Am disappointed Nigerians can't read and write in their mother tongue - Culture minister says

Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed has decried dwindling ability of most Nigerian children to write and read in their mother tongues.

He spoke yesterday in Kaduna at the 2017 edition of the Annual Round Table on Cultural Orientation (ARTCO), organised by National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture.

Mohammed said there was urgent need to curtail the trend of indigenous language extinction.

The minister said the language should go digital on various Internet platforms, where youths and children are familiar with, so that they could begin to pick up their mother tongue from such electronic devices.

He, however, hailed NICO for its work in promoting Nigerian languages over the years and particularly for working tirelessly to ensure that the programme became a reality.

He reiterated the commitment of the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration to accord Nigerian culture its pride of place in developmental agenda.

The minister said: “We will leave no stone unturned to ensure that our cherished cultural legacies and values are transmitted from one generation to another.”

“The importance of indigenous language to national development cannot be over-emphasised. Language is the soul of culture; it is an indispensable tool for the promotion and preservation of culture. We cannot be genuinely committed to the promotion of our culture without addressing the serious issue of language endangerment and extinction.

“There is no gainsaying the fact that our indigenous languages are endangered and if urgent steps are not taken, they will go into extinction in no distant future…

“It has been my desire since I assumed duties as honourable minister to convene a strategic stakeholders’ meeting to underscore the relevance of the indigenous language newspapers and to engineer a road map for their sustenance in the face of formidable challenges. This explains why one of my first assignments in office was to visit identifiable indigenous newspapers like Alaroye, Iroyin Owuro, Rariya, Aminiya and Leadership Hausa.

“The visits convinced me, more than ever, that indigenous language newspapers have a vital role to play in reviving the fortunes of our endangered languages, if their potentials are maximised.”

He said the way forward is to fashion out strategies to address the problem.

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Fayose removes every sign of PDP in his state capital "Ado -Ekiti

Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose has adjusted his campaign strategies ahead of next year’s governorship election.
SPLENSIZY learnt yesterday Fayose removed the logo and name of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from his campaign office at Olora junction, Adebayo, Ado- Ekiti.
It was gathered the one storey building was repainted white, with every insignia of PDP removed.
Before repainting, the building had Fayose’s picture embossed on PDP logo with the inscription: “Fayose Our Leader, Architect of Modern Ekiti.”
The governor installed a billboard close to the gate of Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH), without the PDP name and logo.
The billboard, with Fayose’s portrait, reads: “Ekiti 2018: Support Continuity, Fayose Leads, We Follow. Again, It’s Going To Be 16-0.”
The Nation observed that the mini signposts mounted on Ado-Ikere Road, bearing the logo and name of PDP alongside Fayose’s name, have been removed.
They were replaced with ones without PDP name and logo, but with Fayose’s pictures, and the statement: “Ni 2018, E Standby”, meaning “My People Be on Standby in 2018.”
Posters with the above inscription, which have no PDP logo, were pasted in Ado-Ekiti.
A source said the uncertainty hanging over PDP was responsible for the governor’s action.
“Fayose does not want to be caught unawares. Nobody knows how the PDP factional crisis will end. It will be suicidal for him to wait till the end of litigation at the Supreme Court,” the source said.
Fayose is believed to be heading for the Alliance for Democracy (AD), the platform on which he is expected to anoint a successor for the 2018 governorship election.
His tenure will end on October 15, 2018, while the governorship poll will hold in about a year from now.
The battle for the soul of the PDP at the national level has shifted to the Supreme Court, which adjourned the case till May 25.
National Chairman Ali Modu Sheriff heads one faction, while the other, which Fayose belongs, is led by the National Caretaker Committee Chairman, Ahmed Makarfi.
The suit between the William Ajayi faction recognised by an Ado-Ekiti Federal High Court and the Gboyega Oguntuase-led faction loyal to Fayose is before the Court of Appeal, Ado-Ekiti.

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Ondo permanent Secretary Kidnapped by Gun men

Gunmen have abducted the Permanent Secretary, Ondo State Hospital Management Board (OSHMB), Dr. Niran Ikuomola.
He was reportedly kidnapped with his driver on Sunday evening on Lokoja/Abuja Expressway.
Ikuomola was on his way to Abuja for an official assignment when his vehicle was stopped by the gunmen.
State’s Secretary of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) Dr. Roland Arohunmolase, who addressed reporters in Akure, confirmed one of the kidnappers informed them of the abduction and that the victims were in their custody.
He said the kidnappers contacted the victims’ families, demanding N70million ransom.
Police spokesman Femi Joseph could not confirm the incident last night.
He said since the kidnap occurred outside the jurisdiction of Ondo State, the police in Kogi would take it up.
Joseph said: “We are determined to wipe out crimes and ensure protection of life and property.”

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JAMB warns against Fake UTME questions out for N200,000,

•Board releases results of Saturday examination

Some syndicate groups are selling past question papers of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for N200,000 to candidates, Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Prof. Is-haq Oloyede alleged yesterday.

Oloyede warned candidates against falling victims to the fraudsters, who claim to have prepared answers to the examination questions being conducted by JAMB.

He spoke during the monitoring of the ongoing UTME examination with Minister of State for Education Prof. Anthony Anwukah in Abuja.

Oloyede and Anwukah visited Digital Bridge Institute, Global Learning Institute, Sascon International School and the JAMB CBT Centre in Kogo, Bwari.

According to him, some of the fraudulent persons simply take past question papers and redesign them by changing the date and then sell same to gullible candidates, who might not have prepared well for the examination.

He said some candidates fell for the trick, paying huge sums of money to purchase the question papers only to be disappointed on the examination day.

Oloyede said: “This morning, somebody sent me questions. They call it Orijo and he bought it for N200,000 and when I saw it, it was our questions in 1984 and he just put 2017 on it and started selling it and people are buying it.

“So, if people are corrupt, I won’t have any sympathy if they are duped by corrupt people like themselves. They are just being wise. They went into the past questions of JAMB and just changed the heading.

“Somebody else called me and said he had all my questions. I asked him to send them to me and when I checked, I just laughed because none of that was in our questions. What people are just doing, they are making money because people are gullible.

“We appeal to people to do things according to the rules. No cutting of corners will work with JAMB and that is why many of the candidates who fell for such blackmail are disappointed.”

The registrar said the board has released the results of the examination conducted on Saturday.

Oloyede, who expressed satisfaction in the smooth conduct of the examination so far, decried the poor performance of students from the results of Saturday’s examination.

He said: “The result of UTME has come out and the performance is not too bad. But we are sure that this is the performance now rather than thinking you can get result one way or the other.”

He said arrangements are being made by the board to transfer its candidates at the two CBT centres in Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomosho, Oyo State to University of Ilorin to write their examination.

He said about 440,000 candidates out of the 1.7 million that registered for the UTME sat for the examination on the second day.

Oloyede added that the examinations would end in Bauchi, Abia, Niger states and some other states yesterday.

The JAMB registrar added that the UTME would continue in Kebbi, Lagos, Oyo and some other states.

Prof. Anwukah hailed the board for smooth conduct of the examination.

The minister called on candidates to put in their best for the UTME and shun any act of malpractices.

“This is excellent. Everything is in place and everything is going well based on what we have seen. The candidates should do their best and should not cheat. And of course, they cannot cheat,” he said.

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