South Africa Refuses Entry To Nigerian Passengers -PREMIUM TIMES

Many Nigerians aboard Arik Air and South Africa Airways flights were refused entry to South Africa on Friday, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
The Southern Africa correspondent of NAN reports that the passengers were denied entry by the South Africa Port Health authority and the immigration service on the ground that they had invalid yellow fever vaccination cards.
One of the passengers, Olaminde Olaofe, told NAN that they obtained their cards from government authorised health agencies in Nigeria and added: ``This is very embarrassing and dehumanising.
``It is an embarrassment not to us as passengers alone but to the Federal Government of Nigeria that another country will say the document we, as Nigerians, obtained in our country is fake.
``We had arrived here about 5.30 a.m. and until now we are still kept at the airport by the immigration officer under the claim that our yellow fever cards are not recognised.
``Some of us are not first time travellers to South Africa and we had used the same yellow card before to enter the country.
``I obtained my card from Eti-Osa Local Government along with my brother. While I am allowed entry, my brother is held by the immigration people.’’
Olaofe said 33 school children on excursion were also affected.
Arik Airline Zonal Manager in South Africa, Kinsley Uzor, said 28 of the airline’s passengers were returned to Nigeria on Thursday.
``It is an unfortunate incident, 28 of our passengers who came on Thursday were returned back to Nigeria today by the immigration and the Port Health authorities.’’
He added: ``50 of our passenger in today’s flight are still at the airport right now, we are still trying to sort out the problem.
``The South Africa Immigration and Port Health are saying that they don’t recognise the yellow cards and that signature on the cards are irregular.
``We are not the issuing authority for yellow cards, our responsibility is to carry our passengers once they are cleared by the Nigeria port authorities.

``Before now, even if a passenger does not possess yellow card, at the airport he or she will be given vaccination, with payment of 50 dollars.
``But the new South Africa law says there should not be entry into the country without the vaccination card.
``Their argument is that the law stipulates that intending travellers must get vaccination 10 days before they travel.’’
Mr. Uzor said the Nigerian High Commission and the Consulate were already intervening in the matter.
A Nigeria consulate staff, who spoke with NAN under condition of anonymity, confirmed that Nigerian authorities were aware of the matter.
``We are aware of the incident and we are working with the High Commission to resolve the matter,’’ the official said.
Meanwhile, Arik Air issued a statement on Friday temporarily suspending all flight operations between Nigeria and South Africa with immediate effect.
A statement signed by Isla Moffett, Sales and Marketing Manager of the company, stated that the decision to suspend the daily B737-800 service between the two countries was taken due to the ongoing dispute with South African Port Health authorities on yellow fever documentation.
``Many of our Nigerian passengers have been detained and refused entry into the country in the recent month.
``The Port Health authorities cite as being incorrect or unrecognised batch number on the documentation which is mandatory proof before entrance to the country.’’
The statement said the situation had escalated ``culminating in over a hundred Nigerians and West Africa passengers travelling from the region being refused entry ,including 50 Arik passengers today.
``Arik have reached the conclusion that the irregular and obfuscating nature of this protocol is having an impact on its passengers and does not wish to proceed with operation into a country where its customers are at risk of detainment or any other measure meted out arbitrarily by the authorities.’’
In the statement, the Chairman of Arik, Michael Arumemi-Ikhide, said the airline would not stand-by and watch its passengers reach their destination after overnight flight only to be met with a protocol and procedure that was at best haphazard and at worst discriminatory to many passengers.

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Photos from Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu's Burial

Late Biafran warlord, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, was on Friday, March 2, 2012 laid to rest in his family compound of Umudim Nnewi, Anambra State in a colourful military burial usually reserved for the topmost brass of the Nigerian military.

Among dignitaries who attended the high profile event included President Goodluck Jonathan, his wife and first lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, Senate president, David Mark, Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State, Family of the late Igbo leader led by his widow and ex beauty queen, Bianca Ojukwu, among many others.

Ojukwu, who was flown out of the country in a military ambulance on December 23, 2010 in a coma, died in a London Hospital on November 26, 2011. He was aged 78.

View photos below…

Former Ghanaian president, Jerry Rawlings, paying tribute to his late close friend, Ikemba Odumegwu Ojukwu.

