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Folarin Kehinde

FRSC warns Against Selling Vehicles with Number Plate

by Folarin Kehinde February 9, 2022

written by Folarin Kehinde

The new Federal Road Safety Corps Sector Commander in Cross River State, Elizabeth Akinlade has warned Nigerians against selling their vehicles with number plates.

She gave the warning when she paid a courtesy visit to the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Cross River State Council in Calabar.

The Sector Commander said the warning became necessary to protect unsuspecting members of the public against selling their vehicles to people of questionable character.

According to Akinlade, the original owner of the vehicle will be held responsible if it is used to perpetrate a crime after it had been sold.

She said the corps had a data bank of the original owners of all vehicles in the country, adding that when a car is sold, a new buyer ought to do change of ownership.

She said: “Don’t sell your vehicle with the plate number because in our data bank, the name of the original owner of the vehicle, including his address, is stored.

“If the vehicle is used to carry out a crime, with the information in our data bank, the original owner may be arrested, even if he knows nothing about the crime, but sold the car with the plate number.

“One of our strategic goals is to have a robust data bank because without data you may not be able to do much.”

Akinlade said the main goal of the corps in Cross River State in 2022 would be to reduce road crashes by 15 per cent, adding that it could only be possible with a cordial relationship with the media.

“We have lost a lot of people, especially breadwinners, some of whom have been rendered incapacitated, that is why we continue to urge the media to help us push the message of defensive driving to the public,” she said.

In his remarks, Victor Udu, Chairman of the NUJ, Cross River State Council, thanked the Sector Commander for her visit and urged the command to make the process of getting vehicle licence easy.

Udu appealed to members of the public to ensure that their papers were up-to-date and their vehicles in good condition, especially their tyres, side mirrors and rear glasses, to minimise altercations with FRSC officials.

“If we do what the law says, we will have less frictions with FRSC and whenever they stop you for breaking the law, be gentle enough to appeal to them and not claim right,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Akinlade took over from Ocheja Ameh at the Cross River State Command.

February 9, 2022 0 comments

Headlines

FCT Poll: Confusion As Two Candidates Lay Claim to AMAC APC Ticket

by Folarin Kehinde February 8, 2022

written by Folarin Kehinde

There is confusion in the ruling All Progressives Congress in the Federal Capital Territory as two candidates claim the chairmanship ticket of the party in the Abuja Municipal Area Council.

Two candidates, Sulaimon Gwagwa and Muritala Karshi have been campaigning at the different parts of FCT.

The two candidates had on many occasions claimed to be the candidate of the party.

According to reports, Gwagwa won the primary election with 109 votes while his closest challenger, Karshi scored 103 votes.

It was gathered that Karshi challenged the matter in court and won. Gwagwa appealed at the Appeal Court, the court ruled in his favour. Karshi, however, approached the Supreme Court.

However, revealed that Karshi’s name was on the Independent National Electoral Commission list.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the APC in FCT, Abdulmalik Usman, said there was little the party could do as the matter was at the Supreme Court.

He added that the party gave them the nod to go about their campaigns.

Usman said, “When you have a party that is strong you would see people struggling to be its candidate. There is little we can do because the issue is before the supreme court, we hope the apex court gives its ruling and declares one of them the owner of the ticket.

“But what we are doing as a party is to allow the two of them to campaign. It is the logo of the party that appears on the ballot paper and not the candidates’ names. Whoever gets the ticket in court would be our candidate for the election.”

When asked if the situation would not affect the chances of the party at the poll, he said, “It would not. The PDP candidate cannot withstand any of the two candidates. Besides, we are on the ground in the area council.

“Also, none of them has asked their supporters not to vote for APC. This is not happening for the first time. In 2007, we had two National Assembly candidates, the APC won and one of them got the mandate.

“No one should worry about what is happening. The two should carry on with their campaigns and work for the victory of the party in the area council.”

February 8, 2022 0 comments

Headlines

IELTS: Nigerians reject UK’s explanation, insist language test a “scam”

by Folarin Kehinde February 8, 2022

written by Folarin Kehinde

The cost of IELTS, which currently stands between N80,000 and N90,000 in Nigeria, is almost three times the country’s minimum wage of N30,000.

Nigerians have maintained that the continuous request of an English Proficiency Test from Nigerians, and citizens of other Anglophone countries in Africa, seeking to study or work in the United Kingdom, “is simply a way of swindling the citizens of these countries of their monies by the UK authorities.”

