₦airaland Forum

Zikkie:
My dear, its not penny wise pound foolish o. We haven't recovered from my dad's cancer treatment expenses and everyone is dry financially. She is based in osogbo. Lautech doctors are on strike

In Abuja, delivery at government hospital is completely free and they have good nurses! as long as you registered for the ante-natal. Just in case.. This might be useful information for next time

GodMode:
An IT professional is not a professional techgineer

Nigeria needs skilled programmers not IT professionals..

These are some core areas of specialization for IT Professionals, we need more than software developers:

1. CYBER, SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY AND FORENSICS
2. DATA CENTER OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT
3. DATA MANAGEMENT AND ANALYTICS
4. DIGITAL SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY AND EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
5. IT ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
6. MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS
7. NETWORKING, INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
8. SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
9. SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION
10. SYSTEMS ANALYSIS
11. WEB DESIGN AND APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT
12. etc

@Seun i completely agree. I was at the Ministry of Communications Technology the other day and i was asking the Minister and his advisers, "When was the last time we organized a talent hunt and exhibition in the IT sector"? All we hear these days is entertainment. While these are good for social integration and entertainment, what is being done about the real talent sector that is capable of generating foreign and internal revenue for the country? We have talented IT Professionals and Enthusiasts and i believe we havent missed it yet, We can invest more on this sector and train these guys. It takes about 1 Year to fully train an IT professional from novice to professional, then Let him develop and perfect with experience, and it is something Nigeria can do. We cannot afford to be paying other countries to develop our technology. Imagine a certain popular bank in Nigeria paying N4.5 billion naira to an Indian startup company to develop its banking applicaton software.

We really have to focus on IT Development in this country. Invest on IT as much as we are investing on Agric.

Establish a Bank of Technology just like we have Bank of Agriculture, to invest, finance, empower and develop IT in the country.

Also, open IT research centers all over the country, something like e-library and research centers so that people in the IT sector can come together and network, freelance and also have unlimited access to electricity and bandwidth for their projects.

Tbillz:
So we hope you can join us for a minute’s silence, after Microsoft announced that they’ll soon be doing away with the iconic browser in favour of a newer version, which is currently codenamed Project Spartan.

Frustrated users have previously slammed the browser for being slow and bug-prone, and Microsoft once talked of changing the name of the browser to address “negative perceptions that no longer reflect reality.”

Speaking yesterday, Microsoft’s marketing chief Chris Capossella said, “We’re now researching what the new brand, or the new name, for our browser should be in Windows 10.

“We’ll continue to have Internet Explorer, but we’ll also have a new browser, which is codenamed Project Spartan. We have to name the thing.”

Microsoft also revealed yesterday that users were more likely to favour services with the company’s name in front of them, meaning that the new browser is likely to adhere to this format.

Although it’s not clear when the browser’s new name will be revealed, it will form part of the much anticipated Windows 10, which will launch later this year.

http://metro.co.uk/2015/03/17/rip-microsoft-has-announced-the-end-of-internet-explorer-5108302/

Mozilla Firefox will be the next victim. Too heavy and buggy for my liking. Google chrome is my favorite. Hoping some more developers will come up with more faster options because one often needs more than one browser running on the system *talking from the perspective of a website developer*

Glamrock:
Hi, I'm just looking to make some friends. I currently live in the US. I have be reading a lot and learning a lot about Nigeria , and my african background/culture. I'm strongly considering moving to Nigeria in the future and I would like to have some female friends I can get to know and build lifelong friendships with. Nothing gay or lesbian is involved just genuily looking for friends I can look at as family for when I come home. I'm 26 years old so I would prefer a more mature crowd, I'm am not drama filled , I'm a very cool, kind, caring, down to earth female. I have nothing but love for you all, please accept my friendship you can add me on facebook Janae' Glamrock Morgan so we'll stay in touch. I look forward to meeting you

Hi, would love to be friends and meet you someday too. I'm a guy though. I've been to the states, enjoyed it, but i observed most of all that you mentioned in your post that made frontpage today:

1. The food: i was like "what is the american food", couldn't point to any. Couldnt eat most of the ones i found except the junks. I could see italian, chinese, vietnamese etc
2. The water: i kept using the bathrooms that i thought something was wrong with my bladder at some point
3. The silent discrimination: when i get on a train or bus, i would observe most of the whites usually avoid sitting with the blacks, someone tried to explain that they wanna give you privacy, but then, you observe them moving to sit together with the whites etc. Its like stereotyping, sometimes you'll feel like "this white guy is looking at me with some suspicion like i'm gonna steal from him or rob him or something"..
4. Weather: its really gets cold out there even in the fall season
5. Anti-social: the first thing i observed the first time i landed the US was "everyone keeping a straight face", everyone looks straight, nobody looks you in the eye, and they're all walking so fast. Sometimes i wanna say hi to someone but then i was afraid i could be charged for evasion of privacy or something..People are just too busy to socialize.
6. Hardwork: Americans keep working till the day they die. everyone lives on mortgage and many do not end up paying it all back, the taxes keep coming and you have to keep working. The work itself is not easy, you dont get to work sitting in the office, you keep working so fast like a robot with only 30 minutes of break, and everyone is doing it, old and young, even 60+ year old people are working like robots, awww! No mercy, you get lazy, you lose your job, or your home.
7. Relationship: You keep a lady waiting on a date? You lose her. You meet a lady today? She could get pregnant for you and care less about a relationship, you're simply asked to pay for child support, no strings. In Nigeria, before most ladies get pregnant for you, they're doing it to make you get married or settle down with them..

Anyway, it was fun, i would go visiting again soon. I love to see and hang out with Nigerians out there. Hope we can get to hang out sometime and get to know each other. I love heart to heart friendships, the kind you enjoy with a mom, knowing you're always welcome no matter how bad it gets, and you can always enjoy the good times together.

Idrismusty97:
I hope it gets to $1. The effect would be devastating at first but we will survive, this is a blessing in disguised.

