UNICAL Rejects 50,701 Applicants

Only 4,522 of 55,223 candidates who applied were able to secure admission into University of Calabar for the new academic session, the institution’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. James Epoke, has said.

Epoke who disclosed this while administering the oath of matriculation on the new students on Friday in Calabar described the matriculation ceremony ``as the occasion for a privileged few".

He said the 50,701 applicants were rejected at the point of screening since the university could only admit few new students.

``Based on our quota, we could only admit 4,522 into our various departments,’’ the vice-chancellor said.

He said 3,467 of the candidates admitted were for Science-based courses while 1,055 were for Arts-related courses.

Epoke pointed out that those admitted account for about eight per cent, with about 92 per cent of those who applied unsuccessful.

He however explained that the high rate of failure was not as a result of academic defficiency.

``It was not as if all the 50,701 candidates were not admissible. Rather, it was all due to our `carrying capacity’.

``Cut-off points were set to accommodate the numbers we can carry in the different programmes,’’ the vice-chancellor said.

He noted that competition for admission was made stiffer by more subscription into the professional courses like Medicine and Surgery and Law.

 ``There were limited spaces in such programmes.

``Thus, candidates who ordinarily would have easily secured admission into other programmes are annually unable to get places in the over-subscribed courses,'' Epoke said.

He also advised candidates to diversify their interest in order to reduce frustration.

``You should regard yourselves as the very privileged `chosen few’ as it is said. In fact, `many are called but few are chosen’," the vice-chancellor said.

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Taraba Police Nab 2 Suspected Car Snatchers

The Taraba Police Command has nabbed two suspected car thieves, Ibrahim Jafar and Shaibu Abdullahi, for allegedly stealing a total of 11 cars between 2012 and 2013.

Mr Jubril Adeniji, the Commissioner of Police who paraded the suspects before journalists in Jalingo on Friday, said the duo’s arrest had reduced the rate of car thefts in the state.

The police official explained that Abdullahi, who was caught while trying to escape with a stolen vehicle, pretended to be seriously ill and escaped from the police custody.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that he was later re-arrested at Gombi in Adamawa.

Adeniji said also that Jafar, who recently left prison on March 6 for the same offence, stole another car from Adamawa and brought it to Jalingo for sale before he was caught.

He announced that the command was currently carrying out raids in Jalingo between 12.30 a.m and 3.00 a.m daily to track down criminals operating in the state.

"We are currently carrying out a raid within Jalingo and its environs to track down on criminals operating in the state," the police commissioner said.

The two cars allegedly recovered from the suspects as well as the master keys were also displayed

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Gov. Dankwambo Inaugurates Committee To Facilitate Marriage For Divorcees

Gov. Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State has inaugurated a 14-member committee to study the problems of divorcees in the state. Inaugurating the committee, Dankwambo decried the high rate of divorce in the state and said the committee’s objective wa...

Continue ReadingGov. Dankwambo Inaugurates Committee To Facilitate Marriage For Divorcees

Kano To Alleviate Prison Inmates’ Suffering By Restoring Water Supply

The Kano State Government has said that water supply to prisons in the state would be restored to reduce the hardship being faced by inmates. Gov. Rabiu Kwankwaso made this known on Friday when he met with the new Controller of Prisons, Mr Abdurrahman ...

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Date Set For Pistorius Bail Appeal In S.African Court

South African Olympic and Paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius, who is accused of murdering his girlfriend, will approach South Africa's High Court next week to appeal his stringent bail conditions, prosecutors said Friday.

"The date for the hearing has been set down for March 28," said Bulelwa Makeke, the spokeswoman for the National Prosecuting Authority.
 
The bail conditions imposed on February 22 include the surrender of his passport, making it impossible for Pistorius to travel outside the country, and mandatory drug and alcohol tests.
 
He was also banned from talking to residents of his upmarket gated community in Pretoria, where he shot his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day.

Continue ReadingDate Set For Pistorius Bail Appeal In S.African Court

Obama Says Israel, Turkey PMs Speak On Phone

US President Barack Obama said the Israeli and Turkish premiers held a rare telephone call on Friday, welcoming the move in a statement issued before he wound up a three-day trip to the Holy Land.

