of social media.
On March 15, 2014, Moro, as minister of interior, was responsible for the Nigerian Immigration Recruitment tragedy in which about 6 million Nigerian youths who applied for 4,000 vacant positions in Nigerian Immigration Service were forced to assemble in various recruitment locations in the country
THOSE AGAINST THE BILL
Bishop Matthew Kukah
The Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Bishop Matthew Kukah cautioned the Federal Government against planned regulation of social media saying it could hinder freedom of speech.
He however stressed that the freedom to speak must be done responsibly, asked government to be careful on the planned regulation of the social media.
He added that the social media was an avenue for Nigerians to bear their minds and feelings about happenings in the country.
Senator Chimaroke Nnamani
Senator Chimaroke Nnamani representing Enugu East under the umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party, condemned the bill in its totality.
“Based on our constitution that guarantees freedom of speech, there is a cyber-crime act that deals with this,” he said.
He further said, “The bill is not an attempt to stifle free speech or dissenting views; it is rather an opportunity to address a growing threat which, if left unchecked, can cause serious damage in our polity and disrupt peaceful coexistence.”
Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN)
The former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), in his contribution to the debate urged the National Assembly to withdraw the bill, saying it violates the principles of fundamental human rights and tantamount to pursuing a policy that is self-serving .
Olanipekun, who expressed disappointment that such bill could emanate from the National Assembly, warned that the bill will create bad blood and disunity among Nigerians if passed and assented to by the president.
He urged the federal lawmakers to focus attention on sponsoring bills that would cushion the effects of insecurity, poor education, hardship and bad roads that plague the nation, and shun retrogressive bills.
Chief Olusegun Osoba
A former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba asked journalists and media professionals to intensify advocacy against the controversial social media and hate speech bills before the National Assembly.
Osoba, who spoke in Abeokuta at a public lecture organised to mark 160 years of journalism in Nigeria, criticized Senators over the pending bills, wondering where they were when journalists were fighting for enthronement of democracy.
Senator Shehu Sani
The Senator, who represented Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the 8th National Assembly, Shehu Sani, also said the social media bill in the red chamber was a threat to the fundamental rights of Nigerians.
Sani, who is now the Executive Director, African Centre for Peace and Development wondered why the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration which got to power in 2015 largely due to social media support, was now trying to gag their activities.
He said, “The Bill on the regulation of social media poses a serious threat and danger to freedom of speech and expression.”
Senator Akon Eyakenyi
Senator Akon Eyakenyi, a senator from Akwa Ibom State described the two controversial bills – Prohibition of Hate Speech Bill and Internet Falsehood and Manipulation Bill – as threat to the freedom of expression of the Nigerian people.
However, the Senate President Ahmad Lawan, referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters. The committee will report back to the red chamber within four weeks.
What is peculiar to Nigerian politics at the close of electioneering is defection – either from politicians who have been longed for by the opposition or are desperate of crossing to secure electoral ticket that may be unsure from the emigrating party.
This defection is usually heralded by intriguing dramas that disrupt political permutation and one favorite line at the times of transitions is such as ‘a return to home’.
Recently, two of Nigeria’s thirty-six states decided at the polls on their next-in-four-year governors and there’s already a roving rumor regarding the party switch of a staunch People’s Democratic Party member and ex-president of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
He is being rumored for such tendency in spite of an alleged role in the election of the All Progressives’ Congress, APC’s David Lyon as the Governor-elect of Bayelsa state.
But, while this is still unconfirmed, here are some political juggernauts who made such decisions around the 2019 general election.
Shehu Sani, Nigeria’s eloquent activist and lawmaker
Shehu Sani, an immediate past member of the Nigerian Senate amazingly demonstrated autonomy in decision-making of party transition. He chose to run his race alone.
Despite his recurring fallouts with the Kaduna state governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, that was equally a member of the same APC, his transition was not done in a hurry.
Not only this, he was not rushed to join the likes of his Senate colleagues who made bidding with People’s Democratic Party. Rather, he opted for Peoples Redemption Party.
Ever since he lost his attempt to return to the Senate under PRP, Mr Sani’s gesture doesn’t seem like he has rested his oars on activism and may likely run for another office in the near future.
The pro-democracy activist continues to be critical of President Muhammadu Buhari-government.
Melaye: ‘the man who returned home but lost more sleep in the yard’
In his usual dramatic event, Dino Melaye returned to the PDP from APC during the preparation for the last 2019 elections.
