ANOTHER SIDE OF OUR HISTORY.

 The youths need to know !!!. Most especially igbos brothers in South West Nigeria.

R-L : Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Ahmadu Bello

Let us go down memory lane
Someone said "Fulani is Yoruba's number one enemy and that the British handed over Nigeria to them."

This is not the truth.
The British did not hand over Nigeria to the Fulani.

Parliamentary elections were held in Nigeria on 12 December 1959. The result was a hung parliament with no clear majority to form a government.

Zik's National Council of Nigeria and Cameroons (NCNC), came first with 2,594,577 votes to get 81 seats.

Awolowo's Action Group (AG), came second with 1,992,364 votes to get 73 seats.

However, the Ahmadu Bello's Northern People's Congress (NPC), came a distant third with 1,922,179 votes to get 134 of the 312 seats in the House of Representatives despite getting less public votes.

The above three major political parties in the election did not get enough number of the seats to form a government. An alliance had to be formed to determine who would rule.

It was a no brainer that Zik's NCNC and Awolowo's Action Group should make a coalition government as they came first and second respectively.

Awolowo, then humbled himself and volunteered to be a Deputy Prime Minister or Finance Minister in a coalition government with Zik as the Prime Minister. This was because the Zik's NCNC party had more public votes and seats than the Awolowo's Action Group.

Zik invited Awolowo’s team to Asaba, the gateway between the Yoruba's Western Region and the Igbo's Eastern Region to hold coalition talks. The talks were a clever ruse to keep Action Group’s hopes high, so that Action Group would be kept distracted from meeting with other minor parties for talks, including: Northern Elements Progressive Union with 8 seats; Mobolaje Grand Alliance with 6 seats; Igala Union with 4 seats; Independents Candidates with 4 seats; Igbira Tribal Union with 4 seats and the Niger Delta Congress with 1 seat.

Whilst the Action Group team was waiting in Asaba for a meeting with the NCNC, they read in the news that Zik and the NCNC had gone up North and clinched the deal with Ahmadu Bello on forming a coalition government with the NPC.

Tafawa Balewa, a Fulani, would be the Prime Minister of Nigeria while Zik would be the figure head Governor-General. Even Nkrumah of Ghana was shocked. He asked Zik why having spent so much energy fighting for colonial emancipation and then settling for a toothless bulldog role when Nigeria needed him the most.

Zik wrote in his autobiography why he did not form a coalition government with Awolowo.

In 1947, with over £13,500 raised from the Yoruba people and given to the NCNC, Zik had led other six prominent NCNC delegates to London to protest the “obnoxious laws” of Governor Arthur Richards. The trip ended in failure with backbiting, abuses and accusation of theft against Zik. Zik’s opponents at the NCNC, accused him of squandering the money and the trust of Nigerians.

Zik replied insinuating that the Yoruba on the team, that are: Mrs. Fumilayo Ransome-Kuti, Prince Adeleke Adedoyin, and Dr. A. B. Olorunnimbe, were the problem.

There erupted a heated and prolonged press war between Zik’s Political Reminiscence in his West African Pilot and H.O. Davies’ Political Panorama in the Daily Service. This led to Igbo in Lagos rushing to buy machetes in large numbers thinking a tribal war was imminent.

The Governor and his General Secretary, Hugh Foot, quickly called Zik and H.O. Davies to order at the Government House.

Zik went away with the resolve that “the Yoruba must not be allowed to rule over others in Nigeria”.

And afterwards in the Daily Service published the speech of Zik in 1949 about Igbo being destined by God to conquer and rule over others. This among others, will explain why Zik rejected Awolowo's offer of a coalition government in 1959 and instead worked with the Fulani.

The Fulani had been reading Zik and the Igbo through the lens of his 1949 speech ever since.

The Fulani way of neutralising Zik when the opportunity came in 1959 was to offer him a powerless post, which surprisingly Zik and the NCNC dutifully accepted in place of being Nigeria’s first Prime Minister.

Zik had thought that the Igbo can easily manipulate the Fulani in place of the educated Yoruba. He thus manipulated Balewa to arrest Awolowo in 1962 and to have him jailed for 10 years in 1963.

Zik also manipulated Balewa to remove from the Western Region the Edo, Urhobo, Itsekiri and Western Ijaw that account for 70% of the oil wealth in Nigeria and created for them the Mid-West Region.

Zik's hatred for the Yoruba gave the Fulani the impetus to rule over others in Nigeria.

The Igbo coup plotters tried to undo Zik's mistake in 1966. And unfortunately, they killed other tribes and left theirs, which resulted in the civil war.

Britain did not really hand over Nigeria to the Fulani. Nigeria was given over to the Fulani by the Igbo.

However, to hold on to power in Nigeria, the Fulani enlisted the backing of the self-serving career politicians in England.

Not many Igbo especially the young ones know this narrative. I don’t think the Yorubas, even their elders remember this. Has the leopard changed its spots? Yoruba Ronu!!!!
Good day . Barrister RFJ.

