Osinbajo, Others At Defence Academy Pass-Out Parade

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo represented the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, at the Passing out Parade of the Nigerian Defence Academy which held in Afaka, Kaduna state on Saturday.
It was a coulourful event. More photos...



These are Cadets from all over the country who have undergone training in learning and imbibing the values of Loyalty and Valour as they join the Nigerian Army to defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Nigeria against external and internal threats.

Buhari to military: You must defeat ideologies of mindless killings

As 689 new officers were commissioned into the armed forces on Saturday, President Muhammadu Buhari has told the military that they must defeat the ideologies that promote mindless killings and anarchy, saying that, Nigeria is confronted by enemies whose identities and motivations are unknown


President Buhari stated this while reviewing the combined passing out parade of the cadets of the 64 Regular Course of the Army, Navy and Air Force), the 65 Regular Course of the Navy and Air Force), and the Short Service Course 44 of the Army.


The President who was represented by the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo said, the swift evolution in suicide bombings is a perfect illustration of the nature of the threats that nations face today, which are unpredictable, asymmetric, constantly adapting to changing conditions and driven by a compulsive need to inflict maximum damage with minimal effort.
Addressing the newly commissioned officers of the challenges ahead of them, Buhari said, the world has gotten to a stage where people can now learn production of explosive device on the internet.
He therefore, challenged the military to answer the question of how to defeat the ideologies that promote mindless killings and anarchy.
According to him, “The world has changed a great deal in the time since today’s graduating classes enrolled into the NDA. The threats that confront us a nation and as a planet have evolved and continue to evolve. Forty years ago, a Speech like this would have been situated firmly within the context of the Cold War with its well-defined ideologies, and distinct warring parties.
“Today we speak of non-State Actors and of asymmetric warfare, and are confronted by enemies that whose identities are as nebulous as their motivations. It feels like yesterday when the earliest high-profile Boko Haram suicide bombings happened in Nigeria.
“If I recall correctly the bombing of the Police Headquarters in Abuja was the first major incident to hit the national consciousness. It was a surreal moment, something that no one associated with Nigeria. It was not uncommon, at that time, to hear people argue that the perpetrators had to have been of foreign origin, as it was not in the nature or personality of Nigerians to be suicide bombers.


“This was only about six years ago. In the time since we have come to grow accustomed to suicide bombings and by Nigerians no less. The targets evolved rapidly, from symbols of authority like the Police Headquarters and the United Nations Building in Abuja, to encompass soft targets bus stations, religious houses, markets. And again very quickly we started to see a trend of female suicide bombers.
“It is worthy of note that until about 2013, the phenomenon of female suicide bombers was virtually unknown in the Boko Haram insurgency. A short four years later, it is one of the defining elements of the insurgency, young girls, some not even teenagers yet, laden with explosives and sent off as harbingers of death and destruction.
“This is therefore the question we ought to be asking ourselves: are our Armed Forces evolving with a similar speed and urgency, are they adapting with a similar nimbleness? How do we evolve rules of engagement in asymmetric warfare situations? Should we be redefining the borders of the Geneva Convention in the light of military engagements with armed militant combatants? Can we observe the same human rights rules where suicide bombers and persons determined to die and take with them as many innocent lives as possible? Are they enemy we must confront? What are the borders of the right to privacy and freedom of expression on the internet? What is the responsibility of Nations of the world in policing the internet, which has become a virtual training ground for much good and as much evil.
“Some of the early analyses of yesterday’s bombing in a London tube suggest that tutorials for making the explosive devices used are available on the internet. How can the military get ahead of the curve on communications in the age of the fast, cheap and available communication for all?
“We must also answer the question of how to defeat the ideologies that promote mindless killings and anarchy. But just as important as these issues around conflict are the issues around how the military can in the process of innovating or thinking through military uses of science and technology can add real value to the society and nation it has sworn to defend.
“At this point let me say that I am pleased to note that the NDA has itself been positioning itself as a hub for innovation. I am already aware of inventions such as an Automated Pop-Up Target System, a Multi-Purpose Combat Mobile Robot, and a Perimeter Surveillance Robot, which the NDA has showcased at various science and technology exhibitions in the recent past. This is laudable and I urge you to sustain the culture.
“I would also like to urge you to collaborate more extensively with the private sector, for research and innovation. All around the country technology hubs are springing up that are attracting our Nigeria’s brightest talent, and breaking new technological ground. I am convinced that the military should make its presence felt in this area.
“Let me of course also commend the management of the NDA for your efforts so far in adapting your curriculum and programmes to contemporary realities. I have been told of the recent paradigm shift in the Academy’s training calendar, such that Naval and Air Force cadets now spend only four years in the Academy and then move to their respective bases, in place of the old system that saw them spend all five years in the Academy. By allowing them to spend their final year within their respective bases is a clear indication of the commitment to producing better-trained and better-prepared Naval and Air Force graduates”, he said.
The President therefore charged the new officers to contribute their own quota to the defence of their fatherland, saying that, they belong to a special breed of young Nigerians, who model the highest form of patriotism and love of country as they have sworn to defend the nation with their lives, as armed forces personnel.
“You have an obligation to commit yourself to the never-ending task of nation-building, especially at a time like this when our country is urgently in need of peace, unity and cohesion. As you join your senior colleagues in the field, you will be obligated to contribute your own quota to the defence of your fatherland.

Nigerians react to the rise in cross-dressing among men in Nigeria>

Some residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Saturday expressed surprise by the rise in the number and societal acceptance of cross-dressed men across the country.


