The Nation Newspaper

Tag: blames

  • Pope blames world’s conflicts on greed

    Pope blames world’s conflicts on greed

    Pope Francis yesterday blamed he various conflicts around the world on greed as Christians marked Palm Sunday — the start of the Holy Week that concludes with Easter.

    Crowds of faithful gathered at Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional site of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Many waved palm fronds to symbolise how worshippers greeted Jesus over 2,000 years ago as he triumphantly returned to Jerusalem.

    Mostly Palestinian worshippers gathered in the Nativity Church in Bethlehem, traditional site of Jesus’ birth, clutching olive branches and bouquets as they sang in praise. The Biblical city of Bethlehem is in the West Bank, a territory east of Israel that Palestinians seek for their future state. Israel retains military control there but Palestinians have a measure of self-rule over their own communities, including Bethlehem.

    There are some 50,000 Palestinian Christians, a tiny minority among a mostly Muslim society. They must obtain military permission to enter Jerusalem to participate in religious ceremonies.

    At the Vatican, the Pope announced in his Palm Sunday homily that he will visit Brazil in July.

    The Pope spoke at the St Peter’s Square .

    Thousands of people waved olive branches and palm fronds in the crowd.

    The gesture commemorates palm branches which, according to the Bible, were laid in the path of Jesus Christ when he made his entry on a donkey into Jerusalem before his crucifixion.

    Tens of thousands of people flock to the Vatican to celebrate Palm Sunday. Waving fronds and offering prayers.

    Leading his first major service since his election, Pope Francis addressed the vast crowd in St. Peter’s Square. He said greed was the root cause of many conflicts around the world – and urged people to avoid materialism saying “Ours is not a joy that comes from having many possessions, but from having encountered a person: Jesus.” The pontiff later toured the square, kissing babies and greeting worshippers. That seemed to be part of an effort to establish a new-look papacy – one that aims to bring the Church closer to the people. Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus’ solemn entry into Jerusalem before his arrest and crucifixion.

    Pope Francis departed frequently from the prepared text of his homily. He decided to modify some traditional Vatican Holy Week observances.

    On Thursday, for example, he will visit a prison for young offenders in a Roman suburb where he will symbolically wash the feet of 12 young prisoners.

    In previous years, the ceremony was performed by the pope in Rome’s Cathedral of Saint John Lateran, with priests symbolising the 12 apostles.

  • PDP, ACN trade blames over Offa/Erin-Ile crises

    PDP, ACN trade blames over Offa/Erin-Ile crises

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are trading blames over the communal clashes between Offa and Erin-Ile communities in Kwara State.

    The ACN and Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) alleged that the dissolution of the Offa and Oyun council executives was an orchestrated plot by the state government to get rid of Prince Saheed Popoola, the only ACN local government chairman in the state.

    ACN National Publicity Secretary Alhaji Lai Mohammed, had criticised the dissolution, saying that it was in bad faith. But the government said the move was to ensure peace in the troubled communities.

    Mohammed said: “Government’s action risks aggravating the crisis, especially as the people of Offa local government, the only council controlled by the ACN in the state, are bound to interpret the government’s action as being aimed at depriving them of the leadership they have willingly voted into office.”

    But the PDP fired back, saying that ACN and CPC’s unholy alliance fueled the crisis in the two communities.

    The communal clashes were triggered by the protracted land dispute, which pitched the two communities against each other.

    Justifying its action, government said the land dispute was not enough justification for the destruction of lives and property.

    The ACN’s spokesperson disagreed. He said: “The Kwara State government either acted in indecent haste in dissolving the councils or decided to cash in on the crisis to neutralize the awesome popularity and acceptability of the ACN, considering that judgment is still being awaited on the ACN’s appeal against the election tribunal’s award of the council to the PDP, and being acutely aware that any fresh election ordered in the local government will be swept by the ACN.

    ‘’We at the ACN will like to say unequivocally that the Kwara State government was wrong in dissolving the councils because it has not been found that the crisis erupted due to any act of omission or commission by the council chairmen or officials.

  • AFCON TV blackout: CAF blames Nigeria

    AFCON TV blackout: CAF blames Nigeria

    The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has blamed Nigeria for the AFCON blackout in the country as a result of tendering a small bid for the television rights of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

    CAF Secretary General, Hicham El Amrani who revealed this at a Press briefing at the Sandton Sun Hotel, Johannesburg yesterday, said that CAF was not ready to change it’s rules in favour of any of its member nations.

    Nigeria was prevented from televising any of the ongoing AFCON 2013 matches as a result of disagreement between the LC2, the CAF agency responsible for selling the television rights to member nations in Africa.

    The Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) was ready to pay $1.5 million for the television rights but the LC2 was initially asking for 8 million Euros which they later cut down to 4.5 million Euros. But BON refused to pay and hence Nigerian soccer fans were not allowed to watch the Super Eagles on television.

    Amrani said CAF has to continue to sustain itself and has to stay in business so it needs to do business in the best way it suits it.

    “CAF needs to secure two things. The first is to sustain the maximum coverage of the competition and the other is to respect the laws of the market and the prices,” he said.

