David Luiz: It's official, I'm a PSG player

The French club have agreed to pay Chelsea
£40m to acquire the Brazil international and he
has now revealed the deal is complete, while also
praising team-mate Thiago Silva
David Luiz has suggested that his move to Paris
Saint-Germain from Chelsea is official and says
he is excited to begin life in Ligue 1.
The French club struck a €49 million deal with the
Blues – a world-record for a defender – last week
and Luiz has now revealed he is excited to begin
the next chapter of his career in the French
capital, having already said his goodbye to
Stamford Bridge supporters .
"Yes, this is a new stage in my life, a new project
in a new country with a new language," he told
L'Equipe . "I was very happy at Chelsea, I won
major titles, I made friends, I gained everybody’s
respect, but I think I have come to the end of a
cycle.
"I will now begin another in Paris after the World
Cup. I am very pleased, it will be announced
when the transfer window opens and all
documents will be finalised, but we can now talk
and confirm that everything is okay. It's official:
I'm joining PSG and I'll be very happy.
"As I often say, I am privileged; I have played at
big clubs in beautiful cities,” he added. “I'll have
an opportunity to discover more with Paris Saint-
Germain in Paris.
"I cannot complain, I have to enjoy it and
represent PSG as best I can. I will try to achieve
our goals, win titles, and show who I really am.
This is what I want for my future at PSG."
Luiz will play alongside Brazil team-mate Thiago
Silva in the PSG defence – a factor he admits
influenced his decision to leave London.
"Of course he influenced my decision! Thiago is a
great friend, a great player but you know I didn’t
even need to clarify that.
"He is someone I get on really well with, and has
been a mate since the first time we met at the
national team. He is very friendly, he has a big
heart, he is humble and has the same dreams as
me... the only problem is that I'm going to spend
more time with him than with my family!
"It's fantastic to work with a player of his talent
every day, especially when he is such a wonderful
person."

World Economic Forum: Recounting The Benefits

Recently, Nigeria became the first West African
nation to host the World Economic Forum. The
event proved to the world that there is increasing
confidence in Nigeria’s growing economic
capacity, while the average Nigerian commonly
referred to as ‘mekunu’ see no relevance beyond
financial profligacy. Most critics hold the view
that the nation should have faced insecurity and
insurgency rather than bringing world leaders to
discuss global economic issues. On the other
hand, some Nigerians remain sanguine seeing this
as an opportunity to improve Nigeria’s economic
viability via the foreign investments and job
creation in an advancing economy.
The forum was designed with an objective of
enhancing the growth and development of African
nations through provision of massive
employment, rise of indigenous industries and
economic diversification amongst others. A key
success recorded was identification of local
industries that have the potential to compete with
global standards while capitalizing on innovation
to meet up with global best practices. This calls
for the Federal Government to adequately
articulate policies on investment thrust with a
view to engender local investor’s interest in the
economy. This will have a positive effect on the
Nigerian state, Africa and the world at large.
There might have not been a better time for
Nigeria to successfully host the World Economic
Forum than now. Nigeria recently overthrew South
Africa as Africa’s largest economy after a
rebasing exercise which translates to high
investment opportunities and possibilities. Before
then, the agricultural transformation agenda was
in place to boost productivity while the national
industrial revolution plan was just implemented to
enhance national competitiveness in the global
export market. Hence, there is need for
stakeholders to explore the opportunities of Public
Private Partnership which comes with this
landmark event.
Global Growth Companies (GGC) characterize a
section of the Nigerian industrial sector and as
well have a good record of industry standards in
revenue growth, leadership in corporate
citizenship and promotion of innovative business
ideas. It is an established fact that 6 out of these
GGCs are indigenous companies pertinently
driving steady economic growth via
entrepreneurship and job creation. If only
Nigerians do not see the big picture, then the
development will remain a premise without taking
necessary action to harness the vast
opportunities that came with hosting the World
Economic Forum.

