Friday, 5 April 2013

Federal Varsity Councils: Former Lawmaker Asks Na’Abba, Buhari To Reject Appointments


varsity_board1_artIbrahim Shehu Kagara has called on two former speakers of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’Abba and Salisu Buhari to reject their appointments as members of Federal Universities Governing Councils by the Federal Government.
It would be recalled that yesterday the FG announced the appointment of members and chairmen of varsities governing councils in which Na’Abba and Buhari were appointed as members of the councils of Federal University of Abeokuta and University of Nigeria, Nsukka respectively.
However, Kagara, a former member of House of Representatives from Niger State who made the call in Minna yesterday said their appointments as ordinary members of the councils will belittle their status and a clear indication of disrespect to the House as an institution.
InformationNigeria

America's 10 Best Coffee Shops


2013-04-04-coffeeshopsmain.jpgCoffee culture in America, in the post-World War II era, began with the dark stuff. The "water dressed down in brown," as singer Ani DiFranco once put it -- the nitty, gritty, put-the-hair-on-your-chest stuff that would hardly pass for a decent cup of coffee today. And forget the billions of combinations of milks, beans, and flavors you'll find today; back then, it was coffee, black, and no questions asked (Photo Credit: Nathan Cyphert).
Coffee soon hit a decline through the '60s and '70s, thanks to the rise of America's other favorite caffeinated drink -- soda. But then came the second wave of coffee, when hanging out in coffee shops and drinking espresso became cool (basically, finally following in the footsteps of our European neighbors who had it right all along). But with the boom of coffee once again came the mass market appeal of coffee.
Click here to see the Full List of America's Best Coffee Shops
Starbucks opened its doors in Pike Place Market in Seattle in 1971, when the coffee industry was still in decline. By 1984, Howard Schultz had tried the café experiment in downtown Seattle, with the first ever Starbucks Caffè Latte. By 1994, Starbucks had 425 stores; by 2004, Starbucks had 8,569 stores. The total number of Starbucks as of July 1, 2012 (according to the company's timeline)? 17,651. And that doesn't even include the number of coffee chains that took off in the same period: Dunkin' Donuts, Peet's, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Peaberry, Caribou, Seattle's Best (a subsidiary of Starbucks). But no chain exemplifies the mass market appeal of coffee more than the rise of Starbucks.
Check out these 7 Quirky Coffee Shops
Now, we're riding out the third wave of coffee that's followed the likes of craft beer and craft cocktails, and entering into the fourth wave. And with it, we find America's best coffee shops -- the places that dedicate themselves to the craft of coffee, from bean to cup. It's the farmers, the roasters, the buyers, and the baristas that have redefined coffee to be more than just a caffeine boost. For the coffee shops we've found, coffee is a way of life. Now more than ever, coffee shops are doing way more than serving better roasts or making your latte into latte art. They're building relationships with the growers, sourcing beans in ethical and sustainable means, making single-origin roasts to bring out unique flavors, and brewing with innovative techniques never seen before -- so your Mr. Coffee has long been put to bed.
Click here to see the Ultimate Guide to Starbucks' Secret Menu
We scoured for the best independent coffee shops and chains that have changed the way we drink coffee. Our criteria? The best quality in coffee and food, atmosphere, customer service, and the "unique" factor. (Case in point: a DeLorean car in the back of one shop. You just can't top that.) We then asked our coffee experts -- coffee bloggers, roasters, shop owners, baristas, and educators -- to nominate the shops they loved. Our panel then voted on a list of nearly 150 coffee shops from coast to coast. In the end, we narrowed down our list to the most highly ranked (and most talked about) 33 shops and chains that are riding into the fourth wave of coffee and beyond.
Some of the coffee shops you may know well; Stumptown, Intelligentsia, and Blue Bottle all made the cut for an overall quality that's hard to beat. And many of the shops on our list serve roasts from Stumptown and Intelligentsia, proving that they're the roasts to beat. (Another roaster we saw over and over again on our list? Counter Culture Coffee Co., based in Raleigh, N.C. While Counter Culture doesn't operate any storefronts and instead focuses on supplying shops and educating the public, it too is a winner in our eyes.) Some of the shops have added on roasteries for a true "farm-to-table" approach. And some of our shops operate under a multiroaster model, serving a selection of roasts from the big guys, like Stumptown, and the local providers.
HuffingtonPost

