China, Australia and even NORTH KOREA see in the New Year with fabulous firework displays

Australia rang in the New Year with a spectacular fireworks display in Sydney, sending rainbow-coloured showers into the night sky and defying the global terror attacks that cast a pall over 2016.

Around 1.5 million people packed Australia's biggest city to watch as the seven tons of midnight fireworks erupted from Sydney Harbour Bridge, with the extravaganza beamed to television sets and phones across the world.

Two hours later, Japan ushered in 2017 in style, with thousands packing the streets of Tokyo and releasing balloons into the air in celebration of the new year.

North Korea, South Korea, Russia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia have also now rung in the New Year with street celebrations and fireworks. 

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Pat Ugwu, Founder of Akanne Techmedia gives Christmas and New Year Messa...

By Pat Ugwu

The year 2016 is really a good year for me. I am happy to say that I'm very grateful to God for my successful traditional marriage and wedding ceremony. Therefore, I made this video to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Please watch it and share it to others to watch. It was filmed in Igbo Language.

Signor Pat Ugwu de second

I wish you a successful 2017 in Jesus name - Amen.
Use the comment box to write the correct Igbo translation where English was used instead of Igbo

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Catholic Church says ‘808 killed in Southern Kaduna’

The Catholic Archdiocese of Kafanchan has said the unrest in Southern Kaduna State has claimed 808 lives.

Fifty three villages have so far been attacked and 57 people injured, the church said.

Governor Nasir el Rufai had earlier said the attackers were foreign Fulani herdsmen avenging past attacks on them and their livestock.

But, the state and federal governments have been accused of not doing enough to end the bloodshed.

The latest killing last week took place despite a curfew imposed on three local governments affected by the crisis.

At a press conference, alongside four other clerics, yesterday, Vicar General of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kafanchan, Ibrahim Yakubu, said government has failed to protect locals.

Yakubu said four local government areas have been attacked, with 808 people killed and 1,422 houses, 16 Churches, 19 shops, and one primary school destroyed.

“Unfortunately, our governments, both at the centre and at the state levels have failed woefully. If anything, government has shown outright partisanship in favour of the herdsmen, to the disappointment of the majority Southern Kaduna indigenes and Christians.”

The religious leaders called for an immediate end to attacks in the area, and demanded compensation for all families who lost loved ones or property.

They also called for the setting up of a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the causes of the crisis.

“We call on Southern Kaduna indigenes to remain steadfast in prayer, united, strong and never to cave in to the antics of our adversaries. Tribe and denominational differences shouldn’t put a chasm between us,” the statement said.

(source: SUN)

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I’m not desperate to be Anambra governor –Obidigbo -Obidigbo

Renowned industrialist, Dr. Chike Obidigbo, is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South East. Until recently, he was the Chairman of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) for Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi states zone. In this interview, he speaks on his governorship ambition, the bane of manufacturing sector in the country and security in Anambra State among other issues. Excerpts:

What’s your take on the economic diversification programme of the present administration?

One is that this diversification theory is coming a bit late because when we were making all the money out of oil and squandering that money, the money was not even circulating the way it should circulate and those people that made money out of the system then, a very high percentage of that money is in foreign banks. They are in foreign investments so it is not circulating. If people are being encouraged by this administration for example to bring back what they have stolen to Nigeria and these monies remain in the banks, the banks can now be in a position to fund other activities outside of the oil industry and that is what diversification is all about. They didn’t use the money they made earlier to build our infrastructure.

They spent so many billions of dollars to give us electricity and they failed and then they spent a lot of money on roads which were not actually done, so this administration has a very big problem at hand. Without diversification we will die. We want to diversify; where do we raise the money from? We need to pull a lot of money from outside of this country to give us that capacity to diversify.  We have to do a lot of borrowing for production and not borrowing for consumption as has always been the case and then again, the government must trim down very seriously the cost of governance at Federal, state and local government levels. Then, like I said when we borrow, we must be investing into the productive sectors, mainly agriculture, manufacturing and especially agro processing for export because that is where we can pay back the borrowed fund. There are places where we can get loans but the management of that loan is where we have problem, because if you borrow without investing in productive sectors judiciously, we might remain a debtor nation as long as we are going to live in this country. If we make any mistake again, it is going to hurt us permanently.

How are you able to combine business with politics; especially your governorship ambition?

It is a very difficult thing because business takes more than 110 per cent of your time and politics takes equally 110 per cent of your time. One is that they are mutually exclusive. So, it has not been easy and we are trying. I got interested in politics because there is room for people with genuine intention to serve this country. Remember what they said that evil will continue to thrive until the good men wake up to their responsibilities. So, I want to use the opportunity to encourage people of like minds to come into politics to help rebuild our place. As for my aspiration, it is not over yet until God says it is over; as long as God didn’t say it is over, no problem. Then again, that’s not something that one feels desperate about. It is something that one should allow the will of God because the bible says it is not for him that willeth nor of him that runneth fast but it is him that God shows mercy.

As long as somebody is there and you have seen something that is not being done rightly and you want to seek for an opportunity to serve to correct those things that you consider to be anomalies and at the same time, don’t forget that it is the party that decides who will carry the flag and my party has not said it is me and if they don’t say it is me; no problem.

What’s your view on governance in Anambra State?