10 Ways To Help Your Child Build Self-esteem

Anyone who has kids knows that they are both a
magical blessing and a constant source of stress.
Raising children requires a lot of work—just
feeding, cleaning and dressing them takes up a
good chunk of a parent’s time, and that’s before
we even begin to teach them about the world. It
is important to pass on good values to our little
ones, but even more importantly, we want them
to feel confident in their abilities and to have a
realistic, yet positive self-image. If you want to
help your child build self-esteem, try out some of
these strategies.
1. Talk to your child and find out if there are any
problems.
Effective communication is essential for building
healthy and lasting relationships. Being a child is
exiting, confusing and even scary at times, so
your child may have a lot of questions about the
world as well as fears and doubts. Other kids
might be mean to your child, the child may feel
inadequate in certain ways, and he or she may
feel insecure about their body or intimidated by
social interactions. It is important to establish
trust and let the child tell you why it may feel
unsure of itself, so you can work together on
finding a solution.
2. Help your child find an activity he or she feels
passionate about.
Some people are born with an incredible voice;
some have a good ear for music; others have the
bone structure and musculature that can make
them a great athlete; and some have a vast
imagination and a flare for story-telling. Find out
what your child’s natural talents are and help
them engage in activities they find the most fun.
3. Be forgiving to others and show your child that
compassion is a great virtue.
Everyone makes mistakes; it’s a part of maturing
and a necessary step in attaining wisdom. By
practicing forgiveness, you let your child now
that, although what they did was wrong for a
number of reasons, it’s quite alright to make a
mistake every now and then.
4. Teach your child to focus on building
meaningful relationships, look for happiness in
small things and strive for success.
Many people attain a certain level of wealth,
power and skill, yet they never conquer their fears
and remain unsure of themselves. Teach your
child about the value of true friendship and how
others can help make you stronger. Teach them
to turn to the hundreds of positive little things in
life when looking for happiness and to be
ambitious and persistent.
Failure is just an opportunity to come back even
stronger and with good friends there to back you
up, even your darkest moments can seem a bit
brighter. There is no better way to help your child
build high self-esteem than to show them the
value of having others who believe in you.
5. Teach children to set attainable goals.
Wanting to be the first man on Mars, a world
famous ballerina or a movie star are very
ambitious goals and show just how creative your
child can be, but they may be unattainable. It’s
not a good idea to shower your child with praise
all the time and give them an unrealistic image of
themselves and their abilities. Let them give
anything a shot, but if they clearly aren’t meant
to be a singer, don’t hesitate to tell them that. Be
easy on them and offer alternatives. Help them
formulate some short-term goals that are easily
attainable with some hard work and have these
smaller goals build up to something more long-
term but still within reach.
6. Teach your child how to be organized and how
to study for best results.
Many people believe that studying is all about
sitting down and staring at a book for hours. This
can lead to a child feeling frustrated and believing
that he or she isn’t smart enough to learn a
subject. Being organized is a skill that can be
learned. A child needs a good balance between
studying, doing their chores and having fun—a
balance that can only be achieved by organizing
their time effectively. Some subjects can be more
difficult for a child than others and they may have
problems when they feel they are racing against a
clock. Tests in particular can be stressful and
take all the fun out of learning.
7. Enroll your child in classes that focus on
physical activity.
A healthy mind in a healthy body, as the old
saying goes. Getting a good deal of physical
exercise during the day is not only beneficial to
your child’s health, but can also help them
develop strong and agile body that they can be
proud of.
Looking good and feeling good will help your child
build self-esteem, while playing a sport will enable
them to be around like-minded kids and improve
their social skills.
8. Play with your child whenever you get the
chance.
Some emotional and physical contact with others
on a daily basis is very important for a child.
Devote some time to listening to their stories,
engage in some creative activities and teach them
some valuable skills in the process.
Anything can be made into a game, so you have
plenty of opportunity to get your child used to
teamwork, problem solving and expressing
themselves freely.
9. Become a good role-model by practicing what
you preach
Kids simply soak up information from their
immediate surroundings and they will turn to you
as their main source of information on acceptable
behavior. Monkey see, monkey do is their main
strategy. Be sure that you show your child how
one should behave through actions; don’t just tell
them what they should do and then do the very
things you instructed them not to do.
If your child sees that their parents aren’t afraid
to express themselves, that they try to be good to
others and are very social and open with other
people, the child will emulate this confident
behavior in their lives.
10. Teach your child about responsibilities and
the value of hard work.
A child shouldn’t be held to the same high
standards as adults, but they should understand
that their actions affect others and that there are
people who count on them. If the child
understands why it’s necessary for them to do
their chores and that it takes hard work to earn a
living, he or she will have a different outlook on
life. Children are often happy to help out their
parents and feel proud when they contribute.
Older kids can look after smaller kids during the
day, a child can help their parents in the kitchen,
they can help with home repairs (even if it just
means handing tools to dad), and they can clean
the house and help organize events.
Note: When it comes to helping your kids build
self-esteem, it’s important to remember to
communicate, spend some time with your child
and allow them to make their own choices, while
at the same time nudging them in the right
direction.