Scrapping Of NECO A Great Setback For The Country – NECO Workers, Others


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The workers of the National Examination Council, on Thursday, appealed to the Federal Government not to scrap the examination body, as workers were reported to be wondering what their fate will be if the government eventually implements the plan.
Reports on Wednesday said the Federal Government had decided to implement the recommendations of the Oronsaye-Panel that listed NECO among 38 federal agencies that would be scrapped or merged with others. The Federal Government had not confirmed or denied the planned action though, but there was palpable tension in NECO on Thursday.
A senior official, who pleaded anonymity because he was not permitted to speak to the press, told Vanguard there was no wisdom behind the attempt to scrap NECO.
“Let’s look at it this way: Britain is not up to half the size of Nigeria and it has about eight examination bodies. How then can Nigeria have only examination body?
“Secondly, why lump us with the West African Examination Council? WAEC does not belong to Nigeria, so what does the country stand to gain by handing over structures of NECO to WAEC?
“Thirdly, how possible is it for WAEC, or any examination body for that matter, to organise one SSCE in November and organise another one two months later, when they have not released the result of the one conducted in November?.
“Again, we should not be in a hurry to forget when Nigerian candidates suffered untold hardship in the hands of WAEC, which led to the birth of NECO.
“As at that time, open any newspaper and what you see are appeals by candidates asking WAEC to release their results. The coming of NECO stopped all that. Now, we are going back to the era of colonialism, maybe we should even hand over the Presidency of this country back to Britain,” he said.
Also reacting, the Niger State Commissioner for Education, Alhaji Abdulhameed Danladi said though he believes government’s policies are dynamic and can be changed at any time, the decision to scrap the examination body must be given a second thought in the overall interest of Nigerian educational development. He stressed that the nightmare Nigerians went through in the hands of WAEC should not be allowed to come back.
He pointed out that government has the right to make policies, but such policies should have positive bearing on the lives of the people because governance is all about people.
“My concern about scrapping of NECO is about the over 5,000 Nigerians working there that will lose their job.
“Here we are in a country where unemployment is on the high side and because of that, the government is coming up with a lot of programmes aimed at creating employment and mopping up unemployed youths from the streets and now you want to scrap NECO and increase the rate of unemployment in the country.”
He argued that “what I don’t think is right is for government, in an attempt to solve one problem, start to create another. Examination is the only way to evaluate the performance of students and if you now scrap NECO, how do you evaluate candidates? If it is NECO that the Federal Government does not want, let them set up another one, but there must be an examination body that is wholly Nigerian.”
Danladi therefore advised that rather than scrap NECO, the government should reposition it and add value to it for better performance.
Also speaking on the proposed scrap of NECO, Minna-based human rights activist, Evangelist Udoh, urged the Federal Government to analyse the Oransanye report again.
“Why would any sensible person recommend that NECO be scrapped and its structures and statutory responsibility be taken over by WAEC, a regional body".
InformationNigeria

‘CPC Not An Islamic Party’


MBuhari_370922522Acting Chairman of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in Taraba State, Alhaji Hassan Ardo, yesterday faulted the notion in some quarters that CPC is an Islamic party, stressing the party is an all inclusive one which is opened to all interested persons.
Ardo, who made his position known in Jalingo during a meeting of wards, local government and state executive members of the party to discuss the party’s restructuring and merger plans with other political parties, said those advancing the notion that the party is an Islamic one are just using that as a political gimmick to cause disaffection and disunity in order to score some cheap political points as well as keep interested people away from the party.
Ardo cited the examples of Pastor Tunde Bakare and Prince Tony Momoh who hold key political positions at the national level of the party and argued that if the party was an Islamic one, it wouldn’t have been the case.
He described his appointment as the acting chairman of the state by the national body as a call to duty and promised to run an open door policy where everyone would be given an opportunity to make inputs.

