CITING wrong-headed policies, the Science Association of Nigeria (SAN) has warned of a looming dearth of food in the country if conscious efforts are not made by the relevant authorities to boost the nation’s food production capacity.

SAN, through its President, Prof.   Adeniyi Togun, said no nation could survive the outbreak of famine when the human population remained at geometrical ratio against apathetical attitude of the government to proper agricultural plans tailored towards scientific farming.

Togun, who spoke yesterday at the 47th Annual Conference of SAN held at Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Kwara State, however, submitted that with proper management of the nation’s available resources, it could become self-sufficient in power generation and by extension, serve as a catalyst to agro-allied production capacity of Nigeria.

According to him, while speaking on the theme: “The role of science and technology in strategising for food production”, “over the years, various strategies toward improving food production had been chorused by SAN. During this period, there have been practical suggestions followed by positive solutions.

“To this extent, there has been positive encouragement in improving productive activity in the area of cassava, rice and yam production, to mention a few. In view of the fact that human population has never been static but has been in embarrassing surge, there is more demand for food security.”

He added that there was an urgent need to learn “new things” from scientists in and outside Nigeria to boost agricultural production for continuous sustainability of food security “for the ever-intimidating rise in population figures”.

Besides, Togun added, “there is also a need to enter into a multi-utilisation phase of agricultural products not only to meet local needs but also exporting countries in Africa where Nigeria is acclaimed as a giant. These and other evolving new challenges call for a re-strategising to get armed for positive and imminent solutions.”

Other focal points of the SAN leader in scientific agricultural revolution are:

• Addressing the issue of change in weather vis-à-vis effects on crops, animals and humans;

• Overhauling of the nation’s meteorological services toward making it relevant to agricultural plans and policies, and

• Academic juxtaposition of science/engineering studies to Nigerian agricultural production needs, through curriculum content development in the nation’s tertiary institutions.

AN assurance has come from the Cross River State government that it would continue to enforce the Child-Rights law, which had been domesticated in the state.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Civil Society Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO), Ntufam Peter Oti, who disclosed this at the 16th graduation ceremony of Girls’ Power initiative (GPI), said: “The Cross River State government is not only gender-sensitive but also child-friendly”.

Oti, who represented Governor  Liyel Imoke, also witnessed the inauguration of AMANITARE segxwal Rights Network’s national advocacy campaign with the theme “My Health, My Life”.

He restated the state’s commitment to Child Rights Law, adding that “this is clearly expressed in the domestication of the Child Rights Law and its implementation in the state.

“We will also continue to initiate programmes that will provide a brighter future for the girl-child and children generally,” he said.

Oti said the theme of the national segxwality campaign was appropriate in view of the quality of the graduating girls who had undergone the three-year intensive and comprehensive segxwality programme at the GPI.

He also lauded the GPI for successfully undertaking the campaign against the continued adoption of negative traditional practices that were either harmful or not in the interest of the girl-child.

Oti said: “I salute the courage of the founding fathers of GPI for complementing the efforts of government in the campaign to lift the status and wellbeing of the girl-child. GPI directors have consistently created a pivot, which has launched our young girls into social prominence. This value re-orientation needs to be sustained in the years to come”.

The Coordinator, GPI, Calabar Centre and Chairperson, GPI Executive Board, Prof. Bene Madunagu, said the advocacy campaign was meant to accelerate the right to segxwal and Reproductive Health Services (SRHR) for women and health in Africa.

She said the AMANITARE, a regional campaign project, which started in Nigeria in 2010, also runs in five other African counties including Mozambique, Zambia, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

She added that the focus on Nigeria was on improved access and availability to SRHR services for young girls of 10 to 24 years and charged stakeholders, including the media, to continue to assist young girls to live healthy lives “so as to have a next generation.

“To the young girls who are graduating today, we are sending you forth into a larger society to spread the information and skills gained from GPI to others”.

Barrack Obama has formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination.

The US President did so after delivering what will be his final convention speech as a candidate on Thursday night, September 6, 2012.

The speech is coming after two critically acclaimed support speeches from Obama’s wife – first lady Michelle and former US president Bill Clinton.

‘Our problems can be solved. Our challenges can be met. The path we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place. And I’m asking you to choose that future’, Obama said.

The 2012 United States elections will be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Obama will contest against businessman and politician Mitt Romney who is the nominee of the Republican Party.

Hello lovvies, TGIF! Today let’s talk older women and younger men relationships…

As a woman dating or marrying a younger man is pretty much a taboo in our culture , but celebrities like Darey Art Alade (whose wife Deola is 8 years older, they’ve been married 5 years and have 2 Children) and Peter Okoye of P-Square (whose girlfriend Lola Omotayo is about 6 years older, they’ve been together 6 years and they have a son and another on the way) have broken with tradition and embraced a trend which was been attributed to



I’ve asked my friends, and roughly 90percent say they would never entertain the thought of a younger guy (Naija girls) but it seems the men are more open (as long as the age difference isn’t more than 2 years and she doesn’t look older…LOL). I have a friend who is being actively pursued by a guy 2 years younger, this man treats her better than any of her exes ever have but she says she’s not going there cos of the age thing.

In our society it’s perfectly okay for a man to be with a woman decades younger, but when the roles are reversed the woman is called desperate and the man must be with her for her money.
So here’s what I want to know Ladies are you open to dating/marrying a younger man? what’s your age limit?
And this goes for the men to…would you date/marry an older woman? And what’s your age limit?

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday pitched his tent with ordinary Nigerians to condemn the introduction of a new N5,000 note into the economy, saying the introduction of the N5,000 note would kill production and affect small businesses negatively.

Obasanjo, who spoke at a roundtable advocacy forum organised by the Institute of Directors, Nigeria, in Lagos, condemned the approach of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido Sanusi.

  gathered that Obasanjo insisted that the manner in which Sanusi is fighting inflation by removing money from circulation was improper.

While speaking on the cost of doing business in the country, Obasanjo called on stakeholders and government agencies to rise up to the challenge.

He said some observers had suggested that the Vision 2020 blueprint was somewhat of an ambitious agenda, which was unrealisable considering the daunting challenges confronting businesses in the country.

Obasanjo said the 2012 annual report of the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank showed that a record number of African countries took decisive steps to encourage more local entrepreneurs to come into the formal economy over the past 12 years but Nigeria was nowhere to be found.

He said, “Across the continent, 15 countries lowered barriers to entry for new businesses, 23 facilitated access to credit, and seven made it easier to pay taxes. Nigeria is not in any of these leagues.

“In its 2008 report, Nigeria ranked 108 out of 178 countries and in the space of four years, we rank 137 out of 183 countries measured. This is a damning report on our business environment and, therefore, calls for more concerted efforts by various stakeholders on how to ensure that this trend is reversed and the Nigeria business environment is made more conducive for investments and less costly for businesses to thrive," he said.

"We cannot aim for 2020 if we do not halt the downward spiral,” Obasanjo stressed.

The following is a transcript of President Barack Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention on Sept. 6, 2012.
 OBAMA:  Michelle, I love you.
    (APPLAUSE)

    OBAMA:  A few night nights ago, everyone was reminded just
 what a lucky man I am.
    (APPLAUSE)

    Malia and Sasha, we are so proud of you.
    (APPLAUSE)

    And yes, you do have to go to school in the morning.
    (LAUGHTER)

    And Joe Biden, thank you for being the best Vice President
 I could have ever hope for, and being a strong and loyal friend.
    (APPLAUSE)
 Continue to see his speech last night....


