Salisu Ibrahim reports on the unprecedented mass wedding involving 100 widows in Kano last Tuesday, setting the stage for the marriage of 900 others under a strategic scheme designed by the state government to better the lots of the couples and check rising insecurity in the state.

Of all the events staged by the Kano State Government in recent times, none will receive the kind of attention drawn by the mass wedding it organized by the state last Tuesday. It was an unprecedented event, whose candour and relevance will continue to reverberate in the ancient city for years to come.

The mass wedding, which is to help marry off no fewer than 1000 widows in order to give them a new lease of life, was attended by the Emir of Kano, His Royal Highness, Ado Bayero and top public and business executives.

Even though it was a brief ceremony that lasted for an hour, its significance cannot be forgotten in a hurry. Those who came into the place as widows and widowers, quickly returned home as husbands and wives, beaming with broad smiles that brightened their day.

“I am a now a fulfilled man,” declared one of the lucky grooms, Kabiru Karaye, after? being joined with his new wife at the Emir’s Palace Mosque in Kano.

Indeed, it was s fulfillment of dream for many and a transformation of life for others, who shed tear of joy as they were declared husbands and wives, having waited for many months since the state government announced its intention to marry off the widows as part of a moral pitch to stem the tide of insecurity and hardship.

Thus, before a large crowd of witnesses made up of top government officials, Islamic scholars, friends and associates, the celebrants fulfilled the necessary rituals to be joined in wedlock and returned home with marriage certificates to show for their new status.

Standing before the Emir and other traditional chieftains, the excited men and women who were clad in special attires, pledged their devotion and commitment to their spouses as they received royal blessings from the emir as a confirmation of their wedding. The men were clad in immaculate white Agbada and red caps to match while the women spotted white veils upon blue wrappers.

Brandishing his certificate and smiling broadly, Karaye said, “Today is my happiest moment, since my dream has been realised and accomplished. I have a wife that I love so dearly and she is a very responsible partner that can make me happy.

“Today is the happiest day in my life and I will never forget this wonderful gift from God. I will never forget the Hisbah board and the NGO that initiated the process,” he said.

Karaye met his wife in his hometown of Karaye and they both decided to marry after six months of courtship. To be joined, they approached the Hisbah commission and completed the necessary papers to give each of them a sense of security.

Like Karaye, Hajia Zainab came all the way from Yobe State to be joined with his heartthrob, a serving police officer in Kano.

The man and woman had been friends for over 20 years and had completed plans to marry only for Zainab’s father to oppose the union on the grounds that the man was a student at the time.

“We loved each other but my father rejected my husband’s offer to marry me because he was then a student forgetting that there was love between us. My father gave my hand in marriage to another person whom we stayed together as husband and wife for good 20 years but later separated.

“While I was with my first husband, I devoted all my life to him since that was the decision of my parents and stayed with him for the sake of Allah.

But the opposition to her marriage to the police officer melted last Tuesday when Zainab was joined in marriage with the man she had been longing for in the past years. Although she has a 19-year-old son, who stood in for her as her representative, she nonetheless expressed satisfaction that she had at last fulfilled her dream of marrying the man of her choice.

Zainab said her love for the man was so strong that she always felt the urge to live with him even though her father had stopped her from going into marriage with him.

“We always feel that we live for each other and the best for us is to be husband and wife. I’m happy this has been accomplished,” she said.

An official of the hisbah board, Malam Aminu Muhammed, said he decided to partake in the scheme because he considered as a noble one. Aminu’s wife is a member of the hisbah board, which helped in organizing the marriage.

“We resolved to marry among ourselves as members of the board because we realized that the marriage scheme is a noble programme. It will help in overcoming our social problems,” he said.

MalamaHabiba an indigene of Nassarawa Local Government of Kano State, who was also joined in the wedding, met her husband, who hails from Katchako LGA of the state, at an informal ceremony about three months ago and started talking about marriage before they were formally joined along with others. They are happy that they have become husband and wife within a short time as a result of the marriage programme of the state government.

She said, “We met a few months ago and started talking about marriage and informed our parents that we would come to the Hisbah board to register and be part of the mass wedding, which they supported. “We are now married and thanks be to Allah and the organisers of this important event,” she said.

Adamu Maifada, who is virtually impaired and his wife, Batulu Umar came all the way from Garko LGA, a distance of over 80 kilometers away from Kano, to consummate their love.

