President Jonathan In Secret Get-Away Out Of Abuja To See Ailing Wife

President Goodluck Jonathan

A plane with President Goodluck Jonathan has reportedly left Nigeria's capital, Abuja, several hours before the Nigerian leader was scheduled to depart to New York to attend this year's United Nations General Assembly. SaharaReporters learnt that the secretive maneuver meant that the president was most likely headed for Germany to see his ailing wife.

“There has been a great measure of secrecy surrounding the president’s departure,” said a source close to the Presidency. “I believe that Mr. President will stop over in Germany to see the First Lady before arriving in New York.”

Mrs. Patience Jonathan is spending her fourth week in a hospital in Wiesbaden, Germany.

A Saharareporters source in Germany disclosed that German authorities cleared a Nigerian presidential jet to travel last night out of Abuja.

Earlier today, the Presidency issued a statement to the effect that Mr. Jonathan would head for New York accompanied by a delegation of several Nigerian officials including state governors and presidential aides. SaharaReporters had earlier reported that the governors of Bauchi and Akwa Ibom are included on Mr. Jonathan’s delegation.

A source in Abuja told our correspondent that presidential aide Oronto Douglas and Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State were recently added to the delegation.

SaharaReporters had also disclosed that German doctors ruled out the prospect of Mrs. Jonathan making the trip to New York. “Once the president heard that the First Lady cannot make it to New York, he began to plan how to make a secret trip to Germany to her,” said a source in Abuja.

In a bid to deflect attention from his stopover in Germany, Mr. Jonathan decided to travel to New York in two separate jets. The first plane, which is being used as a decoy, was to take the president to Germany on a secret mission to see his wife while the second jet will leave Nigeria and head straight to New York sometime tomorrow.

A source at the Presidency disclosed that it was unusual for the president to travel with two presidential jets. The only exceptions were when the First Lady insisted on traveling with a separate delegation, a major source of waste in the Presidency.

President Jonathan frequently travels either on a Boeing 737-7N6 business jet with tail number 5N-FGT or a newer jet, a Gulfstream G550 with tail number 5N-FGW. The Gulfstream was bought in April 2011.

JTF Imposes 24Hour Curfew on Damaturu, Potiskum, Conducts House To House Search For Boko Haram Members

JTF

The Joint Task Force (JTF) on Friday imposed a 24-hour curfew on the towns of Damaturu and Potiskum in Yobe State and conducted an unprecedented house-to-house search for members of the Jama’atu Alus sunna Lilda wati Wal Jihad, also known as Boko Haram, to be conducted.

A top security source who disclosed this to SaharaReporters said that the operations became inevitable and has yielded positive results about the hideouts of members of the sect, who have been shuttling between such Northern cities as Maiduguri, Kano, Bauchi and Gombe.

The development is coming barely one week after the JTF killed one and captured two top commanders who were attempting to enter Kano from their Maiduguri enclave.  “Abdul Qaqa,” the group’s spokesman, is one of those reported to have been involved in that incident.  While it is not known whether he was killed or captured, he has not been heard of since then.

A journalist in Damaturu confirmed that the Yobe State search announcement by JTF was aired several times on the radio on Friday, adding that today, he heard several gunshots in Damaturu and environs.

SaharaReporters has also learned that on the boundaries of Kaduna and Kano State armed and plain clothes security personnel are continued with their operations in search of Boko Haram members fleeing Kano into some parts of Kaduna State.  Immigration checking, it was gathered, has also been strengthened on Kaduna, Kano and Katsina routes.

Forbes 10 Richest People in America

1. Bill Gates

$66 billion (UP)

Source: Microsoft

Age: 56

Residence: Medina, Washington

The planet’s most generous person --he’s given away $28 billion so far -- has a new obsession: building a better toilet for those without water or sewage systems. Every year 1.5 million children die from food and water tainted with fecal matter, more than the annual deaths from AIDS and malaria combined. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is also spearheading a malaria vaccine that is showing promise in clinical trials. Gates’ net worth climbed $7 billion since last year on the strength of Microsoft shares, which rose 20%, and on gains from investments in private equity, bonds and stocks such as hygiene tech firm Ecolab and Mexican TV broadcaster Televisa. He continues to sell shares of Microsoft--he shed 80 million in the past year, about 15% of his stake--so that now just one-fifth of his net worth stems from the software company he cofounded 37 years ago. Gates and his good friend Warren Buffett continue to recruit new members to their Giving Pledge—so far 91 people, including 10 new signatories, have taken the pledge to donate at least half of their fortune to charity, in life or death.

2. Warren Buffett

$46 billion (UP)

Source: Berkshire Hathaway

Age: 82

Residence: Omaha, Nebraska

Buffett recently completed radiation treatment for prostate cancer, five months after he notified Berkshire Hathaway shareholders of his condition, assuring them that it was “not remotely life-threatening.” Still, he has gotten his house in order. In December, he chose his farmer son, Howard, as the future non-executive chairman and “guardian of the firm’s values.” In February, he said he’d picked his CEO replacement but has declined to give a name. He’s also stepping up philanthropically. He gave $1.5 billion to the Gates Foundation in July, bringing his total giving to $17.25 billion. On his birthday in August, he pledged $3 billion of stock to his children’s foundations. His fortune is up $7 billion as class A shares jumped more than 20% since last year. After studying under Benjamin Graham at Columbia Business School, Buffett offered to work for his former professor’s investment partnership, Graham-Newman Corporation, for free. According to Buffett, “he turned me down as overvalued.” It was only after several years of “pestering” that the father of value investing agreed to take on the younger man in 1954. When Graham retired two years later, Buffett returned to Nebraska to launch his own partnership. In 1962, Buffett began buying up shares of a struggling textile company called Berkshire Hathaway. Though Buffett has called Berkshire “the dumbest stock” he ever bought, the firm has long since shed its textile assets and today serves as Buffett’s famed investment vehicle. In May, Berkshire snapped up dozens of local newspapers from Media General after announcing a deal for the Omaha World-Herald in November 2011.

3. Larry Ellison

$41 billion (UP)

Source: Oracle

Age: 68

Residence: Woodside, California

Despite ongoing legal battles with such rivals as SAP, HP and Google, shares of Oracle, the software firm Ellison has run for 35 years, were up 20% in the past 12 months. He was the year’s biggest dollar gainer, adding $8 billion to his net worth. He spent a reported $500 million to buy 98% of Hawaiian island of Lanai from David Murdock in June. His other passion, yachting, is making its mark on San Francisco as anticipation builds for the 2013 America’s Cup. Ellison, who signed on to the Gates-Buffett Giving Pledge in 2010, has thus far donated $445 million, mostly via Oracle stock, to his Ellison Medical Foundation, which supports research on aging and age-related diseases. His latest gift to the foundation was 1.6 million shares of Oracle--worth $45 million--in April.

