234 more girls and women rescued from Boko Haram, bringing total rescues to 677, Nigerian military

Their faces were gaunt, their hair tinted orange, their stomachs distended, all signs of malnutrition. They looked ragged, lost, shattered. But the girls were alive and free.
They were among a group of 275 children and women rescued from Boko Haram extremists, the first to arrive at a refugee camp Saturday after a three-day journey to safety, brought by Nigeria's military.
They came from the Sambisa Forest, the last stronghold of the Islamic extremists, where the Nigerian military said it has rescued more than 677 girls and women and destroyed more than a dozen insurgent camps in the past week.
Two newborns were among the first arrivals.

"Boko Haram killed the father of this child," Lami Musa told The Associated Press, cradling a four-day-old girl with black curls glistening with sweat in the 104-degrees Fahrenheit (40-degrees Celsius) heat.
Tears came to her eyes when she was asked if she has other children: "Three of them. Boko Haram killed my husband and grabbed me. I have no idea where my other children are." She said she lost her family in an attack by the militants on her village of Lassa in December.
The baby was born the day before the group set off from the Sambisa for a refugee camp in Yola, the capital of Adamawa state, crammed into the backs of rickety, open pick-up trucks.

On the trip's first day, one military vehicle escorting the group exploded a landmine, wounding two soldiers, according to a soldier traveling with them. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists.
Soldiers on foot then swept the road ahead of the convoy, he said, so it took three days to travel potholed roads for the 300 kilometers (200 miles) southwest to Yola.
Musa, 27, could barely walk when they arrived, limping on feet swollen to massive size. She said couldn't nurse her unnamed baby, because her breasts have no milk.

She's among several dozen in the group taken first to the clinic at the refugee camp, set up in an unused boarding school.
There, 22 were dispatched immediately to a hospital in town. Dr. Mohammed Auwal said many were suffering from malaria, diarrhea and malnutrition.
As night crept in, the camp is lit by a generator that powered the clinic and a bulb in a tree under which the military handed over the females to the National Emergency Management Agency at a brief ceremony.
For nearly a year, Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan had been promising to bring home all the people kidnapped by Boko Haram home — especially 219 schoolgirls abducted from their boarding school in the town of Chibok.

That mass kidnapping a year ago outraged many around the world. It still was not clear Saturday whether any of the students who have come to be called "the Chibok girls" are among the newly freed.
The military has spent days "processing" them and trying to identify them. Now they will get medical and psychological care to begin their rehabilitation, said Air Commodore Charles Otegbade, the emergency agency's director for search and rescue.
The women were exhausted, too traumatized to realize they were safe, or be questioned about their experiences under Boko Haram.
They lined up for tea, water and a stew of baobab leaves.

Some women shot at their rescuers and were killed, as Boko Haram used them as an armed human shield for its main fighting force.
Nigerian soldiers were shocked when women opened fire on troops who had come to rescue them in the village of Nbita last week, The Associated Press was told by a military intelligence officer and a soldier who were at the scene. The women killed seven soldiers and 12 of the women were killed, they said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

Most of the rescued are traumatized, said army spokesman Col. Sani Usman.
Boko Haram had seized a large swath of northeast Nigeria last year, declaring it an Islamic caliphate. Nigerian troops ran away before their advance, complaining they were not given enough ammunition or food to fight, and leaving civilians with no defense against an uprising that killed as many as 10,000 people last year. Some 1.5 million people have been driven from their homes.
The tide turned in the past nine weeks with a new infusion of armory including helicopter gunships, and a coalition with troops from neighboring countries.

Federal Republic of Nigeria

Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean.

The site of many ancient kingdoms and empires, the modern political state of Nigeria has its origins in the British colonization of the region during the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries; it emerged from the combination of two neighboring British protectorates: the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate. During the colonial period, the British set up administrative and legal structures whilst retaining traditional chiefdoms. Nigeria achieved independence in 1960, but plunged into civil war several years later. It has since alternated between democratically-elected civilian governments and military dictatorships, with its 2011 presidential elections being viewed as the first to be conducted reasonably freely and fairly.

