Almost two decades ago, Africa was tagged the “Hopeless Continent” in the May 2000 issue of The Economist. Hitherto, the continent was portrayed as ravaged by wars and coups, poverty and famine. It was a general negative narrative of Africa in the media.

However, a decade later from this time, the paradigm began to change. The world began to see the bright future of Africa. To this effect, The Economist went on to categorically reverse its position in a new cover story for its 2011 issue called “Africa Rising”. The story revealed that Africa had never been hopeless.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg TV, the Founder/Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Jim Ovia explained that this perception of Africa from a hopeless continent to a continent now rising inspired the title of his book, Africa Rise and Shine

According to him, African economies are beginning to do extremely well. With democratically elected governments and thriving businesses, which was not obtainable 25 – 30 years ago, African economies are now rising and shining. Hence, his book, Africa Rise and Shine would further contribute to the positive narrative of the international community and media perception on Africa.

Africa Rise and Shine is now available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Africa-Rise-Shine-Entrepreneur-Beginnings/dp/1946633402/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1533028144&sr=8-1&keywords=africa+rise+and+shine

See excerpts from the interview below:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI3hk6BNRjU

Foremost Nigerian financial institution, Zenith Bank Plc has upgraded its Mobile App to include QWERTY Banking, a new feature that enables users perform banking transactions while chatting on any social messaging platform.



Zenith QWERTY Banking is designed to enable people perform transactions conveniently, while conversing with business partners or chatting with friends and loved ones. It supports funds transfers, airtime purchases and bill payments to different merchants without having to log out of the messaging app being used or signing on to a bank transaction supporting application.

Sources at the financial institution confirmed that Zenith Bank is committed to innovating solutions that will enable its customers perform their banking activities at their own convenience and several other solutions in this regard would be introduced before the end of the year. They also confirmed that the QWERTY Banking feature is only currently available for android users and the ios version would be deployed within a few weeks.



To learn more, visit https://www.zenithbank.com/qwerty



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI3hk6BNRjU

The Civic Towers and Civic Centre buildings were lit up in red on Friday, 20 July 2018 to mark the 50th anniversary of Special Olympics. Alongside 225 iconic landmarks across the world, these buildings glowed red to raise awareness for the need for inclusion of people with Intellectual Disabilities to participate in sports and to honour special Olympians across the globe.

Other structures illumined on Friday were the Empire State Building (New York), African Renaissance Monument (Dakar), Yas Hotel (Abu Dhabi), Prudential Building (Chicago), Sydney Opera House (Sydney), Citadel (Amman), Angel of Independence (New Mexico), Lotte World Tower (Seoul), Nelson Mandela Square (Johannesburg), The London Eye (London), Niagara Falls amongst others.

Founded in 1968, the Special Olympics is a global movement of people/community where every single person is accepted and welcomed regardless of ability or disability. Its 50th anniversary was marked this July in Chicago, USA and several events were lined up for the weeklong festivity. One of these was the first-ever Special Olympics Unified Cup featuring 24 teams (8 women’s teams and 16 men’s teams) comprising of people with and without intellectual disabilities from around the globe – hence the theme, Unified.

The event was a global demonstration of tolerance, respect and celebration of differences.

The Civic Towers is an iconic structure, a brainchild of Quantum Capital Partners whose Founder/Chairman is Mr. Jim Ovia. Popularly referred to as an “intelligent building”, due to the highly sophisticated infrastructure it provides, the Civic Towers offers leading corporate organisations and blue-chip companies, a top quality business environment in the vibrant, central commercial locale of Victoria Island, Lagos State.

The Civic Centre, also owned by Mr. Ovia, is a premium event centre that offers state-of-the-art facilities and a great view of the Five Cowries Creek. It is regarded as Nigeria’s masterpiece on the waterfront.

Join Dr. Tope Fasoranti, (Executive Director, Zenith Bank Plc) at the 13th convocation lecture of the Covenant University, Ota as he delivers a lecture on “Technological Disruption and Tertiary Education: Redefining Learning for the Future”.

Date: Thursday, July 19, 2018

Time: 9:00am – 12:30pm

Venue: University Chapel, Covenant University, Ota.

Tech giant, Google has agreed to an $11 million settlement after it was sued for terminating a publisher’s AdSense account without justification.

A California firm, Free Range Content, Inc., instituted a class-action lawsuit against the tech giant for disabling its AdSense account right before a payment was due to it, and for failing to pay the balance on the account prior to the termination.

Numerous other firms had accused Google of denying them millions of dollars due to them through the practice, which some believe it uses to shore up its own revenue.

Google reportedly agreed to the settlement to prevent a drawn-out, “burdensome” and “expensive” trial.

“As part of the settlement agreement, an $11 million fund would be created, with no more than $5,000 being paid to Class Representatives, no more than $2,750,000 being paid to the class action lawyers, and $116,045 reimbursed to the lawyers for costs and expenses.

“The rest of the money will be used to pay Settlement Class Members whose accounts were terminated or disabled by AdSense and were not paid the current balance of their accounts,” Bleeping Computers reported.

The terms of the settlement include that claimants would be divided into group 1, 2, or 3, as payments due to owners of terminated or disabled accounts vary depending on which group they fall into.

For a claimant’s claim to be admissible, a notice of dispute would have been filed in a timely manner after their account was terminated and the notice would state the terms under which the account was bound.

Reports say “Payment Group 1” publishers would receive 100% of the balance, “Payment Group 2” would receive 50%, and “Payment Group 3” would receive 30%.

Read more here: https://www.herald.ng/google-forced-to-pay-11m-to-owners-of-suspended-adsense-accounts/

The name ‘G-Wagon’ is automatically linked with class and panache and for anyone to be able to afford such a beast of a car, then you know the buyer is quite loaded in the money department.

The news that a member of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, bought his wife a G-Wagon is one that has baffled many Nigerians and has once more brought to the fore the absolute chasm that exists between the rich and the poor.

Femi Gbajabiamila got a lot of flak for this particular purchase and went on to defend himself telling the Nigerian populace that he had to save for a ‘couple of years’ to be able to make the purchase.

This is extremely patronizing

First off, in the strictest of terms, the word ‘couple’ really refers to the number 2 and if we were to judge the lawmaker by those words then he’s saying it took him two years.

But let’s be more accommodating and say the lawmaker meant more than 2 years, but how long should it have taken him?

In a report by the website ‘Quartz Africa’, the average Nigerian lawmaker is said to earn $42,000 per annum which comes to about N15,000,000 in naira. If this is divided by 12, then the average lawmaker earns about N1.25 million naira a month.



But the allowances are the major thing. The Quartz report reads in part:

After many years of keeping its budget secret, Nigeria’s National Assembly, made up of the Senate and House of Representatives, has finally published a breakdown of its annual budget. In the past, the national assembly’s total budget allocation had been included in the national budget but without a breakdown. The national assembly’s 2017 budget is pegged at $393 million–a $31 million increase from last year.

The published documents show Nigerian senators will earn $55,000 a year in salary, while house of representatives members will earn $42,000—but that’s not the real story. For lawmakers, the big bucks come in form of the generous allowances. Put together, each lawmaker will cost taxpayers $540,000 to maintain in 2017.

$540,000?

In naira that comes to about N194,940,000

I’ll let that sink in for a moment.



The G-Wagon is broadly said to cost about 50 to a 100 million naira. According to a USA cars website, the G-Wagon AMG G 65 4MATIC SUV costs about $222,700 which in naira means you will be parting with at least N80,000,000 to buy a car like this.

With Femi Gbajabiamila’s base salary, if her were to save every single penny on the car, he’d need 5 years to buy it, but if he were to use his allowance, it will take him probably a ‘couple of years’ to buy it.

How about the average Nigerian?

Minimum wage is as at the time of writing still pegged at N18,000 and being paired with the mammoth N80 million needed, it’ll take the minimum wage earner 317 years of saving and not spending a dime before he/she could get a car like this.

How about the not so average Nigerian? The Banker or consultant with the fancy job and the N300,000 monthly salary, it’ll still take such a person 22 years to be able to afford such a car.

So Mr Gbajabiamila’s statement that he didn’t mean to offend sensibilities seems a tad fallacious considering the situation in the country.

His statement read in part:“My attention has been drawn to the extensive reports especially on social media regarding the presentation of a gift to my wife and best friend in celebration of her 50th birthday anniversary.