NB: point of correction, NCNC was formed and funded by Herbert Adeyinka Macaulay. He handed the mantle of leadership over to Zik at a crucial stage. it's more reason the party won more votes coz it cut across all the regions. Educated and prominent Yoruba elites at the time belongs to McCauley NCNC such Ransome-Kuti, MKO grew up with NCNC.
My own observation.

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Sixteen Notes on how to end a Life – by Akachi Chukwuemeka the 400 UNN that committed suicide.

After reading this poem you realize the guy love dying.

Chronicles Short Fiction Prize 2018 Shortlist

Veins are kite strings we can only cut free —Andrea Gibson

16.

I thought I would never write this story.

15.

I’m trying.

14.

“Sir, when was the last time you thought of killing yourself?”

“Now”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Can we reschedule?”

13.

Today I came home with a belly drenched in litres of petrol I forced down my throat. This story will never end, but it does have a beginning.

 *

My depression eats me patiently and washes me down with the sound of the silence in my bedroom. This is how I learn that when you stretch your body to occupy spaces, it weaves itself into a form of its own, another excuse to feel smaller each time you climb into your bed.

12.

On the bus, the woman next to me didn’t seem to notice I probably wouldn’t be alive in the next thirty minutes. I thought when you want to kill yourself, you will be visibly marked. Everyone would notice. The driver waved me into his bus, after asking me my location, as if the petrol sitting in my stomach wasn’t enough to fuel his car all the way to the nearest cemetery.

I didn’t tell him. Instead, I asked him to stop me at the Catholic Cathedral, I should find a therapist there. I thought he would see the sign. He is marked, the sign should say. Nobody saw it. I was dizzy and everything was becoming fuzzy. How could they not see that? God should have sent somebody. He/she/they should have stopped me. What kind of god lets a human-time-bomb, forged in litres of petrol, liquid fire, to walk into a bus and sit next to a woman thinking of dinner?

 11.

“Breathe. Breathe. I hope the couch is comfortable?”

 “Should I turn off the air conditioner?”

 “Why did you want to kill yourself?”

 “Can you hear me, Sir?”

10.

The church is the earliest memory I have of my childhood. Mum made us go to all the bible study sessions in the children’s ministry. In Wukari, Taraba state, where I grew up, the children’s ministry was much organised. There were series of classes that you had to pass through and they actually took exams.

I don’t remember anything from those classes. Sunday school. Evening bible study. Monday classes. None. Maybe I was just too young.

I remember the black fruit we plucked after services. My elder sister and my cousin. I don’t remember how we are related. I remember the pimples on my cousin’s face and how I stared at them whenever she bent to pick out fruits. They always seemed to be rotten by the time they fell. All I remember about my sister is the cheerful-coloured gowns she wore, with a hat to match each one. It was 2003 or so and I don’t know how old I was. I wasn’t up to six years old. I remember it in showers. Light showers.

9.

“Would you say that your childhood was pleasant?”

 “Why are you smiling? So it was pleasant then?”

(Laughter)

 *

Growing up, I was taught how to laugh in-between the lines, in monosyllables that come off neat and harmless. Nobody taught me how to envy my skin or write love letters to myself or peace. I learnt everything I was taught I had to or I wouldn’t move to the next class

8.

I don’t remember saying much. In church, at home. I say a little at school. I just remember being at those places. Not a single sentence. I was everywhere I was supposed to be, rather, my mum thought I was supposed to be, without leaving a trace. After the children’s Sunday services, we had to wait for the adults to dismiss. That is the only memory I have of the church. It was like floating in and out of places.

Children running around, climbing cashew trees, picking rotten mangoes, tasting them, spitting them out, crying, letting themselves be consoled, wiping the tears, starting all over again. It was all like a silent movie to me. Only, I was in the cast. I ran, cried, did everything and never said anything. I wasn’t a quiet boy, I was just mute.

7.

“Any memories you might want to share with me?”

“Are you happy, Sir?”

 “Let me help you?”

6.

Onyinye. She was much older than I was, but she still, somehow, winded up beside me the whole time. We were together the way an ocean clings to a sinking ship. Once, she suggested we played father and mother, and then chose to be father. I remember her lying on the pew, where bibles were dropped in the children session, smiling down at me. Me: an abandoned child in a war zone, lying on the seat of the same pew, staring at this girl, who seemed to be just happy, lying there, saying nothing. I remember my ‘cousin’ calling to take me home.

I don’t remember saying goodbye.

*

You know, moths have no choice than to flirt with flames. When the flames bite their wings, they call it exercise and apply first aid. It’s their destiny.

5.

The first time I ever thought of killing myself was in Nsukka.

I wanted pass any sharp thing through my body.

 Dad stayed in Nsukka, Enugu state, alone. Whenever he visited, he would bring bread — even though mum sold bread at our store — and most importantly, avocados. Those were scarce in the north. Bread and avocado was his favourite too. At that time, one of them was sold for #50. My mother couldn’t sell avocados in our shop because our neighbour already did. The northerners didn’t ask for it anyway. Our shop was the first in a row of shops owned by Igbo people. Selling avocado would have been a waste of money. Only the Igbos who lived in our street, Akata Street, bought them and every other shop in that row sold it.

I remembered my dad for avocados and hard luck.