I'm very sure you didnt mean this. If it happens, foreign countries will close their borders in anticipation of a mass exodus from Nigeria, as Nigerians will be running abroad to live in better organized nations. Then the baboon and the lion will roast in Nigeria. This country will be destroyed because Nigeria will no longer be able to afford to fight boko haram, they will recruit massively due to poverty and unemployment, and kidnapping and armed robbery will rise in the south. And with security agents brutalizing the masses, you sure dont wanna go back to the 1967, do you? Because this time, it would be people against themselves, no longer tribes against one another.

You better start by opening your eyes to the realities before its late

cold:
Damned if you do,damned if you don't. Either way you can't win

lol

.

.

Oil price crash: Mass sacking looms in private, public sectors

As crude oil price continues its descent, and the economy falters, strong indications have emerged that workers in both private and public sectors are faced with mass retrenchment.

Stakeholders in both sectors, who spoke to SUNDAY PUNCH on Friday, painted a gloomy picture of the economy and the prospects of workers in the new year. They based their projections on recent happenings in the Nigerian and global economies.

Oil prices have been in steep decline since June 2014 as a result of slow demand growth and the United States’ oil boom, which has increased supply. The global oil benchmark, Brent, against which Nigerian oil is priced, on Tuesday, tumbled below $58 per barrel, hitting its lowest levels since May 2009.

PUNCH had exclusively reported on Tuesday that at least 70,000 civil servants in 30 ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government had yet to receive up to three months salaries.

While the Federal Government is believed to owe workers of the Ministry of Labour and Productivity salary arrears ranging from one to three months, 11 state governments could not pay December salary to workers. Three of the states – Benue, Plateau and Osun – have been reported to owe workers three months’ salary arrears.

In separate interviews with SUNDAY PUNCH, stakeholders expressed fears that companies and public institutions were planning to address the downturn in the economy with cost-cutting measures and downsizing.

On Friday, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria gave indications to this effect when it raised the alarm that companies, especially petroleum companies, had plans to retrench staff.

According to the association, non-core employees of oil firms in the country may be asked to quit their jobs, if the fall in oil prices persists till April or May.

The Media Officer, PENGASSAN, Mr. Babatunde Oke, told SUNDAY PUNCH that employers had grown weary of the slump.

“The effect might be severe if it continues till May because some employers are already complaining that they may need to shed weight, if it persists till then. Of course, it will affect contract staff, if the slump persists,” Oke added.

Similarly, the Deputy President (South), National Association of Small Medium Enterprises, Mr. Orimadegun Agboade, stated that retrenchment had already begun in some sectors.

He said, “We closed for the year earlier than usual. Ordinarily, we take a break close to Christmas. But with the way things are right now, many companies closed two weeks before the normal closing date.

“Based on recent events, federal, state and local governments still owe salaries of up to three months. It is an indication that things are not right at all. In fact, many of us are afraid of what will happen.”

Agboade stated that the current foreign exchange rate is the harbinger of the gale of retrenchments that would sweep workers out of the manufacturing sector.

“For instance, I am a manufacturer of medicine; I received a notice from my bank two weeks ago that the Federal Government had placed an embargo on all letters of credit. The implication of this is that immediately we run out of the raw materials we have now, the hope of getting more will be slim, or it won’t come on time.

“In the pharmaceutical industry, where I belong, close to 98 per cent of our raw materials are imported. A lot of companies are already cutting salaries,” Agboade added.

The NASME Deputy President further said the scale of retrenchment could be as high as 25 per cent. He warned that if things were not sorted out quickly, it could reach 50 per cent.

Similarly, the Chairman, National Association of Small Scale Industrialists, Lagos State chapter, Mr. Segun Kuti-George, said the fact that the foreign exchange rate was not in equilibrium with the naira was a sign that mass retrenchment might be closer than expected.

“We have more naira chasing fewer dollars now. Also, the monetary policy is moving from 12 per cent to 13 per cent higher interest rate. We now have a higher rate of exchange, which inherently means inflation.

“It means that prices of imported and locally-made goods will go up, which would mean lower demand and, therefore, lesser profits for companies. This may then lead to layoffs,” he explained.

The Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Muda Yusuf, predicted that the year would be challenging for businesses, as the cost of production would increase, while purchasing power would decline.

He explained that businesses would have to look at all possible options for survival, including cost reduction in other areas. The process of reducing costs, according to him, may result in cutting the number of employees.

At the presentation of the 2015 budget to the National Assembly, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had announced more austerity measures. She had explained that the measures were aimed at cushioning the economic impact of the drop in oil prices.

She added that the measures would be implemented from the beginning of the second quarter of 2015 to boost the ratio of non-oil revenues to oil revenues. The Federal Government’s 2015 budget estimates of about N4.3trillion was planned with a $65 oil price benchmark.

Workers vow to resist retrenchment

Meanwhile, workers have threatened a showdown in the event of mass sacking. Officials of the organised labour who spoke to SUNDAY PUNCH warned the federal and states governments against laying off workers.

The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria told SUNDAY PUNCH that it had mobilised members nationwide to resist any planned retrenchment of workers by the Federal Government.

The Secretary-General of ASCSN, Mr. Alade Lawal, in an interview with one of our correspondents on Friday in Abuja, said workers should not be made to bear the burden of the country’s distressed economy.

Lawal said, “As for the issue of resorting to retrenchment as a result of the drop in the price of crude oil in the international market, labour will surely resist it.

“We have already sensitised and mobilised our members on the matter. We workers did not create the problem and we will surely not allow the ruling elite to use us as tools to be dumped because of the temporary setback in the pricing of oil.

“When the going was good, we were left unattended to. Now that the chicken has come home to roost, they, and not innocent workers, should bear the brunt.

“We are fully prepared and on red alert, waiting for signals from the two labour centres in the event of any attempt to retrench workers as part of recently introduced austerity measures.”

Also speaking, the President-General of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, who is also the President of ASCSN, Mr. Bobboi Kaigama, said the TUC would ensure that any attempt to retrench worker was resisted.

He said, “TUC would resist any attempt to retrench workers; all the definitions of resistance put together would be done, including protests and strikes.

“Let’s fight corruption, let’s fight oil theft, let’s improve our Internally Generated Revenue, let’s be prudent in our expenditure, develop our infrastructure and tourism potential; those are the things that would give us money, not sacking workers.

