Dental student, 18, killed herself by stepping into the path of cars on unlit motorway after being dumped by her 'controlling' boyfriend

A teenage girl who was dumped by her 'controlling' boyfriend committed suicide by deliberately stepping into the path of traffic on a dark motorway, an inquest heard.
Lena Begum, 18, had been wandering around the three lane carriageway for up to two hours during which she recorded a 3am voicemail message for Quzlam Ahmed saying: 'You will probably love me one day the way I loved you, but it will be too late.'
Minutes later the dental student was killed after walking in front of a van travelling at almost 60mph along the inside lane of the M65 near her home in Burnley, Lancashire.

The inquest heard that the driver, John Trainer, was unable to spot Lena until it was too late because the street lights on the motorway had been switched off by highway chiefs to cut costs.
Lena, who studied at Blackburn College, had met Mr Ahmed, known as 'Kammy', in October 2012, but he been 'controlling' and treating her 'poorly', it emerged at the hearing.
Her parents - from a traditional Bengali family - became concerned about the relationship and had reported Lena missing several times from the family home in Reedley.
After Mr Ahmed hit her on her 18th birthday and told her he had no longer wanted a relationship, Lena threatened to self-harm, claiming she was 'not afraid of dying' and that 'death held no fear for her'.
Lena’s friend, Taslena Alam, told the Burnley hearing how the teenager was 'mentally obsessed' and 'crazy' about Ahmed, and had even etched the name 'Kammy' into her arm.
 She said Lena would 'drop everything' to meet Mr Ahmed whenever he called, and as the relationship developed she went from being 'happy and fun' to 'depressed'.
In a statement, she said Lena had told her she would 'go onto a motorway and get herself run over.'
Miss Alam said: 'I kept telling her to stop seeing him but she didn’t listen.'


On the night of the tragedy on April 10 last year, Miss Alam said she and Lena had been at the home of a friend Marcia Khan before heading to a shisha bar, where guests smoke flavoured tobacco in pipes.
Afterwards Lena asked to be dropped off on a road near the motorway. Miss Alam said: 'All I remember is her going up some stairs, she seemed happy. She wasn’t saying about hurting herself, she never said anything.'
Miss Khan said during the evening Lena had confided in her about her romance with Ahmed. She said: 'Lena was saying how he didn’t love her and she just wanted him to love her, that she does everything for him and he doesn’t do anything.
'She was being quiet - before that conversation she was happy and bubbly. I’d heard a few things that she had tried doing things in the past but didn’t believe that she had the ability.'
She said at the end of the evening, Lena had, 'walked up the stairs, turned around and smiled'. She added: 'I smiled back.That was the last time I saw her.
'She said she wanted to see her friend, and made it sound so realistic.'
But half an hour later Lena was spotted walking down the motorway slip road and into oncoming traffic, recording messages to loved ones as she held her mobile phone.

 
Driver Michelle Harris, who was coming off the motorway, said: 'She was not dawdling, not staggering and appeared to be doing something with her mobile phone, holding it up with both hands at chest level.
'I thought she was texting. I slowed and came to a stop and looked in my mirror and couldn’t see her. I thought she could have broken down.'
The inquest heard that deliveryman John Trainer, 48, was driving his Mercedes Sprinter van in the inside lane of the motorway at 3.50am when Lena walked in front of him.
His statement read: 'There was no lighting, the area was pitch black. For a split second I caught a glimpse of a person who was walking across from lane two, almost at the line divider.

'I pressed the brakes as hard as I could, I swerved to avoid. She didn’t even look towards me, she just continued to walk across. I couldn’t avoid the collision.

'I don’t believe I could have done anything to avoid her, I do believe if there were motorway lights I would have seen her sooner and slowed down a lot sooner.'
Lena was pronounced dead at the scene despite attempts to save her. Records showed she had spoken to Ahmed twice on the phone for around 30 minutes.

At 2.05 am she posted a picture to Facebook and Twitter, and earlier in the evening posted messages on social networking sites.

