**A SLAP, TO THE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION!**

B/Haram Takes Schoolgirls To Chad, Cameroon; Marries Them Off On N2,000 Bride Price Each

Most of the 234 Borno schoolgirls in Boko Haram captivity have been ferried abroad to Chad and Cameroon after they were married off to sect members on N2,000 bride price each, an elder told Daily Trust yesterday.
The female students were taken from their hostels at the Government Girls Secondary School Chibok on the night of April 14.
About 40 had escaped in the days after the incident, but parents and school authorities said at least 234 of them were yet to be found.
Dr. Pogu Chibok, who is the leader of the Chibok Elders Forum, told Daily Trust yesterday that latest information available to them indicates that most of the girls have been taken to the neighboring Cameroon and Chad by their captors.
He said before they were ferried in canoes across the Lake Chad, a wedding ceremony was conducted at a town on the border with Cameroon where they were married off to Boko Haram militants.
He said N2,000 was paid as bride price on each of the girls to the specific Boko Haram members who took them from their school and who had assumed “ownership” of the students.
“They ferried them in canoes to Cameroon and Chad republic after they were wedded off to Boko Haram members who bidded (sic) and paid N2,000 each as dowries on their heads,” Bitrus said.
“The dowry was paid to their captors, the very people who abducted them from their school. One of them who married one of the girls took her to a border town close to Cameroon where villagers saw her.”
Following their abduction, the schoolgirls were thought to be first taken to the Boko Haram camps in the notorious Sambisa Forest. Reports later said villagers had seen the girls being conveyed in trucks to other locations.
Bitrus said yesterday: “So many sources have informed us that the girls have been taken to Cameroon. Many villagers said they saw the girls being transported in trucks and then in canoes.
“On Sunday they were taken to Dikwa area where they (Boko Haram) have a camp there. From there they took them to Marte, then Monguno before they were finally ferried in canoes. It was yesterday we got this latest report of them being married off to the insurgents by their captors.”
He said sources in Cameroon told them that most of the girls were now being held at “an area where the Boko Haram operates in Cameroon.”
‘Crying day and night’
On whether military authorities were informed about the movements of the girls, Bitrus said: “The military was alerted on Tuesday about two weeks ago when some villagers saw many of the girls being transported in trucks, some with even their school uniforms. The villagers tried calling the senator representing the zone but they couldn’t get him so they went to Bama barracks where they reported the matter.
“At the Bama barracks they were told that they must put it in writing, that that is the military tradition. At that time if the military had intervened they would have stopped them from reaching their destination.
“And the fact that for nearly two weeks we have been talking about this and nothing is being done, then there are questions we have to ask. Nobody did anything.”
Bitrus sobbed as he spoke to our reporter yesterday.
“What is happening with the Nigerian nation? I think we demand some answers. Today it is happening to these unfortunate girls from Chibok, tomorrow it may be somewhere else and that is why all Nigerians must rally around us on this,” he said.
“If these captors are trying to achieve a political point, I think the best thing is for us to try to make sure that they don’t succeed but from all indications they are succeeding due to inaction of government. It is helping these people in achieving their objectives.”
Earlier yesterday, Bitrus spoke to the BBC Hausa radio saying “parents of these girls have been angry that despite the existence of government, there has not been concrete effort from government on the matter.
“Female parents have been crying day and night, because nobody knows what government is doing about the whole issue. All that we read in the papers is that Nigerian Army have done this or that.”
When contacted over claims that the military was informed of the movement of the schoolgirls, the Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade, told Daily Trust: “The concern and anxiety from all quarters is quite understandable. Please be assured that as much as the forces may not disclose details of action being taken to secure the freedom of the girls, every information received on the subject is duly analyzed and acted upon as necessary.
“No information is being ignored in the concerted effort to ensure the safety and freedom of the girls. Just pray for the successful outcome of all efforts please.”

We Agitate For Peaceful democratic revolution As that Is The solution to our problems!!

How Arisekola-Alao’s son, others allegedly obtained N1.1bn subsidy payment — EFCC

A prosecution witness, Mr Effa Okim, on Monday told an Ikeja High Court how an oil marketer, Abdullahi Alao, allegedly conspired with others to commit N1.1 billion fuel subsidy fraud.

