All the 20,000 cadets of the Youth Empowerment Scheme of Oyo State (YES-O) have been directed by the state government to re-apply for the scheme, with immediate effect.
This was contained in a statement issued in Ibadan on Thursday by the Chairman of Oyo State Agency for Youth Development, Mr. Gbenga Olayemi.
Olayemi, in the statement, said the directive for the cadets to re-apply was borne out of the need for the state government’s drive and quest to re-invigorate the scheme for optimum performance.
It would be recalled that the YES-O scheme was inaugurated by the state governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi on December 1, 2011, with a total of 20,000 youths offered employment.
Although the scheme was aimed at serving as a stop-gap for most of the unemployed youths, a number of them have since been given permanent employment by the state government in various ministries, agencies and parastatals.
Specifically, agencies such as the Oyo State Road Transport Management Authority (OYRTMA), Vehicle Inspection Office, Board for Technical and Vocational Education (BOTAVED), Oyo State Fire Service, Oyo State Signage and Advertisement Agency OYSAA), College of Agriculture, Igbo-Ora as well as the Auditor-General’s Office, the Ministries of Health and the Oyo State Finance Company have absorbed some cadets.
Besides, some of them have also been made to undergo three-month specialized training in different vocations such as Auto-tronics, tie and dye, tiling and interlocking, food processing and graphic arts with the Industrial Training Fund while others have been trained in Agro-allied business by the Federal Ministry of Youth Development under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Governor Ajimobi had, however, at various times, expressed displeasure at the conduct of some YES-O cadets, saying that his office had been inundated with the report of harassment and extortion of members of the public by the cadets.
He also said that he was aware of the clandestine acts by the opposition in infiltrating the scheme with a view to making use of some officials in dealing with innocent members of the public so as to discredit the scheme.
``I have received several reports of how some of you have been beating people and carting away the traders’ wares. Let me emphasize here that YES-O was not set up to wage war on members of the public. We will not condone thuggery, harassment and extortion,’’ the governor had told the cadets.
Olayemi directed all the cadets, who are to be demobilized immediately, to re-apply from their respective ward/local government, adding that criteria for fresh recruitment would include educational qualifications and physical fitness, among others.
Thursday, 24 October 2013
MEN PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM US-NURSING MOTHERS
Men have been advised to stay away from their wives’ br**sts while the latter are chest feeding their children. It is necessary to avoid causing wounds on the br**sts and exposing the children to infection.
Professor Angela Oyo Ita, the Cross River State Commissioner for Health during the 2013 chest Feeding Week at Akpabuyo local Government Area of the state on Tuesday, stated that men, who share their wives’ br**sts while they are chest feeding could inflict wound on the br**sts and if the woman is HIV positive, the infection could transfer to the child.
Professor Oyo Ita, represented by the Director Nutrition of the Ministry of Health, Mrs Regina Adie, urged women to practice exclusive chest feeding as chest milk contains 80% of water and 20% of minerals needed for the child’s growth and for keeping the baby healthy and strong.
She said myths that a child that is exclusively fed on chest milk for six months would at some point die out of thirst is not true because beast milk contains enough water to keep the child happy and satisfied.
“Some time ago, we came here and had a meeting with the men and called on them to support their wives to carry out exclusive chest feeding for their children and the men said no because the children would die from the thirst for water, but that is not true”.
What is more, according to her words, during the chest feeding mother-child relationships become stronger and closer.
Mrs Rosemary Effiong, the Chairman of Akpabuyo Local Government Area, represented by the Secretary of Council, Mr Edem Okon, added the council would continue providing the required support for mothers by means of financial empowerment to enable them feed well to chest feed their children.
Professor Angela Oyo Ita, the Cross River State Commissioner for Health during the 2013 chest Feeding Week at Akpabuyo local Government Area of the state on Tuesday, stated that men, who share their wives’ br**sts while they are chest feeding could inflict wound on the br**sts and if the woman is HIV positive, the infection could transfer to the child.
Professor Oyo Ita, represented by the Director Nutrition of the Ministry of Health, Mrs Regina Adie, urged women to practice exclusive chest feeding as chest milk contains 80% of water and 20% of minerals needed for the child’s growth and for keeping the baby healthy and strong.
She said myths that a child that is exclusively fed on chest milk for six months would at some point die out of thirst is not true because beast milk contains enough water to keep the child happy and satisfied.
“Some time ago, we came here and had a meeting with the men and called on them to support their wives to carry out exclusive chest feeding for their children and the men said no because the children would die from the thirst for water, but that is not true”.
