A Nigerian newspaper and Online version of the Vanguard, a daily publication in Nigeria covering Niger delta, general national news, politics, business, energy, sports, entertainment, fashion,lifestyle human interest stories, etc
The Kano State Government on Sunday donated food items worth N2.5 million to enable prison inmates in the state celebrate Eid el-Kabir.
The items comprised three cows, 14 rams, 40 bags of rice, 16 jerry- cans of vegetable oil and other food items.
The Secretary to Kano State Government (SSG), Alhaji Usman Alhaji, told officials of Kano Central Prisons, Kurmawa, at the presentation ceremony, that the gesture was to assist the inmates celebrate Eid-el-Kabir with ease.
"It has been a tradition of Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje to assist the inmates during such special occasions,” he said.
He called on well to do individuals in the state to complement government's efforts by donating food items and other materials to support the inmates to celebrate.
"The state government welcomes and encourages people who are willing to support the inmates in whatever way possible provided they will follow the agreed channels," he said.
The Deputy Controller of Prison, Mr Auwalu Diso, thanked the government for the kind gesture and gave an assurance that the items would be judiciously used for the benefit of the inmates.
He commended Ganduje for donating rubber mats and mattresses in addition to awarding contract for the construction of drains in the prison recently.
The SSG was accompanied by some members of the State Committee on Prerogative of Mercy during the visit.
The state government had during the Ramadan secured the release of no fewer than 500 inmates from prisons in the state
The shortlist of three entries has been approved by the Advisory Board for The Nigeria Prize for Literature sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited. This announcement follows an initial shortlist of eleven which was released in July. The three shortlisted entries, in alphabetic order, are Born on a Tuesday (Elnathan John), NightDancer (Chika Unigwe) and Season of Crimson Blossoms (Abubakar Adam Ibrahim).
According to the Chairman of the Advisory Board, Professor Emeritus Ayo Banjo, the eventual winner of the competition will be announced at a World Press Conference in October, 2016.
Born on a Tuesday, published by Parresia Books, is a story about contemporary northern Nigeria which has over the years experienced religious violence and carnage as seen through the eyes of a young man. Born on a Tuesday is Elnathan John's first novel. John is a writer, lawyer anda Civitella Ranieri Fellow. He has also been shortlisted twice by the Caine Prize for African Writing.
Chika Unigwe's Night Dancer, published by Jonathan Cape, focuses on the young protagonist's search for identity and her consequent reappraisal of her mother's values. Chika Unigwe is a writer and the 2012 winner of The Nigeria Prize for Literature, with her novel On Black Sisters Street.
Season of Crimson Blossoms is a novel set in conservative northern Nigeria. It focuses on unusual love affairs between characters, as well as ambiguities in religion and politics. Published by Cassava Republic Press, Season of Crimson Blossoms is Ibrahim's debut novel. Ibrahim has won the BBC African Performance Prize and the Amatu Braide Prize for Prose.
The Chairman of the Panel of Judges is Prof. Dan Izevbaye, awell-respected literary critic and professor of Literature in English.
Other judges are Asabe Usman Kabir, professor of Oral and African Literatures at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto and Isidore Diala, first winner of The Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism and professor of African literature in the Department of English, Imo State University, Owerri.
President Muhammadu Buhari has saluted Nigerians for their steadfastness in spite of the difficult economic times confronting the country.
Buhari, in his Eid-el-Kabir message to Nigerians released in Abuja on Sunday, gave the assurance that his administration would get the economy right.
According to him, the Federal Government is "working round the clock" to address the current hardship the country is going through.
He attributed the economic recession to cumulative effects of worldwide economic downturn and failure in the past to plan and save for difficult times.
"It is impossible to separate the present from the past to appreciate the extent to which mistakes of the past are affecting everyday life today.
"I assure you that this administration is working round the clock to remove the hardships the country is going through."
He said development programmes had been designed to reinvigorate the economy and enhance living standards of ordinary people.
These, according to the President, include rail and road constructions, housing sector projects, support for farmers in small and medium scale industries, youth and women empowerment programmes and support for revival of industries.
"We are getting security right. We are stopping corruption in its tracks and we will get the economy right by the grace of God.''
Buhari enjoined Muslims to live by the dictates of Islam by maintaining good relationships with their Christian brothers and sisters.
He further charged them to maintain the spirit of the Nigerian nation as patriots.
"The lessons of the Eid are piety and sacrifice and, my dear brothers and sisters, you have exhibited these in equal measure. I wish everyone happy holidays,'' he said.
