Saturday 30 May 2015

Buhari’s First Blunder as Nigeria’s President

A political analyst, Mr. Ifeduba ThankGod has criticised the decision by President Muhammadu Buhari to relocate the central command of the military to Maiduguri, Borno, to intensify the fight against Boko Haram insurgency. He described the move as the height of unprofessionalism and the most senseless decision any president has ever taken. He said this was because the people who work at the command centre were not regular combatant soldiers and as such would not contribute any more than they could from Abuja or anywhere for that matter.

According to Mr. Ifeduba, this wrong decision called for a revisit of Buhari’s certificate scandal and how he came about his title of Major General when he was incapable of simple kindergarten Military Decision. He added that if this move by President Buhari made sense, then countries like America would as well have to relocate their military command to Afghanistan, Iraq etc.



Culled from thesummary.com


Friday 29 May 2015

Muhammadu Buhari is Nigerian President

Muhammadu Buhari has been sworn in as Nigeria's 6th civilian president since independence in 1960.


It marked the first time in Nigeria's history that an incumbent elected President peacefully transferred power to an elected leader of the opposition.

He ran unsuccessfully for the office of President in the 2003, 2007 and 2011 elections. In December 2014, he emerged as the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the March 2015 elections. Buhari won the 2015 general election, defeating the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.


Chinese teacher executed for raping, sexually abusing 26 young girls at his school

A former teacher has been executed for raping and sexually abusing 26 children at his school in China.

Li Jishun was convicted of having raped or sexually abused girls aged from four to 11, the state-run news agency Xinhua said.

The abuse took place in 2011 and 2012 when he was a teacher at a primary school, it added.

Li was put to death on Thursday by a court in Tianshui in the northwestern province of Gansu.

He had been handed the heaviest punishment possible because of the harm caused to the children and the extremely negative social impact of the case, the report said.

“He took advantage of those who were both childish and timid and committed his acts in dormitories or classrooms,” Xinhua reported.

It cited China’s Supreme People’s Court as saying the number of child sexual abuse cases have risen in recent years.

Some 7,145 cases were reported across the country from 2012 to 2014.

Thursday 28 May 2015

Photos from the scene of Nigeria's Presidential Inauguration. Eagle Square, Abuja. Photocredit: Sahara Reporters.



BEING THE PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS STUDENTS’ UNION PRESIDENT, COMRADE ABIODUN MARTINS ON THIS DAY 26TH MAY, 2015 AT THE PARLIAMENT BUILDING, STUDENTS’ UNION BUILDING, AKOKA, LAGOS.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to the most preferred University – the University of First Choice and the Nation’s Pride, University of Lagos. Today’s media briefing is principally designed to discuss and reveal to the whole world issues bothering on the welfare of our students, state of the nation and our expectation from the incoming government led by President elect, Muhammadu Buhari.

ULSU’s ACHIEVEMENTS DURING ITS 47 DAYS IN OFFICE.
It is indeed note-worthy that this administration will be celebrating its 50th days in office on Friday 29th of May, the same day Buhari’s administration will be kick-start and its achievement has made plain the union is back and back for good. It is saddening to note that our inauguration coincided with an abysmal fall in the national grid with its adjourning effect leading to epileptic power supply and water shortage in the University environment, which later transpired to the series of protest we curtailed in our first month in office. With ULSU’s intervention, the situation was fairly ameliorated, as our discussion with the management yielded results.

Prior to our assumption of office on the 9TH of April, 2015, students who were victims of late course registration had been advised to put forward letters of deferment for the semester, but we came in and stood for them as we indicated during our different manifestos. We helped negotiate the deferment decision be rescinded, and to the glory of God, it was achieved. That was the first hurdle.

Within this period, we also embarked on a herculean task in ensuring our students who had some courses to edit were attended to. Not only were they assured, they were also allowed to sit for their examination without nursing any fear of eligibility.
Our success transcends beyond the stratosphere of the University campus. The University of Lagos Students’ Union is known for different roles it has played in the times past in ensuring students’ welfare across the nation, and the world at large, is made a topmost priority. With Nostalgia, we can lay claim to Comrade Maiyegun, the then ULSU president, ‘Alli must go’ led struggle during Gen. Babangida’s regime. With pride, we reminisce in the fact that Comrade Oluwole Sowore and Comrade Dele Ashiru, then presidents of ULSU, made their footprints in the sands of time.