Watching Too Much Indecency Shrinks Men’s Brains

Researchers have found less grey matter in the
brains of men who watched large amounts of
sexually explicit material, according to a new
study.
The research, which appeared in the journal JAMA
Psychiatry, could not determine if Indecency
actually caused the brain to shrink however, and
the authors called for additional study on the
topic.
"Future studies should investigate the effects of
Indecency longitudinally or expose naive
participants to Indecency and investigate the
causal effects over time," said researchers at the
Max Planck Institute for Human Development in
Berlin.
The institute recruited 64 male subjects aged
between 21 and 45, "with a broad range of
Indecency consumption".
The men were not told initially that the research
was monitoring their brains on Indecency, rather
that it was "a scientific study including magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) measurements".
The men filled out surveys, describing how much
Indecency they watched. Their responses
averaged a little more than four hours per week.
Their brains were scanned with MRI technology
while they were shown sexually explicit images
from Indecency websites, along with non-intimate
images of people exercising.
"Our findings indicated that gray matter volume of
the right caudate of the striatum is smaller with
higher Indecency use," said the study.
Furthermore, when sexually explicit material was
shown, the men's MRIs showed diminished
function in a part of the brain that processes
motivation.
But were men with smaller striatums seeking
more Indecency, or did more Indecency make the
brain smaller? Was it a consequence, or a
precondition?
"Individuals with lower striatum volume may need
more external stimulation to experience pleasure
and might therefore experience Indecency
consumption as more rewarding, which may in
turn lead to" more Indecency watching, said the
authors, concluding that more study is needed.

Tortures A Programmers Deals With Daily!

Being a programmer is a tough job. You're
overworked, underpaid and mostly misunderstood.
That's a tough position to be in. But what can
you do right? People just don't understand!
Since we have a reader base that consists of both
programmers and non-programmers, here's a
shot at making things easier for you code guys.
Read and understand people!
1. Re-learning Javascript
You have a full arsenal of languages under your
belt. Clojure, C++, Java and many others have
been conquered, but your boss still wants you to
code in Javascript. Why? Because it’s in! Now go
learn it!
2. Switching frameworks
Programmers usually work in teams. Now each
team is working with a different framework and
when they have to work together, the boss
invariably chooses the framework that you are not
used to. If not that, then they just want to
change the framework in order to refresh the
code. There’s always something and you’re
pulled out of your comfort zone.
3. The age 23
It’s not a good age for a programmer. Yes, it’s
not that old, but does any employer understand
that? No. They think you’re too old and will be
planning to get married soon. They’re more
interested in 19-20 year olds.
4. iOS
Now go and add another language to your
arsenal. Writing for iOS means you have to know
Objective C. Why? Because it’s Apple and they
like to do things differently! Moral of the story –
writing for iOS is frustrating. Enough said.
5. New machines
Projects have different caveats to them. Some
projects may be based on a particular library DLL,
while others may be using a compiler that runs on
a particular OS only. There could be still others,
which use utilities, some of which run on one OS
and the others on another. You see why setting
up a new machine can be a nightmare?
6. Startups
You desperately need a job and a startup
desperately wants to hire you. That’s good right?
Here’s the problem, they can’t pay you. They
want to give you stock options so that you can
be rich when they become big. It’s a facepalm
moment isn’t it?
7. Being hip
Programmers are hip, just not in the way that the
public perceives. But that’s exactly the point.
They wouldn’t have spent half of their lives
learning to code in millions of languages if being
hip was their goal. Next time someone talks to
you about being hip, you’ll be irritated, but calm
yourself by remembering this article and knowing
that we understand and there are others like us.
8. Check check check
Yes, triple checking your code is important, but
that doesn’t stop it from being irritating.
Especially when you find something that needs an
older fix to be changed because of it!
9. Tech support
Your family will never understand that
programming and tech support aren’t the same
things. You work with a computer all day! You
should be able to provide tech support to them.
Again, we understand what you feel.

Update Of Kidnap Emirs.- One Dies, The Other Escapes While Fleeing

Competent security sources confirmed that the
Gwoza emir is dead.
Some sources said he died of heart attack while
fleeing into the bush after the gunmen had fired
several vehicles at their vehicle which forced it to
stop.
“Already, arrangement is being made to bring his
corpse to Gwoza from Shafa. His corpse was
found in the bush,” a source said.
The emir of Uba, who is said to be younger had
escaped while many of the people in their
entourage have been reportedly abducted by the
attackers.
It was gathered that most of the vehicles in the
convoy have been set ablaze.
Latest story from Uba Emirate indicates that the
emir, Alhaji Ali Ibn Ismaila Mamza has narrowly
escaped.
One of his in-laws confirmed to Daily Trust
that  he spoke with the emir by phone who
confirmed to him that he was ok.
However, there is no certainty on the where about
of Emir of Gwoza, Ahaji Idrissa Timta.
It was gathered that the two of them were in the
same car when the suspected gunmen ambushed
them.
“The vehicle was repeatedly shot at while the
driver was making endless efforts to flee. When
the vehicle could  no longer move, the two
monarchs opened the doors and fled into the
bush,” a palace source in Uba, said.
But a source in Gwoza said “We are yet to hear
much information on the state of our emir…we
are confused,” he said