Maifada said that as indigent persons they would not have had it easy to marry without the support of the state government and expressed their gratitude to the administration for the timely gesture.

The Director General, Hisbah Board, Malam Abba Sa’id Sufi, explained that the mass wedding was initiated following the concern raised by a Non-Government Organisation, Voice of Orphan, Widows and Divorcees that over 1,800 divorcees and widows were willing and eager to re-marry.

Malam Sufi said unlike in the past, marriage contract certificates were issued to the newly-wed couples, in accordance with Islamic injunctions under the supervision of Kano State Hisbah Board.

“We want to keep away from the past practice where marriages were contracted without anything to show for it. There were no contract agreement forms and no proper arrangement in marriage before couples entered into matrimony.

Beyond the contraction of the marriage, the state government released the sum of N15 million to the board to fund the activities of the mass wedding while Sheikh IsyakuRabi’u, a business mogul and cleric provided N1 million to the grooms to pay the dowry of their spouses which was pegged at N10,000 each.

But the money would be further split into many uses, according to Sufi.

“Out of the N15 million that was given by the government, the sum of N20,000 would be given to each of the 100 women for empowerment. The money would also be used to train women on skills acquisition in order to make them more self-reliant”.

The measure, according to the Hisbah Commander, Sheikh Aminu Daurawa , was aimed at tackling part of the social challenges facing the state and to mitigate the pains of the widows who were virtually rejected by the society for the simple fact they were either divorced or widowed.

Before the marriage contract, the Hisbah Board, had rolled out some guidelines for the would-be suitors that each couple must fulfill before partaking in the marriage arrangement.

Sheikh Daurawa expressed delight that all the men and women were tested for HIV/AIDs and were certified healthy to live happily as husbands and wives.

The Board has also categorically stated that all the conditions it set out for the new couples must be strictly adhered to avoid divorcing the women at will.

In the same vein, the board insists that the groom must be up and doing since it is not the responsibility of the state government to offer any job to them.

With the conclusion of the first batch of the marriage, the stage is set for the remaining 900 widows to be married off to make up the 1000 that the state government has in mind.

Despite the attraction and the accolades that have attended the measure, it is left to be seen how it would help in checking immorality, insecurity and poverty that have been the bane of society for some time. It is also left to be seen how far the couples would live happily with one another as husbands and wives.

The government has done its part by joining them in wedlock but the? tasks of living together and catering for the comfort, welfare and happiness of their respective families lie squarely with the newly wed. Will they make it as they have made history as the first in the history of the state to be joined in a mass wedding?

Why We Want Stringent Measures Against Divorce – Hajia Altine Abdullahi
The President of Voice of Orphans, Widows and Divorcees,HajiaAltineAbdullahi, whose organization’s pressure led to the mass wedding in Kano last Tuesday, spoke with Salisu Ibrahim, on why the group wants very stringent conditions for divorce.

It seems your organisation is shifting its struggle to the issue of stringent measures on divorce, why?
We have had enough of rejection and segregation in the history of our life time. Most of the widows in Kano are helpless; some have been divorced and left with a number of children to look after. Unfortunately our society is not the type that takes care of its less privileged.

Most of the widows and divorcees, who have nothing to live on, are therefore left without succor and care. We have come out to raise our voice to stand for those that need help. We are saying that divorcees and widows in Kano are too many and that we come out to air our views that widows and divorcees are tired of suffering in silence.

So far we have taken this matter to the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero that we want a law that will give protection to our widows and divorcees. We have equally taken this issue to the state governor who equally promises to ensure the enactment of a law that will give us the needed protection. We have kept our fingers crossed and God willing we will emerge victorious.

The rate of divorce in Kano is alarming. How will your NGO tackle the menace?
You see, hardly would you count few houses in Kano Municipality without having divorcees and widows. In the case of widows, they are separated as a result of death but the saddest aspect of it all is how women in Kano are divorced without regard to their sensibilities.

A very little thing that could be laughed over by the husband and his wife may lead to separation that is why we are saying there is apparent need to use our NGO to sensitise our people on the importance of marriage and the need on the part of couples to understand each other.

We have done that on some secondary school students because we want to catch them young; to give them the tutelage of how to keep a happy home and live a happy life. Regrettably divorce is so common that the rate at which it is being pronounced is so alarming. Our investigations reveal that cases of divorce are far higher than the rate at which marriages were contracted.

