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It is no longer news that Nigerian youths agitate for their rights with some in various part of the country crying of being grossly marginalized, particularly by the older generation who form the bulk of the country's leaders. General Yakubu Gowon was Head of State at age 28 with several Ministers and Governors in his cabinet then being within the age bracket of 27 and 35. Today those in similar age bracket are at best leaders of youth movements or militant groups like the Oodua People’s Congress, Egbesu boys, Boko Haram, Arewa Consultative Forum, Bakassi boys, Ijaw youths etc. Those who are lucky among them could become political aides or Special Adviser on this or that to political office holders. A few exceptions to the rule are those extremely lucky to emerge as Chief Executives or Directors of organizations as a result of pure luck or a sprinkle of godfatherism. The youth of this generation must be awake from their age-old slumber .We...

Christiana Oluwatoyin Oluwasesin, Florence Chukwu, Abdullahi Umaru, Methodus Chimaije Emmanuel, Bridget Agbaheme and Eunice Elisha all have one thing in common: They were gruesomely murdered in cold blood by religious fanatics acting on the disguise of impulsive cerebral dysfunction termed blasphemy. For Christiana, a mother of two and teacher at the Government Secondary School in Gombe, all that was needed to end her life was the allegation that she touched the bag of her student, which contained a Quran and such act interprets to a direct defilation of the Holy Book. She was dragged out of her classroom by ‘Allahu Akbar’ chanting students and beaten to death. In a similar fate, Florence, a Christian teacher in Bauchi State met the wrath of her students when she confiscated a copy of the Quran from a student who was reading it during an English Language class. She did not only pay with her life, but for that single act 20 other Christians in the school were also executed by the stude...

World football legend, Nwankwo Papilo Kanu, and the entire Kanu family have been thrown into mourning after they lost their matriarch to the untimely hands of death last Thursday. Nwankwo Kanu An emotional King Kanu spoke with papilonews.com and eulogised his mother, whom he described as a great pillar of strength to the entire family. “The loss of Mama is hard to bear. She is a rock that stood by me and all my siblings. She showed us equal love and affection, and always prayed for each and every one of us. “Her support and prayers for me right from the beginning of my playing career till the end were invaluable. Her guidance also went a very long way into moulding me into the man I am today. She taught me to love, and to give. I will miss her, but God knows best”. Mama Kanu had the rare privilege of raising three sons who played professional football. Aside Olympic Gold medal winning legend, Nwankwo, her eldest son, Godwin, played for Bendel United and her last son, Ogbonna, pla...

With two matches to be played and a couple of rescheduled games before the 2015/16 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season ends, a three horse-shoe race is heating up, while relegation threatened teams battle to escape drop. Between Rivers United, currently on top the table with 56 points, Enugu Rangers with 54 points and IfeanyiUbah with 53 points, a winner is expected to emerge. Defending champions, Enyimba, and relegation threatened Heartland are involved in one of the rescheduled matches from mid-week. The Aba Elephants will be at bottom club Ikorodu United tomorrow, while the match between El Kanemi Warriors and Heartland in Maiduguri will be staged on Thursday. The El Kanemi vs Heartland fixture was originally slated for last weekend, but a mix-up in the flight booking for Heartland to fly to Maiduguri meant it was shifted to today. However, the Sallah holidays yesterday and today have now moved this fixture to Thursday. Heartland are seriously battling against r...

Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr will not move into a threebedroom provided for him in Abuja by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) because it is “too big”. The 63-year-old Rohr, who is married to an African, is reported to have inspected the three-bedroom property in Jabi, but has now told officials he could do with a much smaller apartment. An official accommodation is part of the benefits captured in the two-year contract the Franco-German has signed to qualify Nigeria to the 2018 World Cup. MTNFootball reports that already, the NFF has moved fast to also provide an official car for the former Gabon and Burkina Faso coach. Meanwhile, Rohr will pick his squad for next month’s 2018 World Cup qualifier in Zambia in two weeks, officials have disclosed. The World Cup qualifier in Ndola will be played on October 9. “The Eagles squad list for the match in Zambia will be announced by the third week of this month,” an official informed Africanfootball.com. Rohr Rohr has already hinted...

