Baby Enioluwa Now Found

Ten month-old Enioluwa Odegbaike who went missing two weeks ago from his parents' home in Magodo, Lagos has been found. According to a member of the Odegbaike family, he was found this morning in the border town of Badagry in Lagos. "Yes he has been found. He is fine and he is in good health," he said. A female member of the family, who identified herself as Ibukun, confirmed that the baby has been reunited with his family. "Our dearest baby and now yours, Enioluwanimi just came back home safely at 8.20am this morning," she said. Baby Enioluwa disappeared with her nanny, Victoria on February 13. It Is still uncertain if the family paid any ransom and the Police Public Relations Officer, Samuel Jinadu could not be reached to comment on the matter.

10 month old Enioluwa Odegbaike with babysitter's picture inset.

The family of 10-month-old Enioluwa Odegbaike who went missing 11 days ago has called on Nigerians to pray for the return of their baby because other efforts to find the child has proved abortive.

A member of the family who refused to give his name, said in a telephone interview with NEXT that the mother of the baby remains traumatised by the experience.

“She just wants to be left alone. All we need from Nigerians is their prayers that he is found and in good health,” he said.

The child was taken away from his parents’ home in Magodo, Lagos by his nanny on Sunday, February 13 and was never seen again. The nanny is believed to be working with some unknown persons.

Useful leads

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Police command, Samuel Jinadu, said the police has arrested the man who acted as the nanny’s referee and introduced her to the Odegbaike’s home. He is reportedly being questioned by the police.

“The person who introduced the nanny to the family has been arrested and is being quizzed by the police. The case has been transferred to the State CID. All efforts are being made to find the missing boy. The case is still under investigation.” He said.

Underground kidnapping in Lagos

The spate of kidnapping in recent times has led many victims and their families to find various means of finding their loved ones who go missing.

The Internet, through websites, BlackBerry Messenger, Facebook, Twitter and other social platforms have become tools that residents now use to spread news of kidnapping and other crimes in the state.

When five-year-old Sharon Omolayo was kidnapped from her school, Avicenna International School, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos by a trusted employee, on December 13, 2010, the Internet played a major role in spreading the news of her kidnap.

For the seven days she went missing, her pictures and that of her abductor was widely circulated online through several blogs, websites, Facebook and Twitter and within a few days, her name and pictures were imbedded in the minds of almost every Internet user within the country and abroad.

“It was hard not to see her,” said Efemena Mayo, a student. “Her pictures were everywhere. I first got it on my BlackBerry. Then I saw it on Facebook, Twitter, and different blogs. Before I knew it, I was looking closely at every young girl I passed on the street to see if she was Sharon because she had a birth mark on her face that was hard to miss.”

According to David Ogburn, Principal of Avicenna International School, the Internet was a very helpful tool in circulating information about Miss Omolayo, and once the information got on to Facebook, it spread quickly.

Also, when the duo of Ify Eneli and Michael Neri were kidnapped on Friday January 28 while leaving a night club in Victoria Island, Lagos, their pictures and the information about their kidnap spread quickly over the Internet with friends and family members asking for the support of the people in helping to find them.

They were released some days later after their families paid a ransom to their abductors and this information was again circulated over the Internet.

Recently, a picture of missing 10-month old Enioluwa Odegbaike has been circulated over the Internet, ensuring that more and more people get to know about the kidnap and lookout for him.

Still searching for Enioluwa

According to a release by the family, any information concerning the missing child should be reported to the nearest police station.

“If you have any information about Enioluwa or the nanny no matter how trivial, please call 07085534788, or the nearest police station. Enioluwa’s mother (Foluso) can be reached on this number, 08022228422,” said the family member who refused to comment further on the issue.

