#Federal Republic of Nigeria

[roomselfcontain2]

1 bedroom apartment to let with pvc ceiling design very cool rooms nice home that is affordable close to a tarred road at ozuoba by rumuaparali area of port Harcourt city rivers state Nigeria

[mapsontheweb]

Ethnic groups of Nigeria

The Federal Republic of Nigeria is home to between 250 and 400 distinct ethnic groups and around 500 different spoken languages. However, only eight major ethnic groups comprise 81% of the population (2018 estimate), and these groups are the Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba, Igbo, Ibibio, Kanuri, Tiv, and Ijaw. The great ethnic diversity of the nation has its benefits and drawbacks. On the one hand, it showcases Nigeria’s vibrant cultural tapestry. However, it has also played a part in the long-term political, economic, and religious conflicts that have afflicted the nation. Sources: Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation (Nigeria) & World Factbook

by anthro.atlas

[noneedtofearorhope]

Death to Afghanistan Death to Albania Death to Algeria Death to Andorra Death to Angola Death to Antigua and Barbuda Death to Argentina Death to Armenia Death to Australia Death to Austria Death to Azerbaijan Death to Bahrain Death to Bangladesh Death to Barbados Death to Belarus Death to Belgium Death to Belize Death to Benin Death to Bhutan Death to Bolivia Death to Bosnia and Herzegovina Death to Botswana Death to Brazil Death to Brunei Death to Bulgaria Death to Burkina Faso Death to Burundi Death to Cabo Verde Death to Cambodia Death to Cameroon Death to Canada Death to Central African Republic Death to Chad Death to Chile Death to China Death to Colombia Death to Comoros Death to Congo, Democratic Republic of the Death to Congo, Republic of the Death to Costa Rica Death to Croatia Death to Cuba Death to Cyprus Death to Czech Republic Death to Côte d’Ivoire Death to Denmark Death to Djibouti Death to Dominica Death to Dominican Republic Death to East Timor (Timor-Leste) Death to Ecuador Death to Egypt Death to El Salvador Death to Equatorial Guinea Death to Eritrea Death to Estonia Death to Eswatini Death to Ethiopia Death to Fiji Death to Finland Death to France Death to Gabon Death to Georgia Death to Germany Death to Ghana Death to Greece Death to Grenada Death to Guatemala Death to Guinea Death to Guinea-Bissau Death to Guyana Death to Haiti Death to Honduras Death to Hungary Death to Iceland Death to India Death to Indonesia Death to Iran Death to Iraq Death to Ireland Death to Israel Death to Italy Death to Jamaica Death to Japan Death to Jordan Death to Kazakhstan Death to Kenya Death to Kiribati Death to Korea, North Death to Korea, South Death to Kosovo Death to Kuwait Death to Kyrgyzstan Death to Laos Death to Latvia Death to Lebanon Death to Lesotho Death to Liberia Death to Libya Death to Liechtenstein Death to Lithuania Death to Luxembourg Death to Madagascar Death to Malawi Death to Malaysia Death to Maldives Death to Mali Death to Malta Death to Marshall Islands Death to Mauritania Death to Mauritius Death to Mexico Death to Micronesia, Federated States of Death to Moldova Death to Monaco Death to Mongolia Death to Montenegro Death to Morocco Death to Mozambique Death to Myanmar (Burma) Death to Namibia Death to Nauru Death to Nepal Death to Netherlands Death to New Zealand Death to Nicaragua Death to Niger Death to Nigeria Death to North Macedonia Death to Norway Death to Oman Death to Pakistan Death to Palau Death to Panama Death to Papua New Guinea Death to Paraguay Death to Peru Death to Philippines Death to Poland Death to Portugal Death to Qatar Death to Romania Death to Russia Death to Rwanda Death to Saint Kitts and Nevis Death to Saint Lucia Death to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Death to Samoa Death to San Marino Death to Sao Tome and Principe Death to Saudi Arabia Death to Senegal Death to Serbia Death to Seychelles Death to Sierra Leone Death to Singapore Death to Slovakia Death to Slovenia Death to Solomon Islands Death to Somalia Death to South Africa Death to Spain Death to Sri Lanka Death to Sudan Death to Sudan, South Death to Suriname Death to Sweden Death to Switzerland Death to Syria Death to Taiwan Death to Tajikistan Death to Tanzania Death to Thailand Death to The Bahamas Death to The Gambia Death to Togo Death to Tonga Death to Trinidad and Tobago Death to Tunisia Death to Turkey Death to Turkmenistan Death to Tuvalu Death to Uganda Death to Ukraine Death to United Arab Emirates Death to United Kingdom Death to United States Death to Uruguay Death to Uzbekistan Death to Vanuatu Death to Vatican City Death to Venezuela Death to Vietnam Death to Yemen Death to Zambia Death to Zimbabwe

[victorysp]

Queen Máxima during a meeting with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mr Bola Tinubu, about the progress of financial inclusion in Nigeria, at palace Huis ten Bosch in The Hague. April 25, 2024.

📷 vorsten

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 1.1 (1900-1970)

1900 – Nigeria becomes a British protectorate with Frederick Lugard as high commissioner. 1901 – The Southern Nigeria Protectorate is established within the British Empire. 1901 – The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton is appointed the first Prime Minister. 1902 – The first American college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl between Michigan and Stanford, is held in Pasadena, California. 1910 – Captain David Beatty is promoted to rear admiral, and becomes the youngest admiral in the Royal Navy (except for royal family members) since Horatio Nelson. 1912 – The Republic of China is established. 1914 – The SPT Airboat Line becomes the world's first scheduled airline to use a winged aircraft. 1923 – Britain's Railways are grouped into the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, and LMS. 1927 – New Mexican oil legislation goes into effect, leading to the formal outbreak of the Cristero War. 1928 – Boris Bazhanov defects through Iran to seek asylum in France. He is the only member of Joseph Stalin's secretariat to have defected from the Soviet Union. 1929 – The former municipalities of Point Grey, British Columbia and South Vancouver, British Columbia are amalgamated into Vancouver. 1932 – The United States Post Office Department issues a set of 12 stamps commemorating the 200th anniversary of George Washington's birth. 1934 – Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay becomes a United States federal prison. 1934 – A "Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring" comes into effect in Nazi Germany. 1942 – The Declaration by United Nations is signed by twenty-six nations. 1945 – World War II: The German Luftwaffe launches Operation Bodenplatte, a massive, but failed, attempt to knock out Allied air power in northern Europe in a single blow. 1947 – Cold War: The American and British occupation zones in Allied-occupied Germany, after World War II, merge to form the Bizone, which later (with the French zone) became part of West Germany. 1947 – The Canadian Citizenship Act 1946 comes into effect, converting British subjects into Canadian citizens. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King becomes the first Canadian citizen. 1948 – The British railway network is nationalized to form British Railways. 1949 – United Nations cease-fire takes effect in Kashmir from one minute before midnight. War between India and Pakistan stops accordingly. 1956 – Sudan achieves independence from Egypt and the United Kingdom. 1957 – George Town, Penang, is made a city by a royal charter of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. 1957 – Lèse majesté in Thailand is strengthened to include "insult" and changed to a crime against national security, after the Thai criminal code of 1956 went into effect. 1958 – The European Economic Community is established. 1959 – Cuban Revolution: Fulgencio Batista, dictator of Cuba, is overthrown by Fidel Castro's forces. 1960 – Cameroon achieves independence from France and the United Kingdom. 1962 – Western Samoa achieves independence from New Zealand; its name is changed to the Independent State of Western Samoa. 1964 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is divided into the independent republics of Zambia and Malawi, and the British-controlled Rhodesia. 1965 – The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan is founded in Kabul, Afghanistan.

