Gist Arena

Paper money or fiat currency is still the greatest innovation conceived by man. Imagine Nigeria being some type of human zoo of sort that still trades by barter. If we import loads of Apple’s iPhone 7, how many truckloads of cattle will northern Nigeria exchange or barrels of oil will southern Nigeria exchange for their own share of the iPhone imports? When Toyota or Apple labours to innovate that next big trailblazer, it is because they know if it succeeds, they can easily recoup their money. Fast forward to 2016, assume the naira exchanges officially for N300 to a US dollar (it is 304 as I write this). Therefore, if N3 equals 1 US cents, the naira in your pocket is devalued by 99.7 per cent to a dollar (complete devaluation is 100 per cent). Fellow countrymen and women, you can see that your naira is finished! That is why experts say the fastest and easiest way to decimate any country is to destroy her currency. Any rational citizen should ask how we got ourselves into this...

The 21 freed Chibok schoolgirls were on Thursday sighted at the International Airport, Yola, Adamawa State, going home for the Christmas season. This is just as rumours that the girls were a new set of rescued Chibok schoolgirls went viral on the media. The reports (not The PUNCH) had claimed that the girls were being taken from Adamawa to Abuja to see President Muhammadu Buhari. The acting Army Director of Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Sani Usman, however, told one of our correspondents on the telephone on Thursday that no new rescue of the Chibok girls was recorded, adding that the girls sighted were heading home for the Yuletide. He said, “It is not true that the army made a fresh rescue of 21 Chibok girls. The girls sighted were the former rescued 21 girls and they were heading home for Christmas.” Twenty-one of the kidnapped girls were released on October 13, 2016, in a deal brokered by the International Committee of Red Cross and the Swiss government...

The suspect was allegedly caught red handed on December 20th, while attempting to plant charm in someone's house in Ehime Mbano, Imo State. Read the Facebook post published by C IG Iwunze: "THE MAN YOU'RE SEEING HERE NAKED IS MR GABON IYIAKA FROM UMUDIOPARA UMUNAKANU OWERRI. IN EHIME MBANO LGA. HE WAS CAUGHT WITH CHARM TODAY AT CHIEF MARCEL NNODIM'S ( MARLEY) HOUSE WHEN HE WAS ATTEMPTING TO PLANT THE CHARM AT MARLEY'S HOUSE IN THE SAME UMUDIOPARA. MR GABON USED THE KEY HIS NATIVE DOCTOR GAVE HIM TO LOCK CHIEF.MARLEY NNODIM'S HOUSE BEFORE HE WAS CAUGHT. THIS SAME GABON IYIAKA WAS CAUGHT SOMETIME LAST YEAR WHEN HE WAS NAKED AT A MANGO TREE AT UMUDIOPARA SQUARE BATHING. THIS MAN WAS CAUGHT IN CHIEF MARLEY'S HOUSE ON 14TH DECEMBER 2016, HE SAID HE WAS DOING WHAT THE HOLY SPIRIT DIRECTED HIM TO DO. THE CASE WAS POSTPONED TILL DURING THE XMAS.  JUST LAST NIGHT 19TH DECEMBER 2016, THIS SAME MAN WAS CAUGHT AGAIN RED HANDED DOING...

The Delta state government has expressed joy over the news of the release of former state governor, James Ibori from a UK prison. Ibori was released from prison on Tuesday night after completing half of his 13 years sentence. He was convicted for stealing $250 million form the state coffers while he was governor of the state from 1999 to 2007. Speaking to newsmen after the state's executive council meeting, Commissioner for Information, Patrick Ukah, said the state was delighted to know that their son has been released. “We are all very happy that our son, our brother, former governor has been released. So, it is a thing of joy and the only expression as a state is that we are happy. I think for everybody, who has a personal relationship with him, will be very happy and I think that as a state we don’t have issues with our former governor and he is somebody that everybody loved.”he said

Former governor of Delta State, Chief James Onanefe Ibori has been released from prison. He was released a few minutes past noon upon a court order.  His media aide, Mr. Tony Elumenor confirmed the release to Vanguard. Ibori was sentenced by a United Kingdom court to prison for 13 years and served out his term midnight yesterday.  Expectation of his return home to Nigeria, however, remains murky as friends and associates many of who are gathered in London deliberate on the future of the former governor.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai has said that the Nigerian Army would be raising up cattle ranches in such a manner that in almost all the divisions, and all the brigades, cattle will be reared. Buratai who was represented by the Chief of Army Logistics, Major General Patrick Akem, stated this on Tuesday at the Commissioning of Mogadishu Cantonment New Mammy Market (former Abacha Barracks), Abuja.  The Army Chief disclosed that in keeping up with modern cattle rearing tradition, he sent officers of the Army to Argentina to look at how cattle were reared.  “Argentina has a population of 41 million people, but it feeds about 400 million people around the world with its beef.  To take it to the next level, we want to adopt a system where the cattle are not just free ranging coming from Sokoto to Port Harcourt, thereby making their meat tough to eat, the products will soon be coming from our own farms and ranches,” ...

As the Christmas celebration draws close, the Lagos state government yesterday said it will commence the sales of the much awaited Lake Rice tomorrow.  The sale, earlier scheduled for December 15 at a cost at N13, 000 per 50 kg has been re-scheduled to commence tomorrow at some specific locations across the state. It was however gathered the late arrival of the rice was due to unexpected delay in production.  However, a state official who preferred anonymity, told Vanguard that the price of the 50 kilogram bag of the rice has been reduced to N12, 000, against the earlier speculated N13, 000. The new sales points are said to super cede the previous ones earlier announced by the Special Adviser to the state Governor on Food Security, Mr. Sanni Okanlawan, who said the commodity will be made available at the 20 Local Government Areas, and 37 Local Council Development Areas.  The new locations are: Lagos East; Ikorodu-Odogunyan Farm Servi...