Category: EDUCATION

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EDUCATION

Don’t be deceived by early rain, NiMet cautions farmers

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), has advised farmers to ignore the current early rainfall across the country and not start early planting.

Mr Zakariyau Abdulrasheed, General Manager, NiMet’s Network Services, gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.

Abdulrasheed, said that the agency, in its 2019 Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP) had issued an early warning to farmers and others who depended on rainfall for other uses, to be guided accordingly with the early start of rains.

He said that the agency still stood by what it had predicted, adding that NiMet would continue to monitor the climate and inform the public on any new developments.

“In our seasonal rainfall prediction, we predicted that there would be late on set of rains in many parts of the country.

“We still stand by that prediction and we are advising farmers to adhere strictly to the early warning to avoid losses.

“The rain you are having now, especially around the North central, is weather variations that occurs from time to time.

“It is the fluctuations of Inter-Tropical Discontinuity (ITD) northwards.

“This is not an onset of growing season; therefore farmers are advised to be patient because we predicted that rainy season would commence in April.

“If there is going to be any change, we will inform the stakeholders and the general public about any new finding,” he said.

NAN reports that NiMet had predicted lower-than-normal rainfall over most parts of Nigeria in 2019 with an expected late start of rains in the north.

It also predicted that the south-eastern zone and the coastal areas would experience the normal onset of rains.

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EDUCATION

Zaria records first rain in 2019

Rainfall
Rainfall

Zaria in Kaduna State on Thursday recorded its first rainfall in 2019, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

The rainfall began at about 9:50 p.m. with showers It started after many had gone to bed.

When contacted on phone, a large scale farmer in Zaria, Malam Musa Dogara appreciated God Almighty for the blessing.

“We are happy that Almighty Allah, the creator of the heavens and the earth and all that contained therein, has blessed us with first rainfall in 2019 today.

“We pray Allah (SWT) will give us a blissful and bountiful rainy season and we hope government will make fertilisers, insecticides and other farming input readily available very early at subsidised prices.”

He said the rainfall had also made the environment cool and conducive.

Dogara advised farmers to get ready for the annual cultivation, adding that it seemed the rains might probably commence early.

He appealed to farmers to form cooperative societies, to benefit from different government policies and programmes.

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EDUCATION HEADLINES

Ali Baba and Oshodi policemen

 

Celebrated comedian, Ali Baba, has shared an experience he had with some policemen in the Oshodi area of Lagos.

It is another story of the Nigerian factor.

He noted on Instagram:

‘After being in traffic, onward Oshodi bridge, I came down from the car at Anthony and walked down to see what was causing the gridlock. There were police officers and LASTMA men, stopping vehicles in the middle of the road. And this had backed up traffic all the way to TREM.

The T.O, who now recognised me, told them to let traffic flow “before he go am for television”. Now is that the problem of leadership? Yes. Because if they were punished for punishing people and making many miss their flights, by their superiors, they will know better than to let that happen. Again, If there was good train system, would they be stopping trains on the tracks? Finally, we are our own problems.”

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS EDUCATION HEADLINES

 10 things you didn’t know about the woman who gave Baba Suwe N10m

Lolade Ogunbowale

  1. Reverend Mother Esther Ajayi is the founder of the Love of Christ Generation (C&S) Church, London.
  2. Esther Ajayi was a furniture seller before she became a soul winner.
  3. Esther Ajayi ,who is also a philanthropist, will soon join Nigerian Private Jet owners.
  4. The Ooni of Ife recently enthroned Esther Ajayi as the Iya Adura of Ile-Ife Land.
  5. She’s a writer, one of her books is titled ‘Crazy Faith’.
  6. Reverend Esther Ajayi built her first storey buildings before age 25
  7. Her journey into ministry started in 1997
  8. Esther Ajayi is an Awori woman
  9. She is the founder of Esther Ajayi foundation, a foundation that takes care of people with disabilities in Africa and now working extensively in Nigeria.
  10. Her church was built with #2 billion within 8 months.
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EDUCATION HEADLINES NEWS & LIFE

Ghana immigration arrests 72 Nigerian prostitutes

 

A week after Nigerian authorities protested the deportation of Nigerians by Ghana, some other 72 Nigerians in the West African country may again be in soup.