    Madam Chairwoman, delegates, I accept your nomination for President of the United States.
    (APPLAUSE)

    (AUDIENCE MEMBERS):  Four more years, four more years, four more years.

 Now, the first time I addressed this convention in 2004, I was a younger man; a Senate candidate from Illinois who spoke about hope, not blind optimism or wishful thinking, but hope in the face of difficulty; hope in the face of uncertainty; that dogged faith in the future which has pushed this nation
 forward, even when the odds are great; even when the road is long.

    Eight years later, that hope has been tested, by the cost of war; by one of the worst economic crises in history; and by political gridlock that's left us wondering whether it's still even possible to tackle the challenges of our time.

    I know campaigns can seem small, and even silly sometimes.Trivial things become big distractions.  Serious issues become sound bites.  The truth gets buried under an avalanche of money and advertising.  If you're sick of hearing me approve this message, believe me, so am I.
    (APPLAUSE)

    But when all is said and done, when you pick up that ballot to vote, you will face the clearest choice of any time in a generation. Over the next few years, big decisions will be made in Washington, on jobs, the economy; taxes and deficits; energy, education; war and peace, decisions that will have a huge impact on our lives and our children's lives for decades to come. And on every issue, the choice you face won't be just between two candidates or two parties.

    It will be a choice between two different paths for America. A choice between two fundamentally different visions for the future. Ours is a fight to restore the values that built the largest middle class and the strongest economy the world has ever known.
    (APPLAUSE)

    The values my grandfather defended as a soldier in Patton's Army; the values that drove my grandmother to work on a bomber assembly line while he was gone.

    They knew they were part of something larger, a nation that triumphed over fascism and depression; a nation where the most innovative businesses turned out the world's best products, and
 everyone shared in that pride and success, from the corner office to the factory floor.

 My grandparents were given the chance to go to college, buy their own -- their -- their own home, and fulfill the basic bargain at the heart of America's story:  the promise that hard work will pay off; that responsibility will be rewarded; that everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules, from Main Street to Wall Street to Washington, D.C.
    (APPLAUSE)

    And I ran for President because I saw that basic bargain slipping away.  I began my career helping people in the shadow of a shuttered steel mill, at a time when too many good jobs
 were starting to move overseas.  And by 2008, we had seen nearly a decade in which families struggled with costs that kept rising, but paychecks that didn't; folks racking up more and more debt just to make the mortgage or pay tuition; put gas in the car or food on the table.

    And when the house of cards collapsed in the Great Recession, millions of innocent Americans lost their jobs, their homes, their life savings, a tragedy from which we are still fighting to recover.

    Now, our friends down in Tampa, at the Republican convention, were more than happy to talk about everything they think is wrong with America, but they didn't have much to say about how they'd make it right.
    (APPLAUSE)

    They want your vote, but they don't want you to know their plan. And that's because all they had to offer is the same prescription they've had for the last thirty years:
    ``Have a surplus?  Try a tax cut.''
    ``Deficit too high?  Try another.''
    (LAUGHTER)
    ``Feel a cold coming on?  Take two tax cuts, roll back some
 regulations, and call us in the morning.''
    (APPLAUSE)

    Now, I've cut taxes for those who need it, middle-class families, small businesses.  But I don't believe that another round of tax breaks for millionaires will bring good jobs to our
 shores, or pay down our deficit.  I don't believe that firing teachers or kicking students off financial aid will grow the economy, or help us compete with the scientists and engineers coming out of China.
    (APPLAUSE)

    After all that we've been through, I don't believe that rolling back regulations on Wall Street will help the small businesswoman expand, or the laid-off construction worker keep his home.  We have been there, we've tried that, and we're not going back. We are moving forward, America.
    (APPLAUSE)

    I won't pretend the path I'm offering is quick or easy.  I never have.  You didn't elect me to tell you what you wanted to hear. You elected me to tell you the truth.
    (APPLAUSE)

    And the truth is, it will take more than a few years for us to solve challenges that have built up over decades.  It'll require common effort, shared responsibility, and the kind of bold, persistent
 experimentation that Franklin Roosevelt pursued during the only crisis worse than this one.
    (APPLAUSE)

    And by the way, those of us who carry on his party's legacy should remember that not every problem can be remedied with another government program or dictate from Washington. But know this, America:  Our problems can be solved.
    (APPLAUSE)

    Our challenges can be met.  The path we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place. And I'm asking you to choose that future. I'm asking you to rally around a set of goals for your country,
 goals in manufacturing, energy, education, national security, and the deficit; real, achievable plans that will lead to new jobs, more opportunity, and rebuild this economy on a stronger foundation.

 That's what we can do in the next four years, and that's why I'm running for a second term as President of the United States.
    (APPLAUSE)

    We can choose a future
    XXX

    where we export more products and outsource fewer jobs. After a decade that was defined by what we bought and borrowed, we're getting back to basics, and doing what America has always
 done best: We're making things again.
    (APPLAUSE)

    I've met workers in Detroit and Toledo who feared they'd never build another American car.  And today, they can't build them fast enough, because we reinvented a dying auto industry that's back on top of the world.
    (APPLAUSE)


    I've worked with business leaders who are bringing jobs back to America, not because our workers make less pay, but because we make better products.  Because we work harder and smarter than anyone else.
    (APPLAUSE)

    I've signed trade agreements that are helping our companies sell more goods to millions of new customers, goods that are stamped with three proud words:  Made in America.
    (APPLAUSE)

    After a decade of decline, this country created over half a million manufacturing jobs in the last two and a half years. And now you have a choice:  we can give more tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, or we can start rewarding companies that open new plants and train new workers and create new jobs here, in the United States of America.  We can help big factories and small businesses double their exports, and if we choose this path, we can create a million new manufacturing jobs
 in the next four years.  You can make that happen.  You can choose that future.

 And now more than ever, it is the gateway to a middle- class life. For the first time in a generation, nearly every state has answered our call to raise their standards for teaching and learning.
    (APPLAUSE)

    Some of the worst schools in the country have made real gains in math and reading.  Millions of students are paying less for college today because we finally took on a system that wasted billions of taxpayer dollars on banks and lenders.
    (APPLAUSE)

    And now you have a choice.  We can gut education, or we can decide that in the United States of America, no child should have her dreams deferred because of a crowded classroom or a crumbling school. No family should have to set aside a college acceptance letter because they don't have the money.  No company should have to look for workers overseas because they couldn't find any with the right skills here at home.  That's not our future.  That is not our future.
    (APPLAUSE)

    A government has a role in this.  But teachers must
 inspire; principals must lead; parents must instill a thirst for
 learning, and students, you've gotta do the work.
    (APPLAUSE)

    And together, I promise you, we can out-educate and
 out-compete any nation on Earth.  Help me recruit 100,000 math
 and science teachers within ten years, and improve early
 childhood education.
    (APPLAUSE)

    Help give two million workers the chance to learn skills at
 their community college that will lead directly to a job.  Help
 us work with colleges and universities to cut in half the growth
 of tuition costs over the next ten years.  We can meet that goal
 together.
 You can choose that future for America.
    (APPLAUSE)