Whenever there is a problem in the economy, like the recession in the country, the first casualty is always the visual art sector as people will always concentrate on things to eat. Periods like this come with their challenges as many people will be frustrated, confused and anger will fill the land and in such a situation what people need is something that will soothe their nerves.
Black Out by Diseye Tantua
As a way of responding to the ugly situation, a body of artists known as the Guild of Professional Fine Artists of Nigeria, GFA, made up of people who have been in the business and who understand how the people feel, last week brought art connoisseurs, patrons, lovers and artists to an exhibition tagged Catharsis.
The group which can be described as a middle generation of Nigerian masters, parades about 24 seasoned artists who have been in the business for years and exhibited widely.
The exhibition which opened at Lagos Culture House, TerraKulture on 3rd September and will end on the 11th featured about 40 works that vary from the socio-political to the philosophical, esoteric to the poetic, but in all, the works speak from the heart of the artists with passion.
At the opening, the ambiance that radiated through the paintings and sculptures confirmed the status of the exhibiting artists as among the leading signatures of Nigeria's generation .
The entire exhibiting hall was filled with works that speak for themselves and the viewers had a field day going through the works. And in line with the theme of the exhibition, some of the works really aroused strong feelings about how the populace can be relieved of their anger, sufferings and emotions at least momentarily.
Some of the works include, Reflection by Abraham Uyovbisere, Evening Mood by Bimbo Adenuaga, Bad money and Black out by Diseye Tantua, Evening Blues by Duke Asidere,Focal Point by Edosa Ogiugo, Onyeoma na Makua 11 by George Edozie, Love Garden by Gerry Nnubia, Rhythm on Strings by Norbert Okpu, Dialogue, Past& Present by Tola Wewe, Expression Earths Reception by Segun Adejumo and many others.
Some of the works actually point the way forward in times like this, for example a piece by Segun Adejumo entitled Expressions that depict images of people dancing, on occasions like this people need to dance their sorrows away. Norbert Okpu's Ryhthm on Strings and Hope also speak about relaxation with hope. Duke Asidere's Evening Blues according to him is a sleep activator.
Rhythm on Strings by Norbert Okpu
” I did it over 8 years ago and it has worked me. A lot of people have issues with sleep, it is something I put by my bed side that sedates me to sleep, it is just a sleep activator, so I have enjoyed it for years and want others to enjoy it too,” Asidere explained.
For Gerry Nnubia's Love Garden, which he termed Co-existence that shows different flowers under some trees, Nnubia said that flowers are symbols of love and every piece of flower radiates love and there are different colours of flowers living in harmony. The piece took a root from the North, precisely Jos where there are lots of natural flowers, but incidentally, there is crisis in the area. The work borders on unity, so he is therefore urging the people of all tribes, colours to live in harmony .
Speaking about the exhibition, Segun Adejumo, the president of the group, who described the present period as a period of questioning said that “the purpose is to bring new insights into the creative studio activities of the members of GFA, their experiments, works and how these works might affect the existential disposition of the audience, art collectors and enthusiasts.”
England goalkeeper Joe Hart conceded twice on his Torino debut as Atalanta secured a 2-1 win in Bergamo amid a dramatic afternoon of Serie A action on Sunday.
Hart, deemed surplus to requirements by Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, completed his move to unfashionable Torino on a season-long loan deal two weeks ago.
Yet hopes of a first Serie A win for the England shot-stopper were dealt a significant blow when ‘Granata’ striker Andrea Belotti, who hit a hat-trick a fortnight ago, was sidelined for three weeks after suffering a thigh injury with Italy on what was his maiden call-up.
Despite also missing Venezuelan striker Josef Martinez, Torino made light of the absences to take a 54th minute lead through Iago Falque.
But Atalanta were given a half-chance to pull level only two minutes later when Hart came off his line to palm a corner away with one hand, and Andrea Masiello punished the move by deftly volleying the loose ball into the net.
Torino’s hopes of taking a share of the spoils dipped when Alejandro Gomez was hauled down by Lorenzo Di Silvestri inside the penalty area with only eight minutes on the clock.
Ivorian striker Frank Kessie stepped up to coolly send Hart the wrong way to seal the winner as Torino suffered their second defeat in three games to sit below mid-table.
As heavy rain at several venues played havoc with the league programme, AC Milan would have been forgiven for wishing their match — like the Genoa v Fiorentina fixture — had also been postponed.
The Serie A giants had Carlos Bacca’s hat-trick to thank for their 3-2 win over Torino on the opening day of the campaign.
But two days after Bacca returned from international duty with Colombia, the Rossoneri striker was ineffective on his way to a 1-0 defeat to Udinese following Stipe Perica’s 88th minute strike for the visitors.
