₦airaland Forum

WHY the renewed push for Biafra?
Until Nnamdi Kanu hit the scene with a bang, we all thought the show had ended the way it began – full of drama and action, just like a movie. It used to be the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) led by the facetious Ralph Uwazurike whose followers were dismissed as flighty youths who saw it all as an exciting pastime.
Uwazurike would, for months, threaten to “declare Biafra” as if a mere proclamation by an Indian-trained lawyer in one corner of the beautiful landscape of Igboland would be the open sesame that was needed to make the dream a reality. He and his army of youthful followers would, with great revelry – singing, drumming, drinking and dancing – set a city throbbing and gather in a corner, plant the green-black-red Biafran flag and raise his hands in a black power salute. The youths, driven into a strange freneticism, would hail endlessly. Sometimes the police would come to smash the rally. Other times, they would just ignore the marchers.
So vexatious was Uwazurike’s antics that the police seized him in 2005 and detained him on treason charges. Besides planting flags in a few places with great fanfare that belied his intentions and the enthusiasm of his supporters, the man also launched what he called the Biafra passport. The only beneficiary of this weird enterprise was, perhaps, the printer who got the contract to print the document. Nobody was confident enough to travel with the passport, which became an ordinary booklet symbolising the delusions of grandeur of its holders. In no time, MASSOB was hit by an enervating crisis of leadership. Uwazurike was, ironically, accused of sabotaging the group he had led with much braggadocio after the police arrested many of its members for celebrating its 16th anniversary. A faction vowed to probe him. Director of Information Uchenna Madu said: “We sympathise with the brainwashed and hypnotised members of Uwazurike’s faction who died and those detained during the celebration of the 16 years anniversary of MASSOB while their leader was dining with his friends.” Damning.
He went on to say Uwazuruike visited Umuahia after the police stormed his home in Okwe, Imo State, to assure them that his MASSOB had no plan to break up Nigeria. Madu said the MASSOB chief then fled to Lagos without telling his supporters that the anniversary celebration had been called off. The police grabbed many of them who attempted to stage the anniversary. Uwazurike loves controversy and loves hugging the limelight. He was on song just before the last general elections when he called for former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chair Attahiru Jega’s resignation. His apocalyptic warning was, of course, ignored. The elections went on and, as they say, the rest is history.
If we thought we had seen the last of such theatricals, we were damn wrong. Enter Kanu of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB), the brain behind the overseas based Radio Biafra, who is said to have cut his teeth under Uwazuruike. He has been detained even as a case of alleged treasonable felony is being prepared against him.
Now, many are wondering what this resurgence in pro-Biafra activisim is all about. Didn’t the late Eze Ndigbo Gburugburu Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu – of fond memories – say that it was all over? Why should a group of youths, many of them yet unborn during the reprehensible Civil War that took so many lives – God forbid another fratricidal venture – begin to sing the song of war? Are the Igbo so marginalised in the configuration of power and influence in this country that some would rather embrace a bloody solution to what seems a mere village square squabble over kolanuts? Isn’t this another conspiracy of the elite against the very people they claim to be fighting for even as it is apparent they are festering their own nests? Even kids have been asking what it all entails. Will they now ask our friends and school mates to return home to a new place called Biafra? Are we going to need visas to visit them? How about Igbo men who are married to Yoruba women and Yoruba men who have Igbo wives; where will they stay?
Will the “chemist” down the road pack it up and return to Aba or Abakaliki? What will happen to the massive spare parts markets in Kaduna, Kano, Lagos and Ibadan as well as other cities? How will customers go to Ariaria and Onitsha markets; by visa? What will happen to the various Eze Ndigbos and their red crowns in Kano, Ibadan, Makurdi and all other places? Their kingdoms another to take?
A former military chief, an Igbo, is said to have pasted on his facebook page the points he believes the excited agitators may have refused to note. It has the title “Foolish is not Igbo” and states: “For six years, our own occupied the offices of deputy Senate president, deputy speaker, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), minister of Finance/ coordinating minister for the Economy, ministers of Health, Labour, Aviation, Petroleum (by marriage), Chief of Army Staff and so on, yet nobody complained that the Igbo got too much of the Federal power rations. Neither did your highly placed brethren improve your lot in terms of development.”
He then went on to say that “while other ethnic groups watched and played their politics towards national relevance, we the Igbo got carried away and played politics of the pocket where semi-illiterate moneybags charted the course for us.” He said those who had access to Aso Rock got fat contracts and lied to “the Igbo, who put all their eggs in one fragile basket that had lost form and shape to protect them”. “As the results of those fatal errors set in,” said the gentleman, “the same money-miss-roads are now fanning the embers of seccession as their next meal ticket bargaining chip while the teeming youths they lure with money and lies risk losing everything, including their lives.” There you have it.
A dialogue between Abuja and the pro-Biafra agitators, which will eventually culminate in a general amnesty for the youths in the manner of the former Niger Delta militants’ programme, has been suggested. But there is the postulation that should the government succumb to this subtle pressure, it will get a long list of requests for amnesty by other vociferous and quiet but highly combustible groups. Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), which has not hidden its anger over the loss of the seductive pipeline protection contract. Ombatse, which is yet to explain the disappearance of policemen on a peace mission to its area. Arewa Youths. Egbesu Boys. And more. Soon, amnesty will jam amnesty and there will be general amnesia.
To some of my Igbo friends, the agitation portrays them in a bad light. It is wrong. Damn wrong. The Igbo man has excelled in many fields, including education, medicine, business, sports and many other areas of human advancement. His intelligence, nay perspicacity, is the subject of striking wisecracks.
Consider this, which once appeared on this page: “An Edo man invited his friends to his mother’s burial. After lowering the coffin, the family put yam, rice, meat and other foodstuff in the grave – in line with tradition. A Hausa man asked why. The Edo man smiled and said: ‘According to tradition, the dead go on a long journey and need all the food items they can get.’ The Hausa man dropped N100,000 inside and said, ‘when the food finishes, buy more.’ The Yoruba man dropped N50,000 and said, ‘Add this, in case that is not enough.’ The Igbo man smiled, brought out his cheque book and wrote a cheque of N200,000, dropped it in the coffin and took the N150,000 notes as change,u saying: ‘ Nwanne, withdraw it when you reach there o. It is going to be a dangerous journey. We don’t know how many robbers are out there and, after all, we are in a cashless economy. Travel well oooo!’“
There is enough room for the Igbo talent to find expression and blossom in Nigeria. If there are grievances – aren’t they normal in human relations? – they should be settled within the law. The impetuosity of succession comes with great pains and no gains. We do not need it. Igbo kwenu!
source:
www.thenationonlineng.net/sounds-of-biafra/