I am not in the business of criticising or condemning or even praising any incumbent administration. The only thing I know is that I can do better. You see Anambra people; we are different in a way because everybody participates in politics there including the youth. The only danger is that most times, these youths are sponsored to counter genuine reasoning. Before Chris Ngige became the governor of the State, I had the opportunity several times of sharing views with him; he had a burning desire to fix Anambra roads and I knew because he has been around and knew the role to play at that particular time. As soon as he became the governor, he tackled the roads and all the roads that Chris Ngige did that time are still motorable; even many years after. Anambra State is still grateful to him because of that singular action of his and even before Peter Obi became the governor, he felt what the Anambra people needed at that time was integrated system of development; that dominated his manifesto and when he became the governor he just hit the ground running. He did roads, he looked into education, transportation, health and we excelled in so many of those areas.

Till today, Anambra people still hold him to a very high esteem because when you say what you want to do before you become the governor, people will watch you to see whether you have done that. People will praise you and criticise. People criticise you based on what you promised that you will do because it is not just about the promise, but we are discussing something that was at the hearts of people of Anambra State. What were at the heart of Anambra State before Chris Ngige became the governor of Anambra State were good roads. When my brother the current governor (Willie Obiano) came on board, he had no manifesto.

He has never made any promise to anybody. He never campaigned anywhere. So, there is no way you can assess him because he never said I will do this for you when I become the governor. Therefore, whatever he does, we just keep watching because he never made any statement to anybody. If he is doing well, we can’t say because we don’t know where he is coming from and if he is not doing well, we can’t say. I think that in my own consideration just like I said earlier even in the last election, that Anambra State has the highest number of unemployed graduates in this country and unemployment is a crime against society. You see the energy of our youth are not being channelled where it is supposed to grow the economy because that is the force we actually need to grow the economy; as long as our youth continue to be dormant and underutilized, we are not going to see the light because this is time for that. It is the time to look inward, time to see the use of our young people.

I know I have been in the business of creating jobs for many years and that was what former Governor Peter Obi discussed with me and we agreed that this is the next thing that should be done to grow our economy and you cannot grow the economy if you don’t have the knowledge. If you are not in the business of wealth creation, you wouldn’t even know what to do and you know that there is serious unemployment problem in Anambra State. The quality of life has been going down. There is so much bitterness, so much unhappiness in the hearts of parents.

But what is your party doing about the federal roads in the South East? 

Most of the federal government roads have all decayed. It is a national disgrace for almost 20 years, those roads have not been maintained. When the Enugu/ Onitsha road was built in 1983 by the President Shehu Shagari administration, it will take you 40 minutes to travel from Enugu to Onitsha. Today, it will take you 4- 5 hours to travel over the same distance especially during rainy season, it is a shame. It is only in the South East that you can find that kind of dilapidated road.

For the past 20 years, I have not seen any kind of maintenance. I have not seen any kind of rehabilitation; the road has been left like that to decay and it got to the extent that it became immotorable. What pains me is not just that the federal government had not done anything about it but the fact that our top politicians were not shouting. The president of Nigeria is not a magician; it is what you press for that you get and that is it. If our top politicians have concentrated their effort on network television every day, tell the world the kind of road you are having in your state, people with good conscience will start talking. It is a very big problem and it has reduced our coverage because for you to take your goods from Anambra to Enugu, it will take you close to four hours journey. It is a day’s job. Just close to N150,000 worth of goods, to make such expenses to go and come back. So, when you look at it, you decide to wait. It is a very terrible situation and it is our duty to talk and we are not talking enough. People that should be talking are not talking enough.

However, I’m pleased that some rehabilitation work is going on now on the road. I commend President Muhammadu Buhari for keeping to his promise. If not, the condition of the Enugu/ Onitsha road was actually denting the image of this country and denting the image of our party, APC very badly. With work progressing on the road, once they are doing that including other promises they made to us like the Second Niger Bridge, the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway that passes through Aba, we’ll start feeling this sense of belonging; we know that this marginalization is not the fault of the central administration. Sometimes it is our own fault because we are not making a lot of noise. We should speak out, instead of staying in our small enclave and say we are not loved, we are marginalised. Marginalised by who; by men like yourself? Why don’t you confront the problem straightaway? Why don’t you sit on the table and talk to the people and say come and repair our road, they will listen. We are talking about APGA that it is our own party, an Igbo party and we stay there and hold ourselves like orphans. No! APGA is not the answer. The answer is; raise men that should represent you, let them talk on your behalf and bring those things that belong to you.

Do you think the efforts of Governor Obiano in the area of security have really paid off?

I’ve told you that I don’t want to assess the governor. But the truth is that the governor did nothing in the area of security. You know sometimes things happen and then somebody lays claim. During the time of the former governor for example and even the time of Mbadinuju, there were a lot of criminal activities in the South East.

There were a lot of kidnapping, armed robbery and all kinds of evil and with time, society begins to outlive those things not that they have disappeared completely but they have reduced significantly. I will give more of the praise to the Police because we don’t hear such things as kidnapping again. Before, there was a lot of it in Imo, Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi and Asaba in Delta State. The Police have done a good job. All I have to say is to continue to ask police to move on with what they are doing because you can’t clean up crime completely in any society. Once it is reduced to a tolerable level, that is okay. It is a national issue.