To add insult to injury, Milan lost influential defender Luca Antonelli to a suspected serious head/neck injury when he was stretchered off before the hour following an awkward mid-air clash with teammate Gabriel Paletta.
As he lay on the ground, a teammate reached inside his mouth to make sure he did not swallow his tongue.
Torrential rain in Genoa and Rome, meanwhile, caused havoc for fans and players.
Serie A officials were forced to postpone the Genoa v Fiorentina fixture at half-time after the pitch became unplayable following a first-half deluge.
There were similar scenes at the Stadio Olimpico, although surprisingly officials decided not to postpone the game.
Sampdoria held a 2-1 lead after goals from Fabio Quagliarella and Luis Muriel cancelled out Mohamed Salah’s opener for the hosts.
But by then the pitch was sporting a thick layer of hailstones and at the start of the second half huge puddles were apparent on the pitch.
Instead of postponing, officials waited for the rain to stop and the match resumed with a delay of over 30 minutes after the pitch had been cleared of the puddles
If Nigeria fails to start producing rice, by December 2016, the price of a bag of rice could be N40,000, says the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri.
Lokpobiri, who made this known at a town hall meeting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Saturday, said that Nigeria spends about $22bn a year on importation of food into the country.
He said, "For your information, we spend about $22bn a year importing food into Nigeria. We know how many more dollars they bought and that is why you see the price of rice going up.
"Price of rice was may be N12,000 some months ago, but it is now about N26,000 and if we don't start producing, by December it could be N40,000.
"Rice matures in three months. So, this is a wake up call for Bayelsa people to take the four farms we have seriously. The federal government has four farms in the state in our records. The average land you see in Bayelsa can grow rice, so the colonial masters were not wrong in their assessment when they said Niger Delta could feed not only Nigerian but also the entire West Africa sub-region.
"Unfortunately, agriculture till today, is not a priority of the Niger Delta as far as the state governments are concerned because of oil."
He said the states in the Niger Delta had yet to give priority to agriculture the way the North-West states such as Kebbi, Jigawa, Kano as well as other states like Lagos, Ebonyi, Anambra, prioritised it.
He said Anambra State for instance, was not owing salaries despite the fact that it does not have oil but raking in money by merely exporting vegetables.
AC Milan defender Luca Antonelli has been taken to hospital with a suspected serious head injury after a clash in the Serie A giant’s league game with Udinese on Sunday.
Antonelli, an Italy international, was carried off on a stretcher before the hour mark after falling awkwardly during the league fixture at Milan’s shared San Siro stadium.
As he lay on the ground, a teammate reached inside his mouth to make sure he did not swallow his tongue. Luca Antonelli Milan have yet to publish a statement although conflicting reports said Antonelli was in hospital after suffering either a head or neck injury.
It was deep into injury time and Arsene Wenger and his Arsenal side were facing the ignominy of being booed from their Emirates pitch for the second time in this nascent Premier League season.
And then up popped Santi Cazorla to score a controversial spot-kick in the fourth minute of added-on time after referee Bobby Madley judged Jose Fonte to have pulled down Olivier Giroud — a decision that left Southampton boss Claude Puel fuming.
In contrast his fellow Frenchman Wenger said Arsenal can go into their Champions League tie against Paris Saint Germain with renewed confidence thanks to a 2-1 win on Saturday — crisis averted for now.
Arsenal won at Watford before the international break, having previously taken only one point from their first two games of the season, and Wenger said: “Two wins together is a big help, it gives players more confidence to get to where we want to be.”
Laurent Koscielny had acrobatically cancelled out an own goal conceded by Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech in attempting to save a Dusan Tadic free-kick.
And the row over the penalty might not have been so long and bitter had Shane Long converted either of the two second-half chances south coast club Southampton created in north London.
Wenger said he had not seen television replays of the incident, but his players had told him it was “100 percent a penalty”.
He added: “We could earlier maybe have had one or two penalties at corners.”
“I am angry for my players,” countered Puel, who is yet to win a competitive game after taking over as the Saints manager in pre-season.
“We played fantastic. We had the best situations to score and win the game against a very good team,” added Puel, who spent several seasons as a player under Wenger when they were at Monaco.
Madley’s stoppage-time decision was a third penalty — all successfully converted — given against Southampton this season and Puel said: “I don't like to speak of decisions of the referee but three penalties in four games is a bit much.
“After 90 minutes of good work it is a big frustration.”
– ‘Nervous’ –
Koscielny suffered a nasty kick to the face in the build-up to the penalty but should play against PSG.
