UI can only admit 3,000 applicants, says DVC

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics), University of Ibadan, Prof. Gbemisola Oke, said the institution could only admit 3,000 out of over 33,000 candidates that applied for admission into the institution for the next academic session. Oke spoke on Friday in Ibadan at a stakeholders’ forum, organised by the Distance Learning Centre of the institution. She urged prospective students, who met admission requirements, but could not gain admission, to embrace Distance Learning to satisfy their needs of qualitative tertiary education. “If we can’t meet the need of our people through the regular face-to-face mode, then we should use the Open Distance Learning. “Education drives growth and development and it must be at the centre for any nation to make advancement,” she said. Oke added that the university would ensure qualitative and standard distance learning education, with strict adherence to the mandate of the nation’s premier university. At the forum, Prof. Francis Egbokhare delivered a paper entitled ‘Accessibility and Openness of the ODL Practice’. Egbokhare said the establishment of private universities as solution to non- accessibility to university education by Nigeria youths had failed. He pointed out that this could be ascertained from the low patronage of private universities. According to him, only three per cent of the total population of candidates, seeking admission through JAMB, choose private universities. Egbokhare urged government to look for ways of expanding the existing ODL facilities to be able to accommodate more candidates. Similarly, Prof. Abiola Awosika in her lecture entitled, ‘The Importance of Technology in ODL Practice’, noted that technology had made the learning world smaller so that everyone could have access to the ‘global classroom’. In his welcome address, the Director of the centre, Prof. Bayo Okunade, said the forum was to fast track the process of change being witnessed at the centre.

Italy arrests five over human trafficking, murders

Italian police have arrested five men accused of multiple murders and human trafficking following a deadly shipwreck off the coast of Libya which left more than 200 people feared drowned. Two Libyans, two Algerians and a Tunisian, ranging in age from 21 to 24, were placed under formal arrest on Friday in Palermo after being questioned on Thursday. Police had earlier mistakenly identified the Tunisian as a Libyan. Testimony revealed how the suspects had allegedly beaten and stabbed passengers during the perilous crossing, locking many people in the ship’s hold. Police said the accused men charged the migrants between $1,200 and $1,800 for the voyage, depending on where they would be placed on the deck of the boat. Those in the hold paid about half as much as those above, they added. The overcrowded vessel was believed to have had more than 600 migrants onboard when it began the perilous journey across the Mediterranean, before getting into trouble and overturning on Wednesday. Italian and Irish ships rescued more than 400 migrants and recovered 26 bodies, including three children. More than 200 others were feared lost to the waves. Police arrested the men after speaking to survivors during the night after they arrived in Palermo. Police said “the criminals each took on a clear role,” with one in charge and the others tasked with controlling the migrants through violence. Survivors told them migrants from Africa had been put in the hold, and that “they could be closed in and compacted in the hull for three days, having paid half price for the crossing”. When water began seeping in, “the migrants, on the traffickers’ orders, tried desperately to get rid of it,” the police said in a statement. When that failed, the migrants “did everything to try and get out to save themselves, but instead were attacked with knifes and sticks, pushed back into the hull,” at which point the traffickers “sealed the hatch, with the weight of the rest of the migrants, positioned on purpose to stop it reopening”. Rescuers said they feared at least 100 people were trapped below deck when the boat overturned, and would have immediately drowned.

Schumer says he will oppose Iran nuclear deal

Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York is the first Senate Democrat to announce his opposition to the agreement... Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York said on Thursday he had decided to oppose the nuclear deal with Iran negotiated by the Obama administration. "To me, the very real risk that Iran will not moderate and will, instead, use the agreement to pursue its nefarious goals is too great," said Schumer, the number three Democrat in the Senate, said in a statement. "Therefore, I will vote to disapprove the agreement, not because I believe war is a viable or desirable option, nor to challenge the path of diplomacy. It is because I believe Iran will not change, and under this agreement it will be able to achieve its dual goals of eliminating sanctions while ultimately retaining its nuclear and non- nuclear power," Schumer wrote. He is among the most influential Jewish lawmakers in Congress and is the first Senate Democrat to announce his opposition to the agreement. Another influential Jewish lawmaker, U.S. Representative Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, also said on Thursday he would oppose the nuclear pact. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing lawmakers to oppose the nuclear agreement, which he considers a threat to his country's survival. Obama has been engaged in his own lobbying effort, including a speech on Wednesday in which he said abandoning the agreement would open up the prospect of war. Schumer’s declaration of support for a Congressional motion of disapproval of the Iran deal is emphatic, but President Barack Obama has already made clear his intention to veto any such legislation. That would present Schumer and other Democrats voting against the deal with a decision over whether to support an effort to override such a veto. A congressional aide said Engel would vote for a resolution of disapproval and also vote to override an Obama veto if the resolution passed Congress, according to Reuters. Under the terms of legislation passed in May, Congress has 60 days, or until Sept. 17, to review the deal and pass a resolution accepting or rejecting the accord. A resolution of disapproval would prevent Obama from lifting sanctions put in place by Congress — a critical part the agreement. Nonetheless, Schumer’s decision, first reported by The Huffington Post, may free other Democrats to join with Republicans against the deal. So far, there are 12 Democrats in the Senate who have announced they are backing the deal, as is Sen. Angus King of Maine, according to the New York Times. Among them is Schumer's colleague from New York, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who announced her support for the deal on Thursday. Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont who is running as a Democrat for the 2016 nomination, is considered to support the deal. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who has come out in favor of the deal, and 150 Democratic lawmakers from the House signed a letter encouraging the negotiations, indicating they will likely back the agreement.