“We shall resist any attempt to retrench workers. They can’t try retrenchment because we shall resist it out rightly.”

On his part, the General Secretary, NLC, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, warned that the NLC would meet to take an “appropriate decision”, should any state government decide to sack workers.

He said, “Our position, as already stated, is that there are adjustments that government can make by cutting the cost of governance.

“We have already warned that they shouldn’t allow workers to be victims of the downturn in the oil price.

“We believe that the down-turn should not be used to sack workers, they should cut excess waste and the cost of governance. We have a situation where a governor has a retinue of excess aides and entourages; all these can be cut. These are areas where we feel adjustments should be made.”

Across Nigeria, state chapters of the organised labour unions also warned that retrenchment would be resisted.

In separate interviews with our correspondent in Ilorin, the Chairman, Nigerian Labour Congress, Kwara State chapter, Mr. Farouk Akanbi, and his Trade Union Congress counterpart, Mr. Olumoh Kolawole, stated that workers in the state would resist any attempt by the state government to downsize.

Akanbi said, “We do not believe that it will be a good thing for any government to retrench workers. We are going to resist any retrenchment of workers because we know that the cost of governance in Nigeria is where we have problem. It is not in terms of the payment of the workers’ salaries.

“We will ensure that workers will down tool, which is one of the weapons we have if negotiations fail.”

Speaking in the same vein, Kolawole said, “Part of governance is that government will look after the welfare of the workers. I do not see any reason for retrenchment. I believe that there are many ways we can assist government to jerk up revenues. The IGR can be increased. We know where the loopholes are and we can advise government appropriately.”

The Chairman, NLC in Edo State, Mr. Emmanuel Ademokun, said in the event of any retrenchment, “We will give a 24-hour strike notice. It (retrenchment) won’t happen.”

State governments allay fears

Against the backdrop of widespread fears of mass retrenchment and threats of showdown by workers, state governments have said they would look for ways to generate more income. In Bayelsa State, Governor Seriake Dickson, who complained recently that his administration could no longer sustain the N500m monthly wage bill of 200 political aides, said he would “downsize or rightsize” political appointments.

The state’s Commissioner for Information, Mr. Markson Fefegha, told SUNDAY PUNCH that the government’s finance team was working to arrive at a sustainable wage bill.

Fefegha said the government did not have any plan to retrench workers. Rather, he said, the government might “downsize the political class”, if the dwindling resources continued.

Similarly, the Abia State Government said it was not considering retrenchment of workers. It, however, admitted that the state was facing economic hardship.

The state has a workforce of about 21,000, in addition to its 11,000 primary and secondary school teachers, according to information from the state’s leadership of the NLC.

Abia, before the economic downturn, received a monthly allocation of between N3bn and N4bn, with a monthly wage bill of about N2.5 billion.

The state Commissioner for Information and Culture, Mr. Anthony Agbazuere, told one of our correspondents in Umuahia that though the state government was feeling the impact of the drop in oil price, the sacking of workers was out of contemplation.

He, however, said government was making efforts to plug all financial leakages and shore up its internally generated revenue.

The state Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Philip Ntoo, also said the drop in the federal allocation had adversely affected the state’s revenue, as 90 per cent of its income depended on federation allocation.

He said the state’s economy was still stable following Governor Theodore Orji’s directive that all frivolous expenses be suspended immediately as part of measures to cushion the effect of the drop in allocation.

Source: http://www.punchng.com/news/oil-price-crash-mass-sacking-looms-in-private-public-sectors/

Nigeria's value system is lost. In this country, we will not pardon a waec student who makes 8 alphas and 1 fail in English language to gain admission into our university but we can pardon a president who dictates 8yrs without restoring electricity ad-mist oil wealth.

We can afford to subsidize corruption in the oil sector with 1.5 trillion annually but we cannot afford to spend same amount annually to restore electricity or create jobs. We can afford to jail a student for exam malpractice but we can easily pardon a governor or president who steals our collective wealth. We shout "Theif" when the boy that stole a chicken passes, and we shout "King" when the person that stole billions passes.

When we're around the corridors of power, we realize how difficult it is to govern people, but when we're being governed, we realize how wicked and insensitive our leaders can be. We tell our poor citizens to cut their 1 meal per day to half as sacrifice to the nation, but we buy more dogs and domestic pets who will need to be fed double rations daily.

We cannot afford to build research and skill development centers but we can afford to build expensive town hall meeting centers. Each political party in Nigeria cannot specifically state any developmental project they have done for the citizens to earn them a ticket to aso rock, but they can afford to spray money on the citizens as dividends of democracy when election time comes. We would gladly encourage our son who is struggling with life to marry a lady from a good home who will support him in life, but we will never give out our daughter in marriage to another man who is starting up in life.

We live as brothers with other Nigerians and Africans in foreign lands, but we live as foes in our own country and in our homes. Whenever you hear people shouting in the legislature, you think that something good is about to happen, only later will you realize that money was shared but some people were left out.

Its time to acknowledge our failures. Our cultures were designed to identify and unite us but they have only succeeded in separating us. Our cultures were designed to make life easier for us but we have only succeeded in using them to make life unbearable for ourselves and corrupt the society. We must act now to save our country.

Rather than go to club and dance to avoid the stress of this great nation, sit down for a moment and ponder on how you can add a little drop to its development. Rather than go to a beer parlour and drink to stupor with friends, invite them over to your house to deliberate on how you can collectively do something good for your country no matter how little.

Rather than rent an apartment for a lady where you can sneak in and out of sexual immorality, look at that your brother or sister who is unemployed and genuinely needs help to do something for him/herself and stop being a burden to you. Rather than say "This country is useless, say "This country will be better if i do something good". Rather than say "I just want something good for myself, say "We can all have something good if we collectively demand for it".

Rather than call others "jobless and frustrated", see the potentials in them which need a little help to manifest.

Finally, rather than close this page and move on, LIKE THIS PAGE ON FACEBOOK as a continuous reminder of what you can do to make this country a better place. God bless you.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/WhichWayNigeria/posts/306680082738653

James Faleke, a member of the House of Representatives, and the Lagos State Coordinator, Buhari /Osinbajo Campaign Organisation, is optimistic that the All Progressives Congress, presidential candidate General Muhammadu Buhari will win 26 of the 36 states.
Faleke made the statement at the Teslim Balogun Staduim, Surelere, Lagos while addressing APC members and supporters in Lagos, who engaged in a 9.2km walk.