Arsenal's other centre-halves, Gabriel and Per Mertesacker, are injured, Rob Holding is inexperienced and new signing Shkodran Mustafi is short of sharpness, according to Wenger.
The German international and Lucas Perez made their debuts following transfer window arrivals from Spain and Wenger said they both needed more matches.
“The boys are short of competition and were surprised by the pace and commitment of the Premier League. They were also nervous in the first half. They adapted more in the second half,” he said.
The long-serving Wenger, who is under pressure from Arsenal fans to deliver a league title again, was pleased with his side’s response to going behind.
“In the second half we dominated but couldn't score. Southampton had many threats on the counter-attack, but in the end we got the penalty.
“When you lose the first home game (as Arsenal did against Liverpool at home) you cannot afford not to win the second.”
While Arsenal are now sixth in the table, Southampton are in the relegation zone with just two points from four games, but Puel refused to be downbeat.
“It is disappointing as in all of our games I think ‘we can win’. It is now important to get a result.”
Southampton’s next match is the first of their Europa League campaign, at home to Sparta Prague on Thursday.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho singled out some of his players for stinging criticism following their 2-1 loss to derby rivals Manchester City.
The United manager hauled off Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Jesse Lingard at half-time and said it was only because he did not want to “destroy them” that he did not substitute them earlier.
But he saved his most trenchant remarks for centre-backs Daley Blind and, in particular, Eric Bailly, saying some players had shown signs they did not possess the requisite big-game temperament.
“We had problems with poor performances,” Mourinho told reporters at Old Trafford on Saturday.
“We lost the ball very, very easy. Even our central defenders, that were really top class until today, they lost easy balls.
“Back-passes, first-station passes, from Bailly to (Marouane) Fellaini, from Blind to (Paul) Pogba.
“We lost the ball in these kinds of positions. So it was not (just) Mickey (Mkhitaryan) and Jesse, it was much more than Mickey and Jesse.”
Pep Guardiola’s City took a deserved 15th-minute lead when Kevin De Bruyne beat Blind to Kelechi Iheanacho’s flick-on before steering a shot past David de Gea.
The same pair combined to double City’s lead, Iheanacho tapping in after De Bruyne’s low shot came back off the post.
An error from City’s debutant goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, who flapped at a deep free-kick from Wayne Rooney, allowed Zlatan Ibrahimovic to pull a goal back.
But although United improved following the half-time introductions of 18-year-old Marcus Rashford and Ander Herrera, they could not find an equaliser.Gaurdiola-vs-Mourinho
– ‘I respect him’ –
“What I told them at half-time was that for some of you, it looks like you are trying to do what I told you not to do,” said Mourinho.
“I told Bailly 20 times, never play a first-station ball. Never. Because this is where they want to press. Never do that. He did it 20 times during the game.
“I think really some of the boys, they felt the dimension of the game. Everything around the game — the derby, the big game, Man United-Man City, the focus, the attention — some of the guys felt it.
“It has nothing to do with inexperience or age because you have the kid (Rashford) then in the second half and the kid looks like he was playing in the Under-18s against Salford City.
“So it’s about the individual and every individual reacts to the dimension of the occasion in different ways. It’s difficult to predict.
“It only gets easier when you know the players very, very well. So probably in the next big game in the Premier League, I know who can accept the dimension of the game, which is very important.”
Mourinho blamed referee Mark Clattenburg for not awarding a penalty after a rash challenge on Rooney by Bravo.
Guardiola said he had not seen the incident, but revealed that Aleksandar Kolarov had lost a tooth during the game.
The left-back appeared to be struck in the face by Fellaini at one point, but Guardiola said he did not know what had happened.
The match had been billed as a showdown between Mourinho and Guardiola, who fought a ferocious running battle during their time as coaches of Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively.
The pair embraced before the match and Guardiola said he hoped future contests between the teams would not be discussed in terms of their personal relationship.
“I don’t know if he respects me, but I respect him a lot,” said the former Bayern Munich coach.
“We are fathers. I am a father, he’s a father, so I didn’t come here to see about the rivalry. He wants to win, I want to win.
“I beat him, he beats me. In the future I beat him, he beats me. It’s simple like that. We are adult people. When we see each other, sometimes we don’t agree about our opinions.
“Hopefully next time we play against United, people start to forget.”
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has broken his silence on their derby fixture defeat to Pep Guardiola’s Man City.
Paul Pogba insists Manchester United will learn from their derby defeat to City at Old Trafford, reports Manchester Evening News.
Pogba
The Premier League leaders schooled United in the first-half but United rallied after Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s brilliant strike and should have been awarded a second-half penalty for Claudio Bravo’s lunge on Wayne Rooney.