[lboogie1906]

Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; (October 15, 1938 – August 2, 1997) known as Abami Eda was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the pioneer of Afrobeat, an African music genre that combines traditional Yoruba percussion and vocal styles with American funk and jazz. At the height of his popularity, he was referred to as one of Africa’s most “challenging and charismatic music performers”. AllMusic described him as a “musical and sociopolitical voice” of international significance.

He and his band Africa 70 shot to stardom in Nigeria during the 1970s, during which he was an outspoken critic and target of Nigeria’s military juntas. In 1970, he founded the Kalakuta Republic commune, which declared itself independent from military rule. The commune was destroyed in a 1978 raid.

He attended Abeokuta Grammar School. He was sent to London to study medicine but decided to study music instead at the Trinity College of Music, with the trumpet being his preferred instrument. He formed the band Koola Lobitos and played a fusion of jazz and highlife. He moved back to the newly independent Federation of Nigeria, re-formed Koola Lobitos, and trained as a radio producer for the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation. He played for some time with Victor Olaiya and his All-Stars.

He traveled to Ghana looking for a new musical direction. He called his style Afrobeat, a combination of highlife, funk, jazz, salsa, calypso, and traditional Yoruba music. He took the band to the US and spent ten months in Los Angeles. He discovered the Black Power movement. This experience heavily influenced his music and political views. He renamed the band Nigeria 70. The Immigration and Naturalization Service was tipped off by a promoter that he and his band were in the US without work permits. The band performed a quick recording session in Los Angeles that would be released as The ‘69 Los Angeles Sessions.

In 2008, an off-Broadway production about Kuti’s life, entitled Fela! inspired by the 1982 biography Fela, Fela! This Bitch of a Life. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[powertrumpeter]

Biafra: The Rising Sun of Africa

Biafra is a land bubbling with abundant human talents and resources. This is apart from the crude oil, God has blessed us with in the land. But, we are under subjugation by Nigeria Authorities since time immemorial. Independence of Biafra will be a great boost to our potentials. It will be like releasing the lions out of the zoo. We are really in a “Zoo Republic: with restrictions and maltreatments here and there.

Independent Biafra will be a land of milk and honey. Currently, we are wallowing in abject poverty and penury, in the midst of plenty. Our people in diaspora, are making waves in all areas of human endeavours in: manufacturing, medicine, engineering, agriculture, internet, name them. They are among the best, if not the very best. But right here in Nigeria, talents are being killed.

Nigerian authorities prefer foreign goods and services at exorbitant prices, to patronizing locally made ones, especially the ones from Biafra. Take for instance importation of refined petroleum products. Most of those locally constructed refineries, (they call them illegal refineries) in occupied Biafra, if licensed to operate, are capable of meeting our local consumption needs; and even exporting to neighbouring countries. A lot of those manning the local refineries are qualified Engineers and Technicians, who couldn’t gain employment in Federal Establishments like NNPC, due to tribalism and nepotism of Hausa/Fulani Government. The latter will always destroy those structures and round the people up.

We call on tribal Nigerian Government to reopen Chemical Engineering Department of University of Nigeria Nsukka in Biafra, shut down after the Nigeria civil war. The department played prominent role in the refining of crude oil into very clean: petrol, kerosene, diesel and other products. They were of very high quality. The school was also involved in production of hydraulic brake fluid for cars. Cocoa nut fluid was mixed with other substances to form it. They as well produced aviation fuel. The continued closure of the department is retrogressive.

Engineer Ezekiel Izuogu was frustrated from having car manufacturing company. He wanted to use hundred percent local materials. He produced a sample of the car. He made passionate appeal to the government for help. His request was never granted. One night, unknown gun men went and carted away his inventions. Those items couldn’t be traced anywhere till today. That ended his ambition. Nigeria is a land that kills talents.

A lot of inventions are going on in Biafra on daily basis. People are inventing cars, airplanes, generators without fuel, and so on. There is no encouragement. The Government won’t allow their products to be patronized by people, even if they are better than imported ones.

Biafra will be an advanced and industrialized country, shortly after its freedom from Hausa/Fulani colonialism. Biafran Government will revive moribund industries, and companies that litter our land. There will be massive employment opportunities. Youths fleeing abroad for means of livelihood, will be thing of the past. Crime rate will drastically reduce, as almost everybody will be engaged in one useful venture or another. Idle mind they say is the devil’s workshop.

Currency of the land of rising sun will be strong and stable; comparable to strong foreign currencies, like dollar and Euro. Black marketing of foreign exchange by Northerners, have been causing downward plunge of naira for decades now. Their bothers in Government give them those hard currencies, stolen from oil sale proceeds, to sell at ever increasing high rate to naira.

“Give them Biafra, in the next 20 years their country will become paradise”_ Gowon told Buhari.

“Give them Biafra in the next 50 years, they will become the world power”_ Queen told Obama.

“Give them Biafra in the next 5 years, we will become their slave and be begging them for food”_ Nigeria told UN.

“Give them Biafra in the next 50 years, each Biafra will be richer than any Governor in the world”_ the economist told the world.

“If Nigeria refuses to give us Biafra, every living thing in it will die. I repeat, if Nigeria refuses to give us Biafra, every living thing in it will die. BIAFRA OR DEATH”_Nnamdi Kanu told the world.

When Biafra is firmly established, we are going to take the world by storm.