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Igbos Are So Foolish To Invest In Lagos, Abuja – His Majesty, George Ekeh

His Royal Majesty, Eze Emma Saint George Ekeh, has lambasted Ndigbo for investing outside Igbo land, by developing Lagos, Abuja etc, describing them as being foolish.

The Monarch said that Ndigbo have been stupid for a long time, the Yoruba have told us at the last event in a well packaged language that you guys are foolish, go home. And I keep telling Ndigbo that the land God created you in, knowing the industry He has put in you, should be more productive than the land you bought from somebody else

Ndigbo should look at the Yoruba, in Yoruba land, any Yoruba man that is up to the age of 60, 70, 80 years begins to go to the village they only come to Lagos when they want to collect their dividend or come to visit their grandchildren. When they go home, they attend village meetings.

If you leave the decisions to be taken by clowns, charlatans, that is what they will implement. Cockroaches will inhabit the mansions you have built.

I told the elite some time ago that if they don’t behave themselves, they will be in exile and those mansions will be occupied by rats and cockroaches, unfortunately that is what is happening today.

Ndigbo need to know that they have been foolish, i owe them no apology for saying this, how can you claim to be better placed than the owner of the land where you are doing business?

If the Governor tomorrow comes up and says every house here must pay N500m a year, if you don’t pay they will confiscate the house, they will take the N500m from both the Yoruba and Igbo and return the benefits to the Yoruba through their village meetings and all that. Where does that keep you?

In the first place, why must the Igbos keep saying ‘are we going to go to the village?, whether it is Owerri, Orlu, Nsukka etc? Why don’t you go home to a mega city?

We built Abuja and we are so proud we own more number of houses in Abuja, We say it without shame, We have built Lagos, developed Lagos and they look at you and laugh. You don’t know how much you have poured into the Lagos project. The day they don’t want you, there is nothing you can do about it.

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Buhari’s Administration More Corrupt Than Goodluck Jonathan!!! $4.2 Billion Missing in NNPC Under Buhari – US Governance Report

A new report on Thursday said despite President Muhammadu Buhari’s attempt at ensuring transparency in the oil sector, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, still withholds billions in oil revenues from the government account.

The report by the Natural Resource Governance Institute, titled “NNPC still holds blank check” said that within the first six months of the Buhari administration, the NNPC withheld over $4.2 billion (about N824.7 billion) out of a total of $6.3 billion (N1.24 trillion) revenues realised from crude oil sales in the second half of 2015.

The withheld revenues represented about 66 per cent of the total revenue – $1.4 billion earnings from Nigeria’s regular crude oil exports for the period; $3.4 billion from domestic crude oil sales, and $1.5 billion from oil sold from the corporation’s upstream subsidiary, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC oil fields.

The report said only $2.1 billion (about N413.7 billion) was transferred to the Federation Account.

The group said the unremitted revenues for the six months was about 14 per cent more than the amount withheld by the corporation under the Goodluck Jonathan administration in the first half of 2015, and about 12 per cent higher than the share withheld in 2013 and 2014.

The report said the figure of unremitted oil revenues in 2015 contrasted sharply with 2005 figures, which showed the NNPC remitted about 68 per cent of its total oil sale earnings to the Federation Account and kept only 32 per cent that year.

The report said while part of the withheld funds was used for servicing Nigeria’s share of the joint venture operating obligations, the NNPC did not fully explain what the other retained revenues from domestic crude and NPDC oil sales were used for.

In general, the report said despite the on-going reforms in the oil sector, the NNPC under the present administration was still retaining a major share of oil sale earnings and spending at will.

Some of the reforms by the Buhari government, the report noted, have cut the number of passive, well connected middlemen that pocketed billions of oil revenues, while the administration has cancelled costly, unbalanced NNPC swap contracts as well as seek more efficient replacements.

The report lamented that recent announcements on NNPC reforms and the latest drafts of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, failed to adequately address how NNPC and the government would share future oil revenues

“Until government establishes a clear, legally enforceable rule governing which revenues NNPC can keep and how they can be spent, oil sector corruption and waste could return to their prior devastating levels once the president (Buhari) leaves, or prices rise,” the report noted.

While encouraging government to push ahead with its reform plans for the oil sector, NRGI stressed the need for NNPC to adopt new financial controls and transparency measures for its subsidiaries, especially bordering on the several billion revenues retained each year from NPDC operations and its oil trading and marketing subsidiaries.

The Institute also called for the immediate replacement of the 445,000 barrels per day crude oil allocation for domestic refining with a fit-for-purpose mechanism for supplies to the country’s four refineries.

“The government should move to curb the corporation’s discretionary, unaccountable use of much-needed public funds. Until the government instates clear rules for NNPC financing, both the controversies and the underlying revenue leakages will persist,” the report said.

Describing the NPDC as one of the Nigerian petroleum sector’s “great black boxes”, the report said some of the oil from the company’s fields went to its strategic alliance partners, two of which were paid in oil for purportedly shouldering the company’s financial obligations.

From the production of an average of 30,000 barrels per day of Okono grade crude during the period, the report said NNPC retained all earnings ( about $12.3 billion over the past decade) from the offshore Oil Mining Lease (OML) 119 owned wholly by NPDC.

