NewStats: 3,263,817 , 8,181,495 topics. Date: Sunday, 08 June 2025 at 05:18 AM 5nk3s

Excellent Appointment! one of Nigeria's best economists.

its sad the s do not want to share this story in the front page.

This is the worse story I have read this year. So heartless and disgusting. Why are people wicked?

By Philip Obaji Jr.

As 16-year-old Miriam* stepped out of her tent to fetch water near the Madinatu Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Nigeria's northeastern Borno state in January last year, a middle-aged woman she knew as "Aunty Kiki" approached her.

She asked Miriam if she was interested in moving to the city of Enugu to work as a housemaid for a monthly salary.

Miriam, who is now 17, wasted no time in accepting the offer and began to prepare for her trip to the east the following day.

She told her 17-year-old cousin, Roda*, about it and advised her to approach Aunty Kiki.

When Roda, who is now 18, met Aunty Kiki the next morning, she asked if there was a job for her, too. The woman quickly agreed, so Roda packed her bags.

"We were both very excited to travel to Enugu," Miriam says. "We had suffered so much for four years and were happy to go somewhere new to start a new life."

Both girls, who used to live in the same compound in Bama, fled the northeastern Nigerian town in 2017 when Boko Haram stormed the area, burning down houses and kidnapping women and children.

Miriam and Roda fled, leaving other of their family behind. They do not know what happened to them.

The two girls trekked for several days to reach Madinatu, where they remained for nearly two years before their trip to Enugu in southeastern Nigeria.

In Madinatu, Miriam and Roda lived together in a small bamboo tent inside the camp that houses more than 5,000 people who, like them, had fled Boko Haram.

Life was tough in the camp. Food was in short supply and IDPs had to beg on the streets of the nearby town to be able to get enough to eat.
So the girls jumped at the chance of paid jobs in Enugu. They did not have time to tell anyone they were going.

The journey

First, they travelled with Aunty Kiki to Maiduguri.

Then a 12-hour journey to Abuja followed. They spent the night there in the home of a woman who knew Aunty Kiki.

The next day, after a nine-hour journey, they reached Enugu.

Aunty Kiki took them to a compound where she handed them over to an elderly woman she called "Mma" and told the girls to do whatever the woman asked of them.

"The compound had two flats of three bedrooms each, filled with young girls, some of them pregnant," says Miriam. "Aunty Kiki said it was where we'd be working."

At first, the girls thought their jobs were to clean the compound and do household chores as Aunty Kiki had led them to believe. Their new employers, however, had other ideas.
"Mma asked that we stay alone in separate rooms for that first night," Miriam explains. "We were surprised because the other girls in the compound were sharing rooms, some of which had four people in them."

Late that night, according to Miriam, a man walked into her room, ordered her to take off her clothes, held her hands tightly, and raped her.

The same thing happened to Roda, but her rapist was much more brutal.

"When I tried to scream, he covered my mouth and gave me a dirty slap," Roda says. "If he saw tears in my eyes, he slapped me even more."

The next day, the girls were moved to shared rooms with others, only being sent to single rooms when they were required to "work".

Both girls say they were raped almost daily by several different men.

They believe that Mma and Aunty Kiki work together in the same trafficking cartel and that Mma is the leader of the group.

All they could make out for sure, however, was that the two women communicated with each other and the men in Igbo, the language spoken in southeastern Nigeria.

Within a month, they were both pregnant. But still, they were raped.

"It doesn't matter whether you are six weeks or six months pregnant," says Roda. "If any of the men wants you, you can't say no."

It was pointless trying to escape, they explain, because the compound was guarded by men with guns.

Around a dozen girls were living in the compound when Miriam and Roda first arrived. But the number would change as the girls gave birth and were sent away, before new girls were brought in to produce more children for the cartel.

Miriam gave birth to a baby boy in the compound, with the assistance of a midwife who was called in from outside. But her son was taken from her.

Three days later, she was blindfolded and taken to a bus station where her traffickers made sure she boarded a vehicle back to the north.

"They didn't want me to know the way to the compound, that's why they covered my face," she explains. "I was given 20,000 naira (about $55) to assist in my transportation to my destination."

She first went to Abuja where she spent a night on the street before boarding a commercial vehicle back to Maiduguri.
Miriam does not know how much her baby was sold for.

"Some traffickers let their victims leave after giving birth because they believe if girls stay for too long, they could develop a plan to expose the trade," explains Abang Robert, public relations head of Caprecon Development and Peace Initiative, an NGO focused on rehabilitating victims of human trafficking in Nigeria. "They are scared of sabotage."

