A Nigerian Widow, Mrs. Esther Ahmadu, has demonstrated that there is more to motherhood than childbirth.

Mrs. Esther Ahmadu, despite been over weighed with obstacles had rather preferred to capitulate to the state of starvation to feed her children, and went through thin and thick to raise her son who is now a graduate and neurosurgeon.

Her son, Emmanuel Oluwasayomi Ahmadu, went from being a poor student to soar high to a point of representing both his University and his country, Nigeria, winning numerous national and international award competitions.

Emmanuel, professionally known as Mr Voiceover, was pictured in front his mother’s house, showing his gratitude while displaying the numerous awards he received following the impacts he made in Kwara State and Nigeria at large during his just completed National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme in Kwara State.

Such Mothers like Mrs. Esther Ahmadu are great inspiration to others, their stories are acts of courage that can empower millions of other women in the country, and that is why Mrs. Esther Ahmadu should be supported, given national honour and recognition to encourage other African parents on good child upbringing and selfless parenting.

Emmanuel Ahmadu, on 16th July 2020 successfully completed his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme in Kwara State with several awards and recommendations bagged for his selfless service and commitments that restored hope to over 500 community households and 50 schools across 3 Local Government Areas (Ilorin East, Ilorin West, Ilorin South) of Kwara State within 154 days.

Emmanuel told international television network, British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC News that the experience of raising money to register one exam after the other for 17 times in 5 years before he secured admission into the University, was a traumatic experience.

He stated:
“My mom has been the one God used in sponsoring majority of my enrollments throughout the 16 primary schools, 14 secondary schools and the entire 17 O’level examination attempts, including the University Matriculation Examinations (UME) I wrote 5 times”.

Further, He explained how far and extreme his mother had gone just to made sure the sky is his starting point:

“As shocking as it may appear, my mom spent virtually all her salaries thereby neglecting her personal needs as a School Teacher, she borrowed money from people, engaged in all types of petty businesses shamelessly and sometimes went the extra mile to obtain bank loan just to sponsor my enrollments and education and that of my other siblings. She trained us in God’s way from childhood and she never gave up on any of her children despite oppossing tides and societal challenges. She encouraged us all the way, she will always say, “don’t be tired, all will become well.”

A court in Kano, Northern Nigeria, has sentenced a musician to death for blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad. The Kano Upper Shari’a Court sitting at Hausawa Filin Hockey sentenced 22-year-old Yahaya Sharif to death by hanging.

The judge, Aliyu Kani, gave the verdict on Monday after finding Mr Sharif guilty as charged. He was convicted based on Section 382 (b) of Kano penal code of 2000.

Mr Sharif, a resident of Sharifai in Kano metropolis, was accused of committing blasphemy against the prophet of Islam in a song he circulated via WhatsApp in March 2020.

Following the incident, protesters burnt down the singer’s family home and led a procession to the Kano Hisbah command’s headquarters.

The Hisbah is a Kano State-owned security outfit that enforces the Shariah law in the highly conservative state.

Mr Sharif’s father, Aminu Sharif, had disowned him, saying he was not living at his house when he committed the crime.

He also said that he did not share his son’s religious views.

“I want to categorically inform the general public that blasphemy is not my ideology, and I promise to arrest him (my son) and hand him over to security agents whenever he is found.

“If I had the authority to punish him by law, I will do that right away,” Aminu Sharif had said of his son.

On Monday, the court also sentenced one Umar Farouq of Sharada quarters of Kano metropolis to 10 years imprisonment with hard labour for making derogatory statements concerning the Almighty Allah in a public argument.

The judge said the convict committed the offence at a younger age, and his trial was delayed to enable him to attain adulthood as proscribed by Maliki Islamic jurisprudence and the administration of criminal justice law.

Both convicts have 30 days to appeal the judgment.

News Source: PremiumTimes

There was a mild drama at the Oyo state Infectious Disease Centre on Saturday when a young woman refused to follow her father home after she was discharged from the isolation centre.

The graduate of statistics from a school in the state was among the 20 people discharged from the centre after they were treated for COVID-19.

When TheCable visited the isolation centre, which is located in Olodo area of Ibadan, relatives of those who were to be discharged were outside the gate waiting anxiously for their loved ones.

An official of the centre, who preferred anonymity, told TheCable that the patients were allowed to go home after testing negative for the coronavirus.

“They were here for different duration of time. Some of them had spent more than four weeks at the centre receiving treatment. They were discharged after our medical team confirmed that they had tested negative for the virus,” he said.

Among those waiting for their loved ones was a pastor who is the father of the young woman.

He told TheCable that his daughter began exhibiting a wayward attitude after graduating from school.

“She is my second child but after her graduation from the school of statistics, she refused to come home. I only got to know that she had been isolated at the centre through a relative she confided in. I am a man of God and I will continue to pray for her,” he said.

The drama began after the young woman opted to follow a soldier who came to pick her with a motorcycle.

The father approached the soldier but after about five minutes of discussion, the lady was taken away on the motorcycle while her father left the centre in annoyance.

TheCable gathered that the soldier was admitted to the isolation centre, but got discharged after recovering from the disease.

“The soldier the girl followed home was one of the three soldiers at the isolation centre when the girl was on admission,” a discharged patient who did not want to be named told TheCable.

“Before the soldier was discharged, he and the girl were very close. They mingled together.”

Source: TheCable

posted by, Sapient Writa

It has been revealed that the huge explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, that has killed over 100 people and injured more than 4,000, was caused by a welder at work.

Close to where the welder was working, there was “highly explosive sodium nitrate” confiscated from a ship by Lebanese authorities and placed in one of the warehouses located near the harbour.

The ammonium nitrate – more than 2,750 tons – had been stored in the warehouse for six years. Security sources in the country have claimed the welder sparked the initial fire that in turn ignited the chemicals, causing a blast that has been compared to a “nuclear bomb”.

The blast sent seismic shockwaves through the city on Tuesday evening, August 4, destroying buildings and shattering windows. Over 100 people died in the blast and more than 4,000 sustained varying degrees of injuries.

Many people are feared to still be trapped under the rubble, including those trapped inside their damaged homes.

As at this morning, smoke was still rising from the port, where a towering grain silo was shattered.

The head of Lebanon’s Red Cross said: “What we are witnessing is a huge catastrophe. There are victims and casualties everywhere.”

Ammonium nitrate is mainly used as a fertilizer but has also been linked to terror attacks after being used in homemade bombs.

General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim said it had been confiscated years earlier, reportedly from a ship.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun has declared a state of emergency for Beirut for two weeks – and vowed the “harshest punishments” for those responsible for causing the explosion.

Prime Minister Hassan Diab described the disaster as a “national catastrophe” and added that “those responsible will pay the price”. His wife and daughter were injured in the explosion after it damaged his residence at The Government Palace.

Source: Yabaleft.

Read the full signed Statement.

The Oyo State Government, on Thursday, said Muslim Praying Grounds across the state will be opened for the 2020 Eid-el-Kabir prayers, warning, however, that Muslim faithful must ensure strict compliance with COVID-19 protocols in the state.

According to the government, it has become imperative for the sake of public health and wellbeing of all worshipers that the Eid prayers are conducted in strict compliance with the guidelines on prevention of COVID-19.

The government urged the leadership of each praying ground in the state to ensure availability of hand wash points and compulsory use of nose masks.

A statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, indicated that part of the protocols that must be observed during the Eid Adha festivity include observance of the social distancing rule by allowing only 25 per cent of worshippers at every instance.

The statement read: “As the Muslim Ummah prepare to undertake this year’s Eid-el-Kabir prayers, the Government of Oyo State wishes to advert Islamic clerics and leaders to the need to maintain strict compliance with COVID-19 protocols, especially the social distancing rule.

“The Eid Praying Grounds across the state have, upon the directive of the Governor of Oyo State, Engr. Seyi Makinde, been opened to Muslims for the purpose of the 2020 Eid-el-Kabir prayers.

“His Excellency reckons that prayers are important to overcome the challenges that presently assail us, especially the COVID-19 pandemic.

“However, just like many aspects of our lives that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be an adjustment to Eid prayer gatherings. There is the need to ensure that not more than 25 per cent of worshippers are allowed at every instance in order to ensure compliance with the social distancing rule.

“Similarly, let it also be noted that no worshipper should be allowed into the praying ground without face masks and readiness to wash hands with soap and water in compliance with COVID-19 protocols.

“To further ensure safety and ownership of the Covid-19 preventive measures, the Emergency Operations Centre, EOC, of the Oyo State Covid-19 Task Force, has sent advisories to major markets and shopping malls, on the need for strict compliance with Covid-19 preventive protocols during this festive period and beyond.

“The EOC has also contacted all the health educators in the 33 LGAs in the state with a mandate to reach out to possible places of gathering and advise on the need for responsible behaviour, just as the centre has revved up risk communication advisories on radio.

“In addition to these measures, however, all clerics and leaders are expected to take on the responsibility of guiding our people to pay attention to even the minutest detail on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during this festivity.

“The need to follow all laid down guidelines on COVID-19 prevention must be emphasised to every resident of the state at this period, in accordance with the Own Your Action initiative of the State’s COVID-19 Task Force,  which emphasizes that our wellbeing and safety are individual responsibilities.

“The Oyo State government wishes the Muslim Ummah a peaceful Eid-el-Kabir, filled with the blessings and benevolence of Almighty Allah.”

Source: Oyo Affairs

by, Sapient Writa

It was a dicey atmosphere yesterday in Okeho, at Kajola local government area of Oyo State, when three robbery perpetrators were set ablaze by angry mob, after their 18-seater bus got involved in an accident.

The robbers, who gained entrance into First bank and had a successful operation, with Ak47 and dynamite, were on the run when they got involved in an accident in their own 18-seater bus.

The angry mob cease this opportunity to mete a deserving punishment from their own end on them while the others are still on the run.

Reacting to this occurrence, the Police Commissioner, in a statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Fadeyi Olugbenga, called for calm, noting that the Police is already on the trail of those who are still on the run among the robbers.

