The Nation Newspaper

Tag: weather

  • Report finds 524,000 killed by extreme weather in last 20 years

    Report finds 524,000 killed by extreme weather in last 20 years

    Haiti, Zimbabwe and Fiji were named as the three countries which suffered most at the hands of extreme weather during 2016 in a climate report published on Thursday.

    Worldwide, some 524,000 people reportedly lost their lives between 1997 and 2016 due to around 11,000 extreme incidents.

    Furthermore, the total global financial loss was estimated at 3.16 trillion U.S. dollars.

    The study, compiled by German global justice organisation Germanwatch based on data from Munich Re NatCatSERVICE, found that the impoverished Caribbean island state Haiti was one of the most affected nations on average between 1997 and 2016 along with Honduras and Myanmar.

    The “Global Climate Risk Index 2018’’ investigated directly measurable impacts such as the number of deaths and economic damage incurred by extreme events such as storms and their direct implications (for example, flooding, landslides).

    Germanwatch underlined the role of anthropogenic climate change in extreme weather, writing that rising surface sea temperatures are thought to intensify storms.

    In particular, the authors emphasised the hardships faced by so-called Small Island Developing States (SIDS), stating that 5 out of the 20 most affected nations in the past two decades belong to this category.

    Both Haiti and Fiji are SIDS.

    Germany is currently co-hosting a world climate conference with the tiny pacific island state of Fiji over a two-week period.

    Both German Chancellor Angel Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron are due in Bonn next week to address the gathering, which is being attended by more than 23,000 delegates.

    Read Also: Charity begins in UK

  • Stock market in stormy weather

    Stock market in stormy weather

    The declining fortunes of the nation’s stock market in recent times has fueled animosities among stakeholders many of who believe the market has been hijacked by a cabal. Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf and Jide Babalola in this report examine the issues

    The Gambler, which stands out as one of the famous lyrics of the country music legend, Kenny Rogers where an expert gambler gave useful suggestions on how to wheel and deal is probably one advice the players in the stock market should have heeded long enough to avoid falling on evil days.

    Since the advent of global economic recession, investors have been suspicious of the stock market for good reasons.

    Fears over declining fortunes of stock market

    The plummeting profile of the nation’s stock market has been a source of great concern to a cross section of Nigerians.

    The hitherto buoyant capital market which was seen as the barometer of the economy began a decline in 2008, a decline which was seen by many investors as caused by different factors.

    Experts say the market has lost about 40% since the beginning of the year.

    Hence, it was a welcome development that the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Markets and Institutions, headed by Hon. Tajudeen Yusuf had a two-day public hearing on two motions: “downward trend of the Nigerian Stock Exchange and urgent need to address the vexed issue of unclaimed dividends.”

    The efforts of the committee crystallised the inherent problems plaguing the stock market and the reason for the loss of investors’ confidence in the sector.

    The submissions of various stakeholders were revealing. Amongst those who raised their voices above the din were: The Renaissance Shareholders’ Association, Institute of Capital Market Registrars, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Central Bank of Nigeria.

    The essential questions were: What exactly where the problems plaguing the capital market? How can the challenges be surmounted and investors confidence in the sector restored?

    Besides, another aspect of the hearing was the vexed issue of unclaimed dividends and how the trend can be rectified.

    Many stakeholders stated their perceived reasons for the downturn of the capital market, such as the slide in oil prices which is responsible for over 80 percent of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings, the decline in manufacturing and industrial productions, the systematic withdrawal of foreign direct investment and the global economic recession.

    Other reasons given were that regulators were taking over the stocks to the disadvantage of investors, insider abuse in which operators of stock market are members of, or directors of quoted companies.

    One the gloomiest pictures was painted by the President of the Renaissance Shareholders Association, Olufemi Timothy, who said the manipulations of shares and other illegality being perpetuated in the Nigerian Stock Exchange have impinged on the integrity of the sector.

    Timothy who fell short of accusing the NSE of dereliction of duty said there was the likelihood that the Exchange either through errors of omission or commission was manipulating the outcome of the stock prices, a development, he said was eroding confidence in the sector.

    “He alleged that high NSE transaction fees cost foreign investors about USD 4 million on every USD 100 million of investment. These costs also deter those investors, who had exited the market from reinvesting,” he was quoted to have said.

    “We don’t understand why stock market prices go one way and company performances are going another way. There is no more confidence.”

