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 TV/Movies › Re: What Movie Are You Watching Now? by Dotng: 8:37pm On Feb 15, 2017 |
cao:OK. Thanks. |
| TV/Movies › Re: What Movie Are You Watching Now? by Dotng: 7:26pm On Feb 15, 2017 |
cao:Kindly supply info on where to download it. |
| TV/Movies › Re: What Movie Are You Watching Now? by Dotng: 8:25pm On Feb 14, 2017 |
Ebubemg:Where can I download this please? |
| TV/Movies › Where can I download John Wick: Chapter 2? by Dotng(op): 8:06pm On Feb 13, 2017*. Modified: 5:00am On Feb 14, 2017 |
Can anyone kindly suggest where I can download John Wick: Chapter 2? I am so into Keanu Reeves movies. He gave a good account of himself in John Wick. |
| Politics › Trump Speaks With President Buhari by Dotng(op): 5:37pm On Feb 13, 2017 |
Trump Speaks With President Buhari Channels Television. February 13, 2017 The American President, Donald Trump, has put a call through to Nigeria’s President, Mohammadu Buhari, who is still on vacation in London. Although full details of the conversation are yet to be revealed, reports say the call was centered on fighting terrorism and corruption, as well as fostering bilateral relations between both countries. The telephone conversation was confirmed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity Mr Femi Adesina. This is the first time Mr Trump would be speaking to any African leader since assumption of office. It is also expected that the two leaders may be taking a look at the travel ban contained in Trump’s executive order and how it may affect Nigeria and the United States who have enjoyed good relations over the years. The American President has since been putting calls to other world leaders to innunciate his action plans towards the eradication of terrorism in America. http://www.channelstv.com/2017/02/13/trump-speak-president-buhari/ |
| Politics › To End Kaduna Crisis, Punish Perpetrators – Sanusi by Dotng(op): 4:17am On Feb 09, 2017 |
To end Kaduna crisis, punish perpetrators – Sanusi The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has explained that the bloodshed in Southern Kaduna has not abated because the culprits behind the violence were not punished. He noted that many of the culprits had been identified in the past by tribunals, but nothing was done to them. Sanusi said this at the award presentation ceremony of ‘Most Security Conscious Governor’ to Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi in Abuja on Tuesday by the Nigeria Police Force. The monarch stated that the nation was facing many threats and accused most leaders of selfishness, stressing that they cared only about themselves and their families. He attributed the security challenges in the country to poverty and lack of education among others. The Emir said it was ironic that the Boko Haram sect which claimed to be fighting for Islam was killing Muslims while Niger Delta militants agitating for resource control were bombing oil pipelines and destroying their natural environment. He said, “You are a muslim, you go to mosques, people are praying and you are killing them and saying Allah. In the Niger Delta, we have people who are fighting for resource control, they want money from oil and how do they get the money, they blow up the pipelines. “There is such a lack of understanding, focus and sense to the violence. How do you blow up your pipelines, resources because you want resource control. How would you blow up mosques because you want to establish an Islamic system?” He added, “In Southern Kaduna, we have people who lived together for decades and centuries killing each other because they have constructed fake identities – settler and indigene – and because of genuinely lack of enforcement of the law. “Every time there is crisis in Southern Kaduna, people die, there is a tribunal, there is a report, culprits are identified and nothing happens. So, these small instances utterly lead to conflagration.” Sanusi admonished state governors and other political leaders in the country to make the citizens their focus and responsibility. He stated that the leaders were focused on constructing skyscrapers and roads and building beautiful state capitals instead of tackling poverty among the populace, noting that billions of naira expended on frivolous projects could go into education and agriculture. “For every N1 billion you put into that runway is the same that could go into agriculture, education, into primary healthcare and save lives. So, with uneducated people in the north, girls out of school, maternal mortality, infant mobility, should we be looking for runways and mega cities and beautiful sky scrapers? Is that what we need?” he queried. http://punchng.com/to-end-kaduna-crisis-punish-perpetrators-sanusi/ 1 Like |
| Christianity Etc › Worst Leadership Is In The Church, Says Adeboye by Dotng(op): 5:02am On Feb 02, 2017 |
Worst leadership is in the church, says Adeboye The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Worldwide, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has said there is dearth of good leadership in the country, adding that the church is the worst hit. Adeboye explained that the problem of corruption in Nigeria was traceable to lack of contentment and greed. The cleric spoke on Wednesday in Ikeja, Lagos, during the Third Annual Birthday Public Lecture organised by the church to commemorate his 75th birthday. Adeboye, who was represented by his wife, Folu, expressed sadness at the lack of true leadership in the society, calling for a return to cultural values. He said, “Leadership is at the core of our problem in this nation. Some people sit in their room and comment on newspaper articles, but have you removed the log in your eyes? “If there is anywhere leadership should be recommended, it should be from the church. But it is unfortunate that the worst leadership is from the church. We should go and check ourselves. Are we in true leadership or we are in falsehood? Because this has been the groaning of my heart for many years and I pray about it fervently. “I challenge the leaders in this church that what the Bible says about elders, I have not seen it. But things are changing and I want us to be part of that change. “The problem of corruption which we have in this nation would not have been there if everybody is contented with what he or she has. But people love to do more than they have. They want to show off to their children, and the children also when they get to school or are with their colleagues, are not satisfied because they were not brought up to be satisfied.” Adeboye appealed to elders in the society to live in a way befitting of their status, adding that women should also train their children to positively influence their future. The guest speaker, Pastor Femi Atoyebi, who spoke on the theme, ‘Excellent Leadership in Pluralistic and Ethno-religious Society like Nigeria,’ lamented the decline in societal values and loss of respect for leadership and the constitution. Atoyebi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, called for a separation between the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice in order to ensure that no one is above the law. He said, “As long as there is no procedure in place to enforce the law against whoever breaches it, there will continue to be impunity. Even if it is the President, if we have people that can stand up to him, then we will move forward. “I have always advocated a system where we have an independent attorney general. We can have an attorney general that stands for an election and canvasses for votes, promising to defend the constitution and enforce the law. If a president or governor makes a law that is not right, he goes to court to challenge it. “But as long as the President fills the office of the attorney general and that of minister of justice, things cannot move forward. And to do this, you will have to approach the National Assembly “to rewrite the constitution, which is impossible at this point.” http://punchng.com/worst-leadership-church-says-adeboye/ |
| Politics › Governor Loses $10m Bail Out Funds To Mistress In Texas, US by Dotng(op): 1:00am On Jan 28, 2017 |
Bailout funds scandal: Governor loses $10m to mistress A governor is under probe after the sum of $10 million he diverted from the bailout funds allocated to his state was hijacked by his mistress. The governor was said to have commissioned his mistress to help him launder the said sum only for the latter to refuse to remit it in the slush accounts the governor provided. Already, the money in question has been traced to a bank in the United States. The Nation investigation revealed that the governor resorted to using his US-based mistress to stash the funds abroad in order to avoid monitoring by security agencies. The cash was allegedly either wired or hauled in tranches in order to beat the nation’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). In spite of the governor’s tricks, however, security agencies were able to intercept the deal between him and his mistress. It was gathered that the diversion of the looted $10 million by the mistress created an uproar that triggered the ongoing investigation of the deal between the love birds. One of the sources involved in the probe said: “A governor from an oil-producing state is in soup and under probe by some security agencies. “The governor seems to have been duped by his mistress who stays in Texas in the United States. “The governor is worried after discovering that his girlfriend has defrauded him of $10 million. “What started as a love affair and promises of good faith has turned sour. “Yet the governor would not want his wife or the people of the state, who will be disappointed, to know about this ugly transaction.” The security chief added: “Investigation so far indicated that the governor allegedly diverted part of the bailout funds meant for his state to the mistress. “All relevant security agencies are already tracking how the cash was wired to the mistress as well as the whereabouts of the funds. “Very soon, the details of the transaction will be revealed to Nigerians. “This is why the government has decided to monitor how bailout funds and London-Paris loan refunds were spent.” The Presidency in 2016 released the sum of N1. 266.44 trillion to 36 states within nine months. The breakdown includes N713.70 billion special intervention funds to states and London Paris Club loan refunds of N522.74 billion. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had said 16 states were yet to disburse about N57, 663, 185, 735 of the bailout funds approved for them by President Muhammadu Buhari. The agency also indicted some of the states for diverting the bailout funds which were meant for workers’ salaries. http://thenationonlineng.net/bailout-funds-scandal-governor-loses-10m-mistress/ 5 Likes 1 Share |
| Christianity Etc › Clerics Opposing FRCN Act Are Money Launderers – Bakare by Dotng(op): 7:53am On Jan 23, 2017 |
Clerics opposing FRCN Act are money launderers – Bakare January 23, 2017 The Serving Overseer of The Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has condemned religious leaders in the nation who are against the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria Act 2011. Bakare, who made this known on Sunday during his church service monitored in Lagos, described opponents of the law as lawless. He said by opposing the law, church leaders were trying to prevent the public from knowing about acts of money laundering that they had indulge in by virtue of their positions. Pastor Enoch Adeboye had earlier resigned as the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God citing the Act as his reason. This led to an outcry from church hierarchy and the fallout of the furore was the sack of the Executive Secretary of the FRCN, Jim Obazee, for enforcing the Act. But Bakare criticised church leaders for their stance, saying, “I can testify that the law was explained to kingpins in the church, but now you want to get away because you want to cover your iniquity. You won’t get away with it. “You want to get away because you have laundered money, and you are now trying to cover your yansh”. Bakare, who is also the Convener of the Save Nigeria Group, praised the law, saying it was good for order and accountability in the church. “I am a trained lawyer, I have read the law. The law specifically mentioned Chief Imams and pastors, that they can have lifelong terms. But it says you cannot be chief priest, chief treasurer, and chief administrator.” He described church leaders who oppose the law as “pentecostal charismatic rascals” who want to do whatever they like even if the law says otherwise. “You don’t want to comply with the law, then why did you register under the law? It is a spirit of lawlessness and the anti-Christ because the anti-Christ is a lawless spirit.” Bakare noted that he was being patient and was waiting for the right time to speak officially on the matter, saying “the fact that I am quiet doesn’t mean I am stupid. I don’t fight useless battles”. http://punchng.com/clerics-opposing-frcn-act-money-launderers-bakare/ 1 Like 1 Share |
