Again, candidates performance in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) has continued to decline as West African Examinations Council (WAEC) yesterday announced the release of the May/June 2014 result.
Addressing reporters yesterday, Head of WAEC National office in Lagos, Mr Charles Eguridu disclosed that a total number of 1,705,976 candidates registered for the examination, out of which 1,692,435 candidates, consisting of 929,075 male and 763,360 female candidates sat for the test.
According to him, out of 1,692,435 candidates who sat for the examination, about 529,425of them , representing 31.28 per cent obtained credits in five subjects and above, including English Language and Mathematics.
“This figure, when compared to the 2012 and 2013 May/June WASSCE diets, shows a marginal decline in the performance of candidates. In May/June 2012 WASSCE, 38.81 per cent of candidates obtained five credits and above including English language and Mathematics. In 2013, the percentage declined to 36.57 per cent; and this year, we have 31.28 per cent.”
He hinted that 1,605,613 candidates, representing 94.87percent have their results fully released, while 86,822 candidates, representing 5.13percent have a few of their subjects still being processed due to some errors, mainly traceable to laxity on the part of the candidates and the schools in the course of registration or writing the examination.
“Such errors are being corrected by the Council to enable the affected candidates get their results fully processed and released as soon as they are ready.”
Eguridu said the results of 145,795 candidates, representing 8.61 per cent, are being withheld in connection with various types of examination malpractice, which were reported both during the conduct and marking of the May/June 2014 WASSCE.
“The cases are being investigated and the reports of the investigations will be presented in November to the Nigeria Examinations Committee (NEC), the highest decision-making organ of the Council on examination-related matters in Nigeria for consideration. The Committee’s decisions will, thereafter, be communicated to the affected candidates through their schools.”
He said, the Council has decided to extend the normal registration period for the November/December 2014 WASSCE, to Sunday August 17, 2014, so as to enable candidates who sat the last May/June examination, and who may have any deficiencies, to register for the November/December examination diet, if they so wish.
He advised candidates who sat for the May/June 2014 WASSCE to check the details of their performance on the Council’s results website www.waecdirect.org within the next 24 hours.
Guardian
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70 percent of students fail WAEC exam
Monday, August 11, 2014
Wives of Nigerian soldiers protest the lack of resources troops have to combat Boko Haram
The wives of Nigerian soldiers have protested against their husbands being sent to fight militant Islamist group Boko Haram, a demonstrator has said.
The protest at the main military barracks in north-eastern Maiduguri city came as the government vowed to retake Gwoza town from the militants.
Hundreds of people were killed when Boko Haram seized Gwoza last week, the area's senator, Ali Ndume, said.
Boko Haram is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria.
The BBC's Abdullahi Kaura in the capital, Abuja, says he understands that about 100 women protested at the Giwa barracks in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.
'Throat slit'
It is the latest sign of growing dissatisfaction with the military top brass, he says.
Soldiers have repeatedly complained Boko Haram has superior firepower and they are in position to confront the militants.
In May, some soldiers opened fire on their commander, Maj-Gen Ahmed Mohammed, at Maiduguri's Maimalari barracks, blaming him for the killing of their colleagues by Boko Haram fighters.
A wife of a soldier, who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity, said they were opposed to their husbands going into battle.
When their husbands were sent to the front line on 13 March, Boko Haram launched an assault on the barracks the next day, she said.
Her home was burnt, and her neighbour's four children were killed, the woman added.
"Now [the army] want to send our husbands to Gwoza and we said 'no'," she told the BBC.
"Our husbands have been fighting Boko Haram for six years now. If they get killed or injured, they [the army] will not take care for us."
BBC
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Boko Haram attacks the same town it kidnapped the schoolgirls from
The protest at the main military barracks in north-eastern Maiduguri city came as the government vowed to retake Gwoza town from the militants.
Hundreds of people were killed when Boko Haram seized Gwoza last week, the area's senator, Ali Ndume, said.
Boko Haram is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria.
The BBC's Abdullahi Kaura in the capital, Abuja, says he understands that about 100 women protested at the Giwa barracks in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.
'Throat slit'
It is the latest sign of growing dissatisfaction with the military top brass, he says.
Soldiers have repeatedly complained Boko Haram has superior firepower and they are in position to confront the militants.
In May, some soldiers opened fire on their commander, Maj-Gen Ahmed Mohammed, at Maiduguri's Maimalari barracks, blaming him for the killing of their colleagues by Boko Haram fighters.
A wife of a soldier, who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity, said they were opposed to their husbands going into battle.