Baby factories are more common in the southeastern part of Nigeria, where security operatives have carried out several raids, including an operation last year when 19 pregnant girls and four children were rescued.

Women and girls are held captive to deliver babies who are then sold illegally to adoptive parents, forced into child labour, trafficked into prostitution or, as several reports suggest, ritually killed.

"Boys are more expensive than girls in the baby sale business," says Comfort Agboko, head of the southeastern arm of Nigeria's anti-trafficking agency, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), at her office in Enugu.

"Male children are often sold for between 700,000 naira (about $2,000) to one million naira (about $2,700) while female babies are sold for between 500,000 naira (about $1,350) and 700,000 naira."

The majority of the buyers are couples who have been unable to conceive.

Although anyone caught buying, selling or otherwise dealing in the procurement of children can be prosecuted, the baby trade remains prevalent in Enugu.

In recent years, security officials have carried out several undercover operations targeting suspected baby trafficking cartels whose operations the Enugu state government said are aided by some security agencies and unscrupulous state officials.

To avoid suspicion in the local community, baby factories are often presented as orphanages, experts explain.

"Baby factory operators hide under the 'canopy' of orphanages," says Agboko. She believes people receiving babies from them either do not know or do not care that they are not really orphans.

NAPTIP has arrested and prosecuted a number of people involved in the sale of babies in the southeast in recent years, Agboko explains. There are currently around half a dozen cases going through the court system.

"We are now working in collaboration with the association of orphanage homes operators in the entire southeast to identify, arrest and prosecute such people," she adds.

There is no official data to show how many babies are bought and sold each year in Nigeria, nor the number of girls exploited by human traffickers. The United Nations estimates, however, that "about 750,000 to one million persons are trafficked annually in Nigeria and that over 75 percent of those trafficked are trafficked across the states, 23 percent are trafficked within states, while 2 percent are trafficked outside the country."

Human trafficking 'widespread'

Like Miriam, Roda was also discarded after she gave birth to a boy.

The cousins were reunited in Madinatu, where they are now living together in a small mud house, not far from the camp they were trafficked from.

"Luckily, we got to Madinatu on the same day," says Miriam, who spent weeks on the streets of Abuja, before she was able to make her way back to the northeast.

"We thought it was no longer safe to stay in the camp, so talked to the man who owns this place to let us stay here."

To earn money, the girls now make and sell groundnut cakes at a mini kiosk just outside their compound.

They were not the first to be trafficked from the Madinatu camp. There have been many reports of girls being trafficked from the camp to cities in Nigeria and to countries including Italy, Libya, Niger and Saudi Arabia. The victims are often promised good jobs only to end up being exploited or enslaved.

Although widespread in Madinatu, the problem of human trafficking is not peculiar to this area alone. It is common across the entire northeast region.

The 2019 United States Department of State Trafficking in Persons report revealed that: "Sexual exploitation, including sex trafficking of IDPs (internationally displaced persons) in camps, settlements, and host communities around Maiduguri remained a pervasive problem." The report also notes that some security officials are complicit in these activities.

NAPTIP says it is aware of high numbers of cases of human trafficking in Madinatu and is increasing efforts to address the issue in the IDP camp in particular.

"The office has now increased surveillance in the IDP camp," Mikita Ali, head of the NAPTIP office covering the northeast region, says. "We are working with camp managers and camp officials to whom we've given our toll-free numbers and told to call us if they suspect any case of human trafficking."

Inside the Madinatu camp, however, residents remain worried about the number of cases. Community leaders say the lack of adequate amenities like potable water facilities and cooking stoves means that people have to walk long distances in search of water and firewood, making them vulnerable to the human traffickers who prey on them.

"If we had easy access to water and firewood, there'd be little talk of human trafficking," says Mohammed Lawan Tuba, a community leader in Madinatu. "Criminals take advantage of our children when they go out to find what they need to keep them and their families alive."

Human rights campaigners are running "sensitisation campaigns" which aim to educate displaced persons about the dangers of human trafficking and how to spot the signs of it inside the IDP camp.

But Yusuf Chiroma, head of the Borno Community Coalition, a group of aid workers assisting survivors of the Boko Haram insurgency through skills acquisition programmes, says: "Displaced persons in Madinatu are really struggling to survive, as they are not getting enough food supply from the government and that is why it is easy for traffickers to exploit those who are desperate for jobs."