    That's our future.
    You know, in a world of new threats and new challenges, you
 can choose leadership that has been tested and proven.  Four
 years ago, I promised to end the war in Iraq.  We did.
    (APPLAUSE)
    I promised to refocus on the terrorists who actually
 attacked us on 9/11.  And we have.  We've blunted the Taliban's
 momentum in Afghanistan, and in 2014, our longest war will be
 over.
    (APPLAUSE)
    A new tower rises above the New York skyline, Al Qaeda is
 on the path to defeat, and Osama Bin Laden is dead.
    (APPLAUSE)
    And tonight, we pay tribute to the Americans who still
 serve in harm's way.  We are forever in debt to a generation
 whose sacrifice has made this country safer and more respected.
 We will never forget you.  And so long as I'm
 Commander-in-Chief, we will sustain the strongest military the
 world has ever known.
    (APPLAUSE)

    When you take off the uniform, we will serve you as well as
 you've served us because no one who fights for this country
 should have to fight for a job, or a roof over their head, or
 the care that they need when they come home.
    (APPLAUSE)

    Around the world, we've strengthened old alliances and
 forged new coalitions to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.
 We've reasserted our power across the Pacific, and stood up to
 China on behalf of our workers.  From Burma to Libya to South
 Sudan, we have advanced the rights and dignity of all human
 beings, men and women; Christians and Muslims and Jews.
    (APPLAUSE)

    But for all the progress we've made, challenges remain.
 Terrorist plots must be disrupted.  Europe's crisis must be
 contained.
 Our commitment to Israel's security must not waver,
 and neither must our pursuit of peace.
    (APPLAUSE)

    The Iranian government must face a world that stays united
 against its nuclear ambitions.  The historic change sweeping
 across the Arab World must be defined not by the iron fist of a
 dictator or the hate of extremists, but by the hopes and
 aspirations of ordinary people who are reaching for the same
 rights that we celebrate here today.
    (APPLAUSE)

    So now we face a choice.  My opponent and his running mate
 are new to foreign policy,
    (LAUGHTER)
    (APPLAUSE)

    but from all that we've seen and heard, they want to take
 us back to an era of blustering and blundering that cost America
 so dearly.
    After all, you don't call Russia our number one enemy, not
 Al Qaeda, Russia, unless you're still stuck in a Cold War mind
 warp.
    (APPLAUSE)

    You might not be ready for diplomacy with Beijing if you
 can't visit the Olympics without insulting our closest ally.
    (APPLAUSE)

    My opponent -- my opponent said it was ``tragic'' to end the
 war in Iraq, and he won't tell us how he'll end the war in
 Afghanistan.  Well I have, and I will.  And while my opponent
 would spend more money on military hardware that our Joint
 Chiefs don't even want, I will use the money we're no longer
 spending on war to pay down our debt and put more people back to
 work rebuilding roads and bridges and schools and runways.
 Because after two wars that have cost us thousands
 of lives and over a trillion dollars, it's time to do some
 nation- building right here at home.
    (APPLAUSE)

    You can choose a future where we reduce our deficit without
 sticking it to the middle class.  Independent experts say that
 my plan would cut our deficits by $4 trillion.  And last summer,
 I worked with Republicans in Congress to cut billion in spending
 because those of us who believe government can be a force for
 good should work harder than anyone to reform it, so that it's
 leaner, and more efficient, and more responsive to the American
 people.
    (APPLAUSE)

    I want to reform the tax code so that it's simple, fair,
 and asks the wealthiest households to pay higher taxes on
 incomes over $250,000, the same rate we had when Bill Clinton
 was president; the same rate we had when our economy created
 nearly 23 million new jobs, the biggest surplus in history, and
 a whole lot of millionaires to boot.
    Now, I'm still eager to reach an agreement based on the
 principles of my bipartisan debt commission.  No party has a
 monopoly on wisdom.  No democracy works without compromise.  I
 want to get this done, and we can get it done.  But when
 Governor Romney and his friends in Congress tell us we can
 somehow lower our deficits by spending trillions more on new tax
 breaks for the wealthy, well, what'd Bill Clinton call it?  You
 do the arithmetic, you do the math.
    (APPLAUSE)

    I refuse to go along with that.  And as long as I'm
 President, I never will.
    (APPLAUSE)

    I refuse to ask middle class families to give up their
 deductions for owning a home or raising their kids just to pay
 for another millionaire's tax cut.
    (APPLAUSE)

    I refuse to ask students to pay more for college; or kick
 children out of Head Start programs, to eliminate health
 insurance for millions of Americans who are poor, and elderly,
 or disabled, all so those with the most can pay less.
 I'm not going along with that.
    (APPLAUSE)

    And I will -- I will never turn Medicare into a voucher.
    (APPLAUSE)

    No American should ever have to spend their golden years at
 the mercy of insurance companies.  They should retire with the
 care and the dignity they have earned.  Yes, we will reform and
 strengthen Medicare for the long haul, but we'll do it by
 reducing the cost of health care, not by asking seniors to pay
 thousands of dollars more. And we will keep the promise of
 Social Security by taking the responsible steps to strengthen
 it, not by turning it over to Wall Street.
    (APPLAUSE)

    This is the choice we now face.  This is what the election
 comes down to.  Over and over, we have been told by our
 opponents that bigger tax cuts and fewer regulations are the
 only way; that since government can't do everything, it should
 do almost nothing.
    If you can't afford health insurance, hope that you don't
 get sick.
    (LAUGHTER)

    If a company releases toxic pollution into the air your
 children breathe, well, that's just the price of progress.  If
 you can't afford to start a business or go to college, take my
 opponent's advice and ``borrow money from your parents.''
    (LAUGHTER)
    (APPLAUSE)

    You know what?  That's not who we are.  That's not what
 this country's about.  As Americans, we believe we are endowed
 by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, rights that no
 man or government can take away.  We insist on personal
 responsibility, and we celebrate individual initiative.  We're
 not entitled to success. We have to earn it.  We honor the
 strivers, the dreamers, the risk- takers, the entrepreneurs who
 have always been the driving force behind our free enterprise
 system, the greatest engine of growth and prosperity the world
 has ever known.
 But we also believe in something called citizenship
    (APPLAUSE)

    a word at the very heart of our founding, at the very
 essence of our democracy; the idea that this country only works
 when we accept certain obligations to one another, and to future
 generations.
    We believe that when a CEO pays his autoworkers enough to
 buy the cars that they build, the whole company does better.
    (APPLAUSE)

    We believe that when a family can no longer be tricked into
 signing a mortgage they can't afford, that family is protected,
 but so is the value of other people's homes, and so is the
 entire economy.
    (APPLAUSE)

    We believe the little girl who's offered an escape from
 poverty by a great teacher or a grant for college could become
 the next Steve Jobs, or the scientist who cures cancer, or the
 President of the United States, and it's in our power to give
 her that chance.
    (APPLAUSE)

    We know that churches and charities can often make more of
 a difference than a poverty program alone.  We don't want
 handouts for people who refuse to help themselves, and we
 certainly don't want bailouts for banks that break the rules.
    (APPLAUSE)