Each time he came, something bad happened to me. One night, my elder sister urinated in my bathing water and my mum made me use it. My sister had beaten me while we were alone at home. I don’t really know why she did that. I managed to run the few blocks it took to reach the shop. I cried so hard that my father got me a bottle of Sprite, and handed me some slices of bread. At night, my sister struck. My mother didn’t believe me. Maybe, she felt I was just being mischievous, and made me bathe with the water.  I remember crying. I remember the water and my sister’s urine washing the tears in joint mockery. Something bad happens whenever my father comes back, but I still wanted him to. Avocados.

 No one asked if I wanted to move or not.

Perhaps I was just too young.

I don’t even remember packing my bags. But I remember the journey. I was sitting on my father’s lap in the seat closest to the window. We: my mom, sister, cousin and I used to visit my dad in Nsukka from time to time, but that was all it was, visits. I had already made home out of a strange land. My sister would have slapped me if she heard me call Wukari my home. This time, I was supposed to stay in Nsukka for a longer time. Maybe forever. I’m not sure how I felt about that. I hummed the few Hausa songs I learnt till I got tired.

And then forgot, all of them.

*

Memories are lonely horse riders. They never stay too long in a new town. They are always on the road. I’m learning to love them without getting committed.

4.

When I held the knife in our bedroom in Nsukka, I was standing next to the red cupboard that had cracked glasses. My father kept a couple of fancy ceramics we never used there, right next to the kitchen knife.

It was on a Sunday morning.

I had chicken pox and my dad rubbed a white lotion all over my body.

Onyinye could be playing in a church, thousands of miles away. She could still be lying on that pew, saying nothing, smiling down at a different boy this time.

Maybe, I was the sinking ship the ocean was trying to hold on to.

When I forgot the Hausa songs we sang on the playground, I forgot faces too. I no longer remembered what she looked like. The only recurrent memory I had of her was a Gif file: a girl lying on a church pew, and a boy staring at her. Blankly. Not knowing what it means for a girl that age to climb a pew for him.

The blade was sharp. I had watched my dad cut onions and peel avocadoes with it. I pointed it to my stomach in one slow movement and watched the tip flirt with my shirt buttons. I felt that if I died, all the people in the children’s ministry would have to attend. I didn’t win all those bible quizzes for nothing. All the teachers knew me. I had even seen the coordinator several times, talking to my mother after services. Onyinye would come. Everyone would come.

I couldn’t get through with it each time. I always let the knife dance around my shirt for a while before I put it back.

I repeated it every day. I can’t remember when I stopped trying, but I remember not telling anyone, including myself. That was the first time.

3.

“Son, why then did you come all this way to this place if you will not speak to me?”

 “Please say something, you have been mute since you asked for a reschedule?”

 “Are you sure you don’t need a priest instead, because I’m just a therapist?”

 “Ok, let’s reschedule. Thanks for coming”

(Door closes)

*

I give my body options and it always chooses to baptize itself in seas because they say salt are water made flesh. But the salt my body chooses is an abusive lover who changes its taste so when I look in the mirror I tell myself that I need a new one and the only way to wear a new body is to die and when I say I die every day, it’s not a decision, it’s just my nature

2.

 I‘m marked. The man in charge of the universe shouldn’t let living ghosts like me roam his planet. There was no reason for drinking the petrol. The only difference between today and the days I stood next to the red cupboard, knife in hand, is that I’m twenty. I am a final year student of a university in Nigeria, who is more interested in finding more ways to end his life, than actually living it.

When I woke up this morning, I didn’t know I would try to end my life again. A rainbow can never wash off his colours. He will never be clean. I just walked into a filling station and asked for two litres of petrol. The attendant looked at me like I just walked out of the sky. I got the point and crossed the road to buy two nylons. She glanced furtively at me as the nozzle spat fuel. She was handing me my funeral clothes. Inadvertently.

No one could see the mark.

Every time I walk out of my bedroom I am aware that I’m an unforgiveable sin. People like me shouldn’t be allowed to walk free with all the monsters our depression carves into our brains. The attendant watched a sin walk free and did nothing about it. My mother, well, she will certainly cry.

My sister never cries.

She might just knit silently for two months till the grief slips through her needle. My father would just grunt for a week and go back to peeling avocadoes, with the same kitchen knife that flirted with my shirt buttons.

My memory will never stick.

I pity the therapists I have visited over the years. I never spoke to any of them. A moth will always dance to flames. I tried petrol because kerosene didn’t work out the last time. I threw up in my bedroom and the whole plan was gone. I was in second year then. Death is a safe pair of hands whispering my name, and I draw closer every day. A mere therapist’s questions can’t make me betray his trust.

No bride leaves death at the altar.

At twenty, there is not much difference between now, and the night my sister peed in my bathing water. I’m still the boy who doesn’t know how to shout at bullies. Who still falls for every girl in the playground (she doesn’t even have to lie on a pew). Who still floats into spaces without occupying them. Who leaves no traces. Who is mute. My bed feels smaller each time I lie on it. The boy never grew up.

Life still pees in every bucket of water I use. My bathroom walls look on helplessly as the liquid mockery trickles into my mouth. My bathing water is always warm.