Naturally I had anticipated this occasion for quite a while and prepared by saving up for it in the last couple of years. I took the decision far back to present her with a significant gift, she was totally unaware of, to convey in part, the debt of my gratitude to her for standing by me through ‘thick and thin’. I could never have been half the man I am today without her support and unbelievable understanding. Truly, the monetary value of any gift real or imagined, pales in significance when I consider how much of a ‘rock and pillar’ she has been to me.

“The presentation of the gift contrary to public perception, was to be a family affair in our home but it suffered some delays finally arriving when a number of guests were in to celebrate with my wife. It still would have remained a private affair, but I guess we underestimated the power of social media and very excited friends.

“Having said this, I understand and appreciate the reaction of the public. As a public official, one must be held to a higher standard. My action was not meant to offend sensibilities and I regret that it did.

“Being a leader in many spheres, I can very well understand the optics of it. But I would rather want it to be seen as what it is-an expression of deep appreciation and love for my wife of almost thirty years, rather than one of flamboyance.

This author once had a lecturer who said, and i paraphrase, ‘If a politician or state releases a statement and uses the term “regret” it is safe to say that such a person is simply playing lip service’

It is hoped that if the new minimum wage is passed (58,000 from the most generous states) then perhaps it will only take the average Nigerian 115 years to buy a G-Wagon

Below is a video where Nigerians answer the question of how many years it’ll take for the average Nigerian to save for a G-Wagon

Read it here: https://www.herald.ng/see-the-number-of-years-an-average-nigerian-will-need-to-save-to-buy-g-wagon/


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN7rYi6_yIU

Earlier today a report emerged in which current minister of transportation and former governor of Rivers state, Chibuike Amaechi, stated that he earned a ‘meager’ N950,000 per month as Minister.

This brings his total earnings from his basic salary to N11.4 million a year pre-tax. In his speech which was at the presentation of a book titled, ‘Dignity in Service,’ authored by the late Dr. Matthew Mbu, he said this

“A minister earns only N950, 000 a month. Out of this money, N350, 000 is for accommodation so there is no more money given to you. The remaining N600, 000 includes payment for your staff, personal assistants and all that”



This is dubious as a report from November 2015 in which a letter sent to all the ministers sworn into the Buhari government by the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Engr. Babachir David Lawal and found on The Nation newspaper, breaks down the salaries and allowances given to ministers. See below

Car Refueling and Service is N1,519,000
Domestic Staff is N1,519,000
Entertainment is N911,800
Utilities cost N607,920.
Personal Assistant allowance is N506,600
Monitoring allowance is N405,280
Newspaper allowance is N303,960.
Leave Allowance is N202,640.
Tour duty allowance is N35,000.
Estacode allowance is $900 per night
Housing allowance is N4,052,800.
Furniture allowance is N6,079,200.
Motor Vehicle loan is N8,105,600
Basic salary is N2,026,400
*All of the above is per annum

Minus the Estacode allowance, all this put together comes to N24.24 million to each minister per annum and if further broken down to monthly bits, then we can estimate that ministers earn around N2 million per month.

But let’s disregard this for a second and instead look at how this compares to Amaechi’s time as Rivers state Governor when he threw a party that cost $500,000 for Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka to celebrate the great playwright’s 80th birthday.

At the time of the celebration– which was heavily criticised especially by the then Rivers State Information Commissioner, Dr. Austin Tam-George who even went as far as asking for a refund of the money spent, to which Wole Soyinka responded that while saddened that such an amount was spent which probably didn’t come from Amaechi’s pocket, he was ultimately indifferent to it–the amount was said to be around N82 million (the dollar was at N164)

How much is that today you ask?

Well, in today’s world, the $500,000 celebration by Amaechi would cost a whopping N180,000,000 to host, due to the inflationary effects the Buhari administration has had on the FX rate.

To get that into context, say Amaechi actually earns N950,000 a month (which in his words includes payment for personal assistants and staff), it would take him 15 years (or 4 terms) of saving every single penny of his salary to host such a lavish event.

Poor Amaechi!

At the book launch he spoke at, he also said this

”Nigerians like going to parties. That is one benefit of this government. We now assess our wealth and value money. Before, once you get money from the illegal means, we hold parties. There are very few parties these days because there is no more money to hold such parties. There are no ‘owambe’ anymore because there is very little money to hold ‘owambe.’ The reason is that the ‘owambe’ money used to come from the government and there is no money in the government to do such.”

This statement is so true– Nigerians do love parties, Nigerians also do not have money to throw parties, but rather than the explanation given by ‘poor Amaechi’, that people no longer have looted money to spend, in actuality, it’s really that people no longer have any money to spend.

This statement is a damning indictment on a government that in nice terms, hasn’t really worked for Nigerians so far.

Maybe the next party that Amaechi throws for a dignitary he’ll have to open a Gofundme account to make it work.

Time will tell.

In other news, remember that time Amaechi said he lost US$39 million to fraudsters because he was learning on the job.

What other tale will Amaechi tell Nigerians, only time will tell.

http://www.herald.ng/pauper-amaechi-would-need-15-years-to-replicate-famous-wole-soyinka-dinner/

Foremost African financial institution, Guaranty Trust Bank plc, has launched the Dusty Manuscript Contest to give budding writers the opportunity to win publishing deals for their finished, but yet-to-be published, manuscripts. Organized in partnership with publishing houses Okadabooks and Farafina, the contest is part of the Bank’s YouREAD initiative which is aimed at promoting the culture of reading.

The Dusty Manuscript Contest is the latest in a long line of GTBank initiatives geared towards promoting the appreciation of Art and supporting creative potential. In 2017 the Bank remodelled the old Herbert Macaulay Library, Yaba into a state of the art learning and recreational facility that would give people in the community and beyond the opportunity to build capacity, gain exposure and connect with the world. The remodelled library has been the venue of regular book readings and art expositions organized under the YouREAD initiative.

With the Dusty Manuscript Contest, the Bank is seeking to address the challenges indigenous writers face getting their books published. The top 3 entries in the contest will be rewarded with publishing contracts with Farafina as well cash rewards. The top 10 entries will get their books e-published by Okadabooks, including book cover design, book editing, and publicity. The top 25 book authors will also get a 2-day boot camp training on writing, marketing and branding.

The entries in the Dusty Manuscript Contest will be assessed by a panel of four judges which includes Eghosa Imasuen, the author of widely acclaimed novel, Fine Boys, and Yejide Kilanko, a poet and therapist in children’s mental health, Dr Ainehi Edoro-Glines, an Assistant Professor of English Language and Toni Kan, a writer and PR executive whose collection of short stories, Nights of a Creaking Bed, won the NDDC/Ken Saro Wiwa prize for literature.

Commenting on the Dusty Manuscript Contest, Mr Segun Agbaje, the Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank plc, said; “At GTBank we see art as not just a medium for creative expression but also as a means of livelihood, and by organizing the Dusty Manuscript Contest we are helping budding writers make a living off their works. He further added that; “By addressing the major barrier that our indigenous writers face in sharing their stories with the world, we hope to inspire and develop the next generation of award-winning and globally renowned authors.”

GTBank has consistently played a leading role in Africa’s banking industry. The Bank is regarded by industry watchers as one of the best run financial institutions across its subsidiary countries and serves as a role model within the financial service industry due to its bias for world class corporate governance standards, excellent service quality and innovation.

Acclaimed filmmaker, Femi Ogedengbe who recently made headlines after it was revealed he is currently working as a security guard in the United States of America has lambasted Nigerian leaders past and preset, and threatened to deal with them on sight should he spot them in the North American country.

Ogedengbe visibly annoyed by comments from young Nigerians over the articles in the social media which seemed to belittle his current occupation in the USA, said that Nigerian youth had gotten it wrong and he had not in fact fallen from grace. He said the security guard job came loaded with benefits that the average Nigerian youth may never experience in Nigeria.

He angrily blasted the state of affairs in the country.


“How I wish they could park planes in Ojuelegba, or Holy Ghost in Enugu. Let them tell them that ticket is free to America. You will see how many people will leave that shithole. Nigeria is a country I am sorry to say is a shithole. If it is not a shithole why is everybody running away from that place. The only people making money, thriving in Nigeria are politicians, ritualists and fraudsters.”

“I left Nigeria at 46 and look at me now, my wife and children are better for it. Now we are beginning to live like human beings, back in Nigeria we lived like animals. It is a shithole country.”

