₦airaland Forum

American multinational corporation, Nike has apparently disclaimed the Super Eagles jerseys crested with its patent pass-mark logo which are widely in circulation in the local markets.

According to the sportswear giant, the jerseys designed with its latest Dri-FIT technology for the Super Eagles ahead of the 2018 world cup in Russia will not be ready for public consumption until June this year.

"The jersey has not been released yet, it is scheduled to be available in June. Also, there has not been an option to pre-order the jersey. Stay tuned to our site for updates" the company reacted to an inquiry made by a potential Nigerian buyer, Dotun Olusoga via Twitter.
The revelation made by the company is in sharp and embarrasing contrast to a public announcement made by the Nigeria Football Federation on the 17th of May, 2018 via the same microblogging platform which reads:

"NIKE receives three million orders for Eagles' jerseys, explores new contract with NFF"

Aside Twitter, a report on the NFF's official website, www.theff.com details a meeting its leadership had with Nike's representatives in Europe on the progress of the Nike deal and other future engagements.

The questionable statement made by the NFF had prompted Dotun Olusoga's inquiry;

"I have searched the @Nike website and I can't find a "Buy" button on the Nigerian National Team kit page. Where did this 3 million preorders happen?"
By implication, all the Nike Super Eagles jerseys in circulation as worn by thousands of Nigerians including celebrities are likely replicas except if they were obtained directly from the Super Eagles or individuals used in showcasing the jerseys.

It would be recalled that Nike unveiled the new Super Eagles jerseys on the 7th of February via its Youtube channels featuring prominent Nigerian footballers like Alex Iwobi, Mikel Obi, Oyinye Ndidi, Kelechi Iheanacho, singer Ayodeji 'Wizkid' Balogun and an unknown lady who modeled them in different colours.

On the NFF website, it was stated that the jerseys were going to be available on Tuesday, 29th May (tomorrow), at unit cost of $85 as revealed after a meeting with with the NFF chieftains namely the President of federation, Mr. Amaju Melvin Pinnick and the NFF 2nd Vice President/LMC Chairman, Mallam Shehu Dikko, who is also Chairman of the NFF Marketing, Sponsorship and TV Rights Committee at Nike's Europe headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Nike only listed some trusted retail outlets they are dealing with in Nigeria on their website namely; Nike Ikeja City Mall Lagos, Nike Lekki Palm Mall Lagos, Nike Jabi Lake Mall Abuja, Nike Cedi Plaza Abuja and Nike Port Harcourt Mall, Rivers State.

The current designs bring back the nostalgia patterned Adidas jersey the Super Eagles wore at the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia and their first World Cup in the United States of America that same year.

The away kit has the shirt with the predominantly light green background with bold white V-shaped patterns drawn on it. The sleeves have white underneath black patterns. The shorts are plain white. The home shirt is all-green, this one darker than usual.

Source: https://www.tori.ng/news/97502/all-nike-super-eagles-jerseys-in-local-markets-are.html

CC Lalasticlala Seun Ishilove Mynd44 Dominique Obinoscoppy Tonyebarcanista

I thought Tonto Dikeh said Olakunle Oladunni Churchill is into internet scam? This is the joke of the year.

Hushpuppi, who has been described as one of the most popular and richest internet fraudsters from Nigeria rarely talks but his lifestyle has been doing the talking for him. This time, he seems to have a story to tell after being irked.

A former director of social media of the People's Democratic Party and self-acclaimed human rights activist, Deji Adeyanju recently recommended Hushpuppi (real name Ramoni) for investigation and prosecution by the anti-graft body, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. He made the controversial recommendation while commending the EFCC for the arrest of six internet fraudsters popularly known as Yahoo Boys in Abuja.

Adeyanju believes Hushpuppi who serially flaunts his uncanny wealthy on social media is into internet fraud which the young man has also not denied. This is second time Adeyanju is recommending Hushpuppi for arrest by the EFCC operatives but the body appearing unconcerned.

His recommendation which happened via Twitter went viral thereby necessitating responses from Hushpuppi. Hushpuppi is one of the most flamboyant Nigerian youths on social media. He strictly wears mostly expensive Gucci wears and holidays at the exotic locations across the world. He once expended a whopping sum of N11.5 million at one of the classiest club houses in Lagos State identified as Quilox owned by socialite Shina Peller. Overtime, his presence on social media has intimidated hundreds of local celebrities whom he has accused of wearing fake designer clothes, shoes, wristwatches and others at different occasions. Musicians namely Phyno, Ice Prince, Kcee have had skirmishes with him over what they wear.

Hushpuppi once lived in Malaysia and has reportedly moved to Dubai, United Arab Emirates where he basks in luxury doing what nobody knows. The social media tells us he is into high-profile internet fraud and the bearded young man whose mother hails from the Niger Delta region has refused to debunk the criminal stories trailing him. He seems to love the identity. He has over 1 million followers on Instagram and on his bio, you are welcomed with the bold message; The Billionaire Gucci Master”

Hushpuppi who has lived outside Nigeria for 8 years has threatened to drop his citizenship as he makes a response to Deji Adeyanju's apparent attack on his personality.

He made a video yesterday with mixed emotions detailing his journey from poverty to luxury. Just like other picaros across the world like Pablo Escobar of Colombia, Joaquin Guzman aka El Chapo of Mexico and Lawrence Nomanyagbon Anini of Nigeria, there is a touching story about their stand against the law.

He spoke about the spate of poverty in his family stemming from several generations before his parents who wallowed in poverty. He recalled how his sister died of typhoid fever as well as his personal struggles as a man to make it from nothing. He regarded the Nigerian state as a failure which has disappointed the millions of her citizens.

It should be noted Adeyanju also challenged Hushpuppi to a debate in front of the EFCC office in Abuja which he has accepted but he gave his conditions. Ridiculously, Hushpuppi would also love to engage in a physical fight with Adeyanju during the death during which he hopes to do some damage on his face and make an impression of his source of money through vast injuries.

“Yes, I accept your debate challenge. First you have to know to invite me to Nigeria; it comes with a cost just like other people who have been inviting me for appearances in so many different countries worldwide. It comes with a cost which you have to discuss with me if you want to see me, I dont care about you. You have to realize it comes with a first class ticket, a 5-star hotel, on ground security since the country is not safe it is well known for kidnapping people and all these things, you have to provide me with my meals, I have my own preferences, you know the kind of meals I eat” he said.

Hushpuppi also wants the debate location to be shifted from the vicinity of the EFCC office in Abuja and taken to the people since Adeyanju claims to fight for them. Hushuppi hopes to debate with him at the Oyingbo Market in the Ebute Metta area, Idumota market and Yaba area which is close to the psychiatric hospital where he believes Adeyanju will end up as his mother opined.

Funny enough, Adeyanju’s source of income is also unknown but some believe he is a professional protester. It is not clear if that is a paid job anywhere in the world. Deji has been involved in several protests for and against the ‘enemies of the state’. He has been accused of benefitting from the financial corruption orchestrated by members of the then ruling party, PDP.

Well, back to the issue at hand; after a series of threats to Adeyanju's life, Huspuppi gave clues about what the debate points would look like. He wants to debate on the spate of poverty in Nigeria as it riddled his family.

"When you are coming to this debate, please be well prepared to answer some very good questions that I have for you and Nigerians. You have to explain to me personally why is it that my elder sister, the one I was immediately born after had to die of just Typhoid in Nigeria in Gbagada General Hospital (Lagos)? Why did my sister have to die because my parents didn't have enough money? Why did she have to die cos they didn't attend to her quick in the hospital? You have to answer these questions that give me pains that I go through all the time, everyday in my life.

You have to be able tell me why my parents have to suffer so much and they can't be proud of N1,000 that has been given to them by the federal government. My mother is from the Niger Delta part of Nigeria where Nigeria's oil comes from. She has never benefited one dollar from the Niger Delta, the oil-producing part of Nigeria where she comes from and she is over 60 years old” he harped.

He went on to explain that many generations before his parents have been stricken by poverty and he is the only one who has escaped by the whiskers. He narrates that his father has worked harder that Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Olusegun Obasanjo and yet there is nothing to show for it. According to him, only him among the children of his parents has been so far successful in life. He attributed the recent attacks on him to envy as he has been through so much hardship in life.

"I suffer, okada don jam me so many times, motor don jam me for the same Nigeria. I don nearly die. I come escape, I come escape una country, just few years I don dey enjoy. This enjoyment never even mature. Just this small enjoyment wey I dey enjoy never dey equilibrium with the suffer wey I don suffer. I don suffer for decades, I never enjoy reach 5 years sef. Una dey look say no, dem suppose bring me back make I come suffer, say na must say I must suffer" he lamented in Pidgin English.

Hushpuppi believes the government owes him an explanation as to why his father languished in penury for so long. He revealed that his father's second wife also passed away in the course of his father's travails.

He lamented on the general sufferings in Nigeria specifically mentioning the deplorable state of people living in Badagry which is at the outskirts of Lagos, Agege, Iyana Ipaja as well as Ebonyi and Nassarawa States which according to him have been starved of developmental projects. He believes negligence on the part of the government has further impoverished the people.

Hushpuppi said his story must be used as documentary to give hope to the youths.

"My papa when im dey 4 years old, him papa die. At the age of 7 them put am inside motor wey carry yam and cow dey go north. My papa follow motor go north.

At the age of 8, 9, my papa don dey work for bakery for north from Ijebu. My papa suffer. E acquire many things, e get to where him want you know. My papa really go through a lot you know. I nor fit dey remember so many things. I nor fit open my eyes down dey talk my papa story because e dey cause me so many pains. Una know go understand."

He said he travelled to Ethiopia and slept with donkeys in an uncompleted building in his first trip out of Nigeria. He recalled how he suffered in Ghana and Ashimota where he sold phones.

Hushpuppi believes 'God' answered his prayers a few years ago and alot of Nigerians believe he doesn't deserve the opulence he is basking in. He said Nigerians should be more concerned about the less-privileged in the country who are looking for opportunities to leave the shores of the country for better opportunities abroad.

His story has appealed to the hearts of thousands of Nigerian youths who have turned against Adeyanju despite been left in the dark about the source of income of Hushpuppi. Rumours have it that Hushpuppi is worth over $20 million dollars which beggars belief.

Source: https://www.tori.ng/news/96791/i-suffered-i-was-hit-by-okada-i-slept-among-donkey.html

CC Lalasticlala Seun Ishilove Obinoscoppy Mynd44 Airforce1 Dominique

Violent J was sleeping one night when she began to feel pressure around her neck. She opened her eyes to the rude shock that her massive bosom was actually choking her.

Its difficult for people to believe a woman's breast could suffocate, but some women with big breasts have this challenge.

Since then, "I haven't been able to sleep on my back" Violent J told the BBC. in an interview originally written in Pidgin English and later translated by a Tori News correspondent.

Violent J who is a mother of two said she is experiencing back and shoulder pain in addition to the weight of the breasts which are weighing her down.

She has decided to ease her struggle with her huge breasts through a surgical operation.

"I need a surgery" she said.

"After giving birth, the breast size didn't decrease and there was no milk inside. As I am speaking to you right now, my breasts are heavy on my chest. I wish I could loose my bra for you to see but that is not appropriate. Some people have big breasts but they are light. My breasts are heavy"

"My bra size is not even in the market and I have to contract fashion designers to make special bras for me" she added.

She went to complain that the breasts have affected her dressing pattern as she is always conscious of the kind of clothes she puts on to prevent causing a scene in public.

According to her, her bosom frequently causes a stir when she steps out with young men insulting and flirting with her. She is presently looking for money to undertake a surgical operation to reduce the size so that she could sleep well at night and ease the pressure on her body.

Having Big Breasts is not a medical condition

Dr Aranmolate Ayobami who is a cosmetic surgeon said its normal for women to feel pains due to the massive size of their boobs but its not very common in the society.

In the medical field, such a condition that causes pains is called 'Macromastia' and the cause is not really known in medicine.

"I have operated on up 5 to 10 women in the last two years because of big breasts or giant breasts as they call the case" Dr Aranmolate Ayobami said.

"Its big breasts when women start to complain of back ache, bra line and injury. The breasts could be regarded as big when they not proportional to the body size of the person or not in correspondence with the person's age. In some books, any breast that is bigger than 1.5kg is regarded as giant breasts"

"A very huge breast could be as big as a bottle of EVA water. Most times, any woman with a breast size above D cup is regarded as big. The moment you start to reach E, G, H, its clear a big breast".

"An average women should wear a bra size of C and D in terms of cup size" the medical practioner insisted.

"Women with big breasts have no health issues and there is nothing to fear. Its just a big breast"

"The simple solution is breast reduction. What we (doctors) do is to cut off some parts of the mammary gland to reduce the size. A plastic or breast surgeon could take care of that."

I will advise busty women not to lose sleep over it. They should just visit the nearest hospital that deals with the health of breast or specifically a plastic surgeon to resolve the problem" he concluded.

