Northeast Nigeria bus station blast kills 40 people: sources
YOLA, Nigeria (Reuters) - A roadside bomb tore through a bus station
near a busy junction in northeast Nigeria on Thursday, killing 40 people
including five soldiers, witnesses and a security source on the scene
said.
The security source and witness Abubakar Adamu, a mechanic who
narrowly avoided being blown up himself, said the blast set several
buses on fire at the Marabi-Mubi junction, in a part of the country
plagued by violence linked to the Boko Haram Islamist insurgency.
"There were bodies everywhere on the ground," Adamu said.
The location is about 30 km (20 miles) west of Mubi, a town near the
Cameroon border seized last month by Boko Haram militants fighting to
carve an Islamic state out of religiously-mixed Nigeria. It has since
been recaptured.
Nigerian authorities, who rarely remark on security developments in
the troubled northeast, did not immediately respond to requests for
comment.
There was no claim of responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall
on Boko Haram, whose campaign to create an Islamic caliphate governed
by sharia law has killed thousands since 2009.
Continuing insecurity is a headache for President Goodluck Jonathan
ahead of February 2015 polls in which he is seeking a second elected
term in office. He has asked parliament for approval to extend an
18-month-old state of emergency in the northeast.
Two female suicide bombers killed at least 44 people on Tuesday in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, medical officials said.
(Reporting by Imma Ande; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Andrew Roche)
As the impact of oil price slide in the international market
bites harder, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of
Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has called on Nigerians not to panic,
reassuring that the nation’s financial team has put in place strategies
to manage oil prices as low as $60 per barrel.
Saying the recent drop in oil price did not come as a surprise and as
such there is no need for the nation to panic, she pointed out that
what was needed was a systematic and focused approach to overcome the
development.
“This is what we have. Our fiscal measures comprise both revenue and expenditure effort.
Our scenario-based approach to managing the impact of the oil price
drop is proactive and comprehensive. Even if the price drops to 60
dollars we are ready.
“Panic is not a strategy. We are managing the situation to keep the
economy on a stable sustainable course and we will not listen to those
who want us to throw up our hands in despair and give up.
“As a central part of our strategy, we have revised our oil price
expectations over the short to medium term! We have lowered our
benchmark oil price assumption to $73 per barrel after some careful
analysis of the possible future direction of oil price as well as the
soft floor price for shale oil, which is estimated at about $75 per
barrel.
“But let me clearly state that we are not taking a point-estimate
position as regards the future price of oil. We fully recognize that oil
prices may fall lower or even rebound. Prices could fall to $70 a
barrel, $65 or even $60.
“Prices could also rebound to $75 – $85 a barrel. What we did was to
work within a range of $60 – $85 thought possible by analysts, put a
package of measures around an estimate at the midpoint of that range,
that is, $73, and then build additional measures for scenarios at $70,
$65 and $60 a barrel. The best way to manage uncertainty is to take a
scenario-based approach to be ready for alternatives that may occur.
This is what we have done,” she said.
‘How I have coped without a husband for eight years’ FUNKE Kuti, the separated wife of Afrobeat king, Femi
Anikulapo Kuti has finally opened up on why she left her former place of
employment, National Sports Lottery, maintaining she now has time to concentrate on her dream which is event and artiste management under her company, F. K. Management. The
mother of one child also commented on Femi Kuti and the only child
between them, Made, insisting that the divorce papers served her didn’t
come as a surprise and that she has agreed to allow the case to go on
without nursing any ill feelings towards anybody. On how she has been
coping without a husband for eight years, Funke revealed her work and
other engagements take most of her time.
You worked at NSL for years and then suddenly you left the place, what happened?
I didn’t leave suddenly, it was something I had planned and I
discussed with my MD and the management team. When I was ready, they
gave me their blessing. It wasn’t an abrupt decision on my part.
Funke and Femi Kuti
For how long did you talk things over before you left?
It took a while, but the final discussion took about two to three
months. But I wasn’t really serious about it because I felt the timing
wasn’t right. And two, my MD used to say, “Don’t ever resign at a place
when you are not ready to leave because if you do and they persuade you
to stay, you will never enjoy trust and respect like before.” So, that
also made me take my time before leaving. But there were talks that you actually left because the company was down and laying of staffers and owing salaries?
The company was not down, as at the time I left, the company was
running smoothly. It was sustaining it’s operations, so all those issues
you mentioned didn’t come up at all. I left because I felt the time was
right for me to leave, it was a decision based on personal projections. What were your plans when you left?
