My brothers and sisters,
It may interest you to note that today, 21-05-12 marks it a month if not for ur prayers and intervention by God; I would have lost my beloved wife and five beautiful kids in a ghastly motor accident involving my jeep and a trailer on 21st Dec, 2011. Today marks d five month that I would hv bn a widower but God said no. To Him who protects His people I owe all the thanks!
Watching the video and pixs of this fateful incident makes me wonder what is so special about me that made God to love me that much and allow such a miracle to come my way!
Imagine a mere Jeep encountering a trailer (DAF) and the bodies of the driver and conductor of the trailer was picked up in pieces while my wife and five of our kids were preserved and unhurt! Have u ever seen such a miracle before? Na wao o! This God is something else o!
Pls as good friend and brother, help me to continue to thank this God as I am confused on how to go about it.
Thanks and have a great week ahead.
~ By Chief Eze C Eze
Attack on Jega’s convoy uncalled for
~ By Nwaorgu Faustinus
Professor Attahiru Jega.
Sir, the attack on the convoy of the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Attahiru Jega while emerging from the palace of Emir of Kazaure, Alhaji Najib Hussaini Adamu in Jigawa State is unwarranted. One now questions when it has become a crime to attend or honour wedding invitation of an Emir whose daughter is being wedded.
Reports said that trouble started around 12:30 pm when the INEC chairman emerged from the Emir’s palace and was identified by the youths who have gathered at the place to witness the ceremony, where upon “a young girl allegedly led the attack when she collected sand and threw it at the vehicle in which the INEC chairman was riding@”.
According to Sunday Vanguard, the youths “began to hurl stones at Jega’s convoy. Several cars in the convoy were said to have been damaged and their glasses smashed. Sources said the situation would have been worse but for the intervention of security forces. The youths sang war songs alleging betrayal on Jega’s path”.
For me this is not the best way to express one’s anger or protest for alleged election rigging as according to the youths and as reported in the Sunday Vanguard of May 20, 2012: “You cheated us, you cheated the North, you declared falsed result, you denied General Buhari the chance to be the president of Nigeria, it was injustice, we will not forgive you”, some of them said. 2015 is not too far a period, these youth should have waited till 2015 to massively vote for Buhari that is if he clinches his party’s ticket to run for the highest office in the land rather than attacking Prof. Jega.
Needless to say that this shameful act is the aftermath of the alleged inflammatory and inciting remarks made by Buhari who has been belligerent, frustrated and angry for not being able to occupy Aso Rock, having contested four times for the seat and failed.
If I were Buhari, I would have invested energy, time and money in more useful ventures than to continue to waste huge amount of money that would have impacted positively on the lives of his numerous supporters rather than chasing the wind. He should borrow a leaf from the likes of the Dangote’s, as his past records which are negative do not speak well of him. It can only be imagined what Nigerians can benefit from a coup plotter and executioner, anti-journalists, regionalist, non-conformist, alleged advocate of the sharialization of Nigeria etc. Let it be known that Buhari will be a hard Presidential aspirant to market to Nigerian electorates as he is being pursued by karma every step of the way in his bid to be president of Nigeria.
The attack on Jega should not be treated with kid’s glove as it is an indication of the alleged potency of Buhari’s remarks in the minds of his supporters.
~ Nwaorgu Faustinus writes from Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Mobile: +2348035601312. Email: fausteness@yahoo.com.
Examination malpractice: who is to blame?
~ By Nwaorgu Faustinus
Cheating at an examination. Photo Credit: The Feathers Project.
The is one ill which has bedevilled the educational system and if honestly confronted head-on and eliminated will change the perception which the comity of nations do have about Nigeria certificates and thus make our certificates acceptable and by extension Nigeria good place where honesty and transparency is venerated. This ill that has eaten so deep into the bone marrow of our educational system is examination malpractice. Examination malpractice can be defined as any illegal and unlawful help, aid and or assistance extended to any candidate or group of candidates in an examination hall, room or auditorium. It is seen as illegal, unlawful and unauthorized because it is not permitted by examination agency.
Cheating students in Nigeria. Photo Credit. NAIJAEDU.
At present, hardly can you see candidates who are preparing for the SSCE, WASEC and NECO burning the midnight oil or having sleepless night and exam fever. Till Day Breaks (TDB’s) is no longer the norm for candidates who are preparing for their exams. It is no longer a thing of disgrace to be caught cheating in exam hall or talking to a fellow candidate to aid exam fraud. The graveyard tranquillity which characterized exam halls in the good old days has suddenly disappeared and has been replaced by “hullabaloo” as teachers read out answers to the questions asked and the inability of a greater percentage of candidates who cannot spell words, ask teachers to spell it for them, thus compelling the teacher to write the answers on the board.
These days there are no obvious signs that tell you a candidate for GCE, SSCE or NECO is preparing for it. What most candidates have imbibed is the habit to watch Nigerian Home Videos till late hours, going to parties, chatting on the internet and watching English Premiership or European Champions league. The above features have taken over the burning of midnight oil.
Most candidates especially in private secondary and even in public schools know beforehand that they will be helped or assisted during the examination by their teachers. This justifies their nonchalant attitude towards taking their studies seriously. I was appalled by the revelation of a secondary leaver who took part in the 2009 SSCE as an external candidate in one of the private schools here in Rivers state. She said they were compelled by the school authority to pay #500 per subject so that answers to the questions will be made available to them or risk the rejection of their answer script.
No doubt, most private and handful of public schools have turned into “Miracle Centre or Commercial Outfits where SSCE, NECO and GCE candidates pass their papers with ease. This accounts for the sudden upsurge in the number of candidates in such private schools who register as external candidates for the exam.
Today, the phrase “everyone has a price”, in the Nigeria context is not in doubt. This is why invigilators, supervisors and teachers appointed to conduct exam compromise their integrity by corruptly enriching themselves while aiding and abetting exam fraud. Some candidates and teachers do connive to bribe supervisors to look the other way as they unleash unprecedented fraud in the exam hall. As a result one can easily see candidates using textbook and key points freely to supply answers to questions asked. What an unfortunate state of affairs!
The apportioning of blame should not only be meted out to parents and their wards, the Miracle Centres and their teachers but also to examination agency who are not ignorant of sitting capacity of single hall facility and sitting arrangement between one seat and the other during SSCE, NECO and so on. It is not in doubt that May/June SSCE and NECO are for internal students but one wonders why examination bodies pretend and allow the schools to register out-of-school especially students who are in the universities battling to make up their papers.
Spouses who have prior knowledge of their children academic deficiencies do not only embrace the Miracle Centres by paying outrageous sums of money to have their wards registered but also go extra miles to contract the service of mercenaries. The reasons given by parent are that, they will not be able to pay such amount the following year for the same exam. As regrettable as this wisdom is, parents do not seem to look beyond their nose as to the future this fraud could usher in or portend to humanity if it is not nipped in the bud. These products of Miracle Centres are the ones finding it difficult to pass the not long post UME tests which has generated criticisms.
It therefore behoves the various actors in this fraud to re-examine themselves as unexamined life is not life and turn over a new leaf. Teachers, invigilators, students among others who collaborate to orchestrate examination malpractice should be adequately punished to serve as inhibition to would-be or prospective examination fraudsters. Students of public and private schools as well as those who aid them in this ignoble act should be reoriented on the dangers of such acts. It is when this is done that there could be some level of integrity in our examination halls.
~ Nwaorgu Faustinus writes from Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Mobile: +2348035601312. Email: fausteness@yahoo.com.
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