Okim, an investigative officer with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) testified at the resumption of Alao’s trial.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the accused is the son of prominent Ibadan-based businessman, Alhaji Abdullazeez Arisekola-Alao.

The accused is being prosecuted alongside two other oil marketers, Opeyemi Ajuyah and Olarenwaju Olalusi and their companies– Majope Investment Ltd. and Axenergy Ltd.

They are facing an eight-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money under false pretences, forgery, altering and use of false documents.

Okim, under cross-examination by Alao’s counsel, Mr Aderemi Oguntoye, explained that he was the head of the EFCC subsidy team which investigated the transaction.

He said their investigations revealed that the marketers imported 15,000 metric tonnes of petroleum products, but only discharged 4,264 metric tonnes at Lister Jetty in Apapa.

According to him, the 4,264 metric tonnes was taken by Oando Plc, while the products remaining on board the vessel, MT Brave, were taken away to an unknown location.

“My Lord, the over 10,000 metric tonnes remaining on board was not discharged within our domestic shores.

“We do not know where the products were taken to,” the witness said.

Okim said the marketers were charged to court because they had obtained the subsidy payment for 15,000, instead of the 4,264 metric tonnes they discharged into the facility.

NAN reports that the matter was adjourned to April 8 for continuation of trial.

Chelsea 2-0 PSG; The Four Key Players That Mattered

The Champions League barely has a dull moment and Tuesday night was no less a spectacle to all.
Chelsea had to make a replica of Napoli’s visit just two years ago. The blues went ahead under 15minutes and Andre Shurlle, it took all match before Chelsea could find the Equalizer As Substitute Demba Ba Scored his only Shot on Target.
David Luiz:
Only few would doubt the Brazilian’s abilities but with and 6 clearances and a 100percent Headed Duel won Luiz was rock solid in his Defensive Midfeild role. But that was not just all he did Luiz also made 39 Passes and made the assist to the first Goal.
Demba Ba;
What has been said is how poor the Senagalise striker has been for Chelsea all season, what hasn’t been said his the 27 year old has now scored 3 Champions League Goals from 5 shots on Target. He may not have known how the ball went in against PSG but it may just be one that spurs Chelsea all the way.
Willian
When Oscar was taken off, it seemed the best option. Unlike his brazilian teammate, Willian was causing a lot of trouble Driving into the heart of PSG. The 26-year old made a pass completion rate of 93percent, made 2 tackles and made 3 take ons to earn the man of the match award.
Terry
He may be over the Climax of his age, but on the night where lampard failed to perform chelsea needed another Veteran to step up and Terry did just that. Even when The English man looked to sustain a knee injury he stayed on to keep his Team in the game. With 33 complete passes and 5 interceptions, the team would definitely look to have their Vice Captain for another year.
Mourinho was looking very optimistic in his prematch press conference hoping for a happy match for his men, he has it now they must start to prepare for their next opponents.

