Barcelona Vs Arsenal: A Fifty-fifty Chance

According to Arsene Wenger, there is a 50-50 chance of victory for his side, Arsenal FC of England and FC Barcelona on the much awaited Champions League match between the two sides to be played on 30^th March. I agree with him.

Football may be the most popular sporting event of our planet but its followers and even its experts are not among the best soothsayers. As I have seen over the years, predictions of the outcomes of football matches are often based on superficial observation, political motives or just sensational. Even though the outcomes are usually at variance with the predictions, football analysts always fail to learn lessons. Ivory Coast for instance was tipped to win this year’s edition of the African Nations Cup. They were eliminated in the quarter finals by Algeria. Brazil or Spain was tipped to win the Under-17 World Cup held in Nigeria. Switzerland surprised the whole world.

Ivory Coast was tipped to win simply because of the outstanding performance of Didier Drogba at his club, Chelsea FC of England. Football is however a team event and it is the reason why Egypt that was not even in the books of forecasters eventually won the tournament.

Besides remaining among the three best English Clubs in the last decade, Arsenal has been a very consistent team in the Champions League within the same period, always going to the quarter finals stage for most of the years. It has one of the best coaches in the world and boasts of players of great finesse. On the other hand, Barcelona which is more or less a peer is considered a favorite simply because it is the defending champion. It is not about status. It is about current form. On that basis my own prediction is that any of the two sides can take it.

Jang Relaxes Curfew despite Growing Insecurity

The plateau state government yesterday announced the relaxation of curfew to now last between 9pm to 6am. Before now, freedom of movement within Jos/Bukuru metropolis was between 6am to 6pm.

Observers however believe that the action of the state government was rather hasty. The administration made this announcement shortly after the burial of late Amil Anko, the Chairman of Bassa Local Government of Plateau State who died in an auto crash over the weekend. It was alleged that Anko died while hurrying to beat up curfew. Despite his status, the late chairman felt it was necessary in order to avoid any scuffle with the security agents who have been perceived to be lopsided against the Christians since fighting resumed in Jos and environs this year.

Many believe the security situation has not improved enough to warrant the relaxation of the curfew. Four days earlier, another village was attacked by Fulani herdsmen in Riyom Local Government Area of the state. The same day curfew relaxation was announced, the corpse of a stabbed Christian youth was taken along Bauchi Road where the inhabitants are largely Muslims. In the night of the same day, four gunshots were heard around the Bukuru maternity clinic as a result of a misunderstanding between soldiers and Christian youths opposing the refusal of the soldiers to act against a crowd of Muslim youths who moved down to the neighborhood that night, claiming they were taking advantage of the curfew relaxation to move around.

The Jos Crisis of January 2010: Almost a war

Elook.org defines war as the waging of an armed conflict against an enemy. On the other hand, crisis according to anwers.com is an unstable condition involving an impending abrupt or decisive change.
I live in Bukuru town in Jos-south. Bukuru is the second largest town in Plateau State. It used to be a separated town from Jos but development eventually matched the two towns in the 90s so that Bukuru is essentially an extension or a suburb of Jos, just 9km away.
Besides the misunderstanding that led to the killing of two persons at Nassarawa Gwom on 17 January 2010 in Jos North, nothing else happened that day. I found my way to Trade Center along the way to Vom the second day. At about 11am, word came through local radio that the state government has declared a 24-hour curfew as a result of the escalation of the disturbance of the previous day. The implication was that all markets will be closed. So I bought what I could buy and was lucky to find a daring bus driver going to Bukuru. By the time we arrived Vom Junction along the Bukuru Expressway, I saw two corpses. By the time we arrived Bukuru Fire Service, there were cutlass wielding youths who barricaded the road. The driver then dropped us and turned back. It was a safe territory for me. So I walked passed the youths without anybody saying a word to me. But I had to avoid the expressway and walked along the perimeter of the town in the Gyel neighborhood to the west of Bukuru town. Its lower elevation afforded me the opportunity to have a full view of Bukuru town.
From the vantage position it seemed that Bukuru had become an industrial area of some sorts. Every house became a chimney from which smoke spiraled into the sky. Sounds of gunshots, the cries of people in the face danger and the shouts of people urging their men to fight on filled the air. By the time I arrived home, the smoke has thickened and diminished the intensity of the sun. There was an eclipse, eclipse of the sun by the smoke of the burning town.
My house is at a relatively safe location, just behind the fighters that have pushed the enemies to about half a kilometer east of the Bukuru expressway. I then walked along the expressway to discover two additional corpses. Occasionally, the youths will cross the expressway to set fire on the few remaining houses. At about 5 pm, the combined effects of hunger, fatigue and carbon monoxide poisoning had drained the strengths off the fighting youths on both sides. The smoke kept rising but the town suddenly became quiet and calm.
Nobody slept, fearing that the enemies might use the night to launch another attack. The next day soldiers from Abuja came and put a final end to the fighting.
During the 2001 crisis, there was fighting in Bukuru. In 2008 however, the town managed to stay on the fence. There were more deaths in Bukuru town than there has been this time. The horror of the current conflict could however be seen in terms of the intensity of destruction of homes and businesses. At a glance it could be said that 40% of the houses in Bukuru now lay in ashes. The popular Bukuru market is now history with the Ibos coming out worst. The absence of homes and business facilities has suddenly turned Bukuru to a ghost town.
After walking around the town, I came back, sat and unconsciously held my head between my hands. Bukuru town is gone and would take decades of unbroken peace to restore it.
The fight for territorial expansion is now old-fashioned. People are now fighting to make the world a better place by making the optimal use of what they already have.