Many participants, who spoke at the maiden edition of PREMIUM TIMES’ TwitterSpaces on Wednesday, condemned what they described as the UK authorities’ unwillingness to include Nigeria and other African countries on the list of its Majority English Speaking Country (MESC).

PT TwitterSpaces is an innovation of PREMIUM TIMES to advance conversations around issues of national concern and those that may be trending on social media and particularly Twitter.

Many participants had argued that English being the language of instruction in Nigerian schools from kindergarten to tertiary level is a testimony that Nigerians speak and understand the language.

Petition
As of Saturday, over 75,000 people had signed a petition by Policy Shapers, a public policy organisation, on Change.org, seeking a policy reform by the UK on its request for English Language Proficiency from Nigerians who are migrating to the UK to study or work.

The cost of the test, which currently stands between N80,000 and N90,000 in Nigeria, is almost three times the country’s minimum wage of N30,000.

Apart from its high cost, the test is only valid for two years and can only be taken in 12 cities across the country.

Individuals requiring it for their pursuits would have to take the test again if they fail or did not relocate to the UK after two years of taking the test.

UK Home Office reacts
In October 2021, Policy Shapers wrote to the UK Home Office seeking answers to why none of the Anglophone countries in Africa was part of its Majority English Speaking Countries, and what it will take for the UK to include them on the list.

Three months later, in January 2022, amidst the growing number of signees of the Policy Shapers’ petition, and growing Twitter trends of #ReformIELTSPolicy #IELTS, #TOEFL, most of them tagging the UK home office’s twitter handle, the UK replied the inquiry by the public campaign organisation.

Parts of its reply read: “To be included on the Majority English Speaking Country (MESC) list, we must have evidence that most people in the country (more than half) speak English as a first language.

“We rely on publicly available evidence such as official censuses to make this determination along with other academic sources.

“We may also consult the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office where additional evidence is required. Currently, based on the information available to us, Nigeria does not meet the requirement.

“This list is periodically reviewed and updated, and new countries are added if they are found to meet the requirements.

However, speaking on PREMIUM TIMES’ Twitter Space, Ebenezer Wikina, the founder of Policy Shapers, and a champion of the #ReformIELTSPolicy campaign, said the UK home office is too elaborate and not specific in what kind of public evidence it relies on to verify that more than 51 per cent of Nigerians speak English.

He said: “Public evidence is very broad. There is a lot of public evidence on why Nigerians should be on that list.”

To back his claims, Mr Wikina cited how Nigeria made the top 28 countries for six consecutive years in the English Proficiency Index released annually by Education First, a Sweden-based international education company that specialises in language training.

Mr Wikina said: “We actually deserve to be on the list. And I think that we should be on the list and that’s what the campaign is all about.”

He also hinted that Policy Shapers is working on a policy brief to be presented to the UK Home Office.

Others react
A participant, Senibo @Sen_Abbey, argued that IELTS is designed as a standardised IQ test and not necessarily as a language proficiency test.

He said: “It’s more of an intelligence quotient test than an English proficiency test. I have been to several classes, where I have to learn or study under someone to prepare for the test. And I have come to discover that what they are only testing is your IQ. How good you are and how fast you are in answering questions, which is the same thing with every other exam. These guys just go and rip us of our money, every two-two years.

“For me, it’s a scam, there is nothing else to it. It’s just a pure scam. These guys are just there to collect our money and that’s it. So for me, I will say this thing should be scrapped totally”.

Another participant, Joe Abuku @JoeAbuku, said: “Proficiency doesn’t get worse, it gets better. The ultimate goal is to scrap it”.

Munachi Deca-Anyanwu, @munadeca6 said: “For me, I am for the total scrapping of the test because our primary schools, high schools and our universities all teach in English.

“I have a friend who goes to France who went to language school before they go to university. There they finish a language school and they go to university and they get their masters. People who never spoke French. So why would people who have immersed themselves through English all through their lives will now have to go through another English language exam? And if somebody is going to the UK to study if you cannot speak English, that should be the person’s problem.”

Source: Premium Times

February 8, 2022 0 comments

Headlines Opinion

The Menace of “New Year Prophesies” And Aura of Negativity (Part 1)

by Folarin Kehinde February 7, 2022

written by Folarin Kehinde

By: Light Shedrack

The trend of “New Year Prophesies” by different religious leaders is fast becoming a norm, especially among the Christian community in Nigeria. While it is believed that God truly speaks to people, the prophecies and visions about Nigeria mainly border on social frivolities.

