Nigerian shines at Commonwealth, emerge as youth council chair

A Nigerian, Ahmed Adamu  yesterday emerged as the chairperson of the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) at a keenly contested election.
Adamu  will chair the new body, which will be the recognised voice of the 1.2 billion young people of the Commonwealth, and a framework for youth-led development initiatives.   
 The inaugural Executive of the Council would serve a two year term until the next CYC General Assembly in Mauritius in 2015.
Other winners of the election are: Vice Chairperson (Policy, Advocacy & Projects): Sudharshana Lakshmi from India; Vice Chairperson (Partnerships & Resources): Sadham Zarjahan from Sri Lanka; Vice Chairperson (Inclusion & Engagement): Mohamed Husni from Sri Lanka; Regional Representative – Africa & Europe: Kiziah Philbert from Kenya; Regional Representative – Asia: Tharika Dileepani from Sri Lanka; Regional Representative – Caribbean & Americas: Royden Beharry from Grenada; Regional Representative – Pacific: Harry James from Solomon Islands and Representative – Special Interest Groups: Wathsala Samarakoon from Sri Lanka.
Five Nigerian youths were among the Fifty-three candidates from 21 countries standing for nine executive posts including Chairperson, Vice Chairpersons, regional and special interests representatives of the Commonwealth Youth Council.
Over the past two days at the Commonwealth Youth Forum  in Hambantota, Sri Lanka, candidates from national youth bodies across the 53 countries of the Commonwealth have been campaigning for the right to lead the CYC.
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Breaking News:Lecturer dies in ghastly auto accident on way to ASUU meeting, Professor Festus Iyayi is dead

Professor Festus Iyayi is dead.

 Comrade  Iyayi a former National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) died in a car accident early hours of today on his way to a meeting in resolving the ongoing strike action.

He was heading for the Kogi State Congress of the university union when died.

Festus Iyayi (born 1947, in Ugbegun in Ishan) is a Nigeria writer known for his radical and sometimes tough stance on social and political issues. Iyayi employs a realistic style of writing, depicting the social, political and moral environment and system both the rich and poor live and work in.

As a member of staff of the University, he became interested in radical social issues, and a few years after his employment, he became the president of the local branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), a radical union known for its upfront style on academic and social welfare. He rose to the position of president of the national organization in 1986, but in 1988, the union was briefly banned and Iyayi was detained, in that same year he won the Commonwealth Prize for Literature for his book Heroes. He was later removed from his faculty position.  

Iyayi  in an interview said he  was asked to pack faeces with my bare hands in  under the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida.

Professor Festus Iyayi  has warned that the stability of Nigeria will be threatened if the problem of youth unemployment