Nigeria floats new mortgage firm to broaden loan access

Nigeria’s government will announce plans Thursday to develop a mortgage finance company along the lines of the U.S.’s Fannie Mae that will help broaden access to home loans in Africa’s most populous country.
The Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Co. will sell bonds on capital markets and provide long-term financing to lenders that will help them extend more home loans, according to an e-mailed statement from the Mercury PR company, acting for the government. It will also have an “oversight function to standardize mortgage lending practices,” it said.

Housing project: new financing scheme on the way

The company will help extend maturities for Nigerian home-buyers to as much as 20 years, encouraging the building of 75,000 new homes a year and creating at least 300,000 jobs, according to the statement.
“It will help establish a long-term yield curve for pricing financial assets, which has been lacking,” Bismarck Rewane, chief executive officer at Financial Derivatives Co., said by phone from Lagos today. The new company will create “initial market efficiency followed by market sophistication,” he said.
Nigeria has been seeking to expand financing to help address a housing deficit in the continent’s second-biggest economy. The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria said last month it was in talks with two Chinese lenders for credit of as much as $6 billion. In November, the government accepted a $300 million loan from the World Bank’s housing unit.

Buy And Ship Your Preferred Ride In United Kingdom At Most Affordable Rate

 

Its a general notion that buying your car from UK  to Nigeriaits is more expensive because of their shipping cost and they mostly comes in right hand drive..
Definitely i wont totally wrong this believe, but i want to enlighten you that theres a way out .

You can buy and ship cars directly to Nigeria from UK at a more cheap and affordable rate, in very good condition and left hand drive.
 All you need to do is tell us the ride you want or  of your budget for ride you want via email to in mitnids or omobol

then will send u their real purchasing cost( no agent attached fee), shipping cost processing fee and the number of days to be delivered...
then if you convinced, then we proceed from there....we ensure you that every information released from us are valid and not a scam... try and see...we also have contacts in USA or Canada if thats were your prefer to buy your ride...
try us and be convinced

Nigeria contact: 08167432086, 07052404385

London contact:  +447587944291

Results will improve with Mata in Mach-ester United

President leaves for AU Summit

Abuja - President Goodluck Jonathan was on Wednesday expected to leave the country for the 22nd Summit of African Union Heads of State and Government in Ethiopia.

The event is scheduled for Thursday in the capital Addis Ababa.

Reuben Abati, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, President Jonathan and other participating Heads of State and Government will formally launch the Year of Agriculture and Food Security in Africa, which coincides with the 1oth anniversary of the adoption of the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme.

The African Union has declared 2014 as The Year of Agriculture and Food Security in Africa and the 22nd summit of African Union Heads of State and Government will have “Transforming Africa’s” Agriculture: Harnessing Opportunities for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development.

Abati said the participating Heads of State and Government would also consider and adopt the reports of high-level committees on the Assessment of the African Standby Force and the Operationalization of the African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crises as well as the reports of other high-level committees on United Nations Reforms, the post-2015 Development Agenda and African Trade and Climate Change.

He said the President will be accompanied to the summit by Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, Honourable Garba Shehu Nicholas, the Supervising Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Viola Onwuliri, the Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, the Minister of Water Resources, Sarah Ochekpe, the Minister of Health, Dr Onyebuchi Chukwu and the Supervising Minister of Environment, Darius Ishaku.

The unthinking majority

As at the last time I checked, the system of government popularly known as Democracy still had the same meaning.
 Crafted by philosophers centuries ago and as we used to chant in secondary school back in the day; Democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people.

Whether this meaning still holds true today in actual practice or not may be a subject of academic argument. Whether any nation or community has ever really practiced this system of government is the subject of another article, however, practicing democracies or even pretenders, in drawing up a constitution, are constrained by this acceptable definition to commence their constitution.

The import of this phrase -"We the people" gives credence to the hallowed, albeit philosophical principle that power belongs to the people but is entrusted to some persons as leaders to represent the people.

