EEOOOO !! Without Ifa, there’d be no Google, says ooni

Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, ooni of Ife, says Google, popular search engine, originated from “Ifa”, an oracle in Yoruba mythology.

Ogunwusi said this on Wednesday during a press tour of the tourists sites within the ancient city ahead of the tourism innovation and development innovation conference (TIDA) slated for April 24.

The theme of the forthcoming conference is: “Impact of Sustainable Tourism Development and Marketing of Tourism Destinations on Host Communities”.

The traditional leader said that without ‘Ifa’, Google would not have been created.

NAN reports that ‘Odu Ifa’ refers to the verses of the literary corpus that are usually consulted by people who believe in its efficacy before embarking on any project or activity.

It is also a West African religion and system of divination

Ogunwusi said “Ifa” as a form divination was all about sourcing for information and knowledge through traditional consultation.

The traditional ruler said that the Google could be regarded as the modern way of sourcing for past information and what was likely to happen in the future too.

He said that “Ifa” originated several thousands of years ago and is seen as the voice of the almighty God referred to as ‘Orisa Oke’ which is supreme to other lesser gods.

”Without ‘Ifa’, there could never have been the google, so the google is the modern day version of ‘Ifa’,” the monarch said.

“‘Ifa’ is all about information, getting knowledge from the almighty God.

“Whenever you search the google for information or knowledge, you are consulting ‘Ifa’; and without “Ifa”, there would not have been the google.”

He said “Ifa” was still relevant in contemporary time, that was why people were still consulting the oracle for information and solutions to their problems.

Ogunwusi explained that if the modern day youths and the educated wanted to know the date of any important event, they would search for it from the Google.

“That is part of the functions that Ifa’ does for its believers and followers; that is the truth but it may sound strange,” he said.

The traditional ruler who is the custodian of the Yoruba culture and tradition called on Nigerians to embrace traditional worships peculiar to their communities.

He said that would not stop them from practising other modern religions.

-THECABLE

UPDATE ! Court gives Evans ultimatum to get legal representative

An Igbosere high court, Lagos, on Wednesday, ordered Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, suspected billionaire kidnapper better known as Evans, to engage a legal representative by May 17.

Adedayo Akintoye, the lead judge, gave the order due to the absence of Chino Obiagwu, Evans’ counsel, for the third time in a row which again stalled the continuation of hearing in the on-going trial of the alleged kidnap kingpin.

“If your lawyers don’t want to appear, we cannot force them,” said the judge.

“You have three options, you can get another lawyer to represent you or the court can appoint one for you or you can defend yourself.

“This is last day I will give you to get a lawyer”.

Akintoye adjourned the case until May 17 for continuation of trial.

NAN reports that Evans trial was on January 30 and March 1, stalled due to the absence of the defence counsel, adding that on March 22 the court did not sit.

Evans is currently facing charges, bordering on conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping and attempted murder.

In the first charge, Evans is standing trial alongside Joseph Emeka, Ugochukwu Nwachukwu and Victor Aduba.

In the second charge, he is standing trial alongside Joseph Emeka, Linus Okpara and Victor Aduba.

At the resumed hearing on Wednesday, Evans’ counsel did not make any appearance.

NAN reports that no member of Evans’ legal team was present, adding that there was no letter to the court to explain the reason for the absence.

“The last time we spoke, he told me that he will appear on the next sitting,” Evans told the court.

However, Y. G. Oshoala, the prosecutor, prayed the court to invoke Section 233 (3) of the administration of criminal justice law (ACJL) which empowers the court to appoint a counsel for the defendant.

“Where the defendant fails to secure legal representation, the court has the discretion to order the legal aid counsel to provide a representation for the defendant,” Oshoala said.

“This is the third time this matter is called and the first (Evans) defendant is not represented”.

The court, however, advised Evans to ensure that he got a legal representative before the next adjourned date.

- THECABLE

Nigeria’s second worst country in the world in use of sovereign wealth funds – IMF

The International Monetary Fund, IMF, on Wednesday ranked Nigeria as the second worst country in the world in the use of sovereign wealth funds.

The Fiscal Monitor report released on Wednesday, placed Nigeria as the second worst, while is ranked number one as the worst country in the use of sovereign wealth funds.