Pogba was one of a number of United players who badly under-performed and, having told journalists in the mixed zone he ‘doesn’t speak’, he gave his Instagram followers an update.
Pogba posted: “The season is just starting, we don’t lose, we learn. United we stand.”
Mourinho felt individual performances affected United’s approach against Pep Guardiola’s side.
“I’m clearly disappointed with the the first-half,” Mourinho stressed. “Disappointed with some really poor individual performances that affected the level of the team.
“It was not just about them [Mkhitaryan and Lingard]. Other players were also not playing really well and obviously, as well as my decision, I don’t like to go in the direction of singling out players. Let’s say our team didn’t play well in the first-half and their responsibilities are my responsibilities.
“We didn’t have a tactical problem, we had problems with poor performances, we lost the ball very, very easy. Even now our central defenders today they lost easy balls, bad passes, first station passes from Bailly to Fellaini and Blind to Pogba. We lost the ball in these kind of positions, so it was not Mikhi and Jesse it was much more than Mikhi and Jesse.
“I made a couple of decisions that I thought individual qualities of certain players would give me what I know that I I want and I didn’t get it,” he added.
“And at the same time because we were losing the ball so easily under the pressing we were making, we were never able to bring the defensive line up, so we stayed with the defensive line in our half.
“I didn’t change after 20 minutes because I don’t want to destroy the players, I didn’t want to make three changes at half-time because I was afraid in a long 45 minutes something might happen, but if it was a sport in free number of changes and with changes during the first-half is normal, like basketball, I would do after 20 minutes.
“But I did at half-time, we changed the direction of the game but we didn’t get the compensation I think we deserved in the second half.”
ABUJA- AS Nigerians continue to groan and reel under economic recession some agric experts speak on quick recovery measures to rescue the situation.
A foremost member of Federation of Agricultural Commodity Association of Nigeria, FACAN, Abuja Chapter, Joshua
Anajome, said the government should urgently take intervention measures by embarking on short, medium and long term agric policies and programmes to reduce the recession impact on Nigerians.
Anajome said: "Nigeria was not founded on oil revenue but agriculture, and today we have deviated from our roots and for us to come back to the roots we have to work together because one section of the economy cannot do it alone.
"We need good land tenure system where people will have easy access to land for agricultural activities, including farm inputs and government policy interventions at all tiers of government.
"The government should fashion out policy that would make secondary and tertiary schools' students to focus on agriculture.
"With the current recession the government should come up with deliberate intervention policies and programmes which will be on short, medium and long term basis.
"On the short term government should see how farmers can be helped with subsidised inputs to farm all round the year with farm inputs, like improved seedlings, extension services, registration of cooperatives so that farmers can have impact on obtaining loans from banks because peasant farmers can't assess loans.
"The farmers should be provided with basic enabling environment by all tiers of government, and they should also integrate their policies and programmes, and not state government policies going a variance with federal government policies.
"On the medium term after sorting out the basics at the short term we should add value to what we are doing. Value addition will mean importing simple primary machinery or fabricating some locally because we have the iron ore industry in
Nigerian now, and such industry should be supported because with the fabrication of the machines we can add value to the commodities before we export.
"The long term should be the improvement of the short and medium term reviews, and projection into the future and help farmers by buying their products, which we as a country did in the past through the commodity boards."
He also added that the urgent measures to be taken by the government should be by subsidising high prices of staple food like rice, cassava, yam, all grains, beans, and also farm inputs to encourage farmers multiply production.
In his assertion, Interim Chairman of Federation of Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, Garba Ibrahim, urged
President Muhammadu Buhari to set up a think-tank that would in a short term proffer sustainable economic solution to tackle the recession the country has been plunged into.
"Nobody is comfortable with the word recession and is a great concern, because for a country to be in recession that country has to sit down and look at some economic fundamentals, why are we in recession, what lead us to recession and now we are in recession and if we are in recession we need to sit down and come out with viable issues, virtual plans, economic principles that will be able to reverse this trend.
"What we need now is decision and action which should be done quickly. What the government should do now is to get Nigerian experts involved in agriculture, and put them in a quiet place.
"The best brains should be brought from the universities, polytechnics and also economists, and let Mr President tell them to get solution for the challenge of the economy. The various research institutes should also be involved and carried along because most of them have done researches on positive economic growth", he stated.
As part of activities to mark the 2016 New Legal year, the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Oluwafunmi Atilade, will on September 27 visit the Ikoyi Prisons.
According to the Director of Admin and Human Resources on behalf of the Legal Year Committee, M.O Shasanya, the programme for the week long event would include a Church Service at the Christ Cathedral Church, Marina on September 26.