| Christianity Etc › Re: Will Women Pastors End Up In Hell? by Dotng: 1:33pm On Jan 22, 2017*. Modified: 2:50pm On Jan 22, 2017 |
8 Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. 9 He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. Acts 21:8 - 9 15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 " 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. Acts 2: 15 - 17 This is the same error the early disciples fell into when they assumed that salvation will not come to the gentiles and criticised Peter for going to Cornelius' house. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, "You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them." Acts 11:2 - 3 15 "As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: 'John baptized withwater, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' 17 So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?" 18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life." Acts 11: 15 - 18 It is the Holy Spirit that help us to understand the mind of God in scriptures. Left to the Jews of the day salvation will never go beyond the Jews. Once the Holy Spirit empowers a woman to preach, heal and prophesy that is all that is required. As Peter said anyone who opposes them opposes God. You will realise that because of Jewish culture you never hear of a Priscilla. But in a non-Jewish culture Paul mentions Priscilla many times before Aquila. There are more references to women in his letters by name unlike Jewish cultures. On the subject of not permitting a woman to teach a man, was it not Priscilla and Aquila that brought Apollos to their home and taught him more about the word of God? 24 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately. Acts 18: 24 - 26 3 Likes |
| Travel › Policemen To Escort Air Travellers On Abuja-kaduna Highway by Dotng(op): 4:57am On Jan 22, 2017 |
Policemen to escort air travellers on Abuja-Kaduna Highway January 22, 2017 ADELANI ADEPEGBA The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris has ordered the deployment of three helicopters to carry out aerial surveillance of the Abuja-Kaduna highway. The action followed the closure of the Abuja airport and the diversion of planes to the Kaduna airport. The police boss also directed that 300 personnel be on duty on the road to escort and protect air passengers from Kaduna to the Federal Capital Territory. The Force spokesman, Donald Awunah, who disclosed this to our correspondent on Friday, explained that the new security arrangement was meant to complement ‘Operation Maximum Security’ which was in place on the highway. He assured the passengers of adequate security on the road because the operational strategy in respect of the highway had been released. Awunah explained that the operation would be coordinated by the Deputy Inspector-General in charge of Operations, Joshak Habila. He said, “In addition to Operation Maximum Security already in place on the road, the IG has made additional security inputs. There will be about three helicopters on patrol and additional 300 personnel. “The buses provided by the airport authorities will be escorted by security operatives. Other security services are involved, so there would be inter-agency patrols and increased intelligence through collaboration with the local communities around the area. The operation would be coordinated by the DIG Operations. There is an operation order on it.” The Abuja-Kaduna expressway had recorded high levels of kidnapping, including the abduction of the Sierra-Leonean Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Maj.-Gen. Alfred Nelson (retd.), in July, 2016. Meanwhile, the Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps, Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, has said eight additional commands would be set up along the Abuja-Kaduna Road. He said the essence was to ensure free flow of traffic, following the closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and diversion of aircraft to the Kaduna Airport. He added that more patrol vehicles and personnel would also be deployed the area to ease the gridlock that may arise on account of expected increase in vehicular volumes on the road. http://punchng.com/policemen-escort-air-travellers-abuja-kaduna-highway/ 5 Likes |
| Foreign Affairs › Breaking News: Gambia’s Jammeh Flies Out Of Country After Stepping Down by Dotng(op): 4:44am On Jan 22, 2017 |
Breaking news: Gambia’s Jammeh flies out of country after stepping down ON JANUARY 21, 2017 Yahya Jammeh Yahya Jammeh, The Gambia’s leader for 22 years, flew out of the country Saturday after declaring he would step down and hand power to President Adama Barrow, ending a political crisis. An AFP journalist at the scene saw Jammeh take off in an unmarked plane heading for an unspecified destination, seen off by a delegation of dignitaries and soldiers. Jammeh waved to a small gathering of supporters on the tarmac dressed in his habitual white flowing robes, and the devout Muslim kissed a Koran before waving to the crowd. He was accompanied by Guinea’s President Alpha Conde who in the last 48 hours negotiated an exit plan for Jammeh whose details have yet to be made public. Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/01/breaking-news-gambias-jammeh-flies-country-stepping/ |
| Foreign Affairs › Gambia Army Chief Says Troops Will Not Fight Intervention by Dotng(op): 3:52am On Jan 19, 2017 |
Gambia army chief says troops will not fight intervention January 18, 2017 Gambia’s army chief said Wednesday he would not order his men to fight other African troops if they enter Gambian territory, speaking as Senegalese and other troops massed on his nation’s borders. The Senegalese troops backed by other African forces are on standby to move into The Gambia as President Yahya Jammeh approaches a midnight deadline to stand down or face military action after refusing to leave at the end of his term. “We are not going to involve ourselves militarily. This is a political dispute,” Chief of Defence Staff Ousman Badjie said, after eating dinner in a tourist district close to the capital, Banjul, eyewitnesses told AFP. “I am not going to involve my soldiers in a stupid fight. I love my men,” he added, stopping to pose for selfies with admirers while dressed in fatigues, beret and green t-shirt, according to those present. “If they (Senegalese) come in, we are here like this,” Badjie said, making a hands up to surrender gesture. Badjie is no stranger to controversy after appearing to declare support for president-elect Adama Barrow and then switching back to Jammeh. http://punchng.com/gambia-army-chief-says-troops-will-not-fight-intervention/ 3 Likes |
| Foreign Affairs › Senegal To Host Gambia’s President-elect Until Swearing-in by Dotng(op): 3:50pm On Jan 15, 2017 |
Senegal to host Gambia’s president-elect until swearing-in ON JANUARY 15, 2017 Senegal will host Gambian president-elect Adama Barrow until his swearing-in ceremony, the state-owned Senegalese news agency APS reported Sunday. The swearing-in is due to take place on Thursday, but outgoing President Yahya Jammeh has challenged the result of the Dec. 1 election at the Supreme Court. Barrow arrived in Dakar shortly after midnight on Sunday, APS quoted an unnamed official source as saying. Gambia Opposition candidate, Adama Barrow The agency said Senegalese President Macky Sall had accepted to host Barrow at the request of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at a Franco-African summit in the Malian capital Bamako on Saturday. ECOWAS had set Thursday as a deadline to try to resolve the Gambian political crisis, Radio France Internationale earlier quoted Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe as saying. Jammeh’s refusal to concede defeat has sparked fears of violence in the West African country. Barrow attended the Franco-African summit, while Jammeh was absent, following talks between ECOWAS mediators and both leaders in Gambia on Friday. A statement from Barrow’s office said Jammeh’s meeting with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and other ECOWAS representatives was “unproductive.” The talks with ECOWAS came several hours after Gambia’s ruling party filed a motion with the Supreme Court to prevent Barrow from being sworn into office on Jan. 19. ECOWAS earlier pledged to send troops to ensure a peaceful transition of power if Jammeh persists in his refusal to step down after ruling Gambia with an iron fist for more than two decades. National science teachers association Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/01/senegal-host-gambias-president-elect-swearing/ 1 Like |
| Christianity Etc › Re: Jigawa Government Demolishes RCCG And Lords Chosen Church by Dotng: 7:01pm On Jan 12, 2017 |
middlebelter:Well said. Most of the people commenting on this thread are either children or those who think they are intelligent enough to comment but are ignorant about what is happening in Northern Nigeria. This people will never give you permit to build a church. If you rent a place to use for worship they will frustrate you on the pretext that it was not designed for worship purposes. Tell me, how many mosques have building permits? Those of you claiming to be Christians and supporting demolitions of churches should bury your head in shame. You are the type the Muslims are looking for in order to advance their agenda. Unfortunately, when they kill you we just have to mourn for you also because you are our brother even though you are ignorant. 1 Like |
| Politics › Reps Debate Adeboye, Church Leaders’ Tenure Code Today by Dotng(op): 12:34pm On Jan 11, 2017 |
Reps debate Adeboye, church leaders’ tenure code today John Ameh, Abuja The House of Representatives on Tuesday admitted a motion to debate the controversial Corporate Governance Code set by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, particularly as it relates to non-profit organisations. Religious bodies like churches and mosques as well as civil society organisations are among such non-profit bodies. The motion, coming under matters of urgent public importance, was admitted as members reconvened on Tuesday after the Christmas and New Year break. The session was presided over by the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara. It was moved by the Minority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, to be debated on Wednesday (today). The controversial code, among others, sets a 20-year tenure for heads of religious groups and civil rights organisations. Such leaders are required to hand over the affairs of the organisations they head to successors in line with the corporate governance principles. The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Nigeria, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, had resigned on Saturday named a successor, Pastor Joseph Obayemi as national overseer in Nigeria and took on the new title of General Overseer, RCCG, Worldwide. The development was greeted with interpretations, including insinuations that the Federal Government was attempting to meddle in the affairs of religious bodies, using the FRC. President Muhammadu Buhari reacted on Monday by sacking the board and the Executive Secretary of the FRC, Mr. Jim Obazee. While laying the substance of his motion on Tuesday, Ogor had told the House that the FRC went outside its mandate by interfering with the affairs of religious bodies. “This development has become embarrassing, especially when the general impression is that the National Assembly passed the FRC Act,” he said. Ogor noted that though the National Assembly passed the Act to empower the council to carry out its functions of regulation, the law did not say the council could interfere with the leadership of churches or mosques. “What has happened is clearly the decision of the FRC and not the National Assembly. “This has called for the urgent need to discuss it and save the country this needless embarrassment,” he added. The House admitted the motion and put it on notice for debate on Wednesday (today). A unanimous voice vote by members admitted the motion for debate. http://punchng.com/reps-debate-adeboye-church-leaders-tenure-code-today/?utm_source=&utm_medium=facebook |
| Business › Why Ncc’s Failed Data Price Hike Was Flawed by Dotng(op): 5:43am On Jan 10, 2017 |