According to the Bretton Wood institution , the index was compiled using the corporate governance and transparency scores of the sovereign wealth funds and the size of assets as a percentage of 2016 GDP of the countries considered.

The IMF said it used data compiled by the Natural Resource Governance Institute and Worldwide Governance Indicators.

It added: “It is critical to develop a strong institutional framework to manage these resources—including good management of the financial assets kept in sovereign wealth funds—and to ensure that proceeds are appropriately spent,” the report read.

“This remains a significant challenge in many resource-rich countries that, on average, have weaker institutions and higher corruption

“The governance challenges of commodity-rich countries— that is, the management of public assets— call for ensuring a high degree of transparency and accountability in the exploration of such resources.

“Countries should develop frameworks that limit discretion, given the high risk of abuse, and allow for heavy scrutiny.”

IMF stated that sovereign wealth funds had to be transparent, saying that countries should ensure that their natural resources should be channelled properly to the people that needed them.

Of the 10 African countries considered, Ghana was ranked the highest.

- PM NEWS

May, EU leaders agree new Brexit extension to Oct. 31

British Prime Minister, Theresa May and EU leaders agreed on Thursday to a Brexit extension until Oct. 31 at the latest, narrowly averting a no-deal Brexit the following day.

However, within minutes of finalising their decision at a special EU summit in Brussels, European Council President Donald Tusk hinted that there could be further reprieves down the road.

“Our intention is to finalise the whole process in October,” Tusk said.

“But I am too old to exclude another scenario. Everything is possible.”

The flexible extension – which would allow Britain to leave the EU whenever its withdrawal deal is approved – grants Britain a further six months “to find the best possible solution,” Tusk wrote on Twitter.

May needs the extra time to broker parliamentary approval on the withdrawal deal negotiated with Brussels, which lawmakers in the House of Commons have rejected three times.

The embattled British premier had asked for a delay until June 30, but most EU leaders favoured a longer term, according to EU sources.

The deadline has already been postponed once, from March 29.

However, French President Emmanuel Macron dug in his heels during the eight-hour summit, insisting on a shorter extension so Brexit does not threaten the functioning of the EU.

EU leaders set several conditions, notably requiring Britain to participate in European Parliament elections if it is still a member when they begin on May 23.

Otherwise “the withdrawal will take place on June 1, 2019,” the 27 leaders wrote in a joint statement.

However, May expressed hope that Britain would be out by then.

“If we are able to pass a deal in the first three weeks of May, we will not have to take part in European elections and will officially leave the EU on Saturday June 1,” she said in Brussels.

EU leaders insisted in their statement that during the extension, the withdrawal deal cannot be reopened.

Britain is expected to act in a “constructive and responsible” manner until its departure, refraining from measures that could “jeopardize” EU objectives.

They agreed to “take stock” of the situation at their regular June summit, however, this date “is not a cliff-edge,” Tusk insisted.

Macron justified the Oct. 31 deadline by explaining that Britain would have left before the new European Commission takes up its work the following day, thus preventing London from hampering EU priorities.

Across the Atlantic, U.S. President Donald Trump has complained the EU has been “so tough” on Britain.

“Too bad that the EU is being so tough on the United Kingdom and Brexit,” Trump wrote on Twitter.

The U.S. president also accused the EU of being “a brutal trading partner with the U.S., which will change.”

He added: “Sometimes in life you have to let people breathe before it all comes back to bite you!”

May has conceded that the weeks ahead would not be easy, noting that Britain faces “stark” choices.

While rejecting the withdrawal deal, parliament has also failed to coalesce around any other option, prompting May’s Conservative government to hold talks with the opposition Labour Party in a bid to break the impasse.

These negotiations – a rarity in British politics – are set to continue on Thursday.

Labour’s key demand is that Britain remains in a long-term customs union with the EU, but this is anathema to many Conservative eurosceptics.

Should the October deadline prove too tight, German Chancellor Angela Merkel suggested that the EU could grant yet more time if it means the withdrawal deal is adopted.

“In our view, it doesn’t depend on the exact day,” she said.

- PM NEWS

JAMB bans wrist watches, pens, phones, 15 others at UTME centres

The 1.8 million candidates sitting for the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) from Thursday 11 April are prohibited from bringing 18 items to centres where the tests would take place.