"I welcome the call today between (Israeli) Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu and (Turkish) Prime Minister (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan," he said, stressing the need to heal the deep rift since 2010 between Washington's two allies.
 
"The United States deeply values our close partnerships with both Turkey and Israel, and we attach great importance to the restoration of positive relations between them in order to advance regional peace and security," he said.
"I am hopeful that today's exchange between the two leaders will enable them to engage in deeper cooperation on this and a range of other challenges and opportunities," Obama said.
 
Once flourishing ties between Israel and its only Muslim ally Turkey deteriorated after Erdogan stormed out of a Davos panel with Israeli President Shimon Peres following Israel's war in Gaza in December 2008-January 2009, telling him: "You know well how to kill people."

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Achebe A Patriot, Nation’s Conscience We’ll Miss- Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan has described literary icon, Prof Chinua Achebe as a committed patriot and the conscience of the nation the country will miss, following his exit from the face of the earth.

 
"He (Jonathan) recalls that with maturity and global stature, Prof. Achebe fearlessly spoke the truth as he saw it and became, as he advanced in age, a much revered national icon and conscience of the nation who will be eternally honoured for his contributions to national discourse as well as the immense fame and glory he brought to his fatherland", a statement by Dr. Reuben Abati, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity noted yesterday.
 
The statement made available to LEADERSHIP Weekend reads in parts: "President Goodluck has received with immense sadness, news of the passing away of Nigeria’s globally acclaimed writer, scholar, tutor, cultural icon, nationalist and artist of the very first rank, Prof. Chinua Achebe.
"President Jonathan joins Prof. Achebe’s family, his friends, colleagues, past and present students, admirers and all who have learnt indelible lessons of human existence from his award winning works of literature in mourning the legendary author.
 
"As he mourns however, the President is consoled by the knowledge that Prof. Achebe will live forever in the hearts and minds of present and future generations through his great works which brought him enduring international fame and countless honours.
 
"The President believes that Prof. Achebe’s frank, truthful and fearless interventions in national affairs will be greatly missed at home in Nigeria because while others may have disagreed with his views, most Nigerians never doubted his immense patriotism and sincere commitment to the building of a greater, more united and prosperous nation that all Africans and the entire black race could be proud of.
 
"On behalf of himself, his family, the Federal Government and all Nigerians, President Jonathan extends heartfelt condolences to Prof Achebe’s family.
He prays that God Almighty will receive Prof. Achebe’s great soul and grant him eternal rest from his outstanding earthly labours".

Continue ReadingAchebe A Patriot, Nation’s Conscience We’ll Miss- Jonathan

Kwankwaso Reassures Kano Residents On Security

Gov. Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State has reiterated his administration’s determination to ensure the safety of lives and property of all persons living in the state.

He gave the assurance when he received a Federal Government's delegation on a condolence visit over the bomb blast in Kano the metropolis on March 18..

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the delegation was led by the Minister of Interior, Mr Abba Moro.

A statement from the Kano State Government House, quoted Kwankwaso as saying that the State Government and other stakeholders were working together to ensure the protection of lives and property.

``Kwankwaso told the delegation that the blast affected all manners of people and was not restricted to a particular ethnic group as widely suggested on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday.’’

The statement said that Kwankwaso decried the ethno-religious connotation given to the blast by some politicians he called ``Abuja politicians.

“It is time for us (Nigerians) to work as a family to bring the security challenges to an end and not use sentiments to worsen the tension.’’

The statement said that Kwankwaso had read out to the delegation the list of 25 casualties of the attack who were currently receiving medication in hospitals in the state.

``The governor noted that most of them are either from Kano or are of Northern extraction. He said the list is a possible reflection of the number of those that lost their lives during the regrettable incident, a number which is yet to be ascertained,’’ it said.

The statement said that Moro had earlier expressed President Goodluck Jonathan’s sadness over the incident.

``The president is saddened by the fact that, in spite of the spirited and determined effort of  government to contain the conflict, sectarian crisis has continued to occur in the state,’’ it quoted Moro as saying.

