Nigeria Content Online

A High court
sitting in Kano has awarded the Kano state Governor, Ibrahim Shekarau,
N1 billion as damages in a defamation suit he filed against a
Lagos-based magazine, Business Eye.

The magazine had
published in its 8th-14th December 2008 edition that Mr Shekarau
operates eight foreign accounts through which he corruptly enriched
himself by engaging in money laundering and inflation of contracts,
particularly the Tambarawa water works project.

In the two hour
judgment, the presiding Justice, Tani Yusuf Hassan, noted that for two
years the defendant failed to provide evidence to support their claims
and tried to frustrate the case by incessant requests for adjournments
and absence from court.

False claims

The judge said the
court had received evidence in the form of letters and authorities from
the relevant authorities in the eight countries in which the magazine
alleged that the Mr Shekarau is operating accounts in foreign banks,
adding that it was established that the banks are either non-existent
or the accounts/account numbers are fictitious.

Mrs Hassan said
even though copies of the letters were given to the defendants, they
refused to retract the article, show remorse or contact the plaintiff
for out of court settlement leading the court to deem that plaintiff’s
(Shekarau’s) image has been damaged.

The evidence before
the court was not challenged or refuted by the defendants despite, been
given all opportunities to present their case before the court.

Making an example

The Judge ordered
the defendants to immediately retract the publication and awarded N300
million as compensation to the governor for the libelous publication in
addition to N700 million as punitive or exemplary damage for the
callous and unrepentant assault on his character, pride and dignity.
The court also awarded additional N50, 000 as the cost of litigation.

She further ordered
the defendants to write a public apology to the plaintiff on the
Business Eye’s website, Economic International magazine, the Guardian
and Thisday Newspapers. It also restrained the defendants, their
servants or privy from further use of the same or similar libelous
words against the plaintiff.

Responding to journalists shortly after the judgment, Mr Shekarau
said “today I have been vindicated, the truth has been established and
this is a milestone judgment. This equally proved that not all Nigerian
government officials are corrupt I give gratitude to Allah”.

The Federal Government has directed all universities
across the country to establish entrepreneurship centres. This is part
of an effort to ensure that quality graduates that are relevant to the
industry are produced.

Ruquayyatu Rufa’I, the Education Minister, who gave
this directive yesterday in Abuja at the opening of a workshop
organised by the National Universities Commission (NUC), stated that
universities are supposed to produce graduates that are self-reliant
and productive.

Considering other developmental challenges facing the
government, she said government may not fully cater for all the
employment needs “the entrepreneurship centres will equip graduates to
be self-reliant and independent of government.”

According to Mrs Rufa’I “The National Universities
Commission has taken measures in establishing these centres with a view
to addressing issues of job creating, poverty reduction and provision
of sustainable employment which should engender an increase in the
average income levels per household in Nigeria and as well improve the
international image of Nigeria through enhancing the competitiveness of
the economy.” She said the partnership with Centre for accountability,
transparency and good leadership (CATGOL) was in line with the federal
government determination of ensuring entrepreneurial education in
Nigerian universities curriculum.

She ensured that “federal ministry of education is determined to give its full support to the student advisory group framework.”

In the same vein, the Executive secretary, NUC,
Julius Okojie, said the scheme will provide an opportunity for
university undergraduates to directly engage and connect with credible,
reputable and successful well meaning Nigerians with a view to imbibing
values that made such people great.

According to him, “it will enhance students’ social
development across the Nigerian university system as well as produce
globally competitive and nationally relevant entrepreneurially imbued
graduates in order to make them internationally relevant and
competitive as well as make them job creators as against job seekers.”

On the objective of the workshops, the NUC said it
was intended to sensitise all Nigerian universities and other
stakeholders charged with the responsibility of promoting leadership
and entrepreneurship skills acquisition among youth in Nigeria.

Also speaking, the National President of CATGOL,
Bassey Effiong Ikot-Osin said there was a disconnect between creation
of policies and the implementation as well as disconnect between
lecturers and students and therefore called for decisive action and
collaboration among stakeholders.

He equally disclosed that entrepreneurship curriculum programme aims
at stimulating entrepreneurial talents among young people by enhancing
their ability to identify economic opportunities, while developing
other commercial skills such as creativity, innovativeness and planning
which will aid them in their professional life.

The African Editors’ Forum (TAEF) fourth conference, kicks off on October 14, 2010 in Bamako, Mali.

About 180 delegates from 36 countries are expected to
attend the conference, which has as its theme Media and the Challenge
of Peace in Africa.

The conference, which is to be attended by African
editors, media trainers and executives according to the organisers will
‘interrogate the impact of war on journalists as well as the coverage
of peace-making and peace-keeping efforts’. It will also focus on ways
of developing the standard and quality of journalism in the continent.
A panel made up of activists, ombudsperson and editors are to discuss
the issue.

