VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Two in court for allegedly gang-raping a 21-year-old lady

Two men, who allegedly gang-raped a 21-year-old lady on Thursday appeared before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court. The accused are a trader, Adeniyi Gidado, 25, who lives at 5, Osanyinpeju St., Agege, Lagos and Simeon Nwaugo, 25, also a trader, who lives at 9, Akeem Boye St., Iju-Ishaga, near Lagos.

The accused are facing a two-count charge of conspiracy and rape. The Prosecutor, Cpl. Felicia Okwori, told the court that the offences were committed on Nov. 24 at a hotel situated at 156 Dopemu Road, Agege, Lagos.

Okwori said that the first accused, Adeniyi, who was a boy friend to the victim invited her for a date at the hotel. “On getting there, they both decided to sleep in the hotel since it was already late to go home but unknown to the victim, her boy friend had invited the second accused.

“It was after the victim had slept that the second accused came in to the room and they gang-raped her,” she said. The prosecutor said that it was the screaming of the victim that woke the people in the hotel and the duo were apprehended. He said that the offences contravened Sections 258(1) (2) and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The accused, however, pleaded not guilty. The Magistrate, Mrs Taiwo Akanni, granted each of the accused bail in the sum of N250, 000 with two sureties in like sum. The case was adjourned till Dec. 15 for hearing.

HOW TO LAND YOUR DREAM JOB

Why it's time you stepped out of your comfort zone

Face your fears by doing something that scares you and watch your career soar (Shutterstock.com)

Sleeping, resting, chilling, cruising: we all yearn for a stress-free and easy life. We believe that being comfortable is good for us.

However, most successful people greatly disagree. Their experience has taught them that being uncomfortable is exactly the place where their potential thrives. Testing your limits, defying your boundaries, trying new things, putting yourself out there… that’s what takes you to the next level.

But people are usually afraid of failing and making mistakes and therefore opt to stick to exercises and activities that have known outcomes with little to no risk of embarrassment.

Read: How to boost your confidence and get ahead

But that’s the surest way to stay stuck.

“I wan chop so I'm going to order what I know tastes good.”

But there could be something even better in the menu if only you’d spread your wings.

“I know I do this well so I’m always going to do it. It’s better than falling on my face by trying something else.”

But what if you are better at the something else too?

Warning:

The danger in always sticking with what is most comfortable is that you’ll always only know what you know. You'll always experience what you've experienced before. No new opinions, no new memories, no new feelings, no new accomplishments, and no new nothing. This is especially true in your career, for example:

• Passing on the opportunity to do a presentation (thanks to your glossophobia) means your colleague will always get credit for work you can do too. That's a missed opportunity.

• Saying no to extra work (because you think you're incapable) means it’ll be passed to someone else that gets to grow their skill set instead of you. That's a missed opportunity.

• Not sharing a new idea you have (do you think you’re too young/too new or that the idea will never work?) means that your superiors will continue overlooking your potential. You're missing out on new opportunities.

In addition, because your manager knows that you are unable to confront your fears, they'll stop offering you new opportunities all together. Have you ever noticed that there's usually only one person in the office that seems to get offered all the new opportunities? It's probably because they  take the chances you're too scared to take.

So, here’s why Neale Donald Walsch’s "life begins at the end of your comfort zone" quote should push you out of it:

Growth is at the end of your comfort zone

• You learn something new

With each new experience, you'll be able to see something in a way you've never seen it before.

• You’ll find out more about your strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes.

With each new experience, you'll know why it worked, what will make it work better next time, and if you'd enjoy a career that enables you to experience that regularly.

• You’ll feel more confident.

Achievement, pride and the realisation that you didn't die after completing an anxiety filled task, will make you believe in yourself so much more.

• You will get noticed.

If you put yourself out there, others will see you out there.

• You’ll begin inspiring people around you.

People will look at YOU and say: If she can do it then so can I.

It's true that people generally do not like to roam outside their comfort zone. And that's why most people aren't successful. Outside is where we grow, learn, and develop in a way that expands our horizons beyond what we ever thought we were capable of doing. Don't worry, you can fake it 'till you make it. Take the first step out of your comfort zone by growing your skillset, applying for that promotion, climbing the corporate ladder, leaving the job you hate,  and by finding better opportunities in other companies.

CAREER PATH

4 skills only work experience will teach you

Your career teaches you many lessons that the ABCs of your textbook won't (Stocksnap.io)

From how to compete for a promotion to navigating your way around a difficult manager, there are skills that only your career will teach you. Even if you think you’re well-prepared for anything after university, surprises that life is likely to throw at you, will leave you thinking "Wetin dey happen?"

Regardless of where in life you are, there is something new for everyone to learn.