If you have any information concerning the disappearance of Enioluwa Odegbaike please call the numbers above or send a mail to metro@234next.com or  findenioluwa@systemini.net

Rosh Hashanah (Hebrew: ראש השנה‎, literally "head of the year," Israeli: Hebrew pronunciation: [ˈʁoʃ haʃaˈna], Ashkenazic: ˈɾoʃ haʃːɔˈnɔh, Yiddish:[ˈrɔʃəˈʃɔnə]) is a Jewish holiday commonly referred to as the "Jewish New Year." It is observed on the first day of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar.[1] It is ordained in the Torah as "Zicaron Terua" ("a memorial with the blowing of horns"), in Leviticus 23:24. Rosh Hashanah is the first of the High Holidays or Yamim Noraim ("Days of Awe"), or Asseret Yemei Teshuva (Ten Days of Repentance) which are days specifically set aside to focus on repentance that conclude with the holiday of Yom Kippur.

Rosh Hashanah is the start of the civil year in the Hebrew calendar (one of four "new year" observances that define various legal "years" for different purposes as explained in the Mishnah and Talmud). It is the new year for people, animals, and legal contracts. The Mishnah also sets this day aside as the new year for calculating calendar years and sabbatical (shmita) and jubilee (yovel) years. Jews believe Rosh Hashanah represents either analogically or literally the creation of the World, or Universe. However, according to one view in the Talmud, that of R. Eleazar, Rosh Hashanah commemorates the creation of man, which entails that five days earlier, the 25 of Elul, was the first day of creation of the Universe.[2]

The Mishnah, the core text of Judaism's oral Torah, contains the first known reference to Rosh Hashanah as the "day of judgment." In the Talmud tractate on Rosh Hashanah it states that three books of account are opened on Rosh Hashanah, wherein the fate of the wicked, the righteous, and those of an intermediate class are recorded. The names of the righteous are immediately inscribed in the book of life, and they are sealed "to live." The middle class are allowed a respite of ten days, until Yom Kippur, to repent and become righteous; the wicked are "blotted out of the book of the living."[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosh_Hashanah

For secular Jews

It would happen each fall around the Jewish new year. At the very time when renewal was in the autumn air, Arnold Barnett, an engineer from Moorestown, would go into a mild funk. His wife eventually figured it out: He was less than enamored with high holiday synagogue services.

"He simply wasn't engaged by what went on inside our Reform synagogue, or with the traditional approach to Judaism," said Ellen, 70. "I knew he was struggling. So sometimes, I would just go to services alone."

Then last year, the Barnetts saw a small notice in a local Jewish newspaper about a recently formed group in South Jersey. "We went to a meeting that was focused on Jewish history," Arnold, 71, recalls, "and that was something I could relate to. It was much more appealing."

And so the Barnetts will celebrate Rosh Hashanah, which begins Wednesday at sundown, by meeting Sunday with like-minded members of South Jersey Secular Jews - a group of people who may or may not believe in God, but do believe in caring about the world and one another, respecting and understanding Jewish history, and celebrating a culture that has meaning and emotional pull.

"The most important aspect of secularism is the survival and continuity of the Jewish people," said Paul Shane, a native New Yorker now living in Philadelphia and married to the daughter of Holocaust survivors.

Shane, 75, a member of the more established Philadelphia Secular Jewish Organization, believes humans are responsible for what happens on Earth. The here and now is central, and actions speak louder than words.

That philosophy resembles traditional Judaism. But secular Jews and traditional Jews part company when it comes to accepting religious dogma.

If you're secular, God is optional. (Traditional Judaism has "God at its heart. That's not an option," said Rabbi Ethan Franzel of Main Line Reform Temple Beth Elohim in Wynnewood.) Also, life-cycle events are handled individually - for instance, there are no set burial or wedding traditions in secular Judaism.

Of course secularism, in which one adheres to cultural norms rather than religious ones, is hardly new. During the Renaissance, from 1450 to 1600, and the Enlightenment in the 18th century, many Jews shed the God-oriented elements of their Jewishness, according to Shane, a professor of social policy at Rutgers University in Newark. That shedding also continued in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

What's different today is that a growing number of secular Jews are finding one another, forming groups, and practicing the social responsibility Judaism requires - minus the synagogue.