Generate debate and knowledge

According to the outgoing TAEF Chairperson, Mathatha
Tsedu, “The intention is to broaden the debate around the standard and
quality of journalism from the narrow confines of getting the facts
right to also include whether media in Africa has the capacity to do
holistic coverage of the intricacies of African life: from the
development initiatives that are seeing economies grow, to its
politics, cultures and the wars that ravage its soul.”

During the conference, African political leaders who
have created media-friendly environments during their terms in office
will be honoured.

Some former African leaders are to be honoured. Among
these are Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki (South Africa), John Kufuor of
Ghana and Alpha Konare of Mali; past Chairperson of the AU Commission,
and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who in her short term has
already passed the Freedom of Information Act. All five have been
declared ‘Friends of the Media in Africa’.

Likewise, four editors – three of whom were killed by
suspected government agents in different countries, one missing for
over five years after being abducted by security agents in The Gambia,
and another who suffered detentions and torture in the hands of police
before dying in a car accident – will also be honoured and remembered.

The editors are to visit the Timbuktu world heritage
site, where manuscripts predating colonialism are being restored and
kept in the Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Learning and Islamic
Research.

This year’s conference will be held in collaboration with the African Union’s Peace and Security Commission.

The Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU) has condemned in strong terms the failure of the
South-Eastern states governments to meet its demands, and affirmed that
the ongoing strike in the affected states’ universities would continue
indefinitely.

The president of the union, Ukachukwu
Awuzie, made the condemnation in Abuja, saying that it was regretable
that proper teaching environment and materials were lacking in the
universities.

“Our demand has nothing to do with
salary, but the lack of good teaching environment and infrastructure.
We declared the industrial action almost three months ago, and since
then, nothing has been done to meet our demands,” Mr. Awuzie said.

He explained that as a result of the ‘insensitivity’ of the state
governments to the plight of the union, some of the lecturers had
started leaving for other universities.

The National Agency for the Control of
AIDS (NACA), says it requires $280 million to conduct HIV counselling
and testing on 20 million Nigerians by 2012.

The agency’s Director-General John
Idoko, said this on Monday in Abuja at the NACA and Research Alliance
to Combat HIV/AIDS (REACH) symposium, entitled ‘Emerging Strategies to
Combat HIV and AIDS in Nigeria’.

“I therefore call on our development
partners, policy makers, private sectors and all stakeholders in
Nigeria to resolve, support and strive towards achieving an ambitious
target of counselling and testing 20 million Nigerians by the year
2012.

“At the cost of $14 per person tested, Nigeria will therefore need $280 million to make this a reality,” Mr Idoko said.

He urged all Nigerians to know their status, saying that recently
published, 2010 UNGASS report revealed that 11.7 per cent women and men
aged 15-49 went for HIV test in the last 12 months, stating that so
far, 14 per cent of the population had been counselled and tested. Mr
Idoko said that the agency in collaboration with all its partners would
start the promotion of the exercise.

Abductors of
Maxwell Obiajulu, the proprietor of Obilink Petrol station in Asaba,
have demanded a N70 million ransom for his release.

The spokesperson of
the police in Delta State, Charles Muka, disclosed the demand to the
News Agency of Nigeria in Asaba on Monday.

Mr. Muka stated
that the 38-year-old man was kidnapped on Wednesday, at the filling
station located close to Central Bank Cash Centre, along the
Asaba-Benin highway in Asaba.

He said that the
hoodlums were fully armed and had shot the victim on one leg before
whisking him away in a vehicle, amidst sporadic shooting.

“The kidnappers
phoned the man’s wife to make a demand of N70 million,’’ he said,
adding, however, that the police command had stepped up effort to
rescue him and arrest the kidnappers.

In another
development, the spokesperson said the police have apprehended 60 young
men suspected to be cultists at Issele-Mkpitime in Aniocha North Local
Government Area of Delta.

He said the
suspects were mainly students from institutions in Warri and Sapele,
both in Delta, adding that they were arrested on a tip-off.

Mr. Muka said the
cultists were nabbed by a joint team of the police and a vigilance
group in the community, while “the boys were planning an invasion of
the town.’’

He also disclosed
that 32 other suspected cultists were intercepted at Otoro-Abraka on
their way to Abbi in Ndokwa West Local Government Area of Delta.

The state Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, recently launched a renewed attack on kidnappers in the state.

The governor’s initiative was meant to put security agents on the
alert to enable them to react swiftly to any suspected case of
kidnapping and other related vices.

Business mogul, Aliko Dangote, has donated N100 million to the flood victims in Sokoto State.

Mr. Dangote announced the donation in Sokoto, on Monday, when he visited the Sokoto State governor, Aliyu Wamakko.

“It is a great
disaster. But it is the creator that sent it. I believe that He will
bring succour to the victims. The disaster is really very overwhelming
and the efforts to assist the victims should not be left to the state
government alone,” Mr. Dangote said.