Cross-dressers are people who wear clothing typical of the opposite sex; in this case however, popular among men who dress as women.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that police officials made various arrests of young men who have allegedly defrauded wealthy men in Lagos, Zamfara, Rivers and Abuja by presenting themselves as women.
Some of the residents who spoke to NAN said that it was astonishing how young Nigerians seem to be accepting the idea of cross-dressing.
Joy Nduka, a makeup artist, said that she was surprised by the fact that more Nigerians were aaccepting the idea of cross-dressing.
“I first heard of this concept in Nigeria last year when it was in the news that some men dressed like women to dupe rich men they met at bars and hotels.
“I found it a bit funny at first that some men could be easily deceived in that manner by their fellow men.
“However, I later realised that we all focused on the men who were robbed and not on the men who were comfortable dressing like women to commit the crimes.
“It shows the trend is gradually being accepted among Nigerians,’’ she said.
Victor Itamunoala, a marketer, said “We have always had popular TV personality, Denrele Edun, who remain a controversial figure because of his cross-dressing fashion.
“His fashion concept has always had a hint of feminism in it be it with makeup, hairstyles, high shoes and more.
“Nigerians were against his fashion but these days, many people seem to support him and he has inspired more men to dress that way.
“We have gradually seen a number of Nigerian social media personalities become popular for being cross-dressers and the most popular one today is the man that calls himself the `Snapchat queen’, Bobrisky.
“Bobrisky, originally known as Okuneye Idris, has gradually become a celebrity by acting and dressing as a woman.
“We all watched him transform from a dark skinned man to a light skinned woman who now travels the world and gets paid in pounds and dollars by Nigerian fans who take pictures with him.
“This is insane and appalling, especially as all these famous cross-dressers claim to have connections among politicians.
“The next thing we will see is same sex marriage being legalised in Nigeria, this is how such things start’’ he said.
Another resident, Ndidi John said that the trend was catching on among youths because of the influence of foreign movies.
“You cannot eliminate the role of social media, foreign films and now Nigerian celebrities that engaged in cross dressing on the youths.
“But I personally believe that most of them will grow out of it as the advance in age and become less rebellious,” she said.

No Igbo man will support secession or division of Nigeria -Okorocha

Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has declared that his “community and identity is Nigeria.”
He said no Igbo man would support secession or division of the country, adding that the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra’s leader, Nnamdi Kanu, should be treated as a single individual.
He said this is because well-meaning Igbo people have condemned Indigenous People of Biafra in all ramifications.
Okorocha spoke on Saturday, in Owerri, at the new yam festival organised by the State Council of Traditional Rulers, headed by HRM Eze Samuel Ohir.
The governor added that everyone that loves Ndigbo has condemned the activities of IPOB.
Okorocha said, “I can see that the unity of Nigeria is today dramatised in the land of Imo State. I say so because growing up as a child, I never knew where I came from because I found myself somewhere in Plateau State as a little boy and the only language I could speak was the Hausa language.
“I had no choice because that was where I was brought up. So, I grew up being born an Igbo man, but was reared in the North and was made financially buoyant in the South-West.”
“So, I have declared myself that in no way should I be found as a tribalised Nigerian.
“I will remain detribalised as long as Igbo gave me parentage and childhood, as long as North reared and nurtured me and for as long as South-West empowered me.
“My community and my identity is Nigeria.”x

Operation Python Dance is field training exercise – Nigerian Army

The Nigerian Army on Saturday said the ongoing Operation Python Dance was a field training exercise.

Deputy Director, Public Relations 82 Division, Nigerian Army, Enugu, Col. Sagir Musa, disclosed this in a statement which was made available to journalists in Enugu.
Sagir said the operation was not targeted at anybody.
The statement read, “The 82 Division, Nigerian Army, is currently on a field training exercise code-named exercise EGWU EKE II (Python Dance).
“The exercise which started on 15th September and will last till 14th October 2017 is meant to sharpen the skills of 82 Division troops in the conduct of internal security operations.
“The exercise is also aimed at combating the security challenges in the South-East and is well equipped to deal with the rising cases of insecurity such as kidnappings, armed forces farmers-herdsmen clashes, cultism, violent secessionist agitations, insurgency among others.
“Please note, Exercise EGWU EKE II is not targeted at any individual or group, as law abiding citizens are advised to go about their normal businesses without fear.”x

Nigerians must never turn against each other – Goodluck Jonathan

Ex-President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Friday, said that Nigerians must never turn against each other irrespective of whatever provocation that might spur them and equally call on the Council of State to intervene on IPOB and Operation Python dance (11) in the South East.



Speaking on the need to co-exist amongst each other Jonathan said that “In as much as there may be a need to enforce order, there is a greater need to reinforce our humanity and treat Nigerian citizens humanely whether they be from the North or South.

Nothing justifies the desecration and destruction of religious places of worship or a police station.” His statement via facebook reads thus: “The reports I have received about recent developments in the country lead me to appeal to all men of good will to use whatever influence they have to push for peaceful coexistence and restraint on all sides. “Perhaps it is time for the Council of State to intervene and offer its wise counsel. Irrespective of whatever provocation, Nigerians must never turn on each other.

“Even in the face of difficult circumstances, we must have faith that God in His infinite wisdom will guide us to finding a way out that is fair and just to all concerned. “

In as much as there may be a need to enforce order, there is a greater need to reinforce our humanity and treat Nigerian citizens humanely whether they be from the North or South. Nothing justifies the desecration and destruction of religious places of worship or a police station. “ But even more so, nothing justifies the endangering of human life.

Let us exchange ideas instead of exchanging insults and threats. “Nigeria is going through tough times because God wants us to grow through tough times. We must be resolute as a people even as we know that it is impossible to deny the brotherhood of all Nigerians after over a century of a shared commonwealth. GEJ.”

DANGER: World to end September 23, says numerologist

There are predictions that the world will on Sept. 23, 2017 following expected collision of a planet with earth.

