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Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been accused of hacking into the email accounts of rivals and journalists.
The CEO of the world's most successful social networking website was accused of at least two breaches of privacy in a series of articles run by BusinessInsider.com.
As part of a two-year investigation detailing the founding of Facebook, the magazine uncovered what it claimed was evidence of the hackings in 2004.
In the first instance, it said that, when Zuckerberg discovered that Harvard's student newspaper The Crimson was planning on running an article on him in 2004, he used reporters' Facebook logins to hack into their accounts.
In the second instance, the magazine claimed Zuckerberg hacked into the accounts of rivals at Harvard who accused him of stealing their idea for a social network. He then allegedly tried to sabotage the rival network they had set up.
Business Insider claimed that Zuckerberg learned The Crimson was planning to write an article on him when he was called in for an interview in 2004.
The newspaper was investigating allegations by other Harvard students that Zuckerberg had stolen their social networking idea - allegations that are now well-documented and became the subject of a $65million legal suit.
In 2004, however, Facebook - which now boasts over 400million users around the world and is an incorporated company worth millions - was still just a network confined to Harvard students known as TheFacebook.com.
At the time, Zuckerberg was involved in a now well-publicised dispute with three other Harvard students who had originally asked him to help them create an online social network.
Business Insider chronicles the dispute in detail as part of its main article on the founding of Facebook.
The other Harvard students - Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss, and Divya Narendra - had accused Zuckerberg of intentionallly misleading them about his willingness to help them build their website, HarvardConnection.com.
They had approached the student newspaper, the Crimson, about their accusations.
On hearing their claims, Crimson reporters then spoke to Zuckerberg about the allegations, Business Insider said.
Zuckerberg was apparently able to convince the newspaper that he network he was building differed substantially to HarvardConnection.com, which he viewed primarily as a dating website. The newspaper pulled the story.
Harvard Univeristy
Claims: Harvard University, where the student newspaper was planning on running an article on Zuckerberg
However after further claims emerged, Zuckerberg apparently became anxious that the paper would run a story on him after all.
Business Insider claimed he then told a friend how he had hacked into the accounts of Crimson staff.
He allegedly told the friend that he used TheFacebook.com to search for members who said they were Crimson staff.
Then, he allegedly examined a report of failed logins to see if any of the Crimson members had ever entered an incorrect password into TheFacebook.com.
In the instances where they had, Business Insider claimed that Zuckerberg said he tried using those incorrect passwords to access the Crimson members' Harvard email accounts.
In two instances, the magazine claimed, he succeeded - and was able to read emails between Crimson staff discussing the possibility of writing an article on the accusations surrounding him.
'In other words,' Business Insider claimed, 'Mark appears to have used private login data from TheFacebook to hack into the separate email accounts of some TheFacebook users'.
It would not be the only time that Zuckerberg breached privacy, Business Insider claimed.
In a separate article in the series, the magazine alleged that Zuckerberg had also hacked into his rivals at HarvardConnection.com - which, by May of 2004, had been renamed 'ConnectU'.
Although Facebook was already wildly popular by the summer of 2004 - reaching a million users by the fall - Zuckerberg, the magazine claimed, was still concerned about his competition.
Those concerns, it was alleged, led him to hack in to ConnectU's site and make changes to multiple user profiles - including one of its founders and the fellow student accusing him of stealing the ideas for Facebook, Cameron Winklevoss.
Facebook
Social networking: The Facebook site is now used by more than 400million people worldwide
Business Insider alleged that Zuckerberg created a fake account filled with fake information for Winklevoss.
It also alleged that he logged into the accounts of some ConnectU users and changed their privacy settings to invisible - apparently making it harder for people to find friends on the network.
Eventually, the magazine claimed, Zuckerberg deactivated at least 20 ConnectU accounts entirely.
Business Insider admitted it was not clear how Zuckerberg could have hacked into the ConnectU accounts.
When Facebook was approached about the allegations in the Business Insider articles, the company told Mail Online: 'We’re not going to debate the disgruntled litigants and anonymous sources who seek to rewrite Facebook’s early history or embarrass Mark Zuckerberg with dated allegations.
'The unquestioned fact is that since leaving Harvard for Silicon Valley nearly six years ago, Mark has led Facebook's growth from a college website to a global service playing an important role in the lives of over 400 million people.'
However the magazine also claimed that a source close to the company said it was the fallout from instances such as these - as well as the expensive litigation with ConnectU - that has shaped Facebook's current privacy policies.
Fears over privacy present one of Facebook's biggest challenges, with the company coming under fire from users almost every time it makes a change to its privacy policies.
After its investigation, Business Insider concluded that Zuckerberg had led his ConnectU rivals on regarding his own intentions of building a social network.
But the magazine said that, in light of the fact that Zuckerberg appeared to consider the two networks as two separate things, and that he had never signed a contract with Connect U, the $65million settlement eventually paid to ConnectU was over the top.
The alleged hackings detailed above, however, it claimed were far 'more troubling'.
The claims will be read with interest by the millions of Facebook users concerned about their privacy - but the full fallout still remains to be seen.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1255888/Facebook-founder-Mark-Zuckerberg-hacked-emails-rivals-journalists.html#ixzz0hPYoloiW

A computer-addicted couple let their real life baby starve to death while they raised a virtual daughter online, police said today.
The couple spent 12 hours a night at internet cafes while their three-month-old daughter was left home alone at their apartment in Suwon, South Korea. They were arrested today.
Police said they had become hooked on living online and were raising an avatar daughter through their profiles on a Second Life-style game called PRIUS.
The multi-role playing game allows users to choose a job, interact with others in the virtual world and earn an extra avatar to nurture once they reach a certain level.
korea
Popular: South Koreans play online at a computer cafe in Seoul. The country is reeling after a couple were arrested for allowing their baby daughter to starve to death after spending 12 hours in a similar cafe
Father Kim Yoo-chul, 41, and mother Choi Mi-sun, 25, called police when they returned from one overnight, 12-hour session and found their daughter dead.
'They called in last September to report that they found their daughter dead after coming back home in the morning,' Detective Chung Jin-Won of the Suwon Seobu Police Station said.
'They had spent 12 hours, all night at a PC bang (a Korean internet café)'.
Officers became suspicious of how severely dehydrated the child was and have charged the couple with child abuse and neglect.
An autopsy confirmed she died of malnourishment.
Police said the Kims had become so obsessed with the daughter they were raising online that they appeared to have not taken their responsibility to their real daughter seriously.
The couple confessed they had fed the child rotten powdered milk and often spanked her,
Worried about their addiction to the games, Kim's parents had been taking care of the baby - but, tragically, had returned her to her mother and father just two weeks before she died.
The couple met in 2008 on an internet chat site, it was claimed.
Online games are massively popular in South Korea, with professional gamers becoming celebrities through live televised tournaments.
But critics say the popularity, which also nets huge profits for tech companies, comes at a steep price, with ever more bizarre incidents hitting the headlines.
A 28-year-old man dropped dead recently after playing his favourite game Starcraft for 50 hours non-stop without eating and drinking.
In another incident, a gamer, enraged that an opponent had killed the character he had put so much effort into creating, quickly found out his adversary's location through a chat built into the game, took a taxi across town and stabbed him.

Hundreds of illegal migrants were regularly dispatched to Britain from France as part of a discounted 'bulk service' provided by people smugglers, it emerged today.
The £7000-a-head scam saw foreigners transported to Channel ports like Calais and Cherbourg, where they were encouraged to jump aboard lorries heading for England on masse.
The vast numbers of migrants playing cat-and-mouse with the police caused widespread confusion, meaning hundreds could get to the UK, where they claimed asylum or disappeared into the black economy.
French police arrest illegal immigrants at the port town of Cherbourg.
French police arrest illegal immigrants at the port town of Cherbourg. New details about how the people-trafficking system works have emerged today
Others paid up to £14,000 for a 'bespoke service' which involved traveling with false papers inside a camper van driven by one of the smugglers. In this case swift entry to Britain was all but guaranteed.
Details of the ease with which the smugglers regularly evaded British customs and security checks emerged on the first day of a Paris trial which saw 28 smugglers from the so-called 'Baghdad Ring' go on trial at the city's Criminal Correctional Court.
All of the defendants, who are aged from 22 to 49 and from countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan, face up to 10 years in prison for criminal conspiracy and working as an organised gang 'to facilitate illegal entry and residency in France'.
Those transported came from northern Iraq, central Asia, the Indian sub continent, and China.
Their long journeys towards the UK often saw them travel through European countries like Italy and Greece where 'technically' they should have been returned if arrested.
Instead investigating judges Corinne Goetzmann and Patrick Gachon revealed how the men were able 'to saturate' port towns like Calais with migrants, mainly because none were ever held in custody by the police.
'Depending on their final destination - the United Kingdom or Ireland for one of the branches of the enterprise, and Scandanavian countries for the other, they were transported by road, by train and by boat to the country of their choice' said Judge Gachon.
He said Calais and Cherbourg were particularly popular with the smugglers because of their close proximity to the south coast of England, with at least 1000 migrants paying for the 'bulk service' in between 2007 and mid 2008 alone.
If migrants were initially caught trying to leap aboard lorries specially selected by the smugglers, French police simply let them free so that they could try again later.
'The two services were distinct,' said another French judicial source involved in the case.
'The bulk service was the cheapest, while the more costly one involved migrants being driven over by a paid associate of the gang. This service was pretty much guaranteed.'
Last June police from 10 European countries arrested 105 people as part of the operation to dismantle the Baghdad Ring, making it the biggest joint operation against illegal immigration staged by the European Union.
France's immigration minister Eric Besson has pledged to make ports like Calais 'watertight' to illegal migrants, although there are currently some 1500 people sleeping rough in the area as they try to get to Britain.
The Paris trial is set to run until March 26, with similar ones being held in Belgium, Germany and Holland. The case continues.

I am sure you heard this statement before: "There is no true love." I have heard it so many times that I wonder how people came to such dangerous conclusions. But on a closer look, one will find that such statements are made by those who have tasted the ugly side of relationships, or have been knocked off the mountain of adoration into an emotional roller coasters. It is normal that after bad experiences you begin to ask yourself questions of self examination. Love also has had its take by all those who have claimed to encountered it at one point or the other, and what they make of it is usually a result of the kind of experiences they had in their past or present relationships. Whatever the take on the matter, the truth is that love cannot be qualified or quantified. It is what it is. It cannot be greater or less, it comes in a static form and has no superlative. So one cannot have more love or less love, you simply have 'love'. So the question of whether there is true love is off point, because the most sensible thing to ask is whether there is love at all. But since that cannot be disproved, then the issue must be dropped. There is love and many will and are encountering it.

But what concerns me most today is the extent to which people have started appending love to be an article of commercial value. Somehow this key virtue, which is mankind’s only gift to make the world livable, has been given a financial rating by many around the world. Therefore what now determines if two people agree to walk together is determined by what extent they can meet each others needs financially and not be a burden. If there is an indication of monetary capability, then ‘love’ is given an opportunity to express itself. I have often sampled the opinion of a few young persons on this matter, especially young women. I do this just to keep abreast with the predominant thinking in the world system so I know at what point to challenge and pull down wrong mindsets. The responses I have gotten often includes “…and he must be rich”. This usually follows “…he must be handsome and educated”. But of course you can deduce easily that the “rich” part is the most important consideration before love is given a chance. Others will put it bluntly, “will I eat love?” Others would say “I have suffered enough in life, and I can’t take it anymore.” So there is this on going process whereby love has become monetized.