1. How to negotiate and not be taken granted of

If you want to build a successful career, you’re going to have to learn very early in your career that there is power in negotiating. Whether it’s starting a new job, asking for a salary increase or budgeting for a project, brushing up your negotiation skills will be the difference between striking the best deal and being taken for a ride. Unfortunately, school doesn't teach you this skills, like most people, you’ll have to take a few hard knocks and learn the hard way.

Read: Secrets you need to know to make more money

2. How to work with people and network

Learning to work with people is probably one of the most important skills you’ll have to master for success. You’ll have to learn how to handle the low-key aspects of your office culture and the people who make it that way: from your colleague who always has the most inappropriate things to say at the most inappropriate of times, to your manager who shoots down every idea you bring to the table.

The same applies to networking. Having a network of people you can reach out to in any situation will work to your advantage.

3. How to manage your time and responsibilities

Unfortunately in the office, there isn’t an administrator to set up a timetable for you and run after you when you’ve missed a submission date. This means that every single day you’ll have to manage your own responsibilities. You’ll have to be accountable for your own work, projects, meetings and emails. If anything goes wrong or you miss a deadline, you’ll be the one who'll have to answer to the mess.

You’ll also realise that enough time in a day usually doesn't exist. And if it does, there'll always be something else that can be done. But planning and keeping track of how you use your time, will help you to effectively manage it.

Remember: You have as many hours in a day as Beyoncé.

4. How  to handle feedback

Criticism whether positive or negative is an inevitable part of life. But the difference between school and office criticism is that in the office, there won’t be a teacher to congratulate you when you’ve aced a test or to tell you can do better when you haven’t. In fact, in business, you really are only as good as your last project. When given criticism the onus will be on you to listen to what you’re told, decipher what it means and decide how you’re going to apply it to better yourself.

Remember that receiving feedback of any nature from a colleague or your manager is usually a sign that they care about your personal growth and the trajectory of your career. The responsibility will be on you to remember this and use it to show your capability of learning and growth.

Just as with anything in life, the only way you’ll prepare yourself for the unknown is to break out of your comfort zone. Learning to navigate some of these skills before starting a full-time job - whether through an internship or a part-time job - will also ensure you’re aware of what to expect.

Union Bank appoints new chairman

Union Bank of Nigeria Plc (Union Bank) has appointed Mr. Cyril Odu as Chairman of the Board of Directors following the resignation of previous Chairman, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, who was recently appointed Minister of Budget and National Planning by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Mr. Cyril Odu as Chairman of the Board of Directors , Union Bank of Nigeria

Mr. Odu joined the Board of Union Bank in 2012 following a $500 million (USD) investment in the Bank from Union Global Partners Limited, a private equity consortium.

“The Board and Management of Union Bank thank Senator Udoma for his astute leadership and support over the past three years. Under Senator Udoma’s guidance, the Bank defined its strategic direction, outlined its transformation roadmap, and has made significant strides executing its priorities as is evident in our achievement of critical operational and financial milestones. We wish him success as he is called to serve our country in a higher capacity and to assist the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in the transformation of the Nigerian economy,” says Emeka Emuwa, Group Managing Director and CEO of Union Bank.

On the appointment of Mr. Odu, Mr. Emuwa continues, “We are very pleased as Mr. Cyril Odu assumes the role of Chairman of the Board of Directors. As a non-Executive Director since 2012, he has brought his extensive knowledge and experience to bear and has provided critical input and direction to support Union Bank’s transformation. His appointment brings continuity and ensures that the Bank will continue to execute its defined strategic initiatives over the next few years.”

Mr. Odu has nearly 45 years of professional and management experience. His 40-year distinguished career at ExxonMobil saw him rise from Trainee to Vice Chairman of the Board of Mobil Producing Nigeria and Chief Financial Officer of ExxonMobil Upstream Companies in Nigeria, making him the highest ranking Nigerian in the organisation until his retirement in 2012.

During the span of his career at ExxonMobil, he served in many technical and managerial functions including Associate Geologist, Treasurer, Controller, Project Finance Director (Europe, Middle East and Africa), Country HR Manager, and General Manager, Planning and New Business Development. He was actively involved in developing and executing ExxonMobil business strategies in Nigeria, as well in as the implementation of several innovative funding and financing solutions, including the first upstream financing deal (the 1991 Oso Condensate field development) in Nigerian history.

Eaglets stars head for Belgium

Kelechi Nwakali and three others in FIFA Under-17 world cup team will join Belgian club Standard Liege before moving to bigger European clubs.

Nwakali, Samuel Chukwueze, David Enogela and Joel Osikel have been signed by foremost players’ agents Stellar Group, who manage several top stars including Gareth Bale.

A top source informed: “The players have been invited to Europe by Standard Liege and it is from there that the players will be moved to other clubs in other leagues.”

Midfielder Nwakali was the MVP of the 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup and he has been variously linked with several top English Premier League.

Despite the tightening of restrictions on foreign youngsters moving to England, Nwakali is expected to be granted a work permit when he turns 18 using the special talent clause.