A Christian numerologist David Meade who made the claim said that strange things were now happening in the world which were predicted in the past as signs of the end time.
Meade said verses in Luke 21: 25 to 26 is the sign that recent events, such as the recent solar eclipse and Hurricane Harvey, are signs of the apocalypse.
The verses read:
“25: There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’
“26: Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.’
Sept. 23 is a date that was pinpointed using codes from the Bible, as well as a “date marker” in the pyramids of Giza in Egypt.
Meade has built his theory, which is viewed with a widely skeptical lens, on the so-called Planet X, which is also known as Nibiru, which he believes will pass Earth on Sept. 23, causing volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and earthquakes, according to British newspaper The Sun.
Read more: Fox News

Major Gen Ugbo, 7 others killed as Benue community boils

 

No fewer that eight persons, including one Major General Lawrence Ugbo have been killed and several others injured in Ugboju district, Otukpo LGA of Benue State.
DAILY POST gathered that the incident, which broke out Wednesday morning has rendered many persons homeless.
A resident told this reporter that war broke out in the community after some boys from Ugboju allegedly attacked a group of persons loyal to a former chairman of Otukpo.
It was gathered that the ex-LG boss was in the village with his loyalists when another group believed to be his rival launched an attack on them, injuring many persons.
In reprisal, the politician went back and teamed up with his boys who stormed the community, killing anybody on sight.
They reportedly killed a retired Major General Lawrence Ugbo and cremated his corpse.


When DAILY POST reached out to the Benue State Police PRO, he said he was in a meeting and promised to get back shortly.
When contacted, however, the chairman of Otukpo LG, Hon. George Alli confirmed that several persons lost thier lives.
He, however, faulted the claims in some quaters that the clash was political.
“Yes, I am there as we speak to take victims to the hospital. Several persons, including Maj Gen Lawrence Ugbo were killed and his body burnt to ashes. The clash has nothing to do with politics, it was a land tussle that cause the incident. I will get the whole and pass it across to you shortly,” he told DAILY POST.x

Aisha Buhari rocks an Oscar de la Renta dress to welcome Uganda’s First Lady

Nigeria’s First Lady Aisha Buhari welcomed the First Lady of Uganda Janet Museveni yesterday who was in Nigeria with her husband Yoweri Museveni on a courtesy visit.



However, the talking point from the visit has been Aisha Buhari’s outfit as she rocked an Oscar de la Renta magnolia guipure caftan dress rumoured to be worth around $4,500 (about N1.7m).

The dress is also reported to be sold out.



See more photos of their meeting below:


Pic. 32. Wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari (R), presenting a souvenir to the Ugandan First Lady, Mrs Janet Musaveni, during the Ugandan First Lady’s visit to Nigeria on Friday in Abuja (15/9/17). 04964/15/9/2017/ Amed Musa/HB/NAN

IPOB DOES NOT MEAN WELL FOR IGBO, SAYS IGWE EGBUNA

The Eze Igbo in Zamfara State, Igwe Egbuna Obijiaku, has said that the agitation for secession by the Indigenous People of Biafra does not mean good for Igbo, because it was aimed at disrupting the peace and stability of the country.

He also commended the South East Governors’ Forum for outlawing the activities of the IPOB.

Obijiaku, who gave the commendation on Saturday while speaking to newsmen in Gusau, said that Igbo in Zamfara were not in support of the activities of IPOB.

He urged the Igbo community in the state to disregard the Biafra agitation.



According to him, the IPOB agitations for Biafra nation, apart from its threat to national unity, peace and stability, is also a big threat to Igbo economic stability.

“We are solidly behind our leaders and governors in this regard. We are also in support of the decision of the Forum of Igbo traditional leaders of all the 19 Northern states,” he said.

“If we look at the entire population of Igbo community, only 40 per cent are living on Igbo land. About 40 per cent are living in the Northern parts of Nigeria, almost 15 percent are living in South Western parts of the country and the remaining five per cent are living abroad.

“Therefore, to me, any agitation calling for separation from this country will not be good for Igbo. We are living in a secular country: that was how God has created us and that is how He wants us to be.

“It is very unfortunate for somebody who has not been in Nigeria over the years to just come and be calling us to join him in unlawful agitations to break peace and stability that were built over the years.

“This IPOB agitation does not mean good for Igbo. In fact, it was aimed at disrupting the peace and stability of the country,” he said.

He, therefore, urged the entire Igbo community in Zamfara to disregard such unlawful agitation and go about their normal activities.

“We should continue to live peaceably with one another, we should cooperate with security agencies and government in maintaining peace and stability in the country”, he added. He said over the past 20 years, the Igbo community had been living peacefully in Zamfara without any harassment and that they should continue to maintain it.

14,000 PDP MEMBERS DEFECT TO APC

Over 14,000 Peoples Democratic members and supporters of a former national chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, Ali Modu Sheriff, have defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress.

This is even as APC announced that it would commence reconciliation visits to the state chapters of the party in the South-South geopolitical zones on Sunday, towards strengthening the party for victory in the 2019 general elections in the region.

The defecting Sheriff’s loyalists led by a former National Vice Chairman of the PDP, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, said they were “suffocated out of the party through deliberate act of impunity which led to the defeat of the party in 2015.”

The over 14,000 former PDP members were received by top members of the APC led by National Vice Chairman of APC, Mr. Hilliard Eta; Delta State leader of the party, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor; Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachukwu; and the state chairman of the party, Prophet Jones Erue, among others in Agbor.

Speaking during the ceremony, PDP former National Vice Chairman (South-South), Ojougboh, said since the Supreme Court judgment which ousted the Sheriff faction, the Ahmed Markafi national leadership had refused to reach out to them, hence their resolve to leave.

Ojougboh said, “We asked the national body to open up the party after the unfortunate court judgment, the next thing we heard was that they were going to grant us amnesty, as if we are criminals.

“When Raymond Dokpesi was nominated as member of the committee for the non-elective convention, his nomination was rejected because they said they spent money on the court judgment.

“As if that was not enough, during the Anambra State governorship primary election, Jerry Gana was made chairman of a three-man committee to midwife a transparent election, but governors Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State and Nyesom Wike of Rivers State rejected it and came up with another committee that went to Anambra and handed everything to Peter Obi.

“Back here in Delta, we asked the state governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, to remove impunity, but what we continue to see here is a … family government.