Why NCC’s Failed Data Price Hike was Flawed GUEST COLUMNIST: SINA KAWONISE The now suspended Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) directive to telecommunications companies (telcos) to have a floor price for their services was premised on the goal of protecting competition in the sector. The directive purported to protect small telcos such as Smile, Spectranet and Natcom by fixing a floor price that would guarantee that they recover their cost and make profit at their small scale of operation. The current price of data per megabyte among the big four is as follows: Glo – 21 kobo, MTN – 45 kobo, Airtel – 52 kobo, Etisalat- 94 kobo; average price – 53 kobo. For the small telcos, the price structure is as follows: Spectranet – 58 kobo, Natcom- 72 kobo, Smile – 84 kobo; average price – 71 kobo To ‘protect’ the small telcos, NCC directed that the floor data price for all Telcos (big and small) should be 90 kobo /Mb – an increase of 328 percent on the Glo price of 21 kobo/Mb. Here is why the NCC was absolutely wrong to have reasoned and acted the way it did: One, it runs counter to the logic of capitalism and principles of free enterprise to fix price in order to protect some operators (big or small). Anti-trust laws are never designed to stymie efficiency but to promote it through competition. For any new entrant or small operator to survive and thrive in an established market/sector, it must DISRUPT the market/sector through innovative technology and/or business model. For Glo to enter and survive in the GSM market more than 2 years after MTN and then Econet had been dominating the market, it disrupted the sector with per second billing which MTN and Econet said was impossible. Currently in the United Kingdom, Virgin Telecoms entered the crowded telecom sector by disrupting it with the technological innovation of launching internet vehicles into space. That innovation enables Virgin to charge a mere £15 per month for a subscriber to have 5,000 minutes to call UK lines, 5,000 minutes to make international calls, and 5 gigabytes of data all in one month. The resultant effects is that hundreds of thousands subscribers hitherto paying other telcos an average of £60 per month for less benefits have migrated to Virgin. Now, that is disruption for entry and thriving! It is therefore wrong for a regulator to seek to protect so-called small operators by fixing an inefficient price floor for them to continue in efficiency. Two, to protect three inefficient telcos, owned by probably less than 100 Nigerians and foreigners and which have among them less than 5 percent market share, 100 million Nigerian subscribers must subsidise their inefficiency by paying more than 300 percent more for data (especially for Glo subscribers). And that was to happen during a biting economic recession that continues to pauperise our people! Competition was conceived and promoted to serve man, not man to serve competition for its own sake. Three, since GSM operations started in Nigeria 15 years ago, there hasn’t been any evidence of price fixing by the telcos to suggest an oligopolistic situation. Rather, they continue to compete among themselves by rationalising their operations and embarking on cost saving measures (such as infrastructure sharing), all to the benefit of subscribers and the economy in general. The fear of getting to a monopolistic/oligopolistic situation is therefore unfounded, at least for now. Four, empirically speaking, one of the small telcos, Smile, is already disrupting the market by selling its voice service for 5/min. This is currently the cheapest in the market. Smile is able to do this by using a technological disruptive internet App for its subscribers to make voice calls to all GSM lines in Nigeria, and to pay the same rate even while abroad. This is disruptive of the local and international roaming voice rates of the big Telcos. Would the NCC seek to protect the big telcos against ‘small’ Smile? So obviously wrong are the assumptions and actions of the NCC on this matter, and given the pervasive corruption in Nigeria, that it is difficult to resist the temptation to suspect that the NCC must have been compromised to come up with that economic-sabotaging and anti-people directive. No thanks to the current economic recession and all thanks to popular uproar, the NCC failed in its bid to return telecommunications to the David Mark era when they weren’t for the poor. · Kawonise is a former Information and Strategy Commissioner in Ogun State http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2017/01/09/why-nccs-failed-data-price-hike-was-flawed/ |
| Politics › Shareholders Rejoice As Buhari Fires FRC Boss by Dotng(op): 9:44pm On Jan 09, 2017*. Modified: 10:22pm On Jan 09, 2017 |
Shareholders rejoice as Buhari fires FRC boss January 9, 2017 Stanley Opara Shareholders in the country’s capital market, on Monday, expressed joy over the sack of the former Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, the Federal Reporting Council of Nigeria, Jim Obazee, saying it is a timely step in the right path. They said erstwhile FRC CEO had overshot his bounds so many times before recent developments. In a telephone interview with our correspondent, the President, Renaissance Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Olufemi Timothy, said at this particular time, the sack of Obazee was a good thing that had happened to the country as a whole, and not just the capital market. He said this considering that Obazee had earlier maintained that only chartered accountants could be admitted into the audit committee of companies; going against the practice where any shareholder could be elected into the position by fellow shareholders. Timothy stressed, “He had gone beyond his mandate, and putting the country on a very hot seat. I think President Muhammadu Buhari is no longer comfortable with him. He has met his waterloo. It is the best thing to happen to us to save the nation.” Timothy maintained that the FRCN should concentrate on accounting matters, adding that the council was not a regulator and should not see itself as one. Also commenting, the President, Constance Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Shehu Mikail, described Obazee’s sack as “lovely”, saying the FRCN boss had no business regulating bodies that were not under it. He said the activities of FRCN in recent times had hurt more people, saying the development “is a lesson for many others in the position of authority.” He added, “This means the government has heard the cries of the people. I really support his sack. “People saddled with responsibilities should take into cognisance the interest of the people. The former FRCN boss did not properly liaise with the regulators, but rather saw himself as superior. “Whoever is coming up after him should have a listening ear and consider stakeholders’ view also when there is the need to do so.” http://punchng.com/shareholders-rejoice-fg-fires-frcn-boss/ 4 Likes |
| Politics › Governance Code: Enelamah & Obazee Clash Over Adeboye, Others by Dotng(op): 6:31am On Jan 09, 2017 |
Governance code: Minister, FRCN boss clash over Adeboye, others There are strong indications that the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Okechukwu Enelamah, and the Executive Secretary of the Financial Regulatory Council of Nigeria, Mr. Jim Obazee, are currently engaged in a face-off over an FRCN regulation, which stipulates 20 years tenure for heads of religious groups and civil society groups in the country. The PUNCH reliably gathered in Abuja on Sunday that the minister had written the FRCN boss, directing him to suspend the implementation of the controversial regulation. But it was learnt that Obazee defied the instruction of the minister, insisting that the implementation of the regulation would go ahead. Findings showed that Obazee said the implementation of the regulation could not be suspended because there was no gazette that indicated that it had been amended or suspended. It was gathered that though the minister’s letter to the FRCN boss was written on October 17, 2016, the council had insisted on the resignation of heads of other affected groups. The General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, had, on Saturday, announced Pastor Joseph Obayemi, as the new leader of the church in Nigeria. The G. O. made the announcement at the church’s annual ministers’ thanksgiving held at the Redemption Camp in the Mowe area of Ogun State. He cited a government regulation, which stipulates mandatory office tenure for general overseers of all registered churches, as the reason for the restructuring. Adeboye had said the regulation would also be extended to clergymen such as Bishop David Oyedepo of the Living Faith Church Worldwide International aka Winners Chapel; Pastor W. F. Kumuyi of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry and Bishop Mike Okonkwo of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission. A source in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, who confided in The PUNCH, confirmed that the minister had written the Executive Secretary of the FRCN, directing him not to execute the regulation. He stated, “There is an issue with the new code of corporate governance and the minister wrote the Financial Reporting Council and told the council not to execute it because a lot of people from the private sector have complained about it. “So the minister wanted to look into it and see what the issues were. He (FRC boss) was asked not to go ahead with executing it. There is a controversy on that FRC issue and we are now looking into the matter to know what the issues are before we can finally take a decision. This is where the matter is currently.” But a source in the FRCN, who spoke on Sunday on condition of anonymity, said the organisation would not heed the directive of the minister on the code. The source added, “The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment wrote a letter to us saying that he didn’t want the code to be effective now and that he wanted it to be suspended for now. “But you know in government circles, particularly in the public sector, when you are suspending something, you back it up with a paper – a gazette and all of that, but as it is now, there is no gazette. “It must have a gazette, indicating that the law has been suspended. There is no gazette to that effect that this law has been suspended. So as it is now, the code has not been suspended because there is no gazette to that effect and that is where we are now. “The code has been on naturally, right from (ex-President Goodluck) Jonathan’s time and this has been over four years. When the code was being done, we engaged all the stakeholders and their presentations formed part of what was in the code at the end of the day. “The only people that took the matter to court were the churches and they lost. It was on the day they lost that our legal adviser said ‘okay, we could go ahead and release the code and that if we don’t release this code, other bodies will go to court to challenge it’. “The private sector came to us three weeks ago and they told us the sections they wanted amended and we told them that we will look at it when we are doing what we call fine-tuning.” When asked if the code was still effective, he said, “The code is still on as it stands now. All the banks are complying with the codes. If it has been suspended, why are they complying with it. The churches don’t want it and that was why they went to court and they have lost. “So, the law is still in force. Mr. President is aware of this issue and he has not issued any directive to stop the law.” Law created to weaken the church, says CAN official Meanwhile, an official of the Christian Association of Nigeria, on Sunday, said the law, regulating the tenure of the heads of not-for-profit and religious organisations, was created to weaken the church in the country. He said although the government was hiding under the “good motive” to regulate the excesses of those organisations in Nigeria and ensure prudent management of offices and resources, there were ulterior motives behind the law. The National Director, Legal and Public Affairs, CAN, Kwamkur Samuel, said this in an interview with The PUNCH in Abuja on Sunday. He argued that a similar law, which compelled churches in Nigeria to surrender their mission schools, built by missionaries and churches to government, had been introduced in the past. Samuel stated, “From the look of the law, it seems to have been enacted with a good motive to regulate the excesses of not-for-profit organisations in Nigeria and ensure prudent management of offices and resources. “But in practical terms, we feel strongly that the law is targeted at weakening the church in Nigeria and ensure that the generals of the church, who have the vision of developing the church, are pulled off to make churches and members vulnerable to attacks. “It is difficult for the church to keep quiet on such laws. “While, as Christians, we are admonished by the Holy Bible to respect and be obedient to constituted authorities in our nation, we are sure it is in response and respect for this admonition that our highly-esteemed father, Pastor E. A. Adeboye, decided to resign his headship of The Redeemed Christian Church of God.’’ He added, “We will consult widely and study the law further and the future implications in line with our vision and calling as pastors, implications on our followers, and the motive of the law before taking the appropriate measures of clearly stating our opinion for or against the law to the authorities. “Adeboye is not just a Redeemed Church pastor but a mentor, counsellor and distant pastor to a lot of Christians and non-Christians in Nigeria and the world over. We understand the news will take many by surprise but the fact that he remains the General Overseer (Worldwide) is enough consolation to most of us.” Atiku, PDP, Oloyede, others react Also, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar described Adeboye as a unique example of the kind of inspirational leadership he prayed that Nigeria continued to have. Atiku said this in a series of tweets on his twitter handle, @atiku, on Sunday. He said the clergyman’s influence cut across ethnicity, class and religion. The former vice-president, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, in one of the tweets, said, “Pastor Adeboye is the kind of religious leader I pray that we see more of in Nigeria, while in another, he said, “He is a man beloved and who loves one and all without discrimination.” He also said, “Some of the most prominent personalities Nigeria has been blessed with have been those who learnt from the pulpit of Pastor Adeboye. A most recent example is our current Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.” A statement from his media office on the same subject on Sunday added, “The Turakin Adamawa (Atiku) also hailed the several efforts of Pastor Adeboye, which clearly went beyond the normal expectations for a preacher, such as his active participation in the war against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, which saw the G. O. featured in an anti-AIDS advert that was aired on national television. “In addition, the former Vice-President hailed the role that the G. O. has played as a converging figure for other religious leaders in Nigeria, many who openly attended his services or consulted with him despite being of different congregations.” But the National Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party frowned on the law for leaders of churches and any not-for-profit organisations. The party said there were signs that the Federal Government was planning to control religious organisations in the country. Spokesperson for the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee, Dayo Adeyeye, stated this in an interview with one of our correspondents on Sunday. He said the PDP was not comfortable with the law as being implemented by the Federal Government. Adeyeye said, “No, we are not comfortable with the law at all. It is an insidious attempt to exercise state control over religion and is a violation of the constitutional right to freedom of worship. “It has a hidden sinister motive, especially for the Christian religion.” A lawyer, Ebun Olu-Adegboruwa, said the emerging trend in the RCCG gave cause for serious concern.” He compared what was happening in the church to what occurred in The Gambia, where the incumbent President called to congratulate the winner and conceded defeat, but later recanted. The Public Relations Officer of CAN in the 19 northern states, John Hayab, said, “From the available press statement from The Redeemed Christian Church of God, I understand Papa Adeboye only did what godly leaders should do by reducing his workload and preparing others to take over when he is still alive, not when he dies and trouble will start. “Appointing someone to be National Overseer is a show of maturity and our politicians and all other church leaders should emulate him for peaceful transition and transfer of power in every sector.” In his own reaction, the immediate Secretary-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, said NSCIA was indifferent to the FRC Act. He stated that the law was not strictly meant for religious organisations but for non-governmental organisations. He spoke in an interview with journalists in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, on Sunday, on the sidelines of the 56th birthday anniversary of the General Secretary, National Union of Textile Garment Workers of Nigeria, Mr. Issa Aremu. The occasion also marked the public presentation of two books written by Aremu. Oloyede said, “I was a bit disturbed because rather than facing issues, we always divert attention. Was it (law) made by Buhari? The answer is no! It is not a new law; it has been there. “When this law was made, our Christian counterparts approached Islamic groups to ask for our reaction and our reaction was indifference. “I believe our Christian counterparts went to the former President about it. What they did or failed to do is not our business. “When I read it in a daily today, I felt a bit disturbed that they were not honest enough to say that this is not a new law. I think some people are just hell bent in creating sensation and discrediting the government. It is unfair. Oloyede stated that Adeboye should have explained to his congregation that the FRCN regulation was not a new law. He said, “The impression was being given as if the present government created the law. Whether the law is good or bad, that is another thing and everybody can face that as it is.” http://punchng.com/governance-code-minister-frcn-boss-clash-adeboye-others/ 2 Shares
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| Christianity Etc › Adeboye Steps Down, Oyedepo, Olukoya, Kumuyi, Others To Follow by Dotng(op): 4:18am On Jan 08, 2017 |
Adeboye steps down, Oyedepo, Olukoya, Kumuyi, others to followhttp://punchng.com/adeboye-steps-oyedepo-olukoya-kumuyi-others-follow/ 6 Likes 3 Shares
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| Politics › Apologies To Goodluck Jonathan by Dotng(op): 6:37am On Jan 04, 2017*. Modified: 7:05am On Jan 04, 2017 |
Apologies to Goodluck Jonathan January 3, 2017 Segun Olulade During a light conversation with a friend on issues around recession, he started lamenting at the age of President Muhammadu Buhari, claiming that it was part of Nigeria’s problem to have elected a President that is too old to get things right. “How old is Donald Trump?” I shot his rhetoric quietly. “Seventy years”, he responded reluctantly. Then, I educated him that he was not looking at the direction of the country’s actual problems. It is not age of the President but the vibrancy of a system that makes good governance. Leave Trump to start drinking tea and bullying everyone around, America will still run as a country predominantly even though we agree that the influence of Mr President goes along way in determining how a country will fare at every given time. Statutorily, institutions will still function as the pillar of a country’s existence and sustainability. The oldest American president to assume office was Ronald Reagan, who was 69 years, 349 days old when he assumed office, and was also the oldest in office at 77 years, 349 days, when he left office. Our problems are simply two, and recession is not even one of them. We have broken institutions and failure to honestly have this country restructured to a working mode. I told my friend that it might interest him that Germany, Canada and Spain and many European countries came out of recession recently. Recession is a global crisis. What makes our case worse predominantly are existing bad economy, fall in oil price, corruption and a country badly managed over time as a dependent economy due to lack of vision and sincerity on the path of most leaders in the past. We have a broken legislature that makes kick-back a condition for passing the budget; a broken judiciary (which is worse) that has continued to harbour corruption and shield corrupt persons from trial and punishment; a broken executive system that gave room for a Chief of Staff under a very strict and financially incorruptible President to think of stealing even when the prime focus of the administration is wght against corruption. Institutions like the police, the army, customs, immigration, electoral commission, pension board, communications commission, sports commission, exams board are all living with the dangerous virus of corruption. The education, agricultural, health, petroleum, and aviation sectors of government are all soaked in corrupt and financial practices. The private sector is in a shambles for financial desperado based on usurpation of the innocent citizens of the country. No place is safe enough. That is rather our problem! You go to a bank, a security personnel demands a tip; at an eatery, someone in charge of security is busy saluting for a tip, clearly unmindful of the security condition of the establishment. No one does anything for you that you may say “Thank you” but rather, you must appreciate in cash. Not even a simple greeting in the lobby is free sometimes. Still talking about institutional matters, the way power mongers and cabals can own a President in this country is unthinkable. Those owning Mr President presently will discourage him from doing certain things his party promised, notably restructuring Nigeria which is among the cardinal campaign points of the All Progressives Congress in 2015. As an opposition, the APC saw that Nigeria had been running a structural system that would never give room for development considering our multi- ethnic and religious differences; but what is the APC doing about the matter right now? Who is talking about it? Those who own Mr. President now are already taking possession of 2019 strategically. Former President Goodluck Jonathan was never a good President; as a matter of fact, he was one of the worst this country ever had. As a matter of fact, if he did well, Nigeria was not supposed to be thinking of Buhari as a saviour and only way out. But apologies to Jonathan because unconsciously, we saw him as everything that was wrong and deeply focused on ousting him on that premise rather than seeing our institutions as the problem farther than Jonathan was. How do we now rebuild our broken institutions? Everyone has to get involved in this special duty. In the journey to rebuilding our institutions, President Buhari as father of the nation must reflect true federalism as a regular attitude beginning from his pattern of appointments; that is how to unite our multi-ethnic society and fulfill the version of our old anthem that says: “though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand”. True federalism is when everyone has a sense of belonging and government is not seen from sectional lenses. New leaders must emerge that are truly committed to carrying out a structural surgery on our system. Returning to a regional system, contrary to some assumptions, does not weaken the centre; rather, it makes the regions more vibrant and productive. It helps regional growth which becomes the pride of the nation as a whole. I recollect vividly that the first television station in Africa, first Stadium in the country, Cocoa House and free education we enjoyed in the old Western Region while growing up were not built with petroleum revenue. The North and East were also growing rapidly in the production of notable produce that put the Nigerian economy as a competitive market. The sudden migration to the left, leaving all our prospective treasures to focus only on oil weakened the productivity of the regions and we gradually drifted into a completely dependent economy. Now that the National Assembly is pointing towards local government autonomy, the apex legislative body should overhaul political intents of its leadership; stay upright to consider all issues around national development. What is the fate of restructuring? What is its stake on state police? What are the legislative provisions that compel leaders to remain accountable before the law and the citizenry? How do we help those who are celebrating Ibori’s return and urge him to run for the Senate from their depreciating mental health? How do we build respect before the world so Trump doesn’t keep bullying our ass? All our institutions must be rebuilt to fit into the 21st century compliance beginning from the family unit, religious institutions and government as the biggest institution that shapes our lives. To rebuild all broken institutions, we must be honestly religious and stop blaming God for our declining conditions. As I write this, I can’t help rexecting on the lessons of this season of love and mercy, in line with the words of Joel Osteen: “I believe if you keep your faith, you keep your trust, you keep the right attitude, if you’re grateful, you’ll see God open up new doors” Olulade is a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, representing Epe Constituency II http://punchng.com/apologies-goodluck-jonathan/ 1 Like |
