Category: Featured

By Abel Leonard Nzwanke Lafia

The governor of Nasarawa state Eng. A. A Sule has observed that there are over 10 million Almajiris in the northern parts of the country and called on his colleagues to take urgent steps against it as the system is largely misunderstood.

He spoke in his office while granting audience to government house correspondents in Lafia the Nasarawa state capital.

He noted that the Almajiri system “is a system where children leave the comfort of their homes and parents to go out to acquire knowledge and to understand the culture of other people”.

However, according to the Nasarawa state governor, the Almajiri system is now completely compromised with begging on the streets which is now causing menace in various places. he observed that more than 10 million children are operating the system in the entire northern states. Most of them are serving as beggers which is contrary to the set goal of the system.

A.A Sule also expresses his feelings that most of the children who leave their home for the system do it with the consent of their parents.

Reacting to what should be done about the situation, the Governor Said “Well I don’t think the northern governors’ forum have not approach it but like I said, it is time we approach the issue more vigorously, we must not back out. We are establishing a law that will ensure that these children are protected, but when we say education is free, we must enforce it by making sure that parents are responsible for their own children? We have to collectively solve this problem”.

He further emphasised that the Almajiri system is for the acquisition of knowledge not for street begging “no government in the world can say you cannot acquire Islamic education, what the government probably should do is to abolished street begging. As far as Nasarawa state is concerned, we are going to make it actually a crime for a child to be begging on the streets as Almajiri, if it makes me unpopular, so be it”. He said.

He also disclosed that the right of children must be protected in Nasarawa state noting that his administration is ensuring that all those who graduated from school get jobs through agriculture and become employers of labour.

He also drew the attention of the people of Nasarawa state on the efforts of his administration to open up areas for agriculture, the sugar production, livestock and milk production scheme among others. In the area of education, the governor made it very clear that people will be giving technical and vocational skills so as to effectively become employers of labour.

“IN THE GULF the ladies want a big butt and a big vagina. Not the Lebanese. They want smaller vaginas. They are more like the Europeans: they want the labia inside.”

So says Dr Hussein Hashim, a plastic surgeon in Beirut, as he sits behind a desk scattered with buttock implants. He and his colleagues perform surgeries with names like “The Barbie Look” or “The Beverly Hills Rejuvenation”—operations that trim the inner labia, tighten the vagina or reduce the fold of skin covering the clitoris.

Labiaplasty is the fastest-growing cosmetic surgery in the world. Lebanese women, who have a penchant for biological improvement, are particularly keen on it. Only Spain and Brazil do more vaginal procedures per head.

“Beauty used to be all about the face. Now it’s about the body. Buttocks and vaginas are the big thing,” says Elie Abdel Hak of Lebanon’s plastic-surgery society.

The rise in women who want so-called designer vaginas has confounded researchers. Some say the Brazilian bikini wax has made women more conscious of their vulvae. Others blame online pornography for idealising the vagina and depressing women who think their genitals are abnormal.

They don’t want their vaginas showing through their shorts or bikinis, says Mr Hak. “They’ve become ashamed.” Tighter clothes, childbirth, irritation during exercise and insults from men also play a role, studies suggest.

In Lebanon women are often influenced by magazines featuring slim yet voluptuous women. A nip and tuck is relatively cheap (a labiaplasty costs about $1,500). Girls as young as 14 have nose jobs, often brought to the clinic by their mothers. But a labiaplasty carries risks. America’s Food and Drug Administration has warned that some of the tools used to destroy and reshape vaginal tissue are dangerous. Lasers used to “rejuvenate the vagina” may cause burns, scarring or pain during sex.

More study is needed, but in general the satisfaction rate is high and the complication rate low. Lebanese women who have undergone the procedure certainly seem happy. “It’s amazing,” says one. “I’m like a baby now.”

Culled from the Economist

By Zhong Sheng

After Washington announced that it will impose additional 10 percent tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese imports, some people in the US have again harped on the same old string by criticizing China for stealing US intellectual properties.

As a developing country, China has made rapid progress in intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and is highly praised by the international community in this respect.

Francis Gurry, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), pointed out that the high-level IPR protection system established by China is conducive to the global promotion of the intellectual property system.

The 2018 International Property Rights Index released by the US Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center not only upgraded China’s ranking by two places, but also gave positive comments to China’s effective patents and copyrights reform, the importance governments and law enforcement agencies laid on intellectual property, and the improving intellectual property awareness and the rising capability of research institutions and individuals to apply intellectual property.