“We now said it is time to look for people of like minds, people of progressive ideology to meet with, because I know most of you have ambitions to pursue.

“If we do not make a decision to belong to the progressives, most of you will miss out.”

WHY WE POSCRIBED IPOB - SOUTH EAST GOVERNORS

The Chairman of the South-east Governors Forum and Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, has said the forum decided to proscribe the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB to stop the rising tension in the zone.

Mr. Umahi, who briefed journalists in his office in Abakaliki said the leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, was gradually losing control of the situation and his members prompting the governors to wade in to prevent further bloodshed.

He said the proscription had achieved the desired result.

He said IPOB has lost its original ideal by causing unnecessary tension and killings in the South-east which he said has affected investment drive in the region.

The governor also said that based on the evidence before him, the military did not attack IPOB members on Sunday as claimed by Mr. Kanu and that it was the IPOB members who threw bottles and stones at the military officers who were passing by.

“When you put a small fire, it can go very far and become difficult to control,” Mr. Umahi said.

“The IPOB activities were gradually getting out of the control of Nnamdi Kanu. Soldiers were passing on the way when IPOB members started throwing stones and other objects on them and it sparked off the clash between the group and the military.

“It is a shame that when this thing happened, a man called Charles Ogbu had to send phone numbers of all South-east governors, the Senate President and others and all our people could do was to be calling us to insult us. These are people who never experienced any war in their lives.”

He said the lives of northerners and all non-indigenes in the state and zone must be guaranteed at all times, warning that security agencies have been directed to deal decisively with anyone that tries to cause a breach of the peace.

“Our focus is how to save lives of every Nigerian and we believe in a united Nigeria. Lives of people are involved and we must not play politics with that,” he said.

“Anybody that wants to foment trouble must be crushed and I want security agencies to beef up security around all the non-indigenes in the state and to report to me any problem because we must maintain the peace.”

The governor called on youth to stop insulting President Muhammadu Buhari and leaders of the country as according to him, this was bad.

He also noted that the northern governors will soon visit the South-east, a visit which will also be reciprocated by the South-east governors to the North as a means of fostering unity in the country.

He said majority of the Igbos do not want secession from Nigeria but to be treated fairly and justly in the county.

“That is why we are all talking about restructuring, there is no part of this country that is not feeling marginalised somehow and that is why all the zones are setting up committees on restructuring,” the governor said.

Mr. Umahi, however, noted that injustice or marginalisation should not be a reason to talk about secession maintaining that dialogue should be the best way to resolve and redress all differences.

On operation Egwu Eke II (Python dance II), the governor said the exercise was never targeted at IPOB but intended to curb rising incidents of crime especially kidnapping and armed robbery in the state.

He noted that no one including the military expected that there will be violence as the Egwu Eke II that was staged last year was largely successful.

Heads of security agencies in the state and some principal officers of the state government attended the briefing.





The South-east Governors Forum rose from its meeting on Friday to announce the proscription of IPOB in all the five states of the zone.

They also appealed to President Muhammad Buhari to withdraw soldiers from the zone while the police carry out their constitutional duty of securing lives and property.

The meeting was also attended by Governors Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Willie Obiano (Anambra) and Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) while Rochas Okorocha of Imo was represented by his deputy.

Also in attendance were the Ohanaeze leadership led by Chigozie Ogbu, former deputy governor of Ebonyi State, who represented John Nwodo, the President General of the socio-cultural organisation.

The National Assembly members led by Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, and the GOC 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Adamu Abubakar, were also in attendance.

Clashes between IPOB members and the security officials have led to several injuries in Abia with a police station also burnt.

IPOB wants an independent country of Biafra and says it is a non-violent organisation, although its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, recently said the group may reconsider its non-violence stance.

Benue Flood: Two weeks after, it’s still pains, anguish and sorrow for displaced victims

At 6:00 p.m. on September 4, Dan Kwen and his comrades served free meals to a row of homeless persons at a makeshift camp in the premises of a high school in Makurdi.
Unlike the few dinners preceding it, this night is one devoid of merriment. Understandably.

This night is different because Mr. Kwen and his men mutter a caveat with every bowl dished to the beneficiaries which could read as: You have just been served your last meal because this camp is shutting down tonight.

“This is where I have fed myself and my two children since last week,” said a grim-faced Helen Tseke, 51.

“I appreciate their effort, but I am fearful about how we’ll survive in the coming days.”

Mr. Kwen’s non-profit, Benue We Deserve, was amongst the earliest responders to Mrs. Tseke, her children and thousands of other victims of the August 27 flood that devastated Makurdi and other settlements in Benue State. They chose not to go to a camp for displaced persons because they believe they’ll be worse off there.

But after five days, the group decided to shut down its first camp which opened inside Padopads Secondary School in downtown Makurdi on August 30.

Its resources were fast running out.





“We have decided to shut down this place because our resources are fast draining and we still intend to open at least one more feeding camp in other neighbourhoods affected by the flood,” Mr. Kwen told PREMIUM TIMES.

An estimated 573 victims, who fed there twice daily for the few days the camp was opened, were affected by its closure. The closure came after the NGO appealed for funds, but only a few people responded in kind.

FERTILE BUT FRAGILE

The town of Makurdi sits in a naturally fragile terrain located in a cleft in a marshy valley that bends on the rice-growing plains on the south bank of River Benue, the longest tributary of the River Niger.

Larger geographically and more populous than most of the 36 states of the federation, Benue State, where Makurdi is the capital, is Nigeria’s acclaimed food basket.





It does better in agriculture than any other state – growing large quantities of rice, yams, groundnuts, sesame, cassava, sorghum, shea nuts, millet, cotton amongst others.

But perhaps due to the perennial inability of its leaders from decades past to maximise its agriculture potentials, the state has remained amongst the poorest in the country.

The state also appears to have been drained of its young, vibrant men, who abandoned it for better economic prospects in Abuja, Lagos and elsewhere, leaving behind mostly old and barely educated young persons.

