Nigeria Content Online

Madonna and Demi
Moore may be fuelling talk of a growing trend for older women on the
prowl for younger men but a study has said the phenomenon of the
“cougar” is a myth, confined to the world of celebrities.

The study of online
dating, by the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC), issued
last week found men and women are still rather traditional when it
comes to searching for their ideal partner.

Women generally seek an older and, therefore hopefully, wealthier man, according to the UWIC study.

Men, on the other hand, desire a young and attractive female, and often prefer a much younger partner as they themselves age.

The findings,
published in the journal Evolution and Human Behaviour, disputes the
“cougar” phenomenon popularised in TV shows and movies like “Cougar
Town” starring Courteney Cox and “Sex and the City” of women aged over
40 seeking “cubs.” Psychologist Michael Dunn of UWIC’s Cardiff School
of Health Sciences led the study which involved analysing the age
preferences of 22,000 men and women using online dating sites across 14
countries and two religious groups.

“A critically
important consideration for advertisers on online dating sites appears
to be the age of a potential partner,” Mr Dunn said in a statement.

He said it was a
commonly held assumption that with the advent of female financial
independence, women were now free to target men of any age group, as
securing financial security from older, wealthier males was no longer a
priority.

“The transference
of female desire from relatively older men to relatively younger men,
it has been argued, is reflected by the growth of the toy boy
phenomenon,” he said.

“The results of our
research challenge these assumptions. Although there was some cultural
variation in extremes, the results showed clearly that women across all
age groups and cultures, targeted males either their own age or older.”
Mr Dunn said a strikingly different pattern of age preferences was
evident in men.

Younger men, aged 20 to 25, either targeted females their own age or marginally younger.

Consistent pattern
But as males aged, they clearly expressed a preference for women
increasingly younger than themselves, with this pattern also being
cross-culturally consistent.

“These findings are clearly supportive of evolutionary theory,” Mr Dunn added.

“A wide variety of
evidence has shown that women, when considering a potential long-term
partner, focus more than males on cues indicative of wealth and status
and these logically accumulate with age.

Males conversely
focus more intently on physical attractiveness cues and these are
clearly correlated with the years of maximum fertility.” A UWIC release
added: “Madonna and Demi Moore are said to be influencing a whole new
generation of ‘cougar’ women who see much younger men as their goal
when looking for a long-term partner.

“But this notion of the ‘toy-boy’ phenomenon is dispelled as a myth
which only exists in the world of celebrity rather than reflecting real
life.” The countries involved in the survey were Australia, Brazil,
Britain, Canada, China, Greece, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya,
Mexico, Russia, South Africa, and Ukraine.

The Lagos State
government, yesterday, announced a law banning motorcyclists, popularly
known as okada, from carrying pregnant women and children.

Babatunde Fashola,
the state governor, at the Stakeholders Forum on Motorcycle (Okada)
operations, said the ban which also includes road safety measures and
restricts the movement of motorcyclists, especially from all Lagos
bridges, will take effect from September 1.

Mr Fashola said the
move was for “the preservation of human lives and the safety of
property, and called on government agencies including the police,
traffic management agencies and state task force agencies to enforce
the law.”

Case for the underage and unborn children

Speaking on the ban
on the carrying of pregnant women and underage children, the governor
said, “The child has no say but our government has the right to stand
up on behalf of that child.” He also reiterated the need for crash
helmets and other road safety measures, saying that his government had
decided against placing an outright ban on commercial motorcycling
because of the service it provides the public and “for those who
provide these services as a means of livelihood.”

‘The danger of okada’

Also speaking at
the forum, Marvel Akpoyibo, the state police commissioner, said
okada-related accidents accounted for an average of 70 per cent of road
accidents in the state, between January and May this year.

Mr Akpoyibo, in his
call for appropriate measures in curbing the spate of accidents, said
further analysis showed that 14 per cent of okada-related accidents in
the state within the five-month period were fatal.

“Although a large
section of Lagos populace have come to regard commercial motorcycles as
a necessary evil, it has become imperative for government to
intervene…. To this end, stringent measures must be taken to curtail
the excesses of commercial motorcycle operators,” he said.

He, however,
identified “corrupt practices on the part of law enforcement agents, in
the issuance of vehicle and drivers’ licences, and dearth of
infrastructure and road signs” as some of the factors also responsible
for carnage on the roads.