It mostly foretells what does not bear relevance to the growth and development of the country – Something like which politician and party stand a chance to win elections. It predicts doom and gloom and hardly points to a way out of Nigeria perennial crises.

Our prophecies, just like our religion hardly encourage hard work and creativity as antidotes to poverty and crime. It hardly calls out leaders by their names and rebukes them for squandering our national and state treasury.

In the scriptures, we read about prophets who, against all odds, called out leaders for their evil and wicked acts. Prophet Nathan and Prophet Elijah in the Bible come to mind. Prophet Nathan rebuked powerful King David for causing the death of Uriah while Prophet Elijah, despite the danger of being killed by wicked Queen Jezebel continued to speak against the evil of his time perpetrated by King Ahab and his wife, Jezebel. But today in Nigeria, we only have so-called prophets and seers who prophetically align with politicians and political parties of their choice for material benefits.

These religious leaders are beneficiaries of the prevailing corruption and untamed looting of the nation and state’s treasury by the public and civil servants.

Despite these “thus-says-the-lord” claims that spring from our religious places every year, Nigeria is still worse off in all its socioeconomic facets. Despite the presence of these so-called God’s advocates, Nigerians have continued to experience bad leadership. Ironically, while the people plunge further into abject poverty, these religious leaders continue to garner fortune, mostly from the very corrupt political elites. Who pays tithes and gives generous offerings from which massive cathedrals are built? Who patronizes the expensive schools owned by religious leaders? Your guess is as good as mine.

These ‘prophesies’ usually reach their peak when elections are around the corner. In some cases, Nigerians choices of voting those who will lead them are shaped by deceptive prophesy and visions of Nigeria religious leaders. An average Nigerian is religiously vulnerable making them easy preys in the hands of Nigerian politicians and the so-called prophets. Nothing sways an average Nigerian as claims of prophecies and visions. The religious leaders understand this susceptibility and they are cashing in and out.

Most deceptions perpetrated by religious leaders in Nigeria and Africa at large started in form of prophecy and vision. Once caught in the web of their ‘thus-said-the-lord’ visions, one becomes like a caged bird in the hands of these religious elements. But how far has all these prophesies stirred growth and development in the polity? How far has the prophesies shaped the morality and integrity of those saddled with leadership positions in the country? We have never been better off with the crop of leaders we have in Nigeria and the “prophecies” that bring them to power have never helped matters either. Rather this “yearly prophesy trend” has grown the “Prophesy Industry” more than it has grown the country’s collective fortune.

At the end of every year, Nigerians wait eagerly to hear from those who claim they have heard from God. Interestingly most of these prophesy only point to looming dangers and doom. From politics to the economy, we hear all manners of so-called negative prophesies. Esoterically, negative prophecies connote the presence and influence of the negative spirit. We have seen situations where a particular prophet claimed God told him a particular politician would win an election, while another prophet would claim that God prefers a different politician. The same God, different prophesies!

In 2015 when the likes of Rev. Father Ejike Mbaka and other pro-Buhari prophets claimed to have heard from God that the then President Goodluck Jonathan has been rejected by God. In his stead, that God has “anointed” the current Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari as President Goodluck’s successor and the person to bring the good luck he claimed eluded Nigerians under former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Using a pigeon as a symbol of his spiritual experiment, Rev. Mbaka claimed that “Jonathan’s pigeon” refused to fly; an indication that President Jonathan would not make any headway in the general election that was then around the corner. In the same vein, he claimed: “Buhari’s pigeon” soared to the skies, an indication that God has chosen Buhari as the “Messiah” of the time and the next president of Nigeria.

That prophesy from a popular preacher like Mbaka was among the many factors that aided President Muhammadu Buhari’s in winning the 2015 Presidential Election. President Buhari eventually won the election as predicted, but unfortunately, Nigerians are yet to see the messiah in him as the economy keeps plunging under his watch, and insecurity worsening. This is simple to interpret. People should be wary of prophecies. Most prophesies are products of the mind of the prophets.

This brings us to the question, who truly hears from God? Who is God’s mouthpiece? Who has He sent and who has He not sent to speak?

….….. To be Continued
Light Shedrack is a public issue commentator. He writes from Abuja, Nigeria Federal Capital Territory. He could be reached via lightsheddie26@gmail.com

February 7, 2022 0 comments

Headlines

Valentine’s Day is Satanic – Mummy G.O

by Folarin Kehinde February 7, 2022

written by Folarin Kehinde

Controversial Nigerian evangelist, Funmilayo Adebayo, better known as Mummy GO, has faulted the celebration of Valentine’s Day across the world.