The prohibited items listed by an official of the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) are Wrist Watches, Pen/Biros, Mobile phones or similar electronic devices, Spy reading glasses, calculators or similar electronic devices, USB, CD, hard disks and or similar storage devices and books or any reading/writing material.

Other banned items are Cameras, Recorders, Microphones, Ear pieces, Ink/pen readers, Smart lenses, Smart rings/ jewellery, Smart buttons, Bluetooth devices, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards and Erasers

The examination will end next week.

Fabian Benjamin, JAMB spokesman told Premium Times, the online newspaper that the items were prohibited to secure the sanctity and integrity of the board’s examination.

He said examination officials are allowed to scrutinise eye glasses or similar devices and when convinced that such items may compromise the sanctity of the examination, the examination official should confiscate them.

”We urge candidates to abide by the rules and regulations of the board. Candidates should not come with any of the prohibited items,” he said.

- PM NEWS

HOPELESS COUNTRY !! UNICEF promises to assist over 500,000 out-of-school children in Nigeria

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says 501,749 out-of-school children are being targeted in its Educate a child (EAC) programme in four northern states.

The organisation disclosed on Monday this during a media dialogue in Kebbi state.

The EAC programme was introduced as “a funding window” to reduce the number of out-of-school children in Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states by 2020.

Part of its components, according to UNICEF, include the cash transfer programme (CTP) in addition to other grant opportunities.

Speaking at the media dialogue, Isah Usman, CTP coordinator in Kebbi state, also said over 31,000 pupils in the state are currently being paid N8,000 every academic term to encourage learning.

According to him, CTP was introduced as a social security net to assist “the poorest of the poor in accessing education.”

“The pupils are being given the sum of N24,000 every year through the women caregivers like their mothers to enroll, stay in school and complete their education,” he said.

“The Cash transfer intervention under the EAC aims to reach 41,391 child beneficiaries and their female caregivers in four years: 31,044 in Kebbi state and 10,347 in Zamfara state.

“Kebbi and Zamfara states are considered as ‘educationally disadvantaged’ states in Nigeria. Despite the fact that primary education is officially free and compulsory, there are high number of out of school children, something this project aims to address.

“The poverty level of rural community members largely restricts their level of participation in the education of their children. Majority of them cannot afford purchases of basic learning materials, not to even support school infrastructural development.”

Lai Mohammed, minister of information, said the high number out-of-school children in the north posed serious danger to the children and the nation at large.

Mohammed, who was represented by Uche Chuta, an assistant director at the ministry, identified the major causes of the menace as poverty, early marriage, illiteracy and teenage pregnancy.

- CABLE NIGERIA

Yari: In five years, bandits have killed over 3000 in Zamfara

Abdulaziz Yari, governor of Zamfara state, says armed bandits have killed 3,526 persons in the state in the last five years.

Yari spoke at a town hall meeting in Gusau, the state capital, on Tuesday.

According to NAN, the meeting was attended by Mohammed Adamu, inspector general of police (IGP), traditional and community leaders, as well as herders and farmers.

Yari, who was represented by Abdullahi Shinkafi, secretary to the state government (SSG), also said “nearly 500 villages” have been destroyed by the attackers.

He added that “over 13,000 hectares of farmlands were either destroyed or made useless as farmers can no longer use the lands for farming”.

“Nearly 500 villages have also been devastated and 8,219 persons were injured, some are still in critical condition,” he said.

“The economy of the state has seriously suffered because thousands of shops were destroyed by the rampaging bandits who had displaced thousands of our people from their places of abode, many of whom cannot sleep with their two eyes closed because of fear.”

Yari said the government had written volumes of reports containing over 7,000 pages, giving details of the crises right from the beginning to the “infiltration from Libya and Boko Haram”.

He said the government was aware of eight prominent bandits camps at different locations in the state.

The governor said recent suspension of mining activities in the state by the federal government must “be followed by enforcement, because, it is one thing to ban, and another to enforce.”

Earlier, the IGP told the gathering that the police would take more proactive measures in the fight against bandits and commended the state government for providing “enabling environment” to security personnel to operate in the state.

Last week, 50 persons, including members of the civilian joint task force (CJTF), were reportedly killed in Kaura Namoda local government area in a single day.

-CABLE NIGERIA