The whole thing seems very funny when you think about it, but it gets serious when you consider how many young women these days place that as a stringent condition that must be met in any man they must stay with. You will be surprised that even young men now target ladies that are on the upper echelon of the economic stratification, simply because they want to attain or maintain a ‘good’ life. While it is not bad to want to marry a rich man or woman, but when such consideration comes to play, we should remember that love is a personality and can determine where it is appreciated and where it is stifled. Even today parents are the ones pushing their children measure worth by the amount of money their suitors posses. Nothing wrong with this, but placing the cart before the Horse gives the Horse a reason to back out. For example we followed a friend of mine to the Igbo territory to fulfill traditional requirement for his wedding. We had to cough out about 80,000 bucks to the parents and family. Very shameful that this is how parents are gradually monetizing love in our society.

altIn church I attended several years ago, a young lady I know of was at a stage in her life where she wanted to get married badly, and the guy she was engaged with was still crawling financially. Then appeared a knight in shining amour, who promised heaven and earth. And after a ride in a nice air conditioned automoblie (yes…it wasn’t a motorcar), and a couple of dinners and gifts, she projected her mind into the future and decided that she didn’t want to continue struggling with her boyfriend. She left and married Mr. Fantastic. We all went for the wedding and celebrated with her, and consoled the unfortunate brother. Well, a fews years later, after 2 children for her husband, she was needing serious counselling because her husband is a dangerous flirt. The problem is that he doesn’t even hide it. He shoves it on her face and tells her that as long as he is providing for her, she should allow him have his peace. It was a sad case, very sad case. At the time of her saga, the unfortunate brother who lost out had decided to get married to another lady in church who didn’t mind his state. He has two kids as well. He was still not up there financially at that time. But last year, this brother who has been a Secondary school teacher most of his working life got a major sponsorship from a bank for an idea he had. Today, 18 months after his idea came to the fore in Nigeria, he sold it to a huge company and made money he can’t spend in 50 years. The last I heard of that lady is that she is living in hell with that guy whom she followed off.

The problem is that many more are falling into this category and making terrible mistakes when it comes to this issue. Somehow society have made us impetuous to the point that we throw caution to the wind for temporary comfort without a care to wonder on the implications of our actions. With the rising taste and more enlightenment in society, no one wants to struggle or muggle through life. What’s most annoying is that young people don’t want to work hard anymore, but want to make it and make it fast. So consequently, our young ladies are scanning their suitors for the virus of poverty, while hold the ace of love as an offering to the highest bidder.I can imagine the amount of heart breaks people are going to have to deal with. The truth is that they will suddenly come to realize that comfort and purchasing power have little implication in a relationship. What’s worse is that when there is a lot of money, you find other kinds of dangerous characteristics such as greed, pride, disrespect, mistrust, stubbornness and the like. We even see that many more women are of the opinion that you should not have a joint account with your husband, because men just can’t be trusted with money. It really takes high levels of self control and a correct perception of wealth for money not to have a negative impact on the life of a family or a relationship. But love is the vital ingredient that guarantees success in a relationship, and it comes after you have decided to walk purposefully with a another person.

Now, when a person tells me I love him or her, I gauge the financial posture of the object of love. And a lot of time, such confessions of love is directly correlated to the possessions at hand. Now love is an exchange for dole and this is what I call the monetization of love. It is an unfortunate development, but a real situation that people must be warned of. In fact some have already built for themselves a class of friends who are exclusively in the higher social status, so as to protect their choices from falling below standard. How sad. True riches lie in the passion in a person’s eyes, in the motivation of his actions, and in the drive of his vision. And besides, who tells us that conditions are permanent? People rise and people fall. So does wealth come and go. So if you base your choice on money, then know that you have also sold yourself and your conscience. I wonder how many people reading this are not already monetizing their love? hmmmm……

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/guest-articles/the-monetization-of-love.html

To all appearances, the Reverend Anthony Quarco was a respectable pillar of the community.
As well as running a church, he worked as a frontline airport immigration officer and volunteered as a Metropolitan Police special constable.
But yesterday, the father of two was unmasked as 'the most dishonest man in Britain' and jailed for nine years for smuggling hordes of illegal migrants into the country in exchange for nearly £150,000.
Croydon Crown Court heard that former asylum seeker Quarco used the cover of the church to write letters supporting immigration bids, charging £4,000 a time to claim applicants were church fundraisers or choir members.
Meanwhile, he used his job at Luton Airport to issue fake passports, and even smuggled a man into the country under his own name.
Quarco's extraordinary story can be told for the first time after a jury found him guilty yesterday of 14 immigration offences.
These included misconduct in public office, money laundering of £143,955, facilitating the breach of immigration law by a non-EU national and possession of false ID documents with intent.
Jonathan Polnay, prosecuting, said: 'If I was to describe this case in a sentence I would say it is about the activities of a man who has shown by what he has done that he could quite possibly be the most dishonest man in Britain.
'This image of the hardworking public servant, the religious man, who selflessly serves and protects this country, is nothing more than a front.'
Quarco, then known as Mashudo Brisco Ndou, claimed asylum in Britain in 1995 after arriving from Ethiopia with a Liberian ID card.
By the time he was made a UK citizen in 2005, he had changed his name to Anthony Davis Quarco, and founded 'The Gift of God Zion Training Church' in Brixton.
Mr Polnay said: 'Whilst there was undoubtedly some worship going on, the main purpose for Mr Quarco was to line his pockets with the proceeds of illegal immigration.'
In March 2006 Quarco began work at Luton Airport and by 2008 he was part of the Immigration Service's Criminal Investigation Team.
His scam was uncovered on March 6, 2009, when police raided his two properties, in Croydon and South Norwood.
Along with £5,000 in cash and some 14 false passports, they found a Ghanaian passport under the name of Anthony Mawuli Quarco, bearing Quarco's own passport office stamp.
When police tracked this 'Quarco' down, he told them his real name was John Peprah and he had paid Quarco £4,000 to enter the UK.
Sentencing, Judge John Anderson said: 'These offences struck at the heart of the immigration system of this country. This was deliberate and calculated defiance of the immigration laws of this country of which you were well aware.

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Like thousands of primary school children, Paula and Peter Imafidon will today find out the name of their secondary school. Unlike their classmates, the twins will be ripping open the envelope safe in the knowledge that they will be two years younger than their peers and have already passed their maths A-levels.

The achievement of the nine-year-old prodigies, who set a new world record when they glided through their A-levels at the age of seven, is all the more remarkable given that they both attend a normal state primary school in one of London's more deprived boroughs and, in contrast to many precociously talented youngsters, have not been tutored at home.

As a result, the twins and their parents, from Walthamstow, north-east London, will be spared the ordeal faced by an estimated 100,000 children during today's National Offer Day when they find out they do not have a place at their first-choice school. Instead, Paula and Peter have received provisional offers from 12 leading schools eager to secure their attendance.

Their father, Chris, a Nigerian-born eye specialist, said he did not expect the age difference with their classmates when they start at their new school to unduly affect them. He said: "Because they are twins they have each other so they are always able to help and support each other. We're delighted with the progress they have made."

The twins' eldest sister, Anne-Marie, 20, set a record for the youngest person to pass A-level computing at 13 and won a scholarship to America.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/talented-twins-win-secondary-school-places-aged-9-1913665.html

NIGERIA DEMOCRATIC LIBERTY FORUM (NDLF)

PRESS RELEASE:

THE NIGERIA PEOPLES' PARLIAMENT IN NEW YORK

New York, NY March 1st 2010: As we continue to grapple with the fall outs of failed leadership in Nigeria, Nigerians are continuously disillusioned about the future of the country. 'Elected' officials have betrayed public trust and the people have lost hope in a country that was once so promising. Those who swore to uphold the constitution have observed this sacred duty in the breach!

The "Nigeria Peoples Parliament" would be attended by a cross section of Nigerians from all walks of life who would be deliberating on a plethora of issues affecting the country. It would be an opportunity to demonstrate to Nigerian public officials how the business of the people should be conducted. We hope to rise from this event with a path to address the litany of problems confronting Nigeria.

EVENT: NIGERIA PEOPLES' PARLIAMENT
DATE: MARCH 13TH 2010
VENUE: LAGUARDIA MARRIOTT HOTEL
102-05 Ditmars Blvd., East Elmhurst, NY, 11369
TIME: 12NOON-6PM

The parliament would convene with standard parliamentary procedures. With an open format, Members of Parliament (MP) would be able to discuss the issues below within an alloted time. The Speaker would preside and put before the house the standing orders to be adoped. Elections for the Clerk, Whip etc would take place before the proceedings commence.

This event is open to all Nigerians as the list of participants would be updated periodically. Please email the contacts below if you are interested in participating.

MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT (TO BE UPDATED PERIODICALLY)
1. Mallam Nuhu Ribadu
2. Dr. Okey Ndibe----------------------Speaker of the Parliament
3. Dr. Nimi Wariboko
4. Ogbeni Lanre Banjo
5. Mr. Sonala Olumhense
6. Prof. Mobolaji Aluko
7. Mr. Laolu Akande
8. Mr. Omoyele Sowore
9. Mr. Bunmi Aborisade
10.Dr. Steven Nwabuzor
11. Chief IkpoBari Senewo
12. Mr. Hassan Mohammed Nwagui
13. Mr. Rudolf Okonkwo
14. Oloye Lekan Awojodu
15. Mr Paul Adujie Esq.
16. Mr Ayo Turton Esq.
17. Mr. Placid Aguwa Esq.
18. Mr. Dele Alade Esq.
19. Mr. Philip Adekunle
20. Prince Abiodun Adepegba.
21. Dr. Olatunji Ojeranti
22. Mr. Wale Ajibade
23. Dr. Rose Nkanegbu
24. Ms. Sadiat Musa Esq
25. Dr. Emma Okezie
26. Mr. Taju Raji
27. Mr. Oladeji Bolaji Esq
28. Dr. Segun Dawodu
29. Mr. Ikenna Anokute
30. Ms Bukola Shonuga
31. Mr. Femi Akinrodoye
32. Okechukwu E. Asia
33. Dr. Terry Bagia
34. Hon. Oluwaseyi Ogunyinka
35. Mr. Mutiu Leshin
36. Ms Adefunke Lawson
37. Engr. Babatunde Olatunbosun
38. Prof. Garba Hassan
39. Mr. Ambali Busari
40. Ms Esther Onu
41. Mr. Dimeji Ayanwale
42. Isaac Okoro
43. Ms Buki Otegbade
44. Mr. Moses Mabayoje
45. Mr. Segun Dare
46. Dr.Sylvester Ogwum

The Parliament would discuss but not limited to the following:

1. The current political impasse and constitutional crisis; The way forward.
2. The impact of Corruption on the growth and development of the Nigerian state
3. Electoral reform in Nigeria; A review of the Anambra election, the 2011 elections and the state of Nigerian political parties
4. The Niger Delta Issues and ways to ensure its development. A review of the federal government's amnesty program.
5 . The Nigerian leadership and the roles of the followership in building a virile nation.
6. Other critical issues
Please email your name to participate in this historic event.

