Adebayo Rasak Daniel was caught with explosive materials within the school premises
playA man who was allegedly caught trying to bomb a hostel building at the Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Osun state, has been identified as a former police officer.zz
Adebayo Rasak Daniel was apprehended by students of the university who caught him with petrol mixed with a chemical near Awo Hall in the school.
Rasak is said to have confessed that he was sent to destroy the building and he reportedly also claimed responsibility for a previous explosion within the school.
The suspect was handed over to security officials by the students who cut his evil mission short.
Former education Minister, Oby Ezekwesili has accused the President Jonathan-led administration of hiring a Washington-based PR firm to launder the regime's image in the aftermath of the missing Chibok girls saga
In a fresh twist to the ongoing Chibok girls kidnap saga, former education minister Oby Ezekwesili has accused the President Jonathan-led administration of hiring a Washington-based public relations firm to fix the government's lagging reputation in the aftermath of the Chibok crisis.
On April 2014, 276 female students were reportedly kidnapped from the Government Secondary School, Chibok and ever since, there have been several speculations, accusations and counter-accusations trailing the unfortunate incident, the latest being Ezekwesili's allegation.
The one-time Minister of Solid Minerals stated that the Nigeria government hired PR firm, Levick to launder its image by deceiving and alternating the story for Nigerians. She made this known through a series of angry tweets as seen above.
Meanwhile the firm in question had reportedly released a statement earlier on behalf of President Jonathan regarding the cancellation of the meeting with parents of abducted Chibok children and five escapees alluding that the entire situation was being politicised. But Oby Ezekwesili has dismissed it all as lies stating that the firm was merely exploiting the situation to make money.
Read the statement allegedly released by Levick on behalf of President Jonathan and let us know what you make of this recent twist in the Chibok saga?
_“It now appears that our fight to get the girls of Chibok back is not only a fight against a terrorist insurgency, but also against a political opposition.
_“It is with great regret that I announce the cancellation of the meeting with 12 parents of the abducted Chibock children, as well as five of the brave girls who escaped from the terrorist organization Boko Haram. I scheduled this meeting, which was to be open to the media for coverage by Nigerian and international press, to listen to their stories and to privately brief the parents and the girls on our efforts to rescue the abducted girls.
_“My priority is not politics. My priority is the return of these girls.
_“Unfortunately, political forces within the Nigerian chapter of Bring Back Our Girls have decided to take this opportunity to play politics with the situation and the grief of the parents and the girls. They should be ashamed of their actions.
_“Those who would manipulate the victims of terrorism for their own benefit, are engaging in a similar kind of evil: psychological terrorism.
_“I want to be clear, this government stands with complete solidarity with the girls and their parents. We are doing everything in our power to bring back our girls. Despite the shameful and disgusting games being played by the Nigerian chapter of Bring Back Our Girls, as a father of girls, I stand ready to meet with the parents of our abducted children and the truly brave girls that have escaped this nightmare through the grace of God.”
Children throughout the world have struggled against violence, intimidation and fear to get an education. For a girl, simply walking to school can be an act of defiance and courage in some countries.
The Day of the African Child today is moving reminder of this fact.
The celebration marks the anniversary of the Soweto uprising in South Africa, 16 June 1976. The uprising ultimately was part of the movement that led to freedom in the South Africa. But it started as a march of students who objected to language requirements in the national educational policy – an unfair policy that marginalized many and failed to provide children with equal opportunities in school and life.
Today, children still take risks to get an education.
The girls kidnapped in Chibok, Nigeria had attended school in dangerous surroundings for years. But they had persevered and were getting ready for exams when they were seized by Boko Haram. The world still waits for national and international authorities to ‘Bring Back Our Girls’.
Children call out for greater educational opportunities.
On The World We Want, the United Nation’s crowdsourcing initiative to identify priorities for the Post-2015 development agenda, ‘a good education’ tops the charts. Voters under age 15 give it extra emphasis. But even the over 60 crowd thinks it is the most important development issue.
So, have we gotten better at providing children a good-quality education? Well, there is some good news and bad news.
First the good news The number of children who are not in school has decreased to more than 57 million since 2000 when the figure was 102 million.
For girls, there is some good news in Africa, according to the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE). The gender parity index is 0.95. In other words, access to education for girls and boys is nearing 1, total equality. In 1999, the index was 0.87.
FAWE also reports that more than half of the girls in Africa can read and write. This represents an improvement from about 1994 when the youth literacy rate for girls was 43 percent.
Clearly, though, there is still work to do.
Now the bad news Girls still have a hard time accessing a classroom. Take Nigeria, for instance. Of the 10.5 million primary school-age children not in school, 52 per cent of them are girls. That’s a figure that also comes from the Global Monitoring Report.
Add poverty to the mix and girls fall farther behind. In Mozambique, for example, about 30 per cent of the country’s poorest girls do not attend primary school. For boys in the same category, about 26 per cent do not attend school.
Why the gender inequality? There are many reasons, but FAWE considers some of the main barriers to be:
Poverty Attitudes that devalue education for girls Child marriage Adolescent pregnancy Female child labour Gender-based violence Lack of basic sanitary facilities in schools
When do we want it: Now Efforts are underway around the world to provide equal access to the kind of high-quality education that will give children the skills and knowledge they need to live decent and productive lives. For girls, many efforts focus on making sure they transition to secondary school and are able to complete their educations.
The United Nations’ Girls Education Initiative (UNGEI) exists to improve the quality of education for girls and to increase access to it. UNGEI works closely with partners in Africa and around the world, including FAWE, CAMFED and ANCEFA.
FAWE, for example, engages with governments, communities, schools and development organizations in 33 African countries to empower girls with gender-responsive education programmes.
On this Day of the African Child, the African Union has called on governments to take action to create “a child-friendly, quality, free and compulsory education for all children in Africa.”
But girls and boys in Africa, calling out for an education would probably ask that we all take action every day.
NEW YORK / GENEVA, 29 JUNE 2007 – UNICEF today condemned continuing attacks on schoolchildren and educational facilities in conflict zones around the world. "Attacks on schoolchildren are unacceptable,” said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman. “Schools must be safe environments for children to learn and thrive.”
In recent weeks: two schoolgirls were killed, and another three students and a teacher were injured outside a girls' school in Afghanistan on 12 June; and one student traveling to national college entrance exams was killed, and in a separate incident another was injured, in crossfire in Gaza on 14 June.
In parts of Iraq parents remain justly concerned about the risks involved in sending their children to school, and insecurity has closed schools in the Central African Republic, in Nepal and in Sri Lanka.
However this month has also provided evidence that where an education system continues to function, students will face real risks to take advantage of the opportunities that education provides. In the occupied Palestinian territory in June, some 60,000 students in both Gaza and the West Bank made it through 10 days of entrance exams, despite the current crisis.
"Children have the right to a safe learning environment at all times, even under the most difficult of circumstances," Veneman stated.