Buhari/Tinubu Ticket: APC Christian Leaders Threaten To Quit Party

Prominent Christians in the country’s biggest opposition party, All Progressives Congress, are threatening to quit the party over an alleged plan to field a Muslim/Muslim presidential ticket. There has been speculation in recent times that power brokers in the party have concluded plans to present a Muslim/Muslim ticket for the 2015 presidential election.
But it was gathered that some leaders of the party, who are Christians, are insisting that the party should present a Muslim/Christian ticket through a primary election or they would leave the party.
The leaders also kicked against a consensus candidature, which they described as an imposition by a section of the leadership.
There were reports last week that the hierarchy of the party had concluded plans to field a former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and a former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, as the party’s presidential candidates through a consensus arrangement.
Both Buhari and Tinubu are Muslims.
Sources said party strategists hoped that the Muslim/Muslim arrangement would help the party sweep the North-West, North-East, South-West and Edo State in the South-South. Buhari is hugely popular in the North-West and North-East while his proposed running mate, Tinubu is a major political power broker in the South-West and some parts of the South-South.
Even though the party, through its spokesman, Mr. Lai Mohammed, has denied the plan to present a Buhari/Tinubu ticket, it has not stopped prominent Christian members from protesting and threatening to quit the party.
It was further learnt that those angry with the leadership of the party included members who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC.
Five PDP governors, 37 members of the House of Representatives and members of the defunct New PDP, a breakaway faction of the PDP, had dumped the ruling party for the opposition party in 2013.
On Friday, majority of the Christian leaders described the alleged plan to field Buhari and Tinubu as the party’s candidates as “unfair and inconsiderate.”
A top Christian official of the party, who spoke to one of our correspondents on the condition of anonymity, said aspirants should go through a primary election and the party must present a Muslim/Christian ticket to the electorate.
“They have been nursing the plan for long and they are close to hatching it. Any Buhari/Tinubu or Muslim/Muslim ticket may mark the end of the party. It will be an insult to us the Christians and we will not hesitate to leave their party for them,” the source stated.
Another aggrieved top shot of the party, who also pleaded anonymity, said although Buhari and Tinubu had not made their intention to contest known, the alleged plan was already creating tension in the party.
“That is what they want to do and we will not agree with it. A lot of us are aware but nobody wants to speak out yet. It is an open secret; everybody is aware. There is a massive reaction against it from all corners. Even APC members in the United Kingdom and America are protesting. Christian leaders in Nigeria have been calling us to say they will not support a Muslim/Muslim ticket.
“They stand the risk of splitting this party if they are not careful. This is a very sad development. The Peoples Democratic Party will take advantage of it. Some people that joined us from the PDP are already threatening to go back because of this Muslim/Muslim ticket controversy,” the source stated
Similarly, the first civilian governor of Edo State, John Odigie-Oyegun, who is a prominent member of APC said that a primary election must take place to elect candidates.
He said, “I know the party has been discussing this issue (ticket) and we are in the process of setting up our structures. It is for the people to decide; not even the national executive can take that decision. We must have primaries. Even if there is only one aspirant, we will still conduct a primary election to confirm the aspirant. It is impossible to impose. Who can impose? With the way the party is structured, it won’t be easy for anybody to impose.”
A former Minister of Aviation and member of the APC, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode, had on Monday warned the leadership of the party against fielding Muslims as both its presidential and vice-presidential candidates in the election.

He said, “I have said it privately in countless political meetings and I will say it publicly today. Please mark it, the biggest mistake that my party, the APC, can make is to field a Muslim/Muslim ticket in the 2015 Presidential election. If we do that, we will not only offend the Christian community but we will also lose the election woefully.”
However, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Nasir el-Rufai, in his response to Fani-Kayode on social media, said the APC would present an integrity-competence ticket and not one based on religion. “Politics and governance are not to be mixed or dictated to by any religion,” he stated.
El-Rufai added, “The APC will present to Nigerians the best persons with the integrity, capacity and competence to create jobs, fight corruption and rebuild our nation without discrimination.
“How these persons worship the Almighty God is private to them and does not matter to discerning Nigerians, particularly young people that suffer most from bad governance, unemployment and the Jonathanian culture of impunity.”
However, Fani-Kayode advised those nursing the plan to forget about it.
He said, “Presenting a Muslim/Muslim ticket for the 2015 presidential election no matter how cleverly rationalised, defended or justified in the pursuit of an ideal or in the name of political correctness, will be a terrible insult to the 80 million Christians that are part and parcel of this country and it will result in their voting, en masse, for another party.”
He said present-day politics was different from that of 1993, when a Muslim/Muslim ticket won the presidential election. He warned that Christians should not be taken for granted or sacrificed “on the altar of political expediency.”
“Any party that seeks to do that ceases to be a political party and can be better described as a religious cult and no Christian worth his salt can or will ever be a member of such a cult. I will not be a party to such and I will leave if they are not comfortable with the truth.” the ex-minister stated.
Another Christian leader of the party, who did not want his name mentioned, on Friday said the party risked disintegration, if the leadership decided to present its candidates through consensus arrangement. He said all aspirants should be offered a level–playing field.
“If they pick Buhari as the consensus candidate, or even if he wins in the primary contest, and he picks a Muslim running mate, what do you think would happen? Do you think the Christian leaders in the APC would sit back and take that?
“They know what the reaction would be but they don’t care. They believe they can attract Muslims from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC to support them; they will get the votes of Muslims in the core North and in the North-Central; and they believe they will add up the votes of Muslims in the South-West.
“The APC might lose in the South-West, where the votes of Muslims and Christians are almost 50-50. Yoruba Christians will not support such a thing no matter what. The electorate in the South-East, the South-South and Christians in the North-Central would not support a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
“The PDP would attract all these people and President Goodluck Jonathan will come back. They think they can use religion to defeat Jonathan but every Christian will leave the APC.”
In a related development, the Christian Association of Nigeria has faulted a Muslim/Muslim ticket for the presidency. It said the norm was that a Muslim would pick a Christian running mate.
The General Secretary, CAN, Rev. Musa Asake, said, “If you look at the composition of the APC right now, they are strictly a Muslim party. When late Chief MKO Abiola ran for presidency (in 1993), he was a Muslim and he chose a Muslim running mate. Sections unanimously voted for him without complaints. But you won’t get such from the Muslims. They want us to follow them, whether we like it or not.
“They are changing the politics in Nigeria but we are not going to go in that direction again. They should be very careful.
Speaking through the former National Publicity Secretary of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, Buhari said there would be no imposition in the APC.
He said, “Everything is still very speculative. If you look at how late Chief Obafemi Awolowo played his politics, he didn’t take all these religious balances into account. He went for the best candidates in his time.
“It was during the 2011 elections that religious intolerance and religious politics was raised to a very feverish height in this nation.”
Efforts to reach the Interim National Publicity Secretary, APC, Lai Mohammed, were abortive as his telephone line was switched off, while a text message sent to him was not replied.