"Sensitisation programmes have to be matched with adequate security and availability of food and social services by the state government to effectively tackle human trafficking."

*Names have been changed

Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/survivors-nigeria-baby-factories-share-stories-200420091556574.html

astana1:
A man who always loves his people. We the people of Kano are proud of you. May Allah Protect you.

Ameen. He is doing well. He sent over 500 trucks with food to Kano, with more on the way. its during tough times you know who cares about you.

Billionaire Aliko Dangote has donated a mobile laboratory able to handle 400 samples daily to augment the testing capacity in Kano state. Governor Abdullahi Ganduje revealed this on Saturday during a press briefing organised by the state taskforce on covid-19 which took place at the Africa House in Kano.
He disclosed that the test centre, with daily capacity of taking 400 samples, is expected to arrive Kano Monday. According to Ganduje, “As we are targeting more Testing Centres in the state, the richest man in Africa, Alhaji Aliko Dangote is donating Mobile Testing Centre with the capacity of testing 400 people daily. The facility is coming to Kano in the next two days, by Monday.”He said, “Though we are aware that with the bouncing back of the Aminu Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital Testing Centre with the capacity of 88 samples per day, and the coming up of another Testing Centre at Bayero University, Kano, with the capacity of 20 samples per day, would mean another rise in the identified positive cases.”

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/dangote-gifts-kano-400-capacity-covid-19-test-lab.html

Nigeria now has a new Senate President. He Ahmed Lawan.

After polling 79 votes, the Yobe North Senator emerged as president of the ninth Senate Tuesday afternoon.

The other contender, Ali Ndume, garnered 28 votes in the secret ballot election held at the Senate chamber.

A recipient of the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON), Mr Lawan is coming with a vast pool of parliamentary knowledge spanning a stretch of 20 years.

TIMES hereby presents a profile of Mr Lawan.

Early years and education
Born in 1959, Mr Lawan completed his primary education at Sabon Gari Primary School, Gashua in 1974 and then enrolled at Government Secondary School, Gashua where he obtained his O’Level in 1979.

From there, he proceeded to University of Maiduguri where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Geography in 1984.

Same year, he moved to North Central State, Benue, to do his one-year compulsory service under the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

He later enrolled and had his Master’s degree in Remote Sensing from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and a Doctorate degree in Remote Sensing/GIS from Cranfield University, UK, in 1990 and 1996 respectively.

Ahmed Lawan’s early Career
Before venturing into politics, Mr Lawan had had experience in civil service and the academy.

Between 1985 and 1986, he worked in the Yobe state civil service, as an Education Officer in the Ministry of Education.

From there he moved to the University of Maiduguri where he lectured for 10 years from 1987 to 1997. He was employed as Assistant Lecturer 1 in 1986.
Then politics beckoned.

House of Reps hip
Mr Lawan kick-started his lawmaking career at the House of Representatives in 1999 when he won election to epresent Bade/Jakusko Federal Constituency of Yobe State. The lawmaker was elected under the platform of All Progressives Congress (APP), a party he pioneered as Vice Chairman of Yobe State Chapter. He remained a member until his re-election in 2003.

Elected still on the platform of same party in 2003, Mr Lawan was made the chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture in same year and held the position till 2005.

From Agriculture, he was appointed to head the Education Committee in 2005 and held this position till the expiration of the 5th House of Reps.



Off to the Senate
In 2007, Ahmad Lawan contested and was elected a Senator to represent Yobe North Constituency. This time, his party had transmuted to the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP).

In 2009, as chairman of the Senate committee on Public s, he initiated and sponsored the Desertification Control Commission Bill.

Still on the platform of ANPP in 2011, Mr Lawan ran successfully for a second term as Senator and was re-elected. His party later merged with others to form the now ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014.

During the 2015 general elections, Mr Lawan now with the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) successfully ran again for the Yobe North Senatorial seat and won..


2015 Senate Presidency
One of the events Mr Lawan would be ed for is his experience in the race for Senate presidency in 2015.

Mr Lawan had emerged as favoured candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the position of Senate President, and with a majority in the Senate, he was expected to carry the day. But this was not to be so.

On June 8 2015, the day the formal election for senate president was to be held, while majority of APC senators, about 50, were waiting for President Muhammadu Buhari who had invited them to a meeting with him at the International Conference Centre, Mr. Saraki and other “rebel” senators of the APC moved into the National Assembly complex, where the police had thrown a cordon to prevent workers and reporters from entering, for the “election” of principal officers.

