The Nation Newspaper

Tag: boko haram

  • The coming cataclysm

    SIR: Is Nigeria not a blessed country what with its affable weather conditions, arable land, natural resources and humungous population? Unlike Europe, Asia, and America that are devastated by acts of Nature, earthquake, cyclone and other natural disasters do not happen in Nigeria. Nigeria is a beautiful country with rolling hills, verdant greenery and rivers. Millions of Nigerians living in the Diaspora are contributing to the growth of their host countries. So, Nigeria is called the giant of Africa. Is Nigeria truly the giant of Africa? No, she isn’t. The truth is, Nigeria has the potentialities to become the true giant of Africa. It is not the giant of Africa.

    Unity has eluded Nigeria since its inception. We are distrustful of one another. Our disunity becomes manifest during national elections. Nigerians root for people who belong to the same ethnic group and religion. Nigeria is polarized along ethnic and religious lines. The Nigeria-Biafra war that raged between 1967 and 1970 was partly caused by ethnic hatred and religious intolerance. Millions of people were killed in that gratuitous civil war.

    Now, the North-east has become a hot-bed of violence; it is a river of blood. Borno State has become a theatre of asymmetrical warfare. Yobe and Adamawa states have become valleys of wailing, as the murderous Boko Haram group have laid siege to them. Members of the Boko Haram group have devastated the north-east. Thousands of their young men were cut down in their prime; their girls are prevented from acquiring western education. Have members of the Boko Haram group not turned the north-east to a benighted and blighted land?

    As the Federal Government is battling the Boko Haram insurgency in the north-east, some misguided oldies are resurrecting the dead Biafra in Enugu. Some days ago, Ben Onwuka with other members of the Biafra Zionist movement stormed the Enugu State Broadcasting Service (ESBS) to broadcast their speech regarding secession. They were repelled and defeated by the police, however. A sister group to the Biafra Zionist movement, MASSOB, is still agitating and making demands for a geographical space that will be called Biafra.

    Are these eruptions of pockets of violence in Nigeria not portents of an impending doom? Some northerners are sabre-rattling with regard to the next year’s presidential election. They are threatening to cause political trouble in the country if power fails to return to the north in 2015. And, the Ijaw would want their son, President Goodluck Jonathan, to continue ruling Nigeria beyond 2015. So, now, Nigeria’s peace is very fragile; it can easily snap, and the country will be thrown into a fratricidal war.

    How can our leaders address these issues that are threatening to dismember Nigeria? Those with political power who are busy lining their pockets may wake up one day and discover that Nigeria has descended into the abyss of a civil war.

     

    •Chiedu Uche Okoye     

    Uruowulu-Obosi, Anambra State

  • Presidency and amnesty for Boko Haram

    Many Nigerians must have  felt somewhat relieved on this year’s Democracy Day when it was announced that the Federal Government had offered amnesty to members of the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

    Their thinking was that the killings and bombings that have sent thousands of innocent Nigerians to their early graves in the past few years will come to an end, thanks to the reprieve.

    They want the country to experience peace and harmony once again as soon as possible and at any cost.

    Unfortunately, they may now have to wait a little longer as their hopes were dashed when the Presidency, 48 hours after the offer, denied ever offering ‘amnesty’ to the sect.

    At an elaborate function at the International Conference Centre, Abuja tagged “A day with Young Leaders of Nigeria” to mark the nation’s Democracy Day, Minister of Youth Development, Boni Haruna had announced that the President had offered amnesty to the insurgents in order to bring the ongoing violent attacks to an end.

    He said: “President Goodluck Jonathan has also declared amnesty for members of the Boko Haram sect. Series of integration programmes have been lined up for the members of the sect who would surrender their arms and embrace peace.

    “Let me use this opportunity, on behalf of the Federal Government, to call on the members of the Boko Haram sect to embrace the government’s gesture and key into the amnesty programme.”

    The programme, where the amnesty was announced, was carried live on many television and radio stations.

    The President, who spoke after the Minister at the occasion, did not make any reference to the Minister’s remarks.