    We don't think the government can solve all our problems.
 But we don't think that the government is the source of all our
 problems, any more than are welfare recipients, or corporations,
 or unions, or immigrants, or gays, or any other group we're told
 to blame for our troubles.
    (APPLAUSE)

    Because -- because America, we understand that this
 democracy is ours.
    We, the People, recognize that we have responsibilities as
 well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that a
 freedom which asks only what's in it for me, a freedom without a
 commitment to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty
 or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who
 died in their defense.
    (APPLAUSE)

    As citizens, we understand that America is not about what
 can be done for us.  It's about what can be done by us,
 together, through the hard and frustrating but necessary work of
 self-government.  That's what we believe.
    So you see, the election four years ago wasn't about me.
 It was about you.  My fellow citizens, you were the
 change.
    (APPLAUSE)

    You're the reason there's a little girl with a heart
 disorder in Phoenix who'll get the surgery she needs because an
 insurance company can't limit her coverage.
    You did that.
    (APPLAUSE)

    You're the reason a young man in Colorado who never thought
 he'd be able to afford his dream of earning a medical degree is
 about to get that chance.
    You made that possible.
    (APPLAUSE)

    You're the reason a young immigrant who grew up here and
 went to school here and pledged allegiance to our flag will no
 longer be deported from the only country she's ever called home,
    (APPLAUSE)

    why selfless soldiers won't be kicked out of the military
 because of who they are or who they love; why thousands of
 families have finally been able to say to the loved ones who
 served us so bravely: ``Welcome home, welcome home.''
 You did that.  You did that.
    (APPLAUSE)
    If you turn away now -- if you turn away now, if you buy
 into the cynicism that the change we fought for isn't possible,
 well, change will not happen.  If you give up on the idea that
 your voice can make a difference, then other voices will fill
 the void: the lobbyists and special interests; the people with
 the $10 million checks who are trying to buy this election, and
 those who are making it harder for you to vote; Washington
 politicians who want to decide who you can marry, or control
 health care choices that women should be making for themselves.
    (APPLAUSE)

    Only you can make sure that doesn't happen.  Only you have
 the power to move us forward.
    You know, I recognize that times have changed since I first
 spoke to this convention.  The times have changed, and so have
 I.
    I'm no longer just a candidate.  I'm the President.
    (APPLAUSE)

    And -- and that -- and that -- and that means I know what
 it means to send young Americans into battle, for I have held in
 my arms the mothers and fathers of those who didn't return.
 I've shared the pain of families who've lost their homes, and
 the frustration of workers who've lost their jobs.  If the
 critics are right that I've made all my decisions based on
 polls, then I must not be very good at reading them.
    (LAUGHTER)

    And while I'm very proud of what we've achieved together,
 I'm far more mindful of my own failings, knowing exactly what
 Lincoln meant when he said, ''I have been driven to my knees many
 times by the overwhelming conviction that I had no place else to
 go.``
 But as I stand here tonight, I have never been more
 hopeful about America.
    (APPLAUSE)

    Not because I think I have all the answers.  Not because I'm naive about the magnitude of our challenges. I'm hopeful because of you. The young woman I met at a science fair who won national
 recognition for her biology research while living with her family at a homeless shelter, she gives me hope.
    (APPLAUSE)

    The auto worker who won the lottery after his plant almost closed, but kept coming to work every day, and bought flags for his whole town and one of the cars that he built to surprise his wife, he
 gives me hope.
    (APPLAUSE)

    The family business in Warroad, XXX Minnesota that didn't lay off a single one of their 4,000
 employees during this recession, even when their competitors shut down dozens of plants, even when it meant the owners gave up some perks and some pay, because they understood their biggest asset was the community and the workers who helped build that business, they give me hope.
    (APPLAUSE)

    I think about the young sailor I met at Walter Reed hospital, still recovering from a grenade attack that would cause him to have his leg amputated above the knee.  Six months ago, We would watch him walk into a White House dinner honoring those who served in Iraq, tall and 20 pounds heavier, dashing in his uniform, with a big grin on his face; sturdy on his new leg. And I remember how a few months after that I would watch him on a bicycle, racing with his fellow wounded warriors on a
 sparkling spring day, inspiring other heroes who had just begun the hard path he had traveled.
    He gives me hope.
    (APPLAUSE)

    I don't know what party these men and women belong to.  I don't know if they'll vote for me.  But I know that their spirit defines us. They remind me, in the words of Scripture, that ours
 is a ''future filled with hope.``And if you share that faith with me, if you share that hope with me, I ask you tonight for your vote.
    (APPLAUSE)

   If you reject the notion that this nation's promise is reserved for the few, your voice must be heard in this election. If you reject the notion that our government is forever beholden to the highest bidder, you need to stand up in this election.
    (APPLAUSE)

    If you believe that new plants and factories can dot our landscape; that new energy can power our future; that new schools can provide ladders of opportunity to this nation of dreamers; if you believe in a country where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules, then I need you to vote this November.
    (APPLAUSE)

    America, I never said this journey would be easy, and I won't promise that now.  Yes, our path is harder, but it leads to a better place.  Yes our road is longer, but we travel it together.  We don't turn back.  We leave no one behind.  We pull each other up.  We draw strength from our victories, and we
 learn from our mistakes, but we keep our eyes fixed on that distant horizon, knowing that Providence is with us, and that we are surely blessed to be citizens of the greatest nation on Earth.
    (APPLAUSE)

    Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless these United
 States.

Nigerian actor, Jim Iyke has yet again lived up to his ‘bad boy’ image, this time in the movie, My First Wife, where he gets cosy with Ghanaian actress, Nikki Samonas.

One of the more risque scenes in the movie had the duo engaged in some adult moves under the sheets. The shirtless actor was all over a naked Samonas; at one point, he’s fondling the actress’ Bosom s.

The movie, directed by Ghollywood director Mike Ajaere, tells the story of a rich father who decides to abandon his career to attend to his family, but  is met by a wife who is determined to be a thorn in his side. The movie was shot in 2011 and also stars Jibola Dabo, Rita Dominic, Barbara Ukatah, among others.

Yesterday in Jalingo, the Taraba state capital, some members of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, at the Family House of the Redeemed Christian Corps Fellowship, RCCF were attacked by gunmen.

This has generated some apprehension among Youth Corps members especially those serving in northern states.

According to Vanguard, the bandits stole three laptops, 24 mobile phones and the monthly allowances of the corps members, after gaining entrance into the building through a toilet in the female wing.

One of the corps members said the armed robbers asked them of their states of origin and religion and threatened to behead them if they refused to cooperate.

He said they also threatened to rape the female corps members. Thankfully, no life was lost in the attack.

During the last mobilisation of youth corps members across the country, there was a public outcry against the posting of the graduates to some volatile states in the North. Parents, graduates and some organisations kicked against the mobilisation of youth corps members to such states for safety reasons.

Youth corps members, especially those serving in northern states, have in recent years come under attack from members of the radical Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

Many of them have been killed, raped and robbed of their belongings. During the last General Elections in Nigeria, a number of Youth Corps members were brutally murdered in the post-election violence in some northern states.

With this attack, their fears have been renewed.

The spokesperson of the Taraba State Police Command, Amos Olaoye who confirmed the attack said: “I can confirm the attack but it is not robbery. We have not made any arrest yet but the police are investigating.”