Why can’t anyone see my mark? I never belonged here. I’m still too young to understand anything. The boy that watched a kitchen knife flirt with his buttons and said nothing still lives here. For some reason, the knife has not stopped flirting with me.

We are in a long term relationship now.

I lie on the bed and let the rumble in my stomach continue. This is going to be the last attempt. This will be a long night. It has been an hour since I left the therapist’s office, and I’m spoon-feeding this story to my journal. No one holds my pain more than he does. When I fall asleep, I’m never going to wake up again.

I am ready to dream myself into a shiny casket.

 This is the longest story I have ever written.

Goodnight therapist, filling station attendant, driver, woman on the bus, sister, cousin, mum, dad, Onyinye. I forgive you. I’m the sin here. I’m unforgiveable.

1.

I wake up. Again.

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Senate threatens to shut down Bet9ja

The senate committee on youth and sports has threatened to order the shutdown of Bet9ja office if the company failed to honour its invitation for a second time.

Bet9ja is one of the most popular online bookmaker companies operating in Nigeria that offer betting on major sporting events.

Obinna Ogba, the chairman of the committee, made the remark, on Tuesday, at the national assembly, during the verification of lotto companies with license to operate in Nigeria.

Ogba (PDP Ebonyi central) said it was unfortunate that Bet9ja refused to honour the committee’s invitation.

“Clerk, write to Bet9ja again. If they did not honour our invitation, we will ask the National Lottery Commission to seal their offices,” he said.

According to him, the senate is making efforts aimed at assisting the lottery commission to generate money for the federal government.

”We want to see bet9ja. They can’t run away,” he said.

The chairman explained that the verification followed series of complaints against the betting companies. He added that “some don’t even have offices while others have not been making remittances to the government.”

”Some got the licences but they are not operating. The new regulation only give them one year to start operations,” he said.

Meanwhile, about 20 other betting companies appeared before the committee for the verification exercise.

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PDP protesters pass ‘no confidence’ vote on panel handling Atiku’s petition

The national secretariat staff of the PDP, yesterday, staged a peaceful protest in Abuja where they passed a vote of no confidence on the Presidential Election Tribunal handling the petition of the party’s candidate for the February 23 election. The protesters who demanded the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, to quit the panel handling the petition, said there was no possibility of Atiku “reclaiming his stolen mandate” with Justice Bulkachuwa as member of the panel.

They carried placards and banners with different inscriptions such as “Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, you can’t preside over your own case. Your husband is a senator-elect under APC”, “Justice is not for the most powerful, it must be seen to be right and done”, and “On moral grounds, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, excuse yourself from the presidential petition tribunal”, among others. Addressing newsmen at the premises of the Wadata Plaza, where they protested, the Chairman of PDP Staff Welfare Association, Mr. Clement Nwankwo, claimed that Atiku won the February 23 presidential election but was allegedly rigged out by the APC which he claimed worked closely with the INEC. The protesters also expressed worry over the worsening security situation in the country, adding that the nation’s economy under the current government was nothing to write home about.

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NLC threatened Ngige ask Buhari to Sack him

By Chimezie Godfrey

#TrackNigeria – Following the recent attack on its officials by suspected thugs at the residence of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has called for the sack of the minister and for justice to be done.

In a mega rally at Abuja Monday, organised in protest against the alleged attack on its members, NLC and other affiliated unions called on President Buhari for the removal of Dr. Chris Ngige as the Minister of Labour  and Employment.

They equally demanded that justice should be done.

Newsdiaryonline correspondent gathered that the NLC officials had recently visited the Minister’s residence to discuss issues relating to the implementation of the national minimum wage, only to be assaulted by thugs suspected to be deployed by the minister.

NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba said the action of Ngige against the workers amounts to a desecration of the office of the Minister of Labour and Employment, and therefore deemed him no longer fit to continue to occupy that office.

Wabba  listed the reasons for the protest  to include the  alleged attack on the workers by the minister, the exposure of the falsehood surrounding the replacement of Frank Kokori as NSITF board chairman, and allegations of corruption against the minister.

He said, “Ngige cannot sit on our minimum wage because we are told he is sitting on the implementation guidelines because he does not like Nigerians workers.

“I therefore hold him responsible.. for sitting on our minimum wage.

“So, we have said that Ngige has desecrated his office by attacking workers with  thugs, he has desecrated the office of the minister of labour and we have removed the word honourable from his name.

He also sympathized with those workers that were injured.”We thank God Almighty because we have open mind that is why nobody was injured to the level of incapacitation.

“He thought they have killed some of us, that is why he went to the hospital, to think that the god of Okija can drink the blood of Nigerian workers, it has proven that nobody has died, no blood was spilled.

“The God of Nigerian workers will continue to protect us particularly in the holy month of Ramadan, and all the prayers we have offered by the special grace of God, will fall on his head.

“As I have said, our next line of action is to document a formal letter to the President. And we want our voice to be heard, we have to be given opportunity to be heard,” he said.  

On the allegation of corruption against the Minister, the NLC President said he wants the truth to be told to Nigerians on the issues of corruption.