4. Charles Koch (tie)

$31 billion (UP)

Source: Diversified

Age: 76

Residence: Wichita, Kansas

The head of the nation’s second biggest private company, $115 billion (sales) Koch Industries, Charles Koch continues to pay down debt and generate rich cash flow.  By Forbes’ estimates the Wichita, Kansas company, with interests in chemicals, refining and Georgia Pacific, which makes Brawny paper towels and Dixie cups, is now worth $75 billion, pushing up Koch’s own net worth by $6 billion in the past year. A well-known libertarian, he gives $40 million plus a year to his foundation, which gives grants to colleges and universities to study "market-based tools that enable individuals, institutions and societies to prosper." He also helped found the Cato Institute, which he sued last year but the parties settled, and the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, both bastions of free-market and libertarian scholarship. And he's busy funding groups designed to raise a new generation of free-market entrepreneurs, including Youth Entrepreneurs Kansas, which teaches entrepreneurship to about 1,000 high school students each year; and the Bill of Rights Institute, which runs programs to educate teachers and students on the importance of the Constitution in "securing our liberty as Americans.”

5. David Koch (tie)

$31 billion (UP)

Source: Diversified

Age: 72

Residence: New York City

Manhattan’s richest resident David Koch is full of surprises: The New York delegate at the Republican National Convention told Politico that week that he believes in gay marriage and in raising taxes to pay down the federal debt. Earlier in the year, he and his brother Charles had sued the conservative Cato Institute, which they helped found in 1977, over issues of control; the parties later settled. Despite any drama, Koch Industries, the second largest privately held company in the U.S. with interests in pipelines, refineries, fertilizer and consumer products like Brawny paper towel and Dixie cups, continues to generate rich cash flow and pay down debt.  David, who is executive vice president, is worth $6 billion more this year thanks to an increase in the company’s value. A prostate cancer survivor, he says his biggest philanthropic contributions so far go toward a “moon shot” campaign to finding a cure for cancer, to which he’s donated more than $200 million.

6. Christy Walton & family

$27.9 billion (UP)

Source: Wal-Mart

Age: 57

Residence: Jackson, Wyoming

Wal-Mart widow Christy Walton is the richest woman in the United States once again. She inherited her wealth when husband John Walton, a former Green Beret and Vietnam War medic, died in an airplane crash in 2005. John’s investment in First Solar had boosted Christy’s net worth well above the rest of her family, but the stock tanked in 2012, closing her lead to just $1.1 billion (down from $3.4 billion last year) over brother-in-law Jim. The rest of her holdings are in Wal-Mart, the massive retailer founded by her father-in-law Sam Walton and his brother James in 1962. Wal-Mart’s shares are up more than a third since last year, pushing Christy’s net worth up by $3.4 billion.

7. Jim Walton

$26.8 billion (UP)

Source: Wal-Mart

Age: 64

Residence: Bentonville, Arkansas

Wal-Mart heir Jim Walton is the youngest son of retail visionary Sam (d. 1992), who founded the massive retailer with his brother James, opening a single store in Rogers, Ark. in 1962. Wal-Mart now has sales of $444 billion and employs 2.2 million people worldwide. Since last year, Jim received more than $430 million in dividends after taxes, and the stock is up 36%—boosting his net worth by $5.7 billion. He and his siblings have given about $2 billion to the Walton Family Foundation over the last five years. Jim is also the CEO of his family’s Arvest Bank, which has branches in Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. He gave $100,000 to the Super PAC for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

8. Alice Walton

$26.3 billion  (UP)

Source: Wal-Mart

Age: 62

Residence: Fort Worth, Texas

Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton opened her ambitious Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in November 2011. The museum, which seeks to bring a world-class art experience to Bentonville, Ark., includes works she has donated herself (with a personal collection valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars.) Alice and her siblings have also donated about $2 billion to the Walton Family Foundation over the last five years. Daughter of retail visionary Sam, Alice graduated from Trinity College in San Antonio, Tex., and now runs a horse ranch in central Texas. Since last year, she received more than $420 million in dividends after taxes, and the stock is up 36%—boosting her net worth by $5.4 billion.

9. S. Robson Walton

$26.1 billion (UP)

Source: Wal-Mart

Age: 68

Residence: Bentonville, Arkansas

Wal-Mart heir S. Robson Walton has served as chairman of the board for the massive retailer since 1992. Rob is the eldest son of visionary retailer Sam, a former clerk who opened his first store with help from his brother James in 1962 in Rogers, Ark. Today, Wal-Mart has sales of $444 billion and employs 2.2 million people worldwide. Since last year, Rob received more than $420 million in dividends after taxes, and the stock is up 36%—boosting his net worth by $5.6 billion. Before joining Wal-Mart, he was a partner with the law firm of Conner & Winters in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Rob and his siblings have donated about $2 billion to the Walton Family Foundation over the last five years.

10. Michael Bloomberg

$25 billion (UP)

Source: Bloomberg LP

Age: 70

Residence: New York City

New York City’s mayor has been working to enact as much change as he can in his adopted hometown during his final term. A ban he proposed on super-sized sugary drinks will take effect in March, and he was vocal in his support of the state’s Marriage Equality Act, passed in 2011. He’s renewed his call for stricter gun control in the wake of July’s movie theater shootings in Colorado. Over the years, he’s given away $2.8 billion. In 2011, he donated $330 million to groups including the Sierra Club, the Alliance for the Arts and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. At his financial data and media firm, Bloomberg LP, sales popped an estimated 20% in 2011 to $7.6 billion. 

Stop Chasing Shadows, Mark Tells Jonathan, Okonjo-Iweala

Jonathan and Okonjo-Iweala

Senate President, David Mark, yesterday reflected on the many problems facing the nation and asked the Head of the Economic Team of President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to stop chasing shadows.

Senator Mark in his welcome address to the Senate after an eight-week recess, observed that Nigeria needs healing to come out of the web of crisis that has engulfed the nation in recent time.

He also advised the Economic Team, which includes the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and others to come up with robust economic policies that would salvage the nation from its economic disasters.

He said: “Those who manage the nation’s economy cannot afford to chase shadows while the economy is in the doldrums. What Nigerians expect, and deserve, is the introduction of fiscal and monetary policies that will create jobs, fix healthcare and infrastructure, and stimulate the economy.”

The Senate President also expressed concern over poor budget performances, demanding that President Jonathan should submit the 2013 budget to the National Assembly early, for quick passage.

He lamented that poor budget implementation had led to a rise in poverty in the land, stressing that the National Assembly would be more stringent with oversight to ensure full implementation of 2013 budget.

Was Jesus Married? Ancient Papyrus Mentions His ‘Wife’

Papyrus

A small fragment of faded papyrus contains a suggestion that Jesus may have been married.