Police seals off church, arrests pastor for burying a two-year-old baby alive in Lagos

The Nigeria Police has sealed off the Christ Gospel Apostolic Church located in Egbeda area of Lagos and arrested the pastor for allegedly burying a two-year-old baby,alive.
Report says policemen attached to the Idimu Division invaded the church recently and exhumed the body of the victim for autopsy and subsequently arrested the pastor of the church whose name was given as Dare Ogunloye.
It was gathered that the Divisional Police Officer, Mike Ochuko, ordered his men to exhume the corpse from the church premises for autopsy.
Sources said the traditional ruler of Egbeda kingdom, Oba Samson Balogun who waded into the case had called on the Lagos State Government to shut the church if the allegation was true.
The man of God met his Waterloo when a resident close to the church who had gone out to ease himself at about 2 am saw the man burying the child within the church premises.
He is currently cooling his heels at the police station.

LADOJA, SENATORS, CONFAB DELEGATES IN NEAR AIR MISHAP

A former governor of Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, and several delegates to the ongoing National Conference escaped death by the whiskers on Monday when the Overland Airways plane they boarded had its wing damaged while airborne.

According to an eyewitness account, the Overland Airways plane, with registration number 5NBPE, which took off from the Ibadan, Oyo State airport, had its wing damaged as it was approaching the Niger State airspace and had to make a detour to the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos.

One of the passengers involved revealed that some of the passengers fainted on hearing the bad news.
After about three hours stay in Lagos, the passenger said: “We were moved into another Overland aircraft with registration number 5N-BPF which arrived from Enugu.”

The delegates were returning to Abuja to resume plenary at the ongoing National Conference.
Other delegates on board of the plane were a former President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Comrade Lanre Ogundipe; Senators Gbenga Kaka from Ogun State and Hosea Agboola from Oyo State and Demola Akinlabi, an officer in the Accountant General of the Federation’s Office.

Others were the Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Prince Gbade Lana and a Federal National Population Commissioner, Abdul-Lateef Gbadamosi.

Ladoja was due to take his turn at the National Conference on Monday.

However, due to the near air mishap, which resulted in his absence, his turn was skipped.
The incident was confirmed by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) which said that adomestic flight 1170 operated by Overland Airways with an ATR-42  aircraft diverted from Ibadan enroute Abuja to Lagos early Monday, following a reported cracked windshield.

According to information gathered, the  pilot while airborne noticed some  cracks on the windshield and subsequently requested to divert the aircraft  to Lagos (being the base of the  airline)  to allow for change of plane for the passengers.

