International Friendly: Nigeria 4 - 1 Argentina

Nigeria registered their biggest win over a major footballing country by thrashing a depleted Argentina side 4-1 in a friendly.
Ike Uche scored twice but the handsome victory margin was tempered by the fact Argentina played with just two players who are in their provisional squad for the upcoming Copa America.
A 10th-minute goal from Uche began the rout as Nigeria rolled over listless opponents who seemed to wilt quickly in the steamy conditions.
Victor Obinna converted a hotly-contested penalty 17 minutes later before Uche scored the third in the 40th minute, heading home unmarked at the back post after a strong run from Obinna and a perfect cross from Taye Taiwo.
"We knew Argentina had good players and we knew we had to score early to have any chance. This is a big morale booster for us," Uche told SuperSport television.
"Let's not take anything away from the importance of this win," added Nigeria captain Joseph Yobo.
Emanuel Emunike crowned the night with a deft lob over the goalkeeper's head as Argentina's defence was caught flatfooted again eight minutes into the second half.
Argentina, ranked fifth in the world, were handed an equally controversial penalty in the eighth minute of stoppage time and Mauro Boselli scored with the last kick of the match.
The absence of Lionel Messi and strict security around the stadium meant Abuja's 60,000-seater National Stadium was half empty.

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Nigerian President - Elect Goodluck Jonathan sworn in

Nigeria's Goodluck Jonathan has been sworn in as president for a new four-year term, following a clear poll win.

Foreign heads of state attended the lavish ceremony, which began with a military parade and inspection at Eagle Square in the country's capital, Abuja.

Mr Jonathan was promoted from vice-president after Umaru Yar'Adua died in office in 2010.

Despite his election win the country still has serious divisions and there were deadly riots after polling.

Power sector

The election was largely considered free and fair but hundreds of people were killed in three days of rioting following the announcement of the result.

Mr Jonathan, 53, won nearly 60% of the vote.

He is a southern Christian and had defeated his leading challenger from the mainly Muslim north.

Flanked by two judges wearing white wigs, Goodluck Jonathan took the oath of office.

It was a solemn vow to serve the people of Nigeria and uphold it's constitution.

Watching on were more than 25 presidents from across the continent including South Africa's Jacob Zuma and Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe.

Security was tight, the legacy of the bomb attacks at last year's 50th anniversary of independence. So the ceremony itself was held at arms length from the Nigerian people with only invited guests allowed within a kilometre of Eagle Square.

That didn't dampen spirits inside. Military bands paraded, children danced and a gun salute was observed.

Mr Jonathan's nomination also required changing a ruling party tradition of alternating between candidates from the north and south.

The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Abuja says the pressure is now on the winner to deliver on his many election promises.

Mr Jonathan is famous for his wide-brimmed hat - on display on inauguration day - and his love of Facebook, but enters office with a "to-do" list that would daunt many, he adds.

On the campaign trail Mr Jonathan said fixing Nigeria's threadbare power sector would be a priority as would be reforming agriculture to increase food production.

Our correspondent says President Jonathan will not have to perform miracles to be hailed as a success - given the country's history of mismanagement and corruption most Nigerians would gladly accept some firm steps in the right direction.

Mr Jonathan will face the issue of continuing Christian-Muslim conflict and the simmering tension in the oil-producing Niger Delta

Source: BBC News

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Champions League Finals: Barcelona 3-1 Manchester United

Barcelona delivered a masterclass to inflict another Champions League final defeat on Manchester United as Lionel Messi inspired an emphatic victory at Wembley.

Manchester United's hopes of emulating their first European Cup final success here against Benfica in 1968 foundered as Barcelona deservedly repeated their win against Sir Alex Ferguson's side in Rome two years ago.

The pattern of an entertaining game bore an uncanny resemblance to events in the Stadio Olimpico in 2009 as United started with optimism and intent before being swamped by Barcelona's brilliance.

Pedro gave Barcelona the lead from one of the many wonderful passes played by Xavi - but Wayne Rooney lifted the gloom during a torrid spell for United with a fine equaliser following a swift exchange with Ryan Giggs.

Barcelona responded by cranking up what Ferguson labelled their passing "carousel" after the break, with man-of-the match Messi at the centre of events as he tortured United.

Messi's magical feet were decorated by luminous green boots but it was his talent that illuminated Wembley and United's night was effectively over once he restored Barcelona's lead with a powerful drive early in the second half.

David Villa's spectacular third emphasised the gulf in class between the sides and United never threatened to mount the sort of dramatic recovery that has become their trademark.