Ojukwu’s casket being carried by the Nigerian Army

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A star’s secret agony: At 60, I’m not yet fulfilled – Onyeka Onwenu

Like a gold fish that cannot be hidden, delectable singer and culture promoter Onyeka Onwenu (MFR) remains a prodigy as far as entertainment in Nigeria is concerned.
Fondly called Elegant Stallion by fans and admirers, the songstress has within the last 60 years inspired many younger Nigerians her genre of use.
Known for her popular hit-track One Love Keep us Together released in the early ’80s, Onyeka, daughter of the late politician, D.K. Onwenu believes that at 60, her best is yet to come.
The entertainer-cum-politician who turned 60 over the week gave an insight into her foray into the entertainment industry burning other burning issues especially those affecting the creative industry.
The sexagenarian is pained deep down in her heart. She voiced her conviction thus in this bare-it-all enthralling chat.
“I’m on my way to being fulfilled. The day you think you’ve gotten there, then, it’s time for you to go home. Life is an on-going experience, a University. So, I look forward to each year for what I can learn and do better than what I’ve done in the past.”
“There’s still so much to be done and I’m involved in so much. My children need my motherly care. So also my community and my Church. I get up in the morning and feel like I can still contribute so much to my society.
Definitely, I have plenty of them and I think we all do if we must be honest to ourselves. Of course, you have regrets because there are mistakes you’ve made in the past that you wouldn’t want to repeat again. If they were good, you would go back and repeat them.”
“Oh yes. The fact that I offered myself for a political office may have been the destination. The interest that I brought into the local government-the fact that I made it an issue that more people are interested in and are talking about which may lead to changes in the way the people are being governed.
“That could have been the destination. So in regards to that, I have no regret because I think God used me to raise that awareness. Particularly, where I come from, I think the awareness is greater and God used it to position me as somebody who’s not interested in a political office because of fame and money.”
“And that served as an example for people to realise that politics isn’t a game for thieves. So, people should go into politics with a mindset of service to the masses. Politics must not be left in the hands of notorious people or the mediocre.
We must bring our best into it and no one has a right to complain if one refuses to get into politics, and some other people ventured into it and make laws that will affect your generation yet unborn. I can beat my chest anywhere to say that I contested even though I didn’t win the election. I debated and contributed to the debate.”
Yes, it was music that I wanted to do. Going to school runs in the blood of my family and I was born by well known educationist, Honourable D. K. Onwenu. So, I dare not refuse to go to school because my mother would kill me. So that was the prerequisite. So I went to school, had my masters degree and had work experience before getting into music, before it was acceptable.”
Most of the songs were his, in fact, all of the songs were his. It was just the way he fashioned it but it was okay for our first outing. But right after that, from the second album, I began writing my songs.”
Songs like Iyogogo, Hallelujah- some of them were taken from folk songs, but they were my songs. I also recorded my mother’s songs Ochie Dike and Sodom And Gomorrah with my contributions. She wrote Ochiedike for her mother. Although she didn’t record it, she went to the Churches, singing and teaching the song during the yearly mother’s Day.
And then one day, I said to her that I would record the song and that she should name her price. “Well, they’re both planning to give me a joint gift- a gift of a song they’ve never given to me before. This birthday was special and they gave me a special gift…”
“I didn’t celebrate it because I just buried my mother in January and it was awesome. I really thank God for his grace because we gave her a grand farewell. She made me promise to give her a grand send-off because she’d always wanted it.”
“So, I was exhausted in every way and to start another preparation for my birthday wasn’t a good idea. If you haven’t buried someone, you wouldn’t understand what I’m saying and being what I am in the society, the burial attracted a lot of attention and it meant spending more than necessary and I just had to take a break and organize myself for the year.”

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Governors split over PDP chair

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Northeast Caucus of the Governors Forum is split over the choice of the party’s National Chairman.
The battle for the seat has pitched governors against party leaders.

Governors Danbaba Suntai (Taraba), Ibrahim Dankwanbo (Gombe), Isa Yuguda (Bauchi) and Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) are said to be consulting governors in the other five zones for support.