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‘Stay strong, January is fast approaching’, Trump tells Israel

Incoming U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday, asked Israel to stay strong, saying his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017, is fast approaching and things will change.

Trump’s remark was not unconnected with the continued controversies over recent UN resolution condemning Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories.

“We cannot continue to let Israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect.

“They used to have a great friend in the U.S., but not anymore.

“The beginning of the end was the horrible Iran deal, and now this (U.N.)!

“Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching!” the president-elect said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has had a tense relationship with Obama, particularly over the abstention, responded to Trump on Twitter, thanking the incoming U.S. president.

“President-elect Trump, thank you for your warm friendship and your clear-cut support for Israel!” Netanyahu responded to Trump.

Earlier, the incoming president had also given an impression that the transition process between him and Obama’s administration was not going smoothly.

According to him, there have also been “many inflammatory statements” and “roadblocks” from Obama.

“Doing my best to disregard the many inflammatory President O statements and roadblocks.

“Thought it was going to be a smooth transition – NOT!” Trump had tweeted.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had in his remarks on Wednesday, defended U.S. abstention rather than veto the UN Security Council resolution on the Israeli settlements in Palestinian.

Kerry also warned Israel that the two-state solution to the crisis rocking the Middle East was in jeopardy.

Trump had on Monday, criticised the UN after the resolution, describing the global body as a mere talk club.

“The United Nations has such great potential but right now it is just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time.

“So sad,” Trump said.

The presiden-elect had earlier asked the U.S. to veto the resolution.

“The resolution being considered at the United Nations Security Council regarding Israel should be vetoed.

“As the United States has long maintained, peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through the imposition of terms by the United Nations.

“This puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis.”

However, the resolution was put forward on Friday by Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal and Venezuela after Egypt, who earlier sponsored it asked for its suspension.

The Obama administration disregarded Trump’s directive and went ahead to abstain from voting on the resolution when it finally came up on Friday, drawing criticisms from the president-elect and his team.

The 15-member Council adopted the resolution by a vote of 14 in favour, while the U.S abstained.

Trump had, thereafter, threatened that “things will change” at the global international organisation when he assumesthe U.S. presidency from Jan. 20, 2017.

The White House had, in a response by Obama’s Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications, Mr Ben Rhodes, cautioned Trump’s and his team, saying Obama remains president till Jan. 20, 2017.

“On the President-elect, the first thing I’d just say is that there’s one President at a time.

“President Obama is the President of the United States until January 20th, and we are taking this action (abstention), of course, as U.S. policy,” he said.

(Source: NAN)

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Obasanjo told S-East govs, Ndigbo to develop their zone, instead of waiting for FG

By Emeka Mamah, Dennis Agbo & Chinedu Adonu

ENUGU— Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, asked Ndigbo and their governors to take their destiny in their hands by developing the South-East geographical zone instead of waiting for the government.

Obasanjo said there was no need for the governors to wait for the Federal Government to develop South-East when they already had the instruments already. Obasanjo noted that economy and security were two sides of the same coin, adding that none could be achieved without the other. He also asked Igbo elders to intervene in the on-going agitation for Biafra Republic to bring the situation under control. Obasanjo described the Igbo stock as unique people, saying their entrepreneurial and communal efforts were driven with the spirit of adventure. He spoke as the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu asked President Muhammadu Buhari to obey an earlier court order compelling the Federal Government to release the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu. 

Ekweremadu further lamented that the South-East zone was not represented at the apex level of either the military or the police. On the rule of law and fundamental human rights as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution as amended, Ekweremadu insisted that Kanu must have his day in court and if court orders his release, he must be released. Both Obasanjo and Ekweremadu spoke, yesterday at the South East Economic and Security Summit in Enugu. Among those who attended the summit included former Secretary of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku; former Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme; Chief Pascal Dozie; Mbazulike Amaechi; Ben Akabueze; Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika (retd), among other dignitaries. President Muhammadu Buhari was expected as a guest during the summit but he neither attended nor sent any representative. Develop your zone, don’t wait for FG, Obasanjo tells S-East govs, Ndigbo According to Obasanjo, the aim of the summit was on how the industrious people of the zone could do things for themselves other than relying on government’s intervention. Obasanjo said: “Insecurity in any part of the country affects the other. The instruments of doing the jobs are already with you. “The South-East had been known from time for entrepreneurship, community effort services and their spirit of adventure. The papa Okafor has been there in my village right from when I was growing up and nobody has taken those traits away from the Igboman, but how do we use it to achieve economic prosperity and security? “You can’t have security when the economy of your people is not well taken care of and you can’t have security without economic prosperity. What we need to do here is to harness what we have. “The people of the South-East are extremely unique and need to be harnessed. We should work together and that is the purpose of this summit.” The former president told the gathering to look in the ways of their fertile agricultural land, the Aba industrial cluster, and other minerals both on the surface and beneath the earth to grow their economy. “Whatever we can do for ourselves, let us do it for ourselves. If I could go to Maiduguri when Boko Haram was raging and I had to try to reach out to them in the interest of the country, I don’t think I have to be eulogized for being part of the initiative of South-East summit. “Security is all inclusive. If there is no security in any part of the country, there is no security in the entire country. All the governors have spoken. I am delighted. They said ‘we have things we can do if given the instrument’. You have the instruments already. Obasanjo lists traits of Ndigbo “We knew South-East for enterprise, entrepreneurial ability, communal interest and spirit of adventure. Nobody can take it away from them. What can we do with it in area of economy and security? The symbiotic relationship between economy and security has been mentioned by the governors and the chairman. You cannot have good economy when the security of your people is not taken care of. If security is not taken care of, the economy will diminish. What we have, how can we use it? “The people of South-East are extremely unique. That uniqueness of the South-East must be used to your advantage,” Obasanjo said.