A statement issued by NAMA added that the plane, which was airborne around 9.42 a.m, diverted  by, landing in Lagos at  9.43 a.m.
The agency said 42 passengers  and six crew members were onboard the aircraft as of the time of the incident .

“There is no cause for alarm as the diversion  was precautionary and this comforms with the basic safety  norms of the industry,” NAMA declared.

Wind shear according to aviation terminology is a microscale meteorological phenomenon occurring over a very small distance, but it can be associated with weather features such as squall lines and cold fronts.

It is commonly observed near microbursts and downbursts caused by thunderstorms, fronts, areas of locally higher low level winds referred to as low level jets, near mountains, radiation inversions that occur due to clear skies and calm winds, buildings, wind turbines, and sailboats.

Wind shear has a significant effect during take-off and landing of aircraft due to its effects on control of the aircraft, and it has been a sole or contributing cause of many aircraft accidents.

THE MOURINHO IMPACT

Jose Mourinho’s arrival as Chelsea manager in 2004-5 season changed the fortunes of Chelsea, it also changed the fortunes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Everton. The following events happened in Mourinho’s 1st coming in 2004-5:
1-Liverpool won a major trophy (the Champions league) a trophy they had not won in over 20 years
2-Arsenal won the F.A Cup beating Man United in the final of 2005, that season marked the last time Arsenal won a cup
3-Everton finished 4th in the league table, ahead of Liverpool attaining their highest Premier league finish.

Fast forward to Mourinho’s 2nd coming in the 2013-14 season, and the following can still happen

1-Liverpool can win a major trophy (the league title), a trophy they have not won in over 20 years
2-Arsenal can win the F.A Cup
3-Everton can finish 4th

is he that special ?

Goodluck Jonathan's Daughter Gets 80 Car Gifts At Wedding

Emerging report has it that it was a windfall of a sort at the traditional wedding ceremony of the daughter of President Goodluck Jonathan in Bayelsa State. It was reported that nothing less than 80 brand cars were given the couple by guests at the event. NCRM is yet to verify the brand of cars, but a competent source at the wedding said ,they were exotic cars of different brands.. Practically all the Governors that attended presented the couple with a car each. Others were from friends, well wishers and contractors

**In a country where 90% of its populace languish in severe poverty including those represented by those Governors, they would continue to praise them, Nigerians are good in hiding feelings, they would continue to praise them. We are used to suffering and smiling!!

Weekly News Highlights

EUR/USD

Last week the EUR/USD pair initially increased slightly due to worse than expected pre-NFP data. However, on Wednesday the pair erased its previous gains as more and more investors speculated over a possible ECB interest rate increase. On Thursday, the Euro weakened once the ECB announced that its fiscal policy has remained unchanged. This proves that investors are aware of higher risk of deflation, which may lead to recession as seen in Japan. Friday’s Non-farm payrolls came out slightly below the expectation but the pair didn’t experience a significant reaction. This week the pair starts out slightly below the 1.3700 level. The main event is the FOMC meeting on Wednesday, when it is expected that Fed will withdraw another $10 billion per month from the monetary stimulus. Traders should keep an eye on the following events this week: U.S. JOLTS Job Opening (on Tuesday), ECB Monthly Bulletin (on Wednesday) and U.S. PPI (on Friday).

 

GOLD

Last week the price of Gold remained under pressure, but there were some signs of strengthening of physical demand. Traders were mainly waiting for the Non-farm payrolls data. As the job data came out slightly below expectation, the traders immediately reacted and the price jumped up from $1,287/ounce to $1,307/ounce. This commodity slightly reversed afterwards and ended the week on $1,303/ounce. This week investors should mainly pay attention to FOMC Meeting Minutes which will be released on Wednesday.

USD/JPY

The USD/JPY pair strengthened last week by almost 1.30 percent and reached the highest value since January (104.07). However, the pair slid to the 103.20 area once it was revealed that the Non-farm payrolls data did not beat the expectation The sentiment has remained bearish this week ahead of the BOJ Monetary Policy Statement (Tuesday morning GMT). The surveys shows that the general expectation is that the BOJ will continue the same fiscal policy without any changes. If any changes will be announced, it will likely cause the Yen to drop and the pair to reach the 104 level again. We should pay attention to the FOMC minutes on Wednesday and Japanese Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes on Thursday.

