₦airaland Forum

I love Kiss Mix. The alcoholic content is adequate, and also the sweet taste goes a long way.

People like Chinua Achebe need to be shown this video, and even more of Ojokwu's plans and pronouncements so that they stop pestering us with their own imagined version of what really happened. This is the man declaring to the entire world the real scheme behind all that happened. This video should be broadcast on all national television stations. It should be played in Secondary Schools so that no idiot will try to brainwash our kids otherwise.

One of the advantages Vanguard, The Punch, and other news, and blog sites have over Nairaland is their use of "Twitter Share" buttons, which help readers re-broadcast their links on Twitter. Nairaland has a "Facebook Like" button, but none for Twitter. It is very necessary.

I see this country has run mad! As for the students of UNIPORT who suffered an even worse death than those in Mubi, what have we the southerners got to say for ourselves? Please, let the permutations begin: CULTISTS, ROBBERS, RAPISTS, THEY COULDN'T RECITE THE BIBLE PROPERLY...?

When will we realize that it's not about all that?!

Anybody fighting to keep Bakassi as part of Nigeria is doing so out of unbridled ignorance. Instead of the Senate and House of Reps to consult with their districts to find solutions to the problems plaguing Nigerians everyday, they are busy looking for more people to yoke with poverty and suffering.

DID THEY NOT STUDY GEOGRAPHY IN SECONDARY SCHOOL?!

Actually, he's doing much better now. The "6 Months To Live" headline was totally outrageous.

Research In Motion should fold up now when they haven't hit rock bottom. The BlackBerry 10 will be their final undoing.

Since the launch of the BlackBerry device, complaints have been about the battery. THE BATTERY!!! Is RIM so dumb that they don't know if they can make a battery that'll last 24 hours, their faithfuls will be excited? THE BATTERY!!!

Secondly, the BlackBerry has become luxury good. At least that's what it's being sold as. Features of luxury goods are DURABILITY, FUNCTIONALITY, then BEAUTY, SCARCITY, EXPENSE. The BlackBerry device has become COMMON, it is quite FRAGILE(my Bold 9900 which went kaput after 2 months of use), the only special function it has is the BBM, and in terms of looks, it doesn't measure up to competitors, but still it remains expensive. The BlackBerry Porsche to me, is the worst mistake RIM ever made. That showed the business community that the BlackBerry was no longer for them.

What is the BlackBerry 10 series going to do?! So far no decent feature has been announced. From the looks, it only shows that RIM is trying to manufacture an iPhone. Nothing more.

My advice to RIM is for them to close shop now, and not wait till they are completely down. They definitely had their run, and like the 300 Spartans, they've had their place in history.

Wande Adalemo dropped out of the Olabisi Onabanjo University to actualise his dream of building an Internet service company, which is now worth N1bn. He tells DAYO OKETOLA how it all started and what other young Nigerian entrepreneurs can learn from his journey.

The Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, Oxygen Broadband Networks, Nigeria’s first metro WiFi network, Mr. Wande Adalemo, is a young man who aspired to be a university graduate and get a job. But an event in 1998 changed the course of his life and he decided to pursue his dream of building an Internet company.

Today, he sits atop a N1bn broadband network company, which has just rolled out a WiFi network at the popular Computer Village in Lagos.

He said his greatest challenge was funding, but the driving force had been the passion to ensure that all Nigerians have access to affordable Internet access through WiFi technology.

From the ground zero in 2005, dropping out of school along the line, Adalemo said he overcome the challenge and was able to attract investors, who believed in his dream and invested in the business.

Adalemo said the company started with a $2m investment and as at today, had invested N1bn with a network infrastructure already in place and duly licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission.

“As we speak, we are currently at the Computer Village in Lagos, where we have our pilot network. In the last two months since we started, we have had over 20,000 connections sitting on our network,” he said

In view of this, he said the company had laid out an expansion plan, which would see it invest another N200m in rolling out services in six locations across Lagos State before the end of 2012.

“We are doing another N200m investment and we are going to six new locations by December 2012. We are partnering with malls on the Island, Surulere, and high traffic restaurants. We already have agreements with all of these people,” he said.