Watch part of Violet J's interview below:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmCFbK7D6h0

Source: https://www.tori.ng/news/96646/my-breasts-are-too-heavy-for-me-busty-nigerian-wom.html

Social media users have been thrown into deeper confusion about the alleged romance between Miracle Igbokwe and one 'Aunty Juliet' who has been described as his sugar mummy by a section of the media.

Big Brother Naija 2018 winner, Miracle and his popular brother, Captain Godwin Igbokwe have given conflicting accounts about his relationship with 'Aunty Juliet' rumoured to be his bedmate.

While Captain Igbokwe referred to Juliet as Miracle's aunt, the self-acclaimed FlyBoy who is seeing Nina claims Juliet is a 'family friend'. Now, who do we believe?

It would be recalled that the internet was agog over the weekend with claims and pictures that the winner of the just concluded BBNaija reality show, Miracle, had a sugar mummy.

However, Miracle’s brother, Captain Igbokwe, reacted to the allegation on behalf of his brother. Captain Igbokwe, who took to his Instagram page to address the issue in a video, said the woman known as Juliet was actually their aunt.

He said “Juliet is Miracle’s aunt, it is insulting because someone is hurt or you have been unable to see Miracle outside the house then try to fabricate stories.

“In our family, we love each other dearly and down to earth. And then someone calls my aunt, my brother’s sugar mummy it is unfair. How do you expect people to see her in public, this is a woman who has a reputation?”

Meanwhile, some social media users who have been digging into his private life presented an old interview Miracle granted immediately on his return to Nigeria from South Africa during which he referred to the 'Juliet' as a 'family friend' who has been assisting him financially.

[i]"She is a family friend, she's someone that actually helped me out when it comes to me being a pilot. A lot of people helped me out. She is one of the persons that actually helped me and I learnt a lot from her. I know her...she is into exporting.

"There was a time she actually offered to pay me one or two things in order for me to raise money for my training (aviation school).
"She was there for me. Trust me." [/i]he claimed.

The conflicting information has further being questioned as people raise eyebrows on why Miracle has suddenly lost his voice with his brother now assuming the position of his scribe when he is alive and healthy.

Watch the video of Miracle's interview below:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBU-md_MPt8&feature=youtu.be

Source: https://www.tori.ng/news/96457/bbnaija-miracle-and-brother-give-conflicting-accou.html

They are not necessarily the most educated, attractive, eloquent, innovative or intelligent people in the country but the society embrace them due to size of their bank accounts.

They date the most beautiful, educated and sophisticated girls of your dreams even when they represent the opposite of what the girl really wants; that’s the power of money. Also, they roughly wear the most expensive jewelries, shoes, clothes, throw the biggest parties, lodge endlessly in fancy hotels and paint the town red in the best cars.

They are the internet fraudsters popularly known as G-Boys or Yahoo Boys. These sets of people cause massive damage both home and abroad in a slow manner which could be likened to the effect of drug abuse on human beings.

Back home, the losses are immeasurable. Nigeria records about N127 billion loss annually to cyber-crime. Nigeria has been ranked third in global internet crimes, coming after United States of America and United Kingdom respectively. In 2014 alone, the anti-graft agency - Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC reported that customers in Nigeria lost about N6 billion to cyber criminals. Banks in Nigeria have lost approximately N159 billion to electronic frauds and cyber-crimes between 2000 and 2013.

I'm sure the Global North countries that are the prime victims can't fully count their losses even if they want to.

According to a report by Ultrascan AGI, a subsidiary of Ultrascan Research Services - an international research organization, a whopping sum of $12.7 billion was lost to Nigerian scams (focusing on Advance Fee Fraud statistics) in 2013. In 2012, losses totaled $10.9 billion from $9.6 billion in 2011. Another report says that $50 million is lost annually to romance scams which our brothers participate actively in.

In the U.S, romance scams account for the highest financial losses of all internet-facilitated crimes according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI. Reported losses in 2016 exceeded $230 million according to a conservative report as only 15% of the crimes are being reported.

Earlier this year, an 82-year-old grandmother in the U.S, Marjorie Earl Jones who lost all of her money to a con artist, was so devastated by the scam that she committed suicide.

Similarly, a lonely bachelor in the United Kingdom- Ian Doney, 51, sent thousands of pounds and paid for flights after believing he had met one girlfriend online and she was travelling to the UK. He also committed suicide on the 30th of August, 2016 after being scammed.

After he spent all day waiting fruitlessly at the airport, he went on to give more money for medical bills because he was told her visit had been prevented by an accident.

“He had not had a relationship with anybody. He just wanted a family.”

"He was borrowing money to send over there. He wasn't eating properly and he was starving himself. Anything he could sell, he sold it." his sister, Gillian Doney revealed. These are just a few examples of the catastrophic effects of internet fraud on individual lives.

The Yahoo Boys have presented Nigerians are predators in the international community who are considered too radioactive to have to have a dealing with.

Remember the ne’er-do-wells you mocked during your first degree days. I mean the Indian Hemp smokers and drunks who failed to pass the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB examination, they are now the kings of the streets with the cash to throw around just like El Chapo and Pablo Escobar. Some of them like the popular de facto Gucci ambassador, Hushpuppi now command elephantine followership on social media through which they now mentor people. They regularly do giveaways to build their presence online and compete with the regular celebrities.

The economic downturn in Nigeria has made even the most principled vulnerable to them. Religious and societal values have also been abandoned for a mesh of porridge provided by these people who ruin lives through the keyboard. Even though, many believe internet fraud is a manifestation of age-long political corruption and economic hardship in Nigeria, there is no justification for living off the sweats of others like parasites in the ecosystem.

12 suspected internet fraudsters were apprehended by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) Lagos Zonal Office in collaboration with the Nigeria Police on Friday arrested in an Ikoyi Club in Lagos State with ostentatious properties seized from them as investigation continues.

This action has sparked ripples across the country with majority of Nigerian youths remaining divided concerning the bust. The usual flimsy excuses of the Yahoo Boys are that the government made them monsters and the politicians who are their role models are constantly stealing in million folds in the comfort of their offices with law enforcement agents and flawed institutions of state protecting them.

Unemployment and underemployment have been majorly blamed for the surging spate of cyber-crimes in Nigeria. Most Nigerians feel comfortable about internet fraud as far as they are not the victims.

Part of the praise-singers of the fraudsters are Nigerian musicians prominently 9ice, Reminisce, Olamide, Small Doctor, Olu Maintain, Kelly Hansome, Tupengo and others taking such actions to either show gratitude for previous financial assistance or probably curry favour from them. This is dangerous to the young minds because music is powerful; it could penetrate and control human minds in the fastest way possible.

The social media slay queens who hide under the guise of acting, make-up artistry, event management, fashion blogging, modeling and other flexible jobs to sell their bodies have also gone into overdrive over the attack on Yahoo Boys. These guys are one of their biggest customers keeping them in business and sponsoring their upscale lifestyles.

This journalist took his time to read hundreds of social media comments for and against internet scam and the survey has yielded appalling and shameful results. In saner climes, this topic doesn’t warrant any debate but an outright condemnation of the act.

Nigerians benefiting from internet scam have flagrantly defended the internet fraudsters publicly without shame. If these people have their way, internet fraud would be enshrined in the Nigerian constitution as it supposedly generates ‘foreign exchange’ for the local economy in contrast to unscrupulous politicians who take money out of the already fragile economy to stash in foreign banks or buy vast properties outside the country.

A section of social media commenters even believe the Yahoo Boys who have fully delved into rituals to jinx their victims into making huge payments for phantom deals are avenging the crimes of the whites against the blacks for the 400 years of slavery. In the crime world, most criminals have a way of seeking justification for their crimes to subdue their conscience so that they could sleep well at night. Even the dreaded terrorist group, Boko Haram has a fine narrative to suit its quest for blood and destruction. But, in the real sense, there is no justification for being an outlaw.

Social media influencer and Lagos socialite, Noble Igwe has been criticized vehemently on social media platforms for exposing the business fronts through which these scam artists launder their dirty money in Lagos. He drew attention to real estate and property businesses, record label ownership (which singer Dbanj also confirmed some months back) car shops as well as other outlets in the privileged Island area of Lagos State. His tweets have been regarded as 'snitching' which is a popular black American cliché for condoning crime.

Those opposing him are not even faceless people, they are prominent figures in the entertainment circle using their large following and verified accounts to hit the fashionista in a brazen way as it fraud is a legalized part of the Nigerian economy. This is not the Nigerian dream and one wonders how we got here.

Dating a 'god fearing' and loving internet fraudster has become the dream of most girls in Lagos. Following some wealth-flaunting celebrities on Instagram has spurred them to lust after ostentatious products like iPhones, iPads, designer shoes, clothes, Exotic meals, wines, cars, top class hotels, vacation in some tourist centres across the world especially Dubai and engage in all sorts ephemeral of activities that could be used to intimidate their pairs.

Yahoo Boys who can be safely called armed robbers whose guns are laptops and operation area is the internet have become fixers celebrated by some parents as long as they are generous with their loot. This red-carpet treatment given to them is setting a bad precedent that would mortgage societal balance as well as the development of Nigerian youths.

Majority of people don't care about hard work anymore. Academics are being mocked for finishing school in flying colours and working for peanuts while the uneducated fraudsters who wasted the sunny days of their lives at beer parlours, engaging in drug abuse and chilling at dark corners with prostitutes, ride the best of cars and even open businesses that could employ the educated.

This acceptance of fraud as a way of life which has almost formed a foundation of Lagos State - commercial capital of Nigeria where workers painstakingly earn an average of N100,000 per month is happening in the face of a #NotTooYoungToRun campaign aimed at ensuring young people take up public positions in Nigeria. There is this general belief that Nigeria would be better off if the apparent system of 'Gerontocracy' is abolished and the youths with fresh ideas assume power.

With the calibre of youths seen supporting fraud, I think the present formidable team of political jobbers is set to change to more energetic, hungrier, tactical and, brilliant ones. There is no light at the end of the tunnel. The agitations for direct political participation by pseudo intellectuals and half-baked political analysts on Twitter are mostly being made by youths who are indirectly bitter about being shut out of the heist being committed at the corridors of power daily.

The same Nigerians who complain about the weakness of the Nigerian international passport are the ones stealing with strong political will, operating as rug rags on the internet giving the country a bad reputation in the developed world. Nigerians are like desperados outside the country; they could even betray their mothers just to make their lives worthwhile.

This has had a malignant effect on foreign investments in Nigeria as businesses to a large extent have to do with trust. What we see here are long term growth and development prospects being sacrificed for the short term benefits of a greedy few.

Nigerians abroad are being treated with disdain and disrepute simply because of the sins of a faceless few swallowing the lifetime savings of responsible people overnight only to satisfy youthful exuberance with the stolen funds.

There have been cases of victims becoming drug addicts, alcoholics, getting heart attacks, committing suicide and parting with their beautiful families after losing huge savings to Yahoo Boys who ignorantly attribute their successes to 'God'. There is danger as the new crop of Nigerian youths doesn’t want to work, they just want to get rich and scam is the way.

Most families, friends and acquaintances don't care about the source of the money, they just want to celebrate the spender and enjoy their share. The Yahoo Boys are their heroes and messiahs.

Permit me to end my piece with the wise words of the creative director and lead producer at Soundcity TV, Olamide Adedeji about the Yahoo Boys saga as seen on Twitter:

"Yahoo boys are armed robbers. Armed with computers harming people and corporations. So please, file them next to Drug dealers, thieves, money launderers etc"

“They don’t deserve to be glorified, praised or emulated. We need this reality check”.

Osayimwen Osahon George is a journalist and doctoral student of the University of Ibadan.

Source: http://www.villagetowncrier.com/2018/05/the-celebrity-status-of-yahoo-boys-in.html

Tiwa Savage has been frequently seen with Wizkid thereby giving indications that the duo might be getting intimate in the 'other room'.

There have been widespread rumours that Ayodeji 'Wizkid' Balogun might be sneaking into the bed of Mama Jam Jam in the middle of the night when prying eyes are closed.

It would be recalled that Wizkid who has been described as snobbish and non-challant in his relationship with his fellow celebrities wished Tiwa Savage 'happy birthday' - on the 5th of February this year on his Instagram page 5 different times thereby raising the eyebrows of his fans.

Tiwa Savage has also featured Wizkid on two hit songs titled 'Malo' and 'Bad'. The duo is also working on a music project which is yet to be announced and have been enjoying romantic stage performances with a chemistry that has sent wrong signals.

It seems clear that there might be more to the business relationship both parties share especially when a video of the mother of one and 25-year old Leadcity University drop-out, Wizkid hanging out yesterday night in Lagos leaked.

Tania Omotayo, an estranged lover of Wizkid has also parted ways with Tiwa Savage as she unfollowed her on Instagram. Tiwa also followed suit. A cryptic message posted by Tania has been linked to the romance rumours between Tiwa and Wizkid.

"You can not be friends with people who secretly wany your life... Stay woke!" [/i]she posted on social media.

Some fans of Tiwa Savage and Wizkid believe they are not doing anything illegal or wrong as they are old enough to make strategic decisions that suit them. They believe its normal for Tiwa Savage to have fun with another man in the absence of her estranged husband who has reportedly left for the U.S to start a new life.