What type of law will your organisation like to see in respect of divorce?
The best way to tackle this problem is to make divorce much difficult than the process of contracting the marriage. In fact we will want the issue of alimony to be given adequate attention. Let the men know that having a woman as a wife does not give them the licence to send them away at will. A woman is a very important personality that requires a better management.

A husband must make necessary effort to understand his wife and treat her with every kindness, that is the teaching of our religion and that is how to solve this endemic problem. I hope in the very near future all these problems would become history and soon enough we will regenerate a happy society.
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The hope of the people of Bida Basin in Niger State to join the league of oil-producing community in Nigeria has heightened with the discovery of what looks like hydrocarbon deposits in the area. Abu Nmodu reports.

The history of Niger State is just about to be re-written: its status is likely going to transit from a solid mineral-producing to an oil-gushing state, if the current effort it is putting in that direction yields the required results.

If indeed, what has been found in the Bida Basin turns out to be hydrocarbon and in the right quantity to support commercial oil production, then the state and its people have every reason to roll their drums to the street in self adulation.

The confirmation that there are hydrocarbon deposits is just what the people were waiting to hear. They do not seem to worry about the confirmation of the quantity of the minerals in the basis for now.

Their joy seems to have hit the rooftop when the committee raised by the Niger State Government last year to look into the quantity of hydrocarbon deposit in the basin reported that their finding was positive. The committee worked in conjunction with the Ibrahim BadamasiBabangida University, Lapai to determine the extent of the deposits.

In turning in the epoch-making report, the Secretary of the Bida Basin Development Committee, Yabagi Yusuf Sani, that the progress report on the availability of hydrocarbon deposit in the area was positive.

“The result of the analysis of samples collected so far has shown high prospect in certain acreage so far explored,” Sani said, adding that the environmental impact of the programme had also been examined by the team.

Sani explained that the first phase of the programme had been completed with surface geological mapping and production of geological prospective maps as well as the identification of areas of thick sediments and geological sinks in the basin where large amounts of samples were collected during the field mapping.

According to him, the outcome of the committee’s work is to present to investors what is available in the basin, with all the indices for such studies readily established by the finding.

“So, the effort of the Niger state Government is to bring the prospects of the basins to the investors that there are hydrocarbon deposits in the place with a view to enabling them to take the next step with a sense of confidence,” the secretary said.

The Bida Basin Hydrocarbon Exploration Research is divided into four phases namely: Geological mapping and sample collection, shallow core-hole drillings and sample analysis, geophysical evaluation and sediment logical logging and commercial packaging, business incorporation, lease acquisition and drilling for oil and gas”.

As uncertain as oil exploration at Bida Basin is, like any other hydro carbon exploration, the people of the area are already in high spirits, warming up to join the league of oil production states in Nigeria. They are overjoyed by the development, which many of them believe would change their fortunes and bring them into new economic dawn and social socio-economic status in Nigeria.

Many of the indigenes of the Bida Basin said they could not wait to see the emergence of oil refinery in the area so as to reap the benefits of oil production.

“It is a very important development that we believe has come at the right time and we believe it is coming to change our status and fortune,” one of the community leaders, Alhaji Suleiman Naikia, told our correspondent.

The state government has already indicated its readiness to build a refinery in Baro to process the potential oil to be explored there. This arrangement is also coming in the wake of the decision of the federal government to construct a dry port in area as part of the dredging of the River Niger.

The Mua’zuBabangidaAliyu administration appears to have hit the bull by the horn with the setting up of the MuhammedInuwaWushishi committee on October 15, 2011 to look for oil in the Bida Basin and explore the possibility of building a refinery in Baro.

The chief servant, as he is widely referred to, may as well make history as the first governor in the north whose state will be earning revenue from oil, if the hydrocarbon quantity in his state is large enough to support commercial oil production in the months to come.

If that happens, the Bida and Sokoto basins, which have remained the only two of such in the country yet to produce oil blocks for auctioning by the Federal Government, would soon join the league and earn hard currency for the country.

That is the prayer that seems to be running on the lips of every native of Niger State. How soon their prayer becomes reality is left at the mercy of the God, though.

Thirty two teams started the battle for glory from September last year. Now, however, the journey has been reduced to the final two-Bayern Munich and Chelsea. Today, both clubs will battle it out for Europe’s top club football honour. Football fans, bookmakers and pundits have all predicted an all Spanish final between Barcelona and Real Madrid but Chelsea and Bayern Munich staged upsets in the semi finals by knocking out the two Spanish giants.

