The traditional head of Bode Saa’du in Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State, Barrister Bola Yusuf, has hailed the Buhari administration for rebuilding the Ilorin-Jebba Road. He said the road has boosted social and economic activities.

Barrister Yusuf, who is the Baale, gave the commendation in Bode Saa’du, a town along the newly-constructed single carriage way, on Friday, when the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, inspected the construction of the Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa-Birnin Gwari-Kaduna road.

“We are indeed very grateful to the government. We cannot over-emphasise the importance of this road. There is no gainsaying that it has impacted on the economy and everything. When it was not done, it affected our people. Now that it has been done, every Nigerian who passes this road has kind words to say to the government. We have tasted and are still tasting the dividends of democracy, and it is our trust in God that it will continue by the special grace of God,” he said.

The Ba’ale recalled that the deplorable state of the road, a key arterial road linking the South-West and the northern parts of the country, had forced a lot of residents to relocate.
“Our market closed down because people were not secured and they couldn’t cope. There is a big cattle market here and we have our local market here but people couldn’t just do anything. It affected everything and it could take you weeks to travel across the road. It was a terrible thing and people were moving out of this area”, he said.

Mr. Yusuf said the reconstruction of the road has now reduced traveling time from Ilorin to Jebba from four days to about two hours.

The Minister said until the Buhari administration came into office, the Ilorin-Jebba road was a total failure, adding: “Work commenced in 2014 and by the time this administration came it was only 15.9% completed. As of today, it’s 100% completed. I think this is very significant.”

The Minister said the present administration has chosen to invest in critical infrastructure to revamp the economy, instead of sharing money to a few individuals.

“Rather than put money in the pockets of certain individuals, government decides to put money in infrastructure that will impact positively on the lives of everyone. This government is not distracted, it’s focused on improving infrastructure in Nigeria and actually this is the essence of this kind of tour. We are not just talking, we are showcasing,” he said.

Alhaji Mohammed said the government is convinced that when it provides the critical infrastructure, the country will be on the path to greatness.

The Federal Controller of Works in Kwara State, Mr. Atitebi Wasiu, said the Ilorin-Jebba Road is part of the Trans-Saharan road from Lagos to Algiers in Algeria, and cuts through West Africa.

He said the 93.6km Ilorin-Jebba road, which was abandoned for about 10 years due to its deplorable condition, now records daily traffic of about 7,500 vehicles, including heavy duty trucks. But the Controller assured that the road was well constructed, with a lifespan of at least 20 years.

On the Jebba-Mokwa Section, the Resident Engineer in Niger State, Mr. Samuel Sumango, who represented the Federal Controller of Works in the state, said 38 failed portions of the road, including the construction of double cell culverts through the Ecological Fund, have been rehabilitated.

“This road was terribly bad to a point that some vehicles spent one or two weeks, some of them tumbled as they were going. It was a terrible road but we thank God now. This is the handiwork of this very administration,” he said.

Mr. Sumango said the Tatabu Bridge, which failed and practically cut off the South West and the Northern parts of the country on that axis, was rebuilt within one year and reinforced to a dual carriage.

Since kick-starting a nationwide tour of federal government projects in May 2018, the Minister has inspected the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge Rail Line, Lagos-Ibadan, Oyo-Ogbomoso and Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressways, and the Second Niger Bridge.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will not postpone the 2019 elections because of the delay in the passage of its budget.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made the clarifications while fielding questions from State House correspondents on Friday in Abuja.

He said that there was no provision under the law for postponement of elections.

“I have said this over and over again; there are no conditions under which elections should be postponed, under section 26 of the Electoral Act.

“The date is formed and fixed, February 16, 2019; we issued the timetable way in advance; for the very first time in the history of our nation, citizens of Nigeria know when elections will take place one year in advance. It has never happened before.

“Secondly, for the very first time in the history of our country, citizens know the budget of the electoral commission; citizens know line by line how much the commission proposed; what the money is going to be spent on.

“ I think I am very happy with this process.’’

He said that as provided in the constitution, INEC had, since April 27, 2017, been registering voters consistently in response to appeal by Nigerians.