“Do you know how many Nigerians are working as security guards in USA, We were 63 people. Graduates, great celebrities, musicians, people with 2, 3 masters degree? I thank God we are working in America as security, it is better for our relatives back home.

“Even gardening job here in America, I will do it as long as it puts food on my table and ensures a brighter future for my family. Unlike in Nigeria where you are doomed.

“All these evil leaders from Atiku to Buhari to Obasanjo. All of you, you are evil, step aside. Let people like Donald Duke, Pat Utomi, Fela Durotoye take control of the affairs of Nigeria.

“Why do you think people are trekking to Libya to go and perish in the Mediterranean sea? Because there is no hope in that country. You people are a shame. All the leaders. God punish you. How I wish I will see somebody who is a leader and you come to America, you say you want to speak to the Nigerian community. May God not let me come near any of you in this country because if I come close to you, one slap will make sure you know how angry Nigerians are. I am not afraid of any repercussions.”


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJXZjak4jdQ

https://www.google.com.ng/amp/s/www.herald.ng/i-may-harm-any-nigerian-leader-i-sight-in-america-femi-ogedengbe/amp/

Acclaimed filmmaker, Femi Ogedengbe who recently made headlines after it was revealed he is currently working as a security guard in the United States of America has lambasted Nigerian leaders past and preset, and threatened to deal with them on sight should he spot them in the North American country.

Ogedengbe visibly annoyed by comments from young Nigerians over the articles in the social media which seemed to belittle his current occupation in the USA, said that Nigerian youth had gotten it wrong and he had not in fact fallen from grace. He said the security guard job came loaded with benefits that the average Nigerian youth may never experience in Nigeria.

He angrily blasted the state of affairs in the country.


“How I wish they could park planes in Ojuelegba, or Holy Ghost in Enugu. Let them tell them that ticket is free to America. You will see how many people will leave that shithole. Nigeria is a country I am sorry to say is a shithole. If it is not a shithole why is everybody running away from that place. The only people making money, thriving in Nigeria are politicians, ritualists and fraudsters.”

“I left Nigeria at 46 and look at me now, my wife and children are better for it. Now we are beginning to live like human beings, back in Nigeria we lived like animals. It is a shithole country.”

“Do you know how many Nigerians are working as security guards in USA, We were 63 people. Graduates, great celebrities, musicians, people with 2, 3 masters degree? I thank God we are working in America as security, it is better for our relatives back home.

“Even gardening job here in America, I will do it as long as it puts food on my table and ensures a brighter future for my family. Unlike in Nigeria where you are doomed.

“All these evil leaders from Atiku to Buhari to Obasanjo. All of you, you are evil, step aside. Let people like Donald Duke, Pat Utomi, Fela Durotoye take control of the affairs of Nigeria.

“Why do you think people are trekking to Libya to go and perish in the Mediterranean sea? Because there is no hope in that country. You people are a shame. All the leaders. God punish you. How I wish I will see somebody who is a leader and you come to America, you say you want to speak to the Nigerian community. May God not let me come near any of you in this country because if I come close to you, one slap will make sure you know how angry Nigerians are. I am not afraid of any repercussions.”



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJXZjak4jdQ

President Muhammad Buhari is not in the good books of many Nigerians this festive season as he has managed to steal the festiveness from the season, and turned it to restiveness.

The entire nation is on its knees as a result of fuel scarcity, which the President who also doubles as the minister of petroleum has proven to be clueless to remedy.

So many Nigerians are going this Christmas season unable to travel home for the holidays, unemployed, broke, and angry. However President Buhari did leave Nigerians with a little present… queues.

The President in a singular act of kindness has been able to procure a time machine from his friends in West Germany and instead of using it to take Nigerians to the future, he has blasted them to the past. 1984 to be specific, the last time he was president and queues also littered the national landscape.

These days to use an ATM, there is a very long queue. In fact just yesterday in Sokoto, a soldier slapped a policeman for stopping him from shunting a queue at a UBA ATM. Only the commander in chief and his goons are immune from queues. The queues are for the bloody civilians.

To procure fuel in major cities across Nigeria, there are queues as long as the line to see the Pope of Rome, incidentally the Pope shares a birth date with Muhammad Buhari, who recently officially turned 75. This may be a coincidence but over to the witty conspiracy theorists.

President Muhammad Buhari aka ‘Za oza Grinch’ has made Christmas the most frustrating time to be a Nigerian as his policies and ineptitude impoverish millions of Nigerians with each successive year he holds the mantle of leadership, aloof as to what to do with it. Nigerians are roasting. Even twitter trolls have reduced due to the opportunity cost involved in buying data or buying bread and beans along with data to charge their smart phones.

Some say the fuel scarcity is not the fault of Za oza Grinch and that the wicked fuel marketers are to blame, but is this not why Buhari was elected to be President? To stop the wickedness and greed. Seems he has become a party and ring leader of the same folks he campaigned to stop in their tracks.

Meanwhile, Nigerians are suffering and smiling. In the words of Dame Peshe, “Dia is God oooooooo.”


http://www.herald.ng/president-buhari-the-grinch-that-stole-christmas/

Former Nigerian Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode has accused respected news medium New York Times of lying about US President Donald Trump's purported comment about Nigerians.

The New York Times on Saturday had reported that Trump said in a June 2017 meeting that Nigerians refuse to "return to their huts" after seeing America.

Other comments credited to the president at the meeting include: "immigrants from Haiti all have AIDS" and "Afghanistan is a haven of terrorists."

The New York Times had quoted two anonymous sources present at the meeting but who sought anonymity.

Trump administration officials denied the report, saying that though the meeting took place, the president never used the words "AIDS" and "huts".
In a reaction via his verified Twitter handle, Fani-Kayode described the New York Times report as a "lie" and "salacious gossip".

He said,

The @nytimes claim
@realDonaldTrump said "Nigerians refuse to return to their huts after seeing America", "immigrants from Haiti all have aids” and "Afghanistan is a haven of terrorists”. This is nothing but sallacious GOSSIP and quintessential FAKE NEWS.The
@nytimes LIED!

https://mobile.twitter.com/realFFK/status/944674570358984704

James Hope College, Agbor and her student, Aroesiri Enameguono were both honoured by the Delta State Government with the Award of Excellence at the Unity Hall, Government House Asaba on Thursday for their outstanding performance at the recently concluded 2016/2017 Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) in Delta State.

James Hope College Agbor, founded and sponsored by the Jim Ovia Foundation, received the award for the School with the Best BECE Results for the 2016/2017 BECE in Delta State while Aroesiri Enameguono, a brilliant student of James Hope College was awarded the Overall Best Student in the 2016/2017 BECE in Delta State.

Both awardees were honoured for having distinguished themselves with such impressive results.

Government officials, including the Delta State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. David Edevbie; the Commissioner for Basic & Secondary Education, Mr. Chiedu Ebie and Her Excellency, the First Lady of Delta State, Dame Edith Okowa alongside school principals, vice-principals and parents all gathered on Thursday, 30 November 2017 to congratulate the well-deserving awardees.

The hall was filled with other excited awardees, their proud parents, ebullient principals and appreciative government officials. Awardees sat on stage whilst the speakers addressed the audience. Mr. Chiedu Ebie congratulated the awardees and spoke on the importance of excellent educational standards.

Her Excellency, Dame Edith Okowa concluded the event by belabouring the importance of education and its responsibility for all members of society to uphold. Students were also encouraged to strive to perform better and to do their best.

The Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki has approved a seed capital of N100m and 150 hectares of land for 150 victims of human trafficking, who recently completed skills acquisition training in the state.

Obaseki announced this on Friday during the graduation of the participants of the programme, which was organised by the Edo Agricultural Development Programme in Benin City, the state capital.

He also directed the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources to immediately liaise with the relevant authorities towards securing the land for the returnees to commence their agricultural businesses.

According to the governor, the beneficiaries would be put under the supervision of the Benin-Owena River Basin Authority and the EADP.

Obaseki stressed the need for coordinated efforts to end modern slavery.

He stated that the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, marked on December 2 annually by the United Nations, should be seen as a day for deep reflection on how to bring the illicit trade to an end.

Obaseki said, “We ordinarily should not be talking about the menace of slavery given the experience we have had. But it is a reality today and we have no choice but to tackle it.

“However, it is pertinent to point out the fact that modern-day slavery, in its various forms, such as forced labour, debt bondage, and human trafficking, has no place among us. To effectively abolish slave trade as we have it today, it takes a coordinated, deep-reaching, international coalition that will take into cognisance the various forms of modern-day slavery and compel perpetrators to back down.”

