₦airaland Forum

I hope she improves

.

This blogger is saying the truth, please let us be objective!!

http://www.blessingomakwu.com/women-pop-culture/

Now, a Nigerian child that is told that the only suitable career paths for financial freedom are law, medicine and engineering, can say: “But Dad, have you seen Linda Ikeji’s mansion?” For the millions of youth faced with Nigeria’s high unemployment rate, Linda Ikeji’s ability to creat an opportunity for herself in Nigeria, and to patiently grow that opportunity over time is exemplary. Moreover, on the global stage where ‘Nigerian’ is often synonymous with ‘Internet scammer’- it’s a plus to have a Nigerian in the online space providing a counter-narrative.

Linda Ikeji’s content, however, regularly leaves much to be desired. By publishing stories that often leave the subjects humiliated and at the mercy of her notoriously vicious commenters, Linda Ikeji’s blog has contributed to a culture of peddling shame for profit. Her stories and pictures are posted in many instances without consent, context or compassion.

For example, a friend of mine mentioned that she had decided to never again visit Linda Ikeji’s blog, due to a post published earlier in April about a Nigerian-Ghanaian woman who had been kidnapped and allegedly raped. Writing about the woman’s kidnap was not wrong. In fact, with Ikeji’s huge platform, it was probably beneficial. However, rape is an extremely traumatic experience for any woman. In countries like Nigeria, rape carries the additional baggage of extreme stigma. To present this unsubstantiated story to an additional audience, with the woman’s picture and full name, and without her consent, was in poor taste.

Linda Ikeji must necessarily have good lawyers on speed dial, as her journalism practices are also frequently questionable. First, there is the matter of intellectual property violations: several photographers and writers have accused the blogger of using their work without their consent or a reference. For instance, you can read this open letter from the lawyer of photographer ‘Kayode Adegbola here. Linda Ikeji is also no stranger to claims of defamation. Case in point: Nollywood actress Funke Akindele (best known as ‘Jenifa’), threatened to sue the blogger earlier this year for posting a story that was damaging to her brand. You can read about it here.

Increased success must come with increased responsibility. Linda Ikeji could take a pointer from two of the most famous bloggers in the world: Necole Kane and Perez Hilton. Necole Kane, best known by the name of her former blog- Necole Bitchie- ran the most successful ‘urban’ celebrity gossip site in America with over 1.2 million unique users per day. A series of events- including getting sued by Beyoncé for a million dollars after the unauthorized use of her photograph- triggered a low point for Necole. She also began to consider what she wanted her legacy to be. In the November edition of Ebony Magazine, Necole noted that she asked herself time and again: “When all is said and done, what will people say about you? How are you elevating your audience? What are you doing to contribute to your culture in a positive way? ...How are you touching people and changing their lives?” Recently, Necole shut down her existing site, and launched XO Necole: a platform to inspire millennial women through career, travel, lifestyle, fashion and features.

Linda Ikeji need not take such drastic measures however. Enter Perez Hilton: a blogger who became famous for ridiculing celebrities on his gossip site. In an interview with Oprah, he noted that he had a wake up call in 2010 when he was accused of hypocrisy after speaking against teen bullying. The incident caused him to undergo what he describes as a deep spiritual awakening. Perez states that he realized that by putting out toxic stories, he was polluting the world and bringing negative energy into his life. He decided to start talking about celebrities in a less destructive manner. Likewise, Linda Ikeji has the potential to use her platform for positivity and empowerment. A recent blog post by Linda Ikeji doing both of these things gives me hope. Read it here.

Here’s the scary part: Two former CIA counterterrorism officers told me last week that technicians recently refurbished 800 of these man-portable air-defense systems (known as MANPADS) — some for an African jihadist group called Boko Haram that is often seen as an ally of al-Qaeda — for possible use against commercial jets flying into Niger, Chad and perhaps Nigeria.

The former CIA officers have been trying for eight months to alert U.S. intelligence, without success. Here’s a summary of the messages I’ve seen.

On Sept. 9, 2011, as Gaddafi’s regime was collapsing, one of the former CIA officers warned an FBI contact that Libyan missiles were moving south into the Agadez region of Niger inhabited by Tuareg tribesmen, who are believed to have links with al-Qaeda. He explained to the FBI contact that an Arab source “said there are SA-7s and SA-24s (two Russian-made weapons) already on the ground in Agadez from Libya in the hands of Tuareg AQ affiliated groups.” He heard nothing back.