Nigeria is often referred to as the "Giant of Africa", due to its large population and economy. With approximately 174 million inhabitants, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the seventh most populous country in the world. The country is inhabited by over 500 ethnic groups, of which the three largest are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. Regarding religion, Nigeria is roughly divided in half between Christians, who live mostly in the southern and central parts of the country, and Muslims, concentrated mostly in the northern and southwestern regions. A minority of the population practice religions indigenous to Nigeria, such as those native to Igbo and Yoruba peoples.

In 2014, Nigeria's economy (GDP) became the largest in Africa, worth more than $500 billion, and overtook South Africa to become the world's 26th largest economy. Furthermore, the debt-to-GDP ratio is only 11 percent (8 percent below the 2012 ratio). By 2050, Nigeria is expected to become one of the world's top 20 economies. The country's oil reserves have played a major role in its growing wealth and influence. Nigeria is considered to be an Emerging market by the World Bank and has been identified as a regional power in Africa. It is also a member of the MINT group of countries, which are widely seen as the globe's next "BRIC-like" economies. It is also listed among the "Next Eleven" economies set to become among the biggest in the world. Nigeria is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the African Union, OPEC, and the United Nations among other international organizations.

Reference:

www.wikipedia.com

Obis celebrate Mikel’s second EPL crown

Mikel Obi’s family in Jos, Nigeria, celebrated their son’s achievement after he won his second English Premier League title with Chelsea on Sunday following a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace at the Stamford Bridge.
Mikel played 45 minutes as Chelsea beat Crystal Palace 1-0 when he came on for Juan Cuadrado.
Mikel won his first EPL title with Chelsea in 2009/2010 season and has now won his second this season.
Mikel’s older brother, Tony Obi, said that they are very happy with Mikel’s achievement and they hosted family members and friends at their home after the game.
“We were all glued to the TV screen few minutes before the game started to watch the game and see Mikel winning the title,” he said.
“We are all very happy here to see him winning the title, it has been God all the way for his life and career. It was not an easy feat.”
He further said: “We prepared delicious food and bought drinks for the celebration because we believe he was winning the title today (Sunday), all the family members and some friends watched
the game together and we ate and drank together to celebrate Mikel.
“As you know us here, this is a Christian family, we always give God thanks for everything, we will
 be holding a thanksgiving service for this achievement next Sunday at St.Theresa Catholic Church in Jos.”
Mikel has won two EPL title in 2009/2010 and 2014/2015, he has also won four FA Cup winners’ medal in 2006/2007, 2008/2009, 2009/2010 and 2011/2012.
The Jos-born star has also won League Cup twice in 2006/2007 and 2014/2015, Charity Shield in
 2009/2010, UEFA Champions league in 2011/2012 and Europa League in 2012/2013.
EDEN HAZARD ensured Chelsea won their first Premier League title since 2010 with victory over Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge.
The PFA Player of the Year headed home on the stroke of half-time after Julian Speroni saved his initial penalty.

The Belgian had been brought down in the box by James McArthur but his tame effort from 12 yards was easily kept out by the Palace keeper.
The Blues had several chances to put the game beyond doubt and settle the nerves of the Stamford Bridge faithful but were unable to find the back of the net.
Branislav Ivanovic and Cesar Azplicueta both fired over the bar while Didier Drogba and Willian had shots fly inches wide.

Crystal Palace pressed late on with Thibaut Courtois saving well from Wilfried Zaha after the former Manchester United winger latched onto Glenn Murray’s knockdown.
But the Blues, who have topped the table since the opening weekend of the season, were able to hang on to secure the double and Jose Mourinho’s third Premier League title.

Mourinho happy to win ‘most difficult’ title

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said his side had won the toughest league in world football after a 1-

0 victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday saw them crowned English champions.

Eden Hazard’s goal on the stroke of half-time gave the Blues a 1-0 win in front of their own fans at

 Stamford Bridge and an unassailable 16-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.

Chelsea have now won the title three times under Mourinho but this is the first since the Portuguese

manager returned to the London club for a second spell in charge in 2013.