On agitation for a sovereign state of Biafra On the agitation for a sovereign state of Biafra, Obasanjo attributed the situation to youth restiveness, caused by challenges facing the young people of the zone and asked: “But should we leave them with the agitation, should we leave them as elders? “There should be agitation by the youths but should we leave them with the agitation? There is this saying that where youths are cutting trees in the forest, the elders should caution them because they are the people who know where the tree will fall,” he addeed. Citing the Aba-made shoes and Ebonyi rice as examples, Obasanjo described the potentials of the South-East region as legendary, saying that the South-East could be the food basket of the nation. He, however, described the challenge of youth restiveness in the region as understandable as the agitators had education and skills and yet they do not have jobs. I’m not at war with Buhari In his speech, Ekweremadu stressed that he was not at war with President Muhammadu Buhari, citing recent meetings he had had with the President. Ekweremadu further called for the restructuring of the country, noting that if Nigeria’s democracy should thrive, the citizens should be ready to subject themselves to the basic rules of law. He said: “So long as we have unified economic structure, it cannot work. It is also important that all parts of the country are represented in the affairs of government. As we talk now, nobody from the South-East is among the security chiefs in Nigeria. “On human rights, the issue of liberty is an inalienable right. If court says release somebody, please do that. No matter the offence allegedly committed by Nnamdi Kanu, he should be released from detention.” 

The Chairman of the planning committee of the summit and former Minister of Power, Prof. Bath Nnaji, said the essence of the summit was to brainstorm on how the private sector could work with the public sector to achieve infrastructure influx into the South East. Nnaji said the areas they are looking at to work on include gas pipelines, railway, sustainable agriculture, among other areas. Anyaoku calls for restructuring of Nigeria Earlier, Emeka Anyaoku, former Secretary General of Commonwealth and Chairman of the occasion, reiterated his call for the restructuring of Nigeria to have fewer and effective federating units for this country to have stability and faster pace of development. “There is no need for Federal Government to periodically bail out any of the 36 non-viable units from dire financial conditions,” he said.

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Why students failed in 2016

By Chika Abanobi and Gabriel Dike

In the 2016 budget, in which education was allocated N35.433 billion (current) and N369.6 billion for recurrent expenditure, President Muhammadu Buhari promised to initiate some policies and programmes to tackle the rot in the education sector in his bid to boost its service delivery capacity.

His words: “The future looks bright. And, I ask that we all work together to make this vision a reality. We will spend N369.6billion on recurrent expenditure for the sector in 2016. This will ensure that our teachers and many more critical service providers are paid competitively and on time.’’

Well, 2016 has come and gone, almost, but not much was achieved either with the speech or with the money. In fact, his administration did not match his budget speech with actions. Like the case with previous governments, the sector suffered poor funding and unfilled promises.

As stakeholders observed, the government failed to implement the budget as it affects the sector, hence the roadmap launched by the Education Minister, Malam Adamu Adamu, remained a pipe dream in the outgoing year. A month-by-month look at how we fared. And, why we failed in 2016.

JANUARY

Half salaries, no research grants for tertiary institutions

Under this administration and beginning from January 2016, workers in federal government-owned tertiary institutions received half salaries without the approved allowance because of the shortfall in their salary allocations. Also, in the year under review, none of the institutions received grants for research or projects. The unions have written several letters to the federal government on the issues but none have been addressed. The unions are warming up for strikes and unless the government does the needful, we may start 2017 with strikes.

Okowa laments decay in Nigerian education sector

Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, during the Delta State Education Summit 2016, held on Tuesday, January 26, at the Events Centre, Asaba, lamented that the Nigerian education sector is suffering from increased enrollment, decaying infrastructure, obsolete curriculum, outdated teaching methods, and general falling standards in the quality of education. “In an increasingly competitive global economy where the most valuable skill you can sell is knowledge, a good education is no longer an option; it is necessary,” he said.  The governor who stressed the need to place greater emphasis on the training and support of teachers, also noted that the huge challenges in funding of the education sector now requires that parents and communities should be more involved.

FEBRUARY

Senate discovers N10bn hidden in education budget

THE Senate Committee on Education, yesterday, uncovered N9,982,258,479 hidden in the budget of parastatals by the Federal Ministry of Education. The committee, which discovered the amount at the commencement of its 2016 budget defence, said the amount was hidden in the ministry’s parastatals.

MARCH

‘Concerned parent’ alleges teacher’s sexual assault of Queens’ College student

The month was more or less occupied by newsbreak from Queens’ College, Lagos, following the leaking of a complaint letter by one Chinenye Okoye, said to be the parent of one of the female students, in JSS 2, over an alleged sexual assault, by Mr. Olaseni Oshifala, a Biology teacher, on her daughter. She accused him of forcefully trying, in the dark, to kiss her and touch her private parts. But the report submitted by the commission of inquiry set up by the Federal Ministry of Education to thoroughly investigate the matter, exonerated the teacher, at the centre of the storm, of the allegation.

