However, it is ironical that while the state security service was reading treason into the activities of Aregbesola of Osun State, the World Bank led officials of the federal government and 15 states to Osogbo to understand the employment generation programme of his administration. -Femi Falana
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Archive for the month “May, 2012”
#Nigeria NCC Suspends Spectrum Licences Till 2015
Executive Vice-Chairman of NCC, Eugene Juwah
By Emma Okonji
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said it would not issue spectrum licences to operators until 2015 when telecoms broadcasting operators must have migrated from analogue to digital spectrum.
Executive Vice-Chairman of NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah gave the declaration in Lagos, while responding to the shortfall in broadband penetration in the country at a broadband forum organised by Accenture.
Juwah who lamented the shortage of spectrum licenses in the country, said by the end of the migration, most of the frequency slots currently being occupied by broadcasters would become available for auction.
He said the commission was already in talks with Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operators that are currently using the 790 Mega Hertz and the 862 Mega Hertz frequency band to free them up by migrating to Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology in carrying out their operations.
According to him, the frequencies that were hitherto auctioned to them were not being fully utilised, insisting that such frequencies are better utilised for broadband penetration.
Juwah also promised to auction the reaming slots in the 2.3 Giga Hertz spectrum band when other expected spectrums must have been made available by their current users.
Addressing the regulatory intervention to deepen broadband access in the country, Juwah said NCC had adopted the Open Access Model (OAM) that would help unbundle broadband into three layers for easy broadband deployment. “The model provides a framework for sophisticated
infrastructure sharing and it will help unbundle broadband,” he said.
He listed the three layers to include passive layer, active layer and retail layer, stressing that no single operator would be allowed to operate in more than one layer, in order to achieve even distribution of broadband.
“With the model, bandwidth will be provided by the active infrastructure providers to the retail service providers on a fair and non-discriminate basis. The active infrastructure providers will buy bulk bandwidth from submarine cable companies, which are then delivered via optical fibre owned by the passive infrastructure provider,” Juwah said, adding that the implementation of the model will bridge the gaps in broadband deployment, eliminate last mile issue, reduce the price of bandwidth for end users and unlock the market for massive broadband usage in Nigeria.
Honduras murders: Where life is cheap and funerals are free
By Linda Pressly BBC Radio 4, Crossing Continents
Honduras has the world’s highest homicide rate. Many victims are poor, which led one politician campaigning for election to make an unusual vote-winning promise – free funerals for anyone unable to give a loved-one a dignified burial. It worked.
Early one Saturday morning the phone rings at the People’s Funeral Service on a noisy main street in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital.
On the phone is one of the workers from the city’s mortuary. A family needs help. Another young man was gunned down in the street the previous day, and his relatives do not have the cash to give him a decent funeral.
At the back of the building there is a stack of new coffins, some beige, some grey.
“I found that people were being buried in plastic garbage bags”
Ricardo Alvarez Mayor of Tegucigalpa
Within hours, a black pick-up truck with Funeraria del Pueblo painted in orange on its sides is on its way to the mortuary, with an empty coffin on board.
The vehicle is also carrying a stand for the coffin, curtains and candles, and coffee and bread for mourners at the wake.
This will be held in the family’s local church, before 26-year-old Ramon Orlando Varela is buried in a plot also provided by the People’s Funeral Service.
It is a comprehensive service offered free of charge to the poor of the city by the office of the mayor of Tegucigalpa, Ricardo Alvarez.
“When I was campaigning to be mayor, nearly seven years ago, I found that people were being buried in plastic garbage bags,” he remembers.
“I said, ‘That cannot happen in my country, in my city.’ So I’ve been running the funeral service for the last six years, and this is my seventh year.”
Tragically, this is a service that is needed now more than ever in Honduras.
Ramon Orlando Varela had just dropped his children off at school when he was shotThe National Commission for Human Rights has calculated that there is a violent death every 74 minutes in this small nation of about eight million people.
Last year Honduras recorded the highest murder rate in the world, with 86 people killed for every 100,000 inhabitants, up from 82 in 2010.
In the UK the rate is just over one, in Mexico, 18.
The majority of those who die a violent death in Honduras – like Ramon – are killed with a gun.
