Today’s Daily Brief: The APC Wars episode II, Fashola needs some billions, an INEC first + more

The APC may be alive and kicking, but it’s still fighting for oxygen i.e. whether it can use the acronym APC. Punch

And in its first ‘official blunder’, the APGA wants one of its governors, Babatunde Fashola to cough out N20 billion for daring to include it in its alliance, or at least trying to make all of us think that way. Thisday

The Nigeria Labour Congress is happy that the Reps retained the minimum wage law in the book. Daily Independent

When someone invites you to their house, it is pretty much clear cut right? Well, Bukola Saraki has had to answer questions about some interesting invitations from the EFCC. Vanguard

One time governor of Kaduna is critically ill and has been flown to Dubai for a major surgery. Guardian

INEC has a new secretary. In a first, the commission appointed for itself a woman to ‘man’ the post. Thisday

Doyin Okupe plays sounding board for President Jonathan on his 2015 ambitions, yet again. Nigerian Tribune

And, PDP strongman in Rivers, Felix Obuah tells APC to go to the cleaners as far as the 2015 state political equation is concerned. Daily Independent

YNaija

2015: North moves to pick Danjuma for APC presidential candidate

Coming on the heels of its formal registration by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Nigeria’s newest political party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, is currently working round the clock to draft a former Minister of Defence (retd.), General Theophilus Danjuma, into the 2015 presidential election race.

The North decided to shift its focus to the newly registered APC when it realised that it was difficult to get the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential ticket.

According to a reliable insider, the region is hastily looking for a competent candidate, who could bring its people together.

He said, “Unlike in the First Republic when the late Saudana of Sokoto, Ahmadu Bello, was around, the North is divided. Some northern leaders reason that as part of efforts to reunite the region, Muslims must be ready to concede the Presidency to the Christian North. We are zeroing in on T.Y. Danjuma.”

However, it was learnt that a final decision has not been taken yet because consultations are still ongoing.

Also speaking on the development, another close source in the new party said the decision to make Danjuma its presidential candidate had started generating controversy in the party. He said, “What is happening now is really worrisome.

“We understand that the game plan is for the merger partners in the (defunct) CPC to produce the presidential candidate while the Action Congress of Nigeria is to produce the Vice Presidential candidate.

“General Buhari is still very much interested but some elements in the North with the active support of Generals Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida, are looking towards TY Danjuma.

“The thinking is that he will have greater national appeal and he is perhaps the only person who Buhari can step down for, because of the tremendous respect he has for him.

“They are considering the option of co-opting him into the APC, using this window to give him a platform to challenge Jonathan, who appears almost certain to run on the PDP platform.”

Reacting to this development, the Spokesman for the Northern Elders Forum, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, said nothing should be ruled out.

Abdullahi said, “We (the Northern Elders Forum) believe that the North should produce the President otherwise, the President of Nigeria in 2015 should be of northern extraction.

“Our position has been consistent that a suitably acceptable good candidate for the position of president should garner support hopefully not only in the North but also elsewhere in the country.

“If my friend is presented to me today, I will be the first to move around and canvass support for him.

“TY Danjuma is a personal friend and bearing his age, I would be one of those who will force him to run.

“But if the general agreement presents him, I will be the happiest for it.

“Obviously, Danjuma will have national and international appeal.

“We know the position is open to all of us, if we are a bit honest with ourselves, we will agree that one is better placed than the other and TY Danjuma should have perhaps been the president of the country many years ago.

“And perhaps he was the one who declined, otherwise people could have supported his leadership for the country many years ago and if he feels strong enough to provide that leadership, I will be one of those who will support him.”

Asked if the retired General’s age of 74 would not be a hindrance, Abdullahi said, “We are now looking at the person and his known abilities and the known character he is associated with.

“Nobody can challenge the suitability of Gen. TY Danjuma to provide leadership for the country.

“What we are saying is that if he feels inclined and he feels strong enough and willing, I am saying that I will be one of those who will give him support.”

“If what I just said was true, then we have a very serious problem, because it seems we have to be going backwards to look for leaders who will lead us forward.

“That is not a feature of a forward looking progressive society. In fact, a society so condemned to this kind of thinking is permanently doomed and its survival is equally doomed.”

National Publicity Secretary of the new rested Congress for Progressive Change, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, while reacting said it was too early to talk about the presidential ticket.

He said, “Everybody is going to start on a fresh platform, we are starting anew. It’s too early to start talking about the presidential candidate for the party at this point.

“We will not allow anybody to distract us because we still have to go for a convention to elect our officials. It is not the interim committee currently in place that will provide these modalities.

