Another Nigerian Ebola Positive!

Minister of Health Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu has confirmed that Nigeria has recorded one more case of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), .

The latest victim, according to the Minister, is a fiancé of a primary contact of the virus.

While one more Ebola victim was being confirmed, another was declared successfully managed and discharged from the hospital.

The discharged patient, who was treated in Port Harcourt, is a sister of the late doctor who attended to the contact that fled Lagos for the capital of Rivers State.

The Minister added that the total number of confirmed cases of Ebola in Nigeria now stood at 19, with seven deaths - five in Lagos and two in Port Harcourt, the River State Capital.

20 Police Officers Still Missing After Gwazo Attacks- IGP!

The acting Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba, said that the Police officers still missing after the attack by the Boko Haram sect on Police Training School, Gwoza, Borno State, were fewer than 20.

After the insurgents had invaded and launched a massive attack in August, 35 police officers were declared missing from the school.

Acting Inspector-General of Police: Suleiman Abba

Abba, told journalists after a meeting with Vice President Namadi Sambo at the Presidential Villa that some of the missing officers had been found, and vowed that his men would stop at nothing to ensure all the missing officers were traced and rescued.

He said, "Well, I must tell you that the turnout of those missing is still impressive because we have been able to trace some of the officers who have reported either back to their bases or their families. When you go through what they went through, the likelihood of you knowing what to do is not very tenable.

"There is a possibility that the decision of what to do may not be easily comprehensible. So some went back to their homes, but our concern is that once they are in safety we are satisfied, and the process of bringing them back to their units has already commence".

I'm Eager to Return To Battle - Adeboye Obasanjo!

Son of Nigeria's former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Lt. Col. Adeboye Obasanjo, who was wounded in a fire-fight between the military and Boko Haram terrorists in Bazza on Monday, has expressed eagerness to return to the battleground.

Lt. Col. Adeboye Obasanjo

Adeboye Obasanjo stated this when former vice president Atiku Abubakar paid him a visit at a government medical facility in Yola where he is receiving treatment.

The young Obasanjo, who was reportedly in high spirits despite his injuries, is an army engineer recently deployed from Jos to join in the battle against the insurgents. He was injured during a battle to repel the insurgents at Michika in Adamawa State.

A source at the hospital who spoke on condition of anonymity reportedly stated that Atiku was impressed when the colonel informed him that he was eager to get back on his feet and return to his duty post.

He added that the former vice president praised the gallant spirit of Obasanjo, prompting him to comment that the trait was from his former boss.

"He was even marching before me, even as he was recovering from gunshots," Atiku reportedly said, while wishing him speedy recovery.

Report says- ISIS Offering Advice to Boko Haram!

A British newspaper reports that what had been considered as mere symbolic links between the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria and Boko Haram in Nigeria may have developed into something more sinister; as ISIS may now be offering Boko Haram advice on strategy and tactics.

The report, which is allegedly contained on page 30 of a recent edition of The Independent published in London stated  that "Intelligence agencies are concerned that what were once symbolic links between Isis and Boko Haram have now developed into a practical relationship with the Islamic State offering advice on strategy and tactics."

According to the report, Boko Haram appears to have been emboldened by its recent gains and was "beginning to operate more like a conventional army in Borno and the neighbouring north-eastern states of Adamawa and Yobe".

Nigerian Military authorities contested the alleged gains by Boko Haram, saying counter-offensives have been launched to rout them.

Howbeit, The Independent report anchored by Cahal Milmo and Tom Witherow, quoted Nigeria Security Network, a coalition of security experts and academics, as saying "unless swift action is taken, Nigeria could be facing a rapid takeover of a large area of its territory reminiscent of Isis's lightning advances in Iraq."

According to the paper, "the nature of the threat was further underlined on Monday when a senior politician in Borno admitted that civil life in the state, home to three million people, has all but ground to a halt".

It recalled that the secretary to the Borno State government, Alhaji Baba Ahmad Jidda, had warned that, while at the moment most parts of Borno State were being occupied by Boko Haram insurgents, "government presence and administration was minimal or non-existent across

many parts of the state, with economic, commercial and social services totally subdued. Schools and clinics remain closed".

"Most settlements in the affected areas in the state have either been deserted or access to them is practically impossible. The threat to security of lives and property as a result of the criminal activities of the Boko Haram insurgents is everywhere," the SSG was quoted to have said.