What is more, according to her words, during the chest feeding mother-child relationships become stronger and closer.
Mrs Rosemary Effiong, the Chairman of Akpabuyo Local Government Area, represented by the Secretary of Council, Mr Edem Okon, added the council would continue providing the required support for mothers by means of financial empowerment to enable them feed well to chest feed their children.
NIGERIA HOUSE OF BOXERTENTIVES
Over the years, Nigerians got use to members of the Nigerian House of Representatives fighting themselves in the hallowed chambers of lawmaking. Essentially, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with legislators shoving and punching each other in the legislative House. Undoubtedly, it is indecorous. But what of if it is genuinely in defense of the constitution? Then, it will be impassioned and high-minded political debate taken a notch higher.
After all, the legislature is supposed to be a stronghold of intrepid and vigilant guardians of the constitution. And what responsible and dedicated sentinel is not prepared to put up a fight in defense of what is entrusted to his care. It is wonderful if the battles to defend the constitution remain verbal and courteous but there is nothing wrong with them turning messy, unruly, and even, physical.
Also, human behavior is driven by interests – personal, group, ideological, etc. These diverse interests are continually playing out: fusing, diverging, overlapping, conflicting, etc in the homes, market places, government offices, embassies, etc. And politics, especially, democratic politics, should be the equitable and just resolution of these interests. Reinhold Niebuhr was making the same point when he wrote that “the duty of (democratic) politics is to establish justice in a sinful world”. And the legislative chamber, as the epicenter of national politics, is the nucleus of this process of judiciously resolving multifarious interests – most of which are not altruistic and humane but predatory, vicious and sleazy, that is, sinful. And, of course, the task of establishing justice in a sinful world cannot always be steep in etiquette and civility.
Political debates in the United States of American Senate and House of Representatives are painstaking and vigorous, yet, well-mannered. Parliamentary debates in some countries, like Israel and Britain, are full of interruptions and catcalls, and are, sometimes, very acerbic. In some other countries of the world, like South Korea, Taiwan and Ukraine, legislative debates have, in the past, degenerated to physical fights among the lawmakers. So, physical brawl among legislators is not peculiar to Nigeria. Therefore, our concern should be less on Nigerian lawmakers fighting and more on what makes them fight. For that which makes a man to loose all control and jettison every atom of decency and resort to the most primeval of human instincts is a major index of him.
To great and enlightened minds, the objects of life are moral worth and fame. But to petty minds and vulgar temperaments material gains and pleasure are the primary aims of life. So, if the ranks of our lawmakers are studded with great and enlightened minds, the activities of the House would have been mostly actuated by their oath of office, to uphold the constitution of Nigeria, which has in its tenor, character and spirit the welfare and betterment of the Nigerian people. And their debates would have been high-minded, marked by high morals and elevated ethics and informed by democratic ideals, such as, accountability, patriotism, justice, rule of law, etc. And then, the disturbing scenes they present when they physically fight in the House will be well meaning but disorderly attempt to advance the public good. As such, we will be dismayed by the method but enlivened by the motive.
Lamentably, the Nigerian House of Representatives is replete with petty minds and vulgar temperaments. In their obsession with material gains and pleasure, they voted for themselves the highest known salaries and allowances for legislators in the world, and maintain extravagantly luxurious lifestyles that will awe-struck even the rich and famous of the world’s wealthiest countries. Flush with money and sheltered in islands of opulence amid the vast encompassing poverty and deprivation – the cruel grind – that marks the lives of most Nigerians; they, deliberately, isolate themselves from the people that they supposedly represent.
Preoccupied with perks and pomp of office, self-enrichment and the entrenchment of the privileges of the political class, they are neither committed to public service nor responsive to the legitimate aspirations of the people. Consequently, for the most part, their legislations have not advanced social justice and a more principled distribution of the national wealth, but reinforced the status quo. And the status quo engenders the inordinate wealth of an elite few at the economic misery of the generality of the people.
Despite, their incomprehensibly excessive salaries and allowances, Nigerian legislators are not weaned from corruption. A number of earlier Speakers of the House of Representatives left office in disgrace, accused of misappropriation of public funds. Some House committees assigned to investigate government and corporate corruptions and improprieties ended up being accused and investigated for receiving bribes from the government and business officials they were investigating.
So, the boxing by the boxers in the Nigerian House of Representatives has not been inspired by democratic ideals but by greed, corruption and political intolerance. It is high time we improved on the quality of men and women we elect to represent us in the legislature. As of now, it is filled with men and women, who are out to steal, lie and fight over the spoils of power under the guise of representing the people.