President can’t be summoned —Senate
We must reconsider PIB to stop scarcity —Saraki

ABUJA—EFFORTS by senators of the opposition
Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to convince the
Senate to summon President Muhammadu Buhari
to give reasons for the ongoing fuel scarcity in the
country, were frustrated, yesterday, by their
counterparts in the ruling All Progressives
Congress, APC.

The PDP senators, who berated the President’s
handling of current economic situation in the
country, insisted that he be made to a appear
before the Senate to give explanations on the cause
of the fuel scarcity and how he intended to solve
the issue as Minister of Petroleum.

Their frustrated efforts came following a motion,
tagged: “The current fuel scarcity all around the
country and the need to urgently resolve the
crisis,” sponsored by Senator Jibrin Barau, APC,
Kano North and 23 other senators, which was
debated upon.

Speaking through Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, PDP,
Abia South, the opposition senators accused the
President of mismanaging the country’s oil sector,
causing untold hardship for Nigerians, barely six
months after being in the saddle as president.
But the Senate, in a reaction to the development,
said the President could not be summoned even as
Minister of Petroleum.

The red chamber, reacting through its chairman on
Media and Publicity, Aliyu Sabi, insisted that the
fact that the President was overseeing the
Petroleum ministry as a substantive minister, did
not make him to be easily summoned like other
ministers.

Abaribe had, while contributing to the motion, urged
the Senate to summon President Buhari to explain
why the Federal Government was yet to find
solutions to the continued fuel problem in spite of
its claim that the refineries in the country were
working.

He said the unnecessary hardship occasioned by
the scarcity could only be resolved if lawmakers
were adequately briefed on the true state of affairs.
Senator Abaribe‘s submission received wide
support from other PDP senators, as they all hailed
him.

Senator Abaribe supported his call with a prayer for
adoption but it was defeated when the Senate
President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, put it up for a voice
vote.

At this point, the APC Senators, who were more in
number, defeated their PDP colleagues with
overwhelming shout of “yes” against the PDP’s
“nay.”

