20 Nigerians Died In Mecca

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, yesterday, confirmed the death of 20 Nigerian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia during this year’s Hajj.

Chairman of the commission, Abdullahi Mukhtar, disclosed this at a pre-Arafat meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

He said 14 pilgrims died from cardiac arrest and other ailments, while six lost their lives in the September 11 crane crash incident.

Mukhtar said three Nigerians were injured at the September 11 crane crash, as against the six earlier reported.

Jonathan Can’t save PDP

A female governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress in the forthcoming Bayelsa State governorship election, Ms Charity Vadelago, has said the Peoples Democratic Party will be further demystified during the polls.

Vadelago spoke in an interview in Abuja, on Monday.

Kelechi Iheanacho ll Bring the Best Out in Ighalo

Senegal ’92 Africa Cup of Nations bronze medallist Ene Okon believes Manchester City youngster Kelechi Iheanacho will bring out the best in on-form Watford striker Odion Ighalo.

Nigeria coach Sunday Oliseh on Friday named Ighalo on his list of 24 players for next month’s friendly games against DR Congo and Cameroon in Belgium.

Although Iheanacho earned widespread plaudits for marking   his second first-team appearance for Manchester City with a late goal to help them beat Crystal Palace 1-0 at Selhurst Park on September 12, Oliseh left the 18-year-old out of his list for the Super Eagles’ two friendlies.

And former Nigeria midfielder Okon, who has lavished praise on Oliseh for inviting Ighalo, who has scored four league goals for Watford this season, maintains the Eagles manager will maximise the talent of the former Spain-based striker with Iheanacho striking up a partnership with him.

“I thought Oliseh would invite Iheanacho for the two friendly games. But I’m disappointed he refused to invite him,” the former BCC Lions star told our correspondent on the telephone on Monday.

“He has his reason for not inviting him. We should respect his decision, because it’s not easy being the national team coach.

Avoid Knee pain With These Tips

Maintaining a healthy weight is the number one secret to having healthy knees. Apart from knee pain sustained through accident, repetitive motion that stresses the knee or ageing, knee pain is mostly caused by excess body weight, as every extra weight you put on adds more pressure on your knees. That is why knee pain is more common with overweight people. It often starts after they have put on much weight. The symptoms improve once they shed the extra weight, and sometimes the knee pain even disappears with the extra weight.

However, there are some steps that you can take to avoid knee pain and injuries. Some of them include:

Physical therapy: If you have a knee injury or pain, consider visiting a physical therapist that can help you set up an appropriate regime that would help you fight off the challenge.

Nigerian Needs People Like Me

The founder of the Oodua People’s Congress, Dr. Fredrick Fasehun, says Nigeria needs people like him that will always tell the truth and ensure that the government of the day is always on its toes.

Fasehun said this while delivering a speech at the reception of his 80th birthday in Lagos on Monday.

The octogenarian, who is also the Chairman of the Unity Party of Nigeria, narrated how he, alongside members of the National Democratic Coalition, fought for the enthronement of democracy during the military regime of the late maximum ruler, Gen. Sani Abacha.

Fasehun, who was imprisoned for 19 months (from December 1996 to June 1998) by Abacha, said without critics like him, Nigeria would not have attained democracy and greatness.

He said, “As we all know, the journey to democracy is usually not easy because human nature is more conditioned towards selfish autocracy and egotistical dictatorship. That is why agitators for democracy in any land have a lot to confront in persuading the powers that be to be their brothers’ keepers, instead of carrying on in the natural propensity of humans, such as subjugating the downtrodden, stamping upon the underprivileged, selfish building of dynasties and corrupt amassing of public resources.

There Are Some Foods Doctors Wont Eat, See Why

Good nutrition is key to a long and healthy life. Here, medical pros reveal what they forego when it comes to food.

Bacon: Bacon is full of fat and cholesterol, and the nutritional value is very minimal. It is probably one of the worst foods on the planet. When you look at its content, it is pure fat and cholesterol. It is a processed food, with no exact benefits, but carries with it all that is bad for a diet – chemicals, salt, and fat.

Breads or pasta: They both present three problems: They are high glycemic index, they are not whole foods (man-made), and they are tremendously addictive.

Boxed cereals: They are full of sugar and often unhealthy grains. Rather than having cereal for breakfast, a dose of healthy fats and protein will start your day off right. Have boiled or poached eggs with greens, sardines on gluten-free crisp breads, or half an avocado sprinkled with salt or spritzed with lemon.

I’m Excited About My New Job

Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s Minister of Finance & Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Monday, expressed joy over her new job to join the board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, founded by Bill and Melinda Gates.


Okonjo-Iweala
The former finance minister, had also announced that she will also be joining US investment bank, Lazard’s sovereign advice division.

Okonjo-Iweala who tweeted via her Twitter handle, @NOIweala said: “I’m excited to join GAVI to immunize 300 million more children in the next five years and save 5 million to 6 million more lives.”

We Skip Meals To Survive In Russia

Failure of the Federal Government to pay the allowances of Nigerian students on the Bilateral Education Agreement scholarship in Russia exposes the beneficiaries to frustration, TOLUWANI ENIOLA writes

SAMUEL Adewale’s dream to study in a good university came true in 2013 when he received a letter of admission from the Don State Technical University, Rostov on Don, Russia.

After writing a series of tests and interviews, Adewale’s joy knew no bounds when the Federal Scholarship Board announced his name along with other students granted the Bilateral Education Agreement Scholarship Awards.

He said, “When I learnt that I won the scholarship, I felt really excited. I never thought that I would be awarded a scholarship, since I knew studying outside the shores of Nigeria cost a lot of money. Against this backdrop, I must appreciate the Federal Government’s gesture.”

But the twist to this development is government’s failure to pay his allowances. It has caused him suffering and hardship.

Nigeria has BEA for undergraduate and postgraduate studies with Russia, Cuba, Morocco, Algeria, Romania, Ukraine, Turkey, Egypt, Japan, Serbia, Macedonia, China and Mexico.

Under the arrangement, the Federal Government pays for the upkeep of the students, while the country where the scholarship award is tenable, provides the tuition.

The tough times that Adewale and 371 other Nigerian students on the BEA scholarship now face in their various universities in Russia, due to unpaid rents and other allowances, make them to wonder whether the exercise is targeted at punishing him.

We Urge Nigerians To Consume Local Food

  
A group of researchers have  urged Nigerians to consume made-in-Nigerian foods and fruits as most of them contain ingredients and nutrients that can serve as medicine in the body.

The call came as the organisers of the 2015 HERBFEST unveiled activities to mark this year’s herbs, health foods and Natural Products Expo billed to hold next month.

They also cautioned  against consumption of imported food products as many may have been contaminated in the process of shipping the products into the country.

Speaking in Lagos to herald this year’s Herbfest with the theme: “Food as Medicine: Utilisation and sustainable Exploitation of African Medicinal Plants and Natural Products”, a professor of Pharmacognosy and CEO, Bioresources Development Group, BDG,Prof. Maurice Iwu, said foods like bitter kola, coconut oil, zobo, bitter leaf, Moringa oleifera, tomato, sour sop, African bush mango, among others are essential for the body.

Iwu who regretted that Nigerians do not eat enough  of these foods, said his outfit developed dietary supplements based on these same local foods for managing chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, prostate cancer, erectile dysfunction, HIV, etc.