The fragment, with just eight lines of text on the front and six lines on the back, is from a fourth-century dialogue, written in the Coptic language, between Jesus and his disciples. In it, Jesus speaks of “my wife,” according to Harvard professor Karen L. King, who discovered the fragment.

“The most exciting line in the whole fragment…is the sentence ‘Jesus said to them [his disciples], my wife…” King said in a video posted to Harvard’s YouTube channel. The next line of text reads, “She will be able to be my disciple. This is the only extant ancient text which explicitly portrays Jesus as referring to a wife,” King wrote in her paper on the discovery.

The discovery, if it is validated, could have major implications for the Christian faith. The belief that Jesus was not married is one reason priests in the Catholic Church must remain celibate and are not allowed to marry. It could also have implications for women’s roles in the church, as it would mean Jesus had a female disciple.

For centuries, there has been debate about the possibility that Jesus was married, with many believing he might have had a relationship with Mary Magdalene, who is mentioned prominently in the New Testament. The speculation was even the subject of Dan Brown’s best seller, The Da Vinci Code.

King stresses that the new discovery “does not provide evidence that the historical Jesus was married.” However, King writes, “the fragment does provide direct evidence that claims about Jesus’ marital status first arose over a century after the death of Jesus in the context of intra-Christian controversies over sexuality, marriage, and discipleship.”

In the years after Jesus’ death, Christians debated what was the correct way to follow Jesus’ example and lifestyle. King says the parchment might simply mean that some Christians believed after Jesus’ death that he was married during his life.

While working to determine whether the papyrus was a forgery, King said she was particularly interested in also researching the first time anybody stated that Jesus did not have a wife.

“I was surprised to find that it is indeed right during the same period when we’re dating this fragment,” King said. That means it was long after Jesus’ death that the question was first raised about whether or not Jesus was married — and this small fragment appears to state that he was.

King presented her research at the Tenth International Congress of Coptic Studies in Rome.

French Magazine To Publish Cartoons Of Prophet Mohammed

A French satirical magazine is set to publish several cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed on Wednesday, a move that is likely to inflame the Islamic faithful and militants who have already rioted in more than 20 countries over a movie mocking the prophet.

Depictions of the prophet are strictly prohibited and considered blasphemous by Muslims. Cartoons of Muhammad published in Denmark in 2005 and then reproduced in newspapers across Europe triggered riots throughout the Mideast and Africa. Churches and embassies were torched and at least 100 people died in the outbreaks and police crackdowns.

The magazine “Charlie Hebdo” has confirmed that it will publish the cartoons, but has not revealed what they will depict. French newspaper “Le Monde” reports that some of the cartoons show the prophet in “particularly explicit poses,” without providing any further detail.

The move comes as Muslims are still simmering after riots in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and nearly 20 other countries over the move “Innocence of Muslims.” U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans died during an attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

French government ministers have criticized the magazine’s decision and police in Paris have stepped up security around its offices. France is home to Europe’s largest Muslim population, and the senior cleric at Paris’ biggest mosque has appealed for followers to remain calm, according to the French news agency AFP.

The magazine has defended the move by invoking the right to free speech. Speaking on French radio, the magazine’s director explained that a decision not to publish would “hand victory to a handful of extremists that are causing a commotion in the world and in France.”

It’s not the first time the anti-establishment, left-wing magazine has courted controversy. In 2011 the offices of “Charlie Hedbo” were bombed after it published an Arab Spring edition with the Prophet Muhammad as “guest editor” on the cover.

Fashola Requests For 30bn Supplementary Budget

Fashola

Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State has requested for the amendment to the Year 2012 Budget Appropriation, to allow the government access extra N30billion.

The state House of Assembly had approved over N430 billion for the year 2012 budget which was signed into law.

The supplementary budget was contained in a letter from the executive to the legislative house and read by the Clerk of the House, Mr. Segun Abiru at the plenary session, yesterday, after resuming from a six week break.

According to the Clerk, the state Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Ben Akabueze requested for the amendment to the Year 2012 Budget Appropriation.

Akabueze requested for the amendment to access N30billion facility provided for in the budget due to the non-inclusion of the facility in the Year 2012 foreign borrowing plan of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The Commissioner further explained in the letter that, approval of the request by the House of Assembly would prevent disruption of the infrastructure delivery programme of the state government.

In another development, a former Speaker of the  House of Assembly in the first Assembly, Dimeji Longe who represented Surulere in 1979-1983 legislative dispensation is dead.

The deaths of former speaker and two other former members were announced  on the floor of the House yesterday.

Also, the demise of two other former members, Tajudeen Ajayi representing Ibeju-Lekki in the fourth Assembly and Rasheed Oluwo representing Epe Constituency also in the first Assembly, was also reported.

“Igbo Will Not Support Jonathan For 2015” – Orji Uzor Kalu

Orji Uzo KaLU

The symptoms of a pending presidential tussle appear on the horizon for the players within the various regions of the federal republic of Nigeria.

This is credible information coming out of the presidency which indicates that the President of Nigeria; Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan may be prepping to join the presidential race again in 2015.

The former two-time governor of Abia State and prominent voice in today’s Igbo contemporary project, Orji Uzor Kalu, in light of the new developments in Nigeria, has expressed his concerns towards a disunited Igbo tribe.

In a brief chat with 247ureports.com, the former governor and one-time presidential candidate expressed deep disappointment with the Jonathan administration. He said that the Jonathan administration lied to Ndigbo over his plans for 2015 presidency. According to Orji Uzor Kalu, “Jonathan promised Ndigbo the 2015 presidency” but he has gone back on his promise – and he is now preparing for 2015 elections.

“Ndigbo will not support Jonathan” said the former governor who also revealed that he is presently engaged in uniting the various factions within the Igbo political sphere. He pointed to the political quandary within the All Progressive Grand Alliance [APGA] as unnecessary. “I want to bring together our Igbo leaders, Senator Annie Okonkwo, Gov Rochas Okorocha, Victor Umeh, Chekwas Okorie and other Igbo sons, so we can produce an Igbo president”, said Orji Uzor Kalu while assuring that he will do whatever is required for Ndigbo to produce the next president of Nigeria come 2015. “I am not doing politics now. I am not a member of any party. I am doing Ndigbo now”.

Independent inquiry conducted by 247ureports.com reveals that the former governor may be engaged in a quiet and/or veiled talk with the leaders of APGA, the leaders of Peoples Progressive Party [PPA], the leaders of the new United Peoples Party [UPP] and other Igbo based political unions. Available information indicates that the former governor has proposed unifying all Igbo political body under one political banner.

Meanwhile, Orji Uzor Kalu will be the guest speaker at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, on September 20 at the 6th Emeritus Professor D.A. Ijalaye and Equity Chambers 25th anniversary scheduled start time is at 11am at the Ogunbanjo Hall. Kalu will be speaking on the topic: Leadership: A key factor to a better Nigeria.