Why the US nuclear budget grows while the stockpile of warheads shrinks

Obama's plan to modernize and replace the nuclear arsenal will soon push nuclear weapons spending to Cold War levels... If you simply tally the number of warheads, the United States’ nuclear stockpile looks like a shadow of what it once was. The number of warheads held by the U.S. peaked in 1967 at over 31,000, but has been steadily declining, mainly through a series of treaties with nuclear rival Russia. By February 2018, the deadline for the most recent treaty, the U.S. will have pared down its active strategic arsenal (warheads ready to launch) to 1,605, the lowest number since Dwight Eisenhower was president. And yet, American taxpayers will soon be spending more on nuclear weapons in real dollars than they have since the end of the Cold War. In October 2013, just four months after calling for yet another one-third reduction in the stockpile, President Barack Obama announced plans to “modernize” the entire nuclear arsenal over the next 30 years, arguing that updating and replacing the so-called nuclear triad — the submarines, jets and ballistic missiles designed to deliver warheads — will help create a leaner, sleeker nuclear fleet. But leaner doesn’t mean cheaper, at least not in the short term. According to a recent study by two researchers at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, Jeffrey Lewis and Jon Wolfsthal, Obama’s modernization program could carry a pricetag of over $1 trillion, vaulting nuclear weapons spending relative to the overall defense budget to a level comparable to the 1980s. SOURCE: Michael Pizzi - @michaelwpizzi & Michael Keller - @mhkeller