In a Sept. 12 e-mail, the former CIA officer wrote his FBI friend that the Niger contacts “have determined locally that the [United States government] doesn’t want to help them” chase down the missiles. “I suspect [the Near East division of CIA] squashed this by their normal bureaucratic warfare,” he speculated.

The CIA veteran still hoped that U.S. intelligence would get involved, so he provided the name and telephone number of a relative of a former Libyan intelligence officer who allegedly had helped move the missiles out of the country. On Sept. 15, he also sent the FBI contact phone numbers for the Arab source in Niger who was closely monitoring the missile movements.

On Sept. 28, the frustrated ex-CIA officer wrote a U.S. military contact: “The missiles are in the hands of al-Qaeda and being distributed. I would really like to know who in the agency was the roadblock and why.”

Still, the former CIA officer heard nothing back. In December, he wrote another FBI contact that a “speed bump” at the agency apparently was blocking communication.

Finally, in late April, the two former CIA officers received information so urgent they felt they had to get it out, somehow. They sent to a law enforcement contact a picture of a rebel fighter aiming one of the Libyan missiles, and this explanation: “The missiles and munitions that have been streaming out of Libya since the fall of 2011 have made their way to Agadez in Niger and points west. .?.?. Boko Haram has taken possession of some of the refurbished missiles. They have brought Egyptian army ordnance technicians to refurbish and test the SA-7B missiles pictured below. .?.?. The source claims that some 800 missiles are available in the area.”

Last weekend, the CIA veterans finally heard from someone claiming to represent their former employer. The agency official was interested in talking to their Arab source.

When I asked senior U.S. officials for comment, they said they hadn’t heard about the specifics of this case, or the e-mail exchanges. But they agreed the Libyan missiles are a serious problem. “It’s probably true that a small number of Libyan MANPADS have been sold on the black market, and that al-Qaeda in the Maghreb is trying to acquire them,” said a senior U.S. official.

Here’s the scary part: Two former CIA counterterrorism officers told me last week that technicians recently refurbished 800 of these man-portable air-defense systems (known as MANPADS) — some for an African jihadist group called Boko Haram that is often seen as an ally of al-Qaeda — for possible use against commercial jets flying into Niger, Chad and perhaps Nigeria.

The former CIA officers have been trying for eight months to alert U.S. intelligence, without success. Here’s a summary of the messages I’ve seen.

On Sept. 9, 2011, as Gaddafi’s regime was collapsing, one of the former CIA officers warned an FBI contact that Libyan missiles were moving south into the Agadez region of Niger inhabited by Tuareg tribesmen, who are believed to have links with al-Qaeda. He explained to the FBI contact that an Arab source “said there are SA-7s and SA-24s (two Russian-made weapons) already on the ground in Agadez from Libya in the hands of Tuareg AQ affiliated groups.” He heard nothing back.

In a Sept. 12 e-mail, the former CIA officer wrote his FBI friend that the Niger contacts “have determined locally that the [United States government] doesn’t want to help them” chase down the missiles. “I suspect [the Near East division of CIA] squashed this by their normal bureaucratic warfare,” he speculated.

The CIA veteran still hoped that U.S. intelligence would get involved, so he provided the name and telephone number of a relative of a former Libyan intelligence officer who allegedly had helped move the missiles out of the country. On Sept. 15, he also sent the FBI contact phone numbers for the Arab source in Niger who was closely monitoring the missile movements.

On Sept. 28, the frustrated ex-CIA officer wrote a U.S. military contact: “The missiles are in the hands of al-Qaeda and being distributed. I would really like to know who in the agency was the roadblock and why.”

Still, the former CIA officer heard nothing back. In December, he wrote another FBI contact that a “speed bump” at the agency apparently was blocking communication.

Finally, in late April, the two former CIA officers received information so urgent they felt they had to get it out, somehow. They sent to a law enforcement contact a picture of a rebel fighter aiming one of the Libyan missiles, and this explanation: “The missiles and munitions that have been streaming out of Libya since the fall of 2011 have made their way to Agadez in Niger and points west. .?.?. Boko Haram has taken possession of some of the refurbished missiles. They have brought Egyptian army ordnance technicians to refurbish and test the SA-7B missiles pictured below. .?.?. The source claims that some 800 missiles are available in the area.”