“We Challenge the Federal government not to hide anybody that has issues, let their names be published.

“We are aware when Ngige managed the place as a sole administrator for two and half years corruption also took place, and we are demanding for a commission of enquiry to find out what has happened.

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I have no regret in my godfatherism views –El-Rufai

John Ameh, Abuja

The Kaduna State Governor,  Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, said on Monday that he had no apologies for  his views on how to retire godfathers from politics in Lagos State.

The governor stated that his views were his views and would not retract them or tender an apology because anyone felt offended by them.

El-Rufai spoke with State House correspondents after he visited President Muhammadu Buhari to give him an update on the security situation in Kaduna State.

“If I was asked a question and I gave an answer, anyone that feels offended by the answer, it is his own business.  I have no apologies, I don’t apologise for my views.

“I don’t have to explain anything to anyone. This is a democracy and in a democratic space, there must be room for people to express their views,” he said.

Recall that last week in Ikoyi, while speaking at an event in Lagos, the governor recounted how he retired godfathers from Kaduna politics.

He advised the people of Lagos State to apply his model to sack any godfather holding the state down.

It is widely believed that el-Rufai was referring to the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

When asked a specific question on whether he had any issues with Tinubu or the party generally, he said, “There is no dispute between me and anyone in the APC; the APC is one family; I don’t dispute with my own party.”

On his visit to the Villa, el-Rufai said he came to brief Buhari on the various security measures introduced by security agencies to confront criminalities in the state, especially kidanappings on the Abuja-Kaduna Highway.

Also, the Governor of Benue State, Mr Samuel Ortom, was at the Villa.

He denied that Benue was insolvent or that the Internally Generated Revenue of the state was below 10 per cent of its share from the Federation Account in 2018.

However, he admitted that for the state to afford to pay the new N30,000 minimum wage, it must cut costs.

The governor mentioned one Gana as the leader of a criminal gang terrorising Benue and some neighbouring states like Taraba.

Ortom said,  “The three local government areas of Katsina Ala, Ukum and Bukun are not safe. No educational, farming, commercial activities are going on; the Igbo that are major traders have vacated the place.

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Hundreds in occupied building had no power for days. A Pope Francis aide climbed down a manhole to restore it

A cardinal and aide to Pope Francis for charitable missions climbed down a manhole to restore power to hundreds of people, including children, who were living without electricity and hot water for days in a Rome building, according to local reports.

In defiance to authorities, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski said he intervened personally Saturday evening to switch the meters back on for about 450 people, including 100 minors, who live in an abandoned state-owned building, according to ANSA news agency.

"It was a desperate gesture," Krajewski, who is Vatican almoner and Francis' "charitable arm" told ANSA. "There were over 400 people without electricity -- families, children -- without even the chance to run the refrigerators."

"I didn't do it because I was drunk," he added.

Cardinal Krajewski confirmed to CNN he did switch the grid back on himself.

Activists from the Spin Time Labs collective have occupied the building since 2013, providing shelter for homeless families but also a tavern, a theater, a craft beer laboratory, a carpentry shop, a music rehearsal studio, and various social activities.

The power was cut on May 6 after they accumulated a debt of €300,000 (£260,000 or $337,000), according to ANSA.

The collective appealed on Facebook to the city of Rome to find a lasting solution "so that light doesn't go out anymore."

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PRESIDENT Buhari 2ND TERM INAUGURATION WILL BE A LOW-KEY AFFAIR

Being Text of a press conference addressed by the Hon Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, at the State House in Abuja on Monday, May 13th 2019.
President Muhammadu Buhari's inauguration for a second term on May 29, 2019, will be a low-key affair, as a number of the events slated for the inauguration will now be held during the first observance of June 12 as the National Democracy Day.
The decision to have a low-key inauguration for the President was taken at the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday, 8 May 2019.

However, invitations have been sent to all world leaders to attend the ceremonies marking the observance of the Democracy Day on June 12.
Since the first observance of June 12 as Democracy Day falls into an election year, and as a measure to sustain June 12 as Democracy Day,
the celebration of the inauguration and the advancement of democracy
in the country will now take place on June 12.
The country can ill-afford two major celebrations within a two-week interval.

Details of the events slated for the two ceremonies will be unveiled at a world press conference slated for May 20th in Abuja.

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Germany's First ‘Electric’ Highway Charges Trucks as They Drive

Germany has opened the first stretch of a so-called electric highway that will connect hybrid trucks to overhead wires, allowing them to recharge while traveling on the country’s main transportation arteries.

The 10-kilometer (6-mile) stretch south of Frankfurt on Germany’s A5 autobahn was opened last week, the German state of Hesse said in a statement. One truck is using it now, with four more planned by 2020.

The system was built by Munich-based engineering firm Siemens AG, while Volkswagen AG’s Scania trucks unit provided the vehicles. It uses technology similar to trains or trams, allowing to trucks to link on while driving at up to 90 kilometers an hour, drawing power from the wires above. The electricity charges up the trucks’s battery, allowing it to drive electrically for a while afterward, with a diesel motor kicking in once the battery is depleted.