Biafra needs a new generation of leaders, who are seriously involved in the struggle for actualization of our land. No saboteur, collaborator with Hausa/fulanis, or rogue politician, will be allowed to participate in the governance of the land. Currently, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is the undisputed Biafra apex leader; along with his colleagues in IPOB. He has demonstrated the real leadership qualities, and unshakable commitment to the struggle. He has refused to be bribed or intimidated into submission. He rejected bribes money running into billions of dollars. God Almighty has actually entrusted him with the leadership of Biafra.

We won’t permit vultures and traitors, hiding under leadership of one socio-cultural organization or the other, to hijack the leadership or governance of Biafra. Take for example Ohaneze. The so-called leaders are elected, or selected by handful of members. They are never elected by the generality of Igbos. They are never representing Igbos or their interests. These crooks are only after their own selfish interests. Such persons use their headship of those mushroom groups, to sell out their people to Northern dominated Nigeria Government, for one favour or the other.

Most of them are discredited “retired politicians.” Some of them were former Ministers, Governors and Federal legislators; while some are still at the corridor of power. They are being used to undermine Biafra struggle, in pursuit of so-called Igbo President. Igbo elite are the most gullible, and self-centred set of people on earth. As well, they allowed themselves to be deceived, used, and dumped by their ill-educated, and half-educated Northern rulers for decades now.

While in office, these charlatans from Biafra loot the treasury under their care with impunity. They stockpile billions of stolen money, with the intention to pursue their narrow Presidential, or Vice Presidential ambitions; which they can never realize. They begin by buying their way, to become Presidents of socio- cultural groupings. We won’t allow them to play any leadership role in Biafra; even advisory role. They cannot reap where they didn’t sow. You cannot make a rogue your adviser.

Igboland is not landlocked. It is the imagination of our oppressive rulers, since the so-called independence. Our land was excluded in the establishment of seaports, among other deprivations. The Orashi River in Oseakwa Ihiala LGA, in Anambra State, is the closest potential seaport we have in Igbo land, that links to Atlantic Ocean. Lagos seaport to Atlantic Ocean is 60 nautical miles. Oseakwa project abandoned in 1959, is only 18 nautical miles to Atlantic Ocean. When dredged, Oseakwa seaport can conveniently serve people in South South, South East, and part of Middle Belt. It is potentially the deepest seaport in Nigeria.

Osemoto in Oguta, Imo State is another potential seaport, which is also 18 nautical miles to Atlantic Ocean. It is the deepest natural harbor in the country; over 20m deep. We are being relegated to the background, in all spheres of life. But Biafra restoration will take care of all these deprivations. https://powertrumpeter.org/blog2/?p=309.

[kemetic-dreams]

HISTORICAL IGBO TIMELINES:

STONE AGE -MIDDLE AGES.

This is the period dating 1.2million years to 3000BC , the era of homo-erectus found within the areas of ugwuele uturu following the discovery of Archeolean hand axes and stone tools in caves. Clay pots dating 3000BC were recovered at Afikpo and Opi iron slags .Details of this era is buried in archeology .

EARLY HISTORY:

8th-9 th AD : Kingdom of Nri begins with Eze Nri Ìfikuánim.

1434 AD: Portuguese explorers make contact with the Igbo.

1630 AD : The Aro-Ibibio Wars start.

1690AD: The Aro Confederacy is established

1745AD : Olaudah Equiano is born in Essaka, but later kidnapped and shipped to Barbados and sold as a slave in 1765.

1797AD : Olaudah Equiano dies in England as a freed slave.

1807 AD : The Slave Trade Act 1807 is passed (on 25 March) helping in stopping the transportation of enslaved Africans, including Igbo people, to the Americas. Atlantic slave trade exports an estimated total of 1.4 million Igbo people across the Middle Passage

1830 AD : European explorers explore the course of the Lower Niger and meet the Northern Igbo.

1835 AD: Africanus Horton is born to Igbo ex-slaves in Sierra Leone

1855 AD: William Balfour Baikie a Scottish naval physician, reaches Niger Igboland.

MODERN HISTORY:

1880–1905: Southern Nigeria is conquered by the British, including Igboland.

1885–1906: Christian missionary presence in Igboland.

1891: King Ja Ja of Opobo dies in exile, but his corpse is brought back to Nigeria for burial.

1896–1906: Around 6,000 Igbo children attend mission schools.

1901–1902: The Aro Confederacy declines after the Anglo-Aro war.

1902: The Aro-Ibibio Wars end.

1906: Igboland becomes part of Southern Nigeria (the beginning of our problem)

1914: Northern Nigeria and Southern Nigeria are amalgamated to form Nigeria. (escalation of our problem)

1929: Igbo Women's War (first Nigerian feminist movement) of 1929 in Aba.

1953: November Anti Igbo riots (killing over 50 Igbos in Kano) of 1953 in Kano

1960: October 1 Nigeria gains independence from Britain; Tafawa Balewa becomes Prime Minister, and Nnamdi Azikiwe becomes President.

1966: January 16 A coup by junior military officers takes over government and assassinated some country leaders. The Federal Military Government is formed, with General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi as the Head of State and Supreme Commander of the Federal Republic.

1966: July 29 A counter-coup by military officers of northern extraction, deposes the Federal Military Government; General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi is assassinated along with Adekunle Fajuyi, Military Governor of Western Region. General Yakubu Gowon becomes Head of State.

1967: Ethnoreligious violence between Igbo Christians, and Hausa/Fulani Muslims in Eastern and Northern Nigeria, triggers a migration of the Igbo back to the East.

1967: May 30 General Emeka Ojukwu, Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria, declares his province an independent republic called Biafra, and the Nigerian Civil War or Nigerian-Biafran War ensues.

1970: January 8 General Emeka Ojukwu flees into exile; His deputy Philip Effiong becomes acting President of Biafra.

1970: January 15 Acting President of Biafra Philip Effiong surrenders to Nigerian forces through future President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, and Biafra is reintegrated into Nigeria.

References:

Understanding 'Things Fall Apart' by Kalu Ogbaa

Wikipedia

Image Credit: Ukpuru, Pinterest

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Today in Christian History

Today is Thursday, April 20th, the 110th day of 2023. There are 255 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

1479: Death of Alexander who founded the Orthodox monastery of Oshevensk, experienced miracles, and was a notable spiritual counselor.

1529: At the Second Diet of Speyer, the term “Protestant” is first applied to participants of the Reformation. The term was taken from the Protestatio, a statement by the reformers challenging the imperial stance on religion.

1558: Death of Johannes Bugenhagen, a leading Lutheran reformer, a professor at the University of Wittenberg, and the pastor of the city church there. Bugenhagen had helped Luther with his German Bible translation as well as translating the Bible into Low German himself.