The statement said the delegation included the Minister of State for Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada, and the Minister of Police Affairs, retired Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade.

Others were the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Abubakar, among others.

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Elechi Dethrones 2 Traditional Rulers For Sabotage

Gov. Martin Elechi of Ebonyi on Thursday announced the dethronement and de-stooling of two traditional rulers and two village heads in Ishielu Local Government Area of the state for sabotaging government's programmes.

Elechi said that the affected traditional rulers ``sabotaged and decimated'' the Nigercem at Nkalagu.

This is contained in a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Dr Onyekachi Eni.

The dethroned chiefs are Eze Mathias Nnaji of Nkalagu, Eze Michael Egbo of Amaezu, Prince Benjamin Onwa, regent of Umuhuali and Prince Augustine Okwor, the regent of Nkalaha.

``The traditional rulers and regents were sabotaging government efforts to stem organised decimation of Nigeria Cement factory (Nigercem), Nkalagu.

``Government views with embarrassment attempts by the traditional rulers to sabotage its effort to reclaim Nigercem from Eastern Bulkcem company which was privatised in 2002 and which in turn sold it to Ibeto Group,’’ the government said.

The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that Eastern Bulkcem in 2009, dragged the Ebonyi Government to courts in Enugu and Abakaliki for revoking its Certificate of Occupancy but the courts declined to nullify the order as prayed by the core-investor.

The statement said that neither the seller nor the buyer of Nigercem notified the State Government and people of Ebonyi as strategic partners in the business before the sale.

According to the statement, the government has used every available opportunity to brief the people of the area and the state about developments in the company.

``The State Government, therefore, regrets that in spite of its efforts, some compromised traditional rulers from Ishielu colluded with agents of Ibeto Group to disparage her and sabotage its efforts to stem the organised decimation of Nigercem,’’ it stated.

The government directed the affected traditional rulers and regents to immediately vacate their stools and cease to represent or parade themselves as traditional rulers of the affected communities.

They were also ordered to hand over their certificates of recognition and staff of office to the chairman of Ishielu Local Government Council within 48 hours.

 

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BREAKING NEWS: Prof Chinua Achebe Dies At 82

Nigeria's novelist, poet,  and critic Professor  Chinua Achebe is dead. Aged 82, Achebe died of an undisclosed ailment in the United States.

LEADERSHIP gathered that he died Thursday night in a hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

Until his death, the renowned author was the David and Marianna Fisher University Professor and Professor of Africana Studies at Brown.

 He is best known for his first novel Things Fall Apart , which is the most widely read book in modern African literature.

Raised by his parents in the Igbo town of Ogidi in southeastern Nigeria, Achebe excelled at school and won a scholarship for undergraduate studies. He became fascinated with world religions and traditional African cultures, and began writing stories as a university student.

After graduation, he worked for the Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS) and soon moved to the metropolis of Lagos. He gained worldwide attention for Things Fall Apart in the late 1950s; his later novels include No Longer at Ease (1960), Arrow of God(1964), A Man of the People (1966), and Anthills of the Savannah (1987). Achebe writes his novels in English and has defended the use of English, a "language of colonisers", in African literature. In 1975, his lecture An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" became the focus of controversy, for its criticism of Joseph Conrad as "a bloody racist" and was later published.

When the region of Biafra broke away from Nigeria in 1967, Achebe became a supporter of Biafran independence and acted as ambassador for the people of the new nation. The war ravaged the populace, and as starvation and violence took its toll, he appealed to the people of Europe and the Americas for aid.

When the Nigerian government retook the region in 1970, he involved himself in political parties but soon resigned due to frustration over the corruption and elitism he witnessed. He lived in the United States for several years in the 1970s, and returned to the U.S. in 1990 after a car accident left him partially disabled.

Achebe's novels focus on the traditions of Igbo society, the effect of Christian influences, and the clash of Western and traditional African values during and after the colonial era.

His style relies heavily on the Igbo oral tradition, and combines straightforward narration with representations of folk stories, proverbs, and oratory. He has also published a number of short stories, children's books, and essay collections. Since 2009, he has been a professor at Brown University in the United States.

Additional report from Wikipedia

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