[i]"Woman body nor be wood na. Tiwa need who go dey help am grease that her waist make e nor dey stiff" [/i]a fan said on Twitter.

Tiwa Savage recently filed for a divorce from husband, Tunji Balogun, popularly known as TeeBills. TeeBills and Tiwa Savage have had turbulent marriage since 2016 when TeeBills attempted to jump off Lekki-Ikoyi bridge in attempted suicide in Lagos. He blamed his woes on Tiwa whom he said neglected him.

Tiwa said in several interviews that TeeBills abandoned her and their son. She said she has been responsible for the upkeep of the family, including their son, Jamil. The pair purportedly came back together after families intervened.

Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun popularly called Wizkid, was born July 16, 1990, making him 11 years younger than Tiwa Savage, 38. He has three children from three different women, Sola Ogundudu, Boluwatife Balogun and Binta Diallo.

Nigerian singer, Kimora Nelson, had told Tiwa Savage in an Instagram post to stop throwing herself around Wizkid.

She quizzed,[i] “My fellow Nigerians, this message is for Tiwa Savage and Wizkid, can someone really tell me what is going on between them?

“This posting, posting, tagging, tagging. I’m not going to keep quiet, and I don’t care what anybody would say about this. I’m saying this particularly to Tiwa Savage, I think she’s the one pushing everything,” she added.

Although, fans have been speculating that the artistes may be courting each other, neither Wizkid nor Tiwa has spoken on the allegation.

Source: https://www.tori.ng/news/95573/secret-romance-is-tiwa-savage-dating-wizkid.html

CC Lalasticlala Seun Ishilove Mynd44 Obinoscoppy Dominique

Ahneeka, an ex housemate of the Big Brother Naija reality show has opened up on how contaminated water was provided in the Big Brother Naija house in South Africa in the course of which infections spread among participants.

Ahneeka spoke on her acne challenge on the Cliffhanger show of Elozanam in a video published on the 12th of April, 2018 shortly after her eviction with Angel, her former strategic partner.

She blamed the aggravation of her acne struggles on the water supplied in the Big Brother House as it was impure thereby causing the spread of infections among other housemates.

It would be recalled that Ahneeka was trolled on social media about her acne battle which she appears to be winning. Social media influencer Noble Igwe didn't spare her one bit as he blamed the acne problem on her poor hygiene.

"I had acne. I have been battling acne before I got into the house and then going into that new environment.... first of all, the water in there (Big Brother House) is not the best. So I just started reacting to it....everybody started reacting to it. Mine just came off and it was acne. The cameras are not very nice, they are not forgiving, they kept exposing me like that" she said amid laughter.

She further stated that the quality of the water didn't encourage her to wash her face regularly as she believed it was aiding the acne growth.

The Big Brother Naija reality show which lasted for 85 days has also been criticized over the availability of food as the housemates were made to consume so much starchy foods especially as food materials provision was included in the game through a 'wager system'.

The housemates consumed much of noodles for most parts of the reality show in South Africa and most of the participants complained of loss of weight during the contest won by Miracle.

Watch the video of Ahneeka's interview below: (fastforward it to the 10th minute to hear the water crisis part)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc-Anf9VX4M

Source: https://www.tori.ng/news/95352/how-the-water-at-the-big-brother-naija-house-infec.html

CC Lalasticlala Seun Mynd44 Obinoscoppy Dominique Airforce1

It was so easy for me to select the title of this piece. Truly, Sowore is the latest comedian in town. People are praising his so-called audacity. You praise an energetic young man for wasting his time and energy? What I think is that his shows videos on the cyber space are really entertaining to many. While we derive fun from them, we should as well advise him to properly channel his energy and define his purpose. We want to take back Nigeria is not a statement of purpose for someone who want to lead Nigeria.

So far, I haven’t seen how he has started differently from our deceitful politicians we complain about. His first points of call is at an Emir palace and a church. Before I could ask when he is visiting my mosque, I saw him in a video ‘praying’ with Muslim faithful at a mosque in Ibadan.

Even Buhari did not do this early in his day in the wilderness, which still stands him out of the crowd.

How is Sowore’s approach of visiting religious houses different from Omisore eating two corns simultaneously on the street at the eve of electioneering in order to impress voters? So, Sowore has started with the same deceit of those he wants to put in prison. Even Buhari had to tone down on locking people up when it dawned on him he needed the thieves.

The issue with the likes of Sowore who think they have the medication to our malaise is that they think becoming the president is the only way to start solving the problem of Nigeria. It only tells you they are empty in thoughtfulness. For most of his video I have entertained myself with, I did not see anywhere he demonstrates that he knows what he is talking about.

All those Aluta-like talk to a handful of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube account holders in a hall cannot disrupt a local government election in Ondo state, let alone a presidential race. Believe you me, Ondo state, his home state, needs him more than the entire Nigeria. Perhaps, his local government of origin need his solution most, provided he has any.

Our know-it-all braggadocios never want to start it small on a local political space where he can be projected by his performance. No, they wake up from a dream one hot afternoon and wants to become President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Perhaps, it is this type of a hot-afternoon dream Dele Momodu had in 2011 that he wanted to become the President. Nigeria Presidency is this cheap! Buhari toiled for thirteen uninterrupted years.

Atiku has been scheming to become the President since 1992 and he has not rested. Even a sitting President had to beg a vice president to be able to do a second tenure as Nigeria President. And a former anti-corruption Czar who was just too naïve like any other political jester had to start reversing himself, praising those he once called the greatest thieves on earth, because he wanted to become President or Governor overnight.

Get it right. I am not denying the possibility of a young person becoming the President of Nigeria. Such a young person, and any Nigerian for that matter, needs to learn and have what it takes to become a President. The current Indonesia President, 56-year-old Joko Widodo, should be a case study to our theatrical youths and adults who truly want to rule Nigeria. Joko Widodo is son of no one. But his work as a City Mayor projected him to the presidency.

No, it is Obama and Macron, the latest poster boy for youthful leadership, our comedians brandish. Even them, they didn’t wake up overnight to become the president of their countries. Go read about their lives.

If Sowore is serious a bit, it should be that he starts this for an ambition he wishes to realize in ten years from now. And for him to realize this fast, he should continue this bragging for the next ten years, but with serious modifications that shows he understands Nigeria and her problem. During this period, he is on ground advancing his ideals, demonstrating that his solution can solve problem and engaging the real victims of corruption and poverty. These are the peasants of whom majority live outside the cities.

Fiery talk to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube account holders will not make any impact even in the so-called disruption he wants to cause. Fiery speeches with substance has never won any one presidency anywhere, let alone one with so much vacuousness. Presidents become fiery when they have ascended the seat. Wikipedia can help him on the political and leadership history of Rodrigo Duterte, the fiery-talking President of the Philippines.

If actually Sowore wants to become President in 2019, he has started too late. Besides, his approach is like he wants to do a 2nd term as UNILAG student union president. Even to achieve this, he needs to secure admission first either through JAMB or post-UME test. For now, Sowore is only trying to outdo Dr. Damages. Those Facebook, Twitter and YouTube addicts who welcome him with posters at every of his comedic outing only increase his state of trance.

May Allah spare our lives beyond 2030 (sic)

A. S. M. Jimoh (anehi2008@gmail.com or On twitter: @anehi2008).

Source: https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2018/04/26/yele-sowore-the-latest-comedian-in-town/

CC Lalasticlala Seun Ishilove Mynd44 Obinoscoppy Tonyebarcanista Dominique Airforce1

lalasticlala come do the needful now. This piece makes so much sense na.

The result of the 2019 election is still very much between Buhari and Atiku. Sowore, Durotoye and Ahmed Buhari shouldn't give up. They can keep warming up. Buhari has 65% chances than other candidates.

APC and PDP combined together have over 6 million partisan members across the country in their respective LGAs, wards and units. A new party cannot wake up and build such formidable structure. If just APC and PDP members vote without other neutral voters, they without campaign have acquired millions of vote already.

Now the question; was APC not a new party? APC was never a new party. Since 1999, almost all Nigerian politicians were PDP members, ANPP, CPC, AD e.t.c all tried their best with competent candidates but the PDP's grassroot structure couldn't be matched. To get APC to defeat PDP, they had to combine the structure of all existing parties and steal from PDP. They won the heart of PDP's aggrieved and ambitious members and APC was formed.

A presidential material needs a party with a firm grassroot structure. As a PDP member and a youth, you can't just come from nowhere and convince me for Sowore and the likes. There are millions of people like myself all over the country. I shouldn't go into the politics of regions. To break the northern population and votes, you need a northerner. Those northerners don't vote because you are capable or not. Loyalty flows in their veins. At the moment, they have acquired more PVCs than we have and they have even registered underage kids all to remain in power.

Fela Durotoye can't even win in Lagos. He has been there doing "God told me" when other candidates are permutating. Do you expect Ahmed Buhari to win his state or Sowore?

Now these three will combine efforts and ruin the efforts of the youths who are angry with Buhari. Vote of the youths will be divided. The popularity you need as a Nigeria presidential candidate isn't that of a public speaker. How many public speaker-presidents has Nigeria produced? It took a 3-time presidential candidate to unseat PDP with the slimmest margin since Nigeria's democracy. If you are tired of Buhari, Atiku may be our only option. Personally, I see no big difference between the two of them.

Nigeria needs only a kind of leader at this crucial moment. A strong body in a strong mind. A man with the heart of Jesus Christ and the Devil at the same time with both tides striking a balance. We don't necessarily need a good man. At the moment, such a person is unavailable. When the best is not available, the available becomes the best.

Let me add this, do you know Ben Carson wanted to be U.S president as a member of the Republican Party? The much popular Ben Carson! The then 'useless' Donald Trump was chosen ahead of him. Trump was stupid but controversial enough. He was rich enough to fund his campaign.

Money+popularity+formidable party.

In conclusion, Buhari and Atiku are our only options. Choose your better devil or Buhari wins again!

N.B: The short piece has been trending on social media as written by an unnamed PDP member.

Source: https://www.tori.ng/news/94813/bitter-truth-why-sowore-durotoye-are-wasting-their.html

CC Seun Lalasticlala Ishilove Mynd44 Obinoscoppy Airforce1 Dominique

The drawbacks of Nigeria are very complicated. We all know all our stumbling blocks can never be solved in one fell swoop even by a Barack Obama in 8 years but we want administrations that could give us realistic hope and improve our lives.

Two of the three cardinal points of the All Progressives Congress manifesto are fixated on security and the economy. Although President Buhari has recorded giant strides in those areas, but his records have fallen below expectations as well as what is adequate on a national scale. Most of his accomplishments are only admirable on the pages of newspapers after being polished by paid writers and those benefiting from him directly.

The first step of solving a problem is identification/diagnosis. One has to admit first of all that there is a problem and then look at the causes of the problem towards making steps to mitigate it. Trust me; President Buhari doesn't understand the major problems of Nigeria thereby making it unfeasible for him to bring solutions.

An earlier indication of President Buhari’s lack of understanding of governance was his decision to avoid the 2015 presidential debate. Another one is his failure to regularly communicate with Nigerians directly except through this media aides and scripted non-committal public speeches. When last did President Buhari hold another presidential media chat aside the tepid one organized in December, 2015? These are for obvious reasons.

President Buhari has a penchant for talking to the international media but the challenge is that he regularly tells them the wrong things that end up de-marketing Nigeria on a large-scale.

President Buhari traveled to the United Kingdom amid fears that his health had deteriorated again as it earlier kept him out of office for almost 6 months on a cumulative note. He spoke to his old friend, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby whom he discussed the issue of insecurity/herdsmen crisis with making reference to the fall out of the Muammar Gaddafi administration in 2011 which caused a spill-over effect of arms proliferation in Nigeria.

Aside the Boko Haram crisis, Nigeria has bled from the quagmire of Fulani herdsmen clashes with local farmers leaving hundreds dead. With interviews granted by the leadership of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, arguments against the anti-open grazing laws in Benue State, compensation of warring herdsmen by the Kaduna State governor, Nasir Ahmad El Rufai, media reports on attacks in worst hit Taraba, Adamawa and Plateau states, controversial revelation about the cause of the crisis by the Minister of Defence Mansur Dan Ali, town hall meetings and other peaceful resolution attempts; the crisis which is as old as agriculture in Nigeria has little or nothing to do with Libya which Nigeria doesn't share borders directly with. Six countries border Libya namely Niger, Chad, Tunisia Egypt, Algeria and Sudan with none of them experiencing any herdsmen/farmers clashes. If the problem has to do with the collapsed government in Libya, then where did the recommendation of cattle colony or ranching as a panacea to the mayhem come from?

Another gaffe was of recent when Buhari while speaking at the Commonwealth Business Forum in Westminster insinuated that a lot of Nigerian youths are lazy and are not interested in formal education because of the oil rich state of the country. This is totally wrong in all ramifications and should be condemned. Unemployment rate in Nigeria is around 18.8% after climbing from 8.2% in Q2 2015 when Buhari took over; under Buhari, over 7 million jobs have been lost in the past three years.