Not until you open t*t*

Nollywood producer-director, Charles Novia has
condemned singer Tiwa Savage‘s new music
video.
The Nigerian Pop singer released her much talked
about racy video ‘Wanted’ on May 28, 2014. It
has garnered over 60,000 views in less than 24
hours. The visuals directed by Mr Moe Musa in
the UK can best be described as sexually
suggestive.
Many including Novia has disapproved of the
content.
On Twitter, the director wrote, ‘Rihanna and
Beyonce and all other Yankee gals doing the
Unclad video stuff at least have originality in their
insanity. This one is…smh‘.
He also complained about the source of Nigerian
artists’ inspiration. ‘Rihanna exposes her bosoms
and booty and a mad fever grips almost every
female act in Nigeria to also show their own t*t*.
Haba!’ and advised that the thin line between art
and lewdness be maintained. ‘When you start
exposing punanies & manlinesses in d name of
silly ‘art’ , then those shouting ‘hypocrisy’ shd let
their kids go Unclad to sch‘, he said.

Suicide in ISLAM view

Narrated Anas bin Malik: The Prophet (peace be
upon him) said, “None of you should wish for
death because of a calamity befalling him; but if
he has to wish for death, he should say: “O Allah!
Keep me alive as long as life is better for me, and
let me die if death is better for me.’ ”
Sahih Al-Bukhari – Book 70 Hadith 575
Narrated Thabit bin Ad Dahhak: The Prophet
(peace be upon him) said, “Whoever intentionally
swears falsely by a religion other than Islam, then
he is what he has said, (e.g. if he says, ‘If such
thing is not true then I am a Jew,’ he is really a
Jew). And whoever commits suicide with piece of
iron will be punished with the same piece of iron
in the Hell Fire.” Narrated Jundab, the Prophet
(peace be upon him) said, “A man was inflicted
with wounds and he committed suicide, and so
Allah said: My slave has caused death on himself
hurriedly, so I forbid Paradise for him.”
Sahih Al-Bukhari – Book 23 Hadith 445
Narrated Abu Huraira: We witnessed (the battle
of) Khaibar. Allah’s Apostle said about one of
those who were with him and who claimed to be
a Muslim,”This (man) is from the dwellers of the
Hell-Fire.” When the battle started, that fellow
fought so violently and bravely that he received
plenty of wounds. Some of the people were about
to doubt (the Prophet’s Statement), but the man,
feeling the pain of his wounds, put his hand into
his quiver and took out of it, some arrows with
which he slaughtered himself (i.e. committed
suicide). Then some men amongst the Muslims
came hurriedly and said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Allah
has made your Statement true; so-and-so has
committed suicide.” The Prophet (peace be upon
him) said, “O so-and-so! Get up and make an
announcement that none but a believer will enter
Paradise and that Allah may support the religion
with an unchaste (evil) wicked man.”
Sahih Al-Bukhari – Book 59 Hadith 515

Most beautiful female politicians in Nigeria

ost of our female politicians are not just powerful but beautiful too.

They get all the attention whenever they step out to grace events. 

Here are the top most beautiful Nigerian females politicians. 

1) DAISY DANJUMA 

Senator Daisy Danjuma is a very pretty woman. She is 61 years, yet can still beat ladies under 30 in beauty pageants if she were to contest with them.

2) GBEMISOLA SARAKI 

Senator Gbemisola Saraki is always a beauty to behold. Her beauty is not exaggerated. 

3) BIANCA OJIKWU 

Bianca a former beauty queen is a top member of APGA and Nigerian ambassador to Spain. Bianca's beauty is like a fairy tale.

4) DIEZANI ALISON MADUEKE 

The minister of petroleum resources is such a beautiful woman with sexy eyes.

5) OLUREMI TINUBU 

Senator Oluremi Tinubu is a pretty woman. The former Lagos state first lady always stuns.

6) TURAI YARADUAH 

The immediate past first lady of Nigeria, Turai is quite a beautiful woman. 

7) OLUFUNSO AMOSUN 

Ogun state first lady, Mrs Amosun is a stunner. 