Nigeria as pawn in China-US rivalry

The CCTV News is China’s answer to America’s CNN. Trust the former therefore to look for ways to cast China in a better light than the United States. When Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari visited America’s President Barack Obama the other time, CCTV News searched hard for a sensational angle to report. So, during its 6:15pm newscast on July 23, 2015, the news channel gleefully announced as a headline that Buhari indicted the US over its role in the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. Right from that moment, I had wondered if this was possible considering how well the visit had gone up to that point. The news anchor presented other news items, then she got back to the story on Buhari. The four sentences in the footage that CCTV News chose to show out of all that the Nigerian leader said on the issue were enough for me to reach some conclusions. One, I thought the CCTV news producers and editors weren’t versed enough in English Language (Chinese possibly being their mother tongue) to read the President correctly. Two, I thought the news channel chose to be mischievous in order to cast the visit in a way that showed China as the better friend to Nigeria compared to the US. I didn’t change my mind after I read the full text of the President’s speech. Moreover, on July 29 and in spite of denials by Nigeria of this reading of the visit, the presenter of “The Heat”, a CCTV News interview programme, referred to “Nigeria’s indictment of the US” over the Boko Haram insurgency. But what did the Nigerian leader actually say on that occasion? “In our efforts at combating the activities of Boko Haram, the new government has sought and obtained the support of not only our neighbours but other international friends and partners,” Buhari had said in his speech at the US Institute for Peace. “Regrettably,” he continued, “the blanket application of the Leahy Law by the United States on the grounds of unproved allegations of human rights violations levelled against our forces has denied us access to appropriate strategic weapons to prosecute the war against the insurgents. In the face of the abduction of innocent schoolgirls from their hostels, indiscriminate bombings of civilians in markets and places of worship, our forces have remained largely impotent because they do not possess the appropriate weapons and technology which they could have had, had the so-called human rights violations not been an obstacle. “Unwittingly, and I dare say, unintentionally, the application of the Leahy Law amendment by the US Government has aided and abetted the Boko Haram terrorist group in the prosecution of its extremist ideology and hate, the indiscriminate killings and maiming of civilians, in raping of women and girls, and in their other heinous crimes. I believe this is not the spirit of the Leahy Law. I know the American people cannot support any group engaged in these crimes. I therefore strongly appeal to both the Executive Arm and the US Congress to examine how the US Government can provide us with far more substantial counter- terrorism assistance with minimal strings. The longer we delay, the deadlier the Boko Haram gets. At all events, we have re-written the rules of engagement protecting the rights of combatants and in particular safeguarding civilians in theatres of conflict.” My reading of this address was that, yes, the US made allegations of human rights abuses, Buhari didn’t see the allegations made as enough reason to deny Nigeria needed arms because of the exigencies, and in any case the US had been known not to be so strict with some undemocratic regimes. Taken against the background of the many words of thanks Buhari had uttered when he arrived the US, it was obvious that an indictment of the US Government would have been out of sync. In fact, a close examination of some of the comments he made extempore at the Institute for Peace would show he placed the blame for not accessing US military assistance more on the past administration in Nigeria. While he acknowledged that the US Government wouldn’t support actions that ran counter to the US laws, he however enjoined it to ensure that its policies didn’t in any way encourage Boko Haram in Nigeria. No doubt, any media platform would search for eye-grabbing headlines for its reports; but when the story itself contains nothing that supports such sensationalism, it becomes a burden. This puts off the more objective mind, casting the journalists involved in unnecessary negative light. I was surprised the CCTV News interpreted Buhari’s address the way it did. Then, I thought maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised. It’s because China is ever in a struggle with the US on the global stage, and the CCTV News is its global TV platform for this purpose. From democracy to trade, and test of military prowess to human rights, China and the US are at war. There’s nothing extraordinary in this; contest for superiority is the flavour in international relations. To paint Nigeria as an enemy of the US in this contest as the CCTV News did that time was another matter however. Was China uncomfortable that Nigeria under its new administration sought to recover the ground it once lost with the US? Or was the angle to the visit which the CCTV News chose to report a means of showing China as the more reliable partner? This is more so considering that Nigeria had actually turned its back on the West and went for China under a past military administration. This notwithstanding, the fact remains that Nigeria has never left the West for China, and it never will. Like every other developing nation, Nigeria will want to enjoy the best of the two worlds, the best of two opportunities that the West and the East provide. There will be bumps in Nigeria’s relations with the West from time to time. Even when relations with the West seem to be smooth, Nigeria remains a nation that no western nation fully knows where to grab, whether by the wrist or by the elbow; but that doesn’t translate into an advantage for China. I got a glimpse of this at a time I had a chat with a senior official in the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS. He admitted that of all the countries the EU deals with, Nigeria was one that they were never sure of who to rely on in order to exert effective pressure and have their way on issues that were of interest to them. He had mentioned a couple of individuals and agencies, but concluded with the observation that getting a particular entity to use in influencing Nigeria’s position on a matter had always proved difficult. With that picture, even the US can’t go to bed, sure that it has Nigeria wrapped up with regard to any matter. No country can pocket a nation of over 170 million people with its vibrant multi-layered forces; not the West, not China. For the internal dynamics here aren’t so straightforward to either grasp or manipulate with any level of assurance. So, if the CCTV News had carried that piece of news from that unfavourable angle with the intention of showing off that China had better and trusted relations with Nigeria than the US, it missed a point. Anyway, in what real terms has China assisted Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram? It’s worth noting that in the same newscast where the CCTV News broadcast its negative take on Buhari’s address, its Nigerian correspondent, Deji Badmus (formerly of the Channels TV) was interviewed by the CCTV News anchor. Asked to comment on Buhari’s visit to the US, Badmus found a way to chip in his disapproval of how the television station had reported the President’s comment on the US and Boko Haram. “We shouldn’t take President Buhari’s comment out of context”, Badmus had said among other things. Another CCTV News correspondent (an American) who was, side by side with Badmus, asked to comment on the visit said, “I’m going to start off from Deji’s (Badmus) excellent analysis.” Obviously, he too didn’t agree with the CCTV News’ unfounded sensational take. That was one huge moment in which I concluded that Nigeria or Africa would always need to have a voice to speak up for it, otherwise foreigners would make pawn of it as it suits their designs.