“Today, Lagos has spoken; on March 28, we will vote for Buhari and other candidates on the platform of APC.
“We are predicting that Buhari will win in 26 states,” Faleke said.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s, wife, Senator Oluremi, urged Nigerians to vote according to their consciences.
“The change we are clamouring for will happen, if you vote right,” she said.
Other APC chieftains, who participated in the walk, include Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, running mate to Buhari; Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun, and Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
The others include Mr Dele Alake, Director of Communications, APC Campaign Organisation, and Rep. Solomon Adeola, who is contesting for the Lagos West Senatorial seat.

Source: http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2015/03/07/buhari-will-win-in-26-states-says-faleke/

iamblisz:
in dis 21st century, in dis modern generation, despite the whole preaching and teaching of the word of God, this ngwo ppl still insist in celebrating masquerade. May God have mercy

Its their culture. Apart from that, you may observe that in every state in Nigeria, except Lagos, Abj, Rivers etc, only the state capitals are developing, leaving the other cities in the state unchanged. So where is the modern generation?

Isnt that Desmond ELliot in the background? Was he part of the Nollywood crew singing for GEJ? Just asking

MrPresident:
Thank God for President Goodluck Jonathan, 50 Alamjiri schools in the north,
these children can now attend school and have a brighter future.

Vote wisely,

GEJ till......2019

at least answer the question of discussion

kilokeys:
bros i no sabi o

while serving in 2011 as d presiding officer to a polling centre in Taraba.

i questioned an underage and refuse to allow him vote

the community nearly murder me..

kai... na u born am for us?.. if im talk say na 18.. then he is 18..

we r small in our family

kofa.. wetin consign u.. u no like ya sef kwo?

Good point, from no 4 above, if the Federal Govt or INEC empowers staff and educates public that everyone should produce a birth certificate or age declaration at the point of registration, then the weight of blame would shift from INEC and what we'll be talking about now is judicial reform if the age declaration was granted by the court

There are rumours circulating that there are millions of underage voters predominantly from the northern part of Nigeria, with states like Kano, Katsina, Bauchi, Bauchi, Niger, Kaduna, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Borno and Yobe being mentioned. Many of these states also have a record of high PVC collection rates, e.g Bauchi having over 94% PVC collection.

This issue of underage voting was recorded in 2011 elections as observed by international monitors, but it was never addressed as a presidential candidate was declared president. Now the issue has come up again and many have started pointing accusing fingers at INEC and APC. It is noteworthy that these alleged underage voters came to INEC office and exchanged their TVCs for the PVCs and it was handed probably to them by the INEC staff representing these states.

My Question is, WHo is to be blamed for this issue of underage voting in Nigeria?

1. Is it JEGA, the INEC chairman, who oversees the head office of the INEC body and entertains and deals with cases of fraud reported from different quarters? I nominated him because cases of underage voting were reported in 2011 elections but i do not see them being addressed over the 4 year preparation time INEC had between 2011 and 2015.

2. Is it President Goodluck Jonathan, the Commander in Chief of Nigeria state, who has the overall authority to implement policies that could be used to prevent cases of underage voting in the country? I nominated him because he oversees the affairs of all the agencies of government like National Population commission, National Bureau of statistics, Nigerian Immigration service etc. He has the right to hire and fire when there are issues of non-performance, all national matters end at his desk.

3. Is it the heads of the government agencies mentioned above? Are they properly funded and equipped to do their jobs? Are they properly inspected and monitored to ensure they do their jobs? Are they doing their jobs?

4. Is it the INEC staff that registered these alleged underage voters and also handed them their PVCs, were they properly trained and warned against such practices? were they coerced into doing these alleged frauds by members of the local communities? Did they report casesof suspected underage voters before or after registering these voters, were they properly trained and equipped to handle cases of underage voting? (Such as requesting that suspected underage voters be required to produce birth certificates or age declaration in order to be registered, since you cannot deny a prospective voter access based on suspicion without proof)?

[size=16pt]This question is very important and it needs an answer and a public discussion. What is your opinion?[/size]

Why is Nigeria so troubled? How do we resolve this country’s problems?

These were some of the questions yesterday at an intellectual exercise to mark former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s 78th birthday.

Two distinguished citizens – former Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Martin Luther Agwai and National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion Director-General Dr. Umar Bindiri – tackled the topics of the day.
But it was Obasanjo himself who summed it all up. The problem, according to him, is leadership.
The lectures were delivered at his Presidential Library in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
The former president, who praised his guests for coming to honour him, reiterated that his loyalty to the country comes first and cannot be undermined.

He said once Nigeria gets it right by putting the correct leader in place, the nation’s thirst for greatness, all-round growth would be fulfilled.
He said it would take one person – the leader – to make the positive difference everybody is yearning for, adding that Nigeria has not got every other aspect of her life right because the leadership question has not be addressed.

Obasanjo said: “Loyalty to Nigeria should not be undermined by anything, except the truth; what is right and what is in the best interest of this great country of ours. May God continue to bless Nigeria.

“We have listened to two beautiful lectures, presentation or what you will call them. For me, it has been very instructive and I have not been disappointed by either of the presenters and they have met the expectations.

“But you have seen that they haven’t presented us with magic as solutions to our problems and there is nothing they have told us that is impossible but all they have said boils down to one thing and one thing only - leadership.

“And until we get it right, anytime we do not get it right, we cannot get any other thing right, don’t let us deceive ourselves, whether it is security, science and technology or innovation or the development of the economy or education they all boil down to leadership and at all levels.

“May God give us the leadership that occasions like this deserve in Nigeria. Because when we have that, we will get there. I’m an incurable optimist about this country, and may be because I have seen in a little bit in my short span of life, a little bit of what is possible and a little bit of what can go wrong and what can be made to go wrong.
“And may be that is why I am, incurable optimist and I believe that all will be well in this country. We have no choice anyway, all has to be well.