 NGOZI OKONJO IWEALA 

The finance minister is a beautiful woman, whose preference for Ankra material, beauty and brain always stand her out. 

9) PATIENCE JONATHAN 

The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan is a beautiful woman. Mama Peace is a pretty and simple woman with a good heart. Her beauty radiates from inside and then to outside. 

10) STELLA ODUAH 

The immediate past minister of Aviation is a very beautiful woman who knows that she is quite pretty and knows how to flaunt her beautiful face and sexy eyes. 

11) KEMA CHIKWE 

The PDP national women leader and former ambassador and former aviation minister is a pretty woman. 

12) NNENNA UKEJE 

The Federal House of Representative member, Nnenna Ukeje is such a beautiful young lady . The Alayi, Abia state born woman always stuns whenever she makes appearances at functions. 

13) JUDITH AMAECHI 

Rivers state first lady Mrs Judith Amaechi is quite beautiful, no doubt about that. 

14) ABIKE DABARE EREWA 

The NTA big babe turned politician is a black beauty. The Federal House of Representative member has beauty and brain. 

15) OMOBA JOHNSON 

Nigeria’s Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs

Omobola Johnson is a beauty to behold. 

16) NENADI USMAN 

Senator Nenadi Usman is a beautiful woman indeed. 

17) FLORENCE AJIMOBI 

The Oyo State first lady, Mrs Florence

Ajimobi just have to be on this list because of her obvious beauty.

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we're Fighting Al-qaeda Not Boko Haram —

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, on Wednesday, said the ongoing counter-terrorism and counter- insurgency war has gone beyond Boko Haram Islamic sect to a broader war against Al-Qeada terror networks in North and West Africa. Badeh stated this in Abuja, when the Social Welfare Network Initiative (SWNI), a coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) and community-based non-governmental organisations in Nigeria paid him a solidarity visit at Defence Headquarters. The CDS said the military and Federal Government were in a serious war far bigger than confronting Boko Haram, saying that Al- Qeada was now fully in charge of terrorist activities in the country. He, however, assured that despite the “formidable nature of the global terror network,” Nigeria will defeat them, while giving further assurance that the kidnapped Chibok girls will be rescued. “I will say this to you, we are fighting more than Boko Haram. We are no longer fighting Boko Haram but Al-Qaeda in North and West Africa. Al-Qaeda is formidable, but we will defeat them. As for our girls, we will bring them back,” he said. Speaking further, Badeh warned those attacking the military to desist from doing so. He said the scathing attacks and unconstructive criticisms against the military could be counter- productive and impact negatively on the security of the country. Earlier, the national coordinator of SWNI, Mr Emmanuel Osemeka, had assured members of the Armed Forces of their support, saying that “we are not worried about our capacity to prosecute this war, as we are all witnesses to the exploits of our military in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and many other African countries in the recent past.

U.S Urged France To Cancel The Sale Of Two Advanced Helicopter Carrier To Russia

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawmakers urged
France on Thursday to cancel the sale of two
advanced helicopter carrier ships to Russia and
suggested that NATO buy or lease them instead.
"The purchase would send a strong signal to
(Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin that the
NATO allies will not tolerate or in any way enable
his reckless moves," they said in a letter to NATO
Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen
obtained by Reuters.
Washington and some European partners have
been urging Paris to reconsider its supply of high-
tech military hardware to Moscow following
Russian action in Ukraine, including its annexation
of the Crimean peninsula in March.
Purchasing the ships would also enhance NATO's
capabilities at a time when many members have
been cutting defense expenditures, and reassure
NATO partners in Central and Eastern Europe, the
lawmakers said.
Signers of the letter included U.S. Representative
Eliot Engel of New York, the top Democrat on the
House of Representatives Foreign Affairs
Committee; Representative Michael Turner of
Ohio, chairman of the U.S. delegation to the
NATO Parliamentary Assembly; and
Massachusetts Representative William Keating,
the top Democrats on the House Europe
subcommittee.
France has said it would press ahead with the
deal because cancelling would do more damage
to Paris than to Moscow. The contract, worth
$1.66 billion, has created about 1,000 jobs and
includes the option for two more of the advanced
vessels.
Four other U.S. lawmakers wrote to Obama
earlier this month urging him to oppose the sale
of the Mistral ships, which can carry 16
helicopters, four landing craft, 60 armored
vehicles, 13 tanks and up to 700 soldiers.
A spokesman for Democratic U.S. Senator Mark
Warner of Virginia, who signed that letter, said he
was unaware of any response.
The 2011 French sale was Moscow's first major
foreign arms purchase in the two decades since
the fall of the Soviet Union. Former French
President Nicolas Sarkozy had hailed the signing
of the Mistral contract as evidence the Cold War
was over.
The first carrier, the Vladivostok, is due to be
delivered by the last quarter of 2014. The second,
to be delivered by 2016, is named Sebastopol,
after the Crimean seaport.

