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Lagos- There were chaotic scenes as hundreds of residents along the Alfa Beach coastline in the Lekki area scrambled to skin a dead whale that had been washed ashore the Lagos coastline.

Witnesses said the giant animal was sighted in the morning by a few residents who called more people to the scene.

A man who witnessed the incident, Wale Agbaje, described the events as chaotic with the residents struggling with cutlasses and axes to get a chunk of the whale.

“The scene was really something to behold. Within hours that the dead whale was seen, residents in the area began to rush to the beach with big cutlasses and containers. At some point, some residents were fighting among themselves,” he said.

Officials of the Lagos State Ministry of Environment arrived at the scene later in the day and chased the residents away.

One of the officials, who did not want his name mentioned because he was not authorised to comment on the incident, said it was worrisome that the residents were oblivious of the dangers of eating the animal.

“What the people did is very dangerous. They are cutting and taking home the meat of a dead whale when they do not even know the cause of the sea creature’s death,” he said.

Eating whale meat may be a human health hazard as the animals are particularly vulnerable to environmental contaminants.

These can cause neurotoxicity (nerve damage), reproductive and developmental disorders, immune system suppression, liver damage, skin irritation and endocrine disruption.

KOKROBITE - Five whale carcasses have washed up on Ghana's coast in the last week, officials said Thursday, vowing to probe the reportedly unprecedented string of marine deaths in the area.

Speculation has circulated widely in local media that Ghana's offshore oil installations are to blame, but an environment group and Ghana's Fisheries Commission said there was no available evidence to support such theories.

According to the fisheries commission regional officer Emmanuel Ohene Marfo, they are "sending a team to investigate what is going on because it's not normal".

He confirmed that five whale carcasses had been spotted on various beaches since Friday.

The Friends of the Nation environmental group said in a statement that 16 whales had died in Ghanaian waters since 2009, an unprecedented amount, and called for a formal investigation.

Ghana began oil production off its western coast in December of 2010, but Friends of the Nation Executive Director Donkris Movuta said the timing could be just a coincidence.

"It could be anything in the marine environment," Movuta said.

"There's need to see why are they dying out and being washed ashore. They could die and get down in the sea, but why are they being washed ashore?"

Of the fives whales found dead in the last week, three were spotted in the Western Region, where oil is being pumped from the offshore Jubilee field, Marfo said.

Two others were found on beaches near the capital Accra.

Four of the whales were too decomposed to be identified, but the one that washed ashore off the Western Region capital Sekondi was identified as a humpback whale, Marfo said.

In the beachside tourist town of Kokrobite, 50 kilometres from Accra, the decomposing carcass of a whale was quickly becoming an attraction for residents.

In keeping with a local tradition, area fisherman had decapitated the whale and were charging sightseers to see the skull.

Nearby, the whale's headless body floated in the breakers. Some who passed by climbed on the corpse to pose for photos.

"I'm very surprised because I think normally whales don't die like that," said Emmanuel Quarshie, working on a nearby construction project.

"I'm asking myself, how should this be happening?"

Zzzalexzzz: Hi, thats divided by 16 to 17ZAR thereabout. why did you ask? as it doesnt seem close to my Question...Thanks alot for your answer...

Zzzalexzzz: Hello Guys....Please i am in South Africa and i need to buy this phone and have someone coming bring it along for me....But i am just curious to know if this Phone: Gionee Elife E3 looks Physically attractive as the high tech smartphones like Samsung, Blackberry and iphones and does not have this chinko apperance...Also is it durable to still maintain its beauty after abt 6 Months of usage and is 35K still the market price?


Thanks alot

The news — finally made official — that Spanish soccer club Real Madrid has lured Welsh striker Gareth Bale away from English team Tottenham Hotspur for a world-record transfer fee of $132 million (or €100 million) has had the soccer industry on edge for weeks.

Even before the deal was confirmed, insiders rushed to condemn it. Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger referred to the staggering sum as "a joke," while new FC Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino upped the ante by saying the planned transfer showed “a lack of respect to the world in general.”

It does seem crazy to spend such a vast amount of money on one player, especially in a decidedly weak Spanish economy where unemployment is sky high and where many businesses — including Real Madrid, and indeed the majority of Spanish soccer clubs — face high levels of debt. And to offer Bale a salary of hundreds of thousands of dollars a week when so many people struggle to make ends meet seems downright absurd.