“We are about 180 million now, our brothers and sisters in West Africa are worried, and when they talk to me and I said why are they worried, they said, ‘if half a million Nigerians go to Republic of Benin, we will overwhelm them; if two million go to Ghana. That is a big problem.

“Even Britain is worried. They are worried. They said the problem is that if one million Nigerians go to Britain, they said in 10 years time, there will be 10 million Nigerians in Britain and they will rather keep us here.

“There is no reason why any Nigerian child, at this point in time should not have a basic education, food and nutrition, not only Nigeria child, any Nigerian should not go to bed without food.

“We have the resources to achieve all that, that we are not achieving it does not mean we don’t have the resources. It is because we haven’t manage our resources well.

“Employment. If all other things are right, there should be no reason for any Nigerian who wants to be employed not to have the opportunity for employment. And if the things that all the young ones are expecting are not there, in 15 years time, they will be good recruits for Boko Haram or its equivalent. Do not let us deceive ourselves.

“You can suppress but if other things that are supposed to be there are not there, you will only suppress. Sooner than later, it will rear its ugly head, and what should be done, you should remove the root, stem and branches and I believe that too can be done.”
Chief Odigie – Oyegun said the APC was on the verge of issuing the former President a membership card after he shredded his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) card, but changed its mind.

He said the tearing of the PDP membership card via proxy was a significant milestone, causing Obasanjo to cross the “threshold” and making him to qualify fully as the “true father of the nation” that anybody can now run to for guidance.
According to Odigie-Oyegun, issuing the former President with the APC membership card would be “demeaning” to a man who should now be seen as “true nationalist, statesman and non- partisan icon”.

The APC National Chairman said Obasanjo stood out as the “only symbol of this country everybody can run to” whenever the need arises.
Odigie-Oyegun said: “Speaking seriously, a few weeks ago, we saw somebody tearing a party card on his behalf and we all went ecstatic, fantastic! So, leaders of the party quickly conveyed a get together and authorised me if we should issue him a fresh card.
“But we sat down soberly and discussed the issue and at the end of the day we said, we use this word, nationalists and statesman very loosely in this country and a wise counsel prevailed and we said this event is more significant than we think, this man has crossed a threshold; he has now become truly father of the Nigeria nation.

“We will be demeaning him if we went to him now and said ‘Baba this is APC party card’. We thought we would be demeaning him by issuing him a card and we said finally, what Nigeria never had; an icon, a father, a non partisan person, the very first in the history of this nation, finally has arrived, somebody we can now all go to; everybody. He will just be open to all of us.

“And what is important was that given the nature of the man, if he says well done, you can go back home, buy a bottle of champagne and toast because if you have not done well, he will equally look you straight in the eyes and tell you to go to hell.
“This is the kind of man General Obasanjo has become and I want to say, thank you very much, may God grant you very long life to enjoy your new status.

To Tinubu, Obasanjo is one man who has great passion for the country. He recalled when he and a delegation of APC members visited him in Abeokuta, the former President assured them if they do the right in the interest of the nation, he would set aside partisan politics to assist them.

Tinubu said: “You trapped me innocently with a great wisdom of a 78-year-old. I’m honoured to be here and many of you will see this as a rare occasion but this is an opportunity to pay tribute to a nationalist, a teacher, a disciplinarian and a tutor in dignity and boldness.
“Yes, it is true, there are no permanent friends or Permanent enemy in politics. What is common is common interest. Once upon a time, some nine years ago, I went to the Villa.
President Obasanjo asked me to walk out.

“And he was just abusing me in the newspapers and I said, ‘Baba, you are a tenant here. This house (Aso Villa) belongs to Nigeria. If I get to Ota, you can send me out. I brought a file about Nigeria’ and he said, ‘that is true, sit down’.

“If I would tell you several events that occurred between the two of us in the interest of the nation, I would write an epistle but today is not for that. But how do you celebrate, truly and honour a man who has kept you on your toes?

“No matter what, between Baba Olusegun Obasanjo and myself, what I can say is a gratitude to you because you kept me on my toes.
“Each time we disagreed on things, on principle, I took him to court one time as the President and he saw me and said, ‘you took me to court, we can’t be friends after the court’ and I told him, ‘I didn’t take you to court, I took Nigerian President to court’ and he said, ‘get off my way’ and I told him, ‘I wouldn’t get out of the way, until I get what I want.’

“And one morning, very early, Professor Mabogunje was there and we were discussing and it was about the development of the country, there’s no doubt about that, it was about rail line and urban development, very serious matter, and I dialogued with him and Prof. Mabogunje was asking me to keep quiet, and Baba said, ‘get out of here.

“And I said, ‘Baba, I am not going out, you asked me to come and we are talking this matter. You love Nigeria. I love Nigeria. You brought a professor of great reputation and he said, ‘sit down, if you want me to do that thing. I am the President, you must also listen to me.’ And I saw that it wasn’t just an emotional thing, it was a passion for perfection at that particular time.

“And then when we started this present regime of merger and alliances, and we visited him and we told him we wanted him to be a navigator, he said, ‘navigator?

“I will try to avoid it because of Nigeria, but if you people put a good team for the sake of this country together, I will give you wisdom.
“And if you look at what has been happening since then, Obasanjo is an open book, you read a line, you pick a paragraph, you learn, you comply, if you drink from that fountain of wisdom, you will see value in it, he is very committed to Nigeria.

“As we were talking earlier, I said Nigeria is the giant of Africa and he said, ‘I hope you will remove the k-leg’ and I said, ‘the elephantiasis would be killed’. He said by what? And I said by APC.

“And the change that is necessary for now was the day I saw him instructing that shredded umbrella card be torn into pieces, and I said what is happening?

“There’s nothing Obasanjo would have wanted in terms of material, oil well, oil lifting, whatever – from Jonathan that he wouldn’t have got or what from PDP that he wouldn’t have got as a retention service.
“But he puts all of that aside, believes in the unity, cohesion, and progress of this country in order to free himself from that bondage of commitment to one partisan politics that is probably drifting in the middle of the storm of a political change, he, will rather be afloat and chat a new course.”