    He said the fundamentals of the financial capability of a company “are no longer the reason for growth.”

    “We investors (retail, Institutions) have discovered that the Nigerian Stock Market have turned into something else, hence the continued downward trend of the market without being able to recover for eight years, since 2008.”

    Echoing similar sentiments, Hon. Yakubu Dogara noted the gradual fall in the Nigerian stock market, “which has led to the sudden pull out of foreign investments, continuous slide of stocks and equities.”

    Dogara, who, was represented by Deputy Minority Whip, Onyema Chukwuma said the House instituted the hearing “to engage other stakeholders and players in the nation’s economy to unravel reasons behind the continued slide of the capital market,” with a view to finding solutions to it.

    In the view of Mounir Gwarzo, Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission, a number factors from the complex to the superficial may have been responsible for the parlous state of the stock market.

    Gwarzo who spoke at a forum in Lagos gave plausible explanations as to why transaction volumes fell at the stock market.

    The SEC boss who delivered a paper titled: Capital Market as the Engine of Growth of the Economy,’ said the nation’s stock market holds a lot of promises.

    “We all know why transaction volume fell over 40% within year 2016. We all know why we experienced those declines. The oil price shocks, declining foreign reserve, foreign exchange volatility, the delisting of FGN bond and the exit of foreign investors.”

    While admitting that most businesses in the country were battling the twin challenges of massive infrastructural deficit and difficulty in accessing capital, he however said it was heartening to note that the current administration has made deliberate attempts to address these challenges headlong.

    “Going by our growth projection we’re very optimistic that our master plan can help us deliver one of the biggest, most liquid and most diversified market in 2025,”he said.

    Upbeat, the SEC boss said: “Nigeria is too important for any discerning investor to push aside. We’re very optimistic about our growth projections going forward. It can only be positive.”

    Stock market drivers

    The apprehension over the fate of the stock market notwithstanding, analysts however hold the view and very strongly to that a combination of factors determines what happens in the sector.

    In the view of Vincent Nwanma, an economist with Bloomberg, emotions can drive market behavior in a few short-lived situations.

    In an interview with The Nation recently, Nwanma who has covered emerging markets economy like Nigeria, Ghana among others said: “The stock market runs like a chessboard in a manner of speaking. Different factors drive the market. It could be a policy announcement by the government, the company itself, a simple change in board appointment can be a positive or a negative depending on what side of the divide you’re.”

    Nwanma’s position is not any different from the ideals espoused by Richard Dobbs and Timothy Koller, both of McKinsey and Company.

    While analysing trends among companies at the stock market, the duo said, earnings per share and share prices aren’t the whole story—particularly in the medium and long term.

    The most common approach to measuring the stock market performance of a company is to calulate its total returns to shareholders (TRS), defined as share price appreciation plus dividend yield, over time, they said.

    NSE reforms to the rescue

    It is however instructive to note that the NSE has designed a number of measures to ensure investor confidence in the sector.

    One such measure is the whistle blowing programme tagged: X-Whistle.

    This is to provide a dynamic and robust capital market regulatory regime.

    X-Whistle is a programme that empowers a whistleblower (an employee, an investor, a compliance officer, an Issuer, a stockbroker or any member of the public) to report possible violations of the rules and regulations of The Exchange, the securities law and fraud related to activity within the market run by The Exchange. It is an important aspect of The NSE’s investor protection strategy designed to encourage those with information about misconduct to come forward to report it and to provide all stakeholders with the means of expressing their concerns in a responsible and effective manner.

    X-Whistle is a very powerful means of defending and upholding the integrity of the capital market. The Nigerian Stock Exchange encourages stakeholders to blow the whistle to rid the market of infractions and misconduct.

    Besides, the NSE had last year launched the Broker Oversight & Supervision System (“X-BOSS”).

    The system, which is the first of its kind in the West African capital market, seeks to redefine the compliance and regulation experience between the Exchange and its dealing members.

    Justifying the need for the system, Onyema explained that it would automate the regulatory and oversight function of the Exchange over its dealing members and ultimately enhance the regulatory experience.

    He noted that the system would enable the secure and electronic dissemination of dealing members’ information in a structured and sustainable manner, which would reduce the burden and inconvenience of a manual system.