Today’s final will take place at the Allianz Arena, Bayern Munich’s home ground where the winner will enter into the folklore of football legends while the loser will be left wondering what they will do to conquer Europe someday. The loser today would end up with a second loss in the Champions League final. Bayern Munich is aiming for its fifth Champions League trophy while Chelsea is gunning for a first ever Champions League crown.

The last time these two sides met was in the quarter finals of the Champions League in 2004/2005 season where Chelsea knocked out Bayern Munich by winning 6-5 on aggregate.

Bayern Munich has the luxury of playing the Champions League final in front of their home fans. They will be hoping on ending the season on a high after losing the league and Cup to Borrusia Dortmund, they have already faced an English team already in the competition when they played newly crowned English champions Manchester City with each side winning their home game 2-0.

Bayern has a decent record against English sides in the Champions league. They have played 35 matches, won 13, lost 10 and drew 12. Bayern is playing its fourth Champions League final in 13 years. Bayern fans were left heartbroken in the 1999 finals in Nou Camp when they had one hand already on the trophy but two injury time goals handed Man United the trophy.

They bounced back in the 2001 edition beating Valencia in the finals via penalties. Two years ago they lost to Inter Milan in the finals and will be looking to win this one on their home ground making it the fourth time in history that a club will be playing the finals in its home and the first in this modern era (Real Madrid in 1956/57, Inter Milan in 1964/65 and Roma in 1983/84).

Bayern Munich will be without the services of David Alaba, Holger Badstuber and Luiz Gustavo even though its manager Jupp Heynckes will likely have Mario Gomez, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribéry, Toni Kroos, Daniel van Buyten, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Philipp Lahm, Jérôme Boateng and possibly Thomas Müller in his starting lineup, with Manuel Neuer in goal. The Germans will probably go for a three man attack of Gomez, Ribery and Robben.

Bayern’s strength lies on their wing play with Ribery and Robben doing damages on the wings. Ashley Cole and Bosingwa will have their hands full containing the duo. Mario Gomez is the second highest goal scorer in the Champions league with 12 goals and need a hattrick to overtake Lionel Messi who has 14 strikes.

Jupp Heynckes will be gunning for his second Champions League crown after leading Real Madrid to the title in 1998. Bayern winger Ribery insists his side will not take the threat of Chelsea very lightly which he believes is tactically superior to Barcelona. “When it comes to the game, Barcelona is stronger,” Ribery said. But if you look at organisation, tactics, and set pieces, then Chelsea is better.

In the semi-final, Chelsea played like they had to against a team like Barcelona, and in Munich they will take a defensive approach, with a well-organised and compact team. It will be very hard for us. Also, former Bayern captain and legend Stefan Effenberg believes Bastian Schweinsteiger must step up to the occasion for Bayern to have a good chance of beating Chelsea as the over reliance on Robben and Ribery is becoming too predictable. “There is a lot of hope resting on Schweinsteiger’s shoulders and he cannot buy any more time. He must play well now,” Effenberg stated

“Sooner or later, he has to be there to lead this team. I am keen to see whether he can cope with the pace. He must play intelligently. It is not good when you are always hoping that Ribery and Robben won’t get stopped. Given the quality Bayern have, they must be able to play other systems too. They are too predictable. A win in this game would save their season.”

English FA Cup champions, Chelsea are heading to the final full of confidence after staging a massive upset to knock out defending champions and favourites Barcelona in the semi finals. Chelsea had a dismal start to the season under former coach Andre Villas Boas but had a change of fortunes since interim coach Roberto Di Matteo took over.

They will be hoping of erasing the disappointment of losing to Manchester United in the 2008 finals in Moscow where a John Terry slip gave Man United the title and will take consolation from the fact that if the game goes to penalties John Terry will not be available as he is suspended.

Chelsea’s record against German teams in 13 games include-seven wins, four losses and two draws. They have won just once in Germany and have a poor record in Germany. Chelsea is already out of the Champions League qualification after coming sixth in the just concluded English League and need to win the Champions League to enable them compete next season.

Chelsea will take consolation from the fact that English clubs have won four of their five European Cup/Champions League final encounters with German clubs. History is also against Chelsea as the last 14 winners of the Champions League are all past winners.