The expansion, Adalemo said, would see Oxygen Networks expand to 20 locations in March 2013, and 100 locations in Lagos by 2015; and then Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano, thereafter.

“Of the N200m needed to roll out services by December 2012, we have attained N75m equity investment to date, which means that we are really set to move to these new locations,” he said.

According to him, the company currently operates with 100 per cent private equity fund from the board of directors and “they are putting in more funds to see us expand.”

He said the company had already attracted institutional investors such as Google and Main One Cable Company, which were interested in investing in it and help boost broadband access in the country.

While the start-up appears to be on the right track, the Oxygen Broadband Network boss said the beginning was very rough.

In an interview with our correspondent on how it all started, he said, “I never saw a computer until 1998. I was with my cousin Femi Adalemo, who was the Chairman of the Nigerian Internet Exchange Committee at some points. So, I went to his office and he said he wanted to send a mail to someone in the United States. Five minutes after, the person in the US had responded to the mail and that surprised me.

“I couldn’t sleep that night, and in the morning, I went back to him and asked him to teach me how to develop something that will make Nigerians send and receive e-mails easily. I told him I wanted to do something that would make it easier for every Nigerian to send email.

“He told me it was networking and that was how it started. So, as I grew in my knowledge of what the Internet access and broadband were, it became more of a passion. Getting the technology was one thing, putting it together was another, and getting funding took a while. Between 2005 and now, you can see it has been seven years, it has not been easy.”

On how he got the first investor, who later became a co-founder of the company, Adalemo, said, “We had spoken with a thousand of individuals to put their money in the business and the answer we kept getting was no. Eventually, we found someone and it was an interesting story. We met the first investor, who later became a co-founder of the company, in 2005. I didn’t have a penny that day and then a friend of mine called and said there was someone that ‘is interested in this crazy idea of yours, let’s go and see him.’

“I had to trek from Iponrin to Ajose Adeogun to meet him. He was the managing director of a bank then. Meanwhile, I had met several potential investors who had discouraged me but I did not give up. So, when I got there, he told me; ‘If you cannot convince me in two minutes, I cannot invest in this because an idea that cannot hit someone in two minutes is no good idea.’ Well, I think I was able to hit him in two minutes and the next question he asked was how do we move?

“The first thing we did was to go around the world to see where WiMax was failing because my own idea was that WiMax will not work but WiFi will. So how do we get WiFi to work? And from there, he got some of his friends involved in the business.”

Adalemo reiterated that the company would continue to expand because he believed WiFi technology would play a major role in boosting Internet access in Nigeria.

He said, “Because we believe that everybody should be on the Internet and we are restricted by regulations as to how to expand (we cannot cover wide area), we decided to take the Internet to where everybody is going?

“Oxygen believes that your Internet should be wherever you are going and instead of carrying your modem or dongle around, if you know that Oxygen is present at the place you are going to such as the cinema, restaurant, clubs and malls, among others; then, it becomes a better option for you.”

According to him, the second phase of the company’s expansion will be the ASPANDA Market at the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, Alaba and Oke Arin markets.

“For or us at Oxygen, we are taking our WiFi network to a point where we have a hots pot in virtually every major street in Lagos. It begins to tell us where we need to start focusing our attention in Nigeria. It also begins to tell us where we need to start building broadband ecosystems. We need to start looking at solutions that will enable people to just plug and deliver broadband services to everybody,” Adalemo explained.

He disclosed that the company had sealed a partnership with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc to provide its WiFi network for PoS connectivity at the Computer Village, adding that this was the driving force behind its planned extension into the Oke Arin Market.

“Due to our partnership with NIBSS, we are providing WiFi for the purpose of PoS terminals alone at Oke Arin Market. These are some of the plans that Google is excited about,” he said

Adalemo encouraged young Nigerian entrepreneurs not to be deterred by challenges surrounding them, while assuring them of success if they remained focused.

He said this was what made him drop out of school when he found out that academic works were disturbing his entrepreneurial drive.

“I will say that I am also a proud school dropout because at some point, I realised that pursuing academic excellence was interfering with my passion for this dream. May be Oxygen would have become a dream earlier but for exams in school,” he said

When our correspondent took him up on this, he said, “I am not saying it is good to drop out of school, but I am saying it is good to think outside the box. The emphasis on paper qualification in our society has not helped us. If school will limit you as an entrepreneur, get out; and if it will enhance you, stay with it.”