Manchester City starlet Kelechi Iheanacho was MVP of the 2013 FIFA U17 World Cup and used this clause to get a work permit this year.

MAMA TARABA

Mama Taraba: Curious case of Nigerian women ceiling breaker

Senator Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan, popularly known and addressed as Mama Taraba, has grabbed the headlines in Nigeria’s socio-political hemisphere in recent months and for all the right reasons. Born on 16th September 1959 as Jummai Ibrahim Abubakar in Jalingo, Mama Taraba’s political clout has been on the increase and went even several knots higher since the last general elections in Nigeria, when she contested for the office of governor of her home state, Taraba.

She was tipped to win the election and become the first democratically elected female governor in Nigeria’s history, but that glory was derailed briefly through the election malpractices antics of the People’s Democratic Party. That election has since been overturned by the Taraba State Election Tribunal, and pending the judgement of the Appeal Court, Mama Taraba’s history-making ascension seem to be on course again.

File: Aisha Jummai Alhassan ( 2nd right)  with other ministers taking the oath of Office during their swear-in ceremony recently.

The tribunal nullified the election of Architect Darius Dickson Ishaku as governor of Taraba, stating the he was not validly nominated as candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in theApril 11 governorship election in the state. The tribunal chairman Justice Danladi Abubakar then declared the All Progressives Congress candidate, Senator Aisha Jummai Alhassan, as the winner of the election, having polled the second highest number of votes cast in the election, while equally directing the Independent National Electoral Commission to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Ishaku and swear in Alhassan.

While being the first female Governor of Taraba State would undoubtedly be the icing on the cake of her political career, Senator Jummai Al-Hassan has her resume littered with a number of equally enviable feats. Perhaps from her first foray into politics as an 18-year-old student of the School of Basic Studies, Ahmadu Bello University, she has distinguished herself as a woman who wouldn’t be limited by gender, religious, class or social factors in her quest to serve and contribute to the development of her immediate constituency.

She contested for and won the election for the post of the Vice-President of the Student Union Government of ABU in 1978, making her the first non-undergraduate to scale such heights in the political history of the illustrious school. Since then she hasn’t looked back. She was the only female in the ABU SUG Exco of the 1978-1979 set, and indeed ended her tenure as Acting President after the then President and other exco members were expelled from the University.

Senator Jummai Al-Hassan joined the Kaduna State Judiciary in 1988 as a Magistrate Grade II and rose through the ranks to become the first female Chief Magistrate in the FCT in 1996. A year later, she was moved to Judicial Administration and became the first female Deputy Chief Registrar and Director Litigation, High Court of the FCT. That same year (1997), she became the first female Attorney General of Taraba State. She then went back to Abuja in 2002 as the first female Secretary of the FCT Judicial Service Committee, spending just a year in that role before being appointed the first female Chief Registrar of the FCT High Court in December 2003.

Mama Taraba retired from the civil service as Chief Registrar of the FCT Judiciary in 2009 and has excelled in politics since then as she did in her professional career. Aisha Alhassan became a Senator of the Federal Republic in 2011 when she won the election to represent Taraba North Senatorial District in the National Assembly on the platform of the PDP. Her victory was even more remarkable in that she defeated a former Governor of Taraba State, Reverend Jolly Nyame. It was from the Senate that Mama Taraba took on the daunting task of governing her state and emerged as APC’s flagbearer for the April 11 election.

While the tribunal case was ongoing, Mama Taraba was nominated and confirmed as a Minister for Women Affairs by President Muhammadu Buhari. As we await the resolution of the legal tussle at the Appeal Court, it seems inevitable that Mama Taraba will be the one to shatter the glass ceiling for Nigerian women in politics. However it goes, the story is nonetheless remarkable that a woman from Jalingo would in the space of 5 years be senator, minister and governor.

Manchester United fans honour late hero Best

Manchester United’s supporters paid tribute to late club great George Best as their team played PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday, 10 years to the day since he died aged 59.

George Best

Fans illuminated the screens on their smartphones and held them aloft during the seventh minute of the Champions League game, in a nod to the shirt number most closely associated with the richly talented Northern Irish winger.

Supporters had earlier hung a new banner in the stadium bearing the legend ‘GEORGIE… SIMPLY THE BEST,’ while fans laid roses at Best’s feet on the statue of him, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton that stands on the Old Trafford forecourt.

The dashing Best, who won the 1968 Ballon d’Or, played 470 times and scored 179 goals for United, winning two First Division titles and scoring in the club’s European Cup final triumph over Benfica in 1968.

But he left aged 27 after becoming disillusioned with the game and wound down his career over a nomadic 10-year period that took in sporadic spells at clubs in England, Scotland and North America.

Heralded as one of the game’s finest players by greats such as Pele, Diego Maradona and Franz Beckenbauer, Best was renowned for his charisma and playboy lifestyle but struggled with alcoholism in later life.