Yakubu said that INEC had created more centres for the registration but finally decided that it should suspend the process as provided for by the law, six months to the elections.

He said however that in response to appeal by Nigerians, again, INEC extended the exercise to the end of August.

“As at Saturday last week- Aug. 11- we have registered 12.1 million citizens; this will eventually be added to the 70 million voters that are already registered for the 2019 general elections.

“We have voters register of over 80 million citizens.

“Let me make this very important clarification; the registration is going to take place between 9am in the morning and 5pm daily including weekends but excluding the public holiday. You know Tuesday and Wednesday next week have been declared public holiday.

“The second important clarification that I should make is that the end of the continuous voters’ registration is Aug. 31 but that does not mean the end of the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

“Collection of PVCs will continue until at least one week to the general election in February 2019,’’ he said.

The INEC boss said he was not worried that the virement for the conduct of 2019 election was still before the National Assembly as he remained optimistic.

He said he had made the clarifications that the National Assembly asked for; adding the two committees on INEC expressed satisfaction on his clarifications.

He said he looked forward to hearing what the National Assembly would say.

Yakubu said that Nigerians needed to know that what the commission requested for was N189.2 billion which the executive proposed to the National Assembly.

According to him, there are no discrepancies in the figures.

He said he was in the Presidential villa to fine-tune modalities on how Nigeria would help Guinea-Bissau in its forthcoming elections as the country had requested Nigeria’s assistance.

NAN

NAN Reporting

Information and culture minisrer Lai Mohammed has warned that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is not to share money but to provide basic needs.

He explained that the government was aware of complaints of no money by many Nigerian, but that the administration preferred to invest in infrastructure that would have ripple effects on the economy than sharing money to people and political stooges like the previous administration did.

“Yes, people are complaining of no money and high cost of living, but I want to tell you that it would have been worse today but for the massive infrastructural development this government is investing on.’’

The administration, he said was committed to developing infrastructure that will uplift living standard of people.

The minister stated this in Tatabu village near Mokwa in Niger state while inspecting the reconstructed and rehabilitated Ilorin-Jebba- Mokwa road project.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report the 93.6 km road project, now completed, included the total reconstruction of Ilorin to Jebba axis and rehabilitation of failed portions from Jebba to Mokwa.

NAN also reports that the Ilorin-Jebba road is part of the Lagos- Algiers road called trans Sahara roads which cuts across the West and North Africa.

In Nigeria, the road connects the South-West geo-geographical zone to the Northern part of the country.

“When people make this complaints, they easily forget that for 16 years, one political party was in power, sharing money, when this road became completely failed.

“APC in three years, has fixed this road to this level. I think it speaks for itself.

“Before now, it takes about five days for trucks to move from Ilorin to Jebba. Today, it takes only two hours.

“Today, on this road, you can see free movement of goods and services which is the beginning of revival of the economy,” he said.

The minister added: “We are not a government that will share money like what others did which put the country in a mess.

“This government believed in investing in infrastructure because if you get this rightly, it will translate to wealth creation.

“Let us take for instance, if this road contract costs N10 billion and we share it to political stooges in this area at N1 million each, we will only give 1,000 people and there will be no road.

“At the long run, those that we share the money to will join in abusing the government of non-performance.

“On our part, we will rather slowly and painstakingly revive our economy through infrastructural development and we have a lot of stories to tell on this”.

Mohammed stressed that Nigerians should thank God that they have an administration that is focussed and investing in infrastructure.

He said the government would not be distracted but remained focussed in the development of infrastructure to better the lives of the people.

The minister recalled that the road project was awarded by the previous administration in 2013 and work was supposed to have commenced in 2014.

He said when the Buhari administration came in to oower, the project was only 15 per cent completed.

Asked, whether government would toll the road to raise money for its completion to Birnin-Gwari in Kaduna and for its dualisation, Mohammed said, not all road could be tolled.

“This matter came up at the last Federal Executive Council meeting and we agreed that, not all roads could be tolled.

“The idea of tolling roads is to recoup the expenses on the construction and make them sustainable.

“A study is being compiled and at the end of it, it will be decided on what roads to toll and which not,” he said.