Like Sani, he contested to return to the Senate. Although declared winner, his reelection was ripped off after the Court of Appeal ordered for rerun in a case presented by the APC’s candidate, Smart Adeyemi.
Both slugged it out again at the November 16 rerun election but the electoral umpire ruled it to be inconclusive hence the need for another. He eventually lost out at the second leg of the election.
On the sideline, Melaye is at the Tribunal at this same moment on the allegation of electoral malpractice by his opponent.
Before senatorial rerun, he had attempted to secure the party’s Kogi governorship ticket but lost.
Atiku Abubakar, the ‘friend’ of Obasanjo; pride of his party
One of the biggest returns PDP ever was Atiku.
Unlike others featured here, his return was not in 2018/2019 but was basically relevant for the presidential election. He helped the party restore bigwigs like Saraki, Melaye and even won the appeal of ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo after an age long tussle.
Welcomed with a landslide victory in securing the PDP’s ticket to challenge APC’s President Muhammadu Buhari but still lost it.
He kicked against election result and fought it until the Supreme Court threw it out for “lacking merit.”
Omisore: the lone fighter who got both PDP and APC shivering
In Southwest, Osun and Oyo states have particularly been two states that these two political parties haunt to amass audacity for the remaining three states, aside Lagos.
In a historic comeback, it was the same ex-governor of Osun Rauf Aregbesola, now the minister of interior who lifted the right hand of his old political enemy, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola into APC.
The magic wand resident with APC seems to still be at work after they bought the heart of Senator Iyiola Omisore ahead of PDP.
If either of PDP or APC would win Osun in September 2018 gubernatorial poll, it became inarguable, at a point, that the support of Social Democratic Party’s candidate, Omisore must be solicited to cart sufficient votes in the second leg of that election.
He stepped down for APC’s candidate, Gboyega Oyetola after series of separate closed-door meetings with PDP and APC.
He was last a member of PDP before crossing to SDP but his current party is still a riddle as he has been caught in several events with APC juggernauts after he worked for their emergence in Osun against the will of his own party.
Now, his relevance is still something to look out for in the coming elections for the state and the nation.
Godwill Akpabio, the nationalist!
Having spent eight years as Akwa Ibom’s governor and another term as senator under PDP, Godwill Akpabio decided to pitch his tent with APC in August 2018.
He was a great performer and ambassador of PDP at the Niger Delta region before switching to APC for ‘national interest.’
His latest loyalty with the APC paid off after he lost his reelection to the Senate in February 2019 as he was appointed to be the Minister of Niger Delta.
Jonathan was voted out for ‘change mantra’ in 2015 but managed to save a lasting grace for self with the first-in-its-kind peaceful relinquishing of power.
Discussing someone’s weight is never a comfortable conversation. It might even be tricky if it involves your partner.
As difficult as it may be, it is important to discuss it as this could actually affect your relationship.
Here are 10 ways to get the message across, in some subtle ways.
Assess the need to discuss weight.
The first and most important thing to do is to access the need to have such a discussion.
If your partner remains within a healthy weight bracket and only loses or puts on a couple of pounds, there is no need to bring up the issue. Also, some medications and/or hormonal changes (e.g. pregnancy or midlife hormonal changes in men and women) can result in weight change that your partner has little control over. If your partner is gaining or losing an unhealthy amount of weight for a reason that is within their control, it might warrant a discussion about their health and happiness.
If your partner is within normal weight range, encourage healthy eating and fitness, but don’t push them to lose or gain more weight. Instead, aim for maintenance of good habits as a lifestyle approach to health.
You might also consider if your partner’s weight has affected their ability to participate in certain activities, such as playing with your kids, going out on dates, or keeping up with simple household tasks.
Consider how quickly your partner’s weight has changed as well. If your partner has suddenly gained or lost a noticeable amount of weight, then you may want to bring this up. If your partner gained or lost weight over a period of years, then it might not be a cause for concern if they are healthy otherwise.
Wait for a good time to bring it up
Keep in mind that most people who are over or underweight are very aware of this fact. They do not necessarily need to be told that they have a weight problem but might need a supportive dialogue to help them stay motivated to stay healthy.
The very best moment to begin talking about weight loss or weight gain is when your partner complains or mentions being unhappy about their weight.
