Birthday: Kaduna SWAN Felicitates Engineer Nimrod

By Our Correspondent

The Sports Writers Association of NIgeria (SWAN) Kaduna State Chapter has felicitated with its patron, Engineer Musa Nimrod as he marks his birthday anniversary on Friday March 5, 2021.

This was expressed in a statement signed by its Secretary, Okpani Jacob Onjewu Dickson, made available to newsmen in Kaduna.

“We heartily felicitate with our patron, Engineer Musa Nimrod as he adds another fruitful year to his age today.

“We are blessed to have him as our patron and greatly appreciate the impact he has had not just on SWAN, but sports generally in Kaduna State and NIgeria,” it stated.

It further said that Nimrod, who is the Chairman of Volleyball Association Kaduna State as well as the President of NIgeria Volleyball Federation (NVBF) has remained a role model to many.

“We pray God continues to enlarge his coast and bless him abundantly with long life and prosperity, just as he had impacted several groups and individuals positively,” it added.

Zulum returns to Dikwa After Second Attack …..Assures of Buhari’s Position

Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum on Friday returned to Dikwa to meet citizens and assess destructions caused by Monday’s attack by Boko Haram on the township.

Zulum saw destructions by the insurgents at the palace of the Shehu of Dikwa, Nigerian Army’s 81 DIV TF BN NASC 9 Headquarters, 22 Armored Brigade headquarters, UN Humanitarian Hub, Primary Healthcare Centre and IDP camps.

The Governor also ordered the Ministry of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement to rehabilitate all destroyed properties, including those belonging to the military.

He consoled families affected by the attack, and charged all residents to cooperate with the security operatives by reporting suspicious movements at all times.

After joining residents for Friday congregational prayers, Zulum delivered President Muhammadu Buhari’s assurances to the people.

“I had a meeting with Mr. President on Tuesday, he has given me assurance that steps are being deployed to ensure your safety. I urge you to be patient and resilient, we are aware of the very difficult conditions you find yourselves and we are in this together, we are not resting. We are doing whatever we can and insha’Allah, we will achieve our aim” Zulum said.

WTT Contender: Aruna Bows out Gallantly

The only surviving African in the men’s singles of the World Table Tennis (WTT) Contender Series, Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna bowed out gallantly in Doha, Qatar on Friday, March 5, after losing 3-1 to Chinese Taipei’s Yun-Ju Lin.

Aruna who is ranked 21 in the world was set up against world number seven in the quarterfinal after his triumph over Joao Geraldo of Portugal in the round of 16 and from the outcome of the tie against the Asian star, it was clear that the Nigerian did not concede defeat easily without giving a fight.

From the start of the encounter, Aruna did not allow his opponent to dictate the tie and he ensured he fought for every point.

Aruna’s powerful forehand most times confused his opponent but his inaccuracy in backhand became his undoing and this earned the Asian star some points in the first game which ended 8-11 in favour of Lin.

Just like the first game, the second game was full of rallies and both players matched themselves shots for shots with the Asian star having an upper hand with 9-11 win.

however, in the third game, Aruna wanted to halt the run of his opponent that even when the match was at 10-8 in favour of the Asian star, Aruna fought back to level the game at 10-10 with both players winning point by point but the Nigerian prevailed at 17-15 to put the match at 2-1.

The fourth game had all the ingredients of the others and Aruna was leading 6-4 while the inability of the `Nigerian bench to read the game cost Aruna the game to end at 9-11 in favour of Lin to complete a 3-1 win.

Despite the exit in the quarterfinal, Aruna has set a standard for African players to look beyond the quarterfinal at the WTT tournament.

The second tiers of the WTT Middle East Hub ‘WTT Star Contender kicks on March 7 to 13 with the preliminary involving the likes of Olajide Omotayo and other African stars in their quest to join Aruna in the main draw.

​Tangale Chieftaincy Tussle: We’ll Never Surrender Our Sovereign Identity – Community Vows

The Tangale community says it will never surrender its sovereign identity to any government or neo-colonial powers in the guise of a state.

“We know our history and our memory does not fail us”.