Some stakeholders’ grudges

However, not all
the stakeholders were fully satisfied with the government’s decision,
as evident in the grumbling by the crowd during the forum, especially
regarding restrictions of motorcycles in some parts of the state.

According to Dansu
Alphonsus, a commercial motorcyclist in Ikeja, the banning of
motorcycles in some parts of the capital city will ‘indirectly ban him
from working’.

“I ply Ikeja area,
so by banning okada along Obafemi Awolowo way, Alausa, and Mobolaji
Bank Anthony way (all in Ikeja) will affect me too much; it’s like not
working again.”

“We should be
allowed to carry pregnant women also; it will not be good if they are
stranded where they cannot easily get transport,” he said.

Another commercial
motorcyclist, Joseph Oladoja, said the implementation of the law will
largely depend on government’s resolution to curb corruption in
obtaining drivers’ licences and other road usage permits.

“For instance, the
rider’s card which is supposed to be N800, we pay about N1,600 to get
it; the number plate which is N4,000 normally, we spend N6,000 to get
it, and this discourages most okada riders. It will be easier to
sanitise our roads if we also curb corruption in those offices,” he
said.

Courier services,
along with the okada riders, also stand to face major challenges as a
result of the new law, starting from next month.

Oladipo Akinyele of
Xpress Partners Limited, who spoke for Courier services in the state,
said their services “will be greatly affected by the restrictions
placed on motorcycles.”

“Our business
services people in core areas where it is only easy for motorcycles to
reach,” he said, in his appeal for a review of the law.

Mr Fashola,
responding to requests from the motorcyclists and courier service
owners, said his administration will look into the issues.

The Oyo State
Police Command, on Tuesday, arraigned 25 persons before a Chief
Magistrate Court sitting in Iyaganku, Ibadan , Oyo State, over their
alleged involvement in the violent crisis between two Islamic sects at
Sabo area of the state capital last Sunday.

The suspects, who
pleaded not guilty to all the charges against them, were each granted
bail in the sum of N100,000 and two sureties in like sum by the
magistrate, Sofiat Oyediran.

Cutting across the
two groups involved in the fracas – Izalat and Tijaniyah – the suspects
were alleged to be responsible for the infliction of injuries on
several victims and destruction of properties.

The police
prosecutor, A.O Ojeh, in the charge sheets read to the hearings of the
suspects, accused them of flouting the order of the court which
prohibited the two sects from using microphone and loud speakers to
preach inciting sermons and disturb public peace. The offence, he said,
contravenes the provision of the law and punishable under section 133
of the criminal code cap 38 laws of Oyo State.

The suspects were
also accused of acting against the provisions of section 451 of the
criminal code cap 38 law of the state by destroying valuables, which
included a jeep, valued at N1.3m; motorcycles, and many household items.

The 16th to the
25th accused persons, who are members of Izalat, were arraigned on
one-count charge of willfully disrespecting the ruling of the court in
Suit No: MISC/85/2010 by preaching inciting sermons among themselves
and disturbing the public peace, contrary to and punishable under
Section 133 of the Criminal Code Cap 38 Vol. II Laws of Oyo State
Nigeria 2000.

Fifteen others,
belonging to the Tijaniyah, were arraigned on a five-count charge. The
charge include preaching inciting sermon, willful and unlawful damage
of properties including a Land Rover Freelander Jeep, motorcycle,
roofing sheets, ceiling fans, and a generating set; as well as willful
and unlawful assault occasioned by bodily harm.

Leaders on trial

Messrs Waheed Olajide and Adebayo Shitu represented suspects from the Tijaniyah and Izalat groups respectively.

They both, in their
oral application, prayed the court to grant the suspects bail, arguing
that the offences preferred against them were bailable.

Mr Olajide told the
court that all the suspects were invited by the police as leaders of
their respective sects, adding that none was arrested at the scene of
the crisis. He said since they personally came to honour the police
invitation before they were detained, they would be ready to come back
to face trial and would not jeopardize investigation and the course of
justice.

Mr Shittu, in his application for bail for the suspects, urged the court to allow them bail in the most liberal terms.

While acceding to
their prayers and granting the bail, the chief magistrate ordered that
one of the sureties for the suspects must have landed property in the
state capital, while the other must present evidence of payment of tax
payment for three consecutive years and produce an identity card.

The case was then adjourned to September 16, 2010.

The Lagos State
government, yesterday, announced a law banning motorcyclists, popularly
known as okada, from carrying pregnant women and children.