Kalu had been a member of the House of Representatives, Board Member of First Bank, former Chairman of Imo State Marketing Board, former Chairman of Borno Water Board, former Chairman of Cooperative and Commerce Bank, former Council Member of the Federal Polytechnic, Auchi and Publisher of the Sun Newspapers.

Delta leaders warn agents of distraction

· Hold town hall meeting in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt

Emmanuel Uduaghan

The People’s Movement, a group of Deltans concerned with the rapid development of the state, Monday expressed confidence in the Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration. It also described Uduaghan as the most responsible and accountable governor in the history of the state.

In a statement issued at the end of its Executive Committee meeting in Lagos by its Director of Communications, Mrs. Ibifuro Tatua, the group commended the governor for repositioning the state, particularly in the areas of rural and urban infrastructural development, economic resurgence, human resource development, administrative reforms, social integration and public order.

The governor, the group argued, not only provided governance with a human face in the last five years, but through a deliberate policy of re-engineering, re-focusing and re-invigorating of the act of governance and promise delivery; re- established and rekindled the interest of right thinking Deltans at home and abroad in government and governance.

Uduaghan, the group emphasized , believes that government money should be spent on projects that benefit the people.

“In his first term, markets and bridges were built. Roads were tarred. Boreholes were sunk. Schools and hospitals were rehabilitated. Electricity was extended to the rural areas. Today, he is encouraging small and large scale industries, constructing bridges in the rural areas, ensuring effective air, land and water transportation, providing free maternal health services and scholarship to Deltans, cooperating with the churches, mosques and governmental organizations and multi-lateral agencies, rehabilitating primary and post primary institutions as well as public hospitals and other health institutions, paying teachers as and when due, reducing poverty through micro-credit programme , allocating fifty percent of the 13 percent derivation to the oil bearing communities through Delta State Oil Minerals Development Commission (DESOPADEC), developing many towns and cities, contributing greatly to sports development, beautifying the towns, creating jobs and eliminating poverty .”

Recalling the confidence in Governor Uduaghan by the national leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress, President Goodluck Jonathan and the World Bank , the group appealed to mischievous Deltans to be diplomatic and ingenious in their approach and tactics. It also advised those using their funds for media war to deploy their resources in more positive directions.

“This is time to embrace peace and fraternity. This is the time to work for the progress of the state. Those with abiding interest in the welfare and future of the state should support the governor to reduce the various types of burden of the people through poverty alleviation schemes and shifting of resources to the rural areas.

It also advised Deltans at home to be vigilant and not be swayed by incorrigible opportunists, unprincipled exploiters, swindlers, social parasites, looters, political jobbers and fraudulent human rights activists whose stock in trade is to fan the embers of sentiment, discord and hooliganism.

Equally, the group urged Deltans, particularly, workers ,students, artisans, socio-cultural organizations, chiefs, bureaucrats, politicians, youths, market men and women to ignore stories and statements that smear the integrity of the governor and his good works.

“We need to work for the success of this administration irrespective of our tribal, religious, or political idiosyncrasies. We should not forget that a house divided against itself cannot stand.”

The group also announced the hosting of town hall meetings in Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Calabar, Owerri, all the local government areas in Delta State, Ghana, South Africa, Britain, France and America.

“Those attending will have the opportunity to offer their personal perspectives on the way forward for our dear state” the statement added.

CONTACT :

IBIFURO TATUA

08039742047

08179994006

08068301237

89 Schools Affected as Floods Ravage Adamawa State

Adamawa Flood

Following the massive floods in the state in the last few days, the Adamawa State Government has indefinitely postponed the resumption of schools in the state for the new academic year.

The state, which has appealed to the Federal Government and other private and multilateral organisations for assistance, said 89 schools have been washed away by the floods in recent weeks.

The floods, which are ravaging many states in the North, leading to the displacement of thousands from their homes and the death of dozens of people, is threatening to cut off the state from other parts of the country, as the two culverts on the Yola-Gombe Road, situated at Ngbalang, near the Numan bridge-head, were partially washed away on Friday.

Commissioner for Education, Mr. Gabriel Hamman-Adama, said in Yola yesterday that the indefinite closure of the schools had become necessary as a total of 89 primary and secondary schools have so far been submerged across Adamawa in the ongoing flood disaster ravaging the state. The schools were billed to resume for a new academic year Monday.

In addition, over 48 other schools have been taken over as camps by communities displaced by the flood disaster.

“About 89 primary and secondary schools are seriously submerged in the flood to the extent that you cannot get to these schools right now,” Hamman-Adama said.

He explained that the development had forced the ministry to shift the resumption date for government schools in the state until when it is able to restore normalcy that will ensure a conducive atmosphere for both school children and their teachers.

“We have held a meeting with stakeholders and resolved that the initial resumption date of Monday, September 17, be shifted indefinitely until the situation improves,” Hamman-Adama said.

He said if the floods do not recede by October, the ministry would be forced to merge students from the submerged schools and those converted to camps with those in schools that are not affected.

Secretary to the State Government and Chairman of the State Emergency Committee on the Flood Disaster, Chief Kobis Ari-Thimnu, also appealed to the Federal Government and other organisations to come urgently to the assistance of the people of the state, as the magnitude of the disaster is far beyond the scope of the state government.

He told reporters that the flooding was compounded by the opening of the sluice gates at the Dadin-Kowa and Kiri Dams in Gombe and Adamawa States, respectively.

He stated that with Rivers Benue and Gongola overflowing their banks as well as excess water from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroun and the Dadin- Kowa and  Kiri Dams,  the state is literally  submerged.

Reps Have No Reason To Impeach Jonathan – Balarabe

Former Kaduna State Governor Balarabe Musa said on Monday that the House of Representatives had yet to advance enough and convincing reasons for threatening to impeach President Goodluck Jonathan.

Balarabe

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that  Musa made the remark in Lagos  while reacting to the threats by the lawmakers to impeach the President when it reconvenes.

The House  is schduled to reconvene on Tuesday (today) after a two-month recess.

He said,  “There should be fundamental reasons for the president to be impeached.

“The reasons the lawmakers are giving, low-level of budget implementation and body language of the President, are unacceptable.

“The lawmakers did not say non-implementation of the budget. The body language reason cannot be defined.”

Musa said he would not support the impeachment, warning that impeaching  Jonathan  would not change anything, but would rather make things worse for the country.

The  elder statesman  advised the members of the lower chamber  to come up with more convincing reasons that would make the public to believe in them.

Musa  cautioned the lawmakers against making the impeachment threat look like a move aimed at bargaining for more resources.

 The Chairman of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties  said the national awards had been cheapened, insisting that they should be for exceptional and not just distinguished Nigerians.

He said, “I support the plan by the National Assembly to amend the law from honouring distinguished Nigerians, to honouring only those who have done exceptional things outside the capability of vast majority of other Nigerians.”