Siemens started the project in 2010 with a test track outside Berlin. The first complete track opened in 2016 outside of Stockholm, and the company is working on another in California.

Siemens’s mobility division, which makes trains and signalling equipment, recently had its attempt to merge with French competitor Alstom SA blocked by the European Commission. Chief Executive Officer Joe Kaeser has said he envisions the unit expanding from trains into a wider range of mobility topics such as electric and autonomous cars.

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Wike sacks his commissioner for power

The Rivers state commissioner of power, Honourable Shedrach Chukwu, was on Monday, May 13 sacked
- Honourable Chukwu was sacked by Governor Nyesom Wike in a statement by his media aide, Simeon Nwakaudu
- Chukwu is to submit all government documents and properties in his possession to the permanent secretary of the ministry of power
Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike of Rivers has sacked the state's commissioner of power, Honourable Shedrach Chukwu.

Wike ordered Chukwu to submit all government documents and properties in his possession to the permanent secretary of the ministry of power, The Nation reports.
This was contained in a statement released in the evening of Monday, May 13, by the governor’s special assistant on electronic media, Simeon Nwakaudu.

The governor in a statement by his special assistant on electronic media, Simon Nwakaudu said the recall of the local government chairmen is with immediate effect.
Nwakaudu also said the governor charged all the council chairmen to diligently serve their people and shun all forms of lackadaisical behaviour in governance.

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2019 UTME: JAMB gives More details in results checking

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has addressed reports on the challenges associated with checking of results of the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

The Board Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, who announced the results in Abuja on Saturday, said about 1,792,719 candidates sat for the examination, while 34,120 candidates had their results withheld for examination malpractice.

Oloyede stated that 15,145 results were withheld for further clarification.

Speaking on candidates complaints about their inability to access their results, the board in a post on its official Twitter page wrote:” The Board has noticed that candidates are having difficulties assessing their results, especially with some networks.

“The network providers are looking into these technical hitches and have assured that normalcy would be restored soon.”

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List of female judges married to politicians

1. Justice Mary Ukaego Odili (née Nzenwa), CFR: Born on May 12, 1952, Mary Ukaego, is a judge and wife of Peter Odili, who served as Governor of Rivers state from 1999 to 2007. She was appointed an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria by former President Goodluck Jonathan and was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice Katsina-Alu on June 23, 2011.

2. Justice Binta Nyako: Binta is one of the four wives of former Adamawa state governor, Vice Admiral Murtala Nyako (rtd). One of the most remarkable things that brought her to the consciousness of many Nigerians was her battle on the home from where she and the other wives of Nyako fought one another to occupy the office of the governor’s wife. The office of the Adamawa first lady was vacant for over 100 days as each of the four wives claimed to be the legal occupant of the controversial office.

3. Justice (DR.) Chioma Nwosu-Iheme: A judge of the Federal Court of Appeal, Justice (Dr.) Chioma Nwosu-Iheme, is the first female judge in Nigeria to read Law up to Ph.D level in the field of ‘Law of Intellectual Property’. She is married to Chief Uzoma Nwosu-Iheme, a former commissioner for Public Utilities and Rural Development, and Commissioner for Education in Imo state.

4. Justice Eberechi Suzzette Wike (née Obuzor): Eberechi, First Lady of Rivers state, is married to Governor Nyesom Wike. She is a judge of the Rivers state High Court of Justice and was born in Odiokwu, Ahoada, on May 24, 1972.

5. Justice Fati Lami Abubakar (Rtd): Fati, CON, was a former chief judge of Niger state, and founder, Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA). She is married to former Head of State, Gen Abdulsalam Abubakar, and retired recently from the services of Niger state government, at the age of 65.

6. Justice Maryann Anenih: Maryann is the youngest of the three wives of Chief Anthony Anenih, former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Board of Trustees (BOT), who is better known in political circles as Mr. Fix-It. She is a judge at the Federal High Court in Abuja and daughter of a local government chairman in Edo state.

7. Justice Adedayo Oyebanji: The Lagos state High Court judge is married to Tunji Oyebanji, the Chairman/Managing Director of Mobil Oil Nigeria.

8. Justice Jumoke Pedro: A judge of the Lagos state High Court, Justice Jumoke Pedro, is the wife of banker-turned-politician, Femi Pedro, former Lagos state Deputy Governor.

9. Justice Anwuri Chikere of the Federal High Court is married to Hon Ken Chikere, three-time member of the House of Representatives (PDP/Port Harcourt Federal Constituency 1) after serving as Honourable Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Amaechi's first term as Governor (2007-2011).

10. Justice Meg Opara of the High Court of Rivers state is the wife of the Rt. Hon. Austin Adiele Opara, Rivers PDP chieftain and former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.

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Arthur Eze on Track to Establish a University

Arthur Eze

By Osita chidioka, he said he met with Arthur Eze.
A few days ago I continued on my self imposed task of engaging Igbo Billionaires to start secondary schools, Polytechnics, Universities or adopt an existing one for full funding. I met with Prince Arthur Eze at his residence in Enugu to follow up and encourage him in his quest to establish a University. We have had this discussion over the past 5 years and gradually got to the point were he has committed to establishing one now.