They might comment that they are having trouble putting on an old pair of pants or are unhappy with how they look standing in front of the mirror. This is a clear indication that they have acknowledged the weight change, and they are unhappy with it.
Tell your partner that you are concerned about them
If your partner’s weight appears to be unhealthy to you, you might decide it needs to be discussed. Once you bring up the discussion, you need to make it clear to your partner that you are concerned about their health, happiness and your relationship.
Mention the things that the two of you enjoy, and how those things would be affected if your partner’s health was to take a hit.
Make it clear that you are still attracted to your partner
The truth is the moment you bring up the weight gain issue with your partner, he or she begins to feel insecure.
Any person would be hurt if they believed their partner was no longer attracted to them. When you discuss your partner’s weight, you need to be certain to reassure them that you are attracted to them. Knowing that you still love them and find them attractive will help your partner stay confident and give them the strength to make healthy changes.
Make a point to say things like “I am only bringing this up because I love you, and want you to stay healthy. It doesn’t change how I feel about you, or how attracted I am to you.”
Make love and health the centrepieces of the conversation
Telling your partner that they are unattractive or lazy will only drive a wedge between the two of you, and hurt them emotionally. This kind of language has no place in a loving conversation. Instead, you should focus on how much you care for your partner and want them to remain healthy.
Do not use health as a way to guilt your partner. Saying things like “If you really loved me, you’d take care of yourself,” is damaging to the relationship, and simply untrue.
Use “I” statements to keep blame off of your partner. Say something like “ What can I do to help?”
Leave criticism out of the conversation
Criticizing a person for their weight will leave them emotionally hurt, and damage your relationship. This kind of criticism also makes it harder for the person to confide in you and can lead to secret binge eating or purging.
More often than not, the criticism becomes yet another roadblock to losing or gaining a healthy amount of weight instead of motivation.
Saying something like “You keep gaining weight because you won’t stop eating junks,” will only make your partner uncomfortable with you knowing their food choices. Instead, you could say something more constructive.
Keep your opinion in perspective
Your partner is likely to be aware that their clothes don’t fit as they used to but may not treat the issue as seriously as you do. It could be a wake-up call for your partner that you do see this as a major health issue. Be careful not to shame or embarrass your partner when bringing up your concerns.
For example, if your partner mentions that they can’t wear their favourite pair of jeans anymore you could say something like “If you’d like, we can start going for walks and see if we can both fit back into our old clothes.”
Consider your partner’s mental health
Sometimes weight changes may result from challenges like work pressures (stress), depression or anxiety. Weight changes can also be associated with sadness and loss, such after the death of a loved one or the loss of a job. Talking to a health professional can help sort out mental health issues as well as physical ones.
Motivation, not pressure
Suggest activities you can do together and that guarantee a healthier lifestyle for both of you. Jogging as a couple, taking dance classes or cooking fresh, healthy meals several times per week are excellent examples. You’ll burn additional calories and strengthen your relationship at the same time.
Celebrate victories
Don’t forget to celebrate even the smallest victories. If your partner gains or loses two pounds toward their goal weight, go to the movies together or treat your partner to a manicure or massage. Mark each victory with a celebration so that they know that you’re truly rooting for their success.
The increase in fire incidents and fire related fatalities reported across the country is indeed sending a strong signal for citizens to be very conscious especially as we approach the dry and dusty Harmattan season.
It has been gory tales of fire outbreaks ravaging some states in Nigeria hence the need for proactive measures to avert the menace in the country.
Sadly, Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of country, has been rocked by different fire incidents across areas of the city.
It is quite worrisome that these fire incidents have also led to the unfortunate loss of lives and properties and many victims are still counting their losses.
Even the dead have not been spared by the fire outbreaks as reports indicate that 12 corpses were burnt when the morgue of the Anatomy Department of the Obafemi Awolowo University went up in flames.
It’s necessary that people should be well equipped in terms of knowledge and materials to be able to deal with fire outbreaks.
As we witness more harsh conditions especially as the harmattan season approaches,
Nigerians are advised to take precautionary measures against the effects of the harmattan in order to avoid fire occurrences.
There is urgent need to undertake the following precautions:
Improve on housekeeping culture.
Check indiscriminate refuse and bush burning.
Avoid wrong and improper storage of petroleum products.
Use of candle and firewood to light the house at night should minimize, while torchlight or rechargeable lamp should be used instead.