To fully concentrate on running my company, FK Management. It’s an event, public relations and artiste management firm. I left NSL to be fully involved in running the company, to take it to the next level. Before I left NSL, I
was running it by the side and when I felt the time was ripe for me to
be fully involved, I left to take full charge of the operations and here
I am. So, how has it been since you started running your company full time?
It’s been competitive with other established brands. But we are
getting there, we are still green horns in the industry but we have
started making headway, working on some projects right now, our effort
will soon start manifesting. What are the challenges in running your type of company?
The industry is filled with many other brands and competition
requires a certain level of ingenuity, having to prove a major point as a
new company. There is the economic challenge as well and other related
issues. What do you think will give FK Management that edge above others?
The innovation we are bringing into play. We are fresh, we are new
and we have a burning desire to succeed and do something extraordinary.
The zeal, passion and commitment with which we have to execute our task
is inestimable. And there is the depth of experience I have garnered
over the years working before and at NSL. Being a part of Femi Kuti’s Positive Force has
helped prepare me for the challenges of the artiste management beat.
Then we went on tours all over the world, his whole international
management team (manager, publicist, tour manager, etc) travelled with
us. I saw them work and my love for the entertainment industry made me
want to learn more. So, I started reading extensively on artiste
management and doing researches on my own. For running the business,
the public relations and event management aspect of the company I gained
an overwhelming wealth of experience from NSL as the bedrock
of my preparation for the task ahead. Before I resigned, I handled
concurrently in some cases such departments as public relations, events,
sponsorship, marketing, foundation, administration and sales. I
believe with these experiences at my fingertips, my determination and
drive, there is absolutely no reason for me not to succeed at FK Management. We have more than it takes to deliver and succeed. That brings to mind your divorce case with Femi Kuti, what is the situation of things?
There is nothing to it other than the case is in court. Did it come to you as a surprise?
I wouldn’t say it came as a surprise because we have lived apart for
so long and ordinarily, I think it takes only three years to live apart
for any of the parties involved in such a case to sue for divorce. So,
based on that, it didn’t come as a surprise. What kind of relationship exists between the two of you now?
We are very good friends, we still talk on phone. I mean, he is the
father of my son, we talk on mutual issue. At times, I call my son and
if he’s there, he gives the phone to him and we all talk. There is no
bitterness, no rancour, the divorce is by mutual consent. What is the relationship with other family members?
We all have a cordial relationship. That there is a divorce or
something does not make us enemies, don’t forget that it’s a decision
between two matured people. Just like Femi, I have a good relationship
with all the other Kutis. What do you miss about Femi Kuti?
The issue of missing anything does not arise, he is still very much
alive. We are still friends, we are not quarrelling, the only thing is
we don’t stay together. We talk, we communicate, the rapport is there
and we have a son. I don’t think the issue of missing anything should
arise. How have you coped without a husband for eight years?
I have my job to keep me company, the challenges and the gains and
the pains of overcoming those challenges and of course the joy of
triumph and there is the task of jointly raising my son too. So, all
these things have kept me going. Do you have plans to remarry?
I am not thinking of marriage, I am totally focused on taking my
business to the next level, so thinking about remarrying at this stage
is nothing but a distraction and I think that’s enough. What do you miss about being employed?
Maybe the security of the monthly salary, but I don’t think that
makes up for the joy and freedom of living your dreams and breaking new
grounds. What target do you set for yourself?
To successfully execute our mapped out plans at FK Management. Presently, we are working on a celebrity football tournament for four charity homes tagged Big Heart Celebrity Soccer. The response from the celebrities has been amazing, it’s really nice to know that they are charity conscious. When will this take place?
October 2011. We are working on the sponsorship presently. It’s an
interesting concept, we are looking at making it an annual event. Then
in December, we are working on a major event. We learnt you will be 40 soon?
Yes, I am already counting down. What are the things you had planned to achieve before then that you haven’t done?
I always wanted to have a dancing school and a spa. A dancing school
because of my love for the entertainment industry and my bias for
dancing and a beauty spa because I love it when people feel and look
good. Any regret?
No, I don’t have. Maybe I would have loved to change one or two things but no regret. If you get the chance to live your life again, will you live it same way again?
Yes, why not? With minimal change, because nobody is perfect. Do you intend celebrating your 40th birthday big?
Nothing extraordinary just a gathering of family and close friends.
AFROBEATking, Femi Kuti, clocked 46 two weeks back. But in spite of how
blessed he has been, he still regrets that he is not the father of two
of his five children.