The statement read: “the Commissioner of Police, Oyo State Command, CP. Joe Nwachukwu Enwonwu, psc wishes to state that today 29th July, 2020 at about 1658hrs, there was a bank robbery in which dare devil armed bandits who came with white 18-seater bus invaded First bank Okeho in Kajola Local Government Area of Oyo State with an intent to rob.

“The armed robbers who gained entrance into the bank used dynamites and AK-47 riffles shots to blow the bank security door. The robbery which was responded to by the Police Tactical teams and collaborative efforts of the Vigilante and hunters yielded results.

“Consequent upon this, three (3) of the robbers who were arrested when the 18-seater bus had an accident and somersaulted, were thereafter set ablaze by the angry mob when they attempted to escape the scene of the accident.
Immediately the Commissioner of Police got wind of the dastardly acts, he further directed that all the Police Tactical teams including the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Mobile Police Force (PMF 72) and Police personnel from Okeho Area Command and nearby Divisions to be on the trail of other members of the fleeing robbers who escaped in different directions.”

The Commissioner of Police while condemning this dastardly act assures the good citizens of Oyo State of the Police preparedness to protect lives and properties before, during and after the Sallah celebrations.

Sapient Writa

The Federal Ministry of Education on Monday, 27th of July, 2020, announced that secondary schools for final classes will resume on August 4th.

This was announced in a statement signed by its Director Press and Public Relation, Ben Ben Goong.

Goong said the decision was reached at a virtual meeting between the Federal Ministry of Education of the 36 states, the Nigerian Union of Teachers, NUT, the proprietors of private schools and the Chief Executive of examination bodies.

The Ministry further stated that students will have just two weeks to prepare for the West African Examination, WAEC, which will start on 17th of August.

“Secondary schools in the country are to reopen as from the 4th of August, 2020 for exit classes only.”

It was agreed that the exit classes should resume immediately after the Sallah break, from 4th of August, 2020 to enable them prepare for WAEC examinations which will commence on August 17th, 2020.

by, Sapient Writa

An actual date has been officially announced by the Students’ Union government of The Oke Ogun Polytechnic, Saki, under the leadership of Hussein Akeem, on the distribution of palliatives to bonafide students of the institution.

According to the information gathered, it was confirmed that the distribution of palliatives was a decision in line with the State government, NANS and the institution’s Students’ Union, prior to the officially announced date for the distribution of the palliatives.

Although, the School has been on lockdown for over three months since the outbreak of the current COVID-19 pandemic, leading to students absence on campus, the Students’ Union has announced 28th of July for the distribution of palliatives to student nonetheless.

The process is set to take place by 10am, at the Students’ Union Building on 28th of July, 2020, as only students having their student’s identity card or acceptance fees receipt, will be entitled to it.

by, Sapient Writa.

Mr Adekunle Lawal, an advocate of SAKIFIRST, a Non Governmental Organization in the town, has made an explicit narration on how the three missing kids in Saki were rescued yesterday.

On Wednesday, 8th of july 2020, a shocking announcement had gone viral  all through the town about three missing kids, a news which had left dread in the hearts of the people of Saki and even ineffable pains in the hearts and houses of the parents of the missing kids.

But fortunately, the kids were later found and rescued at the early hours of yesterday, Thursday, 9th of July, 2020, after a thorough search through a market in the town, known as Sango where the missing incidence had occurred, with the presence of security agencies and paramilitary.

The advocate of SAKIFIRST, Mr Adekunle Lawal explained how hard, tough and rough it was, searching and rescuing these children.

He said in his statement:

“It was around 11am that they saw the children in a particular shop helplessly. The police managed and strategize. Saki could have caught fire, turned hot and lose some properties if not for the strategy.”

Also, further explanation revealed that, it was the plan of the kidnappers to come over the night to move away the children at the shop where they had been kept, but fortunately, the rescue team slept overnight at the scene, which might have hindered them from making a successful and stress free operation.

“What we want now after seeing those children. JUSTICE.. JUSTICE.. JUSTICE and nothing more. As I’m reporting this, we are on our way to Ibadan. The case is with the commissioner of police. So please calm, the abductors will be REVEALED.”

Mr Adekunle Lawal.

Yesterday, around 4pm, three kids, Fareed, Makinat and HumulKhair, of three different mothers, went missing at Sango market, Saki, Oyo state, and ever since then, the parents of the missing kids alongside, legal authorities have been on the search to find these kids.

Luckily, these kids have been confirmed found today, Thurday, 9th of July, 2020, hale and hearty at a shop in Sango Market, in Saki.

The mothers of the missing children who also have shops in sango market had contacted a number of legal authorities, which had the whole shops in Sango market shut down, to conduct a thorough search, and they were later seen and found in a woman’s shop, where they were kept.

Also, Fareed, the son of one of the Senior lecturers in The Oke Ogun Polytechnic, Saki, too has been confirmed found, hale and hearty.

Parents should be very vigilant and should not lose guard on their children.

Kidnapping is real.