The major reasons why people are trying to flee the country in droves desperately through the land borders even in the face of death and slavery bore down to the unprogressive nature of the country. Nigeria has been rated low on Human Development Index. One wonders why the same people who failed woefully in Nigeria succeed abroad. Buhari should be reminded that 6 PhD holders, 704 Masters degree holders and over 8,460 Bachelor degree holders once applied as Graduate Executive Truck Drivers with the Dangote Group while the company needed a 100 people in 2012. 800,000 people also jostled for 1,500 available job slots with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC in December, 2012.

In Edo state in 2014, about 4,000 people applied for vacancies at the Directorate of State Security when they originally needed 10 people (per state) according to reports. In 2014, 16 job job-seekers died and over 119 others were injured in the keen contest for 4,000 job slots at the Nigeria Immigration Service after being scammed of N1,000 each. 6.5 million people across the 36 states in Nigeria applied for the vacancies. In August, 2017, it was revealed that 1.2 million applicants applied for 1,112 vacancies at the same establishment. In November, 2016, 700,000 job applicants applied for 500 job slots at the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS and I could go on and on with disturbing figures.

According to a former Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, no fewer than 1.8 million Nigerian graduates move into the labour market every year as at 2014. How many of them are gainfully employed? Underemployment is rife in Nigeria and things are not getting better. We have thousands of graduates working for a paltry sum of N50,000 or less at the commercial capital, Lagos where cost of living is astronomical without any financial benefits. Their transport fares consume more than half of the pays not to talk of feeding. All these people can only hope for a better tomorrow courtesy of the preaching they hear in religious institutions.

President Buhari and his cronies have smartly cornered the juicy Central Bank of Nigeria, Federal Inland Revenue Service and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation jobs for themselves. I agree with the President that some Nigerian youths might fall into that category of being lazy and uneducated, but the number is insignificant. Even the United Kingdom has over 250,000 homeless people with many able-bodied ones uninterested in working. This is coming from a leader who hired 13 Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs when his basic Secondary School Certificate was demanded in court.

President Buhari has proudly created phantom jobs in agriculture with his achievement of 90% reduction in the importation of rice remaining unverifiable. If this is President Buhari's view of the highly industrious Nigerian youths applauded by the novelist Chimamanda Adichie, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and CNN show host Fareed Zakaria, then the solution to unemployment which could cause an implosion is far from him.

This is not Buhari's first time of embarrassing Nigeria on international soil. Recall that at beginning of this administration, President Buhari stated in the United States in 2015 that he will not treat Nigerians equally. His 97%-5% treatment according to political support given during the presidential election didn't even add up to 100% mathematically speaking.

Buhari also told a UK audience that Nigerians are corrupt in corroboration of the infamous view of a former British Prime Minister David Cameron that Nigeria is one of the most fantastically corrupt countries in the world.

At the aftermath of his wife - Aisha Buhari's controversial interview by the BBC Hausa, the President apparently derided her by claiming she has no business in politics as she belongs to the kitchen, the living room and the‘other room’. This misogynistic and sexist statement was made before one of the most powerful women in the world, German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

I have always studied three elderly prominent people in the world namely U.S President Donald Trump - 71, Arsene Wenger - 68 and President Buhari - 75 in the face of the #NotTooYoungToRun campaign in a bid to understand if leadership is about age or competency. Trump stands out regardless of his unconventional style of governance and controversies. His tax cuts have increased investments in America and created more jobs, America’s stock market is one of the most performing in the world, unemployment under him has reach a 49 year low with almost 3 million jobs created since 2016, his trade war with China which causes the U.S an annual trade deficit of $500 billion and another $300 billion in intellectual property theft is beginning to yield positive results with China reducing tariffs on importation of automobiles; he has brought nuclear weapons-obsessed North Korea to the negotiation table, trying to clip the wings of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad who has been allegedly using chemical weapons against his people, tightening border security amid other initiatives that have taken his approval rating over 50% despite his gaffes.

On the other hand, Arsene Wenger with almost 22 years at Arsenal Football club has been a shadow of his former self winning just 10 trophies in over two decades with the club falling out of the top 4 contest in the English Premier League and settling for the Europa League. His football strategies and ideas have proven ineffective. They seem too analog in a digital age; he is just like Buhari. He finally succumbed to intense pressure to resign at the end of the season for the good of the club. President Buhari should dial up his phone number, discuss with him about what it means to overstay one’s welcome in office and bow out after his first term which expires in 2019.

Fighting corruption is necessary but can never be an economic policy as it’s been apparently projected. It’s time for Buhari to dismount the horse as Obasanjo advised to gloriously tend to his healthy cattle in Daura, Katsina State.
It’s time for Buhari to choose how he wants to be remembered by Nigerians. In the words of the federal lawmaker representing Kaduna Central Shehu Sani while reacting to President Buhari's second term bid declaration;

"Now that Baba decided not to be a Mandela, we hope he become a Deng Xioping and not Augustus Pinochet Agarte".
Deng Xiaoping, was the paramount leader in the 1980s who lifted China out of backwardness with economic reforms, highlighted by his motto “Hide your strength, bide your time".

Deng was the first to rule out lifelong tenure in Communist Party leadership.

On the other hand, Gen. Augusto Pinochet Ugarte was the brutal dictator who repressed and reshaped Chile for nearly two decades and became a notorious symbol of human rights abuse and corruption.

It’s not about the length of time in office as South African legend, Nelson Mandela proved after doing just one term; it’s about the legacy you are leaving behind. 94-year old former President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe was in power for 37 years and till date, he is a perfect example of the backwardness of power-drunk and sit-tight African leaders. The ball is in Buhari's court.

Osayimwen Osahon George is a journalist and a political scientist. He writes from Lagos State.

Source: http://www.villagetowncrier.com/2018/04/dear-arsene-wenger-please-help-us-beg.html

CC Lalasticlala Seun Ishilove Mynd44 Obinoscoppy Dominique Airforce1

The drawbacks of Nigeria are very complicated. We all know all our stumbling blocks can never be solved in one fell swoop even by a Barack Obama in 8 years but we want administrations that could give us realistic hope and improve our lives.

Two of the three cardinal points of the All Progressives Congress manifesto are fixated on security and the economy. Although President Buhari has recorded giant strides in those areas, but his records have fallen below expectations as well as what is adequate on a national scale. Most of his accomplishments are only admirable on the pages of newspapers after being polished by paid writers and those benefiting from him directly.

The first step of solving a problem is identification/diagnosis. One has to admit first of all that there is a problem and then look at the causes of the problem towards making steps to mitigate it. Trust me; President Buhari doesn't understand the major problems of Nigeria thereby making it unfeasible for him to bring solutions.

An earlier indication of President Buhari’s lack of understanding of governance was his decision to avoid the 2015 presidential debate. Another one is his failure to regularly communicate with Nigerians directly except through this media aides and scripted non-committal public speeches. When last did President Buhari hold another presidential media chat aside the tepid one organized in December, 2015? These are for obvious reasons.

President Buhari has a penchant for talking to the international media but the challenge is that he regularly tells them the wrong things that end up de-marketing Nigeria on a large-scale.

President Buhari traveled to the United Kingdom amid fears that his health had deteriorated again as it earlier kept him out of office for almost 6 months on a cumulative note. He spoke to his old friend, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby whom he discussed the issue of insecurity/herdsmen crisis with making reference to the fall out of the Muammar Gaddafi administration in 2011 which caused a spill-over effect of arms proliferation in Nigeria.

Aside the Boko Haram crisis, Nigeria has bled from the quagmire of Fulani herdsmen clashes with local farmers leaving hundreds dead. With interviews granted by the leadership of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, arguments against the anti-open grazing laws in Benue State, compensation of warring herdsmen by the Kaduna State governor, Nasir Ahmad El Rufai, media reports on attacks in worst hit Taraba, Adamawa and Plateau states, controversial revelation about the cause of the crisis by the Minister of Defence Mansur Dan Ali, town hall meetings and other peaceful resolution attempts; the crisis which is as old as agriculture in Nigeria has little or nothing to do with Libya which Nigeria doesn't share borders directly with. Six countries border Libya namely Niger, Chad, Tunisia Egypt, Algeria and Sudan with none of them experiencing any herdsmen/farmers clashes. If the problem has to do with the collapsed government in Libya, then where did the recommendation of cattle colony or ranching as a panacea to the mayhem come from?

Another gaffe was of recent when Buhari while speaking at the Commonwealth Business Forum in Westminster insinuated that a lot of Nigerian youths are lazy and are not interested in formal education because of the oil rich state of the country. This is totally wrong in all ramifications and should be condemned. Unemployment rate in Nigeria is around 18.8% after climbing from 8.2% in Q2 2015 when Buhari took over; under Buhari, over 7 million jobs have been lost in the past three years.

The major reasons why people are trying to flee the country in droves desperately through the land borders even in the face of death and slavery bore down to the unprogressive nature of the country. Nigeria has been rated low on Human Development Index. One wonders why the same people who failed woefully in Nigeria succeed abroad. Buhari should be reminded that 6 PhD holders, 704 Masters degree holders and over 8,460 Bachelor degree holders once applied as Graduate Executive Truck Drivers with the Dangote Group while the company needed a 100 people in 2012. 800,000 people also jostled for 1,500 available job slots with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC in December, 2012.

In Edo state in 2014, about 4,000 people applied for vacancies at the Directorate of State Security when they originally needed 10 people (per state) according to reports. In 2014, 16 job job-seekers died and over 119 others were injured in the keen contest for 4,000 job slots at the Nigeria Immigration Service after being scammed of N1,000 each. 6.5 million people across the 36 states in Nigeria applied for the vacancies. In August, 2017, it was revealed that 1.2 million applicants applied for 1,112 vacancies at the same establishment. In November, 2016, 700,000 job applicants applied for 500 job slots at the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS and I could go on and on with disturbing figures.

According to a former Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, no fewer than 1.8 million Nigerian graduates move into the labour market every year as at 2014. How many of them are gainfully employed? Underemployment is rife in Nigeria and things are not getting better. We have thousands of graduates working for a paltry sum of N50,000 or less at the commercial capital, Lagos where cost of living is astronomical without any financial benefits. Their transport fares consume more than half of the pays not to talk of feeding. All these people can only hope for a better tomorrow courtesy of the preaching they hear in religious institutions.

President Buhari and his cronies have smartly cornered the juicy Central Bank of Nigeria, Federal Inland Revenue Service and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation jobs for themselves. I agree with the President that some Nigerian youths might fall into that category of being lazy and uneducated, but the number is insignificant. Even the United Kingdom has over 250,000 homeless people with many able-bodied ones uninterested in working. This is coming from a leader who hired 13 Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs when his basic Secondary School Certificate was demanded in court.
President Buhari has proudly created phantom jobs in agriculture with his achievement of 90% reduction in the importation of rice remaining unverifiable. If this is President Buhari's view of the highly industrious Nigerian youths applauded by the novelist Chimamanda Adichie, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and CNN show host Fareed Zakaria, then the solution to unemployment which could cause an implosion is far from him.
This is not Buhari's first time of embarrassing Nigeria on international soil. Recall that at beginning of this administration, President Buhari stated in the United States in 2015 that he will not treat Nigerians equally. His 97%-5% treatment according to political support given during the presidential election didn't even add up to 100% mathematically speaking.

Buhari also told a UK audience that Nigerians are corrupt in corroboration of the infamous view of a former British Prime Minister David Cameron that Nigeria is one of the most fantastically corrupt countries in the world.

At the aftermath of his wife - Aisha Buhari's controversial interview by the BBC Hausa, the President apparently derided her by claiming she has no business in politics as she belongs to the kitchen, the living room and the‘other room’. This misogynistic and sexist statement was made before one of the most powerful women in the world, German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

I have always studied three elderly prominent people in the world namely U.S President Donald Trump - 71, Arsene Wenger - 68 and President Buhari - 75 in the face of the #NotTooYoungToRun campaign in a bid to understand if leadership is about age or competency. Trump stands out regardless of his unconventional style of governance and controversies. His tax cuts have increased investments in America and created more jobs, America’s stock market is one of the most performing in the world, unemployment under him has reach a 49 year low with almost 3 million jobs created since 2016, his trade war with China which causes the U.S an annual trade deficit of $500 billion and another $300 billion in intellectual property theft is beginning to yield positive results with China reducing tariffs on importation of automobiles; he has brought nuclear weapons-obsessed North Korea to the negotiation table, trying to clip the wings of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad who has been allegedly using chemical weapons against his people, tightening border security amid other initiatives that have taken his approval rating over 50% despite his gaffes.

On the other hand, Arsene Wenger with almost 22 years at Arsenal Football club has been a shadow of his former self winning just 10 trophies in over two decades with the club falling out of the top 4 contest in the English Premier League and settling for the Europa League. His football strategies and ideas have proven ineffective. They seem too analog in a digital age; he is just like Buhari. He finally succumbed to intense pressure to resign at the end of the season for the good of the club. President Buhari should dial up his phone number, discuss with him about what it means to overstay one’s welcome in office and bow out after his first term which expires in 2019.

