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  • Drogba, Aguero tear football fans apart

    Adeyinka Akintunde

     

    Football fans are engaged in a debate on who is a better striker between Argentine striker, Sergio Aguero and former Ivory Coast captain, Didier Drogba.

    Drogba is widely remembered for his heroic goal that gave Chelsea the 2012 UEFA Champions League title.

    He scored the equalising goal against FC Bayern Munich and converter he winning penalty for the London Club, in Munich.

    Aguero, on his part, is remembered for the last-minute goal he scored for Manchester City against the Queens’ Park Rangers that gave his side the first English Premier League title in 44 years, also in 2012.

    The two-time African footballer of the year scored 201 goals for the different club sides he played for between 1998 and 2018.

    He recorded the highest with Chelsea, scoring a whopping 100 goals in 226 appearance between 2004 and 2012.

    Read Also: Chelsea fans nostalgic dream Drogba return at 41

    Sergio Aguero, who is celebrating his eight anniversary at Manchester City on Sunday,  has 261 goals from 2003 till date, playing for three clubs, Independente, Atletico Madrid and Manchester City.

    Fans, reacting on twitter,  gave their views on who is better.

    For Kushveer Singh, with handle @Kushveer141 “Aguero now has been the best striker in the PL for years, many rival fans are going to say Kane is better but I don’t recall Kane having to face competition from the likes of Tevez, Balotelli, Dzeko, Negredo, Jovetic and Jesus week in and out.

    However, P. Master @peter_nuhu said “Comparing Drogba with Aguero is like Comparing Nigeria with Kenya” which to me is an insult to Drogba and all Football lovers

    Paindu Reports @PainduReports tweeted “On 28 July 2011, Sergio Aguero arrived at Manchester City and Premier League was never the same again.

    However, Me @_KeneC revealed in his tweet “I will take Drogba over Aguero anyday anytime. Call it sentiment, I do not care. Call me when you see Aguero holding this (the UEFA Champions League trophy)

    An authoritative tweet from Trendy Teacher [Kakamega Finest] @Mitira_Official read “He is Manchester City all-time highest goal-scorer, he scored his 178th City goal against Napoli. Agüero is currently the 6th highest goalscorer in Premier League history, and the highest non-European scorer in the history of the Premier League, with 164 goals. He is above Drogba”, but Oke Umurhohwo @OkeStalfy argued that “Balotelli and Costa will do the job but both will end up with a red card. Zlatan look the good choice but he won’t defend for the team. Drogba is the man for the big occasions. He tracks back, can bully, mark, defend and score key goals at the same time.

  • Kano seals up illegal pharmaceutical company, patent medicine stores

    The pharmaceutical inspection committee, under the state ministry of health, has sealed up three pharmaceutical companies and patent medicine shop for illegally operating.

    Chairman of the committee who is also the Director, Pharmaceutical Services of the ministry, Abdu Umar Madaki, led the members of the committee for the closure of the premises of the stores.

    Madaki said that they clamped down on the company for illegal operation and the exercise would be a continuous one to rid the state of illegal operators.

    Read Also: Kano cancels July environmental sanitation

    He added that any pharmaceutical company and medical store that would operate in the state must be registered with the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria, Kano State branch.

    The committee closed and sealed up Fedex Logistic Company dealing with pharmaceuticals, Agary Pharmaceutical Company and Hauwa’U Patent Medicine Store operating in Sheikh Jeddah General Hospital.

    He vowed that all the illegal companies will not be opened unless they comply with the laid down rules and regulations of the committee and are duly registered with the state ministry of health.

  • HIV and AIDS: ‘How we’re tackling stigmatisation in Nasarawa’

    Nasarawa State Coordinator of People Living with HIV and AIDS (NEPWHAN), Mr. Philip Lokoko, has stated that self acceptance and right living are ways of overcoming stigmatisation.

    Lokoko stressed that no one should allow himself to be bugged down, as testing HIV positive isn’t the end of the world neither is it a death sentence.

    Besides, he said they have embraced support groups where they mix and catch fun like every other person.

    “I really want to appreciate God because having known my status, at the initial stage it wasn’t easy. But for now with the knowledge I have received from interactions with partners and other groups involved in HIV and AIDS, I think life has become far better and I have been able to overcome stigmatisation.