Last weekend, the CIA veterans finally heard from someone claiming to represent their former employer. The agency official was interested in talking to their Arab source.

When I asked senior U.S. officials for comment, they said they hadn’t heard about the specifics of this case, or the e-mail exchanges. But they agreed the Libyan missiles are a serious problem. “It’s probably true that a small number of Libyan MANPADS have been sold on the black market, and that al-Qaeda in the Maghreb is trying to acquire them,” said a senior U.S. official.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/10/we-cant-afford-to-pay-42-ministers-buhari/


‘There use to be forty two minister but I think we can bearly keep half of that now because we can not afford it.

‘Other may not be substantive ministers but they will seat in the cabinet because that is what the constitution said and we can’t operate outside the constitution’
‘We are reducing the number of ministries we can’t afford to pay.’

Buhari in the interview also said that the country has no money to pay salaries as the government had to seek the Central Bank governor to look for ways to pay states workers’ salaries.

‘Where is the money? Do you know the Federal Government has to help twenty seven states out of thirty six to pay salaries?.’

‘Nigeria can not pay salaries Nigeria had to summon the Governor of the Central Bank to see how it could pay salaries not to talk of projects, agreement signed with foreign countries, counter funding and so on. The country was material vandalized and morally so.’

Who is the new Finance Minister, he has his work cut out for him

Mtn is now begging; how time changes things

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/10/nigerias-economy-may-collapse-in-the-next-3-months-if-fayose/

Speaking at the 22nd Convocation of the College of Education, Ikere Ekiti, Fayose warned that unless drastic action is taken, the economy might collapse in the next three months.

Fayose, who is the Visitor to the College, lamented the deplorable state of the nation’s economy, noting that rather than address it, the All Progressives Congress- led Federal Government has been employing propaganda to deal with the issue.

He said: “This is the time for the Federal Government to come out and tell Nigerians about the state of the economy rather than employ propaganda.

“I foresee serious trouble ahead because in the next three months, the economy may collapse. Oil now sells in the region of $40 per barrel.

Things have never been bad like this. When I returned from the Holy Land yesterday (Wednesday), I was told that Ekiti got N1.4bn whereas my wage bill per month is N2.6bn.”

Governor Fayose, however decried that Ekiti people don’t pay tax, wondering how government could work for the people with depleting allocation from the centre.

Moderators, front page please??

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/10/nigerias-economy-may-collapse-in-the-next-3-months-if-fayose/

He said: “This is the time for the Federal Government to come out and tell Nigerians about the state of the economy rather than employ propaganda.

“I foresee serious trouble ahead because in the next three months, the economy may collapse. Oil now sells in the region of $40 per barrel. Things have never been bad like this. When I returned from the Holy Land yesterday (Wednesday), I was told that Ekiti got N1.4bn whereas my wage bill per month is N2.6bn.”

.

The government has to be honest with us how broke they are.

The last FAAC meeting just ended and the three tiers of government shared a meagre 390 Billion Naira. How can they break even when this figure is less than what the FG alone used to get before you talk about States and Local Governments.


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-30/africa-s-biggest-economy-defying-currency-critics-chokes-growth


Nigeria’s economy is growing at the slowest pace this decade as oil prices drop. Companies are complaining they can’t get the dollars they need to do business. And trading in the naira has long since dried up.

There are many good reasons why Godwin Emefiele, who runs the central bank of Africa’s biggest economy, should lift currency controls and let the naira depreciate.

One of the things holding him back is politics.

Devaluing the naira may give opposition parties the opportunity to claim that[b] Emefiele’s main supporter, President Muhammadu Buhari, has lost control of the economy. With his backing, the policy chief will be able to resist his critics into 2016 before the worsening economic slump eventually forces him to capitulate, according to Standard Chartered Plc and Bank of America Corp.
[/b]
“They could probably hold out for at least six months, maybe even a year,” said Ayodele Salami, chief investment officer for London-based Duet Asset Management Ltd., which manages about $200 million of African equities. “The central bank has chosen currency stability and the price they’re paying for that is growth. They could hold the line for a lot longer than the markets expect.”

Buhari needs a Fiance Minister ASAP, the economy is in a Critical Condition and an URGENT NATIONAL ECONOMIC SUMMIT is needed and not just pruning(sacking) of workers!!!

Countdown to another NLC Strike ...............