Ensure the use of proper electrical appliances to avoid sparks and electrical fires. Put off power supply at the main switch or control board in the incident of power failure to prevent power surge once the power is restored.
Proper storage and handling of inflammable substances. Never spray your insecticides near your cooking stove or gas cooker.
It’s been such a busy week with so many activities hence you may have missed some of our most interesting stories.
We take a moment every week to bring you top stories you might have missed.
Maina and son’s bail grant, Air Peace boss Onyema’s money laundering case, Nigerian Law School call to bar and others topped this week’s news.
To make sure you’re up-to-date, The Nation brings you a brief round-up of the major stories this week. Alao AbiodunReports.
Here is a recap of the week’s big news:
Maina gets N1b bail, son gets N60m bail
A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted bail to former Chairman, defunct Pension Reform Task Team (PRTM), Abdulrasheed Maina at N1 billion.
Maina is standing trial before the court on alleged diversion of public funds estimated at about N2billion, among other money laundering related offences.
In a ruling on Monday, Justice Okon Abang equally ordered Maina to produce two sureties who must be serving Senators.
The serving senators, the judge said, must not be standing any criminal trial in any court in the country.
The judge added that the two sureties, who must each sign a N500m bond, should always accompany Maina to court.
Similarly, the Federal High Court in Abuja has also granted bail to Faisal, the 20-year-old son of former Chairman of defunct Pension Reform Task Team (PRTM), Abdulrasheed Maina.
Justice Okon Abang, in a ruling on Tuesday, granted Faisal bail for N60 million and a surety in like sum.
Justice Abang said the surety could be from any part of the country, but must be a serving House of Representatives member who must have landed property in Abuja.
The judge said the surety must undertake to accompany the defendant to court at every proceedings till the end of the trial and that should the surety be absent in court without any justifiable reason, the bail shall be revoked.
Faisal, who is said to be a final-year university student in Dubai, was arraigned before the court on October 25, 2019, on a three-count charge of money laundering and related offences.
His father is also being tried before the same court on related offences in a separate 12-count charge.
In earlier proceedings, Justice Abang gave a ruling in case involving Faisal’s father, and admitted some documents, mostly bank statement, tendered by the prosecution, but which the defence objected to.
Buhari orders completion of Ajaokuta Steel firm
Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr Olamilekan Adegbite, has said President Muhammadu Buhari had given the marching orders to his ministry for the completion of Ajaokuta Steel Company.
Adegbite stated this in Abuja at a media briefing on the proposed Nigerian solid minerals downstream workshop scheduled to hold December 2.
The minister, who spoke through his Special Adviser (SA) on Special Duty, Mr Sunny Ekozin, stated that the ministry had been working round the clock to actualise the “presidential directives”.
He added: “For the past three months, we have been doing everything possible to ensure we make progress. We are happy to let the nation know that the President has given us full backing in this assignment.
“The support given by the President includes political backing to ensure that Ajaokuta works. By the grace of God, it will work soon.”
Adegbite also said part of the President’s directives was for the sector to solve long, intractable problems bedevilling the solid minerals and ensure Nigeria could rely on the sector to diversify the economy.
End poverty, unemployment with agric, Buhari tells Nigerians
President Muhammadu Buhari has urged Nigerians to embrace and invest in agriculture to create jobs and eradicate poverty in the country.
The President spoke in a visual message at the 23rd edition of Farmers Day celebration organised by Agip and its partners, (NNPC/NAOC/Oando) under the Joint Venture (JV) programme for their hosts communities at Obie in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The event, with the theme: Farm and Fortune, held at the weekend.
President Buhari said it had been the agenda of his administration to revive and grow the agricultural sector into a hub in Africa.
The President explained that the Federal Government under his watch had put huge amounts into the sector since he assumed office in 2015 to realise the dream.
$44.9m wire deals: EFCC special panel to investigate Air Peace boss Onyema
Allen Onyema
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has waded into the $44.9 million wire fraud and money laundering case against Air Peace Chief Executive Allen Ifechukwu Athan Onyema hours after his indictment in the United States (US).
The EFCC, it was learnt, on Saturday raised what sources referred to as a ”special panel” to investigate the matter shortly after receiving the charges against Onyema.
Onyema was indicted along with his finance officer, Ejiroghene Eghagha, by the US Department of Justice (DoJ).
They were accused of “moving more than $20 million from Nigeria through some United States banks in a scheme involving false documents based on the purchase of airplanes.”