“I encourage people to go to school, but once you find that dream, that passion that you can pursue and it is a good idea, you will succeed. Once you are dedicated, you will get there. It is not about everyone leaving school, it is about understanding what will work for you.”


http://www.punchng.com/news/from-university-dropout-to-billionaire-entrepreneur/

Everyday, Oxygen Broadband Network will be giving out FREE Internet Vouchers to our fans and followers for Superfast LIMITLESS browsing and downloading. Like our Facebook Fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/OxygenBroadband , follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/OxygenBroadband , and visit our website: http://www.oxygen.net.ng .

I believe Farouk Lawan. Femi Otedola was, is, and will always be a crook. What is Farouk Lawan's motive? We know Femi Otedola's motive is not to remove his companies' names, but to completely rubbish the Fuel Subsidy Probe in order to aid his accomplices too.

They say loyalty is only truly tested during times of adversity.

These two individuals have told their different stories of patriotism, lawfulness, purity, and resolve for justice.

Now, the simple question is thrown to the Free Nigerian Parliament, NAIRALAND, Who Do You Believe?! Whose side are you on?

@Bar_Baric

The news came out earlier this month that Kaffy, and Joseph Ameh, who were recently delivered of a baby boy, Kamal Sean Oluwatosin Ameh, about six months ago, had concluded on their marriage plans, however, the bride-to-be herself has only recently confirmed the story after picking a venue along the Lekki axis, and embarking on last minute shopping.



Joseph, better known to his friends as "Papy J" is an instrumentalist in the band P SQUARE headed by Nigeria's twin superstars Peter and Paul Okoye, and Kafayat is the CEO of Imagneto Dance Company, and a Guinness World Record holder. The wedding itself which will be strictly by invitation, holds on the 2nd of June at the Bespoke Centre, Lekki, Lagos.

http://verdantchronicles.com/entertainment/extratainment/2752-top-nigerian-dancer-kafayat-oluwatosin-shafau-aka-kaffy-to-wed-joseph-ameh.html

Please, this thread is useless! This individual is unknown, and I can't see why this subject is being used to waste space on the front page of Nairaland. DELETE!!!

Instagram, the popular online photo-sharing service that was recently bought by Facebook for US$1 billion, is banning images and accounts that condone "self-harm" behavior such as eating disorders, cutting oneself, or committing suicide.



In a blog post Friday, the company said the following:

"Going forward, we won't allow accounts, images, or hashtags dedicated to glorifying, promoting, or encouraging self-harm. Should users come across content of that nature, we recommend flagging the photo or flagging the user as a "Terms of Service" violation for our Support team to review.

It is important to note that this guideline does not extend to accounts created to constructively discuss, or document personal experiences that show any form of self-harm where the intention is recovery or open discussion. While we strongly encourage people to seek help for themselves or loved ones who are suffering, we understand the importance of communication as a form of support, in order to create awareness and to assist in recovery."


http://verdantchronicles.com/technology/internet/2591-mark-zuckerberg-begins-banning-accounts-on-instagram-a-la-facebook.html

TH e money was sent to the Bank Of Industry, and is basically for the movie industry. Unofficially though, that was campaign money for Goodluck Jonathan's re-election and most of it has been squandered, a little of it was used to bribe those actors and musician who campaigned for GEJ, then the rest which is the major bulk, has been siphoned into various private accounts.

After the blockbuster family comedy “Home Alone” was released at the end of 1990, 10-year-old actor Macaulay Culkin suddenly had one of the most famous faces in America. He starred in a couple of other hit films over the next few years including “Home Alone 2” and “My Girl,” before announcing he was “retiring” from acting at age 14, only to return to the career six years later.

