300 Nigerians deported from Botswana

About 300 Nigerians living in the Republic of Botswana have been deported back to Nigeria by the Lieutenant General Seretse Khama Ian Khama administration in the past few months following refusal of the authorities to renew their permits.

Perturbed by their plight, the deportees have called on President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Assembly to quickly look into the relationship between Bostwana and Nigeria in order to ascertain the true conditions of Nigerians living in that country.

The deportees, who said most of them had lived and worked in that Southern African country alleged that since General Khama, whose mother was of British origin and father a Motswana assumed office, Nigerians in that country had been subjected to dehumanising conditions and racial abuse even when they claimed they had been law-abiding and of good behavior.

Narrating their ordeal, Mr. Kingsley Ndubuisi from Anambra State, who returned to the country without his belongings in September, this year, alleged that all Nigerians whose permits expired were forcefully, deported leaving their property, wives and children behind.

"The most annoying of all the troubles Nigerians are facing in that country is the incessant stamping of (PI), meaning Prohibited Immigrant on the passport of Nigerian nationals by the Bostwana authorities; the implication is that such a person cannot enter Bostwana again,"Ndubuisi said.

Leadership

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Video - Conditions desperate for Nigerians displaced by violence

Violence that followed elections in northern Nigeria last year forced thousands of people to flee their homes. That was 18 months ago. But in Kaduna city, hundreds of people are still living in a camp in desperate conditions.

Nigeria beat Venezuela in football friendly

Ideye Brown and Igiebor Nosa scored in a five-minute span early in the second half to lead Nigeria past Venezuela 3-1 in an international friendly on Wednesday.

After both teams failed to convert multiple scoring opportunities in the first half, Nigeria broke through when Brown slotted his shot past goalkeeper Daniel Hernandez in the 48th minute, reports greenwhichtime.com.

Nosa made it 2-0 in the 53rd, landing an arcing 30-yard shot inside the right post.

Venezuela got a goal back when Frank Fleschcer scored in the 69th.

Nigeria's Onazi Ogenyi completed the scoring in stoppage time.

This Day

Nigeria is second most corrupt country in the world according to poll

The perception of the Federal Government before Nigerians crashed further, as they rated the nation's leadership as the second most corrupt in the world, a Gallup poll just made public has revealed.

Gallup, in its first-ever report on "Global States of Mind: New Metrics for World Leaders," stated that 94 per cent of Nigerians believe there is widespread corruption in government.

The poll also showed that in the world, only Kenyans believed their government was more corrupt. The poll also revealed that about 96 per cent of Kenyans had alleged that there were widespread corruption in their government, while only five per cent of Singaporeans said their government was corrupt.

Singaporeans believe their country was the least corrupt in the world. Gallup said last year's revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt where GDP was rising, shows that world leaders need more than just GDP and other traditional economic metrics to run their countries.

Gallup Chairman and CEO, Jim Clifton, said: "Economic data are becoming less and less valuable because they tend to be outdated by the time they are made available. More significantly, GDP is less valuable because leaders now need to know much more than what people are spending-they need to know what they are thinking; GDP isn't enough if you are watching for instability."

"All institutes worldwide knew GDP was rising in Tunisia and Egypt. They knew what 11 million Tunisians and 80 million Egyptians were buying and selling-but they didn't know what they were thinking," Clifton added.

Clifton said GDP wasn't enough if leaders were trying to figure out the levels of hunger, hopelessness, or suffering, adding that the United Nations did not see those revolutions coming, neither did the World Economic Forum (WEF), nor the World Bank.

"The US spends tens of billions on intelligence- and it missed those revolutions too," Clifton said. Gallup's World Poll spans about 150 countries, territories, and areas, annually capturing what more than 98 per cent of the world's adult population is thinking on topics from basic needs to job creation. Gallup's World Poll data set now includes more than one million interviews conducted since the research initiative started in 2005.

Respondents were asked questions on law and order, food and shelter, institutions and infrastructure, good jobs, wellbeing, brain drain and quality GDP growth.

Vanguard

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Police drop case against alleged racist comments referee made to John Obi Mikel

The Metropolitan Police has confirmed that it has dropped its investigation into complaints over alleged racist comments made by referee Mark Clattenburg.

The official had come under scrutiny after Chelsea duo John Obi Mikel and Juan Mata both raised complaints following the Blues 3-2 Premier League defeat to Manchester United last month.

However, Police have since stated that "without a victim and/or any evidence that any offence has been committed", there is no line of enquiry that can be pursued.

A statement from the Metropolitan Police read: "An investigation was launched into alleged comments made during a football match between Chelsea FC and Manchester United FC at Stamford Bridge on October 28, 2012.

"This follows on from a complaint received by the Metropolitan Police Service on October 29.

"Enquiries were made and no victims have come forward.

"If the situation changes and a victim and/or evidence to support an allegation of a crime comes to police attention then further enquiries will if appropriate be made."

Chelsea quickly dropped the Spaniard's allegation against the 37-year-old, although they have continued to support the Nigerian midfielder, with club chairman Bruce Bruck once again discussing the complaint on Tuesday.

"The reaction has been very unfair," he told the Evening Standard. "We weren't interested in any confrontation with the referee or anybody else, had no thoughts of revenge on the referee.

"We were guided by obligations that are imposed by the Football Association and also as an employer. FA rule E14 basically says a participant shall immediately report to the association any incident or matter which may be considered to be a misconduct.

"I spoke to the players involved, either because they were allegedly the recipient of that abuse or had heard it, three separate times. I asked them if they could be mistaken. I asked them, if they might have heard 'Mikel' instead of 'monkey'. I thought I had covered that base.

"[The decision] was made after a great deal of anguish and after talking long and hard that evening about what should we do.

Goal

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