“It is automatic that I am a member of the APC as a member of one of the legacy parties.

“But I have to go to my ward to physically register just like every member is required to register.

“It’s not like, because I am carrying a CPC card then it will suffice. No. Everybody will have to be registered to become a member.

“The legacy parties (ANPP, CPC, ACN) are meeting on Tuesday next week to work out some of these modalities. It is a huge task before them. I don’t envy these 35 folks at all.

“It is when an elected executive is in place that they can draw up the necessary modalities on how candidates will emerge.”

DailyPost

Group Predicts Husband Scarcity By 2023

National Council of Catholic Women Organisation, NCCWO has warned that husbands may be scarce by 2023.

The group raised the alarm against the drop of formal education of male-child, noting that it may have an adverse effect on the society in the near future.

In the next decade, the group fears there would be scarcity of quality husbands in Nigeria, as more boys drop out of school.

National President of the group, Chief Felicia Onyeabo while speaking to newsmen in Abuja on Thursday, said: “The future of this country is going to be very bleak for the male-child. How many girls do you see hawking clothes? Go to Onitsha, they are all men. We have looked round and have come to see that there is a neglect of boys in education. Who are the armed robbers on the streets? They are mostly the boys. Let us concentrate on training the boys.”

“The NCCWO feels that a vacuum is being created, and very soon, we shall be faced with a situation where our educated girl-child will not find a corresponding suitable boy-child to marry. This is because more boys drop out of school, apparently because the high rate of unemployed youth discourages our young boys from appreciating the need to be educated.”

According to the group, “In the near future, quality husbands will become extremely scarce, with too many highly educated women looking for husbands, and settling for any type of husbands, just to get married. The result of this type of situation is better imagined and will not augur well for Nigerians.”

InformationNigeria

Jonathan calls Vice President’s N14 billion house project “indefensible”

President Goodluck Jonathan Friday, turned down the request of the Federal Capital Territory Development Authority (FCDA) to spend additional N9 billion on the new official residence of Vice-President Namadi Sambo, according to reports.

The President’s actions are in line with the observation of the Senator Smart Adeyemi-led Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory that the funds request was indefensible. He also asked the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Mohammed, to keep the memo on the variation of the project, saying that the Federal Executive Council would not consider it.

For him, Sambo can get a befitting official residence within the initial scope of the already outrageous N7 billion vote for it. The original contract sum for the VP’s residence was N7 billion, but with a variation of N9 billion, the total cost of the project would have amounted to N16 billion.

Even a review by the Bureau for Public Procurement, which resulted in the reduction of the variation cost to N14 billion was not enough to save the project from incurring the ire of the Senate Committee on FCT.

The committee said that a N16 billion or N14 billion accommodation for the VP is indefensible in a country where many cannot afford three square meals per day.

The Nation, quoting a highly placed source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The President has rejected the FCDA’s request for additional N9 billion for the VP’s residence. He said there is no way the government could afford about 120 per cent variation.

“The President also directed the FCT Minister to shelve plans to forward a memo to the Federal Executive Council on the N9 billion variation. Jonathan said the decision was not personal. He said the directive affects any project involving his office.

“So, the VP’s residence will be executed within the available budget.”

The Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had opposed the additional N9 billion expenditure on Vice President Namadi Sambo’s official residence.

The Chairman of the committee, Senator Smart Adeyemi, had said: “The National Assembly is not going to appropriate additional N9 billion for the project, especially at a period in this country where people cannot eat three square meals. The N9 billion is far more than the original cost of the project.

“In Nigeria, there are many people suffering. So we have to look at budgeting in relation to the needs of the people.”

YNaija

Three NUJ Officials Die In Ghastly Road Crash In Ilesa

By SaharaReporters, New York

Three officials of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) died today in a road crash in Ilesa, Osun State, officials of the union told SaharaReporters.
They are: Adolphous Okonkwo, a former national financial secretary; Kafayat Odunsi, a journalist at the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) in Lagos; and Tunde Ojenike, chairman of Radio Nigeria and Ibadan Network Centre of the NUJ. They were returning to Lagos from a meeting they had in Abuja when the accident occurred.
The accident occurred at about 4pm as the sojourners approached Osu town.  A rear tyre of the official’s bus was said to have malfunctioned, and the speeding vehicle somersaulted several times before plunging into the forest.
Officials say there were several injuries.  The survivors were first taken to the Osun State General Hospital, Ilesa, but were referred to the Ladoke Akintola Teaching Hospital (LAUTECH), Osogbo where they are being treated in the emergency unit.
Gbenga Opadotun, the chairman of the Oyo State council of the NUJ who was also on the bus, confirmed details of the trip, and that a rear burst, causing the vehicle to veer off the road, somersaulting about eight to nine times before finally crashing into the bush.
"It was a terrible experience because we lost three of our members in the accident. The rest of us involved in the accident survived by the grace of God", he said.
The chairman of Lagos NUJ, Deji Elumoye, who was also in the crash, is said to be in critical condition.
Saharareportera