It is also generally agreed that there is no democracy without election - a process of picking one leader among several contestants who would then be entrusted with the people’s power. He whom the majority votes for becomes the leader of the country or group of people.  

Therefore, ideally, in a democracy it is the wish of the majority of the people that prevails in a given situation. This ideal situation presupposes logically that the majority knows what they want and are situated to understand the consequences of their choice.

If power resides in the people and majority of the people elect their leaders under the process of true democracy, then the leaders would know that they are truly answerable to the people and are obligated to function with that responsibility in mind. This ideal situation again presupposes a thinking majority. But is this often the case?

In the process of election a basket of characters is thrown at the electorates, from the noble to the outright charlatan. It is the people’s choice that counts, right? However, how do the people make this choice? Do the people independently or in groups study the candidates presenting themselves for electoral offices? 

Do they care to know the academic, family, moral and social background of the candidates? Do they know the mental (or psychological) disposition of the candidates? Have the people ever studied the manifesto of the various parties fielding candidates for election? Are the people even offered the opportunity of knowing the candidates well?  Finally, do the people know what they want the government to do for them within a time period and what to do if the government fails to fulfill the promise made during the campaigns?

The Nigerian situation presents an unfortunate classic example of an unthinking majority. Here is a giant with over 150 million people, out of which less than thirty percent (arguably) are educated, literate or enlightened. Of the literate class, less than ten percent participate actively in the electoral processes.

At the 2011 general elections, for instance, INEC reported that only about 35% of the 70 million registered voters participated in the electoral process. An in-depth analysis would reveal that out of this 35% the illiterate or unenlightened class were in the majority.   Therefore, a majority of those who participate in electoral processes in Nigeria are of the illiterate class. The result of this analysis is immediately clear to the illuminated reader.

It portends that those who elect (if they actually do so) our leaders do not even have the basic requisite of understanding the qualities a leader must possess and what leadership is all about.

The unthinking majority presents a burden and a threat to the practice of true democracy.  How is this so? It is the unthinking majority who sell their votes to candidates they do not even know or to political parties whose manifestoes are at best a compendium of fancies and fantasies.

However, the concept of unthinking majority extends beyond just the illiterate class in the process of election. Where the so- called literate or enlightened class of electorates (who are often more in number than the candidates anyway) allow juvenile or mundane persuasions to influence their choice of a candidate whom they hardly know, this is an unthinking mentality. The same applies where the people allow a godfather to impose a candidate on them. This brings to mind the question of rigging and imposition of candidates during elections. 

The godfathers of rigging and candidate imposition are doing so because of the firm or pretentious belief that the majority of electorates are, in the words of Fela the late Afro-juju exponent, zombies – meaning Unthinking. And Nigerians have continuously and unwittingly located themselves within this meaning.

In the aftermath of elections, where leaders (elected, selected or imposed) pursue policies and programs that tend not to reflect the wish of the majority, thus showing a clear disdain of the majority and their wish, an unthinking majority would remain comatose and endure unnecessary suffering. A variation of this clime is a situation where the few in power use the instruments of office to silence the majority or ignore their opinions or cow them into surrender.

Where the people allow a government to dictate policies with impunity, the people become an unthinking majority.  Where the people refuse, fail, neglect or fear to criticize government policies, especially those policies that repress the wish of the people, the people become an unthinking majority.

Other variations of unthinking majority exist in Nigeria, like in other so-called African democracies.  Here, once elected the leaders suddenly become all- knowing, all-powerful messiahs and, under this cloak, the wish or contribution of the masses become anathema. Thus the people are foisted with the garb of the unthinking majority.

Even members of the National Assembly are not exempt from foisting the garb of the unthinking majority on Nigerians. In the first place members of their respective constituencies hardly ever have access to them after elections. They hardly hold regular and democratic Town Hall meetings with their constituents to determine the true needs of their people for onward presentation at plenaries.

