NatureNews Newspaper Names Emir Sanusi As Chairman Of Its Advisory Board

By

-

May 4, 2021

Africa’s leading environment newspaper, NatureNews, has named the Emir of Dutse and Chancellor of Sokoto State University, Alhaji (Dr.) Nuhu Muhammad Sanusi, as chairman of its advisory board.

The Board, which was inaugurated today, May 4, has eight other members, including renowned environmental activist and laureate of the prestigious Thoroft Rafto Memorial prize, Architect Nnimmo Bassey and the consummate conservationist and Environmental Hero awardee of DW German TV network, Mr. Desmond Majekodunmi.

A statement by the Publisher/CEO of NatureNews, Aliu Akoshile, said that there are also six members of the advisory board that were drawn from across Africa includes Professor Mark Mwandosya, Chairman of Stanbic Bank of Tanzania who was a three-time Minister and head of the Climate Change Studies Programme in Tanzania as well as a member of the Steering Committee of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) International Resource Panel.

He said that the board also has as members, a former Special Representative of the UN Secretary General/Head of the UN Regional Office for Central Africa and a three-time Minister and presidential candidate of the Labour Party in Senegal, Professor Abdoulaye Bathily, as well as the Kenyan environmental activist and founder, Friends of Lake Turkana, a UNESCO heritage site in the East African Rift Valley, Ms. Ikal Angelei.

Aliu Akoshile listed other board members as Professor Salah Arafa, a member of the Egyptian National Committee on Climate Change and member of the Research Council on Environment and Development at the Egyptian Academy for Scientific Research and Technology and Ms. Hawe Hamman Bouba, Executive President of the African Indigenous Women’s Organisation – Central Africa Network and member of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission.

“Another esteemed board member, according to _NatureNews_ publisher, is the Harvard trained Dr. Namane Magau who was on the executive team of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). She was a Divisional Director at the Development Bank of South Africa and served as Executive Vice President of the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.”

Inaugurating the Advisory Board, Aliu Akoshile said that the choice of members was to underscore the publisher’s vision of making NatureNews the authentic African voice on climate change and Sustainable Development Goals (SGD).

He thanked the members for accepting to lend their weights to the cause of development journalism which the newspaper, www.naturenews.africa, symbolises.

Akoshile said that the board has the historic duty to help Africa overcome the challenges of climate change and create a sustainable living environment for the 1,367 billion people in the continent.

Buhari Laments: Hate, Bigotry Destroying Nigeria

By

Editorial staff

-

May 4, 2021

President Muhammadu Buhari has lamented that hate and bigotry are gradually destroy the fabrics of Nigeria.

The President warned that if the Nigerians allow the culture of violence unchecked, such mobs would destroy law and order.

In a statement today, May 4, in reaction to the killings and counter killings in Benue and Anambra states, Buhari said that violence on innocent people by anybody and any group is unacceptable and indefensible.

“Hate and bigotry have eaten so deeply and violates the sanctity of life. If we allow this culture of violence to go unchecked, such mobs would destroy law and order.”

“I totally condemn this latest unprovoked violence and counter-attacks on innocent people that had nothing to do with the cause of the violence.”

President Buhari called on leaders of ethnic and religious groups “to play their own roles constructively in controlling their followers or members, in order to support the government’s efforts for sustainable peace.”

He cautioned Nigerians against the “temptations of taking the law into their hands in the name of revenge because there are no winners in the cycle of violence, only losers.”

The President sympathised with the families of the bereaved and the governments and people of Benue and Anambra States even as he commended the police and other law enforcement agencies for their prompt response in averting the escalation of the violence.

He advised them to put in every effort to apprehend perpetrators of the heinous attacks.

Atiku Calls For A Total War On Terror, Wants Ex service Men Drafted To The Field

By

Editorial staff

-

May 4, 2021

Former Nigeria Vice President and current opposition leader, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has called for a total war on terrorism and other criminalities that have been threatening the security of the country.