Ferguson and his players were disconsolate at the final whistle as the nightmare of Rome was revisited but there was no shame in their defeat by one of the finest club sides the game has seen.

There was to be no fulfilling of the destiny United hoped was theirs and no dream conclusion to goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar's glittering career as he was powerless to prevent Barcelona's constant wave of beautifully crafted moves.

And as veteran Paul Scholes, who made a brief appearance as substitute, walked up to collect his losers' medal, thoughts turned to whether this was also his final bow as he considers his future at Old Trafford.

United had hoped to add a fourth victory in Europe's elite club tournament to a record 19th domestic title - instead they received a brutal lesson in the standards they must achieve from the Barcelona benchmark.

Ferguson insisted he had learned the lessons of defeat in Rome but the same problems swiftly resurfaced as Barcelona stamped their authority on midfield and Messi roamed free to inflict damage, adding another Champions League final goal to the one that sealed victory against United in their previous meeting.

United may dominate in England but Barcelona demonstrated once more, in front of Wembley and an estimated television audience of 300m, that they are peerless on the European stage.

Ferguson, as expected, opted to keep faith with the attacking partnership of Rooney and Javier Hernandez - but there was bitter disappointment for leading scorer Dimitar Berbatov, who failed to even make the substitutes' bench, Michael Owen getting the nod.

United's intentions were clear in the opening exchanges with a high-tempo approach designed to deny Barcelona time and space while pushing them back towards their own goal.

After early encouragement, however, Barcelona settled into their smooth passing style and started to give United a rough ride as they struggled to maintain any measure of authority and control was lost.

Pedro flashed the first ominous sign with a shot just wide before Van der Sar saved well low down from Villa. The goal was coming and it duly arrived after 27 minutes.

Xavi had been immaculate on the ball, dictating terms at every opportunity, and another masterly piece of creation played in Pedro, who had time to wrong-foot Van der Sar with a simple finish.

United's thoughts were scrambled as Barcelona moved the ball around with ease. Ferguson cut an agitated figure in the technical area as he pleaded with his players to concentrate in the face of the Catalans' domination.

It needed a moment of inspiration to lift United's spirits and Rooney provided it with the equaliser after 34 minutes. He exchanged passes with Giggs before sweeping a right-foot finish high past Victor Valdes.

Barcelona were swift to regain their composure and almost restored their advantage seconds before the interval when Messi somehow failed to apply the final touch to Villa's cross inside the six-yard area.

United were out early for the second half, presumably with the words of Ferguson ringing in their ears, while Barcelona waited in the players' tunnel for the resumption.

And when it did, Barcelona simply picked up the theme that characterised the first half. Van der Sar did well to block Alves' attempt and Patrice Evra was forced to scramble back towards his own goal to head away Messi's follow-up.

Stats:

Home Team	Score	Away Team	Time
Barcelona	3-1	Man Utd	FT
(HT 1-1)
Pedrito 27 Messi 54 Villa 69		Rooney 34

LINE UP

Barcelona

• 01 Valdesyellow card
• 02 Alvesyellow card (Puyol 88)
• 03 Pique
• 22 Abidal
• 06 Xavi
• 08 Iniesta
• 14 Mascherano
• 16 Busquets
• 07 Villa (Keita 86)
• 10 Messi
• 17 Pedrito (Afellay 90+2)

Substitutes

• 38 Olazabal,
• 05 Puyol,
• 21 Adriano Correia,
• 15 Keita,
• 20 Afellay,
• 30 Thiago,
• 09 Bojan

Man Utd

• 01 Van der Sar
• 03 Evra
• 05 Ferdinand
• 15 Vidic
• 20 Fabio Da Silva (Nani 69)
• 11 Giggs
• 13 Park Ji-Sung
• 16 Carrickyellow card (Scholes 76)
• 25 Valenciayellow card
• 10 Rooney
• 14 Hernandez

Substitutes

• 29 Kuszczak,
• 12 Smalling,
• 08 Anderson,
• 17 Nani,
• 18 Scholes,
• 24 Fletcher,
• 07 Owen

Ref: V KassaiAtt: 87,695

BARCELONA

MAN UTD

Possession

• Barcelona 68%
• Man Utd 32%

Attempts on target

• Barcelona 13
• Man Utd 1

Attempts off target

• Barcelona 3
• Man Utd 2

Corners

• Barcelona 6
• Man Utd 0

Fouls

• Barcelona 5
• Man Utd 16

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Nigeria Children's Day In Pictures

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Children’s Day In Nigeria: UNICEF commends Nigeria for National Health Act

     Its May 27, Children's Day in Nigeria, and there still remains a nagging question, Any hope for the Nigerian child?