A total 57 senators loyal to Mr. Saraki, most of them PDP , unanimously “elected” him after he was nominated by Senators Dino Melaye and Sanni Yerima.

That was how Mr Lawan lost out but he would later serve in the leadership of the Senate.

How Lawan became Senate Leader
Two weeks after defeat to Mr Saraki, Mr Lawan again lost a bid to become Senate Leader despite the backing of APC.

Instead of him, the APC senate caucus from the north-east nominated Ali Ndume as senate majority leader and Bala Na’ Allah (Kebbi south) as deputy majority leader by the party’s senate north-west caucus.

But Mr Ndume would soon fall out with the powers. He was removed as Senate Leader in January 2017 and following recommendation by the APC caucus, Mr Lawan emerged to replace him.

He held this position until the end of the eight Senate.

Lawan is Nigeria’s Senate President
Just like in 2015, Mr Lawan again emerged as party favourite in 2019. At first, he was poised to contest against two of his colleagues; Ali Ndume and Danjuma Goje, but Mr Goje withdrew a week before the election day.

On Tuesday, 109 Senators-elect voted and Mr Lawan emerged as Senate President.

He got 79 votes to defeat Ali Ndume, his closest rival.

Source:https://www.timesng.com/news/headlines/334495-profile-crossing-many-hurdles-ahmed-lawan-a-former-lecturer-emerges-as-nigerias-senate-president.html

Global oil giant, Shell, is set to invest $2 billion in Kano Electricity Distribution Company in the next three years.

The company’s plan to improve and expand the distribution segment of the power value chain in northern Nigeria was disclosed by Jamil Isyaku Gwamna, the Managing Director of Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO).

Mr Gwamna made the disclosure during the inauguration of 170 new 500 KVA transformers in Kano on Tuesday.

According to Gwamna, KEDCO inherited a dysfunctional power supply system that required enormous investment to transform it, further stating billions of Naira had been committed to it in the last five years.

What it means: The investment by Shell is substantial, in the sense that it will go a long way in resolving several of the challenges faced by electricity consumers in that part of Nigeria. Many communities that have never been connected to the national grid stand a good chance of enjoying power supply as a result of this investment.

Note that KEDCO serves many densely populated states in the northwest geopolitical zones including Kano, Jigawa and Katsina States.

Meanwhile, Mr Gwamna assured the public that KEDCO would commence sales of prepaid metres in July. According to him, the idea aimed at curtailing the increasing trend of undue outrageous billing of electricity consumers. Consumers are at liberty to choose between the two types of metres that will be supplied.

The first type comes in three and goes for N69,000 while the other has one phase and costs N37,000. The flexible repayment plan for acquiring the metres will afford consumers to pay in instalments. Gwamna advised interested customers to pay upfront in offices within the franchise areas.

Speaking in view of the Shell investment, Gwamna affirmed that KEDCO would be one of the best power distribution firms in Nigeria soon.

Source: https://nairametrics.com/2019/06/13/shell-plans-2-billion-investment-in-kano-electricity-distribution-company/

Nine persons were feared killed in Abonnema, Akoku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State during Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections.

This is just as the state police command confirmed the killing of a soldier during a shootout in the area.

Though the State Police Public Relations Officer could not give details of how the soldier was killed, it was gathered that gunmen suspected to be political thugs shot and killed the soldier.

It was also gathered that two civilians sustained serious gunshot injuries in Abonnema.

However, a source in Abonnema explained that soldiers killed over six persons, adding that hundreds of indigenes of the area ran helter-skelter during the shootout, which lasted for several minutes.

The source pointed out that six persons known to him were among the dead in Abonnema at the end of the shooting.

In Asarama, Andoni Local Government Area of the state, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress and former council chairman, Mowan Etete, and his elder brother were killed on Saturday morning by unknown gunmen suspected to be political thugs.

Etete was a former aide to Governor Nyesom Wike on Political Matters before he defected to the APC.

Confirming Etete’s death, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Nnamdi Omoni, said a group of gunmen had scaled the fence of the deceased’s building, gained entrance into the house and killed him and his elder brother.

He said, “The man (Etete) was in his house when unknown gunmen scaled the fence, entered inside the house and killed him and his brother.



“We had issues in Okrika and in Andoni. In Andoni, two lives were lost as a former local government chairman and his brother were shot dead. In other places, we had pockets of crisis. Our men on the ground have been able to restore normalcy in these areas.