Benue State is occupied predominantly by the Tiv, one of Nigeria’s largest minority ethnic groups, with the Idoma coming second.

Asides its rich agrarian history, little is known about the present Benue State pre-colonial era. But its fortune peaked when Makurdi was made the gateway to northern Nigeria with the construction of a massive train station here in 1932.





The colonialists had taken interest in the people of Benue more than a century earlier when a touring Mary Slessor and her entourage of campaigners against the killing of twins dropped by.





With its mist-shrouded valleys and lush plains, the picturesque scenery around Benue is breathtaking and its land naturally fertile.

But with its hard showers and heavy flooding, its capital Makurdi and surrounding communities now look like they were made a dumping ground for refugees.

Water, water everywhere
In the early hours of August 27, a torrential downpour caused the River Benue to breach its banks across the marshy plains around Makurdi, washing off a deluge of muddy water into thousands of homes overnight.

The problem was compounded by rainwater from the upper side of the town that poor drainage system hindered from finding its way through the swamps into the River Benue, trapping in the low-level areas.

At dawn, residents around the low-level areas found themselves stepping into a pool of water when they woke up from their beds. In some places, waist-high flood unloaded snakes, alligators, and other deadly reptiles into homes.





A few days before the flood, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency gave advance warnings to state authorities, but it is yet unclear why people failed to evacuate.

The government said it advised residents to evacuate via a radio broadcast, but many residents disprove this, saying no announcement came before the downpour.

The aftermath saw an estimated 110,000 residents dislodged from their homes; while many lost their cars, electronics and other valuables.

Four sophomores at Benue State University who live in Gyado neighbourhood said their academic documents were destroyed by the flood. They stayed behind at school hoping the ongoing nationwide strike by lecturers won’t linger for too long.

“Very few houses were spared,” said Ayila Idye, a district ruler whose domain was hard hit.

“I have been seeing flooding, this type is a first,” he adds.

Mr. Idye, 71, said the extent of the flooding easily outpaced that of 2012, which was primarily blamed on the opening of Lagdo Lake Reservoir in Cameroon that September.

Makurdi is subdivided into high-level and low-level districts, and the latest flood is said to have affected almost all the neighbourhoods in low-level.





Amazingly, unlike its 2012 variant that left at least 30 dead, no death was recorded in the August 27 flood, which affected at least 13 local government areas across Benue State. But the incident prompted an instant national emergency.

On September 1, President Buhari ordered the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, to provide immediate support. By September 7, the agency had delivered eight trucks of relief materials to the state, with about five more said to be in the works, according to Paul Ohemu, an air force commander who coordinated NEMA’s emergency response.

Before the president’s intervention, the flooding had sparked a wave of sympathy amongst Nigerians, with many rendering support.

Although the state has a history of disaster and has been hit hard by floods in recent years, this was arguably the first time that images of a major disaster were fervently distributed on social media in real time, eliciting strong feelings even in a country that is hardly spared a daily dose of bad news.

Millions of naira poured in after appeals on social media. Some individuals, from musician TuFace to businessman Aliko Dangote, also made significant contributions.

Camp opens for the internally displaced

Magistrate Jimmy, 36, is still bewildered days after his daughter nearly drowned.

“I almost didn’t know that the water was about to cover my daughter on the chair she was sleeping,” he said. “I thank God I was able to save her.”

Like thousands of families who were sacked from their homes, Mr. Jimmy now lives in a temporary shelter not far from the scene of destruction, in a redundant market opened hastily after the flood to house the homeless.





Built in long rows, the brick buildings are identical. About 600 stalls are in the market premises, which was built by former Governor Gabriel Suswam but never put to use because traders deemed it too expensive to rent.

Each of the stalls has a solitary opening punched in the wall —ostensibly for cross-ventilation. Inside, there are no lightbulbs or fans.

Four families are paired together per stall, but not all the empty stalls are occupied. As at September 6, almost all the occupants have been given either a mattress, a mat or both.

The facility is being managed by the Red Cross, Benue State Emergency Management Agency, BSEMA with support from the Federal Government through NEMA.

Charity group, Benue NGO Network, Bengonet, an umbrella body for non-profit organisations in the state, coordinates supply of food items, drinks and other essentials brought to the camp by some of its 86 affiliated organisations.

Mr. Kwen’s group is affiliated with Bengonet. After serving free meals to victims at two other neighbourhoods, he moved to the camp on September 10 to support Bengonet’s efforts inside. People like Mrs. Tseke and others who are not at the camp have returned to their homes.

For safety reasons, cooked foods are not allowed into the camp, because of ‘‘bad people who may want to bring poison’’ into the camp, said Governor Samuel Ortom.

The Nigerian Air Force, which has one of its largest bases in Makurdi, has a squadron of medical doctors and nurses at the camp. An estimated 351 persons were treated for different random illnesses between August 31 and September 5, including five diarrhoea complaints, according to statistics compiled by the Air Force for PREMIUM TIMES.

As at September 5, less than 5,000 of the estimated 110,000 victims had registered for shelter at the camp. Many families stayed away from the temporary facility, preferring instead to remain close to what is left of their homes.

But many of the people who were in the camp said they were happy to have shelter and brought what they were able to salvage from their homes.

Meals were heated with charcoal on the concrete outside the stalls and sometimes shared with neighbours. With the support of UNICEF, water was no longer in short supply.

But there were complaints from the victims that emergency workers, especially Bengonet staff, were stealing food items through the fence at dusk.

Bengonet denied this claim.
If there were crooks amongst aid workers, they would encounter little impediment in smuggling food out of the camp. The premises is protected only by a perimeter fence that is not more than six feet tall.

Emergency officials have since stopped admitting people into the camp, but those already in will remain there for as long as it takes. A similar one that was opened after the 2012 flood was run for more than four months.

Victims of the flood who were not registered at the camp were being registered at their neighbourhoods as at September 7. They, alongside those at the camp, are potential beneficiaries of future compensation by the government, even though it is yet unknown when such restitution would come or how much.