    Despite the offer of amnesty, the insurgents, as if rejecting it killed the Emir of Gwoza, Alhaji Idris Timta, in an ambush involving three traditional rulers in Borno State barely 24 hours after the offer was made.

    To probably save government’s ‘face’, the Presidency, after the fresh attack, denied ever offering ‘amnesty’ to the sect.

    The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, 48 hours after the offer was made, said: “Let me refer you to the speech by the President. If you read the speech line by line, you will see that it contains the very message that the President wanted to put across and in that speech if you look at it, I don’t think the President used amnesty, instead he spoke about those who are willing to renounce terrorism, those who are willing to embrace peace, opportunities have been created for them through the fact-finding committee, through the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolutions of Conflict in the Northeastern part of Nigeria.

    “So, I will refer you basically to the speech by the President.”

    Some online responses to the latest development maintained that it was another incompetency on the part of the government.

    Also some political analysts believed that if the minister had erred about the offer of amnesty and the President in error of omission also forgot to correct the minister at the event, government’s response, they say, should have come as soon as possible the same day and shouldn’t have waited for 48 hours to elapse.

    There are still some Nigerians who believed that what played out was aimed at testing the waters in order to find out if the sect will actually lay down their arms and embrace the amnesty.

    This category of Nigerians believes the development could be part of a grand plan to find lasting solution to the crisis.

    Apart from the sect’s killing of the Emir after the offer of amnesty, other attacks have taken place in the country, including the killing of about 40 Nigerians when the sect bombed a football viewing centre in Mubi, Adamawa State on Sunday last week.

    On the same day, suspected members of the Boko Haram burnt down many houses, shops and two churches in Gwoshe town in Gwoza.

    Some lives were also lost on Monday last week as the terrorists attacked church worshippers in Attagara Village in Borno State.

    With all these latest attacks, some observers believe the sect may not really be interested in accepting the offer for peace to reign but are rather bent on causing more havoc in a bid to bring the country to its knees.

    If the aim of the insurgents is to destroy Nigeria, many Nigerians are definitely in full support of President Jonathan’s directive to the security agencies to apply maximum force within the law to crush its members.

    But everything must first be done to truly know the motives of the insurgents.

  • Cameroon kills two Boko Haram men

    Cameroon kills two Boko Haram men

    Two suspected Boko Haram militants have been killed in a botched attack on a town in Cameroon’s far north.

    They were killed by local security forces, who repelled the Boko Haram attack on Saturday.

    Nigeria had accused Cameroon of not doing enough to tackle Boko Haram, which grabbed global attention in April following the abduction of more than 200 girls from a school in Chibok, Borno State. The sect has also killed hundreds in the northeast since then.

    Cameroon recently deployed 1 000 troops to far north and the attack in the Mayo Tsanaga Division in the Far North Region is the latest in a series of clashes between its security forces and Boko Haram.

    The Cameroon government’s spokesperson, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, said a raid was carried out early on Saturday morning by 50 well-armed gunmen believed to be members of Boko Haram.

    “Our defence and security forces fought back immediately. [They] killed two of the assailants, seized one of their vehicles and a Kalashnikov war weapon, forcing them to run back crossing the border into the Nigerian territory,” he said.

    He did not say if any government troops were killed or wounded in the fighting.

    Nigeria’s head of counter-terrorism said last month that Cameroon was the weakest link in the regional fight against the group.

    Cameroon security forces killed 40 militants in fighting a week ago, shortly after reinforcements were sent to the far north.

  • Soldiers arrest girl, 13, for spying for Boko Haram

    Soldiers arrest girl, 13, for spying for Boko Haram

    Special Forces of the Nigerian Army Unit in Gwoza, Borno State, have arrested a 13-year-old girl for alleged spying on the military formation for the members of Boko Haram, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has reported.

    A security source said the soldiers who picked up the girl were said to be stunned when they found an AK 47 assault rifle in her residence.

    It was further gathered that the girl led the soldiers to three other girls who were also said to have been recruited by Boko Haram to spy on military formations.

    However, the source did not say whether the soldiers found any lead in the residents of the other girls said to be undergoing interrogation.