Signed
Bukola Oreofe
oluoreofe1@aol.co
Contacts
1. Dr. Adegboyega Dada
adedadamath@hotmail.com

2.Ms Lilian Agbeyegbe
tobuen@yahoo.com
3. Dr Willie Nwiido
nwiido@hotmail.com

4. Dr. Gbenu Semako
gbenusemako@hotmail.com

5. Mr. Joe Udaze
simfunding@aol.com

This is to correct the false impression being created in some quarters that the Acting President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, allegedly diverted the sum of N19billion from the River Niger Dredging project, into shore protection and land reclamation projects in the Niger Delta. The other variant of the story is that Dr. Jonathan has out rightly cancelled the dredging of the River Niger, which was flagged off September last year by President Umaru Musa Yar’adua.

Both stories are entirely false, and are being sponsored by desperate persons who are determined to tamper with the peace and unity of our dear country.

THE FACTS

There is no relationship whatsoever between the River Niger dredging project and the proposed shore protection and land reclamation projects proposed for the Niger Delta states. These projects are part of the post Amnesty projects planned for the region, and are to be funded from a “ring fenced” fund dedicated to the Niger Delta amnesty programme.

In the instant case, the sum of N5.5 billion, part of the dedicated amnesty fund under the 2009 supplementary appropriation, was set aside by the Ministry of Transportation for improvement of waterways and related issues in the Niger Delta. The ministry therefore proposed to dredge a channel through the River Nun, taking off from Onya in Delta through Odoni, Kalama, Tombia, Yenagoa, Okodogu, Okokiri, Nembe ( with a spur to Brass), Apiama, Ndukiri, Sand Village, Ekulama, Idama, Tombiabok(with a spur to Degema), Bobake, Ndorokiri, Obekiri, Yekiri, Okungba up to Port Harcourt. The total cost of this project was estimated at N19 billion, and was set out as follows:

   1. Onya (Delta) to Nembe (Bayelsa), with a spur to Brass.
   2. Nembe to Port Harcourt(120 kilometres), with a spur to Degema (Rivers)

By this arrangement the entire funds would have been spent on Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers, with the bulk going to Bayelsa, the home state of the Acting President. But in reviewing the decision, even more states of the Niger Delta, notably Ondo and Akwa Ibom, now stand to benefit.
Another factor that guided the decision to take a second look at the plan was the fact that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was yet to be carried out, and for a project of this magnitude that affects navigation and the ecology of aquatic organisms, an EIA is mandatory.

However, from conception through completion and approval, an EIA would take between one and a half to two years to complete. So, should funds earmarked for urgent post amnesty intervention projects be left unutilised for two years even as the Niger Delta Amnesty was threatening to unravel before our eyes?

There was a further consideration. Even with an EIA, the deepening of the channel would result in a faster flow, and worsen river bank erosion for communities on the route. This has always been a significant challenge for riverine development planning in the Niger Delta. Therefore, in his usual consultative manner, Dr. Jonathan invited the governors of the Niger Delta states and asked them to consult with the people and find a way forward.

When the governors returned for the next meeting, their position was clear: some of the greatest challenges confronting the Niger Delta riverine communities were shore protection and land reclamation, since many of them are steadily being washed away by erosion. There was also complete agreement that the Federal Government moves quickly to consolidate the gains of the amnesty, and be seen to be delivering on its commitments to the people of the area.

Following the presentation of the governors, a unanimous decision was taken to embark on a vigorous effort to protect the shores of vulnerable communities, and reclaim lands that have been washed away.

The Acting President subsequently directed the Finance Minister to begin a virement process to move the N5.5 billion provided in the supplementary appropriation for this project, under the Amnesty initiative, to the Niger Delta ministry. This is a detailed administrative process that would naturally have to pass through the National Assembly before it is concluded.

We wish to restate that there was no time we announced that the dredging of the River Niger has been stopped. Indeed, that project remains on course, and site reports indicate that things are going on just fine.

This gigantic N36 billion project takes off from Forcados, through Warri and Onitsha, and terminates in Baro, Niger State. We are totally committed to completing and delivering it as one of the priority projects of this government.

Ima Niboro
SSA Media and Publicity to the Acting President
28th February, 2010.

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/guest-articles/alleged-diversion-of-n19-billion-from-river-niger-dredging-is-false.html

Vijay Sharma can wrap his legs over his head, wriggle through a tennis racket and wind his arms around his back.
His flexibility has earned him the title of 'Rubber Man' in the Limca book of Records, India's version of the Guinness book of World Records, and he hopes to one-day achieve global fame.
'It was when I was training for martial arts I realised my body was so bendable I might be capable of setting a world record in flexibility,' the 27-year-old said.
Enlarge Flexible
'Rubber Man' Vijay Sharma demonstrates his flexibility by winding his arms around his back and wrapping then around his waist in Delhi
Enlarge Flexible
Enlarge Flexible
Write caption hereThe village boy from Rajashtan's Jhunjhunu district started taking martial arts lessons in 1999 in a bid to learn Chan's acrobatic fighting style
ts became a source of motivation for me.' Shop assistant Vijay claims his bendy obsession stems from watching Jackie Chan movies when he was a youngster.
The village boy from Rajashtan's Jhunjhunu district started taking martial arts lessons in 1999 in a bid to learn Chan's acrobatic fighting style.
It was during these lessons he discovered the extent of his flexibility and started experimenting.
He squeezed into tiny spaces, curled his body into boxes and attempted to drink from bottles held between his toes.
After seeing the tennis racket stunt in Guinness book of world records, he became curious and bought a tennis racket the next day. He quickly removed the strings and tried to pass through the nine-and-a-half-inch surface.
'I tried to get through it, but got stuck for the entire night,' he said. 'I had to shut myself in my room and sleep with it. I got up at 3 o clock and tried to get out of it.
'I began to bleed but that didn't stop me.' Vijay, who practices up to four hours a day to improve his elasticity, has performed on TV Shows and various tournaments at national level. But he believes, he has performed the toughest stunt on a Zee TV show.
Enlarge Flexible
Least interested in his father's clothes shop business, Vijay wants to achieve fame by working on martial arts and body flexibilit
'I added a kick to my stunt, that is I pulled my leg up all the way so it was perpendicular to the floor and pushed my torso along with my leg out of the racket,' he explained.
'It was such a stunt that I couldn't breathe for a moment while doing it.' He has won a silver medal in body flexibility at a country level tournament, held at Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh in 2001. He also claims to have broken the world record for wrist-egg-crushing - which involves pushing your hand backwards to lie flat against the arm - set by a Lissa Patterson (CORR) in 2005.
'I made the claim and even got some documents from Guinness Book of World Records to complete, but I couldn't get back because of constraints of time and money,' he said.
Least interested in his father's clothes shop business, Vijay wants to achieve fame by working on martial arts and body flexibility.
'Anything for fame,' he said.

If there is anybody that is not used to sitting on the fence when it comes to issues of national importance, it is the Minister of Information and Communications, Prof Dora Akunyili. She is predictable and Nigerians are conversant with her principles, beliefs and attitude to life. The former Director General of National Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) thinks out of the box. In this interview with Sunday Sun, she behaves true to type and bares her mind on the politics, intrigues and horse trading trailing the lingering health crisis of President Umaru Yar’Adua. Excerpts…

What would you say of all that has happened since the return of the President to the country?

The President’s return in the early hours of Wednesday, February 24, 2010 has actually exaggerated uncertainty, confusion, anxiety, fear and concern, not just by Nigerians alone but by the international community. These are the very sentiments Nigeria cannot actually afford, if we really want to build a modern nation. We have had uncertainty, confusion, anxiety, fear and concern reverberating across the country and even beyond.

To what do we owe this uncertainty?

Well, it is there because things have not been properly managed by some people around our dear President. We were not told officially that our president was coming back. It was even Al-Jazeera that broke the news, but I didn’t hear it because I had slept. They broke the news that he was leaving Saudi Arabia for Nigeria.

They also broke the news of the arrival. But I heard it on CNN. For the fact that it was not officially announced that our dear President was coming back and the Acting President was not even aware, from his interaction with Ministers yesterday, we knew that he was not aware. That created a lot of concern among the populace and the tension is so high that even United States of America made a comment, which I don’t need to repeat, of how afraid they are about the situation in Nigeria. Our Council did not hold yesterday. We were there at 10.00 am and waited till 12, and as we were waiting, there was tension.

Whatever the council members feared was exposed when we got the Press Release from the Presidency, referring to the Acting President twice as Vice President. That heightened the tension in the system because what it actually means by referring to him as Vice President that whatever he has done in the past few weeks to stabilize the sinking ship of the nation did not mean anything to the people around the President. Otherwise, why would they even release that kind of press statement? We have gone through a lot in the past few weeks, which actually culminated in the legislative resolution that pronounced Dr Goodluck Jonathan as the Acting President and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces. So, it was very inappropriate for the presidency, on return of our dear President, to refer to Dr Ebele Goodluck Jonathan as Vice President. Dr Jonathan should be addressed as Acting President.

There was no need for that tension. It was unnecessarily generated. After the National Assembly resolution, the Federal Executive Council supported it. This was widely publicized. Across the world, this was praised. The ship of the nation was stopped from sinking but we are not yet stable. We are still working towards stabilizing the system. And since President Yar’Adua came back, we were expecting that he would, in one way or the other – knowing the type of person he is because the President Yar’Adua I know is very peace loving, he preached the rule of law and I believe he preached it from his heart. I never saw him as somebody that will come back to bring instability.

So, it is not President Yar’Adua. I believe that it is people around him that were gaining from the confusion; people around him that are doing to him today what 100 million political enemies cannot do to him. The cabal wants to continue with their usual statement of the President said and you must comply. They want to continue with the status quo, dishing out instructions even when the President did not say so.

If President Yar’Adua were to be my father or my brother, I will not allow anybody to do to him what they are doing to him today. This is the President of a country. This is a man so loved by Nigerians. At least, he is humble. He is from a rich family, but his humility is disarming. He is sincere. Look at what he did with Niger Delta. He has done a lot for this country and suddenly, a few people are rubbishing it. They stole him into this country in the night. This is the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I think it’s something that is unnecessary and uncalled for and should be decried by all who sincerely love the President.

Coming back to what you said about the way he was brought in, if he were brought in like a President and Nigerians had information that he was coming back, we would all go to receive him and he would be brought in as a President with honour and dignity and then when he comes in, prayers will continue. It doesn’t matter his state. He did not choose to be ill. There is no state of any human being that should call for anybody to feel happy or to gloat over. Anybody can be sick and people don’t even die because they are sick.

We have an Igbo proverb that says people don’t die due to how long they are sick. You can be healthy today and tomorrow morning, you won’t wake up. You can go out and be shot. You just cannot hold life in your hand and boast of it. But what is important is the way we handle these issues. It has been so mishandled that it has made us a laughing stock and created all this confusion. The international community is watching. They have started making statements and we don’t want it to degenerate.

We have suffered too much in this country, right through the civil war and the various levels of political instability and I believe that it is time we settled down to nation building.