1653: Cromwell dissolves the Rump Parliament, so-called because it consisted of only a few representatives who still remained. Cromwell lectures them on their vices and their uselessness, saying he is doing this at God’s command: “Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. Go!”

1676: Death of Baptist minister John Clarke, a founding father of Rhode Island, and the agent who obtained the colony’s charter from King Charles II in 1663.

1898: C.H. Spurgeon’s London tabernacle burns down. Efforts to rebuild it commence at once.

1962: Theologian Karl Barth is featured on the cover of Time magazine.

1988: Wilson Rajil Sabiya, a Lutheran theologian, writes a letter to General Ibrahim Babangida, President and Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, alerting him to Muslim efforts to make Nigeria an Islamic country by infiltrating the police force.

2001: A Peruvian Air Force aircraft shoots down a private airplane carrying missionaries, killing Veronica Bowers and her infant daughter, Charity.

[hardynwa]

Tinubu’s outburst on 25 per cent FCT votes sparks fresh controversy

The candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the 2023 presidential election and now President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmedu Tinubu, stirred the hornet’s nest recently when he cautioned the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, PEPT, against attempting to remove him from office on the grounds that he did not get 25 percent of the total votes cast during the presidential election in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja. He warned that such action could lead to chaos and anarchy in the country. President Tinubu asked the election tribunal to dismiss the petition seeking the nullification of his election for not securing 25 percent of the lawful votes cast in the FCT, arguing that having scored 25 percent in about 30 states of the federation, his failure to obtain 25 percent in the FCT would not be strong enough to deny him of his hard-earned victory. Tinubu contested the February 25 presidential elections on the platform of the APC and was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, after polling 8,794,726 votes to beat his closest rivals, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who polled 6, 984, 520 votes to place second, and Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP, who came third with 6,101,533 votes. However, Atiku and Obi had approached the election tribunal seeking to upturn Tinubu’s victory on the grounds that the elections were characterised by massive rigging as evidenced in the alleged widespread voters’ intimidation and suppression, ballot box snatching and destruction, over-voting, results manipulations, thuggery, vote buying, INEC’s failure to abide by its own rules and procedures, physical assault on voters, among others. Apart from these, Atiku and Obi also want Tinubu’s victory to be nullified because he did not score 25 percent of the total valid votes cast in the FCT, which according to them, is a constitutional requirement before anybody can be declared president of Nigeria. Since Tinubu’s declaration as the winner of that election, political discussion has been swinging like a pendulum. Nigerians, who prior to the elections were passive politically, had suddenly become active, discussing and analysing political developments from the election tribunal. Analysts are united in agreement that never in the history of Nigerian politics has there been the kind of political awareness and participation that were witnessed during the 2023 general elections. They also agreed that the country’s political firmament has never been as charged and ominous as it was between the period when Tinubu was declared the winner of the presidential election and May 29, when he was actually sworn in as the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. However, Atiku and Obi have pursued their case at the election petition tribunal with each presenting before the tribunal pictures, videos and documentary evidence to prove that Tinubu should not have been declared as president in the first place, not to talk of swearing him into the office. The issue around Tinubu’s failure to get 25 percent of the votes cast in the FCT appears to be the strongest point against the president since it is a constitutional issue and does not require presenting any witness by the petitioners. But Tinubu, through his legal counsel, Wole Olanipekun, in a final written address to the tribunal against the petition, argued that the FCT is the 37th state for electoral purposes. He stressed that any other interpretation would “lead to absurdity, chaos, anarchy and alteration of the very intention of the legislature.” Stressing that the petition is novel but not familiar with the electoral law, Olanipekun said: “The issue in this address is very novel in the sense that it is not a petition stricto senso, familiar to our electoral jurisprudence, as the petitioners are not, this time around, complaining about election rigging, ballot box snatching, ballot box stuffing, violence, thuggery, vote buying, voters’ intimidation, disenfranchisement, interference by the military or the police, and such other electoral vices.” The lawyer was specifically addressing a section of the Nigerian Constitution, which provides that a presidential candidate must score 25 per cent of the votes in two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Since Tinubu was declared as the winner of the presidential election without scoring 25 percent in the FCT, several opinions have been expressed on the matter by Nigerians of all classes, including those that are not lawyers. There are those who have kept on insisting that the constitution considers Abuja as one of the states in the country. Those on this divide are saying that the word, ‘and’ as used in the constitution, ‘36 states of the federation and the FCT,’ does not really mean that the FCT is different from the 36 states of the federation. To them, the FCT is just the same as any other state of the federation. They, therefore, posited that Tinubu, having scored 25 percent of the votes cast in about 30 states, is eminently qualified to be declared president since the constitution said a candidate must secure 25 percent in two-third of the 36 states and the FCT, which is 24 states. However, there are those who insist that the word, ‘and’ as used in the constitution simply means that if any candidate who scores 25 percent of the votes cast in two-third of the 36 states, fails to score 25 percent of the votes cast in the FCT, such a candidate has not met the constitutional requirement and should not be declared president. They further argued that if the framers of the constitution had a different thing in mind, they would not have inserted the word, ‘and’ there. They also disagreed with those who said that the FCT is just like any other state in the federation because while a state has a governor, who is elected by the electorate, the FCT does not have a governor, but a minister who is an appointee of the president. However, there are others who believe that even though the constitution provides that securing 25 percent votes cast in the FCT is a compulsory requirement before any candidate could win the presidential election, it would be left for the judges to look at what will best serve national interest and unity before they pass their judgement. However, Tinubu’s legal team seems to have agreed with those on this side of the divide as they are also saying that the courts have always been careful about giving extreme interpretations of the Constitution that could spark chaos. “Our courts have always adopted the purposeful approach to the interpretation of our Constitution, as exemplified in a host of decisions,” the team said. Tinubu’s legal team is also insisting that residents of the FCT, Abuja, are not more special than Nigerians from the other 36 states and cannot be treated specially. The team said: “In concluding our arguments on this issue, we urge the court to hold that any election where the electorates exercise their plebiscite, there is neither a ‘royal’ ballot nor ‘royal’ voter; and that residents of the FCT do not have any special voting right over residents of any other state of the federation, in a manner similar to the concepts of preferential shareholding in Company Law. We urge this court to resolve this issue against the petitioners and in favour of the respondent.” Pushing the argument further, the President’s legal team is also arguing that 25 percent votes cast in the FCT is not required by law for a president to emerge. “May we draw the attention of the court to the fact that there is no punctuation (comma) in the entire section 134(2)(b) of the constitution, particularly, immediately after the ‘States’ and the succeeding ‘and’ connecting the Federal Capital Territory with the States. In essence, the reading of the subsection has to be conjunctive and not disjunctive, as the Constitution clearly makes it so. Pressed further by this constitutional imperative, the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, is taken ‘as if’ it is the 37th State, under and by virtue of section 299 of the Constitution.” However, the comment credited to President Tinubu’s legal team that removing him as president over his failure to score 25 percent of the votes cast in the FCT might lead to the breakdown of law and order in Nigeria has sparked another round of argument. President of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Dr. Pogu Bitrus, described the president as a joker for making such a statement. According to the Middle Belt leader, nobody is above the constitution and if the constitution has been interpreted that the ‘and’ is conjunctive, and that the FCT is additional to the two-third of the states, then it is not for President Tinubu to determine. “He cannot tell us that he is above the constitution and the laws of the nation. If the Supreme Court interprets that according to the law and the constitution, then it is above not only him, but also above every other Nigerian like him. This is because the constitution is the grundnorm; it is superior to every other law that we have in Nigeria. It is the only thing that is binding us together. “So, if the constitution interprets it that way, it is not how I feel or how he or any other person feels because the law is not a respecter of persons. He cannot tell us that there will be anarchy in the land if the tribunal interprets the constitution. The country and the constitution are above him,” he said. Also, a legal practitioner, Marcellus Onah did not agree that there will be anarchy in the land if the tribunal removes the president on the grounds that he did not get 25 percent of the votes cast in the FCT. “What does he mean by anarchy in the land? Yes, a few of his supporters might want to cause trouble but that will be in Lagos only, not even in any other South West states. And I am sure the security agents will know what to do in such circumstances. “So, he cannot threaten anybody because he is not more Nigerian than anybody. Besides, nobody is above the law. The constitution is the only document that guides how everybody operates in Nigeria, so nobody should claim to be above it. “If the tribunal has established that he did not get 25 percent of the votes cast in the FCT, there is nothing anybody can do. That is just it and no amount of threat from him can change anything. The constitution must prevail at all times. That is the only thing that will make the outside world respect us as a nation,” he said. Read the full article