GBP/USD

Last week the GBP/USD pair decreased by more than more than 100 pips, from 1.6680 to 1.6570. The British pound suffered after the ECB decision was announced to leave the current policy unchanged, despite very low inflation. Even though the U.K. has its own currency, they are still dependent on the EU decision, which in this case hurt the pound. Also all of the U.K. PMI indices (Manufacturing, Construction and Services) came out last week below the expectation, which might hint to slower economic recovery. This week traders should pay attention to U.K. Manufacturing Production on Tuesday, the FOMC Meeting Minutes on Wednesday and the most important the U.K. Official Bank rate statement on Thursday.

Stroke is a fact of life

Stroke is a fact of life — a brutal one for that matter. While this is not to suggest that we should live in fear of this life-altering affliction, we should come to terms with the fact that the power to prevent it is in our hands.

More often than not, stroke creeps in unawares. The vast majority of those who had developed it say they didn’t see it coming. They had lived their lives the way most of us do, sometimes with the excesses of saturated fat-laden foods.

“This is why prevention is so important. You simply will not have any warning signs indicating that you’re heading for a stroke in the future. And once you suffer a stroke, the damage, should you survive it, can be absolutely devastating,” experts at an online portal, care2.com, enthuse.

A Consultant Neurosurgeon/Director, Stroke Action, Nigeria, Dr. Biodun Ogungbo, warns that the incidence of stroke is increasing worldwide, being the second leading cause of death in most industrialised countries among adults aged 65 and above.

And just before you say ‘Thank God, I’m not up to 65,’ know that people do develop stroke at the age of 35 these days. Ogungbo confirms this much when he revealed that they now see more stroke patients who are 40 years old!

As scary as it sounds, that an individual survived a stroke does not mean that he is out of danger: he risks having a second stroke, which usually proves fatal than the first. And that’s why physicians who attend to stroke patients do all that is within their power, medically, to prevent a second stroke in the same patient.

Know your risk

Experts say people living with hypertension, diabetes and sickle cell diseases; as well as those who are obese, smokers and those with a strong family history of stroke must be very careful with their health. Ogungbo suggests that such category of people must change their lifestyles or be on medications to prevent stroke.

As in many disease prevention strategies, experts advise that healthy dietary habits come in handy in staving off stroke as much as humanly possible. They are of the view that what you feed your body with will either make or mar your health and, consequently, determine your risk for stroke.

For instance, physicians say, cutting your risk of hypertension will also reduce your risk of stroke by more than 70 per cent. It’s a simple mathematics: Ogungbo says, “Hypertension is the single most important cause of stroke and the one that is eminently reducible by treatment. It has been estimated that between 52 and 70 per cent of stroke patients have hypertension.”

Again, controlling high blood pressure (aka hypertension) can reduce the incidence of second stroke, experts at the McMaster University, Ontario, Canada, assure. They warn, “The factor with the strongest link is high blood pressure, which more than doubles the risk of a stroke.”

Foods that stoke stroke

One way of cutting your risk of stroke by half is by eating well. Nutritionists and cardiologists agree that there are certain foods that act as poison in the body. The idea is that when you make such foods your favourites or must-haves, you might as well be laying the foundation for a life of pain that stroke is. What are these foods? Here we go…

Commercial baked goods

Experts say one type of stroke — ischemic stroke — accounts for about 87 per cent of all strokes and it occurs when a blood clot forms and blocks blood flow to the brain. They warn that if a blood clot forms somewhere in the body and breaks off to become free-floating, it may be carried through the bloodstream to the brain where it can cause ischemic stroke.

Where do these foods come in? For one, non-foods such as cakes, biscuits, pastries (meat pies, beef rolls, pizza, puff-puff, samosa, spring rolls, doughnuts), French fries… (you name it!) contribute in no small measure to developing high cholesterol level in the body. This is because they contain (partially) hydrogenated oils or trans fats.

Nutritionists note that trans fats is considered as the worst type of fat, especially because it makes food digestion very difficult. When the body is saturated with these foods, they can also form blood clot that eventually blocks blood flow to the brain.