Musa said there was the need for the Federal Government to withdraw honours given to those who had behaved dishonourably after receiving such honours.

Uduaghan Moves For Nigerian Sports

Uduaghan

What follows after Nigeria’s failure at the 2012 London Olympics? What shall be done to stop the plunge Nigeria’s sports has taken in recent years?

Delta State governor Emmanuel Uduaghan will attempt an answer to these when he hosts a national sports summit in Abuja October 30.

Crack resource persons at home and abroad have been contacted to deliver papers during the summit that will hold at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.

The idea to hold a sports summit was that of Dr. Uduaghan and it struck him to do so when Nigerian athletes were crashing at the Olympics. The governor was pained by Nigeria’s failure and he felt that he could play a role that will help the country. His state, arguably, is the number one in sports development in the country. And if all states could show interest in sports the way Delta does Nigeria will be better for it. Uduaghan thinks that even Delta could do more.

“This is not about Delta. It is about Nigeria. We all have a duty to develop this country and sports is one vital area that has not been properly addressed. I want experts, respected sports administrators and people knowledgeable in sports to gather together, brainstorm and be loud on  where we are getting it wrong and what should be done and the way to do it,” Udughan said last week.

“We want people to recall the past, analyze the present and and proffer solution that will help shape our future. We cannot continue to be complaining without doing something about it. I believe there should be a way out because we have talents in this country. But we are not developing the talents. Why are we not doing so? These are the things the summit will attempt to answer. I believe there’s a way. Let’s find that way,” Uduaghan said.

Executive Chairman of Delta State Sports Commission, Amaju Pinnick noted that what will make the Abuja summit unique is that Governor Uduaghan has promised to take the report of the summit to the Presidency for possible implementation and assured that President Goodluck Jonathan would be happy that something drastic is done to sports in Nigeria.

Lagos To Ban Smoking In Public Places

The Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye, on Monday unfolded plans by the state government to ban smoking in public places.

He told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos that the provisions of the new Lagos State Traffic Laws had prohibited people from drinking or smoking while driving in the state.

Ipaye said though the new law was aimed at reducing road carnage, it was also part of the government’s plans to ban smoking in public places.

“It is an offence to smoke while driving, smoking is totally prohibited for drivers; obviously it is not just for safety reasons it is also for health reasons because we are moving towards banning smoking in all public places.

“It is an offence to drive drunk if you have been taking alcohol; if you’ve been taking drugs this law provides for blood test to determine whether you have ingested drugs which are inconsistent with your ability to drive.

“So, this law makes it an offence to drive without a driver’s licence, without proper plate numbers. It is an offence to use the phone while you are driving except you have a hands-free set so you don’t need to put the set to your ear,” Ipaye said.

Clarifying the misconceptions about the new law, Ipaye said, “It seeks to criminalise traffic offences and sanction offenders, as part of strategy to bring under control, the chaotic traffic situation within the metropolis.”

He said the law was necessitated by the dire need to ensure the safety, health and security of road users.

US Sues China For $1 Billion In Illegal Subsidies For Car Exports

Obama

Looking to bolster his standing with blue-collar voters, President Obama has for the second time in as many months filed suit against China for unfair trade practices on the eve of a major campaign swing through the nation’s manufacturing belt.

The White House said the complaint, filed with the World Trade Organization, accuses China of $1 billion in illegal subsidies for exports of cars and car parts. It will be a focus of Obama’s pitch today on a visit to Ohio, officials said.

In July Obama lodged a similar case at the WTO to coincide with a three-day Ohio bus tour, alleging unfair Chinese duties on more than $3 billion in U.S. auto exports. The administration claims the subsidies and duties have disadvantaged American companies competing in the same markets as Chinese firms and imperiled U.S. workers’ jobs.

The latest case, demonstrating the power of incumbency to create a fresh talking point for Obama, comes as he seeks to shift attention back to the economy after a week of headlines dominated by foreign policy. It’s also squarely aimed at voters in key manufacturing-dominant regions of swing states, where China is seen as one of the biggest threats to profits and growth.

The auto industry in Ohio, including suppliers of raw materials like steel and plastics, accounts for more than 12 percent of the state’s total employment, or roughly 850,000 jobs. Auto parts manufacturers employ 54,200 Ohioans alone, the administration says.

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who has also been fiercely courting the same voters, called Obama’s announcement too little too late.

“Campaign-season trade cases may sound good on the stump, but it is too little, too late for American businesses and middle-class families,” Romney said in a statement. “President Obama’s credibility on this issue has long since vanished. I will not wait until the last months of my presidency to stand up to China, or do so only when votes are at stake. ”

His campaign has been attacking Obama on the stump and in television ads as failing to take a harder line against the Asian power.

The latest Romney ad, airing in Ohio and other battlegrounds, suggests Obama has not aggressively held China to account under international law. “Trade has to work for America. That means crack down on cheaters like China,” Romney says in the ad. The Republican’s campaign also claims skyrocketing debt during Obama’s term has made the U.S. more beholden to the China, the top foreign lender.

“Four years ago, candidate Obama promised Ohioans he wouldn’t run up the debt by borrowing from China. As he returns to Columbus today, the President has amassed over $5 trillion in new debt that’s held by countries like China and… has shown an abject failure of leadership on the issue,” said Romney spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg.

The Obama campaign is running advertisements rebutting Romney’s claims, portraying the former Bain Capital corporate buyout specialist as personally working to outsource U.S. work to China while retaining financial investments in Chinese companies.

The candidates’ jabs at each other over China policy come as Obama appears to hold a solid lead over Romney in crucial Ohio, according to several recent polls. No candidate for president since 1960 has won the White House without winning Ohio.

Likely Ohio voters prefer Obama to Romney by a 50 to 43 percent margin in the latest Wall Street Journal/Marist/NBC survey. The president also holds an edge on handling of the economy, with voters seeing him as more likely to do a better job than Romney, 48 to 44 percent. Obama has filed a total of eight cases against China at the WTO during his first term.

Yes, I Am a Billionaire...My 10 Principles Of Success - Ali Baba

Ali Baba

Godfather of Nigerian comedy, Ali Baba, has shared the secrets of his success story with TS Weekend, revealing how his wealthy dad rejected, abandoned and finally disowned him over his decision to pursue a career in comedy, a sharp contrast to his father’s plans for him.

The comedian disclosed that his father wanted him to be a lawyer and would stop at nothing to make his son one but his passion for comedy put both of them on collusion course.

Things finally got so bad that he had to run away from home to Lagos, to actualize his dream. And when Ali Baba finally hit Lagos, he sought and got sanctuary in an uncle’s home but was later kicked out from there. He recalls: “I came to Lagos to do comedy in 1990. Today, I am a billionaire and I have made people millionaires. It’s all about the passion. Once upon a time I chose to pursue a career in comedy, which was in contrast to my father’s dream for me.