Valentine’s Day is celebrated annually on February 14. It is a special day when people show feelings of love, affection, and friendship.

It originally started as a Christian feast day honouring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and gradually metamorphosed into a celebration of romance and love.

But in a now-viral video, Mummy GO claimed the day is not worth celebrating.

The cleric also claimed the idea of Valentine’s Day was initiated by the kingdom of darkness to destroy people.

“The story that happened that they said they are celebrating as Valentine does not deserve celebration. The story has nothing to celebrate, but the enemy just chose it because that man — Valentino or what did they call him — they knew everybody loves him because he is a good person, who helped people and showed love to everyone,” she said.

“Yet, how did he die? He died a useless, terrible death. He died of dejection if you know the story very well. Is that something that needs to be celebrated? No.

“But they purposively chose it because the kingdom of darkness needs a day dedicated for falling, destruction and how do you convince people to celebrate immorality: they use popular figures loved by others.”

The video which surfaced ahead of this year’s edition of the celebration, Mummy GO lamented that many youths now see the day as a period to indulge in sexual immorality.

February 7, 2022 0 comments

Headlines

Senegal Declares National Holiday to Celebrate AFCON Win

by Folarin Kehinde February 7, 2022

written by Folarin Kehinde

Senegal’s President Macky Sall declared Monday a public holiday to celebrate the national football team’s first ever African Cup of Nations crown following their victory against Egypt, public television announced.

Sall, who had been due to visit Comoros at the end of a trip that took in Egypt and Ethiopia, cancelled the last leg in order to welcome the triumphant Lions on their return to Dakar at 1300 GMT Monday, RTS said.

Led by Liverpool star Sadio Mane, Senegal overcame Mohamed Salah’s Egypt 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out at Sunday’s final in Cameroon. The game had finished goalless after extra time.

After two previous final defeats in 2002 and 2019, Senegal finally claimed their first Cup of Nations title.

The Lions will be decorated by Sall on Tuesday at the presidential palace in Dakar, RTS television said.

“The president of the republic declared Monday a public holiday, a paid day off, following the brilliant victory of the Lions,” RTS said, citing a presidential decree.

February 7, 2022 0 comments

Headlines

Panic as 40 suspected ‘Yahoo boys’ in white storm Abuja Estate

by Folarin Kehinde February 6, 2022

written by Folarin Kehinde

No fewer than 40 suspected internet fraudsters dressed in white were stopped from entering Mab Global Estate in the Gwarinpa area of the Federal Capital Territory.

It was gathered that security personnel manning the gate of the estate prevented them from accessing the estate around 11:45 pm on Friday.

According to residents, the suspected fraudsters said they came to honour a birthday party at a plot in which no celebration was happening.

They said the young guys were with bags and appeared as if they were up for a ‘ritual’.

The Chief Security Officer of the estate, Denis Omala, said they reinforced and came back around 2:30 am.

He said he had to call for reinforcement to subdue them.

Omala said, “Over 40 suspected Yahoo boys attempted to breach the estate security on Friday night.

“They dressed in white attempted to gain entrance into the estate around 11:45 pm but were not allowed in.

“They could not provide the requisite information on the particular house number that was expected. We turned them back. They returned strong in a convoy of 15 cars carrying over 40 people in white around 2:30 am.

“They became aggressive as they attempted to forcibly penetrate the estate. We had to call in all the security men and some residents to prevent them from breaching the peace of the estate.”

The Chairman of the Estate, Emeka Ihedioha, said he had to rush to the gate to ensure that the young men were turned back, adding that their intentions were not known.

He, however, urged the residents to be more vigilant.

February 6, 2022 0 comments

Africa & World

Canada dropping all COVID restrictions, vax passports by end of month

by Folarin Kehinde February 3, 2022

written by Folarin Kehinde

The province of Saskatchewan in Canada has become the first province to announce it will be dropping all COVID-19 restrictions, including proof of vaccination requirements.

Premier Scott Moe made the announcement during a press conference Monday evening, stating restrictions would end on Feb. 28 and recognizing Canadians’ desire “for a return to normal.”

“Our caucus MLAs are hearing this from the people that they are talking to across the province and the people that they ultimately represent, and people are asking their government for a return to normal – a removal of public health restrictions – and we most certainly are looking at how we can do that in the weeks ahead here in Saskatchewan,” said Moe.

The announcement comes after a significant shift in public opinion among Canadians against pandemic restrictions.