Stroke results from an obstruction in a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain, physicians say.

Processed meats

Generally, processed meats such as hot dogs, bacon, salami, sausage, ham, bologna, smoked meats, etc., contain food preservatives such as sodium nitrate and nitrite. These have been shown by researchers to directly damage blood vessels, causing arteries to harden and narrow.

Again, their high cholesterol level is not in doubt, and they can lead to plaque build-up in the arteries (atherosclerosis).

“This plaque-build-up can block normal blood flow to the brain and cause a stroke. High cholesterol may also increase the risk of heart disease and atherosclerosis, which are both risk factors for stroke,” a cardiologist, Dr. Muyiwa Ogunleye, warns.

Alcohol

Researchers from the University of Lille Nord de France, Lille, France, report in the journal, Neurology, that heavy regular drinkers have a considerably higher risk of stroke early in life, compared to teetotalers or moderate drinkers.

Processed sugar

This is found in the so-called, ‘fruit’ juice (which, actually, contains NO fruit but are really made of concentrates, additives and artificial sweeteners), sweetened teas, and the so-called diet drinks.

The lie in the diet drinks is horrendous, as there are many of them in the food market that actually do more harm to the body than can be imagined.

Diet drinks come in various names and tastes. Yet, scientists, during a presentation at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference, showed that people who drink just one diet soda a day may increase their risk of stroke by 48 per cent!

Consequently, experts advise that we drink more water and avoid diet drinks like plague.

Excess salt

Ogunleye says hypertension is a major risk factor for stroke; and that consuming too much salt (sodium) in your diet can lead to hypertension. Here, we are talking about the regular, table salt, being the main source of dietary sodium in most people’s diet in this part of the world. While the cardiologist does not forbid anyone from eating salt, he counsels against using the salt shaker when eating; and also advises remarkable reduction in our salt use.

The bottom line: Eat your food as naturally as possible. Eat what you cook, as you are able to determine what goes into your pot, based on your dietary needs. And if you must eat any of the aforementioned foods, do so sparingly.

[OPINION] Dear President Obama, Please Don’t Return Abacha’s Loot To Jonathan, Abeg!

The United States has recently ordered a freeze on $458m in assets stolen by the former military ruler, Gen. Sani Abacha, and his accomplices.

The Federal Goverment was delighted with this development and seeks return of the loot. But do they deserve to get it back? And, if yes, then would this sum be allocated for the needs of Nigerians, or it would vaporize.

Learn more from the “letter” below:

We beg you dear America with everything you hold dear, please and please, do not repatriate that $458 million seized Abacha assets/loot to Nigeria right now. In case you do not know, though we know you know, there is a hole in the bucket right now.

To be more precise, we do not even have a bucket, we have a basket here at present. Bandits are in power. If you give them this money now, I promise you, we will be repatriating this very same $458 again, plus other billions (USD) in another 16 years. Guaranteed!

Something is missing over here so we cannot yet collect that money, please bear with us. Soon it will be repaired and then we will come for it; but for now, kindly keep it well as you have been. The last repatriated funds our leaders’ godfather got back from Switzerland and other of his looted billions of dollars we have been recovering locally, and from the Luxembourg and other stashes, only they know where the money is. The things they said they did with said funds are nowhere to be seen today. And this lemon in power currently did not fall too far from the tree.

The $458 will be gone before you can say “Jack Robinson”; before it even reaches Nigeria. That, sadly, is the way of things these days. We believe you heard about the Berne declaration report and how they steal billions of dollars of our earnings before it ever reaches our shores. This is what we go through. Right now, you can literally see them licking their fingers and fighting over how they will divide the $458 among themselves to buy more private jets and sponsor more terror to test their security in their fortified mansions and bombproof cars.

It is not a problem we cannot and will not handle. We are resolving this slight, dreadful glitch as we speak. It was an unfortunate situation, actually a series of unfortunate coincident incidents that got us here: an imprisonment and a death/murder; odd “coincidences” that got us this Good luck.