You are supposed to manage information as regard activities around Mr. President and the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as the Information Minister. But here you are saying certain things that may not go down well with those who appointed you. What is the spur for this outspokenness?

You manage information if you have information. We did not have information that our President was even traveling to Saudi Arabia until we saw it in the news, and when he was in the Saudi Arabia, we hardly got information. I only got information once from Mr. Segun Adeniyi and that was what I reported in Council, that the Doctors in Saudi Arabia said he was getting better and it’s only the doctors that would determine when he would come back and I reported it like that. That was the only information. When I asked him who told him, he said it was one of the aides of the President that gave him the information.

Thereafter, it was they said, they said and they said. We never had a comprehensive channel of getting information that we are sure of and most of the information, sometimes, they don’t add up and it got very disturbing. When they don’t add up, you feel very awkward reporting such information. I believed the information, even though I kept wondering how things can be done better, until when I found that stories told by some of the presidential aide were not adding up, especially stories that are changed when they are told from one person to another.

That was when I started feeling uncomfortable and that was when I now decided that I would go on holidays. People felt it was strange that I was going on holidays in the first week of January. But I traveled because I needed to rest a little, have a retreat, pray and attend a two-day meeting in India. But I went out for about three weeks and I decided that by the time I return, I would never again report about Mr. President’s illness until I sit down with people that will tell me the truth and nothing but the truth, so that I will not be involved in deceiving Nigerians.

I know that most Ministers are credible people. But some Ministers also complained openly that they had no information and that’s why they were handicapped. But I had a peculiar position of being Minister of Information to inform the people. So, I was even more handicapped than everybody. When I came back from my holidays, I made up my mind, as I said earlier that I will not report about his health again and that was why the Executive Council Meeting a day after my return, at the end of the meeting, I did not argue when the Attorney General came to brief.

I did not say he should brief because it’s the Minister of Information that should brief, because I had earlier made up my mind that I will not brief on our President’s health anymore. He came and did the briefing and I was stunned when he was talking. He convinced everybody that the President was capable and I was getting worried. I was getting worried so much that I asked myself that if he were capable, why could he not speak to Nigerians through our own channels. Why could he not speak to Nigeria through our NTA. Why speak to BBC. After that briefing, I really felt very miserable. I got really very depressed and I asked myself: now that Chief Andoakaa has briefed, what do I say about the President’s health next Wednesday?

That depression went so deep that I used to take Lexotan twice at night to sleep and I still could not sleep. I kept asking myself what I would say. How can I say I don’t want to say anything about the President’s health? Would it not look as if I’m disloyal to the President? Would it not look unfair to the Federal Executive Council? So, I was caught in a very bad situation. Before even I traveled, because some Ministers said why didn’t I even consult them. I called three Ministers differently. I just called and said what do you feel about what is going on? Don’t you think that we need to tell the public the truth? How do we get the truth?

The reaction I got from these three different Ministers, I will never forget. One of them said don’t you think he has a reason not to hand over to Dr Jonathan? I never said let him resign. I said it is better to find a way to encourage him to hand over to Dr Jonathan so that the system will be stabilized and our hard-earned democracy will not be truncated. But for each of the Ministers that I found a way of introducing it to, so that we could hold a discussion for us to mobilize more Ministers, I did not get a single support from one of the three. In fact, the reaction of one of them, as I said earlier is that he had a reason not to hand over. ‘You don’t even go there’. I said which reason.

He said he must have had a reason. I talked to the second one. He said those people that were all around Yar’Adua are now going to Jonathan. I didn’t see logic. The third one said be very careful about the way you talk. This your big mouth will land you into trouble. Don’t you ever try it because if you talk to somebody that doesn’t like you, they will go and tell them. I just felt that this is getting ridiculous. I needed to bring this up because some people have variously said why didn’t you consult. When you consult three people and you got deadlocked, how can you continue? There was no way I could continue before I traveled.

When I came back, couldn’t really live with myself. One Monday, I was in the church doing my usual morning mass. I took so many tough decisions during that mass. I said I must talk on Wednesday. But I will say my mind constructively. Then, from that morning, I started praying over it. But by 6pm Tuesday evening, I decided to jot down what I wanted to say and as I was jotting down, I said if I use talking points, people will misquote me. Some people that don’t like me will even say that I want President Yar’Adua to die. Some will say I want him to resign. Why don’t I put it down as I did during Abdulmutallab; as Ojo Maduekwe did during Abdulmutallab. We put down our discussions on paper and circulated to council. I said let me put it down so that as I talk, I will not be misquoted.

I started writing and when I finished writing about quarter to seven, I called my PA and said let’s go. We came home and we stated typing and correcting. At about 10 pm, I called my Special Assistant and said I want you to go through something that I have for Council. He came and read it and when he finished reading it, he said this is suicidal. I said ‘if I die, I die’. I can only die once. Don’t worry yourself. I just want you to cross the Ts and dot the Is. Then he added that it’s not just about you. Our job is also on the line. I said then you go and look for another job because if the military comes in tomorrow, your job will still be on the line. So, he felt very bad. He came back in the morning and said what of Goodluck Jonathan; is he not going to be embarrassed? I said if I tell him about this and he heard about it yesterday, he would discourage me.

He said did you consult anybody? I said who else should I consult except my God, because I talked to three Ministers and they rebuffed me. But I felt that if we could not continue waiting for who will talk. I just felt at that point that I needed to submit it. The next day, I circulated it. But even that morning, I talked to a few people. I didn’t say I brought a memo. I said don’t you think that we have to do something about what is going on. They said no, leave it. So, I didn’t have support. I told a few Ministers in that hall that I wanted to talk, but again, I didn’t have any support. So, I stopped. You know you will continue talking about something if you have support and you will get to the extent of saying this is what I want to say. But I didn’t get to that level because I was not encouraged.

So, when I circulated it, by the time I started reading, of course, people had all read it and there was crisis. It was clear that nobody wanted it to be discussed. I felt very bad, but I felt a bit comfortable that I had gotten relieved of a big burden that had been weighing me down and not allowing me to sleep. I came back to the office. I called my media people and said read it. After reading it, keep it. I’m not giving it to anybody since they said it was not properly tabled. But I’m happy that I reminded everybody in council that Abdulmutalab’s case was not also circulated and discussed and what they said that day was that Abdulmutallab’s case was urgent. But when I look back, I wish we discussed it because the Council might have taken a position that day. But everything is as God wants it. When my people finished reading it, they said so this is what you went to Council with today. What happened? I said I won’t give you this paper until after Council next week. That was what I did with all of them. Then, at about 4.00 pm or 5.00pm, somebody called me and said one of the internet blocks had it. When we read it, we saw the second to last draft.

You remember the one that has 145. But my final memo didn’t have it. When I saw it, I was embarrassed. The only difference between that particular one and the final is the removal of a section, and it was actually my S.A. that said remove this section because you are getting too legal. You are not a lawyer. He told me that morning to remove that section so that lawyers will not abuse you that you don’t understand the law. But the only thing we can arrive at now is that my Council box was forgotten in that council hall. Maybe I was so harassed that I forgot my box. It was at about 4.00pm that my Chief Detail, noticed that I did not come back with my box and he went back to collect it. But I cannot say whether it was during those few hours that somebody took it because I had a draft and the final in that box.

When we saw it on the internet block, I now called all my media aides and said take copies. If it’s on the internet and I’m saying that you people should not have copies, then it doesn’t make sense. That was how it happened.
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In your briefing, you said the Acting President had only been briefed by the President’s aides. Then the second part of it said the Acting President is still hoping to see the First Lady, from whom he hopes to get briefing on the President’s health. Is that…

(Cuts in) The Acting President said he had been briefed by the President’s aide. He also heard that the President returned as we heard. He had been briefed by the aides of the President. He tried to see the First Lady on Wednesday evening and that on Wednesday next week during Council, the Ministers that went to Saudi will brief us.

He also added that when he sees Mr. President and gets briefed, he would call us back.

As at now, has the Acting President seen the President?

As at 4.00pm today (Thursday), he had neither seen the President nor the First lady. As the Information Minister, I called one of his aides and asked if oga had seen the First Lady and he said no. Has he seen the President? He said no and I was worried.

Have you seen the President yourself as the spokesman of the government?

Am I more important than the Acting President? I think it would be too forward of me and it would be wrong if as the spokesperson, I go to see the President before the Acting President does. I don’t think it’s right. Even if he is my father or my brother, I will say please see the Acting President before briefing me.

Would going to see Turai, for instance, be the normal line of communication?

I think that going to see Turai is very informal and there’s nothing wrong with it. This is the wife of the President. No matter mistakes and whatever the aides had done, we should still face the truth. This is the wife of Mr. President. If he is very ill, we don’t even know. If he is too ill to see him, at least the wife would see him and discuss with him. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. It’s not the normal channel, but the things that are happening these days are also not normal.

There is no provision in the Constitution that talks about the Office of the First Lady. Would you take directives from Turai if she instructs you to do something today?

The Acting President did not say he was going to get directive from her. Even if a husband is ill and people come to the hospital and the wife takes care of her husband, there’s nothing wrong in seeing the wife first. I think he said something informal that probably shouldn’t have been reported. But I think it’s also okay that it was reported. But he said when he sees the President, he would call us and brief us.

As the spokesperson of this government, what would be your reaction to the question of a journalist as to whether or not the President has returned since you have not seen him?

Actually, my mind skipped today when I read different people saying different things in the newspapers today. It all revolves around the people around the President who are doing to him what a million political enemies cannot do to him.

The rumours around our President is very discomforting. One group said he never came back because they have shrouded everything in secrecy, and when there is a vacuum, rumours take over. Another group said that he came back and he’s still in the ambulance. Another group said that he had been carried into the house. There are three different stories and as at today, it is difficult to argue with anybody to say you are lying because I don’t know the truth. What I do when I hear these things is to keep quiet. When I read it, my heart really skipped a bit.

I said God please, I hope this is not correct and I don’t want to believe it is correct because it’s not good for us and those people that are writing this story should still remember that no matter what mistake our President may have made, he still remains our President and a symbol of this country. So, there are certain things we should not even talk about, so as not to continue ridiculing ourselves before the international community.

If you as a Minister, you’ve lost certain aspects of your private life, it means that the President of a country has no private life. The photographer who got the picture of the ambulance took the risk of his life because he was on top of a tree and the soldiers almost shot at him. This is because you want to cover a President who had been away for over 90 days and…

(Cuts in) I don’t think they wanted to cover the President. They wanted to continue the too many lies that we were told in the past because lies beget lies and this was done for personal gains and for people to gain fame, power and money.

We are talking about the journalists who came to cover the arrival of the President and the risk they took with their lives.

Journalists take risks all over the world. They are in war places all over the world and every job has its risk. I believe that’s the risk of being a journalist and many of them succeed. A few lose their lives or get maimed, but that is the risk of the job and that is why some of us really appreciate the job they are doing for this country.

The steps and actions you have taken, what consequence has it brought to your person?

I don’t want to indulge in self-praise, but sometimes it’s good to say the truth. The steps I have taken in this matter are to relieve myself of a great burden. I was having a heavy load in my heart and in my brain. But I’m happy that I did because I believe, possibly, that the memo was a turning point in the politics of Yar’Adua’s illness, unfortunately.