Fighting corruption is necessary but can never be an economic policy as it’s been apparently projected. It’s time for Buhari to dismount the horse as Obasanjo advised to gloriously tend to his healthy cattle in Daura, Katsina State.
It’s time for Buhari to choose how he wants to be remembered by Nigerians. In the words of the federal lawmaker representing Kaduna Central Shehu Sani while reacting to President Buhari's second term bid declaration;

"Now that Baba decided not to be a Mandela, we hope he become a Deng Xioping and not Augustus Pinochet Agarte".
Deng Xiaoping, was the paramount leader in the 1980s who lifted China out of backwardness with economic reforms, highlighted by his motto “Hide your strength, bide your time".

Deng was the first to rule out lifelong tenure in Communist Party leadership.

On the other hand, Gen. Augusto Pinochet Ugarte was the brutal dictator who repressed and reshaped Chile for nearly two decades and became a notorious symbol of human rights abuse and corruption.

It’s not about the length of time in office as South African legend, Nelson Mandela proved after doing just one term; it’s about the legacy you are leaving behind. 94-year old former President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe was in power for 37 years and till date, he is a perfect example of the backwardness of power-drunk and sit-tight African leaders. The ball is in Buhari's court.

Osayimwen Osahon George is a journalist and a political scientist. He writes from Lagos State.

Source: http://www.villagetowncrier.com/2018/04/dear-arsene-wenger-please-help-us-beg.html

CC Lalasticlala Seun Ishilove Mynd44 Obinoscoppy Dominique Airforce1

Cee-C's campaign team yesterday stormed the National Assembly to campaign for votes for the controversial housemate who has been graciously hurling insults at different directions.

Hon. Ehiozuwa Johnson Agbonayinma representing Egor/Ikpoba-okha constituency of Edo State has tipped Cee-C to win the Big Brother Naija reality show which is expected to end in three days.

Some youths comprising more of ladies with branded shirts stormed the National Assembly to campaign for the curvy housemate. They succeeded in getting the endorsement of the All Progressives Congress chieftain who is very vocal at the Green Chamber.

"Help me support Cee-C" Hon. Agbonayinma said in a video amid cheers.

They promised to bring Cee-C to the House of Reps member. Cee-C is one of the most popular housemates in the contest but her tirade against Tobi yesterday dealt a huge blow to her fan base, even though she has apologized.

The winner of the show is expected to walk away with a grand prize of N45 million.

Click here for the video https://www.tori.ng/news/94186/bbnaija-nigerian-lawmaker-endorses-ceec-photosvide.html

There is a possibility that Big Brother Naija housemate, Tobi was strangely born 'two times' as he claims to be 23 years old as well as being 29 years old according to scanty details revealed by his former strategic and romance partner Cee-C.

The toxic relationship between Cee-C and Tobi has continued today with the latter going on full attack on the University of Lagos graduate.

Cee-C vehemently criticized Tobi for serially gossiping about her with other housemates. She claims that Tobi isn't man enough and has been hovering around Alex, Anto as well as her in a bid to date one of them.

The controversial Cee-C accused Tobi of conspiring against her, gossiping about her, defaming her within the house, putting her up for eviction as well as making other frantic but futile effort to eject her from the reality show which promises a N45 million prize money.

During the dramatic session which lasted for about 40 minutes during which Tobi hardly uttered a sentence, Cee-C alleged that Tobi told her that he is 29 years old.

It would be recalled that Tobi's official age is 23 and this has raised the eyebrows of viewers considering the physical appearance and behavioural tendencies of the former employee of Heritage Bank Plc.

Tobi once revealed that he graduated from school at 18 and joined the bank in 2014 as a 19-year old.

Source: https://www.tori.ng/news/94058/tobi-told-me-he-is-29-years-old-ceec-reveals-top-s.html

The last thing on the mind of Adedeji Harris Adesola is to sit behind his computer or Smartphone to rant on social media about politics and the economy just like thousands of other youths as he is set to throw his hat in the ring to slug it out with the aged political warhorses in Oyo State.

In the times of the #NotTooYoungToRun campaign, some Nigerian youths appear to be gathering political inspiration from the French President, Emmanuel Macron, 40; Sebastian Kurz of Austria, 31, and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman, 32.

Adedeji Harris Adesola, a graduate of Sociology and Anthropology from the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State has decided to take his chances rather than wait to be given one by the elderly politicians.

The 37-year old handsome young man who was born on Valentine's Day which signifies love to the world will be contesting for a seat at the Oyo State House of Assembly in representation of the Ibadan South East Local Government Constituency 1 under the banner of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Speaking confidently to a TORI NEWS correspondent recently, the dark-skinned egghead spoke about how he was motivated to contest out of a deep and sincere desire to enforce positive change and provide true leadership which is inadequate in the country.

"I want to give my people sound, good and quality representation at the floor of the Oyo State House of Assembly. I want to legislate, sponsor bills and make laws that will have positive influence on our social institutions and that will have direct positive impact the State economy and make life meaningful for my people at my constituency as a unit of the State and Oyo Sate at large" he emphasized during a recent parley.

Adedeji Harris Adesola is quite successful as a youth with a track record of impressive work experience. He is the Chairman/CEO of Agogo Global Ventures - a business enterprise which is striving well amid the challenges of doing business in Nigeria.

One of the intriguing features of Adedeji Harris Adesola is his interest in some intricate issues battling Oyo State over decades which many lawmakers have been wary about dabbling into.

He wants to speak on the economy of the state and contribute his quota towards improving the Internally Generated Revenue which is abysmally around N2 billion per month, address workers and pensioners' welfare, industrialization, youth unemployment, health care, education and the plight of the physically challenged people who have been sidelined over time.

On his chances of winning, Adedeji Harris Adesola quoted the golden words of South African legend, Nelson Mandela which reads; "It always seems impossible until it's done".

He urged Nigerian youths to stop complaining on social media about the state of affairs in Nigeria and participate in the electoral process by running for offices and also coming out en masse to vote for their desired candidates.

Source: https://www.tori.ng/news/93711/nottooyoungtorun-promising-nigerian-inspires-true.html

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Part of the reasons why President Muhammadu Buhari was voted into power in 2015 was the surging strength of the Boko Haram sect which was specifically occupying 14 Local Government Areas in the North-eastern part of Nigeria. The regular guerrilla attacks by their foot soldiers gradually dented the popularity of the ex President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan till what was left only qualified him for an exit from the Aso Rock Villa.

The kidnap of the 276 Chibok school girls in 2014 was a knock-out punch to the second term bid of the ersthwhile leader. As the numbers of Internally Displaced People in the North-east swelled into millions with several other women and girls constantly kidnapped amidst invasion of military baracks, police stations and destruction of schools with most terrorist attacks going unreported by the media, fear gripped the people and they began to crave for a messiah. But is there really a messiah here? Not even a fore-runner like the Biblical John The Baptist is in sight.


President Buhari's military background especially with his rise to the post of a Major General in the Nigerian Army and his ironhand rulership as Head of State within 1983-1985 gave the people the phantom feeling that he could probably lead the Nigerian troops from the front just as we used to have it during the medieval period where kings commandeered military operations from the forefront.

Since the All Progressives Congress, APC took over power, what we have seen in the last three years is the constant politicization of the war against terrorism and a highly publicized victory laced with calculated propaganda. This doesn't mean the Buhari administration hasn't made progress against Boko Haram but the more the government sells the false narrative that Boko Haram has been 'technically' defeated, the more the group paints the roads in the north-east with fresh human blood. In factual terms, a 25th of January, 2018 report by BBC Monitoring shows that at least 967 people were reportedly killed by Boko Haram attacks in 2017, an increase on the previous year when 910 deaths were reported.

News of Boko Haram attacks have become so normal that Nigerians have decided to live with it just like the challenge of poor economic growth, corruption, inadequate infrastructural facilities, and unemployment in the country.

With the Boko Haram sect brazenly kidnapping and returning the Dapchi school girls in broad daylight like scenes taken from a Nollywood movie coupled with the intensification of ground assaults and suicide bombings; the government appears to be running out of lifelines.

The government is no doubt overwhelmed by the 9-year battle which has no end in sight. There seems to be no other military or ideological option to curb the menace of the Boko Haram sect as it has intelligently made the Federal Government its greatest financier by kidnapping for ransoms whenever they are broke or probably need to secure the release of some of their arrested top commanders for operational purposes.

Today, President Buhari who seems to have exhausted his arsenal is apparently begging members of the Boko Haram sect with amnesty. The mind-boggling part of the offer is that Boko Haram alleged to be decimated appears uninterested in a truce. The Federal Government has been caught negotiating from the weak side which is highly detrimental to our existence and recognition as a country.

The call for amnesty for Boko Haram members by the current administration amounts to the following;

(1) The gross failure of the entire security apparatus in Nigeria:

One could safely conclude that Boko Haram has overstretched the combination of the Nigeria Police Force, Directorate of State Security, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Civilian Joint Taskforce, National Intelligence Agency, Nigeria Air Force, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy (possibly) and other constituted bodies that could thwart the operations of the sect. Even the massive funding of these bodies by the government has refused to give them the needed edge against the amateur fighters of the Boko Haram group.

(2) Poor intelligence gathering:

One of the reasons why the Boko Haram fight has lasted this long is the failure of the government to gather credible intelligence about the group and judiciously work on it. Its almost a decade now and the financiers of the sect are still elusive. The government has also struggled to plug their source of finance which is the backbone of their operations. How do they smuggle in weapons to the country unnoticed?
Security operatives have now been reduced to mere spectators following the media utterances of private citizens like Ahmad Salkida, Aisha Wakil (Mama Boko Haram), the spokesperson of the Northern Elders Forum, Ango Abdullahi to understand Boko Haram.

(3) Complicity on the part of the government:

The Boko Haram war has become the cash cow of every administration. Former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki allegedly siphoned $2.1 billion arms deal funds and President Buhari is set to scoop $1 billion to buy military equipment to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency although many believe the controversial withdrawal from the Excess Crude Account is to prosecute the 2019 presidential election. Since the battle has become a conduit pipe for diverting public funds, every administration would never want to end it. The late General Sani Abacha further confirmed it that "if insurgency lasts for more than 24 hours, the government has a hand in it".

(4) Rewarding an unrepentant prodigal son with gold:

The war against terrorism has been frustrating as it is not a conventional war and the Boko Haram sect appears uninterested in holding territories any longer as its perceived new strategy. It only relies on lethal surprise attacks for now and its working. This present administration is hastily interested in scoring cheap political points at the expense of morality especially as the next election approaches. The group doesn't deserve amnesty like the Niger Delta militants were given by the late President Musa Umaru Yar'Adua in 2009. They don't have a valid cause compared to the Niger Deltans who have been sidelined and marginalized of their own birthright. The establishment of an Islamic caliphate through means of conquest is a tall dream in this modern world.

(5) Exposure of the detrimental gap in technological advancement in Nigeria:

The manner in which the Boko Haram sect kidnapped 110 Dapchi girls and also returned them reeks of how poor our security surveillance system is. There was no drone to capture their movements or helicopters to give them a hot chase as well as a remote sensor to tap into their communication network as we have seen in developed countries. In a place like Russia or the U.S, someone could have planted a transponder on the body or vehicle of the terrorists while they carelessly shook hands with residents of the Dapchi town during the drop-off. An operation like that would have given us the coordinates of their base for appropriate aerial bombardment and other military operations.

(6) Portraying the Nigerian government as weak before the international community:

With the Federal Government proposing amnesty which the supposed decimated Boko Haram sect doesn't find attractive, it shows who is truthfully winning the war although the terrorists overtime have nothing to lose. The deployment of all the powerful machineries of state against the sect have failed thereby prompting the option of negotiation and concessions with the ambassadors of wanton and senseless killings. Our sovereignity has been further undermined and mortgaged as initially done by the news of 'back-channel' negotiations and alleged ransom payment to the terrorists for hostage release.

(7) Wastage of scarce economic resources:

The Federal Government is already expending over N541 billion in settling the amnesty deal signed with Niger Delta militants over the years. There is a possibility that the Boko Haram members might be incorporated into a similar financial scheme which will further weigh down the national budget. I am sure it was on this note that an Environmental Rights Activist and convener of Niger Delta Self-Determination Movement, NDSDM, Ann Kio-Briggs said revenue generated from the oil-rich region shouldn't be used to resettle terrorists as it is imminent.

( Emboldening of other fresh militias:

An offence that goes unanswered is bound to multiply. Till date, we have several militant groups operating in the Niger Delta region craving for the attention of the Federal Government. Embracing the Boko Haram and integrating a misfit like Abubakar Shekau into the society will inspire other budding armed groups already threatening the faltering security system of Nigeria to fully manifest. There is no guarantee that some of the Boko Haram fighters who have been exposed to the short term benefits of crime will not melt into other splinter cells to commit further crimes as they are already accustomed to.

