Nigeria Content Online

Nduka Elueunor, a
legal practitioner in Asaba, Delta State, has established a primary
school which offers free education to children from less privileged
families.

Located at Anwai,
the school, A-Nur Fountain Academy, began academic activities in
September and already has an enrolment of 410 pupils spread in the
kindergarten and primary sections.

Fifty per cent of
the pupils, according to the proprietor, are in the kindergarten, which
has three classes, while the remaining children are in the primary
unit. Elueunor told the News Agency of Nigeria that pupils in the
school were mainly from farm settlements in Anwai community and
environs as well as the Hausa community at Cable Point area of Asaba.

To get children
from Asaba to the school, a distance of about three kilometres, he said
that he provided a bus. He also said that he provided free uniforms to
the pupils, but added that he and the parents reached an agreement that
they would provide books. “This was as a result of an upsurge in
enrolment. The school currently had nine teachers, six of whom were
NYSC members who had their primary assignments elsewhere in Asaba, who
are providing their services to the school free.”

The British government has expressed
its willingness to collaborate with the federal government in bringing
the October 1 bombers in Abuja to justice.

Mr Henry Bellingham, the British
Minister for Africa and the United Nations (UN), gave the pledge at a
presentation on Nigeria by the All Parties Parliamentary Group (APPG)
at the London Parliament. According to Mr Bellingham, the British
government would also cooperate with Nigeria in the fight against
terrorism in any form. “We will support the Nigerian government to
bring to justice the bombers of October 1. We know what it is like to
be on the receiving end of a terror attack,” he said.

The minister explained that Britain
believed strongly in values and was passionate about human rights,
pointing out that the intention was not to lecture any country on human
rights, rather “we will work as friends”. Bellingham said Britain
intended to intensify its bilateral relations with Nigeria and
expressed delight at the volume of trade between the two countries.

Nigeria’s Acting High Commissioner to
the UK, Dozie Nwanna, gave the assurance that the Abuja bombings would
not affect the electoral process. He also reiterated the government’s
commitment to the conduct of free, fair and credible elections next
year.

Medical
practitioners in Plateau State have asked the state governor, Jonah
Jang, to find out the killers of their colleague, Osareti Osagie.

Osagie died on
Thursday after being shot on Wednesday by unknown persons who invaded
his residence at Rayfield, Jos. The killers made away with an
undisclosed amount of money, a laptop, two mobile phones and his car,
which they later abandoned.

The doctors, who
staged a peaceful demonstration to the Governor’s Office, were led by
Victor Pam, the Chairperson of the state’s Nigerian Medical Association
(NMA). They asked Jang to use his “powerful influence” to ensure that
the perpetrators were brought to book. “This is the only condition that
will reassure the doctors and other law-abiding citizens in the state
that their lives are safe,” they said.

The medical practitioners expressed concern that the murder of Osagie might be the beginning of a frightening trend.

About 10
communities in Abia State have benefited from the distribution of
electric transformers and accessories worth N35 million under the
constituency project of Stanley Ohajuruka — a member of the House of
Representatives.

The News Agency of
Nigeria reports that the projects contained in the 2009 National Budget
were jointly executive by the Federal Ministry of Mines and Power and
the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Enugu zone. The benefiting
communities drawn from Ikwuano/Umuahia federal constituency include:
Amakama, Ihiteude Ofeme, Mgboko Nkwoegwu, Isiadu Ibeku, Ihim Ibere,
Ndagbo Isiama, Okwulaga Afaraukwu and Ohokobe Ndume, Isingwu Ohuhu and
Umuobasi. Ohajuruka.

The member representing the area in the House, who is also a
gubernatorial aspirant with the PPA, stated that he attracted the
projects owing to the “backwardness of the areas in infrastructural
development.” He said that gesture represented what he would replicate
in the entire state if elected governor.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has donated N10 million to victims of the recent flood in Jigawa State.

While presenting
the cheque to the state’s governor, Sule Lamido, Mr Atiku expressed his
concern over the plight of the flood victims, saying “the donation was
only a token to assist in alleviating the sufferings of the victims”.
The governor, in response, thanked the presidential aspirant for his
kindness and generosity.

Atiku thereafter addressed party supporters at Jigawa Hotels and
held series of meetings with possible delegates to the upcoming party
presidential primaries, where he described himself as a democrat, a
dogged fighter for justice and equity, an experienced administrator and
a great mobilizer of human and material resources.

The National Environmental Standard and
Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA) says it has accosted five ships
bringing toxic waste into the country this year.

Spokesperson for the agency, Sule
Oyofo, told the News Agency of Nigeria, in Lagos on Saturday, that four
of the ships had been turned back. He said that the last attempt was on
October 5, when the MV Vera D brought two containers of toxic waste to
the Tin-Can Island Port in Lagos. According to him, the ship came from
the UK. He said that upon inspection, by a joint team of the agency
officials and staff of the National Toxic Dump Watch Committee, it was
discovered that two containers on the ship contained toxic waste.