Tochukwu Ezukanma writes from Lagos Nigeria.
maciln18@yahoo.com
0803 529 2908
After all, the legislature is supposed to be a stronghold of intrepid and vigilant guardians of the constitution. And what responsible and dedicated sentinel is not prepared to put up a fight in defense of what is entrusted to his care. It is wonderful if the battles to defend the constitution remain verbal and courteous but there is nothing wrong with them turning messy, unruly, and even, physical.
Also, human behavior is driven by interests – personal, group, ideological, etc. These diverse interests are continually playing out: fusing, diverging, overlapping, conflicting, etc in the homes, market places, government offices, embassies, etc. And politics, especially, democratic politics, should be the equitable and just resolution of these interests. Reinhold Niebuhr was making the same point when he wrote that “the duty of (democratic) politics is to establish justice in a sinful world”. And the legislative chamber, as the epicenter of national politics, is the nucleus of this process of judiciously resolving multifarious interests – most of which are not altruistic and humane but predatory, vicious and sleazy, that is, sinful. And, of course, the task of establishing justice in a sinful world cannot always be steep in etiquette and civility.
Political debates in the United States of American Senate and House of Representatives are painstaking and vigorous, yet, well-mannered. Parliamentary debates in some countries, like Israel and Britain, are full of interruptions and catcalls, and are, sometimes, very acerbic. In some other countries of the world, like South Korea, Taiwan and Ukraine, legislative debates have, in the past, degenerated to physical fights among the lawmakers. So, physical brawl among legislators is not peculiar to Nigeria. Therefore, our concern should be less on Nigerian lawmakers fighting and more on what makes them fight. For that which makes a man to loose all control and jettison every atom of decency and resort to the most primeval of human instincts is a major index of him.
To great and enlightened minds, the objects of life are moral worth and fame. But to petty minds and vulgar temperaments material gains and pleasure are the primary aims of life. So, if the ranks of our lawmakers are studded with great and enlightened minds, the activities of the House would have been mostly actuated by their oath of office, to uphold the constitution of Nigeria, which has in its tenor, character and spirit the welfare and betterment of the Nigerian people. And their debates would have been high-minded, marked by high morals and elevated ethics and informed by democratic ideals, such as, accountability, patriotism, justice, rule of law, etc. And then, the disturbing scenes they present when they physically fight in the House will be well meaning but disorderly attempt to advance the public good. As such, we will be dismayed by the method but enlivened by the motive.
Lamentably, the Nigerian House of Representatives is replete with petty minds and vulgar temperaments. In their obsession with material gains and pleasure, they voted for themselves the highest known salaries and allowances for legislators in the world, and maintain extravagantly luxurious lifestyles that will awe-struck even the rich and famous of the world’s wealthiest countries. Flush with money and sheltered in islands of opulence amid the vast encompassing poverty and deprivation – the cruel grind – that marks the lives of most Nigerians; they, deliberately, isolate themselves from the people that they supposedly represent.
Preoccupied with perks and pomp of office, self-enrichment and the entrenchment of the privileges of the political class, they are neither committed to public service nor responsive to the legitimate aspirations of the people. Consequently, for the most part, their legislations have not advanced social justice and a more principled distribution of the national wealth, but reinforced the status quo. And the status quo engenders the inordinate wealth of an elite few at the economic misery of the generality of the people.
Despite, their incomprehensibly excessive salaries and allowances, Nigerian legislators are not weaned from corruption. A number of earlier Speakers of the House of Representatives left office in disgrace, accused of misappropriation of public funds. Some House committees assigned to investigate government and corporate corruptions and improprieties ended up being accused and investigated for receiving bribes from the government and business officials they were investigating.
So, the boxing by the boxers in the Nigerian House of Representatives has not been inspired by democratic ideals but by greed, corruption and political intolerance. It is high time we improved on the quality of men and women we elect to represent us in the legislature. As of now, it is filled with men and women, who are out to steal, lie and fight over the spoils of power under the guise of representing the people.
Tochukwu Ezukanma writes from Lagos Nigeria.
maciln18@yahoo.com
0803 529 2908
ANOTHER AIR CRASH AVERTED IN LAGOS
A Lagos bound Arik Air flight was aborted on Wednesday night in Abuja when the aircraft allegedly developed technical issues and refused to start.
The flight, which was to transport passenger from the local wing of the Abuja airport to the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, was scheduled for 7pm but was delayed till about 8pm.
According to one of the intending travelers, Dominic, who spoke to Channels Television, “the passengers had checked in and were about boarding the aircraft when some people noticed the pilot was having issues in his seat.