Hopefully, this would serve as a reawakening to the relevant authorities to ensure the safety of Youth Corps members across the country.

Nigerian Woman gives Birth to Monkey like baby – A Nigerian woman has been delivered of a monkey-like baby in Otukpo, a popular town in Benue State. The outré event took place recently at St Theresa Hospital, Otukpo, when the woman said to be the wife of a hunter from Oju Local Government Area of the state gave birth to a creature that looks like a monkey.

CHRISTIAN and Muslim clerics on Tuesday met in Kaduna to deliberate on how to restore normalcy in the North following the gradual return of peace to the region.

They also urged fleeing non-indigenes from the crisis-prone states at the wake of Boko Haram insurgency to return.

The meeting by the clerics, who came from all parts of the country, according to the organisers, was designed to re-assure citizens from other parts of the country that the North was safe for all Nigerians to live and pursue their legitimate businesses unmolested.

The event was hosted by two non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the National Peace Makers’ Initiative Forum (NPMIF), in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity Foundation, while participants were drawn from the three geo-political zones of the country.

They resolved that “Nigerians, irrespective of differences in religious, cultural or ethnic backgrounds, ought to be united and work together for the progress of the nation”.

Convener of the meeting and Chairman of NPMIF, Alhaji Mohammadu Bello Sa’eed, said: “Certain elements in the society were bent on creating division among Muslims and Christians”.

He also decried the use of religion by some unpatriotic Nigerians to foment crisis in the country.

He argued that “the only way to resist the move is for adherents of the two religions to shun the manipulative tendencies of such individuals”, stressing that “once Muslims and Christians are united and speak with one voice, the question of insecurity will no longer be an issue”.

Also in his address, the President, Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution (CPCR), Bishop Goodluck Akpede, who led other Christian clerics from Ibadan, said:  “We are going to prove to the world that things are not as bad as they were made to believe.”

Akpede admitted the possibility that some people may have been wronged in one way or the other but suggested that “such aggrieved persons ought to channel their grievances through normal way of dialogue while government

should endeavour to have a listening ear to the aspirations of the people”.

ABUJA—The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday, descended on non-governmental organisations in the country, describing some of them as vehicles for money laundering.

Head of the agency’s Special Control Unit against Money Laundering, SCUML, Angela Nworgu, who made the allegation at a seminar for non-financial institutions in Abuja, also accused some of the organisations of serving as a conduit for money laundering and criminal activities.

Nworgu said that research by the Financial Action Task Force had indicated that money launderers use NGOs to carry out layering of stolen wealth through several countries to disguise the actual origin of the money.

She said it was discovered that “such elements did not mind losing 40 per cent  of the total amount in the process, because it is money gotten from illegitimate means”.

But many NGOs in Nigeria have kicked against the labeling by the EFCC, asking it to name the particular groups involved in money laundering.

One of them, the Programme and Advocacy Coordinator of Network on Police Reform in Nigeria, Mr. Okechukwu Nwanguma, described the allegation as reckless and unfounded, since there was no proof that any NGO had been indicted for money laundering by the anti-graft agency.

Nwanguma said in the absence of any arrest of either an NGO or an international development partner by the commission, it was wrong to blackmail the organisations.

He, however, called on EFCC to work towards checking rising corruption in the country and justify its existence.

Nwanguma said, “let the EFCC give us one specific case of money laundering that any NGO has been involved in Nigeria and what they have done about it.”

Bill Clinton asked American voters on Wednesday to believe that Barack Obama had brought them to the verge of renewed prosperity and deserved to finish the job during four more years.

Lending his signature dazzle to Obama’s re-election campaign, the two-term former president told the Democratic convention that he believed “with all my heart” that the 44th President had led a remarkable, if incomplete, revival.

Speaking directly to an electorate that remains deeply split with fewer that nine weeks to go until the November election he argued that Obama had overcome a formidable array of challenges.

“No president, no president — not me or any of my predecessors, no one could have fully repaired all the damage he found in just four years.

“He has laid the foundations for a new modern successful economy of shared prosperity and if you ever need the president’s contract: You will feel it. You will feel it folks,” said Clinton, his distinctive drawl made hoarser still by a scratchy throat.

“Folks, whether the American people believe what I said or not may be the whole election, I just want you to know that I believe it,” Clinton said, his voice faltering slightly, “with all my heart I believe it.”

After holding 15,000 of the Democratic faithful in Charlotte, North Carolina enthralled for over 45 minutes, Clinton was joined on stage by a smiling and energized Obama, leading to frenzied applause.

The Democratic standard bearers, once estranged by intra-party politics, united in an on-stage embrace that was symbolic of renewed joint purpose to defeat their Republican rivals on November 6.

Obama will address the convention on Thursday at the same venue.

The campaign cancelled plans for the president to give his nomination speech Thursday in a vast outdoor American football stadium, in which they had hoped to recreate the celebratory atmosphere of his 2008 convention address.

Officials said they could not risk thunder and lightning disrupting the event, Obama’s best unfiltered chance to take his case to voters before the November 6 election, and moved the big set piece inside.

Setting the context for that address, Clinton, president between 1993 and 2001, offered a point-by-point rebuttal of the policies of Obama’s rival Mitt Romney.

He decried the Republican’s creation of an “alternative universe,” to laughs.

“The most important question is, what kind of country do you want to live in?” he asked.

“If you want a you’re-on-your-own, winner-take-all society, you should support the Republican ticket.

Clinton also tried to give some empirical weight to the great ideological tussle over economic policy that has come to define this election cycle.

“Well, since 1961, for 52 years now, the Republicans have held the White House 28 years, the Democrats, 24. In those 52 years, our private economy has produced 66 million private sector jobs.

“So what’s the job score? Republicans, 24 million; Democrats, 42,” he said to cheers.

Clinton, as popular now as when he was inaugurated in 1993 — he hit 66 percent approval in a recent CNN poll — retains a hold over American voters.

His economic pitch was seen as a hard sell to many Americans still feeling the effects of the “Great Recession,” but Democrats said he was just the man to appeal to white, working-class men in swing states.

“He’s able to reach out with his charisma to people who will not listen to President Barack Obama if for no other reason than his color,” Jonice Crawford Butler, a Democratic volunteer in her 60s from Michigan, told AFP.

National polls put the rivals neck-and-neck, but a closer inspection of swing states reveals that Romney has his work cut out, especially as the bounce he was hoping for from last week’s Republican convention has failed to materialize.

Earlier Clinton formally nominated Obama as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate.

“I want to nominate a man who’s cool on the outside — but who burns for America on the inside.”

“I want a man who believes with no doubt that we can build a new American Dream economy,” Clinton said.

“After last night, I want a man who had the good sense to marry Michelle Obama,” Clinton joked, drawing cheers and smiles from the First Lady watching from a box the night after her own rousing convention speech.

In a roll call Democrats from all 50 states one-by-one announced their support for Obama, officially handing him the party nomination.

The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), Professor Godswill Obioma, in this interview with Kuni Tyessi, says that the council has aligned schools’ subject matter for greater efficiency in a yet-to-be released curriculum. He also asserts that students’ academic performance is directly linked to teacher quality and motivation.