A new poll by the Angus Reid Institute found that 54% of Canadians agreed or strongly agreed that restrictions should be ended and for people who are at risk to self-isolate. All regions except for Atlantic Canada reported majority support.

Both Alberta and Ontario have also hinted at some signs of further opening up.

Most recently, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney stated that he hopes to see an end to the proof of vaccination program by March.

“I did say when we brought in the proof of vaccination program back in early September that I did not foresee it going past the first quarter of 2022. That would be the end of March,” Kenney said last week.

Ontario’s top doctor Kieran Moore also said last week that it was time for people to “learn to live with COVID-19,” anticipating that the threat of the virus will die down in the near future.

“I think we have to start to understand we have to learn to live with this virus,” Moore said.

As for Quebec, Premier Francois Legault has now walked back his plan to tax the province’s unvaccinated after facing wide public pushback.

“I understand that this divides Quebecers, and right now we have to build bridges,” said Legault on Tuesday “My role is to try to bring Quebecers together to stay united as a people.”

February 3, 2022 0 comments

Headlines

Food Security: ActionAid to submit third Biennial Review to African Heads of States next week

by Folarin Kehinde February 3, 2022

written by Folarin Kehinde

ActionAid Nigeria, AAN, Wednesday, said it is set to submit its third biennial review on agricultural accountability at the African Union, AU, Assembly to mitigate the foreseen challenges of food security.

This is came as AAN said it would submit the review at the 35th ordinary Session of the AU Assembly (Heads of State and Government Session) in February 2022.

Speaking during the pre-biennial review launch with the theme: “Strengthening Accountability and Utilization of Biennial Review Results – the Role of the Media and Non-State Actors,” Constance Okeke, International Project Manager, Public Finance for Agriculture, AAN, explained that the biennial review is an accountability process instituted to help measure progress of the comprehensive African Agriculture Development program implementation in all the African countries.

She explained further that, “Every two years a review is done to see how this program is been implemented. And countries generate data and submit to the regional economic communities who in turn submit to the African Union and it is analysed and prepared as a form of report to heads of states. So during their summit at the beginning of the year this report is released to them.

“This is the third Biennial review, it started in 2017 with the first report released in 2018 summit and the second BR for 2019 and submitted at the African Heads of State summit 2020.”

She however noted that the third biennial review for 2021 will be submitted and released in the upcoming African Heads of State summit this February by next week.

Okeke charged the media to be accountable in reportage at all times, especially in matters relating to agriculture.

According to her, “The idea of having this event partnering with our partners is to ensure that one of the primary key holders in the Agriculture Development which is the media is at the forefront of these issues, which will help push information accurately, push accountability processes across board so that we all have the shared prosperity and improved livelihood.

“The idea of bringing everybody is to have uniformed information and then be prepared to engage the report once it is released next week.”

February 3, 2022 0 comments

Headlines

NBC Fines Radio Station 5 million, over Discussion on NIA Boss Reappointment

by Folarin Kehinde February 3, 2022

written by Folarin Kehinde

The National Broadcasting Commission has sanctioned an Abuja-based radio station, Vision FM, for discussing the controversial extension of the appointment of the National Intelligence Agency’s Director-General, Rufai Abubakar.

In a letter addressed to Vision FM’s Managing Director on Wednesday in Kaduna, the NBC claimed it sanctioned the broadcasting outfit for airing content harmful to the country’s national security in one of its programmes, ‘Idon Mikiya’ on January 5, 2022.

NBC pointed out that the station breached section 39 (3) (b) of the 1999 constitution that imposed restrictions on issues relating to government security services or agencies.

“Your discussion of issues, including appointments of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) constitutes a breach of the provision of section 39 (3) (b) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which imposes restrictions on matters concerning government security services or agencies established by law,” the Nigerian broadcasting regulator stated.

The commission fined the media outlet N5 million and suspended the programme for six months, starting from January 28, 2022.

It claimed that transmitting trade secrets and other issues regarding a national security agency was an act prejudicial to Nigeria’s national security.

This development came amid Buhari regime’s continued attempt to muzzle Nigerian media.

Riot Act to broadcast stations
In December, the president extended the tenure of Mr Rufai as the DG of NIA, despite internal protests against his reappointment.

Top NIA officials queried the appointment of Mr Rufai in 2018. They complained about his competence, nationality, and the motive behind his appointment.

The extension of Mr Rufai’s appointment took effect from January 10, 2022, the same day he was first appointed the NIA boss in 2018.

February 3, 2022 0 comments

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