But the reasons for the explosion of killings – almost a doubling of the murder rate since 2005 – are complex.
Corruption, gangs and guns have been around for decades.
In 2009, the coup against the government of President Manuel Zelaya brought a wave of political killings. And now Hondurans must contend with the presence of Mexican drug cartels that have pushed south and gained a foothold.
Why so many murders?
- The 2009 coup brought a wave of political killings
- Mexican drugs cartels now operate in Honduras
- It’s estimated that 79% of all cocaine flights from South America to the US stop in Honduras
- There is one gun in Honduras for every 10 people, according to the UN
- Police corruption allows violent crime to go unpunished
- Two-thirds of Hondurans live in poverty
No-one is safe. And activists, journalists and lawyers all continue to be the targets of assassins.
But it is not just victims of violence who are helped by the People’s Funeral Service.
Miguel Antonio Bueso Redondo arrives early one morning.
“My wife gave birth to twins by Caesarean section,” he says.
“We thought everything was fine, but then one of the babies was bleeding… The baby died.
“I didn’t have any money for a coffin… One of the nurses at the hospital told me about this service, and did all the paperwork for me. That’s why I’m here.”
After completing the formalities, Miguel Antonio leaves carrying a small white coffin on his shoulder.
The People’s Funeral Service is open every day, 24 hours a day. Calls come in day and night from the city’s mortuary, the hospital and from people who have heard about it from friends and relatives.
Eighteen staff work shifts, and there are two funeral homes. Both are equipped with everything families need for a wake which usually lasts 12-14 hours.
In the poor barrio of Los Laureles in the north of Tegucigalpa, the workers from the People’s Funeral Service carry Ramon’s coffin into the simple, wooden Evangelical church. Then they serve coffee to the many mourners who have gathered.
For Erica Fuentes, the mother of Ramon’s two daughters, the People’s Funeral Service has relieved her of a lot of stress – a private funeral service would cost around $1,000 (£620).
She was with Ramon when he was killed, and is struggling to come to terms with his death.
“We were coming back from dropping the girls at school when it happened,” she says. “I think Ramon was shot because of a mistake. At the time we were very close together, arm in arm, so maybe God helped me and saved me.”
The next day, the pick-up truck returns to Los Laureles to take Ramon’s body to the cemetery for the burial service.
Yoni Alexander Osorio Hernandez, one of the staff from the People’s Funeral Service, makes sure everything runs smoothly for the final journey.
“We also hurt for the families – especially because there is so much violence in our country.
“Most of the families who come to La Funeraria del Pueblo are very poor indeed.
“This is a service based on solidarity – solidarity with those families at a very difficult time for them
67m Nigerian Youths Jobless — FG
The minister of youth development, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, yesterday lamented the unemployment rate in the country, declaring that about 67million young people are jobless and that, of the figure, 80 per cent of them don’t possess a university degree.
Bolaji, who addressed hundreds of youths at TY Danjuma Foundation’s ‘Career Day 2012’ in Benin City, Edo State capital, however, attributed the high unemployment rate to years of failure at different levels, explaining that “lack of job is a consequence of lack of skills”. The event has as its theme “Developing capacity of youths to build successful careers and businesses”.
The minister, who delivered the keynote address, ‘Overcoming Challenges’, harped on skill acquisition irrespective of educational qualification.
“Employers are more interested in what you can do, and not the kind of certificate you have acquired.”
He also took a swipe at a section of the youth who clamour for free tertiary education, noting that “tertiary education cannot be free. Education is an investment. Unless we begin to realise that it cannot be free, quality will be diffused.”
Besides, he announced that the sum of N1.2bn has been captured in the 2012 budget which is aimed at training and grant for youth empowerment programme in agriculture, ICT and the creative industry, pointing out that “certificate will serve as collateral for access to the loans”.
Earlier, the executive director of the foundation, Mrs. Thelma Ekiyor, disclosed that the event was meant to prepare the youths to be creators of jobs, even as she expressed the organisation’s readiness to partner with the government on agro-business. She also explained that the organisation has given out financial resources to organisations for projects.