CREDIT: PREMIUM TIMES

'Ask am how long wey him done de insult Governor' says one of the thugs .......... Watch the video of suspected thugs attacking Ukan Kurugh .

Ukan Kurugh was attacked on Friday at the IDP Camp in Makurdi for his volunteer and humanitarian activities in the state,the thugs who attacked him accused him of antagonising the Governor in the state ,listen and watch them loudly confronting and saying its been long since he has been insulting the Governor,they even forced forced him out of the camp and told him never to go there again.This is sad.please watch the video here,

HERE

Nigerian Men Are Not Romantic – Nigerian singer, Simi

Songstress Simisola Bolatito Ogunleye known by her stage name Simi has said that she doesn’t believe Nigerian men are romantic, stating that she thinks it’s because “no one pushes Nigerian men to fight for anything so they have this sense of entitlement.”29 year old Simi who just released her album “Simisola,” in an interview with Saturday Beats said:“I don’t believe Nigerian men are romantic. I think Nigerian men do not think they have to be romantic. I am not saying this to bash men but I think no one pushes Nigerian men to fight for anything so they have this sense of entitlement.
I was watching a Nigerian movie one day and there was this unfaithful Nigerian man who left his wife for another woman. At the end of the day, the other woman left him and he retraced his steps to his initial wife. The lady’s mother actually told her to kneel in front of the man and that bothered me a lot even though I knew it was a movie. That is the way things are.
A lot of men grow up in this country feeling entitled to certain things and they believe that they don’t have to work for anything. This has been the case for generations and a lot of our mothers were unhappy because the society expected them to stay in the relationship.

I am not saying it is the right thing for people to leave their relationships but a man needs to fight for what he wants so he can value it. I think the problem is because a lot of Nigerian men feel self-entitled and I blame our culture and our mothers. Most mothers are the problem because when something happens, they are quick to advise the daughter and wives, they don’t tell the men that their actions are wrong. So if a man feels that he does not have to fight to keep the relationship, he would not,” she said.x

Buhari aide tells Nigerians to thank Army for rescuing Igbos from ‘sick’ and ‘immature’ Kanu

Lauretta Onochie, Personal Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Social Media, has called on Nigerians to thank the Army, instead of vilifying their efforts, for saving Igbos from Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), who she described as being sick, childish and immature.
In a post on her Facebook page, Onochie stated that Kanu’s IPOB group had terrorized south-easterners to the point where they could not carry out their normal activities without fear.

Onochie further insinuated that the IPOB leader had ties with the country (whose name she did not mention) where arms and ammunition seized by the Nigerian Custom originated from.

In the post titled 'PYTHON DANCE 2 - NIGERIANS ARE DRUMMING FOR THE ARMY,' she stated: "I now understand why Ohaneze Ndigbo has been unable to stand on solid ground but rather has been on sandy soil regarding Nnamdi Kanu. What is driving their stand?

"I believe they are being tossed about by every wind of doctrine because of fear of reprisals from little Nnamdi Kanu's boys.

In 2015, at the beginning of the Buhari administration, and following the example of Anioma people of Nigeria, other ethnic groups in the South South, and socio-cultural organisations in the South East, including Ohaneze, distanced themselves from the actions of notorious Nnamdi Kanu and his IPOB.

"Not many people doubted that IPOB was a merchant of terror that tried to use fear, abuses, outright lies, manipulation of the truth and insults to colonise Ndigbo in something that is akin to modern day slavery.

"It is common knowledge but hush hush that South Easterners were being forced to fly the Biafran flag and to wear biafra memorabilia. There have been threats to lives and properties across the South East, and threats of rape to women who shun their hate campaign.

"For starters, Ohaneze Ndigbo is an association that was registered in Nigeria to represent the interests of Ndigbo of Nigeria. That is why it is called Ohaneze Ndigbo and not Ohaneze Ndi-IPOB or Ohaneze Ndi Biafra!

"How has the Ohaneze helped terrified Ndigbo who are living in fear for their lives and properties in the South East of Nigeria? They haven't because they themselves have been terrified.

"I have confirmed, via personal interviews of South Easterners who live in Onitsha and Aba, that there was a great sigh of relief when the Nigerian Army was seen in the region.

"Ndigbo who live in their ancestral homes in the South East, are for the first time in two years, breathing a sigh of relief and freedom.

"You see, little Nnamdi Kanu, a college dropout, is immature and childish. The South East governors know and appreciate this fact. This was why he was asked to come with his father to attend a meeting with them.

"If Nnamdi Kanu needs his father to attend a meeting of leaders, how mature are those who see him not just as their leader, but as their God?

"These mostly uneducated, half baked and uncouth youngsters, went about the South East, intimidating ordinary Ndigbo, threatening them with death and violence if they refused to kiss Nnamdi Kanu's toes.

"If the IPOB leader and his cohorts learned a good lesson from The Python dance {1} by turning away from their ways, there would be no need for a second Python dance. When your brother is in trouble, the least you could do is to support him.

"The Python dance is not just for the freedom of Ohaneze, so they can have a sound footing, and advocate fearlessly for ordinary Ndigbo; but also for ordinary Ndigbo, so they can associate freely."No one should have to be in danger or live in fear for not supporting a criminal agenda in a free country.

"As an Igbo woman put it, 'If Ndigbo need to renegotiate their membership of Nigeria, it will be a discussion and that discussion will not be led by disenchanted politicians and definitely not by Nnamdi Kanu.'

"The Nigerian Army, has come to the South East to exercise it's duty towards Ndigbo who have been held captive by the fear, not of some foreign aggressors, but of some youngsters who act under the manipulations and brain-washing by one who is delusional.

"Anyone who suffers from delusions of grandeur or megalomania should not be left running wild among law-abiding people.

"I do not understand those who are calling on the Nigerian Army to stop the Python dance. Nnamdi Kanu is running an illegal government in our nation, complete with his own Army, Police, Secret service, Anthem, coat of arms, passport and currency. If that is not an affront on our collective existence, I don't know What is.