Mourinho, whose trophy-laden career also includes domestic titles in Portugal, Italy and Spain, told

Sky Sports: “When I came back I knew that I was coming back to the most difficult league to win in the world of football. And we’ve done it.

“Crystal Palace were fantastic with the way they have played. They were like they need the game to

be champions or to not be relegated. For a team that is middle of the table that is fantastic and is the

nature of football here,” he added.

“From day one to today nobody gave us anything. Everything we got we deserved.”

And Mourinho said the very strength of the Premier League, may work against Chelsea’s bid to add a

 second European Champions League crown to the one they won under Roberto di Matteo in 2012.

“The group starts with the Capital One (League) Cup and the Premier League but we know in future

 it’s very difficult and other teams will come even stronger,” Mourinho said.

“England’s not the best country to be a force and dominate football.”


– ‘Breathe, relax and enjoy’ –

In a separate interview with the BBC, the 52-year-old Mourinho said: “I am very happy and proud. I

need a rest, I’m tired. It’s not easy to cope with that, but finally mathematically we are champions

now. Finally we can breathe, relax and enjoy.

“I think last season we were building something. I always thought when this season started, and then

winning match after match, I was feeling the team would be ready,” Mourinho said.

“I knew the work ethic would be there and the spirit would be there. The mentality in key moments in

 the season was there,” he explained after Chelsea took the title with three games to spare.

“I thought we had everything to win the title,” added Mourinho who also masterminded back-to-back

 Blues triumphs in 2004-05 and 2005-06.


Asked to rank this latest success alongside his other triumphs, Mourinho said: “I don’t compare with

the past, no. I can say it’s very difficult, because the Premier League is changing and everything gets stronger.

“The English game is still my favourite. I could be smarter and like other mangers choose teams and

 countries where it’s easy to be champions, where they can enjoy calmly their success,” added

Mourinho, who returned to Chelsea from Spanish giants Real Madrid.

“I chose a country where it’s difficult to win and a club without a big tradition of winning Premier

 League titles because the last one was in 2010. I chose a difficult job.”

World Relays: Okagbare powers Nigeria to gold

Nigeria’s fortunes at the IAAF World Relays in the Bahamas took an up swing with the women 4x200m snatching the gold in a dramatic final, staged in the early hours of Sunday. Okagbare started for the Nigerian quartet, she did well to stay close to the event’s defending champions, the USA who took a commanding lead from the start. They were on course for another win, but disaster overwhelmed the American ladies at the final changeover.

Janeba Tarmon and Allyson Felix failed to reach an understanding, it ended with Felix crashing to the
floor. Regina Geroge, Dominique Duncan and Christy Udoh made no such mistake, they coasted home to victory at 1.30.52 seconds to win the 50,000 dollars at stake also set a new national record.

Jamaica finished a distant second in 1:31.73, one-and-a-half seconds slower than their time from last year, but one place higher on the podium. Germany were third in 1:33.61 while China set an Asian record of 1:34.89 in fourth.

I am very delighted with the performance of our Women winning the 4x200m relay in a World leading time of 1:30.52s ahead of all the leading nations – USA, Jamaica, Bahamas, France,
Germany, China and Ireland. I had said it before now that we can rely on these women to showcase
our prowess in the Relays and they have not disappointed us,” Athletics Federation of Nigeria
technical director Navy Commodore Omatseye Nesiama stated

Reduce Your Bride Price, Ex-military Governor Of Anambra Tells Igbo Parents

Former Military governor of old Anambra State, Col. Robert Akonobi (rtd), has pleaded with Igbo

parents to reduce the bride price of their daughters so that ‘’our young boys can marry them.”

‘’To me, this topic (bride price) has been dealth with in the past by Ndigbo, who came out with a

reduced bride price, to enable our young boys marry our young girls,” Akonobi said.

Akonobi also cautioned that men should study their proposed wives closely and longer before

engaging into marriage because “once you marry, no one else can put it asunder.” He spoke at

the industrial city of Nnewi, Anambra State during the traditional wedding ceremony of the

daughter of a business mogul, Chief Louis Onwugbenu, Onyinye and her husband, Bosah

Chukwuogo, weekend.