President cannot be summoned —Senate
Earlier, in his motion, Senator Barau regretted that
Nigerians were going through untold hardship
following the lingering fuel problem.

“We are worried that the scarcity is creating an
untold hardship to our citizens who have to pay
higher prices for these products especially petrol.
We are convinced that the current situation is not
in tune with the desire of the progressively inclined
government to bring succour to Nigerians in all
spheres of their lives,” Senator Jibrin noted.

But at a briefing after the plenary session,
Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and
Publicity, Aliyu Sabi, explained why President
Buhari could not be summoned by the Senate.
He said as the Commander-in-Chief, it was wrong
to invite him to appear before the Senate, despite
the fact that he was the Minister of Petroleum.
Senator Sabi said in the place of President Buhari,
the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr.
Ibe Kachikwu would be summoned to brief the
Senate on plans put in place by the Federal
Government to end the fuel scarcity.

Senator Gbenga Ashafa, APC, Lagos East, while
also contributing, called for the approval of the
supplementary budget which he noted, contained
the amount proposed for payment of subsidy to the
marketers. He pleaded that the issue be treated
with uttermost urgency.

We must reconsider PIB to stop scarcity —Saraki
Meanwhile, Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki,
said the Senate must take the issue of passage of
the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) seriously if
scarcity of petroleum products would end in the
country.

Saraki stated this while commenting on a motion
seeking permanent solution to recurring scarcity of
petroleum products in the country at Senate
plenary.

He said with a law regulating the petroleum
industry, relevant institutions would function
effectively and urged senators not to politicize
issues relating to petroleum products production
and supply as they affected the live of every
Nigerian.

“Scarcity has continued to plague this country and
we must find a lasting solution to this problem,” he
said.

After debate on the motion moved by Sen. Barau
Jibrin (APC Kano North), the senate directed its
Committee on Petroleum Upstream to proffer a
lasting solution to the recurring problem of scarcity
of petroleum products.

The upper chamber sought means of collaboration
with the executive to end the recurring fuel supply
challenge.

It urged the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) to continue its current push to
stem the scarcity, and commended President
Muhammadu Buhari for his commitment in tackling
issues in the sector.

Moving the motion earlier, Jibrin expressed worry
that scarcity, whenever it occurred, brought untold
hardship on Nigerians.

He said that problem was not in line with the goals
of the current administration and as such, urged
the senate to liaise with the executive and other
relevant stakeholders to solve the problem.
In his contribution, Sen. Olugbenga Ashafa (APC
Lagos East) recommended stringent punishment,
including jail term for marketers who hoard
petroleum products.

He said that such marketers contributed in making
the lives of Nigerians more miserable, adding that
their stations should not just be shut ‘’but they
should be jailed”.

“Some marketers derive pleasure in hoarding
petroleum products; if we do not set example with
such people, the dastardly acts of hoarding will
continue.

“Our regulators must ensure that marketers that
are hoarding are not just clamped down on but
prosecuted.

“We must assist Mr President in reviving our ailing
refineries; if our refineries function optimally, we
will not have the problem of scarcity,” he said.
On his part, Sen. Eyinnaya Abaribe, specifically said
that the “senior” minister of petroleum resources
should be summoned to explain the problems with
fuel supply.

The senator questioned why the country still paid
subsidies and experienced long queues when the
present administration had in their campaign
promised to end the problem.

“Many thought there will be no fuel queues under
the APC but we see it everywhere; we are seeking
the approval of over N400billion for payment of
subsidy.

“Change has come but there is no change because
we are still doing the same things; the fuel queues
are still here; the subsidy payment is still there and
there is no hope in sight.

“So we are asking, where is this change?
“We will ask the Minister of Petroleum to come and
tell this senate what the ministry is doing to solve
this problem.

“I support this motion, but I do not support the part
where we are thanking a minister for not solving
the problem,” he said.

Sen. Adamu Aliero (APC Kebbi Central) said that the
issue of deregulation must be revisited if private
investors must delve into local refining of crude.
Sen. Dino Melaye (APC Kogi West) in his
contribution recalled that the cost of crude has
dropped from about 120 dollars per barrel to about
40 dollars per barrel.

He pointed out that the subsidy being paid was
what was owed to oil marketers, and urged that the
issues should not be politicized.