Thereafter a Muslim prayer at the central Mosque, Nnamdi Azikiwe Road, before a parade and lunch at the High Court Premises, Igbosere Road, Lagos.
The Director of Admin and Human Resources on behalf of the Legal Year Committee noted that on September 27, there would be a Bar/Bench Forum titled “Restorative Justice” at the Foyer, High Court of Lagos.
“On day 3, September 28, there shall be a Summit titled ‘Mental Health Issues and the Law’ at the Foyer, High Court, Lagos and Novelty Football March at Onikan Stadium at the next day,” he added.
Shasanya explained that to ensure that Lagos judges are healthy for the task in the new legal year, Staff of the state’s judiciary would undergo Health check on September 30.
The Governor of Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Sunday called on Muslims in Nigeria to imbibe the values of sacrifice and endurance as they join their counterparts worldwide to celebrate this year's Eid-el-Kabir.
In his Sallah message signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Habib Aruna, Governor Ambode said the period of the celebration is one that calls for every Muslim and other Nigerians to embrace the tenets of sacrifice, patience, humility and brotherly love.
He explained that the significance of the season should be beyond the festivities, adding that it should be a moment to reflect on why God has united everyone with a common humanity of blood, food and water as these should constitute what binds the people.Ambode
He, therefore, called on Nigerians to rededicate themselves to a greater acceptance and internalization of the lessons of piety, faithfulness, dedication, fortitude, obedience, sacrifice and selfless service which are for the benefit of mankind.
"As we celebrate this auspicious occasion, let us renew our faith in our nation and implore the Almighty God to restore to us those values that place high premium on human life, love of neighbour and sharing even as we ventilate our faith in the unity of our dear country and the possibility of her taking her place in the comity of nations", the Governor said.
He said the prevailing economic recession currently taking its toll on Nigerians was only a phase that will pave way for a new dawn in the country, saying the Federal Government is making steady efforts to salvage the situation.
"This period requires more patience, fortitude, tolerance, endurance, patriotism and a greater willingness to make personal sacrifices for the good of all. The President Muhammadu Buhari administration remains committed to lead the nation in overcoming its current economic and developmental challenges".
While wishing all Muslim brothers and sisters in the State a happy Eid-el-Kabir celebration, Governor Ambode expressed appreciation for the support given to his administration, urging all Lagosians to continue to embrace peaceful co-existence.
Hillary Clinton said Saturday she regretted saying that half of Donald Trump’s supporters belong in a “basket of deplorables” – a remark the billionaire Republican slammed as her “worst mistake of the political season.”
The Democratic presidential candidate came under fire for remarks made at a New York fundraiser late Friday – remarks that unleashed a wave of derision and mockery on social media.
“To be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables,” Clinton told a crowd at the “LGBT for Hillary” gala.
“The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic – you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up.”
She added that those people are “irredeemable, but thankfully they are not America.”
“Basket of Deplorables” quickly became a trending hashtag on Twitter, with users venting their fury at the former secretary of state.
There was even a mock account called “Hillary’s Basket,” with the handle @TheDeplorables, deriding the former first lady and US senator. Hillary With less than two months to go before Election Day, and the race still tight, Clinton walked back her remark on Saturday.
“Last night I was ‘grossly generalistic,’ and that’s never a good idea. I regret saying ‘half’ — that was wrong,” she said in a statement released by her campaign.
Clinton then listed a number of “deplorable” things about the Republican presidential candidate.
“It’s deplorable that Trump has built his campaign largely on prejudice and paranoia and given a national platform to hateful views and voices, including by retweeting fringe bigots with a few dozen followers and spreading their message to 11 million people,” she said.
“It’s deplorable that he’s attacked a federal judge for his ‘Mexican heritage,’ bullied a Gold Star family because of their Muslim faith, and promoted the lie that our first black president is not a true American.
“So I won’t stop calling out bigotry and racist rhetoric in this campaign,” she said.
– ‘Disgraceful’ –
Trump, 70, fired back by calling her comments “INSULTING” on Twitter, then issuing an angry statement.
“Isn’t it disgraceful that Hillary Clinton makes the worst mistake of the political season and instead of owning up to this grotesque attack on American voters, she tries to turn it around with a pathetic rehash of the words and insults used in her failing campaign?” Trump wrote.
“For the first time in a long while, her true feelings came out, showing bigotry and hatred for millions of Americans,” he added in a statement, calling Clinton “unfit” to be president.