Foods that boost virility



Food performs various functions in the body, the most basic of which is keeping us healthy to be able to meet other obligations, including sexual obligations, especially for men.
Nutritionists say food can boost or bust a man’s libido, depending on what he ingests. Indeed, researchers say it’s impossible to build manly vigour on a diet of denatured foods like processed meats and other junk foods that fill the space these days.
Experts warn that to boost manly strength behind closed doors, men need foods that are well supplied with the elements that give strength and stamina.
Nutritionist and weight loss expert, Dr. Oluwakemi Oluwa, says all foods that are best for building health, pure blood and vitality are also best for virility building, most especially when eaten in their natural form. Indeed, she nails foods that have undergone “processing, refining or improper cooking,” such as refined flour, refined sugar, and polished rice, among others. These foods, she contends, are only filled with pure starch or other carbohydrate, literally starving the nerves, bones and blood vessels of the elements which they need most.
In terms of warning, researchers recommend this diet for the impotent and sexually debilitated men, especially those over 40 years of age. Young men in their prime who scientists consider already sexually overstimulated are advised to use less of eggs and meats — especially red meat, because of its stimulating character.
They also advise that, where possible, a breakfast could consist of mainly fruits and vegetables, with two small portions of solid foods to round off the day.
This being the case, what foods do we have within reach which can give men the sort of strength they always dream of?
Nutritionists recommend full diet for this category of men, with a fairly liberal allowance of meat, eggs and other proteid (protein-rich) foods. Poultry, fish and sea food are said to be of little help here, though their dietary value cannot be contemned. More important, they also advocate a diet rich in fruits and vegetables eaten “as is.”
Top on the list is watermelon. Currently in season and sometimes throughout the year, this fruit is very low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. It is also considered as a good source of potassium, and a very good source of vitamins A and C. Its crowning glory, however, is citrulline, an amino acid that stimulates nitric-oxide production and increases blood flow to the male organ, strengthening erections.
For those with sweet tooth, it seems to pay off here. Researchers at the University of California say the flavonoids usually found in dark chocolates improved blood-vessel dilation by more than 10 per cent among men that ate it. The result is an improved blood flow to the nether region, with the attendant boost as needed.
Other sources of flavonoids are green and black tea, apples, apricots, blueberries, pears, strawberries, cabbage, onions and tomatoes.
It’s not just the phallus shape of bananas that make them a fruit of interest. Their libido-boosting values are also of great importance. Said to be high in potassium, nutritionists say this lush fruit relaxes blood-vessel walls, allowing for better blood flow throughout the body. Indeed, a study published in the journal, Hypertension, claims “it offsets a high-sodium diet, keeping the blood pressure in check.
Though smelly, the influence that garlic has on men’s sexual well-being overrides its obnoxious smell. This is because this vegetable boosts blood flow to the penis by increasing nitric-oxide production and relaxing the blood vessels.
Walnut is another rich fruit that scientists say boost the libido. In separate researches, the European Food Safety Authority, and researchers at the University of Malaya in Malaysia say L-Arginine, an amino acid found abundantly in the fruit, is one of the building blocks of nitric oxide. As such, they say, a diet that includes these nuts with the rock-hard shell makes for consistent, rock-hard erections.
Ginger is spicy and can be used as food seasoning, meat tenderiser or taken in juice form. Whichever way you like it, a study published in the International Journal of Cardiology claims that ginger rids the blood vessels of free radicals and decreases inflammation, thus relaxing the arteries and improving blood flow. The researchers say just about one teaspoon of ginger (in powder form) a few times a week is all you need to reap its cardiovascular rewards.
Better still, a Nigerian scientist at the University of Ibadan, Dr. Yinusa Raji, reportedly fed rats ginger extract for eight days. At the end of the experiment, he found that their testosterone levels had increased, while their testes had gained weight. The jury is still out on these findings, though.
Nutmeg is also a seasoning agent and it is available in powder or block form — all in its natural state. In a study of natural aphrodisiacs published in the journal, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, researchers say nutmeg increases libido and erectile performance, what with its myristic acid, which they say stimulates the production of nitric oxide, “the key to a healthy erection.”
Olive oil is not only good for anointing, as a study published in the journal, Lipids, seems to suggest. The researchers claim that the revered oil helps increase testosterone production. And when the testosterone level increases, we know better.
So, as the world marks the 15th ‘birthday’ of Viagra, with its controversial side effects, the uplifting — literally — derivable from the aforementioned foods can be indulged in, with no fear of untoward side effects except, possibly, that of a quick visit to the labour room by Oga Madam nine months after.
Punch Nigeria

