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Kanu: Biafra not just for Ndigbo… it’s a fight for the survival of Christians

YEKEEN Akinwale
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Kanu: Biafra not just for Ndigbo… it’s a fight for the survival of Christians

 

Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), says the agitation for Biafra is not just for the Igbo but also a fight for the survival of Christians in Nigeria.

Speaking on Wednesday when he visited Nri community in Anambra State, Kanu said there is an agenda to Islamize Nigeria but as long as he is alive, no part of Igboland will be part of it.

“The Islamisation plot is real but they won’t succeed in my life time. No, never; not when I am alive. It is impossible. Impossible,” he said

He also said the struggle for Biafra, which he is championing, is the fight for the survival of Christians in Nigeria against the entrenched threats of radical Islamic fundamentalists and their political collaborators within and outside the country.

“The struggle for Biafra, which I proudly lead, is not a secessionist aspiration of NdiIgbo only as some erroneously think,” he said.

“Biafra is not just a living agitation but a fight for the survival of Christians in Nigeria against the entrenched threats of radical Islamic fundamentalists and their political collaborators within and outside Nigeria”. Kanu said

Kanu’s warning came on the heel of allegation by David Oyedepo, the General Overseer of Living Faith Church, that “Islamists are bent on islamising Nigeria.”

The Nigerian Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) also recently accused Northerners of plotting to turn Nigerian into a “caliphate.”

NCEF disclosed that some Buhari government’s policies are “directly or indirectly promoting the “theocratic agenda North has for Nigeria.”

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FACT CHECK: No ‘satanic’ topic like ‘Is Jesus the Son of God’ in new curriculum, as claimed by CAN

Kingsley OBIEJESI
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FACT CHECK: No ‘satanic’ topic like ‘Is Jesus the Son of God’ in new curriculum, as claimed by CAN

 

Roughly one month ago, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said one of the reasons the revised curriculum of primary and secondary schools cannot stand is that it contains satanic topics, such as ‘Is Jesus the son of God?’

While condemning the new curriculum, developed by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) and already in effect since January 2015, Samson Ayokunle, President of CAN, had said: “If the new curriculum is treating the two religious subjects separately as being claimed, why do we have a satanic topic in the Civic Education like ‘IS JESUS THE SON OF GOD?'”

He described the merging of CRS and IRS as themes under one umbrella topic of ‘Religious and National Values (RNV) as an “obnoxious, divisive and ungodly time bomb”.

This was just one of numerous statements by leaders of the two leading religious groups on the alleged “merging” of Christian Religious Studies (CRS) and Islamic Religious Studies (IRS) in the curriculum.

However, the ICIR has obtained the RNV syllabus from one of the secondary schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and after carefully studying it, it could not find any trace of such topic.

It was also discovered that students are not compelled to offer both CRS and IRS, as claimed by both Christian and Islamic leaders.

RELIGIOUS AND NATIONAL VALUES

bible quran

RNV is made up of the following: CRS/IRS, Social Studies, Civic Education and Security Education.

According to the curriculum, the aims and objectives of the subject are, among others, to: “inculcate the spiritual, moral, social, political and intellectual role of Muslims.

“Assess the students’ acquisition of knowledge in practical application of Islamic teachings in daily life.

“Inculcate in the students satisfactory intellectual capacity to benefit constructively from post-basic education in Christian Religious Studies

“Foster progressive and continuous development of Christ-like character.

And “develop Nigerian Youths into responsible citizens”.

The subject consists of Papers 1 and 2; Paper 1 being CRS or IRS.

An instruction on the paper read: “Candidates who registered for CRS should answer questions on CRS only while candidates who registered for IRS should answer questions on IRS only”.

Both CRS and IRS have a total of 60 marks and they are divided thus:

CRS: Old Testament 30, New Testament 30 = 60

IRS: Qur’an 15; Hadith 15, Fiqh 10, Tarikh 10, Tawheed 5, Tadhib 5 = 60

Paper 2 is made up of Social Studies, Civic Education and Security Education. It also has a total of 60 marks divided thus: Social Studies – 30, Civic Education -20 and Security Education – 10 = 60.