New Baby Brother or Sister on The Way For Prince George!

Less than the significant twelve week milestone, royal officials confirmed that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, are expecting their second child, the Palace said the Queen and members of both families were delighted.

Prince William and Catherine's second baby will become fourth in line to the throne, moving Prince Harry further down the line of succession.

Prime Minister David Cameron, Labour leader Ed Miliband and the Archbishop of Canterbury were among those to offer their congratulations to the couple.

For a second time, Kate is suffering from an acute form of morning sickness - though this time she's being treated behind palace walls and not at a private hospital with representatives of the world's media gathered outside.

The pregnancy has generated international excitement and will continue to do so but this impending birth will lack the constitutional significance of Prince George's arrival.

Monday's announcement has performed one unintended but useful role for the Windsors. Headlines about the Queen's view of Scottish independence will be replaced by extensive coverage of a royal birth next year.

Report Examines Children Forcibly Abducted, Raped, and Recruited in Nigeria!

A humanitarian crisis is taking place in Nigeria where a brutal conflict between the militant extremist group Boko Haram, Nigerian security forces, and civilian self-defense militia has been particularly affecting children.

In a report, launched yesterday by the advocacy group Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, author Janine Morna examines how children have been forcibly recruited, abducted, raped, detained, and attacked.

The conflict, which started in 2009, has killed thousands of civilians and displaced an estimated 650,000 people, primarily women and children. In an attempt to curb the increasingly violent outbursts, Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan imposed a state of emergency in the north of the country in May 2013. However, according to Morna, the level of violence and the scale of grave violations against children have worsened since.

Together with a number of Watchlist colleagues, Morna was part of a six-week research mission in Nigeria in the spring of this year. Documenting the violations that occurred between December 2012 and July 2014, Morna and the rest of the team conducted qualitative interviews with 156 people.

"My very first interview was with a woman whose son had lost part of his leg in an explosion, her husband had been killed when Boko Haram gunmen attacked local police barracks, her younger daughter had been abducted while at school, and her youngest son had been at school while the building was attacked," 

Morna told MediaGlobal News in an exclusive interview. "It was overwhelming to see so much suffering within the context of one family."

Since 2009 the parties involved in the conflict have subjected children to forced recruitment, killing and maiming, rape, and forced marriages. Schools are frequently attacked resulting in mass school closures and falling rates of enrollment. The abduction of 200 girls from a school in Chibok briefly made the headlines and prompted some action to make schools safer, but overall most violations against children remain poorly documented, and addressed.

When reporting on the Chibok abduction, much of the media - while highlighting the girls' forced conversion to Islam - translated the conflict into a religious war. The Watchlist report, makes it very clear that although there is a religious element to the conflict, Boko Haram does not discriminate between Muslims and Christians when they attack a town.

"We were able to document attacks on mosques as well as churches," she told MediaGlobal News. "The violence carried out by Boko Haram affects the lives of everyone in the northeast, regardless of their religion."

Schools in this region are increasingly becoming recruitment grounds for children. Both Boko Haram and the Civilian Joint Task Force (Civilian JTF), a term loosely used to describe a number of self-defense groups operating in the area, recruit children for spying and participation in hostilities. Many children are forcibly recruited through abduction, others are provided with monetary compensations, and 'volunteer' to join these groups.

"Boko Haram has a very deliberate policy targeting civilians, specifically children," Morna explained. "The heinous act of abduction is being used to embarrass the government and to destabilize the northeast."

According to respondents interviewed by Watchlist, representatives of the Civilian JFT go to different villages and local chiefs usually allow them to recruit any able bodied individual. 

Boys as young as thirteen are being selected to assist the Civilian JFT in their efforts.

Source: MediaGlobal

Rich Wannabes - Annoying Arrogance Of The Nigerian "Middle Class"!

This line of thought has been running through my mind for some time, thoughts of the distinction between the very obvious middle class, i mean the 
ones we see in the malls and cinemas holding hands, looking cool, with cute kids running around, and the bourgeoisie... the ones we hear and talk about, but never really get to see in public places. 



One can get confused trying to distinguish between these two classes, that we often assume the middle class to be the rich.

I came across the piece below that quite connects with my thoughts concerning this issue.

The write up below:
"I hate rich niggas, godammit/Cos i ain't never had a lot, dammit" J Cole.
We are middle class Nigerians- we own fairly used cars, or in bondage under a car loan scheme with one of those seemingly nice banks with monstrous entitlements,
We live in flats (apartments, yes), own a piece of land in the outskirts of town. We holiday in Ghana and Dubai; and dream of one hundred other ways of making money.