APRIL

Violent protests rock four Nigerian universities

Violent student protests sweep through University of Lagos (UNILAG), Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba, Akoko (AAUA), Ondo State, University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), and Benue State University (BSU), and leaving its trail, battered bodies. Whereas the UNILAG protest was caused by the frustration that students faced over poor electricity supply, water and transport services and alleged exploitation of poor students by UNILAG Ventures, the university business subsidiary in charge of production and marketing of UNILAG water and bread, among other things (it was reportedly selling a bag of cellophane packaged water for N200 as against N100 price obtainable outside university campus), that of AAUA, was caused by the unfortunate death, in a motorcycle accident, of one Ojo Afolabi, a 200 level student of Economic Education. Though students of BSU and UNIPORT protested hike in school fees, of all the riots/protests, the bloodiest appeared to be that of UNIPORT where three students, including a final year student of Faculty of Management Sciences, lost their lives.

Dollar scarcity affects education remittances to overseas Nigerian students

Government public policy on the issuance of scarce dollars affects remittances to Nigerian students studying overseas. Nigerians spend $2bn on school fees, the Chairman Senate Committee on Tertiary Institution and Tertiary Education Fund (TETFund), Senator Binta Masi, revealed at a public function.

MAY

31 Enugu principals demoted for aiding exam malpractice

About 31 principals were demoted and redeployed while some were suspended for six months without pay for allegedly collecting fees from students to aid examination malpractices during the May/June West African Examination Council (WAEC) examinations. The state Commissioner for Education, Prof. Uchenna Eze, who revealed this when members of the state command of the Anti-Corruption Awareness Organisation of Nigeria (ACAON) visited him, described as “horrible,” some of the scenes he witnessed at most examination centres he visited during the exam, and warned that such cannot, and should not be tolerated in any sane society.

JUNE

UNILAG postgraduate students drown in beach during friend’s birthday

Two postgraduate students of the University of Lagos, on the verge of bagging Master’s Degrees in International Law and Diplomacy, drown in the Elegushi Beach during the celebration of their friend’s birthday. The deceased and their host were having fun at the beach around 6pm when they were swept into the Atlantic Ocean.

FG licences four new private colleges of education

They are: Oswald Waller College of Education, Shendam, Plateau State, Pan African College of Education, Offa, Kwara State; Diamond College of Education, Aba, Abia State and Biyaminu College of Education, Dass, Bauchi State.

JULY

FG promises to start school feeding programme with 5.5 million pupils

The Federal Government announces its plan to begin its National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) in September with 5.5 million pupils, said the National Programme Manager, Mrs. Abimbola Adesanmi, but till the year ended, the plan never materialized. Reason: states were not financially ready for the take-off of the meal project scheme.

Furore over alleged merging of Christian and Islamic Religious Knowledge

Heated controversy was generated among leaders and members of the two major religions, Christianity and Islam, over the alleged merger of Christian and Islamic Religious Knowledge in the newly introduced Civic Education syllabus.

AUGUST

UNITY SCHOOLS: PTA rejects alleged 300% increase in fees

National Parents and Teachers Association of Federal Government Colleges (NAFTAFEGC) was reported to have rejected over 300 per cent increase in school fees of unity schools across the country, although the Federal Ministry of Education, in a press statement issued later on the matter, vehemently denied either contemplating that or doing so.

Rumour breaks over alleged plan by FG to scrap HND certificate

Rumour spreads through the education sector about an alleged plan by the Federal Government to scrap HND certificate and replace it with Bachelor of Technology (B/Tech). This was seriously denied by concerned education authorities.

FG appoints 17 new CEOs into Education Ministry’s parastatals, agencies

The Federal Government appoints new Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) to oversee various parastatals and agencies under the Federal Ministry of Education. They include: Prof. Abubakar Adamu Rasheed, for National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Lilian Salami (Nigerian Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), Dr. Hameed Bobboyi (Universal Basic Education Board), Prof. Charles Uwakwe (National Examinations Council, NECO), Prof. Bashir Usman (Nomadic Education Comnmission, NEC), Prof. Sunday Ajiboye (Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, TRCN), Prof. Bappah Aliyu (National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) and Dr. Abdullahi Bichi Baffa (Tertiary Education Fund, TETFund).

SEPTEMBER

FG orders reintroduction of History in schools

History which had previously been suspended as a school subject was reintroduced into the secondary school curriculum this month. Making the announcement while addressing delegates at the 61st meeting of the National Council on Education Ministerial Session, the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, said that the teaching of History as a school subject has become imperative given the critical nature of the subject to the nation’s socio-political development. The reintroduction of History as a subject would give the Nigerian child the sense of self-identity, he noted.

OCTOBER

10.5m Nigerian children out of school – Toyin Saraki, Wife of Senate President

Founder/President of Wellbeing Foundation, and wife of the Senate President, Mrs. Toyin Saraki, was quoted as saying that from the information available to her from the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), 10.5 million Nigerian children of school age are out of school. She was speaking at the year’s commemoration of International Day of the Girl Child.

