Kadiri Alex Unpublished Book “Sunshower” Wins Quramo’s N1 Million

October 5, 2020

“Sunshower,” Kadiri Alex’s entry in the Quramo, QWP 2020 competition has won one million naira

The Prize was won Sunday, October 4 during the final of the competition at the Quramo Festival of Words, (QFest2020), after three day virtual and live literary and artistic excursion that ran from Friday October 2 – Sunday October 4, 2020. The competition featured master classes, book chats, panel discussions and exciting poetry performances.

The winner was picked by a panel of judges made up of A. Igoni Barrett and Molara Wood with Toni Kan as head judge.

The announcement of the winner was made after a citation of the Top three entries were after three day virtual and live literary and artistic excursion that ran from Friday October 2 – Sunday October 4, 2020.

The competition featured master classes, book chats, panel discussions and exciting poetry performances.

In their citation, the judges described Sunshower as “a young man’s coming-of-age story told in the shadow of his mother’s illness as well as his troubled relationship with his father.

“We consider this entry a beautifully wrought tale told by a gifted story teller with an uncanny facility for words. We believe that our winning entry is a very rewarding read, with a solid conclusion and as such a deserving first place winner.”

The 3rd place went to Adeniyi Timilehin for his entry, Unchained which was described by the judges as “a story that riffs on domestic violence as the big theme but there is of course the mental health component.”

The second place went to Aliyu Baba-Ari for his entry The Paths That Take Us which the judges noted is a “beautifully crafted, topical and bloody story. It is Nigeria’s contemporary story writ large and a well told story by a gifted and confident writer.”

Police Brutality: Osinbajo Gives Inspector General Marching Order On Reform

Editorial staff

October 4, 2020

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, has given the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu a marching order to carry out reforms that would change the ugly behavior of some officers.

The Vice President, who met with the police boss today, October 4, at the Presidential villa, Abuja, expressed his open anger over the arrests and brutal killing of young Nigerians by the Police.

Professor Osinbajo directed the IGP to ensure that police officers that were found culpable in the maiming and killing of young men and women should be made to face the full wrath of the law. The Vice President, who spoke to news men shortly after the meeting said: “I am very concerned, in fact, very angry about what I see happening to young men and women who are arrested, in some cases maimed or killed by men of the police force.”

He said that the President, Muhammadu Buhari and himself had discussed the matter on a number of occasions with the President also showing his displeasure about such reports, resolving to ensure reforms.

According to him, such violations of human rights are “completely unacceptable because these are individuals who are meant to protect Nigerians. The arrest, maiming or killing of young people or anyone at all, is completely wrong. It is unlawful and illegal, and anyone involved in this act ought to be investigated and prosecuted.

“Today, I had a meeting with the Inspector General of Police. We reviewed several of these issues. The President and I have had discussions on this; he is very concerned about it. He wants to see a reform.

“You are probably aware that the IGP has issued a statement looking at all these issues, in particular, the warning against the use of these tactical units such as SARS for purposes of doing anything other than anti-robbery.

“For example, and I think in his statement, he specifically said that you cannot have a situation where SARS says they are investigating Cybercrime by arresting young men and women carrying their laptops and phones. Cybercrime is an electronic crime. I don’t see how you can investigate that by seizing people’s phones in a taxi or in their cars.

“It is very obvious that this is a major concern, a few bad eggs in the police force are causing all of these problems because it is all over the place, in different states. There is a need to take serious action.

“The IG’s statement today, is a good first step. He has said clearly that police men must wear police uniforms. You cannot say that because you belong to a tactical unit, you can dress in your casual clothing and be armed, because people can’t even tell the difference between robbers and the police, if you are not properly dressed in police uniform. So, clearly, a reform is in the offing. “So, I will like to encourage civil society activists, young men and women, who bring this regularly, by the way, to the attention of government and the police. And I think that activism is important because they have been able to bring a lot of these issues to the attention of the police and government, and that is an important part of the process of the reform.

“It is very obvious that this is a major concern. A few bad eggs in the police force are causing all of these problems. It is all over the place, in different states. There is a need to take serious action. The IG’s statement today, is a good first step.

“He has said clearly that officers have to dress properly. You cannot say that because you belong to a tactical unit, you can dress in your casual clothing, armed in a car.

“People can’t even tell the difference between robbers and the police, if you are not properly dressed in police uniform.”

The Vice President said that all hands should be on deck to effect the reforms, adding: “I think that we all have to work together to ensure that the police and law enforcement agents, do what their duty is and their duty is to protect us, protect our society and livelihoods and homes.

“By the way, many of them are doing their duties excellently well, but there are some of them who are engaged in these activities.

“So, we must see this as something we all must work together to achieve, as individuals, to bring to the attention of the police and government, where there have been violations.