Manufacturers reject partnership with Europe

Nigerian manufacturers have again rejected the Economic Partnership Agreement with Europe, describing it as an unequal partnership. Economic Partnership Agreements are trade and development agreements negotiated between the European Union and African, Caribbean and Pacific regions engaged in regional economic integration process. The goals of EPAs are to promote economic growth and development, reduce poverty in partner countries, expand and diversify trade and increase domestic and foreign investment. In an updated overview of the EPA negotiations, the European Commission on its trade portal stated that West Africa-European Union negotiations of an Economic Partnership Agreement were closed by Chief Negotiators on February 6, 2014 in Brussels. According to the commission, the signature process is ongoing and after signature, the agreement will be submitted to the parties for ratification. Nigerian manufacturers have, however, been opposing the signing of the agreement, saying the nature of the agreements calls for caution on their part. While presenting a paper at the Africa Today’s International Conference on Economic Partnership held recently in Abuja, the President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Frank Jacobs, stated that the process, structure and perceived contents of the EPA negotiations raised serious concerns about the impact the EPA would have on ACP countries and their efforts towards poverty eradication, regional integration and economic growth. He said, “Whether EPA contributes to or detracts from the sustainable development of the ACP region, it is undeniable that their impact will be significant. “The EU is the ACP’s largest trading partner: nearly 40 per cent of all ACP exports go to the EU. The outcome of EPA will affect 39 of the world’s 50 least developed countries and the lives of over 720 million people who live in the ACP region. ‘It is therefore crucial that greater attention is paid to the development implications of this agreement. ‘It will be interesting to look at how EPA will affect Nigeria, especially the manufacturing sector.” The European Commission had stated that in order to help the ACP countries integrate into the world economy and share in the opportunities offered by globalisation, exports from ACP were given generous access to the European market for well over 30 years. It noted that the preferential access however failed to boost local economies and stimulate growth in ACP countries. And the proportion of EU imports from ACP countries dropped from seven to three per cent. Jacobs said although the agreement was such that allowed for free trade and lower duties between the EU and ACP countries, Nigeria had very limited capability to produce and export industrial goods. He said, “Most of the industries in the country are undeveloped and are plagued by lack of supportive infrastructure. ‘The production plans of industry players are constantly distorted by the interplay of macroeconomic variables such as inflation, exchange rate and interest rate variations. “EPA, therefore, may appear good in the document proposal but may be catastrophic if implemented, as it will stifle the slowly recovering manufacturing sector in the country. “This will therefore lead to untold hardship in the country as the unemployment situation and the standard of living of the people will worsen.” He argued that the agreement would confine the Nigerian economy to a mere market extension of the European Union since Nigeria cannot compete with Europe on all fronts. He said, “It is on this basis that we believe that Nigeria does not need EPA now until it has been adequately industrialised and been able to trade industrial goods competitively. “Moreover, after 30 years of preferential market access, the ACP countries still export just a few basic commodities to the EU as the ACP share of the EU market is steadily declining. “The existing trade preferences have not had the intended effect of helping the ACP countries diversify their economies into higher value products. “Today, the ACP countries attract only a small portion of the world’s foreign direct Investment.” Among the ACP countries who have signed the agreement are Cameroun, Mauritius, Seychelles, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, South Africa and the Caribbean. A foreign policy analyst and former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ado-Ekiti, Professor Akin Oyebode, recently stressed the need for Nigeria to strengthen her industrial production base in order to be able to play an important role in the global economic scene.

Police arraign lecturer for raping 18-year-old admission seeker

The police on Thursday arraigned a part- time lecturer, Afeez Baruwa, for allegedly raping an 18-year-old admission seeker. PUNCH Metro had reported on Thursday that Baruwa took the victim, who was seeking admission into the University of Lagos, Akoka, inside a study room, where he allegedly raped her. Our correspondent had reported that the victim’s father, who belonged to the same landlords’ association with Baruwa in the Abesan, Ipaja area, had allowed his daughter to follow the suspect, on July 23, to UNILAG for an admission process. Baruwa was said to have, however, raped the girl inside one of the study halls at about 9am, when the duo got to the campus. It was also reported that the girl, who relayed the incident to her parents, was taken to a non- governmental organisation, Mirabel Centre, where she was tested. The medical result had revealed that the teenager was violated. The matter was said to have been thereafter taken to the Lagos State Office of the Public Defender, and also reported at the Surulere Police Division. Baruwa was subsequently arrested. The OPD Director, Omotola Rotimi, had told PUNCH Metro that the office would write a letter to the UNILAG Vice-Chancellor on the incident. She had added that the OPD would fight for the girl, saying that Baruwa’s claim that the sexual intercourse was consensual was not a defence in law. The 42-year-old lecturer was arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrate’s Court in Lagos on Thursday. Our correspondent observed the victim and her father in the court premises with agony written on their faces. The lecturer’s wife and other relatives were also observed in the court. The victim’s father and their lawyer, however, were reluctant to speak with PUNCH Metro on the incident. Baruwa was arraigned by the police on one count of rape. The charge read, “That you, Baruwa Afeez, of Block 73, Flat 2, Abesan Estate, Ipaja, Lagos, on July 23, 2015, at about 09.25 hours, at the Faculty of Business Administration Annex building, Room 8, University of Lagos, in the Ikeja Magisterial District, did unlawfully rape one (name withheld), aged 18 years, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 258 of the Criminal Law of Justice, Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011.” The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge. The Magistrate, Mrs. O. Awope, admitted the accused to bail in the sum of N250,000 with two sureties in like sum. Awope ordered that Baruwa should be remanded at the Kirikiri prison until his bail terms were perfected. The matter was adjourned till September 9, 2015 for trial. SOURCE - PUNCH