Arthur is an interesting and intriguing personality. His generosity is legendary and his world view an outcome of his maverick nature.

We have an agreement. Eze na Ukpo has committed to the university project. I will help (at no cost) in the effort to twin the school with a foreign university and ensure the Engineering school is of a world standard (he is a US trained Engineer). 

Before Warren Buffet started his Giving Away project,The Giving Pledge, Arthur had always talked about the futility of keeping wealth. He had always insisted that he will give away his vast fortune before death and he is doing that.

Yesterday at the Cathedral of Good Shepard Enugu he gave a Cheque of 20 million Naira and asked that the Church should take 10M and share 10M to all the poor people who came to church. Again he asked all rich people to give away to the less privileged.

The university must happen. I will continue to engage him to Stay focused and avoid the ever present distractions he faces.

Hopefully I will get the other Billionaires, known to me, to commit soon. Education is the key to the future competitiveness of the South East and Nigeria.

Investing in education or subsidizing it for those who can’t afford it, is the best investment of all times.

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Come Clear On Bulkachuwa – PDP Tells Presidency, APC

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the Buhari-led Presidency and the leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to clear the air on allegations of corruption against Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, President of the Court of Appeal.

In a statement by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party on Sunday said: “On account of this allegation and the nefarious plot to bring the name of our party into its narrative, the PDP charges the Buhari Presidency to come clear on the corruption allegation it opened on Justice Bulkachuwa.”

The party says since the Buhari Presidency has alluded to issues of corruption against Justice Bulkachuwa, contrary to issues raised in the PDP petition bothering on bias, it behoves on the Presidency and the APC to make public, the corruption issues they have alluded to.

“The Presidency should also take a step further by pursuing these issues of corruption just as it did in its case of corruption allegations against the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, instead of wickedly dragging our party into issues that have no bearing with the PDP.

“Now that the Presidency has informed the whole nation that Justice Bulkachuwa has issues of corruption, we challenge it to do the needful rather than engaging in shadow-boxing against our party.

“Moreover, in the face of corruption allegations, as has now been exposed by the Presidency, the burden still lies on the same Presidency to come clean. In doing that, the Presidency will be ranching on its established course, having hit the records of harassing and intimidating judicial officials; abuse of court processes and disregard for court orders,” the PDP’s statement read in parts.

The party further said it holds that the Buhari Presidency’s fresh allegation of corruption now places a huge moral burden on Justice Bulkachuwa, particularly in her capacity as the President of the Court of Appeal.

The PDP said that its premise is based on the fact that a judicial officer of Bulkachuwa’s standing “must not only be above board but be seen to be above board at all times”.

The opposition party restated its demand for Justice Bulkachuwa to “recuse” herself from the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, following the alleged manifest bias in her opening address, “that no matter how well the election is conducted, there are bound to be complaints”.

The party said its call is in addition to the fact that Justice Zainab’s husband, Hon. Adamu Mohammed Bulkachuwa, is a frontline leader of the APC, which is a party in their case before the tribunal.

In surmising, the PDP argued that with the developments, the party will certainly not obtain justice before Justice Bulkachuwa in the panel.

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Restructuring: The National Assembly Failed Nigerians – Senator Adeyeye

The Senator representing Osun Central in the National Assembly, Senator Olusola Adeyeye, has blamed the Parliament for failing to address the issue of restructuring.

Appearing on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, the lawmaker lamented the fact that the outgoing Eight Assembly could not effectively vote in support of taking the nation on the path of true federalism.

“It’s a failure on the part of the National Assembly of which I am a member and a principal officer,” he stated.

Adeyeye, who is also the Chief Whip of the National Assembly, explained that a lawmaker may have the intention of pushing calls for restructuring, it is however subject to a majority vote.

He recalled a situation in the Seventh Assembly where the issue of renouncing Nigeria’s citizenship was before the floor of the Senate.

• According to him, most lawmakers voted against the proposed 18 years considered as maturity on the basis that Islam recognised any married person as being mature.

“No matter how passionately you feel about any issue, votes are taken. You win some, you lose some. And I like to remind this republic that one of the most controversial issues in the Seventh Assembly was in the issue of our effort to increase the age at which a Nigerian can renounce citizenship.

“You have to be an adult. And we tried to spell adulthood at attaining the age of 18. We took a vote and it passed. Senator Sani Yerima from Zamfara State took exception. He said that the law of Islam says once you get married, you are an adult and that the vote we are taking is an assault on the fundamental rights of Muslims in Nigeria.

“A call for a second vote (came up). Some of us approached Senator Mark and begged him not to allow a second vote. Of course, Senator Mark had been long in government. He understood that that could be an issue that could consume all of us.

“He allowed a second vote. Unfortunately, every Muslim from the north except one who had voted yes previously reversed himself and that exercised now lost by 3 votes,” he stated.

Senator Adeyeye further said that sometimes, we get so emotional about all the noise that we don’t look at all the substance of what is going on, and part of what had gone on especially in the last 4 years.

He argued that while the failure to push the issue of restructuring was a minus on the part of the National Assembly, the legislating of a country is not a straight-jacket process.