[andiessoccerblog]

Group H

Expected to move on: Germany, Colombia

Expected to exit in group stage: Morocco, Korea Republic

Germany

FIFA Ranking: 2

Reputation:

Much like the men’s side, the German women’s team is a MACHINE. Unless the unthinkable happens again (see: the men’s side 2018) Germany should get out of the group with ease, and I would definitely rank them as a favorite to win the World Cup. Their style of play is crisp, clean, and a little bit curt...if that makes sense. They will lay their bodies on the line, and they will lay your body on the line too if you’re playing against them. They shockingly failed to qualify for the 2020 Olympics, but were runners-up in the Women’s European Championship in 2022, which is a much more accurate indicator of their strength.

Player Pool: 

Germany is another team with extraordinary depth, with all their players on top domestic teams or premier teams in England or France. Alexandra Popp, new captain of the team, also leads in goals scored for German, but is really known for the use of her large stature to win duels. Every position is filled with veterans, and Germany has been skillful in ensuring that even its younger players have gotten experience in big games.  Every player is a team player and can be a standout in their own right, so it’s hard to pick specific players to highlight. That being said, of course there are players that rise to the top–Lena Oberdorf, Sara Däbritz, and Melanie Leupolz all deserve a shout out. 

2019 WWC performance:

Germany looked okay during the women's World Cup, but less confident than many people had anticipated. They made it through the group stage with narrow 1-0 wins against Spain and China, and an easy win against debutante South Africa. They plowed over Nigeria in the round of sixteen, but were stymied by Sweden in the quarterfinals.  On many past occasions, they had beaten Sweden, so many were surprised when the game went the other way. Dabritz, Magull, and Popp led the scoring, while young newcomer Gwinn and veteran Hegering held down the midfield and defense, playing all 450 minutes of their tournament run.

Colombia

FIFA Ranking: 26

Reputation: 

Colombia’s women’s team has historically done well in South American competition, feuding with Brazil for top honors, even as their own federation doesn’t support them as much financially as they do their men’s side.  Earlier in 2023 the Colombian Federation began an agreement with FIFA to begin increasing funding for women's soccer at all levels.  That won’t help the team in this World Cup, and they will be fighting tooth and nail against Korea Republic for the second spot in the group.

Player Pool:

Colombia has one of the older teams of the World Cup, with more veterans than newbies. After missing the 2019 World Cup, they will need to rely on players that were around for the 2015 World Cup, like Catalina Usme,  Daniela Montoya, and keeper Sandra Sepúlveda. 

2019 WWC performance:

Did Not Qualify

Korea Republic

FIFA Ranking: 17

Reputation:

South Korea is recognized as “Korea Republic” by FIFA. Asia’s women’s football culture has been improving on a regional stage, but has struggled to keep up internationally, and Korea Republic  is no exception. The best players on this team are the ones that leave Korea to play in a European or American league. They have never qualified for the Olympics. Their best result in a Women’s World Cup came in 2015, when they made it out of the group stage, but they couldn’t repeat the result in 2019, and likely won’t do it again in 2023. 

Player Pool: 

Ji So-yun (midfielder) made a name for herself and for Korea with a long career for Chelsea in England, but moved back to South Korea in 2022. Cho So-hyun is another team veteran playing in England, and the pair form a strong midfield. Captain is Kim Hye-ri, a veteran defender. She plays with about half the roster for South Korea’s Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels team, the top side in Korea’s domestic league.

2019 WWC performance:

Not great. They had a rough group, pulling Norway and France, so their only chance to advance was a third place spot, which neither they nor Nigeria achieved. They scored one goal in the tournament.

Morocco

FIFA Ranking: 73

Reputation: 

Morocco reached their first World Cup under the distinguished coach Reynald Pedros, who previously had coached Olympique Lyonnais Féminin to the french championship. Under Pedros, the team has grown to be one of the best teams in Africa. However, they have a record of falling short against teams outside of Africa, and will need this tournament and more international exposure to become a contender. 

Player Pool:

Captain Ghizlane Chebbak has played for Morocco for the last 10 years and is their top goalscorer. They have an up and coming forward in Rosella Ayane, who played for the English national youth teams, but switched to Morocco for her senior caps.