“The Commissioner of Police has ordered investigation into these matters. We already have a task force on electoral offences. The task force is headed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police and arrests have been made in all the cases and the persons arrested are helping us.”

The Nigerian Army on Saturday night confirmed the killing of a soldier and six civilians during a shootout between its men and political thugs.

A statement signed by the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col Sagir Musa, indicated that six of the assailants, described as armed political thugs, were killed.

“Information reaching Headquarters Nigerian Army revealed that troops of 6 Division on a legitimate duty of protecting lives and properties of law abiding citizens in Abonnema, Akuku Toru LGA, Rivers State, were attacked by some hoodlums.

“The pre-planned attack occurred between Charles and Bob-Manuel’s compounds in Abonnema town at about 1pm on February 23, 2019. The attackers barricaded a major road into the town and laid an ambush in the ading built-up areas from where they opened fire on our unsuspecting troops when they attempted to remove the barricade.

“The gallant troops fought their way through the siege and in the process killed six of the assailants. However, we lost a lieutenant in the encounter,” the statement read in part.

Source: https://punchng.com/nine-killed-in-rivers-as-army-police-confirm-soldiers-death/

Leke Baiyewu, Abuja

As soon as Buhari concluded his speech, the session turned rowdy again. It was time for Saraki and Dogara to present their speeches but while APC lawmakers chanted ‘four more years,’ their PDP counterparts screamed, ‘no more years.’

After more than 10 minutes into the drama, the Presidential Guards Brigade band suddenly to play the National Anthem, even while Buhari was still seated.


The anthem marked the end of the ceremony, with Saraki and Dogara yet to present their speeches.

Security operatives whisked the President out of the chamber leaving the lawmakers behind.

Saraki later led senators out of the House chamber.

Source:https://punchng.com/budget-drama-buhari-whisked-away-%e2%80%8esaraki-dogara-abort-speeches/

good

Excellent !!

astana1:
Did you graduate University between 2000-2018? Please fill in the form below

Nigerian Graduates employment survey 2000-2017(millennial survey)

Please fill The Survey from the link below

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Very Easy to fill

astana1:
Nigerian Graduates employment survey 2000-2017(millennial survey)

Please fill The Survey from the link below

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Just completed it in less than a minute.

astana1:
Nigerian Graduates employment survey 2000-2017(millennial survey)

Please fill The Survey from the link below

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Very Easy survey to fill

astana1:
Nigerian Graduates employment survey 2000-2017(millennial survey)

Please fill The Survey from the link below

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Done in less than a minute

ZombieBuster:


Our youths don't read

Idiot, the yourba's don't use number but the hausa's do. I don't understand how a huasa man saying Naira hamsin is equivalent to calling the Naira "Awo"

Tony Okafor

A mathematics teacher in a secondary school in the Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State, Chiadikobi Ezeibekwe, has married his 17-year-old sister, claiming that God told him to do so.

Speaking with our correspondent on Saturday, Ezeibekwe said he had a revelation where God told him to marry his sibling.

The teacher quoted Bible ages in Deuteronomy to illustrate that siblings could marry each other.

He said, “One advantage of doing this is that it discourages divorce. It also retains family values and norms.”

SUNDAY PUNCH gathered that the wedding was conducted by Chiadikobi’s elder brother, Chijioke Ezeibekwe, who is the priest of Dwelling Fullness of God Church, Agba.

The youth of the village had set ablaze the church, Dwelling Fullness of God Church, where the wedding was conducted.

Ezeibekwe said he did not pay any bride price to anybody in respect of the marriage.

“I don’t feel guilty. I don’t feel ashamed. I don’t feel intimidated in any way. Only God can stop us,” he said.

The Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, Nkeiruka Nwide, said she heard the story “unofficially.”

Reacting to the issue, the traditional prime minister of Ekwulobia, Gabriel Ezeukwu, said, “Agba village youths, who saw the marriage as an abomination, set ablaze the church where the wedding took place.


“I restrained them from further action against the man and his family. If it were in the past, the entire family would be burnt down because this is a grave abomination and sin.”

The eldest son of the family, Emeka Ezeibekwe, vowed to resist their union.

He said, “It’s over my dead body that they will call themselves husband and wife. It can’t happen.”