    The General Counsel and Head of Regulation at The Exchange, Ms. Tinuade Awe summarised the system as a marriage between cutting edge, twenty-first century technology and robust, comprehensive regulation, both of which are essential elements of a thriving capital market.

    Mr. Olufemi Shobanjo, Head of the Broker Dealer Regulation Department remarked that The Exchange is “confident that X-BOSS has ushered in a new dawn on the regulatory program of the Nigerian capital market. With the implementation of X-BOSS, the Exchange continues to set the pace in ensuring that our capital market is aligned with global best practice as well as providing leadership in promoting and integrating sustainability by automating processes that hitherto were paper based.”

    Way forward

    The chairman of the committee, Tajudeen Yusuf expressed the optimism that the forum would significantly aid the country’s quest for a more vibrant capital market.

    “One of the planks of the 8th House of Representatives is to consciously seek, support and evolve meaningful, realistic and constructive initiative and measures through which Nigeria’s economy can experience growth and development,” he said.

    Truly as he envisaged, the forum brought good suggestions on the way forward. Some stakeholders asked for improved regulations in the Stock Market, by removing regulations from the hands of the operators. Operators’ licences by the Securities and Exchange Commission or its agents must not be allowed to become part of regulator and or a board member of any quoted company in Nigeria.

    It was also suggested that the National Assembly should strictly enforce strict market principle, and nature of determining stock market trends through companies financial fundamentals, forecast, or warning profits instead of speculations.

  • Cold water alone not ok in hot weather

    Nigeria’s weather will be hot this year, according to the weather man. Already, it is so hot that handkerchiefs, like iced water and other iced drinks, are selling like hot cakes. Even the laundries are smiling to the bank. The stench of perspiration would not permit that a dress worn today should be repeated “tomorrow to save laundry costs”. This is the season of heat stroke when infirm old people pass away and fragile plants wither.   I have lost to this hot weather 20 of the 25 pawpaw or papaya seedlings I planted around the house. I planted these many so that, by the time of their fruiting next year, I would be able to save money on food and live healthy to the bargain. Wouldn’t it be a great idea if I eat a whole pawpaw for breakfast and, for dinner, enjoy a glass or two of pawpaw smoothie which contains the powder of my favourable green herbs….Spirulina, Wheat Grass, Kale, Chlorella and aTinge of Liquid Chlorophyll? The greens would provide minerals and vitamins and the great cleanser, chlorophyll. My Vervain seedlings have survived the hot weather. And so has the kindergarten Lemon grass.

    I wish that Mrs.Ajoke Ogunwale, of the Meteorology Department, is still around on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Network News to announce forecast of the weather as she did most evenings for about two decades. I would have enjoyed a one-on-one fill-up on the 2016 weather scenario. Since I head of it, I have done something wise. I have bought a second pair of photochromic eye glasses. Many Nigerians do not protect their eyes against the blue Spectrum of Sunlight. Yet it is the blue spectrum which “cooks” the lens of the eye to form cataracts, and damages the light sensitive part of the eye, the retina, to cause blindness or impaired vision.

    Twenty-one years ago in 1995, I suddenly saw the “rainbow” in a candle – lit room. I rushed home from the office. The car windscreen was a smear of rainbows from the head lamps of oncoming vehicles. I knew immediately glaucoma had set in. Not only did I acquire my first photochromic eye glasses, I became wise enough to add eye-protecting food supplements to my diet. These included alkaline Vitamin C, Bibery, Lutein and Zeazanthin, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Zinc, Vitamin E (tocopherols and tocotrienols), Omega -3 fatty acids, Vitamin B complex and the likes of them. If you wonder why I often eulogies Kale and Chlorella, it is because, among their other nutrients for the body’s health, they have large amounts of Lutein and Zeazanthin. Lutein and Zeazanthin are two carotenoid antioxidant which Mother Nature factored into the lens of the eye and the retina to protect them against Oxidative damage.

    Many Nigerians do not protect their vision in regular weather and in hot weather, and this appears to be a major reason many eye clinics are flourishing nationwide. Almost everyone is guilty of this. I, too, got startled only after the cock crow.