"Nnamdi Kanu appears to have a tie with a country where arms and ammunition seized by the Nigerian Custom originated from.

"Nigerians and in particular, Ndigbo in this case, deserve to carry out their lawful engagements, without fear of molestation.

"We must therefore, thank the Nigerian Army for coming to the aid of Nigerians in the South East and safeguarding them from the antics of a very sick young man.


"God bless Nigeria."

Muma Gee Opens Up On Crashed Marriage – My ex proposed to four ladies while still married to me

Nigerian artiste, Gift Iyumame known popularly as Muma Gee who married her beau prince Eke in 2011 has revealed reasons why her marriage broke down.

Muma Gee’s marriage to her popular actor husband, Prince Eke, crashed late last year with the latter, accusing the artiste of infidelity and some other issues. Muma, who had yet to talk about what transpired in her marriage, eventually opened up to Saturday Beats about how her marriage broke up in an exclusive phone interview.

Talking about the marriage scandal, Muma said,“It is exactly one year ago that I separated from my ex- husband. But then, he gave the impression that the issue happened in December 2016. I put in my best as an African woman to ensure the marriage lasted. Because of his antecedent, I had almost called off my wedding. I had already done the traditional marriage. The sign that I saw then would have made me to call it off. I didn’t go ahead to do a court wedding after the church wedding. This is just the singular reason.

I saw what was coming. But I tried for six years to make it work. I gave up my career; I gave up all I had built over the years to become a full time housewife. It is enough sacrifice for somebody to say thank you. If I weren’t a good, submissive housewife, you would have long heard the story. It’s quite unfortunate that he decided to carry out a campaign of calumny against such a person that gave up her career just to build a home with him in the sight of man and God. If knees could peel based on prayers, mine would have had sores because I prayed ceaselessly for my marriage to work. I thank God I am not barren. God gave me three kids.”

But Saturday Beats reminded Muma that the husband had accused her of abandoning her kids and leaving for Abuja.But the artiste wondered why anybody would believe such a story.

She said, “Why would anybody think that after carrying a baby in my womb, I would leave a two-month old baby and run away? A woman who just had a baby, scientifically, has not healed enough to mess around. If you just have a baby and your pocket money has run out and nobody is providing for you, then you have to do what you can with your talent in order for you not to starve.
With the pain of childbirth, when he could not provide for me and the children during the early months of nursing, I had to get up and go for a show that was booked for me by an events company. I just wanted to put food on my table for my children. My mother was there, I had two other helps. It was a one day show. I went and I came back. But the person who said I abandoned the baby had left us two months earlier! Yes, he had left the house like six times before the last one. The last one, I said I had tried. I told God to let His will be done.

Responding to allegation of infidelity, Muma said it was her ex who was “very unfaithful” in the marriage.
“He said I was seen with men, who are the men? Where is the proof? I am a high chief. Why would you come out and lie against somebody who has been kind to you? There is nemesis for all of this. I knew there was a victim he wanted to impress.
Last May, I got a call from a woman who told me that she and my ex were supposed to get married but he had run away to the US. The lady said she was sorry that she got involved with him. That was not the first time but the fourth time somebody who was married to me would propose to four different women during my marriage. Come on! You don’t know half of what I have gone through. I only leave it to God.
When I had my twins, a woman based in America called Gina sent me a friend request on Facebook and I accepted. Then she sent me her naked pictures and my ex in bed. My ex had proposed to this same woman on a Valentine’s Day and April of that year, I was delivered of a set of twins and the pictures went viral. This lady ran mad and looked for me on FB.
The street I live in Port Harcourt is named after me. This woman told me that a girl on that street gave birth to a child for my husband. She sent me the picture of the baby. I had heard that he had slept with most of the actresses in Nollywood especially the up and coming ones. But I didn’t care. I wanted to keep my home. I had been in pains all through the years I was married. He had an affair with the DCO of the police station in the area we lived in Port Harcourt. Two of them used to wear the same attire to attend police functions. Everybody felt the policewoman was the wife of my ex. This DCO is even a married woman.
“There was a day he came home and said he was done with our marriage. He went to the drawer where we kept the wedding certificate and he tore it to pieces. I still have the pieces packed in a nylon bag. He and this police woman planned to take my kids from me. This was April 2015. He packed my kids’ clothes into a box and he and the woman took my kids to the motherless babies’ home.

Later in the evening, I got a call from the orphanage saying they needed my approval for them to accept my kids at the motherless babies’ home. I screamed! Later on, a policeman brought my kids back home. Just recently, another woman called me that she had spent $7000 dollars on my ex. She saw my children’s picture on my ex’s DP and she went mad. I told her that I wished her luck.”
Apart from the infidelity issues, Prince, on his social media handle, had said, “If infidelity, aldultery and certain fetish activties do not make you restless, then prepare to rest in peace.” So many people believed the tweet was directed at his wife, Muma. Reacting to the festish aspect, Muma went down memory lane about what she alleged transpired when her ex was kidnapped few years ago.
“He was kidnapped in December 2015. I know how I fought and raised money to pull him out. I paid the ransom with my money. My church gave me N100, 000. We had N200, 000 left to complete the money. Two of his elder brothers brought N100, 000 each. I didn’t sleep again because these brothers kept disturbing me that I must refund this money. I looked for the money and I gave them.
One of his cousins, Chidi Eke, gave us N100, 000 and never asked for refund. At the end of the whole thing, I was put through the highest trauma of my life. His brothers conspired with their other relatives and they gathered in their home that I wanted their brother dead. They said I must swear an oath. I was shocked. I told them I was not going to swear. They said while he was with the kidnappers, the kidnappers were calling me and I refused to pick their calls. I told them the secret service ordered me not to pick any call as they were investigating the kidnap.
But then, December 29, they gathered and said I should take the oath. Coincidentally, one of their sisters was getting married that day. I removed my shoes and on bare feet, I told them that God was watching us. I told them I was not picked on the street by their brother. I told them that all of them that tried to humiliate me, may whatever they did to me be accrued to their daughters and sisters. I raised this curse and the man who was holding the things I was supposed to swear with said they should hold on and we would reconvene again.
We never did. My ex eventually became born again after he was released from the kidnappers’ den. He went to church and gave testimony that he was filming in Asaba and he left Asaba for Owerri where he had gone to see a native doctor who had given him a ring. He said he was on his way back to Port Harcourt when the kidnappers accosted him. I used to think he was fetish-free. He told the whole church that God wanted to use the kidnap case to reorder his steps to God. I was dazed! I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. For him to turn around and say that I am fetish, it is amazing.”The musician also revealed that she suffered domestic violence in the hands of her ex.