It was a turning point for people to be sensitized and be goaded into action at various levels. I’m grateful to God about that. It’s not about me. How can it be about me? I don’t know any of the Ministers that is close to President Yar’Adua and his wife as I am. I’m very close to them and it was not easy for me to come out with that stand. It’s because I saw that we needed to do something. I have been like that all my life, even as a child. If there was a problem between any two people, I would come out and say the truth.

Were they comfortable with that?

Very uncomfortable. My son called my P.A. from America and said I read mommy’s memo. What is wrong with mommy? Is she on drugs? My P.A. said she doesn’t even drink alcohol. So, how can somebody who doesn’t even drink alcohol think of being on drugs? The only drug that I take is Multivite.

What do you intend to achieve with all these?

What I want is for us to stabilize this country because it is the only country we can call our own. I’m passionate about Nigeria and I didn’t start today. I literally took a bullet for this country when I was fighting drug counterfeiters for almost eight years. They nearly killed me in the village. I missed death by whiskers. So, anybody who is saying why is she doing this, I say why are they saying this?

You are not discouraged. Yet you have none of your colleagues in the cabinet behind you. Why don’t you abandon this project of yours?

It may not be as encouraging, but I will always remember what our Bishop said that somebody must speak up in the face of evil; that if one of the Jews had shouted when they were saying crucify him, if somebody had said no, the person would have heard others saying no. After all, after the memo, did people not start talking? This time around, I feel like saying a few things to say let us do something. Those that are supposed to talk, let them talk.

Let those that are hearing what is wrong speak up because we have gotten to a point that if we all keep quiet, things will keep going downhill until we find ourselves in a situation that we may not feel comfortable about. There is need for Nigerians individually and collectively to come out in one way or the other to do the right thing, to tell people that are doing the wrong thing to right their wrongs and to find a way of stabilizing this ship that we have succeeded in keeping afloat because some five weeks ago, we were sinking. In fact, some people were even lobbying the army to take over. Some army chiefs impressed everybody by coming out - I saw it on the pages of newspapers – and warning politicians to desist from lobbying them. It happened in this country only a few weeks ago.

After our soldiers have shown us such level of professionalism, why can’t we do something as citizens of this country? It’s not about us. Your children will grow in this country. Even if they are abroad, they will still come back. Nigeria is important in the comity of nations and therefore, we have a very important role to play. We cannot carry on as if we are an island because we are not. Bilateral, multilateral international relationships are all critical to the survival of Nigeria as a nation. Our national integrity is of great importance and when we think of what happened in the past and what can happen in future that can severely damage; I’ve actually become a laughing stock around the world.

It is very important that both the players in the unfolding confusion and the people in leadership who ought to speak up and boldly take a stand against the orchestrated confusion and anarchy, take the time to seriously think of the roles they are playing and the roles they ought to play because posterity will certainly judge us all. Whatever we do, we should think of Nigeria before our individual interests because what is happening now is that some people are thinking of their own interests. If we allow things to go on properly, we are no longer going to be in control. It’s not about President Yar’Adua. Presidency is an institution.

The President is in the Presidency. Look at what Condoleezza Rice came to tell us here. I’m not angry with her. We made ourselves mouse for the cat to eat. If you make yourself mouse, the cat will eat you. I know that she is fantastic but many Nigerians are fantastic too, if not better, for her to come to tell us to our face that what Nigeria needs are strong institutions and not strong leaders. I think that what she said, the statement America had made and looking at the tension in the system, Nigerians should individually and collectively think of what to do for us to come out of this impasse.

The frustration this type of thing can give to you has not reached a point where you will say take your job. Why?

I think that you should know that before anybody can bring up that type of memo, the person has weighed his or her risk. In fact, some Ministers asked me if I weighed my risk. I said yes, I weighed my risk. Some even came out to support me privately. Some that came to abuse me, I said is there anything in that memo that is not in the public domain. They will say it’s true but for you to just come and say it like that.

It’s only one of them that came and said yes, there is something in that memo that I didn’t know. He said that aspect you said that the Vice President ccould not take documents to National Assembly. I said it means you know over 90 percent of what is in that memo.

Coming back to what you said about my job, that’s why my staff told me that it’s not just about me but that their job is also on the line. So, when they tell you their job is on the line, it means that you can lose your job. I was not born as Minister. My life is not tied to the job. Anybody whose life is tied to a job is under bondage. So, I’m not desperate for any position. This is a very good position because my salary here is four times my salary in NAFDAC.

My allowances are ten times my allowances in NAFDAC. But the money, the perk of office and everything is not enough to make you see evil and keep quiet because you will not be able to live with yourself. I am not so tied to this job as to keep quiet in the face of evil so that I will save my job. If my leaving this job will bring stability to Nigeria, then it’s the best thing that can happen to me.

Why don’t you throw in the towel now?

If it will be of the benefit to our fledging democracy, if it will stabilize the system and you can rationalize it for me, I will. Tell me what good it will do to the system if I resign today and I will.

You are a lone voice

You are not a lone voice when you make statement and you have people that will support you. People may not support you openly out of fear. But you will still have supporters. By the time I came in to submit my memo the second time, if people were allowed to vote, most Ministers would have voted for me to present. I believe it’s better to work from inside. But if anybody comes up tomorrow to explain to me why it is necessary for me to resign so as to help stabilize the polity, I will not waste one minute.

There is this rumour of re-assignment. Would you serve in any other Ministry if assigned?

It is an insult for anybody to feel I should take the risk of my life just to be taken to anywhere or gain anything. Quite frankly, I will not like to leave Ministry of Information for any other Ministry with about one year to the end to the life of an administration. What can anybody seriously achieve in one year? Even if I can, it would be too stressful. I’m already used to where I am. The rebranding projects have suffered serious setback because of Abdulmutallab, politicization of the health of the President and others. But I can still pick the bits and pieces and move on to consolidate the programme if it is the will of God.

People see your recent action as a kind of volte face; a 360 degree turn around because, initially, you were for Yar’Adua and by extension, the whole FEC members. Suddenly, you shifted ground and authored a memo which was in favour of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. What do we expect now that Yar’Adua is back and why did it take you so long to do that memo?

I think I explained it. It would have been insensitive, wicked and disloyal of me to start saying it’s better to hand over to Jonathan three weeks after my boss traveled. What does that mean? I saw things degenerating and I started noticing that there were lies. In the first few weeks, I didn’t suspect there were lies and I had not seen that there were problems in the system because there was no President or Acting President.

The problem started unfolding with time. I didn’t notice any vacuum in the first weeks until I started hearing stories that the Vice President cannot submit documents to National Assembly. In the case of Jos crisis, people came to say why did he send soldiers? Things were coming up one after the other. That statement about why he sent soldiers shocked me to my marrow. I said so this man cannot really do much for us. They queried why we were holding Federal Executive Council meetings and that it was illegal. We were all reading the papers and listening to commentaries.

It was the unfolding scenario that made me feel that we needed to encourage our President to hand over to Dr Jonathan as the Acting President. People didn’t even read that memo well. They just say crucify her. I didn’t say he should resign. I still love him as my President. I knew that man from the campaign period. He has a beautiful spirit. I’m telling you this from the bottom of my heart. What is happening cannot be from him because a sick person that God helped to recover cannot conceive plans to maneuver over a whole country because if you have serious malaria, you are only praying of how to get well, not how to remain or how to make sure that nobody is there to act fully for you. So this question of why did it take her so long, would you not check my mental balance if I came out two weeks after my President traveled, when we had not started seeing problems…

We were not seeing problems in the first few weeks until the Jos crisis and when people started talking about FEC as illegal. MEND started making statements that they were going to attack facilities. If all these things had not happened, I believe we would have still all relaxed that the Vice President was doing very well. But I noticed that if he carries on without being Acting President, the system would collapse because people were even going to court. So it didn’t start degenerating from the day he left. It happened gradually and it came to a point where I felt that if nothing was said and done, we could find ourselves in a very ugly situation. That’s why I talked. And before I talked, I tried to consult some Ministers so that we could form a critical mass, but I did not succeed.

You also said why sudden. How can you say sudden? Did I not stake my life for almost eight years in this country? And if you say sudden, when I came to the Ministry of Information and Communication, it was a different job altogether. I started rebranding. What is evil about saying that we are basically good people and that this is a great nation. For those of us that are not doing well, let us change the way we behave, so that we can live up to that good name as good people and great nation. What is wrong with it? Is it deceit?

Is it a lie? Did I ever say Nigeria doesn’t have criminals. Let us project our country positively and responsibly manage our negatives. So, where is it that people can look at and say volte face, as if I started deceiving people at any point in time? Which deceit? People have so abused me. When people were saying look at what they are writing in the internet, I said if not for the fact that Nigerian journalists are very understanding, we would have had more because the level of money that some of these people that are orchestrating this evil have, they can put in any amount just to be abusing me everywhere. Some people have even said in the internet that I should go and handle Halliburton and Ekiti. What is this? I’m not from Ekiti. I didn’t go for campaign in Ekiti.

I didn’t vote in Ekiti. I’m not in INEC. So, where is my own. As the Minister of Information, I remember you people abused me so much after the Ekiti elections and your reason of abusing me is because I announced government’s position. There was nothing I didn’t hear and it’s been repeated these days in the internet through various sources.

When you report government decision, it is not support for government. It’s a report. I want to also tell you that I will have to also believe in a report for me to report it. That’s why when I stopped being in the story of our President, I decided to stop. The report of Ekiti, I believed in it and the report was that Mrs. Ajoke should come out and conclude the election she started. There is no Minister of Information in this world that would say that statement is bad. They are just looking for anything to malign me and to rebrand my name. What is important is for me to do something that will make me to be able to live with my conscience, to work from morning till night and lie down and be able to sleep, and to know that I have done my best. That’s it.

What would you say to people who are saying this is the hand of Jacob but the voice of Esau. That former President Olusegun Obasanjo is the one pulling the strings.

Do I look like somebody that anybody in this world can tele-guide? Some people said Obasanjo and others said Ojo Maduekwe. I found it funny because it all boils down to a fact that people don’t know me. As a regulator under President Obasanjo, I never referred to him for any case. I know that regulators refer to the President on cases. But I never referred to him on any case, and because I believe he also knows my character, he never interfered. When I closed down Dangote’s factory, have you forgotten that Dangote was one of his close friends? I didn’t even remember President Obasanjo when I was doing what I did. I didn’t talk with him before the memo. I did not talk with him after the memo and he did not ask me.

Has anybody commended you after the memo for being courageous?

People have commended me variously but Obasanjo didn’t commend me. But many leaders have commended me. Many people you cannot expect have commended me. Even people around the Presidency have commended me to say God bless you .

In the circumstance, what would you offer as an advice to stabilize the polity?

My advice to stabilize the polity is for people that are raising this unnecessary dust around our dear President to cease fire, to know that this country is bigger than all of us and to know that if we destroy the system, we will all lose, and for people to advise them and people that can help in one way or the other to come out and help. If you can talk, you should come out and talk. If you can write, then write, so that people that are not doing the right thing will stop because our dear President may not be in a position to control what they are doing. That is the situation on ground now.

They are being very unfair to Nigerians and utterly unfair to him and his family and they are not in line with what he stands for because he has always stood on the rule

ReachRich:
President of where?