    It was further stated that there were fears in security circles that the insurgents might have embarked on the recruitment of innocent children to get information on military formations for possible attacks.

    The source added that the military was also concerned that some of the abducted girls of Government Secondary School, Chibok, who have been in the custody of the insurgents since April could be indoctrinated for such dangerous assignments.

    The source said: “Do you know what is happening now in Gwoza? There are signs now that the insurgents may be using young girls to spy on military formations in the area.

    “The girls are being interrogated. In fact, there are concerns that those people might use some of those Chibok girls for such a dangerous mission when they are eventually released.”

  • FEAR OF BOKO HARAM- Northern fans may shun viewing centres

    FEAR OF BOKO HARAM- Northern fans may shun viewing centres

    IT would be a different kind of World Cup for lovers of football and the World Cup in the Northern part of the country. For these set of Nigerians the Brazil World Cup will be devoid of funfair, celebration, and merriment.

    According to cross section of people our reporter spoke with on preparation towards the global soccer carnival kicking off this week, many prefer to watch the matches from the abode of their home with their families. Meaning the joint celebration and supporter ship associated with the World Cup will be lacking here no thanks to the terrorist group, Boko Haram.

    The fear of Boko Haram and inherent danger remain the nagging security challenge which has continued to kill social life in parts of the North, of which public viewing centres are being targeted by suicide bombers.

    A cross section of football enthusiasts expressed reservations, sighting insecurity as a major factor that may hinder them from patronizing public view centres, while concluding that owing to this situation, the 2014 world cup may come and go without much glamour in this part of the world.

    A sport enthusiast, Jafar Jafar said, “We are praying that before the World Cup kicks off, we hope that the security situation in the country must have improved. Watching footballs match in group or in viewing centres is much more thrilling and interesting than watching it alone in the comfort of your bed room. At viewing centres, you can hear analysis; you discuss logically and you view some decisions which some may perceive as questionable a better way. So, we urge the Federal Government to expedite action in ensuring the security of lives and property, not only in the football viewing centres, cinema halls or theatres, but in every corner of the country.”

    Another female soccer fan, Madam Zahra Sabo said sports is a unifying factor in the world but the current insecurity issue in the Northern part will hamper soccer fans from watching the game in viewing centres. “When people converge like this it could be hazardous because that is where all manners of people can come and plant explosives to arm others.”

    For Mallam Hafisu Danbappa, the prevailing security challenges will hamper communal viewing. “My plan is to watch the World Cup in my house with my family.”

    Frances Dele echoed similar sentiment: “I beg I don’t want to lose my life prematurely by going to viewing centre at that odd time to watch a match. The only watching the World Cup is my bedroom and as such, I am well prepared and I have subscribed to DSTV that will beam the matches live to my bed room.”

    In his own view, an operator of a Viewing Centre in Sabon Gari area of the state who simply gave his name as Simon said he would keep his centre open for the World Cup. “I personally frisked customers before allowing them inside the centre; and if I suspect any movement, I have the contacts of security agencies; I always alert them in such circumstance and they respond.”

    Elsewhere in Kaduna, owners of viewing centres are preparing hard for the World cup, in spite of the security situation. While some people who normally patronise viewing centres told The Nation on Sunday that they are planning to watch the matches at home, some others claimed that they always want to watch matches where there are many people. Some others who said they will not be going to the viewing centre are concerned about the timing of the games rather than the security situation. Investigations revealed that many viewing centres have procured additional television sets and chairs in anticipation of a large turnout.

    Asked what security measures they are putting in place, some of those spoke to said “it will not ideal for us to disclose our security strategies to you. But we are aware of the attempt to bomb a viewing centre in Jos during the Champions League finals. We are taking measures to ensure that nothing of such happen during the World Cup. But we will not tell you what we are planning right now”. Some soccer fans also told The Nation on Sunday that their plan is to watch the competition close to their houses saying “when you are close to your house, you don’t have to go the viewing centre in a car. So, we expect that the owners of the viewing centres will not allow people to pack their cars or even motor cycles close to the viewing centres. We also expect them to employ adequate security to constantly monitor the surroundings to ensure that nobody will come and drop something close bye and disappear. The world cup is supposed to be a full one month of fun and we expect even members of the Insurgents to be part of the fun by laying down their arms and coming out to enjoy the matches with other Nigerians”, said Kabiru Adamu, a soccer fan in Kaduna metropolis.