It was on this precedence we strongly condemned in strong terms the Al-shabbab killings of our colleagues in far-away Kenya and also the xenophobic attack on Nigerians in South Africa. We not only responded with our press-release indicating our resolution and ultimatum, we also marched down to the South African embassy to show our discontent. These and many more we did within30 days of our administration.

VOTE OF CONFIDENCE ON PROFESSOR RAHMAN BELLO, THE VICE CHANCELLOR OF UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS AND PROF G.B BABAWALE, THE DEAN STUDENTS AFFAIRS OF UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS.
We, the executives of the University of Lagos Students’ Union hereby pass a “VOTE OF CONFIDENCE” on Prof Rahmon Bello, the Vice Chancellor of the University of First Choice and Nation’s Pride and Prof G.B Babawale, The Dean of Students’ Affairs for their outstanding roles in lifting the proscription on the Students Union after ten years. Their predecessors never dared to achieve this feat due to selfish reasons that were to their benefits and cronies.

These outstanding scholars in their respective field took it upon themselves in a short span of time by putting in place processes that finally led to the lifting of the proscription placed on the students union since the 19th January, 2005.
Since the inauguration of our executives we have been enjoying tremendous support from the management team but we are anticipating further cooperation especially in the areas of executing projects that are beneficial to our students.

REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PRESIDENT GOODLUCK EBELE JONATHAN, GCFR, ON THE OCCASION OF THE PRESENTATION OF HAND OVER NOTES TO THE PRESIDENT-ELECT, MUHAMMADU BUHARI, GCFR THURSDAY, 28TH MAY, 2015.

PROTOCOLS

I welcome you all to this occasion of the formal presentation of the Hand-over notes of my Administration to the in-coming Administration of the President-Elect, General Muhammadu Buhari.

This event and tomorrow’s inauguration of a new administration are truly historic as it is the first time in the history of our nation that we are witnessing the democratic and orderly transfer of power at the Federal level from one political party to another.

The Hand-over notes which we now present, contain the governance philosophy, strategies, policies, programmes and activities of my Administration for the period – 2011-2015. Also to be found in the notes are the objectives, targets and implementation strategies, achievements and challenges of our key policies, schemes, initiatives as well as the status of commitments and liabilities of the various MDAs.

As we hand over the affairs of the nation, it is appropriate to recall that at inception, in May 2011, we committed ourselves to consolidating national unity through democratization and good governance. Our assessment then, and our firm belief ever since, is that the unity of Nigeria, the security, well-being, greater freedoms and opportunities for all citizens must remain the primary objectives of government.

The Agenda for National Transformation which we did our best to implement consisted of clear and consistent governance strategies, policies, plans, programmes and projects, in all facets of our national life. Emphasis was placed on human and state security, democratization, sound economic management, as well as structural and institutional reforms.

Our foremost concern was the unity of Nigeria.In keeping with that concern, we engineered a process that began with a review of issues outstanding from previous Constitutional Conferences by the Belgore Committee. After that, we widened political consultations through a National Dialogue that was orchestrated through the Okurounmu Committee. These culminated in the all-inclusive National Conference which unanimously reaffirmed that Nigeria must remain united and indivisible.

The Conference also made resolutions and recommendations for serious constitutional, political and governance reforms, which we have forwarded to the National Assembly for appropriate legislative action. It is our hope that the incoming Government will accord the Report of the National Conference the very high priority that it deserves, as a genuine expression of the will of our people.

The recognition that the starting point for good governance is the legitimacy of the government itself informed our commitment to promoting free and fair elections.

It also motivated innovations in the management and conduct of elections which we undertook. Hopefully, in the years ahead, those innovations will be properly and fully implemented so that Nigerians will be even more assured of the integrity of the electoral system and the legitimacy of any government that it produces.