President of land of dreams.

I have heard and read of corruption in our missions abroad but could not believe it till I had a firsthand experience myself, a classic case of corrupt practices within the Nigerian embassy in Spain

The purpose of this write up, is to draw people's attention to the corrupt practices eating deep in Nigerian embassy in Madrid.

Do i begin with the police character report or the present e-Passport?

In 2008, the Government agreed to allow a representative of the Nigerian police to come to Spain, once in a year in other to thumb print Nigerians wishing to get police character report, as this was one of the requirements by the host country before any residence passport can be issued, it was reported that the fee fixed by the government was 40 Euros but when this officials and their collaborators came, the tune of the music was changed, and the fee was hiked to 170 Euros, poor Nigerians without any meaningful means of livelihood resorted to begging many charity organizations here in Spain to help them raise the money for the police character report, thereby inflicting untold hardship on the citizens of our great country in Spain. In Valencia alone, there were about one thousand citizens that paid the said amount for this police character report, by the time you calculate those in other cities, then you will have an idea of the amount of money in question, the writers question now is how much was remitted to the coffers of government?

The altitude of our embassy officials in Madrid Spain leaves much to be desired, can one explain the rationale behind after making the necessary online payment for the e-Passport, is asked to wait for this turn, fine, his tune, he must wait but for how long? Till thy kingdom come? . most times when the ambassador is there in the embassy, the passport processing moves quickly but as soon as he is gone, it takes more than 2 hours to process one passport application, this is so because they want to spend extra hours and at the end the tell the Nigerian government that they worked over time, of which they will be paid for from the coffers of the government, thereby bleeding the government dry by their incompetency, this is really disgraceful.

there are so many Nigerians that are still waiting list for their e-Passport, for which payment have been made for almost 6 months now, yet our official are not bothered, they are busy collecting bribes from the highest bidder. i have a friend that have stayed almost one year since he applied for the passport without getting any reply. they tell that they have so many applications to handle but this is all nonsense, even in Nigerian, how long does it take one to get a passport?

This is not an ordinary accusation because i have seen it happen on countless occasion, those that can cough out as much as 250 Euro bribe get their passport immediately those that cannot are made to wait for more than 6 months depending on the mood of the officials, what is the rationale behind asking one to bring his birth certificate when he already have the old passport where his date of birth is written boldly? because no matter the birth certificate presented to Nigeria embassy, they will surely reject it, they even reject birth certificates issued by the ministry of foreign affairs in Abuja, who is deceiving who? You pay extra 50 Euro for the birth certificate they issue. there are so many sorts of extortion in the embassy that even many Nigerian unaware of their rights or because of the intimidation they pass through at the hands of our people have little or no choice than to comply or risk been asked to leave, as many of them are without the relevant residence permit in Spain.

As a result of these corrupt practices by our so called embassy officials, it is a common thing to see the Nigerian passport in the hands of Non Nigerians especially the Ghanaians, these people collect money without minding who they are issuing passports to, i am not talking about those that got the passport on the normal way, i mean those that paid money, we all know that once money exchanges hands, an official have been influence against applying due diligence, i saw this Ghanaian guy the other day, in a money transfer shop with a Nigerian passport, i felt like giving him a dirty slap in the face for having a Nigerian passport, but on a second thought i had to restrained by self, knowing fully well that it is those in the embassy that have to be blamed. is it possible for a non Ghanaian or other countries from the West African sub region to get passport of these countries with proper check by the relevant authorities? These things can only happen in Nigeria and our corrupt missions abroad especially the embassy in Madrid, Spain. with Nigeria anything is possible.

Some Nigerians that are into the fast lane, now have in their possession 2 to 3 passports with different names exactly what the government is fighting against by introducing these e-Passport, how did they come in possession of these passports? It is all thanks to the bribery and corruption going on the Nigerian embassy in Madrid, these are they group of people giving our country a bad name and they are the same people that can afford to cough out large sum of money to the ready hands of these embassy rats

I called the Nigerian embassy the other day, the female voice on the other end lacked simple courtesy, it was just as if i was bothering her, when told that i have made a passport payment and waiting for response for almost 5 months now, i was told by the voice that the person in charge wasn't around, i should call back, when i did, the same voice said that people( fellow Nigerians) are disturbing them too much about the passport, is this how an official responds to those he/she is paid to represent? they are busy representing their own selfish interest and pockets forgetting that they people are watching.

I was opportuned to be in a western embassy recently here in Spain, it is in explicable how courteous those people there were, my wife is a citizen of Finland, in their embassy, she was treated like a queen and i find it very difficult to explain to her what is happening in my own embassy, there in the Nigerian embassy in Spain, Nigerians are treated with so much hate and disrespect that it makes you to wonder if these people are indeed Nigerians or representing the interest of a foreign country. it is embarrassing, these people are embarrassing us in the presence of the whole world, i wish that somebody sees this and call them to other, enough is enough.

If our image before the international community must be changed, then it is time to sanitize those traders in diplomatic cloths, let due process be observed and things done according. we are now our own enemies, Nigerian citizens are now made to suffer unduly because he/she wants to obtain a passport, is it a right or privilege to get a Nigerian passport, i am a Nigerian citizen and i am proud to be one, i will not have a fellow citizen dictate to me or force me into parting with my hard earned money.

The essence of this write up, is to point out the decay in the Nigerian diplomatic mission in Spain, i challenge anyone in doubt of this allegations to do a fact finding by applying for a passport and see how long it's going to take to get a reply or better still even write an ordinary mail to them and see if they will ever bother to reply. they are feeding fat on the bribes they collect from people here in Spain while they people are suffering especially in this time of economic crisis biting hard on the people. i rest my case.

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/guest-articles/nigerian-e-passport-now-for-the-highest-biddercorrupt-embassy-officials-in-nigerian-embassy-in-spai.html

The Niger Delta People Volunteers Force cum the Peoples Salvation Front (NDPVF/PSF) have in the last six months refrained from issuing Press statements and releases after our leader Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo Asari left the Nigerian State Territorial boundaries on Self imposed exile due to repeated attempts by the Nigerian State to have him murdered.

We have also watched with stoic silence   believing that silence was golden unfolding events in the Nigerian state and did refuse to join issues with pseudo Niger Delta revolutionaries who indeed are reactionaries and mercenaries hired by the Nigerian state to support the grandiose deception called amnesty program which we were opposed and still opposed to.

After repeated calls and warnings by our Peoples Movement that the Nigerian contraption was a failed state that was being galvanized by horrible and terrible monsters and dragons whose Amnesty program in the Niger- Delta was a hogwash, faux pas and hocus pocus to hoodwink Niger Deltas into believing that the Nigerian state means well for the development and empowerment of our region and people.

Today it is very evident that our movement has been totally vindicated as our brothers who were gullible in accepting the subterfuge of Amnesty now knows better that the Nigerian State cannot and should never be trusted.
Truly, the Nigerian state is so classless, rudderless and directionless and her leadership a colossal embarrassment, shame and disgrace to the African continent and to all those who ever believed in the Nigeria contraception.
That a so called State which prides itself as the Most important Black state could be without a president for over three months with her governmental organs such as the executive and legislature being so hapless and helpless as their military government concocted constitution exposed to a breaking point is so gargatuanly bizarre.

The continued imbroglio over Section 144 and 145 of the Nigerian state 1999 constitution, the overwhelming evidenced incapacitation of Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua, the rumored commando return of Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua and the secrecy of it even from the acting president of the Nigerian state Chief Dr. Jonathan Ebele Goodluck, his prevention from seeing the Sick man, the siege and Kidnapping of Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar ‘Adua by a Cabal led by the vixenic and Jezebelian Hajia Turai Yar ‘Adua and most especially the continued undermining of the peoples will in the territorial boundary called Nigeria  from having a responsive government is too cold for comfort and has made Nigeria a laughing stock to the World.

Today, without fear of contradiction Nigeria is at the verge of experiencing another military coup and as the unending political and constitutional quagmire and melee deepens with Hajia Turai Yar adua and Lt. Gen Abdurahman BelloDambazau dictating the marshal tones.

We wish to state that the this show of ignominy has further strengthened our held belief and conviction that the Nigeria state cannot be trusted nor depended on to solve the Niger Delta crisis.

We therefore wish to announce that with immediate effect that failure by the Nigerian State to convocation a Sovereign National Conference of Ethnic Nationalities to determine the future of Nigeria the Nigerian state should be ready for the emergence of the long overdue Niger Delta Republic.
The declaration of the Niger Delta Republic as it stands now is inevitable and irrevocable we therefore a call on all Sons and daughters of the Niger Delta to gear up for this revolution. THE DIE IS CAST.

We also warn Most vehemently that should anything happen to the Son of the Niger Delta Chief Dr. Jonathan Ebele Goodluck over the foxy power play by those who think that all and sundry within the Nigerian State should continually be their slave then the Prophesy of the American Government on Nigeria will come to pass faster than imagined.
For a Break up is imminent

SIGNED
COMRADE REX ANIGHORO
SPOKESMAN

http://www.saharareporters.com/letters/your-letters/5304-break-up-is-imminent-ndpvfpsf.html

Startling new forensic research has revealed that multicultural Britain is nothing new after discovering black Africans were living in high society in Roman York.
A study of various remains and artefacts from the 4th century at the Yorkshire Museum shows North Africans were living there thousands of years ago.
The most exciting results came from analysis of the so-called 'Ivory Bangle Lady' whose remains were found in 1901 on the city's Sycamore Terrace.
Her skull was found buried with a range of jewellery including jet and elephant ivory bracelets, earrings, pendants and a glass mirror indicating she was wealthy and was of high social status.
Enlarge African queen
The new research, published in the March issue of the journal Antiquity, demonstrates that Roman York of the period had individuals of North African descent moving in the highest social circles
Enlarge ivory bangles
Precious find: The two ivory bangles that were discovered with the woman's remains
The research used modern forensic ancestry assessment to show it was likely she was of North African descent and may have migrated to York from somewhere warmer.
Enlarge African queen
An exquisite pristine blue glass jar that was uncovered
The fascinating study was carried out by the University of Reading's Department of Archaeology, and senior lecturer Dr Hella Eckhardt said: 'Up until now we have had to rely on evidence of such foreigners in Roman Britain from inscriptions.
'However, by analysing the facial features of the Ivory Bangle Lady and measuring her skull, analysing the chemical signature of the food and drink she consumed, and analysing evidence from the burial site we are now able to establish a clear profile of her ancestry and social status.
'We're looking at a population mix which is much closer to contemporary Britain than previous historians had suspected.
'In the case of York, the Roman population may have had more diverse origins than the city has now.
'This skull is particularly interesting, because the stone sarcophagus she was buried in, and the richness of the grave goods, means she was a very wealthy woman, absolutely from the top end of York society.
'Her case contradicts assumptions that may derive from more recent historical experience, namely that immigrants are low status and male, and that African individuals are likely to have been slaves.
'Instead, it is clear that both women and children moved across the Empire, often associated with the military.'
The research is published in the March edition of the journal Antiquity.
The 'Ivory Bangle Lady' and he possessions will be the centrepiece of a new exhibition at the Museum in August entitled 'Roman York: Meet the People Of The Empire'.
York, known as Eboracum during Roman Times, was a legendary fortress and civilian settlement which was visited by a string of emperors.
The experts believe these factors provided reasons for potential immigration to the area and for the foundation of a multi-cultural community.
Enlarge A painting of how the Ivory Bangle Lady may have looked
A painting that depicts how the 'Ivory Bangle Lady' may have looked