2019 WWC performance:

Did Not Qualify

[grandmaster-anne]

Court Circular | 15th March 2023

Buckingham Palace

His Excellency Mr Aly Diallo was received in audience by The King today and presented the Letters of Recall of his predecessor and his own Letters of Credence as Ambassador from the Republic of Guinea to the Court of St James’s. Ms Marie Savane was also received by His Majesty. His Excellency Mr El Hadji Alhousseini Traore was received in audience by The King and presented the Letters of Recall of his predecessor and his own Letters of Credence as Ambassador from the Republic of Mali to the Court of St James’s. Sir Philip Barton (Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs) was present. His Majesty this afternoon visited members of the United Kingdom’s Sudanese community at Abrar House, 45 Crawford Place, London W1, and was received by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London (Sir Kenneth Olisa). Later Dr Richard Montgomery was received in audience by The King upon his appointment as British High Commissioner to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP (Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury) subsequently had an audience of His Majesty. The Queen Consort, Honorary Member, the Jockey Club, today attended the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse and was received by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Gloucestershire (Mr Edward Gillespie).

Kensington Palace

The Princess of Wales, Joint Patron, the Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, this morning held an Early Years Meeting at Windsor Castle.

St James’s Palace

The Duke of Edinburgh, Patron, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, this morning visited Portland College, Nottingham Road, Mansfield, and was received by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire (Sir John Peace).

St James’s Palace

The Princess Royal, Colonel-in-Chief, Intelligence Corps, this morning visited Government Communications Headquarters, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Her Royal Highness this afternoon opened Dransfield Properties Limited’s Number 1 King Street Five Valleys Medical Centre, NHS Facilities and Library Services, King Street, Stroud, and was received by Mr Roger Deeks (Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Gloucestershire). The Princess Royal, accompanied by Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, this evening attended the Gloucestershire and District Agricultural Valuers Association’s Centenary Dinner at the Royal Agricultural University, Tetbury Road, Cirencester, and was received by Mrs Jane Jenner-Fust (Deputy Lieutenant of Gloucestershire).

Kensington Palace

The Duke of Gloucester, Vice President, Lepra, this morning received Mrs Suzanne McCarthy (Chairman of Trustees) and Mr James Innes (Chief Executive).

St James’s Palace

The Duke of Kent, Grand Master, United Grand Lodge of England, this afternoon attended a Rulers’ Luncheon at Freemasons’ Hall, 60 Great Queen Street, London WC2.

[astrosblogs]

Nigeria’s Bola Tinubu declared winner of presidential vote

Tinubu, though, received only 37% of the votes or nearly 8.8 million, the first time that a president takes office in Nigeria with less than 50% of the vote, analysts say.

ABUJA, Nigeria: Election officials declared Bola Tinubu the winner of Nigeria’s presidential election Wednesday, keeping the ruling party in power in Africa’s most populous nation and raising the specter of protests by opposition supporters who already have called for the vote to be voided.

Tinubu, 70, the former governor of Lagos state, appealed for reconciliation with his rivals in a pre-dawn victory speech in the capital, Abuja. The running mate of one opposition candidate, though, signaled a court challenge was imminent.

Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy and one of the continent’s top oil producers, has seen deadly violence erupt after previous presidential elections. Tinubu urged Nigerians to unite behind his administration after he takes office on May 29.

“I take this opportunity to appeal to my fellow contestants to let us team up together,” he said in a speech broadcast live on television. “It is the only nation we have. It is one country and we must build together.”

Tinubu, though, received only 37% of the votes or nearly 8.8 million, the first time that a president takes office in Nigeria with less than 50% of the vote, analysts say. Main opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar won 29% with almost 7 million, and third-place finisher Obi took 25% with about 6.1 million, according to official results.

Hours after the election result was announced by the electoral body, Obi’s running mate told reporters in Abuja that they will challenge the outcome in court on the basis that it didn’t follow the provisions of Nigeria’s electoral law.

“There is an incoming government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that is illegal and unconstitutional,” said Datti Baba-Ahmed, Obi’s running mate. “The only language we know is peace. If Nigerians are going to achieve peace through peaceful protests, (it is) welcome.”

Much of Nigeria remained calm Wednesday afternoon amid fears of protests by opposition supporters. In the Kubwa area of Abuja, Tinubu supporters flooded the streets, singing and dancing in excitement. But nearby one Obi supporter expressed her dismay.

“I will join a protest if there is one, because my vote did not count,” said Favour Ben, 29, who owns a food business in the capital.

Abubakar also finished second in the previous vote in 2019, and appealed those results in court although his lawsuit ultimately was dismissed.

Nnamdi Obasi, senior adviser on Nigeria for the International Crisis Group, said that Tinubu will have to contend with challenges to his legitimacy from the onset and will need to ensure an inclusive government and focus firmly on rebuilding national cohesion.

Tinubu “will have to strive to win the support of the larger majority who preferred one of the other candidates, particularly the youth, the Christian groups that were opposed to his Muslim-Muslim ticket and Igbos in the southeast who again feel denied the presidency.”

Tinubu is a Muslim from the south and chose a fellow Muslim as his running mate in order to secure votes from the Muslim-dominated north, which has more registered voters than the Christian south, a strategy that proved effective, analysts say.

Tinubu clinched victory in part because the opposition vote was split and because his party had the strongest push to get people out to vote, said Amaka Anku, Africa director at the Eurasia Group consultancy.

President Muhammadu Buhari congratulated his successor in a statement Wednesday, but said the election wasn’t perfect.

“Of course, there will be areas that need work to bring further transparency and credibility to the voting procedure,” he said. “However, none of the issues registered represents a challenge to the freeness and fairness of the elections.”

The parties now have three weeks to appeal results, but an election can be invalidated only if it’s proven the national electoral body largely didn’t follow the law and acted in ways that could have changed the result.

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has never overturned a presidential election, though court challenges are common, including by Buhari, who doggedly fought his past election losses for months in vain.

The West African regional bloc, known as ECOWAS, called on political parties to appeal to their supporters to exercise maximum restraint and refrain from using provocative language, which would only “exacerbate political tensions, divisiveness, and violence at this critical stage,” the group said in a statement.

Observers have said Saturday’s election was mostly peaceful, though delays caused some voters to wait until the following day to cast their ballots. Many Nigerians had difficulties getting to their polling stations because of a currency redesign that resulted in a shortage of bank notes.