Jonathan’s Sponsored Protesters Attack Ezekwesili’s Group With Machetes In Abuja

#BringBackOurGirls: Jonathan’s Sponsored
Protesters Attack Ezekwesili’s Group With
Machetes In Abuja
Posted: May, 28 2014, 2:05PM
Former minister Oby
Hell was let loose today at the Unity Fountain in
Abuja as a government-sponsored
#ReleaseOurGirlsNow protesters used axes,
machetes and cudgels to disrupt the rally of a
group led by former Minister Oby Ezekwesili that
is demanding more serious action by the
Jonathan administration to rescue more than 200
schoolgirls abducted April 14 from their
dormitories in Chibok, Bornu State.
SaharaReporters had reported recently that the
government-funded group of protesters was
organized to undermine efforts by the Ezekwesili-
led group that feels the Jonathan administration
has done too little, too late to find and save the
abducted girls. The mandate of the government-
sponsored group is to change the conversation by
laying exclusive blame on the Islamist group,
Boko Haram, that carried out the abductions.
Several eyewitnesses told SaharaReporters that
the group organized by allies of Mr. Jonathan
wielded dangerous weapons to intimidate those
who were protesting government ineptitude
alongside Ms. Ezekwesili, a former minister in the
administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo. In
addition, the pro-government group destroyed
chairs and smashed journalists’ cameras.
The #BringBackOurGirls campaigners led by Ms.
Ezekwesili had gathered peacefully at the fountain
early this morning to press their case for more
focused action by the government. However, they
got the shock of their lives when an armed gang
from the rival group stormed the same venue
came to interrupt them. The gangsters marched
round the circle of the Ezekwesili group blowing
whistles and chanting abusive songs.
Then, as a cameraman from AFP news agency
recorded Ms. Ezekwesili’s speech to her group,
the members of the government-created group
attacked him, smashing his camera. They also
broke chairs the protesters had brought, seized
numerous mobile phones from their owners, and
beat up some members of the Ezekwesili group. A
source said anti-riot police who were at the
scene turned a blind eye as the hoodlums carried
out their attacks.
“The policemen were there and did nothing even
when our attackers started smoking India hemp
[marijuana] openly at the fountain right in front of
them,” one of the protesters told
SaharaReporters. He added that many of the
protesters sustained various injuries.
Ms. Ezekwesili told a reporter that her group had
sent a letter to the Inspector General of Police as
well as the Commissioner of Police for the Federal
Capital Territory to apprise them of their plan to
hold a series of peaceful rallies to draw attention
to the plight of the Chibok schoolgirls and their
families. She showed a copy of an
acknowledgement from the police, indicating that
the group had received approval for their protests
at the Unity Fountain.
The former minister expressed her displeasure
with the indifferent attitude of the Nigerian police
which allowed thugs from another group to attack
members of her group. She pleaded with
members of her group not to be deterred by the
attack, describing it as the handiwork of
detractors who were hell bent on scuttling their
efforts.
The Ezekwesili group has scheduled another event
for Thursday, May 29 to mark Democracy Day.
The venue will be ThisDay Dome, a few meters
away from the Unity Fountain.
SaharaReporters disclosed a few days ago that
the pro-Jonathan group had been recruited from
various villages and slums around Abuja and
given a mandate to pose as patriots who contend
that the government has risen to the challenge of
finding the missing girls. The Chief of Defense
Staff, Alex Badeh, and other top military officers,
held a high-profile meeting with the pro-
government group at the Eagle Square.

Amosun weeps over conditions of prisoners in Ogun

MAY 29, 2014 BY NAN
Gov. Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State on Thursday
broke into tears at the pitiable sight of inmates at
Oba prison in Abeokuta.
Amosun, who had earlier granted amnesty to 15
inmates at Ibara prison also in Abeokuta, could
not hold back his emotions at Oba prison over
what he described as the “inhuman condition” to
which the inmates were subjected.
The governor was informed that majority of the
492 inmates on awaiting trial list at the prison
had spent between four and seven years in jail.
He ordered immediate medical attention for the
inmates with critical medical conditions and
directed that others should be taken to the
hospital.
While conceding that prison services was under
the control of the Federal Government, Amosun
said it would be irresponsible of any leader to
neglect the conditions of prison inmates.
He expressed dismay at the deplorable state of
prisons saying it would not enhance rehabilitation
of inmates.
“I have come to share today with them and see if
I can commit death sentences passed on some of
them to life imprisonment based on the
recommendations from relevant quarters.
“I think it is a big shame and I feel so ashamed
really that I am a governor in this kind of
condition that I have seen.
“It is clear that these people are traumatised and
dehumanised under this very appalling condition.
“The condition here is like sending someone to an
early grave,” he said and promised to pay regular
visits to prisons.

