Chibok girls: We are all very embarrased and ashamed that over 200 girls could disappear like this- Cardinal Onaiyekan

Cardinal John Onaiyekan, Archbishop of Abuja, said the Nigerian government has to carry out negotiations sooner or later to secure the release of the Chibok girls. His remarks came in the wake of the release of a video by Boko Haram purportedly showing 15 of the kidnapped schoolgirls. 

The Archbishop who spoke to Susy Hodges on the second anniversary of the kidnapping of the Chibok girls on Thursday April14, said he believes the government needs "to go beyond a military response" to Boko Haram if they want to rescue these girls and the thousands of other innocent civilians who are being held by the Islamic group.

He revealed that there is widespread embarrassment among Nigerians on this anniversary over the continuing failure to locate and rescue the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls despite a global media campaign.

"We are all very embarrassed and very ashamed that over 200 girls could disappear like this."

On the positive side, the Nigerian cardinal said he has learnt that many of the people displaced from their homes by the Boko Haram militants when they overran large swathes of territory in north eastern Nigeria a couple of years ago are now returning to their villages because of recent advances by the military against the Boko Haram. He said the Islamic militants are now largely “confined to the inner areas of the forest."

Asked about whether the government is likely to open negotiations to secure the release of the Chibok schoolgirls and the hundreds of other civilians seized by the Boko Hara militants, Cardinal Onaiyekan said he firmly believes that a military campaign is not the sole means of solving this problem.

“There have to be negotiations sooner or later. The government needs to go beyond a military response." Cardinal Onaiyekan said given the signs that many of the Boko Haram militants are now "tired" and losing their impetus and much of the territory they once controlled, they should be encouraged to hand in their arms and seek reconciliation. 

Source: Vatican Radio

Former Kebbi state House of Assembly speaker dies in Autocrash

A former Speaker of the Kebbi State House of Assembly, Habib Jega, died in an auto crash along Birnin Kebbi-Kangiwa road at about 5pm today April 15th. Jega who is presently the Special Adviser on Local Government to the current Governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu, was on his way from an official assignment when the accident that claimed his life occurred. He has been buried according to Islamic rites. May his soul rest in peace Amen.

Low Savings: Okonjo-Iweala says she didn't indict the Jonathan administration

Former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has debunked reports attributed to her in regards to how lack of political will of Goodluck Jonathan's administration negatively affected the country's savings. Below is a statement issued on Friday by her Media Adviser, Paul Nwabuikwu:

"Some recent media reports have distorted comments made by former Finance Minister Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala regarding how lack of political will negatively impacted national savings over the past few years.

Contrary to the slant given by these loud headlines, Dr Okonjo-Iweala did not indict the Jonathan administration in which she served. 

Rather, she was referring to what many Nigerians already know: the strong opposition by some governors to the Jonathan government’s efforts to save in the Excess Crude Account and the Sovereign Wealth Fund sabotaged this important national priority.

The governors’ criticism of Dr Okonjo-Iweala’s many calls for the country to save for the rainy day are still fresh in the minds of Nigerians.

It will be recalled that this opposition culminated in the Governors taking the Jonathan government to the Supreme Court in furtherance of their position that the Federal Government had no right to “compel” them to save.

Several knowledgeable persons including former Anambra State Governor, Mr Peter Obi have confirmed these facts.

So the issue of Okonjo-Iweala indicting the Jonathan administration over this very public issue simply does not arise.

We urge the media to always consult for clarification whenever the need arises."

Jay Z and Solange reignite their cold war?

OK magazine is reporting that Jay Z and his sister in-law Solange Knowles have re-ignited their beef, almost two years after their shocking Met Gala elevator brawl

From OK Magazine

According to an insider, Jay Z is upset with Solange over her lifestyle website SaintHeron.com! The source adds that the rapper is mainly upset over Knowles’ site because he was working on a similar website idea for Bey!

“Jay’s extremely annoyed that no one ran this past him and ripped into Beyoncé for not telling him,” the source said. “The reason he’s so upset is he was drawing up plans of his own to do a similar site for Beyoncé and was asking Gwyneth Paltrow for tips.”

But the insider added that Jay Z’s issues with the Saint Heron brand are only adding to Knowles’ frustrations with her brother-in-law!

“Solange is outraged that he would even think he can tell her what she can and can’t do," the source said. "Poor Beyoncé is caught in the middle – she actually loves the site and had no idea Jay’s plans were so similar."

Photos: Aisha Buhari commissions 572 capacity female hostel in UNIMAID

Wife of President Buhari, Aisha Buhari commissioned a 572 capacity female hostel named after her at the University of Maiduguri in Borno state today April 15th. Continue to see more photos..

