Where can one get original accessories for Blackberry devices in Lagos? I am PARTICULARLY interested in batteries and casings. ORIGINALS only, RIM standard.

When you register a BLACKBERRY email account (rather than the Yahoo or Gmail which you probably have now), that problem will be solved. At lest, this holds true for ETISALAT BIS.

Configure a BIS email account on your BB now and try again after 30 minutes

All accessories intact. You can leave a message here.

BTW, how does the E63 compare to the E5?

USED TO EXPERIENCE the same problem until i found out that it can be solved SIMPLY by registering a blackberry email address. Won't accept if you input yahoo or Gmail from a 'worldwide location". As you can see, it keeps on displaying an email address and asks for a password.

Configure a BLACKBERRY email account on your device and try after 30 minutes.



If the email address prompt which is displayed read thus: man@etisalatng.blackberry.com, you would not have experienced that problem for a second.

End of problem

THIS IS WHAT the NIGERIAN ARMY'S APR-21 122mm MRLS LOOK LIKE
(25 UNITS). It is the Romanian variant of the BM-21 122mm MRLS.



STILL THE APR-21 122mm MRLS

[B]NIGERIAN ARMY DEVELOP FIRST-EVER WHOLLY SPECIAL FORCES BATTALION[/B]

http://beegeagle./2010/04/24/nigerian-army-deploy-first-ever-wholly-special-forces-battalion/

Sometime in November 2006, I spent a weekend with a group of four army officers in Jos and quickly spurred them to narrate their ECOMOG experiences during their tours of duty as part of the pan-West African ECOWAS Ceasefire Monitoring Group which was charged with restoring peace to conflict-ridden Liberia and Sierra Leone during the decade of the 1990s. In broad outlines, permit my use of the account of the most senior of the lot who I would describe as being completely battle-hardened.

My star narrator took off from Nigeria to Liberia in July 1996 and did not come back till 2000. He was frank enough to admit that the roughest days of action in Liberia(ie the Dogonyaro era and the famous April 6 battle) had come and gone by the time he was in Monrovia under the command of the current Liberian Army Chief of Staff Major General Y.L Nyeh. At the time,the then Colonel Nyeh was ECOMOG Ground Task Force Commander ie charged with the protection and defence of Greater Monrovia.

When the Sierra Leone war escalated in the last quarter of 1998,he and his company were offloaded to SLR to form the advance party of the battalion planned for the defence of Kenema. They made it into SLR overland at about the same time as ECOMOG forces around Makeni were pushed back and out of the town by a large and well equipped RUF brigade,supported by a fresh consignment of artillery,RRs and ATGWs from Burkina Faso and in operations led by a mix of South African and French mercenaries.

In retaliation,ECOMOG Forces in the East (still outnumbered and awaiting reinforcements from Nigeria) attacked Sam Moskita Bockari's Field HQ and Bush Camp at Kailahun,levelling it with 122mm & 155mm field guns. This narrator was actually a company 2 I/C at some point and their unit was charged with securing the Kenema airstrip

Anyway,to teach the ECOMOG Forces an enduring lesson, the RUF decided to attack Kenema head on and link up with RUF forces advancing on Freetown from elsewhere at the time.

Describing the topography of Kenema which the RUF took full advantage of to launch this attack,he said that the town is situated along the path of a high hill range which rises from many miles inland but terminates in the heart of the town. All but the ECOMOG forces were aware of the impending attack and on D-Day,the town quietly emptied itself around midnight. The natives left our countrymen to stew in their own juice apparently.

Ascending the hill range from way out of town, the RUF forces literarily descended on the town at 2.30am. In the ensuing 16 hour battle, anti-tank guns, artillery heavy mortars, RPGs and all manner of dangerous weapons were freely used. In this battle,the RUF deployed the feared French HOT anti-tank missile.

At this juncture,the narrator lifted his shirt to show me where he received a severe burn after he mistakenly slung an AK 47 from which he had expended 10 magazines during the 16-hour battle period. He fought the battle with an AK47 in one hand and an RPG launcher in the other. At the cessation of the day's hostilities(the RUF beat a retreat for emphasis),11 Nigerian soldiers lay dead while 42 RUF troops were liquidated.

FURTHER READING:

http://beegeagle./2010/04/12/hanging-out-with-nigerian-ecomog-veterans/

IS FORMER PRESIDENT BABANGIDA POSITIONING HIMSELF FOR THE 2011 NIGERIAN PRESIDENTIAL RACE?