He, however, commended the returnees, comprising 51 trained on crop production, 15 on agro-processing, 68 on livestock farming and 52 on fish farming, for participating in the programme.

He also urged them to be ambassadors in the state-wide campaign against human trafficking and illegal migration.

Earlier, the Programme Manager of the EADP, Mr. Peter Aikhuomobhogbe, commended the state government for initiating the training and expressed optimism that the trainees would put the skills acquired to good use.

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed gave an insight to the health status of President Muhammad Buhari a few hours after the president returned to Abuja after a medical check-up in the British capital.

President Buhari’s fitness to govern the country has been questioned after he spent lengthy periods in a foreign hospital which sparked widespread criticism.

Mr. Buhari left the country for London on May 7 to continue with his medical treatment and returned to Nigeria on March 10 after spending 51 days in the British capital during which he attended to his health.

Upon his return, the president said he “couldn’t recall being so sick since he was a young man, including in the military with its ups and downs.”



He also said he could not recall ever having a blood transfusion before.

Reacting to the questions by the civil society groups if the taxpayers’ money was used for the private treatment, Prof. Lai Mohammed said, “It’s not strange at all for a sitting president to be ill and it’s not strange either for the state to take care of his medical bill.

“I think there’s so much speculation as to what he’s been treated for.

“I think we would rather respect his privacy. If Mr President feels like telling the world his ailment, so be it. I don’t think he’s under an obligation to tell anyone.”



The health of Nigeria’s head of state is a sensitive issue. Former president Umaru Musa Yar’Adua fell ill and died while in office in 2010, sparking months of political turmoil. Buhari’s mystery illness also comes as political parties and potential candidates jockey for position ahead of the next presidential election in 2019.

Buhari’s women’s affairs minister Aisha Alhassan claimed earlier this month that he had said he would only serve one, four-year term of office. But Mohammed, who was the spokesman for Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) that unseated Goodluck Jonathan at the last vote in 2015, refused to be drawn.

“If he’s going to run that’s left to him but right now, his major preoccupation is delivering on all his electoral promises,” he said.

http://www.herald.ng/buharis-health-status-is-private-despite-its-tax-payers-money-lai-mohammed/

Imo state governor, Rochas Okorocha has said that the South East Governors Forum proscribed the group Independent People of Biafra (IPOB), because secession agitation scuttles the ultimate political ambition of Igbos like himself in Nigeria.

Okorocha who has nursed a presidential ambition for over a decade said he had been against IPOB since its inception.

In an interview with The SUN, he said, “Some of us came out and made a big statement on IPOB. I condemned it from time. I have never supported IPOB. Who is Nnamdi Kanu to tell Rochas Okorocha to follow him to war. He said he was going to war.

“Most of the elite of the Igbo nation feel emotional about IPOB especially the clergies. I have engaged he clergies and they feel the same way.



“The elite should be engaged and made to change their stand because even if you are made the president, these questions must continue to come up. There is something wrong basically. I believe that it is either that enough information is not out there or that they are not taken properly.

“We must teach Nigerians how to free their minds. This is because when we are communicating, some people already have a preconceived mindset. I see this as a major challenge that we have. I believe that agitation in Nigeria is a way to get more whether right or wrong. I have been to the Northern part of this country and I weep each time in some of them.

“When I went to Liberia some time, I saw how great Nigeria is. So, there is need for every Nigerian to move around. This is because if you go to some of these places like Borno and some rural areas, you might come here and speak a different language. Rather than complaining, you might be organizing a fundraising to save the situation.”

He also said, “The North has produced many presidents. The hope is that by the Nigerian sharing formula, the next ship whatever arrangement, the next people that should be considered is the South East. But the South East again has created an image of danger to the rest of Nigeria that if they give them the presidency, they would secede. So, where are we in our wisdom and intelligence? You can judge especially those of us in the Diaspora who have never come home.

http://www.herald.ng/who-is-nnamdi-kanu-okorocha/

Mr Babatunde Fashola, the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, on Monday inaugurated one 15 MVA transformer, 20 operational transformers and 20 vehicles at Eko Electricity Distribution Company (Eko Disco) worth billions of naira.

Fashola inaugurated the projects shortly after the 19th Power Sector Stakeholders forum in Akangba Training School in Surulere, Lagos.

The minister expressed satisfaction on the performance of the management team of Eko Disco led by its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Oladele Amoda.

“l was not surprised when the owners of Eko Disco decided to keep him (Amoda).
“He is not only a prolific scholar, who reads and writes well, he is also technically savvy as you can see in his unscripted remarks.

“I want to thank Engineer Amoda for his warm remarks. I knew him way back when I was the governor here in Lagos. He was very responsive to our needs as a state then.


“And I also warmly welcome the spirit with which he has reminded us that we have work to do on transmission side,’’ he said.

Earlier, Amoda had highlighted the achievements of his company since the last quarterly meeting was held.


“In addition to what the Honourable Minister will be commissioning today which include one 15MVA transformer that can transmit 12 MW of power, we have added 60MVA in Ajah, 15MVA in Oke-Ira, Lekki and Alagbon.

“Others to be added are 15MVA at Fowler, Bourdillon, Anifowoshe and Akungba,’’ he said.

He said the purpose of the huge investment was to key into the Federal Government’s programme of incremental power output.

“By the time we complete all our ongoing projects at Adelabu, Stadium, Tejuosho, Surulere, Coker, Ijora and its environs, the network will be able to receive increased power from the transmission company and distribute accordingly to our numerous customers,’’ he said.


On embedded power initiatives, he said that First Power Company had built 13 MW embedded power, adding that “we are getting an incremental power as directed by the minister.’’

“We are waiting for tariff adjustment by NERC accordingly and this will attract more investors and promote willing buyers and willing sellers’ principles,’’ he added.

http://www.herald.ng/fashola-inaugurates-transformers-in-lagos/

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday dismissed the suit by Kogi West Senator, Dino Melaye, challenging the validity of the process of recalling him by his constituents.

Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, in his judgment, ordered that the Independent National Electoral Commission “shall proceed with the recall process”.

The judgment effectively terminated the earlier ex parte order made by another judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Justice John Tsoho, on July 6, 2017, directing parties to maintain status quo.
Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, in his judgment, ordered that the Independent National Electoral Commission “shall proceed with the recall process”.

The judgment effectively terminated the earlier ex parte order made by another judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Justice John Tsoho, on July 6, 2017, directing parties to maintain status quo.



But the Justice Dimgba, to whom the case was reassigned, ordered that the process shall only proceed with the recall process, subject to the service of the petition, the full list and signatures of persons in support of the recall process

http://www.herald.ng/trouble-for-sen-melaye-as-court-asks-inec-to-continue-his-recall-from-the-senate/

Minister for Women affairs, Aisha Alhassan and former minister of aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode have engaged each other in a heated battle over a story that was credited to the Minister.

Femi Fani-Kayode had in a series of tweets alleged that Alhassan would soon uncover some of the masterminds of the Chibok girls kidnap and lauded her bravery in the face of adversity.

The report Fani Kayode was reacting to stated that the minister had fingered Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai as one of the masterminds behind the Chibok girls abduction.

Alhassan had quickly released a statement in which she stated that the report was fake and an attempt to undermine her and in the process, she also called Fani Kayode a liar and peddler of false news in a series of tweets she later posted


Fani Kayode was also swift to react to this stating that she should tell the truth and not try to serve two masters.

He said; “Mama Taraba should continue to stand on the platform of truth and not allow herself to be intimidated. I reacted to a story in which she allegedly exposed Nasir El Rufai.

It took her 24 hours to deny the story and I wonder why it took so long. If the story is not true she should blame the original source, medium and author of the allegation and not me.

I merely reacted to it like millions of other Nigerians did. She should clean up her stinking mess and not blame me for it.

I guess that it is also not true that her associates in the APC government have alleged that 12 million went missing under her watch as Minister and that she now supports Abubakar Atiku against her own boss.

She should stand firm and stop blowing hot and cold. You cannot serve God and the devil at the same time. I repeat she should clean up her stinking mess and understand that I am not a soft or easy target.

Whichever way the APC sun is still setting. My advice to her is to stop getting her pretty knickers in a twist, to tow the path of honor, to resign from this accursed Govt. and to leave the APC before they strip her stark naked and feed her to the dogs.

http://www.herald.ng/atiku-minister-and-fani-kayode-trade-barbs-over-chibok-girls-scandal/

Not long after the minister for information and culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed revealed to the public that President Muhammed Buhari has called off the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) scheduled to hold today, Nigerians took to social media to lambast the President.

Monitoring comments on social media, The Herald learned a growing percentage of Nigerians are disatisfied with the way President Muhammed Buhari is steering the affairs of the country.

Some Nigerians regretted ever voting a candidate that lacks the stamina to preside over a complex and problematic construct like Nigeria, while others applied humour to wash away their thinking.

Here are some of the comments seen on social media:


/img]http://www.herald.ng/nigerians-express-their-discontentment-with-buhari-administration/

The Minister of Finance , Mrs . Kemi Adeosun, on Monday confirmed the release of the sum of N 350 bn to Ministries , Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government for the implementation of capital projects contained in the 2017 budget.

A Chunk of the money went to the ministry of power works and housing and the ministry of transportation
The 2017 budget, christened : ‘Budget of Recovery and Growth , was presented to the National Assembly on December 14 , 2016 , and passed by the lawmakers on May 11, 2017 .

The fiscal document , which was signed into law by the then Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on June 12 , 2017 , has a total expenditure of N 7.44tn , out of which N 2.99tn is for non – debt recurrent spending ; N 2.36 tn for capital expenditure ; while debt servicing is to gulp N 1 . 66tn .

Adeosun had on June 6 , during the public presentation of the budget, stated that the Finance ministry was ready to release the sum of N 350 bn for capital projects once the budget was loaded .



The minister, explained that the funds had been released to the various agencies of government.
She said the release of the funds was done in tranches with the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing getting the highest amount of capital releases .
This, according to her, is followed by the ministries of transport, defence, and agriculture and rural development.

She said water resources , interior and health were among the ministries with huge sums of capital releases made to them by the Federal Government .
“Yes, we did it ( N 350 bn capital release ) in tranches. Largest allocations were for the PWH ( power , works and housing ) , transport , defence, agric , water resources , interior and health , ” Adeosun said.

The 2017 budget , with capital allocation of N 2 . 36tn , is targeted at projects that are aligned with the core execution priorities of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan
The capital allocations have been crafted to stimulate activities in critical sectors of the economy that have quick transformative potential such as infrastructure, agriculture , manufacturing , solid minerals, services, and social development.
For instance, under the 2017 budget, the Federal Government will be embarking on a rail modernisation programme to which N 148 bn has been allocated as counterpart funds for projects to be financed by China .
They are the Lagos – Kano, Calabar – Lagos , Kano-Kaduna , Ajaokuta – Itakpe – Warri , Kaduna – Idu and other rail projects.
In the area of electricity , the sum of N 40bn for service – wide provision has been made to settle reconciled outstanding bills of government agencies as part of a strategy to revamp the ailing power sector.

For the housing sector , the sum of N 28bn was allocated in the budget for the Federal Government’s National Housing Programme nationwide.



The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma, had during the budget presentation shortly after it was assented to by Osinbajo, had said the government was concerned about the number of abandoned projects scattered across the federation .

He added that more targeted releases would be done to agencies of government for projects that were critical to the achievement of the ERGP.

Udoma noted that in this year ’ s budget alone, funds had been allocated to over 65 roads and bridges and rehabilitation projects across the six geo – political zones of the country.

Some of them are N 10bn for the rehabilitation/reconstruction and expansion of the Lagos -Ibadan Expressway sections I and II in Lagos and Oyo states ; N13. 19bn for dualisation of the Kano- Maiduguri road , sections I – V ; N 10 . 63 bn for the rehabilitation of Enugu – Port Harcourt dual carriageway, sections I – IV; and N 7bn for the construction of the Second Niger Bridge , phases 2A and 2B , including access roads .

There are also budgetary provisions of N 7.12 bn for the dualisation of the Abuja – Abaji – Lokoja road ; N 9 . 25bn for the dualisation of the Obajana junction to Benin road , phase two, sections I – IV; N 7 . 5 bn for the rehabilitation of the Onitsha- Enugu dual carriageway; N 7 bn for the construction of the Bodo – Bonny road , with a bridge across the Opobo Channel .

Similarly , the sum of N 3 . 3 bn was budgeted for the rehabilitation of the Ilorin – Jebba – Mokwa -Bokani road ; N 3 . 5 bn for the dualisation of the Odukpani – Itu – Ikot Ekpene Federal highway lot 1 , Odukpani – Itu bridgehead ; N 1.5bn for the dualisation of the Kano- Katsina road phase one ; and N 2.4 bn for the dualisation of the Suleja – Minna road, sections I and II, among others.

Udoma had said, “We can’t be doing the same thing and expect different results . We have to do targeted releases by looking at the projects we can easily complete and which are important .
“We are working on that to make sure that over time, we concentrate our resources so that we have maximum impact.”


http://www.herald.ng/fg-releases-n350bn-to-fashola-amaechi-others/

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has revealed that the former Governor of Bayelsa, Timipre Sylva, was gifted his 48 seized properties by the judiciary on a silver platter.

The EFCC continues to face public scrutiny by Nigerians who see the anti-corruption agency as a tool of President Muhammed Buhari to fight political opponents. Sylva, who is a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is no longer being prosecuted by the EFCC.

The EFCC had slapped 42 charges bordering on fraud, embezzlement, misappropriation and other financial crimes totaling N21.2 billion on the former Bayelsa governor, however those charges were dismissed by a Federal High Court judge.

In a series of tweets on social media sharing site, Twitter, the EFCC explained how Sylva was let off the hook.



The EFCC said, “He (Sylva) was facing 42 charges before Justice Mohammed of the FHC Abuja. The said properties were forfeited as part of the trial. The EFCC applied to consolidate charges against him before Justice Mohammed after the DPP, on June 1, 2015, withdrew its own charges.

“On June 10, 2015, rather than hear the case, Justice Mohammed dismissed the charges without him and co-defendants taking their pleas. The EFCC expressed its discontent at the ruling, and Chief Justice of the Federal High Court, Abuja reassigned the case to Justice Ademola of the FHC Abuja.

“On June 12, 2015 the EFCC filed fresh charges and on July 9, 2015 and brought 50 counts against him before Justice Ademola. The EFCC had expected a speedy/fair trial. But no! Few days to the Bayelsa State governorship election, Justice Ademola freed him without pleas taken.”

http://www.herald.ng/judiciary-returned-sylvas-properties-silver-platter-efcc/

The former first lady of the Nation, Patience Jonathan has made a daring move against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), by recovering her property, a hotel worth roughly N2bn from the commission.

Recall that sometime in June of this year, Mrs. Jonathan had had her hotel sealed off with inscriptions informing people that the place was under seal.

According to the Punch, the inscriptions by the EFCC have now been painted over with Grey paint. Upon inquiry, a Punch correspondent was told that the paint job was done on the instructions of Patience Jonathan and that if any more information was needed she should be contacted.

An EFCC source speaking to the Punch stated that Mrs. Jonathan was in the wrong for covering up the inscriptions with paint saying; “Sometimes when we are investigating some politically exposed persons, they immediately begin to sell off their buildings in order to cover their tracks and run away with the cash so that is why we put EFCC signs on the buildings so that innocent people will not buy those buildings.



“As it is, she has removed the inscriptions and can quickly sell it off.”

In his reaction to the incident, the lawyer for Patience Jonathan, Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN), said that he had no idea that the EFCC seized the property, but that nonetheless the agency has been sued for violating Mrs. Jonathan’s basic human rights.

“I am not aware of the seizure of property. If the EFCC seal was removed from the property, let them go and put another one. In any case, we have sued the EFCC for abuse of her human rights and human dignity. The matter is pending before the Federal High Court in Abuja and everything has been included in that suit.” He said

“We are challenging all the seizures because without prejudice to our case, Mrs. Jonathan was neither a public officer nor a contractor. So, the idea of harassing her beats my imagination.”



He added “I don’t see the basis for the EFCC’s harassment of that woman and the case wears a political toga because she was a formidable element during the campaign.”

http://www.herald.ng/patience-jonathan-v-efcc-former-first-lady-recovers-n2bn-property-back-from-agency/

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently “seek from the International Criminal Court an arrest warrant to bring Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke before the court on allegations of corruption against her, which the government should consider as crimes against humanity and serious enough for it to sanction her prosecution before the court.”