Lagos Police, FERMA Task Force Men Clash

There was pandemonium on Wednesday as
policemen attached to the Lagos State Taskforce
on Environmental and Special Offences
(Enforcement) Unit and officials of the Subsidy
Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme/
Federal Road Maintenance Agency Task Force
clashed in the Toll Gate area of the state.
Over 200 FERMA task force officials were arrested
and clamped in three Black Marias brought by the
police into the camp of the federal workers.
PUNCH Metro, who witnessed the event as it
unfolded, noted that at about 10.15am, the state
task force, led by the Chairman of the state task
force, Bayo Sulaiman, a Chief Superintendent of
Police, stormed the FERMA task force camp.
The policemen fired two tear gas canisters into
the camp and followed them with gun shots.
The action created confusion in the camp, making
it easy for the policemen to arrest some workers
constructing a fence in the camp as others took
to their heels.
Some of the federal officers, however, launched a
reprisal by throwing stones and bottles at the
policemen.
The state taskforce men responded by firing
another round of tear gas canisters that sent
everyone scurrying for safety.
Commuters on the Ketu Ikosi Road, were forced
to change direction while the bombardment
lasted.
A few of the FERMA task force men were seen
changing into muftis to avoid being arrested.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the crisis was
caused when the driver of a Sienna vehicle,
Timothy Uko, earlier arrested for a traffic offence
in Ketu, drove into the FERMA camp at the Toll
Gate area and was shielded from arrest.
One of the witnesses, who pleaded anonymity,
said, “The Lagos State Traffic Management
Authority officials arrested the man for driving on
BRT lane. They handed him over to the task force
men.
‘When he drove into the FERMA camp, they were
prevented from taking him away. The policemen
called for reinforcement.”
A policeman attached to the task force, however,
told our correspondent that the FERMA men also
beat up the policemen that were escorting the
driver to Alausa.
He said, “The FERMA taskforce officials attacked
the policemen with planks and bottles, inflicting
injuries on them.”
A FERMA task force official, who identified himself
simply as Savage, described the incident as
frightening.
Savage, a graduate of the Lagos State University,
said, “I joined the federal force because I needed
a job. The form was free, but the uniform was
sold for N35, 000. We have been training and
preparing, but with this attack, I don’t think I
want to continue.”
In his reaction, Sulaiman said, “They beat up our
men and held them hostage. We will not allow
them to take over our function. We arrested over
100 of them. If we allow this to go unchecked, it
will be worse next time.”
The driver of the Sienna bus said he did not know
any FERMA task force official, but decided to drive
into the camp to beg the policemen who arrested
him.
Uko, who was beaten up by the police for causing
the crisis, was also arrested.
Some of the federal task force officials, however,
said those that attacked the policemen had fled
and only the innocent ones were being held.
But the National Publicity Director of SURE-P/
FERMA Task Force, Mr. Olawale Oyeboh,
described the attack as an invasion by “LASTMA,
police and suspected thugs of the All Progressives
Cong

U.S university students to study Brymo as project course

Nigerian artist Brymo has joined fellow musicians
such as Kanye West, Jay Z, Miley Cyrus, and
Beyonce in becoming part of the curriculum at an
American university.
Some undergraduate communication studies
students of the Southern Illinois University,
Carbondale, have reportedly chosen to study
Brymo as part of their project. The students are
working on a project ‘Speech Communication 101’
and wish to use the singer as a case study for
their project, after presenting a paper on his
smash hit ‘Down’.
‘Just last month, our Communication students
did lyrics decomposition of Brymo’s song titled
‘Down’. Success of the studies has prompted us
to do further and more detailed studies of you,
your music and your story. I write to inform you
that as part of our yearly project work, my
students will be studying you (your personality
and music),’ said the notice, sent from the
department of Communication Studies to Brymo
and his management, and exclusively obtained by
NET.
The students, through the letter, have requested
the presence of the singer at the University in
August 2014 for the final assessment at the end
of the project/programme.
As part of the project, students presented a paper
on the lyrics deconstruction of Brymo’s hit single
‘Down’ off his recent album Merchant Dealers
and Slaves....