According to a video shared on Twitter by a Ghanian journalist, Ameyaw Debrah, they were arrested for alleged prostitution in Adenla community, alongside a Togolese and two Ghanaians.

Debrah said the Nigerians were bound for deportation..

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDUCATION NEWS & LIFE

Another Yoruba actor dies

 

Tobi Ijalana

 

Tragedy, Yoruba actor, Alfred Rotimi, is dead

Yoruba actor, Alfred Rotimi Popoola, aka Ilu Venture has passed away.

Popoola passed away on Thursday, February in Abeokuta, Ogun State, according to the Theatre Arts and Movie Practitioners Association of Nigeria, TAMPAN.

In a statement confirming his death, the association announced plans by the actor’s family to bury him on today.

“There will be a short memorial service at St Jude Cathedral, Church, Iberekodo, Abeokuta by 12:00noon on February 28th. In order to give him last respect we planned to join the family at Lantoro Mortuary by 10am tomorrow from where we will move to the church. May his soul rest in peace! Ilu oooo digba ooo se,” the statement read.

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EDUCATION

Lassa Fever: Ondo records 15 deaths, from 105 cases in 2 months

Health
Health

No fewer than 102 people have been confirmed to be positive with Lassa fever, in addition to 15 deaths recorded in Ondo State between January and Febuary.

Dr Wale Oke, the State Chairman of Nigerian Medical Association (NAN), told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Akure.

“As at Thursday Feb. 21, 102 people have been tested positive to Lassa fever this year.

“82 people in Jan. and 20 people so far in February apart from 15 deaths recorded in January as a result of the fever but no death has been recorded so far in Feb.

“Most people that died either reported late or were already subjected to alternative treatment and doing self medication before they eventually came to hospital.

“Their kidneys and livers had been affected as a result of the delay,” he said

Oke, who is also a staff member at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, urged residents of the state to report early to the medical centre if they experienced upsurge of temperature in their bodies.

“We have Contact Tracing Mechanism whereby we can place on surveillance for 21 days for those that may have contact with infected persons.

“We continue to monitor their temperature if it is above 37.8 we direct them for quick treatment,’’ he said.

According to him, the centre has the highest success rate out of the three treatment centres in Nigeria for Lassa fever treatment.

He added that the State Government had put in place measures to curtail the fever, adding that the government had declared state of emergency on health sector.

Oke explained that Ondo NMA alongside Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and others had engaged in series of sensitisation for the people of the state.

He explained that the exercise was aimed at preventing further cases in the state.

“Since the outbreak of Lassa fever, we have been moving round all the health facilities to sensitise our people to the need to maintain universal caution and also to be vigilant about Lassa fever.

“So far, we have been to almost all the local government areas in the state. We rounded off with Akoko last Wednesday.

“NMA is concerned with the infection, prevention and control out of the so many pillars involved in the management of Lassa fever, hence the basis for the sensitisation.’’

However, OKE revealed that Owo, Ose, Akoko North, Akure South and Akure North were the Local Government Areas in the state that had recorded cases of Lassa fever .

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EDUCATION

America’s celebrity Kevin Hart purchases artwork of Kaduna artist on Twitter

Eli Waduba pencil-drawing Kevin Hart
Eli Waduba pencil-drawing Kevin Hart

American comedian and actor, Kevin Hart has purchased a pencil drawing of himself from Kaduna-based artist, Eli Waduba on Twitter.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Hart, on Wednesday, also commissioned additional drawings for three of his unnamed celebrity friends.

Waduba, a hyperrealistic pencil artist, started a campaign to get Hart’s attention on Tuesday by posting the artwork on his Twitter handle @Ewaduba.

He wrote, “My name is Eli Waduba Yusuf. Am a Nigerian, based in Kaduna. I am a hyperrealism PENCIL Artist, I hope to become like @Harinzeyart. Please Retweet, let @KevinHart4real see it, thank you.”

The post, has since gathered over 13,000 retweets and 42,000 likes with fellow Nigerians posting the artwork on their social media pages to catch Hart’s attention.

He finally responded and offered the artist more work. He said, “I see it and I want to purchase it.

“I also want to support you and your amazing talent by giving you a fee to do a pencil drawing of 3 of my celebrity friends that I can gift it to. DM your info and let’s get to work!”