(9) Indication of President Buhari's soft spot for the insurgents:

Buhari amnesty proposal appears preconceived and has always been a viable option on his agenda list even before he became President in 2015. It would be recalled that in 2013, President Buhari lamented on the declaration of State of Emergency in Boko Haram's worst-hit states - Adamawa, Yobe and Borno States under the Jonathan administration. He likened the Boko Haram insurgency to the Niger Delta militancy in the south faulting the military approach of the government to the Boko Haram insurgency. ( See 'Buhari faults clampdown on Boko Haram members' - The Nation, June 2, 2013 report).

(10) Furtherance of disunity among ethnic groups:

Granting amnesty to Boko Haram which has killed over 20,000 Nigerians, displaced over 2 million people, destroyed infrastructural facilities worth billions of naira amidst other vast damages will further fan the embers of disunity in Nigeria considering Buhari's ill-treatment of unarmed secessionist group - Indigenous People of Biafra in the South-east. Some members of the group were maimed, incarcerated and others killed as brute force was applied to cripple their activities. Their ringleader, Nnamdi Kanu is missing till date. The moderately peaceful group has been proscribed after being tagged a terrorist cell despite not being in the class of Boko Haram as the international community acknowledged. This indication of favouritism will further deteriorate the level of disunity in Nigeria.

The amnesty proposal is another wild goose chase and dance of shame by the government as the top commanders of Boko Haram like Abubakar Shekau, Shuaibu Moni and Abu Musab Al-Barnawi are fully aware that they can never be reintegrated into the society again due to the level of bloodshed and destruction they have orchestrated in the north-east.

Their entire family and lineage will forever be stigmatized worse than the Boko Haram kids and their wives and history will never be fair to them. They will rather choose to die in their chosen cause as martyrs with their names written in gold in their world of terrorism.

Osayimwen Osahon George is a journalist and a political scientist based in Lagos State.

Source: http://www.villagetowncrier.com/2018/04/what-granting-amnesty-to-boko-haram.html

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In an interview with 60MINUTES.com, African Duchess who goes by the Instagram handle: african_duchess_supremacy opens up on her perception of sex.

She is a popular Nigerian lady on the platform who is never scared to bare her curves for the world to see.

Read her words below:

I love sex guys don’t get me wrong,as a matter of fact i have huge appetite for it.But the way the society now see sex as something you can buy on OLX is not looking normal anymore.

Yeah one night stand etc can be normal for a lady that doesn’t want to get emotionally attached to anyone due to some past and emotional trauma but all the same there should be self respect,class and dignity.

I have dated few guys in my past or let me say fling few guys and we don’t talk anymore but when they slide in my DM they talk to me with respect and mind their speech this is simply because i positioned what we had as something of respect and something we both enjoyed and valued I didn’t low my standard simply because i enjoyed the whole thing but i made a mark that gives the understanding of “Dude we both enjoyed this”. Fling is far different to prostitution or being a lose woman,don’t mix them process of flinging comes with circumstances for instance i have stayed calibrated for 1 year and some months but needed sex and still don’t want it to come with drama all I need to do is link up with a man that I know he talks to me with respect understand that right now this is nothing serious this is just us two mature people trying to enjoy the moment . This is far different from when I have to spread my legs for money or make sex an obligation.

Social media lately has been terrible with the way it has painted sex as a normal thing,guys it is not a normal thing it is something you should have with self respect don’t let all this reality shows and American life gets to you,if you meet this one knack am meet that one knack am before you go knack father and son with uncle you won’t know and Karma will slap you right in the face.
Lately people said there is no big deal having sex on TV etc,my dear it is a big deal if you want to be a porn star be a porn star you can’t go on national tv get bleeped and later coming out being brand ambassador and thinking that’s the goal,what about the goal for the future the record and legacy you want to keep ?

Let’s be careful about our sex life,have sex Bleep your brain out but please guys let’s do it with respect and dignity.


source: http://www.60minstv.com/duchess-plus-size-model-i-love-sex-but-i-wont-let-social-media-help-me-think-sex-is-a-normal-thing/

I was at the University of Ibadan, Oyo State for a proposal presentation last month - March when a former colleague during my Masters Degree days informed me that he was working on the 'Role of Religious Institutions in Politics'.

This might sound awkward and irregular but there is much sense in his work. In Nigeria and across the world, we have seen religious groups majorly the Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and others which command large followership influencing the voting patterns of their members who align with the words of their spiritual leaders from the pulpit as it is assumed to have divine inputs.

As a former British Prime Minister David Cameron visited the church (Redeemed Christian Church of God), the Neasden Hindu Temple and Sikh gurdwara while canvassing for votes during the election campaign of 2015, so also was President Donald Trump able to create a formidable support base among the White Evangelicals in the United States of America in 2016 and former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan apparently did a church tour ahead of the 2015 presidential election to garner political support.

That being said, advancement in Information Communication Technology (ICT) today also plays a key role in influencing political decisions in the world.

The increased usage of the internet and social media has technically turned all netizens to citizen journalists as well as boosting communications among people. This has enhanced political consciousness, participation as well as establishing a viable channel of communication between the electorate and their representatives in government. Apart from the merits, social media advent has also brought its ills, part of which we have Fake News, hate speech proliferation as well as privacy breach and others which don’t constitute the focus of this piece.

In the past, news was majorly propagated through the broadcast media involving the television and radio as well as the print media - newspapers after it must have been well vetted by professional hands to prevent creating undue panic and disruption in the society through misinformation.

Today, committing sedition and subversion through propaganda has become too undemanding. You can write any bland or unverified claim or story and drop it on your WhatsApp or Blackberry Messenger, BBM urging people to share among their contacts and most people will obey without even reading the details. People go as far as uploading such adverse contents on personal blogs. Such sensationalized contents get massively plagiarized by other bloggers hungry for traffic to boost revenue.

This might make it to Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Google Plus and Twitter with people sharing, regranning and retweeting to boost its outreach. If the purveyor of the news has some funds to spare, he might just sponsor the post with some money to reach thousands of people who might believe without considering the veracity of the news.

In May, 2017; seven men were killed in two vigilante mob attacks in state of Jharkhand, central India over rumours on the messaging service WhatsApp warning of strangers who were abducting children.

The stories proved entirely false. At the gory scenes of jungle justice, misguided crowds swelled to more than 500 over several hours and the victims were tortured to death. According to the police, the men who were killed were innocent passers-by.

Recently, Nigerian singer, Tiwa Savage was shocked that her death was announced on a Facebook page to serve as click baits. Social media interactions have also increased the flow of hate speeches with people from different ethnic groups using unprintable names and expressions against each other while debating on mostly political issues. All these have further divided Nigerians with citizens showing loyalty to their states of origin rather than the country. I am sure it was on the note that the missing separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra was able to rapidly win the hearts of millions of people of South-eastern and South-southern extractions as the seeds of discord were already sown in their hearts.

Tracking Fake News and Hate Speeches on social media has become a herculean task even the under fire programmer, Mark Zuckerberg might not have answers to.

Furthermore, in an era of big data and Fake News, political leaders are changing the way they campaign. What you post on social media is being watched and used. What you see is being crafted to influence your perception.

The Cambridge Analytica and Facebook scandal which is still unravelling has proved beyond reasonable doubts that social media platforms are not mere playgrounds anymore. Personal details of people are being retrieved and sold to questionable people who in turn send you contents that could influence your thought process.

Cambridge Analytica, a British political consulting firm which combines data mining, data brokerage, and data analysis with strategic communication for the electoral process boasts it can find your voters and move them to action through data-driven campaigns and a team that includes data scientists and behavioural psychologists.

In a nutshell, personal details here are being used to manipulate political views for money which is termed 'Psychosocial profiling'. Facebook makes money by selling digital advertising spaces with annual revenue that amounts to $40 billion. About 1.4 billion people log on to Facebook everyday making the platform a big market for advertisers. Cambridge Analytica is accused of using the data of over 50 million Americans harvested from Facebook through a sham personality test that initially engaged about 270,000 participants to target and manipulate U.S voters during the 2016 presidential election in favour of President Donald Trump who has since distanced himself from the company.

Cambridge Analytica also reportedly interfered with the outcome of the Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom according to a whistleblower, a former director of research at Cambridge Analytica - Christopher Wylie.

President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya also is believed to have consulted the U.S-based company in 2013 and 2017 for campaign strategies during presidential elections. The self-acclaimed giant of Africa, Nigeria was also touched by Cambridge Analytica. The company reportedly influenced the 2007 presidential election won by late former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
The Guardian, a British newspaper had also reported that in the run up to the 2015 election, Strategic Communication Laboratories, SCL (parent company of Cambridge Analytica) was hired by a wealthy Nigerian who supported then incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan, to sway the polls. It said Cambridge Analytica worked with people they believed were Israeli computer hackers, who offered it access to private information about Muhammadu Buhari, of the then opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).

From Indonesia (in 1998) to Thailand, Cambridge Analytica’s parent company also influenced Southeast Asian politics where it did a test-run of its work model. In total, SCL claims to have worked on more than 100 election campaigns across 32 countries.

Applications that do personality tests have a way of harvesting data of participants and also that of their friends without their knowledge. A school of thought has it that the scandalous business model of Facebook is what the platform was built for as it makes it easy for advertisers to target their potential customers and there is a strong possibility that it would be business as usual for Facebook when the dust raised is settled.
Christopher Wylie has described the act of data grab as a form of harm and damage to the political process. According to him, cutting edge technology has shown that the computer has a better way of understanding human behaviour better than human beings.

"On social media, you curate yourself; you post so much information about who you are in one single space. Whenever you go and you like something, you are giving me a clue as to who you are as a person and so, all of these could be captured very easily and run through an algorithm that learns who you are. When you go to work, your co-workers only see one side of you, your friends only see one side of you but a computer sees all kinds of sides of you. And so we can get better than human level of accuracy in predicting human behaviour" he said while speaking with the British public service, Channel 4.

The whistleblower believes there is a dangerous alchemy to Cambridge Analytica's art.

[i]"There is lack of awareness, it is coercive. If I am studying you and I have enough information about you because you have curated your entire self online and I capture that, I can anticipate what are your mental vulnerabilities, what cognitive biases can you display in certain situations and I can exploit that" [/i]he added.

From stimulating U.S Republican campaigns, to election in Africa, Asia and beyond, Cambridge Analytica are now the big data strategist with a big name and little time for ethics.
The issue of Russian meddling in the U.S election which prompted Zuckerberg to consider going back to the basics of the foundation of Facebook is centred on his company. As long as the Russians had about $1.25 million to spend for advertisement per month, their political messages were delivered to the door steps of their target audience via social media. Russia has constantly denied meddling in the U.S election or a possible collusion with Trump in the face of a deep investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller.

Facebook has also been monitoring calls and text messages of users using Android phones for years without their knowledge with call logs stored up although this could be deactivated. This scandal has continued to cost Facebook billions of dollars and if events continue to go south, this might mark the downfall of Zuckerberg. Facebook business model is now under scrutiny and last week Thursday, its shares lost $50 billion in market value.

If Facebook is found guilty of privacy violation by the Federal Trade Commission, FTC (a constituted body in America whose principal mission is the promotion of consumer protection and the elimination and prevention of anti-competitive business practices) Facebook might pay a sum of $40,000 for each case of privacy violation in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Multiply that figure by the over 50 million cases and the possible end of Facebook is what you will get.

Facebook is not alone; Google Inc also has some questions to answer. An investigation by Quartz discovered that smartphones and tablets running the Android operating system continued to track a user’s general location even when location services were turned off, the phone didn’t have a SIM card, and no apps were installed. As long as the device was connected to the internet, it transmitted the address of nearby cellphone towers back to Google’s system that’s used for push notifications and messages. This could predispose phone users to a huge security risk.

The Google map also has a way of tracking the movements of users when installed on phones and Google Street View technology has been rejected by some countries e.g. India over expected privacy invasion, spying and security breach. There are fears that this could be utilized by terrorists and other criminals to orchestrate mayhem.

Email marketing also constitutes a nuisance in Nigeria with private e-mails of people being surreptitiously sold to third parties who end up harassing you with unsolicited emails to create awareness about certain goods and services.

The Facebook data scandal might be bigger than what we can see at the surface level. The simple conclusion is that social media is not as safe as it was touted to be thereby turning people into puppets in the hands of some faceless programmers.

In the 21st century where smartphones have become the greatest companion of people and social media is their popular destination on the internet, more millions of people will be subjected to political manipulations as we have seen in the controversies surrounding the 2016 U.S election.

In summary, the role of social media in today's political process can't be overemphasized and its abuse should be curtailed by constituted authorities so that it will not be used to undermine democracy.

Written by Osayimwen Osahon George, a journalist and political scientist based in Lagos State.

Source: http://www.villagetowncrier.com/2018/04/facebook-data-scandal-malicious-role-of.html

OSAYIMWEN OSAHON GEORGE of Tori News has released the latest edition of the well-read 'Diary Of A Lagos Bachelor' focusing on a woman of enigmatic character as gathered.

The economic conditions in Nigeria have been quite harsh thereby turning most exuberant single men into emergency 'Born Again' Christians who have learned to appreciate and marry their beds on Friday nights instead of clubbing.

With over 7 million people losing their jobs in the last three years, you just have to save your earnings against any incident of famine in the land.

