COLLECTIVE ROLES OF NIGERIANS IN CONTRIBUTING TOWARDS THE DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIA, THE GIANT OF AFRICA

By July 2016, all roads lead to Imo state ,Nigeria, for  the grand community development icons' award presentation, courtesy of  South East Community Development Association, proudly supported by John Terence Ononuju's Blog.

This remarkable event, goes a very long way in appreciating visionary Nigerians that have in one way or the other, contributed in great measures towards the development of the rural & urban  areas of our great country Nigeria, especially in the South East zone.

Generally, the Nigerian  Government, Media houses, Firms & visionary Nigerian citizens have over the years, contributed towards the development of Nigeria.But more effort is needed for the actualization of the country's over 50% development, which is expected to usher her to a round table of global development.

The popular English saying  "To whom much is given, much is expected" should not be swept under the carpets, as Nigeria our great country, which is respected globally as the giant of Africa, has all the resources to take her to the next level of development like the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Japan and other developed countries of the world.

There is no doubt that our great country Nigeria is gradually experiencing development which is expected to fully manifest by the year 2050, only if we can collectively play great roles in fighting corruption which is the major factor hindering the country's rapid development.
We should consider our roles in fighting corruption and promoting development, as a sacrifice to our beloved country Nigeria, as the citizens of the developed countries of the world considered, which is today a blessing to their generation.

This is not the time to blame the Nigerian government for not getting it right.But the time to work hand in glove with the government 24 hours in promoting our country's development.
As citizens that want the best in development for our great country Nigeria, we should start these developmental processes from our various communities to the best of our abilities, while the ones we cannot handle, should be channeled to the Nigerian government for the actualization of the country's development.

The government as the key player, should embark on more developmental projects which include; the establishment of more industries, skills acquistion centers, research institutes &  Information Technology centers in the 36 states of the Federation including Abuja.In addition, the provision of quality healthcare services, good drinking water, good roads network and many more developmental projects.
These developmental projects, should be handled by God's fearing Contractors that have the interest of the Nigerian citizens and Nigerian development at heart.

On the other hand, there are so many visionary young Nigerians who are struggling to contribute their quota to the development of Nigeria.Unfortunately, they have little or no resources with which to bring their vision to limelight.These  individuals  are agents of Nigerian development.One of them is a 14 year old Master Ogazi Chigaemezu, an automobile Engineer of Government Technical College (G.T.C.) Owerri, Imo state who was recently discovered by a member of John Terence Ononuju's Blog in GTC Owerri, recently.

The Nigerian government, media houses, firms and Philanthropists also have a very great role to play in the lives of these visionary young Nigerians, who are the future of Nigerian development.
When we put all the necessary factors in place towards achieving development for our great country Nigeria, we will forever be remembered as the outstanding 'Agents of Nigerian development'.May God bless our beloved Country Nigeria!

WRITTEN BY:

JOHN TERENCE ONONUJU
PRO BLOGGER
JOHN TERENCE ONONUJU'S BLOG

NIGERIA; JNI, CAN, House Speaker Condemn Killing of Trader in Kano

For the killers of Madam Bridget Agbahime, who was murdered in Kano last week for alleged blasphemy, more knocks came yesterday as the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 northern states and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, condemned the act as barbaric and demanded justice.

The JNI, headed by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Saad Abubakar, in its statement signed by the Secretary General, Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, described the killing as criminal and not Islamic“These ugly incidences utterly stand condemned and are regarded as criminal and unislamic, perpetrated by miscreants and criminals” the JNI said.

The group said it was difficult to believe that such a dastardly act could happen in the name of religion, considering the various enlightenment programmes on interfaith and mutual co-existence being put in place by the Muslim scholars and the leadership.

The JNI also commiserated with the family of the deceased over the unfortunate incident and pray God to grant her eternal rest.

It said: “The Sultan of Sokoto and President-General, JNI calls on all to remain calm and avoid all actions that could lead to the breach of law and order.

“The generality of Muslims are also implored to fervently pray for the restoration of peace and security in Nigeria bearing in mind that without Nigeria there will be no Nigerians.”

The CAN in its statement signed by its spokesman, Rev. Joseph Hayab, dismissed allegations of blasphemy levelled against the deceased, explaining that information made available to CAN revealed that those who murdered Bridget went to do ablution by her shop and she asked them to stop blocking the entrance to her shop.