Nnewi was agog as dignitaries from all works of life trooped to the residence of Chief Onwugbenu

for the memorable event. The dignitaries who were from both the military, political and

manufacturing circles, including Col Akonobi, Hon. Clement Nwankwu, former member of the

House of Representatives; Chairmen and Chief Executive Officers of Gabros International

Limited and Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Limited, Chief Gabriel and Innocent Chukwuma

respectively, among others.
The issue of high bride price was discussed extensively on the occasion. Hon. Nwankwu, in his

own speech, prayed that Chief Onwugbenu and his wife would live long to enjoy the fruits of their

children, especially those who married from outside their areas.

Also, speaking, Mrs. Onwugbenu expressed gratitude that her daughter’s hand was given out in

marriage and prayed that her in-laws who came all the way from Awka to marry her daughter,

would go back home safely. Father of the bride, Onwugbenu, in his own speech, said he had

already blessed his daughter and her husband to go and make a good home.

On the bride price controversy in Igbo land, Onwugbenu declared: “We do not charge money as

bride price for someone to marry my daughter. To me, what is important is that my daughter

should live in peace with her husband. Let her husband’s family members accept her as part and

parcel of their family.”

Jose Mourinho Lacks Respect – Wenger

Chelsea’s Jose Mourinho lacks respect for his fellow managers, says Arsenal boss Arsene

Wenger.

Mourinho labelled the Gunners “very boring” for going 10 years without winning a trophy.

Mourinho’s comments came after Arsenal fans chanted “boring boring Chelsea” during last

weekend’s 0-0 draw between the sides at the Emirates Stadium, which saw the Blues close in on

the Premier League title.

Wenger was asked about those comments in his pre-match news conference for Monday’s game

with Hull.

“The biggest thing for a manager is to respect other managers. Some people have to improve on

that,” he said.
In February 2014 the Chelsea boss called his opposite number a”specialist in failure”, and then in

October the Gunners boss shoved his rival during a heated touchline quarrel.

Wenger said: “You can have incidents with other managers sometimes. It gets a bit heated when

you fight directly with them, but in the end I believe time heals and the important thing is to

respect each other as much as you can.”

Asked if Mourinho should conduct himself with more dignity, the Arsenal manager answered:

“Look, everybody lives with his own internal problems and I live with mine. That’s enough.”

Jonathan Shuns May Day celebration

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan failed to attend this year’s May Day celebrations in Abuja for

the first time since 2011.

Not only did the President not attend, he also did not send a representative, as the speech read

by the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Senator Joel Danlami Ikenya, ostensibly believed to

be that of the President, was withdrawn by aides of the minister, who explained that the speech

read was that of the minister.

In attendance, however, was the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala

Mohammed.

In Lagos, attempts by the Joe Ajaero-led faction of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to hold a

rally at the National Stadium was thwarted by security agents who sealed off the premises to

prevent them from gaining access. They however organised their rally under the bridge adjacent

the stadium.

In his speech, President of NLC, Ayuba Wabba, said the labour movement would closely monitor

the incoming administration of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari in the revival of infrastructure that

would serve as the foundation upon which to drive the country’s economic recovery.

Wabba decried the spending of about $40 billion on electricity by the Peoples Democratic Party

(PDP)-led Federal Government without anything to show for it.

“It is truly tragic that despite sinking a whopping investment in excess of $40 billion for the past

16 years in the power sector, the only proofs we have to show for it are megawatts of darkness

and gigabytes of excuses.

“Currently, power generation in Nigeria hovers around 3,000 megawatts. Yet, the $25 billion

Three Gorges Dam in China generates more than 22,000MW of electricity.

“The excuse of inadequate gas for the power stations is already time-worn. The volume of gas

that has been flared since 1956 when commercial quantities of crude oil and natural gas were

discovered in the oil producing communities of Niger Delta, with all of its environmental and

climatic consequences, is enough proof that blaming gas supply for our perennial national

darkness is what it is- mere excuses,” he stated.