    Martins Negedu, a Journalist with Daily Newswatch on his part said he plan to watch the matches at home and has already acquired a small generating set for that purpose. He said “I plan to watch the matches at home. I have bought a small generator for that purpose. Even though there is a viewing centre close to my house, I don’t plan to go there because of the timing of the matches.”

     

    Brazil 2014: Jos fans not scared of bombers

    Meanwhile, citizens of Plateau state are insisting that they will watch all the 64 matches for the World Cup final scheduled to take place in Brazil later this month.

    But the fear of suicide bombers said to be lurking around the state is already forcing citizens to devise strategies to watch the matches without falling victims of suicide bombers.

    A car loaded with explosives directed to a football viewing center where over 400 fans were watching the champions’ league final on the 25th of May last month failed to get to its target before the explosive went off. It kills the suicide bombers and two others. Before then, there were three other attempts in the past to detonate explosives at football viewing center in Jos city. It happened in Ondus as well as Tina junction all at Bauchi Ring road Jos. There was another one near Tudunwada Park. Those attempts only recorded minimal casualties in injuries.

    Such tournaments like World Cup do attract citizens, both old and young to football viewing centers available at every nook and crannies of the state, some people are already afraid and are already rushing to purchase StarTimes decoder or DSTV so as to watch the World Cup at the comfort of their parlor.

    Barr Emmanuel Gwash said, “I have lost interest in watching football at public places, I have DSTV but I always enjoy the game more in public places, but that was then, I have resolved to watch every match in my room, I will no longer go to viewing center, it is my own personal security” he said.

    As for Samson Gana, a banker in Jos said, “I just purchase my StarTimes decoder for the matches because, I don’t trust government security agencies any more, they will be at every check point, yet these devils called Boko Haram will walk through them with explosives and carry out their wicked acts. So, I will watch this World Cup in my room”

    Mahmoud Sani who owns a football viewing center in Bukuru, Jos said, “Since we know the target of bombers is the viewing center, I will improve on the security of the premises. With adequate security, we can keep the bombers away and enjoy the full benefit of watching the games.”

  • U.S. to finance anti-militant TV channel in northern Nigeria

    The United States is financing a new 24-hour satellite TV channel in northern Nigeria aimed at countering insurgencies by the Islamist sect, Boko Haram, and other groups in the region, the New York Times reported on Friday.

    A U.S. official confirmed the project was under way but did not give full details.

    The official said the United States would “support Nigerian efforts to provide an attractive alternative to the messaging of violent extremists.”

    The project is a result of discussions with Nigeria dating back to late 2012 on ways to cooperate against Boko Haram and the content of the channel will be produced by Nigerians in Nigeria, the official said.

    The United States has in recent months increased its collaboration with Abuja in response to violence from Boko Haram, including surveillance and communications help after the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls in April.

    The Times said the TV channel, which is not yet broadcasting but is near to completion, is financed by the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism and is expected to cost about $6 million.

    The project is run in Nigeria by Equal Access International, a San Francisco-based government contractor that has managed media programmes sponsored by the State Department in Yemen and Pakistan meant to encourage youth participation in politics and counter Islamist extremism, it said.

    The paper quoted foreign policy experts saying the project faced several challenges in a region with low levels of infrastructure, public services, literacy and security. Access to electricity is limited and few people own televisions.

    In addition to the broadcasts, the Times said the project would provide training to journalists in the region

  • AU joins search for Chibok girls

    The African Union is involved in intensifying efforts to find  the more than 200 students of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, kidnapped by Boko Haram two months ago, its Ugandan ambassador said Friday in New York.

    Asked what the AU was doing to help, Mull Katende said it was engaged in “quiet diplomacy, because some of this information, we don’t want it to reach those who abducted the children.”

    “We look forward to their recovery as soon as possible, and all heads of state of the African Union have offered their support,” he said after talks between AU and UN counterparts in New York.