     

    HEAT STROKE

    ot weather affects water balance in the body, and this may lead to heat stroke and death. The body is about 70 to 75 percent water. This water constitutes what is now known as the “three rivers of live.” About 66 percent of the body’s water content is in cells which number about one trillion in the adult. Imagine the motor vehicle battery and its cells. If water level falls too low in their cells, the battery becomes flat and may not start or run the engine. So is the body. If water runs low in the cells, the body batteries go flat. Potassium, a mineral salt, helps the cells to hold water. About 22 percent of the remainder of the body’s water content is held by sodium outside the cells. Sodium tries to enter the cells, pushing in nutrients and oxygen, while potassium pushes sodium back and, in the process, forces out waste products of the cells activities which would otherwise have poisoned it. The electrical circuit thus created by these forces or movements establish the sodium battery.” Thus, the sodium-potassium pump and the sodium battery are important for the cells health. The remainder of the water content of the body is held in blood vessels. In hot weather, the blood vessels dilate or expand to bring more blood to the surface of the skin for more heat to be lost to the environment. The heat is lost through perspiration. This means the water content of the body in blood vessels may fall. If this happens dangerously, air may replace the water lost and this may result in “air block” which may be fatal.The body may respond to prevent this by narrowing the blood vessels, so that no space is inadvertently left for air to occupy. This my increase tension (hypertension) in the flow of blood against the blood vessels. Alternatively, water may be withdrawn from the cells or from around the cells (interstitial fluid) to kit up shortage in blood vessels. Such water losses in the cells cause them to shrink and this is reflected in general outlook.  When exposure to heat overwhelms the body or is prolonged enough to cause heat stroke, the brain, kidneys and muscles may become damaged and death may occur.

     

    COLD DRINK RESCUE

    Many people who sweat excessively in hot weather instinctively drink cold water or some other cold stuff to regain their balance. But, often times, the drink is only a “coolant”. It doesn’t return to the body all that the heat has taken away from it. And so, it does not address a biochemical imbalance which hot weather impacts and which may lead to a state of disease.

    Many people who overcome their thirst with cold water or cold drink may not be well advised about the composition of the sweat they are trying to balance out.

    It is estimated that sweat contains water, mineral salts and trace elements; lactic acid water and sodium may account for about 0.9 grammes, potassium (0.2 grammes) litre. Calcium is protected at 0.015 grammes, litre. Magnesium (0.0013 grammes) litre. Water excreted by some adults through sweating may amount to about 2.4 litres per hour or 10.14 litres daily.

    In pre-puberty children, sweating may sap the body of about 10 to 15 grammes. These mineral salts lost through sweating, especially in hot weather, are not easily replaced through the cooling drinks many people take. I like to start my day with a breakfast of banana and Avocado smoothie into which is whipped pinches of Spirulina, wheatgrass, Kale and Chlorella. Banana and Avocado will produce lots of Potassium while Minerals and some vitamins will come from the greens which, to the bargain, will also provide protein and trace elements and Chlorophy.

    Anyone who doubts the power of fruit and vegetable juices, should listen to Dr. Bernard Jensen, one of Europes leading fruit and vegetable juice therapy doctors who, with them, healed all 13 leg ulcers of a female patients that had appeared incurable. Dr. Jenson says in the preface to his book, JUICING THERAPY, subtitled NATURES WAY TO BETTER HEALTH AND A LONGER LIFE (ISBN 0658002791, which I recommend for your health library…

    “I was introduced to the healing power of juices early in my career when a thirty-year-old woman came to my office with thirteen leg ulcers, several the size of silver dollars and open with running pus. Three years of treatments by several doctors had not helped her.

    She had been examined and treated at two of the top medical clinics in the United States. At one of them, she was treated for hypocalcaemia, a shortage of calcium, which her doctor believed to be part of her problem. He prescribed pharmaceutical calcium, which she could not assimilate. This young women was getting very discouraged until someone told her about my work as a clinical nutritionist.

    As I listened to her story, I couldn’t help but wonder how I was going to assist a person who so many other doctors had tried to help but failed. Then I thought of the elderly in Pakistan’s Hunza Valley who still had every tooth in their heads, strong bones, and healthy skin at ages over a hundred years. Where did they get their calcium? Why did they have such good calcium control? It most certainly was partly due to the fresh greens they ate.

    Fresh greens are high in the vitamin A precursor, carotene, which helps control calcium in the body. Greens also contain a significant amount of calcium. I thought if I could get her to drink juice from several different kinds of green vegetables, maybe it would speed up the healing of the leg ulcers. She would be getting an easily assimilated natural form of calcium in the juice, and she would also be getting enough vitamin A to control the distribution in the body.