Keshi snubs Yobo again, invites 30 players



Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi has invited a total of 30 players for the team’s hectic mid-year schedule with the team captain Joseph Yobo still missing from the list. The Fenerbahce defender was not called for the match against Kenya last month – a development that brought about a public spar between the player and the coach.
The Nigeria Football Federation officials though has moved to settle the rift between them.
But while Yobo has still not been recalled, South Africa 2013 top scorer Emmanuel Emenike is back to the fold. He was also not called for the match in Calabar against Kenya but on account of the injury he sustained at the semi-final stage of the Africa Cup of Nations. Midfielder Kalu Uche also returns after 16 months on the sideline.
A notable fresh inclusion is Anthony Ujah who stars for FC Cologne of Germany. The striker is actually on loan to Cologne from Mainz of France.
 The Eagles have a busy schedule of about 10 matches between the end of May and mid-July. The African champions have an international friendly against CONCACAF champions Mexico in Houston, Texas, USA on the last day of May, before two World Cup qualifying matches in Nairobi and Windhoek. Those games are billed to hold just before the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup tournament in Brazil.
Nigeria will play Tahiti, Uruguay and Spain in Brazil in the first round of the Confederations Cup. They will return to Africa for a 2014 African Nations Championship qualifying fixture against Cote d’Ivoire. The African Championship is strictly for African-based league players.
In all, there are four goalkeepers, eight defenders, seven midfielders and 11 strikers.
The delegation of 12 home-based players and staff will depart Abuja for the training camp in Nuremberg, Germany on May 15 while the overseas-based professionals are expected to join the team in Germany later.
Goalkeepers: Vincent Enyeama (Maccabi Tel Aviv, Israel); Austin Ejide (Hapoel Be’er Sheva, Israel); Chigozie Agbim (Enugu Rangers, Nigeria); Daniel Akpeyi (Heartland, Nigeria)
Defenders: Efe Ambrose (Celtic, Scotland); Elderson Echiejile (Braga, Portugal); Kenneth Omeruo (ADO Den Haag, The Netherlands); Azubuike Egwuekwe (Warri Wolves, Nigeria); Ebenezer Odunlami (Sunshine Stars, Nigeria); Benjamin Francis (Heartland, Nigeria); Solomon Kwambe (Sunshine Stars, Nigeria); Godfrey Oboabona (Sunshine Stars, Nigeria)
Midfielders: John Mikel Obi (Chelsea, England); Ogenyi Onazi (SS Lazio, Italy); Fegor Ogude (Valerenga, Norway); John Ogu (Academica de Coimbra, Portugal); Reuben Gabriel (Kano Pillars, Nigeria); Sunday Mba (Warri Wolves, Nigeria); Emeka Ezeh (Enugu Rangers, Nigeria)
Forwards: Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow, Russia); Brown Ideye (Dynamo Kyiv, Ukraine); Victor Moses (Chelsea, England); Emmanuel Emenike (Spartak Moscow, Russia); Michael Babatunde (Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine); Nnamdi Oduamadi (AS Varese 1910, Italy); Anthony Ujah (Cologne, Germany); Kalu Uche (Kasimpasa, Turkey); Gomo Onduku (Sharks, Nigeria); Obinna Nwachukwu (Heartland, Nigeria); Gambo Mohammed (Kano Pillars, Nigeria).
Punch Nigeria

Thursday, 4 April 2013

MEND Threatens A Series Of Attacks Starting On Friday Over Henry Okah’s Sentence


Henry Okah
Henry Okah
Following the sentence of Henry Okah to 24 years imprisonment by a South African court, the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta on Wednesday announced that it would on Friday resume hostilities in the country.
MEND’s spokesman, Gbomo Jomo, in an e-mail sent to journalists said a series of attacks, codenamed ‘Hurricane Exodus’, would begin at midnight on Friday (tomorrow).
It said the attacks would be “a direct repercussion of a forged threat letter contrived by the Nigerian and South African governments purporting to have originated from MEND”.
Security agencies on Wednesday however said they were prepared to checkmate the militant group.
Speaking about the security operatives’ readiness to contain the threat, Director of Information at the Defence Headquarters, Brig Gen. Chris Olukolade, warned those behind the threat to avoid any action that could endanger the peace in the area, adding that the DHQ had its operatives on the ground and are prepared at all times to defend the interest of the country.
“The DHQ has our outfit on the ground in the Niger Delta. Our structures are on ground in the area. They should not reverse the hand of peace; nobody should threaten the peace in the area.
“The JTF is on the ground and is prepared to do their duties in defence of every interest of the nation. Anybody trying to threaten the peace in the area is advised against it.”
The police also promised to bring to book anyone that engaged in any act that contravened the law of the land just as the Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba said the police would not be drawn into responding to threats issued by criminal elements.
“The police will not respond to threats by criminal elements, but suffice it to say we are ready to curb any acts of lawlessness or criminality in the country,” he said.
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The statement by the militant group read, “This fake letter was used as evidence against Henry Okah on whom a 13- year sentence was passed. To make matters worse, the prosecution’s second witness, Mr. Sele Victor-Ben, had exclaimed in court that the letter was not genuine after failing to catch the prosecutor’s eye who wanted him to lie under oath.
“We are now determined to conjure this imaginary trumped-up threat into a painful reality.
“The attacks will be sustained until an unreserved apology is offered to MEND and the Nigerian government shows its willingness to dialogue. The same way they are willing to dialogue with Boko Haram.”
InformationNigeria