    “Because, the key issue in HIV and AIDS is self acceptance of status without putting blame on others. By the time you overcome self-stigma, then I think you can live a normal life and enjoy yourself.

    Lokoko claimed that when he knew his status 15 years ago, it was like a death sentence. He said further: “Today, I am a role model to people living with the virus in the state and community.”

    Attending support group meetings has also been the game changer in the state as most of the people living with the virus in the state belong to one support group or the other, he said.

    The state coordinator explained that “joining support group helped me to overcome stigmatisation as we were equipped with knowledge that living with the virus is not a death sentence. We were told that stigma even kills faster than the virus.

    “I no longer panic when people talk about the virus now. Where there is proper pre-test counselling and orientation it is easier to overcome stigma.”

    On the impact of support groups, he said: “We started in the state with only eleven support groups, but today we have 42 support groups with 2775 members after going around the state to create awareness that people should move out of self-stigmatisation.”

    Read Also: 200 corps members seek relocation from Nasarawa

    A 42-year-old mother of four, Ruth Yakubu, noted that stigmatisation does not apply to her as she refused to be stigmatised.

    She said, “For me as a person, stigma is no longer an issue because I refuse to be stigmatised by people. You know at times people are stigmatised when they allow themselves to be stigmatised. But for me I have overcome stigmatisation long time ago.

    Only last week, the Civil Society for HIV and AIDS in Nigeria (CiSHAN) protested against a purported social media publication by a practicing nurse, Ejimbe Lilian, targeted at perpetuating stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV and AIDS in Nigeria.

    “Most worrisome is the fact that the nurse is a licensed and trained health care professional who is under oath of confidentiality to protect both the identity of her patients and the sanctity of her profession. This singular act will not only encourage other people to stigmatise and discriminate against people living with HIV and AIDS in Nigeria but it will also increase the already high stigma index in the country,” CiSHAN stated.

  • Insecurity: Monarch calls for caution, advises against self-help

    The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba AbdulRasheed Akanbi has cautioned the Yoruba against calls for war in face of the current insecurity in the Southwest, saying the lesson he had learnt during the protracted Liberian War is still fresh in his memory.

    In a statement, reacting to the widely publicized letter which the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi sent to President Muhammadu Buhari, Oba Akanbi said he found himself in the thick of the war and fought on the side of Charles Taylor’s troop.

    While the Oluwo acknowledged the concern which Oba Adeyemi expressed in his letter to President Buhari, he however said self-help or self-defence is not the solution to the insecurity, stressing that no zone of the nation is exempted from the ongoing menace.

    Oba Akanbi stated that war is easy to invite but difficult to chase away. During war, he maintained, there is no law, except law of self-preservation which reduces social status to nothing as everybody would be struggling to remain alive.

    “Parents would run for safety abandoning their children and property. Women and female children would be subjected to rape before their husbands and fathers with the fathers watching helplessly.

    Read Also: Cleric advises Buhari on federal character policy

    I know what I passed through during Liberian War fighting on the side of Charles taylor. That is more reason I would not subscribe to any call which encourages taking up arm to settle the insecurity problem which the entire country is currently facing.

    “I am not undermining the intention of the Alaafin but as a war veteran, I am in the best position to offer appropriate advice.

    If I keep quiet over it and something untoward happens tomorrow, I would be irresponsible traditional ruler.

    I am repeating it that the cost of war is usually heavier than the cost of settlement,” he said.

    The Oluwo insisted that Yoruba and Fulani had enjoyed a good relationship for over 100 years, charging President Buhari to be more pro-active in his nation-building efforts.

    He affirmed that Nigeria is a blessed country which should not be allowed to go the way of the former Soviet Union.

  • Peterside hails Amaechi’s renomination

    The renomination and screening of the immediate past Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, by President Muhammadu Buhari, have been described as recognition of the former governor of Rivers State’s hard work, commitment and doggedness to the success of Buhari’s administration.

    The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, stated this on Friday at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, Rivers State, in an interactive session with reporters.

    He hailed the Senate for the successful screening of Amaechi, a two-term Speaker of Rivers House of Assembly.