    I believe in putting my patients to work so that they are involved in their own healing process. Day after day, I had the woman chop up green leafy vegetables-spinach, dandelion greens, Kale, and I don’t know how many others. We soaked them in water until the good green juice had “bled” into the water, then strained it through cheesecloth. She drank a glass of this green vegetable juice diluted in water every hour, all day.

    It was hard work, but it paid off. In three weeks, the thirteen leg ulcers were completely healed. The secret was in the juice! What prescription remedies from drugstores failed to cure, Mother Nature completed healed.

    I want to bring attention to the chlorophyll in the green leafy vegetable because I am certain that it played an important role in the healing process, too. Chlorophyll is the lifeblood of plants and one of the most wonderful blood cleaners I have ever used with patients. It cleans the blood by cleansing the bowel of those toxins most commonly assimilated into the bloodstream. “When you‘re green inside, you’re clean inside,” I always told my patients. Experience has demonstrated to me the value of keeping the bowel clean by means of chlorophyll-rich drinks. A clean bowel helps prevent disease.

    The success of this case and hundreds like it eventually established my reputation and increase my confidence in what I was bringing into my patients’ live and bodies. I enjoy seeing people improve their health, and juices are a wonderful source of nutrients that I believe we all need to take advantage of to reach for the highest level of health and well-being we can get.

    Juices (and other liquids) are the fastest method I know for getting nutrients- in easily digested and assimilated form-into the blood and lymph systems that feed the cells and maintain the body’s health. We find that fruit juices tend to supply more vitamins, while vegetable juices tend to supply more minerals, all and each contains nutrients. (Juice should be use soon after being made because some vitamins and minerals are oxidized soon after extraction from their source. Also, live enzymes don’t last long in juice.) Freshness and ripeness are factors that influence the nutritional value of the fruits and vegetables we run through our juicers, but soil is by far the most important influence. If the soil is depleted of important minerals, the fruit and vegetables grown from that soil will be depleted of those same minerals. The label “organic” on a fruit or vegetable doesn’t guarantee that it has been grown on mineral-rich soil, so we need to do a certain research and investigation to find out where fruits and vegetables we purchase are grown and what the quality of the soil is in that place.

    I want to make clear that I don’t believe we can make a life on juices –we need fibre foods for bowel tone and proper elimination, including whole grains, raw nuts, and seeds, and sources of protein such as eggs, cheese, and yogurt. A juice diet is not a balanced diet, but there may be times when a juice fast is appropriate for certain physical ailments and conditions, as discussed in chapter 2.

    n my own nutritional regimen, I use juices much of same as I use supplements-to get specific nutrients into the body fast so that they can get to the cells and restore proper function and balance. The vitamins, minerals, and enzymes present in juices are assimilated and launched into the blood-stream or lymph system much faster than if solid food had been eaten.

    I believe in juices. I believe we can easily include a juice snack in our diets twice a day for better health and well-being and for an extra measure of protection from disease. I want to emphasize the need for variety in the kinds of juices we use because variety is the only way we can be sure of getting all the different nutrients we need daily.

    If you want to feel better and live longer, juicing and juices are for you.

    This little book can bring you knew life after reading and if you become “doers of the word, and not hearers only”! It may save you from aging before your time and may greatly reduce the amount of money you invest in your family physician.

    We must learn the simple truth, that we don’t (and can’t) heal a disease. It is the patient we should be taking care of, not the disease, and we take a giant step forward in our own understanding and perspective when we recognise that juices are great health builders, but they are not “medications” prescribed to alleviate or suppress disease symptoms.

    Your health and life can be changed if you act on what is in this book.

    Nutrition is the foundational healing art, absolutely necessary before any kind of healing can take place in the body. How can I say this? Because only the chemical elements from foods can rebuild cells or correct defects in cells, and because our ultimate source of chemical element is foods; the success of all other healing arts depends on this one healing art.”

    Thanks, Dr. Jenson. My friends should now understand why I advise them to take a combination of the pinches of Kale, wheat grass, Spirulina, chlorella and one teaspoonful of liquid chlorophy in a glass of water on empty stomach first thing in the morning and last thing at night. It has helped cases such as high prolactin levels and breast discharge in women, retrograde menstrual blood flow, distended abdomen, uterine fibroids and many more. You should appreciate why I wish to have a pawpaw farm in the backyard, to enjoy a smoothie of the leaf, seeds fruit and peel in a background of these greens with them, one should be well kited for the hot weather which not only leaches water to reduce body temperature, but robs our bodies also of valuable salt such as potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium, among others.