Don’t give Fashola appointment, CACOL tells Buhari

A civil society group, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to consider the immediate past Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), for appointment. The Executive Chairman of the group, Mr. Debo Adeniran, told our correspondent during an interview on Thursday that Fashola’s administration was engulfed in several controversies which could not be overlooked. Adeniran said his organisation was troubled by many dilapidated schools in the state. He noted that when the Socio-Economic Right Accountability Project invoked the Freedom of Information Act to know how the Fashola government spent a $200m World Bank education funds, the state government refused to disclose it. He said instead, the state government continued to run its affairs in secrecy by claiming that the FOI Act did not apply to state governments. Adeniran said independent investigations by his organisation showed that the 1.36km Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge which was reportedly built for N25bn, cost only N6bn. He said he had written a series of petitions to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to probe the various projects of the Fashola government in the face of the over N500bn debt left behind by the government. He said he was shocked to find out that the commission had continued to ignore all the petitions despite the fact that Fashsola no longer enjoyed immunity, having left office over 60 days ago. In a letter addressed to the President titled, ‘Don’t elevate Fashola,’ the group said if Buhari wanted to actualise his mission of ‘change’ he would need to distance himself from controversy. The letter read, “Mr. President, we are constrained at this point in time to bring to your attention our critical reaction to the unbridled speculation making the rounds for some time now, from the members of the public as well as the media, as to the fact that the immediate past governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, is being considered by the presidency for higher national responsibility. Feelers have it that his name is prominent on the list of the president’s nominees for key offices in your administration. “It is gratifying that you have promised at various fora that your appointments would be purely based on merit and that tested technocrats, with impeccable records, would be given their rightful places in your administration, as a way of ensuring good governance to the people of Nigeria. It is against this background that our organisation is appealing to you to please take the pains to dig deep into Mr. Babatunde Fashola’s record of performance as well as that of financial propriety on the part of his government while in office.” Fashola’s spokesperson, Mr. Hakeem Bello, did not respond to telephone calls as well as a text message sent to his phone.

Pastor Adeboye Retires 20 Senior Pastors Who Have Attained The Age of 70

The Redeemed Christian Church of God announced the retirement of 20 Senior Pastors who have attained the age of 70. The announcement was made at the conclusion of this year’s ministers’ conference (it yearly precedes the convention) with the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor E. A Adeboye. Six of the pastors received awards of Excellence while the remaining 14 got the award of “Fruitful”. Moreover, they all received the G.O’s handshake, plaques and undisclosed sums of money. The church thanked the retirees and prayed for them. Also, the church gave awards to some of its pastors who have put in 20 years and above. They are in the categories of 20, 25 and 30 years. To prevent the health crises recorded during the marathon fast declared by the church last year, Adeboye advised members to always break with pap or other soft items, rather  than solid food which takes longer time to digest.

IT'S AUGUST :WELCOME TO MY MONTH

Sometimes you are unsatisfied with your life, while many people in this world are dreaming of living your life. A child on a farm sees a plane fly overhead and dreams of flying. But, a pilot on the plane sees the farmhouse and dreams of returning home. That's life!! Enjoy yours. If wealth is the secret to happiness, then the rich should be dancing on the streets. But only poor kids do that. If power ensures security, then officials should walk unguarded. But those who live simply, sleep soundly. If beauty and fame bring ideal relationships, then celebrities should have the best marriages. But those who live simply, walk humbly and love genuinely! All good will come back to you!!! Man asks, “Where was God when Myles Munroe, wife and his associates were killed in a crash? He answers, "The same place I sat when John the Baptist my servant was beheaded. When Stephen my servant was stoned to death. When Paul my servant was murdered in Rome. The same place I sat when my only Son was brutally crucified, wounded, bruised and killed. I have not moved from my position." I am the same. It is not the means of exit from earth that matters but the destination. Live simply. It's all about God!! Gd morning. Have a wndrful august.