The theme of this years Children’s Day celebration is: “Good governance: impact on the Nigerian child” And as was the norm, millions of children across the nation are celebrating.

The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has commended the National Assembly for passing the National Health Bill into law. It also called on Preisdent  Goodluck Jonathan to quickly assent to the Bill for immediate implementation across the country.

According to UNICEF  “the National Health Bill is the best gift to Nigerian children as they celebrate their day.”

In there general analysis, they went ahead to state as follows;

The health status of children and women in Nigeria remain poor but we believe that with careful implementation of the National Health Act, along with sufficient funding for and close monitoring of the National Strategic Health Strategic Development Plan, Nigeria will take firm steps to reverse this trend.
We expect the National Health Act to translate into the release of much needed funding from national revenues for the health of children and women. Its focus on an essential minimum package of care to tackle the health problems which cause the highest number of death and illness in children and women is highly commendable.
Scaling up the implementation of an essential package of proven, cost-effective and high-impact interventions in all primary health centres will bring Nigeria closer to attaining the health related MDGs, said Dr. Suomi Sakai, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria. In doing so, we encourage the Government and its partners to leave no child behind, as this momentum is really about securing quality primary health care with equity - for every woman and every child, she said.
The theme for this year’s Children’s Day celebration, ‘Good governance: impact on the Nigerian child’ underscores the critical role of good governance in realizing the full spectrum of children’s rights as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Nigeria’s Child Rights Act of 2003. Good governance should equal child-friendly governance and ensure that every child is counted and visible in the state budget.

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Chimamanda Adichie- The Danger of Single Story

This speech was delivered back in 2009 by the Nigeria's Own Chimamanda Adichie. Now whenever I whatch this video, It's always like 'am seeing it for the 1st time. It brings me joy. Watch and please drop your comments

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Map of Nigeria

A map of Nigeria below shows the country divided into 36 states and the capital Abuja. Nigeria is located in the western part of Africa

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Nigerian Politics

Nigeria is a Federal Republic modeled after the United States, with executive power exercised by the president and with influences from the Westminster System model in the composition and management of the upper and lower houses of the bicameral legislature. However, the President of Nigeria is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Nigerian politics takes place within a framework of a federal, presidential, representative democratic republic, whereby Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the legislature, the House of Representatives and the Senate. Together the two chambers make up the law-making body in Nigeria called the National Assembly. The highest judiciary arm of government in Nigeria is the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Nigeria also practices Baron de Montesquieu's theory of the separation of powers. The National Assembly serves as a check on the executive arm of government.

Legal system

The law of Nigeria is based on the rule of law and the independence of the Judiciary, and also on the British common law system—because of the long history of British colonial influence. The legal system is therefore similar to the common law systems used in England and Wales and in other Commonwealth countries. The constitutional framework for the legal system is provided by the Constitution of Nigeria.

There are however, four distinct systems of law in Nigeria:

• English Law, which is derived from its colonial past with Britain;

• Common law, (case law development since colonial independence);

• Customary law, which is derived from indigenous traditional norms and practices;

• Sharia law, used only in the predominantly Hausa and Muslim north of the country.

Like the United States, there is a Judicial branch with a Supreme Court which is regarded as the highest court of the land.

[edit] Executive branch

The president is elected by universal suffrage. He/She is both the chief of state and head of government and heads the Federal Executive Council, or cabinet.

The executive branch is divided into Federal Ministries, headed by a minister appointed by the President, who must include at least one member of each of the 36 states in his cabinet. The President's appointments are confirmed by the Senate of Nigeria. In some cases a Federal minister is responsible for more than one ministry (e.g. Environment and Housing may be combined), and a minister may be assisted by one or more ministers of State.^[1] Each ministry also has a Permanent Secretary, who is a senior civil servant.^[2]

The ministries are responsible for various parastatals (government-owned corporations) such as universities (Education), National Broadcasting Commission (Information) and Nigerian National Petroleum Corp (Petroleum). Other parastatals are the responsibility of the Office of the Presidency, such as the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Federal Civil Service Commission.^[3]

Legislative branch

The National Assembly of Nigeria has two chambers. The House of Representatives is presided over by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. It has 360 members, elected for a four year term in single-seat constituencies. The Senate is presided upon by the President of the Senate. It has 109 members, elected for a four year term in 36 three-seat constituencies (corresponding to the country's 36 states) and one seat in a single-seat constituency (the federal capital, Abuja).

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