[brookston]

Holidays 1.8

Holidays

Argyle Day

Around the World Day

Babinden (Old Midwives' Day; Bulgaria)

Battle of New Orleans Day (Louisiana)

Bowiemas

Bubble Bath Day

Colorism Awareness Day

Dave Thomas Day

Earth’s Rotation Day

Emperor Norton Day

Gorp Gorp (in “Teen Titans”)

International Choreographers Day

It All Adds Up Day

Jackson Day (Louisiana)

Man Watcher's Day (a.k.a. Male Watchers Day)

Marble Day (French Republic)

Marrow Donor Day (Armenia)

Mercenaries Day (Nigeria)

Midwives’ Day

National Butcher’s Day (Cambodia)

National Career Coach Day

National JoyGerm Day

National Vision Board Day

National Winter Skin Relief Day

Nymph Guzom (Sikkim, India)

OA Day of Action

Old Hickory Day

Rationing Day (UK)

Redistribution of Wealth Day

Rock 'n' Roll Day

Roy Batty Inception Day (Blade Runner)

Show and Tell At Work Day

Stephen Hawking Day

TRP Day

Vomit Day

War on Poverty Day

Women's Day (a.k.a. Midwife's Day; Greece)

World Literacy Day

World Typing Day

Yinekokratia (Men & Women Switch Roles; Greece)

Food & Drink Celebrations

English Toffee Day

Milk Carton Day

National Eat Something Raw Day

Nature Celebrations

National Labrador Retriever Day

National Snuggle a Chicken Day

Purple Violet (Love; Korean Flower Birthdays)

Independence, Flag & Related Days

Caddia (a.k.a. Federal Republic of Caddia; Declared; 2018)

Commonwealth Day (Northern Mariana Islands)

Monaco (Declared, 1297)

Sussex Independence Day (UK)

World Buddhist Flag Day

New Year’s Days

New Year Holiday (Russia)

Old Druid’s New Year

2nd Wednesday in January

Hump Day [Every Wednesday]

National Take the Stairs Day [2nd Wednesday]

Wacky Wednesday [Every Wednesday]

Watermelon Wednesday [2nd Wednesday of Each Month]

Website Wednesday [Every Wednesday]

Workout Wednesday [2nd Wednesday of Each Month]

Weekly Holidays beginning January 8 (1st Full Week of January)

Elvis Presley Birthday Celebration Week (thru 1.11)

National Soccer Coaches of America Week (thru 1.12)

Festivals Beginning January 8, 2025

The BPM Festival (Tamarindo, Costa Rica) [thru 1.12]

Juicy Fest (Christchurch, New Zealand)

Michigan's Great Beer State Conference & Trade Show (Kalamazoo, Michigan) [thru 1.10]

Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show [MANTS] (Baltimore, Maryland) [thru 1.10]

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival (Singapore) [thru 1.19]

Feast Days

Abo of Tiflis (Christian; Saint)

Apollinaris Claudius of Hierapolis (Christian; Saint)

Belus (Positivist; Saint)

Bubble Bath Day (Pastafarian)

Carmentalia: Day of Sacred Pregnancy (Pagan)

Dakini Day (Vajrayana Buddhism; Tibet)

Day of Freya (Norse)

Erhard (Christian; Saint)

Eurosia Fabris (Christian; Blessed)

Feast Day of Justita (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Flitzpizzle (Muppetism)

Gauchito Gil (Folk Catholicism)

Gudula (Christian; Saint) [Brussels]

The Haloa (Fertility Festival for Demeter & Dionysos; Ancient Greece)

Harriet Bedell (Episcopal Church US)

Jimi Hendrix Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Justicia’s Day (Ancient Early Rome; Everyday Wicca)

Justitia (Roman Goddess of Justice)

Lawrence Giustiniani (Christian; Saint)

Lucian of Beauvais (Christian; Saint)

Maximus of Pavia (Christian; Saint)

Midwife’s Day (Ancient Greece; Everyday Wicca)

Nathalan (Christian; Saint)

Our Lady of Prompt Succor (Roman Catholic Church)

Pega (Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches; Saint & Virgin)

Sacrifices to Janus (Ancient Rome)

Second Day of Orthodox Christmas (Orthodox Christian; Moldova, Montenegro)

Severinus of Noricum (Christian; Saint)

Stephen Hawking Remembrance Day (Pastafarian)

Thorfinn of Hamar (Christian; Saint)

Toka Ebisu Matsuri begins (Festival of Ebisu; Japan) [thru 11th]

Wulsin (Christian; Saint)

Secular Saints Days

Lawrence Alma-Tadema (Art)

Shirley Bassey (Music)

David Bowie (Music)

Terry Brooks (Literature)

Graham Chapman (Entertainment)

Wilkie Collins (Literature)

Pavel Filonov (Art)

Stephen Hawking (Science)

John McTiernan (Entertainment)

Jan Nieuwenhuys (Art)

Serge Poliakoff (Art)

Elvis Presley (Music)

Robert Schumann (Music)

Elisabetta Sirani (Art)

Peter Taylor (Literature)

Boris Vallejo (Art)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Premieres

All Creatures Great and Small (UK TV Series; 1978)

Arrowsmith, by Sinclair Lewis (Novel; 1925)

Battle of the Giants or It Takes Two to Tangle (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S2, Ep. 87; 1961)

Blackstar, by David Bowie (Album; 2016)

Bye-Bye, Boris or Farewell, My Ugly (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S2, Ep. 88; 1961)

Dollars and Scents or Putting on the Dog (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S4, Ep. 193; 1963)

G., by John Berger (Novel; 1972)

Hear my Prayer, by Felix Mendelssohn (Anthem; 1844)

House of Lies (TV Series; 2012)

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Film; 2010)

Jealous Lover (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1933)

Leap Year (Film; 2010)

Leprechaun (Film; 1993)

Lupin (TV Series; 2020)

A Memory of Light, by Robert Jordan (Novel; 2013) [Wheel of Time #14]

One of Our Meese is Missing or Heads You Lose (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S4, Ep. 194; 1963)

Pink-A-Rella (Pink Panther Cartoon; 1969)

Pirates of Penzance (Broadway Musical Revival; 1981)

Podkayne of Mars, by Robert A. Heinlein (Novel; 1963)

Poirot (UK TV Series; 1989)

The Revenant (Film; 2016)

Salty McGuire (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1937)

Shot and Bothered (WB LT Cartoon; 1966)

(Sittin’ On” The Dock of the Bay, by Otis Redding (Song; 1968)

So I’m a Spider, So What? (Anime TV Series; 2021)

Symphony No. 15 in A Major, by Dmitri Shostakovich (Symphony; 1972)

The Tickle Feather Machine, Parts 3 & 4 (Underdog Cartoon, S2, Eps. 51 & 52; 1966)

Vessel, by Twenty One Pilots (Album; 2013)

Ways of Seeing, by John Berger (Art Philosophy; 1972)

Youth in Revolt (Film; 2010)

Today’s Name Days

Erhard, Gudula, Severin (Austria)

Bogoljub, Severin, Teofil (Croatia)