Nigerians, that have followed the campaign from the beginning went on to congratulate Waduba and thank Hart for supporting the artist.

@Knaikky tweeted, “Your gift have brought you before a king, Congratulations. Hardwork and Dilligence still pays.”

@Misterfreebiez said, “This Eli Waduba and Kevin hart story still shows we still have hard working people in this country.”

@Mosopemi said, “Thank you! On behalf of Eli, we say thank you, Kevin!”

@Oladesy tweeted, “for recognizing this pure talent and acknowledging it, we Nigerians say thank you. God bless you big!”

NAN reports that there has been a rising of hyperrealistic artists in Nigeria with an online community called ‘We Are Nigerian Creatives’.

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EDUCATION NEWS & LIFE

WHO DG expresses fears about Ebola outbreak in Congo

The Durector-General of the World Health Organization  Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called on donors to continue funding the response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or risk backsliding. 
There is an urgent need for US $148 million for all partners involved in the response to continue their work. So far, under US $10 million has been pledged. 
The call comes a week ahead of Dr Tedros’ next mission to DRC. He is scheduled to meet President Tshisekedi in Kinshasa before travelling to the Ebola-stricken areas of Butembo and Katwa.

“The situation is unprecedented: there has never been  an Ebola outbreak in these conditions, with such a highly mobile population and  with many gaps in the health system .” said Dr Tedros.

“The security context is another major concern. I am deeply saddened by reports that a health facility run by Médecins Sans Frontières in Katwa was attacked on Sunday night. Nevertheless, together with partners and with the Democratic Republic of the Congo government in the lead, we have made major gains. Hundreds of deaths have been averted, maybe even thousands. But the outbreak is not over and we urgently need additional funding to see it through.”

Over 80,000 people have been vaccinated and over 400 have received treatment. Thousands of suspect cases have been monitored, tested and transferred to other centres once they were confirmed to not have Ebola. More than 40,000 contacts have been identified and reached daily for three weeks each to ensure they did not fall sick as well. WHO alone has shipped over 300 metric tons of supplies, including vaccination supplies and 470,000 sets of personal protective equipment for partners running treatment centres.

Alongside the response in the country, hundreds of health workers, border officers and other responders in neighbouring countries have been trained and prepared for a responding to a potential case.

Response partners have contained the outbreak in successive health zones, and prevented transmission to neighbouring countries, demonstrating that success is possible despite the difficult context. However, the on-going transmission in Butembo and Katwa, with the potential for the outbreak to reach into even more volatile and dangerous areas – where almost no partners could be able to operate. This is why support is needed now. Only if current actions are sustained and intensified will we be able to end this outbreak in the coming months.

The response plan for the period February to July, which brings together the planned actions and funding needs of all partners, was launched  by the country’s health minister on 13 February. It anchors the response in local health system structures, strengthening the capacities of local responders, especially at provincial and local levels, and deepening the involvement of local communities, especially women’s groups and survivors.

“We have a shared responsibility to end this outbreak,” said Dr Tedros, adding that the continuing generous technical and financial support from the donor community is proof of the global commitment to stopping the outbreak.  “We now need them to join us in the final push. No country or partner can face this deadly virus alone. The impact on public health and the economic ramifications can expand far beyond one country or continent. We promise we won’t relent until we’ve stopped this outbreak. But beating Ebola, wherever it may be, is expensive. It requires all of us to work together.”
Source: WHO
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EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL

Plagiarism costs film star Zhai Tianlin his PhD

After apologising and admitting to mistakes, Chinese TV and film star Zhai Tianlin has lost his doctoral degree amid findings of plagiarism, writes Michelle Wong for the South China Morning Post.

The Beijing Film Academy’s Performing Arts School decided to rescind Zhai’s PhD, obtained last year, and his former professor Chen Yi’s qualifications for teaching doctoral candidates, according to a statement by the institution posted on Chinese microblogging platform Weibo last week.

On Saturday, Peking University also issued a statement expelling Zhai from a two-year doctoral research programme on the value chain of the cultural industry at Guanghua School of Management, which admitted the television star last month. The Beijing Film Academy confirmed the plagiarism while Peking University had verified his academic misconduct. Both institutions apologised for a lack of cautiousness in their monitoring.
Full report on the South China Morning Post site

Source: wwwuniversityworldpress