The organization also urged the government to “pursue civil actions to ensure that all the funds allegedly stolen by her are fully recovered and duly accounted for.”





In a statement dated 3 September 2017 and signed by SERAP deputy director Timothy Adewale the organization said that, “The allegations of corruption against Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke suggest the manifest failure of the government of former president Goodluck Jonathan to protect Nigerians from such heinous crimes. Your government now has the responsibility to take bold action to sufficiently redress this injustice committed against Nigerians, and the significant long-term damage for the country.”



The organization said that, “By pursuing international warrant of arrest for Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke in order for her to be brought before the ICC, your government would be showing to Nigerians that it is indeed determined to match its stated commitment to combat grand corruption and its debilitating effects with concrete and bold action.”





SERAP’s request followed growing allegations of corruption against Mrs Alison-Madueke and the recent disclosure by the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had recovered about half a trillion naira from her. Several court orders have also seized millions of dollars from bank accounts and forfeiture of several houses both in Nigeria and abroad linked to her.



The statement read in part: “SERAP believes that as important as it is, the recovery of alleged stolen public funds from Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke is far from adequate to redress the crimes against humanity that have been committed against Nigerians. The allegations of corruption clearly suggest the exploitation of Nigeria’s natural resources to the detriment of its people, and are serious enough to meet the requirements of crimes against humanity, thus bringing her within the jurisdiction of the ICC.”



“Pursuing this case before the ICC would also help to deter grand corruption and its devastating effects on Nigeria and contribute to the development of case-law in the field of corruption and citizens’ socio-economic rights, and ultimately advance the right of Nigerians to restitution, compensation and guarantee of non-repetition. Such bold initiative would also improve public confidence in the fight against corruption.”



“We also urge your government should urgently propose legislation that would characterise the kind of corruption allegedly committed by Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke as crime against humanity within our national laws, and thus allow Nigerian courts to directly hear those cases.”



“In this case, the inhumane acts committed against Nigerians take the form of grand corruption, and taking away our commonwealth for her personal benefit, the corrupt acts apparently took place over an extended and critical period during the government of former president Goodluck Jonathan. Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke knew or ought to have known that such level of alleged corruption by her would cause or contribute to or aggravate the suffering of marginalized and vulnerable Nigerians, denying them access to the basic necessities of life.”



“The fact that such enormous crimes could went on for such a long time without any form of redress is an affront to universal human rights of Nigerians to their natural wealth and resources. SERAP believes that causing unspeakable hardships or aggravating the suffering of large numbers of Nigerians ought to constitute an inhumane act of a nature amounting to a crime against humanity, for which the most appropriate forum of redress is the ICC.”



“The allegations of corruption against Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke deeply shock the conscience of humanity. Stealing of public funds meant to ensure basic necessities such as water, shelter and medicines for Nigerians rises to the level of crimes against humanity, as this has compelled the citizens to live in inhumane or degrading conditions, in violation of customary international law and treaty obligations particularly the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to which Nigeria is a state party.”



“Article 7(2)(b) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court among others includes the intentional deprivation of access to food and medicine as crime against humanity. Under Article 30(2)(b), a person has intent in relation to a consequence, for example, where that person means to cause that consequence or is aware that it will occur in the ordinary course of events.”



“Allegedly stealing such huge public funds from a developing country like Nigeria has not only drained Nigerians of their valuable commonwealth but also contributed to poverty, irregular electricity supply, bad roads, poor and inadequate health facilities, underdevelopment, conflicts, and insecurity.”



“Primarily because of grand corruption under successive governments since the return of democracy in 1999, millions of Nigerians continue to live in extreme poverty, a condition manifested by the lack of clean water, malnutrition, high rates of child mortality and morbidity, low life expectancy, illiteracy, perception of hopelessness and social exclusion.”



“Such basic necessities are those resources needed for individuals to maintain their physical and mental integrity. The resources may be material resources, services or access opportunities. SERAP believes that depriving individuals of basic necessities may cause physical or mental sufferings, material losses, physical or mental injury, or death.”



“SERAP also notes the final report on the Question of Impunity of Perpetrators of Human Rights Violations by UN Special Rapporteur El Hadji Guiss which concluded that violations of economic, social and cultural rights could be declared international crimes that are consequently subject to the principles of universal jurisdiction and imprescriptibility.”



“Similarly, Common Article 1 to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights stipulates an imperative prohibition against depriving a people of its own means of subsistence.”



“The essence of crimes against humanity is a systematic policy or action of a certain scale and gravity directed against a civilian population. The expression ‘attack directed against any civilian population’ is defined as meaning ‘a course of conduct involving the multiple commission of acts against any civilian population, pursuant to or in furtherance of a State or organizational policy to commit such attack.”



“The term ‘attack’ is not limited to violent acts. SERAP believes it extends to grand corruption committed with the intent or knowledge that such enormous crime will subject a civilian population to inhumane conditions of existence or perpetuate such conditions.”



“The ICC pre-trial chamber issues a warrant if it determines that the summary of evidence that the prosecutor presented
establishes reasonable grounds to believe that the person named has committed a crime within the court’s jurisdiction.”


http://www.herald.ng/alleged-corruption-serap-asks-buhari-seek-icc-arrest-warrant-diezani-alison-madueke/

Nigerian senator representing Kogi West in the National Assembly, Dino Melaye, has admitted to failing Nigerians along with other politicians in the country.

The controversial politician admitted to his failure while speaking as a panelist at The Osasu Show Symposium held in Abuja on Friday.

Speaking during the event, Dino Melaye said: “When you speak the truth, you die, when you lie, you die; so it is better to speak the truth and die. I may sound very unpopular but I will speak the truth.

“Apart from militocracy, politics is responsible for poverty and hunger in Nigeria. Unfortunately, we the leaders, myself inclusive, have failed this nation and have failed the younger generation myself inclusive.”



The politician added: “the reason why we are where we are today is because there is a disconnect between leadership and followership. As I speak to you, the problem why we are where we are is because of trust. There is no trust between the governed and those governing. Once there is no trust between the followership and the leadership, it will definitely have a negative concomitant effect on the economy, and every other facet of our national life.”

Melaye on the panel stated tharbthe problems Nigeria is faced with is not the political parties in the country. He maintained that “hunger and poverty have no political party, hunger and poverty have no religion. To have brought people to discuss on the line of APC or PDP is not correct, because the poor PDP man and the poor APC man all go to the same market.”

http://www.herald.ng/admit-failed-nigeria-younger-generation-dino-melaye/

Fellow Nigerians, congratulations on the arrival of our dear President Muhammadu Buhari from a prolonged medical vacation. Let’s all raise our voices and thank God for performing what the President himself described as a miracle. “I’ve never been this sick,” the President had repeatedly told well-wishers. Before his sudden departure from Abuja House, the official residence of Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, events were getting rough and embarrassing as some aggrieved Nigerians had started making a willow cabin at his gate, raking and ranting about the President’s decision to seek medical succour abroad while the state of healthcare back home remains pitiably scandalous.

It was a great relief to most Nigerians when news came from the Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, that his boss was finally on his way home. To some, it sounded too good to be true. Such tales had turned into disappointment on several occasions in the past. Something unusual happened on the eve of the President’s departure from England. President Buhari was seen sitting with the General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, and had apparently received a gift of some Christian literature. It seemed the General Overseer had come to sanctify the President’s journey and it was good to see this symbolic gesture of religious tolerance.

The arrival of President Buhari in Abuja was triumphant! The giddiness on display by family, friends, associates and fans was remarkable. Everybody was excited, joyous and relieved to have him back at home after what seemed an eternity.

It had been announced that the President would make a national broadcast two days after his return. This generated a lot of interest and expectation and elicited speculations ranging from the sublime to the mundane. Many expected the President to give an American style, State of the Nation, address while others thought he was going to take a bow by resigning and retiring to his home town of Daura, Katsina State, after handing the baton to his Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo. That latter permutation was far from reality and dead on arrival for one major reason. Whilst the President and his Vice President may have formed a perfect synergy and a reasonable bond exists between them, members of the President’s inner cabinet do not subscribe to this unity of purpose and it reflects clearly in their body language.