Russia and china sign deal to bypass U.S dollar

In a symbolic blow to U.S. global financial
hegemony, Russia and China took a small step
toward undercutting the domination of the U.S.
dollar as the international reserve currency on
Tuesday when Russia’s second biggest financial
institution, VTB, signed a deal with the Bank of
China to bypass the dollar and pay each other in
domestic currencies.
The so-called Agreement on Cooperation —
signed in the presence of Chinese President Xi
Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who
is on a visit to Shanghai — was followed by the
long-awaited announcement on Wednesday of a
massive natural gas deal 10 years in the making.
“Our countries have done a huge job to reach a
new historic landmark,” Putin said on Tuesday,
making note of the $100 billion in annual trade
that has been achieved between the two
countries.
Demand for the dollar, which has long served as a
safe and reliable reserve currency in international
transactions, has allowed the U.S. to borrow
almost unlimited cash and spend well beyond its
means, which some economists say has afforded
the United States an outsize influence on world
affairs.
But the BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India,
China and South Africa, a bloc of the world’s five
major emerging economies — have long sought to
diminish their dependence on the dollar as a
means of reshaping the world financial and
geopolitical order. In the absence of a viable
alternative, however, replacing it has proved
difficult.
For its part, “China sees the dominance of the
dollar in international trade transactions as a
remnant of American global dominance, which
they hope to overthrow in the years ahead,” said
Michael Klare, a professor of peace and world
security studies at Hampshire College. “This is a
small step in that direction, to reduce the primacy
of the dollar in international trade.”
Some have been tempted to view Tuesday's deal
in the context of Putin's showdown with the West
over the crisis in Ukraine. After the U.S. and
Europe imposed sanctions on Moscow for its
annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, Putin
may have finally made good on promised
retaliation against what he views as Western
hegemony in Russia's near abroad.
“Breaking the dominance of the U.S. dollar in
international trade between the BRICS is
something that the group has been talking about
for some time,” said Chris Weafer, a founding
partner of Macro-Advisory, a consultancy in
Moscow. “The Ukraine crisis and the threats
voiced by the U.S. administration may well
provide the catalyst for that to start happening.”
To be sure, the Russia-China bank deal is mostly
a symbolic step. Liza Ermolenko, an emerging
markets economist at Capital Economics in
London, said that the deal was still “a very small
one, in the grand scale of things,” and that it
wouldn’t change Russia’s reliance on the dollar
“overnight.” Most of Russia’s export contracts in
the oil and gas markets are still priced in dollars,
she noted, and on a wider scale, replacing the
dollar with the ruble is much too risky to even
consider.
Likewise, even though China has agreed to the
gas deal, which could see over $450 billion of
Russian natural gas flow from eastern Siberia
into China over the next 30 years, Russia is not in
a position to abandon its ties with Europe.
"From the commercial standpoint, Europe is the
most profitable market for Gazprom,” said Mikhail
Korchemkin, the founder of Eastern European Gas
Analysis, who has consulted for Gazprom, the
Russian state-owned gas company. "Exports to
China can generate a small profit, [but] only if the
government makes it free of taxes and duties.”
But the bank deal is another indicator that Russia
and China are in the middle of a wider
rapprochement, which analysts say is premised
not on ideological alignment but on a mutual
desire to undercut the U.S. in their respective
spheres of influence.
Both countries are wary of President Barack
Obama’s “pivot east,” a recalibration of U.S.
foreign policy away from decades of war in the
Middle East and toward the fast-growing
economies of the East. Cynical observers have
interpreted the shift as an effort to contain China.
"This is a marriage of mutual strategic interests,
not a marriage of love," said Klare. “China wants
energy and weapons from Russia, and Russia
wants diplomatic backing and cash. It’s a quid
pro quo.”
Yet even if China feels threatened by U.S.
encroachment, it is Russia that is desperately
pursuing closer ties with China.
Putin may have gotten the better of the Western
powers in the showdown over Crimea, but at the
cost of growing geopolitical isolation. Under
intense pressure to demonstrate Russia's avowed
independence from the West, he has repeatedly
threatened that he could simply shut off its
natural gas pipelines to Europe and find new
markets for Russian energy exports.
Separate from that political posturing, the
Russian imperative to find new markets for its
energy exports is nonetheless very real. Energy
demands in Europe have plateaued and may even
decline in the long term because of stringent
environmental regulations.
“If Russia wants to continue to be a petrostate, it
has to shift marketing of its exports to Asia," said
Klare, who noted that Western energy
conglomerates like ExxonMobil have begun doing
the same.
“We don’t want to push this too far and see it as
a formation of a new, global anti-American bloc
that is starting a new Cold War,” he added. "This
is market-driven more than it’s political."