We read Times magazine, gawk at expensive wristwatches online. Our palate for music is unfussy. We will rock to Davido and spend the night with Avici.
We gossip a lot, wear nice ties and jewellery; buy expensive pieces of accessories now and then that we sing to the whole world about on Instagram- most times on credit.

We love to move in groups. Ah! Middle class Nigerians cannot live without a friend or two. Their opinions and lifestyle are tied to the apron strings of another friend who has his/hers tied to another friend and another friend and on and on. We are nothing without popular validation.
We are smart because we know what it means for hip-hop to get its first billionaire (so, what does it mean really?). We are witty because we laugh at British jokes. We are cool because we can get a seat on the last row of an international fashion show. We are cocky because we know how to put people in their places.

And most importantly we are the white flag in the middle of an unspoken war between the rich and the poor.
Imagine a Nigeria without the middle class. As suffocating as we are- exaggerated and haughty, we are the balm soothing the anger of the poor and the biting nonchalance of the rich.
The poor has no hope; the rich needs no hope. We- the middle class are defined by hope. We are hope personified.
So let the world never forget- the middle class Nigerian is god. The harbinger of peace!

So now that I have made that clear, can we move on with the issue at hand- why does the rich upset us?
It is simple: all that wealth, sometimes prefixed with "ill", like a disease makes us, yes, sick- sick to the very pit of our stomach! We work hard, middle class Nigerians bleed on their jobs; then as you take a walk home, thinking about debts and loans, you come across the headline:
"Chief Jagajaga buys an Island."
The Island is somewhere in Seychelles and it cost 13 billion naira. Jagajaga is only a commissioner in Nigeria. He is rich, his mother's sister's best-friend's daughter's cat will never have to work a day in its life!

And here you are- educated, brilliant, working round the clock and in your sleep, competent but still average. You have to listen to semi-literate people decide your future; you have to listen to them pronounce "bourgeois" wrongly. You have to read about their children- average kids (nothing close to your genius) living like kings and queens. This upsets you. It upsets you greatly. You end up working for one of them and their snooty kids who have no clue what the job is about. But you will take their orders and try to lower your abilities just so they can shine brighter than you. You need the job, you need the money to keep up with your average lifestyle.

Even in cases where the money is duly earned by these rich folks, you question life still. You wonder when it will come to you- these opportunities that you read about; the right connections, the right sentences that should follow. And it upsets you; keeps you up all night, grieving.

We envy the life of the rich. We read their biographies and spend hours pondering and taking down notes; planning our own moment.
Sometimes, the middle-class Nigerian is only a few people away from his own money-revelling instance, but he may spend the rest of his life without ever making the connection. And that is super depressing!

We don't get along with the poor. The middle-class Nigerian likes to erect a sturdy barricade between him and the poor. Why? Well, sometimes it is hard to make the distinction, and this is so unnerving for the middle-class. He shares everything with the poor- the same bus, the same open market… he deals directly with the poor- no middle men, like the rich, to help keep the distance away from him and the poor. So many times, he is left at the mercy of a poor man… who might just have a few more naira notes than he does.
Confusing, abi?
The middle class Nigerian is not distinguished by earning power oh! Ah! Not at all. The elements of middle-class existence in this part of the world is judged by how well you are able to convince everyone else that you are not poor with impeccable English as your witness and insanely expensive gadgets as your best friend, acquired through insane credit splendour!

Oh! Did you think money had anything to do with all this rant? The middle-class Nigerian is living from hand-to-mouth nah. He owes school fees, owes rent and owes the bank monies he cannot afford but has refused to bring down his collar lest he is wrongly identified as poor, as not having enough. For the fear that his neighbour will look down on him, he goes a-spending!

Don't laugh, it is the posturing of this class of people that keeps the country at peace. The rich is full of…well, wealth that they have no need for a conscience- it has been buried somewhere in the sands of Malibu; and the poor can sell theirs for a pot of porridge.
So we are left with a class of people full of dreams- too big, too close to becoming a reality to allow these extremists- the rich and the poor, get in the way.

The middle-class with all his false grandeur is the only sane one at the cocktail.
We are the bastion of conscience and (pretentious) good living! All hail the
middle-class!".
Culled