Rifke Feinstein, executive director of the national Congress of Secular Jewish Organizations, says there are approximately 2,000 affiliated secular Jews in the United States. But because seculars typically are unaffiliated, and therefore uncounted, estimates for the entire American secular population range from 8,000 to 40,000.

In the Philadelphia area, there are six such organizations for secular Jews - including the five-year-old South Jersey Secular Jews - all under the local umbrella cooperative venture called Kehilla for Secular Jews.

For many people, discovering that such an organization exists has been a relief.

" 'I thought I was the only one!' is what people often express when they discover that they are not alone in their secular relationship to their Jewishness," said Larry Angert, 59, a member of 11-year-old Shir Shalom: A Havurah for Secular Jews. "The Jewish tent is big, and there's room for all of us in it."

Some local secular groups, like Philadelphia's Sholom Aleichem Club, which started in 1954, and Philadelphia Workmen's Circle, founded nationally in 1900 to aid Jewish immigrant workers and to promote Yiddish, have graying memberships. Bob Kleiner, 85, of Elkins Park, a retired sociology professor at Temple University, and his wife, Frances, a teacher of Yiddish, both long active in the secular movement, lament that younger people are not actively involved in these historic groups.

But the formation of new groups, such as South Jersey Secular Jews, is evidence the movement still has traction.

Credit Naomi Scher, 64, of Cherry Hill, whose children attended the Jewish Children's Folkshul, another Kehilla group, which is a parent-run cooperative held at Springside School in Philadelphia. About 100 children receive their Jewish education, not in a traditional Hebrew school but in classes that nourish social justice and individual responsibility. Bar and bat mitzvah aspirants undertake personally meaningful projects that they ultimately share with the entire Folkshul community.

Although Scher formed relationships with parents of her children's classmates, commuting to Philadelphia became burdensome once her children graduated, and in 2005, the retired social worker decided to start a secular group closer to home.

What began as a gathering of eight to 10 people now regularly attracts 30, meeting monthly with speakers who address social and political concerns, Scher said.

Deborah Chaiken, 74, of Palmyra is delighted to have a group close to home. "In the formal Jewish community, I felt that I didn't really have a voice. Here, I know that I do."

Dues are $25 a year, and participants are asked to bring food for potluck dinners. Meetings are held on the second Sunday of the month at Unitarian Universalist Church in Cherry Hill..

South Jersey Secular Jews members Cary and Bilha Hillebrand of Cherry Hill call the group a welcome addition to the local landscape. For Bilha, 54, the philosophy of the group is more in keeping with that of her native Israel, where the majority of the population leads a more secular lifestyle.

"We are not in any way antireligious," says Cary, 60. "We hold the belief that we are responsible for what happens to ourselves and to the world. And to us, that's the essence of what religion is, and should be."

The House of Representatives leadership yesterday averted an outright confrontation with members amid allegations that it withheld approval for more funds that would raise members’ quarterly allowance to N42 million.

Anxiety rose at Tuesday’s sitting, which was the first to be held after allegations that lawmakers asked for a new allowance package were made public.

Up we go

Members, according to sources who were part of the House closed-door meeting two weeks ago, tried to convince their leadership on why the current N27.2 million allowance they receive every four months, needs to be reviewed upwards..

Short of funds apart from that appropriated for allowances, lawmakers understand the implication and have encouraged the Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, to go ahead and draw funds from other sources to the tune of N15.1 billion.

Mr. Bankole, according to sources close to him, is uncomfortable with the suggestion and has withheld his assent even after he orally agreed with the members.

However, he and his deputy, Usman Nafada, face an impeachment threat if they fail, the sources say.

But the House spokesperson, Eseme Eyiboh, who heads the committee on Media, denied the reports, saying the Speaker has no such powers to unilaterally raise pay, and so cannot be expected to do same.

Yesterday’s plenary was the first after the reports became public.