The Sun Education shines at Nigerian Breweries Golden Pen Award

Gabriel Dike, The Sun education correspondent, wins the 2016 Nigerian Breweries Golden Pen Award “Report of the Year” with his incisive and insightful report entitled “Anambra Week of Glory.” The first runner-up was Gbenga Salau of The Guardian newspaper, while Charles Abah, of The Punch emerged as the second runner-up. All the winning journalists got cash prizes and high-end mobile devices as part of the reward package.

NOVEMBER

UNIOSUN sacks randy lecturer involved in sex-video tape scandal

The Governing Council of the Osun State University, Osogbo (UNIOSUN) terminates the appointment of Dr. Olabode Ojoniyi of the Department of Languages and Linguistics, Ikire Campus, caught on video having an amorous relationship with one of his students, one Mercy Ikwue. The female student was said to have been pressurised by Ojoniyi for sex. She eventually agreed but followed him to their rendezvous with a laptop computer from which she pretended to be watching a movie, Things Fall Apart. Unknown to him, the female student was actually recording their activities in the hotel room.

LASU demotes Professor to senior lecturer

The Lagos State University LASU, Ojo, announced the demotion of Olatunji Abanikannda, from professor to a senior lecturer over alleged lack of requisite papers and journals. Abanikannda, a former Professor of Animal Breeding and Genetics, was the immediate past Director, LASU External System (part-time programme). The Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Olanrewaju Fagbohun, said the demotion of the lecturer was a decision taken by the governing council, adding that the university management only implemented it. But the last may not have been heard on the matter as Abanikannda is said to have gone to court to challenge the demotion.

Lagos school bans spanking of pupils

Saint Saviours High School, Ikotun, Lagos, where gory-looking injuries were inflicted on the buttocks of a female student leading to a huge public outcry in the social media and newspapers, in November officially banned the use of cane on students of the school after the school alumni’s association waded into the matter.

YABATECH: Fire destroys female hostel, academic activities suspended

A female hostel at Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), nicknamed “Bakassi” was gutted by a raging fire. The fire incident which started at about 5am while many of the students were deeply asleep, and lasted for about six hours, resulted in various degrees of injury for about 13 of them and led to the destruction of students’ personal belongings, ranging from laptops, books, flash drives and varieties of GSM phones before it was brought under control. Eyewitnesses say the fire initially started from the top floor of the three-storey double-wing building housing HND 2 Computer Science final year students, before spreading to other parts of the building.

DECEMBER

WAEC releases Nov/Dec 2016 WASSCE for private candidates

WAEC releases Nov/Dec WASSCE for private candidates, with 38.50 making credits in five subjects, including English and Mathematics. Announcing the release of the results on Friday, December 16, 2016, at the WAEC national headquarters in Yaba, Lagos, the Head of National Office (HNO), Mr. Olu Adenipekun, said the percentage represents 66,497 of 172,699 candidates who sat for the examination held between October 26 and November 14, 2016. Adenipekun said only 29.37 per cent reached the benchmark in 2014 and 20.50 per cent in 2015. While 1,210 candidates representing 0.69 per cent will not be able to access all their results immediately because of errors being corrected, 13,488 (7.81 per cent) candidates’ results have been withheld and are being investigated for involvement in examination malpractice. Giving the statistics of candidates for the examination, the HNO said 51.12 per cent (88,290) were males, while 48.88 per cent (84,409) were females. Of the lot, 19 were visually challenged.

13 Auchi FEDPoly lecturers dismissed, 16 demoted, over sexual harassment

About thirteen 13 lecturers of the Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, Edo State, were either sacked or demoted by the authorities of the institution over sexual harassment and extortion of students, although a total of 41 persons were reportedly involved. In all, five lecturers were dismissed, eight got their appointments terminated while 16 were demoted. Four others were warned, two advised, two cautioned, one recommended for mentoring while two students were denied further admission in the institution.

Ayatse, former VC emerges new Tor Tiv

James Ayatse, a professor of Biochemistry and former Vice Chancellor, of the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, FUAM) and immediate past Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Dutsima, Katsina State, emerged the fifth Tor Tiv after a keenly contested session of the Tiv Traditional Council.

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Troops arrest men with ammunition in Southern Kaduna

There is continued violence in parts of Southern Kaduna state as troops of 1 mechanized division of the Nigerian Army have reportedly intercepted two men carrying live ammunition.

Southern Kaduna has been in the news recently after violent attacks that have taken the lives of the some residents with properties destroyed by some people suspected to Fulani herdsmen.

Daily Trust reports that Major-General Oyebade who visited the area to speak with elders and youths, ordered the immediate deployment of troops to Ninte, a neighbouring community where the renewed attacks commenced.

Oyebade explained that the men with the ammunition were in their middle ages and were driving in a maroon-colored Volkswagen vehicle through the front of the Sarkin Kagoma’s palace when they were nabbed by the troops.

“The troops became suspicious when they tried to stop the men and they objected. The troops then approached them, only to discover there were rounds of ammunition in the vehicle.

“They have been arrested and taken to the military camp in Kafanchan,” he said.

The traditional ruler of Kagoma Chiefdom, Paul Zakka Gyon, reportedly told the army commander that the recent attacks had connection to the inability of the natives displaced from Ninte to return home.

He also appealed for the deployment of troops to restore confidence in the area and ensure that displaced residents returned home.