"The beauty of kids is they don't care who you are" writes woman whose little daughter threw a tantrum at the White House

As Barack Obama came in, my two-year-old daughter threw herself on the floor". Claudier Moser became an internet sensation last year after a photo of her throwing a tantrum at the White House went viral. Official White House photographer Pete Souza captured the photo of the two-year-old daughter of White House correspondent Laura Moser, with her face down on the floor.

"It was just before the president walked in the room that I had to tell Claudia, my two-year-old daughter, “No, you cannot take your clothes off.” She wanted to wear a sheet, which is what she likes to do at home. She started screaming. As he walked in we said: “Look, Claudia, it’s Barack Obama" That’s when she threw herself on the floor," Laura Moser writes on The Guardian

This was our seventh Passover seder at the White House. The tradition started on the campaign trail in 2008 when my husband Arun (who was then Obama’s videographer; he’s at the back of the picture) and a few other staffers held an impromptu seder, the traditional Passover meal, in a hotel in a small town in Pennsylvania. Obama has hosted one at the White House for roughly the same 20 people every year since. We read out the Emancipation Proclamation, which is an Obama innovation. It is really powerful to hear the first black president read aloud about freeing the slaves, which is what Passover is all about, but in a different context.

 

Every year we bring a family member who joins us for mingling and photographs, and then takes the children home before the seder begins. Last year we took my father, who you can see standing just behind the president. Claudia was on the floor for only a second; I didn’t actually just let her lie there, as some internet commenters accused me of doing after the photograph went viral. I am looking at my dad, saying, “All right, time to go.” He had to drag her out and she screamed as they walked down the corridor with the secret service escort.

 

We weren’t thrilled, but I wasn’t particularly anxious about it. Everyone wants their children to be cute and smile for the president. But Obama just makes everyone feel at ease – you don’t feel awestruck because he is so human. Neither he nor the first lady cared that Claudia was screaming. It was funny. You can see Obama turning to Pete Souza, the official White House photographer, like, “Check this out.” The beauty of kids is they don’t care who you are, which is why people like the Obamas like them so much – they treat them like normal people.

A month or two later I was sent the photo and posted it on Facebook for family and friends. I didn’t see the storm coming. My brother tweeted it and tagged me. I was shopping and didn’t see my phone until I got back and had 118 new notifications. It went from there. It was crazy to watch it.

think Claudia will like the photograph when she is old enought to understand it. We have it framed next to another picture of her with Obama sniffing her hair, when she was four months old; he said, “She still has that new baby smell.” Arun worked for Obama for four years, and we have pictures of my son Leo with him at Halloween over the years. Obama posed with Leo whose costumes included Franklin D Roosevelt, a secret service agent and, when he was two, Thomas Jefferson. I used to think it was a shame Claudia never got in those sorts of pictures, but she’s surpassed him in one shot.

Source: The UK Guardian

Photos: NDLEA recovers 193 wraps of cocaine in passengers’ socks

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos have arrested a commercial bus driver in Lagos named Maduewesi Ugochukwu Samuel, with 193 wraps of cocaine weighing 3.4kgs that was hidden inside his sucks. Samuel was arrested while attempting to board a plane heading to Dubai.

When he was arrested, Samuel said he ventured into drug trafficking so he could make some money and quit his job as a commercial driver

“I am a commercial bus driver in Lagos. I am from Anambra State. My friend who lives outside the country introduced me into drug trafficking. He promised to help me with capital to start my business, but after sponsoring my trip to Dubai, he told me to smuggle drugs to Nigeria. I was instructed to conceal the drugs in my socks and that it will not be detected. They also offered to pay me the sum of N800,000 for safe delivery of the drug. I had wanted to start a supply business in electrical appliances but I am regretting my action because my wife is all alone while I am in NDLEA custody. This is her first pregnancy and she needs my attention. This is my greatest concern,” .

Speaking on his arrest, the Chairman/Chief Executive of the Agency, Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah (rtd,) said

“This is an interesting arrest and I commend the officers for the discovery. Dubai-Lagos route is gradually gaining notoriety and we are monitoring it closely. Let me assure members of the public that the NDLEA is working very hard in preventing illicit drug production, trafficking and abuse in the country. During screening of passengers at the arrival hall, officers noticed that he had some items attached to his legs. It was cleverly done, but not good enough to escape our notice. When his socks was pulled down, suspected wraps of narcotics found to be cocaine fell down on the floor. He was immediately arrested and taken for further investigation”.

He will soon be charged to court