CRS TOPICS

Topics under CRS are distributed thus:

1 Creation Story
2 Marriage
3 Disobedience
4 Call to Repentance
5 Call to Obedience
6 Call to Service
7 Relationship in the family
8 Relationship in School
9 Relationship in the Church and community
10 The Birth of Jesus
11 Jesus and His Family
12 The Baptism and Temptation of Jesus
13 Call of the Disciples
14 Sermon on the Mount
15 Some Parables of Jesus
16 The Passion of Christ
17 The Death and Burial of Jesus Christ
18 The Resurrection and Appearance of Jesus
19 The Promise of the Holy Spirit
20 Fellowship in the Early Church
21 Persecution of the Early Believers
22 The Ministry of Peter
23 The Ministry if Apostle Paul
24 Paul’s first Missionary Journey
25 Unity Among Christians
26 Christian living

Each topic has different contents but the question: “Is Jesus the Son of God?” did not feature anywhere in the curriculum.

IRS TOPICS

Topics under IRS are distributed thus:

1 Sura Al-Naba’i
2 Sura Al-Naba’I (Meaning)
3 Meaning of Hadith
4 The Collection of Hadith
5 The Pillars of Islam
6 Attributes of Allah
7 Taharah (Purification and its kinds)
8 Performance of al-Wudu
9 Al Tayammum (Sand ablution)
10 Bief History of Birth of the Prophet (SAW)
11 The Prophet (SAW): His youthood and marriage to Khadijah
12 Relationship between Muslim and non-Muslim
13 Surah Al-Jinn (Reading)

There are also contents under each topic.

RECOMMENDED TEXT BOOKS

CRS

Again, contrary to claims by some people that CRS and IRS are combined in the same RNV textbook, the syllabus, as seen by the ICIR clearly recommended separate textbooks by different publishers for CRS .

There was no column for recommended text books for IRS.

ANYTHING WRONG WITH THIS SYLLABUS

House or Reps

Going by the issues that gave rise to the development of a new curriculum in the first place, such as reducing the number of subjects offered by students, and also given the enormous research that went into the development of the new curriculum, one may agree that the introduction of RNV is a good development.

Leaders of the two major religions in the country have all called for the unbundling of the CRS and IRS under one parent subject called RNV. They want the subjects returned as distinct and separate courses, just the way they had been over the years.

On July 11, the House of Representatives gave them their wish, passing a resolution directing the Ministry of Education to revert to status quo and remove both CRS and IRS from the RNV.

“The new curriculum is in conflict with certain provisions of the Nigerian constitution,” it said.

“Section 10 of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, 1999 makes Nigeria a secular state and therefore religion should be separated from national values.”

Child victims of Boko Haram are taking classes on radio — and soon they’ll be getting certificates

iCiR
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Child victims of Boko Haram are taking classes on radio — and soon they’ll be getting certificates

 

Tens of thousands of children across the Lake Chad region who were denied education by a series of Boko Haram attacks are tuning in to broadcast lessons on radio, the United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF) has said.

According to Thomson Reuters Foundation, the radio syllabus is providing lessons on literacy and numeracy, and staying safe amid the violence, to about 200,000 displaced and out-of-school children in the Far North region of Cameroon and Niger’s southern Diffa region.

“The level of boredom among children in camps for the displaced is tremendous,” Patrick rose, UNICEF spokesman, said.

“With this radio education programme, children will receive lessons in a structured way, that keeps them in a rhythm … so that when they go back to school they won’t be so far behind.”

Boko Haram, whose name loosely means ‘Western education is sinful’, has killed more than 600 teachers and forced over 1,200 schools to close during its eight-year insurgency in Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad, according to UNICEF.

Three years ago, the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls by the jihadist group in Chibok in northeastern Nigeria sparked global outrage a celebrity-backed campaign #BringBackOurGirls.

The radio project — backed by the European Union and governments of Cameroon and Niger — is engaging community leaders to share available radios and bring children together for the lessons.

About 150 lessons are being broadcast in both French and the local languages of Kanouri, Fulfulde and Hausa, the UN agency said.