Enjoy the Rich Health Benefits from Your Plate of Rice

The health benefits of rice include its ability to provide fast and instant energy, good bowel movements, stabilized blood sugar levels, while also providing an essential source of vitamin B1 to human body. Other benefits include skin care, resistance to high blood pressure, dysentery and heart diseases. 

Rice is a fundamental food in many cultural cuisines around the world, and it is an important cereal crop that feeds more than half of the world’s population.

The various benefits of rice can be found in more than forty thousand varieties of this cereal that is available throughout the world. The two main categories are whole grain rice and white rice. Whole grain rice is not processed very much, so it is high in nutritional value, whereas white rice is processed so that the bran or outer covering is removed, leaving it with less nutritional value.

Rice can also be defined by the length of each grain. Indian or Chinese cuisines specialize in long grained rice, whereas western countries prefer short or medium length grains.

Health Benefits of Rice

Some of the health benefits of rice are explained below.

Great Source of Energy: Since rice is abundant in carbohydrates, it acts as fuel for the body and aids in the normal functioning of the brain.

Cholesterol Free: Eating rice is extremely beneficial for your health, simply because it does not contain harmful fats, cholesterol or sodium. It forms an integral part of balanced diet.

Blood Pressure Management: Rice is low in sodium, so it is considered one of the best foods for those suffering from high blood pressure and hypertension.

Cancer Prevention: Whole grain rice like brown rice is rich in insoluble fiber that can protect against many types of cancer. Many scientists and researchers believe that such insoluble fibers are vital for protecting the body against the development and metastasis of cancerous cells.

Skin Care: Medical experts say that powdered rice can be applied topically to cure certain skin ailments. On the Indian subcontinent, rice water is readily prescribed by ayurvedic practitioners as an effective ointment to cool off inflamed skin surfaces.

Alzheimer’s Disease: Brown rice is said to contain high levels of nutrients that stimulate the growth and activity of neurotransmitters, subsequently helping to prevent Alzheimer’s disease to a considerable extent.

Dysentery: The husk part of rice is considered to be an effective medicine to treat dysentery, and some people say that a three month old rice plant’s husks are said to have diuretic properties. Chinese people believe that rice considerably increases appetite, cures stomach ailments and reduces all digestive problems.

Rich in Vitamins: Rice is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals like niacin, vitamin D, calcium, fiber, iron, thiamine and riboflavin.

Cardiovascular Health: Rice bran oil is known to have antioxidant properties that promote cardiovascular strength by reducing cholesterol levels in the body.

Resistant Starch: Rice abounds in resistant starch, which reaches the bowel in undigested form. This type of starch stimulates the growth of useful bacteria that help with normal bowel movements.

Constipation: Rice can also prevent chronic constipation. The insoluble fiber from rice acts like a soft sponge that may be pushed through the intestinal tract quickly and easily. Brown rice and whole grains are well-known to be rich in insoluble fiber. However, it is advisable to drink lots of water for relieving your constipated condition, in addition to eating fibrous foods.

Diabetic patients should include brown rice rather than white rice, which contains low levels of glycemic index. As little as one cup of brown rice on a daily basis provides a person with almost 100% of their daily manganese requirement, which helps to produce energy from carbohydrates and protein. Brown rice is also extremely beneficial for normal functioning of the nervous system 

ionigeria.com

Rumble In The North By Gimba Kakanda

This title takes me back to the last years of 1990s, to those days we used to gather in our Big Man neighbour's living room for communal viewing of the movie "Rumble in the Bronx". We would laugh our hearts out at the stunts of Jackie Chan. The Bronx, he didn't know, being a visitor from Hong Kong, was a hub of street gangsters and standing in their way is a call for a “rumble”. Those movie gangsters of New York are just as dreadful as the religious gangsters of northern Nigeria to whom those of us who call for a cultural revolution are seen as pathetic deviants—they want to “rumble” with us today for standing in their gangster ways. I remember that movie from my late childhood today because I'm a stranger to this new world of religious extremism, being unaware of our differences in those days we used to enjoy our movies and laugh together. I remember this today because our reactions to sensitive issues of and around our region, religion and future are being done with our brains turned upside down. We had evolved from those innocent kids who marked both Christmas and Eid to sophist adult advocates of religious differences. We had lost what used to bind us: love. That community in that living room comprised Muslims and Christians, Hausa and Igbo, Musa and Moses, Minority and Majority... It was the symbolic representation of Nigeria in my childhood, one that remains in my dreams. Sadly, these days, I’m now learning to understand the way of our Islamist Bronx.