    The Ugandan diplomat said Nigeria could learn a lesson from his own country’s 20-year war against Lords Resistance Army rebels, “on how to isolate Boko Haram from the population.”

    Asked how negotiations for the girls’ release could be advanced, Katende told reporters: “There are intensified efforts and a number of countries are helping Nigeria.”

    “Now some of those efforts cannot come into the public, but these efforts are there, and we are hoping that these girls can be recovered very soon,” he added.

    He said the African Union wanted to strengthen its institutions and intelligence cells devoted to terrorism and was “employing a wide range of measures,” without going into specifics.

    Nigeria’s response to the mass April 14 abduction has been widely criticised, and the crisis has brought unprecedented international attention to Boko Haram’s extremist uprising.

    Washington recently began surveillance drone flights over northeast Nigeria to try to track down the location of the kidnapped girls.

    France also has forces in Chad, and Britain and the United States have sent small teams of specialists to Nigeria to assist President Goodluck Jonathan’s government in the search.

     

  • ‘Are the dark days back?’—Atiku

    ‘Are the dark days back?’—Atiku

    •More condemnations trail clampdown

    Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is distraught by the continuing assault on the print media by agents of the Federal Government who claim to be looking for Boko Haram bombs.

    He wonders if Nigeria is not sliding back into a dictatorship.

    “By attacking the press and arresting journalists, aren’t we slowly edging back to the dark days of military dictatorship?” he asked in one of his tweets following the siege which entered its second day yesterday.

    The Director, International Press Centre (IPC),  Lanre Arogundade, described  the clampdown as shocking, embarrassing and totally unacceptable.

    “It is unacceptable. The dimension the clampdown has taken constitutes three forms of violation which are: violation of the freedom of the press, violation of the freedom of the public to know and access information, and the violation of the fundamental human rights of the vendors, drivers and other staff that were subjected to psychological trauma.”

    Arogundade said a media clampdown by the administration is not the best way to react to the war against the insurgency, saying the media has a major role to play in the fight against terror and should be allowed to do so.

    Human rights activist and lawyer, Bamidele Aturu called the soldiers’ action a descent to lawlessness.

    “It is unacceptable; it is a descent to lawlessness and an assault on the rule of law and press freedom. There is no reason for what they are doing. I don’t think we should allow this to go on especially in a democracy. This should not be allowed to go on as freedom of the press is pivotal to democracy,” he said yesterday.

    Former vice chairman, Nigerian Bar Association, Ikorodu branch, Mr. Adedotun Adetunji said the action is unconstitutional.

    “This is a breach of the constitution which guarantees freedom of expression, the affected media houses are at liberty to institute legal action against the government and they will get justice in their favour,” Adetunji said.

    The Anambra State Coordinator of Transform Nigeria Movement, (TNM), Comrade Obi Ochije,  denounced the clampdown  as wicked while the chairman of Awka Market Amalgamated Traders’ Association, AMATA, Anayo Nweke said  is a throwback  to  the dark age.

    A major newspapers distributor, Chief Alaka Oko, said it was unfortunate that the government has turned against newspapers.

    “Why would they say newspapers vans are being used to transport weapons? I don’t see any reason for this action”, he said.

    An Osun state-based human rights activist, Comrade Amitolu Shitu, condemned the development, describing it as a repeat of the “evil occurrences of the military era.”

    “What we witnessed today is not different from what we experienced during the dark days of the Abacha military regime. It is an indication that President Goodluck Jonathan is weak and can allow suppression of peoples, voice and also allow the rights of the people to be trampled upon,” he said.

    The Media Rights Agenda (MRA) condemned what it called the renewed onslaught on the Nigerian Press by the Goodluck Jonathan Administration.

    In a statement in Lagos, MRA’s Executive Director, Mr. Edetaen Ojo, said it was shocking that rather than address the real and pressing security challenges facing the country, which has resulted in most citizens living in perpetual fear, the Federal Government had chosen to chase shadows by unleashing its military and security agencies on the media.