“In the very near future, we hope that children who learn by radio will also receive a certification and pass the school year,” said Marie-Pierre Poirier, UNICEF’s regional director.

Beyond radio broadcasts, school teachers across the region have been trained by UNICEF to identify and respond to security threats to protect children from Boko Haram, and to provide traumatised children with psychological support.

Boko Haram has killed more than 20,000 people and some 2.7 million people have been uprooted from their homes since 2009 as a result of the group’s attempt to create an Islamic state.

The militants have been driven out of most of the territory they held in early 2015, yet continue to carry out bombings and raids in northeast Nigeria, as well as in Cameroon and Niger.

’37 killed’ in latest Southern Kaduna violence

Kingsley OBIEJESI
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’37 killed’ in latest Southern Kaduna violence

 

Fresh crisis broke out on Tuesday in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, leading to fears that at least 37 people may have been killed.

This is coming less than three days after four herdsmen were killed in the same area by unknown gunmen.

According to Channels Television, many people were also injured, some seriously, in the renewed violence on Tuesday.

A witness said some Fulani youths attacked Ungwan Uka village in Kajuru LGA to avenge the death of the herdsmen that were allegedly killed by some of the village youths.

Agyole Abeh, Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, confirmed the incident but added that policemen and soldiers had been deployed to the troubled area to ensure peace returns to the community.

Southern Kaduna has been in the news for a long time now as a result of incessant violent clashes between herdsmen and farmers.

Of late, the crisis has dangerously assumed religious sentiments as both Christian and Muslim leaders in the state have traded blames as to who is fuelling the violence.

Okupe joins Accord Party, says ‘I don’t want to be anything anymore’

YEKEEN Akinwale
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Okupe joins Accord Party, says ‘I don’t want to be anything anymore’

 

Doyin Okupe, former Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, has joined Accord party.

Announcing the decision on Tuesday, Okupe said he was joining Accord “based on deep refelction.

“Following various consultations with political associates, family and friends I have decided to formally join the ACCORD Party,” he said.

My decision is based on deep reflection on who I am and what I want from politics.

“To me politics does not begin and end with winning or losing elections. It’s not about big or small parties either. It’s also beyond personal relationships or endearing associations or friendships.

There exists in our communities several platforms on which such affiliations and sentiments can be sufficiently gratified.

“To me, Politics is about, Service to the people, policies and ideologies that will serve the best interests of the greater majority of the society, Forthrightness and accountability, Honour and Integrity.

“I am not desperate to be anything anymore. But I am desperate to find and work with other Nigerians especially our young and vibrant upcoming politicians, to estsblish a political incubator to breed a new generation of leaders who will do things right, maintain high ethical standards and abhor greed,avarice, selfishness and impunity.

“Most of our national parties presently and in the past were put together with a false sense of national spread but majorly, irrespective of how they came to power, end up being inequitable and manifestly exists to serve the interests of a minority few and/or that of a tiny section of the country.

“I want to belong to a political party that will be able to publicly state it’s position on troubling national issues like, requests for self determination by a section of the country, resource control, federalism and Restructuring, Religious intolerance, atrocities of fulani Herdsman, unequal standards in national university admission policy, and many more.

“Any political party that does not have an openly stated position or Stand on these issues is a mere association of elites coming together only to feather their own nests or at best a deceptive political contraption put together by a few to seize power for a few and for the benefit of a few.”

Okupe, who said an official date of declaration “by me and my numerous supporters in Ogun state will be announced shortly”, formally left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on July 2, saying the party had reached menopause

15 quotes to remember Mandela on his posthumous birthday

YEKEEN Akinwale
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15 quotes to remember Mandela on his posthumous birthday

 

 

For 67 years, Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa and freedom fighter devoted his life to the service of humanity — as a human rights lawyer, a prisoner of conscience, an international peacemaker and the first democratically elected president of a free South Africa.

His death on December 5, 2013 even at the ripe age of 95 was considered a colossal loss not only to Africa but to the world. During his long life, Mandela inspired countless individuals.

