Saturday, 28 December 2013
Tuesday, 24 December 2013
The World Cup winner with France is expected to jet into the country on Saturday, September 21, 2013 to participate in the activities marking the finals of the championship.
Mr. Pires' visit comes under the partnership between Arsenal Football Club of England and the Airtel Africa Group.
The Legend was a key member of 'The Invincibles'; the all-conquering Arsenal team that went 49 games without a loss in the 2003/2004. Legendary Nigerian international, Kanu Nwankwo was also a member of 'The Invincibles.'
He had an illustrious Arsenal career and was voted the 6th greatest player in the history of Arsenal FC during which he won three FA cups and two Premier League titles. He also won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000 with the French national team with which he was capped 79 times.
While in the country, the ex-Arsenal mid-fielder is expected to enliven the atmosphere at the finals of the Airtel Under-17 Championship and stand as an inspiration to the youngsters vying for laurels in the final games.
He is also billed to visit Oremeji Primary School 2, one of Airtel's adopted schools in Lagos as part of its CSR initiative, Adopt-A-School programme which primarily aims to provide access to quality foundational education in remote locations of the country where standard educational facilities and quality faculties are not easily available.
The coming competition which is the season 2 of the ARS African Championship initiative involving over 18,000 boys and girls representing 16 African countries including hosts Nigeria. It will run for a period of seven days beginning with an opening ceremony on Monday, September 16 at the Ikeja Township Stadium, Agege, Lagos.
Each participating country's team emerged after a rigorous championship that took them through the regions to national contests coordinated by seasoned soccer coaches and the football federation of the various countries.
Airtel Rising Stars Africa Football Championship is Africa's biggest Under-17 grassroots tournament and the only one with strong consideration for gender equality with the inclusion of the Female Category.
The eventual winners in both the male and female categories will receive the grand prize of USD 10,000 each.
About Bharti Airtel Limited
Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. With headquarters in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 5 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers.
In India, the company's product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G services, fixed line, high speed broadband through DSL, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G mobile services. Bharti Airtel had over 264 million customers across its operations at the end of July 2012. To know more please visit, www.airtel.com
Nigeria's military said on Tuesday it had killed at least 50 Islamist
rebels fleeing towards Cameroon in a battle in which 15 of its own
soldiers and five civilians also died. Nigerian forces have stepped up
an offensive in the volatile northeast in the past few days, after Boko
Haram fighters armed with grenade launchers and anti-aircraft guns
attacked an army barracks in the town of Bama on Friday. Boko Haram is
fighting to revive a medieval Islamic caliphate in today's
religiously-mixed Nigeria, a major oil producer and one of Africa's
largest economies. The group rarely talks to the media but occasionally
sends video statements anonymously. The military often reports
significant casualties among insurgents, while rarely admitting losses
among its own troops or civilians. The figures it gave for Monday's
battle near the Cameroon border could not immediately be verified.
Defence spokesman Brigadier General Chris Olukolade said the military
had targeted insurgents behind Friday's Bama attack and that 20 vehicles
used in that raid had been spotted from the air and destroyed.
"Although a good number of the insurgents escaped with bullet wounds,
while some have been arrested, over 50 of them died in the course of
exchange of fire with ground troops in the operations to apprehend
fleeing terrorists," he said. Thousands have died violent deaths since
Boko Haram launched an uprising 2009, but the past few months have been
the most violent, with hundreds of civilians killed by the insurgents
since August. Some details on the toll from the Bama attack emerged from
Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, the main mortuary for the region. An
attendant told Reuters Friday's attack left at least 20 soldiers dead.
The military had not disclosed any death toll from the attack. "There is
no space left in the mortuary because the military brought in more than
20 dead soldiers killed in the Bama attack," the mortuary attendant,
who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak, said.
"These four were left on the floor as we're waiting for space to be
created before we put them in," he added, gesturing to four bodies
wrapped in shrouds. President Goodluck Jonathan last month extended a
state of emergency in areas worst affected by the insurgency. The
military began an offensive in May that initially drove the Islamists
from large parts of the northeast, but they fell back into the hilly
area of Gwoza, near the Cameroon border, from where they have launched
deadly counter-attacks. Boko Haram is still seen as the main security
threat to Nigeria, Africa's leading energy producer. The group claimed
responsibility for a coordinated strike on December 2 on the air force
base and military barracks in the main northeastern city of Maiduguri in
the first major assault on the heavily guarded city this year. Fearing
Boko Haram attacks over Christmas, Nigerian police have ordered extra
patrols, surveillance and covert operations to protect potential
targets. REUTERS
Saturday, 21 December 2013
Aftermath Thursday’s attack on Bama Town in Borno State, President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday vowed to ensure provision of more sophisticated firepower for the military to deal with the security challenges posed by terrorists.
Describing continued Boko Haram attacks as a very worrisome challenge that ‘we never expected’, the President said, “We are being overwhelmed in some incidents. We will surely get over it. We will work with you to see what we can provide to make sure that you are in position to defend our nation”.
“We will work with you to ensure you are in position to protect lives, you are in position to protect properties of Nigerians, you are in position to make sure that the environment is peaceful and that Nigerians can move freely from one part of the country to the other without being afraid that somebody would point the trigger at them”.
Emphasizing on the Bama attack, he said, he summoned the Service Chiefs and the Inspector General of Police for an emergency meeting on the issue.
To the new Generals, he said, “On behalf of your country and men and women, I congratulate all of you. It is not easy to wear two stars. That is almost the terminal position in the armed forces. Any other one is by the grace of God”.
“And to be so elevated as two star generals; we know that you must have passed through storms, you must have endured several winters, both rainy season, dry season to get there. You wives must have also been well picked to survive this period. But we thank God that today you are being so decorated”.
“But it is a very, very challenging moment. It is a very challenging period in this country and we expect as the saying goes that those to whom more is given much is expected. For those of you who are decorated as full two star generals, we expect that you bring your experience to bear”.
“We must work together as a team to make sure that the armed forces are able to protect lives and property of Nigerians. If we don’t do that, then of course the reputation of the country will continue to go down.
He continued, “A number of issues are being raised in the media which you know much more than I do, which are so much of a challenge on the armed forces and other security agencies of this country. All of us collectively must stand up to our responsibility and go the extra mile; we need to add the extra to see that as a nation we overcome these challenges”.
On new way of doing things in the military, he said “I am quite impressed with what is going on in the services. I am seeing creativity and innovation in the three arms. From the army, I have seen a lot of initiative, creativity, innovation, in terms of their own equipment that before this time were all reconfigured or maintained abroad; which you are doing yourself”.
“The same thing with the Navy, and Airforce. Not too long ago, in Kaduna, we were quite impressed with the unmanned aerial vehicle that we saw. We saw the people who did it, very young people from the Nigerian Air Force. This shows initiative, this shows creativity”.
“We also saw the wind tunnel. We were told that they were imported into the country in 1984. My assumption was that the Shagari government imported them into the country. But only recently, they were able to couple it for use”.
“So you have seen that for quite some time, probably, we at the leadership level of this country have not been doing things the way we suppose to do. I believe that the number of things that the Arned Forces supposed to have gotten over these periods, they don’t have”.
Among the 46 Major Generals and equivalent decorated are Major General Adeniyi Oyebade, Brigade Commander, 19 Brigade Ikeja, Rear Admiral Ahmadu, Commander Central Pay office, Lagos , Air Vice Marshal Victor Udoh, Major General Sanusi Muazu, Major General Leton Wiwa, Arear Admiral Joseph Okojie and Air Vice Marshal Nahogo Nzokala.
Source: Vanguard
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