Babatunde Fashola,
the state governor, at the Stakeholders Forum on Motorcycle (Okada)
operations, said the ban which also includes road safety measures and
restricts the movement of motorcyclists, especially from all Lagos
bridges, will take effect from September 1.

Mr Fashola said the
move was for “the preservation of human lives and the safety of
property, and called on government agencies including the police,
traffic management agencies and state task force agencies to enforce
the law.”

Case for the underage and unborn children

Speaking on the ban
on the carrying of pregnant women and underage children, the governor
said, “The child has no say but our government has the right to stand
up on behalf of that child.” He also reiterated the need for crash
helmets and other road safety measures, saying that his government had
decided against placing an outright ban on commercial motorcycling
because of the service it provides the public and “for those who
provide these services as a means of livelihood.”

‘The danger of okada’

Also speaking at
the forum, Marvel Akpoyibo, the state police commissioner, said
okada-related accidents accounted for an average of 70 per cent of road
accidents in the state, between January and May this year.

Mr Akpoyibo, in his
call for appropriate measures in curbing the spate of accidents, said
further analysis showed that 14 per cent of okada-related accidents in
the state within the five-month period were fatal.

“Although a large
section of Lagos populace have come to regard commercial motorcycles as
a necessary evil, it has become imperative for government to
intervene…. To this end, stringent measures must be taken to curtail
the excesses of commercial motorcycle operators,” he said.

He, however,
identified “corrupt practices on the part of law enforcement agents, in
the issuance of vehicle and drivers’ licences, and dearth of
infrastructure and road signs” as some of the factors also responsible
for carnage on the roads.

Some stakeholders’ grudges

However, not all
the stakeholders were fully satisfied with the government’s decision,
as evident in the grumbling by the crowd during the forum, especially
regarding restrictions of motorcycles in some parts of the state.

According to Dansu
Alphonsus, a commercial motorcyclist in Ikeja, the banning of
motorcycles in some parts of the capital city will ‘indirectly ban him
from working’.

“I ply Ikeja area,
so by banning okada along Obafemi Awolowo way, Alausa, and Mobolaji
Bank Anthony way (all in Ikeja) will affect me too much; it’s like not
working again.”

“We should be
allowed to carry pregnant women also; it will not be good if they are
stranded where they cannot easily get transport,” he said.

Another commercial
motorcyclist, Joseph Oladoja, said the implementation of the law will
largely depend on government’s resolution to curb corruption in
obtaining drivers’ licences and other road usage permits.

“For instance, the
rider’s card which is supposed to be N800, we pay about N1,600 to get
it; the number plate which is N4,000 normally, we spend N6,000 to get
it, and this discourages most okada riders. It will be easier to
sanitise our roads if we also curb corruption in those offices,” he
said.

Courier services,
along with the okada riders, also stand to face major challenges as a
result of the new law, starting from next month.

Oladipo Akinyele of
Xpress Partners Limited, who spoke for Courier services in the state,
said their services “will be greatly affected by the restrictions
placed on motorcycles.”

“Our business
services people in core areas where it is only easy for motorcycles to
reach,” he said, in his appeal for a review of the law.

Mr Fashola,
responding to requests from the motorcyclists and courier service
owners, said his administration will look into the issues.

The chief judge of
Niger State, Justice Jibrin Ndatsu-Ndajiwo, on Tuesday, granted amnesty
to 15 inmates of Bida Prison on grounds of ill-health and other sundry
considerations.

A News Agency of
Nigeria (NAN) correspondent reports that the visiting chief judge
pardoned two prisoners because of deteriorating health condition.

He granted amnesty
to five prisoners due to old age and two for good behaviour, while six
others were about to finish their jail terms.

Speaking to NAN on the occasion, the officer-in-charge of the
prison, Babayo Maisanda, said the inmates’ release was part of efforts
by the Federal Government to decongest the country’s prisons and
commended the chief judge for releasing the prisoners, saying “the
gesture is appreciated.”

Samingo Etukakpan,
a community leader in Eket, Akwa-Ibom State, on Tuesday urged the state
government to either ensure the early completion of the public-private
partnership initiated refinery or recover state money. Mr Ekukakpan
told journalists in Eket that this was the only way to ensure that the
$10million (about N1.5billion) the state invested in the Eket Private
Refinery does not go down the drain.