God bless you, enh, America, unna do well. To have actually kept the looted assets intact for 16 years; that is a miracle, the like of which is unheard of in these parts. Even for few minutes, billions of dollars will not be found over here, talk less 16 years.

In our country, while you are looking at the money like this, it will be disappearing. Pension, disappear. Subsidy, disappear. Oil revenue, disappear. NEITI/gas revenue, gone. Tax, gone! Road use tax, gone before it is started. Malibu, gone. NNPC $20-127 billion remittance, gone. The money I had in my pocket just now, gone. In fact, the $458, check it where you kept it. The government vipers have heard of it, it may have grown wings already!

As official reason not to remit these funds, please consider the implication of transferring such funds which will potentially be utilized to sponsor terror in Nigeria. It has been noted that as billions of dollars got missing from the nation’s coffers. Boko Haram and other deadly menaces in Nigeria happened to simultaneously get stinking rich and able to afford limitless sophisticated weaponry. We will not want funds released from the US to be used to sponsor al Qaeda and global terror via transfers from Boko Haram in Nigeria, through AQIM.

Please consider that at this time in our history, we would benefit immensely if there is a global ban on the purchase of our oil all together. We cause too much ecological pollution for the worth of the oil harvested from our country; and the earnings from the oil, of which most is looted, ends up doing us more harm than good. This is not the right time for us to get any more money from any source whatsoever.

Please consider this seriously. As obtains today, most of us live under a dollar a day, while the 1003 cabal and leaders, sorry, rulers who colonize us, live on over a million dollars a day. This is calamitous. We should not be giving them more dough. If you give them this money now, I promise you, we will be repatriating this very same $458 again, plus other billions (USD) in another 16 years. Guaranteed! These klepto’s are predictable like desert encroachment. Nostradamus spoke of them in the Century II quatrain 62: “Mabus (Abacha), though dead returns. Both man and beast suffer terribly. Then, all of a sudden, vengeance arrives. Much blood, thirst, hunger, when the comet passes”.

Between our Abacha reincarnate leader, sorry, ruler and his second-in-command, the oil minister, the two who we now find are in-laws, long story; you cannot imagine what we go through in our country.

At this time we will prefer for our government officials to be strongly sanctioned as they constitute a risk to themselves, to Nigeria and international partners. You can imagine we have an agent of the president, Wendell Simlin, aka, Reno Omokri who is an open terrorist, on the government payroll.

Did you hear about the deadly Immigration scam? Are you aware of the artificial inflicted fuel scarcity the proposed refinery cabalization? The colossal man-made flood and what happened to the funds that were allocated to rehabilitate those who lost all? Too much to yarn about, maybe some other time.

Then on a final note, you might not know but our government reveres and gave honorary awards to late Abacha who we (the people and you) recognize was a murderous thief. If this money is returned to the Nigerian government now, even if they do not consume it, they will give it back to the criminal members of his family who have been hoarding our money all this while. What purpose will your noble action serve then?

We thank you for acting in the best interest of Nigeria. In a little while, we would have cleared up this mess and the money can then be sent to our new era of youth leaders in the new Nigeria.

In God We Trust.

By Dr Peregrino Brimah

Meet The Youngest Billionaire In The World Who Is Just Four Years Old

Emmanuel Karume is the son of late Kenyan politician and businessman James Njenga Karume, who died in 2012 from prostate cancer.

Report has it Karume’s 4-year-old son is going to inherit an astronomical portion of what his father earned during his years in business and politics while he was alive.

Multiple media reports say Emmanuel will be the proud owner of the following:

>>His father’s shares in Kiambu General Transport Agency Ltd.
>>He will take over shares in nine other companies:
>>All shares in Majoreni Agencies Limited;
>>All shares in Ngorongo Tea Factory Limited;
>>25 per cent shares in Heri Limited;
>>12.5 per cent shares in Kenya Wine Agencies Limited and a share in each of the following companies:
>>Jacaranda Hotel Limited
>>Karume Investments Limited;
>>Kabete Distributors Limited;
>>Cianda Estates Limited; and
>>Forest Road Flats Limited.

Emmanuel will inherit his share as soon as he is of age, and will be among some of Kenya’s richest men, the list of which includes the

likes of Chris Kirubi, Jimna Mbaru and others.