| Celebrities › Re: Ali Baba Reacts To Super Falcons' Protest Over Unpaid Allowances by Dotng: 10:35pm On Dec 14, 2016 |
This is pure sarcasm. For crying out loud, why are people missing the point of the whole conversation? When you now say that this generation is educationally challenged you will get the same treatment Alibaba is getting. Our youths are schooled but not educated. This mental malnutrition is also a result of feeding on substandard stuff over the years. Intellectual discourse is now a challenge.    5 Likes 1 Share |
| Phones › Re: My Reply To NCC And MTN Nigeria. by Dotng: 1:34pm On Dec 09, 2016 |
Countries where Skype or WhatsApp calling is blocked https://www.quora.com/In-which-countries-is-Skype-or-WhatsApp-calling-blocked "Voice calls via Skype, WhatsApp, Google Voice or Viber are not working in the following countries: Azerbaijan Belize China Iran Kuwait Morocco Oman Pakistan Paraguay Saudi Arabia - Skype voice/video calls work, WhatsApp calls don’t United Arab Emirates There may be restrictions on messaging too. In some countries, voice calling works on wifi but not on mobile networks. China redirects skype.com downloads to spyware, but if the app is already installed, it works. WhatsApp is occasionally blocked in Xinjiang. Temporary bans: Bangladesh - Nov 2015 Brazil - Dec 2015" Most of these countries listed above are authoritarian in governance. 2 Likes 1 Share |
| Christianity Etc › I am amazed by what Pastor Adeboye, Bishop Oyedepo, others are doing –Benny Hinn by Dotng(op): 5:24am On Nov 28, 2016 |
I am amazed by what Pastor Adeboye, Bishop Oyedepo, others are doing – Benny Hinn ON NOVEMBER 19, 2016 For 10 days beginning October 28, the oil city of Warri, Delta State was alive as the 2016 Jubilee Word Festival, held at the International Gospel Centre, headquarters of Papa Ayo and Mama Helen Oritsejafor’s Word of Life Bible Church, featured local and international gospel preachers, including PFN National President, Rev. Felix Omobude; Bishop George Bloomer; Dr. Ini Okpon, Rev. Ayuk R. Ayuk and American televangelist, Rev. Benny Hinn. The theme of the conference was, Rock of Ages. After ministering for two days at the event, Benny Hinn who, in 2005, caused a stir after a failed crusade in Lagos where he screamed blue murder about shoddy preparations by the local organisers, spoke to Sunday Vanguard on the incident and many other issues about Nigeria. Excerpts…. By Olayinka Latona How do you describe your visit to Nigeria this time around? I have been to Nigeria now four times. The first was with Benson Idahosa back in the 80s, one other time here in Warri and I also came to do a crusade in Lagos in 2005. Lagos was tough because things were not done well at that time; but I have told my staff that I was stunned by the different atmosphere in Nigeria today. When we were here in the 80s, Benson took me to several places like Lagos, Kaduna, Ibadan, Benin, among others, where we had meetings. It was tough. The people were not as receptive in those days; in one of the places, they actually chased us and we had to run away with the crowd running after us and we had jump over the fence running for our lives. That was back then. Benny Hinn But, today, what I saw in Lagos at Pastor Chris’s church, I was stunned with how powerful the anointing was and how strong the people received it. I am still kind of in shock because I have this kind of images of what we saw back then. With that and we came to see this wonderful reception, I am left with the impression that these are different people and a different nation. I see much more elegance especially in Lagos. It’s really a different world here. I have no doubt that the Nigerian people are being used to trigger the revival worldwide and it’s quite amazing that most major churches in the world today are pastored by Nigerians. When you go to the UK, the biggest churches there are pastored by Nigerians. When you go to other parts of Europe, it’s the same thing and same thing with America. A lot of these men who began ministries that time and other men I met through Benson Idahosa in Kaduna, particularly Bishop David Oyedepo, who was our host in Kaduna, and the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, now have big churches across the globe. Adeboye’s church in London which Pastor Andrew, who is like a friend to me, heads, is doing great things. The spirit of excellence is quite stunning and I am discovering more and more about Nigerian churches everywhere I go. When we had the pastors conference in June this year, there were pastors from Nigeria and, to my shock, they were telling me they had opened churches in Dallas, Texas, New York, Miami and all over America. It’s like Nigerians are taking over the world. Thank you Jesus. It’s a very remarkable thing because the biggest churches in the world today are run by Nigerian pastors. They are springing out of the Benson Idahosa Movement – Adeboye, Oyedepo, Oyakhilome and several others – in Europe and I am amazed. They are springing up everywhere. I don’t know what it is about your people but it is very stunning really. The first time I came it was very tough but, this time, I am blown away by the class, the excellence and the prosperity I see here. Benson Idahosa used to tell me, ‘you preach prosperity, we live it’, and I think it’s true. It’s really exciting! You are a blessed people. You came from Lagos to Warri and you’re going to Abuja from here. What’s the prophetic word God has asked you to tell this nation as we prepare to enter 2017? I tell you what the Lord is saying. There’s a brand new generation of people, like in Lagos, when I called the young people to come out, I was stunned. More than half the crowd were young people and, when the power of God hit them, it was like thunderbolt. They were so receptive and just like here in Warri where young people are very dynamic and hungry for the Word of God. I don’t see that very often in many places. I can say here that the Nigerian young people really want the Holy Spirit. You know that in many places, the Holy Spirit has become unknown, and in some places, sadly, unwanted but not here in Nigeria. Here, they just hit it up. Last night meeting, I thought my skin was going to blow off. The first night, with about 6,000 pastors, when Sinach began to sing, I began to weep and when a young man called Martin began to sing about the Holy Spirit, I began to weep again. Dynamic anointing and I am thinking, where did this anointing come from? Elegant, anointed, dynamic. It’s not the Nigeria I knew of. So, what I think, prophetically, this new generation will soon shake the world. I am not saying it to impress you, I just see it because…maybe it’s happening in Ghana, Cameroun and other parts of Africa but I have not been there to see it. But I see it here. I think the big churches all over the world are not people from other African nations, and that is a testimony. Some of the big churches in London today are led by Nigerians. When you go to Germany, it’s the same thing and they are intense in a good way. I love that and I think I want to move here. Nigeria today has been transformed, I believe, because of the fact that you’ve had mighty crusades here over the years…Benson spearheaded, several years ago, a great move of God here and later Rheihard Bonnke spent so much of his time here and others followed up with the masses that come to their meetings. The land is really ready for the revival and with a Christian TV like the African Broadcasting Network clouds unend. You really can’t have a revival without Christian TV because Christian TV makes the ground soft for the gospel and for the seed of the Word. So we really need Christian TV because, without it, the land will not be soft. My prayer is that Nigeria should be saved from coast to coast and become a light house to Africa and the world because it’s already getting prepared to shake the world. You have a blessed government, and I am hearing so many good things about Nigeria and what’s happening here with your economy. The future is very bright for your country. I am seeing it. When I came earlier and met with then President Olusegun Obasanjo and Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, we talked so intimately about your economy and, today, when we flew out of Lagos, I could see several new high rise buildings, new hotels. It’s really a bright tomorrow and Christian TV is a major instrument that God uses to prepare for a revival. What’s your recollection of the 2005 crusade that you talked about earlier? I don’t remember much of what happened back then. All I can recollect is that we spent a lot of money for the crusade but the crowd didn’t come. I don’t know why but I learnt from Rev. Bonnke that the promotion wasn’t done properly but Pastor Chris told me yesterday that that was not true. He (Chris) said the man in charge did the promotion but the churches were not as involved. It doesn’t bother me at all what happened. I have actually forgotten about it all. I don’t remember the incident. Have you been able to reconcile with some of the religious leaders who felt offended by your outbursts then? I won’t even know who they are. I don’t know how to find them. I don’t remember them, please forgive me. At that time, John Wilson handled all of it. I don’t remember much of that now. I remember one man…I won’t even be able to recognise him if I see him, neither do I remember his name but I am fine with it, I am peaceful with it but, if you feel there’s need for some form of reconciliation, I am open it. Honestly, I will love to meet with them. I am a happy man. And everything is fine with me. Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/11/amazed-pastor-adeboye-bishop-oyedepo-others-benny-hinn/ |
| Politics › President Buhari’s Chief Of Staff, SGF, Other Aides Are Incompetent – Senate by Dotng(op): 8:41pm On Nov 03, 2016 |
President Buhari’s Chief of Staff, SGF, Other Aides Are Incompetent – Senate Nigerian senate on Thursday said one of the reasons it reject President Muhammadu Buhari’s $29.9bn loan proposal was because of the incompetence the presidential aides. Senate spokesperson, Aliyu Abdullahi, said this when he featured on a Channels TV breakfast programme, Sunrise, on Thursday. Abdullahi said the aides were not doing their jobs properly. He cited an example of where in the letter to the Senate, a line read “attached”, but lamented “nothing is attached”. “This is the reality unfortunately. We have to rethink position given to certain persons and people who are not competent should step aside. “What is the Chief of Staff doing? What is the SGF doing? “We have said it that some people are working to set the president against the legislature,” said Abdullahi. https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/president-buhari%E2%80%99s-chief-of-staff-sgf-other-aides-are-incompetent-%E2%80%93-senate.225569/ |
| Politics › Opposition Mounts As Nigeria Nears Rice Sufficiency by Dotng(op): 6:28pm On Nov 03, 2016 |