Source:http://punchng.com/church-razed-as-anambra-teacher-marries-sister/

GBENGA ADENIJI writes about the funny names Nigerians give Naira denominations

Nigerians are creative. Whoever is in doubt should check the speed with which they often turn serious matters to grand jokes. The latest being the memes targeted at the incongruous story about a snake swallowing N36m at the Benue office of the t issions and Matriculation Board.

From the names given to car brands to churches, the humour cum inventiveness is never in short supply. Nigeria has naira denominations ranging from N10, N20, N50, N100, N200, N500 to N1,000. But the names they call the notes are sometimes confusing and astonishing.

The Hausa for example give ethnic names to naira notes. One has to understand the language to know the naira note being referred to. Same goes for the Yoruba who refer to money as ‘kudi’ or ‘owo’ and the Igbo who call money ‘ego’.

For instance, Hausa call N5 naira biyar; N10, naira goma; N20, naira ishirin; N50, naira hamsin; N100, naira dari; N200, naira dari biyu; N500, naira dari biyar; and N1,000, naira dubu daya. Naira is added at the beginning of each local name to identify the denomination.

Among the Yoruba especially, N50 is called wazo (wazobia), denoting that the note has images of the three major ethnic groups in the country. There is also the image of a lady in the note representing the Middle Belt. Wazobia is coined from how the three major ethnic groups express the English word, ‘Come’. Yoruba say “wa”; Hausa utter, “zo”; while Igbo say “bia.” Funnily enough, N50 is also referred to as ‘white’ or ‘kala.’

A driver, identified only as Akindele, said the name came from the colour of the note. He said, “I hear people call N50 ‘white’ and ‘wazo’. But there was a time I asked to know how the names came about and some boys in our park asked me the colour of N50 and I said it’s white. So, they told me not to ask them silly question again as I could see the colour myself.”

SUNDAY PUNCH observed that the majority of the names given to naira notes in Yoruba came from boys who work at motor parks, especially the ones popularly known as agberos, otherwise called union boys.

The N20 has the picture of the late former Head of State, Gen. Murtala Muhammed. The N20 is identified as ‘Muri’, a shortened form of ‘Murtala.’ Apart from that, the note is also called ‘shandy’.

Most of the ‘street boys’, who spoke with our correspondent, were unable to explain how N20 came to be known as ‘shandy.’

But one of them identified as Busayo Ahmed said, “It is a slang. Something can just happen, you know like a brainwave and someone will rename a note. Since street slang is meant to dumbfound people, it will be adopted by those within the clique.’’

Ahmed may be right when one examines the name, faiba (spelt fibre) used to identify N10. This thus translates to the marking of N100 as 10 faiba, indicating N10 in 10 notes.

The N100 note has the image of the late Premier of the Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. They also refer to it as ‘Awo’. The ‘Awo’ is understandably an abbreviated form of Awolowo but referring to same note as faiba can be puzzling.

Similarly, N200 is referred to as 20 faiba, indicating that it is N10 in 20 places or notes.

The next time you hear Figo, know that N500 is being referred to. The note has the image of the late ex-President, Nnamdi Azikiwe. He was popularly called Zik, hence the ‘Ori Zik’ which is used to identify the money.

A Twitter , @okeyjames, reacting to the slang used to identify N500, wrote, “If only Luis Figo knows that his name ‘Figo’ means N500 in Lagos.” Luis is a retired Portuguese footballer.

A sociologist at the Kaduna State University, Dr. Hauwau Evelyn Yusuf, said people used their dialects to name money in order to identify well with it.

She said, “The Yoruba call money kudi or owo and the Hausa refer to N50 for example as naira hamsin to identify with their own languages and people. It is just to make it blend with their cultural system.

“In Southern Kaduna for example, the people refer to money as krum. Though the money we spend is naira, the 50 in N50 for instance is a borrowed counting system. So, people will just find a common name which their people can relate and identify with.’’

Source :http://punchng.com/amusing-names-nigerians-give-naira-notes/

Population growth is straining the Earth's resources to the breaking point, and educating girls is the single most important factor in stabilizing that. That, plus helping women gain political and economic power and safeguarding their reproductive rights.

John Alechenu

Tension is mounting as leaders of the All Progressives Congress prepare to hold the caucus and National Executive Council meetings this week.

The meetings, scheduled to hold on Monday and Tuesday, are expected to find solutions to the internal conflicts rocking the ruling party.

SUNDAY PUNCH gathered in Abuja, on Saturday, that the contents of a letter written by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, accusing the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, of undermining peace efforts would feature at the caucus meeting on Monday (tomorrow).