At yesterday’s lecture at his presidential library in Abeokuta were, among others, Obasanjo’s wife Bola, All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman John Odigie – Oyegun, National Leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senator Amosun, Prof. Akin Mabogunje, former Osun State Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, former Ekiti State Governor Segun Oni and Akwa Ibom State APC governorship candidate Umana Okon Umana.
There were also representatives of 34 universities at the ceremony.

http://thenationonlineng.net/new/the-leader-nigeria-needs-now-by-obasanjo/

Imagine you're that child in the picture and everyone looked away, nobody offers a helping hand.

Imagine you're the mother or father of that child begging helplessly in need of help but nobody gives a hand, and you cannot do anything from where you are.

Imagine the difference you would make in the world if you helped the child pictured in this story. Are you imagining the story now?

Well, that child pictured could be your brother or sister, needing help somewhere around you now.

What kind of a brother are you to them?

1. Are you the type that hides and watches your brother wallow in poverty and need, only to feel embarrased and surface once you see the brother being helped by a stranger? Once you see your brother being helped by another, thats when you realise he is worth helping, right? What would have happened if God had seen you that way when you desperately needed him? Dont judge him, help him, thats all he needs.

2. Are you the kind of person who ignores your brother till he dies trying (Just like the rich man and Lazarus), and in a certain musician's phrase, when he's dead, then thats when you come helping to give him a befitting burial, you kill a goat and cow for his burial, and at his graveside you'll lament "Oh my beloved brother".

3. Are you the kind that can afford to give a donation of 100,000 to the church monthly, but you have a brother around you who only needs 10,000 support monthly to take care of himself in a harsh economic situation? Sometimes we are quick to judge, "Let him hustle like i did", but we are also quick to forget when we promised "God, please bless me, and i will also bless others around me".

I will summarize this article with a touching story: A certain man was dishing out 50,000 monthly to his girlfriend in school, but he also had a younger sister in the same school who could barely get up to 5,000 from him monthly. Sometimes he would sneak into the school and see his girlfriend but he'll never stop by to see his sister, but news will always fly to the sister that her brother was seen on campus. She always felt heart broken, rejected, abandoned. Sometimes she would be ill and she would call her brother but he would not come, thinking she was only looking for an excuse to see him and make demands of money. The unfortunate thing happened one faithful day, this girl slept but never woke up, she died in her room. The brother was immediately contacted, and do you know the funny thing? He was there in school that day spending the night in his girlfriend's room in school. It was reported that her health situation was complicated by a heart failure probably caused by hypertension, maybe she was thinking too much, maybe she had lost hope of family (they were orphans so her brother was all she had), maybe all she needed was to see her brother and feel comforted, maybe all she needed was a call to remind her she had family. Well, thats not the end of the story, this girlfriend that made this man abandon his sister also left the man, infact, who would want to marry a man who would abandon his family because of a girlfriend? He may also abandon you as a wife someday, who knows.. The man died also from health complications, some say he suffered a heartbreak from the woman who made him abandon his family. His business had also collapsed due to his ill health, he couldn't supervise anymore and workers stole too much. It was said that close to his death, he was a very lonely man. Maybe if his sister was alive, she would have abandoned everything else to be with him and comfort him.

Nigeria today has a lot of people suffering, and i am very sure many of them are one way or another related to you. This message also applies to your parents, neighbours, and friends around you who are in need of help. Touch their lives today and we would all be happier together.

I dedicate this story to the unemployed and suffering Nigerians, the poor, the abandoned, the homeless, the casualties of war, and everyone who needs help wherever they are in the world. With our little help, we can all make a difference. Thank You

Originally posted on page www.facebook.com/whichwaynigeria

Photo credit: Shady (Brahim Azizi, Morocco).

On Thursday February 26th 2015 I produced a series of video clips which covered the demonstrations by some Nigerians in the United Kingdom outside Chatham House where the leading Nigerian opposition All Progressive Congress (APC) leader Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (GMB)) was giving a speech.


As I mentioned in one of the video clips, I was there in my attempt to secure an interview with the General. My previous attempts to secure such an interview with General Buhari for a TV programme I co present on BEN-TV ‘PolitrickswithKO’ had failed and I was hoping to be able to catch up with General Buhari after his Chatham House presentation.

Whilst waiting for my cameraman to arrive, I noticed the demonstration unfolding and with a moment of spontaneity I started interviewing some of the demonstrators. Some of the responses to my interview questions were quite alarming and this prompted my recording of this unexpected encounter using the video camera on my phone.

As is evident from the video clips, the recordings were totally unscripted and uploaded online onto my personal Facebook page unedited momentarily, I had no opportunity to review or edit the video.

Some of the comments I made unwittingly in one of the video clips relating to the personal appearances, hygiene and status of some of the demonstrators were most certainly unbecoming of a professional journalist of my calibre. I totally accept that at the very least such personal comments should not have been made and at the very most should have been edited off before uploading those video clips.

For those comments I made, I would like to take this opportunity to publicly offer my sincere apologies.

Opponents of the truths captured in the video clips have ferociously used these comments to not only cover up and distract attention to the seriousness of the deceptive acts that were made bare in the coverage but also to threaten my safety, attack my credence and vilify my personality on social and mass media.

Whilst I have restrained to respond individually to the tactics used by these opponents, I find it necessary to use this opportunity to also address some of the baseless and outrageous comments which have been propagating on various online platforms and networks as follows:

- Re. “exposing her 2 month old baby”; “
To whoever made this assertion, if you are going to use the age of my baby to attack the quality of my motherhood, the least you could do is get my baby’s age right!!!

Figuring out the age of my baby is quite a simple thing to research from the online announcements of my baby’s birth.

If you can’t get this simple thing correct to begin with I wonder what else you could so possibly get wrong, on the other hand if you could have gotten this right but deliberately seek to restate my baby’s age then I questions your motive for such a fundamental distortion of facts.

- Re. “baby wept throughout the whole event”

Either the person making such a statement was not at the event, did not watch the video clips or is hell bent on defamation of my character as a mother.

- Re. “We are still investigating how much APC paid their camera lady… She can’t just be too poor to afford £50 per day for child minder”

How much of a contradiction there is between the parts of this statement!!!

I’ll address the first part of that statement later, but for now family matters first.