The recently-held celebration of the 54th birthday anniversary of Otunba Gbenga Daniel(OGD), the incumbent governor of Ogun State, SW Nigeria ended up becoming a political carnival of sorts with the painstaking enumeration by the speakers of what they deem to be the achievements of the regime of former President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida(fondly called IBBby admirers), who ruled Nigeria as military dictator between 1985 and 1993. The event itself was chaired by IBB and had some of his diehard supporters during the better-forgotten 1990-93 epoch putting in a strong showing. Some were even guest speakers. So we had in attandance Bola Ajibola, his former Attorney General, Yemi Farounbi who romances most governments in power anyway, former Daily Times Sole Administrator/MD Tola Adeniyi and serial Commissioner in Ogun State Taiwo Alimi.

It is not difficult to imagine that a synergy exists between IBB and OGD (who has had his mandatory two-terms as governor and is possibly aspiring to grander things such as the Vice Presidency) ahead of the 2011 presidential polls. As if to buttress my suspicion, Governor Daniel actually used the occasion to ask that Nigerians forgive IBB. For a man who has never come out to clearly admit that he erred on the June 12 thing, the fact that this was said without blinking and to IBB’s own hearing does suggest CLEARLY that it was an image laundering exercise ahead of “something”.

It is not inconceivable that the men who shape Nigeria’s destiny for good or bad are poised to return IBB to the Presidency. Given the gerontocratic slant of our national politics with experience always being mouthed everywhere, IBB is a comparatively detribalised Nigerian (bridge builders, they call them here) and the acrimony thus far created by the attempt to prevent the ascension to the presidency of Dr Goodluck Jonathan by ethnosectional ideologues has badly affected our fragile national unity in such a way as has only been surpassed in malevolent intent by the June 12 fiasco and its aftermath.

Now, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) has zoned the Presidency to Northern Nigeria until 2015 and with the shadow of doubt overhanging President Umaru Musa YarAdua’s ability to continue in office on account of his fragile health, the establishment may be searching for a replacement from his own part of the country.



CONCLUDING PART:

http://beegeagle./2010/04/06/is-ibb-positioning-himself-for-the-2011-presidential-race/

You tell me,

AFI MOUNTAIN FOREST RESERVE











JOS PLATEAU AND ENVIRONS











OBUDU MOUNTAINS: STANDING SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH GEMBU












FOR MUCH, MUCH MORE,

http://beegeagle./2010/04/10/picturesque-nigeria/

This page is dedicated to past African presidents, vice presidents, prime ministers, opposition leaders, guerrilla leaders and soldiers who bestrode the continental space for good or bad


[B]MWALIMU JULIUS KAMBARAGE NYERERE[/B]

Great African liberator, apostle of African unity, upholder of the dignity of the black man, founding President of the United Republic of Tanzania.

Unequalled in humility, self-effacing, honest,austere, dependable and a servant-leader, gave military training and diplomatic+financial support and threw open the doors of his country to political activists & liberation fighters from across Southern Africa(Namibia,Zimbabwe,Mozambique,Angola,South Africa). He freed Uganda from the draconian clutches of Field Marshal Idi Amin Dada. First African civilian leader to voluntarily hand over the reins of power in 1985.

In terms of personal attributes and moral rectitude, he is equalled only by Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, you were THE standard for African leadership and gave your VERY BEST to Tanzania and Africa. We hold you in highest esteem. God grant you eternity.








[B]NELSON ROLIHLAHLA MANDELA[/B], global icon, the essence of moral rectitude, archapostle of reconciliation, most elevated of men. Time or tide shall NEVER wipe away your legacy. Most famous and well-regarded African of all time. What more can I say, AMAANDLLAAAA!!





Winnie's guurrlls, beauty in the blood- Zenani and Zindziswa



[B]COLONEL JOHN GARANG DE MABIOR PhD[/B], Founding Chairman of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement, Commanding General of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army.

Great African emancipator, soldier, statesman, First Vice President of The Sudan, President of the autonomous Government of South Sudan. Great African warrior, you have done your duty.









GAMEL ABDEL NASSER
Staged the first military coup in Africa, Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council and President of Egypt, an advocate of Afro-Arab solidarity and of African unity. Arguably the most famous leader out of Africa and the Arab world of his day. Was a great supporter of the African liberation struggle and an Arab hero. Died aged just 52 years. His funeral (see crowd in photo)was attended by an unprecedented 7 million grieving people, unequalled in the Afro-Arab world and testimony to his charismatic touch.









