The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Germany

  • Ogude hopes to quit Norway

    Ogude hopes to quit Norway

    Super Eagles ace, Fegor Ogude, has said he hopes to quit Norway in the summer with Italy or Germany his preferred destination.

    The versatile player was prominent in Nigeria’s midfield in the team’s first three games at the recent Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.

    He told MTNFootball.com:”I am really hopeful that this would be my last season in Norway.

    “I believe my performance at the Nations Cup would have earned me a move away from Norway. My agent said he is getting some offers, but I would not disclose the clubs for some reasons.”

    The former Warri Wovles star noted that he would love to take his battling midfield style to either Italy or Germany.

    The 25-year-old player, who could play anywhere in defence as well as in defensive midfield and attack, joined Norwegian club Valerenga in 2010.

    He has made over 40 appearances and scored nine goals for the top Norwegian club.

     

  • I was dead for a week, had nine operations – Patience Jonathan

    I was dead for a week, had nine operations – Patience Jonathan

    Recounting her experience on the hospital bed last year, the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan has revealed that she was dead for a week  and is lucky to be alive.

     She was hospitalized for several weeks in Germany last year and also went for medical check-up early this year.
    Speaking at a special Church thanksgiving service on Sunday in Abuja, she said that she underwent eight to nine surgery operations within a month during her illness last year.
    Likening her experience to that of the Biblical Lazarus, she expressed gratitude to God for sending her back as she rededicated herself to doing things that will touch the lives of the less privilege in the society.
    She said: “I remember when Chief Obasanjo was the President of the country, I was close to his late wife, Stella. We worshipped together in this chapel. It was a painful moment for me that time when she died and her corpse was brought here.”
    “That was how my corpse would have been brought here. It was not an easy experience for me. I actually died, I passed out for more than a week. My intestine and tummy were opened.
    “I am not Lazarus but my experience was similar to his. My doctors said all hope was lost. A black doctor in London who is with us in this service was flown in when the situation became critical. It was God himself in His infinite mercy that said I will return to Nigeria. God woke me up after seven days.
    “I know that some people somehow leaked the information that I was dead.  They are people that I trust and rely on; to them, I was dead and I would never return to the country alive. Some of them even sold my things off.
    “I won’t say everything here. It is the Lord’s doing that I returned alive. When God says yes, nobody can say no.
    “People are always afraid of operation (surgery) but in my own case, while my travail lasted, I was begging for it (surgery) after the third operation because I was going to the theatre everyday.
    It was God who saw me through. I did eight or nine operations within one month. It was not an easy one. The day I came back, I said God I have nothing to say, I offer myself to you. I will be doing things that will touch the lives of the less privilege.
    “God gave me second chance because I reached there. He knew I have not completed the assignments He gave me, that was why I was sent back,” the first lady recounted.
  • Taraba acting governor visits Suntai in Germany Friday

    Taraba acting governor visits Suntai in Germany Friday

    Acting Governor of Taraba State, Alhaji Garba Umar will on Friday visit his ailing boss, Danbaba Danfulani Suntai in Hannover, Germany, 90 days after the governor was flown out for treatment.

    Suntai was flown to Germany after a plane he flew crashed near Yola Airport in October last year.

    Umar left the state capital -Jalingo for Abuja on Wednesday for a meeting with state governors.

    He held another conference on Thursday (also in Abuja) with Taraba stakeholders, preparatory to his departure to Germany on Friday, his Chief Press Secretary Mr. Kefas Sule, told The Nation.

    This is the first time the acting governor will visit Suntai in the hospital -to see [for himself] the governor’s true state of health.

    Umar only saw his boss –with fractures, on the night of October 25, 2012 at the Medical Diagnostic Section of the Specialist Hospital, Yola, where Suntai was first rushed to for initial treatment.

    The acting governor noted during the weekly State Executive Council (SEC) meeting that his visit to the ailing governor was delayed due to “difficulties with visa.”

    Suntai was on board the ill-fated Cessna 208 aircraft with his Aide de Camp (ADC) Dasat Iliya, the Chief Security Officer (CSO), Timo Dangana and his Chief Detail, Joel Dan.

    They all survived the mishap, but sustained varying degrees of injuries. Two of the governor’s aides –the CSO and the Chief Detail have since recovered and returned to the country.

    But the governor and his ADC are still being treated in Germany.

    Because of the governor’s absence, Umar who was only sworn in on October 5 last year, to replace impeached Sani Abubakar Danladi, (few days before the air crash), was empowered by the state Assembly to hold forte for the ailing governor.

     

  • Jang visits Suntai in Germany

    Jang visits Suntai in Germany

    Plateau State Governor, Jonah David Jang (L) on Tuesday, January 15 paid a solidarity visit to recuperating  Taraba State Governor, Pharm. Danbaba Suntai in  Hannover, Germany.

    Suntai was flown for treatment in Germany following an helicopter crash in which he sustained serious injuries.

    Picture shows  Jang (L) and  Suntai during the visit.