    “We cannot sell to someone who wants to buy at 20 times less than the usual price, we cannot do this otherwise we will have to close our doors. We cannot survive if we do not sustain the minimum value of our television rights.”

    “We have seen steady progress in the Nations Cup in the last few years, this is because we are self-sustainable and financially independent. Nigeria will go and purchase an English package or European football package at the right price but they want to purchase our package free or at a ridiculous price. We cannot go ahead with that, there is a minimum balance we have to maintain”. Amrani explained.

     

  • Osaze blames pitch for United loss

    Osaze blames pitch for United loss

    Osaze Odemwingie has blamed West Brom’s 2-0 loss to Manchester United on the poor state of the Old Trafford pitch.

    The West Brom forward said on his Twitter page that ‘The Baggies’ were unlucky and did not deserve to lose the game.

    “Think we deserved more from the game today. Unlucky on first goal. Was a setback. Good second half. Pitch not in good condition at all,” tweeted Odemwingie, who played the full game at United.

    “The boys who played 90mins 3 days ago vs QPR on a heavy and wet pitch don’t know how they did same today. Well done. Next home game at The Hawthorns on the 1.01. 2013 is a must win. Need to hang on to the top part of the table.”

  • Maitama Sule blames Nigeria’s woes on bad leadership

    Elder statesman Maitama Sule has blamed Nigeria’s stagnated development on the absence of qualitative, committed and selfless leadership.

    The acclaimed diplomat, who expressed hope in the country’s ability to overcome its challenges, said the nation would only surmount its travails when the peoples resolve to place the interest of country above self.

    Sule spoke at the weekend at this year’s edition of the Nigerian Media Merit Award (NMMA), where he got the Special Recognition Award.

    He lamented the decline in the nation’s sense of value and the inability of the leadership to place the country above self.

    Sule advised against the politics of bitterness and hatred. He urged today’s leaders to imbibe the culture of service as was the case in the past.

    He praised the effort of the nation’s founding fathers to build a united and prosperous nation, noting that “these great men of the First Republic laid a firm foundation for Nigeria despite their political, tribal and religious differences; they accommodated one another, cooperated with one another, respected one another and placed national interest above their personal interest.

    “These were people who went into politics to serve and not to be served. Those were the days when Nigerians held their heads high everywhere they went. Those were the days when people thought that in the next 20 years, Nigeria will join other great countries of the world,” he said.

    He said it was regrettable that the nation’s foundation had been battered and its hope of greatness still remains mere hope over 50 years after independence.

    “I went into politics at 20. I went to the Parliament at 24 and became a minister at 29. I have seen it all. I participated in the pre-independence politics, independence politics as well as post-independence politics. I have seen a lot. Then, Nigerians loved and respected themselves, but today, things have fallen apart,” he said.

    He lamented that the nation’s sense of values has been eroded, noting that respect for elders and constituted authority, which used to be our cardinal principle, is now in its lowest ebb. He decried the frightening level of insecurity and hatred in the country.

    Sule said he believes the country would assume its rightful place in the comity of nations, but if only the people can work hard and ensure the enthronement of worthy and selfless leaders.

    “May God grant us leaders who are not rulers, leaders, not looters, leaders, who will accept in public what they accept in secret,” he said. He prayed for love and mutual respect and understanding among the people.

  • FRSC blames Ogun road’s accidents on drivers

    The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has decried the increasing accidents on the Ogun State axis of the Sagamu-Benin Expressway, saying 40 lives were lost in September and October, many were injured.

    The Ijebu- Ode Unit Commander of the FRSC, Cmdr. Isah Seidu, who gave the statistics, said the crashes that claimed 40 lives occurred at Odogbolu and Omo River J4 on the Ijebu-Ode/Ore axis of the expressway.

    He spoke at the Mabolufon junction in Ijebu-Ode, the site of one of the fatal accidents in October where over 12 persons were killed when a truck carrying flour ran over roadside traders and commuters.

    Seidu addressed members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), drivers and safety managers of transport companies in Edo, Delta and Southeast states, among others, at the ongoing Public Enlightenment Campaign of the FRSC ahead of the Yuletide.

    The FRSC Unit Commander said the accidents were caused by three factors – human (driver), mechanical (vehicle) and environmental (road), adding that 90 per cent of the crashes were linked to the conduct of the drivers.

    He said: “It is the driver that determines the speed at which a vehicle moves on bad roads and in a poor weather. He is in a better position to determine the overall condition of the vehicle. Unfortunately, most of our drivers, through their actions and inactions, have been the cause of accidents on the roads.

    “For instance, between September and October, three crashes that occurred on the Sagamu-Benin Road claimed 40 lives at Odogbolu and Omo River axis, while many people sustained injuries. “Investigations into the cause of the accidents show cases of reckless driving and overloading by the drivers.”

    Mr. Seidu stressed that if the driver-factor in accidents could be addressed, fatal crashes on Ogun roads would be reduced.

    According to him, the emphasis on the part of the FRSC is to focus on the drivers’ state of health and behaviour to make them fit as road users through checks for high blood pressure (BP) and sugar level as well as stepping up surveillance on them to ensure compliance with road safety regulations.

    The FRSC official, who displayed horrifying pictures on Ogun roads on recent accidents, urged the participants to observe safety rules.