When their husbands were sent to the front line on 13 March, Boko Haram launched an assault on the barracks the next day, she said.
Her home was burnt, and her neighbour's four children were killed, the woman added.
"Now [the army] want to send our husbands to Gwoza and we said 'no'," she told the BBC.
"Our husbands have been fighting Boko Haram for six years now. If they get killed or injured, they [the army] will not take care for us."
BBC
Related stories: 11 parents of some of the kidnapped schoolgirls now dead
Boko Haram attacks the same town it kidnapped the schoolgirls from
Nigeria confirms 10 cases of ebola
Nigeria now has 10 confirmed cases of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) with 177 persons under surveillance, the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chuwku, said on Monday in Abuja.
Chukwu made the disclosure while updating newsmen on the efforts by the government to contain the disease.
It has been 22 days since EVD first landed in Nigeria. As at today, 177 primary and secondary contacts of the index case have been placed under surveillance or isolation.
The 10th case actually was one of the nurses who also had contact with our index case; when she got ill we brought her into isolation, we just tested her over the weekend and she tested positive.
That is what made it 10 cases since the last conference on Friday, Between Friday and today, we have one additional case that brings it to 10.
Nine people developed EVD, bringing the total number of cases in Nigeria to 10; of these 10, two have died -- the Liberian American and the Nigerian nurse -- while eight are alive and currently on treatment,’’ he said.
Chukwu disclosed that Nigeria was the first and only African country to have donated 3.5 million dollars for humanitarian aid and capacity building to the three Ebola affected countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
He recalled that President Goodluck Jonathan had declared a national emergency on Ebola and approved N1.9 billion intervention fund to combat the outbreak of the Virus.
The minister reiterated the government's commitment to continue to discharge its responsibilities in confronting and stopping the outbreak of Ebola.
On the strike by the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), he said government had consistently appealed to the association to call off the strike.
We are still discussing with the NMA, we are still pleading with the association to ask its members to return to work, while we are still doing that we have not gone to bed, we are not sleeping.
There are doctors who are not part of the strike and they have been taking part in the management of these patients, we are still recruiting more volunteers because we need more people to come into the fight against Ebola.
Not only doctors because it includes health workers, nurses, environmental officers, sanitary officers, laboratory scientists, pharmacists and the likes,’’ he said.
The minister urged the public to adhere to the self-precautionary measures of hand washing and avoiding unnecessary contact to control the spread of the disease.
Guardian
Related story: Nigerian government declares ebola outbreak a 'national emergency'
Chukwu made the disclosure while updating newsmen on the efforts by the government to contain the disease.
It has been 22 days since EVD first landed in Nigeria. As at today, 177 primary and secondary contacts of the index case have been placed under surveillance or isolation.
The 10th case actually was one of the nurses who also had contact with our index case; when she got ill we brought her into isolation, we just tested her over the weekend and she tested positive.
That is what made it 10 cases since the last conference on Friday, Between Friday and today, we have one additional case that brings it to 10.
Nine people developed EVD, bringing the total number of cases in Nigeria to 10; of these 10, two have died -- the Liberian American and the Nigerian nurse -- while eight are alive and currently on treatment,’’ he said.
Chukwu disclosed that Nigeria was the first and only African country to have donated 3.5 million dollars for humanitarian aid and capacity building to the three Ebola affected countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
He recalled that President Goodluck Jonathan had declared a national emergency on Ebola and approved N1.9 billion intervention fund to combat the outbreak of the Virus.
The minister reiterated the government's commitment to continue to discharge its responsibilities in confronting and stopping the outbreak of Ebola.
On the strike by the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), he said government had consistently appealed to the association to call off the strike.
We are still discussing with the NMA, we are still pleading with the association to ask its members to return to work, while we are still doing that we have not gone to bed, we are not sleeping.
There are doctors who are not part of the strike and they have been taking part in the management of these patients, we are still recruiting more volunteers because we need more people to come into the fight against Ebola.
Not only doctors because it includes health workers, nurses, environmental officers, sanitary officers, laboratory scientists, pharmacists and the likes,’’ he said.
The minister urged the public to adhere to the self-precautionary measures of hand washing and avoiding unnecessary contact to control the spread of the disease.
Guardian
Related story: Nigerian government declares ebola outbreak a 'national emergency'
Friday, August 8, 2014
Gay Activist confronts Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan on Homophobic Law
Nigerian gay activist Michael Ighodaro confronted the nation’s president at a formal dinner in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, challenging him regarding Nigeria’s antigay laws and climate.