    He said: “Rt. Hon. Amaechi proved his mettle as an administrator of men, materials and resources during his tenure as transportation minister.

    Read Also: There are plots to smear me, Amaechi cries out

    His renomination by the President is a vote of confidence in him and also a mark of honour. He performed impressively in the railway, maritime and port sectors of the economy.

    “Under Amaechi’s watch, Nigeria witnessed tremendous leaps in the reforms carried out in NIMASA, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), other maritime agencies and railway sectors, which have produced outstanding results to the benefit of Nigerians.

    He is a reform-minded and visionary leader who approaches his work with the highest degree of passion and commitment.

    “Rt. Hon. Amaechi will always bring his wealth of experience to bear and create indelible marks in every national assignment, as he has done in all the offices he has held.”

    The 2015 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State also stated that the Senate in screening the former Rivers governor, without much ado, deepened the National Assembly’s nod for performing public servants.

  • JUST IN: Police kill alleged notorious armed robber In Kano

    Operatives of Puff Adder in an Operation, has killed an alleged notorious armed robber in Rano local government area of Kano state.

    A statement by Kano Command Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abdullahi Haruna, said a team of Operation Puff-Adder attached to Police Area Command Rano were on Friday afternoon alerted that a gang of four armed men attacked a residence in the town.

    It stated the team immediately rushed to the scene where they engaged the armed robbers in a gun battle.

    Luck, according to the statement, ran against the hoodlums when the Puff-Adder Operatives with superior gunfire gunned down one of them, while the remaining 3 escaped into the nearby thick forest.

    Read Also: 23-year-old drowns in Kano

    ‘’On hot chase, as they were retreating they abandoned a locally made Pistol with three rounds of live Cartridges. It said the gang has been terrorizing Rano, Kibiya, Bunkure, Tudun Wada  along Falgore Forest Axis a while ago before luck ran out against them and fell to the superior firepower and professionalism of Operation Puff Adder.’’

    The statement said the Commissioner of Police directed the remaining fleeing suspects will be timely tracked, identified, arrested and any exhibit(s) or arms in their possession be recovered.

     

  • Accident victim needs N3m for hip surgery

    AN accident victim, Michael Irabor, is seeking financial assistance from Nigerians to raise the sum of three million naira for a replacement surgery on his hip.

    Irabor, a Mass Communication graduate of  the Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu, was knocked down by a motorcyclist at Bwari area of Abuja in 2011.

    Although he was initially treated at a hospital in the FCT, he experienced excruciating pains upon his return to Lagos.

    He said: “My story began on April 14, 2011 in Abuja, shortly after I rounded off my Ordinary National Diploma in Mass Communication. I had a motorcycle accident at Bwari area of the capital territory.

    “After a casual treatment in Abuja, I proceeded to Lagos to begin my industrial training. It was while in Lagos that I started experiencing excruciating pains. The following year, I noticed that a bone was pulling out of my hips.

    Read Also: LASEMA rescues two accident victims

    “So I went to a doctor friend who first told me that I was suffering from acute rheumatism. Consequently, I was advised to exercise regularly, that with time, the pain  would disappear.

    “But by 2014, the pain had become severe and unbearable and the same doctor repeated what he had told me before.

    “However, it turned out to be a wrong diagnosis. I managed the condition until 2016.

    “But with the detachment of the  bone from the normal position to my buttocks, I returned to the hospital where it was revealed that I had  Vascular Disorder.”

    The condition makes walking difficult for him.

    A medical report from Cedacrest Hospital, Lagos, says he requires  N3million  for a total hip replacement surgery.

    Donations can be forwarded to a Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) Account Number 0176663635, with the name Micheal Irabor.

  • Activist seeks justice over forcible ejection from home

    A Lagos Island based human rights activist, Prince Apata Akinsemoyin, has cried out for justice over his alleged forcible ejection from his residence.

    He said he was thrown out his rented two bedroom apartment at 149 Adeniji Adele Road, Lagos Island, while an appeal suit concerning his tenancy was pending before an Ikeja High Court.

    The suit, ID/2691/MJR/2019 was an appeal instituted by him against the judgment given by a magistrate’s court to a man to whom the building was currently leased to.