Fourteen years after his breakout role, the former child star was arrested for possession of both marijuana and two other controlled substances, landing him briefly in an Oklahoma City jail. He eventually pleaded guilty, received a one-year suspended sentence, was ordered to enter drug treatment, and had to pay a small fine.

http://verdantchronicles.com/entertainment/extratainment/2590-stoned-alone-macaulay-culkins-transition-from-childhood-to-adulthood-through-drugs.html

First off, it was not Save Nigeria Group that planned the first OCCUPY NIGERIA. It was a group of young men, and young women who gathered at Daystar Ikeja immediately after subsidy was removed. @ekekeee @Plumtiflex @DOlusegun @EfePaul @Bar_Baric and at that same moment, @ElRufai @xeenarh @Dino_Melaye @Omojuwa and many more had gathered at Eagle Square in Abuja too, filling a register of revolutionaries. By this time, Tunde Bakare was in his house, sleeping.

Some overzealous former members of SNG were the once who decided to bring in NLC, and the SNG into active participation in the matter, and that became the beginning of the end of OCCUPY NIGERIA.

PARIS, France - More than 44 million French voters were called to the polls Sunday, April 22, for the first round of a presidential election that may see the end of Nicolas Sarkozy's turbulent term in office. Predictions of a high abstention rate and strong protest vote left the outcome uncertain, but all opinion polls point to the right-wing incumbent coming second to his Socialist challenger Francois Hollande. The two 57-year-old political veterans are thus on course to face each other head-to-head in a May 6 run-off, which will decide who runs what is commonly regarded as the world's fifth greatest power for the next five years.


Voting began Saturday in France's overseas territories -- islands dotting the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans -- and was to continue on Sunday in 85,000 polling stations across the country's European mainland. Polling was to open at 8.00am (0600 GMT) and continue to 8.00pm, whereupon voting estimates based on ballot samples will immediately be published, giving a traditionally accurate picture of how the candidates did.

In all, ten are in the race, Hollande and Sarkozy being trailed by far-right flag-bearer Marine Le Pen, hard-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon and veteran centrist Francois Bayrou and a handful of outsiders. The campaign has run on for months but has yet to inspire much passion, except for a series of mass open-air rallies by supporters of Melenchon, whose Communist-backed Left Front coalition has made a strong breakthrough.

Once the first round is out of the way, Sarkozy and Hollande will face each other in a two week scramble for the line, including a head-to-head televised debate that could be the incumbent's last chance to change his fortunes.

An average of eight opinion polls conducted on Friday showed Hollande comfortably beating Sarkozy next month by approximately 55 percent to 45. Sarkozy has been trailed with several controversies, including economic issues, his administration's military incursions in Africa, and Gaddafi's accusations about sponsoring the elections which brought him into power.

http://verdantchronicles.com/home/headline-news/98-international-headlines/2576-presidential-elections-underway-in-france-as-hollande-trumps-sarkozy.html

In spite of the recent rift with his erstwhile producer, Michael Collins, one of Nigeria's top artistes, Dapo Oyebanjo, more popularly known as D'Banj, has inked a deal with Mercury Records in the United Kingdom. It is worth mentioning that D'Banj originally pursued a musical career whilst in the UK more than a decade ago, alongside JJC & 419 squad, but he decided to come back to Nigeria, to organically give his brand of Afro Pop proper roots.



This recent record deal in no way nullifies his ongoing signing with Kanye West's G.O.O.D Music. It can indeed be mentioned that the G.O.O.D Music CEO facilitated this new deal with parent company, Island/DefJam's UK partners.

This signing will pave a way for artists on the Mo' Hits label to also be featured on music to be distributed in Nigeria, the U.S.A, and now, the UK, and Europe as a whole. These are definitely interesting times for the Nigerian music industry, and D'Banj and his Mo' Hits Records crew have paved the way for various artists in Nigeria, the U.S.A and Europe to go into lucrative MOUs and Record Deals, as recently seen with Konvict/EME.

http://verdantchronicles.com/entertainment/extratainment/2545-mo-hits-boss-dbanj-has-signed-a-new-record-deal-with-uks-mercury-records.html

In spite of the recent rift with his erstwhile producer, Michael Collins, one of Nigeria's top artistes, Dapo Oyebanjo, more popularly known as D'Banj, has inked a deal with Mercury Records in the United Kingdom. It is worth mentioning that D'Banj originally pursued a musical career whilst in the UK more than a decade ago, alongside JJC & 419 squad, but he decided to come back to Nigeria, to organically give his brand of Afro Pop proper roots.