#Nigeria Jonathan’s 2015 ambition fuelling insecurity – Speaker
Ekiti State House of Assembly Speaker, Dr. Adewale Omirin, has blamed the rising security in the country on President Goodluck Jonathan’s alleged plan to seek a second term in 2015.
Omirin said this in an interview with journalists in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday.
The speaker, who lamented the violence in some parts of the country, particularly the wave of bombings in the North, alleged that tensions had grown increasingly since Jonathan said his first term would end in 2015.
Omiri said, “African leaders are not honest. If somebody who begged for a term is now seeking a second term, there is no honesty in that. It is not that the Peoples Democratic Party is popular.
“Nigerians are tired of the PDP, they are still in power because they are the one who organised elections in the country but I hope by next election we are going to have a more credible election that would automatically reduce the number of PDP governors in the states. The PDP cannot win more than 10 states if a credible election is conducted.”
On the claim by the National Security Adviser, Gen. Owoye Azazi (retd), that the zoning formula of the PDP was the cause of the crisis in the country, the lawmaker said the NSA being an insider could not be wrong.
The speaker feared Nigeria might disintegrate if a solution was not found to the problem of terrorism ravaging the country.
He said the security challenges facing the country had reached an alarming rate, urging Jonathan to find a permanent solution.
According to him, Nigerians have yet to see any improvement in the security situation in the country, despite the assurances given by the President in his numerous condolence messages.
Omirin said, “Security should be the first in any society. The security situation in the country is cause for concern because bombs are being thrown everyday and lives and property are being destroyed.
“Whatever the problem of those throwing the bombs is, dialogue is the solution. They should consider dialogue, the Federal Government should also be ready to dialogue with them. If they continue this way, it may be the end of Nigeria.”
#Nigeria Accident: Driver found with N4m escapes
By May 3, 2012 by Eniola Akinkuotu
Christian Onyenora, the driver of a blue Honda Accord 2003 from which Federal Road Safety Corps recovered huge sums of money on Saturday, is presently on the run, police sources have said.
Onyenora was involved in an accident in the Badagry area of Lagos on Saturday. The FRSC, RS 2.11, Badagry Unit Command, on getting to the accident scene, recovered the sum of N4.09m.
PUNCH Metro learnt that Onyenora, who was the sole occupant of the vehicle, was taken to the Badagry Police Division by FRSC officials where the money recovered was handed over to the Divisional Crime Officer, identified simply as Mr. Oni, a superintendent of police.
PUNCH Metro learnt that Onyenora, who complained of body pains as a result of the accident, was taken to Badagry General Hospital for check-up.
According to reliable sources, the police had yet to begin investigations on the source of the money found in the car.
A senior policeman, who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, said the driver was to be investigated for robbery.
The police were however shocked on Monday when on getting to the hospital to interrogate Onyenora, he was said to have fled.
Our source said, “When the driver was brought to the division, he was conscious but later started complaining that he was not feeling too well. So, we took him to the general hospital so that he could be checked in case he had internal bleeding.
“However, on Monday, when we got to the hospital, the medical staff told us that he had left the hospital. We were already suspecting him of robbery but we wanted to make sure he was in good health.
“He was probably pretending to be ill and had actually planned to escape all along. We have his picture and we have intensified the search.”
-The Punch
Terrorism: IG orders CPs to secure media houses
May 3, 2012 by Adelani Adepegba, Mustapha Salihu and Eniola Akinkuotu
Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, has directed all state commissioners of police to beefup security around media houses in the country.
This is just as the training of 100 policemen in the handling of Explosive Ordinance Disposal has begun.
The IG’s directive followed the threat by Boko Haram to attack PUNCH and some other South-based newspapers in the country.
The sect made the threat in a Youtube video on Tuesday, in which it justified last Friday’s suicide bomb attack on ThisDay Newspapers office in Jabi, Abuja.
Speaking at a dinner with crime correspondents in Abuja on Tuesday, Abubakar stated that the police would provide security for media outfits.
He also gave the assurance that efforts would be made to protect journalists from harm.
“I’m aware of the threat to media houses by the group of criminals causing trouble in parts of the country. I have directed all commissioners of police in charge of state commands to provide security for journalists and media houses. We won’t allow any harm to befall them,” the IG said.