According to CAN, “From the information we gathered, Bridget never committed blasphemy as claimed by those who killed her.

“Information reaching us has shown that one of her killers had been looking for her trouble very often and on that day he went to her shop and started his ablution right at the entrance of her shop and she complained and argument ensued.

“The man suddenly started shouting Allahu Akbar and a mob surrounded her shop and descended on the woman. Frantic efforts were made to save her life by people who tried to rescue her but the mob overwhelmed them and we wonder where the police were when this thing was happening.”

Bridget’s killers had alleged that she blasphemed Prophet Mohammed.

But CAN said it was sad that people would wake up and kill a fellow human being like an animal, adding that such a dastard action should not be condoned in any civilised society.

It noted that a similar incident happened in Kano some years ago when another Igbo trader was beheaded for the same allegations of blasphemy and said it was not enough for the Kano State government to announce that one of the killers of Bridget had been arrested.

The Christian body said: “The government must ensure that the perpetrators of the evil act are brought to face justice and this time around, we will closely monitor to ensure that justice is done.

“We cannot say we are Nigerians and some people will wake up and kill fellow Nigerians at will in the name of religion and they are not brought to justice.

“Our religious leaders must come out and preach the true tenets of religion, because this arrogance is getting too much.”

It urged Christians to remain peaceful and law abiding and pray for the progress of the country.

In Abuja, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Dogara, called on security agencies to ensure the arrest and prosecution of Bridget’s murderers.

Dogara, according to a statement by his spokesperson, Mr. Turaki Hassan, yesterday condemned the murder, which he described as a grievous act of lawlessness and impunity.

“We live in a society governed by clearly stated rules and laws. When such crimes of high magnitude, or any at all, are allowed to go unpunished for any reason, we risk descending into a state of lawlessness and anarchy where anyone can assume the role of judge, jury and executioner,” he said.

“The rule of law must prevail. I urge all security agencies to ensure that they carry out a thorough investigation into the events that led to her untimely death and ensure that the perpetrators of this crime are made to face the full wrath of the law,” the Speaker added.

In its reaction, a group known as Aka Ikenga also condemned Bridget’s killing.

The group in a statement signed by its President, Chief Goddy Uwazurike, stated that the masterminds of this murder should be charged to court promptly, adding that the act was a premeditated action under the pretence of religion.

Uwazurike, therefore, called for justice to prevail, stressing that it would serve as a deterrent to other murderers planning to carry out a similar attack.

“We demand most strenuously that they (murderers) be used as an example so that other murders under the cover of religion would be stopped,” he said.

He commended the state Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, and the Police Commissioner, Muhammad Katsina, for their prompt response during the crisis, while expressing shock that the Emir of the Kano, Mohammed Sanusi II, had not led the fight to stop the religious bigots.

But speaking on the growing wave of violence in the country, the Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano, called for an end to violence nationwide.

He spoke during a special mass to commence the activities marking this year’s edition of the World Environment Day at St Patrick’s Cathedral Awka yesterday, and frowned on the ease with which life was snuffed out of Nigerians at the slightest pretext in recent times and advised that there was a strong need for wisdom, calmness, patience and prayers at these times.

“

It is important to reiterate that nobody should lose his or her life under any circumstance and I condemn that very act in the strongest terms,” he said.

On the recent face-off between the police and some youths who filed out to mark the Igbo Day in Nkpor, Idemili Local Government Area of the state, Obiano reiterated his regret over the loss of lives and said that as the chief security officer of the state, his priority was to secure lives and property.

According to him, it was a great idea to celebrate Igbo Day, but the method adopted by the youths to mark it ought to be reappraised to avoid unnecessary conflict with the constituted authority, as that would defeat the aim of the event which is to draw attention to the developmental challenges of the South-east zone.

UCLA Murder-suicide Gunman Had Planned Third Killing, Police Say

A former University of California, Los Angeles, student shot dead a woman at her home in Minnesota before he drove almost 2,000 miles (3,200 km) to the school and killed a professor but failed to find a third intended victim, police said on Thursday.

Mainak Sarkar, 38, had intended to kill a second professor besides shooting engineering professor William Klug, 39, at a small office on the campus, police said. He shot himself dead after the killing, police said. The shootings prompted a two-hour long lockdown on Wednesday.