Was there any attempt which might have triggered off the agitation that religious studies be  removed from the curriculum?
There were no such intentions to scrap religion, and it is clearly written in the curriculum. In the new curriculum, you will see Religion and National Values, and you will see Islamic Studies and Christian Religious Studies separately, with Social Studies to be taught separately, same for Civic Education; the new addition is the awareness.

What we have done in ensuring harmony is that, in the old curriculum, there were repetitions of social studies content and civic education, so we aligned those content to where they ought to belong. Those ones that are strictly civic education that have to do with national values and civic responsibilities had been properly put under Civic Education and those ones that are strictly social studies, which have to do with government, history, geography and social relationship of community, have been put under Social Studies.

There is a new content of security which is not there before; we have carved out a subject matter called security awareness and this will be taught separately. Every child in the basic education programme will study social studies, civic education, security awareness as compulsory subjects; then those people that will like Islamic Studies, according to their faith, will study Islamic Studies as a separate subject, like the Christian Religious Studies, and this is applicable in schools where we have mixed religious beliefs. But all of them will take social studies, civic education and security awareness subjects together.

How many subjects do we have in the new basic education curriculum?
We used to have 20 single listing. We had English as a subject, mathematics, basic science, basic technology, then the languages under this listing, if you count them one by one, it will be 20. But now, we have been able to reorganise them into a maximum of 10.

For example, if you see basic science, basic technology and computer, they are now clustered under basic science and technology as one subject curriculum, but if you come to that subject curriculum, they will be taught differently as different unit courses.

In the old curriculum, they were single listed. Certain sections of basic technology were also listed in basic science, and it was conflicting. Now you will see basic science and basic technology. We have articulated them, although one will help in the understanding of the other;  technology is the application for science. You have to understand the science before the application.

For instance, in the prevocational studies, we used to have agriculture and home economics as optional, and people said agriculture should not be optional; so it is now compulsory. All children must study agriculture under prevocational studies.

If you check the new curriculum, you see prevocational studies - agriculture, prevocational studies - home economics; they are  compulsory, so you cannot say, ‘I am not going to do agriculture’ as it was in the old curriculum. If you look at those rearrangements, you have 10 maximum subjects in the curriculum.

The only optional one is Arabic, because not everybody does Arabic; it is only for the Islamic students because Arabic is the foundation of Islamic Studies.

Also, consumer education has been infused into business studies; if you go to business studies subject matter, you will see consumer education. You will see some aspect of consumer education has been infused into prevocational education, that is, agriculture component, home economics and business studies. You will see that aspects of consumer education have been infused.

There is what we call curriculum infusion. In consumer education, it has time management. We have it in environmental issues. Things connected to ICPC that have to do with national values, HIV/AIDS, you will not see it. Even in English studies you will see aspects of HIV/AIDS as comprehension to raise awareness of children.

If you go to agriculture, you will see consumer education. Agriculture is a big industry and government id promoting it to make the children more enterprising, and that has to do with consumer rights, consumer awareness - it runs across. When we do curriculum infusion, we identify the subjects we call career subjects.

Those career subjects are those in which you can infuse these emerging issues - consumer education, HIV/AIDS, road safety, etc. You may not see road safety as a subject matter but when going through business studies, agriculture, technology, you will see aspects of road safety education, disaster/risk management, consumer education; this is called curriculum enrichment as it is in line with international best practices so that when the child is learning business, at the same time he is also learning consumer rights, among others.

Any arrangement by the government to make funds available for the graduating students who may wish to establish themselves in any of the trades and entrepreneurship skills and how many schools have been developed to offer all these 34 vocational courses?
If somebody has acquired a skill in any of the trades and entrepreneurship disciplines, managing or establishing oneself won’t be a serious issue. Let’s put it this way: if a person doesn’t have a skill, that becomes worse; if you go through secondary school and upon graduating you don’t have any skill - nothing to depend on - you don’t even know where to begin, it is a serious matter.

Now, the new curriculum teaches the skills to become involved in enterprise, teaches one how to source funds, how to seek cooperation amongst your people.  It creates awareness on where to go and seek funds, how to apply for such loans.

Government has a policy on supporting youths in the society: poverty alleviation is one, small scale and medium enterprises is another one. Some state governments are also providing some soft loan to youths, but if you are not aware of these schemes, even if you have the skills, you won’t know where to go. So part of things they are being taught is not just to acquire the skills, but to also be enterprising.

After learning how to make garment, barb hair, or hair dressing, painting or GSM repairs, the enterprise comes in here: how enterprising are my going to be? Where am I going to look out for? How am I going to apply for funds? How can I get the awareness of where to go to? Because if you have the skills and you don’t have the awareness of where to seek funds or how to cooperate with other people, there are a lot of opportunities people are not aware of and that is part of what they are going to be taught in school, not just the skills. The other issue is how school will manage the resources.

What we are trying to do is to start small, for instance, 34 entrepreneural skills, and we say that every child should learn one skill out of the 34 and schools will begin from the ones they have the facilities for and later scale up - it is not possible for a school to mount 34 skills entrepreneural equipment, but there are some which the schools can get, a school can start with business.

A school can start with IT skills, fishery or paint making; not only that, we have also sold the idea to government that, like in Lagos State, they have community resort that has some of these equipment serving a cluster of schools. Lagos has done that, other states, like Cross River State, have picked up that strategy.

Instead of replicating it in every school, they could build workshop that can serve a cluster of schools. One thing is important here: if you are starting an innovation, don’t expect that it will be implemented 100 per cent but you must start from somewhere - strategic planning. We tell people to start in a smaller scale. A school can begin with training people on GSM repairs, IT and later add more subject matter if they improve on their facilities.

This thing is not one-day show; it has a three years for implementation. The new curriculum for senior secondary school, we will start in year one. As we have started 2011-2012, the old curriculum will still be running. We go to year two - 2012-2013, and year three which 2013-2014, so we have three years’ plan of implementation and, in the process, we hope to improve the facilities, the resources; but if we say we must start it all at the same time, there must be problems.

Has the government also made arrangements for trainers or teachers as the case may be?
Following the same strategy, if we are preparing what is called teachers’ guide for each of this curriculum, there is a teacher’s guide and we also do training. My agency is doing what is called orientation, sensitisation and training but, beyond my agency, the National Commission for Colleges of Education, especially for the basic education, has taken the curriculum and upgrading the teacher training programme for colleges of education.

We hope that, in the next three years, the new crop of teachers that are coming will be able to cope but beyond that, the National Teachers Institute (NTI) is doing in-service training. Every year, they run it batch-by-batch for teachers who are already in school. My agency is also doing quick-win, that is train those who are on ground, sensitise them, give them teacher’s guide.

The long term win will be to train the teachers in institutions to be able to do this. Beyond that, we run programmes with universities’ faculties of education, and polytechnics that train teachers for senior secondary school  (that was in 2009) envisaging the implementation of the programme from 2011 to revive what they teach in education department and faculties in line with the new secondary school curriculum.

We did that in 2009-2010 and the students that were admitted from 2010 will learn the new methodology, the new content, in line with the senior secondary school, so that when they graduate, they will be able to cope. So it is ongoing process, and what is important is to sustain the innovation, not just for those of us who are creating the curriculum, but also for teacher-trainers and those who are engaged in pre-service and in-service training.