The notion gained fillip when Mr. Bankole failed to show up at the sitting, and Mr. Nafada had to conduct proceedings.

After preliminary procedures, Independence Ogunewe, a member representing Ahiazu Mbaise, Imo State, claimed his privilege as a lawmaker had been breached, and said he could only disclose his worry if Mr. Nafada ordered a closed-door session.

“What I am talking about, affects me, affects you and affects other members, it is not for the public,” he told said.

Targeting the Speaker

Mr. Nafada however insisted that the matter be discussed openly. “Go ahead and say it, say it, or you meet me in my office,” he said repeatedly, rejecting the option of an executive session, and pushing the session into a row that lasted more than 15 minutes.

Both lawmakers were then approached by colleagues, who prevailed on them to resolve the issue peacefully.

Sources indicate that Mr. Nafada’s effort against the closed-door sitting was in furtherance of an alternative belief that the agitation for new allowances, when made open and available to the media, would be severely weakened.

However, Mr. Ogunlewe finally apologised to the Deputy Speaker, who subsequently ordered for an executive session that lasted for more than one and a half hour.

It sounds an impossible challenge: to make love every day for a month. But a series of studies have found that as well as bringing you closer together, it could help improve your well being. SARAH KAVANAGH, 31, a project co-ordinator, and her husband Colin, 40, a builder, from Cheshire, decided to try it. So how did they fare? Sarah says:

On the eve of the 12th anniversary of our first date, I told my husband Colin that I'd got him a very special gift that would remind us both just how much we still mean to each other.

As he tried to guess what it might be I assured him that this was something far more meaningful than a weekend away or a blown-up photograph from our wedding album.

His gift was, in fact, to make love with me every day for the following month.

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Happy bedfellows: Sarah and Colin Kavanagh wanted to revive their romance

Colin's immediate reaction, just as I'd hoped, was to look like a man who'd been told he'd won the Lottery.

But almost immediately his face then fell.

'We used to have sex every day as a matter of course,' he said grumpily. 'Now you're offering it up as a gift and I'm supposed to be grateful?'

This really wasn't what I'd expected, having just offered love on request to the man I married seven years ago and who is always bending my ear that we don't do it enough. Somehow my well-meant offer had suddenly brought us to the brink of a row.

I'd come up with the idea because, in common with so many couples, in recent years lovemaking had been relegated in my agenda.

Unlike the heady days when Colin and I first met, now there is always something else that takes precedence - from work to domestic chores and even the simple pleasure of a full night's sleep.

When we met, I was 19 and Colin ten years older - the sexual attraction was mutual and instant. For the first few months, our passionate love life defined us, but as months turned to years and we got engaged and then married, things inevitably changed.

Over time, familiarity, the stresses of work and day-to-day life and the fact my sex drive just isn't what it used to be have combined to dampen the passion we once took for granted.

Groundhog Day: Colin was delighted then concerned that Sarah's special anniversary 'present' would take the spontaneity out of their love life

These days we make love about once a week. And, in common with many of my friend's husbands, Colin regularly complains that this just isn't enough.

Which is why I'd presumed that this gift would be welcomed rather than the cause of a row.

Later that evening, we talked it through.

'At least when we do it, it's spontaneous,' Colin told me. 'You putting it into your diary isn't exactly a turn on.'

But despite his reservations, we decided to give it a go.

Somehow I felt certain that in the years ahead he would look back on this as the most intimate gift of our marriage.

DAY ONE

There's no time like the present, so, for the first time in at least five years we make love on a work day before I've even put the kettle on.

So much for Colin worrying about this taking the spontaneity out of sex: this feels impulsive and slightly wicked.

I arrive at work with a smug smile on my face (though guiltily note that this also means I'm off the hook at bedtime, having done the day's deed already).

DAY TWO

Home from work later than usual, I walk in to find the table beautifully set with candles and flowers and dinner in the oven.

The last time Colin did this was our wedding anniversary, but this is just an ordinary evening. It's amazing what the promise of frequent sex brings out in a man.