We debated these wild speculations in our editorial meeting at Arise News last Sunday. By the way, please find time to watch us on DSTV 416, every Sunday from 6-7pm. Our team of Reuben Abati, Wale Olaleye, Prisca Ndu, Yemi Adamolekun and yours truly was carefully assembled by the Chairman of Leaders & Company, Nduka Obaigbena. We are always ready to take you through the labyrinth of political and economic affairs globally. Our take was that President Buhari would seize the occasion of that broadcast to make monumental pronouncements about his reform plans for our long-suffering country. We hoped he would lay bare his plans for moving Nigeria forward positively. We slept only after setting our alarms to wake us up just before 7am to monitor the Presidential broadcast. What did we get eventually? The speech was scanty and short on concrete plans. In fact, it would be right to call it an anti-climax. Many people were disappointed that they woke up early to watch a badly packaged broadcast. The President’s speech-writers could have done much better with a short but crisp message to Nigerians. Instead, they prepared a mumbo-jumbo. I was not impressed. But, I didn’t know who to blame. Who supplied the content and who manufactured the script that President Buhari read? The content and the art-form should have blended well but this was not the case.

I thought the President should have exposed it all. At his age, there is nothing more to fear or hide. He should have told his captive audience everything about his unfortunate ill-health. The main reason most Nigerians were upset or angry was the fact that the President did not think it fit to tell Nigerians what was wrong with him and the treatment he was receiving from UK Doctors which, necessitated his endless sojourn in the Queen’s land.

As if this was not bad enough, we were informed by the Villa that the President was going to be operating from home in the meantime. Fair enough. I never expected someone who has been that sick to return to work instantly. It would be tantamount to callousness for anyone to shove the President back to office without proper recuperation. But it seemed some people were desperately anxious to do just that. As early as 9am, a letter was transmitted to the National Assembly announcing the President’s return to Nigeria and his immediate resumption of full Presidential duties. Fine. If the President felt strong enough and ready to take on the herculean task of running one of the largest and most complicated nations in Africa, so be it.

But it wasn’t going to be that simple! Before I went to bed that fateful night, news reached me in Ghana of a press release offering a spurious explanation for the President working from home, a totally unnecessary thing to do. At this day and age, anyone has the freedom to work from anywhere, home or abroad. Technology has changed the way we do things. A lot is now done and achieved at the touch of a button. The President did not need to dignify the busybodies who were prying into his affairs with any response. The bazooka released by a key member of his media team was a total faux pas. Lord have mercy, the statement that rodents sacked the President from his office is the worst public relations nightmarish blunder I have ever witnessed. As a foreign friend told me, “even if it was true that such happened, it was not in the place of any Presidential aide to disclose such so brazenly.” Anyway. It happened, life must move on even though we now have to live with the attendant jokes.



I promised some friends I will try to write the speech I thought the President should have read in case of similar future recurrence. It is also our responsibility to teach our leaders about modern ways of governance instead of lamenting without showing the way. We can’t blame them if we think they don’t know, keeping mute, instead of acting and transferring our own experience and exposure to them. I now produce my speech had I been in President Buhari’s shoes. Let me warn that the speech is fictional and only a figment of my imagination. Any similarity or resemblance to any real life situation is merely coincidental:

“Fellow Nigerians, good morning. It gives me great pleasure to be alive to address you again. What I went through in the past few months was so terrible that I thought I would die but your kind prayers brought me back alive. I sincerely thank God Almighty for giving me a new lease of life and another chance to serve you better. I unreservedly offer my sincere apologies for my long absences but I’m sure you will agree that it was due to circumstances beyond my control.

I must explain my sad predicament once and for all. There is a Yoruba proverb which says, “a man cannot hide his body from those who will bury him.” As your President, I’m your leader and also your servant at the same time. A true leader must see himself as a servant of the people. It is therefore incumbent on me to let you know and appreciate the health challenges I have suffered lately. Trouble started years back when I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Although deeply troubled initially, I was soon reassured by my doctors that mine had been detected early and was not malignant. I tried to follow the prescribed medical regime with rigid discipline I am reputed for, and this has kept me going since then.

My fellow Nigerians, permit me to say that when it rains, it pours. I did not bargain for what unfolded after I miraculously won the Presidential election of 2015. I was fully ready to work full blast knowing the extent of havoc the previous PDP government had wreaked on our country. However, what I met was far worse than what I ever imagined. Nigeria was in a bigger mess and the job required total strength, physical and psychological. Unfortunately, I soon relapsed into another bout of ill-health which deprived me of my full stamina to tackle the menace and scourge foisted on our country by previous administrations. I was quite alarmed when my doctors said that my sugar level had risen due to my abysmal diabetic history and now needed to be managed and controlled very delicately. I was told there were few experts in the world to deal with my virulent type of diabetes and I had no choice but to bow to the wish of God.

As you may recollect, I had problems with my ears after suffering an infection which badly affected my hearing. This was quickly corrected by specialists but I was constrained to wear hearing aids. However, that turned out to be the simplest of my problems. My battle with hypotension was soon to almost consume me. Unlike most people with hypertension, I had issues with low blood pressure, not high. Combining diabetes with hypotension can be very deadly. Simply put, that was my case. You now know what I was dealing with and why I’ve been away. It was never a fancy trip but a serious war to stay alive. I’m grateful to God that I’m alive to tell the story. Those who specialise in spreading rumours have concocted their own fake stories but this is the whole truth!

My dear Brothers and Sisters, it is heart-warming to be back home after crossing the valley of the shadow of death. Whilst away, I followed events at home very closely. I must thank my able Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo and our entire team for their sense of dedication and acts of loyalty. I’m gladdened that they kept the country together despite threats from different sections and segments of our society. I was deeply troubled to see how some people tried to cause disaffection and set our nation ablaze when dialogue, meaningful dialogue, can resolve most of our differences. I intend to engage every part of Nigeria in dialogue and will encourage everyone to join hands with me in the process of reconciling every one of our people. We stand to gain more in unity than in strife.

Permit me to reveal a secret I had kept for a long time. The former leader of Biafra, Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, visited me once in Daura to discuss the unity of Nigeria. He was clearly troubled and remorseful that Nigeria had to go through one of the deadliest internecine wars in Africa at his behest. We both prayed at the end of our meeting that such tragedy will never befall our country again. Some of those beating the drums of war and fanning the embers of disunity may not have been born at that time or they were too young to comprehend the devastation suffered by innocent people, usually the poor of the earth, during wars. My government will do everything possible to appease the aggrieved and make sure we all continue to live in harmony.

The clamour for restructuring has reached an all-time high. I agree that the time has come to do something about it. With the co-operation of the National Assembly, I will soon set the machinery in motion to deal with this all-important national issue. We can no longer afford to pretend that our present structures are perfectly in order. No Nigerian should feel like an alien in his own country. It is natural for people to get angry and violent when they feel marginalised. This anomalous situation must be addressed and corrected.

I will work closely with my Vice President in the days ahead to fine-tune our economy. Without a strong economy, we cannot get out of the doldrums. We have challenges on several fronts but they are all surmountable. As a retired army General, it is my wish to secure lives and properties by empowering and inspiring our men and women of the security forces. Our robust plans in this regard will be unfolded soon.

May God bless Nigeria…”

Hmmm, seems my imagination ran riot for a bit!!!

Read more at http://www.herald.ng/speech-president-buhari-failed-deliver/

The Nigerian police has declared a sitting senator wanted, accusing him of deserting the police force illegally.

Senator Isa Hamman Misau had weeks before blown the whistle, alleging corruption in the police force and stating that promotions to senior levels could not be procured without the hefty payment of money to the Inspector General’s office.

On Friday, Sen Misau, who is Chairman, Senate Committee on Navy and member of the Committees on Police Affairs and Intelligence, condemned what he described as “series of fraudulent practices in the running of the Nigerian Police”.

Addressing National Assembly Correspondents on Friday, Senator Misau, who is a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said that a high level of corruption had been noticed in the handling of monies allegedly being collected by the police as payment for special security services rendered by the Police to corporate bodies, oil firms and highly placed citizens in the country.



Police spokesman, CSP Jimoh Moshood has asked the general public and indeed the Senate to dismiss statements credited to Senator Misau, saying everything he said about the IGP and the Police are false.

According to Moshood, Senator Misau is “a habitual and unrepentant liar.”

“His real name in the Police is DSP Mohammed Isa Hamman, with Police number AP No. 57300. He is still a Police Officer and not a Senator because his name is still in the Police Service.