He later compared Clinton’s statement to Republican Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign gaffe, when he said that 47 percent of the people would vote for Barack Obama’s re-election because they are “dependent upon government,” and “believe that they are victims.”
“Hillary Clinton just had her 47% moment,” Trump tweeted. “What a terrible thing she said about so many great Americans!”
– ‘Not a basket of anything’ –
Clinton, 68, also told the fundraiser crowd that other Trump supporters feel let down by the government and the economy, and are “desperate for change.”
She reiterated that point Saturday, saying many Trump supporters are “hard-working Americans” who feel marginalized.
“I’m determined to bring our country together and make our economy work for everyone, not just those at the top,” Clinton said.
Trump’s running mate Mike Pence said Clinton had disrespected voters.
“Hillary, they are not a basket of anything, they are Americans, and they deserve your respect,” Pence told activists at the Values Voters Summit in Washington.
Trump’s son Eric posted a photo on Twitter of his father’s supporters packed into a sports arena for a late Friday rally.
“Look at the #BasketOfDeplorables in Pensacola Florida last night! What a horrible statement. #CrookedHillary,” he wrote, using one of his father’s favorite insults.
Trump told the crowd he believes that Clinton – under fire for using a private email server when she was secretary of state – is so immune from prosecution she could get away with murder.
“She could walk into this arena right now and shoot somebody with 20,000 people watching, right smack in the middle of the heart and she wouldn’t be prosecuted,” he declared.
An FBI investigation found that Clinton sent unsecured emails with classified material through the server, but ultimately recommended that she not be prosecuted.
Trump’s remark was reminiscent of a comment he made in January, when he said he could “stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody” but still not lose any support.
The annual hajj pilgrimage reached its climax on Sunday when the Muslims from across the world swarmed a stoney hill in western Saudi Arabia to pray and recite from the Koran.
More than 1.8 million gathered from sunrise at the hill and a vast surrounding plain known as Mount Arafat, about 15 kilometres (nine miles) from Mecca.
Against a backdrop of distant, higher peaks, they squatted, stood, or climbed steps built into the hill while reciting ritual incantations.
From a distance, the hill appeared a snowy white, as male pilgrims wear a seamless two-piece white garment, ihram.
It symbolises a state of purity and emphasises their unity regardless of social status or nationality.
Women wear a loose dress, typically also white, but some like Soumaya, 30, of Mali are in traditional attire, in her case an orange robe.
“We feel at ease and are totally benefiting from our pilgrimage,” she said, giving only one name.
“Everything is very well organised,” added her friend, Khadija Bechir, 23.
Pilgrims come from every corner of the globe, but Indonesia — the most populous Muslim nation — has the largest quota.
Official figures issued late Saturday said the total number of pilgrims exceeds 1.8 million, with more than 1.3 million arrived from outside the kingdom.
Three women were killed while staging a knife and firebomb attack on the main police station in the Kenyan city of Mombasa on Sunday in what officers said was “an apparent terror attack.”
Mombasa County police chief Peterson Maelo said the three women had entered the city’s busiest police station in mid-morning saying they wanted to report a stolen phone.
“In the process one hurled a petrol bomb at the report office as the others confronted two officers and stabbed them,” Maelo told journalists at the scene.
“All the three attackers have been killed and the two police officers have been rushed to hospital,” he said, terming it “an apparent terror attack.”
The fire was put out and the station sealed off by heavily armed police officers as the probe gets under way.
A senior police officer in Mombasa who asked not to be identified said earlier that the three were in Muslim dress.
“This is terrorism, they were definitely on a mission,” he said.
A witness named Saumu said “the women were shouting saying God Is Great, Allahu Akbar … then one of them threw something at the cops and that’s when I ran away.”
Kenya has been regularly targeted by the Somalia-based Shabaab, East Africa’s long-time Al-Qaeda branch, which is fighting to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu, protected by 22,000 African Union troops, including Kenyan soldiers.
The Somali-led insurgents have staged repeated attacks in Kenya, including the killing of at least 67 people at Nairobi’s Westgate Mall in 2013 and the massacre of 148 people at a university in Garissa in April 2015.
In keeping with its earlier pledge, Kwara State government has released the sum of N250m augmentation approved by Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed to the 16 Local Government Councils in the state to enable them pay workers’ salary.
This was disclosed by the state Commissioner for Finance, Mr Demola Banu, during a meeting with the Local Government Chairmen.
The Commissioner urged the Chairmen to put all necessary machinery in place to ensure that workers are paid ahead of Sallah celebrations, noting that the state government has fulfilled its pledge to help LGs pay their workers for the month of August.
Mr Banu stated that the Chairmen should notify him immediately if they face any challenges accessing the fund so he can intervene.