Mr Oyofo said that the items found
inside the containers confirmed the fears of some foreign partners of
NESREA who sent the alert on the ship’s movement. He said that the some
of items included used refrigerators, black and white television sets,
computer monitors and compressors. He said that the items were
prohibited under the Nigerian Harmful Waste Act and the Basel
Convention Treaty on Trans-boundary Movement.

Mr Oyofo said that efforts were being made to return the consignment
back to its port of origin. NAN, however, reports that the shipper,
Grimaldi Shipping Line, has denied the allegation that the ship carried
toxic waste. A source at the shipping agency rejected the allegation
and stressed that toxic substances could not be determined via visual
observation. He said that the fact that NESREA was a government agency
did not confer on it absolute competence to make such allegations.

Environmentalist
and special adviser to the President on Research, documentation and
Strategy, Oronto Douglas has been named among the 20 most influential
writers, thinkers, and activists in the world.

Mr Douglas was
listed in a recent book “Political Awakenings: Conversations with
History” by Harry Kreiser the Executive Director of the Institute of
International Studies, University of California. Mr Douglas was
selected with 19 others, from 485 interviews of people which the book
described as “distinguished men and women who by the power of their
intellect and strength of character shape the world.” Mr Douglas made
the Science, Food and The Environment: Movement for Justice category
which comprised select individuals that have challenged corporate power
which seeks to disproportionately reap the benefits of science and
technology to the detriment of the society.

The other two other
individuals listed in the same category with Mr Douglas are Michael
Pollan who has in the past 20 years written books and articles about
places where the human and natural world intersect, and Eva Harris, a
molecular biologist, who implements a program to distribute DNA
technology to third world clinics to fight diseases.

Reacting to this
listing, Mr Douglas stated, “I am motivated essentially by the fact
that every human being ought to make a contribution towards human
progress. We are not just on this planet to eat, sleep, and then we
die. I think we came because we have a contribution to make.

“My little
contribution in the area of environmental human rights is to further
the whole debate about our progress.” Douglas is co-founder of
Nigeria’s foremost environmental advocacy group, Environmental Rights
Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN). He served as one of the
lawyers on the defence team for the Ogoni leader, Ken Saro Wiwa, who
was executed by late Head of State, Sani Abacha.

He is also the author of several works, including the groundbreaking
Where Vultures Feast: Shell, Human Rights, Oil in the Niger Delta,
which he coauthored with another activist, Ike Okonta.

Barely two weeks
after the introduction of thorough screening of motorists and air
travellers by security operatives along roads two kilometres away from
the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, the safety
exercise has been terminated.

The increased
security, which came as a fallout of the October 1 twin bombings in
Abuja, and was aimed at curtailing the influx of people into the
airport, resulted to series of complaints by passengers and airport
users following the high vehicular traffic it caused on the roads
during the period.

“They (security
operatives) have stopped screening us and our passengers for some time
now, and it is surprising because we thought it was going to last,”
said a cab driver at the airport, who simply gave his name as Anthony.
Explaining that the situation caused travellers and commuters untold
hardship following the traffic jam that resulted from the development,
Mr Anthony said that activities along the road has so far return to
normal. “Some of us almost increased our transport fare, because we
burn a lot of fuel on the holdup, but you can see that everything is
now okay and there is no more holdup as we use to experience that
time,” he said.

High security alert

Anosike Bright, a
passenger at the airport, argued that the recent terror scare in Abuja
must have led to the disappearance of the officers. “May be they
(security operatives) have all relocated to Abuja because of last
week’s threat to bomb the capital again by militants,” he said.
However, Akin Olukunle, the spokesperson for the Federal Airports
Authority, said that the security checks have not ceased, but refused
to comment on why the officers are no longer seen on roads leading to
the airport.

NEXT, last week,
reported that security operatives, including the Nigerian Air Force,
Police Anti-Bomb Squad, Immigration, Civil Defence Corps, and Aviation
Security were all stationed on roads at about two kilometres away from
the international terminal, where they enforce screening on both
commercial and private motorists using the airport.

Richard Aiseubeogun, the Managing Director of the airports
authority, had earlier urged the public to assist the agency in its
fight for a safe and secured airport, adding that with respect to the
prolonged traffic, passengers should endeavour to leave for the airport
early. “We want to advise members of the local communities and all
stakeholders to report any strange or unusual activities within the
airport environment to security agencies nationwide,” he said. “We
appeal to all airport road users to cooperate with the officials
involved in the screening exercises, to ensure smooth facilitation, and
undue delays.”