Opposition mounts as Nigeria nears rice sufficiency •EUROPEAN NATIONS KICK •3 MILLION TONS OF RICE READY FOR HARVESTING •CBN SPENDS N23BN TO IMPROVE LOCAL RICE, SOYA BEAN PRODUCTION November 2, 2016 Sanya Adejokun- Abuja With clear indications that Nigeria may finally be on the way to meeting its rice consumption needs, some foreign countries are already displaying dissatisfaction and mounting opposition. This is as farmers across 13 states are starting near the end of wet season rice production with the help of N23 billion loans provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme. A few weeks ago, the Ambassador of a European nation led a delegation to the office of CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, complaining that Nigerians had been importing stock fish from his country long before independence. According to our sources, he lamented the decision of CBN to exclude the commodity from those that were eligible for importation with foreign exchange sourced from official window. Emefiele bluntly informed his guest that while his country had over $1 trillion in its foreign reserve, Nigeria as at then had just about $25 billion and challenged the Ambassador to arrange for business people from his country to come to Nigeria and develop the wide coastal line from Lagos to Calabar. Also, the European Union has placed a ban on importation of beans from Nigeria on the pretext that it contained “too much chemical.” Former Deputy Governor of CBN, Dr. Obadaih Mailafia told Nigerian Tribune that the move was a direct consequence of action of CBN and Federal Government to attain self-sufficiency in food production and curtail unnecessary imports. During an inspection of wet season rice harvest in some local government areas of Kebbi State on Sunday and Monday this week, Emefiele gave the assurance that Nigeria would soon exit importation of rice. According to him, farmers in Kebbi State alone have produced one million tonnes of rice currently being harvested aside the 1.2 million from Kano and the 800,000 tonnes already harvested in Niger State. Emefiele disclosed that N23 billion has been spent so far in promoting local farming and production of rice, soya bean, sugar and other important produce. The CBN team visited Wasagu, Argungu, Birnin Kebbi and some other locations to inspect harvest and kick off dry season farming. He added that Kebbi, Niger, Anambra, Calabar and other rice producing states would feed the nation and ensure availability of foods items in Nigeria. He explained further that the progamme which is going to be a continuous exercise will boost economic activities of the country and diversify the nation economy. “Our team has visited Niger, Eboyin, Ogun states and now we are in Kebbi State where the programme started” he added. He then urge the media men to investigate the farmer in other to know where their challenges are and make the correction for the future occurrence. Emefiele said that the bank wants to be part of the scheme so that more farmers can benefit from the project in Kebbi as well as other states where Soya bean can be grown successfully. He said that this is in line with the bank’s ambition of making Nigeria food sufficient and simultaneously preserving the nation’s foreign reserve. Annual consumption of rice in Nigeria is put at over 6 million metric tonnes per annum. Local production is about 2.8 million metric tonnes. Sugar importation is put at 1.7 million tonnes. All in all the Central Bank of Nigeria estimates that a whopping 11 billion dollars (N3.1 trillion) is spent annually to import wheat, rice, sugar and fish. “We currently spend so much money importing products that with the right nudge, we can become self-sufficient in. “We spend billions importing vegetable oil into the country. You are aware that CBN don’t give foreign exchange anymore to people importing palm oil, vegetable oil into the country. “We expect oil palm to be produced in Nigeria, soya bean should be turned into vegetable oil that we can consume in this country. “We also have rice, wheat, palm oil, cassava, sugar, fish and several commodities. With the CBN anchor borrowers programme, we are on the path to food sufficiency. “Those particular commodities we have been spending so much money on importing we want to make sure that we are able to produce this in Nigeria. “We have the potential, we have the land, human resource and scientist that can give us the quality seeds so why should we be importing any of those things,” he said. Meanwhile, the Deputy Governor of Kebbi state, Col. Samaila Yombe (rtd) said with the CBN intervention, farming in the state will become more mechanised. “By tomorrow, thanks to the CBN, threshers will be bought for the farmers and wastes during harvest will be curtailed. “Before now, farmers in the state do not have enough seeds and fertilizer, but with the parties involve, each farmer gets improved seedlings along with enough fertilizers. “With better equipments, when you come back here for the next farming season, you will see a more advanced farming technology being used,” he said. Also, the Director, Development Finance, CBN, Dr Mudashiru Olaitan said 73,075 farmers were benefiting from the CBN Anchor Borrowers Programme in Kebbi state alone. He said that rice farming under the programme was going on in all 21 local government areas of the state with an estimated yield of 1.2 million metric tonnes per harvest. He said that per hectare, the estimated yield was six to eight tonnes. He said the farmers have been linked with buyers at an agreed sum of N6,600 per bag of unprocessed rice. In his response, the Kebbi State Governor, Senator Atiku Abubakar Bagudu thank the visit assured them that kebbi would achieved is target. “We are going to visit Zuru where they would producing share butter and other farm crops as kebbi state is blessed with farming corp and irrigation” he added. He further pointed out that the anchor Borrowers progamme as reduce the level of unemployment and crime in the state, appeal to the Mr. President that the progamme should be continues one. He was also in Kebbi state to flag off the beginning of Dry Season farming in the state. The Soyabean project is a partnership between Kebbi state government and International Capital Market Group (ICMG) commodity in Lagos. The agreement is for ICMG to provide 12kilogram of improved seedlings and two bags of fertilizers to small farmers and 50 kg of seedlings and 10 bags of fertilizers to large farmers. The 5,000 farmers working on the project were also given N170,000 per hectare to take care of running cost. At the end of the planting season, each hectare is estimated to produce 25 bags and out of that, four bags will be collected as repayment for the seedlings, fertilizers and money provided. http://tribuneonlineng.com/opposition-mounts-nigeria-nears-rice-sufficiency/ 31 Likes 7 Shares
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| Phones › Gionee Invests $10m In Nigeria by Dotng(op): 12:09am On Nov 02, 2016 |
Gionee invests $10m in Nigeria Gionee Communication Equipment Company Limited said it had invested over $10m in the Nigerian market, with $8m of the sum invested this year. It also said that it planned to invest a total of $12m in the nation’s telecommunication industry in 2017. The Group Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Chen Lei, disclosed these in Lagos, during the launch of Gionee S6s with Selfie flashlight, a 5.50-inch touchscreen display smartphone with a resolution of 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels at a PPI of 401 pixels per inch. He added that the company, which was launched in Nigeria in 2011, had established over 500 retail outlets across the country. “This year alone, we have invested $8m. When we launched in the market in 2011, we took our time to study the business climate and started investing more in 2014. Till date, we have launched $10m in Nigeria. For next year (2017), our budget for the market is $12m,” Lei said. Speaking on the target market segment, he said that Gionee products appealed to all stratums of the society. On his part, the Head, Marketing, Gionee Nigeria, Somoye Habeeb, said, “It is not just a brand, but a strong one in the industry. How do I mean? It has broken record(s) as its phones’ batteries last longer than others. It is safe with rugged security chips. There are more to this brand, which are the unique selling prepositions.” He added, “Our management team advocates a scientific and standardised enterprise management mode, with a strong sense of innovation. The constant pursuit of professionalism and innovation is the foundation of sustainable development at Gionee.” Lei, who did not rule out the possibility of setting up a manufacturing plant in Nigeria in future, said that the phone’s signature, ‘From smartphone to smilephone’, implied their belief that having a beautiful life would come from sharing happiness with others, anytime and anywhere. “It comes from the joy of listening to your voice from a thousand miles away; it comes from capturing the moment we hug each other. It is seeing your smile in the sunshine. “For a smile, we empower ourselves with technology to create smart products. For a smile, we ensure superior quality by attending to every detail. For a smile, we offer seamless user experiences through constant improvement. We are able to share every moment of joy in our lives with all those smiling faces,” he added. http://punchng.com/gionee-invests-10m-nigeria/ |
| Crime › The Skype Sex Scam - A Fortune Built On Shame by Dotng(op): 12:33am On Oct 31, 2016 |
The Skype sex scam - a fortune built on shame One night a young Palestinian man living abroad fell victim to an online scam, involving a web camera and a beautiful woman. Here Samir (not his real name) tells the story of how he was trapped - and below the BBC's Reda el Mawy visits the Moroccan boomtown where many of the scammers are based. WARNING: this story contains descriptions of sexual acts It happened when I was home alone. This girl added me on Facebook. I didn't think it was anything strange - I often get friend requests from old school friends who I don't know well. The next day she sends me a message: "Hi, how are you? I saw your profile and I liked you." So I looked at her profile and, I mean, she was really hot. With a girl like this, you lose your head That night she starts messaging me via Skype. She says she's 23, her parents are dead, and she lives with her older sister in Sidon, Lebanon. She says she's bored because she doesn't study or work and that her sister is very strict. I ask her about her hobbies and she says she likes sex. She loves it, she says. "Hmm," I thought, "this is interesting." At this point I am curious but unsure, because it's strange how easily she's talking about sex with a stranger. But I was bored, my girlfriend was out of town, and didn't have anything to do. So I figured, "What the hell, I'll chat with this girl and see where it goes." Eventually she asks if I have a webcam. So I turn on my video and say, "Can I see you too?" She turns on her video and when I see her, you know, she is a really beautiful girl. With a girl like this, you lose your head. We continue chatting, but only in messages, not actually speaking. She says she's afraid her sister will hear her. As we're chatting she tells me that talking with me is turning her on. I'm thinking because she lives with her strict sister, in the south of Lebanon rather than in a more open place like Beirut, maybe she's frustrated and looks for sexual encounters online. Then she asks me to show her my penis. So I show her my penis. Then I say, "OK, your turn." She lies on the bed, undresses, and starts masturbating. I'd never seen anything like it. It was so easy. Too good to be true. So I start masturbating too. She tells me to put the camera on my face because it excites her, so I move the camera back and forth between my face and my penis. After a few minutes she pretends to have an orgasm. Still naked, she comes back to the keyboard to chat with me. She asks me what I do, and I tell her I work in marketing in Milan. "Oh, so you must be rich!" she says. "Well, I get by," I say. Then she says she hears her sister coming, so she gets dressed and signs off. He starts sending me insults, telling me he'll send the video to my mother, to everyone I know A half hour later I get a message on Facebook. "Listen," it says, "I'm a man, and I recorded a video of you masturbating. Do you want to see it?" He sends me the video. It's about five minutes of me masturbating. "I have a list of your friends and family from Facebook - your mum, your sister, your cousins," he says. "You have one week to send me to send me 5,000 euros (£4,450), or I'll send them the video." I was in shock. My first thought was to send him the money immediately. But I cancel her, or him, as a Skype contact and right away I get a message on WhatsApp. "I'm here," it says. This is one of a series of stories looking at a new and disturbing phenomenon - the use of private or sexually explicit images to threaten, blackmail and shame young people, mainly girls and women, in some of the world's most conservative societies. Explore all the stories and join the conversation here. So I plead with him. I tell him I don't have 5,000 euros. He says, "Of course you do, you have a good job in Europe." "No," I tell him, "that was a lie, just to impress the girl, I'm just a pizza delivery guy." Then I remember a photo I had sent her of me tiling my bathroom and I say, "Look, do you think if I were some rich guy I'd tile my own bathroom?" He's sort of convinced by this