In November 2009, the UN General Assembly declared July 18 ‘Nelson Mandela International Day’ in recognition of his contribution to the culture of peace and freedom. Every July 18, UN asks individuals around the world to mark the Nelson Mandela International Day by making a difference in their communities.

Were he still alive, the Nobel Prize for Peace winner would have turned 99 today.

Here is a collection of 15 of his famous quotes:

  1. It is easy to break down and destroy. The heroes are those who make peace and build.
  2. Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end.
  3. It always seems impossible until it’s done.
  4. If I had my time over I would do the same again. So would any man who dares call himself a man.
  5. I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles.
  6. Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people.
  7. A fundamental concern for others in our individual and community lives would go a long way in making the world the better place we so passionately dreamt of.
  8. Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do.
  9. Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
  10. Without education, your children can never really meet the challenges they will face. So it’s very important to give children education and explain that they should play a role for their country
  11. I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
  12. For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.
  13. Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.
  14. Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front.
  15. Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.

 

Nigeria’s oil savings for 37 years can’t fund 20% of 2017 budget, says NEITI

Rebecca Akinremi
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Nigeria’s oil savings for 37 years can’t fund 20% of 2017 budget, says NEITI

 

Despite the benefits and the huge revenues that have accrued from oil and gas over the years, Nigeria has one of the lowest natural resource revenue savings in the world.

Waziri Adio, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), said this in Abuja on Friday during the launch of an occasional paper titled ‘The case for a robust oil savings fund for Nigeria‘.

According to the paper, the balance in the three saving funds is less than $3.9 billion, which is not enough to fund 20% of the 2017 budget.

Based on the findings of the research, NEITI argued that a national consensus on savings on tomorrow has become urgent to prepare the country to overcome frequent commodity price volatility and depletion of non-renewable resources.

It noted that portions of mineral resources revenues that are excluded from the national budget and held as part of a country’s reserve can greatly enhance a country’s capital balances, attract greater investors’ confidence and significant flow of foreign capital into the economy.

These funds also support the provision of critical infrastructure and social interventions during major national emergencies, it said.

NEITI explained that while Nigeria has three oil savings funds — Sovereign Wealth Fund with $1.5bn, Excess Crude Account with $2.3bn and Stabilisation Fund with N29.02bn ($95m) — with a combined saving of $3.9bn as of June 2017, the country exported crude oil worth about $1.09 trn between 1980 and 2015

Therefore, NEITI said the time has come for Nigeria to fully embrace “a robust policy to save a portion of oil and gas revenue for the rainy day and for the next generation”.

“Our paltry oil savings defeat the rationale for having such savings in the first place,” said Adio.

“Nigeria does not have enough oil savings to finance even a fifth of a year’s budget at the federal level, not to talk of having enough for investments or for the future generation.”

He urged the federal government to take urgent measures, such as the immediate transfer of all revenue savings in the stabilization fund and the Excess Crude Account into the Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Fund, and the delinking government expenditure from oil revenues.

 

Aliyu Doma brands Al-Makura ‘total failure and stain on Nasarawa state’

YEKEEN Akinwale
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Aliyu Doma brands Al-Makura ‘total failure and stain on Nasarawa state’

 

Aliyu Akwe Doma, a former governor of Nasarawa State, has chastised his successor, Tanko Al-Makura, for failing to prioritise workers’ welfare in the state.

Doma, who lost to Al-Makura in the 2011 election, expressed displeasure over the Governor’s heedlessness towards workers’ welfare.

While speaking with journalists on Tuesday at his home in Doma village, he described Al-Makura as a “total failure and a stain on the good reputation of the state”.

Doma was candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and incumbent Governor of the state when Al-Makura, contesting on the platform of Congress Progressive Change (CPC), defeated him in the election, becoming the only CPC candidate to unseat a sitting governor in 2011.

He recalled that Al-Makura’s victory in 2011 against him was driven by his lapses of salary-shortfall that triggered labour strike for just a month.

“Al-Makura took the advantage of the strike action embarked upon by the labour union in 2011 as his campaign mantra to unseat me from power,” Channels quoted him as saying. “What difference has the governor made even as he continued with another tenure that will elapse 29 May 2019?”