To the person making this statement, I ask do you have experience with third party childcare provisions in the UK?

If so, have you thought of the fact that I could have called around seeking availability for a day placement with a registered child minder before making the decision to take my baby along with me?

FYI, I’m a full time mother by choice and when the rear and impromptu opportunity for a chance to interview the General came to my attention I did call around seeking a registered child-minder for the day but there were no space available for that day with a child-minder licenced to look after under 2 years old. Due to my husband’s work commitment on that day he could not take the day off work as he would normally have done with advance notice. The decision that I take our baby along to the event was made by me and my husband after weighing the circumstances and the facts about the event available to us. So if you don’t know, please ask.
If the person making such a statement does not have experience with third party childcare provisions in the UK, then FYI one does not just call up on anybody to be a child-minder just because you have “£50” to pay for their service.

- Re. “She even refused to use Umbrella”

Again I say, either the person making such a statement was not at the event, did not watch the video clips or is hot bent on defamation of character by way of false statement.

- Re. “exposing her baby to harm”

When I left my home with my baby that lovely Thursday last week, I was heading to Chatham House seeking to have an opportunity to interview the General. If the person is making this statement is not familiar with Chatham House, well it is a highly regarded think tank institution in a respectable area in a peaceful country. For crying out loud, stop making it sound as if I was heading with my baby to a war torn or conflict ridden area and stop attempting to use such tactics to distract attention from the underlying truths captured in the video clips. In the United Kingdom protests are monitored by law enforcement officers, on the day of the protest the Metropolitan Police did not see any reason to declare the protest venue Chatham house as unsafe for journalists or Children. If they had any reason to I would have been alerted on arrival.

As is also so very apparent from the video clips, the people present at the event either for or against General Buhari and the APC were very pleasant to my baby and receptive of his presence there.

- Re. “a sacked ex staff of NTA”

To the person who made such total and outright ignorant claim, do you know that even after I resigned from NTA to pursue a career move working for another company I was still presenting the Sugar n Spice TV on NTA2 show on my own time up to the point of my leaving Nigeria to join my husband in the United Kingdom?

Do you know that even after relocating to the UK arrangements were made such that I was in consultation as a producer of the Sugar n Spice on NTA2 show up to the point I could not continue doing so because of my pregnancy?

How could you reconcile these facts with such a baseless statement of yours?

- Re. “an agent of the APC”

Whilst I openly and publicly make known my support for the General Buhari the candidate of the APC as a Nigerian with a freeborn right and liberty to choose and support candidates if and when I deem it fit, I must say I find it really flattering to be labelled an agent of the APC.

This is especially so flattering given the fact that the previous Saturday I was treated like a gate crasher at the reception held by the party in honour of the General at the Waterloo Park Plaza in London and not allowed into the main area of the event.

That was after the embarrassment I felt having persuaded a very reluctant husband of mine to cut short our family outing that day and dragging him along to a political event outside his comfort zone only for me not to be allowed into the main area of the reception part!!!!

So I’m very flattered by this statement and say to thanks for the compliment, this is happily received.

By the way, the photo with myself and the General’s wife and daughter I took at the fringes of that reception party as it does look good as it makes the rounds as people share it as their supporting evidence of this statement. Thanks for sharing!!! ( I am not ashamed to have had the opportunity of meeting the General’s wife and daughter. If anything it strengthened my resolve never to base my judgement of any Nigerian based on propaganda, lies and bigotry as my conversation with both women increased my resolve that irrespective where we come from in Nigeria we are bounded by a common humanity.

- Re. “We are still investigating how much APC paid their camera lady (Rose Graham)”

The last time I checked my bank account and cash flow I’ve not received any money from any political party!!

To the person who made this statement, I take it that after a week of your so-called investigation you are now in a position to tell us how much I have been paid by the APC.
I’m particularly interested to find out from your investigation which account this money has been paid into so that I can start proceedings to recovery that which you think is mine.
If to the contrary you had no intention of doing such an investigation, and made such a statement as a passing remark to distract attention from discussing the main issues on ground, I say shame on you!!! Our country has have enough of such tactics so yes, shame on you!!!

- Re. “Was Hired and Paid By APC”

I say again to the person making a claim like this in such an assured manner without any substantive evidence to back it up or an iota of truth to it, shame on you!!!
And for the records, I have NOT been hired NOR paid by the APC to do what I do. I do not have any intention of commercialising my right as a citizen of Nigeria to make a choice and take a stand in what is defining moment in the history of our country, every Nigerian owe our country the duty to choose between the available candidates who stand for election as guaranteed by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. To the characters who think it is a crime to choose I must say use your internet and Google “UNIVERSAL ADULT SUFFRAGE” it could help.

Let me bring it to the attention of those who stood by me that for several weeks before the Chatham house event I had been hounded and bombarded by and individual claiming to represent the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) with sinister proposals, it was a proponent of the PDP party who had made attempts to recruit me into their social media campaign for GEJ an offer which I turned down and my position made clear as is evidenced in the following extract from a Facebook messaging exchange I had with a PDP campaign representative between 4th and 5th Jan ‘15:
=====
PDP Rep (real name withheld):
04/01/2015 20:23
“Please Let's Join Hands And PUSH As Much Information As We Can On The Positives Of GEJ Into The Media Space By Deploying Your FB And Twitter Handles.
Please Use #SUSTAININGTheGAINS...
#GEJ2015...
#GONIGERIA.
Thanks.
I need a budget from you. I also need a strategy doc for your deployment of Online Media for the GEJ presidential campaign”

Me:
04/01/2015 22:46
“With all due respect sir, I'm not on the lookout for a budget. My contribution is purely out of a deep seated interest for our dear country. My online media presence strategy is basically to inform, educate and liaise with friends and contacts on pertinent issues relating to Nigeria in an engaging manner as I can.”
PDP Rep:
05/01/2015 06:09
“WoW...OK. Thanks for The FeedBack. Appreciate Same. Will Send You Loads Of Stuff On The Achievements Of The GEJ Government.
Also Please Deploy the Hashtag I Sent To You Yesterday. We need it to go VIRILE.”