He also vowed that security agencies would continue to combat terrorists in their areas of operation.
He urged Nigerians to support the security agencies in their efforts to deal with security threats across the country by providing useful information.
Also on Tuesday, the State Security Service said it was investigating the sect’s threat to attack media houses.
SSS Deputy Director, Media and Publicity, Marilyn Ogar, said the agency was working to thwart any plot against the media.
She dismissed the report of a bomb scare in Abuja on Tuesday, adding that the “stop and search” operation conducted on persons and vehicles by security agencies was a proactive measure led by the Brigade of Guards to assure the public of their combat readiness.
She said, “There was no bomb scare in Abuja as reported by some newspapers. The stop and search conducted on Tuesday was a show of force by the Brigade of Guards to show that they are alert to any security issue.”
Meanwhile, the training of the 100 policemen in EOD techniques began on Wednesday in Lagos, in a bid to address the rising level of insecurity in the country as well as incessant bombings.
The training is in response to the IG’s order that the EOD should intensify security in all states where it has units and should also endeavour to establish its presence in states where it has none.
The training was formally opened on Wednesday in Lagos by the Commissioner of Police in charge of the EOD, Mr. Folusho Adebanjo, who represented the IG.
The spokesperson for the EOD, Mr. Gbolahan Moronfolu, said it was meant to strengthen the capability of the police in the handling of explosives.
He said, “The 100 participants are conventional policemen from various police commands and formations who were successful in an aptitude test previously conducted by the EOD. The course is for one month and will centre on the basic training module.
“The actual aim is to strengthen the workforce of the EOD command throughout the federation in view of the incessant bombings. The training aims to increase personnel and use them to create more units in states where there is no EOD unit.
“Many embassies, media houses, police divisions as well as other possible targets will now have more EOD presence.”
On Wednesday, the Lagos State Police Command summoned all area commanders that have media houses under their jurisdiction to its headquarters.
The command’s spokesman, Mr. Joseph Jaiyeoba, who confirmed this to one of our correspondents on the telephone, explained it was in response to the Boko Haram threat.
He said, “The Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations, Mr. Tunde Sobulo, is presently having a meeting with area commanders who have media houses within their areas of operation.
“Since the April 26, 2012 attack on some media houses in Abuja and Kaduna, the Commissioner of Police for the Lagos State Police Command, Mr. Umar Manko, had ordered that security should be beefed up in the state. But with the recent threat, we have to restrategise.”
Jaiyeoba said he would inform our correspondent about the security measures being implemented by the command.
The SSS command in Kano State has arrested a middle aged chemical merchant, Ayuba Usman, suspected to be dealing in chemicals for the production of explosives to Boko Haram members.
Usman, who is a native of Dala Local Government Area in Kano metropolis, was paraded before newsmen by the Director of SSS in the state, Mr. Bassey Eteng, on Wednesday.
The alleged merchant was found in possession of 35 big drums of highly combustible chemicals and substances used for making bombs and other Improvised Explosive Devices.
Eteng said, “Chemicals are controlled items and they are supposed to be sold to people legitimately for economic use. But when we then find some individuals selling them to other individuals, then these individuals turn them to harmful use on innocent persons.”
He stated that the arrest of Usman, whose shop is located in one of the main markets in the state, was effected through information provided by a suspect in custody.
The director, however, refused to name the market where the suspect’s business place was located for security reasons. He stated that Usman’s arrest followed Tuesday’s successful raid by the Joint Task Force on a suspected Boko Haram factory/house located at Bubugaje in Sharada Phase 111 Industrial Estate in Kano metropolis.
“The suspect brought before you is a suspect whom we found from investigations to have links with some extremist elements.
“And what I believe, based on statements made by the high profile suspect the service is dealing with, we were able to know that the suspect, Ayuba Usman, has been providing very combustive chemicals to the extremist group.
“These are the chemicals being used in making Improvised Explosive Devices and other types of explosive devices. He was arrested yesterday (Tuesday) in Kano. He is the owner of all the (chemical) substances found in his shop. These substances are controlled items.