In a statement today, May 4, Atiku suggested that ex service men and women, who are willing to return to service should be drafted to the war field and take the fight to the insurgents, until they are rolled back and defeated.

He noted that the security situation is deteriorating rapidly to the extent that Nigerians are now living in fear for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, adding that nowhere is safe: “farms, markets, schools, homes, mosques, churches, and urban areas are all affected.

“Terrorists are spreading their areas of operation beyond the Northeast, into far flung areas as far as Niger State in the North-Central. That is merely hours from our Federal Capital.

“Now is the time for decisive leadership and I call on the Federal Government to consider recalling all ex-servicemen and women,

“As a former vice chairman of the National Security Council, I am aware that Nigeria has a sizeable population of military veterans, who are alive, and were trained locally and internationally, and it serves no purpose to allow these valuable national assets lie fallow when there is an existential threat to our nation.

“Call them up. Immediately. Mobilise them to the field. The time has come for us to put in all our effort and stamp out this menace from our nation.

“The men and women of Nigeria’s armed forces, whether serving or retired, who restored peace to Lebanon, Liberia, Sierra Leone and São Tomé and Príncipe can, and should be used to do the same in the motherland.

“But they need arms and ammunition. It is incumbent on the federal government to develop a more efficient means of sourcing for weapons and delivering them to the troops at the battlefront.

“A situation where terrorists and criminals are better armed than our troops on the battlefront is intolerable.

“We need to urgently improve the conditions of service of the men and women of our armed forces. And not just the government.

“The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, working in concert with primary mortgage institutions, ought to offer the men and women of our armed forces special concessionary mortgage loans so they can own homes.

“The private sector should also be encouraged to offer discounted services to them in appreciation of their services.

“There is no sacrifice greater than to lay down your life for the motherland.

“When our military is properly rewarded, they will fight more valiantly and gallantly.

“A nation that rewards courage is one that avoids outrage.”

IPOB Not Welcome In Rivers, Gov Wike Warns

By

Editorial staff

-

May 4, 2021

Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike of Rivers State has warned members of the separatist movement, proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB) to stay clear of his state because they would not be welcome.

Governor Wike, who received traditional rulers, political and opinion leaders of Ekpeye nationality at Government House, Port Harcourt today, May 4, said that his administration will leave no stone unturned in protecting the state and its people against such persons who think they can annex the state by dragging it into their separatist agenda.

“Rivers State does not belong to any other place. It is an autonomous State. Nobody in other state can come and tell us that we are with them, No.

“So, I will not allow anybody to enter this State to tell us that we are part of them. We will do everything we can to protect the interest of our State.

“We are a friendly people. We will allow anybody to come here and do business. But nobody should go beyond doing business to hoist unnecessary flags here. We will not take it.”

We’ll Ruffle Unruly Feathers To Keep Nigeria Together, Presidency Vows

By

Editorial staff

-

May 4, 2021

The Presidency has vowed to keep Nigeria in peace, unity and progress if it means ruffling what it called “unruly feathers in the process.”

In a statement today, May 4, reacting to those advocating military take over of government from President Muhammadu Buhari, special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Femi Adesina described such people as “discredited individuals and groups.”

He accused them of working in cahoots with external forces to cause maximum damage in the country.

“But the Presidency, already vested with mandate and authority by Nigerians till 2023, pledges to keep the country together, even if some unruly feathers would be ruffled in the process.

“Nigerians have opted for democratic rule, and the only accepted way to change a democratically elected government is through elections, which hold at prescribed times in the country. “Any other way is patently illegal, and even treasonable. Of course, such would attract the necessary consequences.”

Adesina said that the sinister moves by some disgruntled religious and past political leaders to throw the country into a tailspin, which would compel a forceful and undemocratic change of leadership will not work.

He argued that “unimpeachable evidence shows that these disruptive elements are now recruiting the leadership of some ethnic groups and politicians round the country, with the intention of convening some sort of conference, where a vote of no confidence would be passed on the President, thus throwing the land into further turmoil.