Anglican Gay Bishop Scandal

First it was the ordination of Gene Robinson 2003 and now Rev. Mary Glasspool who was elected as Assistant Bishop of Los Angeles Diocese early in December. The Bishop of the Bukuru Anglican Diocese in Plateau State Nigeria, Jwanpo Zhumbes, said that in-as-much-as the trend in the US is disturbing, the best approach is not to severe relationship with the Anglican Church in the United States of America but to cut off communion with them. That is expected to compel them into retracing their steps. The approach even within a congregation is not to severe a relationship with a backslider but to, at worst, ex-communicate that individual

According to Zhumbes, the Anglican Church, as a whole, is a communion. The continental bodies are hence autonomous. Due to this, it will be impractical to do more than they had done. This explains why even Rowan Williams at Canterbury did not come out with a clear position on the issue.

The gay issue within the church compelled the Global Anglican Bishop Conference (GABCON) to meet, about a year ago and had deliberations for about two weeks. The result was the policy statement saying that they have resolved to continue to uphold the tradition of absolute adherence to the Bible. By that, GABCON automatically cut off communion with the American offshoot of the church that believes in the incorporation of their cultural beliefs into the traditional doctrine of the church which is drawn from the Bible.

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Living a Fulfilled Life as a Teacher

Education is not just the foundation of any ambitious nation but its bedrock. Better rephrased, education is the bedrock on which our planet as a whole has been built. Prosperity around the world is not evenly spread. It trails educational patterns. Nations with soaring levels of highly educated populations are seen to be the most prosperous on the planet. Despite this obvious reality, Nigeria is one nation that has left education in the cold by its refusal to give the sector the desired attention for a long time. This has in turn shaped the mentality of Nigerians who have come to the belief that teachers are not important persons in the society. Majority of people thus treat teachers with modest esteem.
Despite this, Mrs. Josephine Jummai Bewaran who retired from the Plateau State Teachers Service late last year says she had no remorse being a teacher. Mama attended Women Teachers College Kano, bagging Grade the II Teachers Certificate. She then took up a primary school teaching appointment but left to further her education at the Advance Teachers College Akwanga, from 1976 to 1979. She worked with the Plateau State Ministry of Education from 1979 to 1981 and left to pursue a degree program. She graduated in 1985 and took up a fresh appointment with the Plateau State Ministry of Education again. She served for twenty four years with the last six as a Principal.
With the profession, she and her husband have been able to train their children to the level of graduates and even beyond. Bye-and-large, she has been able to live a fulfilled life. It is pertinent to note that the profession suffered its greatest neglect in the mid-eighties and rejoining the profession at the same period is an indication that she was motivated by the love of the profession and nothing else.
Her fulfillment is also drawn from the legacy she left behind in terms of the manpower she has been able to contribute towards the development of the nation. Each time she sees the lawyers, doctors, pharmacists, engineers, accountants and the teachers she has helped to train, it gives her pride. Most of these Nigerians have also given her reasons not to regret her role in the building of the nation by showing appreciation. Her legacies also include the imperativeness of hard work and honesty which she taught her subordinates and believes these values will continue to trickle down to later generations of teachers to the benefit of the nation.
The challenges of life as a teacher according to Mrs. Bewaran have been how to build a strong heart to be able to cope with economic challenges in view of the insufficient financial rewards the profession offers, the ability of overcoming temptations thrown along her way as a result and having to live in a society that look at teachers with scorn. She admits that teaching in Nigeria was initially a highly respected profession but the gradual shift of attention from the profession by subsequent administrations brought the profession to its present state of neglect resulting in the failure of public schools to adequately live up to their responsibilities.
Mrs. Bewaran’s philosophy in life is that one should do things because it suits his circumstance and not because of other reasons. If by virtue of our circumstance as a developing nation education is what is needed most to spur the development of the nation, then we ought to pay attention to the sector she says. Nigeria as we all know is a nation that has failed to live up to the demands on the UN charter on education that demands that all member nations must commit up to 30% of annual budgets to financing education. Going by mama’ philosophy, we ought to be the first persons that should live up to the demands of that chatter.
She says that despite all this, not all hope has been lost. Nigeria is still a relatively wealthy nation, at least wealthy enough to address its challenges in education. What is simply lacking is the political will. There are pockets of that will here and there though. Even here in Plateau State we have seen a strong will for good governance since the administration of Jonah David Jang came to office in 2007. There have been increases in pay and the strong desire to ensure that the salaries are paid as at when due. Furthermore she says she is a witness to the renovations of schools since the regime started. At this pace, she says she is confident that so much would be actualized in the next six years as long as the administration does not allow its focus to be broken. In that wise, she admonishes people who have love for the profession to go ahead and acquire the education and join the service.
Mrs. Bewaran says it is not easy to be in the service for decades but she has been able to attend this. She attributes this to divine support from the Almighty God and it is the reason why she has resolved to spend her life in retirement serving God. Though she is retired she argues she is still not tired yet and is the reason why she will also use the time to engage in small scale businesses like poultry farming and continue to contribute to the protein need of the nation. That is also imperative for nation building. Mama is married to Lazarus S Bewaran with whom she has seven children.

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