To strengthen the social contract between the government and the governed, we institutionalized the rule of law as well as the independence of the legislature and the judiciary.  We also promoted group and individual freedoms. As a result, there is vast expansion in democratic, social and economic space for all citizens.

11.Our nation and citizens faced many new challenges over the past four years but the greatest was the vastly increased menace of Boko Haram with their mindless terror, mass killings, utter ruthlessness, kidnapping of innocent children and other unspeakable acts of brutality.

Bill Gates Thinks This Is the Deadliest Threat to Humankind

In the next 20 years, is it likely that nuclear war, gigantic earthquakes or asteroids could kill 20 million people? Bill Gates doesn't think so.

But he did tell Vox that that such numbers could be felled by a major outbreak of disease — something the 59-year-old billionaire believes has a "well over 50%" chance of happening in his lifetime.

"The Ebola epidemic showed me that we're not ready for a serious epidemic, an epidemic that would be more infectious and would spread faster than Ebola did. This is the greatest risk of a huge tragedy," Gates said, claiming that a serious epidemic could kill more than 10 million people a year

Saturday 23 May 2015

20 Other Countries Where Same-Sex Marriage Is Legal Nationwide

by Olivia B. Waxman

Ireland just became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage by a national vote—rather than through legislation or the courts.

Here is a list of 20 other countries where same-sex marriage is legal nationwide and the year it was approved (Mexico and the United States are not included, since they only allow same-sex marriage in certain jurisdictions):

The Netherlands (2000)

Belgium (2003)

Canada (2005)

Spain (2005)

South Africa (2006)

Norway (2009)

Sweden (2009)

Argentina (2010)

Iceland (2010)

Portugal (2010)

Denmark (2012)

Brazil (2013)

England and Wales (2013)

France (2013)

New Zealand (2013)

Uruguay (2013)

Luxembourg (2014)

Scotland (2014)

Finland: (signed 2015, effective 2017)

Tuesday 19 May 2015

Florida Man Falls Asleep While Robbing a House

A burglar from Sarasota, Florida reportedly fell asleep while breaking into a home over the weekend.

A woman who lived in the house told Sarasota Police officers she woke up around 7.20 a.m. on Saturday to find 29-year-old Timothy Bontrager sleeping on her sofa, reports WTSP.

When she asked what he was doing in her house, Bontrager reportedly apologized. After telling him she was going to phone the police, the burglar started walking around the living room and left the house, making off with her wallet, driver’s license, credit cards and personal checks.

Bontrager, who was picked up by police walking along a nearby road, has been charged with felony burglary of an occupied dwelling.

http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/local/2015/05/18/sarasota-robbery-suspect-falls-asleep/27528643/

Monday 18 May 2015

This May Be the Future of Solar Power

A company in Sweden is claiming to have designed a system that can convert 34% of sunlight into solar energy, potentially changing the future of solar power.

Ripasso, the company behind the development, is currently testing the product in South Africa’s Kalahari desert. The 34% power conversion is around double that of normal solar panels, reports The Guardian.

Though the product is new, the idea is actually pretty old. The Guardian notes the idea for the technology was actually developed in the 1800s by a Scottish engineer and clergyman.

This article was originally posted onFortune.com.

Sunday 17 May 2015

MTV shuga tour hits UNILAG

It was savour Saturday, May 16, 2015 as MTV stormed UNILAG as part of it campaign designed to encourage youths to know their HIV and AIDS status.

The tour show provided counseling as well as opportunity to interact with stars from the MTV Shuga TV series, including “Mr Nigeria” Emmanuel Ikubese (‘Femi’), Timini Egbuson (‘Toby’) and Sharon Ezeamaka (‘Princess’)

The fest which brought down the roof thanks to live performances from Nigerian Music big names ranging from one of the Chocolate City royalty, Ice Prince, Nigerian Indigenous rap king, Reminisce, and Patoranking to Africa's biggest DJs, DJ Neptune and DJ Humility.

Students who attended were also allowed to take part in auditions for the MTVShuga competition to be a red carpet reporter at the premiere of series for later this year.