ABOUT NASSER'S FUNERAL:
Nasser died of a heart attack on 28 September 1970 at the conclusion of a meeting in Cairo of leaders of Arab countries regarding Israel and of the Black September in Jordan. He suffered from hemochromatosis, or Bronze diabetes, a hereditary disease related to excessive iron in the body.

Because of his ability to motivate nationalistic passions, as a testament to what one would call the future of his influence, "men, women and children wept and wailed in the streets" after hearing of his death. His funeral on 1 October was one of the largest in history, attended by an estimated seven million people, and was described as "the people's procession." The six-mile (10 km) procession to his burial site began at the Revolutionary Command Council with MIG-21 jet fighters flying overhead. Emotions, which included telecasters crying on the air, boiled over in the 40-degrees C heat as millions swarmed the soldiers who were carrying the coffin, leading to the death of about 48 Egyptians as well as many other Arabs.




[B]THE SOUTH AFRICAN PANTHEON OF EMANCIPATORS[/B], they gave their all to ensure dignity for the black man


CHIEF ALBERT LUTHULI
Mandela's boss, Nobel Peace Prize winner, apostle of non-violent struggle, one-time President of the African National Congress, alone and with Oliver Tambo






GOVAN MBEKI
( distinguished and world-renowned father of former South African President, Thabo Mbeki)


WALTER SISULU



OLIVER REGINALD TAMBO, possibly the best-known of the lot bar Mandela



ROBERT SOBUKWE, ANC youth leader, first man to push for armed struggle, he later set up the more militant Pan-Africanist Congress and waged war against the South African state.




[B]MENGISTU HAILE MARIAM[/B], consummate bloodhound and mass murderer, this evil man became the power behind the throne after the overthrow of Emperor Selassie. The 120-man Provisional Military Administrative Council(Dergue) first chose an Eritrean of the 1960s-era war with Somalia over The Ogaden, Brigadier General Aman Mikael Andom, as Head of State and Chairman of the PMAC(Dergue). Major Mengistu got himself elected as 1st Vice Chairman of the Dergue while Lt.Colonel Atnafu Abate became the 2nd Vice Chairman. Andom was killed just two months later on November 23, 1974 over his chosen path of moderation in the face of a proposed all-out assault against his native Eritrea favoured by most DERGUE members. Andom was replaced by Brigadier General Teferi Bante as chairman and Head of State while the duo of Mengistu and abate retained their posts as vice-chairmen. Before midnight on 23 November 1974, 59 former officials of the Selassie regime (former prime ministers, princes, governors,ministers, generals and colonels) and pro-Andom elements were executed.

On 3 February 1977 during the course of a Dergue meeting, a shootout developed between the supporters of Banti and those of Mengistu and by the time the smoke cleared up, Gen Bante and ten of his Dergue loyalists had been shot dead. Mengistu emerged unscathed and presided over a 14-year period which was terrible for man and beast alike. 5,000 other Ethiopians were killed during the first few months of his rule and tens of thousands later perished as a result of the Red Terror Campaign. By November 1977, his deputy Atnafu Abate was similarly eliminated, making way for Mengistu's emergence as undisputed maximum ruler of all Ethiopia.

Mengistu,a better-forgotten tyrant.











[B]LIEUTENANT GENERAL AMAN MIKAEL ANDOM[/B](aka "The Desert Lion", former Commander 3rd Division of the Imperial Ethiopian Army), 1ST POST-IMPERIAL HEAD OF STATE OF ETHIOPIA




[B]BRIGADIER GENERAL TAFARI BANTI[/B](middle) -2ND POST-IMPERIAL HEAD OF STATE OF ETHIOPIA flanked by his deputies, Mengistu and Abate(in the far corner)




[B]HIS MAJESTY, EMPEROR HAILE SELASSIE OF ETHIOPIA[/B], great African liberator, dogged insurrectionist, pan-Africanist and father of modern Ethiopia who led the country through the turbulence that was the Italian invasion. A strong voice for decolonisation who was Regent or Emperor for 58 years wef 1916. An accomplished African hero who defied the scourge that was colonial subjugation.








[B]FIELD MARSHAL IDI AMIN DADA[/B], Conqueror of the British Empire. A rabble rouser and pan-Africanist with a confused sense of nationalism, he was ethnically bigoted, playing off the Kakwa, Acholi and Langi troops of the North against other Ugandans. He later set all three groups squabbling among themselves as he sought to play his minority Kakwa group into national reckoning.