The Benue state Police Command has beefed up security across the state to forestall any break down of law and order ahead of the forthcoming Eid celebrations in the state.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Bashir Makama told Vanguard yesterday in Makurdi that the his men would ensure a 24 hour patrols of all the 23 local government areas of the state under his direct supervision.
Makama who said, he had also put several other measures in place to ensure that the Eid festivities went on in the state without any form of security breach explained that “it will however be unprofessional and unethical for me to divulge the measures we have put in place in that regard.
“I can assure you that the very low crime rate we have been enjoying in the state in the last two months will be sustained and we will go the extra mile to ensure that there is absolute peace in Benue state during the celebration.
“Our men are on daily patrols of the entire 23 local government areas of the state since I resumed here in the state and we are presently on 24 hours standby in the entire state to respond to distress calls in all the localities.
“I can assure you that the tempo will also be sustained all through the year because we know that this period of the year is peculiar and therefore requires the special attention of the Police and other sister security agencies.”
The Police Commissioner who cautioned criminally minded individuals to stay away from the state assured that officers and men of the command were fully prepared to safeguard the lives and property of the people of the state.
In ancient biblical times, the populace of the City of Babel decided they were invincible, indestructible, immortal and omnipotent. all culminating into masochist ego and arrogance at its peak! So they decided to build a monument to themselves that would reach the heavens, to let God know there was competition! What gumption! What audacity? And God responded by sowing confusion in their midst. He just easily gave them different languages and they could no longer ommunicate.. and presto! they dispersed! Can we see similarities between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the City of Babel?
PDP had all the opportunities to both steer Nigeria towards the promised land and make history, but they derailed and abused the God given priviledge and mandate (no one can rule without Gods permission). We started hearing statements like: "PDP is the greatest party in Africa", "PDP is ultimate power", "PDP will be in power for 60 years" etc... armed with this toga, they proceeded in an unprecedented manner especially in the last six years to plunder the commonwealth of Nigeria to the detriment of the masses. They were sated, sleek, and fat and it couldn't get any better. The new measurement for wealth became Private Jets, Rolls Royces, Ferraris et al. unknown to them their cup had run over.. their case was like the biblical proverb of the rich man with a full barn that that said he lacked nothing in the world that it can only get better … and God said you fool you will die tonight!
In came APC, out went PDP. APC had a rocky start with a lot of in fighting, lack of trust and I wonder why it surprised a lot of people? It was to be expected especially considering the matrix of APC, diverse groups rom diverse backgrounds will always struggle to build consensus or a common ground..this scenario and the Executive/National Assembly imbroglio was a gilt-edged opportunity for PDP to rally and become a credible opposition party and work to wrest power back A few governors led by Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, who I greatly admire and who I recommend Governor Ayo Fayose to take tutorials and lessons in mature, objective and dignified opposition, and quit is tactless and rabid rants against the Federal government of Nigeria. Anyway, Mimiko and other forward thinking governors sensed the opportunity and also knew that PDP needed a new type of hybrid leader - who should be stupendously wealthy, gutsy, gritty, audacious, confident, resolute, plucky and a fearless leader - in came Alhaji Ali Modu-Sheriff. Say ill or good of him, he is a man we all know possesses all the above mentioned attributes who left APC because he had those attributes.
I was perturbed, apprehensive, and concerned because I realised the danger this man posed to my party APC for whom I worked unremittingly to contribute my quota to actualize change in the last elections..It seemed to one else saw it! I wanted to climb mountains and roof tops and scream to the APC leadership DANGER! I wanted to dial 911 EMERGENCY! A menace to APC was about to be unleashed! And just when they were gaining traction... there was a divine intervention! Like the city and populace of Babel, God changed their language and sowed discord. All of a sudden, the party prevailed on the Mimiko and his cohorts to withdraw their support for Sheriff and endorse Ahmed Makarfi as Chairman. Confusion and chaos ensued, sounding almost a death knell for PDP, hence ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo's observation that PDP was in its death throes and Ali Modu Sheriff may be the undertaker... The fact that Ali Modu Sheriff is still standing albeit on one leg… testifies to his bullishness, doggedness and tenacity.I want to thank PDP for going against Sheriff and I pray he is successfully neutralized so my party APC can continue solving its internal issues, building bridges, getting stronger and proffering solutions under quiet diplomatic vibrant leadership of the likes of the President Buhari, Vice President Osinbajo, Senate President Bukola Saraki, APC's National Secretary, Hon. Mai Mala Buni, et al…… once again I am beholden to PDP and will struggle for front row seats to watch the in coming cataclysm…
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