They will also be without the services of four influential players in this final as Ivanovic, Ramires, Meireles and Terry are all suspended. Di Matteo will have the services of Ashley Cole, Jose Bosingwa, David Luiz, Gary Cahill, Frank Lampard, John Obi-Mikel, Micheal Essien, Juan Mata, Drogba, Torress with Peter Cech in goal. With the number of suspensions, Matteo may likely go for Drogba and Torres in attack.

Chelsea was praised and criticised for their defensive performance against Barcelona and may go for the offensive against Bayern. If they can neutralise the threat of Ribery and Robben they have a good chance of beating Bayern. Juan Mata was below average in the two games against Barcelona and he really needs to step up as the link between the midfield and attack.

Chelsea also must take their chances as it will be few and far between in this encounter. Drogba and Torres must be at their predator best. Super Eagles and Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi believes his side has what it takes to win the Champions League.

Hear him, “And now we have a chance to put things right. We are now a game away from the greatest win ever for this club and we want to make history and be legends for this club. Hopefully, if luck and God help us we will make that history. If we can pull off this win it will be the greatest achievement ever for this club. It is the biggest game of our life and I hope the players who step into others’ shoes want to make this club proud. That’s why we have to go in and make sure we win it for them and for the club.”

Juan Mata also echoed the sentiments of Mikel by saying the club wants to make history by winning the Champions League, “We want to win for the club, and for us, because we can make history for Chelsea. We have to win the final of the Champions League and now that’s it.”

Today, both keepers will have to be at their best in this final. History may be on Bayern side but Chelsea will no doubt put on a good fight. All that will be decided in exciting 90 or 120 minutes at the Allianz Arena.

Predictions
Bayern Munich 1 – Chelsea 2
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National Sports Commission (NSC) has reaffirmed its position that Team Nigeria contingent to the forthcoming summer Olympic Games in United Kingdom would not be an all comers affair, stating that only athletes that are capable of winning medals would be allowed to fly the country’s flag at the Games.

Chairman of the ministerial advisory and coordinating committee for Nigeria 2012 Olympics participation, Alhassan Yakmut, who stated this, said only grade A athletes would be allowed to represent the country at the Games, adding that there will be no ‘who know man’ in the selection of the athletes as Nigeria is bent on winning medals in London.

According to him, all the athletes that have so far qualified for the quadrennial sporting event merit their qualification. “No athletes will make it to the Olympics by arrangement. All the athletes that have qualified deserve their place in Team Nigeria to London. And those that would be selected after the national trial in Calabar would be on merit. We are determines to make impact in London and it would not be an all comers affair for athletes,” he said.

Former executive secretary of the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) also revealed that the Nigeria’s contingent the London Games would be handed over to the Nigeria Olympic Committee in a trumpet occasion to be organised by the National Sports Commission, NSC.

“The final athletes would be handed over to NOC not later than 21 days to the Olympics proper. However, the athletes will move into the University of Surrey, England camp on July 18 and that would be 24 hours to the opening of the Games Village.’’

He also noted that Surrey will be the camp for other athletes, arguing that the camps were carefully selected based on the technical benefits that would accrue from the centers.

Not less than 48 athletes made up of 26 male and 22 females have so far secured qualification tickets for Team Nigeria at the London Games. The sports are athletics, canoeing, table tennis, wrestling, weight lifting, Taekwondo and boxing.

One of the main features of the just concluded Zone D Copa Coca Cola (North Central zonal championship) held at the Area 3 mini-stadium was the array of talents on display. It was a two-day event. Nigeria is known as one of the countries that has continually produced young talented sportsmen and women, especially in the round leather game.

That has helped the country to rule the world three times in the youth category. Though, in recent time the country has been floundering in the international arena mainly due to the inability of its sports administrators to properly harness the talents that abound in all the nooks and crannies of the country.

Therefore, it was not surprising that the debate that greeted the North central zone of the Copa Coca Cola championship held last weekend was on whether the football authorities would harness the talents seen during the two-day tournament.

It became an issue because aside a pocket of top dignitaries including the Chairman of the House Committee on Sports, Hon Godfrey Gaiya, Director of Sports FCT, Alhaji Alim Musa and NFF general secretary, Musa Amadu, Dr. Emmanuel Ikpeme and NFF Chief Media Officer, Ademola Olajire who were on hand to watch the highly enterprising youths and skillful players, none of the Nigerian national youth team coaches was on ground to spot the array of stars that were on parade.