It is the unthinking majority in a democracy who are permissive of a government that impoverishes the majority of the people so a few could be rich. It is the unthinking majority who cannot stand up in the face of oppressors. It is the unthinking majority who cannot emancipate themselves from the oppressive hold of godfathers.

Nevertheless, we plead with entrenched Nigerian Leaders, Elders and Statesmen to engender the birth of a new Nigeria, where the electorates are given a voice and allowed to make their choices. This new Nigeria necessarily entails massive enlightenment campaigns and electorate education at the grassroots. For, indeed Democracy is the most beautiful form of government that gives strength and sense of purpose to a nation. 

Democracy is much deeper than we depict because it is also divine. Yes, democracy is divine because it was through democracy that humanity was given birth to, according to most religious faiths. Is it not written in the Bible that God said “Let us make man in our own likeness.” Meaning that God the creator understood the strength in number, for He would easily have decreed “I want to make man in my image.”

The government is called upon to be truly sincere, by allowing the majority to think and voice its opinion which can contribute meaningfully to the process of governance. The majority cannot be foolish if, for example, they say that high cost of living is weighing them down. If truly it is the people that gave you power, then you must listen to the people.

I must warn here there is no perfect system of government. There only are imperfect leaders. Saying this is not a license for leaders to hide under assumed human imperfections to frustrate the tenets of democratic good governance. However, in democracy it is not always the best candidate that wins but often it is the most popular candidate.

Winning start for Mata at United

                         

London - Manchester United's record signing Juan Mata enjoyed a winning debut on Tuesday as his new club recorded a 2-0 victory at home to Cardiff City in the Premier League.

Leaders Arsenal, meanwhile, spurned an opportunity to move four points clear after drawing 2-2 at Southampton, but Liverpool tightened their grip on fourth place with a superb 4-0 defeat of derby rivals Everton.

Mata started at Old Trafford, three days after making a £37.1m move from Chelsea, as former United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer returned to his old stomping ground as Cardiff manager.

Last season's top scorer Robin van Persie was also included in United's starting line-up, after seven weeks out with a thigh strain, and the Dutch striker broke the deadlock in the sixth minute.

Mata found Ashley Young with a raking pass and when his cross was headed against the bar by Antonio Valencia, Van Persie headed in at the second attempt after his initial header was parried by goalkeeper David Marshall.

Young added a fine second in the 59th minute, cutting in from the left flank and arrowing a drive into the bottom-right corner, before Wayne Rooney made his return from injury as a substitute for Van Persie.

United, who had lost three of their previous five home league games, remain six points below the Champions League places, but they inched to within 12 points of Arsenal after the London club's slip-up at St Mary's.

Bidding to move four points clear of second-place Manchester City, Arsenal fell behind in the 21st minute when centre-back Jose Fonte headed in a left-wing cross from Luke Shaw.

The visitors sprang to life early in the second half, equalising through Olivier Giroud's deft back-heel and going ahead when Santi Cazorla drilled home, only for Adam Lallana to sweep in an equaliser two minutes later.

Arsenal's push for a late winner was undermined when midfielder Mathieu Flamini was sent off for a studs-up lunge at Morgan Schneiderlin.

Arsene Wenger's side are now at risk from City, who will take over at the top if they win at Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, while Chelsea could draw level with Arsenal if they win at home to West Ham United.

Liverpool moved three points clear of fifth-place Spurs and four points above sixth-place Everton with a memorable 4-0 victory in a one-sided Merseyside derby at Anfield.

Steven Gerrard's 21st-minute header from Luis Suarez's corner broke the deadlock and a quick-fire brace from Daniel Sturridge made the game safe before half-time.

The England striker finished coolly from Philippe Coutinho's through ball in the 33rd minute before deftly lobbing Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard from the edge of the area two minutes later.

Suarez raced clear to add a fourth early in the second half, before Sturridge squandered an opportunity to complete his hat-trick by blazing a penalty over the crossbar.