Responding, Mr. Wamakko commended Mr. Dangote for the gesture, and described the business mogul as a friend and brother.

“Dangote is also a
household name in the state. It is a name that is associated with the
story of respect, hard work, and the fear of God. I cannot thank you
enough for coming personally to commiserate with us and to make this
generous donation,” the governor said.

Mr. Dangote also donated N15 million to the Sultanate Development Initiative to boost its activities.

Paying a visit to the palace of the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar
III, Mr. Dangote promised to partner with the initiative to alleviate
the sufferings of indigent people. He commended the Sultan for his
tireless role to ensure the sustenance of peace and unity across the
country. The Sultan thanked him for the gesture and urged other wealthy
Nigerians to emulate him.

The Academic Staff
Union of Universities (ASUU) in University of Calabar, on Monday
embarked on a three-day warning strike in solidarity with their
colleagues in some state universities.

Addressing newsmen
at its secretariat, the union’s chairman in the university, Chike
Ekeopara, said the strike followed a resolution by the national
executive of the Union, at a meeting held in Calabar in September.

He said that the
strike was to draw the attention of Nigerians to the state of affairs
in some state universities. He recalled that in 2009, the union had
entered into an agreement with the Federal Government which he said was
a benchmark for all the universities in the country.

Mr. Ekeopara said
the agreement was binding on all the universities in the country,
including both the state and private institutions. According to the
ASUU chairman, all the Northern state governments and many of the
South-West state governments have implemented the agreement.

He lamented the failure of the South South and South East state governments to implement the agreement.

He said, “this
strike is embarked upon as a warning strike to the state governments
where we have state universities. They should implement that
agreement.’’

Mr. Ekeopara also
warned politicians against undermining the education of Nigerian
children, adding that it would not augur well for the growth and
development of the country.

He advised the state governments concerned to do everything to
implement the agreement to avoid total strike. He said that after the
three-day warning strike, lecturers would return to the classrooms, and
await further directives from the national executive of the union. All
the state-owned universities in the South East have remained closed for
months now over the non-implementation of the 2009 ASUU-FG agreement by
the state governments.

The Ogun State
government, yesterday, declared the Isheri axis of the state and its
environs as a disaster zone. The area has been affected by serious
floods caused by heavy rainfall and water released from the Oyan Dam by
the Ogun Osun River Basin Authority.

Governor Gbenga
Daniel made the declaration when Mohammed Sani-Sidi, the
Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency, (NEMA), visited
the state to assess the damage caused by the flood. Meanwhile, the
technical group set up by the state government to explore ways of
addressing the situation, said through its preliminary report that the
construction of three artificial lakes in the affected areas would end
the flooding.

Soliciting help

The flood has
caused massive destruction of property, economic hardship and the
displacement of hundreds of people. Mr Daniel noted that apart from
palliative measures put in place through the State Emergency Management
Agency, the construction requires major funding that is beyond the
capacity of the state government. He added that if urgent steps were
not taken, the long bridge on the Sagamu Expressway, linking Lagos with
other parts of the country, may be weakened by the flood and eventually
collapse. He lamented that this year had been a most challenging one
for the state in terms of natural disasters, recalling that a major
rainstorm ravaged Sagamu four months ago destroying over 50 houses and
several school buildings.

Similarly, another rainstorm ravaged Abeokuta, the capital,
destroying four major bridges and several houses. He described the
flood in the Isheri axis as well beyond the capacity of the state
because of the level and degree of the disaster. Mr Sidi said he came
with his officials to commiserate with the people of the state, adding
that he would also visit the affected areas with a view to determining
the extent of damage and making necessary recommendations to the
federal government.

The Federal Government will introduce
an electricity pricing regime in November before it sells off
distribution companies and allows private investments to build power
plants in the country.

“Pricing and regulatory issues are
being sorted out and should be completed next month,” Barth Nnaji, an
adviser to Nigeria’s President, Goodluck Jonathan, said in an interview
on October 8 in Abuja.

The government will then be able to provide “the appropriate information to buyers as to what tariffs they can expect,” he said.

The market-determined plan will replace subsidised prices where consumers pay six naira ($0.04) a kilowatt, he said.

Goodluck Jonathan on August 26,
announced a plan to end the state power monopoly and allow private
investments in generation. The government will sell 11 distribution
units of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and allow private
companies to build gas-fired, coal-fueled and hydropower plants.

The government wants to increase output to 14,019 megawatts by 2013.

Six companies, including Goldman Sachs
Group Inc., Standard Chartered Plc, have expressed interest in advising
on the sale of the power generation and distribution companies that
will be completed by the first half of next year, the adviser said.

An investors’ forum will be held from October 14 to 15 in the
capital, Abuja, that will be attended by representatives from General
Electric Co., Rolls Royce Group Plc, and companies from China, South
Korea and India, Mr Nnaji said.