[B]MZEE JOMO KENYATTA[/B], Great African emancipator, pan-Africanist, traditionalist and wise elder, founding President of the Republic of Kenya












TO READ MORE, VISIT

http://beegeagle./2010/04/10/makers-and-wreckers-heroes-and-villains-of-modern-africa-in-pictures/

By the time that you are through with reading this piece, “only a mad man does the same things repeatedly and expects a different outcome”. Hopefully, you should also have any inkling as to why the more things are supposed to changing in Nigeria, the more they seemingly stay the same. It is shocking that we are still carrying on in pretty much the same way as we were sixty years ago. Any wonder why our march to true greatness and the quest for the attainment of true national unity continue to suffer severe hiccups at every twist and turn.

Here are some very thought-provoking excerpts from a publication which I want to believe that one was very lucky to have stumbled . It is certainly now out of print and I only managed to lay hands on it fortuitously in 1997. I have decided to put out excerpts therefrom in generous portions so as to make us realise the double-standards and folly entailed in today’s politics.

A.

***THE QUEST FOR DOMINATION OF THE MANY BY THE FEW DID NOT START TODAY. NEITHER DID THE INSULAR TENDENCY TO MINIATURIZE EVERY NATIONAL PLATFORM SIT-TIGHTISM AND POWER MONGERING.

AS IT WAS PRE-1966:

“The early British administrative officers in the North, particularly Lord Lugard, had moreover established there a system of local government known as Indirect Rule by which various emirates were allowed to develop with a large measure of autonomy…In spite of subsequent attempts to widen the political horizon of the Emirs and inculcate in them a Nigerian outlook, they have consistently regarded themselves almost as a people apart from the rest of the country. They would accept that they belonged to Nigeria only when they or their representatives were in a position of dominance over the rest of the country.

(Whither the endless grandstanding on national unity?)

B.

**REGIONAL POLITICS AND ETHNIC CONCLAVES PERSIST TILL DATE. AT WHAT POINT DID CENTRALIZATION AND UNITY RATHER THAN CONFEDERATION BECOME THE PREFERRED OPTION OF THE ESTABLISHMENT? AFTER THE OIL BOOM COMMENCED?

AS IT WAS PRE-1966:

“Not unexpectedly, the tribal politics of the Action Group and the Northern Peoples Congress conspired to disrupt the spirit of national consciousness and brotherliness which the NCNC had been striving to foster since its inception….These developments had an incalculable effect on the subsequent development of Nigeria. Ideologically, the NCNC became isolated as the only political party which was advocating the unification of the country in the closest and most effective sense of the word. It alone stood for this political ideology during the discussions following the constitutional crisis of 1953. It even went further to suggest that the country be divided into fourteen provinces for the same purpose. Not surprisingly, the Action Group on its part vehemently opposed the option of a unitary government for Nigeria and rather advocated federation. The NPC reflecting the views of the Northern leaders who had never really wanted unity with the South, advocated confederation. In the end the NCNC acquiesced in the inauguration of a federation”

C.

**EASTERNERS WERE THE EARLIEST PRACTICAL ADVOCATES OF ONE NIGERIA, EVEN AS MARGINALISATION DID NOT BEGIN TODAY

AS IT WAS PRE-1966:

” With the amalgamation of Northern and Southern Nigeria in 1914 and the centralization of the administration in Lagos, the impression was created that the various ethnic groups now belonged to a wider political unit. The Easterners were the first to embrace this idea wholheartedly…As a result Easterners came to acquire a stake in the country as a whole and to identify themselves with the survival and progress of the entity called Nigeria. This attitude has naturally governed the reaction of Easterners to the political developments in Nigeria before and since independence. It has also generated among them a spirit of acquiescence in the concentration of national projects, institutions and utilities outside the East. Easterners never complained that other regions of the country were being developed at the expense of their region. They believed that what was good for one region was good for all ”

D.

**ON WHITE ELEPHANT PROJECTS, FAVORITISM, INJUSTICE AND THE PROBLEM OF THE NIGER BRIDGE

AS IT WAS PRE-1966:

“Again, the promptness and speed with which the Borno North-Eastern Railway Extension costing about 20M POUNDS was executed could be compared with the procrastination and tardiness which preceded the construction of the Onitsha-Asaba bridge costing about 5M POUNDS. While the former was meant to open up an area of doubtful economic advantage to the whole country, the latter had for long been acknowledged as an indispensable link that would unite Lagos, the West and Mid-West with the east and the North. Even then, as soon as the bridge was completed, tolls began to be collected from the users who obviously were mainly Easterners. Today, this Niger Bridge is the only toll bridge in the country”


TO READ MORE, VISIT:
http://beegeagle./2010/04/09/the-quest-for-true-national-unitynigeria-changeth-not/