DAY THREE

Home to find the table set and Colin's cooking again - I could get used to this. I feel spoilt, especially when he refuses to let me wash up and sends me upstairs for a soak in the bath. This is beginning to feel as much a gift for me as for Colin.

DAY FOUR

I've stayed late at work and missed the last bus home, so I've had to fork out for a taxi when I'm dangerously close to payday. I'm in a foul mood when I walk into the house and am greeted by the same scene as the last two days.

'God, this is starting to feel like Groundhog Day,' I snap unkindly. We eat in silence, and I start to feel guilty when I think how much effort Colin is making. 'Leave the dishes,' I tell him. 'It's time for your present.'

DAY FIVE

Last night could so easily have ended with us going to sleep not speaking after I arrived home so tired and grumpy.

Instead we slept wrapped up in each other's arms, just like the old days. It's Saturday, so we're less restricted on when we can make love. We decide to get our chores done: the house needs cleaning and Colin needs to tackle the garden.

We're shattered and fall asleep on the sofa. Colin's snoring wakes me up just before midnight. 'Quick,' I tell him, as I shake him awake and push the cats out of the room. 'Otherwise it won't count.'

DAY SIX

Sundays in our house are normally lazy affairs, but today we've got a christening to go to and we're running late.

We vow to make love as soon as we get home, but while Colin doesn't drink, I'm partial to champagne, and it's been flowing all afternoon.

Back home, all I want to do is go to bed and sleep, but, of course, I can't.

Struggle: Sarah has to wake Colin up on day five to make love before midnight so that 'it still counts'

DAY SEVEN

I'm beginning to wonder if this was such a good idea.

Last night, love-making felt like a chore for the first time, and because neither of us was particularly in the mood we just went through the motions.

I'm not looking forward to bedtime and Colin admits he's not interested either. Sure enough, we fall asleep without any marital relations taking place. Looks like this could be over before it got started.

DAY EIGHT

I wake up cross with both of us that we've given up so easily, and tell Colin we've got to make up for last night by making love twice today.

We tackle the project with renewed vigour before work and then again straight after dinner.

'At least now we can go to bed and go straight to sleep,' says Colin. I feign indignation, but he's only said exactly what I was thinking.

DAY NINE

Colin wakes up hoping for a repeat performance of yesterday, but I'm not playing. I have to be in work early. 'Tonight, I promise,' I say as we kiss goodbye.

What's normally a brief kiss turns into a passionate one - not bad considering we've been together more than a decade. I think about Colin regularly through the day.

DAY TEN

My sister calls to remind me that I've promised to baby-sit my 11 and 14-year-old nieces this weekend. I tell her that I'm worried this might impact on our lovemaking.

'Welcome to my world,' she scoffs, before telling me I can't back out on my sisterly duties. I tell Colin that we have to practise being very quiet.

DAY 11

The girls arrive armed with DVDs and bags of sweets, and announce they want to stay up really late, just like they did last time they stayed over. By 11pm, I'm pleading with them to go to sleep.

'Forget it,' I snap at Colin when I finally get under the duvet. There's no way I can do that with the girls awake on the other side of the wall.

DAY 12

Little wonder couples with children complain they don't have enough sex: finding an opportunity with these two in the house is all but impossible.

In the end, I send them out with a long shopping list, set the timer on my phone to go off in ten minutes and drag Colin upstairs. 'Look on it as a challenge,' I tell him.

DAY 13

The girls go home and we've got the house to ourselves. Midmorning I say breezily: 'I'll just vacuum and then we can go to bed.'

Bad move. I accidentally suck up one of the girl's hair bobbles and it gets stuck in the machine.

It takes Colin an hour to get it going again, by which time love is the last thing on either of our minds. But we do it anyway and then go out for lunch, something we realise we just don't do often enough.

DAY 14

I go out for a drink after work with a girlfriend and tell her about our project. 'You must be mad,' she says, before warning me that our friendship will be ruined if Colin or I tell her husband what we're up to. 'Don't you dare go giving him any daft ideas.'

