Abuja Bloggers

(CNN) -- Oh Brad. So strong. So virile. So capable of wielding a sword in Troy, destroying zombies in World War Z, and seducing leading ladies with just the tilt of a cowboy hat in Thelma and Louise. "He's a real man's man," gushed fiancé and mother of his six-children, Angelia Jolie. But that alone is not what makes him such an important role model for men today, says one of America's most distinguished feminists and international affairs professors, Anne-Marie Slaughter. It's his ability to share breadwinning and caregiving with his partner. Which has a lot more to do with empowering women than you might think. A real man's man? Brad Pitt shares the care-giving with Angelina Jolie. Getty Images "Think of Brad Pitt in Troy, he's a real guy, no question," said 55-year-old Slaughter, President of the New America Foundation , and former Director of Policy Planning at the U.S. State Department. "But he's ...

The Oyo State Ministry of Industry, Science and Technology says it will collaborate with the University of Ibadan and The Polytechnic, Ibadan, among other tertiary institutions, to develop science and technology in the state. The state Commissioner for Industry, Science and Technology, Dapo Lam-Adesina, stated this while inaugurating the ministry’s website in Ibadan. The website, he said, would enable the state government and the schools to accomplish better technological achievements. The commissioner said, “The scope and focus of this ministry have a lot in common with our tertiary institutions. This ministry cannot alone claim to be successful if it does not link up with the likes UI and Ibadan Poly because they have a strong research mechanism in science and technology. That is why we are working with them and other agencies in the development of science and technology. “We have developed a research strategy that will involve the two institutions and the state ...

The All Progressives Congress has condemned President Goodluck Jonathan’s comment against Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima during the Presidential Media Chat on Monday, calling it unwarranted, unpresidential and petty. In a statement on Tuesday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said Jonathan was wrong “to have threatened, no matter how subtly,” to withdraw from Borno the troops battling against Boko Haram insurgents. The party asked the President to apologise to the people of Borno State and to all Nigerians for what it described as “presidential indiscretion.” It believed that the threat, which was in response to the statement credited to the governor that the soldiers, battling the terrorists,  needed to be better equipped and more motivated, “showed clearly that President Jonathan does not have a full grasp of what is expected of him as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.” APC added, “Mr. Presid...

Some unknown gunmen have abducted President Goodluck Jonathan’s cousin, Chief  Inengite Nitabai, in Otuoke, Bayelsa State. Otuoke is the home state of President Jonathan and Nitabai is the President’s adopted father. Nitabai, who is said to be the compound chief of Jonathan’s family, was abducted by 10 suspected kidnappers about 9pm on Sunday. It was learnt that when the gunmen stormed the residence of the 70-year-old Nitabai, they initially met one of the victim’s children. A reliable family source, who craved anonymity, told PUNCH Metro that the boy, whose name he gave simply as Silas, quickly ran into the house to alert his father and other members of the family because it was strange to see visitors at the time of the day. The source explained that six of the assailants, however, forced their way into the house, while the remaining four stayed outside. He said the suspected kidnappers ordered Nitabai, his wife, Owiya, Nitabai’s in-law, Akinobebh Jin and N...

This is the era of sex marketing. If you turn right, sex leaps into your face; if you turn left, sex jumps at you. In the street, in the shopping mall, in the church, in the office, on your computer and phone, and even in your living room, sex chases you around. Sex – subtle or barefaced – has become all-pervasive in our society. Our society has become so sex-charged that the safety of our children is no longer guaranteed. Before, the rule was that during the children’s belt on TV, materials with adult content were not shown. These days, the only things that are not shown on our TV from morning to about 10 pm are commercials of alcoholic beverages. Any other thing goes. At such periods, TV stations are competing on which will show more Mexican soaps featuring deep kissing and erotic scenes every five minutes. Almost all the stations dedicate about two hours per day to music videos with bikini-clad girls dancing with men with lewd abandon. Then there are the so-called...

The Nigerian Communications Commission said in Abuja on Tuesday that it would take necessary measures to protect the nation from being a dumping ground for fake cell phones. The NCC Public Relations Officer, Mr Reuben Muoka, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria. Muoka said the commission was conscious of the health implications of fake cell phones on the populace. He, therefore, said the commission would ensure that only certified phones and phone accessories found their way into the nation’s markets. NCC was partnering with the Nigerian Customs Services and the Phone and Allied Dealers Association of Nigeria to that effect. “Checks have revealed that major dealers in the Nigeria ICT market also engaged in the sale of unapproved phones. “The NCC condemns this in complete terms because of its health implication and effects in the quality of services delivery. “Worried by the ugly trend, the regulatory authority in partnership with NCS and PADAN has...

Suspected Boko Haram Islamists killed 43 people on Tuesday when they attacked secondary school students as they slept in the latest school massacre to hit Nigeria’s troubled northeast. The raid occurred at about 2.00 am and targeted the Federal Government College in the town of Buni Yadi in Yobe State and bore the hallmarks of a similar attack last September in which 40 died. The attackers reportedly hurled explosives into student residential buildings, sprayed gunfire into rooms and hacked a number students to death. A senior medical source at the Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital in Yobe’s capital Damaturu said the gunmen only targeted male students and that female students were “spared”. “So far, 43 bodies have been brought (from the college) and are lying at the morgue,” said the source, who requested anonymity as he was not authorised to discuss death tolls. The state’s police chief, Sanusi Rufai, who confirmed the attack and had given an earlier death toll of...