No country is perfect at protecting IPR. Even the US, which claims that it leads the world in building a complete legal system for IPR and intensifying efforts to protect IPR, sees a considerable number of intellectual property lawsuits filed between market entities.

The legal environment for IPR protection in China is maturing, which has been acknowledged by foreign companies when they seek legal support and protection in the country. China’s scheme of achieving strict, widespread, fast and equal IPR protection has been applauded by both Chinese the foreigners.

In the past five years, the number of patent applications that China has received from overseas has increased by 3.1 percent per year on average and the number of trademark applications by 10.3 percent, reaching 650,000 and 840,000 respectively.

More and more foreign companies chose to have IPR disputes solved in China, thanks to the country’s judicial fairness and transparency, according to British media.

China has become a “preferred” land for multinational corporations to launch intellectual property litigation because it saves more time and cost to fight a lawsuit in China than in the US, American media said.

The tremendous progress China has made in scientific and technological innovation is attributed to decades of research and efforts of Chinese scientists, who independently developed atomic and hydrogen bombs and a man-made satellite under extremely difficult circumstances, synthesized crystalline bovine insulin, and refined artemisinin.

Today, China’s investment in science and technology ranks the second in the world. The country owns a large number of professional scientific research personnel, and its technological innovation is transitioning from quantitative to qualitative growth.

Last year, China’s research and experimental development spending reached 2 trillion yuan ($284 billion), accounting for 2.18% of GDP. Chinese tech firm Huawei’s R&D investment was $15 billion to $20 billion. In 2017, China ranked the first in the world regarding the number of intellectual property applications filed, which is the best proof of the effectiveness of China’s scientific research.

Clamoring for the so-called “intellectual property theft” of China, some people in the US have exposed their “selective blindness” to China’s progress in intellectual property protection, showing devastating disregard for China’s independent innovation capability.

They believe that only by “stealing” US intellectual property rights can China have the opportunity to achieve such great achievements in technological innovation. However, the fact is that China has more and more technological innovations that the US does not have, smashing such rumors again and again.

China has both the ability to create intellectual property rights and the determination and actions to protect them. The fact that more and more multinational companies have built regional headquarters and R&D centers in China is the most convincing proof.

(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy.)

By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily

Some US officials are interested in discrediting China with the so-called “forced technology transfer” accusation and it seems that they’ll never get bored with it. Though their remarks were doubted internationally and domestically, and despised by the US business circle, these officials just couldn’t resist stirring things up.

China made a clear commitment that it would not require foreign investors to commit to technology transfer into China in its WTO accession protocol. The WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights sets high standards of intellectual property protection and China did more than it was required through making the commitment. In fact, most WTO members did not made such a promise under the multilateral trading system.

In China, there is no law that requires foreign companies to transfer technologies to their Chinese partners, and technology transfer between enterprises is a normal business practice in international economic cooperation.

What foreign companies and their Chinese counterparts do, such as carrying out technological cooperation in accordance with market principles and signing legally binding agreements on the basis of equal consultation, is a choice independently made by market players for mutual benefits and win-win results.

The enterprises are free to make reasonable demands in negotiations considering cost effectiveness, which is within their rights of bargaining and should be protected.

Foreign investors have every right to file appeals and lawsuits against monopoly on the basis of international rules if they believe that the Chinese companies are abusing their dominant power in the market.

No company wants to do unprofitable or forced business in China. Insightful people in the world pointed out that the so-called “forced technology transfer” accusation not only violates business ethics, but also insults the intelligence of foreign entrepreneurs.

Input and output have always been correlated. Technological innovation and exchanges drive the advancement of productivity forces. By transferring some technologies, the corporations could effectively recover the cost of innovation and open up the market, which provides follow-up support for them to develop new technologies. This is the normal operation mode of multinational companies.

What’s more, under the highly competitive market environment where only the fittest survives, a company will not possibly share the market and make profits without advanced technologies.

It is odd that some people in the US could stir up trouble from such a simple market rule and economic knowledge.

Daniel Gros, director of the Center for European Policy Studies, pointed out that China’s technological progress is an important reason why certain people trumpeted “forced technology transfer”.

“Previously, Western companies were more willing to transfer their technology, based on the expectation that Chinese competitors would be unable to adapt and master it, anyway. With China now producing more graduates with bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering than the US and Europe combined, that expectation is no longer tenable.” Gros said.

China has a huge market with nearly 1.4 billion and the world’s largest and fastest growing middle-income group. The country welcomes foreign investment and did not and will not set a threshold of technology transfer for foreign companies.

Foreign companies and their Chinese partners cooperate in scientific research and transfer technologies driven by market rules and mutual interests, instead of being forced. Their purpose is to occupy a larger share of the market and make more profits.

It is pure nonsense to say that China forces foreign companies to transfer technologies. In fact, it is the US that has blocked Chinese companies from investing in the American technology enterprises, restricted the export of high-tech materials to China and employed political power to impose pressure on China’s private companies.

Some people in the US wish that they could enjoy the benefits on the foreign market and maintain dominance in high technology, cornering other countries to the lower end of the global value chain.

The truth will finally reveal itself and justice always inhabits people’s hearts. Some people in the US really need to stop spreading rumors and looking for troubles. Even though they are good at chopping logic and staining others’ reputation, their nonsense will eventually be revealed to the entire world.

(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy.)

By Mary Blaise

As the two-day retreat for ministerial nominees comes to an end,President Muhammadu Buhari according to reliable sources will today announce the portfolios of Ministers-designate.

This would be coming three months after he took his second oath of office and six months after he won the presidential elections.

The Ministers-designate will be sworn in at the State House, after which they will be allocated portfolios by the President.

Following the swearing-in, each Minister will be given a Mandate, based on the assigned Ministry, and which will spell out priorities, deliverables and timelines. In addition, a robust monitoring and evaluation framework will also be put in place to track the implementation of all policies and programmes over the next four years.

By Samuel Itsede

Mrs. Isabella Oshodin, a United States based Nigerian has been arraigned before a Federal High Court in Abuja on a 25-count charge bordering on money laundering to the tune of N22,964,228,414.

Mrs. Oshodin, alongsidd her company, Oshodin Organisation Ltd, are accused of unlawfully receiving the money from the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), while Colonel Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (rtd) held sway.

In the case brought against Mrs. Oshodin by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), it was alleged among others, that she, on 16 occasions, received N500,000,000; N750,000,000; N125,000,000; N350,000,000; N170,000,000; N85,000,000; N60,000,000; N50,000,000 and others which totalled N2,366,000,000 from the office of the NSA.

The EFCC also alleged that the defendant, on eight occasions received from the office of the NSA funds amounting to $57,217,301.15 into the Escrow accounts of Bob Oshodin Organisation Ltd.

A count in the charge reads: “That you, Mrs. Isabela Mimie Oshodin, Bob Oshodin Organisation Ltd and Mr. Robert (Bob) Oshodin (still at large) on or about 22nd June, 2014 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this honourable Court directly transferred the sum of $7,712,598 (Seven Million, Seven Hundred and Twelve Thousand, Five Hundred and Ninety-eight Dollars) to one Portfolio Escrow Company with account number 3102004330 domiciled in California Republic Bank, United States of America which sum you reasonably ought to have known to be proceed of an unlawful act of Sambo Dasuki (rtd), the then National Security Adviser to wit: criminal breach of trust and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15 (2) (b) of the Money Laundering (Provision) Act, 2011as amended in 2012 and punishable under Section 15(3) of the same Act.”

The defendant pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to her on Monday, following which her lawyer, Osahon Idemudia informed the court about a pending bail application filed by the defendant.

Upon the court’s permission, Idemudia moved the bail application, during which he stated that the prosecution was only trying to portray a purely civil contract transaction as a criminal matter.

Idemudia said: “This has to do with a civil contract transaction. It is either a misunderstood commercial transaction or someone is being mischievous.

“The defendants sold their furniture factory to the Federal Government for $55million.

“They have only paid half of the money, which the prosecution has calculated as N22.9b.

“The money stated in the charges, which they claimed is money laundering, is actually payment for the purchase of the furniture factory.”

Idemudia noted that a copy of the contract for the sale of the factory has been exhibited before the court, and that the prosecution admitted its existence in the counter-affidavit it filed.

The defence lawyer prayed the court to grant his client bail on liberal terms on the grounds that she was a decent person, who is troubled by the current turn of event.

He denied the prosecution’s insinuation that the defendant may not be available for trial if allowed on bail.

“She is not a flight risk. She is available to stand trial. She is someone, who is ready and eager to clear her name,” the lawyer said.

Idemudia, who told the court that his client was suffering from some health conditions and needed medical attention, having been kept in custody for 70 days by the EFCC, drew the court’s attention to the order it made on August 9, 2019 directing that the defendant be taken to a medical facility.

He said the EFCC was yet to comply with the order and sought the court’s intervention in that regard.

Prosecution lawyer, Mrs. Aisha Habeeb, faulted Idemudia’s argument and urged the court to be guided by the need to ensure that the defendant was available to stand trial.

Mrs. Habeeb noted that Mrs. Oshodin’s husband was in America, and argued that it could be difficult to have the defendant return to stand trial if proper precautionary measures were not taken and she is granted bail and allowed to travel to the United States.

After listening to arguments from both lawyers, Justice Taiwo Taiwo ordered that Mrs. Oshodin should be taken back to the custody of the EFCC pending the ruling on the bail application, scheduled for August 21.

Justice Taiwo rejected Idemudia’s suggestion that Mrs. Oshodin be taken to a medical facility, in furtherance of the court’s August 9 ruling, where she should remain until the day set for ruling.

Instead, the judge directed that both lawyers should work out ways of ensuring that the August 9 order is complied with by the prosecution pending the date set for ruling.

1. Mr. Rabiu Olowo Onaolapo
Honourable Commissioner for Finance

2. Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo
Commissioner for Education

3. Prof. Akin Abayomi
Commissioner for Health

4. Dr. Idris Salako
Commissioner for Fiscal Planning and Urban Development

5. Mr. Tunji Bello
Commissioner for Water Resources and Environment

6. Mr. Gbenga Omotoso
Commissioner for Information and Strategy

7. Mrs. Bolaji Dada
Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation

8. Mr. Lere Odusote
Commissioner Energy and Natural Resources

9. Dr. Frederic Oladeinde
Commissioner for Transportation

10. Mr. Gbolahan Lawal
Commissioner for Agriculture

11. Moruf Akinderu Fatai
Commissioner for Housing

12. Mr. Moyo Onigbanjo (SAN)
Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice

13. Mr. Hakeem Fahm
Commissioner for Science and Technology

14. Mrs. Ajibola Ponnle
Commissioner for Ministry Establishment, Training and Pension

Mrs. Ponnle is an accomplished Consultant, Executive Coach and Organisational Psychologist. She has a B.Sc. in

15. Engr. Aramide Adeyoye
Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure

16. Mr. Segun Dawodu
Commissioner for Youth and Social Development

17. Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf
Commissioner for Home Affairs

18. Mrs. Yetunde Arobieke
Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs

19. Mrs. Lola Akande
Commissioner for Commerce and Industry

20. Mrs. Olufunke Adebolu
Commissioner for Tourism Arts and Culture

21. Mr. Sam Egube
Commissioner for Economy Planning and Budget

SPECIAL ADVISERS

Dr. Wale Ahmed
Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Relations

23. Ms Ruth Bisola Olusanya_ not available
Special Adviser, Ministry of Agriculture

24. Princess Aderemi Adebowale
Special Adviser of the Office of Civic Engagement

25. Mr. Afolabi Ayantayo
Special Adviser on Political and Legislative Affairs

26. Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka
Special Adviser, Ministry of Housing

27. Joe Igbokwe
Special Adviser for Drainage and Water Resources

28. Tubosun Alake
Special Adviser for Innovation and Technology

29. Architect Kabiru Ahmed Abdullahi
Special Adviser, Urban Development

30. Anofi Olanrewaju Elegushi
Special Adviser, Central Business Districts

31. Bonu Solomon Saanu
Special Adviser, Arts and Culture

32. Oluwatoyin Fayinka
Special Adviser, Ministry of Transportation

33. Oladele Ajayi
Special Adviser on Commerce and Industry

34. Tokunbo Wahab
Special Adviser, Ministry of Education

35. Solape Hammond
Special Adviser on Sustainable Development Goals

By Jennifer Yusuf

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has so far provided accommodation to 546 personnel in NAF Base Kaduna in the last 4 years.

Indication to this effect was made by the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, while commissioning a renovated block of 30 x 2-bedroom flats for Senior Non-Commissioned Officers (SNCOs) in Kaduna. He also disclosed that the construction of a block of 10 x one-bedroom officers’ transit quarters and renovation of another officers’ transit quarters were also ongoing while noting that these, when completed, would accommodate additional 50 personnel.