During the final match between Team Abuja and Kano, the trio of Shehu Usman, Victor Joshua and Martin Daga were particularly a delight to watch by Abuja soccer fans as they distinguished themselves and came close on different occasions to get goals for the Abuja team.

In the action packed final that took Victor Emmanuel 4th minute deflected goal to separate the two teams, Fahad Muhammed and Shubak Yau’s inspirational performances ensured the Kano team proved stubborn for their hosts.

Apart from the trio of Shehu Usman, Victor Joshua and Martin Daga of the Abuja team and the duo of Fahad Muhammed and Shubak Yau of Kano team, other players in both the Abuja and Kano teams displayed soccer creativity that kept the spectators on the edge of their seats throughout the 90 minutes duration of the final game. Even the loser game between team Kaduna and FCT selected side exhibited skillful and tactical displays.

Most of the fans at the Area 3 Mini-Stadium Sports Complex in Garki, Abuja who spoke to LEADERSHIP SPORTS were of the belief that the future of Nigeria in football is secure if only the nation’s football authorities would live up to their responsibilities and send coaches to all Copa Coca Cola tournament venues scattered across the country to scout players for?? Nigeria’s youth teams instead of depending on over-aged players to prosecute international youth competitions.

“These players cannot be more than 16. Some of them may be just 14 years old. These are the kind of players we should groom for the future. But the NFF board would not listen, instead they would rather rely on over-aged players who are probably 25 or 30 to play Under-17 competitions” lamented one of the Abuja based fans who identified himself as John to LEADERSHIP SPORTS in an interview.

According to Femi Adelusi, Project Manager, COPA Coca-Cola, the pan Nigeria U-17 grassroots football tournament is an exceptional competition when it comes to harnessing raw talents and in the very near future their efforts will be seen in the changing tide of Nigerian football. “We are committed to the Copa Coca-Cola promise and will spare no expense to ensure that we put these budding stars on the right track to achieve their dreams.

The boys chosen would become heroes in their communities and would be reference points for aspiring football players willing to turn their dreams into reality through Copa Coca-Cola. Just to give you a bid into the background of the competition, we started with 14 states. All the 14 states registered well and they were divided into four zones.

So, we have four zones across Nigeria. The winners of each of the zones will represent their zones at the grand finale in Lagos on Children’s Day, May 27. The long term plan of this competition is to watch and monitor stars that will emerge from here kick start their own football careers and develop into full blown professional players in future to either join top European clubs or clubs in Nigeria.

“We will be launching an Alumna Coca Cola players association which will be used to monitor and support them as they grow up in their professional football careers. We are only providing them opportunity to discover their talents. A team of 26 players will be selected from here to go and represent Nigeria at this year’s African Copa Coca Cola challenge cup coming up in South Africa.

“Every year, since the beginning of the competition four years ago, a team represents Nigeria at the African Copa Coca-Cola cup. Four of the players that passed through this Copa Coca-Cola two years ago are now in the Nigerian U- 17 national team camp from information I got.

One benefit of this tournament is giving back to these young boys and creating a platform for them to launch their football careers. For the community, it is also entertaining. It is also to help the government prepare footballers for tomorrow. This is a platform for these players because playing in this tournament is to be identified, gain experience and move up from there.

In terms of quality, for the four years we started it has been improving. The quality of the games, officiating and organisation has been excellent including the attendance which has also been encouraging. Our team technical committees are made up of former Nigerian internationals. We have the people that matter behind this project and it is fully endorsed”, Adelusi stated.

The top Coca-Cola Company official also disclosed that all arrangements have been put in place for a successful final on May 27th , 2012 when the final phase of the competition will be decided at the Teslim Balogun Stadium and he expects more football excitement, thrills coupled with quality football and good officiating. He also hopes to get a solid and all conquering Team Nigeria that will participate in an African tournament in South Africa.

COPA Coca-Cola, launched in 2009, is designed to discover budding football talents across the country, help them hone their football skills, place them in the lime-light, and facilitate their discovery and recruitment into the big clubs to play alongside established football stars.

In the wake of their elimination from the CAF Confederation Tournament, Heartland FC of Owerri have said that they will now have ample time to focus on the local league. The club is also unhappy with its performance in the league and had expressed dissatisfaction over its current position on the NPL log.