The Stance of the people is contained in a statement issued by the General Secretary of Tangale Community Overseas, Lamela Umaru Lakorok, following the recent crowning of what the group called “a puppet of the Fulani Emirate in the palace of the Mai Tangle by Gombe State governor”.

According to the General Secretary of the community which comprises U.S.A, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia as well as the associations across Nigeria, the election of Dr. Musa Idris Mai Yamba by the kingmakers was according to their customs and traditions.

As such. the statement said, “we will render customs and courtesies to Dr. Musa Idris Mai Yamba as Mai Tangle with all the rights and privileges of the position.

“We do not recognize the imposed stooge as our leader and will never acknowledge him as such. The Tangale nation was not created by Gombe state.
“We will continue to pursue legal actions against Gombe State government until justice is given to the aggrieved people of Tangale.

“Since the governor of Gombe state has made clear his ill will towards the Tangale people by his actions, we call on all Tangale people to remember that he is not a Tangale man and therefore, does not care about our safety or security.
“Any emotional reaction will be to the detriment of the Tangale people. We have existed as a tolerant people and practice a plurality of religions in Tangale land.

“We have elected animist, Christian, and Muslim Mais in the past. “We will never let religion divide us now. Since security personnel are going into homes and intimidating women and children, we encourage our women to video-record any incident involving the security personnel.

“We call on all foreign governments, International business organizations, and any company that is considering or are in the process of doing any business with the government of Gombe state under the current administration, to pay careful attention to the oppression of minority tribal groups.

“Any business investment or partnership with Gombe state is an endorsement of the neo-colonial administration of the state. We will perceive such businesses and governments as endorsing the brutal actions of Governor Inuwa Mohammed Yahaya.

“We implore the United Nations, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada, Australia, and all governments that care about human rights of minority people groups, to heed the calls of the Middle Belt Forum, Northern Christian Elders’ Forum, the Danjuma Group, and other elder statesmen who have voiced concerns for the preservation of minority indigenous tribes in Nigeria”, the statement concludes.

Borno Governor appoints retired General…..

Borno Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum has approved the appointment of retired Brigadier General Abdullahi Sabi Ishaq, as special adviser on security affairs. 

Zulum’s spokesman, Malam Isa Gusau, announced in a statement released on Thursday, that General Ishaq, retired from the Nigerian Army on January 10, 2021, after 35 years of service, with his last position being coordinator of the Nigeria Police component of Operation Lafiya Dole from December 2018 to January, 2021, which leads the ongoing fight against Boko Haram, and before then, he was commander of 8 provost group of the army in Monguno from February 2016 to February, 2018, which meant, the retired General served in Borno for five years.

“Before arriving Borno in 2016, Retired Brigadier General Ishaq had at different times, served as Director of Standard and Evaluation at the Army headquarters in Abuja, Chief instructor of Nigeria Army’s School of Military police in Zaria; and in the special investigation Bureau in Apapa, Lagos; Army Corps of military police, Abuja; UN mission to Sierra Leone, UN mission to Liberia, company commander, Nigeria Defence Academy, Kaduna; 1 provost group of army in Kaduna, Army corps of military police in Apapa, Lagos; 2 provost company in Ibadan as platoon commander, command day secondary school Bauchi as instructor, and 23 armoured brigade transport company also in Bauchi,” the statement recalled.

Gusau added that General Ishaq was a recipient of military medals including a force service star, meritorious service star, and distinguished service star in recognition of his 30 years of unblemished service in the Nigerian Army as well as medals from operation lafiya dole and the United Nations. 

An indigene of Kwara State, General Ishaq was born in Ilesha, Kwara State on January 13, 1965. He had attended a wide range of security courses, and holds a masters degree in law and enforcement of criminal justice from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from University of Jos. He attended Kwara State College of Technology, Baptist Grammar School in Okuta, Kwara State and Zonal Education School Board in Ilesha, also in Kwara. 
Gusau said Prof Zulum believes that General Ishaq, who will soon be sworn-in as special adviser on security, will be coming with huge operational experience, relationship with serving military and other armed forces involved in the fight against Boko Haram and good understanding of Borno’s communities, people and cultures. 

The Governor congratulates the retired general and looks forward to working closely with him in the shared and continued determination to bring an end to the insurgency.