Yet the Gareth Bale transfer is only the latest in a string of big signings this summer. In his eagerness to criticize Barcelona's arch rival, Martino might have overlooked the fact that his own club is among the heaviest spenders in the world of football year after year. This summer, the club paid a reported $67 million for Brazilian star forward Neymar, while selling another player, David Villa, for $7 million only three years after having paid over $50 million for him.

And that's just one club: I could list dozens of other examples at clubs such as Manchester City, Chelsea, Paris Saint German, and Monaco. Knowing the money for Bale was on its way, Tottenham Hotspur itself has been a big spender, too.

And whether we like it or not, the soccer industry is far from the only sector of the economy that is turning into a so-called "winner-take-all market" in which the few who have risen to the top of their profession (think of professional athletes, best-selling authors and Grammy-winning pop singers, but also Fortune 500 executives, salespeople, and investment bankers) can earn extremely high fees while a much larger group of also-rans in these sectors barely earn a living.

What explains these exceedingly high bids? And does it make any business sense, in soccer or the world at large?

Most winner-take-all markets emerge because a large number of buyers, be they music aficionados or book consumers, are willing to pay a little more for the services of one performer over another. But one reason why the soccer market seems so out of control is that it is fueled by a small number of extremely wealthy buyers who are often intensely interested in a particular player. And when soccer club presidents and owners try to outdo each other in signing "the biggest name" (which may be exactly what is happening between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona)‚ the resulting bidding wars can quickly get completely out of hand. Club presidents or owners often become their own worst enemies in these situations.

However, not all big bets on star talent are irrational or otherwise ill-advised. That's because in many domains, including soccer, one individual can have a profound impact on success on and off the field of play. If Bale ends up being as consistent a performer in the Spanish league and in the Champions League as he was in Tottenham's past season in the English Premier League, the investment may start to seem a lot less outrageous. And because many star players are essentially strong brands, they can often be a deciding factor in a consumer’s decision-making process to attend a game, buy a jersey, or otherwise spend money that flows to the club.

In an increasingly global market where only a few clubs compete for the attention of billions of soccer fans, one high-profile star can have a significant positive impact on the bottom line. David Beckham — another of Real Madrid's acquisitions in the past — proved that point convincingly.

Having had a chance to study Real Madrid's business strategy, I know that these are exactly the kind of advantages that club president Florentino Pérez is banking on. His so-called "Galácticos strategy" has brought his club to the highest echelons of the sports industry. According to some studies, it is currently the top-ranked soccer club in terms of revenues and brand value. The growth of Real Madrid's marketing revenues in particular has outpaced that of their competitors.

Making such big bets on individuals is a risky strategy, for sure, but one that can have a tremendous pay-off commercially. Whether Bale will live up to expectations and will turn out to have been the right gamble is a big question — no one can know for sure at this point. Bale doesn't quite seem to have the global appeal of a Beckham or Cristiano Ronaldo yet, and it is a distinct disadvantage that he will likely never compete in a FIFA World Cup (because the chance that Wales will qualify is slim), but perhaps he'll grow into the role of superstar. What is certain is that his new club has the marketing experience and infrastructure to make his performance on the field count off the field, too.

The wider take-away here is that unless drastic measures are taken to curb the free flow of soccer talent across countries and clubs or unless soccer's governing bodies significantly alter the way in which contracts between players and clubs are structured, these winner-take-all trends are here to stay. The battle for top talent will only intensify, widening the gap between the "haves" and the "have nots." It won't be long before today's transfer record is broken yet again.

KazeKage1: You do understand that people have a life outside this forum, right?

4peace: you are using a+ and i see u online,asked for help on behalf on ur fellow a+ user

you are asking this question, ok thank you

anitank: 100 products that have stayed in Nigeria for 100 years since 1960


Is he desperate for paying such huge sum or just plain dumb

4peace: bro please answer this guy





biko

akinola1384: . Pls what is the diffrent between this two phone I also want to get one of then today now on my to computer village

Godvilla: [color=olive]We are not talking about support, are we?
U made mention of similar specs.
So lets end this discussion here. Am in no way gonna argue with u.
Thanks!!![/color]

deejay_harry1: FYI i use an e5 not an e3... .. and yea, tht would be a first indeed ...


dis is a selfie with my front camera....


enjoy