The CAS, who was represented by the Air Officer Commanding Air Training Command (AOC ATC), Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Muhammad Suleiman, said projects like these were initiated in all NAF Bases to ensure conducive work and home environments for personnel and their families in line with the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces directives for enhanced welfare for personnel.

He further said that providing decent housing for officers, airmen and airwomen remains a priority towards ensuring that personnel and their families live in a befitting accommodation and are therefore better prepared to respond to various exigencies of the Service.

The CAS said the administration remains committed to upgrading existing structures as well as building new facilities as part of the infrastructural development drive in all NAF Units.

Air Marshal Abubakar also disclosed that the administration would continue to provide the much needed support to sustain the tempo of operations against insurgency, kidnapping and armed banditry and urged personnel to re-double their efforts to reposition the Service into a highly professional and disciplined force for effective, efficient and timely deployment of air power in response to Nigeria’s National Security challenges.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Commander 453 Base Services Group, Air Commodore Idi Sani, said that the event is a remarkable milestone towards improving the living conditions of NAF personnel.

He said NAF Base Kaduna would continue to remain grateful to the CAS for his unwavering support towards the provision of shelter and other basic amenities to the Base.

By Jennifer Yusuf

As part of efforts to sustain the quality of education in Nigerian Air Force (NAF) schools, the NAF has inaugurated the maiden edition of the Young Education Officers’ Induction Course (YEOIC 1/2019) at the Air Force Military School (AFMS) in Jos, Plateau State.

The YEOIC 1/2019 is designed to expose newly commissioned officers of Direct Short Service Course (DSSC 28) to the key aspects of Education Management in order to enable them function effectively and efficiently in line with the ethics of the teaching profession.

The 77 participants of the 3-week YEOIC would also be intimated with the guiding principles that have enabled the NAF Directorate of Education (DOEDN) to sustain the laudable performance recorded in NAF schools over the years.
 
In his remarks during the inauguration ceremony, the Guest of Honour, Air Officer Commanding Ground Training Command (AOC GTC), Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Idi Amin, noted that the YEOIC could not have come at a better time than now, when the NAF is striving to attain world-class levels of efficiency, professionalism and discipline. He therefore commended the leadership of the NAF, under Air Marshal Sadique Abubarkar, the Administration Branch as well as the DOEDN for the introduction of the YEOIC, which, he said, would awaken the spirit of excellence among Education Officers in the NAF. The AOC added that the NAF places high responsibility on the young officers to provide leadership, which could only be effectively achieved by inspiring the trust and confidence of the followers.
 
Speaking further, the AOC stated that the primary objective of the YEOIC was to equip participants with requisite knowledge to facilitate their work as Education Officers. While acknowledging the huge task ahead of them, AVM Amin advised the officers to ensure they derive maximum benefits from the Course.  According to him “as the current leadership of the NAF continues to vigorously pursue the agenda of professionalism, I wish to remind you of your sworn commitment to uphold the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and always conduct yourselves in a manner befitting of a professional military officer”, he said.
 
Earlier in his welcome address, the NAF Director of Education, Group Captain Samson Adelakun, thanked the current leadership of the NAF for providing the needed support and logistics that had made it possible for the Directorate to organise its maiden YEOIC. He admonished the young officers to shun negative habits and vices which could truncate their career growth, whilst urging them to work assiduously towards the development of the NAF Education Specialty.

In order to enhance the quality of education services in its units across the country, the NAF has, over the last 4 years, renovated and remodelled existing infrastructure, as well as constructed new blocks of classrooms and hostel accommodations in its schools, while establishing 2 entirely new secondary schools. The new schools are; the elite Air Force Girls Comprehensive School Abuja and the Air Force Secondary School (AFSS) Shasha, Lagos. AFSS Kaduna was also upgraded to a boarding school and renamed Air Force Comprehensive School Kaduna. This is aside the numerous capacity building initiatives that have empowered the faculty of NAF schools for better performance. One of the results of these efforts is the excellent performance recorded by Master Peter Seunara Arotiba, who stunned the academic world by emerging as the best overall candidate in the 2018 May/June West African Examination Council (WAEC) Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) in the whole of West Africa, with 9 A-1s in 9 Subjects, beating over 1.9 Million candidates that sat for the Examination. The YEOIC, which would come to an end on 6 September 2019, is expected to position the participants to create an environment to replicate such results when they report to their various units at the end of the Course.