WEEKLLYHIP

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said that Nigeria will be a nation where your knowledge, talent and character affect it citizen’s upward mobility and not tribe, religion or birth in 2017. Jonathan made this known in his 2017 message and prayers for his beloved country, he prayed that Nigerians in the year 2017 will continue to forge greater ties across the length and breadth and that the Nigerian Dream will be achieved. He also supplicated that Nigeria will be a “nation where the child of a nobody can become a somebody without knowing anybody.” “My prayer for Nigeria in the year 2017 is that we continue to forge greater ties across the length and breadth of this great nation to the end that we may achieve the Nigerian Dream: A nation where the child of a nobody can become a somebody without knowing anybody. “A nation where your knowledge, talent and character affect your upward mobility rather than the fact of your tribe, religion or birth. ...

These days Nigerians are becoming increasingly attracted by the lure of the proverbial ‘greener pastures’ in more developed countries due to the full blown recession in Nigeria. It is not uncommon to find families that have been ‘separated’ because one of the spouses has traveled abroad in search of better opportunities. More often, it is the husband that undertakes this adventure. Increasingly, we find wives who make the plunge, in a bid to seek the ever-elusive ‘foreign exchange’ that can presumably ensure a better life for their families. As soon as the spouse who travels abroad begins to earn reasonable income, the next step is to think of making remittances back home to support the family. At this point, the marriage has become, to all intents and purposes, a long-distance marriage. For many of such families, the traveler spouse becomes the major source of financial support, either perennially, or until such a time as the spouse at home is ab...

MY NEW YEAR MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS, JANUARY 1, 2017 My dear Compatriots, I am happy to welcome you to the beginning of a New Year in our beloved country Nigeria. I felicitate with you today at a time when our nation is witnessing a new and impressive turnaround in our security and socio-economic situation. I know you will join me to, once again, congratulate the heroic and gallant efforts of our military and other security agencies on their remarkable successes to rid the nation of terrorism. Following the successful capture of Sambisa Forest, spearheaded by troops of Operation Lafiya Dole, we have entered a new phase in our battle against our common enemy, Boko Haram. When we see our beloved 21 Chibok girls reuniting with their families and community for Christmas, it gives us the hope that those who are still in captivity will one day return to the loving arms of family, friends and well-wishers. Buhari I urge all Nigerians to be on the alert and watch out for strange figures s...

The Nigerian community in South Africa on Sunday confirmed the death of a Nigerian and the abduction of another in that country. Ikechukwu Anyene, the President of Nigeria Union, South Africa, told the News Agency of Nigeria on telephone from Pretoria that both incidents had been reported to the Nigerian Mission in that country. He alleged that one Victor Nnadi, a native of Orlu in Imo State, was suffocated to death on Thursday by the Metropolitan Police in Cape Town. Mr. Anyene claimed that witnesses saw the police handcuff the victim and suffocate him to death. “When the people saw what happened, they raised an alarm and confronted the police. “ The union`s chapter in Cape Town is already on top of the situation and trying its best to facilitate the release of the detained brother of the deceased,” he said. Mr. Anyene, however, urged the Federal Government to persuade the South African government to put measures in place to stop the killing of Nigerians. The ...

BY OCHEREOME NNANNA, Chairman, Editorial Board On Wednesday, 21st December, 2016, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos and his Kebbi State counterpart, Governor Atiku Abubakar Bagudu (whom Ambode humorously referred to as “my business partner”), carried out an inspiring assignment together at the Conference Chamber of the Government House of Lagos State: they launched the “Lake Rice” brand for consumption in Lagos, nationwide and (with time) the world at large. Lagos offered to sell the 50 kilogramme of the product at the subsidised price of N12,000. It was unprecedented because, for a change, Nigerians from different geopolitical divides were not bickering over divisive issues like Fulani herdsmen/indigenous communities clashes, religion, share of the national cake, ethnicity or cultural differences. Rather, Lagos State, with the largest metropolitan population in the country (estimated at about 20 million people), and Kebbi, one of the foremost rice-producing s...

The Ikeja Police barracks building that collapsed earlier on Sunday failed integrity tests on two occasions, news agent can report. Yakubu Suleiman, the south-west zonal coordinator of the National Emergency Management Authority, stated this at the scene of the incident during the demolition of the rest of the building by officers of the agency. “We have understanding that the building has failed integrity tests, twice,” the NEMA boss told news agents . Junior police officers across Nigeria who live in the various barracks usually live in terrible conditions in decrepit, unmaintained buildings. Mr. Suleiman disclosed that victims of the building collapse include a police officer and the officer’s relative. A part of the building, known as W block, collapsed at about 4:00 a.m. on Sunday. Bodies of the victims have since been deposited at the mortuary. The demolition of the rest of the building was ongoing at the time of this

The General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church, Pastor William Kumuyi, on Sunday said that in 2017, God would grant President Muhammad Buhari the solution to the numerous challenges facing the country. Kumuyi gave the assurance while speaking with newsmen when he played host to the Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, who led some members of the Assembly on courtesy visit to the church’s December Convention. The cleric said, “We talk of the hours of recession, difficulty, distress and all that, but God is granting us His promises. We are not going to carry over our problems. “We pray and believe that the Lord will answer. “As you will see, as we get to the New Year, there is no carryover of our problems. God will give solutions to the problems of our lives, families, communities, the state and our nation.” The pastor said that with prayer and faith in God, the country would get out of all its challenges, including the ...