He said the NLC believes that regular power supply would unlock the potentials in the economy.

Wabba then declared that the labour movement would hold the Buhari-led government to account

based on the promises to Nigerians generally and to the working class in particular.

He added: “Apart from the above, the incoming government must revive the Ajaokuta Steel

Complex, conceived to be the cornerstone of our industrialization, but unfortunately, our political

class has refused to accept the simple truth that no country can truly industrialise without any

iron and steel industry.”

He hinted that the NLC would soon set the machinery in motion for the review of the national

minimum wage, which was last raised in 2010. Wabba stated that having implemented the wage

for five years, it was naturally due for re-negotiation, given the prevailing economic realities.

He said: “The first direct symptom of the prevailing economic crunch, the continuous devaluation

of the naira, has dealt devastating blows on the purchasing power of the Nigerian worker. This is

unacceptable!

“The last national minimum wage of N18, 000 is clearly no longer of any meaningful economic

value to workers, as the inflationary trends, engendered by the continuing devaluation of the

naira, has made the minimum wage now grossly inadequate.

“The above situation, plus the fact that the five yearly circle provided for periodic review of the

national minimum wage is almost at hand, we wish to use this May Day to give notice that we

shall formally table a request for a new national minimum wage for the consideration of the

tripartite social partners as soon as the incoming government is sworn in. This has become

pertinent given current economic realities.”

He argued that the continued shrinking of the resources base of Nigeria should naturally call for

urgent innovative ways to diversify the economy.

He stated that the free fall of the price of crude oil in the international market, the gross

mismanagement of national resources by the political class and their cronies in the private sector

and the failure of successive Nigerian governments to build critical infrastructure that can

support the diversification of the national economy, have all contributed to the construction of

current narrative of economic woes.

The labour leader maintained that Buhari must move swiftly to reduce costs of governance, block

leakages, and institute reforms required for speedy economic growth and stability. To make these

happen, he said government needs to be open and transparent, as well as accountable.

He listed organisational unity, promotion of internal democracy, ascendancy of unionisation,

financial independence and solvency of the labour movement, education and training of NLC

members, research and documentation, strengthening the labour-civil society alliances, national

agenda setting on job creation and employment initiatives, national watch on democracy,

development and good governance and building the political power of the labour movement as

main priorities of his administration in the next four years.

For the President of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Bobboi Kaigama, Buhari should focus on the

implementation of short and medium-term goals for the quick-wins, while charting routes for

long-term goals.

Kaigama stated: “We expect the new leadership’s focus to be on soothing the pains of Nigerians

who have constantly been faced with naira devaluation, inflation, corruption, paucity of power,

breach of collective agreements by employers, unfriendly policies of the Bretton Wood

institutions, hike in prices of petroleum products, Boko Haram insurgencies and ethno-religious

violence and kidnapping.

“We also anticipate that the new leadership will provide more socio-economic infrastructure,

maintain existing refineries and build new ones, so that we don’t have to import petroleum

products in a country that produces petroleum.

“If we refine oil within our borders, the current slide in the global prices of oil would have less

adverse effect on our economy.”

Meanwhile, reacting to the stoppage of the usage of the National Stadium in Lagos by the Ajaero

faction, General Secretary of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of

Nigeria, Issa Aremu, accused Ikenya of backing the Wabba-led faction.

Aremu added: “What is certainly unacceptable is the partiality of the Minister in attending one

May Day in Abuja and using the police to prevent another through a lockout of the National

Stadium to the NLC led by Ajaero. It should be noted that fees had been paid for the use of the

stadium facilities on May Day. Jonathan’s administration cannot at this hour be seen to be unfair

in its dealings with all segments of organized labour.

“We therefore condemn the role played by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police in shutting

down the National Stadium against us. We will be taking legal actions to protect our rights”.

Microsoft Office 365 gets powerful add-in system

Microsoft has announced its Office applications will be able to use add-ins which run across multiple platforms and extend the features of software such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Speaking at Build 2015, Rob Lefferts, general manager of Office Extensibility at Microsoft, demonstrated a number of these add-ins.