Earlier, Mr Atitebi Wasiu, who conducted the minister and his entourage on the inspection said the substantial part of the heavy traffic on the road were heavily loaded trucks due to the import and export of goods through Lagos port.

Wasiu, the Federal Controller of Works, Kwara, said the average daily traffic for trucks only on the road was about 7500 while light vehicles accounted for about 7000.

He said most of the vehicles abandoned the road before the rehabilitation took place.

“The road which was constructed since over 30 years ago was abandoned by motorists for not less than 10 years due to its complete collapse.

“Those trucks which had no alternative were spending 3-5 days to transit this 93,6km road from Ilorin to Jebba before the eventual intervention of the federal government,” he said.

The Engineer said the quality of the project carried out by Messrs CGC Nig. Ltd is of international standard and the life span is 20 years.

He also disclosed that the contract for the dualisation of the road had been awarded and work would commence in the next three weeks.

“The dualisation is awarded to the same contractor from Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa at the total contract sum of N130 billion.

“The Kwara state section of the dualisation is awarded at N80 billion, while the Niger state section is about N50 billion,” he said

NAN reports that the road inspection exercise was carried out under the rain.

A Civil Society Organisation (CSO), “67 Million Initiative’’ has rated Ebonyi, Akwa Ibom and Enugu as top states with the highest youths participation in politics.

One of the Conveners of the group, Mr Luqman Edu disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja on Friday.

Edu said that the rating was done among youths between the ages of 18 and 45 years.

He noted that the data was collated by members of the group in the various states to reveal the rate of youths participation in their states under its “Rate Your State Initiative”.

The convener said the report would be published regularly to show the performance of the Federal Government and states regarding youths in elected positions.

According to him, the aim is to promote youth participation in politics.

“Ebonyi has the highest with 36 per cent youths participation, followed by Akwa Ibom and Enugu with 34 per cent each, Bauchi came fourth with 32 per cent.

“Imo and Niger states had 29 per cent each, Nasarawa 26 per cent, while Katsina, Kogi and Zamfara had 25 each and Kaduna 24.

“Meanwhile, Yobe and Kwara states recorded the least youths participation with 5.67 per cent, followed by Ogun with 7.67 per cent, Osun, Jigawa, and Bayelsa had barely 9.67 per cent.

Edu said that the data revealed the low participation of youths in politics, a narrative the group was working to change.

Another Convener, Mr Mark Okoye, the Commissioner for Budget and Planning in Anambra, said that the “67 Million Initiative’’ was a coalition of Nigerians with the mandate to galvanise active youth to participate in politics and to support youth friendly policies.

Okoye said that the aim of the group was to also create a voice for the 67 million youths, irrespective of religion, political party, tribe or gender.

He said that the aim was to build and leverage on the bloc vote of youths for their interest to get many young people appointed into various positions in the states.

Mr Muhammed Abdulahi, Commissioner, Ministry of Budget and Planning, Kaduna State said that the group would begin its work at the grassroots.

Abdullahi said that for the 2019 elections, the group would support the emergence of young candidates across all political platforms at the state and National Assembly levels.

He said that with this initiative, states would be closely monitored to know the level of youths in elected offices while mentoring them to vie for elective positions.

Mr Asuquo Ekpenyong, another convener and Commissioner for Finance in Cross River, said the group believed in grassroots politics so it would support youths vying for positions at the grassroots.

Ekpenyong said that the group also believed in youths growing in politics, so the focus for now was not on the presidential race but the state Houses of Assembly and the National Assembly.

He said that way, youths would learn the tenets of running for elective offices up the ladder.

Now that college entrance examinations are over, students are starting to receive their college admission letters. One university has created conversation online after accepting a goose as a "student."

A goose nicknamed Gugu was officially “enrolled in” Shanghai Maritime University after a netizen on Friday asked the university if they could adopt her goose in a comment on the university's Weibo account, China’s equivalent of Twitter.

Saying she could no longer take care of the bird, the university soon responded to the request by reposting the comment, saying that they would ask the university’s administration for permission.

Later, the university announced on Weibo that they were willing to accept the goose and also issued an official admission letter to the special “student,” a post that now has more than 10,000 likes and 10,000 shares respectively.

The successful enrollment a goose “student” has been lauded by numerous netizens.

“Such a handsome goose,” commented a user @-liyaer.

“A huge welcome to the goose to our university!” commented a user @yuanqimanmandeweiweiyu on Weibo.

“Shanghai Maritime University is such a great university for its inclusiveness,” commented a user @Dancingwithgrace on Weibo.

Some netizens even posted pictures of potential "homes" for the goose once it's on campus.

“Calm down, the living circumstances for geese are favorable in the campus and Gugu would have a great time with many of its fellows here,” said a user @Self-dependant on Weibo.

In fact, the university has a tradition of raising geese on its campus, with special sheds to help shelter the creatures.

The geese in the university also have an official Weibo account, with nearly 7,000 follwers. Photos of the daily lives of geese on campus are posted on the account.

It is not a rare thing to see a university’s well-known animals or other characteristic things having their own social media accounts.

The wind on Shandong University's has its own Weibo account, and is known for posting things like “Huhuhu,” mimicking the sound of the wind blowing.

Another Weibo account for the pigeons at Zhejiang Gong Shang University in east China's Zhejiang Province has also drawn many netizens’ attention by posting “gulu, gulu,” imitating the grunting sound of pigeons.

Residents of Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, watched as cattle were lowered by crane from the top of a four-storey home ahead of the Muslim festival Eid al-Adha.

Unlike other Muslims who buy animals for slaughter a few days before the sacrificial holiday, Syed Ejaz Ahmad, 55, said raising his own calves was more economical.

Ahmad started raising calves in a rooftop shed about 15 years ago. As they grew in size, it became difficult to lead oxen down the narrow staircase of his house.

His solution? Call a crane service.

The operation has become an annual event in Ahmad’s neighborhood of Nazimabad, where a crowd cheered as it watched the spectacle unfold.

“I was a bit scared when I did this for the first time,” crane operator Mohammad Hanif said this week as he swung Ahmad’s seven cows and oxen to the ground.

“When the animal’s feet struggled, I thought it might break the straps and fall on the crowd of people, particularly children,” he said. “Now I have a lot of practice doing it.”

Eid al-Adha is one of the two most important festivals of the Islamic calendar and commemorates the willingness of Ibrahim, or Abraham, to sacrifice his son on God’s command.

Muslims mark the holiday by slaughtering animals such as sheep and goats and sharing the meat with family and friends, as well as donating it to the poor.

Amid an international dispute with the US and currency crisis, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for Turkey to boycott US products. Shortly after, some particularly patriotic Turks answered their president’s call by smashing iPhones and posting the video footage on social media.

Last week, President Donald Trump announced that he would be doubling tariffs on imported steel and aluminium from Turkey. The tariffs on Turkey are believed to be retribution for Turkey’s imprisonment of US citizen and pastor Andrew Brunson. This week, Erdogan responded by issuing half a million in tariffs against American goods including cars and coal. The Turkish president has also called for a boycott of American made electronics and accused the US of starting an unjust economic war against Turkey, a fellow NATO partners. He specifically encouraged Turks to give up their iPhones and purchase Samsung products instead.

https://youtu.be/dANCytRddK0

What Caused the Dispute?
The Turkey-US dispute is centered around US Evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson. Brunson, who has lived in Turkey for 23 years, was arrested in the months following the 2016 coup attempt against President Erdogan.

Following the coup attempt, the Turkish government lead a massive backlash against journalists, opposition figures, and NGO workers, many of whom were jailed. Following the failed coup, Erdogan arrested 50,000 people living in Turkey. Brunson was swept up in the Erdogan’s retaliation and arrested on espionage and terrorism charges. He has been imprisoned for two years, but was recently placed under house arrest instead due to health concerns.

Brunson stands accused of collaborating in the coup attempt against Erdogan and supporting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been outlawed as a terrorist organization.

President Trump has called for the release of Brunson, tweeting, “this innocent man of faith should be released immediately.” Vice President Mike Pence and other American leaders have echoed President Trump’s demands.

Smashing iPhones in Turkey
To show their support, some Turks have filmed videos showing them patriotically smashing iPhones. In one video, four boys kneel in front of a Turkish flag while a man speaks to the camera. Addressing President Donald Trump, the man says, “If you threaten us with hunger you will only make us laugh. Do whatever in your power.” The man then begins smashing iPhones with a hammer.

Another video shows a leader of the Turkish Nationalist Movement Party asking his colleague to smash his iPhone. The fellow party member does so, throwing his iPhone to the ground and stomping on it before declaring, “the U.S. is being dragged across the floor.” Some videos are slightly more violent. In one a man shoots his iPhone with a handgun. Even young children are participating in the social media led boycott. In a video circulated by an Israeli journalist, a young boy pours his Coca Cola down the toilet.

Along with videos of Turks smashing iPhones, Erdogan’s supporters have also taken to the streets to tear up fake American dollars.

https://youtu.be/sRT_NeFy-dY

American alligator Muja arrived at Belgrade Zoo on the eve of the Second World War and is believed to be the oldest of his kind in captivity, and still in good health with a hearty appetite for his age, his handlers said on Tuesday.

Generations of Belgraders and tourists have come to watch Muja, and though he rarely moves around much, he is still agile at feeding time - when he munches on rats and quails. This is when his age shows, though, as he sometimes misses the target when he snaps at his food.

So far Muja’s only health issue has been gangrene, which led to him having his front right claw amputated in 2012.

“He is well ... and healthy, eats well and is in good form for his age, so we hope that he’ll remain that way for many years,” zoo director Srboljub Aleksic said.

Muja arrived from Germany in August 1937. An old newspaper clipping about his arrival at the zoo said that he was two years old at the time, putting him in his early 80s today.

He survived two carpet bombings of the Serbian capital - one by Germany in 1941 and the other by the Allies in 1944 - when all the official documentation about his transfer was lost.

Stomach ulcer is a sore on the lining of the stomach – or to put it more plainly, an ‘open wound’ in the stomach. It could bring about a nagging abdominal pain and cause difficulty when eating. The condition leads to increased level of acidity in the stomach. It has been reported to be caused by a certain bacterium known as Helicobacter pylori and can be exacerbated by unhealthy lifestyle trends like smoking, drinking alcohol among other risk factors.

But while you might have had a grasp of the do’s and don’ts – avoid spicy and processed foods, caffeine and things like that - I will like to discuss how you effectively manage the situation as you seek to break free from the pain. So, here are 5 home remedies for treating stomach ulcer:

• Eat foods and fruits that are rich in flavonoids: Flavonoids are widely known for their antioxidant property but they are yet very helpful in protecting the stomach lining hence quite valuable in curing stomach ulcer. The compound is abundant in legumes, broccoli, banana, soybeans, pawpaw, strawberry, spinach and celery.

• Take honey regularly: Honey does have healing quality, and this can be beneficial to a person suffering stomach ulcer. You can use honey as a substitute for sugar [in your beverages] or you can take it directly. Another option I have tried is to mash banana, mix it with honey then take instantly – this works like magic, and is surely a good means of soothing the pain.

• Take food/drink containing probiotics: Probiotics are basically defined as live bacteria with healthful benefits. Studies have shown that probiotics boost the functioning of the digestive system – especially as it relates to the stomach and intestines. Also, it has been revealed that this set of microorganisms play a huge role in the recovery process of ulcer patients. Probiotics are very much available in yoghurt, cheese, pickled cucumber and so on.

• Garlic and Ginger: These two may well be classified [and used] as spice but they remain potent plants that can be used in treating ulcer and that is due to the fact that they contain an active ingredient known as allicin. This compound has antimicrobial property that can help check the growth and activity of Helicobacter pylori. Furthermore, the anti-inflammatory property of ginger can also be of immeasurable benefit as the treatment of stomach ulcer is concerned. You can chew a clove of garlic on a daily basis or have it diced into your meal. For the ginger; just grate a rhizome (of ginger) and boil in water – 0.5l should do – allow it to cool and then drink.

• Drink Aloe vera juice: You may have been thinking Aloe vera is just about skin care but there is more to it. Consuming a cup of the juice is a wonderful panacea for relieving and/or curing ulcer. The plant has antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, and as such, its effectiveness in alleviating ulcer pain as it suppresses the acidity level in the stomach.

No matter how you have fallen, or the depth you have ever reached, the Lord has the capability to pick you up from the dung hill and then decorate your life and give you beauty in place of ashes. You need to maintain your focus by not been adulterous before your maker. God is too Good to you and he does not want you to share His Glory with any other god.

Next level simply means you are moving up from a level that is already good. It is important that you enter into a next level of goodness. The Lord says to apostle Paul "my grace is sufficient for thee" In Gen 26 v 12-14, the Bible made us to understand that Isaac sowed in the land and in the same year reaped an hundred fold. This is the testimony of Isaac even in a foreign land. When you enter this level, men will envy you, storms will come, attacks will come, but my word for you is "FEAR NOT" don't be afraid because the Lord is in the storm with you.

Beware that envy comes with prosperity. Prosperity is for you in Christ if you must enjoy that prosperity. Next means what comes after. It has to do with scale of quantity. God wants to develop you for the level of prosperity you are.God calls those he has relationship with.

Elisha - choosen by God.
Beloved bear in mind that Elijah had a servant before Elisha, but this servant of his could not tarry with Elijah again. He abandoned him. In the face of adversity, don't be foolish. This same servant on hearing the threats of jezebel for Elijah had to take his leave because he did not want to die with Elijah. But for the case of Elisha, he was ready to go all the way with his master, Elijah, and even though he was constantly reminded by the sons of the prophets about the fact that his master Elijah would soon be taken away from him, he kept telling them that they should hold their peace that he knew and due to his persistence in following the master, he was able to enter his next level of double portion anointing, to the extent that his dead body could raise a dead man.

What are the salient things that made Elisha stand out

• He knew he was not satisfied with the level he was and this made him more persistent in following the master. Elisha was not okay with the level he was and was determined. Isaac was another person that went to Beersheba (The place of sacrifice) to obtain his legacy entitlements. Beloved, by what means are you prospering? Please desire the next level even when the storms of life face you. A lot of times when we feel we have arrived, we become complacent even in the worship of our maker.

• Become thoroughly equipped. Reason for the change in level a lot of times is about sacrifice. If you must enter this next level, you must be ready to make sacrifices especially to the things of God. David also understood God and the issue of and the issue of sacrifices, he desired to build for God with the whole of his heart, but God himself instructed him to allow his son to do the building. Even because of his intention he was blessed. God promised to make him a household name because of his intent. Beloved, what is your intent towards your maker?

Conclusion:

For you to enter your next level, you must be ready to make sacrifices. Beware of the fact that sacrifices is not a gift. Sacrifice is something that will pain you, something that costs you something greatly. 2 Kings 3:27. Sacrifice can ward off the enemy. Sacrifice is capable of speaking for you and give you victory in the day of need. Sacrifice is crucial for your next level. The price you received is as per the level you received. If you don't know how to give, you wouldn't know how to get. You must really give something that will pain you. Connect to sacrifice and you will not beg in your life.

God bless you as you prepare your way into your NEXT LEVEL in Jesus Name AMEN.

By Deacon Cyril Uvwo

Beautiful piece of art.

In legal parlance what is constitutionalism?

I think Not. Kindly sign a petition against it.

https://www.change.org/p/president-muhammadu-buhari-nigeria-shouldn-t-sell-off-it-s-national-assets?recruiter=565649558&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink

I think they're actually worth more than 10 million.

Is it wise economically to get a property at Imota Ikorodu or Agbowa? How much would a 3 bedroom ensuite bungalow cost from start to finish with perimeter fencing?

Funny as it may seem, LinkedIn was bought for $26 Billion Dollars. A data company for that matter. I think Nigeria has to delve into the area of harnessing data; Big Data to be precise. There's much power in data analytics. We have no data company.
What has happened to vconnect?

I personally don't use Union Bank, but i think there were a little off the hook in terms of services for a long time. Still striving to be a 21st century bank.