He said the state Governor,
Godswill Akpabio, during his visit to Eket last weekend, said that the
$10 million state fund it invested in the project was trapped and that
the governor claimed that only $1 million (N150million) has so far been
recovered. The state government and Amakpe International Refineries are
collaborating on the refinery project. According to Mr Ekukakpan, the
governor said that the steps so far taken to recover the money from the
private investors have not yielded any good result.

The former governor
of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, yesterday said he has forgiven Nuhu
Ribadu, the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime
Commission (EFCC) for his investigation by the anti-corruption agency.

Speaking in Lagos
at the launch of ‘Diary of a Debacle: Tracking Nigeria’s failed
Democratic Transition (1989-94),’ written by Olatunji Dare, Mr. Tinubu
traced the forgiveness to the spirit of humility occasioned by the
Ramadan fasting.

“Your period was a
big challenge. Manipulators wanted to use it for politics, but you did
what you had to do to some of us and we challenged that. I believe in
what you believe: transparency, honesty and integrity, making the
people the cornerstone of every economy of a nation,” Mr Tinubu said.

“But, I must thank
you once again that no matter the level of things here and there, you
did not falsely paint a crime and charge me falsely. Thank you, and in
the spirit of this month of Ramadan, I have forgiven you everything and
it is the truth. Some could have created chronic charges, even if the
court will let you go, but you refused to use that office to abuse it,
you refused to allow that. Thank you very much. You believe in what we
believe, so we are expecting you to join the democratic struggles and
liberate this country,” he said.

He, however, asked
Mr Ribadu to make good all the opportunity he has now to benefit the
needs and yearnings of Nigerians, which he claimed had been deprived of
quality leadership.

“I have heard so many speculations in the papers. So make it real. We must take control of our future,” he said.

The former Lagos
State governor was accused of certificate forgery and shoddy dealings
in the sale of the state’s N4 billion shares in the telecommunications
outfit, Econet (now Zain) during his tenure, an allegation which he
then denied.

With his name still
listed as one of those under prosecution for one case or the other, he
said that the transaction was a “straightforward institutional
investment”, which earned the state over N15 billion profit.

Anti-democracy

Berating how bad
eggs that contributed to the annulment of June 12 are now also parading
themselves as presidential aspirants and politicians in the country,
Mr. Tinubu described them as dubious, saying “did they say they are
democrats and they want to contest the next election and annul June 12?
If they were, they would not have annulled June 12.”

He said Nigeria only honours fraudulent men and those that have no reason for receiving national honours.

“Look at the annual
list of our national honour award. Only those that are known for their
notoriety and contributions to economic instabilities are there,” he
said.

Sitting beside
Atiku Abubakar and Bola Tinubu, Mr. Ribadu has also been linked to the
2011 presidential race and has promised that all Nigeria needs now is a
youthful leadership, which he is set to grant.

A delegate of the
National Association of Nigerian Students, led by Agbabiaka Ahmed, also
stormed the venue of the event at exactly 1:08pm to call for the
establishment of voters registration centres on university campuses.

The eight ICT
companies shortlisted by the Independent National Electoral Commission
for the purchase of equipment for the voters’ registration exercise may
know the outcome of their security screening today.

The names of the
companies were submitted to the State Security Service for screening on
Monday amidst criticism that not enough Nigerian companies were
enlisted. An INEC source close to the procurement process revealed last
night that only Google and Zinox Technologies had passed initial
clearing for the supply of software and hardware respectively.

Google is the
world’s leading internet-based services provider and is being
considered for the supply of the software that will power the data
capture machines. Zinox Technologies is a Nigerian company whose
chairman, Leo-Stan Ekeh, recently pledged his company’s capacity to
deliver the 120,000 direct data capture machines within eight weeks.

The other six
companies being considered are Dimension Data, Image Technology,
Resourcery ltd, Basmak, Pacific Millenium and Joint Komputer Company.

According to the
source there were two companies in particular that faced some
challenges because of a poor supply record particularly in regards to
the last general election.

“There are two companies on that list who were not first choice to deal with,” the source said.

“It would be unfair
of me to name them in the media but they may face some challenges with
the SS because they did not supply on time before.”

The N74bn contract
for the acquisition of the direct capture machines has been split into
three key components namely, the supply of the hardware consisting of a
laptop, a web cam and a finger printing device; supply of the software
needed to drive the entire process and lastly the expertise to
integrate the various components into one functional unit.

In sending the
shortlist to the SSS, the chairman, Attahiru Jega, is aiming for
transparency and credibility according to the source. With four
indigenous companies out of the total eight, the source said that Mr.
Jega was also aiming to aid the local economy.