France midfielder Yohan Cabaye, who is reported to be on the verge of a move to Paris Saint-Germain, was absent for Newcastle United as Alan Pardew's side recorded a 0-0 draw at Norwich City.

Both sides finished with 10 men at Carrow Road after Newcastle striker Loic Remy and Norwich midfielder Bradley Johnson were shown straight red cards following a late altercation.

Goals from Jonjo Shelvey and Chico Flores gave Swansea City a 2-0 win at home to relegation-threatened Fulham, while improving Crystal Palace climbed to 14th after an early Jason Puncheon goal saw them beat Hull City 1-0.

Pastor nabbed for raping member's 13year old girl

 Imo State police have arrested
the General Overseer and head of a popular church in
Ikeduru council area of the state, for allegedly raping
a 13-year-old girl. This followed a petition written to the Owerri Police
Area Command by the lawyer to the father of the
alleged rape victim, Mr Emperor Iwuala. The father of the victim,  a widower and does not
want his name in print, had alleged that the pastor
severally raped his daughter between 2010 and 2013. According to him, “Between 2010 and 2013, I was
sick and a friend of mine  introduced me to the
prophet. Because of my sickness, I lost my job as a
bus driver  and also my accommodation in  Owerri. “Consequently, the prophet offered me
accommodation in his house which he also uses as
church. I moved in with my two little daughters.
Because of my condition then, I did not know that the
prophet was taking advantage of my predicament to
defile one of my daughters. “One of the days, his wife caught him trying to abuse
my daughter and she raised the alarm, which made
the husband  to send her packing. “Because of that, I sent my children away but the
prophet threatened me, saying that I must bring my
children back to the church. It was when my
daughters went out of the prophet’s custody that they
could narrate their ordeal to me. “Ironically, the prophet went to the police recently to
report that I arranged to kidnap my daughters from his
house.” Confirming the  petition,  Iwuala also disclosed that
the said prophet was currently under investigation by
the police for buying an alleged stolen vehicle  He
applauded the security operatives for the impressive
manner they are handling the matter. When the suspect’s prayer house was visited, a
worshipper who spoke on condition of anonymity
confirmed that the pastor was arrested by the police
and was still in their custody.

Kings & Priests Empire Presents: King Josh - Follow Me

  
Kings and Priests Empire presents award winning Nigerian afro-pop sensation ‘King Josh’, who is already making waves in Europe. Geared to take his music to the next level; the stylish and energetic performer returns with an engaging Patrick Ellis directed music video for his fresh high octane single ‘Follow Me’ produced by Solider Beatz

Ghana must go today – Stephen Keshi

Nigeria and Ghana have a long history of rivalry,
particularly when it comes to football. From the days of Independence Games in the early
1960s when the two countries were pitched against
each other in the annual event to the modern times,
every match involving them is sold out. When the Black Stars of Ghana defeated DR Congo
1-0, a day after the Super Eagle  shocked the Atlas
Lions of Morocco 4-3 in the most dramatic fashion,
most watchers of the game, here in South Africa
agreed that CHAN would witness yet another thriller
because by their victories over their foes, the two West African giants will cross paths to get to the
final. The semi final fixtures which comes up today in
Bloemfontein, South Africa has attracted a lot of
interest from the locals here who are still not pleased
with the Bafana Bafana whose exit from the
tournament was masterminded by the Super Eagles. Coach Stephen Keshi has not allowed the landmark
victory over Morocco to get into his players heads. ‘’I
have told them to remain focused. The victory over
Morocco is now history and we still have about 180
minutes to the trophy, so we cannot afford to believe
that the task is over,’’ Keshi said. He has no serious injury worries in camp and with the
expected return of Solomon Kwambe, who served a
one match suspension as a result of a red card and
Benjamin Francis who has regained fitness after a lay
off that was occasioned by an injury he sustained
during the opening match against Mali, Coach Keshi has maintained faith in his winning squad. Captain Chigozie Agbim will man the post, Azubuike
Egwuekwe will lead the defence quartet of Erhun
Obanor, Kumle Odunlami and Brigh Eseme. In the midfield Abdullahin Shehu, Rabiu Ali and
Ugonna Uzochukwu will hold sway while Ejike
Uzoenyi will lead the attack line likely to also feature
Barnabas Imenga or Gbolahan Salami (if he is fit) and
highly mobile Ifeanyi Ede.