Also expected to feature are the seemingly intractable internal wrangles in state chapters of the party, prominent among which include Kano, Kaduna, Kogi and Cross River states.

It was learnt that the letter written by the former Lagos State governor had started creating division among of the party’s leadership especially of the National Working Committee.

Opinion is, however, said to be divided among of the party’s NWC with respect to allegations contained in Tinubu’ letter to Odigie-Oyegun.

It was learnt that some believed that the allegations against the chairman, some of which were contained in a memo signed by the six zonal vice-chairmen which they later denied, were strong enough to a no-confidence vote in Odigie-Oyegun.

None of the NWC agreed to speak on record to SUNDAY PUNCH on the development.

One of such said, “Most of the opinions expressed in Tinubu’s letter are not new to us.

“If you will recall, some of these things were contained in the memo written to the NWC by the six zonal vice-chairmen which they were latter prevailed upon to step down out of respect for Mr. President and the task of reconciliation he gave to Asiwaju.


“These issues are real. The decision to set up the Tinubu-led committee is an indication that the President is aware that our chairman is incapable of dealing with the issues because he is part of the problem. If we are to take a confidence vote, he won’t survive it.

Asked if a confidence vote is likely to feature, he said, “It is difficult to say. The agenda for such meetings is usually prepared on the go and for such a move to gain traction, you need to buy in the governors and like you know, most of the governors are behind Oyegun.”

Another NWC member, who spoke in a similar manner, said, “We have been warned against turning this whole thing into a media affair but the truth be told, as a party, we can’t afford to allow things to continue like this. There is no sacrifice too much to make to restore order.

Also, another NWC member lamented that the reconciliation in the party appeared complicated.

Speaking on condition of anonymity with SUNDAY PUNCH, he stated, “How do you begin a reconciliation process when a governor is demolishing the residence of anyone who disagrees with him?

“Governors are becoming a law unto themselves because we don’t have a strong party capable of ordering them to toe the line and the President appears indifferent.”

Another NWC member, who has a slightly different view, believed removing the chairman would cause more problems than solving the current crisis in the party.

“Removing the chairman or even sacking the entire NWC at this time will do more harm than good; not just the image of our party but it will further weaken us.

“Since the tenure of this current leadership will end in a few months, the leadership should be allowed to serve out their term which officially ends in June after which the national convention should be held to elect a new set of leaders,” he added.

There are also speculations that the caucus and NEC meetings may be postponed to give more room for more strategic consultations.

Attempts to get a reaction from the APC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, were futile. Calls to his mobile indicated that it was switched off.

A response to a text message sent to him was still being awaited as of the time of filing this report on Saturday.

The APC National Vice-Chairman, North-East, Mustapha Salihu, however, dismissed speculations that the meetings might be postponed, saying, “The meetings will hold.”

Source :http://punchng.com/tinubus-letter-divides-nwc-as-apc-caucus-nec-meet/

So sad. so many lives lost due to man's selfishness.

Good Write Up. we need to let the market determine prices and not government.

[quote author=astana1 post=65206643]Lagos State Governor Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode 2015 vs 2018

The feud between the Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, and his predecessor, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, deepened on Wednesday as Ganduje ruled out the possibility of reconciling with the ex-governor.

Ganduje said at a function in Kano that he was completely disillusioned by the attacks against his leadership at the inception of his government.

He said, “We have had enough of such a vendetta, which had been raging with no end in sight. We have parted ways with Kwankwasiyya forever.

“They have erroneously believed and have been telling people that we are on the road to losing our seat in the 2019 general election. I find such a permutation laughable and a mere ranting of a wounded lion.”

He urged of the All Progressives Congress in the state to work towards the victory of the party during the 2019 general elections.

Source :https://punchng.com/ive-parted-ways-with-kwankwaso-%C2%AD-ganduje/

lovely!!!

Kunle Falayi

Thirty-seven-year-old Ifeanyi Stanley wanted to be a policeman but ended up in prison, an event he claimed turned him to a life of crime.

Stanley, who allegedly led a gang of kidnappers terrorising Isiala-Ngwa and Aba areas of Abia State, was said to have planned and executed the kidnap of the Unit Commander of MOPOL 52 Squadron Command, Aba on January 14.



The commander, whom the police did not name, was allegedly abducted in his Toyota Highlander by Stanley and four other of his gang in Akalana area of Aba.

