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Ifebube, Anambra wonder kid, on song again! Bags fresh national award
Ifebube Chelsea Benson, remember her? The 18-year-old South African-born indigene of Ndikelionwu in Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra state, now 19? She is on song again as her feat in being the OVERALL BEST FEMALE CANDIDATE in the 2023 Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) has attracted another recognition.
With nine distinctions, including Mathematics, English language, Further Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and three others, the daughter of Ben Benson, a lawyer and journalist based in South Africa, but currently in Nigeria, decorated with a national award at Justice Legbo Kutigi Conference Centre, Minna, Niger State on December 6, 2023.
Ifebube, whose name translates, “beautiful thing to glamourise,” came back to Nigeria in 2022 to complete her secondary education at the Renaissance Garden Secondary School, Ago-Okota, Lagos, from where she took the NECO examination, to create the feat, was among the four students that were handed special recognition in addition to cash awards by Hajia Suwaiba-Said Ahmad, Minister of State for Education, on Thursday, November 28, at an elaborate ceremony in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The feat last year, had attracted the attention of the late Ifeanyi Uba, Senator, representing Anambra South at the National Assembly, who was so excited that he handed the young lady, currently a student at the University of Abuja, an instant N2million cash reward and an automatic scholarship to study anywhere in the world.
At the Abuja ceremony on Thursday, tagged: Second National Education Awards Programme (NEAP), which attracted a lot of fanfare, including cultural music performances, she was recognised as the second-best student in the 2023 NECO SSCE and the best in the female category, an award that came with the cash prize of N300, 000.
Chima Christian Okafor, who graduated from St. Paul Academy Jos was awarded N500, 000 as the overall best student in the 2023 NECO SSCE and N300, 000 as the second-best student in the 2023 WACE, while Orevaoghene Whiskey, a graduating student of Topfaith International Secondary School, Mkpatak Essien Udim, Akwa-Ibom State was awarded a cash prize of N500, 000 as the overall best student in the 2023 WACE.
Owuye Faheezah Oluwakemi, a graduate of Maryland Comprehensive Secondary School, Lagos, who secured the overall best student in the 2023 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) was awarded a cash of N300, 000, with Jegede Oshotame Gabriella, another student of Igbinedion Junior Secondary School, Benin City, securing the second-best overall student at the 2023 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) getting N200,000 cash award.
Ahmad, who while handing out the awards at the event co-organised by the Federal Ministry of Education with the theme: Incentivising learning and reading processes for optimal performance, described education as the foundation of every thriving society.
Stressing on how education empowered individuals to unlock their potentials for self actualisation and fostered sustainable progress, she said: “Education is essential to national development, strengthening social cohesion, cultivating leaders, and breaking the cycle of poverty to illuminate society’s path to complete globally.
“To our outstanding students, congratulations! Your hard work and commitment to excellence have yielded desired results, etching your names in the ministry hall of Fame. You have demonstrated exceptional critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and a deep understanding of your studies. This moment is a stepping stone towards even greater achievements. Let this recognition inspire you to keep reaching new heights.”
Christian-Ebubechukwu Igbokwe, President and Founder, Chris Igbokwe Foundation, Chairman of the occasion, while describing the recipients as standing out like colossus amongst their peers in their various schools, stated that he was privileged to have gone through certain brief of the awardees, adding that they all stand out in their academic performance.
Represented by Steve Eboh, Vice President of the foundation, he said: “This is a symbol of hard work, dedication and excellence. I am convinced that with these set of awardees, Nigeria education will attain the required height and become one of the best in the world again.
“As I had said times without number, the basic foundation of life begins with self which goes with the slogan “I CAN”. This phrase symbolises singular determination to succeed and excel in all facets of life.”
Anselm Ijebor, Chairman of the planning committee, while stressing that no government could drive its education sector alone without partnering with stakeholders in the education sector, said that it was the aim of NEAP to identify brilliant students with high academic achievement at the level of Senior Secondary School Examination for immediate scholarship.
His words: “The mission statement of NEAP is to mobilise the citizenry and organised private sector for a robust partnership in the identification and public harmony of academic excellence and valuable contribution for education development in Nigeria.”
“The suspect offered ₦500 million to the SPU commander in an attempt to make the team stand down and allow him to contact his associates to move the consignment elsewhere. The offer was rejected immediately and properly documented for further investigation.”
These were the exact words of Olohundare Jimoh Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), with which he detailed how operatives of the Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) scoffed at a N500million bribe to turn their eyes off the importation of a huge consignment of drugs imported into the country.
This was part of the details of a major breakthrough by the operatives after bursting a major drug trafficking syndicate in Lagos, which led to the seizure of suspected illicit drugs estimated at ₦7.8 billion and arresting several suspects, including the alleged kingpin.