“And on the part of government and the police: to ensure that every one of those allegations is properly investigated and those found responsible are prosecuted and publicized so that people know that prosecution has taken place and this is the consequence. I am very confident that we will have a reformed police force and that process has already begun.”

Source: Vanguard

Kogi Gov Blames Federal Govt For Negotiating With Kidnappers, Bandits

Editorial staff

October 4, 2020

File photo of Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello

Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello has blamed the Federal and some State Governments for establishing any form of negotiation with kidnappers and bandits, saying that the criminals should not be allowed to enjoy the proceeds of their crimes.

Governor Yahaya Bello, who spoke today, October 4, at the opening of Retreat by the Senate Press Corps in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, said that the only way to drastically reduce the menace of kidnapping is to stop negotiating with the perpetrators and preventing them from enjoying the proceeds of the crime.

According to the governor, who was represented by his Deputy, David Onoja, being ruthless against the criminals will keep them at bay, saying that the spate of kidnappings in the state has reduced to the barest minimum largely due to his administration’s resolve to tackle the criminals headlong.

Governor Yahay Bello recalled that before emergence of his administration in 2016, “Kogi was noted as the kidnap capital of Nigeria.

“Our highways were littered with virtually weekly occurrences of armed robbery, especially night travelers in luxurious buses.

“In four years nine months later, though we have not been able to eradicate kidnappings totally, the numbers have drastically reduced to the barest minimum.

“And highway robberies and bank robberies are becoming things that are in our history books rather than what we experienced.

“We are doing our best in fighting insecurity in Kogi and ensuring that life and property are secured.”

The governor assured Kogi residents and Nigerians that his administration is determined to provide succour for victims of flash flooding in the state.

“While we may not be able to stop the flooding, we will prevent as many lives as possible from going with the menace.

“That is our focus, that is our target, that is what we shall achieve by the grace of God.”

Senate President Ahmad Lawan who was represented by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Ajibola Basiru, stressed the importance for National Assembly and the State Houses of Assembly to work closely together in enacting legislations that would aid the development of the country.

He commended Governor Yahay Bello for his developmental strides, especially for ensuring relative peace and security in the state.

The theme of the Retreat is: “Democracy and development in a Federation: Roles of Media, States and Parliaments.”

Beware Of Enemies Of State Sponsoring Discord, Anarchy In Nigeria – Presidency

Editorial staff

October 4, 2020

The Presidency has cautioned Nigerians to beware of enemies of State that have taken pleasure in sponsoring and encouraging discord and anarchy in Nigeria, either for selfish ends or as revenge for perceived injuries

In a statement today, October 4, the special adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, noted that some groups of Nigerians “have been dolorous, disgruntled, and disconsolate” since the organized labour suspended the planned nationwide strike and decided to go for dialogue.

“Since Organized Labour toed the path of sense and sensibility last week, seeing reason with the imperatives of fuel price adjustment, and opening a further window of dialogue on the service based electricity tariff, some groups of Nigerians “have been dolorous, disgruntled, and disconsolate.”

Femi Adesina said that such Nigerians had perfected plans to use the strike by the labour unions as smokescreen to unleash anarchy on the land, fomenting mayhem and civil disobedience.

“But the plan blew up in their faces, and they have been in severe pains since then. They have launched series of tirades against Organized Labour.

“For some interest groups, their intention was to use the umbrella of the strike to further their whimsical and pie-in-the-sky dream of a revolution in the country. It went bust in their faces.

“For some others, Bitter-Enders, who have remained entrenched in pre-2015 and 2019 elections mode, it was opportunity to avenge the 2012 Occupy Nigeria protests, which they believe largely devalued the government of the day, and led to its eventual ouster in 2015.

“The strike that was to have come up last week, they wanted to use as opportunity for a pound of flesh, which they calculated would weaken the government so much, and influence the 2023 elections. For them, it was all about hanker for power, its trappings and appurtenances. Nothing about love of country. They have since then been calling Organized Labour all sorts of names, claiming they deceived Nigerians.

“The times in which we live-with severe security, economic and social challenges-call for all hands to be on deck, and goodwill and support for government, as it strives to put the nation on an even keel. We commend Organized Labour for putting the country first.

The spokesman said that the Muhammadu Buhari government is only interested in engendering better quality of life for the citizenry and “nothing more.”

First Time In 6 Months, Saudi Opens Up Makkah Grand Mosque For Umrah

Editorial staff

October 3, 2020

Makkah’s Grand Mosque will see the return of Umrah pilgrims tomorrow, October 4, for the first time since the pilgrimage was temporarily suspended due to the coronavirus, with the exception of Hajj.

Information from Saudi Arabia said that pilgrims will gather at allocated sites in Makkah including Ajyad, Al-Shasha, Al-Gazzah and Al-Zahir, and will be transported to the mosque by special busses.