In the meantime, the North East Development
Commission Bill sponsored by Sen. Ali Ndume and
Frivolous Petition Prohibition Bill sponsored by Sen.
Ibn Na’Allah passed first reading at the Senate on
Tuesday.

Also passed for first reading was the National
Youth Service Corps (amendment) Bill, 2015
sponsored by Sen Stella Odua (Anambra North).


source:

www.vanguardngr.com/2015/11/fuel-scarcity-apc-senators-frustrate-move-to-summon-buhari/

Communications Technology Minister Adebayo Shittu yesterday said the Federal Government had no intention of bending the rules to allow MTN go unpunished over the subscriber identity module (SIM) card infractions that earned it a N1.4trillion ($5.2billion) fine.
He, however, said President Muhammadu Buhari has the final say on the fine, adding that the president will apply his wisdom to decide the fate of the telco.
Shittu said the sheer number of pre-registered SIM cards discovered on the network of the telco was alarming and worrisome, arguing that MTN has not disputed the “charge” but had apologised and promised not to do that again. The minister who spoke on the sideline of the meeting of the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4A1), his maiden official visit to Lagos, said: “They (MTN) admitted that they were at fault and they apologised for their role in the whole saga. And they have made a commitment that what happened will never happen again and of course we will take the necessary decision at the appropriate time.
“Nigerians should expect that Mr. President will do the best to ensure that public interest is guaranteed. It is not about the money itself; it is about making sure that Nigerians appreciate (the need to respect the law). I want to repeat this, nobody wants MTN to die. It is not in the interest of Nigeria for MTN Nigeria to die because as far as I am concerned, MTN Nigeria Limited is a Nigerian company. It may have originated from South Africa, but it is a Nigerian company. The Chairman of the board and the Chief Executive Officer are all Nigerians.” The minister who said he is one of MTN customers said the telco is loved by Nigerians and should take further steps to Nigerianise itself by listing on the floor of Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
“Of course, I will advise that to make MTN more Nigerian, they need to make MTN more open their doors to all Nigerians so that they will be more acceptability of MTN. MTN has made great strides, it has virtually opened our eyes to telecommunication benefits. And actually, we love MTN because MTN is part and parcel of the Nigerian dream. There are thousands of Nigerians who earn their living in MTN. More importantly, I am a subscriber of MTN from day one that MTN came to Nigeria and I don’t want to be dispossessed of it. So we don’t want MTN to die but what we are doing can be compared to a parent whose child does something wrong. And you know well that if you spare the rod, you will spoil the child. “MTN is not the only operator that is in Nigeria. Other operators have complied and if we don’t punish infractions, then you give a signal to other operators that they too could do same. And that means that it doesn’t pays to be obedient to the laws and regulations. I pray that the issue will be resolved in the best interest of the country by Mr. President,” he said.
He said the recent decision of Nigeria Governors’ Forum on the issue will not sway President Buhari’s decision on the matter, adding that the issue is like a court’s judgment which required the decision of a superior court to be vacated.
“The President will take the best decision. It is his responsibility and I am very sure that in his wisdom, he would do what is right. Whether Governors take a position or not, laws have been established about how to deal with an issue like this. It is just like a judgment. If a judge gives a judgment on any matter, the judgment remains valid, whether somebody says otherwise or not, his judgment would be upheld.
“Of course if you go on appeal, the court where you appeal may decide to review the earlier judgment. But until that is done, the judgment remains the judgment,” he said adding that the decision of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on the fine remained sacrosanct.

source:
www.thenationonlineng.net/5-2b-fine-buhari-to-determine-mtns-fate/

I also happen to knw a few friends on the Mobile Terror Network (mtn), who refuse to put on their data at all bc once they do, mb will be left untouched until their airtime is cleared..

Na life be this

Seriously.. does one gain anything by taking lives in cold blood and sending shivers down the spine of every Tom, Dick and Harry??

Africa’s prime fashion event, the two-yearly FIMA
festival in Niger, was called off Tuesday on the
eve of its launch over fears of terror attacks, Niger
designer Alphadi announced.
“The Niger
government has decided to postpone this 10th
edition of FIMA due to events in Diffa (southeast
Niger), Mali, Chad, Cameroon, France,” said
Alphadi, a prominent couturier whose real name is
Seidnaly Sidhamed.