Čestmír (Czech Republic)

Erhardt (Denmark)

Gunnar, Kunder, Kunnar (Estonia)

Hilppa, Titta (Finland)

Lucien (France)

Erhard, Gudula, Heiko, Severin (Germany)

Agathon, Dominiki, Kelsios, Parthena, Theofilos, Vasilissa (Greece)

Gyöngyvér (Hungary)

Massimo, Severino (Italy)

Erhads, Gatis, Gundabis, Ivanda (Latvia)

Apolinaras, Gintė, Teofilis, Vilintas (Lithuania)

Torfinn, Turid (Norway)

Erhard, Mścisław, Seweryn (Poland)

Domnica, Gheorghe (Romania)

Severín (Slovakia)

Luciano, Severino (Spain)

Erland (Sweden)

Alvis, Elvis, Severin, Severina, Severne (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 8 of 2025; 357 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of Week 2 of 2025

Celtic Tree Calendar: Ruis (Elder) [Day 18 of 28]

Chinese: Month 12 (Ding-Chou), Day 9 (Ding-Chou)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Coptic: 30 Kiyahk 1741

Hebrew: 8 Teveth 5785

Islamic: 8 Rajab 1446

J Cal: 8 White; Oneday [8 of 30]

Julian: 26 December 2024

Moon: 69%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 8 Moses (1st Month) [Belus]

Runic Half Month:Peorth (Womb, Dice Cup) [Day 2 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 19 of 90)

Week: 1st Full Week of January

Zodiac: Capricorn (Day 18 of 30)

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 12.31 (after 1950)

1951 – Cold War: The Marshall Plan expires after distributing more than US$13.3 billion in foreign aid to rebuild Western Europe. 1955 – General Motors becomes the first U.S. corporation to make over US$1 billion in a year. 1956 – The Romanian Television network begins its first broadcast in Bucharest. 1961 – RTÉ, Ireland's state broadcaster, launches its first national television service. 1963 – The Central African Federation officially collapses, subsequently becoming Zambia, Malawi and Rhodesia. 1965 – Jean-Bédel Bokassa, leader of the Central African Republic army, and his military officers begin a coup d'état against the government of President David Dacko. 1968 – The first flight of the Tupolev Tu-144, the first civilian supersonic transport in the world. 1968 – MacRobertson Miller Airlines Flight 1750 crashes near Port Hedland, Western Australia, killing all 26 people on board. 1981 – A coup d'état in Ghana removes President Hilla Limann's PNP government and replaces it with the Provisional National Defence Council led by Flight lieutenant Jerry Rawlings. 1983 – The AT&T Bell System is broken up by the United States Government. 1983 – Benjamin Ward is appointed New York City Police Department's first ever African American police commissioner. 1983 – In Nigeria, a coup d'état led by Major General Muhammadu Buhari ends the Second Nigerian Republic. 1991 – All official Soviet Union institutions have ceased operations by this date, five days after the Soviet Union is officially dissolved. 1992 – Czechoslovakia is peacefully dissolved in what is dubbed by media as the Velvet Divorce, resulting in the creation of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. 1994 – This date is skipped altogether in Kiribati as the Phoenix Islands and Line Islands change time zones from UTC−11:00 to UTC+13:00 and UTC−10:00 to UTC+14:00, respectively. 1994 – The First Chechen War: The Russian Ground Forces begin a New Year's storming of Grozny. 1995 – The final comic of Calvin and Hobbes is published. 1998 – The European Exchange Rate Mechanism freezes the values of the legacy currencies in the Eurozone, and establishes the value of the euro currency. 1999 – The first President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, resigns from office, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the acting President and successor. 1999 – The U.S. government hands control of the Panama Canal (as well all the adjacent land to the canal known as the Panama Canal Zone) to Panama. This act complied with the signing of the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties. 1999 – Indian Airlines Flight 814 hijacking ends after seven days with the release of 190 survivors at Kandahar Airport, Afghanistan. 2004 – The official opening of Taipei 101, the tallest skyscraper at that time in the world, standing at a height of 509 metres (1,670 ft). 2009 – Both a blue moon and a lunar eclipse occur. 2010 – Tornadoes touch down in midwestern and southern United States, including Washington County, Arkansas; Greater St. Louis, Sunset Hills, Missouri, Illinois, and Oklahoma, with a few tornadoes in the early hours. A total of 36 tornadoes touched down, resulting in the deaths of nine people and $113 million in damages. 2011 – NASA succeeds in putting the first of two Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory satellites in orbit around the Moon. 2014 – A New Year's Eve celebration stampede in Shanghai kills at least 36 people and injures 49 others. 2015 – A fire breaks out at the Downtown Address Hotel in Downtown Dubai, United Arab Emirates, located near the Burj Khalifa, two hours before the fireworks display is due to commence. Sixteen injuries were reported; one had a heart attack, another suffered a major injury, and fourteen others with minor injuries. 2018 – Thirty-nine people are killed after a ten-story building collapses in the industrial city of Magnitogorsk, Russia. 2019 – The World Health Organization is informed of cases of pneumonia with an unknown cause, detected in Wuhan. This later turned out to be COVID-19, the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic.

[lboogie1906]

The Nigerian Civil War, known as the Nigerian-Biafran War, was a three-year bloody conflict with a death toll numbering more than one million people. The war began with the secession of the southeastern region of the nation on May 30, 1967, when it declared itself the independent Republic of Biafra.

Nigeria has often experienced an uncertain peace. Following decades of ethnic tension in colonial Nigeria, political instability reached a critical mass among independent Nigeria’s three dominant ethnic groups: the Hausa-Fulani in the north, Yoruba in the southwest, and Igbo in the southeast. On January 15, 1966, the Igbo launched a coup d’état under the command of Major-General Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi in an attempt to save the country from what Igbo leaders feared would be political disintegration.

Less than two months after Biafra declared its independence, diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis fell apart. On July 6, 1967, the federal government in Lagos launched a full-scale invasion into Biafra. The Nigerian army surrounded and buffeted Biafra with aerial and artillery bombardment that led to large-scale losses among Biafran civilians. The Nigerian Navy established a sea blockade that denied food, medical supplies, and weapons, again impacting Biafran soldiers and civilians alike.

Biafra stood firm refusing to surrender in the face of overwhelming Nigerian military superiority. The Nigerian Army continued to slowly take territory, and on January 15, 1970, Biafra surrendered when its military commander General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu fled to Cote d’Ivoire.

An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people died daily in Biafra from starvation as a result of the naval blockade. The international reaction to the military conflict helped define how the world now views and responds to similar #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence