Eldeethedon:
I applied but still expecting reply from the organizing committee.

Have you done all your trainings?
Did you apply for both Olympic and Paralympic?
Is your portal still " Application Under Review"?
Are you still receiving correspondence from rio organizing committee?

Hello everyone!

Do we have RIO 2016 Olympic/Paralympic Volunteers in the house.

Common guys, let us brainstorm and form a synergy towards a successful outing in Brazil.

Uproar! That best describes the responses of Nigerians since what has been summarized as the anti-social media bill passed the second reading in the Senate last week. The bill entitled, “A Bill for an Act to Prohibit Frivolous Petitions and Other Matters Connected therewith”, has three broad legs. The first leg of the bill proposes to criminalize any petition which contents are not strengthened by a sworn affidavit in accordance with the Oaths Act. The second leg proposes to also criminalize the publication of any malicious allegation or statement or the said petition in the first leg of the bill in a newspaper, radio or any other medium. The third leg proposes to equally criminalize any abusive statement published as text message, tweets, and on WhatsApp or any social media posts. The penalties for the offences range from six months to two years imprisonment or N2 million to N4 million fine or both fine and imprisonment. In five key areas, the bill is not only frivolous, the senators who sponsored and have so far supported its passage are doubly so.

1) Neither order nor good government:

In developed democracies, laws are enacted to help achieve, as quickly as possible, the greatest good for the greatest number of the people. Towards the attainment of this, Section 4(2) of the 1999 Constitution states, “The National Assembly shall have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Federation or any part thereof…” Whether members of our National Assembly, since 1999, have really been particularly concerned about making laws for the good government of this country is debatable. At a time when the economic situation is so bad that most state governments are having problems paying workers salaries, one would have thought the National Assembly would be preoccupied with making laws critical to revamping the economy. At a time when there are disclosures that huge sums of money were taken from NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) and CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) to fund projects of questionable validity, one would have thought our lawmakers would come up with bills that would rejig the nation’s financial and regulatory processes that would make it impossible for anybody in government, however highly placed, to turn critical government agencies into some Cash Vomiting Machines (CVM). One would have thought that the Senate would be more concerned with dusting up the PIB (Petroleum Industry Bill) and begin the process of passing it into law to make the NNPC a profitable, self-accounting commercial entity. With thousands of kilometres of decrepit and derelict roads across the country, one would have thought our National Assembly members would be thinking along the line of an appropriate National Highway Act that would encourage the private sector to invest in the construction or reconstruction of major roads.

However, those we elected to think and work hard at making laws for the good government of this country are more concerned with making laws for their personal protection and comfort. I do not know how long Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah’s bill has been in the works, but the timing of the introduction of this bill is rather suspicious. There are media reports that the bill passed the second reading in two weeks. Within the same period, and some weeks earlier, there have been series of reports online about Senate President Bukola Saraki, which he understandably has found discomforting, if not unpleasant. Some have argued that the anti-social media bill is Saraki’s way of fighting back. When examined within the context of other developments within Saraki’s Senate, the argument is difficult to dismiss. Remember that the Senate had suspended plenary twice or thrice to allow some 80 senators accompany Saraki to the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) where their president was facing trial for false declaration of assets. Remember also that the CCT chair has been under probe by a Senate committee over bribery allegations, shortly after Sakari’s trial began. The timing of the two related incidents created the impression that an important institution of state is being used to fight personal battles. The anti-social media bill is therefore too much of a coincidence. Like British novelist Ian Fleming has pointed out in Goldfinger, “Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time is enemy action.” The state is endangered when it appears the parliament is being manipulated to fight personal battles.

2) All about an organization:

Some have argued that the bill is essentially targeted at Sahara Reporters. Senators in support of the bill gave credence to such speculation with the way they practically competed among themselves to narrate how Sahara Reporters had published stories they found damaging to their integrity, and to the reputation of the Senate, an institution my very own Senator Dino Melaye loves to call the “sacred hallowed chamber.” Indeed, on Thursday last week, Melaye attempted to move a motion that the Senate should call on the US government to ban Sahara Reporters. Saraki had to quickly save Melaye from himself by suggesting his motion should rather be that the matter be referred to the relevant committee. How will the US government, which does not have the power to ban a newspaper that publishes damaging stories against its president, be bothered about some publication writing about issues in Nigeria? The governments of North Korea, and perhaps Saudi Arabia, would have resonated much better, for whatever the motion would have been worth. The Senate would descend to a new low when they start conceiving bills and begin the process of enacting laws targeted at individuals or organizations. Not even under the Abacha administration, when Nigeria went through its darkest days, did we see such absurdity.

3) Some déjà vu:

One of the reasons the media were always in the forefront of the campaign against the presidential adventure of Muhammadu Buhari in his three previous attempts before the April 2015 elections, was the general’s hostility to the press, particularly his administration’s promulgation of Decree 4 in 1984. The decree gagged the press and criminalized the publication of any report, which the government may have found embarrassing, even if true. Two editors were jailed on the strength of that decree. Buhari’s opponents in the media have always been apprehensive that his presidency would attempt to tamper with press freedom. Is the anti-social media bill part of the narrative? Does it have Buhari’s imprimatur? Or is it simply a case of fifth columnists at work?
4) An unwinnable war:

The bill is a declaration of war against the Nigerian media. No government has successfully engaged the media in battle and not end up being bruised, battered and scattered. And the reason is simple. The Nigerian press is a child of anti-colonial struggle. It was born in crisis and was a major weapon the early nationalists used in fighting the colonialists. The press is also a veteran of many bloody battles with past military administrations. The present freedom the press enjoys did not come on a platter; it was earned the hard way, through sorrow, tears and blood, as the late Afrobeat star Fela Anikulapo-Kuti would have put it. If military administrations could not cow the press despite the beatings and detentions and kidnappings and killings of journalists, or the sealing of media houses and proscription of publications, how could senators elected by the people, in a democracy, hope to achieve that? Why would senators start a war they should know they stand no chance of winning, particularly in a digital age where anybody could run a publication from a laptop or any electronic device from anywhere in the world?

5) Justice is key:

Many people have pointed out, and rightly so, that there are enough laws in our statute books to address the excesses of some publications in the social media. There are laws on defamation, on libel, and on cyber crime. But there is a structural deficiency in the nation’s judicature that has made it difficult, if not impossible, for those wronged to get justice. In other climes, libel is a big enough fear factor militating against the publication of falsehood or any report injurious to the reputation of an individual or group of individuals. It is not the case here because of the systemic decay in the administration of justice. As a result, all kinds of jobless people with little or no requisite training, have taken over the media space trading insults and abuses, impugning people’s reputation and integrity, and in many cases, resorting to blackmail. The Senate should better invest its energy in making the judicial process functional, efficient, people-friendly and justiciable. Attempting to criminalize publication of false stories in the social media can only lead down a blind alley.

The anti-social media bill, as it stands, is frivolous in intent, in content and in expected result. It is not enough for the Senate to dismiss the massive criticism against the bill, as it has made a habit of dismissing every criticism of its action, as blackmail. Senators should not forget they are elected representatives of the people. There is no reason why the same people should not cry out when they see they are being misrepresented. There is no reason why the Senate should shy away from intellectual engagement on any bill or motion. Except of course if the agenda is less than honest.

Culled from Thisday Newspaper Backpage

Pls someone should confirm this news for us! Fear for my Country.

Below contributor is right, as a matter of fact, your cousin is very lucky and both of them should go to Heart-to-Hearth Center for expert counselling. The issue of discordant couples....the reaserch is still on going in that aspect......Scientists are trying to see if someone like your cousin that has a strong hormones might be used in combating the scourge.

LadyFiona:
Your cousin is very lucky beause their is an increased risk for male to female transmission than females to males due to the large surface area that makes up the woman's genita|ia

The issue of your cousin having high immunity is a major factor on why she didn't get the infection but she has to check again in three month's and six month's time to be sure, the kids should also be tested too.
And lastly~~

Maybe they are the rare groups of discordant couples known.


I suggest they visit a Heart to heart centre for proper counselling and management.

@Shootingstars88

It is very possible to change the data page of your passport provided you have a genuine reason(s). Speaking from experience, I just did my own but it took me 8 months to get it sorted out( I paid for my negligence and I learnt from it). As some people has advised you that you should look for matured officer that would help you out. Guy, Impossible is nothing!

Thanks everybody

elari:

Ow! U mean your enrollment number? Which state state exactly. Though I can only help if it was at NIS headquarters, Abuja

@elari

It is in Abuja.

Immediately, after the captured of data, the officer write some numbers on a paper and he handed it over (it should be enrolment).

I would be happy if u can bail out......

I have applied for re-issue of my E-passport since last year August 2014 and I was eventually call up for data capture on 19th of February, 2015. After, data capture, the officer in charge handed over to me written figures on a sheet of paper and I was told to come back on the following Monday for my Passport collection.

In summary, getting to passport office on Monday for collection, I was told to provide a written figures in order for them to give the e-passport, I was unable to provide the numbers and I was told the new is ready but without that numbers I would not be able to collect it.

Can someone help out in the house, I am a little bit confused because of the time frame on what to do

The Lord is my sheperd. As am typing, sporadic gun shots are going on. Everbody is panicking! Nobody knows d situation of things as at now

The Lord is my sheperd

owo2390: Ile-Ife - Home of Love!

(Not a large city but a quasi-city)

Point of correction 'Ile-Ife' literary meaning is not 'Home of love' as u translated.
However, i don't understand what you mean by 'quasi-city'

The Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), the umbrella body for Muslims in the North, alleged Thursday that Christians were disguising as Muslims to burn down churches and indulge in terrorist activities.

But the spokesman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 Northern states and Abuja, Mr. Sunday Oibe, in a reaction maintained that no right thinking person can insinuate that Christians will disguise as Muslims and go about bombing churches and killing people.

The JNI in a communiqué issued at the end of its three-day retreat in Kaduna also accused the CAN President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, of making unguarded statements that is heating up the polity.

The communiqué, which was signed by the Secretary General of JNI, Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, called on the CAN president to tell Christians to stop mischievously disguising as Muslims in perpetrate acts of terrorism, declaring that JNI could no longer tolerate this double face attitude.

The Islamic body also lamented that majority of the media establishment in the country were owned by Christian dominated South, alleging that they are always biased against Islam and Muslims.

Participants at the retreat, according to the communiqué, noted with dismay the current state of insecurity and panic in the country demonstrated by incessant violence and high spate of bombings, which had led to unfathomable loss of innocent lives and property.

The communiqué reads in part: “The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, instead of contributing positively towards achieving National cohesion has rather chosen the path of insinuation and therefore heating the polity.

“Education which is supposed to be the basic locomotive of development has unfortunately been given a secondary importance by all segments of government. Concerned authorities have in many cases failed to give convincing answers to many of the grievances of Muslims in Nigeria.

“There are so many contradictions and confusion in the way the issue of Boko Haram is handled by security agents and the media. Majority of the media establishment in the country, especially the Christian dominated southern media, have always demonstrated bias against Islam and Muslims.

“Participants condemn in totality the on-going spate of bombings and killings of guiltless Nigerians irrespective of their regional, religious or ethnic inclinations. JNI calls on Nigerians to shun violence and embrace peaceful means of settling their legitimate grievances.

“JNI urges the Federal Government to call the president of CAN to order before he causes religious crisis in the country, through his unguided utterances which has started eroding the long built mutual respect between Muslims and Christians. CAN president must stop his people to stop mischievously disguising as Muslims in perpetrating acts of terrorism.

“The meeting calls on Federal and affected state governments as well as all security agents to, as a matter of urgency, investigate the several reported cases of Christians who disguise as Muslims to burn churches. JNI can no longer tolerate this double face attitude. Thorough investigations must also be made to unveil the sponsors of those Christian terrorists.

“JNI calls on Muslims to be vigilant and always report to the authorities any case of injustice and maltreatment meted on any Muslim either by Christian extremist or bad elements among the security agents. Copies of the complaints should be sent to the state offices of JNI attached with a comprehensive report of the incidents.

