The Nation Newspaper

Tag: anniversary

  • Jurists honour Onakoya on 40th anniversary as lawyer

    Jurists honour Onakoya on 40th anniversary as lawyer

    Retired jurists and senior lawyers were among guests at an event in Lagos last Thursday by friends and associates of former National Secretary, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Segun Onakoya to celebrate his 40th anniversary as a lawyer.

    In attendance were a former judge of the World Court, Prince Bola Ajibola (SAN); Life Benchers, Chief B. A. Olaogun and Mrs Hariat Balogun; former Vice Chairman, the Body of Benchers, Chief Simeon Olakurin (SAN), former judge of the Federal High Court, Justice T. A. Odunowo and retired judges of Ogun State High Court, Justice B. O. Ogunade and Justice O. A. Adesida.

    Also, at the event were former President, NBA, Joseph Daudu (SAN), former NBA National Secretary, Dele Adesina (SAN), Olowo of Owo, Oba David Olateru-Olagbegi, Head, the Nigerian Law School, Lagos campus, Olanrewaju Onadeko, Chairman, NBA , Lagos branch, Taiwo Taiwo, and Mrs Alao Aka Bashorun, wife of the late NBA president, Alao Aka Bashorun.

    The event also witnessed the launch of Onakoya’s book – The man, the law and the state. It was unveiled by Mrs Alao Aka Bashorun, who hailed the author for being a good example to others in the legal profession.

    Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, said Onakoya has made indelible marks in the legal profession both locally and outside the country. He said Onakoya has been honoured in the past for his professional achievements, part of which include his being made a life member of the Body of Benchers since 2008.

    Represented by the Secretary to the government, Taiwo Adeoluwa, Amosun praised Onakoya for his service to the people of Ogun State.

    Daudu, described Onakoya as a very principled and worthy person in the society, where such characters are rare. “Though God works in different ways, he (Onakoya) was one of those that we felt will be the President of the NBA, long before us, but that did not happen. However, we give God glory for his life.”

    Taiwo noted that despite his relocation to Ogun, Onakoya was still a vibrant member of the NBA, Lagos. He eulogised Onakoya and praised him for writing the book.

    “For us in the Lagos branch, it has been a harvest of book presentation and we are happy for it. That is why we are called the premier branch,” Taiwo said.

    The book reviewer, Onadeko, praised the author’s understanding of the issues he wrote about. He observed that as a former general secretary of NBA, with over forty years at the bar, Onakoya took stock of the various changes the legal profession has witnessed since its introduction in the country.

    “Of interest are his comments on corruption in the Bar and ethics within the bar, including the desirability or otherwise of an incumbent president of the NBA accepting to serve as Attorney General of the Federation, during his tenure as president”, Onadeko said.

    Onakoya said his decision to write the book was informed by his desire to contribute his own quota towards restoring the dignity of the profession that was once revered by the society.

    He said in his early days in the profession, it was unheard that a lawyer was arrested by the police. He said if the police suspect that a lawyer had done something wrong, they write to the Attorneys-General of the state, complaining against the lawyer and not to arrest him as is being done today.

    Onakoya, who regretted that the profession, has been bastardised argued that the role of the Attorney-General of the Federation has changed from being the lawyer of the government to the lawyer of the President, a development, he said, resulted from nation’s adoption of the Presidential System of government, where the Attorney-General is seen as an employee of the President.

     

  • Alumnus gives success tips at school’s anniversary

    Mrs Yetunde Idowu is an alumnus of St Gregory College, Ikoyi. But when she appeared at her alma mater last Tuesday for the school’s speech/prize-giving day, it was not merely to show off her achievements as an accomplished High Court judge but, as the guest speaker, she charged the students to emulate those sterling qualities which have seen so many like her attain the apogee of their various careers in life.

    The occasion, held at the school’s new Jubilee Hall, was part of a week-long activities to celebrate St Gregory’s 85th anniversary.

    Mrs Idowu’s talk tagged: Winning habits of successful people, was as inspiring as encouraging to the students that cheered almost endlessly.

    She said to be successful, students must imbibe the habit of successful people.

    She advised the students to be positive-thinkers.

    She said: “Students, always be positive in your thinking; think success and not failure. Beware of negative environment, accomplish your goal, and never say ‘I can’t’.”

    She encouraged them to decide on their dreams and goals, write them down and strive hard to achieve them. Goals without action, she stressed, are fruitless.