“The caterwauling, in recent times, by these elements, is to prepare the grounds adequately for their ignoble intentions, which are designed to cause further grief for the country.

“The agent provocateurs hope to achieve through artifice and sleight of hands, what they failed to do through the ballot box in the 2019 elections.”

Bill Gates Divorces Wife, Melinda After 27 Years In Marriage

By

Editorial staff

-

May 3, 2021

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has announced a divorce of his wife, Melinda Gates. The couple reached an agreement today, May 3, to effect divorce.

“After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage,” a joint statement read.

“Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives.”

The couple founded, in 2000 the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a private philanthropic organization, which funds health research and advocacy work across the globe, including some of the world’s most impoverished nations.

Nigerian Army Warns Its Personnel, Ambitious Civilians Thinking Of Coup To Bury It

By

Editorial staff

-

May 3, 2021

The Nigerian Armed Forces has sent a strong warning to any of its personnel in collusion with ambitious civilians who are thinking of coup to topple the present government of President Muhammadu Buhari to bury the thought immediately.

A statement today, May 3, by the Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, said that the Armed Forces of Nigeria remain fully committed to the present administration and all associated democratic institutions.

The statement warned politicians who nurse the inordinate ambition to rule this country outside the ballot box to banish such thoughts, assuring that the military under the current leadership remain resolute in the defence of Nigeria’s democracy and its growth.

“We also wish to remind all military personnel that it is treasonable to even contemplate this illegality. The full wrath of the law will be brought to bear on any personnel found to collude with people having such agenda.

“The current security challenges are not insurmountable. The Armed Forces of Nigeria in partnership with other other security Agencies are working assiduously to ameliorate the challenge. Nigeria will know peace again.”

The statement which was in reaction to the call by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Robert Clarke, demanding that the military should control the government temporarily and restructure Nigeria, stressed that the military shall continue to remain apolitical, subordinate to the civil authority, firmly loyal to the Commander-in-Chief, President Buhari and the 1999 Constitution as amended.

The statement added that the military will continue to discharge its responsibilities professionally, protect the country’s democracy, defend the territorial integrity of the country and protect of lives and properties of citizens.

Whatever I Say Is From Oracle Of God, You Challenge It At Your Risk – Father Mbaka

By

Editorial staff

-

May 3, 2021

A Catholic Priest, Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka, has said that whatever he says during his sermons and outside it is the oracle of God and that whoever challenges it does so at his peril.

Reacting to a statement by the Presidency that he has been attacking President Muhammadu Buhari because he could not get contract from his government, Mbaka described such attack on him as crocodiles, adding that “God is ready for them.”

Father Mbaka, founder of Adoration Ministry, spoke today, May 3 at a sermon at the Ministry in Enugu, thanking Garba Shehu, special assistant to the President on media and publicity, who issued the presidency’s statement for telling the world that the Federal Government is not paying or giving him anything.

“I am a messenger of God, so you should be stupid to be attacking a messenger from God no matter who you are. God is above all of us. You don’t feel happy that God is revealing secrets to you; instead of destroying you silently, he decided to inform you where you are not doing well. So why should Mbaka be attacked by any reasonable human being?

“Whether you call your name Shehu or what, there is no need for that. I don’t explain what I have said once it is from the Oracle of God. Nigeria is a country where you say the truth and get attacked by crocodiles who want to eat the fishes in the fish pond.

“All those attacking men of God are crocodiles, but God is ready for them. I am not discouraged, I have been waiting for them to challenge anything I say. You allow the truth to be hidden then you start attacking the person who said the truth. You don’t attack the messenger.

“Challenge the truth whether there is insecurity in the country or not, whether there are good hospitals in the country or not. God loves us so much and saved us from coronavirus, but our leaders are the coronavirus we are suffering from.

“Are we not hungry? Is there employment opportunities for the youths as it ought to be? The money they are packing for election if they use it to build industry wouldn’t our youths have places to work?

“They talked about giving Fr Mbaka a contract. I don’t want to talk about that because it is a laughable childish accusation. Whosoever that is saying that is a shame to himself and shame to the people he is representing.