     

  • NiMet predicts dust haze, reduced visibility weather for Thursday

    The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted dust haze over the central states of Abuja, Minna, Bida, Nassarawa, Ilorin Yola and Makurdi on Thursday.

    The predictions are contained in the Weather Outlook issued by NiMet’s Central Forecast Office (CFO) on Wednesday in Abuja.

    It added that some places in the region would have visibility of less than 2000 metres with night time temperatures of between 15 to 21 degrees Celsius during the forecast period.

    NiMet predicted that coastal cities would experience mist/fog patches in the early morning hours with prospect of light rain showers over Port Harcourt, Calabar and Yenagoa during the afternoon and evening period.

    It added that Abeokuta, Ibadan, Owerri and Benin would be partly cloudy, while Ekiti, Enugu, Awka Obudu and Ikom would be hazy with night time temperatures of 20 to 26 degrees Celsius.

    NiMet predicted that northern states would experience dust haze in improved visibility over Maiduguri, Potiskum, Kano, Katsina, Gombe and Yola with night time temperatures of 10 to 18 degrees Celsius.

    According to the prediction, dust is still in suspension over most parts of the country, including some parts of the inland cities of the south, while the coastal areas will remain cloudy

    “During this period of the year, the atmosphere is usually very dry, windy and dusty.

    “Citizens should avoid substances that may ignite easily to reduce incidences of fire outbreaks,” it added.

  • NiMet predicts dust-hazy weather conditions for Sunday

    The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) forecasts dust- hazy weather condition in the central states of the country on Sunday.

    The forecast is contained in the Weather Outlook issued by NiMet’s Central Forecast Office on Saturday in Abuja.

    It says there will be localised visibility of 2,000 metres or less over the central region during the forecast period.

    NiMet also forecasts that the coastal areas will experience dust-hazy conditions throughout the forecast period.

    It forecasts further that inland areas will experience dust hazy conditions throughout the forecast period.

    NiMet further says the northern states will experience dust-hazy with visibility range of less than 1,000 metres.

  • Care for a radiant skin despite harsh weather

    Care for a radiant skin despite harsh weather

    WE all want to be radiant, smooth and wrinkle-free all year round. But as harmattan months set in, your skin goes through a transition, and this is not always easy to achieve.

    The once hydrated and healthy skin and lips become chapped and dry. Looking after your skin in this season is very important, as we all know that the harmattan season is always characterised by dryness of the skin and intense cold. And if you are the type with the tendency to suffer from dry skin patches, the harmattan will certainly make your problems worse.

    All skins need tender loving care (TLC). A lifetime of healthy practice is the best route to a beautiful skin.

  • NiMet predicts cloudy, sunny, weather conditions for Wednesday

    The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted partly cloudy weather conditions over the central states of the country on Wednesday morning.

    The predictions are contained in the Weather Outlook issued by NiMet’s Central Forecast Office (CFO) on Tuesday in Abuja.

    It stated that sunny and hazy conditions would prevail over the entire region during the afternoon and evening hours.

    The agency predicted that coastal areas in the country would also experience cloudy conditions in the morning, with prospects of localised rain showers over the eastern part of the region during afternoon and evening periods.

    It also predicted that inland areas would experience partly cloudy conditions during the forecast period.

    It added that states in the north would be dominated by dust within the forecast period, with an expected reduction in visibility ranging from two kilometers to three kilometers.

  • Troops ‘battle weather in Northeast’

    Troops ‘battle weather in Northeast’

    Troops battling Boko Haram insurgents in the Northeast are contending with weather and logistics challenges, it was learnt yesterday.

    But, Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Gabriel Abayomi Olonisakin and Permanent Secretary Ministry of Defence Aliyu Ismaila assured Nigerians yesterday that the presidential deadline to end the insurgency by December would be met.

    They spoke after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari along with Service chiefs on the troops’ challenges.

    The CDS said they had to brief the President on the security situation after a 60-day review.

    He said: “It is a normal consultation to intimate him of the issues on ground.  We briefed him on the security situation after a 60-day review and we had to brief him on the challenges we have and ensure that the mandate we have is properly delivered.

