AVS launches Fund to support accident victims

Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Stephen Yakubu

The curfews, sufferings and hardships being experienced in Bawku and its surrounding communities will soon be a thing of the past, as the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Stephen Yakubu, has assured that the security situation in the area is getting better.

According to the Regional Minister, some measures that were put in place to ameliorate the situation are yielding results.

He noted that rigorous sensitisation campaign on “See Something, Say Something”, as well as the establishment of Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) in our border communities with Burkina Faso and Togo, have gone a long way to improve on security in the region.

He also said the government, through the Ministries of Defence, Interior and the National Security has equipped and supported Security Agencies in the region with relevant logistics required to maintain peace and order and protect the territorial integrity of the country.

“I can tell you confidently that things are getting better. With the unflinching support of Government, the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) and other stakeholders, peace and order has since returned to these areas and the region at large,” Mr Yakubu said.

He made this known at the State of Region Reports, a news conference put together by the Ministry of Information to enable Regional Ministers disseminate developmental projects in their respective regions to the country.

The conflict in Bawku and its surrounding communities, which was started decades ago, has resulted in the loss of lives and properties.

A total ban on the carrying of arms, ammunition or any offensive weapon within the area, were some of the measures put in place, in a bid to curb insecurity in the communities and the region as a whole.

That aside, tricycles which are the main source of transportation in the region were banned and curfews were imposed on affected communities to salvage the situation.

Mr Yakubu noted yesterday that most of these restrictions, which were placed in the conflict communities, have been relaxed and this has enabled socio-economic activities in these areas to bounce back.

He expressed appreciation to the government and other stakeholders for the role they played in ensuring that calm is restored in the region.

Mr Yakubu indicated that in order to sustain the gains made in the area of peace and security and further improve on regional collaboration and socio-economic resilience of the region, the government has rolled out the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion (SOCO) Project, where a colossal sum of GH¢311,229,134.00 would be injected into the region over the next five (5) years.

He, therefore, called on people, who due to insecurity in the region, are not considering investing in the region to do so, because their security is assured.

“I wish to allay the fears of all those who do not know the region very well and encourage investors who intend to invest in the region to please do so,” Mr Yakubu said.

Fans start crowd funding account to make Kanye West billionaire again

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November 3, 2022

Fans of Kanye West are trying to help him regain billionaire status via crowd funding.

Supporters launched several pages; one succinctly being named “Make Kanye West a Billionaire Again” with a fundraising goal of $1 billion after West’s net worth took a serious hit last week when Adidas dropped him.

That specific fundraiser only raised $5 and has since been taken down, as have copycats that popped up in its place.

Dozens of people have since promoted their own GoFundMe pages encouraging others to make them billionaires instead of West.

A fan previously started a GoFundMe page to raise $53 million for the Grammy winner after he claimed in 2016 that he was in debt for that amount. The fan, Jeremy Piatt, crowd sourced $57,398, but West declined the funds. The money was instead donated to Notes for Notes, a music charity.

The latest round of fundraisers started after Adidas ended its lucrative partnership with West.

The 45-year-old’s deal with the athletic company for his Yeezy clothing line made up $1.5 billion of his net worth, so without the partnership, he’s at a mere $400 million, according to Forbes.

Adidas along with Balenciaga, Vogue and Gap cut ties with West after he made several anti-semitic remarks over the last few weeks.

Gabrielle Union and Dwayne Wade get Ghanaian names

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November 3, 2022

American Actress, Gabrielle Union and her husband, retired basketball star Dwayne Wade, were given new names at a ceremony on their arrival in Ghana.

The couple arrived in Ghana with their daughter Kaavia James on Tuesday and attended the enstoolment ceremony of Diallo Sumbry as Nkosuohene (Chief of Development) in Nyame Bekyere, a community between Adawso and Koforidua in the Eastern Region of Ghana.

Diallo Sumbry is the first African American Tourism Ambassador of Ghana.

Gabrielle and Dwayne were honoured with Ghanaian names when they attended the ceremony, adorned in Kente clothes.

Because they were both born on Sunday, the couple was named Kwesi Sarfo and Akosua Sarfoa.

Gabrielle, Dwayne and Kaavia’s arrival in Ghana was met with a rousing welcome both at the airport and on social media.