NB: For the records, although my political convictions are very much more aligned with those of APC, It did not stop me from posting appropriate PDP media campaign information on my social media platform, neither did it stop me from inviting Peopled Democratic Party representatives to the PolitrickswithKO programme on BEN-TV.

Now that I’ve cleared the air on these matters, it would be greatly appreciated if we could draw a line under this discussion and focus on the far more important issues that are affecting us Nigerians.

We have an election due by the end of this month to prepare for as we look forward to electing to office the right people we believe have the best interest at heart for us, best placed to govern the nation and improve the standard of living for the benefit of all Nigerians.

May I also take this opportunity to extend my sincere gratitude to all those who have been supportive of me whilst going through the ordeals of the past week. Your kind words and actions have been very encouraging and much appreciated. I am truly blessed to have an understanding husband who is supportive of my chosen path and appreciates the intricacies of getting involved in the fight to restore the dignity of Nigerians from the shackles of forces of darkness.

May God bless us all regardless of our beliefs and persuasions political or otherwise and May God Bless the Nigeria.

Source: http://saharareporters.com/2015/03/05/goodluck-jonathans-chatham-house-protest-disaster-my-story-rose-peter-graham

Daar Communications Plc has rejected in their entirety the demands of Tunji Abayomi and co on behalf of Bola Tinubu over a documentary titled “Unmasking The Real Tinubu” transmitted on African Independent Television, AIT, according to a publication on its website.
The demands, which Mike Ozekhome’s chambers describe as laughable, include the stoppage of further transmission of the alleged defamatory documentary, failure which daar communications will be made to pay twenty billion Naira representing damages.

In its reaction, Mike Ozekhome’s chambers on behalf on behalf of DAAR communications declares that AIT, in transmitting the documentary was only carrying out its constitutional responsibility to uphold the fundamental objectives of the constitution.

It states further that the documentary merely stated that Bola Tinubu generally breached various portions of the Nigerian constitution.

DAAR communications plc is therefore demanding a complete withdrawal of the letter under reference, which must be given wide publicity as that accorded the letter from the chambers of Tunji Abayomi.

The media company demands an apology to be published in at least four leading national newspapers and four television stations, which must include NTA, Channels and AIT.

The sum of one hundred billion Naira representing aggravated, punitive and exemplary damages for the irreparable injury inflicted on AIT is also being demanded.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/03/ait-replies-tinubu-demands-n100bn-damages/

.

[quote author=chukwudi44 post=31232291][/quote]Social media engineered the arab revolution. Excerpts:

"In countries like Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen, rising action plans such as protests made up of thousands, have been organized through social media such Facebook and Twitter. “We use Facebook to schedule the protests” an Arab Spring activist from Egypt announced “and [we use] Twitter to coordinate, and YouTube to tell the world.”

http://mic.com/articles/10642/twitter-revolution-how-the-arab-spring-was-helped-by-social-media

Nigeria needs Refineries. Apart from that, when people are not punished for the crimes they commit, then its a problem since the average human being wants to disobey the law when given oportunity. Opposition should not be mentioned at every instance, it gives us a sense of a weak government. Stop picturing the president in a bad light, sometimes he can do much better without the people around him who keep making things much messier for him. Look at the gains he has made in the last couple of weeks in the south west, he made it without his party members, sometimes i wonder if the PDP members around GEJ are the real opposition he has.

The president also needs to swing to action and make some statement, Nigerians are getting impatient by the day.

[size=18pt]Sack is looming in banks, The 2015 election is causing a havoc on the economy. The tiger is waiting for the horses to come back from merry making. Save for the rainy day, start now, there is a looming economic downturn in Nigeria.[/size]

But the Faithful will prevail

Wrong. The social media depicts the feelings of most Nigerians. Though there are many paid party members blogging and engaging the social media to create an impression of support for their paymasters, you still find that what is happening online is mostly the feeling of the people on ground. In fact, statistically, if you can get 2% of Nigerians (3 million) predict the election, it is a very excellent statistical measure of the feeling of the populace.

Some would argue that the social media echoes the sentiments of Nigerians. However, in it, everybody is responsible for his or her own opinions and cannot be said to be speaking for others. In France, the UK and the US, the social media will be an adequate tool to measure and sample the feelings of the entire population, but the same cannot be said over here. 20 million Nigerians cannot be said to be speaking the mind of 160 million others.

Wrong. The social media depicts the feelings of most Nigerians. Though there are many paid party members blogging and engaging the social media to create an impression of support for their paymasters, you still find that what is happening online is mostly the feeling of the people on ground. In fact, statistically, if you can get 2% of Nigerians (3 million) predict the election, it is a very excellent statistical measure of the feeling of the populace.

[size=25pt]When facebook and Twitter caused the Arab revolution in Tunisia, how many people do you think use the internet and social media over there in Tunisia?[/size]

Some would argue that the social media echoes the sentiments of Nigerians. However, in it, everybody is responsible for his or her own opinions and cannot be said to be speaking for others. In France, the UK and the US, the social media will be an adequate tool to measure and sample the feelings of the entire population, but the same cannot be said over here. 20 million Nigerians cannot be said to be speaking the mind of 160 million others.

Wrong. The social media depicts the feelings of most Nigerians. Though there are many paid party members blogging and engaging the social media to create an impression of support for their paymasters, you still find that what is happening online is mostly the feeling of the people on ground.

This is good news, and should serve as an inspiration to many.

nationwide1:
Op, you simply mean that Nigerian law should be bent because of Buhari. Get this straight: Because Buhari does not have school certificate but can express himself in spoken and written English does not in any way take away the fact that we have Nigerians who have suffered to study to acquire certificates and can express themselves in written and spoken English better than Buhari.

I have met many people who don't have school certificates but are good writers and speakers of English language. You cannot justify Buhari's disrespect for Nigerian law with such baseless analogy. That's how Buhari refused to appear before Oputa panel. Are you saying those who sat down to outline (in the constitution) the presentation of school certificate to INEC were fools?

"School certificate or Equivalence" was stipulated by the constitution. If he didnt present a school certificate, he probably has the equivalence, the US war college being one of them. I think this certificate issue has been stressed much more than the critical issues and we should leave the courts to say the final verdict while deliberate on more important matters.