“JNI reiterates its commendation to the National Assembly for their outright rejection of same sex marriage. To this end, the meeting specifically applauds some concerned legislators who have so far demonstrated concern for their people.

“JNI calls on government at all levels to pay serious attention to the development of education as no society can progress without giving education its priority. We want to remind all Christian zealots in Nigeria, that our love for peace must not be mistaken as a licence to make us second class citizens in a country where we constitute a majority.

“We condemn in strong terms all acts of terrorism perpetrated by any group in Nigeria. As we remain confused regarding whether the Boko Haram members are known by the government as clearly stated that they are in the government or there are faceless (as claimed by the NSA).

“We also call on the media to always be fair in their reporting of issues as that is the only way we can understand issues as there are and take appropriate measures to address them.

“Worried by the recurrent reported cases of abuse of fundamental human rights of Muslims of various conflict areas, JNI strongly call on all security agents to consciously do their job of protecting the lives, property and integrity of Nigerians as opposed to intimidating, harassing, and harming innocent Muslims.”

However in his reaction, the spokesman of CAN in the 19 Northern states and Abuja, Oibe, described the allegation against Christians as baseless, senseless and calculated to divert attention from the real issue that is posing serious problem to the nation.

“They are trying to divert attention. Look at what is even happening in the whole of the West African sub-region.

“It is very irrational for any right thinking person to say that a Christian could disguise as a Muslim and go to throw bomb at churches and kill people in places, like Madalla, Jos, Maiduguri, Adamawa, Damaturu and other places.

“If they don’t know, let them be aware that the President of CAN speaks the mind of Nigerian Christians, particularly Christians in the North and we are solidly behind him.

“The Boko Haram Islamic sect and their sponsors are those who are heating up the polity and not the President of CAN. JNI should be ashamed of this baseless accusation.

“We urge JNI to call the Boko Haram Islamic sect to order rather than trying to divert attention on the real issues. Their allegation that Christians disguise as Muslims to bomb churches is baseless and senseless,” Oibe said.

Tags: News, Nigeria, Featured, JNI, CAN, Attacks, Churches( www.thisdaylive.com)

they 've got it wrong this time around.

Despair as China Executes Three Filipinos

30 Mar 2011

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A boy stands next to posters with a picture of Sally Villanueva, one of the three executed men

AFP

Chinese authorities executed three Filipino drug mules on Wednesday, triggering condemnation in the Catholic Philippines and despair for relatives who witnessed their final moments.
"I just want to inform you that our three compatriots have been executed," Vice President Jejomar Binay announced over local radio, although there being no public announcement from the Chinese government, reports AFP.
"It is a sad day for all of us. Until the last moment, we did everything we could to save the three."
The three -- Ramon Credo, 42, Sally Villanueva, 32, and Elizabeth Batain, 38 -- were arrested separately in China in 2008 for smuggling heroin and sentenced to death.
The Philippine government had made repeated appeals in recent months to spare the lives of the trio, including by sending Binay to Beijing on a mission to have their sentences commuted to life in jail.
But the Chinese government insisted there would be no favours for the trio, and that their cases would be dealt with according to domestic laws.
The three were allowed to meet their relatives for an hour before they were put to death through lethal injection, in what turned out to be devastatingly emotional encounters.
"She was crying, she was partly incoherent. She had a lot of things to say," said Jason Ordinario, a brother of Villanueva who along with another sister and their parents met her as the final verdict was read in a court in Xiamen city.
"She asked us to take care of her children and make sure they can finish studies," he told DZBB radio from China.
Villanueva's relatives said she did not know that she was due to be executed on Wednesday, and was surprised to see her family there.
"I was the first one to see her, we locked eyes and we both cried. She said what are you doing here, why are you all crying, am I going to die," younger sister Mylene said on DZBB.
"She tried to console us. She said, it's okay. I have accepted my fate. I will be your angel and watch over you."
Villaneuva's children, aged 12 and nine, were not able to see or talk with their mother before she was killed. They did not travel to China and local authorities would not allow mobile phones into the meeting room.
Amnesty International as well as the influential Roman Catholic Church swiftly condemned the executions, and accused the Philippine President, Benigno Aquino's government of not doing enough to save the three.
"We strongly condemn the executions of the three Filipinos," Amnesty's Philippine representative, Aurora Parong, told AFP.