“After a few minutes, a member of the Arik team announced to us in front of the airplane that there was a technical issue” and so they would have to wait for another aircraft from Lagos, to ferry them to their destination.
“So we had to wait another 1 hour and a few minutes for the arrival of another plane.”
Following the series of air mishaps and accidents which have occurred in the Nigerian airspace, including the Akure bound Associated Airline plane which crashed on October 3rd but not before giving the pilot warning signals, some passengers gave Airk Air kudos for not “managing the airplane” on Wednesday night.
The passengers finally arrived in Lagos at about 12 midnight on another aircraft.
THE REASON BEHIND KWARA UNTED AND ABS FC RELEGATION REVEALED
Sports enthusiasts in Ilorin have expressed their shock and sadness over the relegation of their two darling teams. The Cross section of supporters and fans who spoke to Daily Trust in Ilorin described the relegation as a sad day for sports in the state of harmony.
The two premier league clubs, KWARA UNITED and ABS FC ended up in relegation after the conclusion of the league on Sunday. The Samson Unuanel tutored Kwara United settled for a 1-1 draw with visiting AKWA UNITED at the Confluence Stadium, Lokoja to finish 17th on the log with 50 points while ABS FC lost 0:1 to WARRI WOLVES at away to finish 18th also with 50 points.
Speaking out of sad look, the Chairman of Kwara United Supporters' Club, Alhaji Sulaiman Oba said
the relegation of the two teams was unfortunate. He said he was particularly saddened that despite the
huge amount of money injected in Kwara United, the resources doesn't have impact on the team.
Alhaji Oba blamed the Afonja Warriors' woes on the crises between the board and the management committee, saying the board felt sidelined in the management of the team and was hell-bent on ensuring its downfall.
He however advised the government to learn a lesson
from the teams relegation and appoint the competent people including supporters into the board just as he urged the players to stay behind and not exit the team at this point in time.
Also, the Sports Writers' Association of Nigeria
(SWAN), Kwara State chapter described the relegation as unfortunate and disastrous. In a statement signed by the Chairman, Bunmi Adedoyin
and the Secretary, Jimoh Bashir, the association urged the two clubs, especially their supporters and fans to learn a lesson from the avoidable fall.
SWAN described the relegation of the two clubs as a big shame, especially to the so called stakeholders in the state who have leveraged on the existence of the two clubs only for their selfish interest.
The body vowed to expose all those behind the ugly
development, even as they called on all genuine
stakeholders to come together to discuss the way
forward for the two teams.
MAN IN COURT FOR RAPING FACEBOOK LOVER
The Nigerian police in Lagos on Wednesday arraigned a 34-year-old man, Omowuyi Kelvin, over alleged rape of a 25-year old girl he met on Facebook.
Kelvin, who was charged before an Isheri Magistrates’ Court, lives at Shangisha, a suburb of Lagos.
He is facing a two-count charge of rape and stealing.
The prosecutor, Insp Nurudeen Thomas, told the court that the accused committed the offences at 8.00p.m., on 15 October at his residence.
“The accused invited his victim all the way from Benin to Lagos.
“On arrival, the accused unlawfully detained her for five days in a room, had carnal knowledge of her and stripped her of N5,000, among other valuables,” he said.
He said that the offences contravened Sections 285 and 258 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
Section 258 provides for life imprisonment for rape, while Section 285 prescribes three years imprisonment for theft.
The accused, however, pleaded not guilty.
Senior Magistrate Adejumoke Olagbegi-Adelabu granted the accused bail in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in like sum.
She adjourned the case till to 27 October for substantive trial.
On 22 July, 2012, Cynthia Osokogwu, a post-graduate student of Nasarawa State University and a clothing retailer was murdered in Lagos by friends she met on FaceBook.
They lured her to a hotel in FESTAC Town, drugged and raped her before she was murdered.
Wednesday, 23 October 2013
MAN CAUGHT IN BED WITH 60-YEAR OLD FEMALE NEIGHBOUR
The wife said with the way things are going, she may not live long…….
“Since the day I caught my husband in our neighbour’s bedroom, he has been threatening to kill me. I caught him hiding behind the door of our neighbour’s bedroom, when I went there to pick my purse that I forgot in the woman’s room earlier that day.
“Our neighbour, a 60-year-old woman and I are very close; I enter her flat anytime of the day. On that fateful day, I knocked at her door to pick my purse. I could not enter because she had locked the door from behind; so she told me to come back, that she was sleeping.
“I insisted because I needed my purse to pay for what I just bought, so I forced myself inside the room and I saw my husband hiding behind her door, sweating.”
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