Eghagha, who is the international airline’s Chief of Administration and Finance, was also accused of bank fraud and committing aggravated identity theft in connection with the scheme.
The EFCC is also investigating two Nigerian banks for allegedly facilitating the transfer of the money to the US and processing letters of credit to buy planes for Air Peace.
The probe, The Nation gathered, would cover the activities and inflows into the accounts of four non-governmental organisations (NGOs)/non-profit groups sponsored by Onyema.
They are Foundation for Ethnic Harmony, International Centre for Non-Violence and Peace Development, All-Time Peace Media Communications Limited and Every Child Limited.
Onyema has since denied the allegations against him and stated his readiness to travel to the US to defend himself.
Woman kills husband by squeezing manhood
Men of the Edo State Police Command have arrested a middle-aged woman identified as Eki Ekhator for allegedly killing her husband by squeezing his manhood.
The incident was said to have happened at Ukhiri community in Ikpoba-Okha local government area.
Sources said the woman had a quarrel with her late husband after accusing him of infidelity.
She was said to have always had fracas with her husband any time he returned home late.
On that fateful day, the source said the deceased slapped his wife after a fracas and the woman went for his trousers and held onto his manhood in a violent manner.
147 make First Class as Law School calls 4,458 to Bar
The Nigerian Law School on Tuesday called to the Nigerian Bar 4,458 candidates who were successful at the August 2019 Bar final examinations.
The school’s Director-General, Prof. Isa Ciroma, in his address at the call to bar ceremony in Bwari, said that the figure comprised three candidates from the previous bar final examinations.
He said that 5,689 students sat for the examinations out of whom 4,455 came out successful, while three others were from the previous examination.
According to Ciroma, 147 candidates made first class, which is 2.58 percent of the total figure, 741second class upper division, making 13.03 percent, while 2,247 made second class lower division, with 39.50 percent.
He added that the candidates, who scored pass mark, were 1,321, making 23.22 percent.
The director-general, who rated the performance as outstanding, said that it justified the huge investment and sacrifice made by all and sundry.
He said that the school would stop at nothing to sustain and surpass the record attained, with strong determination, as long as the students were willing to excel.
Lalong proposes N71 billion for 2020, Makinde presents N208.8bn budget for 2020
Plateau state governor Simon Lalong has submitted a budget estimate of N71.5 billion to the state house of assembly as the budget for the 2020 fiscal year with a promise to commence payment of new minimum wage from next year.
The 2020 budget estimate a capital expenditure of N74.4 billion representing 43% of the total budget while the remaining 57% goes for recurrent expenditure.
Of the entire sum, the water and energy sector got the lion share of about N16 billion followed by works sector with about N15 billion.
Lalong who tagged the 2020 budget estimate as “Budget of Rescue and Infrastructural consolidation” said, our approach to sustainable governance policy implementation and staff welfare will continue to be given priority consideration.
Similarly, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State on Tuesday presented a budget proposal of N208, 802, 972, 878 for the 2020 fiscal year before the House of Assembly.
Describing the budget as the “Budget of the Masses”, the governor said the new fiscal bill is in keeping with his administration’s roadmap for accelerated development in the state, noting that every kobo in the proposal will be accounted for.
In the new proposal, infrastructure (works) takes 23.93 per cent, closely followed by education with an allocation of 22.37 per cent, health care at 5.18 per cent and agriculture at 4.43 per cent.
Giving a breakdown of the proposed expenditure, the governor said the state is aiming at at least 70 per cent budget implementation, adding that the yearnings of the people of the state were well captured during the various budget town meeting held across the state before the budget was finally presented.
Border Closure: Benin must mend its ways with Nigeria, says
Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has urged Nigeria’s west coast neighbour, Benin Republic, to change its ways for a harmonious bilateral relationship between the two countries.
Obasanjo made the remark during a news briefing on Tuesday in Addis Ababa on the margins of Policy Dialogue of African Business Associations on Implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreements.
The two-day policy dialogue was co-organized by the African Union (AU), African Development Bank (AfDB) and the African Export – Import Bank (AFREXIMBANK).
Other co-organisers are The AfroChampion Initiative and the Coalition of Dialogue Africa (CoDA).
Obasanjo, who is the Chair of the CoDA Board of Directors, explained that Benin’s notoriety was not new, as Nigeria had for long been enduring the practice which undermined its economic well-being.