Due to have gathered some 1,000 designers,
models and fashion types from 40 nations for
Africa’s November 25-29 fashion week, the
festival will take place “very soon”, he added
without giving a date. Armed jihadists and suicide
bombers from Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamist
group have staged repeated attacks since
February in Niger’s southeast Diffa region near
Nigeria, leaving hundreds of people dead.
Alphadi, whose collections feature worldwide, said
the postponement also aimed to show
“compassion” for neighbouring Mali, in national
mourning after an attack on a luxury hotel last
week that left 19 people dead. First held in 1998,
the Niger fashion get-together gathers buyers and
stylists as well as showcasing the latest creations
in African sculpture, art and jewellery.

Musicians and sports VIPs also attend.
Professional footballers Samuel Eto’o from
Cameroon and Ivorian Yaya Toure were expected
for this year’s launch in Niger’s biggest
stadium.

The last 2013 edition was held under tight
security in fear of an attack by the Al-Qaeda
Islamic Maghreb (AQMI).


source: www.vanguardngr.com/2015/11/africas-top-fashion-event-called-off-over-terror-fears/

Are you a United fan?? what do you think about CR7 going back to Man UTD
Louis van Gaal says he hopes Cristiano Ronaldo returns to Manchester United and the Real Madrid star's future has come under scrutiny again following their 4-0 humliation against Barcelona in El Clasico last Saturday.
Ronaldo left Old Trafford for £80m in 2009 having scored 118 goals for the club and many fans long for the No.7 to return -- but not everyone is keen on seeing the Ronaldo back in Manchester.

www.espn.go.com/soccer/blogs/blogpost?w=1fqme&i=TOP&id=2724151&topslot=1&wjb=

worlexy:
NCC has finally woke up from their slumber. See NCC, listen, one more thing I want you to do is to stop those service providers from calling me with spam numbers that they use to advertise rubbish to me ears

my dear...u are not alone.
its a daily experience.

"If thses is nt mere noise makin it wud be a most welcom development,ds netwrks providers are Corporate armed rubbers.I cnt even calculate hw msh,de av Scrupolously deducted frm my acc."


Yea...I hope they go ahead with them.
these guys need to follow regulations.