Among them was a DocuSign plugin for the new desktop version of Word, which lets you digitally apply signatures to documents.

Lefferts also showed how an add-on for SAP would look the same on Excel for Windows desktop, Excel online, and Excel for iPad.

An add-in for Uber on Microsof’s e-mail and information manager software Outlook was also demonstrated.

The Uber add-in can be used to set ride reminders for meetings, which will trigger notifications on non-Microsoft platforms such as iPhone.

Outlook will then automatically populate the Uber request with the destination set in the calendar entry.

Microsoft boss Satya Nadella said these add-ins for Office 365 will have their access restricted with permissions set using policies and access control lists in Active Directory.

Uber, DocuSign, SAP, LinkedIn, and SalesForce plugins for Office apps have been demonstrated by Microsoft.

EU regulators to Look Into Facebook acquisition of WhatsApp

European Union antitrust regulators will decide by Oct. 3 whether to clear world No. 1 online social network Facebook’s $19 billion offer for mobile messaging start up WhatsApp, the European Commission said on Monday.

Facebook also needs approval for the deal from various places in Europe, and now it looks like the company has come up with an interesting way to get the deal approved in Europe.

Rather than having the acquisition reviewed by different regulators in some European countries, Facebook has gone straight to the EU Regulators, and has asked them to review their plans to take over WhatsApp.

If the European Regulators approve the deal, this means that Facebook will not have to seek any approval from the individual regulators in the various European countries.

The European Commission reviewing a deal like this is nothing new, although this is probably one of the first times that a company involved in deal like this has asked the regulators for approval of the acquisition.

Facebook are obviously hoping that requesting a review of the deal, and also being as upfront as they can about the purchase, will help them get on the right side of the EU regulators, and increase their chances of getting the WhatsApp purchased approved.

Uber blocked in Germany

A US-designed smartphone application that connects passengers with cars for hire was blocked from operation in Germany by court injunction Tuesday

BERLIN -- A court has barred ride sharing service Uber from operating in Germany, the latest shot in the San Francisco company's fight with taxi drivers worldwide.

Frankfurt state court spokesman Arne Hasse said Tuesday the decision that Uber can't offer its services without a specific permit under German transport laws applies nationwide.

The injunction applies pending a full hearing of a suit brought against Uber by Taxi Deutschland, a German cab association that also offers its own taxi-ordering app. The suit is being heard in Frankfurt because it is one of the several German cities in which Uber operates.

The court ruled the app can no longer function within the country without an official permit under the Passenger Transport Act.

The ruling is welcome news for Germany’s official taxi companies, which have long charged that the app side-steps regulations and operates without adherence to safety standards.

Uber promised to appeal. “We will fight the decision and defend our rights to the last,” the company said in a statement.

“We believe that competition is good for everyone,” it said. “That’s why Germany is one of our fastest growing markets.”

"It's never a good idea to limit people's choices," Uber said. "We believe that innovation and competition is good for everyone -- it profits both drivers and passengers."

The ruling comes after Berlin authorities last month barred Uber from operating in the capital because of safety concerns.

Taxi Deutschland's arguments were in line with those of established cab companies that claim Uber's app-based services, which offer limousines and pickups by private drivers, dodge rules that ordinary taxi firms have to abide by.

Taxi Deutschland said Uber allows drivers to skirt safety and insurance regulations that apply to conventional cabs, and for employers to avoid sector benefit and wage agreements and taxes.

"The state, society and workers all lose," the company said in a statement.

Violators of the injunction risk a fine of 250,000 euros (328,265 dollars) or imprisonment.

Uber is active in more that 200 cities worldwide with headquarters in San Francisco, California, and regional offices in Amsterdam.

The app had already been banned in Germany on a municipal basis, notably in Berlin, where authorities deemed it unsafe.

Passenger transportation should only occur under legislative oversight, said Dieter Schlenker, chairman of Germany’s main taxi cooperative.

“No passenger can check the driver, business and vehicle themselves,” Schlenker said.