Tags: News, World, Featured

It does not take a political pundit to know that Dr. Sarah Jibril never stood any chance of winning the presidential primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). As one of the three aspirants for the party’s ticket for the April presidential election, the lady was hardly rated close to the other two contenders for the ticket – President Goodluck Jonathan, who won the election, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. This much was reflected in newspaper headlines that put the election squarely as a Jonathan versus Atiku contest. While the main aspirants had well-established campaign organisations, Mrs. Jibril lacked any structure on ground. Objectively, she could not muster the human and material resources to meet even the legitimate logistical requirements of the intra-party election. If she had any message she did not have the means of selling it to the delegates before the convention date.  Hence no serious political analyst could have given her any chance. This is certainly no good news for those who believe that women should play a greater role in politics. Here we are talking of not mere participation only, but also popular control of power.

The PDP primary election is now history, as they say. However, the role of Jibril in that history should interest us for at least for reason. She could be excused for not having resources to prosecute an election in the typical Nigerian way; but she could hardly be pardoned for her poverty of ideas. The sheer frivolity of Mrs. Jibril, which was egregiously on display at the party convention in Abuja on January 13, was simply untenable. Yes, she had no chance of winning the election, but she had a supreme chance of making a point historically.

Admittedly, party conventions are scarcely structured with any rigour for the contest of ideas and popularisation of policies and political platforms. In more serious climes the party convention would define the direction of the party beyond the nomination of the presidential candidates.  The gathering of the party faithful would also throw up new political personalities and draw attention to some fresh ideas and new tendencies. After all, it is said that Barrack Obama began to receive national attention with the speech he made at the Democratic convention in 2004 when John Kerry got the party ticket. Kerry did win that election, but four years later Obama was elected president of the United States of America. Unfortunately, serious discussions of programmes and strategies of governance at party meetings are not yet part of our political culture. Yet, the five minutes given to each aspirant to address the convention was a golden opportunity for Jibril to announce her purpose in politics to the world. In five minutes, Jibril could have made a statement for history encapsulating the essence of her political vision. The point at issue is that although the woman might not have won the election by any means, she could have conducted herself in a manner that she could be taken more seriously even by opponents.  Her carriage at the party convention was a disservice to the cause of advancing the gender question positively in politics.

The huge irony inherent in this should not   be lost.   Her participation in the election was pregnant with a lot of symbolism.

The gender question is an important one in Nigerian politics.  It is about the place of at least 50 per cent of the population in the political ladder. It is an issue of socio-political justice. You cannot talk of a holistic political development without resolving the gender question equitably. The affirmative action of setting a goal for 35% representation for women in the   political hierarchy is all part of the process of answering the question. To borrow the phrase of President Obama, her venturing into the arena of presidential primaries carried with it all the elements of “audacity of hope” of a woman one day becoming the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

That is why the woman politician ought to have carried herself in a way that would compel attention nationally. Instead of optimising the very little time she had to demonstrate the essential Sarah Jibril the lady was busy pandering to her fellow contestants. She danced to no identifiable tune. Her speech was incoherent. It was all gesticulation and hardly was any point made. She elected to stage   theatrics instead of engaging her audience and by extension the polity on her mission in politics. Now, this is a gross disappointment coming from a well-educated woman; a specialist in psychology with an admirable diction could not articulate anything before convention delegates.

Yet, Jibril is otherwise an engaging person. It would be uncharitable to dismiss her as an empty shell. If you doubt this assertion, you may wish to read her reasoned intervention in the Chinua Achebe Interview Series. She was asked what in her view would Nigeria need to have in place to be successful in the 21st century. Her response: “We all need what we call the rigour of an ethical system. This must happen in Nigeria for it to be successful”.  A politician with that kind of statement cannot be accused of not having a thought process guiding her political activities. It is, however, the rigour of articulation that was lacking in her political outing on the convention day.