At the airport, Wade and Gabriel were greeted with a display from a traditional dance troupe.

Chief Executive of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Akwasi Agyemang welcomed them by handing them sashes as a welcome gift.

This is part of the family’s world tour, which they dubbed the Wade Tour 2022 – African tour in celebration of Gabrielle’s 50th birthday.

They made their first stop at Zanzibar in Tanzania, before making their way to Ghana.

Davido removed his clothes and wanted to run into the streets upon hearing son’s death

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November 3, 2022

“Davido ran mad. He literally removed his clothes and wanted to run into the streets. He was held back. He and Chioma are inconsolable,” a family source disclosed.

Davido is reported to be broken and inconsolable over the death of his son, Ifeanyi Adeleke.

The Nigerian singer’s son died on Monday October 31, 2022 after he reportedly drowned in a pool at home. “The boy was inside water for too long and they pulled him out and rushed him to the hospital,” the family said.

“By the time they rushed him to Lagoon Hospital it was already too late,” the source said under anonymity to await an official statement

A report by lindaikejisblog.com detailing how the incident happened said “the Nanny was with Ifeanyi and the Chef came to join them. The Nanny was said to have moved slightly away to receive a call. When she returned, she couldn’t find Ifeanyi and assumed he was with the Chef but the Chef said he had left Ifeanyi with her”.

The source close to the heart-breaking incident who spoke to the website added that “they began to frantically look for Ifeanyi all over the house for close to 20 mins until a security guard spotted him in the pool. No one could explain how the boy got in the pool.”

Davido and Chioma travelled to another state and left their son behind. The lovers are said to have returned from their trip to the devastating news which broke them down totally.

The report adds that “all friends, staff and colleagues have been banned from visiting Davido’s father’s house where he and Chioma are held.”

So far, the Nigeria police have arrested eight workers at Davido’s home, including Ifeanyi’s nanny. Lagos Police spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed that the drowning happened at Davido’s residence.

According to him, an investigation into the matter has commenced. “Yes, we have invited eight people over the death of his son,” Hundeyin said.

The singer and the mother of his son, Chioma Rowland, recently marked their son’s third birthday on October 20.

OV reveals horrifying psychotic episode after Stonebwoy sack

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November 3, 2022

Former Burniton Music Group signee, OV has narrated how she struggled with her mental health after exiting Stonebwoy’s record label.

Officially known as Barbara Naa Okailey Nyarko, OV was in the news for looking unkempt and depressed. Many accused her of being addicted to narcotics. The singer has now disclosed the reason behind her dishevelled look.

In an interview on the 3FM which was monitored by The Chronicle, she said being sacked from Stonebwoy’s record label made her depressed and mentally unstable.

“It was after the exit. It was something that hit me very hard. It got me thinking, ‘Am I not enough? It started giving me doubts about deserving to be on a label. It put me through some state that I will not wish for my enemy. It put me through a lot. I was depressed. It got to a point I stayed away from everybody.”

OV disclosed that she suffered a psychotic break during an outing supporting another Artiste. She detailed how she nearly tore her clothes off her body and had to be rushed home in an Uber.

The music reality show winner said she was confined in a sanitorium after her depression developed into a Psychotic breakdown which eventually left her paralyzed.

“I was at a friend’s event. When I got there, I felt like something was not right. So I went out. I started feeling a burning sensation and wanted to take off my clothes.I was confined for two weeks. It got to a point where they gave me an overdose of the medicine, unknowingly, and I was paralyzed and drooling all over” OV disclosed.

OV defended that, she never took narcotic drugs and quickly attributed her mental illness to depression.

OV also said music saved her and some mentally challenged persons in the sanitorium.

Currently, OV is promoting her new single titled ‘Shush,’ which gives a deeper insight into her struggles and salvation.

U.K. prime minister: U.S. study ‘changed my life’

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November 3, 2022

Rishi Sunak, seen at 11 Downing Street in 2021, during his tenure as the United Kingdom’s chancellor of the exchequer

The United Kingdom’s new prime minister, Rishi Sunak, credits his experience studying business in California’s Silicon Valley with helping to expand his idea of what is possible.

Sunak, who on October 24 became the U.K.’s youngest prime minister in modern history and its first of Indian descent, earned his MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2006.

