Governors take decision on ending herdsmen crisis

 

The Nigerian Governors Forum has decided on the best possible means of tackling insecurity due to the activities of herdsmen across the country.

The governors issued a communiqué at the end of the forum’s 25th virtual meeting on Thursday. It was signed by Forum Chairman, Kayode Fayemi.

Governors were encouraged “to put in place systems to accelerate the grazing initiative of the National Livestock Transformation Plan and ranching in the country.”

Members reached a consensus on the need for the country to transition into modern systems of animal husbandry that will replace open, night and underage grazing in the country.

The governors were encouraged to put in place systems to accelerate the grazing initiative of the National Livestock Transformation Plan and ranching in the country.

“The Forum respects the right of abode of all Nigerians and strongly condemns criminality and the ethnic profiling of crime in the country in an effort to frame the widespread banditry and the herders- farmers’ crisis.

“In the light of the economic and security risks that have arisen from these circumstances, the Forum resolved to urgently convene an emergency meeting of all governors.

Also, Governor Simon Lalong, Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) provided an update on steps taken by his colleagues in the region.

He warned against the tagging of ethnic groups based on the misbehavior of a few criminally minded individuals. He called on state governors to address this matter head-on in their various states.

My home was invaded by cattle – Soyinka tells police

 Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has insisted that his home was invaded by cattle belonging to herdsmen.

Soyinka said this while speaking on Arise TV on Thursday.

Recall that the police in Ogun State had claimed on Wednesday that a young Fulani man, Awalu Muhammad, whose cow had got missing, entered Soyinka’s vicinity in search of the animal.

Speaking on the development, Soyinka urged the police not to lie about the incident.

Soyinka said, “The police need to be educated when it comes to the invasion of homes, we are not talking just about the physical building but the home and the grounds. No cattle people attacked me, that is the fact. I am here physically, I have no injury, that never happened, but my home was invaded by cattle.

“Why should the police go to such lengths to suggest that I have nothing to do than to go accosting cattle on the road? What’s my business with cattle on the road? We drove them out of my property with my groundsman. In fact, they began the expulsion process. So, I joined them in herding the cattle out of my premises.

“After that, once they were out of my property, that was when I arrested the cows. Why did I arrest them? On exiting my property just outside by the gate, I beckoned to the herder. I said, ‘Come over here, haven’t I given you a warning before?’ He turned around and proceeded walking along, and then I walked towards him. So, he left into the bush and disappeared.

“His assistant also disappeared. We were left with the cattle. I peed the cattle by the roadside, called one of my groundsmen to stand there with me, and I sent for the police to come and take over. That is a very simple, ordinary, commonsensical proceeding.

“Why should the police find it necessary to say these cattle and the herdsmen were never in my property? What kind of nonsense? It is a distraction from more serious issues. I hate to be personally at the centre of issues like this. I am more concerned about students in Ondo who were being waylaid by herdsmen, being kidnapped. I am more concerned about people in Ogun State who are being butchered. So, please, I wish to beg the police, don’t make a big issue out of this. Don’t lie.”

BIAFRA : Avoid politics of violence, hate speech – Ohanaeze tells youths

 

The Youth Wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Ebonyi State has advised youths in the South East and other parts of the country to desist from violence and hate speeches.

Mr Obiya Sabastine, the State Chairman of the group, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria NAN in Abakaliki, on Wednesday.

Sabastine lamented that politics of hate speech and violence were becoming a habit among many youths in the State.

He noted that with such, no meaningful development can be achieved in Ebony.

Recall that the defection of Gov. David Umahi and some members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to APC in Ebonyi had generated political unrest in the area.

The Chairman of Ohaneze, who described youths as “leaders of tomorrow’’, advised followers of political parties to desist from violence.

“Youths should learn from the past and avoid politics of hate and promote politics of peace and progress.

“Yes, you have the right to join a particular political party you like but not by causing trouble. All the people that have joined one party or the other should desist from politics of hate for Peace to reign.

“Ebonyi is our state and we cannot achieve the desired development if we continue to destroy our land,” he stated.

He said that it was too early for campaigning or making ambitions known when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had not decided for the 2023 Presidential election.

“All Igbos in the South-East, should unite and speak in one voice for a credible presidential candidate ahead of the 2023 elections,’’ Sabastine advised.

Solskjaer reacts to Van de Beek’s performance against West Ham

 

Manchester United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, has defended Donny van de Beek’s performance after they struggled past West Ham to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Scott McTominay netted the winner in extra time after a drab affair at Old Trafford.

Van de Beek, who arrived in a £35 million deal from Ajax in the summer, started in midfield with Bruno Fernandes benched.

In the absence of their main creative outlets, United struggled to find a way through West Ham.