When you witness such a lop-sided Clasico, the focus inevitably shifts to what went wrong for the loser. And make no mistake about it, plenty did go wrong for Real Madrid. We'll get to that but first, it's worth putting some of what Barcelona achieved Saturday into context. Hindsight is always 20/20 but you would have assumed that Lionel Messi would have been foaming at the mouth to get on the pitch from the very first minute. He hadn't played in nearly two months and, by all accounts, had worked well on his fitness over the international break. Then there's what happened the last time Messi was left out. You remember, don't you? The defeat at Real Sociedad, the sudden stomach ache, the supposed emergency talks... it nearly derailed Luis Enrique's tenure. Playing it safe would likely have meant playing him from the start. After all, Barca's next fixtures are a virtually meaningless UCL group game against Roma at the Camp Nou, the visit of Real Sociedad and another home date against third-tier Vilanovense. Should anything go wrong, you wouldn't really need him anyway for another couple of weeks. Instead Luis Enrique showed courage and character in putting him on the bench, bringing him on early in the second half. Barca had been flying without their best player and they would keep flying him without him, at least for a little while. Not only that, he also reworked his personnel. Instead of Munir or Sandro, Sergi Roberto became the third prong in attack with Neymar and Luis Suarez, while Andres Iniesta filled a play-making role on the center left. Barca were devastating -- the 4-0 win doesn't fully reflect their superiority on the day. Suarez and Neymar didn't just continue their scoring spree, they moved and created with a combination of selflessness and intelligence that was in stark contrast to what was happening on the opposite front. They were blue-collar superstars on the day while Iniesta turned back the clock, dispensing assists and magic at every turn. It's easy to point to Madrid's shortcomings, easier still to simply explain Barca's dominance through the lens of their individual talent. But that would also mean selling them short. This was a team performance made possible by Luis Enrique's scheme and the work done on the training pitch. With a six-point lead in La Liga, a return leg at the Camp Nou and a relatively soft fixture list for the next two months (the one exception, possibly, the trip to Valencia), Messi can now be eased back into a Barca side that appears to have banished the "Messi-dependent" tag once and for all. Many people to blame for Real Madrid's capitulation As for Real Madrid, where to begin? Maybe with the fact that there are no excuses. Of the 13 players who took the pitch, only two (Raphael Varane and James Rodriguez) were away on international duty. The rest had plenty of time to prepare for the game. If you don't buy the narrative in which president Florentino Perez is exerting undue influence on Rafa Benitez, a lot of the blame must then fall on the manager. Playing what my colleague Sid Lowe described as a 6-0-4 formation against this Barcelona side is like racing NASCAR without brakes while on drugs: you won't necessarily crash and be turned into a little puddle of oil, but the odds are stacked against you. If you leave four guys standing around up the pitch, force Toni Kroos and Luka Modric to drop deeper and deeper and give Ivan Rakitic and Iniesta all the time in the world to find Suarez and Neymar, you'll pay a hefty price. We've been here before. Other than Danilo (who was horrendous) at right-back, these are the same outfield players that Carlo Ancelotti had to deal with last year. He put them in a slightly more conventional 4-3-3 and somehow persuaded Kroos, Modric, James and Karim Benzema to sacrifice themselves for the cause. It worked for a while and then stopped working, mainly because footballers aren't machines and you can only expect attacking players to run themselves into the ground defensively for so long. But while it worked, it at least allowed Madrid to keep Bale and Ronaldo in the lineup even when they did little off the ball. Benitez has the same problem, only without Ancelotti's "horse-whisperer" ability to manage superstar egos, and his solution made things worse. There may be a parallel universe where Bale can play productively in the congested spaces patrolled by Sergio Busquets and Rakitic, but it's not this one. The moment James was moved out wide, he stopped tracking back, though he was less awful than the others on the ball. Out on the other flank, Ronaldo was even more isolated: he'd end up with fewer touches than Keylor Navas. And Benzema clearly wasn't ready, whatever the reason. It's hard to accept that Benitez didn't see this. He built his entire career on balance and tactical nous and we know that in previous games against opponents who didn't have an Iniesta or a Neymar, he often deployed Casemiro to protect the back four. Not in the Clasico. Not this time -- he played the big guns in positions where (you'd assume) Perez would play them in a game of FIFA 16. The premise was that Real Madrid needed to be more attacking, but you're not more attacking if your creators in midfield are pinned back by endless grunt work. And you're not more attacking if your stellar forward quartet rarely see a decent ball. Did Benitez play this line-up because he thought it would give Madrid the best possible chance of winning? Or did he do it because he thought it's what his boss wanted? That's the million dollar question. Liverpool were superb but why were Man City so bad? Once again, Jurgen Klopp was careful to dampen enthusiasm following Liverpool's 4-1 win at Manchester City. His message was basically "don't expect this every week." Not for now, at least. He's right. Liverpool were utterly devastating and could easily have doubled their score. The high- octane counter-pressing was straight out of the early Klopp playbook, the one with Robert Lewandowski, Shinji Kagawa and Kuba Blaszczykowski hunting down opponents and making them pay. And at the right times, we also saw the front men standing off their opponents, in part to recapture their breath, in part to suck them forward before battering them again with the press. Adam Lallana, James Milner and Philippe Coutinho in particular appear to have spent the break absorbing Klopp's concepts. But before we get carried away, we ought to point out that this was also the worst Manchester City performance in a long, long time. I don't know that a Vincent Kompany-Nicolas Otamendi partnership would have turned in a Keystone Kops routine like the one submitted by Eliaquim Mangala and Martin Demichelis. Yaya Toure probably had his worst half as a City player (and he's had a fair few off- days). And sure, they missed David Silva and Fernandinho (the latter only came on at half-time). Conventional wisdom says that when faced with the high press, you either play through it (if you have the personnel to do it, and maybe on the day City did not) or you hit it long, whether for a target man (which City don't have) or into space for your speedsters to latch on to (City do have those in the form of Jesus Navas, Kun Aguero and Raheem Sterling). But City did none of that and Manuel Pellegrini will want to figure out why it all fell apart. You can scapegoat Demichelis and Mangala all you like but the problems were elsewhere and they weren't just about personnel. Mancini's making real progress with Inter On the evidence of the past few Inter Milan games, Roberto Mancini gets it. He knows that performances matter more than results when it comes to assessing the health of your team and he didn't let the string of 1-0 victories