Thousands of Nigerian refugees in neighbouring countries such as Niger have been struggling for resources since fleeing attacks by the Boko Haram group. The Nigerian army has taken back the rebel group’s last remaining strongholds in the northeastern Borno State and, while the United Nations reports that people have started returning to their devastated towns and villages, thousands remain in neighbouring countries, including Niger, Chad and Cameroon. People at a UN-run camp in Niger’s Diffa told Al Jazeera that they no longer feared Boko Haram, but that they were struggling to get on with their lives because of a lack of resources. “We are not scared here. But we are hungry and thirsty,” Ghoni Malem Baker, a refugee, said. “There is no security issue. Our problem is the curfew imposed from 7pm until next morning,” Idris, a shop owner, said. Such strict restrictions on daily life are another major issue for the residents, they said, negatively affecting business. Boko Haram viol...

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) some days ago released its Second Quarter Report on the state of the nation’s economy and painted a virtually grim picture of it all; a development we believe compelled the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, to declare that “it is the worst time possible for us”. But aside the slight change in figures suggesting the nation’s further slide into economic recession, we see nothing spectacular about the public outcry on the NBS latest report when compared with similar reports from the agency of late, particularly on Consumer Price Index (CPI). The NBS Second Quarter Report indicated that the economy regressed by 2.06 percent, the lowest in about three decades. It earlier dipped by 0.36 percent in the first quarter of this year, the poorest in 25 years. Unemployment grew from 12.1 percent in the first quarter to 13.3 percent in the second quarter. The CPI was no less worrisome; having risen to 17.1 percent in July from the 16.5 percent mark w...

Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, will sanction electricity distribution companies and other distribution companies whose officials collect illegal fees from consumers to purchase transformer for installations in various localities. Acting Chairman of NERC, Dr. Anthony Aka, gave the warning in Uyo yesterday, while addressing consumers of Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company, PHEDC. He emphasised that it was not the responsibility of communities to contribute to the purchase of transformers, electricity poles or for the repairs of electrical infrastructure in their areas. He said the commission would partner with communities to discourage distribution companies from asking consumers pay illegal fees to repair electricity installations. “I want to state very clearly that it is not the responsibility of electricity consumers to buy transformers, electrical poles or contribute money for the repairs of electrical infrastructure. “It is important that we use our el...

International Criminal Court, ICC, yesterday confirmed that it has received a petition against the activities of Amnesty International in Nigeria. The acknowledgement letter with reference number OTP-CR+265/16 was dated September 9, 2016 and was signed by Mr. Mark Dillon, Head of Information and Evidence in the Office of the Prosecutor, ICC. Dillon said in the letter that the court is in custody of a complaint by a civil society organisation from Nigeria, Centre for Social Justice, Equity and Transparency, CESJET, requesting the Prosecutor to open a criminal investigation into the activities of the international human rights organisation. AGF, Malami In its response, the body said: “Office of the ICC acknowledges the receipt of your Document/letter. “This communication has been duly entered in the communication register of the office. “We will give consideration as appropriate in accordance with the provision of the Rome Stature of ICC.”  CESJET had dragged Amnesty Internatio...

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday, in Daura, Katsina State, said that patriotic Nigerians had nothing to fear in the fight against corruption as his administration would ensure justice and fairness to all. President Buhari recieved in Katsina by Aminu Bello A statement issued by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said Buhari spoke after Eid prayers to celebrate Eid-El-Kabir. Buhari said those who abuse public trust would face justice in addition to returning their stolen assets to the nation’s coffers. He thanked Nigerians for supporting Federal Government policies, programmes and actions aimed at improving security, revamping the economy and combating corruption in the country. “We should thank God this year, the reports I am getting, which is very pleasing, is that we will have a bumper harvest this year. “I want Nigerians to realise that what this government inherited after 16 years of the PDP government was no saving...

Residents of Sambang Dagi in Jaba Local Government of Kaduna State witnessed another earth tremor in the early hours of Monday. The incident occurred barely 24-hours after the first tremor was reported at Nok village about 20km away from Sambang. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the second vibration occurred around 4a.m Monday, leaving shocked residents scampering for safety. It was not immediately clear whether there were casualties. Earlier, the Kaduna State Government had in a press statement, urged residents of the affected communities to remain calm. The government on Sunday appealed for calm, and sympathised with the residents of kwoi in Jaba Local Government Area, following the first tremor. The government said in a statement signed byb Samuel Aruwan, Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to Governor Nasir El-Rufai, that it had made a formal report to the appropriate authorities to investigate the development.  The statement said Mr. El-Rufai, had notified the geo...