Polaris Bank Empowers 188 Nigerians, Gives Away N26 Million On Save & Win Finale Draw

By

Editorial staff

-

May 3, 2021

Six Nigerians have emerged millionaires in the Polaris Bank ‘Save and Win’ grand finale promo draws.

The millionaires include Williams F. Atinuke, a customer of Ikorodu Local Govt branch; Bello G. Amthe, a customer of Maiduguri branch and Sani Mohammed, a customer of Kura branch, Kano. Others are Okoro N. Arua, a customer of Aba Factory Road branch, Abia State; Ndidi M. Ebagua, a customer of Benin Main branch, Edo State and Ogunbowale Isola, a customer of Sokenu Road branch, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Two millionaires; Lucky Okunzuwa, a customer with the Bank’s Akpakpava branch in Benin City also in Edo state and Ikechukwu Bartholomew Obiefuna, a customer with the Bank’s Okeke street branch, Awka in Anambra state, had earlier emerged in the first and second draws of the promo which took place on February 9 and March 9, 2021 respectively.

In a statement, the said that 60 other lucky winners also emerged from across the six geo-political zones, winning N100,000 each during the draw.

The draw which held at its headquarters, in Victoria Island Lagos was streamed across various media channels attracting a large online audience. The audience profile was made up of customers from within and outside Nigeria and members of the public who witnessed the emergence of the six millionaires and other consolation prize winners through an open and transparent electronic ballot.

Speaking at the unveiling of the winners, Polaris Bank’s Managing Director/CEO, Innocent C. Ike, while offering his congratulations, said he was excited at the outcome of the draws and particularly for the customers, adding that: “This will create the desired change in the savings culture of Nigerians as well as transform the investment climate for the economy.”

The trio of Susie Onwuka; Gloria Ireka and Owen Dadzie representing the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC); National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) and the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) respectively, adjudged the draw process as transparent and credible and commended Polaris Bank for taking its time to do things properly.

The ‘Save & Win’ promo was launched in November 2020 with three draws slated to select winners in February, March, and April respectively.

A total of N26,000,000 cash have been won by 188 Polaris Bank customers nationwide. Eight millionaires emerged from the six geo-political zones of the country and 180 other customers went home with a consolation sum of N100,000 each.

Polaris Bank is a future-determining bank committed to delivering industry-defining products and services across all sectors of the Nigerian economy.

Looming Armageddon And The Silence Of Igbo Elite, By Ugoji Egbujo

By

Editorial staff

-

May 3, 2021

A child who leaves skelewu to dance surugede must be reminded; surugede is a dance of the spirits. Those whom the gods want to kill they first make mad.

Osinbajo fears civil war. War is hell, but we could be in for worse. The rampant slaughter of police and military personnel on the streets is the devil at full throttle. Our governments have only a little time to spare us a slow descent into Armageddon. No one will enjoy a Sergeant before the cascade into a Liberia.

Igbo elders and elites are silent. They lost their voice against evil when it was in its infancy. That’s what political opportunism does. Everything is seen through the prism of petty smash and grab politics. Now the monster is prancing around with fangs and claws; it could be prudence to remain mute. After all, if armed robbers, you can call them whatever you wish, can visit a governor at his country home at 9 am on a Saturday morning day, then what can a timid self-centred politician do?

Professor Osinabajo told a poignant story a few days ago. His friend was a supreme court judge in Somalia. Then the trouble started. The elite kept quiet. The trouble festered into a war. The country fell apart. The courts closed, and judges fled to become commoners. Later, on a UN mission, Professor Osinbajo met his friend, bowl in hand, waiting for a food ration on a long queue. Someone called it a nice piece of fear-mongering. That bold fellow lives in London.

I have checked the Twitter handles of many vocal Igbo politicians. In the last month, they never mentioned “unknown gunmen.” They have largely avoided the monster. Soludo was attacked; they said nothing. The Owerri prison was broken, and murderers freed; they looked away. Then a governor’s house was attacked, his guards killed, his house set ablaze; yet no word from the champions of Igbo politics and none from the bishops. Igbos used to be bold.