AN HIV-positive man has confessed to injecting his blood into his sleeping wife and infecting her with the virus that can cause AIDS.
It is believed the man wanted to give her the disease so she would start having sex with him again, New Zealand's Sunday Star-Times newspaper said.
Court documents detailed how the man, 35, twice pricked his 33-year-old wife with a sewing needle laced with his infected blood.
The husband discovered he was HIV-positive - but his partner and children were not - during health checks imposed on them when the family arrived in New Zealand in 2004, Sky News reports.
The woman had said she wanted to maintain the relationship for the sake of the children.
But she refused to have sex with her husband for fear of contracting the disease.
In the documents, the wife described how in May 2008 she found a sting-like mark on her left thigh and two days later awoke to a stinging feeling in her leg.
She said, "I got up,  and I flicked the blankets,  I looked at (the husband) and he was wide awake."
The wife asked him if he had pricked her and he said: 'No'.
But she later found evidence of "blood sprinkles" on their duvet, which she said her husband tried to hide from her.
During a routine check-up four months later, doctors revealed she was HIV-positive.
The woman confronted her husband, who admitted dipping a needle in his blood and pricking her with it.
"All he said [was] he was sorry.
He said: 'I used needles on you because I wanted you to be the same as me so that you can live with me and you won't leave me,'" she said.
The husband has admitted willfully infecting another with a disease and faces up to 14 years in jail when he is sentenced at Auckland High Court next year.

http://www.news.com.au/world/man-inj, -1225807527675

A massive earthquake measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale has struck the Chilean coast near the city of Concepcion, killing at least 47 people.
A tsunami warning was issued early this morning for Chile and Peru and a tsunami watch for Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Antarctica was also issued.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet confirmed 47 people were dead and appealed for Chileans to remain calm.
Chilean earthquake
Damage: Two people stand next to the rubble of a collapsed convenience store in Santiago
Chilean earthquake
Damage: Early reports say six people have been killed, with the death toll expected to rise
Santiago's international airport was closed and all flights have been cancelled until further notice.
Mrs Bachelet said: 'We have had a huge earthquake. We're doing everything we can with all the forces we have. Any information we will share immediately.'
Chilean earthquake
Cut off: An explosion at an electricity sub station in the Chilean capital. Power lines and internet connection has been disrupted after the quake
She added: 'Without a doubt, with an earthquake of this magnitude, there will be more deaths.'
Witnesses reported collapsed buildings and tremors lasting up to 90 seconds after the quake, which struck at around 6.30am GMT.
The quake is reported to have hit at a depth of 36.9 miles near Concepcion, Chile's second city with around 670,000 people, and caused blackouts in parts of the capital Santiago - 197 miles away.
An aftershock measuring 6.9 also struck 130 miles south west of Concepcion, at a depth of 24 miles.
And a third tremor, measuring 5.5, hit 28 miles off the coast of Valparaiso, on the Chilean coast west of Santiago.
'Never in my life have I experienced a quake like this, it's like the end of the world,' one man told local television from the city of Temuco, where the quake damaged buildings and forced staff to evacuate the regional hospital.
A statement from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said: 'Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated.
'It may have been destructive along coasts near the earthquake epicenter and could also be a threat to more distant coasts.'
Witnesses reported people streaming on to the streets of Santiago, hugging each other and crying.
A national emergency official told local radio the government was evaluating damage in and around Concepcion.
Telephone and internet connections appear to have been disrupted, which is preventing authorities finding out the extent of the damage.
chile earthquake
Massive: The earthquake measuring 8.8 struck north east of Concepcion, Chile, this morning and sparked tsunami warnings up South America
Earthquakes of magnitude 8 or over are classified as 'great' earthquakes which can cause tremendous damage.
The quake which devastated Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince on January 12 was measured at 7.0 on the Richter scale.
In 1960, Chile was hit by the world's biggest earthquake since records dating back to 1900.
The 9.5 magnitude quake devastated the southern city of Valdivia, killing 1,655 people and sending a tsunami which battered Easter Island 2,300 miles off Chile's Pacific coast and continued as far as Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines.

More than one in ten foreign students are being sponsored by a bogus college, it emerged last night.
The figures, taken from last year, are the equivalent of 80 new students arriving every day with visas from institutions later found to be bogus.
The Tories said this was enough to fill the whole of Oxford University - which has 20,000 students - with 'thousands left over'.
Worrying: The Tories say the new figures show that enough foreign students to fill Oxford University are entering the UK with visas that are later found to be from bogus institutions
Worrying: The Tories say the new figures show that enough foreign students to fill Oxford University are entering the UK with visas that are later found to be from bogus institutions
Figures: Home Office minister Lord West revealed the worrying numbers of students with bogus visas
Figures: Home Office minister Lord West revealed the worrying numbers of students with bogus visas
The revelations will cast worrying new doubts over the state of the Government's border controls.
They came as the Chief Inspector of the UK Border Agency, John Vine, warned the Government's target of concluding 90 per cent of asylum cases within six months by December 2011 is 'unachievable'.
Any college or institute of learning must have a licence from the Home Office if it wants to accept overseas students.
A 'bogus college' is one that has never had such a licence or one where the licence has been removed following an inspection.
In the House of Lords yesterday Home Office minister Lord West said that between April and December 2009, 1,530 students were studying at a college whose licence was subsequently revoked, and 27,715 at one whose licence was later suspended.
This gives a total of 29,245 students allowed into the UK on visas from bogus colleges, the Tories said. In 2008-09, 236,470 student visas were granted to foreigners, suggesting more than one in ten were from bogus institutions

Like designers Marchesa and Victoria Beckham did at the recently concluded New York Fashion Week; designer Duro Olowu opted out of a catwalk show and instead focused on an intimate showcase of his Spring 2010 Ready to Wear collection at London Fashion Week yesterday. Olowu who won New Designer of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2005 is renowned for his creative use of print and this was very evident in his collection. According to Olowu, the inspiration for this collection was “The colours of Picasso’s ‘Mosqueteros’ paintings; feather textiles of ancient Peru; 125th Street in Harlem, New York.” – a true cultural melange. There was something impeccably romantic and soft about Olowu’s collection yet practical enough for the average woman to rock confidently. Photos below:

ANC 2012: Nigeria draw Guinea

Nigeria have been drawn with fellow West Africans Guinea for the qualifying race to the 2012 African Nations Cup to be co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
The other two teams in the group are Ethiopia and Madagascar.

Nigeria and Guinea were last drawn together in the qualifying series for the FIFA 1998 World Cup.

A total of forty four teams were drawn into 11 groups. The group winners and three of the best second placed teams will qualify for the 28th African Nations Cup.

World Cup 2010 hosts South Africa have been handed a testing draw in Group 7 with defending champions Egypt, Sierra Leone and Niger.

Equatorial Guinea and Gabon qualify automatically as co-hosts.

The Full draw:

Group 1
Mali, Cape Verde, Zimbabwe, Liberia

Group 2
Nigeria, Guinea, Ethiopia, Madagascar

Group 3
Zambia, Mozambique, Libya, Comores

Group 4
Algeria, Morocco, Tanzania, Central African Republic

Group 5
Cameroon, Senegal, DR Congo, Mauritius

Group 6
Burkina Faso, Gambia, Namibia, Mauritania

Group 7
Egypt, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Niger

Group 8
Ivory Coast, Benin, Rwanda, Burundi

Group 9
Ghana, Congo, Sudan, Swaziland

Group 10
Angola, Uganda, Kenya, Guinea-Bissau

Group 11
Tunisia, Malawi, Chad, Botswana

The Good Governance Group (3G) feels compelled to sound a note of warning on the gathering threat to democracy and stability in Nigeria. We are worried that the political class, especially those in the Executive and the National Assembly and the ruling PDP, have failed to rise up to the most basic statesmanship required to steer the country away from constitutional crisis. They are gradually nudging the country towards breakdown of security.

As a group committed to good governance and democratic accountability we are worried at the worsening security situation in the country on account of the determination of a few persons, the so-called kitchen cabinet, to neglect the constitutionally established line of succession and hold political power, contrary to Section 1 of the Constitution. The manner in which they brought President Yaradua in the country without proper clearance with the Acting President, who, as at today, is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces; and the various reported acts of intimidation against him in the Villa, pose serious threat to stability and national unity. These acts of dare-devilry and recklessness are open affront to the sovereignty of the Nigerian people and the integrity of the Nigerian state. This is unacceptable.

Our fears of possible breach of security in the Nigeria are raised by reported movement of troops from Kaduna to Abuja. Even the statement credited to the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Dambassa Btsau that he answers only to the Commander-In-Chief who is President Yaradua if true show a dangerous disregard for the Constitution. We want to warn members of the Kitchen Cabinet and their military and political loyalists that the Good Governance Groups, working together with other civil society and pro-democracy groups, will mobilize Nigerians to stop any form of military intervention in the politics of Nigeria. Nigerian people will not accept any military solution to a crisis contrived by those who do not want to lose power because they are afraid of being made to account for their misdeeds. We will continue to mobilize Nigerians to insist on respect for the constitution, especially Section 1 of the Constitution.

This crisis is needless. The Constitution has provided clear guidance on presidential succession. When the President cannot act the Vice President takes over. Those resisting the Acting President from exercising the powers of a Commander-in-Chief are instigating breakdown of security. Those who are impeding the effective exercise of executive power by the Acting President are violating the constitution and will be made to answer to their treasonable acts. On his part, the Acting President Goodluck Jonathan will be held responsible if his failure to exercise leadership as Commander-in-Chief plunges Nigeria into military coup.

For the avoidance of doubt, let us state clearly that Nigerians will never accept any military intervention on this crisis. Nigerians will no longer accept the attempt by persons not designated by the Constitution to exercise executive illegally in the guise of the sick and indisposed President Yaradua. We will defend our constitution because only persons elected by the people will exercise political power not the wife or political associates of an indisposed President.

On this we Stand: no to military coup.

JERUSALEM – Two parts of an ancient biblical manuscript separated across centuries and continents were reunited for the first time in a joint display Friday, thanks to an accidental discovery that is helping illuminate a dark period in the history of the Hebrew Bible.

The 1,300-year-old fragments, which are among only a handful of Hebrew biblical manuscripts known to have survived the era in which they were written, existed separately and with their relationship unknown, until a news photograph of one's public unveiling in 2007 caught the attention of the scholars who would eventually link them.

Together, they make up the text of the Song of the Sea, sung by jubilant Israelites after fleeing slavery in Egypt and witnessing the destruction of the pharaoh's armies in the Red Sea.

"The enemy said: 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil. My lust shall be satisfied upon them, I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them,'" reads the song, which appears in the Book of Exodus. "Thou didst blow thy wind, the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters."

An exhibit at Israel's national museum dedicated to the Song of the Sea is now bringing together the two long-separated pieces.

One page of the song, known as the Ashkar manuscript, was previously housed in a rare books library at Duke University in North Carolina and was first displayed at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem in 2007.