fool him. The Inter boss has regularly changed scheme and personnel over the past month in an effort to find the right formula and he did it again on Sunday night against Frosinone. The scheme changed from 3-5-2 to 4-2-3-1. Out went Rodrigo Palacio, Gary Medel, Juan Jesus and Danilo D'Ambrosio; in came Adem Ljajic, Stevan Jovetic, Alex Telles and Jonathan Biabiany. In went four goals against Frosinone, with none conceded at the other end. It's baby steps, sure, but admittedly against a buccaneering Frosinone side who concede space, it looked as if things were clicking. Just as they had, with a different set-up in previous games. And still, Mancini changed things around. There are fewer question marks surrounding this Inter side than there were a month ago and that's a credit to the manager. The real test will come next Monday when they travel to the San Paolo to take on second-place Napoli. Leicester deserve to be leading the league Yep, Leicester City are top of the Premier League. Since April 1 they've played 25 games in all competitions, winning 17, drawing six and losing just two. Nobody has done better in England; in fact, across Europe, only Barcelona (2.38 points per game) have had a better run than the Foxes (2.28) during that period. I hope to get into this some more detail at some point, but what's been annoying is the absolute gob-smacking surprise expressed by some commentators. Leicester were very good even before their strong run at the end of last season: simply put, they had played much better than their results. Nigel Pearson left in the summer but he wasn't replaced by some schlub. The guy who took over, Claudio Ranieri, is a hugely experienced manager who, in his last Premier League season, finished second and came within a couple of bonehead decisions (by him) of reaching the Champions League final. Since then, he's had his lows: getting sacked by Valencia, failing to make an impact at Inter Milan (not that he's the only one to do so), failing to win any of his four games as manager of Greece. But he's also had undeniable highs: leading Parma to a great escape from relegation, taking over a newly promoted Juventus side and finishing third, coming within a whisker of winning the Double with Roma (in what would turn out to be Jose Mourinho's Treble-winning season, no less), winning promotion with Monaco and then finishing runner- up behind Paris St. Germain. Most importantly, Leicester got themselves a guy who is a pragmatist, someone who knows when not to mess with stuff that ain't broken and who knows how to fix stuff that is. Rather than overhauling Leicester, he tweaked them. And he's been rewarded by results. Celebrate Vardy, but also pre-Premier League football Speaking of Leicester, Jamie Vardy has scored in 10 consecutive games, equalling Ruud Van Nistelrooy's mark. Obviously, that's the Premier League record, not the English top-flight record. The guy who holds that mark, Jimmy Dunne, set it some 84 years ago for Sheffield United and it's simply a less sexy story to say that Vardy is chasing a record set by someone most have never heard of while playing for a club several magnitudes smaller than Manchester United. The Premier League loves to emphasize its "otherness" from what came before. (That's why, no doubt, many more people know that the Premier League's all-time goalscorer, with 260 goals, is Alan Shearer and fewer remember Jimmy Greaves, who notched 357.) But that doesn't mean the rest of us need to follow suit. There was football before the Premier League. And even the argument that the Premier League was somehow superior to what came before -- and I'm not sure it was, for a long time (Dunne's time, in fact) the English league was far and away the best in Europe, something that can't be said for its current incarnation -- doesn't quite hold water. It's not as if somebody flicked a switch in 1992. The Premier League too has evolved. By all means celebrate Vardy even if he doesn't break the record. But don't forget Dunne. Or Greaves. Or Dixie Dean and his 60 goals in 1927-28. Or Peter Shilton's 849 appearances in the English top flight. Violence still exists in modern football At times, particularly those who follow this sport through the lens of TV, can tend to think that there's a visceral, sometimes violent subtext that for better or worse is part of the game's history, at least in Europe. We were reminded of that this past weekend. A West Ham supporter was stabbed outside White Hart Lane, some 200 fans were arrested after vicious fighting before Bayern's game away to Schalke and, in Athens, the big derby between Panathinaikos and Olympiacos was called off after Alfred Finnbogason was hit by a flare and fans invaded the pitch. Let this serve as a reminder. There are many different reasons why we're drawn to the game. For many, there's a strong element of tribalism and for some, there's the allure of violence, especially the kind which they believe they can get away with. The antiseptic corporate veneer that has descended on this game hasn't changed that. Lukaku's form causes further insult to Chelsea Romelu Lukaku's two strikes in Everton's 4-0 hammering of Aston Villa launched the Toffees into seventh place and took his career total to 51 Premier League goals. It's telling to note the guys in the Premier League era who hit the half-century mark at a younger age: Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. Equally remarkable is the fact that this is Lukaku's fifth season in England but he made just one start (and eight appearances in total) during his first campaign back in 2011-12. It doesn't necessarily mean he'll hit the heights of the other four, of course, but it speaks to the fact that he's been productive as he's matured and that's a rarity for young center-forwards. There's so much focus on his size, which is understandable, but in fact his movement and awareness are what set him apart. Chelsea made his loan deal permanent back in the summer of 2014 when they acquired Diego Costa to be their main center-forward. Given that Costa has missed nearly a third of Chelsea's league starts as a result of injuries and suspensions and given the fact that his understudies (Didier Drogba, Radamel Falcao and Loic Remy) haven't exactly set the world alight, you wonder if maybe they wish they could have that one back. Scolari continues to rebuild his reputation It's not a bad way to bounce back. Five-hundred and one days after the darkest night of his career -- the 7-1 thumping at the hands of Germany in the World Cup semifinal -- Luiz Felipe Scolari made history. "Felipao" guided Guangzhou to the Asian Champions' League final. The Chinese champions beat the United Arab Emirates' Al Ahli 1-0 on aggregate and the previous month, he had won the Chinese title. It doesn't begin to wipe the memory of the darkest day in the history of the Selecao (and Scolari's role in it) but the victory makes him only the second manager ever, after Marcello Lippi, to win the World Cup as well as the Champions League or its equivalent in two different continents. Coquelin injury hurts Arsenal more than defeat Arsenal conceded one shot on goal and somehow contrived to lose 2-1 at West Bromwich Albion. When you lose in those circumstances -- a botched penalty, an own goal -- it's not the end of the world. But you do wonder about how Francis Coquelin's injury (he won't be back before January) will affect matters. And even more, you wonder how it's possible that a team like Arsenal find themselves so dependent on Coquelin, a guy who 12 months ago was, to most neutrals, an obscure jobber on loan at a second-tier side.
m.espn.go.com/soccer/blogs/blogpost?w=1fqiy&i=TOP&id=2724155&topslot=1&wjb=