    Mrs Idowu, also encouraged the students to have passion for their dreams.

    “Have passion for your dream, it is a necessity. It is what makes people to take risk; it is much more important than a plan, it fuels your desire. As far as passion is there, it does not matter how many times you fall.”

    She told them to draw inspiration from people who are goal-oriented and can, therefore, impact positively in their lives.

    Idowu also admonished them to be time-managers.

    “Be aware of how you spend your time, do not waste it watching television, surfing the internet, or hanging out with friends that can distract your focus.

    “Practice all the time and never give up. You can make the necessary adjustment when you fail and move on, you should decide to make a difference in your life, she added.”

    The presentation of prizes was another spectacle. Outstanding students of various subjects in 2012 went home with gifts and cash prizes.

    Ojeanelo Micheal, Ezekafor Ekene, Momodu Chukwuemeka, Aworo Raymond, all students of the school, stole the show. Ojeanelo was adjudged the best student with the highest WASCCE and NECO results with five distinctions, and five credits and three distinctions and four credits respectively.

    Ekene, who thanked guests on behalf of the school, also encouraged his colleagues to put more effort in their studies.

    Earlier, the school administrator, Rev Edmond Akpala, said the future projections are to improve the present standard of the school while equally anticipating more outstanding performances in Junior Secondary Certificate Examinations (JSCE) and WASSCE.

    He said the school just completed more modern infrastructures such as an ultra-modern block of classrooms, staff quarters, junior school staffroom, French language teachers’ room, college jubilee hall, and basketball court, among others.

     

  • Text messages mark 20th anniversary

    Text messages mark 20th anniversary

    Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of the first text message. What has changed about this revolution? A lot, writes Daily Mail

     

    A revolutionary form of communication is in decline – just 20 years after it changed the way that people interact with each other.

    Used by four billion people around the world, the SMS (Short Message Service) took the world by storm after its birth in December 1992.

    But after two decades of fervently bashing keypads with our thumbs, media watchdog Ofcom has reported a decline in the volume of texts sent.

    The number of text messages sent in Britain peaked at 39.7billion at the end of last year, but is now down to 38.5billion, following two quarterly declines.

    The fall has been attributed to new forms of communication which have taken over from the basic SMS system.

    Owners of modern smartphones now have a plethora of ways of communicating with each other – including Tweeting and instant messaging.

    The first ever text – sent in December 1992 – simply read ‘Merry Christmas’, after being sent by engineer Neil Papworth from his personal computer to Vodafone’s Richard Jarvis.

    This humble beginning kicked off a cultural and social revolution in the developed world, and texts have been used to seal business deals and even convey marriage proposals.

    The trend of texting exploded among children in 1998 with the introduction of the ‘pay as you go’ system by four major phone companies.

    But it was only in 1999 that texting became a way of life when users could start sending text messages to people using different mobile networks to their own.

    Texts soon completely transformed the way we write by introducing new abbreviations to the English language now known as ‘text speak’.

    The average 12 to 15-year-old send 193 texts a week and politicians have blamed the abbreviated language on the demise of literacy among the youth as punctuation, grammar and capitalisation are largely ignored in favour of brevity.

    Text messages sent around the world now generates £73.5billion a year with the average Brit sending 50 texts a week.

    It gave rise to a number of new challenges for modern society, including bullying, the dangers of texting while driving and ‘sexting’ – where sexually explicit photographs or messages are sent by mobile phone.

    As well as giving bullies an easy way to torment their victims out of school, the trend of sexting among teens has also caused concern.

    A 2008 survey by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy found one in five teen girls surveyed admitted to electronically sending nude or semi-nude images of themselves.

    One-third of teen boys and one-quarter of teen girls say they were shown private nude or semi-nude images.

    According to the survey, sexually suggestive messages sent by text, e-mail, and instant messaging were even more common than images.

    Nearly 40 per cent of teens admitted to having sent or posted such messages, and half of teens have received them.

    More recently, a 2012 study by the University of Utah Department of Psychology found nearly 20 percent of the students said they had sent a sexually explicit image of themselves on their mobile.

    James Thickett, Ofcom’s director of research, told The Independent: “For the first time in the history of mobile phones, SMS volumes are showing signs of decline.

    “The availability of a wider range of communications tools, like instant messaging and social networking sites, means people might be sending fewer SMS messages, but they are communicating electronically more than ever before.”