Does your council have monitoring mechanisms to see that this curriculum is implemented across the country?
The council has zonal offices, and part of the functions of these zonal offices is to monitor the scheme. First of all, we distribute the curriculum, secondly we train teachers, thirdly we do assessment. We do periodic assessment to ascertain what is going on in schools.

We don’t only do assessment, we also find out how students are performing even as the curriculum is being implemented. There is an ongoing survey as to why the children fail in mathematics and English is based on the curriculum. So monitoring of curriculum distribution, implementation, training teachers and monitoring - these are all connected. We also encourage the states; we have given them information, especially inspectorate.

They work in tandem with us. You know, we cannot do everything; we have our different responsibilities. The state ministries of education have what they call department of supervision, department of inspectorate; they work hand-in-hand with us. When we provide the curriculum and then provide what is expected of us, they should also do theirs, but from our own level, we monitor through our zonal offices.

The new curriculum appears to have almost all the content of the old curriculum; how has that reduce the load?
This is a very good question. We got the experts, teacher-trainers, policy makers, curriculum experts to do what is called ‘gap analysis’ of the nine-year basic education curriculum. When you are asking where are the repetitions, if you pick social studies and civic education, for instance, there are so many repetitions. So those repetitions have been eliminated.

There were areas which were redundant - we discovered the redundant content that will not add value to the children - those ones have been eliminated. We also discovered that there are some subject matters that come together; we had basic science, basic technology, and IT - they are related.

So, we try to bring them together thereby eliminating redundancy and reducing subject overload. But, it is a tricky thing. How do you reduce subject overload and how do you retain quality.  We didn’t throw away any subject; what we did was to eliminate wastages. Like in United States, there is what is called Human Arts. This is English and Creative Arts.

They put them together and called it Human Arts. Now we have English Studies. In the primary school, we don’t have English Literature and English Language; we have English studies - they are brought together, but you can have both English Language and English Literature as you go beyond the primary school.

These things I am talking about, if you get into the senior secondary school, for instance, the basic science and basic technology formed the foundation for physics, chemistry and biology. They are separate but in the primary school you have basic science and technology as a foundation. You have social studies, in which are integrated history, geography and government.

So, the curriculum experts have compressed the curriculum and retained the core content necessary to build the foundation at the level without losing quality. So as our children grow beyond the primary school, senior secondary school, they now expand into different subjects, having got the foundation.

Is there any plan to also inculcate reading as a subject in the new curriculum?
That is exactly what we are doing now. There is a process going on now; we are trying to inculcate reading as a component in Primary 1 - 3. Internationally and by research, we discovered that reading is better taught in the lower arms of primary school to lay the foundations of reading, because if a child cannot read, he  may not be able to comprehend what is taught in other subjects. She will need to read because that is the basis of education - reading is very critical.

In the nine years basic, there was nothing like reading; in those days, reading was being taught but we lost that, but we are bringing back how to teach reading, because it is an art. If you give an American a text book and tell him to go, read and summarise, in the next two hours he will likely tell you everything about that book because of the art of reading which has been inculcated in him, but if you give a Nigerian of the same age the same book to read and summarise, it will take him over four days. In the art of reading, you capture the most essential thing so that within few hours you will tell what is in that book.

So, reading is very critical and what we are doing now is bring in reading as a thing  to be learned. By the time the curriculum is released, you will see it from Primary 1 - 3.

But despite all these efforts, you still see Nigerian students perform so poorly in exams;  what is the disconnect?
When it comes to students’ performance, how far or to what extent they can learn what they are taught, a number of factors come into play: do we have teachers with the right capacity to teach? What about the facilities, the environment, support? In the student’s curriculum - what they are being taught, do they match their level of understanding? There are a variety of factors that influence students’ performance.

It is not just the curriculum, but teaching is most critical, because no nation can go beyond the capacity of her teachers. If you don’t bring up the teachers properly, just forget about it: there must be capital investment in the teacher. If a teacher doesn’t have a facility, the human capital could negate what you teach, but if you have all the facilities and the person does not have the art of teaching - maybe she couldn’t use the available facilities - it becomes a problem. Teaching capital is very fundamental.

It is not the only one, but I could say, from a professional point of view, it is very key. So one of the reasons is that teachers’ capacity need to be supported, and even if they have the qualification to teach, are they well motivated? Motivation is very vital here. I could be a well-qualified graduate teacher of mathematics and if my salaries are paid three months in arrears, I won’t go to teach, and whereby I don’t go to teach, how will the children learn?

So, beside the capital content, the remuneration,  is it commensurate? The learning environment is another factor. These are all connected, but above all, let us get it right with the teachers first. You can also broaden the argument beyond the teachers’ capacity.

Some students now prefer to cheat in exam than to read. You can see parents during common entrance examinations standing by the window, writing for their wards. So parents have a portion of the blame.

The House of Representatives has instituted an investigation into reports of alleged lopsided recruitment by the Nigerian Army, Daily Trust learnt in Abuja yesterday.
 It followed “petitions and complaints” which lawmakers received from their constituents claiming that the recent recruitment by the Army defied federal character requirements, a member of the investigative panel told our reporter yesterday.

A joint House committee on Defence, Army and Federal Character is conducting the investigation, and yesterday it asked Chief of Army Staff Lt-General Azubuike Ihejirika to appear before it today at 11am to defend the allegations.

“We have received several petitions alleging that the Chief of Army staff neglected federal character principle in recent cadet recruitments into the Nigerian Defence Academy and the Nigerian Army Depot,” a legislator said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the issue.

“All our constituents who are qualified and applied for the NDA and recruits were denied, but we got report that their places were all given to people from one zone of the country, and this is unconstitutional,” he added.

Daily Trust learnt that the committee was mandated by the House leadership to investigate the allegations and submit their findings.

On Tuesday, the Chief of Army Staff was summoned to appear before the probe committee but he instead sent in the Military Secretary to represent him yesterday.

However, the committee, chaired by House Chief Whip Rep. Isiaka Mohammed Bawa (PDP, Taraba), turned back the Military Secretary and said the Army chief must appear personally today by 11am or risk “the anger of the parliament.”

Gunmen attacked and damaged many mobile phone masts belonging to MTN and Airtel in Kano and Maiduguri yesterday, disrupting telecommunications in parts of the two cities, Daily Trust learnt.
 In what appeared to be coordinated attacks on telecom installations, at least eight MTN masts were destroyed and its office burnt in Maiduguri between Tuesday night and early morning yesterday, while attackers detonated an explosive in front of a cell phone tower in Bauchi.

No one was reported killed in the attacks, which are likely to be blamed on a sect that has waged a campaign of violence in the North because the sect in February issued threats against mobile telecom companies.

In Maiduguri, residents said about 10 gunmen hit the MTN office around 2am yesterday and chased away private security guards on duty, before setting fire to the building.

The gunmen also damaged telecommunication masts belonging to MTN at Bolori, Ngaranam, Dala Alamdiri, Adam Kolo, Limanti, Gwange, Bayan Quarters and West End areas.

“Some young, about ten of them, armed with guns came to this place in the night and ordered the security men out of the place before they set the office including the mast ablaze,” a security guard for one of the companies close to the MTN office said.

A spokeswoman for MTN confirmed to Daily Trust that some of MTN’s installations were damaged in the North.