    Mr. Ojo said:  “We are not at all persuaded by the Federal Government’s excuse that the action of its security forces in obstructing the operations of media workers all over the country and harassing them for no legitimate reason, is a routine security exercise.  There can be nothing routine in such widespread and systematic violation of the rights of media workers and the flagrant breach of Nigeria’s international obligation to respect and uphold the rights of its citizens, including the media.”

    MRA urged the Federal Government to call its security forces and law enforcement agencies to order, warning that their actions would only reinforce the already widely held view by both the international community and Nigerian citizens that this is a lawless government which acts with impunity and muzzles the media.

    A human rights group, Centre for the Vulnerable and Underprivileged described the seizure of  newspapers  as an affront on  free press and freedom of speech.

    The Executive Director of the group, Mr Oghenejabor Ikimi, a lawyer, said the military’s action was autocratic and reminiscent of dark era of military rule.

    “We are indeed not oblivious of the colossal losses the above media houses would have incurred in the process and we call on the Federal Government to immediately indemnify the said media houses in the interest of a free and vibrant press as we need a free and vibrant press as a necessary ingredient to grow our fledgling democracy,” Ikimi,  a human rights lawyer added.

    Speaking in the same vein, the  Chairman, Edo State Correspondent Chapel of the  NUJ, Mr.  Simon Ebegbulem  said the media would refuse to be intimidated by the soldiers’ action.

    Deputy State Chairman of Labour Party in Edo State, Chief Patrick Eholor asked  President Goodluck Jonathan to  call his men to order.

     

  • Every nook and cranny

    NATIONAL MIRROR Front Page Lead Story blunders of June 5 welcome us this week: “Christians and Muslims have been killing each other (one another) over series (a series) of attacks by the Islamic militants, Boko Haram.”

    The Views Page of the above medium collects the baton in perpetuation of solecisms: “Our level of humanity and development should be measured by our strict adherent (adherence) to the spirit and letters of democracy (sic).” Existential humanism: the spirit of the law or the letter of the law (democracy in this application).”

    “…states that didn’t have universities now have ones.” Yank off the last word in the extract.

    “…but violence arising there from (sic) never lasted more than few (a few) hours.”

    “A desperate decease (disease) requires a desperate cure.”

    “In its absent (absence), the state is a failed one.”

    Even the Editorial of the paper under review consolidated the front page infraction: “…the latest in series (a series) of coups that have punctuated modern Thai history.”

    “IATA urges governments, operators to tackle passengers (passengers’) excesses”

    “FG tasks Nigerians on climate change induced (change-induced) activities”

    “Chicken Republic commissions (inaugurates) central kitchen”

    “FCT minister’s wife distributes items to destitutes” Community Mirror: the destitute (noun and plural). Please note that ‘destitute’ is an adjective.

    Finally from the Back Page of NATIONAL MIRROR under focus which withheld some etymological facts: “…the former GMD of Zenith Bank resumed (assumed) office as the new governor of CBN….” I cannot understand this elementary goof! If Lamido Sanusi had returned it would have been ‘resumption’—not the instant case.

    “The flurry of activities (activity) that day prompted the acting governor….”

    “Associated to (with) this is the….”

    “It will specifically serve to identify those transacting business with Automated Teller Machines (ATM) (ATMs) and Point of Sales (Sale) (PoS) machines.”

    From DAILY Sun EDITORIAL of June 2 comes the next gaffe: “…that has potentials (potential or potentialities) to rev up the economy and create jobs.”

    “In the next 10 days or thereabout….” (DAILY Sun Back Page, June 2) Voice of The Nation: thereabouts

    “Reps passes 2014 budget (sic)” Get it right: House of Reps passes or Reps pass 2014 Budget”

    “Saraki picks hole (holes) in passed 2014 budget (sic)”

    “…etched his name on marble on (in) many thorny cases, both constitutional and in various other areas of the profession.”

    “World Bank cat and mouse game with Nigeria” Get it right adjectivally:  cat-and-mouse game

    “…flattering the country’s potentials” Again, ‘potential’ is non-count, unlike ‘potentiality’.