    While texting might be on decline in favour of alternative – and often cheaper – forms of electronic communication, experts warn that it is our personal relationships that are really at risk.

    Ironically, a new study has found that while electronic communication has made it easier than ever for people to stay in touch, it has actually started to erode out ability to communicate with others.

    And it revealed that texting has become as addictive as compulsive spending for many.

    Study author Dr James Roberts said: ‘Mobile phones are a part of our consumer culture.

    ‘They are not just a consumer tool, but are used as a status symbol. They’re also eroding our personal relationships.’

    Previous studies have revealed young adults send on average 109.5 texts a day, or approximately 3,200 messages a month.

    They receive an additional 113 texts and check their phones 60 times in a typical day and students spend about seven hours a day interacting with information and communication technology.

    Dr Roberts added: “At first glance, one might have the tendency to dismiss such aberrant mobile phone use as merely youthful nonsense – a passing fad.

    “But an emerging body of literature has given increasing credence to cell phone addiction and similar behavioural addictions.”

  • Jonathan lauds Oritsejafor on 40th anniversary

    Jonathan lauds Oritsejafor on 40th anniversary

    •CAN president gets private jet gift from church

    President Goodluck Jonathan has asked Nigerians to be steadfast in prayers and seek strengths in the country’s diversity, despite the numerous challenges confronting the nation.

    Jonathan spoke yesterday in Warri as special guest during the 40th anniversary of the President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and founder of Word of God Bible Church, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, on the pulpit which also coincided with his birthday.

    The CAN President during the occasion also joined the league of clergymen who own private jets. He now has a 10-Seater Bombardier/Challenger 601 Aircraft.

    According to him, the country would overcome her challenges if the people could draw positively on their areas of strengths.

    The President, who attended the programme till the end, also extolled the virtues of Oritsejafor, stressing that since he started his ministration 40 years ago, he had stayed on course and remained to his calling.

    Apart from being a shining example of priesthood, the President stated that Oritsejafor had spent his four decades on the pulpit propagating the gospel of Jesus Christ, building bridges and serving as an interface across the religious divide.

    He said: “40 years in the service of God Almighty is a remarkable feat achievable only through the grace of God. Pastor Ayo is a respected national Christian, visionary leader, a great man of faith that preaches the word of God pleasantly. I also thank the Lord for giving him as a gift to the generation of Nigerians.

    “I can say without any equivocation that Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, from the very humble beginning about 1972, has moved from strength to strength. Today, he is a Christian visionary leader who preaches the word of God clearly and eloquently as a good shepherd, a man of vision who has served as an interface across the religious divides.

    “He has earned his respect among his peers and this explains why he is holding the two very important positions in Christendom in Nigeria as a President of Christian Association of Nigeria and President of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria.

    “You will continue to be a source of inspiration to many people in many years to come. When he started this ministry many years ago, Nigeria was just emerging from the anguish of civil war. Although, today we are enjoying the benefits of democracy, we still need to overcome our challenges. We must seek strength from our diversity.”

    Oritsejafor said if Nigeria must reclaim its lost glory and be great again, all Nigerians must be ready to put the nation first and be ready to make sacrifices.

    He said rather than dwelling on the things that are capable of dividing the country, he admonished the people to begin to do thinsg that would impact positively on the lives of the people.

    The CAN President said, “If Nigeria must reclaim her destiny, then everybody must be ready to make sacrifices. We must be prepared to inconvenience ourselves; we must be prepared to forget about ourselves and put Nigeria first. We must begin to do things that will make positive impact on the lives of our people. Nigeria is great and our sacrifices will bring out the greatness of the great nation.”

    During the service it was announced to the congregation that Oritsejafor has joined the league of pastors with private jets in the country. Others who have been in the league before him include David Oyedepo of Winners Chapel, Enoch Adejare Adeboye of The Redeemed Christian Church of God 2nd Bishop Mike Okonkwo of the Reedemed Evangelical Mission (TREM).

    Oritsejafor’s jet, marked N431CB, was said to have been manufactured in the United States, the announcement elicited loud ovation and applause from the congregation.

    The luxurious and spacious cabin of the Bombardier/Challenger 601 is perfect to conduct meetings or simply relax.

    Although the cost of the aircraft was not disclosed, an updated version of the 1994 series is said to cost $4.9m.

    The jubilant congregation spent over 15 minutes congratulating one another while the recipient did not make any comment on the jet said to have been purchased for him by the Church.