“At Stanford, you’re in the heart of an ecosystem and a culture that is unlike anything else I’ve seen in the world,” Sunak, 42, told Morning Brew in June. “Everyone is interested in changing the world, and they start with the biggest of dreams and the ecosystem around [Silicon Valley] is supportive of trying to help people realize those ambitions.”

Sunak has also said studying in America “broadened my mindset out considerably.”

Sunak attended Stanford through the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship international academic exchange. The Fulbright Program was created in the aftermath of World War II, with the goal of preventing future conflicts by providing opportunities for exchange and connection between U.S. citizens and people from other countries.

Since its inception over 75 years ago, the Fulbright Program has provided over 400,000 U.S. students, scholars, teachers, artists and professionals — and foreign counterparts — the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research abroad. People from more than 160 countries have participated in the program.

Sunak joins 40 other Fulbright participants who have gone on to serve as heads of state or government.

Prior to studying in the United States, Sunak worked in finance and applied to Stanford with an eye toward broadening his horizons to public service, Derrick Bolton, of Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, told the Mercury News.

At Stanford, Sunak met his future wife, Akshata Murty, and the couple stayed in California for a number of years after graduation. After returning to the U.K., Sunak continued his finance career before being elected a member of Parliament in 2015. “Being out there in the U.S. changed my life,” Sunak said in 2021.

As chancellor of the exchequer, the U.K.’s finance minister, Sunak oversaw development of the country’s COVID-19 relief plan for helping communities, businesses and unemployed workers weather the pandemic.

International students interested in studying in the U.S. often look for guidance from the U.S. Department of State’s EducationUSA network of advising centers in more than 175 countries and territories. Source- SHAREAMERICA

By Leigh Hartman

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect The Chronicle’s stance.

Nigerians struggling after government closes camps, cuts aid

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November 3, 2022

Civilians who fled their homes following an attack by Boko Haram

More than 200,000 Nigerians displaced by long-running violence are struggling for food and shelter after authorities in the northeast shut some of the camps they were living in and stopped aid, international watchdog Human Rights Watch says.

In October 2021, Borno state, epicentre of the Boko Haram conflict, announced that it was shutting all camps holding thousands of internally displaced people and returning some of them to their communities. It cited improved security and a need to wean the displaced from humanitarian aid.

In a report released on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch said people removed from the camps were struggling to meet their most basic needs, including food and shelter, in the places where they had returned or resettled.

More than 140,000 people had been removed from eight camps in Borno while food aid to two more camps had been stopped as of August this year, Human Rights Watch said. Those two camps hold more than 74,000 people and will close this year.

Borno state commissioner for information Babakura Abba Jato told Reuters he could not immediately comment on the report.

The state government says some areas formerly occupied by Boko Haram fighters are now safe for citizens to return to, and it has rebuilt some communities although aid groups say they remain vulnerable to attacks.

Some of the camps and settlements for displaced people have been hit by a cholera outbreak, and children have been the worst hit.

Credit: Aljazeera.com

Lecturers, students unmotivated as universities reopen

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November 3, 2022

Following the suspension of the prolonged strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the authorities of the concerned universities have in the past two weeks announced the resumption of activities in the institutions. Many revised their academic calendars and ordered the immediate resumption of academic activities with the aim of covering the lost ground.

For the eight months that the industrial action lasted, the striking lecturers were not paid their salaries. Until the National Industrial Court (NIC) ordered them to return to work, ASUU had cited that payment of the backlog as one of the conditions for suspension of the strike.

However, after the Court of Appeal affirmed the order of the industrial court, ASUU advised its members to return to their duty posts, banking on the reported pledge by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, to ensure that at least parts of the withheld salaries are paid, among other promises.

However, more than two weeks after the suspension of the strike, the lecturers confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that they were yet to be paid.

From the University of Lagos (UNILAG) to the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA), Bayero University Kano (BUK), Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), and Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), among others, concerned lecturers told PREMIUM TIMES’ reporters that they were not motivated to work.

Many students have also said the long absence from school has quenched their passion and that they are finding it difficult to acclimatise again.

But shop owners, artisans, and service providers on the campuses such as commercial transporters are glad that life is returning to the universities.

Credit: premiumtimesng.com

Senate summons Finance Minister over unexplained N147bn

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November 3, 2022