This recent record deal in no way nullifies his ongoing signing with Kanye West's G.O.O.D Music. It can indeed be mentioned that the G.O.O.D Music CEO facilitated this new deal with parent company, Island/DefJam's UK partners.

This signing will pave a way for artists on the Mo' Hits label to also be featured on music to be distributed in Nigeria, the U.S.A, and now, the UK, and Europe as a whole. These are definitely interesting times for the Nigerian music industry, and D'Banj and his Mo' Hits Records crew have paved the way for various artists in Nigeria, the U.S.A and Europe to go into lucrative MOUs and Record Deals, as recently seen with Konvict/EME.

The Nigerian rap phenomenon, Jude Abaga, otherwise known as MI to his millions of fans across Africa, recently released a new mixtape under the Chocolate City label. "Illegal Music 2" features the widely acclaimed "6 Foot" track done in collaboration of lesser known, but quite versatile rapper, Phenom. The track had hit the airwaves and internet blogs about a month ago, raking in rave reviews and trending on several internet social media platforms.

The artist features various upcoming, and underground acts, including Loose Kaynon, Pryse, 5 Mics, and little Yung6ix. Appearances by HHP, Ice Prince, and Yemi Alade take the mixtape to a height few mixtapes worldwide attain. Conspicuously missing from the work though, are some of MI's regular 'artists in arms', most recognizable are his brother, Jesse Jagz, Brymo, and Djinee.

Continued: http://verdantchronicles.com/entertainment/extratainment/2467-no-production-credits-to-jesse-jags-on-mis-illegal-music-2.html

I don't know who these people are, but they obviously are not serving Allah. These are far beyond the strongheaded radicalism which people like Malcom X had been taught, but when even himself went to Mecca for the first time, he realized how contorted his beliefs are.

These people know the way to Mecca, which is the holy land of Islam. There are Christians there, and there are so-called infidels there. Why don't the Saudis bomb them?

All these actions are just carried out by some few Nigerian politicians in concert with their foreign intelligence counterparts who want to split this country.

The main reason why the team at http://www.verdantchronicles.com took out time to get various translators to analyze and translate this Boko Haram video was to ensure that the true information was properly handed to Nigerians. Definitely, Boko Haram is evil, and nothing good can come out of them, but in that video, they never threatened to kill Goodluck Jonathan, nor did they even create a scheduled time for it.

So the question is, who else is gaining from the current spate of terrorism in Nigeria? Who contorted the message from that video and told Nigerians that the Boko Haram group had threatened Goodluck Jonathan's life? Is the media itself blowing things out of proportions, and exploiting fear to sell AD spaces? Why has the SSS not issued a clear statement on this video. The state of Nigeria's security apparatus is really becoming very alarming!

@NobleZone

You really did go quite out of order by insulting God just to express your grievance with this Boko.


@Calloti

Jonathan is too dull to conceive of such a plan. He'll end up with a brain tumor if he tries.

It takes a lot of branwashing to get to where this group today. I don't agree that they would have been able to achieve so much without Atiku, and his foreign counterparts. He mistakenly blurted out his plan for violent change before the elections, but that had actually been his "Plan A".

Full Text Transcript of the recent Boko Haram Youtube Video:

O people, O people, listen us good. Listen to this messenger of Allah for he knows not what he does but for his Lord.

O people, we have heard some talk from this President, Goodluck Jonathan, boasting that in 3 months, he will finish us off. Now, no one talks that way except he who has gone astray of his creator, because nobody can bring things to bear except Allah. Ourselves in the same vein, have declared that certainly you can do nought to us. Even then, by the grace of Allah, our main aim remains that we are killed and made matyrs in the duty of Allah, so we may gain the fruits of Allah's promises to his servants, as written in his book, the holy Qur'an.



This is our only profit in this task which we have taken up. May Allah steady our hearts in fulfilling our mission...and there is nothing you can do about it because those that have first been on your path have done nothing except fill their mouths with words; just like Pharaoh, and those who even came before Pharoah,then after Pharaoh, even unto this day, up till this day, once you see someone whose way is not of Allah, he would be found filling up his mouth (with boasts). May Allah guide us from filling our mouths with boasts. We are nothing but followers of Allah.