Mike never felt like spending the Friday night alone. Friday nights are like festivals in Lagos for most fun-loving single men who have worked hard throughout the week. Its either you are engaging in an indoor affair e.g. bringing her home for the night or you are doing it outdoors i.e. clubbing.

Considering his very fragile bank account status, Mike settled for his bed. He returned to his dark house as there was no light, had a shower, enjoyed the big pineapple fruit he bought on the street and hit the room for a nice sleep after raising the curtains of his room for fresh air. It was not his ideal night but an austerity period ushered in by the Buhari administration demanded common sense to prevent undue loan applications to unwilling friends before the end of the month.

As 'early' as 10pm, Mike was already sleeping but he got an unusual call an hour later from someone. He grabbed his phone which was beside him on his bed and it was his friend Simeon, a legal practitioner working in one of the top law firms in Lagos State.

"Hello... How far na? Sorry to disturb you. I hope you are alone boss? I am coming to pass the night at your place." he said.

"Baba. E don late na. Wetin happen? The gateman would have locked the gate oh" Mike replied in an unstable tone.

"Boss, I close late for work jor. I can't make it home this night. I will call you when I get to the gate of your house" he replied.

In less than less than 20 minutes, Simeon was already at the gate. Fortunately for him, the gateman of northern descent identified him as a regular visitor and allowed him in. He made it to Mike's flat as soon as possible. Simeon immediately expressed his desire to eat. His hunger was double. He wanted to feed his mouth as well as his waist. Simeon's s*xual urge wasn't new to Mike. They were friends during their university days and Simeon has always been gracious with his third leg.

Mike switched on the TV as power was already restored to keep him entertained while he prepared some noodles at the kitchen. The clock was already approaching 12am at this point.

Despite being married and having a child, Simeon has remained unrepentant with his waist. He has graduated from sleeping with just one to doing them in twos. He tends to taste from the girls in every state or African country his firm posts him to work and his gist is very intoxicating. Some of them could heal an impotent man due to the erotic depth. This time around, Simeon was at it again with his s*xcapades.

"You wouldn't believe I entered one hotel on my way here to ease some stress but the girls I approached for a short time service were skeptical because I wore a suit. They felt I was a federal agent who was on an investigative assignment. Most of the girls didn't even look good at all. I am sure their services will be as bad as their physical appearances" he said as he fiddled with the DSTV remote.

"You are already used to bad things, so you really wanna have s*x this night? Mehnn...go to bed jare." Mike advised.

Simeon wasn't ready to sleep without mounting something. He devoured his hot noodles voraciously and searched his phone contacts for numbers of girls who offer 'home services'. It was already midnight and no hustler was ready to risk it. Simeon had no choice than to hide his erect manhood in his boxers and sleep off.

The next morning, Simeon insisted on inviting a girl over. One would have thought marriage reduces the urge people have for s*x or even make them more disciplined. But it’s like the randy men never change, It only gets worse. They tend to see marriage as a bondage over time, they will tell you sleeping with one woman is like eating rice and stew non-stop over a year and there's no way one will not beg for Egusi soup and Eba at some point.

Simeon just wanted to taste a different soup to refresh his head. Mike who is a veteran in the field but currently incapacitated by the struggling economy brought out his phone and started dialing numbers.

Much focus was on a beautiful hooker in FESTAC Town who smartly maintains a low profile just like the notorious kidnap kingpin, Evans. It was hard to reach her due to the high demand for her services by the public. After her, a voluptuous student who shuttles between Bayelsa State and Lagos State was also contacted but she wasn't available. Mike scrolled his contact list for more numbers until he found that of one busty Amarachi who seemed to have had an overdose of s*x all through the night as she kept responding as if she was drunk. She was still in bed and quite fatigued probably after serving many men.

Simeon was almost losing hope when Mike suggested that he could lay with a 36-year old woman identified as Sister Precious.

"Baba make I call one Sister Precious for you? (Showing Simeon her picture on WhatsApp)." Mike asked. Simeon nodded in acceptance, the call was made and the response of Sister Precious was very positive.
"Merely seeing her, she might not be your preferred choice but her skills, physical endowment, energy, passion and reliability stand out" Mike told him.
Looking impressed, Simeon decided to try her out and Mike made the call. Precious seemed excited as she promised to be at Mike's house which she is familiar with in a matter of minutes.

Precious is a very strange person who might even be a ghost if one decides to trace her roots. Mike met her on a dating application late in 2017 and the duo has enjoyed a smooth sexual relationship. It’s cheap dealing with Precious. She loves s*x and she concentrates more on satisfying herself and not just the money. She would demand for alcohol on some occasions to enable her go ballistic on a client during s*x.

Precious is very discreet about her trade, she is well covered up, no weird hairstyles, no strange make-ups, tattoos, nose rings or any indications that have to do with harlotry. Her stealth nature was just like the Cali drug cartel in Colombia. She appears like that innocent friend who came to discuss that state of the nation and maybe personal issues. Nobody really knows where she stays. When traced on Facebook, it appeared that she might be married with kids but she never talks about that aspect of her life and Mike never cared to know.

The demand for her services is quite high as she could be seen always replying messages from her potential customers on WhatsApp. The s*x trade in Lagos moves faster than petrol; the fabulous lifestyles of some less busy and self acclaimed Nollywood actresses supplies an evidence.

While others might charge so much for just a round or two for the show, she challenges her customer for an unlimited match. This simply means we can have s*x till one of us passes out.

Her hips are as massive as the fresh yams from Benue State and her bum is like the head of a whale if one is not exaggerating. You even find it hard to see between her legs when she sits down. But she is not lazy, despite her size, she is as strong as a village wrestler and she is comfortable with all positions. Her moans sound like the trumpet of a baby elephant.

She is not the most beautiful woman but she will give you more than the value of your money. She likes it rough and hard. She likes her bogus backside been slapped like it’s done in adult films. She offers oral s*x on a free will note. While some Lagos 'Runs girls' guard their breasts jealously to prevent manhandling by Hot men, she begs for hers to be fondled and sucked.

"On a particular occasion, I lost appetite for food after sleeping with Sister Precious. I exhausted my energy and I was wobbling. I only took milk solution constantly till the next day to regain my fitness. It has never happened to me before. On getting home, she messaged me on WhatsApp that she is so proud of me" Mike recounted to Simeon who was becoming too eager to meet her.

In less than 20 minutes, Sister Precious had arrived. Mike led her into his room and informed her that it was his friend who wanted her. She smiled and started taking off her clothes for business without any mention of her charges.

Simeon is stronger than a horse; he entered the room as Mike gave him a go ahead as he kept his distance for privacy purpose. In seconds, the bed stand was already quivering. Two warriors of years of meritorious service on the battlefield were locked in a contest. As Mike took a stroll, he knew there was going to be a story to tell from either of the parties.

Simeon soon called that he was done with the first round. He rejoined them and Precious appeared overly excited like she had collected money from the popular Ponzi scheme, MMM.

"This your friend is too strong, the condom even broke. I am sure he took something intoxicating. His energy level is strange" Precious said amidst smiles as she awaited a second round.

As Simeon and Mike cracked jokes over a plates of rice and salad with beef, Precious was restless as she fiddled with Mike's manhood. Mike also used that juncture to have a feel of her for free. She joined their conversation as if they are her close friends and she kept laughing. She really felt at home which a rarity among pleasure workers in Lagos as they are mostly hostile and overly quiet mostly due to inferiority complex.

Looking into Mike's eyes, she asked; "How come you haven't contacted me this year? Anyway, happy New Year oh."

"I have missed you but you know the state of the Nigerian economy. It’s cheaper to be a good boy in recent times". Mike replied.

“You must prepare for yours (s*x) before I go even if it’s a round". She said.

At that moment, Mike whose manhood had ears developed an erection which he couldn't hide. Simeon after taking his bath demanded for his second round and the show started with Sister Precious on top. It was so fierce that the bed stand almost collapsed. The bed stand was literally complaining as they banged. Both parties switched positions severally till Simeon exploded in her. As Simeon came out of the room sweating like a Christmas goat as they say, Sister Precious called Mike into the room. She was still half-n*ked. She asked for Mike to pay her a token and take his shot. It sounded like a compensation for the link which she liked.

Mike gave her some money, wore a condom and she was on bed again hitting him from top with her mountainous breasts flapping like a hand fan as Mike thrust deeply. He demanded for a doggie and she obliged him. Sister Precious took a position like it was done in the blockbuster movie, Spartacus and plugged in his prodigal organ.

The position was perfect. It was as if he was tickling her womb. In no time, she started moaning. She shook her bum as he humped for sensational effects. It was so pleasurable that Mike felt like dying in the process. He didn't just want to have a taste of the unending drama called life anymore. He forgot about all his challenges at that moment.

"Let me be truthful with you for once, I felt like Mark Zuckerberg for the first time in my life as I climaxed in her. She didn't want me to stop. She was ready to go on and on but she still gave me that appreciative look" Mike told this journalist.

He dashed off to the bathroom for a cold shower. He was breathing hard as a high volume of water at a top velocity poured on his body through the shower. He made no effort to use his hands as he reminisced over his shot. It was quite commendable. He felt so relieved!

Before he finished, he heard his door being opened and shut simultaneously. His guess was right; Sister Precious was gone after wearing her usual innocent makeup like nothing ever happened.

As Mike stepped out of the bathroom after washing himself, Simeon looked at him and said;

"I have never seen someone like her in my life. She was really worth it. She enjoys her job. I doubt if she can ever be satisfied by a man born of a woman"

"I really doubt" Mike replied as he used the towel to clean his body.

Source: http://www.villagetowncrier.com/2018/03/tale-of-lagos-woman-sister-precious-who.html

CC Lalasticlala Seun Ishilove Mynd44 Dominique Airforce1 Obinoscoppy

Tope Adebayo of Advanced People Democratic Alliance on Friday met with party faithful in Moba Local Government Area as he intensifies consultation with his teeming followers at the grass root.

At the gathering of more than 1,200 supporters and members of the fastest growing political party in Ekiti State, Tope Adebayo declared readiness to battle for Ekiti’s top seat in a bid to serve the people of the state.

In his welcome address, Mr Oladunjoye Abiodun, the Local Government Chairman of APDA in Moba Local Government congratulated Tope on the enormous momentum his campaign has gathered within the shortest time possible.

He declared that the people of Moba are not known to be political cowards and they always follow who they decide to follow till the end. Mr Oladunjoye also confirmed the feelers from the average Ekiti indigene that wants a radical and conscious move away from the political class that has impoverished the people of Ekiti and turned them into beggars.

In closing his address, the chairman, Mr Oladunjoye Abiodun on behalf of the people of Moba showed appreciation to Tope Adebayo for leaving his comfort to via for the office in order to redeem Ekiti State.

In Tope Adebayo’s response, he appreciated the courage of the people to take back their government, own it and make it work for them. He said ‘I am happy to be here today amongst you and I want to congratulate you for standing up for the revolution that is ahead of us. The destiny of Ekiti is in our hands and we must come together to make it work’.

‘I am one of you, not only because I am young but for the fact that my parents who were poor farmers raised me in this state, I schooled here and I have never been far away from home. I know where the shoe pinches’.

Tope assured his teeming supporters of economic prosperity after three years of taking over the government of Ekiti State.

He said the state apparatus would be mobilised to ensure that we revive technical education, make agriculture friendly and equip the people of Ekiti with the knowledge they can exchange for value in the wealth creation chain.

Source: Tori News

CC Lalasticlala Seun Ishilove Mynd44 Obinoscoppy Dominique

One of the popular housemates at the ongoing Big Brother Naija reality show - Tobi Bakre has revealed he earned a meagre sum of money during his time in the banking sector.

23-year old University of Lagos graduate and former Heritage Bank employee, Tobi has revealed life was unpromising while he worked at the new generation financial institution.

According to him, he was earning a sum of N130,000 per month and the amount was insufficient for his upkeep. This he revealed during an afternoon parley with fellow housemates, Miracle, Teddy A, Alex and Cee-C.

" I was earning 130k at the bank. At a point, I got bored doing the samething everyday. But my bosses were really nice to me. I was always being given gifts by my superiors" he stated.

He explained that he believes he has more potentials and this prompted him to apply for the Big Brother Naija contest where he has emerged as one of the favourite housemates. Tobi didn't fail to mention that he wasn't promoted for 4 years despite emerging as the best new staff at the bank at some point.

Tobi further revealed that he graduated from school at 18 and joined the bank in 2014 as a 19-year old.

Source: https://www.tori.ng/news/91731/bbnaija-tobi-reveals-the-small-salary-he-earned-at.html

Incidents in the last couple of months have proved that President Muhammadu Buhari's achievements in office might be a smokescreen with reference to the three cardinal points of his electioneering campaign.

The former military dictator was railroaded to power based on the major promises of:

(1) Creation of jobs (at least three million jobs per year).

(2) Fighting corruption.

(3) Combating insecurity (particularly the Boko Haram sect).