Sorry i forgot NLC is Partisan now so the workers will just have to fight for themselves this time around!!!

While they plan on pruning(sacking workers) ministries, see how our stolen money is being wasted in London!!!

When someone prunes to be able to pay salaries it literally means he has to sack to reduce overhead costs, please if you do not have an economic background dont make baseless comments.

They do not have to spell the word sack for you to get the message unless you are not properly informed.

In fact these days companies use words like downsize, right size, restructuring to pass the sack message across, thank you.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/10/i-wont-lose-sleep-over-criticism-says-buhari/

Following the confirmation of his ministerial nominees, President Buhari said he would prune down the number of ministries so as to be able to pay salaries.

On whether there will be an extension of a three-month deadline given by his administration to flush out Boko Haram from Nigeria’s north-east, the President said that the target was to get rid of terrorism and not about meeting deadline.

One of the main talking points at the one-day summit in New Delhi, was the provision India had make for African countries. The nation said it had set aside over $10 billion grant for African countries.

Wooing investors, President Buhari assured Indians and the international community of his administration’s commitment to sustaining efforts aimed at making Nigeria an envy of all.

He urged them to avail themselves of the conducive environment that would be created for investments to thrive.

Lagos – Stakeholders in the telecommunications industry on Friday decried the N1.04 trillion fine imposed on MTN Nigeria by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), saying it did not call for public celebration.

They called for a review of the fine so that the Nigeria business environment, particularly the telecommunications sector would not look scary to the potential investors.

The stakeholders told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that such fine was capable of crippling the entire business investment in the industry.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/10/subscribers-other-stakeholders-condemn-nccs-n1-04trn-slammed-on-mtn/

The public lobbying by MTN has begun, November 16 is deadline for PAYMENT!!!

“It just puts the company under additional pressure,” said Amy Cameron, telecoms analyst at BMI Research, a market research firm based in London. “It will be another really big challenge.”

Cameron said that MTN should brace itself for a rocky few months.

“It could look into some sort of international arbitration, because a 5.2 billion dollar fine is absolutely crippling,” she said.

Early in August the NCC issued a directive to mobile telecoms companies operating in Nigeria to deactivate all unregistered SIM cards within seven days or face sanctions.

The penalty saw the company’s shares crash on the JSE and raised questions about the renewal of its licence in Nigeria next year if the fine goes unpaid.

The NCC has set a November 16 deadline for MTN to pay the fine.

MTN had more than 62.8 million subscribers in Nigeria — its biggest market — in the second quarter of this year.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/10/s-africa-launches-insider-trading-probe-over-mtns-nigeria-fine/


The Johannesburg Stock Exchange launched Friday an investigation into mobile giant MTN for “possible insider trading” before the South African company announced it had been hit by a $5.2 billion fine in Nigeria.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) fined Africa’s largest telecoms firm for missing a deadline to deactivate 5.1 million unregistered SIM cards.

News of the fine broke Monday morning in Nigeria, sparking a sell-off of MTN shares before the company formally notified shareholders later in the day.

“The market regulation team is looking into trades that took place before the announcement in order to determine if there is any evidence of possible insider trading,” Peter Redman, Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) market regulation advisor, said in a statement.

South African law dictates that companies immediately warn shareholders about price-sensitive information.

“The investigation will follow due process to establish whether there have been any breaches of the listings requirements and can be lengthy process,” said Andre Visser, JSE regulation manager.

MTN issued a statement saying “senior management of the company and its advisors are currently engaging with the JSE Limited on the timing of the… announcement.”

The probe could result in South Africa’s bourse operator slapping MTN with another hefty fine or result in criminal charges.

Nigeria is in BIG TROUBLE!!!

I hope no foreign intelligence agency is paying this Biafra agitators to fulfill their 2015 prophesy for break up.

IT is so sad that youths can be so unpatriotic and i feel we should let everyone be aware that the penalty for TREASON IS DEATH!!!

I need to raise awareness for tribalism to stop among our youths if not this country has no FUTURE.

Maybe these igbo boys are paid by politicians, jobless or are on massive substance abuse, who can help us research and profile them please

.

This is so annoying now, the whole place is so tribalistic and infected by seriously jobless " IGBO" topics.

Please this is a blog and not anyone's village town hall meeting.

You guys should step into the 21st Century; the world is a global village. No wonder the Caucasians look at blacks like beasts.

The black man is a disgrace