Heartland said that its unsatisfying performance and disheartening position on the league table could be as a consequence of its initial commitment to the CAF Confederation Cup campaign. The club said that it was confident of reaching the finals of the tournament before Congolese side-AC Leopard caused their exit.

AC Leopard beat Heartland 2-1 in Congo last Sunday, and qualified via two away goals in their first leg away clash against the Owerri side, which Heartland won 3-2. Heartland which has apologised to their fans for breaking their hearts said that they fought tooth and nail in order to get into the final round but the odds were not in their favour. The club accused AC Leopard of intimidation and distraction through their fans and claimed it cost them the match.

Turning their attention now on the domestic league, Heartland will host Lobi Stars of Makurdi tomorrow for the Week 27 fixture of the NPL.

On the encounter, Heartland Media Officer, Cajetan Nkwopara, told LEADERSHIP SPORTS that Lobi Stars will be visiting a wounded lion in his den and should get ready to be devoured.

Nkwopara dismissed the idea that his side will still be licking its wounds, which will be an edge to their opponent; rather he said that his side will be more ruthless and will not hesitate to consign their opponent to the trash can. He said,” We’re like a wounded lion and Lobi Stars should know that they are visiting a wounded lion so; they should prepare to be devoured.

Some sports pundits are saying that since we’re still licking our wounds, we’ll definitely slip up but that’s a fallacy because it is now that we’ll be more ruthless and unsparing.”

The Defenders basketball club of Abuja is currently the least ranked team in the Savannah conference of the DStv premier basketball league table. To escape relegation, they have tried all tricks in the books of basketball including buying of new players to beef up the team, increase of training hours to no avail. Their providence seems bent on seeing the team out of the DSTV premier Basketball league-Nigeria’s most prestigious basketball league.

The Civil Defence as they are otherwise known lost their game against Bauchi Nets in last week’s clash due to a technical hitch. Despite the fact that the team already had a three points lead in their favour, the Power Holding Company of Nigeria seemed keen on ensuring that the Civil Defence team forfeit any hope of competing next year at the elite basketball league. The unfortunate technical hitch incident is their third this year.

Paul Gombwar, Defenders coach told LEADERSHIP WEEKEND SPORTS that he plans to reverse the fortunes of the team. At the moment, escaping relegation is the prime plan. He revealed that winning their next two games will decide if they will be relegated from the league next year.

But despite the situation, he argues that his boys have improved tremendously and the team remains optimistic and are ready to fight the relegation battle to enable them remain at the premier basketball league next year.

They are set to encounter the Nigerian Immigration in Abuja their home ground after going over to Niger State to clash with the Niger Potters.

Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, has disclosed that while huge amount of dollars has been in the last one year on pipeline repairs, a record volume of crude valued at $7billion has been lost to crude theft via illegal bunkering within the same period.

This is even as the federal government’s effort to combat the unending episodes of oil theft propelled by the escalating cases of pipeline vandalism and illegal oil bunkering has resulted in the establishment of a Joint Oil Industry and Military Task Force with the mandate of eradicating the oil theft menace.

The Team which was created at the end of a round table on the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry convened by the Minister of Petroleum Resources is made up of personnel from the oil industry and the Military as well as the Police Force.

The meeting had in attendance the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshall Oluseyi Petirin, Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, representatives of the Chief of Air Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, Inspector General of Police while the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Engr. Austen Oniwon led all the NNPC JV Partners to the session.

The minister, in a statement issued yesterday, decried the menace of oil theft, said the new understanding will strengthen partnership with leadership of security agencies in curbing the problem.

“In the last six months the level of oil theft in the country has become alarming and has necessitated the need for this round table with all stakeholders. We are looking at short, medium and long term solutions to tackle the issue as oil theft is taking its toll on the nation’s economy,’’ she said.

President, Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Mr. Emeka Eleh, has called on the federal government to reform the nation’s land tenure system, saying that the operating act (Land Use Act 1978) was grossly inadequate and militates against the administration’s efforts in wealth creation.

Speaking during a courtesy visit to the headquarters of the LEADERSHIP Newspapers Group in Abuja yesterday, Eleh explained that a well-reformed land tenure system will not only enrich Nigerians, but will help in crime control and even raise money for the government.

“We believe that the Land Use Act of 1978 which is the operating force for lands in this country is inadequate. Since it was promulgated, it has not been able to solve the issue of land in this country. We talk about wealth creation when the bulk of the wealth of Nigerians depends on the land they own.