A village priest in a church in Imo raised the issue of the unknown gunmen in his sermon recently. Murmurs of approval from a section of the congregation greeted the brutal actions of the gangsters. Then the priest explained to his excited congregation that those who can burn a governor’s house could set ablaze all the cathedrals in the state. The congregation quietened. All it would take might be a devilish epiphany. The leader of the gang could say that in the republic that is to come, the ways of white colonialism must be forsaken and African spirituality reinstated. That would be all. He might even put the seal of God beside the pronouncement.

When commercial kidnapping started in Nigeria, it started with the abductions of foreigners in the Niger Delta. The locals looked away. It wasn’t their problem. Many foreigners flew away; the others learnt to fly without perching. A few years later, the criminals’ appetite became omnivorous, and the shadow of death loomed over the entirety of Port Harcourt. Soon everybody in Port Harcourt knew somebody who had been kidnapped and ransomed or killed. Aba would later convulse, fold and flee. The entire town. Arson has started in Igbo land with police stations. Commissioned arson is antithetical to the capitalist nature of the Igbo nation. If it becomes rife, markets, warehouses, and homes would all be in peril.

The Anambra governorship elections are months away. A group has sworn to maim and kill those who would take part in campaigns and the election. The government has said nothing. The traditional institutions have said nothing. Igbo professional groups have said nothing. They might need to borrow balls. In the last four weeks, many security agents have been murdered on the streets in Anambra. Anambra 2021 is in jeopardy and the state that produced Azikiwe and Ojukwu has been intimidated into silence.

I used to wonder how North Korea came into the worship of one man. But after reading about how Kim Jung Un, and his father before him, distributed death whimsically to persons and families, it became apparent. The elites in North Korea now laugh aggressively and uniformly at every joke cracked by their president. A careful campaign to obliterate dissent has begun in Igboland. Soon silence could be a mortal sin, and we could be tumbling over ourselves to sing eulogies to a supreme leader.

By the time the cheerleaders of violence realized they had castrated themselves in Somalia, it was too late. Their country had become a gangland. The rule is simple. When chaos sets in, the man with the gun and capacity to do evil becomes king. Somalia has been partitioned by violence. The falcons you see today may not hear the falconers tomorrow. We are all in it, the initiators inclusive. Once the goons learn that the native oaths they took were mere rituals, they would resign their membership of the monkey company working for a gluttonous baboon in London or Ethiopia.

Before silence becomes dissent, a capital sin, let’s look at its current shades. Today’s silence in Igbo land is of many types. There is cowardly silence. The bishops and traditional rulers could be in this group. They are not that naive. They can foretell the consequences of the drama unfolding. These elders would have spoken out now, but they have seen the police fall, and they do not want to die yet. They have squirrelled into holes and occasionally appear to attend Ebubeagu meetings behind closed doors.

There is silence as payment for protection— silence in lieu of protection money. When gangs rule, people pay for protection. When a vocal politician keeps mute in the face of egregious evil, he could curry the favour of the mob. Many great social crusaders, who have lost their voices and can’t discuss the barbarism of the ‘Unknown Gunmen’ boldly and truthfully, fall into this otherwise noble group. You might call them chameleons. But some of them are actually mice. They used to brag about their ability to speak truth to power. They have now seen not a pet cat that laps milk but a feral cat. And they have tucked in their tails. Then there those who have chosen silence to egg the monster on, to instigate an apocalypse from which they might gain a political advantage. They are the hyenas. They desperately want a change in the existing power equation and wouldn’t mind getting into the mix through the backdoor or rat hole.

Some see the birth pangs of a new republic. For others, it’s spice, entertainment. Some say that going for broke is the best way to strike the best bargains when dealing with the hard-hearted. Something is certain; vultures are circling. Adults are home, and our goat is going into labour tethered. Have the gods made us mad, madly silent?