A 14-seater bus is reported to have gone up in flames at Iyana Oworoso

                                       

D'banj' to launch the 'Year of Agriculture' AT Addis Ababa

D'banj' will unveil the official name and logo of the campaign, as well as launch ONE’s online petition, calling on leaders to invest more and better in agriculture. 

Welcome To Mitnids blog: See what a teenager transformed herself into using...

Welcome To Mitnids blog: See what a teenager transformed herself into using...: An 18-year-old has become a master in creating beautifully macabre make-up. Stephanie Fernandez, from Shreveport, Louisiana, transforms h...

Fuel tanker explodes, kills 2 in Funtua

Funtua - A diesel tanker on Monday exploded and killed two persons at Bakin-dutse in Funtua Local Government Area of Katsina State.

Eye witnesses told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the deceased persons were the driver of the tanker and a welder.

They said the tanker was loaded with diesel, but had one of its compartments broken down and a welder was called to repair it.

‘While the welder was fixing the compartment, the tanker burst into flames and both the driver and the welder sustained severe burns and were rushed to the hospital where they died," an eye witness said.

The FRSC Unit Commander in Funtua,  Rabiu Usman, confirmed the incident and gave the registration number of the tanker as, XA 224 FTA.

Usman advised tanker drivers to always be cautious with the vehicles, especially when they were loaded with fuel.

Gunners want Wenger to stay

London - Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis has said on Monday he expected manager Arsene Wenger to sign a new contract when the Frenchman's current deal expires at the end of this season.

The 64-year-old Wenger is currently the English Premiership longest-serving manager, having joined north London side Arsenal in September 1996.

The Gunners are currently riding high at the top of the table and Wenger has repeatedly played down concerns over his future when asked about a new contract, although he gave a hint last month he'd made a decision.

Gazidis insisted there was no rush as far as the club's hierarchy were concerned while speaking at the announcement of a new kit deal with Puma worth more than a reported £30 million, which will commence in July.

"We have always been completely behind him," said Gazidis. 

"We are comfortable in the position and relaxed about it.

"Arsene will be extending with us," Gazidis added. 

"This football club is the football club of his life.

"We are very convinced, and at the right time we will quietly make an announcement that he is the right person to see us forwards."

Arsenal's agreement with Puma, which will see the German sports manufacturer take over from Nike as Arsenal's, was described in a joint statement as "the biggest deal" for both club and company.

The Gunners are understood to receive around £30 million a year from main sponsors Emirates Airlines, and while no financial details were given, reports have indicated the new deal will be for a similar amount when Puma replace US-based rivals Nike, who have been the London club's kit provider since 1994.

Arsenal smashed their transfer record when they signed Germany playmaker Mesut Ozil for £42 million from Real Madrid in the last window.

And there had veen reports they are keen to land Ozil's fellow Germany international Julian Draxler from Schalke before the 31v January deadline.

Gazidis said funds to sign new players were available, although Wenger would not have access to any of Puma's cash until after the end of the season.

"The new partnership represents the biggest commercial deal in Puma's and Arsenal's history," explained Gazidis.

"The money from this deal will be available to the club from this summer. It represents an important step in our progression on and off the pitch.

"One of our long-term goals has been to increase commercial revenues and there is a football reason for that -- from the summer onwards the money will be available for the manager to spend how he sees fit."

Arsenal haven't won a major trophy since 2005 but Gazidis said: "We have a vision to be competing at the top of the world's game, but we don't get there overnight.

"We are doing it our way, without relying on any single individual, on an independent path.

"When we achieve success it will mean so much to everyone that has been in this journey, so let's get there as soon as possible."