President Goodluck Jonathan was guest of honor at a $200-a-plate dinner hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, timed to coincide with this week’s U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. Ighodaro exchanged words with the president about Nigeria’s Anti-Same-Sex Marriage Act, which Jonathan signed into law in January.
The act provides for up to 14 years in prison for people who enter into a same-sex marriage and also criminalizes other declarations of gay relationships, advocacy for LGBT rights, and gatherings in LGBT clubs. Ighodaro, who has lived in the U.S. since 2012, expressed concern to Jonathan about reports of increasing violence against LGBT Nigerians since the law’s enactment.
Ighodaro said that Jonathan replied, “The situation of homosexuals in Nigeria is delicate, but during this week the topic has come up a lot, and it is something we will continue to look into, especially the attacks. If you think the law is unconstitutional, you have the right to go to court and fight [to strike] it down.”
That was most likely a reference to the recent Uganda Constitutional Court ruling invalidating that nation’s Anti-Homosexuality Act. The court’s objection to the law was based on the manner in which it was adopted, not its content.
Ighodaro has firsthand experience with antigay violence. He fled Nigeria in 2012 after an attack that he believes was motivated by homophobia. The beating left him with several broken bones, and the day after it occurred, he received numerous death threats by phone and email. He is now a fellow at the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission in New York.
Jonathan made a vague reference to the situation of LGBT people in Nigeria toward the end of his speech at the dinner, saying many discussions during the summit have focused on “the issue of sexuality” in his nation. He also mentioned the activities of Boko Haram, the radical Islamic group that abducted hundreds of female students from a boarding school in April and has carried out attacks in northeastern Nigeria for several years. Dozens were killed in its raid on the town of Gwoza Wednesday.
Advocate
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Video - Nigeria's anti-gay law denounced
President Goodluck Jonathan was guest of honor at a $200-a-plate dinner hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, timed to coincide with this week’s U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. Ighodaro exchanged words with the president about Nigeria’s Anti-Same-Sex Marriage Act, which Jonathan signed into law in January.
The act provides for up to 14 years in prison for people who enter into a same-sex marriage and also criminalizes other declarations of gay relationships, advocacy for LGBT rights, and gatherings in LGBT clubs. Ighodaro, who has lived in the U.S. since 2012, expressed concern to Jonathan about reports of increasing violence against LGBT Nigerians since the law’s enactment.
Ighodaro said that Jonathan replied, “The situation of homosexuals in Nigeria is delicate, but during this week the topic has come up a lot, and it is something we will continue to look into, especially the attacks. If you think the law is unconstitutional, you have the right to go to court and fight [to strike] it down.”
That was most likely a reference to the recent Uganda Constitutional Court ruling invalidating that nation’s Anti-Homosexuality Act. The court’s objection to the law was based on the manner in which it was adopted, not its content.
Ighodaro has firsthand experience with antigay violence. He fled Nigeria in 2012 after an attack that he believes was motivated by homophobia. The beating left him with several broken bones, and the day after it occurred, he received numerous death threats by phone and email. He is now a fellow at the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission in New York.
Jonathan made a vague reference to the situation of LGBT people in Nigeria toward the end of his speech at the dinner, saying many discussions during the summit have focused on “the issue of sexuality” in his nation. He also mentioned the activities of Boko Haram, the radical Islamic group that abducted hundreds of female students from a boarding school in April and has carried out attacks in northeastern Nigeria for several years. Dozens were killed in its raid on the town of Gwoza Wednesday.
Advocate
Related stories: US Senators want Nigeria sanctioned for anti-gay law
Video - Nigeria's anti-gay law denounced
U.S. to seize loot of half a billion dollars from deceased Nigeria President Sani Abacha
Officials said the forfeiture of $480 million, which was authorized by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, sets a record for so-called "kleptocracy" actions. The U.S. froze the assets in March.
“Rather than serve his county, General Abacha used his public office in Nigeria to loot millions of dollars, engaging in brazen acts of kleptocracy,” said Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell. “With this judgment, we have forfeited $480 million in corruption proceeds that can be used for the benefit of the Nigerian people."
The forfeited assets, from banks in France, Ireland, the U.K. and the Channel Islands, represent the proceeds of corruption during and after the military regime of Gen. Abacha, who became president via military coup on Nov. 17, 1993, and held power until his death on June 8, 1998. According to a Justice Department press release, "The ultimate disposition of the funds will follow the execution of the judgment in each of these jurisdictions."
NBC
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