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck told reporters on Thursday that a search of Sarkar's St. Paul, Minnesota, home turned up a "kill list" that included the name of the woman found dead nearby, Klug - who was Sarkar's professor at UCLA - and the name of another professor at the school, who was not harmed.

Officials would not release the name of the woman, whose body police said they found at a house in the 2400 block of Pearson Parkway in Brooklyn Park near Minneapolis.

A marriage license application obtained by Reuters lists a residence on that block as the home of Ashley Erin Hasti and Sarkar, who married in Minnesota in 2011.

Neighbors also said Hasti lived at the home. Records do not show whether the couple, who appeared to have been living separately, were divorced.

An active Facebook page belonging to a Minneapolis-area woman named Ashley Hasti shows pictures of Sarkar, but not more recently than May 2011, about two weeks before their marriage.

A page apparently belonging to him, with no public posts since 2011, still prominently displayed several photos of them together.

According to the birth date listed on the marriage license application, Hasti turned 31 in March.

"We believe that Sarkar came to the Los Angeles area very recently, within the last couple of days," Beck told reporters at Los Angeles police headquarters. "He went there to kill two faculty from UCLA. He was only able to find one."

The other professor was off campus at the time, Beck said.

Sarkar was armed with two 9mm pistols and multiple ammunition clips, Beck said. He killed himself immediately after fatally shooting Klug, he said.

Police searched Sarkar's Minnesota home after finding a note at the Los Angeles crime scene asking for someone to check on his cat, Beck said.

"In the search of Sarkar's residence in Minneapolis, a list was located," Beck said. "The list has been described as a 'kill list.' That was the wording that was put on it."

The attack on Klug appeared to be provoked by Sarkar's belief that his former professor had stolen computer code from him, according to a March blog post that appeared to be written by Sarkar, Beck said.

"Your enemy is my enemy. But your friend can do a lot more harm," the post said. "Be careful about whom you trust."

Reuters was not able to confirm the authenticity of the blog.

"UCLA says there is no truth to this," Beck said of the alleged theft of code. "This was a making of his own imagination."

The anger reflected in the March blog contrasted with earlier online records indicating Sarkar had gotten along with Klug. In a copy of his 2013 dissertation posted online, Sarkar thanked Klug.

"I would like to thank my adviser, Dr. William Klug, for all his help and support," Sarkar wrote.

'HARSH LANGUAGE'

Sarkar hails from India's eastern state of West Bengal, where he graduated in aerospace engineering from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur in 2000, according to an ex-classmate and the university's alumni list.

Staff at his secondary school in the industrial town of Durgapur remember him as an able student who passed his exams with good results.

"He was from Durgapur town," Sumita Mukherjee, who was the secretary to the school principal, told Reuters. "This is many years ago, but I do not recall any strangeness in his behavior."

Indian media said Sarkar left for the United States in the early 2000s, after a short stint as a software developer in southern India.

Los Angeles police chief Beck said UCLA faculty members were aware that Sarkar, who graduated in 2013, harbored anger toward them.

"There was some harsh language but certainly nothing that would be considered homicidal," Beck said, referring to social media postings by Sarkar. His motive for killing the woman was unclear, Beck said.

University officials did not respond on Thursday to requests for comment on Sarkar's claims.

Prior to his time at UCLA, from 2003 to 2005 Sarkar attended Stanford University, where he received a master's degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering, university spokeswoman Lisa Lapin said.

Police in Brooklyn Park said they discovered the woman's body when they went to check on her. They did not immediately disclose her identity.

Klug was a married father of two children. His wife, Mary Elise Klug, said in a statement released through UCLA that the family was grateful for the support it had received.

"Bill was so much more than my soulmate. I will miss him every day for the rest of my life," she said.

Reports of shots fired, or even sightings of possible gunmen, have sparked heavy police responses and lockdowns at U.S. schools and elsewhere because of the nation's history of mass shootings.

Last October nine people were shot and killed at Umpqua Community College in southwest Oregon. The 2007 attack at Virginia Tech, in which a gunman killed 32 people, was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

Classes resumed at UCLA on Thursday, with the university offering counselors for students, faculty and staff.

UCLA, part of the University of California system, has more than 43,000 students.