Armed with an AK-47 rifle and a locally made gun, the gang allegedly dispossessed the commander of his service pistol before he was abducted.

He was subsequently released after a ransom of N450,000 was paid. The gang also used their captive’s ATM card to withdraw N220,000 from his . But shortly afterwards, operatives of the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team tracked down the gang.

Once taken into custody, Stanley shared the story of how he got into crime.

According to him, in 2006, he was itted to the Ikeja Police College as a police cadet, but after five months, he was dismissed during training.

He said, “I was caught by some policemen smoking hemp in a bush at the college during parade hours. I was detained and then dismissed.

“When I returned to Aba, I began to drive commercial buses, but in 2014, I was arrested by the police and taken to prison over a kidnap case I knew nothing about.

“The bus I was driving was owned by the leader of a kidnap gang. A member of the gang told the police that I was also part of the kidnap group.



“He told the police that I could help them locate Jude. I told the police then that I was only a commercial driver for Jude but I was charged to court and then remanded in prison custody for one year and three months.”

After his release from prison, Stanley said that he went back to driving a commercial vehicle, but that in September 2017, he met one Chibuzor, a native of Isiala-Ngwa. He claimed that Chibuzor introduced him to one Valentine, who was planning to set up a kidnap gang.

Stanley explained that Valentine told him he already had an AK-47 rifle and a locally made gun, which he bought for N420,000.

He said, “I accepted his offer to set up the kidnap gang because I needed money to buy my own bus. Our first operation was in November 2017. We sighted a man inside a Toyota Camry car, who looked rich. We attacked and abducted him and then took him to a camp we had set up in a bush in Aba. We abandoned his vehicle on the road.

“The man spent two days with us in the bush before his wife, whom we had ed, paid N400,000 ransom. We released him and shared the money. I got N120,000 at the end of the day.

“Three weeks later, we went for another operation. This time, it was around World Bank area of Aba. We hired a truck to patrol the area and spotted a man in a Lexus SUV. He was in front of his house. He was on his way to church with his family. We abducted him and left his wife and children behind.”

According to Stanley, the man was taken to a house used as a hideout in Isiala-Ngwa. was established with his wife thereafter and she paid N1m as ransom, it was learnt.

From that operation, Stanley said he got N500,000 and also sold the man’s SUV for N300,000 to one of his s.

On January 14, Stanley and his gang allegedly kidnapped another victim. Unknown to them, this time it was the mobile police commander.

He told the police, “On January 14, we came out the same way we had always done with our rifle and locally made pistol.

“We accosted the man in his Highlander SUV around Osisioma area of Aba and attacked him. He struggled with us but one of us, unknown to the rest of us, had taken the man’s gun.

“The way the man fought with us, we suspected that he was either a soldier or a policeman. I asked him who he was and he said he was just a civilian, but that he had many policemen as friends.

“Afterwards, the guy who took his gun alighted from the vehicle and still did not tell me at that time that he had taken the man’s gun.

“The next day, the man opened up to me that he was a serving policeman and that one of us took his service pistol. We took his ATM card and withdrew N220,000 from it, then his family paid a ransom of N450,000 to us before he was released.”

The police said the case was still being investigated and that the suspects would be charged to court soon.

Source :http://punchng.com/dismissed-cadet-masterminds-mopol-commanders-kidnap/

I Don't Know why the author's (Southerners) are making a meal of his religion being mentioned, so what if he is a "Northern Christian from Gombe". We all see ourselves in the North as Northerners irrespective of religion.

dexentity:
I once met an Hausa Muslim lady that bears Rahila, confused.

I think Rahila is just a hausa name.

Excellent analysis. I have learn't something

.

astana1:
DSU Stock brokerage limited are a consulting firm looking for a graduate in Economics/Business studies/ Management who is computer literate and is available to work in Abuja. starting January 2018.

Requirements: must be doing NYSC

send your cv to [email protected]

At the end of your service, depending on your performance you will be retained.

Thanks

please send in your applications as spaces are limited. The job offer closes on 27nd dec 2017.

Nice, just sent my CV.

astana1:
DSU Stock brokerage limited are a consulting firm looking for a graduate in Economics/Business studies/ Managment who is computer literate and is available to work in Abuja. starting January 2018.

Requirements: must be doing NYSC

send your cv to [email protected]

At the end of your service, depending on your performance you will be retained.

Thanks

please send in your applications as spaces are limited. The job offer closes on 27nd dec 2017.

I just sent my cv, Hopefully i will get it