The National Conventiaon of the PDP will hold on March 24 to elect a chairman.
Some of the aspirants are former Governor of the now defunct Gongola State Bamanga Muhammed Tukur; PDP National Publicity Secretary Prof. Rufai Alkali; former Minister of Commerce Idris Waziri (Taraba); former Minister of Agriculture Shettima Mustapha; PDP National Secretary Musa Babayo; former Minister of Agriculture Adamu Bello; former National Chairman of the defunct The Grassroots Democratic Movement (GDM) Gambo Lawan(Borno) and former Bauchi Governor Adamu Mu’azu.

Also in the race are a former Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Abba Aji, a former Minister of FCT, Bunu Sheriff and a lawyer, Ibrahim Birma.

In the last one month, it has been difficult for the PDP governors in the Northeast to reach consensus on one of the aspirants.
Following the stalemate, the governors have separately started wooing their colleagues in the rest five geo-political zones for support for their favourites.

While the Governor of Taraba State is backing Amb. Waziri, Yuguda appears to be more comfortable with Babayo than his (Yuguda’s) predecessor, Mu’azu.

Governor Ibrahim Dankwanbo of Gombe State is supporting Alkali. Adamawa State Governor Murtala Nyako is not sure whether to back Tukur or allow the state to retain the slot of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, which it is presently occupying.
It was also learnt that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who was supporting Birma, may have tactically withdrawn in the spirit of reconciliation to back Tukur because of his 2015 presidential ambition.

A source, who pleaded not to be named, said: “The governors are split over who to back every governor has his own candidate and this has made it difficult for the zone to endorse a candidate.

“For instance, the Taraba State governor, who said his state is disadvantaged, was the first to seek support for his candidate at a session of the PDP Governors Forum. In fact, after the session, a Northcentral governor bought into Suntai’s project and started rendering. But Taraba State was shocked when other governors began to show interest in the seat.

“So, the centre in the Northeast is not holding as expected. When naturally they should have looked forward to either Borno or Yobe states for the next chairman, the Boko Haram menace has been a major challenge in selling good candidates, like Gambo Lawan and others.

“The governors from the zone are presently reaching out individually to their colleagues in other zones for support for their candidates.”
It was learnt that two of the governors have been shuttling Southsouth and Southwest to canvass support for their candidates.
Responding to a question, another source said: “A natural leader in the zone that could assist to solve the impasse on consensus is ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.

“But the former VP has stayed away from the murky politics because of his 2015 presidential ambition. We can all understand his game plan because if any candidate he opposes is eventually made the national chairman, that will be the end of his presidential ambition.”
On Nyako, the source said: “Adamawa State has to choose between PDP national chairman and the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation being occupied by a citizen of the state, Isa Bello Sali.

“This is a dilemma for Nyako who got re-election support from Bamanga Tukur and Sali.”
As at press time, there were fears among the aspirants that the Presidency may bow to pressure to anoint a candidate.
Although party leaders are reading the lips of President Goodluck Jonathan, there were strong indications last night that a former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, may co-ordinate lobbying for the Presidency’s anointed candidate.

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Woman, 22, kills cousin’s 5-yr-old daughter, removes her tongue ...

This could pass for one of the wonders of the world. It is a strange but true life story of a 22-year lady, Chinyere Alegu, who dragged her cousin’s daughter, Chioma Edukwu, 5, to a nearby bush, inserted her fingers in her mouth and pulled out her tongue . The victim died as a result of the wicked act.

The incident took place at Ndi Duma Ekpaomaka village, in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
According to a source, the suspect allegedly committed the crime under the influence of some unseen forces.

He narrated how the suspect behaved strangely, each time the spirit came upon her. But despite that, Chinyere was said to have taken her Christian life seriously and even became a ‘prayer warrior.’
Crimewatch was also told that the suspect, who was described by many as a very quiet person, usually saw vision and received revelations ‘anytime she was in spirit’.

One day, she told her relatives how she dreamt and the spirit directed her to pull out an object from an elderly woman’s mouth. However, when she woke up from sleep, she traveled to her cousin’s village, Ishiekke Igbubuikwo and told him she wanted to train his daughter, Chioma. Monday Edukwu was said to have granted her request and asked Chioma to go with her.
Chinyere was said to have taken the little girl to her elder sister’s house at Ekpaomaka where they slept in the same room.