So we are encouraging the government to reform our land tenure law to give people title to their lands. If you have title to your land, then you can use it to get a loan to do your business,” Eleh explained.

The NIESV boss further regretted Nigeria’s lack of maintenance culture, especially on public properties. He explained such issues could be addressed if the federal government puts in place proper facility management procedure, pledging NIESV’s readiness to offer necessary assistance.

“That is why roads can take just six months to fall into disrepair. When you see the first pothole, nobody will address it, it will expand and before you know it, the road cuts off into two and then we will start holding meetings. These are issues that can be addressed if government can put in proper facility management procedure for these roads,” he stated.

Minister of Works, Arc Mike Onolememen has said that in order to streamline the sector, the Federal Highway, as well as Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) Acts should be reviewed.

He made this disclosure when delegates from the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) paid him a courtesy call in the ministry yesterday.

He said that the creation of National Road Fund (NRF), National Road Board (NRB) and Federal Road Authority would necessarily lead to the review of the Federal Highway and FERMA Acts if the road sector reform bill presently being reviewed by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) will see the light of day.

Onolememen reiterated that the road sector reform was consistent with the transformation agenda of the current administration, and the president had the political will to actualise this through the Ministry of Works.

President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Engr. Mustafa Balarabe Shehu commended Onolememen on some of the programmes and initiatives on the road reform sector that have culminated into laudable achievements, and promised a continuous support to ensure the passage of the road sector reform bill.

Balarabe, however, pleaded with the minister to review the ongoing policy to withhold the payment of consultants of federal government projects once the project is stalled, aware that the progress of projects depends on the cash flow of the client and not the consultants.

While responding to the issue of remuneration for consultants, Onolememen said, ‘’ The matter was discussed in the Federal Executive Council meeting and we concluded that we are not going to pay engineers for idle time or downtime; we are even saying that we don’t want to create that kind of downtime in our project anymore.’’

He blamed the high cost of projects in Nigeria, particularly on road infrastructure, not only on rates of the projects but issues such as consultant remuneration, which also add to the final cost of projects that the federal government is determined to bring down.

To curtail the acts of terrorism by the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, Federal Government said yesterday, that it has in the last three months, deported a total of 335 illegal immigrants, repatriated about 4, 214 foreigners? and refused no fewer than 16,998 foreigners entry into the country through the Immigration Service.

Making this disclosure during the on-going 2012 ministerial stewardship platform in Abuja, Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro, explained that the steps were taken in a response to February 26 directive by the federal government, in which it ordered the immediate easing out of all illegal immigrants from the country.

The minister, who further explained that the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) watch-listed 1, 247 persons said, the service was also able to restrict about 3, 298 Nigerians from travelling abroad for allegedly possessing doubtful travel documents.

He added that although, the ministry does not have the mandate to generate revenue for the government, it has been able to rake billions into federal government coffers through the Citizenship and Business Department, where the ministry generated over N190 million.

Other Avenues according to Moro include the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, where a total of N72 million was regenerated within the period from the Private Guard Companies, the Nigeria Immigration Service generated N5.765 billion from issuance of immigration facilities.

It also generated another $11.470 million through the issuance of immigration facilities by Foreign Missions and another $729, 600 as fines which were imposed on certain airlines which brought some inadmissible foreigners to Nigeria.

In the wake of increasing kidnap activities in Delta State, no fewer than 350 kidnap cases have been recorded, 46 killed while 304 others were rescued between 2011 to date, police reports revealed.

Mr. Ikechukwu Aduba, the State Commissioner of Police however, said the statistics was recorded before his assumption of office confirmed that under his supervision the police have recorded huge success in the arrest of kidnap suspects and armed robbers.

The police boss, who spoke to Journalist yesterday in Asaba on the way forward to combat the upsurge of crimes in the state, said the command was battle ready to make lives unbearable for the criminals adding that the command’s strategy remained “no retreat, no surrender”.

Leadership weekend investigation revealed that several families had been subjected to pay huge sums of money as ransom before their relations held captive were released.

Further investigation revealed that kidnap suspects many of whom who allegedly worked for politicians had confessed to the act during arrests as they said they were used and dumped.

Only recently, the mastermind behind the kidnap of a Warri-based journalist, Prince Monday Whisky was charged to court in three count charge of conspiracy to commit felony, unlawful kidnapping and armed robbery.