Members of the House of Representatives, Monday advised security agencies to conclude investigations before smearing the image of Nigerians in the media. Patience Jonathan Two members of the House who spoke against the background that the sum of $31.4m was found in a Skye bank account belonging to former First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan, advised government security agencies to carry out a proper investigation before crucifying her. Minority Leader of the House, Leo Ogor in his reaction described the allegation as a mere rumour until there are concrete evidence to convince Nigerians.  He said”I will liken this situation to that of budget padding that had no substance in all ramifications”. “We should allow the security agencies conclude all their findings before crucifying Nigerians in the press”. “Although I’ve not seen any of the documents that is being paraded but for now we should allow those working on it conclude their investigations first”. Speaking in the same vei...

Amidst economic recession and unprecedented level of hunger in the land, President Muhammadu Buhari has said he inherited absolutely to legacy from the previous government of former President Goodluck Jonathan. Muhammadu Buhari He also said that other administrations of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP led by former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and late Umuaru Musa Yar’Adua left nothing to build on. This was the president also said that patriotic Nigerians ought not express worry over his fight against corruption, assuring that his administration would ensure justice and fairness to all. Buhari spoke to Journalists Monday in Daura after attending Eid prayers to celebrate Eid El Kabir. He however said those who abuse public trust would face justice, in addition to returning their stolen assets to the nation’s coffers.  The President expressed gratitude to Nigerians for supporting the Federal Government policies, programmes and actions aimed at improving security, re...

A man whose car got stuck at the newly constructed tunnel in Owerri, Imo state -has blamed governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha for the tragedy.  One Benjamin wrote on his facebook timelime to strongly criticise the state governor to that effect... Scores of citizens have complained about the tunnel which has been flooded due to downpour. But yesterday night, this Imo resident felt disappointed and downcast after falling victim to the "infamous" road.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari, for introducing `Change Begins With Me’ campaign in Nigeria. “The president deserves commendation for making this bold move christened, The Change begins With me,’’ he said. Sultan of Sokoto Abubakar spoke in Sokoto on Monday when, Gov. Aminu Tambuwal, paid him the traditional Sallah homage. Abubakar said: “the campaign cannot come at a better time than now when Nigeria is in dire need of change. “Change is, however, very unpalatable and pretty difficult as such Nigerians should be cooperative and patient. “Destruction is always very easy, while reconstruction takes more time and patience is required.’’ The monarch said Nigerians should start the campaign by self-appraisal, adding: “we should look inwards, reappraise our behaviours and our attitudes from our various and workplaces. “We should start and contribute to the campaign by re-orientating ourselves and this should be done by Niger...

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has called off plans to visit the US west coast after a health challenge at an event commemorating the September 11, 2001, terror attacks in New York. A local media reported that Clinton had been scheduled to travel to California on Monday and Tuesday but her campaign office said she had cancelled it. Clinton was said to have cancelled the plan because she had been suffering from pneumonia since Friday. The former secretary of state made an early exit from the memorial event with a video shared widely on social media appearing to show her stumbling and requiring assistance as she got into a van. An initial statement from spokesman Nick Merrill said that Clinton had “felt overheated” after spending 90 minutes at the 9/11 ceremony. Clinton’s doctor, Lisa Bardack, later issued a statement, saying the former first lady had become overheated and was suffering from dehydration after having been diagnosed with pneumonia on Friday. Democrat p...

English giants Manchester United have recorded record revenues of £515.3m (about N2.319 trillion) for the 2016 financial year, becoming the first UK football club to do so. In a year when it won the FA Cup, the Old Trafford club also signed 14 sponsorship deals, and saw commercial, matchday and TV revenues all rise. The club is now predicting 2017 revenues of up to £540m, even though it is not in the Champions League this season. Under new boss Jose Mourinho they are currently third in the Premier League. The club’s accounts up until June 30 confirm that the Premier League club was the first British team to break the half-billion mark. The figure is short of the €679m (about £570m or N2.565 trillion) revenue revealed in July by Spanish giants FC Barcelona. “Our record fiscal 2016 financial performance reflects the continued underlying strength of the business and the club is on target to achieve record revenues in 2017. “This is even without a contribution from the Champions League,” s...