That's when a photograph of the manuscript in a local newspaper caught the eye of two Israeli paleographers, Mordechay Mishor and Edna Engel, who noticed it resembled a different page of Hebrew writing known as the London manuscript, presently part of the private collection of Stephan Loewentheil of New York.

"The uniformity of the letters, the structure of the text, and the techniques used by the scribe ,  it made it very clear to me," Engel said.

The relationship would not be so clear to a casual observer. The Ashkar manuscript has been so blackened by exposure to the elements that the text is all but invisible, while the London manuscript is legible and far better preserved. But after close study of ultraviolet images, the experts were able to confirm that the texts were not only written by the same scribe, but were also part of the same scroll.

Scholars believe the scroll was written around the seventh century somewhere in the Middle East, possibly in Egypt. It is not known how the two parts were separated or what happened to the rest of the manuscript.

The museum arranged to have the London manuscript brought to Jerusalem. The new exhibit chronicles how the Song of the Sea was written through various ancient manuscripts, from the 2,000-year-old Dead Sea Scrolls to the manuscript known as the Aleppo Codex, written nearly a millennium later.

The reunification of the two pieces adds an important link in the chain, showing how the writing of the Hebrew Bible evolved through the so-called "silent" period — between the third and 10th centuries — from which nearly no Biblical texts survived. While in the Dead Sea Scrolls the song is arranged like prose, for example, in the newly reunited manuscript it is written like a poem, the same way it appears in the Hebrew Bible today.

The manuscripts are "filling the gap," said Israel Museum curator Adolfo Roitman. "We can see we are dealing with a tradition that is still alive."

The museum exhibit displays the manuscripts along with other depictions of the Song of the Sea from the museum's permanent collection, including artistic renderings of the biblical passages in frescoes and Renaissance paintings and recordings of the song as it is chanted by Jews in different communities worldwide.

Madam, where's Oga?
Why are you late? I said 2pm and what says your cheap watch?
I am the acting presido! I come when my presidential protocol says! What do you want?
Stop talking to me like that! And, why are you wearing that your bowler hat in front of me?
My heart tells me to wear my hat! Doesn't Oga wear his own hat in front of you?
So now, you want to start yet another rumour about his heart? He has no heart problem!
Oh, that calls for three hearty cheers!
Stop talking about people's heart! Is that why I have called you? To talk about heart?
So, why did you call me here? By the way, which time did you "people" come back?
I won't answer questions that are beneath me! Now, I want you to have a look.
Have a look? At what?
Where are your glasses? Can't you see that ambulance with its doors open? Look!
Is that why I am here to look inside an ambulance in broad day light?

You see the problem with you "people" with nonsense PhD and your cousins with all that Professor titles! You are the ones spoiling this country.
I beg your pardon?
You people like: War-Lay Show-Yinka! Pact-You-Tommy! Door-Raa Aqueen-Yeah-Lee!
Meaning?
PDP is better than PhD!
I am a PDP member with a PhD!
That is why you are the worst! You and that your Door-Raa Aqueen-Yeah-Lee! Both of you started all these! You wish your own boss evil so you can sit on his seat? And your niece, Door-Raa Aqueen-Yeah-Lee! started running that her mouth and even tried to harrass a loyal minister as Aondoakaa! Why did you remove him by demoting him?
We are all sorry that Oga is not feeling well,
Just take a look at the ambulance and tell me what you see!
There's nothing to tell, Madam, the ambulance is empty!
So why do your people go about saying nonsense?
Ehm, with the way your people drove the ambulance from Saudi to Abuja, e get as e be!
E get as wetin be?

Ehm, suddenly NEPA take light and all the airport become dark and soldiers begin to appear from under the ground. Navy and Air Force begin to fall from skies and, in short, e get as e be! Me as the acting presido no even get idea wetin de happen! True true, e get as dat thing come be o! Me I no like am o!
You no like am? You think I care what you like and what you hate? Look inside the ambulance well well before you go address press.
Okay, I see wheel chair!
And?
Only one wheel chair! Wait o! What is that they have written on the wheel chair?
I thought you have a PhD? Read.
Why is the ambulance fitted with a BBC wheel chair? The same BBC that granted that wahala interview to Oga?
Next question? Why should Sunday Oliseh and Samson Siasia assist Glenn Hoddle when we have people like Ojo Mmaduekwe and Michael Aondoakaa?
Are you kidding me, Madam? We are talking politics and you just switched to sports?
Remove that hat let me see your head!
Madam, women cannot see our heads in Naija Delta!
This is Abuja, not Naija Delta. With all your PhD you have no idea what is wrong with our football?
Madam, I have to go back to Executive Council meeting, the ministers are waiting!
Let them wait! I have not finished with you, ka ji kwo?
Besides Ojo Mmaduekwe and Michael Aondoakaa becoming Super Eagles National Coaches, what else do you want?
I want to be the First Lady!
Acting or ex?
Acting!
Madam! You are married to Oga! I am married to Patience! She is already there! Patience has always been there!
So you are married to a Nollywood actress?
What Nollywood actress?
Mama G! Is she not Patience Ozokwo?
Madam, my wife is not an actress. Patience Ozokwo is not my wife! That is Mama G.
Do you think I care? Go now and tell your Mama-G wife that I, Too-Rye, is the one and only First Lady of this country, acting or no-acting!
I gotta go, Ma! But I have one important question: For the record, could you please tell: who drove that ambulance all the way from Saudi?

Many unsuspecting Nigerians believe that Mr. President is now in Nigeria after his medical sojourn in Saudi Arabia, but intelligence sources have revealed that he is still in Saudi Arabia receiving treatment. Has anybody actually seen the President in Nigeria? All we saw at the airport were two aircraft that landed and an ambulance zooming away into the city centre, thereby creating an impression albeit false that a recuperating President had landed!
There are many unanswered questions in the purported arrival of Mr. President. The basic rule of the thumb (as any experienced spy or secret agent knows) during an extraction assignment or covert operation, anything that would draw unwarranted attention to the task is jettisoned. If the primary task was to sneak Mr. President into the country what was the purpose of deploying truck loads of soldiers around Abuja (attracting attention) when one truck load would have been more than adequate. Why would you ensure that the ambulance with lights flashings was made noticeable when the two aircraft were kept in the dark and out of the sight of journalist at the airport? Was it an impossible task to switch off the siren lights of the ambulance or was it a deliberate act to convey the false impression that Mr. President was in the ambulance?
It was stated in the news that the Chief Security Officer (CSO) and ADC to Mr. President sauntered into the executives chamber of the Federal Executive Council (FEC)to exchange pleasantries with their friends and some ministers. This to me is strange when they ought to be around the vicinity where Mr. President was recuperating (if he was actually around) but instead the TWO of them chose (or were ordered) to make an appearance at the chambers to create the false impression that Mr. President will preside over the meeting of FEC .Some monkey business was definitely afoot!
Mr. President arrived and he was met on arrival by some serving Governors from the northern part of the country instead of the Acting President and service chiefs. Who better to assist and protect an ailing President than his trusted (?) vice and service chiefs, unless it was a grand charade put up for the benefit of the gullible public?
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is quite happy with this pretense because the diplomatic pressure placed on them by the international community that they were hiding the Nigerian President will automatically melt away and they can continue with the treatment of Mr. President unhindered without the vexatious motley of Nigerians coming to Saudi Arabia to seek the whereabouts of Mr. President and also to waste tax payers money.
By the way who leaked the purported arrival of Mr. President to the press and guaranteed the arrival prime time. Former Nigerian Presidents have arrived into the country before at odd hours to avoid the press and succeeded why was this different? I would have thought Aso Rock was built equipped with a helipad, could they not have airlifted Mr. President from the airport to Aso Rock if they truly wanted to avoid publicity?
The next few days will definitely be revealing. Nigerians…”SHINE YA EYES”

Footballers including Cristiano Ronaldo and Robinho will take to the pitch in the World Cup in South Africa this summer wearing shirts made out of recycled plastic bottles.
Nike announced yesterday that for this first time its nine national teams, which include Brazil, Portugal and The Netherlands, will wear tops made entirely from polyester.
The environmentally-friendly move will see each shirt made from up to eight recycled plastic bottles.
Enlarge kit
Players model the new kit - with each shirt made from recycled plastic bottles
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo
Green: Footballers including Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo will wear Nike shirts made entirely from plastic bottles at this summer's World Cup in South Africa
Manufacturing the shirts this way has prevented nearly 13million plastic bottles, totaling almost 254 tonnes of polyester waste, from going into landfill sites.
This amount would be enough to cover more than 29 football pitches.
Bottle of water
Nike claimed making the shirts has prevented nearly 13million plastic bottles from going into landfill sites
Nike claimed the move is its biggest ever commitment to sustainability.
Nike Brand president Charlie Denson said: 'We are equipping athletes with newly designed uniforms that not only look great and deliver performance benefits, but are also made with recycled materials, creating less impact on our environment.'
To make the 2010 national team kits, Nike's fabric suppliers sourced discarded plastic bottles from Japanese and Taiwanese landfill sites and then melted them down to produce new yarn that was ultimately converted to fabric for the jerseys.
This process saves raw materials and reduces energy consumption by up to 30 per cent compared to manufacturing virgin polyester.
Mr Denson added: 'Consumers should not be penalised for choosing environmentally-friendly products. Our goal is less impact and lower cost.'
The shirts cost £50 each.
The teams wearing Nike's new national team jerseys in South Africa are: Brazil, The Netherlands, Portugal, USA, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Serbia and Slovenia.

An American teenager has been sentenced to 15 years in jail after posing as a girl on Facebook to blackmail seven classmates into sex.
Anthony Stancl, 19, of Wisconsin, was accused of tricking more than 30 male classmates into sending him naked photos of themselves.
He then used the photos as blackmail, threatening to post them online unless the students had sex with him.
He forced at least seven of them into some sort of sexual activity with him in encounters that he documented with a mobile phone.
Up to 300 photographs of underage males, some as young as 15, were found on Stancl's computer, police said.
He had pleaded to two charges, including the repeated sexual assault of a child.
The ivestigation began after a 16-year-old boy told authorities he was being blackmailed into sex acts with Stancl.
The boy, then 15, had exchanged explicit pictures of himself online with 'Kayla,' who later threatened to spread his picture throughout the school unless he agreed to the acts with Stancl.
Stancl photographed those encounters, giving him fodder for further blackmail, detectives said.
The boy agreed to at least four sex acts, but when 'Kayla' asked him for a nude photo of his brother he went to his parents and the police.
Police dentified 31 victims, each of whom exchanged nude photographs or videos with someone they thought was a female.
More than half said the person with whom they communicated threatened to release the images unless they agreed to let the person's male friend perform sex acts on them.
The investigation overlapped with a separate case in which Stancl was accused of writing a bomb threat on a bathroom wall at the school in November 2008.
He followed it up with an anonymous e-mail to two teachers that said, 'Good luck tomorrow. Boom.'
Stancl admitted to detectives he sent the e-mail from the public library under a false identity.
A charge of causing a bomb scare was among those dismissed as part of Stancl's plea agreement.
Stancl showed no emotion yesterday as the sentence was handed down. He had faced up to 30 years in jail.
Earlier, he told the court that he now empathises with what his victims went through.