The report said there are allegations that herdsmen took advantage of the situation to graze their cattle in people’s farms.

The GOC said the troops were only there to maintain peace and not take sides. He also appealed to both the Fulani communities and locals not to cause a religious crisis.

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I’ll cage recession next year – Buhar

As the economic re­cession bites harder, a worried President Muhammadu Buhari has told Nigerians that he will cage the scourge of the eco­nomic blight in 2017.

Buhari expressed this op­timistic position yesterday, in Abuja, when he declared open an induction course organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Nigerian career ambassadors-desig­nate who were recently given clean bill of health by the Senate.

According to Buhari, “We are optimistic that the exter­nal factors that partly con­tributed to push our econo­my into recession will ebb in 2017. Until then, I regret that the resources avail­able to fund our mis­sions abroad will not be as robust as we would like.

“We are working hard to turn around our national econo­my by effectively reforming our mac­roeconomic envi­ronment through measures, some of which were out­lined in my budget speech to the Na­tional Assembly last week.”

In further elabo­ration, Buhari stated the subsisting economic cir­cumstances have led to a re­structuring of Nigerian mis­sions abroad. He reminded the ambassadors-designate that , “as we are all making great sacrifices at home, we also expect you to similarly make judicious use of the re­sources put at the disposal of your missions. As Heads of missions, you will be held ac­countable for the utilisation of all resources under your control. These are lean times, and all of us are expected to do more with less.”

He charged the ambassa­dors-designate to change the narrative of Nigeria outside the country by playing up the positive values and outstand­ing contributions of Nigeri­ans in the global arena.

His words: “I want to em­phasise your duty to change the narrative of Nigeria as seen by the outside world. For far too long, we have allowed Nigeria to be defined by oth­ers, always emphasizing our negatives. To the average for­eigner, Nigeria evokes 419, terrorism, militancy, com­munal and religious clashes, insecurity, corruption and all our other faults.

“You have the duty to cor­rect this narrative by taking the initiative to define and portray our country for what it truly is. We are a nation of 180 mil­lion vibrant, enterprising, hardworking, hospitable and peaceful people. We are a remarkable nation that has succeeded in harnessing our multiple diversities as strengths such that we are the leading country on the con­tinent. Therefore, you will need to mobilise, sensitise and motivate all your staff so that together you engage with your host governments, the private sector and other segments of the society to explain that Nigeria is much more than the negative image portrayed to them.”

He further tasked them to leverage on the achieve­ments of Nigeri­ans within the country and in diaspora: “Think of people like Nobel Lau­reate, Wole Soyinka, Chinedu Echeruo who founded Hotspot appli­cation which he sold to Apple for over a billion Dollars; think of Bayo Ogunlesi, who runs over a billion Dollar Infra­structure Fund and is now Adviser to US President-elect; and Jelani Aliyu, an accomplished car designer at General Motors. Indeed, these and other hardworking Nigerian professionals in the diaspora have never forgot­ten their roots and have been making significant contribu­tions to their communities back home, and even to our economy through their huge remittances.”

According to him, they should sustain the work ethic characterized by the love of country, professional­ism, excellence, integrity and honour associated with the “Nigerian diplomatic tradi­tion established in 1957 by the pioneers of the Nigerian Foreign Service, sometimes referred to as the “Twelve Apostles” and also “bequeath same to succeeding genera­tions.”

The president further charged the ambassadors-designate to stress Nigeria’s commitment to international peace and security through contributions “to nearly ev­ery UN peacekeeping ini­tiative since 1960 when we achieved our independence. In addition, we are the stabi­lizers and shock absorbers of West Africa having helped to contain po­tentially de-stabiliz­ing developments in the sub-region.”

He tasked them to always be mindful of the national pri­orities that “re­volve around the economy, security, anti-corruption, good governance, agricultural trans­formation and in­frastructural develop­ment, including rail, roads and power” and use their roles “as Principal Represen­tatives to build meaningful partnerships to attract for­eign investments, new skills and technologies.”

Further according to him, “As Nigerian ambassadors, you must set the standard of putting Nigeria first in all your actions. You must show leadership, fairness and jus­tice to all. Discipline, probity, accountability and zero toler­ance for corruption must be your watchwords. You are expected to project the best image and traditions of our country in your conduct and all you do.”

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CAF Champions League : Rangers get tough opponents

Champions of the Nigeria Professional Football League, Enugu Rangers, were handed a tough draw, as they face a daunting task to North Africa where they will take on J.S Saoura of Algeria in the first preliminary round of the competition.

The first leg of the tie will be played away in Algeria, with the return leg scheduled to be played in a fortnight in Enugu.

Rivers United, Nigeria’s other representative in the competiton, was handed a tricky tie as well, with the draw pitching them against AS Bamako of Mali.

The first leg of the tie will be played in Mali with the return leg scheduled for Port Harcourt, the home ground of the runners-up of the Nigeria Professional Football League.

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A ministry organize vigil for those who lost money to MMM Nigeria

A Nigerian ministry, known as, MOLE, MOBA, MOTUNGBAPADA, has organized a 7 day fire vigil for those who lost their money to MMM, in other to recover what they lost.

Ministry organize vigil for those who lost money to MMM

As written on the poster, you are required to bring the items used for your MMM login for anointing.

Lol! Marvodi Return My Money!

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