“There were hundreds of companies bidding and we have gone for a
blend of both local and international skill sets,” the source said.

The southwest
leadership of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), has cautioned
governors of Osun and Oyo States, Olagunsoye Oyinlola and Adebayo
Alao-Akala, against further delay in resolving the crisis between the
governments of the two states over Ladoke Akintola University of
Technology (LAUTECH) to avoid the hammer of the National University
Commission (NUC) on the institution.

Ayo Afolabi, the
party’s director of publicity in the region, in a press release in
Ibadan on Tuesday, also called on elders of the two owner-states of the
university to prevail on the two governors on the crisis, for the sake
of posterity.

He said if the
governors fail to resolve the crisis now, and allow their ego to
eventually push the NUC to withdraw the university’s licence as earlier
threatened, posterity will not be kind to them.

“Throwing away the
LAUTECH licence deliberately on the altar of irresponsible fight by
these spoilt-brat governors, who obviously have no iota of respect for
education, as they do not have the benefit of it, will amount to the
greatest disservice to the institution,” the release stated.

Mr. Afolabi
wondered what could be the crux of the fight “that it could not be
amicably resolved in the corporate interest of the institution and the
owner states, as had been the case with matured and reasonable chief
executives who had managed the destiny of LAUTECH since 1991 when Osun
State was carved out of Oyo State.”

According to him,
educational activities in the two states have been in limbo for some
months, and students and staff in the educational sector have continued
to bear the brunt.

Destruction of university

“It is on record
that teachers in all secondary schools in Oyo State have been on strike
for well over three months now, while Osun State government had just
coned the lecturers of the four higher institutions it owned, to
suspend its four month old strike, which they called for legitimate
demands.”

He further noted
that the two states possess weak educational policies, as the incumbent
governors display little respect for the sector.

Suggesting a due
process if the owner-states desires halt the joint ownership of the
university, Mr. Afolabi accused Messrs Alao-Akala and Oyinlola of
working towards the destruction of the university “founded and nurtured
on the strength of integrity of reputable elderly and selfless
indigenes with great foresight for the future.

“Our party is of
the view that if it becomes inevitable that joint ownership of LAUTECH
will come to a halt, it should pass through due process and laid down
procedures, with the concerned parties taking their dues, the interest
of the students adequately protected, the staff taken in to due
consideration, while the institution’s future and destiny is not
disrupted.

“The ACN is calling
on the elders of the two owner’s states to come together NOW to rescue
the institution. The earlier the elders act, the better for the
institution that had been officially rated as the best state owned
university in Nigeria,” the release concluded.

The Chief Justice
of Nigeria (CJN), Aloysius Katsina-Alu, has ordered an Abuja High Court
judge, Othman Musa, to explain why he evicted the legal resident of an
Abuja house during a custody dispute. Mr. Musa has two weeks to explain
why he should not be sacked for his decision.

The Justice was
acting on a dispute between Mr Eyiboh and Hassan Muhammed Gusau, a
senator from Zamfara State. The two have been locked in a contentious
legal battle since 2008 over the land on which Mr. Eyiboh erected his
house.

On May 28, Justice
Musa granted an ex-pate motion evicting Eseme Eyiboh, a House of
Representatives member from Akwa Ibom State, from his private residence
in Area 11, Garki. Mr. Gusau had a writ of possession from a Sharia
court in Jigawa State and a letter from an Abuja Upper Area Court
judge, directing the police to aid the enforcement of the eviction.

On June 3, a team
of officers, led by a bailiff and Mr. Gusau’s relatives, arrived at the
house early in the morning and threw out Mr Eyiboh’s belongings. The
representative said that it took the intervention of his lawyers to
dissuade the team from carrying out the eviction.

The lawyers
questioned why Justice Musa had approved such an action when Mr. Eyiboh
had not been joined in the Jigawa suit, nor was his name mentioned in
the Abuja court order.

On June 30, the
judge reversed his order, saying that it was given in error. He ordered
Mr. Eyiboh to take back possession of the home.

However, not satisfied with the new order, Mr Eyiboh petitioned the
CJN, who is also the chairman of the National Judicial Council. “I
believe sincerely that Musa colluded with my adversary, Hassan Muhammed
Gusau, to forcefully evict me from my property and hand over possession
to the said Gusau,” said Mr. Eyiboh, in the petition.