DAY 15

I'm going to be working late tonight, so I set the alarm for 6am so we can get our duties out of the way before the day gets started. Colin grunts when I try to nudge him awake. 'I need my sleep,' he groans.

Maybe he'll be a bit more understanding when he's in the mood for love and I say that I'm too tired.

DAY 16

Friends come round for a midweek dinner and comment on how attentive we seem to each other. I keep quiet about why, having taken note of my friend's reaction earlier in the week, but throw Colin a wink.

We're definitely a lot more tactile with each other, and have started flirting again.

DAY 17

I spoke too soon - we've had a huge row over the fact that Colin forgot to put out the bin last night and now we're up to our eyes in rubbish.

He can't see why I'm making such a fuss, which only makes me madder. The last thing I want to do is to make love with Colin. Normally something like this would be the perfect excuse to withhold sex, but that's not an option.

It's difficult to stay cross with someone you've made love to - Colin promises to make a trip to the tip and all is forgiven.

DAY 18

I've got a streaming cold and a headache. Colin is keeping his distance. 'What about a cuddle?' I ask as I splutter into a tissue. 'No thanks,' says Colin. 'I'm sleeping in the spare room.'

DAY 19

Still poorly, so I stay in bed. Colin spends the day bringing me hot drinks and homemade soup, and does all the housework so I can rest.

He's never been this attentive when I've had a cold before - all this lovemaking has made him a changed man.

DAY 20

The weekend has been a write-off on the sex front, yet Colin and I feel closer and more relaxed than we have in a long time.

It brings it home to me how important regular sex in a marriage is to nurture the bond you share.

DAY 21

Back to work, and I'm almost restored to full health. I send Colin a flirty text hinting at the fun we'll be able to enjoy when we see each other later. I can't believe I'm chatting up my own husband.

DAY 22

I notice that my trousers are a little looser, so I step on the scales and discover I've lost 2lb. All this extra exercise is doing me good.

DAY 23

A friend is in town and stays the night. I'd emailed her at the start of the month and told her what we were doing, which she brings up over dinner, joking that we'd better not keep her awake tonight.

This puts Colin in a bad mood because I've let slip what we're up to, and when she goes to bed he has a go at me for being indiscreet. I try to laugh it off, but he's really cross about it. He refuses to make love. I lie awake fuming - isn't it supposed to be the woman who withholds favours?

DAY 24

Colin wakes feeling guilty and suggests we make up for missing out yesterday. I realise that the argument will only escalate if I refuse. Instead, we make love and the grumpiness vanishes. We make love again that evening, our row long forgotten.

DAY 25

I meet my mum for lunch and she comments on how fresh-faced I appear. 'Have you discovered a new foundation?' she asks.

I must say I feel more attractive and better about myself than I have in years. Feeling desired does wonders for a woman's self-esteem.

DAY 26

I'm having to factor in an extra ten minutes into my daily grooming regime so I can shave my legs, and I'm wearing more make-up than usual.

I'm going to continue with this after the month is up - it's nice to feel groomed, whether it's with sex in mind or not.

DAY 27

We're near the end of Colin's gift, so we decide to spend the entire day in bed, just as we did on Sundays when we first became a couple. It's not just about sex - it's about relishing shutting out the rest of the world. We'd like a family, so we need to make the most of days like this.

DAY 28

We've made love 25 times in 28 days, and there's no question that we've grown closer as a result.

I thought I might be relieved to get to the last day, but I'm just determined to make sex far more of a priority than it used to be.

My friend has lent me a DVD I've wanted to watch for ages, so I put it on after dinner. Colin and I cuddle up on the sofa together to watch it - normally he spreads out on one chair while I take over another.

'When did we stop doing this?' I ask him. We go to bed tired and we've got work in the morning.

'Let's just cuddle,' says Colin, and as we drift off to sleep it feels like the perfect end to the present that ended up being a gift not just for Colin, but for our marriage, too...