“The business of amending the constitution lies primarily in the National Assembly, however, in any country, amending the constitution is never a straight forward and an easy problem,” Adeyeye opined.

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Nigeria Army rescues 29 women, 25 children in Borno

The Nigerian Army has rescued 54 Boko Haram kidnapped persons in Borno, including 29 women and 25 children.

In a statement on Monday, Col. Sagir Musa, the Acting Director Army Public Relations said the victims were freed after troops cleared Ma’allasuwa and Yaa-Munye villages in the state.

Musa said that the terrorists fled troops’ onslaught and abandoned the victims.

He also said that troops on clearance operation in Damasak general area of Mobbar Local Government Area of Borno, destroyed two Boko Haram logistics vehicles and make shift camp.

In another development, Musa said that a Mobile policeman, Sgt. Markus John, with number PNo 383106 was arrested at Njimtilo check point on Maiduguri-Damaturu road, while on transit to Lagos.

He said that at the time of arrest, John was in possession of two magazines, 146 rounds of 7.62 mm Special ammunition and one round of anti aircraft gun concealed in his bag.

On May 10, Musa said the army in conjunction with the police, Pte Paul Ojochegbe (14NA7113208) and Lance Cpl. Oko Eke (12NA672586), also at the Njimtilo check point.

He alleged that they were in possession of one disassembled AK 47 Rifle.

Musa restated the army’s appeal to appeal to the public to continue to provide useful information about suspicious movement of terrorists/criminals wherever they were seen hibernating in the country.

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Employment: Police ready to employ part-time constable

The Nigerian Police Force has concluded plans to engage thousands of Special Constables to work with conventional policemen in communities as part of measures to check rising insecurity in the face of insufficient manpower.

The recruitment of the special officers, which would be announced any moment from now, has received presidential backing and it is expected to start in Kaduna and other northern states where the traditional emirate and district structures support the system.

The Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Frank Mba, confirmed the plan and explained that the candidates for the constabulary would be between the ages of 21-50, and must be physically fit and gainfully employed.

The men, who will not be armed, are expected to handle charge room and administrative duties, crowd control, accident scene duties, alternative dispute resolution, and other less sensitive and less risky functions. They are expected to dress in police uniform but with a different force number to distinguish them from the regular cops.

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UN condemns deadly attack on Burkina Faso church

Top UN officials, including Secretary-General António Guterres, have condemned Sunday’s deadly attack on a Catholic church in Burkina Faso.

At least six people, including the priest, were killed when gunmen opened fire on the worshippers at the church in the north of the country, media reports say.

The incident reportedly took place in the village of Dablo, located in a region that has seen an upsurge in violence in recent months.

“The church was burned to the ground, along with other buildings including a health centre,” the UN said on its website.

In a statement, Guterres urged “all citizens of Burkina Faso to stand firmly with one another across communities”.

The UN chief advised them against buying into attempts by the perpetrators and their sponsors to sow discord and breed further violence.

He also recalled the sanctity of all places of worship, and expressed his hopes the perpetrators can be swiftly brought to justice.

President of the UN General Assembly, Ms Maria Espinosa, also expressed outrage in a tweet on Sunday evening.

Espinosa said the killers must be held accountable, adding that “we cannot tolerate hatred. The fundamental right of religious freedom must be respected everywhere”.

Also reacting, the UN Resident Coordinator in Burkina Faso, Mrs Metsi Makhetha, tweeted her condemnation of the “heinous attacks”.

She offered her condolences to the families of those who lost their lives.

The UN said the attacks occurred just days after its humanitarian officials, including Makhetha, warned of an “unprecedented” rise in “sophisticated armed attacks in the Sahel”.

In a report to member states on Wednesday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said the development was putting the future of a “whole generation” at stake.

“Violence is spreading in Mali and Niger, as well as Burkina Faso, and risks spilling over into other West African countries.

“This has led to a five-fold rise in the displacement of the local population in the last 12 months, who have seen more than 330,000 people leave their homes, in addition to 100,000 refugees,”OCHA said.

According to Makhetha, “ISIS-inspired” armed groups, threaten to destabilise longstanding traditional methods of community-based conflict resolution.

“The UN, partner humanitarian organisations and governments have stepped up operations. But we must do more,” she said.

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Nigeria soldiers killed several terrorists in Bokoharam domain

Several Boko Haram terrorists were on Friday killed by troops attached to Operation LAFIYA DOLE and 7 Division Nigerian Army during a major and simultaneous onslaught of insurgents’ hideouts in Borno State.

The troops- 121, 192 Battalions, 212 Tank Battalion and 177 Taskforce Battalion in simultaneous operations codenamed Hard Strike, had unleashed an offensive against the terrorists at Ranwa, Baladayo, Sabon Gari, and other villages.

According to a statement by Army spokesman, Colonel Sagir Musa, the troops completely cleared most of the villages and also stopped the terrorists from infiltrating Gajigana town.

He said the operations were carried out in collaboration with the Civilian Joint Taskforce, adding that an AK47 rifle, three magazines, 50 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, and a magazine bandolier were recovered from Furfur.

Two soldiers wounded during the encounter, are stable and receiving treatment in a military hospital.

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