At about 1.30a.m., Chinyere claimed she was directed to go and pray for an elderly woman and to pull out an object from her mouth but she decided to go along with the victim.
But instead of going to the woman’s house as she claimed, she dragged the little girl to a bush, which was a kilometre away from her sister’s house, allegedly pushed her to the ground and started praying for her.
As the prayer was going on, she allegedly inserted her fingers in the girl’s mouth and pulled out her tongue. And when the suspect came back to her senses, she realised that it was Chioma, and not the elderly woman from whose mout.hhe ‘removed the object’ .

Realising the implication of what she did, she raised the alarm and beckoned on a hunter, that was passing by for assistance. Crimewatch gathered that the girl died before help could come her way.
The news of the incident spread like wildfire and attracted the villagers to the scene. They reported the matter at Ikwo Police Station while policemen went to the bush where they arrested Chinyere and recovered a copy of Holy Bible.
The suspect, who spoke to Crimewatch, said: “ I am a hair dresser by profession. I love to evangelise and attend churches and where they hold rallies and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I was sleeping when the Holy Spirit instructed me to go and pull out an object from an elderly woman’s mouth. I dreamt again before I took Chioma to the bush for prayer and while there, I used my hands to remove her tongue.
“Having realised what I did, I raised the alarm and appealed to people to come and help me revive her. I used my right hand to remove her tongue. Sometimes, Holy Spirit visit me. I can pray in the house for three to four hours. I don’t know what to say but to beg my cousin to forgive me,” she lamented.

The deceased’s father told the reporter that he was surprised that Chinyere killed his daughter. “She came to me to request that my daughter stayed with her. Two days later, information got to us that Chioma, my first daughter, was found dead in the bush. I saw my daughter’s tongue on the ground and was later told that Chinyere removed it. I want law to take its course, I want justice to be done. I don’t know what came over her. I know her to be a Christian, a prayer warrior,” the grieving father said.

The Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Adeola Adeniji, said the suspect had been arrested and would be tried for murder. He said: “We didn’t see any object on her apart from the Bible.”

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Kigali pitch robbed us of victory — Etuhu

NIGERIAN midfielder, Dickson Etuhu was scathing in his assessment of the Kigali pitch after the 0-0 draw against Rwanda on Wednesday. The artificial pitch of the Stade Regional de Kigali was roundly blamed, as the uneven surface did not allow for quality passing.
“What a bad pitch,” Etuhu wrote.
He also added that football supporters should be patient with the team as they will eventually come good.
“We need our fans behind us fully from now on. We understand their frustration but let’s move forward together,” he said.
But the match was important as Wigan winger, Victor Moses made his debut for Nigeria, and Joseph Yobo earned his 87th cap for the national team, a record for the Super Eagles.
Yobo said he was disappointed but not shocked at the performance of the Rwandans, as there are no longer small teams in world football.
“We came away with a goalless draw, everybody expected us to win but that is football. Tell our fans that they will get a better result next time.”
The record holder also gave kudos to the Rwandan side but was sure that Nigeria would win the second leg convincingly.
“Towards the end of the match it was tense and the opposition threatened but we stood our ground, Nigerians should just remember that it’s an away game, we’ll do better next time,” Yobo concluded.
The return leg will be played in Abuja in June.
Meanwhile, Enugu Rangers' leading scorer this term, Chikeluba Ofoedu will be invited by the Super Eagles' head coach, Stephen Keshi when the team's camp for local-based stars re-opens in Abuja.
Ofoedu has scored four times in the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) this season including last weekend's winner at struggling club, ABS FC.
SuperSport.com source in the Super Eagles confirmed yesterday morning that the pacy Rangers' striker has been scouted by national team selectors in recent league games.
Keshi, 50, is said to be impressed by the dossier and performance of the former UNTH FC man and is ready to include him in his plans of building a formidable squad for the West African nation.
But the 20-year-old striker will have to impress the Nigerian head coach when he earns a call-up soon.
"The Big Boss, Keshi has a network of people scouting for him in the Nigeria Premier League and he is very aware of the talents of Rangers' striker, Chikeluba Ofoedu. He has promised to include the striker in his next camping plan for players based in the country as part of his building process for the Super Eagles.
"He has spoken so well of Chikeluba and he even watched him play against Heartland last month where the striker did well. But he will have to impress to become a part of the team on a permanent basis," SuperSport.com was informed.
Keshi's competitive tenure as Nigeria's manager kicked off on Wednesday in Kigali against Rwanda with a goalless outing in the first leg, first round of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

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