But Solskjaer was satisfield with how Van de Beek performed.

“I thought in the first half, we and Donny played really well,” Solskjaer told reporters.

“We created spaces and he was part of that. He did his job neat and tidy, had a half chance. In the second half, the whole team fell off a little bit and we just wanted to make a few changes.”

Van de Beek was replaced after 73 minutes by Fernandes.

Pirlo reacts as Juventus qualify for final, names best player

 

Juventus manager, Andrea Pirlo, has reacted after his team qualifies for the Coppa Italia final ahead of Inter Milan on Tuesday night.

Pirlo also identified goalkeeper, Samir Handanovic, as the best player on the pitch following his side’s Coppa Italia semi-final second leg 0-0 draw against Inter Milan at Allianz Stadium.

Juventus qualified for the final of the Coppa Italia for the 20th time after a 2-1 aggregate against Inter Milan.

The Old Lady had won the first leg 2-1 against Antonio Conte’s men at San Siro last week.

Pirlo’s side will face the winner between Napoli and Atalanta, who are locked at 0-0 ahead of Wednesday’s second leg in Bergamo, in May’s final in Rome.

“I hoped to get to this stage of my debut campaign and be in the last 16 of the Champions League, have won the Super Cup and reached the final of the Coppa Italia, but we haven’t done anything yet, so we have to keep working away and stay focused,” Pirlo was quoted by Juventus’s official website as saying after the game.

“I’m lucky to have four excellent centre-backs and they’re all doing well. We played well today because Inter hardly had any shots on goal. We had the best chances and [Samir] Handanovic was the best player on the pitch.

“We defend in a 4-4-2 but mix it up when we’re building moves depending on the opponents.”

BIAFRA : Blessing Okagbere receives recognition from Guinness Book

 

Nigerian athlete, Blessing Okagbare has been recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the only athlete to have attended the Athletics Diamond Meetings 67 times.

The sprinter shared the good news via her Instagram account on Wednesday.

According to her, the recognition is a dream that turned into reality through God’s grace and determination.

“A dream made reality through God’s grace and determination.

“Look what finally came in the mail.

“Thanks to Guinness book of world records, I am indeed honored, proud and grateful,” she said.

In 2018, Okagbare, won a silver medal at the Beijing Olympic.

She won silver and bronze in the long jump and 200 meter events respectively at the 2013 World Championships held in Moscow, Russia.

The 32-year-old also won two gold medals and a silver at the 2014 commonwealth games in Glasgow.

FOOTBALL : We’ll no longer play matches with empty stomach – Kogi Queens threaten boycott

 

Players of Kogi State female team, Confluence Queen have threatened to boycott their Nigeria Women Premier League, (NWPL) game against FC Robo if their demands are not met by the Kogi State Government.

This latest threat is coming a few days after their male counterparts, Kogi United protested for a backlog of entitlements and sign-on fees for two seasons.

The game between Confluence Queen and FC Robo is scheduled to take place today, Wednesday, at the Lokoja Confluence Stadium by 4PM.

The players had accused the government of failing to give priority to their welfare as they continue to play their league matches with empty stomachs.

The State female team players are calling on the government to pay their match allowances, sign on fee, provide better accommodation, and improve their welfare in the State.

Some of the players, who spoke  on Wednesday, under the condition of anonymity accused the government of neglecting its own state teams, but found solace in outsiders despite their achievement in the State.

 however, gathered that Confluence Queen who are 11th on the NWPL log have been cash strapped following alleged neglect by the state government.

Some of the players who spoke to said “We are treated here in Confluence Queen as if we are animals. We have been training and preparing with everyday promises that things will get better, but nothing yet, except the government answers us by giving us what we need, no match.

“We’ve not been paid our sign on fees for two and half seasons, even to play matches is always a problem. Nothing to eat. We are tired of this and we cannot be playing on empty stomachs.

“Our camp is not concussive for living. Recently, our camp got burnt, up till now, no government official has come to check on us, as we lost several of our properties.

“Most times, we go out to play matches with empty stomachs. Our team bus is nothing to write home about. We get stranded on the road on a timely basis. Whenever we are playing matches away from home, it is usually hell in a cell.

“The salary we are collecting is not enough to cater for our wellbeing, yet we are not complaining. We came second in the league in 2019 after losing 1:0 to Rivers Angel.

“As we speak, nobody has come from this government to say well-done for making the state proud. We decided to play football because of the passion we have for the game. We don’t want to engage in the act of selling our bodies because we are women. The government must do something or else there will be a walkover against our team today”.

They called on Governor Yahaya Bello to come to their aid before things got out of hand.

It could be recalled that the NWPL matches were postponed last month due to Covid 19 mandatory test for all players in the league.