It said that the Umrah pilgrims will be accompanied by a health care professional, adding that the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques is already in the mood to receive pilgrims and has various preventative measures in place to ensure their safety.

According to Saudi Press Agency (SPA), at least 1,000 employees have been enlisted to monitor Umrah rituals at the Grand Mosque and it is cleaned 10 times a day.

The mosque’s toilets are cleaned six times a day and carpets, floors, Zamzam water fountains and all maintenance vehicles are sanitized around the clock.

Sanitizing devices have been installed at the entrances of the mosque and on escalators. Air-conditioning systems are cleaned with ultraviolet rays and scent is sprayed in the mosque frequently.

Thermal cameras are being used in the mosque to identify people with high body temperatures.

The Mataf area surrounding the Kaaba will only be used by Umrah pilgrims to perform the Tawaf ritual to ensure their safety and comfort.

Fani-Kayode Confesses Catching His Wife In Bed With Another Man

Editorial staff

October 3, 2020

A former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has confessed that he caught his estranged wife, Precious in bed with a married man

Reacting to a viral video of him allegedly abusing his wife, Fani-Kayode said that contrary to the video making the rounds, there was no physical abuse.

According to him, he collected the phone from his wife to stop her from recording him after he caught her in bed with a married man.

The former minister tweeted: “a video posted which supposedly depicts me ABUSING my estranged wife. This is nothing but a propaganda video.

“There was NO physical abuse. I simply took the phone from her to stop her from recording me after catching her in bed with a married man days earlier.

“I repeat there was no physical abuse whatsoever and she had been insulting and subjecting everybody, including family members, staff and children, to physical and verbal abuse the whole day. As usual, it was a nightmare.

“My words in the video are self explanatory. I urge those that watched it to listen to those words carefully. I told her that everyone wanted peace except for her and all she did was indulge in scandal after scandal. I have never physically abused my estranged wife.”

Coronavirus Stricken American President, Trump, Moved To Military Hospital

Editorial staff

October 3, 2020

Stricken by coronavirus, a feverish and fatigued President Donald Trump of America has been flown to a military hospital after being injected with an experimental drug combination in treatment at the White House.

The President, who had spent months downplaying the threat of the virus, was forced to cancel all campaign events a month before the election as he fought a virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans and is hitting others in his orbit as well.

The White House said Trump’s expected stay of “a few days” at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center was precautionary and that he would continue to work from the hospital’s presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to keep up his official duties.

“Going well, I think! Thank you to all. LOVE!!!,” the president tweeted after having been moved to the military hospital for treatment.

The President’s physician said in a memo released shortly afterwards that Trump was doing “very well” and not needing supplemental oxygen. Navy Cmdr. Dr Sean Conley also said that Trump had undergone therapy employing the antiviral drug remdesivir.

“He has completed his first dose and is resting comfortably,” Conley said.

Earlier in the day, Conley said that the President had also received a dose of an experimental antibody combination by Regeneron that is in clinical trials, adding that Trump “remains fatigued but in good spirits.”

Trump walked out of the White House yesterday, October 2 wearing a mask and gave a thumbs-up to reporters but did not speak before boarding Marine One. Members of the aircrew, Secret Service agents and White House staff wore face coverings to protect themselves from the president on board the helicopter.

In a videotaped before leaving for Walter Reed, Trump said: “I think I’m doing very well, but we’re going to make sure that things work out.”

Just a month before the Presidential election, Trump’s revelation that he was positive for the virus came by tweet about 1 a.m. Friday after he had returned from a Thursday afternoon political fundraiser. He had gone ahead to the event, saying nothing to the crowd though knowing he had been exposed to an aide with the disease that has infected millions in America and killed more than a million worldwide.

First lady, Melania Trump also tested positive, the president said, and several others in the White House have, too, prompting concern that the White House or even Trump himself might have spread the virus further. He said in his video that his wife was doing very well.

Chevron Dismisses 2,000 Nigerian Workers, Allegedly Plans To Employ 600 Americans

Editorial staff

October 3, 2020

A major American oil company operating in Nigeria, Chevron Nigeria Limited has sacked no fewer than 2,000 Nigerians working for it and asked them to re-apply for fresh jobs, even it is allegedly making moves to employ 600 workers from America to replace some sacked Nigerians.

The oil company had earlier announced that it would be reducing its staff strength by 25 per cent as it is reviewing its manpower requirements due to the outbreak of Coronavirus.

In a statement on Friday by its General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Esimaje Brikinn, the company said that all employees would retain their employment until the re-organization process is completed.

This was even as the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) vowed to resist the sacking of Nigerian workers by the company.

The association confirmed that Chevron Nigeria had already dismissed over 2,000 staff with 600 of them listed for permanent dismissal.