In the operation, reportedly carried out by officers of the Special Protection Unit (SPU) in collaboration with divisional police detectives, the operatives, were said to have stormed a house in Mende, Maryland area of Lagos, following months of surveillance and intelligence gathering coordinated by the Zone 2 Headquarters.
The recovered drugs consisted of hundreds of bags of suspected Canadian Loud, allegedly stored in the residence of the prime suspect, Jimoh, said disclosing that the suspect was apprehended on May 19 after weeks of strategic monitoring by operatives.
Offering further details, he said the operation was executed with technical support and guidance from the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, alongside coordinated efforts between the SPU and divisional police teams.
Jimoh revealed that during the operation, the suspect allegedly attempted to bribe the SPU commander with ₦500 million to compromise the mission and allow the movement of the drug consignment.
The AIG described the development as a reflection of the renewed professionalism and operational discipline being entrenched in the Force under the current policing strategy.
He noted that the success of the operation underscored the importance of deploying specialized police units alongside conventional divisional teams in tackling organized crime.
According to him, the operation demonstrated the effectiveness of rapid containment strategies, intelligence-led policing, and professional conduct among the operatives involved in the raid.
“Rapid containment was achieved as the Special Protection Unit worked with divisional teams to secure the perimeter and prevent escape or interference with evidence.
“The operation was intelligence-driven, following months of surveillance and technical monitoring before the raid was carried out.
“The immediate rejection and documentation of the bribe attempt also reflect the standard expected from redeployed personnel at the divisional level,” Jimoh added.
Reacting to the development, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, commended the operatives for their professionalism, saying the success of the operation validated the ongoing redeployment of personnel to divisions and units across Lagos and Ogun states.
The IGP noted: “Policing must be close to the people, and our specialized units must work side by side with divisional teams on the ground.
“The professionalism shown by the SPU commander in rejecting a ₦500 million bribe and following due procedure is the standard we expect. It shows that when you put your best foot forward at the grassroots, you get results and restore public trust.”
Disu further assured that the Force leadership would continue to reward integrity while holding officers accountable to the highest ethical standards.
Police authorities said exhibits recovered during the operation have been properly documented and will be tendered in court. The suspects are currently in custody while investigations continue to track down other members of the drug trafficking network.
Slavery is a wound on the memory of the Universal Church, Pope Leo XIV, said on Monday, as he issued a fresh apology over the participation of the the Catholic Church in the centuries-long delay in condemning slavery.
The pontiff stressed the position of the church after his predecessors had offered similar apologies, said: “For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon.”
Writing in a major text that warned about “new forms of slavery” behind the digital economy, the joined John Paul II, who denounced slave trade in 1992 before issuing a sweeping request for forgiveness for historical injustices in 2000 and Pope Francis who also repeatedly denounced contemporary forms of slavery.
In his own vein, Pope Leo, pointed out that the Church owned slaves until the Middle Ages and it also advised European sovereigns on how to justify the enslavement of “infidels.”
He stressed in “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity), a document focused primarily on the rise of artificial intelligence, that it was only in the 19th century that “a formal, absolute and universal condemnation of slavery was clearly articulated.”
Hear him: “It is true that past events cannot be judged anachronistically, as though the moral criteria that matured over time had always been available. Yet neither can we deny or diminish the delay with which both society and the Church came to denounce the scourge of slavery. This constitutes a wound in Christian memory, one from which we cannot consider ourselves detached.”
Qowiy Oloyede, a resident of Oriya Sokoto road, Atan Ota, is currently telling operatives of the Ogun State Colice command, the reasons that pushed him into making a video suggesting that a part of the state was under attack of terrorists, knowing same to be fake.
Oloyede, reports say, dragged to the police on May 23 by one Ayinla Sodiq, who accused him of creating and sharing a misleading TikTok video falsely claiming that bandits had invaded the Atan Ota community..
Zagazola Makama, a counterinsurgency publication, which broke the news, said on immediately being questioning by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Oloyed, allegedly confessed to fabricating the video to gain followers on social media.
Apart from admitting that that he created the fake bandit attack content to gain followers and trend online, said in a video currently on social media the herder featured in the clip was a cattle rearer who usually grazed cows behind his shop and had initially refused to participate before eventually agreeing.
Oloyede, who also claimed he could neither read nor write, adding that his apprentice wrote the caption accompanying the video posted online, maintained that he had only produced and posted two similar videos, one on Monday and another on Wednesday.
The command, said to have recovered photographs and video evidence linked to the fake publication during preliminary investigation, added that the suspect would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Abeokuta, for further investigation, warning residents against spreading false information capable of causing panic and public disorder, and for the public to verify information before sharing content on social media.
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