He wanted me to be a lawyer but I wanted to do comedy and I was passionate about it. Consequently, when he realized I wouldn’t budge, my dad rejected and abandoned me!” Parental opposition Like every parent back in the day, his dad believed if the future godfather of comedy became a lawyer, he would be wealthy and be able to take care of his family. And so he insisted as early as possible and drummed it into his head that he must study Law. “My dad felt that the best career for me was Law. I wanted to prove to him that comedy is better than Law. I am a graduate but I chose to pursue comedy because I had a dream.

As soon as my dad realized that I was hell bent on pursuing comedy, he disowned me. In fact, he stopped sponsoring my education!” However, Ali Baba was not discouraged. He picked up the pieces of his life and moved to Lagos armed with only the clothes on his back and a vision to excel. But the dream that his uncle would take him in evaporated like dew on a sunny morning when the man threw him out of his home. And so, young Ali Baba became a hippie as he was forced to move to the popular Lagos Bar Beach. The year was 1990. Recalling those trying moments, the comedian states: “After my uncle threw me out of his house. I moved to the Bar Beach where I lived for a very long while.

At the beach, I met Lati Kekere who was nice to me. He is still my friend to this day. He gave me a tent to sleep and I paid him N5 per night. After a while, things started picking up and I went to my uncle’s place to take my things. My washman became my wardrobe; I left all my clothes with him. From there, I trekked to NTA every day. I was on Youth Scene, Youth Rendezvous and the Sunday Show. I was prepared, I wanted opportunity.” Information age Ali Baba disclosed that one thing he discovered early in life was the importance of communication. Then, there were no mobile phones but pagers were the rave and he knew that if he had to succeed, he would need to have information at his fingertips and so he went for a pager.

A while later, however, Bar Beach was overtaken by miscreants and he had to relocate. “I got a pager then,” he says, “there were no mobile phones so I was communicating with my clients on my pager. However, at a point, Bar Beach was no longer the peaceful haven it used to be. Lati had left and prostitutes, pimps and robbers were taking over so, I moved over to Yabatech. Every day, I trekked to NTA from Yabatech where I squatted with a friend. It was quite a distance but I had a dream that was bigger than the journey. I was committed to my dream. On the side, I made money doing stand-up comedy and by virtue of my pink forms at NTA, by 1998 I had earned over N50, 000.” Gradually Ali saved up enough money and moved into a three bedroom rented apartment and before he knew it, he had started a revolution that would inspire the likes of Julius Agwu, Basket Mouth, Opa Williams, AY and TEE A among a host of others.

Rumours Tales that still baffle the comedian to this day were newspapers reports that he was living on his ex-wife. He quips: “I find it so ridiculous. People kept saying that I was living off my wife but it was not true. Yes, she had money, earning as much as N2 million a month where she worked but I was making more money, earning as much as N2 million per show. I bought her an SUV and made sure she had everything she wanted. To this day, we are very good friends and I still pay her. “Where you’re coming from has nothing to do with where you’re going. It is your sheer determination that will take you there. Identify the tools that you need. The only way you can make it is to be prepared so that when opportunity comes, you will be ready. If you’re not where the opportunity is because you don’t have information, you’re wasting your time. My dad taught me these lessons as far back as 1977.”

According to Ali Baba, though the country is going through some difficult times, it’s no excuse for youths to be lazy and laid back. Rather, they should look inwards and improve their lots by tapping into the unique talents God has bestowed on them. “I did not need government to give me an enabling environment; I created my own. When I started doing stand-up comedy, some people laughed at me. I remember late Mohammed Danjuma told me comedy would never work. He would rather stick to his job as an MC. However, as time rolled by, corporate bodies would invite us for events. Danjuma would be the MC and pocket N50, 000 while I would go home with N200, 000 as a stand-up comedian.

Within a short while, Danjuma realized that comedy was the way forward and before I could say Jackie Robinson, he was doing comedy as well. “I grew up in Ojo Cantonment, Lagos, but I had dreams and goals and what I was going through did not matter. It’s all about the passion. We want people to do things for us but what have you done for yourself. As I speak to you, I have a property worth N300 million for sale in Lekki and I have moved to Queens Drive, Ikoyi, into a house I bought with my own money. You too could achieve this if you believe in your dreams.” For Ali Baba, to make it in life one needs education, information, communication, humility, hard work, experience of others and opportunity to excel. “Believe in yourself. You have to decide on charting a course.

Your journey must achieve its purpose,” he says with passion. Best of friends Today, Ali Baba and his dad are the best of friends. The comedian disclosed that it took 15 years for his father to forgive him. Relating the anecdote he said: “My father and I were not on talking terms for 15 years. My decision to follow my heart was responsible for that. People will tell him, ‘your son, Ali Baba is always on TV. He is making a lot of money. Why don’t you forgive him? But he would reply, ‘Ali Baba is not my son. I have no child by that name.’ The time for reconciliation came in 2005. I bought him a Mercedes Benz SLK and took it to the village along with my friends. We moved in a convoy of cars.

He was surprised when I told him, ‘dad, this is your car,’ and for the first time in 15 years, my dad finally recognized my success when he shouted, ‘Ali Baba! Ali Baba!’ That was my happiest moment.” To the comedian, success goes beyond the individual. “If you are successful and you’re not touching lives, you’re a failure,” he says. “If you’re a millionaire and you’re not making millionaires, you’re a failure! AY has made more comedians than I have made. The same thing goes for Basket Mouth and they all stayed with me once upon a time.” My success principles Ali Baba goes on to reveal the 10 principles that a person must stick to, to achieve success.

Hear him: “What I am about to reveal to you are the secrets of my success which my dad taught me in 1977. Corporate bodies pay me millions to share these secrets with their staff. Number one is that your career must provide shelter for you. Two, your career must put food on your table. Three, your career must give you fame, respect, dignity and appreciation.

Four, your career must maintain your life style. Five, your career must make you charitable. Six, your career must give you good health. Seven, your career must give you job satisfaction. Eight, your career must match your personality. Nine, your career must take care of your future. And 10, your career must make you make heaven.”

Gay Prophet At War With Catholic Church In Enugu

The Holy book clearly stated that as  part of signs of end time, Kingdoms would fight against Kingdoms, Nations would rise against its neighbours.

Such is the case of a self-acclaimed prophet in Edem community, Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State as he has  threatened to blow up the catechist of a Catholic church for allegedly causing obstruction to his prospective members.

The ‘unholy war’ ensued between the clerics when Prophet Ekene observed that business was no longer as bountiful as usual in his church.

After much inquires, he confirmed that the catechist of St. Dominic’s Catholic church, Mr. Joseph Ugwu, acting on instructions by the parish priest Rev. Fr. Patrick Ujah, had passed a strict warning to the congregation to desist from visiting his prayer house or bear the consequences.