and says, "That may be true, but I don't care. You have one week to send me 2,000 euros. Otherwise, I'm sending the video to your family." I try to calm down and think rationally. If I send him money, what is to stop him from coming back and demanding more? Then he sends me the link to the video on WhatsApp - I feel sick to my stomach Then it occurs to me that if he sends the video to my contacts - people he isn't friends with - it will go to a junk inbox that no-one checks. And even if they check it, I figure, who is going to open a video file from an unknown person? It could be a virus. So I have two choices: I send him the money and I have no guarantee he doesn't ask for more, or I refuse and hope no-one looks at the video. The day comes, though, when he messages me and says, "OK, I'm about to upload the video to YouTube." "Upload it," I tell him. "I don't care any more." Then I change my privacy settings so no-one can post to my wall or tag me without my consent. Then he sends me the link to the video on WhatsApp. I watch it again. It's me masturbating, on YouTube. I feel sick to my stomach. Immediately I start reporting the video to YouTube for sexual content. I report it, close the page, reload the link, and report it again. Over and over. Man watching YouTube He sends me a message saying he's about to send the link to my relatives on Facebook if I don't pay. "Go ahead," I tell him, "send it." When I asked why he was picking on a poor young guy like me he had said, 'You think I don't target rich guys in the Gulf states? Of course I do' I couldn't pay him. First 2,000 euros, then perhaps 5,000. Where would it end? He was so upset. He starts sending me insults, telling me he'll send the video to my mother, to everyone I know. I keep reporting the video. Each time I'm watching the number of views to see if anyone else has viewed it. After about an hour YouTube takes the video down. From what I can tell, all the views were mine, except for one. That could have been him viewing it after he uploaded it, or one of my relatives. I'll never know for sure, but I've never heard from anyone. Maybe a male relative saw it and never told anyone. Can you imagine, though, if an aunt had seen it? She would have told another aunt, her husband, her kids, soon my whole family would have known. I have family all over the world, the US, Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states, Europe. And what if my mum sees this? A video of me masturbating. I would have thrown myself out the window from the shame. After the video was taken down I didn't hear from the guy again. I imagine he moved on to bigger fish. I remember when I asked why he was picking on a poor young guy like me he had said, "You think I don't target rich guys in the Gulf states? Of course I do. You're lucky I can see from your Facebook page you're not married, or I would be asking for a lot more money." I think it's over, but every now and then I check YouTube to see if he's re-uploaded it. Reda el Mawy writes: The "23-year-old Lebanese girl" who seduced Samir on Skype was almost certainly a young man from Oued Zem - a small town in central Morocco that has become known as the capital of the "sextortion" industry. The Oued Zem scammers trawl Facebook for victims, and as soon as a man answers a video call - either on Skype or, increasingly, within Facebook itself - they activate software that shows the victim a pre-recorded video of a girl downloaded from a porn webcam site. Map of Morocco They are so familiar with this video that they are able to chat-message their victims at exactly the points where the girl appears to be typing on the keyboard. "We ask him to take off his clothes and to do obscene gestures," says one young scammer I will call Omar. "It's crucial that his genitals are visible while he's doing these gestures. This is filmed with his face on screen so the video looks credible. When we've got the recording we upload it to YouTube and send it to him in a private message. That's when the threatening starts. We spend 20 minutes chatting, 20 minutes for the video, and 20 minutes threatening - threatening and negotiating. They all pay." The weak point of Arabs is sex - so you look for their weaknesses, and you exploit them He adds: "The weak point of Arabs is sex. So you look for their weaknesses, and you exploit them. The other weakness is when they are married, for example. You can exploit that. Then there are the really religious guys. You see someone who looks like a sheikh, carrying the Koran, and you think, 'There's no way he'll fall for this - but let's try him anyway.' And when you try, he falls for it." Omar says he earns about $500 (£400) every day from the scam, and that hundreds of other young men in Oued Zem are doing the same. I counted at least 50 international money transfer offices in the town. The manager of one of these offices told me that he took in about $8,500 (£7,000) every day, and that the vast majority of that was blackmail money. There are German cars and Japanese motorbikes in the streets, and fancy café-restaurants that provide a front for families that need an explanation for their new-found wealth. In the UK, Wayne May runs an online community, Scam Survivors, that offers advice and support to victims of the webcam masturbation racket. Since 2012 he has received more than 14,000 requests for help from victims all over the world, including the UK and the US. Many are young Arab men, he says, and about a third of all the scams originate in Morocco. Before the advent of social media, Oued Zem was largely reliant on remittances from people working in Europe. But with the economic crash of 2008, remittances dropped - and this was exactly the moment that Facebook and webcams were becoming everyday tools of communication. Salaheddin El-Kennan, a labour activist, does not blame the town's young men for making money from extortion. He points the finger at the state-owned company that mines phosphate in the surrounding countryside but employs very few local people. "I chose not to go down the route of scamming because I consider it incompatible with our Moroccan and Islamic values," he says. "But unemployment rates in our town are higher than in the rest of Morocco. Nationally, unemployment is at 8.7%, while in our town we estimate that it's as high as 60%. With the lack of employment, and no apprenticeship schemes in the city, many people look for other ways to make money." Omar said he was not proud of what he does, and that he wanted to stop scamming. Intelligent, articulate, and technologically adept, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that in a place with more opportunities a young man of Omar's talents could find a legitimate way to earn his $500 a day. Reporting by Sean O'Neill, Reda el Mawy, and Daniel Silas Adamson https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/37735369 |
| Politics › An Allegory For Africa by Dotng(op): 9:26am On Oct 26, 2016 |
An Allegory for Africa A MUST READ - This makes an interesting reading: Copied: This article was penned by Field Ruwe. He is a US-based Zambian media practitioner and author. He is a PhD candidate with a B.A. in Mass Communication and Journalism, and an M.A. in History.? They call the Third World the lazy man’s purview; the sluggishly slothful and languorous prefecture. In this realm people are sleepy, dreamy, torpid, lethargic, and therefore indigent—totally penniless, needy, destitute, poverty-stricken, disfavored, and impoverished. In this demesne, as they call it, there are hardly any discoveries, inventions, and innovations. Africa is the trailblazer. Some still call it “the dark continent” for the light that flickers under the tunnel is not that of hope, but an approaching train. And because countless keep waiting in the way of the train, millions die and many more remain decapitated by the day. “It’s amazing how you all sit there and watch yourselves die,” the man next to me said. “Get up and do something about it.” Brawny, fully bald-headed, with intense, steely eyes, he was as cold as they come. When I first discovered I was going to spend my New Year’s Eve next to him on a non-stop JetBlue flight from Los Angeles to Boston I was angst-ridden. I associate marble-shaven Caucasians with iconoclastic skin-heads, most of who are racist. “My name is Walter,” he extended his hand as soon as I settled in my seat. I told him mine with a precautious smile. “Where are you from?” he asked. “Zambia.” “Zambia!” he exclaimed, “Kaunda’s country.” “Yes,” I said, “Now Sata’s.” “But of course,” he responded. “You just elected King Cobra as your president.” My face lit up at the mention of Sata’s moniker. Walter smiled, and in those cold eyes I saw an amenable fellow, one of those American highbrows who shuttle between Africa and the U.S. “I spent three years in Zambia in the 1980s,” he continued. “I wined and dined with Luke Mwananshiku, Willa Mungomba, Dr. Siteke Mwale, and many other highly intelligent Zambians.” He lowered his voice. “I was part of the IMF group that came to rip you guys off.” He smirked. “Your government put me in a million dollar mansion overlooking a shanty called Kalingalinga. From my patio I saw it all—the rich and the poor, the ailing, the dead, and the healthy.” “Are you still with the IMF?” I asked. “I have since moved to yet another group with similar intentions. In the next few months my colleagues and I will be in Lusaka to hypnotize the Cobra. I work for the broker that has acquired a chunk of your debt. Your government owes not the World Bank, but us millions of dollars. We’ll be in Lusaka to offer your president a couple of millions and fly back with a check twenty times greater.” “No, you won’t,” I said. “King Cobra is incorruptible. He is …” He was laughing. “Says who? Give me an African president, just one, who has not fallen for the carrot and stick.” Quett Masire’s name popped up. “Oh, him, well, we never got to him because he turned down the IMF and the World Bank. It was perhaps the smartest thing for him to do.” At midnight we were airborne. The captain wished us a happy 2012 and urged us to watch the fireworks across Los Angeles. “Isn’t that beautiful,” Walter said looking down. From my middle seat, I took a glance and nodded admirably. “That’s white man’s country,” he said. “We came here on Mayflower and turned Indian land into a paradise and now the most powerful nation on earth. We discovered the bulb, and built this aircraft to fly us to pleasure resorts like Lake Zambia.” I grinned. “There is no Lake Zambia.” He curled his lips into a smug smile. “That’s what we call your country. You guys are as stagnant as the water in the lake. We come in with our large boats and fish your minerals and your wildlife and leave morsels—crumbs. That’s your staple food, crumbs. That corn-meal you eat, that’s crumbs, the small Tilapia fish you call Kapenta is crumbs. We the Bwanas (whites) take the cat fish. I am the Bwana and you are the Muntu. I get what I want and you get what you deserve, crumbs. That’s what lazy people get—Zambians, Africans, the entire Third World.” The smile vanished from my face. “I see you are getting pissed off,” Walter said and lowered his voice. “You are thinking this Bwana is a racist. That’s how most Zambians respond when I tell them the truth. They go ballistic. Okay. Let’s for a moment put our skin pigmentations, this black and white crap, aside. Tell me, my friend, what is the difference between you and me?” “There’s no difference.” “Absolutely none,” he exclaimed. “Scientists in the Human Genome Project have proved that. It took them thirteen years to determine the complete sequence of the three billion DNA subunits. After they were all done it was clear that 99.9% nucleotide bases were exactly the same in you and me. We are the same people. All white, Asian, Latino, and black people on this aircraft are the same.” I gladly nodded. “And yet I feel superior,” he smiled fatalistically. “Every white person on this plane feels superior to a black person. The white guy who picks up garbage, the homeless white trash on drugs, feels superior to you no matter his status or education. I can pick up a nincompoop from the New York streets, clean him up, and take him to Lusaka and you all be crowding around him chanting muzungu, muzungu and yet he’s a riffraff. Tell me why my angry friend.” For a moment I was wordless. “Please don’t blame it on slavery like the African Americans do or colonialism, or some psychological impact or some kind of stigmatization. And don’t give me the brainwash poppycock. Give me a better answer.” I was thinking. He continued. “Excuse what I am about to say. Please do not take offense.” I felt a slap of