People, listen, we never have the intentions of some miscreants such as those going around collecting moneys from the public, doing whatever they want, we are not them. If they do not know,there is the day that Allah will judge on Judgment Day.

If we kill,then definitely, it is someone who has gone afoul of Allah, or the religion of Allah, or the prophet(s) of Allah. If we put one forth, these are the things we do.

By Allah's name, I intend only to deliver important information to the world. It's even surprising that we have to make out time to discuss this matter of boastfulness. We will not carry on any long talk, or continue to talk about people, unless we have information that can be useful to people, or can help us all. This is why I have engaged in this talk. May Allah help us all, may Allah aid us in what we are doing. May Allah give us the will to be killed in doing His deed. You, you are consoling yourselves with bringing harm upon us, or with catching us, but it's amazing because if you read (verses of the Qur'an in Arabic).

If a muslim who is pure of heart sits to puts his eye to these verses, no matter what befalls him in the hands of the enemies of Allah, whether he is harmed, of caught, or killed, he will be full of laughter. Your body shall not die, and you must not have bad feelings with what is happening to you, you are the bearers of your mission. If I am caught, and they press me against the ground, stepping on my head, and raining blows upon my body, I am the bearer of the oath I have made to God. Because at the end of the verse, it says "whatever", which here, we can relate to being caught. There's no God like Allah therefore if any misfortune should fall upon us, as long as there are others who have been engaged in Jihad before us, and have suffered the same fate, then his will is done.

Also, these last couple days, the ocurrences are what Allah is talking about. These past few days that we have been some days we kill a thousand, then after perhaps two days, they kill a hundred of ours. Allah says he sees his servants. It is pertinent that Allah see the servants who have intentions to do his deeds. That is what Allah means. He knows them, however, for those who had intentions to do His deeds to know, amongst them who had truthful intentions, and those who had ulterior intentions. Because it is during these conditions of being caught, or putting yourself in harm's way, and the rest unfortunate events, that is the time when those with ulterior intentions will falter. Thus, the matyrs will be chosen from you. In the end, Allah does not love pretenders.

These are the things Allah told us. May Allah grant us faith. This is the message.




http://verdantchronicles.com/home/headline-news/breaking-news/2464-we-didnt-threaten-to-kill-jonathan-boko-haram-fulltext-transcript-of-boko-haram-youtube-video.html

Mercy Chinwo wins Nigerian Idol Season 2

Nigerian Idol 2012 is finally winding down to and end after very intense months keen contest with Mercy Chinwo snatching the win from Joe Blue. The organizers will be formally announcing her as winner during the televised relay by various broadcasting networks nationwide later in the afternoon of Easter Sunday.They thanked viewers for supporting Nigerian Idol season 2 which had been a roller coaster journey of mixed emotions from the auditions right to the finale.



Voting was officially closed yesterday and there'll be a roll call of all the fellow contestants: Najite, Ibinabo, Stephen, Honey, Lynda, Chinedu, AYO, Sly One, Nikki and Dwari. Nigerian Idols Season 2, sponsored by mobile telcomms trend-breaker, Etisalat and Pepsi, will see Chinwo Nnenda Mercy carting away a $100,000 cash prize and a car.

http://verdantchronicles.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2375:mercy-chinwo-wins-nigerian-idol-season-2&catid=166:extratainment&Itemid=580

A bomb blast has been reported in Nigeria's North Central state of Kaduna as citizens attend Church in celebration of Easter. Though details of the incident are still sketchy, the location is the Sardauna Crescent around the Ahmadu Bello Stadium. So far, deaths recorded are upwards of twenty people, and several others injured.



Kaduna is the state of the Vice President of Nigeria, and has seen more than its fair share of violence in recent time. The President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, as announced by his media assistant, Dr. Reuben Abati, is currently taking a week-long break from his usual work routine, even as the security situation in the country continues to devolve to total anarchy.

http://verdantchronicles.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2374:breaking-news-bomb-blast-in-kaduna-on-easter-sunday-more-than-20&catid=99:breaking-news&Itemid=474

I don't believe this lady has given birth yet. Though she is heavily pregnant, but calls have been put across to her, and she says she's still heavy with child.