    From DAILY Sun of April 11 we move back to its March 31 edition: “NOSDRA boss commends JTF over (for/on) arrest of oil thieves”

    “Not surprisingly (Unsurprisingly), when it comes to Nigeria’s recent and not so recent (not-so-recent) history….” (OPINION Page)

    “The Ministry of Youth and Development created by the federal government only concentrates on the high profile overaged Nigerian youths….” Not a challenge: overage Nigerian youths.

    “Like a bad dream, the sore issue of fuel scarcity has refused to go away, posing serious (a serious) challenge to commuters and motorists.”

    Next is DAILY Sun of April 2: “Oshiomhole commissions (auspicates, inaugurates…) Dawson-Uselu road in Benin”

    “20-year-old man remanded in prison for raping a minor” A rewrite: 20-year-old man remanded for raping minor

    “…it is scandalous to learn that the Federal Government plans to import electricity into Nigeria from the Democratic Republic of Congo, a much smaller and less endowed African country.” (EDITORIAL) Please delete ‘into Nigeria’ to avoid lexical shame!

    “…lead to a blind ally (alley).” (Source: as above)

    “A progressive who believed in the good of majority (the majority) over the opulence of minority (the minority).” (OPINION Page) Additionally, this is a hanging sentence!

    “…has not hidden her grouse on (about) the role played by America and the West in the disintegration of the former Russian federation.” (Source: as above)

    “…it is admittedly near impossible for anyone of voting age not to hold an opinion one way or the other (one way or another).” (OPINION Page)

    “Owing to lack of support funding, the centre could not survive after few (a few) years.” (Another OPINION Page extract)

    “Death for jobs latest” Abuja Metro: Death-for-jobs latest

    “Ekiti agog as Fayemi flags (kicks) off re-election campaign”

    The March edition of POLITICAL ECONOMIST spread a few slip-ups: “The sight of a man, probably in his early fifties, raging at a staff (an employee/a worker) of a bank right inside thee banking hall….”

    “…all may not be well with the use of ATM afterall (after all).”

    “Customs raises alarm (the alarm) over fake auction papers syndicate”

    “Gates said he will (would) closely advise new Microsoft Chief Executive….”

    “…the nook and crannies of the country….” Fixed/stock (informal) expression: every nook and cranny (no pluralism or modification)!

    Lastly from the monthly publication: “…who only see their appointments as a money making (money-making) venture.”

    Let us welcome SATURDAY Sun of March 29 to this edition: “…there is the additional tradition of ferrying loots abroad.” (OPINION Page) ‘Loot’ is uncountable.

    “…said it uncovered late (the late) Gen. Sani Abacha’s loot of….” (Still on OPINION Page)

    “I was also given a ring and an handkerchief among other things I cannot mention here.” Life & Living: a handkerchief, a hotel, a European….

    “I love seeing smile on people’s face.” Style Cover: people’s faces

    “Kiddies world” (Logo) Get it right: Kiddies’ World

    Wrong: Last but not the least; right: last but not least

  • Boko Haram can destabilise Africa if unchecked, Sierra Leone’s President warns

    Boko Haram can destabilise Africa if unchecked, Sierra Leone’s President warns

    President  Ernest Bi-Koromah  of Sierra Leone  said yesterday that  the  terror sect,Boko Haram,  poses a massive threat not only to Nigeria, but Africa as a whole is left unchecked.

    He,  therefore, pledged his country’s support for Nigeria in crushing  the sect.

    Mr Bi-Koromah,  on a solidarity visit to President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja, said Nigeria deserves Sierra Leone’s backing having played a great role to restore peace and order  there when it faced its own internal crises.

    He said:”In moments like this, we believe we should come and express sympathy for the bombings that have been taking place in Nigeria and most recently the abduction of about 200 secondary school girls.

    “We believe that this is not an issue for Nigeria alone. We must come in and identify ourselves with the problems that are ongoing here.

    “We believe strongly that the position Nigeria is enjoying as the largest economy in Africa and the fact that one out of every four Africans is a Nigerian, issues like this happening to Nigeria are issues that will affect the whole of Africa.”

    He said African  countries must rally round Nigeria to  “address  this menace that is occurring in Nigeria.”