“I would have still forgiven him as I always forgave him each time he walked out of the marriage and came back after a couple of months. But this last time, he held my neck tightly and said he was going to kill me. I was holding my two-month-old baby. He gave me a dirty slap and the baby was thrown out of my hand and the baby’s head hit the bed. It wasn’t the first time he would grab my neck and torment me.

He had beaten me a couple of times. But the last beating came with, ‘you are finished!’ he said he was done with me. Shortly before I gave birth, I had sold one of my lands. He gave me N100, 000 and said as I was going to the village; I should buy sand and concrete for the house he was building in the village. But I finished the money I got from selling my land on his building in the village. I loaned him N500, 000 and when trouble started and I needed money to feed the kids, I asked him for the money.

That was when he beat me, held my neck and said he was going to kill me and that I was finished. When he released me, I told him he was not God and that I was not finished. He packed out of the house and checked into a hotel. Once in a while, he would call the house help and tell her to dress the children and he would take them out and then he would send one of his girlfriends to bring back the kids. It was after this incident that I had to look for an agent and I begged her to book shows for me so that hunger would not kill me and my children since he had stopped taking care of us.”

Meanwhile, Saturday Beats reached out to Prince Eke to get his own side of the story, his phone was switched off. He did not acknowledge the text message that was also sent to him.

FG warns International Community to steer clear Nigeria’s internal problem

The Federal Government has warned the International Community against interfering in Nigeria‘s internal problem.

This warning follows the ongoing battle by the government to flush out the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) from the South East.

Senior Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Prosecution, Barrister Okoi Obono-Obla gave the order on Saturday when he spoke to us on telephone.

He said that other countries including Iraq have their problems and it was their governments that dealt with them.

“International Community cannot interfere with our internal affairs, every country has the right to control its internal affairs. In Iraq there is a problem there, the government is dealing with it, in Syria, the government is dealing with their problem and in the United States, there are problems which the US government is dealing with, so they cannot tell us how to deal with our own internal affairs,” Obla said.

He further said, “There is nothing like international community, it is a propaganda. If anything happens in Nigeria, the whole West African community will be destabilised. If the South East desire peace, they will have peace, the people should come out and condemn in totality what these miscreants called IPOB are doing, they should excommunicate them, we don’t need it.”

On the invasion of military in Aba, Obono-Obla said “The Military did not invade Aba, I disagree with you, and the President has the constitutional power to deploy the military to anywhere there is security reports of possible break down of law and order.

“The military’s job is to protect the territorial integrity of Nigeria and also to ensure that there is no internal break down of law and order. These people have been threatening and declared Cross River, Kogi, Benue, Rivers, Balyelsa, Akwa Ibom, Abia, Imo, and Anambra states as so called Republic of Biafra.”

“And they have been recruiting Biafra National Guards, recruiting Biafra security service and the President of the Country who has taken oath of office, who has swore by the constitution to defend the constitution, to defend Nigeria’s territorial integrity cannot fold his arms, so why do you call it an invasion, it is not, so if the military moves to Cross River to maintain law and order you call that an invasion, it is not please.”

“The action of IPOB is condemnable, it is stupid. For instance, I am from Cross River state; how can they declare Cross River state as part of the republic of Biafra without the consent of the people of the state, how can they declare Akwa Ibom as Biafra State,Delta, Edo, Kogi, Benue, as Biafra states, how can they declare any part of Nigeria as Biafra state? It is impossible and provocative,” he said.

The Special Adviser noted that, “They went ahead to form security forces, Biafra security forces, Biafra National Guard which is unconstitutional. The only approved security forces in Nigeria is the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Police, DSS, Civil Defence, you cannot form a militia group and say it’s your army, it is wrong, no nation can tolerate that.”

He said that the President has been very calm over this provocative act by IPOB , saying he has been very patient in the past two years. ”They have been blocking roads, collecting taxes, extorting money from people, flying Biafran flag all over the place, I mean these are all provocative act.


“They have been burning houses, burning police stations, attacking innocent Nigerians living in the South South and South East, these acts are tantamount to declaring war on the Federal Government. International community cannot interfere with our internal affairs, every country has the right to control its internal affairs,” he stressed.

Miss Ugochi Ihezue Has Been Crowned The 30th Most Beautiful Girl In Nigeria

From traditional wears to bikinis and to their gorgeous evening wears, in a keenly contested battle between 37 Queens who strutted the runway like the Queen that they crave to be, Miss Kebbi state, Ugochi Ihezue has been crowned the 30th Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria 2017.
The beauty pageant we've always looked out for every year, had 37 beautiful ladies mostly from the Eastern part of the country representing all the states of the nation before Miss Delta pulled out for 'personal' reasons.
Other winners winners include;
Fourth runner-up – Miss Bayelsa
Third runner-up/Miss ECOWAS – Miss Oyo
Second runner-up/Miss Tourism – Miss Plateau
First runner-up/MBGN Universe – Miss Sokoto
Miss Yobe was crowned Miss Amity
Best Costume – Miss Sokoto
Model of the year – Miss Kebbi
Best Evening wear – Miss Bayelsa
Miss Ugochi will be representing Nigeria at the Miss World Pageant holding in November in China.

Here are more photos from the event;