Here is a woman who is veteran of national party conventions as a presidential aspirant. She was a contestant for the presidential ticket of the Social Democratic Party in Jos way back in 1993, which was won by Bashorun Moshood Abiola.  In 19 years of putting her self forward as an aspirant for the office of the president, Jibril ought to have mastered the game better.

The congratulatory statement made by former President Ibrahim Babangida after the primaries puts the matter in a wider context. Babangida, who also aspired for the PDP ticket before Atiku emerged as the product of the northern consensus, demonstrated his consciousness of history in the statement. He congratulated Jonathan. He also had some kind words for Mrs. Jibril.  Babangida pays the woman a tribute because of what he sees as the historical significance of her adventure in the aspiration to be president. According to Babangida, one day when a woman president is elected, it would be remembered that there was one Mrs. Sarah Jibril who aspired severally to the high office when no one gave a woman a chance. Even if it were a century from now that it happens, the memory of Jibril would be deserving of such a tribute. And that is the sense of historical purpose that Jibril ought to cultivate. For now she does not seem to be conscious of this history. Just like the theme of race was explored to bring out the historical significance of Obama’s victory as the first black man to be elected president in the United States, so would gender be the theme one day when a woman is elected president of Nigeria. After all, a continuum was established between the “audacity’ of Obama and the daring disposition of Rosa Park in the refusal to give up her seat in the Montgomery, Alabama bus and the subsequent Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech.

The political establishment appears to be the only arena in which the rise of women still contends with a glass ceiling; in other departments of our national life women have demonstrated unimpeachable capacity for leadership. The evidence of this asseveration abounds everywhere you turn to in both private and pubic sectors. There are as many women as there are men equipped for leadership. Even, in some locales the girl child is said to be receiving more education. That is why the women presence should not be by default be perceived as a frivolous attempt. With a serious strategy and organisation for power, the day of the first Nigerian female president may be nearer than some prejudiced minds can fathom now.

What is more, the Nigerian woman has a rich background of exceptional women who showed leadership during their times. Eminent historian, Professor Bolanle Awe, edited a book of essays by scholars on some prominent women who were factors in our pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial history.  The book entitled  Nigerian Women: A Historical Perspective is published by Book Craft Ltd. in association with Sankore Publishers Ltd.

The essays deal with the life and times of women such as Queen Amina of Zaria, Queen Kambasa of Bonny, Heroines of the Women’s War, and Saviours of their Society, Omu Okwei of Osomari, Olufunmilayo Ransome-Kuti and others. In introducing the biographical sketches as a means of exploring different phases of Nigerian history, Awe argues that beginning from “the dawn of history”; development has always been the joint efforts of men and women. Like men, women have also played decisive roles in society, according to the historian. Her instructive conclusion: “… women who exercised leadership were those who were not prepared to be cowed by the constraints of a male-dominated society and who demonstrated their courage most effectively by their own achievements. Thus these biographies suggest a pattern for effective female participation national development for they demonstrate the strength and resourcefulness of Nigerian women in establishing a worthy place for themselves in their own societies. They show quite clearly that the recognition of women’s contribution to the society is not going to be conceded to them on a platter of gold. The doors are not going to be thrown open without an effort. Women must struggle for that recognition and prove by their efforts, that they deserve it”.

These words of exhortation should inspire women politicians to be   seriously organised.  Jibril had the opportunity of briefly demonstrating the possibility of this point at the PDP convention, but she missed it. What a pity.

copied frm Thisday

Atiku vs Jonathan

02 Jan 2011

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The two combatants for the presidential ticket of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, go head-to-head at the primary election slated for January 13, 2011 at the Eagle Square, Abuja. Abubakar, who was vice-president from 1999 to 2007, is the consensus candidate of the Northern presidential aspirants in the party while Jonathan is the current president.



Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Name Alhaji Atiku Abubakar
President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Current Position Former Vice-President, Federal Republic of Nigeria
Nov. 20, 1957 (53) Date of Birth / Age Nov. 25, 1946 (64)
Otueke/Bayelsa State Hometown/State Jada/Adamawa State
Ph.D (Zoology) Education Diploma in Law
Bayelsa Deputy Governor, 1999-2006 Governor, 2006-2007 Vice-President of Nigeria, 2007-2010 President, 2010-till Present Political Experience Presidential aspirant, 1993 Won governorship election, Adawama State, 1999 Vice-President of Nigeria (1999 2007)
Proactive Peace and SecurityPrivate sector-led, government-supported and regulated electric power development Coordinated, accelerated and transparent Niger Delta development Improving quality of education Implement major reform in agriculture through innovative financing and land ownership Programmes Employment generation and wealth creation Power generation and infrastructure developmentEducation and social services Law and order, good governance and war against corruption The Niger Delta.

Nigeria far behind G20 countries – Okonjo-Iweala
News Dec 6, 2010

By Austin Ogwuda
ASABA—MANAGING Director of the World Bank and former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, weekend, said except the country sits up, it was very far behind the comity of G20 nations.

Okonjo-Iweala who rolled out the statistics to back up her claims during a lecture she presented on how to tackle infrastructure deficit, said she did not care if the figures would cause ripples in the country.

Apparently referring to the recent uproar caused by the comment made by the Central Bank Governor on the jumbo pay of federal lawmakers, she said: “Let me talk of how we compare with other G20 countries. Electricity consumption per capita here in Nigeria in 2009 was 106 kilowatts.

This is compared to 443 kilowatts for India, 2,443 kilowatts per capita for China, and 4,921 for South Africa.

“Nigeria generates about 4,000 megawatts of electricity for 150 million people; South Africa generates 45,000 megawatts for 49 million people. Indonesia generates 30,900 megawatts for its 200 million plus people. South Africa though is generating 45,000 has just come to the World Bank for one of the biggest loans of over $3.5 billion that the World Bank ever made.

“They are generating 45,000, we are generate 4,000 but they are not happy they are falling behind and they are investing billions of dollars into power generation because they recognize that their industries and their households cannot move forward without it.

“We are also lacking seriously behind in rail transportation. On access to water and sanitation, we are again lacking behind, so Nigeria’s overwhelming infrastructure deficit is very costly for job creation and growth.”

She added: “According to a recent World Bank study on competitive business, the absence of adequate infrastructure in Nigeria has a massive 16 percent to business cost per unit to use compared to say two percent in South Africa, five percent in China and 10 percent in India. So how are we going to compete when we have such a drawback for our business, 16 percent far and above in excess cost compared to other countries? So this is where we are.

“We want to be a giant, we want to sit at a table with the G20; we want to be seen as a leading economy 20 years from now but the point I am making is that we have to sit back and say where are we today compared to those countries that we want to sit with? And what we have to do about it. Now, while these figures should not cause despondency or maybe they should, is to certainly make us stop and think very hard. We need to get serious, they should make us think of about how we get serious about these basic infrastructure.”

Okonjo-Iweala, however, noted that the country was making progress in the area of information and communication technology, ICT.

Stressing that this was also part of infrastructure, she added that this was the infrastructure of the future “and we are making some good progress here.”

UK banks complicit in Nigerian corruption, report saysA report by the anti-corruption monitor Global Witness has accused four UK banks of accepting millions of pounds from Nigerian politicians accused of corruption.

Global Witness said the banks - HSBC, Barclays, Natwest and Royal Bank of Scotland - took questionable deposits from two Nigerian governors between 1999 and 2005.

HSBC said it was deeply disappointed by the "misguided" allegations.

The other banks declined to comment.

HSBC said: "As a bank that has been at the very forefront of developing global PEP (politically exposed persons) guidance over the last decade, rest assured, rigorous and robust compliance procedures were followed diligently."

Global Witness also accused the UK regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), of failing to take action against the banks.

The FSA declined to comment.

Global Witness acknowledged that regulation in the UK might have moved on since 2005, but said there were still gaps in the system.

It said its report was based on documents provided by the Nigerian government to a court in London.