He said for six years, Al-Makura did not employ a single clerk into the civil service, but he sacked 7000 workers that were gainfully employed during his administration, thereby raising unemployment among the masses.

Al-Makura has been embroiled in a battle with workers under the aegis of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over unpaid salaries. He is serving his second term as a member of All Progressives Congress (APC).

Garba Shehu replies Dasuki, says terrorism got bigger under Jonathan

Kingsley OBIEJESI
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Garba Shehu replies Dasuki, says terrorism got bigger under Jonathan

 

Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, has countered remarks by Sambo Dasuki, former National Security Adviser, that the northeast was able to participate in the 2015 general election due to the intervention of the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

Dasuki made the claims in the forward of a book entitled: ‘Boko Haram media war – an encounter with the spymaster’, written by Yushau Shuaib.

“In fact, without our intervention in ensuring the defeat of Boko Haram, the electorate could not have had the opportunity to exercise their franchise,” he had said.

“It is a fact that we provided peace and stability that afforded Nigerians, especially in the northeast in voting for their governors, legislators and others in the 2015 elections.”

But in his reply on Monday, Shehu said the comments were “another unfortunate attempt … to rewrite the history of our country in such a way as to cover the sins of the past”.

“The truth, as a matter of fact is that the monster of terrorism got bigger and more daring due to the incompetence and misgovernance of the last administration and no amount lies and fiction can change that,” he said.

He insisted that as of March 2015, when elections were held, many local government areas in the northeast were completely under the control of Boko Haram.

“Elections in those areas had to be moved to safe areas. The residents of areas such as Gwoza, Banki, Kukawa, Monguno, Bulumba, Baga, Gamboru Ngala, Dikwa, Mafa, etc., were able to vote, not in their hometowns but in refugee camps in other parts of Borno State, under special arrangements made by INEC,” he said.

“Despite Mr. Dasuki’s attempt to rewrite history, Nigerians could not have forgotten the embarrassing stories of failed weapons that plagued our country’s military during the previous administration, when unserviceable weapons, expired ammunition and fake armored vehicles caused untold grief to our valiant armed forces on the battlefield, with arms exploding willy nilly and guns failing to fire.

“It is for trespasses like these that the Buhari administration is determined to get to the bottom of the $2.1 billion arms procurement scandal and ensure that no single one of the culprits goes scot-free.”

We’ll deal decisively with anyone who obstructs Anambra gov poll, police tell IPOB

YEKEEN Akinwale
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We’ll deal decisively with anyone who obstructs Anambra gov poll, police tell IPOB

 

The Police in Anambra State say they would would not fold theirs arms and allow some disgruntled elements disrupt the governorship election fixed for November 2017.

This was in response to threats  by Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), that it would not allow the governorship election to hold, as part of its agitation for a referendum to create the Republic of Biafra.

A statement issued by Garba Baba Umar, Anambra State Police Commissioner on Monday warned that police would not hesitate to “deal decisively” with any individual or groups under any guise that will disrupt public peace in the state.

“Our attention has been drawn that some misguided elements have perfected plans to disrupt the relative peace through streets protests and to declare that the Anambra State Governorship Election Scheduled for November, 2017 will not hold,” read the statement.

“This is to achieve their selfish political aggrandizement thereby threatening democratic processes causing serious security threats in Anambra State in particular, and the Country at large.

“This is unacceptable and would not be tolerated. In as much as the Command and sister agencies respect the Right of individuals to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, we would however not fold our arms and watch disgruntled elements truncate the peace in the State which the Law Enforcement Agencies are working assiduously to maintain.

“It is to be noted the Governorship Election has been scheduled for November, 2017 by the body responsible for elections in Nigeria and that is the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); and is the only competent authority that can make any pronouncement regarding the conduct of elections.

“To this end, the security agencies wish to assure the good people of Anambra State that the Election shall hold as scheduled peacefully and successfully.

“We will not hesitate to deal decisively with any individual or groups under any guise that will disrupt public peace. Finally, members of the public are enjoined to disregard such pronouncement and go about their lawful businesses.”

The security agencies further assured Ndi Anambra and all other residents in the state of “their readiness to protect lives and properties”.

 

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