  • Iraq president goes to Germany for treatment

    Iraq president goes to Germany for treatment

    Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has arrived in Germany for further treatment after a reported stroke, Berlin says.

    German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle wished the 79-year-old Mr. Talabani “a quick and full recovery”, without providing any further details.

    German doctors earlier said Mr. Talabani’s condition had improved sufficiently to permit travel.

    BBC says he has struggled with his health and has often been treated abroad.

    Mr. Talabani was reportedly rushed to the Baghdad Medical City on Monday evening.

    Iraqi officials conceded in private that his condition was serious and state television reported that he had suffered a stroke.

    A veteran of the Kurdish guerrilla movement, Mr. Talabani is Iraq’s first president from the ethnic group.

    His illness comes at a time of heightened political tensions between Iraq’s Arab-led central government and the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in the north.

    In recent weeks, he has been mediating in the dispute triggered by the government’s attempt to take greater control of security in oil-rich territory around the city of Kirkuk, which is claimed by both Arabs and Kurds.

    Kurdish forces have been deployed in the region since 2003.

     

  • Monalisa Chinda wins big in Germany

    Monalisa Chinda wins big in Germany

    IN recognition of her distinct roles and diverse works of advocacy, Nollywood star actress Monalisa Chinda has added another set of awards to her trophy cabinet. The fair-skinned actress was honoured in far away Germany as she was announced winner of the Adler Awards (www.ayf.de) and NEGA (Nollywood E-Golden) Awards respectively.

    The award is presented to carefully selected Africans who have shown the greatest promise of contributing to human well-being, through the application of their intellect and knowledge towards the development of their communities.

    The prestigious Adler Awards was held in Bonn, Germany on December 1st, while the NEGA Awards which celebrates creative talents took place on the 8th of December.

    Meanwhile, Monalisa has also been busy putting together an eccentric Christmas Dance Production which will be unveiled soon.

  • ACN criticises First Family’s video clip in Germany

    ACN criticises First Family’s video clip in Germany

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday described the President’s decision to show the video clip of President Goodluck Jonathan‘s visit to his wife‘s hospital bed in Germany on the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) as a belated attempt at damage control.

    The party said the video has not addressed the demand for full disclosure on the First Lady’s seven-week disappearance.

    In a statement in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, the party said the comments attributed to presidential spokesman Reuben Abati concerning the video also showed that the Presidency either does not understand the issues at stake, or is deliberately playing the ostrich.

    It said: “There is nothing to be ashamed of if someone’s been sick. Afterall, we are all human and anyone can fall ill at any time.

    “In particular, people occupying the public space, including the First Lady, who take ill deserve nothing but our prayers and sympathy.

    ‘’However, where information about such persons are withheld or deliberately distorted, people tend to shift their focus to unravelling the truth about the situation, which is the case with our First Lady.”

    ACN said Jonathan is aware that poor management of information on the illness of his predecessor, President Umaru Yar’Adua, contributed to the erosion of public sympathy for the late President and instead swung in his favour.

    ‘’Had the information managers at the Presidency lived up to their billing, there would have been a full disclosure immediately the First Lady took ill, and instead of the unnecessary controversy over her whereabouts, the people would have prayed for her and her family.

    ‘’Now making it look like the First Lady went to Germany on holiday ‘to rest’ or she is on a pilgrimage of sorts when indeed she is recuperating is another testimony to the increasingly legendary incompetence and cluelessness that permeate this Presidency, and we expect all those involved in this amateurish attempt at cover-up to be ashamed of themselves,’’ the party said.

  • Jonathan visits First Lady in Germany

    Jonathan visits First Lady in Germany

    President Goodluck Jonathan has visited his ailing wife, Dame Pateince , who has been in a German hospital for about a month.

    The President, who flew out of the country on Sunday for New York to attend the first-ever High-Level Plenary Session of the United Nations on the Rule of Law, had a stopover in Germany.

    The First Lady was scheduled to accompany the President to the UN General Assembly, but she fell ill.

    Her state of health could not be ascertained yesterday and it is still not known when she will return to Abuja.

    Dame Patience was reported to have been flown out of the country on September 1, following an unstated health challenge. Various ailments have been attributed for her sudden disappearance from the Presidential Villa.

    Till date, there has not been any statement from the Presidency on Dame Patience’s health.

    Sources in New York and at The Presidency in Abuja told our correspondent yesterday that the President made a stopover in Frankfurt from where he travelled to Wisbaden to see his ailing wife.

    A source said: “Yes; I can confirm to you that there was a stopover in Germany. That should be expected, especially when the First Lady has been out of the country for quite some time. The most important thing is that the President arrived New York on schedule and he is already settling down for what he came to do here.”

    Dame Patience’s Special Assistant on Media, Ayo Osinlu who had confirmed the trip to the media when she travelled, however, insisted that Mrs. Jonathan was resting and not seeking medical attention.

    He added that the First Lady was expected back in the country this week but did not give a specific date.