Mobile Networks and Unsolicited text messages.


I'm pretty sure dis ain't a new topic on NL, but sometimes I just keep wondering why it seems these guys don't respect our privacy.

Getting all these telemarketing messages & calls, from mtn, Airtel and d others makes me jst want to break these Sims but for my contacts.

I can't remember how many numbers I've tried to block with my antivirus app..but each day new ones appear, & just whn u're expecting something useful, these nonsense messages fly in.

what do we do

After I got another one dis morning, I called 180, & then 181 for mtn & I discovered that d option to speak with a customer care rep wasn't available... cos I was meaning to warn dem (if at all it would hv any effect) to remove my numbers (two) from those database of unsolicited messages.

0708 060 4002
0708 060 4005
3866984336
2 478 3564
50 017
2707....etc
these are just 6 out of the 105 dat hv been bombing me with useless msgs plus ones I've deleted.


Seriously, its not a crime to be on theses networks Abeg.

mods pls, dnt knw if I've posted at d right section.

There's a very big difference btw loyalty and foolishness..
What those senators exhibited is d latter.
where it to be in developed climes, the man shld have been forced to step down to clear his name, rather what we see here are a bunch of senators who no longer seem to be able to say their right from left trooping around with som1 with hefty corruption cases hanging on his neck..


kai, if say my popsy follow for dat charade, I go send him back to nursery schl.

Can't comment....










my hands are tied. Can't comment....










my hands are tied.

So they waited for the man to run away from B4 they can declare him wanted??

that man became a wanted man the moment he tapped what does not belong to him.

Whose report shall we believe?

Dats d scenario dat arises after doing it 'raw'...now d poor boy is distraught.. walahi!!











Naija men: bad since d fall of Adam.

.

Our politicians are experts in using the courts to truncate justice...
its just simple; bring in a powerful deity like okija.. or or one frm d Yoruba & see how he will accept all 13 charges..its time we end this useless games they play with our collective future.

Let's leave all these trash...a diabetic and hypertensive man can't even be d security man for a government owned secondary schl not to talk of being a CSO...lawyers are the reason dis anti-corruption fight isn't yielding results most time...make him die thr nah, if he's hypertensive.. Nonsense!!!!

Boss, una get neat used HP probook 4540s? if yes I'm strongly interested....currently in Enugu

do u have HP probook 4540s core i3, (neatly used system) & how much does it go?