“We confirm that like all the other major telcos, some of MTN’s installations in northern Nigeria have been damaged by unknown persons,” spokeswoman Funmilayo Omogbenigun said.

“All the relevant government security agencies have been informed and we are receiving their full co-operation.”

Airtel was not immediately available for comment.

Spokesman for the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno State, Lt. Col Sagir Musa, confirmed the attacks on facilities of telcos but said he will brief the media later on the incident.

When our reporter visited the burnt MTN office, it was found destroyed and no staff was seen around.

Residents of the affected areas said there was no mobile telephone reception after the incidents.

The attacks appeared to scare telecommunication company workers in the city as they all locked their offices.

In Kano, men on motorbikes destroyed MTN and Airtel mobile phone masts in Hotoron Hangama and Sharada industrial estate early yesterday.

An official of MTN, who does not want to be named, told our correspondent that the company’s Hotoron Hangama base station went up in flames around 7am.

“It is obvious that the fire was set by someone because we hardly encounter such fire incidents at our stations,” he said.

Witnesses reported seeing two men on a motorcycle setting the facility on fire.

A security guard attached to one of the industries in Sharada said the Airtel base station was burnt by two attackers.

Meanwhile, security was beefed up around telecommunication installations in all parts of Kano yesterday.

When contacted, spokesman for the Kano State Police Command, ASP Musa Magaji Majiya, said a fire incident was reported at MTN base station in Hotoro but was put out immediately by guards. H said the command did not receive any report about the incident affecting Airtel mast in Sharada.

In Bauchi, one person was injured when an explosive went off apparently targeting a mobile telecom installation on Tuesday night. The Police said they diffused another bomb elsewhere in the city.

Spokesman for the Police in Bauchi ASP Hassan Mohammed Auyo confirmed the incidents but did not give details.

In his reaction, chairman of Association Licensed Telecommunications of Nigeria (ALTON) Engr. Gbenga Adebayo said attacks on telecom facilities could affect the quality of service.

No one claimed responsibility for the attacks as at last night, but the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunnah Lid Da’awati Wal Jihad otherwise known as Boko Haram in February threatened to attack telecom companies over alleged collaboration with security agencies that led to the arrest of some of their members.

A telephone operator in the house of the late Head of State General Sani Abacha, who is standing trial before a Kano Chief Magistrate’s Court over alleged theft of jewelries belonging to former First Lady Hajiya Maryam Abacha, has told the court that son of the late miliary head of state sent him to sell the gold and buy cocaine with the proceeds.
 Abdullahi Ali, who was charged to court along three others for the offence committed in 2007, denied the allegation of theft and house breaking in his defence yesterday. While being led by his counsel, Barrister Abubakar Muhammad, the accused said Abdullahi Sani Abacha gave him the jewelries about five years ago, when his mother was away in Abuja.

“He directed me to sell it and take the money to one Tony in Sabon Gari [quarters] to collect cocaine for him,” he said. He also said Abdullahi almost killed him when he refused to comply with a similar directive, earlier on.

The accused person, who has been in prison custody for five years, said he was given N110,000 as part payment for the gold which he sold N220, 000. “I took the money to Tony and collected the cocaine,” he added.

Ali, however, said when Maryam Abacha returned from the journey and discovered that she had been robbed, other house servants who were not in good terms with him roped him in. He said the chief security officer to the former First Lady, Captain Hassan, along with Mohammed Ali, Musa Ya’u and Murtala Ali, told Maryam that they were suspecting him.

“When I told the police about Tony, Captain Hassan quickly called him on the phone and asked him to run away and since then I have not heard from him again,” he said.

Chief Magistrate Khadi-jah Mustapha adjourned the case to September 19, 2012.

LADIES ISNT IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE AND BE HAPPY?
 Mehn i haff tire for the things i hear oh! and see too. I know we all want to have someone to share our dreams, fears, hopes with, someone that knows us and is always there, your best friend and lover all rolled in one! but mehn when you see that your in a relationship and you people are everly fighting, theres no trust, but because you want to be" in a relationship", "you love him" ," he'll change" its what i call iro osi.(DIRTY LIE)

 Take a look back, you see how happy you were when you were single, no stress nothing and you tie yourself to a man that could care less, does rubbish outside and call it a relationship i dont know oh! abi plix if i'm saying something far from the truth somborri helep me.

 The person that truly deserves you and knows your worth wont put you through uneccessary stress, he/she will be there in your trying times, you sef you'll know that your in something worthwhile not all this senrenren.

 Some of the things i hear sometimes just make me wonder, really it can be that serious or did i miss a memo???

A fight broke out between two friends, Evelyn Nze, 28 and her friend, Joy Oluchukwu, 27, over Joy’s claims that she has been sleeping with Evelyn’s husband in their house at Apapa, Lagos State southwest Nigeria.

We gathered that Joy reportedly asked Evelyn how she managed to have all her children because she was sure that her husband was impotent. Evelyn asked her friend to tell her how she knew that her husband was impotent.

She told Evelyn who is from Imo State that she had slept with her husband several times and she did not get pregnant. Joy, from Anambra State, told Evelyn that she must have slept with other men that impregnated her, therefore all her children were bastards.

This resulted in a serious fight between them and in the process Evelyn was injured in her hand. The incident happened at 54, Kirikiri Road, Olodi Apapa, Lagos.The police arrested them for engaging in a fight publicly. Also, Joy was arraigned for telling her friend that her husband was impotent and calling her children bastards.

The prosecutor, Mrs. Christiana Olagbayi, told the court the offences the defendants committed were contrary to sections 54, 166 and 171 of the Criminal Code Law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011. They pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

They were admitted to bail in the sum of N50,000 with two sureties in like sum. The matter has been adjourned till 20 October, 2012.

Which of these female actresses do you think cries the most?  Stella Damasus, Mercy Johnson, Kate henshaw or Nkiru Sylvanus.

Despite the lies being bandied around by officials in the presidency, a spokesperson for the Horst Schmidt Klinik in Wiesbaden, Germany, has revealed that Nigeria's First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan was indeed in a bad state of health when she arrived at the hospital last week.

The hospital’s official also confirmed that initial records showed that Mrs. Patience Jonathan had earlier been treated for food poisoning in Nigeria before being brought to the Horst Schmidt Klinik.

 She however said Mrs Jonathan was responding to treatment after she had undergone a major surgery for a ruptured appendix to remove the poisons in her intestine.

During an eight-minute telephone chat yesterday through telephone number +49611433436, a senior consultant of the hospital who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Mrs. Jonathan was brought to the hospital early last week after the management of the hospital had been contacted and briefed on the deteriorating health condition of the first lady.

She said that Mrs. Jonathan was getting better but added that the hospital management would ensure that she was fully fit before she would be allowed to go back to Nigeria.

When those who made the call demanded further details, the hospital official said it was improper and unethical for her to make such details available to a third party, ending the call and refusing to pick up subsequent calls.

A reliable source in Aso Rock said the decision to take the First Lady to Germany for better treatment was borne out of the fact that her medical aides in Nigeria complained that they could not get accurate diagnosis as a result of insufficient medical facilities in the country.

Twelve days after she left the country, her Media Assistant, Ayo Osinlu, yesterday said there is no definite date yet for her return.