A reliable source in the know,  stated that the Catechists warning didn’t go down well with the prophet as the there was a drastic effect on the number his members.

Regardless of the “mind-blowing testimonies” from those who visited him, the Prophet lost a huge bunch of his members.

In order to tactically restore his lost glory, the prophet allegedly applied some Catholic doctrines in his prayer. The sign of the cross and the rosary was also said in every gathering.

“However, the style of his vision brought confusion among people, enthralled rancour, and mutual suspicion. People began to see their brothers as the source of their problems, while some who visited the prophet insisted that the names of their enemies should be revealed to them,” confirmed the source.

All attempts by the Parish Priest, to make Prophet Ekene get authority from the Catholic secretariat in Nsukka and recognition letter from his home parish to boost his authenticity proved abortive.

Consequently, the priest forbade Catholics from visiting the prophet or risk excommunication. Unable to bottle his anger and pains over adverse effect of the order on his church, the prophet sent emissaries to the catechist to stay out of his way. But the Catechist remained unperturbed, however, the prophet personally confronted him with severe warning and threat to bomb his entire household if he doesn’t to steer. He was also said to have threatened to become ruthless to any obstacle on his way.

However, nemesis caught up with the fake prophet when the youths of the community caught and arrested him for allegedly defiling little boys in the community. He was humilated and taken to the Igwe’s palace. The Prophet later confessed to the homosexual act after two of his victims recounted their experiences before the counsel of the elders. He was at the verge of being lynched by the angry youth but for the timely intervention of the traditional ruler who handed him over to the police.

Some sources claimed that the prophet was granted bail and he immediatly fled the community, but the Police Public Relations Officer in Nsukka, Mr Ebere Amaraizu, maintained he is yet to be informed about such development.

Fuel Scarcity Hits Lagos, Others

Major cities across the country experienced severe fuel shortage over the weekend as motorists formed long queues at the few filling stations with fuel.

In Lagos, motorists were seen queuing to buy fuel at  Ogba, Ikeja, Berger, Ikotun, Akute among other placs withing the metropolis.

However, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation blamed the shortage on the continued closure of a vandalised NNPC System 2B pipeline at Arepo, Ogun State.

In an interview with our correspondent on Sunday, the NNPC spokesman, Mr. Fidel Pepple, said the closure of the Arepo line was a major setback for the corporation.

Pepple said, “The solution to the problem lies in us putting the line on stream. And now, we are unlikely to resolve that as soon as possible because security must be guaranteed at Arepo before repair works could be completed.

 “We have product, but we can’t continue to pump through the bad line and have product wasted.”

Repair works at the vandalised pipeline were stopped last week after suspected vandals killed three NNPC engineers at the site.

Our correspondent gathered that the shortage might grow worse in the course of the week.

The President, Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, South-West branch, Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo, told our correspondent that loading of products at Lagos depots had dropped by over 70 per cent.

He said, “The situation is not improving at all; it has rather worsened. A depot that can serve about 200 trucks per day, now serves between 40 and 50. Last week it was between 70 and 90.

“Now, marketers are not willing to incur any extra costs. They don’t want to transport products to places outside their depot areas. Right now they are not going to the far east, north or south-south.”

“Government should do the right thing now. Most of these marketers have investments in Nigeria, and can’t just run away like that. So, government should engage them so that we can address this problem.”

About N200bn is currently being owed the oil marketers by the Federal Government.

Also speaking to our correspondent, the Chairman, Independent petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (Western Zone), Mr. Olumide Ogunmade, said the association’s members were also having challenges loading products.

He said the pipeline explosion at Arepo had compounded the problem as most of its members that were loading from Ogun State had been referred to Apapa.

“This is affecting the movement of product. Our members are now loading from Apapa. But the process is slow. We however believe it will stabilise soon,” Ogunmade said.

In Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, on Sunday, motorists accused petroleum marketers of hoarding petrol to create artificial scarcity. Some of the filling stations in the city sold a litre of petrol for N115, while others sold it for N150.

A motorist, Mr. Kunle Folarin, said that he had become frustrated after his efforts to buy fuel in three different filing stations were unsuccessful.

Folarin said that the attendants in many of the filing stations in the town collected bribes, ranging from N100 to N300, before selling fuel to motorists.

Another motorist, Sunday Abolarin, corroborated Folarin’s claim, adding that the fuel scarcity in the town was the creation of the marketers.

“Many of the marketers have fuel but they don’t want to sell because they are expecting an increase in the pump price of fuel. I don’t know what this country has become,” he said.

Most of the stations visited by our correspondent in Abeokuta on Sunday were shut and without attendants.

The NNPC mega station on Moshood Abiola Way was shut on Sunday evening. At Atinsola filling station near Ayetoro Garage, attendants sold fuel at N110 per litre. At World Oil filling station, Ibara, the sale of fuel was said to have been stopped by the attendants at about 2pm, while the long queue of motorists at the station was ignored.

The queue at filling stations in Enugu State grew on Sunday as motorists found it difficult to buy fuel. The queue, The PUNCH observed, were prominent at major filling stations in Enugu where the product is sold for N97, as against N110 at small filling stations.

A motorist at NIPCO filling station, in New Haven, said the queue had always been at major filling stations in the state  because “these filling stations sold at N97 per litre and that is the cheapest one can buy.”

The motorist, Mr. Maurice Okafor, said, “The queue is always less at the smaller filling stations because they sell for N110 and it is only those that can afford it that go to such places, but the line at big filling stations has increased because most of the smaller stations do not have the product.”

Another motorist, Mrs. Elizabeth Onyia, said, “I always buy fuel at those unknown filling stations because you would never meet a queue there. But since yesterday, it has been difficult to buy fuel at any of the small stations and that is why many of us opted to come to NNPC, Bontus, Juhel and the rest of them. As you can see, the line here is agonising.”

Vehicular queue witnessed last week at the NNPC mega filling station on Sapele, has however not cleared completely, though it had thinned out by Sunday evening.

In a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, the Acting General Secretary of National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, Mr. Isaac Aberare, said the Minister of Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of the NNPC should be held responsible for the resurfacing of fuel queues in the country.

“The Secretary, Petroleum Tanker Drivers Unit of NUPENG in Abuja just spoke on television that there is no strike. If the fuel scarcity in Abuja persists, then the Minister of Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of NNPC should give an explanation,” Aberare said.

Bakassi Belongs To Nigeria – Fresh Facts Reveal

Fresh facts have emerged, showing that the disputed Bakassi peninsula which the International Court of Justice, ICJ, ceded to Cameroon actually belongs to Nigeria.

Vanguard gathered that the jurists at ICJ might have been misled by the legal teams of Cameroon and Nigeria, who did not show vital information that clearly placed Bakassi as a territory within the geographical, political and administrative jurisdiction and control of Nigeria, contrary to the October 10, 2002, verdict which awarded the sovereignty of the peninsula to Cameroon.