The Kidnap of Corpers
09.28.2010

The scourge of kidnapping ravaging the country was taken to a ridiculous height recently when five female members of the National Youth Service Corps serving in Rivers State were abducted by kidnappers.


The corps members who are serving in a community secondary school, in Omuma Local Government Area of the State, were abducted from the residential lodge provided for them by the school, at about Eleven a.m. Their generator was also carried along.


That the use of kidnap, as a means of protesting the poor living conditions of the people of the Niger Delta, has since been abused is certainly not in doubt. But that corpers, defenceless corpers, on national service can now be kidnapped is a bizarre twist to the scourge.


The Niger Delta militants, on the onset, had resorted to kidnapping expatriate oil workers as a means of drumming home their demand for improved livelihood in the region. That was in 2006. The strategy was soon corrupted when criminals latched on to it and began to kidnap innocent people, especially rich and influential persons, for a ransom, thus commercialising the crime.


Now the kidnap of hapless and poor youth corpers who can barely feed themselves from their meagre allowance is to overstretch the barbarity of the criminal minds. If It is worrisome that kidnapping is yet taking place after the amnesty has not only be granted about a year ago, but that the rehabilitative programme for ex-militants participating in the post amnesty scheme is going on successfully in the country.


It is more worrisome that in spite of the growing national concern about the crime and several promises, security agencies have not been able to prevent such incidents.


For young graduates, who out of compulsion, had left their states of origin to offer service to communities, which may be the communities of their abductors, to be “compensated” in this way is inhuman. We therefore condemn in all ramifications, the ugly incident and urge the abductors to ensure that the ladies are not harmed in any way and they are released without further delay.


Indeed, we are worried that the nasty experiences of corpers across the country may fuel calls for the scrapping of the scheme, if gradually, corpers are now becoming endangered species. In the recent past, corpers have been victims of sectarian violence (as it happened in Jos, Plateau State), have been raped and killed as it happened in Maiduguri, Borno State or they are victims of kidnap as in the latest case in Rivers State.


We urge the Nigeria Police to, as they have often done, swing into quick action to rescue the corpers from their abductors, unhurt. The Rivers State government and the NYSC authorities should all join hands and give requisite assistance to the police to free the ladies.


And if by today they have been released a re-occurance should be prevented.Given the several risks corpers now face in the service of their fatherland, we believe is high time the NYSC management considered providing some form of insurance cover for them. Although this will not stop attacks on corpers by criminally minded people, we are convinced that it will give the corpers a sense of security and embolden them to face the growing challenges of the scheme.


All said, we believe that, although criminality cannot be excused, the high rate of unemployment in the country contributes greatly to the crime rate in the country, including kidnapping. It is for this reason too that we urge various tiers of government to, expeditiously design policies and programmes that can provide employment opportunities to the teeming youths wasting away in the labour market.

Let us hope, Jega will prove all his critics wrong by giving us free and fair election including me.

Jega should try as much as possible try to lay a good example not by following the footsteps of former INEC officers but by cordinate well orgarnised elections and make sure he gives us credible election

Wish him HAPPY BIRTHDAY aslo, A GREAT ICON, TRUE LEADER.

This is a nice move if they deviate don't from the real struggle!!!

We need sth like this in Northern Nigerian like Kano etc,

I would be happy to join them if KANO NETWORK OF NGOS (KANET) can do sth like this

LETS TAKE CHARGE OF OUR DESTINY

THIS IS INFORM NLs THAT THE ABOVE ADMISSION LIST IS OUT FOR VARIOUS DEPTS,

WISH PPL B OF LUCK!

[font=Lucida Sans Unicode][/font]  Is it a sin for a man of God to 'call a spade a spade'?

ICSL KANO , WHAT IS HAPPENING?

I have done test in kano branch of ICSL twice and I excelled and they told me that I would be call back. Six months after, still expecting their call.

You guys are right! He is an adult and he has a right to enjoy himself with some bottles of star and ladies fine, and they would be the one professing Sharia. I wouldn't have bother if they are not the advocacy of sharia law that drinking of beer is not permitted because "he would seek equity must go with clean hands' I would try to capture some pics and send them b/4 leaving this state.