“Senate will do the nation good by asking him to return to the Nigeria Police Force to face disciplinary committee and answer all the charges bordering on serious misconduct, unprofessional wrong doings as earlier contained in our press statement released today.



“We want the public to know that he is not fit and proper to be a Senator of the federal republic of Nigeria; because that purported retirement letter he displayed today was forged.

“All DSP Hamman was saying were cheap blackmail, distraction and deliberate acts to derail investigation.

“So the force will want the Senate Ethics and Privileges committee which we have confidence and trust into see reason to ask him to dress up in his police uniform to come and appear before police disciplinary committee to answer charges against him.

“The IGP has no use to distractions DSP Hamman is instituting before the public, and no matter the position any person is, once he or she runs afoul of the law, he will be made to answer the charges,’’ Moshood stated.

http://www.herald.ng/police-declares-whistle-blower-senator-wanted/

The ex-husband to a British woman, 72, who got married to a 27 year old Nigerian man has raised a red flag regarding the couple’s relationship.


Recall that the British woman and grandma of six had revealed that she has spent 2,000 euros on visiting her young Nigerian lover since they got married in 2016.


Speaking on the relationship between his ex-wife, Angela, 72 and the Nigerian man, CJ, 27, Donald Neate, 71, expressed concerns that his ex-wife is being scammed.



Donald described the grandmother of six as being gullible adding that she continues to fight for her husband who is 45 years younger to gain entry into Britain.

Angela, from Dorset, had been single for six months before she met CJ via Facebook and became his wife later on.



She stated that the young man is her soul mate and flew in to Nigeria for the wedding.



Donald who separated from Angela 18 years ago, told the Daily Mail: “The first time I knew about it was when I read the papers. She has been scammed by a man who just wants to get into the country.”



He further stated that his ex-wife will have to deal with the consequences of her actions.

Angela, a former taxi driver who became devastated after CJ was denied visa into UK yet again told The Sun: “CJ is the most caring man any woman could want to be with.”



She added that they both have an amazing chemistry and “He makes me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. I know in my heart we belong together and we won’t stop fighting until we can be together as husband and wife.”




She continued: “We won’t let this break us. After the wedding, I found it hard leaving CJ. I knew I’d see him again soon but my family visa application was rejected. I was so determined to get him a visa I hired lawyers to fight for us. I’ve since visited him twice.”

http://www.herald.ng/ex-husband-72-year-old-british-woman-whose-nigerian-lover-27-denied-visa-speaks/

The official said the new guidance is also expected to put a stop to recruitment of transgender individuals and prohibit the use of federal funds to pay for sexual reassignment surgery.

Only one year ago, in June 2016, then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced that transgender individuals could serve openly for the first time. Prior to that, most transgender people in the military had been forced to keep their status secret to avoid being discharged. Since Carter’s policy change, some troops – possibly a couple hundred – have openly declared their status as transgender individuals.

Carter also had given the military services until July 1 of this year to present plans for allowing transgender individuals to join the military. Shortly before that date, Mattis extended the study period to the end of this year. And shortly after that, Mr. Trump went to Twitter to announce a total ban, without having used the customary interagency policy process.



At the time of Mr. Trump’s tweet, the Pentagon was not prepared to change its policy. A flurry of White House meetings ensued, with participation by representatives of the Defense Department, to translate Mr. Trump’s announcement into guidance that could be implemented and would stand up to expected legal challenges.

http://www.herald.ng/trump-transgender-military-ban/

Otunba Olugbenga Daniel, a former governor of Ogun state has accused Senator Buruji Kashamu (PDP, Ogun) of plotting to have him killed at his residence in Abuja.

Gbenga Daniel, in a letter to Ibrahim Idris, the Inspector General of Police, titled: Re: Assassination Attempt on my Person; Main Suspect, Senator Buruji Kashamu said Kashamu sent his hitmen to his home on Thursday August 24th.

Daniel narrated, “5 hefty men, 2 of them in Military fatigue, 3 others in Black clothes approached the gate honking that the gate be opened. The gateman peeped through the pedestrian gate asking for their identity and mission, they refused to wind down.

“Gateman then opened the Pedestrian gate to further inquire innocently. They asked for his boss “OGD” (that was the acronym from my full name, Otunba Gbenga Daniel) and he told them I was not at home. The 5 men instantly alighted from the car and pushed the gateman forcefully into the compound and started beating him saying he was lying and that they had information that I was at home.

“They thereafter asked him how many policemen were in the house and he told them five (5) men. They further asked him to show them where the Policemen were. He led them into the Boys Quarters and they found one of the Policemen lying down and they asked for his service gun. He told them it is not with him, they then pushed him into the toilet and locked him there.

“They returned to the Gatekeeper and told him to start showing them round the house where the other Policemen were, while insisting that they have accurate information that “OGD” is in Abuja, and at home. They spotted one of the workers at home and they nearly killed him believing he could be one of the Policemen.

“Meanwhile the Police that was locked in the toilet luckily had his gun kept in that toilet. He took his gun, went through the ceiling and landed in another main toilet that was not locked and started firing his gun. That was when they took to their heels and escaped. They were said to be carrying pistols or shotguns while one of them who carried a bigger gun stood watch at the gate as the operation lasted. Nothing was removed from the house. They reportedly came in a black Camry and the 6th person was said to be the Driver who stayed put in the car on standby.

Daniel who asked for increased police protection said the main suspect on the attempt was Senator Kashamu.
Daniel narrated, “It is public knowledge that there is no love lost between Senator Kashamu and I.
In the last 8 years that we disagreed politically he has not stopped maligning my character in every way possible. On one occasion, he confessed publicly and wrote in National newspapers (copy attached) saying that he spent over three billion naira (N3b) to destabilize and destroy my administration, using his own words.

“On another occasion he gathered some fake documents and sought for people who can lie on oath that I killed students and sucked their blood; with all manner of fictions on sundry issues and got these published in various online news medium that I stole campaign funds!!!

“All these I took in my strides as part of the price for participating in government and politics, including the spurious EFCC charges promoted by the current government in Ogun State.

“On several other occasions he has boasted in the company of his friends that he will not rest until he sees my end.
“This renewed offensive was as a result of the recent Supreme court ruling placing his own faction at a disadvantage and ending the reign of his control over the State Executive committee of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun state, which were all secured through various controversial court orders without any democratic process whatsoever.

“It is Kashamu’s belief that I was the brain behind his loss of power and relevance in Ogun State PDP (the main source of milking innocent political aspirants), and he felt I must be brought down by all means.

“This much he stated in an online publication on 24/08/17 (copy attached).
It is true that I have been in Abuja two days ago to solidarize with the new State Caretaker committee for the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State sworn in on Wednesday 23/08/17, a day before the incident. It is also true that I slept in my house in Abuja on Wednesday 23/08/17, But Senator Kasamu’s informant did not know I left Abuja on Thursday 24/08/17 afternoon (the day of the incident), with Senator Ahmed Makarfi and others to Ibadan on a peace mission to the Oyo State PDP from where I travelled to Ekiti. It was en route to Ekiti last night that this sad incidence was reported to me. Thematter have since been reported to the Police authorities.”
http://www.herald.ng/former-ogun-state-governor-accuses-buruji-kashamu-assassination-attempt/

A former aide to the former president Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, has taken to his social media page to throw shades at a former Minister of Education in the country, Oby Ezekwesili stating that she is nothing but a sanctimonious hypocrite.

The former aide to the former president who some weeks ago revealed how the DSS failed at arresting him took to his social media page on Facebook to write:

“Oby Ezekwesili is a sanctimonious hypocrite who likes to criticize but does not like to be criticized. She once threatened to report me to then President Goodluck Jonathan when I responded to her criticism, as if Dr. Jonathan “gives a damn” about her opinions!

She reported a journalist with Vanguard News to his management and eventually the young man had to leave for Daily Trust. Have you heard her strong condemnation of the 347 Shiite men, women, children and infants that were killed by our army or of the policewoman kidnapped by Boko Haram or of the hundreds of Nigerians killed by herdsmen in the Southeast were she comes from?



Yes, she makes some muted noise, but the Oby of today is not the same fire and brimstone Oby of 2010-2015.

The sad thing is that everybody, but especially her Southeastern kith and kin, knows she was used and dumped by people who know only too well her real nature. I suspect that her bitterness is that she could not attain the heights Ngozi Okonjo Iweala has attained and is still attaining.”



http://www.herald.ng/reno-omokri-shades-oby-ezekwesili/
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