He revealed this few days to his birthday
in an interview. Out of his alleged five children: Made, Afolabi, Dupe,
Tosin and Ayomide, two of them, Dupe and Tosin (a boy and a girl) have
been discovered not to be his biological children, according to a recent
DNA test.
He confessed being disappointed and pained that a woman can actually give someone what does not belong to him.
“I did a DNA test and was told two of the children are not mine. The
first two (after Made), a boy and a girl. It is very serious. I never
knew somebody could give you what is not yours. I’ve three boys now. I
can’t father children I was tricked to believe I am their father,”he
lamented.
Because of the betrayal, he returned the two children,
Dupe and Tosin, to their mothers. Funke, his ex-wife, gave birth to his
first child and son, Made, who Femi treasures so much. And Bisi Ajala
gave birth to Ayomide and one other child that the DNA test recently
proved not to be Femi’s. The third woman’s name was not revealed.
The maverick Afrobeat king has finished work on his next album which will be released soon.
A riot broke out this morning in Lekki Phase 1 following
thugs/motorcycle riders clash. The cause of the riot has not been fully
established but according to some residents, the chairman of the Eti-Osa
local government area allegedly engaged the services of touts to
confiscate any motorcycle seen within the area.
The touts
allegedly beat up one of the Okada men after he refused to let them
seize his motorcycle and this led to a serious fight between some of the
Okada men, bus drivers and the thugs. The police was immediately called
in to stop the riot from escalating. The gate leading to the estate was
shut immediately. See some photos after the cut...
Take a drive though any city or large
town in Nigeria and the chances are you will come across numerous
privately owned health clinics, doctor's surgeries and hospitals.
In
one remarkable sting, the Africa Investigates team rented a house and
invited local quacks to come and do 'home visits'. The 'patient' was
again Rosemary, who – with the help of a qualified medic – had learned
some symptoms that any genuine doctor would immediately recognise as
indications of heart disease. Instead, one after another, the 'quacks'
turned up and after cursory examinations wrongly claimed that Rosemary
was suffering from typhoid and malaria (two commonly cited conditions)
for which she need expensive drugs that only they could prescribe.
What
the fake doctors did not know was that the house was rigged with secret
closed circuit cameras and that their every move was being scrutinised
by a genuine medical practitioner. The doctor was local to the area and
asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, but he was
unequivocal in his condemnation of the fakes.
The team took this
this and other evidence to Dr Alfred Ebiakofa, a senior medical officer
working for the Nigerian Ministry of Health. He had always lacked the
resources and proof to go after fake doctors but now was able to act. He
called in the police to work with Anas who, as the investigation heads
to a climax, devised a dramatic scheme to trap one of Nigeria's most
notorious quacks in the act.
Striking workers of the National Agency for Food and Drug
Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Thursday suspended their over two
weeks old strike.
They embarked on an indefinite strike over salary structure and non-payment of productivity allowance, among other issues. The
striking workers under the aegis of Medical and Health Workers Union of
Nigeria (MHWUN) said the development would pave the way for a three-man
committee set up by the Federal Government to look into the salary
issues.
The Chairman of the Federal Area Council (MHHWU) Comrade Steven Ibe, said the workers would resume work on Monday. Ibe
said the strike is suspended to give the three-man committee room to
investigate the issue and come up with appropriate salary structure. He said the workers would go back to strike if the government’s inaugurated committees do not meet the workers’ demands.
The first human trial of an experimental Ebola vaccine has produced
promising results, U.S. scientists said, raising hopes that protection
from the deadly disease may be on the horizon.
All 20 volunteers in the first clinical trial of the vaccine produced anti-Ebola antibodies.
None of the volunteers suffered serious side effects, the National Institutes of Health says.
The vaccine carries genetic material from the virus but there's no risk of infection with Ebola.
The trial tested lower and higher dose versions of the vaccine on the volunteers.
The first human trial of an experimental Ebola vaccine has produced promising results, U.S. scientists said, raising
hopes that protection from the deadly disease may be on the horizon.
All
20 healthy adults who received the vaccine in a trial run by
researchers from the National Institutes of Health in Maryland produced
an immune response and developed anti-Ebola antibodies, the NIH said
Wednesday. None suffered serious side effects, although two people
developed a brief fever within a day of vaccination.
The vaccine
is being developed by the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases and British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline.
The process has been fast-tracked in light of the current catastrophic
Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which has claimed more than 5,000 lives.