International relations experts, renowned historians, researchers and politicians told Vanguard in Lagos, last week, that contrary to the claims by the Cameroon and Nigerian legal teams that the first legal treaty on the Land and Maritime borders between Nigerian and Cameroon was the 1913 Anglo-German treaty, it was discovered that the limits of the Land and maritime boundaries between both countries went as far back as 1811 when the British made the treaty that went from the Lake Chad region down to the Atlantic ocean through the Rio Del Rey Estuary.

The Great Fraud

1. There are evidence to show that in 1994 when  a dispute erupted between Nigeria and Cameroon, Nigeria asked the British government to attest to the true status of Bakassi Peninsula, the British government replied to assert that the Peninsula belongs to Nigeria.

2. This was when Alhaji Babagana Kingibe was Nigeria’s Minister of External Affairs but curiously that document was not tendered at the ICJ trial.

3. There are fresh evidence to show that in the March 18, 1961 plebiscite in Southern Cameroon, to determine areas that either wanted to stay in Cameroon or join Nigeria, Bakassi Penisular was not among the areas that participated in the exercise because it was given that it was not part of Cameroun.

According to Southern Cameroon gazette, Volume 7 no. 14,  the areas that were asked to determine where they wanted to belong included Mamfe, Bamenda, Kumba, and Victoria.  Also, the people of  Bakassi have voted in Nigerian elections and the Nigerian Customs has been in control of the territorial waters since 1811.

4. The 1913 Anglo-German treaty which Cameroon rested its claim was not signed by both countries before the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.

5. Germany renounced all its terrirorial claims at the end of the war in 1919 and all the former territrories controlled by Germany came under the mandate of the League of Nations.

6. There were clear cases of ethnic cleansing in Bakassi peninsula in the past 10 years in violation of the Green Tree Agreement.

According to Prof. Walter Ofonagoro, a historian and former Nigerian Information Minister, who did  his Ph.d thesis on Southern Oil protectorate, “fresh facts have emerged to show that the Cameroonian legal team deceived the ICJ into believing that before the Anglo-German treaty of 1913 upon which it rested its case, there were no other treaties that delineated the  land and maritime boundary between Nigeria and Cameroon, which is a fraudulent claim”. Prof. Ofonagoro said that he has in his possession, 1822 documents which vested ownership of the Bakassi Peninsula to the Old Calabar Chiefs, by extension to Nigeria, and debunked claims that the 1913 Anglo-German treaty was the first recognised treaty on the land and maritime boundary between Nigeria and Cameroon. Said Prof. Ofonagoro:  “This is not true because as far back as 1811, the British had already established a strong sphere of influence over the territories that eventually became Nigeria in 1914.  The Anglo- German treaty upon which Cameroon built its case was contestible because after the First World war ended in 1919, all the territories controlled by Germany were taken away  from them and given to the League of Nations.

He said:  “There were other treaties between Nigeria and Cameroon on the Land and Maritime boundaries, which were entered into in 1884, 1885 and 1886, all of which clearly demarcated the land and maritime border between Nigeria and Cameroon from the Lake Chad region down to the Akwa Yafe River, which was the land border from Akwa Yafe to Rio Del Rey estuary to the Atlantic ocean.

He said: “When the Germans got to Akwa Yafe River, they discovered that they could not gain a direct access to the sea because going toward West of Akwa Yafe River will take them straight to the Calabar Sea Port. The Calabar Sea Port was clearly outlined in the treaty.  This was the main port of entry for the British merchants, and later missionaries, who were the first to establish sphere of influence in Nigeria.” He said there was no way the British would have granted the Germans a boundary access that would have constrained their access to the Calabar power.

The British were fully in control of the Calabar Sea Port. The Germans went East of Akwa Yafe River, which took them to the Rio Del Rey estuary to the sea. This ensured that the Bakassi Peninsula was on the West, which put the Peninsula on the Nigerian territory. The predominant population on the Peninsula then were the Efiks and Efuts, who were of Efik kingdom which stretched up to Khumba, Victoria and Bamenda.

Grounds for Appeal for review

Although the Federal Government has been reluctant to listen to the calls from the National Assembly, the Judiciary, the Nigerian Bar Association to appeal for a review, Prof.  Ofonagoro said “Nigeria has very strong ground to ask the ICJ for a review of its decision because there were concrete material facts and documentary evidence that were not before the ICJ in 2002, which would have helped to guide the world jurists in their decision”.

According to him, the Cameroonians concealed other vital treaties during the trial and told the court that the treaties were for mere adminstrative convenience, but more suprising is the fact that the Nigerian team did not do their home work to debunk the claims of Cameroon; rather they went there to resurrect a dead treaty in their attempt to justify the 1975 Maroua Declaration which was also an illegal treaty.

He said:  “If the ICJ should allow a judgment that was obtained by fraud and concealment of fact to stand, grave in justice would have been done to the people of Bakassi. The reputation of  ICJ would have been tarnished because the whole world expects it to do justice at all time”.

Ofonagora said the Nigerian defence team went to the Hague to agree with the Cameroonians that before 1913, there were no other treaties between the two colonial powers, which is false. But more fallacious is the fact that the Cameroon of 1919, was not the Cameroon of 1913, because after the end of the First World War, Germany was forced to give up all its territories in Africa, which came under the mandate of  League of Nations.

Germany renounced all its claims to territories and all the treaties it entered into which  gave it control of territories, became a nullity. The League of Nations consisting of Britain, France and Italy, the territory of Cameroon was carved up by France which took the Northern part.

Senator Ewah Bassey Henshaw, in his reaction said: “We have evidence from the memoir of the German Ambassador in 1913, who negotiated the so-called 1913 Anglo-German treaty”. He said the treaty was not signed because of the distrust between Britain and Germany at that time and the conflict between the envoy and some officials of his own country.

“In 1961, when a referendum was conducted in Southern Cameroon to determine on which part of it wishes to belong to Nigeria or Cameroon, after the British ended its colonial rule, Bakassi Peninsula was not included because it was regarded as part and parcel of Nigeria. In the areas such as Issangale that were included in the referendum, they voted to be in Nigeria”.

Speaking at the Vanguard Conference Hall in Lagos,  Senator Henshaw said the ICJ has a duty to review its judgment wich gave the sovereignty of Bakassi to Cameroon because it was obtained by fraud and deceits.

He said: “We are not asking for too much for the ICJ to take a second look at the fresh facts and our action is covered by Artcle 61 of ICJ which empowers people to come back for a review of their judgment if there were fresh facts that surfaced after the decision was made, which have substantially affected the judgement.

The president who has sworn on oath to defend the territorial integrity of Nigeria and the constitution should assist the people of Bakassi by asking the AGF to appeal for a review of the ICJ verdict.”