    “Of course, the challenges we are looking at are the issues of probably the weather as it were and some other logistics that we feel we should have so that the mandate can be quickly delivered.

    On the president’s response, he said: “He is very excited, very happy. As for our request, he gave the mandate”.

    Asked if extension of the December deadline is being considered, he said: “We have not said that. The mandate is that we should clear Boko Haram from the occupied territories and ensure that we reclaim all the lost grounds. That is exactly what we are doing”.

    On whether the December mandate is feasible, he said: “It is a military operation and military operations have time-lines and we are working on them assiduously.

    He said the United Sates (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) were involved in capacity building as part of their support to the government.

    “When we get there, we will let you know. They have been involved in some capacity building and of course when we get the tangible ones, we will let you know about them,” he said

    Ismaila said the Service chiefs would meet again with the President in the next few days.

    He said: “We are here to brief the president on what the armed forces have been doing in the Northeast and the Southsouth. That is exactly what we discussed with Mr President.

    “The directive is that we should continue what we have been doing and in the next few days, there will be another meeting.

    “But by and large the president is excited and confident that the leadership of the armed forces that he puts in place will do us proud.”

    Army chief Lt Gen. Tukur Buratai also yesterday reiterated that terrorism would soon be a thing of the past, pointing out the army is a force to be reckoned with.

    He spoke while receiving  the Netherlands Defence Attaché to Nigeria, Col. Eric Adriaan de Landmeter and delegations from Total Plc and Arik Air in his office.

    Gen. Buratai stressed that the Army is making  steady progress in the fight against terror, oil theft and other forms of criminality.

    A statement by Army spokesman Col. Sani  Usman said Gen. Buratai told his visitors that  Multinational Joint Task Force operations were going on fine. Troops from contributing countries are expected to operate within their territories, he added.

    Noting that both Nigeria and the Netherlands have been participating in Peace Support Operations for long, he praised Netherland’s demonstration of concern for Nigeria’s security challenges.

    Col. Landmeter  hailed  the Nigerian Army for its effort in the fight against insurgency.

    Receiving the Managing Director of  Total, Nigeria Plc, Mr Nicolas Terraz, Gen. Buratai said the challenges facing the country, including oil theft, piracy and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta as well as Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast would soon be a thing of the past.

    Mr. Terraz said oil theft and pipeline vandalism were major challenges for his company.

    During another visit by the Managing Director of Arik, Mr Chris Ndulue, Gen. Buratai promised  Army’s partnership with the company.

     

  • NiMet predicts cloudy, rainy, weather on Friday

    The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted cloudy weather conditions over the central states of the country on Friday.

    The predictions are contained in the Weather Outlook issued by NiMet’s Central Forecast Office (CFO) on Thursday in Abuja.

    It explained that there would be localised thunderstorms over Abuja, Lokoja, Lafia, Jos and part of Minna axis in the afternoon and evening hours.

    NiMet predicted that the coastal areas would experience cloudy conditions over South-West, with localised rains over South-East in the morning and localised thunderstorms over the entire coast in the afternoon and evening hours.

    It predicted that inland areas would experience cloudy conditions over South-West, with chances of localised showers over South-East in the morning and localised thunderstorms over the entire region in afternoon and evening.

    NiMet predicted that Northern states would experience cloudy conditions with sunny conditions over Katsina, Kano, Dutse, Nguru and Maiduguri axis in the morning.

    It said there would be localised thunderstorms over Sokoto and Gusau axis in the afternoon and evening hours.

  • NiMet predicts cloudy, rainy weather conditions for Monday

    The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted cloudy weather conditions with localised rains over the central states of the country on Monday.

    The predictions are contained in the Weather Outlook issued by NiMet’s Central Forecast Office (CFO) on Sunday in Abuja.

    It added that there would be thunderstorms over Makurdi, Lafia, Kaduna, Abuja and Lokoja axis in the morning and thundery activities elsewhere during the afternoon and evening hours.

    NiMet also predicted that the coastal area would experience cloudy conditions over the region during the morning hours with prospects of rain showers mostly in the afternoon.

    It also predicted that inland areas would experience cloudy conditions during the morning hours with prospects of localised rain showers during the afternoon and evening hours.

    NiMet predicted that Northern states would experience cloudy conditions in the morning hours with prospects of localised thunderstorms over Kano and Nguru axis and over most part in the afternoon and evening hours.