blood rush to my head and prepared for the worst. “You my friend flying with me and all your kind are lazy,” he said. “When you rest your head on the pillow you don’t dream big. You and other so-called African intellectuals are damn lazy, each one of you. It is you, and not those poor starving people, who is the reason Africa is in such a deplorable state.” “That’s not a nice thing to say,” I protested. He was implacable. “Oh yes it is and I will say it again, you are lazy. Poor and uneducated Africans are the most hardworking people on earth. I saw them in the Lusaka markets and on the street selling merchandise. I saw them in villages toiling away. I saw women on Kafue Road crushing stones for sell and I wept. I said to myself where are the Zambian intellectuals? Are the Zambian engineers so imperceptive they cannot invent a simple stone crusher, or a simple water filter to purify well water for those poor villagers? Are you telling me that after thirty-seven years of independence your university school of engineering has not produced a scientist or an engineer who can make simple small machines for mass use? What is the school there for?” I held my breath. “Do you know where I found your intellectuals? They were in bars quaffing. They were at the Lusaka Golf Club, Lusaka Central Club, Lusaka Playhouse, and Lusaka Flying Club. I saw with my own eyes a bunch of alcoholic graduates. Zambian intellectuals work from eight to five and spend the evening drinking. We don’t. We reserve the evening for brainstorming.” He looked me in the eye. “And you flying to Boston and all of you Zambians in the Diaspora are just as lazy and apathetic to your country. You don’t care about your country and yet your very own parents, brothers and sisters are in Mtendere, Chawama, and in villages, all of them living in squalor. Many have died or are dying of neglect by you. They are dying of AIDS because you cannot come up with your own cure. You are here calling yourselves graduates, researchers and scientists and are fast at articulating your credentials once asked—oh, I have a PhD in this and that—PhD my foot!” I was deflated. “Wake up you all!” he exclaimed, attracting the attention of nearby passengers. “You should be busy lifting ideas, formulae, recipes, and diagrams from American manufacturing factories and sending them to your own factories. All those dissertation papers you compile should be your country’s treasure. Why do you think the Asians are a force to reckon with? They stole our ideas and turned them into their own. Look at Japan, China, India, just look at them.” He paused. “The Bwana has spoken,” he said and grinned. “As long as you are dependent on my plane, I shall feel superior and you my friend shall remain inferior, how about that? The Chinese, Japanese, Indians, even Latinos are a notch better. You Africans are at the bottom of the totem pole.” He tempered his voice. “Get over this white skin syndrome and begin to feel confident. Become innovative and make your own stuff for god’s sake.” At 8 a.m. the plane touched down at Boston’s Logan International Airport. Walter reached for my hand. “I know I was too strong, but I don’t give it a damn. I have been to Zambia and have seen too much poverty.” He pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled something. “Here, read this. It was written by a friend.” He had written only the title: “Lords of Poverty.” Thunderstruck, I had a sinking feeling. I watched Walter walk through the airport doors to a waiting car. He had left a huge dust devil twirling in my mind, stirring up sad memories of home. I could see Zambia’s literati—the cognoscente, intelligentsia, academics, highbrows, and scholars in the places he had mentioned guzzling and talking irrelevancies. I remembered some who have since passed—how they got the highest grades in mathematics and the sciences and attained the highest education on the planet. They had been to Harvard, Oxford, Yale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), only to leave us with not a single invention or discovery. I knew some by name and drunk with them at the Lusaka Playhouse and Central Sports. Walter is right. It is true that since independence we have failed to nurture creativity and collective orientations. We as a nation lack a workhorse mentality and behave like 13 million civil servants dependent on a government pay cheque. We believe that development is generated 8-to-5 behind a desk wearing a tie with our degrees hanging on the wall. Such a working environment does not offer the opportunity for fellowship, the excitement of competition, and the spectacle of innovative rituals. But the intelligentsia is not solely, or even mainly, to blame. The larger failure is due to political circumstances over which they have had little control. The past governments failed to create an environment of possibility that fosters camaraderie, rewards innovative ideas and encourages resilience. KK, Chiluba, Mwanawasa, and Banda embraced orthodox ideas and therefore failed to offer many opportunities for drawing outside the line. I believe King Cobra’s reset has been cast in the same faculties as those of his predecessors. If today I told him that we can build our own car, he would throw me out. “Naupena? Fuma apa.” (Are you mad? Get out of here) Knowing well that King Cobra will not embody innovation at Walter’s level let’s begin to look for a technologically active-positive leader who can succeed him after a term or two. That way we can make our own stone crushers, water filters, water pumps, razor blades, and harvesters. Let’s dream big and make tractors, cars, and planes, or, like Walter said, forever remain inferior. A fundamental transformation of our country from what is essentially non-innovative to a strategic superior African country requires a bold risk-taking educated leader with a triumphalist attitude and we have one in YOU. Don’t be highly strung and feel insulted by Walter. Take a moment and think about our country. Our journey from 1964 has been marked by tears. It has been an emotionally overwhelming experience. Each one of us has lost a loved one to poverty, hunger, and disease. The number of graves is catching up with the population. It’s time to change our political culture. It’s time for Zambian intellectuals to cultivate an active-positive progressive movement that will change our lives forever. Don’t be afraid or dispirited, rise to the challenge and salvage the remaining.... Use Nigeria/Nigerian to substitute Zambia/Zambian in the article and it holds true for all African. Hard fact. Just PONDER! . . . Weep for Africa |
| Politics › Obanikoro Makes Shocking Revealtions, Says He Gave Fayose N2.3bn by Dotng(op): 2:47pm On Oct 19, 2016 |
Obanikoro makes shocking revealtions, says he gave Fayose N2.3bn ON OCTOBER 19, 201612:11 PMIN NEWS, POLITICSCOMMENTS Former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, has said that he gave the sum of N2.3bn to the Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, in the run-up to the Ekiti State governorship election in 2014. Fayose and Obanikoro Obanikor accompanied by his lawyer, Mr. James Onoja(SAN), at the EFCC office in Abuja said according to sources ‘the sum of N2.2billion was transferred to Sylva Mcnamara for onward transfer to Mr. Ayodele Fayose on the instruction of the NSA. ‘The sum of N1.3billion CASH was brought in a bullion van by Diamond Bank on the instruction of the NSA. ‘In addition, the sum of N60million was converted to dollars at the rate of N168 per dollar and altogether the sum of $5,377,000 was handed over in cash by me to Mr. Fayose while the N1.3billion was received by Mr. Fayose’s associate, Mr. Abiodun Agbele in the presence of my Aide-de-Camp (ADC), Lt. Adewale who also accompanied them to the bank along with the bank officials. On how the cash was transferred to Fayose, Obanikoro said that “two flights were used to convey the MONEY from Lagos. The ex-Minister said he “took off with the first flight with part of the MONEY while the second flight brought the remaining funds to Akure local airport and I directed that it should be handed over to the same person.” The source said Obanikoro however maintained that part of the CASH was used to ward off Boko Haram aggression in Lagos and in the South-West in general. The source added: “He told us that he is not the owner of the company in question but introduced the owner, Mr. Kareem Taiwo to the NSA, Mr. Sambo Dasuki when the threat of Boko Haram became more visible in Lagos. “He said the government wanted to “incorporate local input into the intelligence gathering and prevention of terrorist attack on Lagos and the South-West in general.” The EFCC had discovered that Sylvan Mcnamara Limited, allegedly owned by Obanikoro and his sons, was used to launder the N4.745billion. The company, which was incorporated in November 2011 had the following as its directors: a close aide of the ex-Minister, Ikenna Ezekwe(700,000 shares) of 51 Simpson Street, Ebute-Metta; Idowu Oshodi(299,000 shares) of 8, Prince Tayo Adesanya Street, Park VIEW Estate, Ikoyi; and Elizabeth Adebiyi(1,000 shares) of 3, Adedoyin Street, Ijeshatedo, Surulere. But Ikenna Ezekwe has had his accounts de-frozen by the EFCC since the slush funds were not traced to him. A document said: “To set the stage for the use of the company for MONEY laundering, the board of directors on May 7, 2012 passed a resolution that the company should open an account and appointed Mr. Gbolahan Obanikoro, Ikenna Ezekwe, Ms. Theresa Matuluko (Secretary) and Mr. Babajide Obanikoro as the signatories to the account. “The board added that the signing combination be that any of the signatories can sign alone.” According to EFCC, when it was time to illegally draw the N4.745billion from ONSA as war chest for Ekiti Governorship poll, ex-Minister Obanikoro made the account of Sylvan Mcnamara Limited AVAILABLE and coordinated the disbursement. The breakdown of the disbursement was as follows: N N759, 384, 300 changed into dollars through Bureau De Change firms; N160million used to purchase cars through Balmoral International Limited; N1, 219, 490,000 ferried by Obanikoro in two flights to a branch of Zenith Bank at Plot 13, Alagbaka Estate, Akure to evacuate the CASH and received by Fayose’s associate, Abiodun; balance of about N2billion withdrawn by Obanikoro and his two children in cash. Some of the Bureau De Change companies involved in the transactions and the amounts credited to them include A.A.G.B.S OIL AND GAS (N168,000,000.00); SYLVAN MCNAMARA LTD (N167,500,000.00); NORTHLINE LTD (N835,000.00); NORTHLINE LTD (N83,750,000.00); FIVE STAR LTD N(37,600,000.00); A.B.A TRADING ENT (N268,301,500.00); VILLAGOLF BUREAU DE (N1,425,000.00); AHMAD &OMAR (N350,000.000); NORTHLINE LTD (N1,680,000.00); NORTHLINE LIMITED A (N2,325,300); REHOBOTH HOMES (20,000,0000); NORTHLINE LTD (N5,932,500.00); NORTHLINE LTD (N842,500); NORTHLINE LTD (N842,500.00). Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/10/obanikoro-makes-shocking-revealtions-says-gave-fayose-n2-3bn/ |
| Politics › Re: 100 Chibok Girls Unwilling To Leave Their Boko Haram Captors - Daily Mail by Dotng: 12:21pm On Oct 19, 2016 |
This might be the reason if the information is true. Stockholm syndrome From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other uses, see Stockholm syndrome (disambiguation). Stockholm syndrome, or capture-bonding, is a psychological phenomenon first described in 1973 in which hostages express empathy and sympathy and have positive feelings toward their captors, sometimes to the point of defending and identifying with the captors. These feelings are generally considered irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims, who essentially mistake a lack of abuse from their captors for an act of kindness.[1][2] The FBI's Hostage Barricade Database System shows that roughly eight percent of victims show evidence of Stockholm syndrome.[3] Stockholm syndrome can be seen as a form of traumatic bonding, which does not necessarily require a hostage scenario, but which describes "strong emotional ties that develop between two persons where one person intermittently harasses, beats, threatens, abuses, or intimidates the other."[4] One commonly used hypothesis to explain the effect of Stockholm syndrome is based on Freudian theory. It suggests that the bonding is the individual's response to trauma in becoming a victim. Identifying with the aggressor is one way that the ego defends itself. When a victim believes the same values as the aggressor, they cease to be perceived as a threat.[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome 1 Like |
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