We used to be beautiful. We were a beautiful people until 1999 when an individual from faraway Zamfara State suddenly pioneered a political ideology that highlighted our differences; a flawed ideology that led to the deaths of thousands of Nigerians who engaged one another to contest the powers of their religions. We lost friends and families, many of them, innocent people, in those explosions of madness over the (il)legitimacy of shariah. Senator Ahmed Yerima, then the governor of that part of Nigeria urgently in need of developments, ought to be congratulated for introducing shariah legal system. Only that his was a joke to which laughter was, and still is, impossible. Introducing a system that exposes the poor to constant harassments of a taskforce charged with penalising "legally" recognised criminals and sinners while the major thieves of which Yarima himself is a member under-utilise public trust and misuse public funds is not only a crime against humanity, but an elitist oppression taken too far. The joke of our reality is that these leaders who play God in the name of politics, manipulating aspects of religion that portray them as defenders of faith, are uncritically embraced by the same people they cheat.

Yerima gets away with his tricks simply because he happens to a part of the country in which people are hoodwinked to see politics as sort of philanthropy, in which sentiments around religions and ethnicities and regions are stoked to gain political influence and in which possible resistances to their mismanagements of our resources have been smartly stopped by their ability to convince the people that they actually are just for Allah. Even when, in the name of the same Allah, they do nothing to redeem the destitute “Almajirai”—those products of institutional oppression whose oppressed nature is deliberately obscured by the false belief that they are getting an education, whereas the sociology of this century requires more for survivals and true representations of Islam; they build mansions in Abuja and Paris and London and Maryland and Dubai, while the same supporters are left to wither under the thatch roofs of mud-built houses; they rush to India and Germany on constant medical tourisms while ordinary malaria kills their supporters; and while their children are studying for a certain future at Red Brick, Ivy League and similar Euro-American-esque elite schools, their unschooled and unemployed supporters till depleted lands by hand at the countryside or rush to the cities to add to the sufferings of the urban dwellers. In fact, I believe that in the midst of the religious crises these gangster elite instigate, they flee to their castles overseas to laugh at our folly. All in the name of Allah.

The creators of this cycle of deceits and deliberate underdevelopments have taken care to also create a brand of robots that perfectly fit their intentions—countrymen who fail to see that Yerima’s latest move, calling for legalisation of underage girls as constitutional adults on grounds of marriage, is another cheap fraud aimed at establishing himself as the undeserved “Yeriman Musulunci”—Prince of Islam—which I gather is now his appellation. In our rash of debates, we failed to highlight that Yarima, who married an underage Egyptian, couldn’t do so in the bride's country because the law there has outlawed child marriage. And Egypt is over 80 % Muslim! Our abhorrence of child marriage is simply to redeem northern Nigeria whose fortunes have been destroyed by misrepresentations of Islam by these undesirable elements. If some western countries set low age for marriage, that’s because it poses no threat to their economy and healthcare. We are all stakeholders in this; the Ulama can never impose their consensus on us unless we’re consulted, not just because of the flexibility of this religious stipulation, but because we are what they are not: our backgrounds in the sciences are to be sought in the planning of a dependable society, where the benefits of medicine, pharmacy, aviation, computer science, geology, geography, physics, chemistry, biology, zoology, name it, are maximally utilised by Muslims. Every honest thinker knows that this Bronx of ours needs to implement policies to check our devastated human capital, and discouraging child marriage, yes, constitutionally, is one of these!
   
The least we want from Yerima is to not bellow the fire of religious tensions that have possessed us, especially the barely enlightened or illiterate northerners who lack the ability to see through his sophistries. This has been my frustration, I've been possessed by anger and disappointments in which the manner this man manages to hoodwink even the supposed intellectuals. I don't think God gave us brains, to understand and decide, for no reason. Yarima is a dangerous man; I lost two childhood friends in a crisis initiated by his political folly and I'll forever be emotional and unequivocal in these condemnations of any attempt at turning this potentially beautiful country into a fertile ground of fascist theocracy. We're trying to build a sane Arewa, and yet our people actually dance to this tune of exclusions. I do believe that stopping people like Yarima from making it to the front rows of Islamic advocacy is itself a form of Jihad. May God save us from us!
Saharareporters