“Suspects in custody were able to identify their main link of where, from whom they are getting the above materials and who provides them the materials in Kano. This happened to be Ayuba Usman They (terrorist bombers) mix this thing with fertiliser and other inflammable substances.
“He was not just picked because he is selling these materials, but because information from those in custody, who identified him, who described him, where his shop is; led us to his arrest.
Deola Sagoe’s estranged husband set to remarry
BENEATH her happy-go-lucky façade, talented fashion designer, Deola Sagoe, is not exactly a happy woman at the moment.
Her former husband, Kofi is allegedly in a new romance with a new woman simply identified as Nike. And those who should know informed SC that marriage might be on the cards for the Ghanian-born young man. Since their marriage crashed three years ago, Deola has not been linked with any man, perhaps hoping that she would resolve her differences with her estranged beau. Insiders, however, aver that their love affair is not likely to be rekindled. Kofi Sagoe has moved on with his life and is currently enjoying a new romance.
So bitter was the ex-couple’s separation that Kofi was brusquely booted out as Managing Director of Toyota Nigeria Limited owned by his father-in-law, Chief Ade Ojo. Kofi later moved out of their matrimonial home and filed for divorce. Few months later, he became the Country Managing Director of SUBARU Nigeria where Yinka Fisher is chairman.
Source- The Nation
Nigerian doctor elected President of US black Cardiologists
Dr Akinboboye
A US-based Nigerian doctor, Ola Akinboboye has emerged as the new president of the Association of Black Cardiologists in the US, Empowered Newswire reports.
Akinboboye was unanimously elected by the 4500 member-strong US national umbrella organization recently and inaugurated last month in Chicago Illinois.
Speaking in an exclusive interview, the Chief Executive Officer of the association, Mr. Andre Williams said “the association is excited to have Dr. Ola Akinboboye become the president of ABC,” for the next two years.
Akinboboye, a graduate of Medicine from the University of Ibadan, is a prominent US medical practitioner with health centers in New York, an award-winning nuclear cardiologist, and is listed among the Top Doctors in the New York region by leading US medical publications.
The president and leaders of the ABC are deemed among significant figures in the American society in the driving and directing the nation’s medical and health policy outside of government circles, by the virtue of the association’s representation of all black Americans and people of color.
The association is dedicated to eliminating the disparities related to cardiovascular disease in all people of color in the US and it currently has public and private partnerships that is increasing its impact in communities across the nation.
Besides, the aassociation is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), as an educational institution regulating the practice of cardiology and related professions. Its stated mission “is to champion the elimination of cardiovascular disparities through education, research and advocacy.”
Although Akinboboye was inaugurated last month in Chicago at a well-attended annual membership dinner of the national group of black cardiologists, the headquarters of the association is in Washington DC, the US capitol, which affords it to relate effectively with the US government.
Founded in 1974 by 17 medical doctors, the ABC was established “to bring special attention to the adverse impact of cardiovascular disease on African Americans,” and has now grown from the initial 17 to well over 4000 members at the last count, according to Williams who spoke from Washington DC.
Speaking on his election and assumption of office as the president of Black cardiologists in the US, Akinboboye said “ABC is the Umbrella organization for Black cardiologists in the United States, and the organization plays a critical role in healthcare policy making, particularly on issues regarding healthcare of African-Americans”.
Akinboboye who will serve a two-year tenure until 2014 is the second Nigerian to be elected president of the ABC, after Dr. Elizabeth Ofili who was president between 2000-2002.
According to the CEO Williams, Akinboboye had served earlier on the association’s leadership on the Medical Education Committee, where he helped with securing the accreditation of the group.
“Akinboboye has spoken at many national conferences and besides his medical degree, he also has an MPH and MBA from Columbia University.” He added that as president the UI-trained doctor will advance the membership of the ABC and also ensure international growth including linking the US with the African continents with such training programmes.
Williams explained that members of the association are drawn from across the length and breadth of the US, including all certified cardiologists, corporate bodies, and non medical practitioners drawn from the American community interested in the promotion of a good heart health. He encouraged members of the community to explore the web site of the association, www.abcardio.org to discover tips on promoting good heart health.
Life is short,have fun!!! 