    He said his belongings were thrown out by policemen led by sheriffs from Igbosere High Court on July 17, 2019, despite the pendency of the suit.

    “We had a disagreement over arbitrary increment in rent and the developer who was not known to us took us to Ikeja Magistrate’s Court at Ogba,” Akinsemoyin said.

    “The presiding magistrate did not allow me to state my own side of the story and instead passed judgement against me.

    “Dissatisfied, I wrote petitions against him to the Lagos State Judicial Service Commission which advised me to appeal the judgement and I did.

    Read Also: Activist decries rising wave of cultism in Delta communities

    “It was strange that I was thrown out forcibly from my apartment while my appeal is still pending before an Ikeja High Court.’’

    Akinsemoyin said the court sheriffs ignored his protest that the matter had been appealed.

    “They chose to ignore the court document and instead carried out the unlawful ejection. As I speak, I am squatting in the house of my relatives with my family. It is the height of injustice for judicial officers and the police to connive against a party to a suit pending before the court.’’

    He appealed to the concerned authorities to intervene  “in the interest of justice and rule of law, as I am adequately protected from being subjected to ant form of harassment and intimidation having filed an appeal against the judgment of the lower court.

    “What the masterminds of my ejection did was self-help and it’s against the sanctity of the judiciary as they should have waited for the outcome of the appeal before carrying out their misguided action,” he added.

  • Man cries out over alleged threat to life

    A survey technician based in Ogun State, Mr. Enitan Julius, is alleging threat to his life by unidentified persons.

    Enitan wants the security agencies to save him from his traducers  who,according to him,want to force him to    occupy the  vacant royal stool in his home town in Yewa North Local Government Area of the State.

    Enitan told reporters in Abeokuta,the state capital,  that he had been living in fear for over 16  years now, after some people believed to be his kinsmen launched attacks on him.

    He said his travails began in 2003 after the traditional ruler of his home town joined his ancestors, and subsequent search for a successor by the town’s king makers.

    “I am a Christian from one of the four ruling houses in my town. I was selected by my ruling house for the vacant royal stool of my town after the then traditional ruler of the community passed on, an offer I rejected because I could not submit myself to the traditional rites, among which was the drinking of concoction made from human blood, attached to the throne”. Enitan said.

    He explained that his refusal to accept the offer was among others hinged on the calamities which always befall the families of monarchs  of the town, citing the mysterious death of his younger brother, Adam, who occupied the stool after he rejected his selection to the stool.

    “My younger brother died after taking some prepared concoction while undergoing the traditional rites and people attributed his death to his acceptance to ascend the throne. The  development further aggravated my fear and made me less interested in the stool,” he said.

    Read Also: Man returns to jail for stealing 40 crates of drinks

    Enitan said he had been attacked at his residence and office more than three times since his refusal to ascend the throne.

    He claimed that his wife, Abosede and youngest child Oluwatunmise were almost abducted during one of the attacks on his residence by hooded assailants.

    “I was attacked and wounded in the process and had to report the case at the Adatan Police Station, for investigation,” he said.

    “Since it is now obvious that I will be picked again for the stool with the deteriorating health of another brother of mine who is the current occupier of the stool my mind has not been at rest because I know that I will be in , for another trouble.”

    He said he could no longer sleep with his two eyes closed and has subsequently   moved his family out of the country.

    He added that he was trailed early last month along the Ilaro-Ibese road by some strange men who were on a motorcycle, noting that “it was providence that saved me as the men hurriedly turned back on sighting a police check point along the route.”

  • Kano cancels July environmental sanitation

    THE Kano State Government has cancelled the July environmental sanitation day to ease movement of  candidates for the National Common Entrance Examination to their centres.

    The state task force on environment sanitation announced this in a statement signed by Malam Bashir Habib, the Ministry of Environment’s Public Relations Officer.

    He explained that the action was to enable parents move their children for the state common entrance examinations scheduled for Saturday.

    Read Also: 23-year-old drowns in Kano

    According to him, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry and the Acting Chairman of the task force, made the announcement at the end of a meeting with  its members.

    The committee, however, appealed to residents to limit movements and utilise the day to clean their houses and surroundings.