The branch Chairman, Ete Oyegbanren, and branch Secretary, Lavin Aghaunor, of Chevron PENGASSAN, in a statement alleged that the company planned to replace the Nigerians sacked with Americans, who will be working remotely.

“Chevron Management experimented with Work From Home (WFH) since the outbreak of COVID-19 in March 2020 and discovered that since Nigerians can work from their homes during the lockdown period using internet connection, the same work being done by Nigerians here can be done remotely by Americans from the US hence the move to sack 600 Nigerians and replace them with Americans who would be working remotely from the US. This is a case of worsening the unemployment situation in Nigeria and using same to address those of America.

“The President Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government has made the creation of one million jobs per year a cornerstone of his administration. The government even went further by approving the recruitment of over 1,000 employees to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation.

“We are also aware that the FG advised companies not to sack Nigerian workers under the guise of COVID-19. We have credible information that Chevron management is boasting that the President of Nigeria cannot dictate to them how to run the company, despite the fact that NNPC owns 60 per cent of the Joint Venture.

“The plan of Chevron management is part of a grand scheme by multinational oil companies operating in Nigeria to gradually relocate work being done in Nigeria to their home country. In this instance, there will be offshoring of 600 Nigerian jobs to America thereby worsening the unemployment situation in Nigeria. As patriotic Nigerians, PENGASSAN shall resist this with all tools available to her.”

Members of the association staged a protest to express their dissatisfaction with the plan of the oil company, even as they called on Nigerian Government to call the management of Chevron to order and direct them to comply with Nigerian laws and regulations in the oil and gas industry.

However, the company said that it is focused on cutting cost and not migrating jobs from Nigeria, adding that the company is engaging its workers to reach an understanding on the actions of the company.

“We have prospects for our company in Nigeria. However, we must make the necessary adjustments in light of the prevailing business climate; and we need everyone’s support to get through these tough times stronger, more efficient and more profitable, in order to sustain the business.

“We are actively engaging our workforce to ensure they understand why this is being done.

“We will continue to consistently engage all relevant stakeholders, including the leadership of the employee unions as we continue this process of business optimisation.”

The Only Way To Stop Nigeria From Breaking-Up Is To Restructure – Pastor Adeboye

Editorial staff

October 3, 2020

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has said that the only way to avoid Nigeria from breaking up is for the Federal Government to quickly address the agitations for the restructuring of the country.

The cleric, who spoke today, October 3 at the 60th Independence Day Celebration Symposium organised by RCCG and the Nehemiah Leadership Institute, proposed the adoption of both the British and the American systems of government to pave the way for Nigeria’s future.

“Why can’t we have a system of government that is 100 percent Nigerian and unique to us? For example, we started with the British system of government, somewhere along the line, we moved over to the American system of government.

“Can’t we have a combination of both and see whether it could help us solve our problems because in mathematics if you want to solve a problem, you try what we call real-analysis, then if it doesn’t work, then you move on to complex analysis and see whether that will help you. If that fails, you move on to vector analysis and so on.

“I believe that we might want to look at the problems of Nigeria in a slightly different manner. Some people feel that all our problems will be over if Nigeria should break up. I think that is trying to solve the problems of Nigeria as if it is a simple equation.

“The problems of Nigeria will require quite a bit of simultaneous equation and some of them are not going to be linear either – forgive me I am talking as a mathematician.

“Why can’t we have a system of government that will create what I will call the the United States of Nigeria? Let me explain. We all know that we must restructure. It is either we restructure or we break. You don’t have to be a prophet to know that one. That is certain – restructure or we break up.

“Now, we don’t want to break up, God forbid. In restructuring, why don’t we have a Nigerian kind of democracy? At the federal level, why don’t we have a president and a prime minister?

“If we have a president and a prime minister and we share responsibilities between these two so that one is not an appendage to the other. For examples, if the president controls the army and the prime minister controls the police. If the president controls resources like oil and mining and the prime minister controls finance and inland revenue, taxes, customs etc. You just divide responsibilities between the two.

“At the state level, you have the governor and the premier, and the same way, you distribute responsibilities between these people in such a manner that one cannot really go without the other. Maybe we might begin to tackle the problems.”

I Became Nigeria’s Head Of State At Age 31 By Accident – General Gowon

Editorial staff

October 2, 2020

Retired General Yakubu Gowon has said that he became Nigeria’s Head of State during the civil war at age 31 by accident.

Gowon became the youngest ever Head of State on August 1, 1966 and remains the longest serving Nigerian head of state after spending nine years in office between 1966–1975.

He spoke at Nigeria’s first virtual reality history competition organized by ANISZA Foundation and Gallery on Friday.

Gowon said: “I felt petrified when I took over as Head of State.”

He said that his ambition then was just to be a good soldier.

“I never planned to be the President, it just happened.”

The former Head of State shared some of his life experiences to the youths and counseled them on the right attitudes and values.

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