As at the 3rd quarter of 2017, an estimate of 7.74 million jobs have been lost under Buhari according to the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS with one of the Bretton Woods institutions - International Monetary Fund recently stating that Nigerians are becoming poorer in its March, 2018 report.
In the commercial capital of Nigeria - Lagos State today, it’s not quite aberrant to find that your ever busy working class neighbour unusually sitting at home on a Monday morning as a result of the rampant cases of sack especially at private firms.

As for the anti-graft war, under Buhari's nose N400 billion was paid as bribe by Nigerians especially to the public officers where the Nigeria Police Force rated as the worst in the world emerged as top gainers according to last year's research by the National Bureau of Statistics. The Transparency International also revealed that corruption in Nigeria worsened last year amid frantic efforts by the President to sanitize the system.

What about the menace of insecurity? Has Boko Haram being defeated truly, technically or politically? Only parents of the abducted 110 students of the Government Girls Science and Technical Secondary School girls in Dapchi town, Yobe State and victims of the regular bombings in the north-east might have trusted answers.

The Fulani herdsmen described as militants have also emerged as the fourth deadliest terrorist group in the world according to the 2015 Global Terrorism Index. They have been rated behind Boko Haram, ISIS and al-Shabab. Fulani herdsmen have continued to kill freely, rape, maim and destroy vast properties across the geopolitical zones in the country with slow reactions from security agencies and the Federal Government.
To make matters worse, Buhari who is supposed to be the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces has appointed an Inspector General of Police, Idris Ibrahim who has refused to take directives from him without sanctions.

Boko Haram is still very much operational, making lump sums from detrimental negotiations with the Federal Government on hostage release as they continue to attack military zones with unidentified militias also hunting down lives at the slightest provocation in Zamfara, Adamawa, Benue, Plateau, Kaduna and Taraba States.

In the light of the above major failures and a sharp decline in popularity, how will President Buhari market himself to the electorate ahead of the 2019 presidential election when the former military general is expected to throw his hat in the ring again?
Well, since the acts of buck-passing and preaching patience have become ineffectual, Buhari might as well ignore the potency of the ballot box and influence his re-election with the machinery of state regarded as the power of incumbency which a former president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan failed to exercise till the end in 2015.

Buhari's possible re-election in 2019 which is thousands of miles away from merit will be predictably hinged on three major factors below:

(1) Decimation of the PDP/Confusion among the electorate

The wild wind of anti-corruption in Nigeria which has rocked the ship of the PDP coupled with past records of misrule has demonized the main opposition party in Nigeria. With the media and court trials of the party members under the Buhari administration, a voter might refuse to use an umbrella under a heavy downpour or scorching sun to prevent an indirect support for or representation of the party which uses an umbrella as its logo.

Nigerians have become to disillusioned that the electorates are wary of trying the new crop of young leaders like the publisher of Sahara Reporters Omoyele Sowore, Professor Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu, motivational speaker and entrepreneur Fela Durotoye amid the #NotTooYoungToRun campaign or return to the PDP days tagged 'free looting'. This is a cul-de-sac; since we can't move forward or backward, automatically, the aged Buhari remains the viable option.

It is widely believed in the north (I hope I am wrong) that a dead Buhari at the Aso Rock villa is better than any fresh head from Nigeria and this might not be far from why mammoth crowds trooped out to support him in his last visits to Kano and Yobe States even in the face of the Dapchi school girls kidnap.

(2) General apathy towards politics:

With Buhari's abysmal performance in the face of high hopes of positive change in 2015 which prompted massive participation in the electoral process, some Nigerians have resigned to their old beliefs that Nigeria might never get better and all politicians are liars churning out fake and juicy manifestos to rob people of their votes.

With 8 million unclaimed Permanent Voter’s Cards, PVCs in the country, it’s safe to say the age-long apathy towards politics is about to get worse. About 16% of Nigerians (29,432,083 million out of over 180 million people) participated in the last presidential elections despite the intense heat it generated.

The supposed youths who are the proclaimed leaders of tomorrow have ignored political affairs to find masturbatory satisfaction and solace in the ongoing Big Brother Naija reality show. This might not be far from a long history of disenchantment by previous administrations eating off the destinies of the people for their self enrichment.

In Nigeria today, the reason why most people are starkly poor is the same reason why a few are monstrously opulent as they have signed fat cheques in the names of the poor masses with the powers of public offices. In a nutshell, this developing political remoteness is expected to maintain the statusquo in favour of Buhari.

(3) Power of incumbency and dirty politics

This is the crux of this article because of the trend of international politics today.

In recent times, most incumbent leaders either go after their strong competitors and decimate them with powers attached to their office or amend the constitution to accommodate their political ambitions like former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s botched third term bid.

We have read about how Alexei Anatolievich Navalny of Russia, a saleable candidate challenging President Vladimir Putin has been barred from contesting for president over corruption with reports having it that the charges were politically motivated.

The late Morgan Richard Tsvangirai suffered the same fate in the hands of former President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe in which he was tortured, threatened with death and locked up behind bars in a bid to clip his wings and derail his political ambition.

President Youwerri Museveni of Uganda has held power under the umbrella of the National Resistance Movement since 1986 despite his lack of popularity. He has set anti-democratic structures which have left the main opposition figure, Kizza Besigye at his mercy.

President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya was also accused of influencing the 2017 presidential election results to secure his victory against the self acclaimed people's president Raila Odinga. The second election organized after a Supreme Court judgment has been described as a sham which was largely boycotted across the country thereby causing crises which led to the death of about 90 people.

President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has mastered the leaf he borrowed from the playbook of these power-drunk leaders as he has simply forced there major opponents in the forthcoming election to abandon their ambitions thereby leaving him to run technically unopposed as the other present challengers are apparently insignificant.
A former military chief of staff Lieutenant General Sami Anan, Ahmed Shafik, former prime minister and air force chief, Mohamed Anwar al-Sadat, the nephew of assassinated President Anwar al-Sadat who have been described as worthy candidates that could give him a run for his money at the polls have pulled out of the presidential race after being reportedly intimidated by government forces.
Another popular figure, rights lawyer Khaled Ali has said he will still run, but he might be disqualified over an ongoing legal case against him.

We will not also forget the ‘born again’ and football-loving president of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza who defied the constitution to run for a third term in 2015 amid nationwide protests leading to several deaths. Despite the glaring rejection by his people, he manipulated the election results and held unto to power against the will of Burundians. Under existing laws, Burundian presidents are limited to two five-year terms.
Unrest that has gripped Burundi since April 2015, when Pierre Nkurunziza who has been in power since 2005 announced he would stand for a third term. Nkurunziza has been accused of killing hundreds of his people. He left the economy moribund and forced about 400,000 people to seek safety in neighboring countries. Burundi’s cabinet in October, 2017 backed a constitutional change that would allow its president to stay in office until 2034, widening a political rift that has driven the country progressively deeper into crisis.

Other African leaders have in the recent past also tinkered with or defied their constitutions to extend their rule, including Rwanda’s Paul Kagame and Democratic Republic of Congo’s Joseph Kabila.

The crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman under the guise of fighting corruption purportedly eliminated the political obstacles that would prevent him from consolidating power as successor to his father - Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, 82.. The rich and influential figures in Saudi Arabia were arrested and locked up in a hotel where they are allegedly tortured with a price of $100 billion slammed on them to secure their freedom. MBS as he is fondly called masterminded the arrest of the prominent billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, plus at least 10 other princes, four ministers and tens of former ministers. The Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh has been commandeered to house almost 50 Saudi royals including cousins of MBS.

President Xi Jinping of China last week rode on the massive goodwill of his administration to make himself a life president exploiting the weakness of the Chinese parliament - National People's Congress peopled by his staunch loyalists.

In essence, these few cases have shown that the popularity of an administration might not count in securing continuity. Most leaders especially in Africa lack legitimacy of mandates but they maintain their grip to power by muzzling the media and other dissenters.

One of the odd signs of an occurrence of such in Nigeria is Buhari's decision to ban about 30 correspondents from various media organizations from reporting his visit to Benue State where he was coldly welcomed with some protesters reportedly manhandled by security operatives in a bid to suppress their agitations. According to reports gathered, only seven handpicked media organizations were allowed to cover the President’s visit which is a blatant limitation of press freedom.

Former President Jonathan was nice to stick to his words that his ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian. President Buhari who prefers attending upscale wedding ceremonies and NOT troubled states in Nigeria might not be that gracious considering his military background.
On a lighter note, President Buhari’s administration has also recorded some fantastic achievements that will never be forgotten in a hurry. He has invested much in capital projects across the country (Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo once said that the Buhari administration spent N1.3 trillion on capital projects in 2016, the highest in the history of the country), grown the excess crude account to $42.8 billion, negotiated the release of some of the Chibok school girls, intensified the war against terrorism and putting Nigeria in the World Bank list of top 10 most improved economies in the world according to the 2016/17 Doing Business report amongst other enviable feats.

Osayimwen Osahon George is a Journalist and a Political Scientist based in Lagos State.

Source: http://www.villagetowncrier.com/2018/03/why-president-buhari-might-win-again-in.html

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There might be tremors in the circles of President Muhammadu Buhari and the ruling All Progressives Congress as influential Nigerian actor, Charles Okocha who is also known as Amoshine joins the presidential race ahead of 2019.

When father of one, Charles Okocha revealed he was going to contest for the position of the president of Nigeria in 2019 in his new song - Amoshine, many thought he was joking as usual.

The light-skinned actor chilling in his white car earlier today, declared his presidential ambition in a viral video. He assured Nigerians of 'free naira' during his tenure as leader.

Amoshine who commands large followership is expected to slug it out with President Muhammadu Buhari, 75, whose popularity has dipped seriously. With the NotTooYoungToRun campaign encouraging youths to participate in politics, Amoshine who also shuttles between music and comedy might be the messiah Nigeria has been waiting for since independence even though he has no political party yet.

Watch the hilarious video of his declaration below:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aD6EsXqNFs

Source https://www.tori.ng/news/91196/fear-grips-buhari-as-nigerian-actor-amoshine-decla.html

CC Lalasticlala Seun Ishilove Mynd44 Ishilove Obinoscoppy

President Muhammadu Buhari's gospel of hope and change was preached to the Nigerian masses on the grounds of well-founded integrity amid his low record of individual brilliance, oratory skills, scanty resume, elusive school certificate and other pertinent requirements.

Sympathetic voters were of the opinion that the Daura, Katsina State native could sanitize the country of brazen executive heist orchestrated by the previous administration apparently in full public glare.

But how far has Buhari fared in the past three years with his anti-corruption drive? The answer depends on who you ask. His anti-graft war has been described as highly selective with opposition members and other dissenting voices constantly getting the sticks while his party members relish the carrot.

Below are some shortcomings of the administration of Buhari which have impeded on the sincerity of the present anti-corruption drive:

(1) Budget padding in the House of Reps in 2016:

Part of the earlier indications that President Buhari's anti-corruption fight will not be total is his questionable handling of the budget padding saga at the Green Chamber which implicated the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara pitching him against his former ally, Abdulmunin Jibrin. The alleged manipulation of the budgetary allocations of 2016 which totaled N40 billion has been swept under the carpet with Jibrin - the whistleblower victimized.

(2) Babachir Lawal and Amb. Ayo Oke saga:

Nigerians will never forget the 7-month pressure mounted on Buhari to axe his former Secretary to the Government of Federation, David Babachir Lawal after suspension following the over N200 million ‘Grasscutting scandal’ and also the suspected slush fund of N13 billion found at the Osborne Tower, Ikoyi, Lagos linked to a former National Intelligence Agency boss, Ayo Oke. The fact that the duo hasn’t been arraigned in court for fraud raises eyebrows.

(3) Reinstatement of suspended NHIS boss:

We all remember Buhari's clampdown on suspected corrupt judges during which their houses were invaded in the dead of the night by operatives of the Directorate of State Security with doors forcefully pulled down. Pressure was mounted on the National Judicial Commission to suspend the indicted judges before being charged to court. Today, the Executive Secretary, National Health Insurance Scheme, Prof. Usman Yusuf suspected to have siphoned money in the tune of N919 million according to the provisions of an administrative panel has been reinstated by the President despite an ongoing probe by the anti-graft agencies namely the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission. This has proved that the only corrupt people are the ones with no cordial relationship with the President.

(4) Maina's controversial return:

Erstwhile Chairman of the Presidential Pension Task Scheme, Abdulrasheed Maina has been linked with a monster fraud of over N2 billion making him a leper one is not safe to touch even with a long Stick. But a member of Buhari’s cabinet - Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami considered him for a ‘dangerous romance’. His backdoor reinstatement as presided over by Malami has cast a shadow on the integrity of Buhari's corruption war. Today, the sacred cow is being declared wanted on paper and in contrast being guarded by security operatives in reality.

(5) Missing NIA funds:

Since the discovery of some stray $43 million belonging to the National Intelligence Agency at a private apartment at the Osborne Towers in Ikoyi – Lagos State, it has dawned on Nigerians that agency saddled with covert security operations is a den of titanic sharp practices. Earlier this year, 2018, an alarm was raised about a missing sum of $44 million which some sacred cows wanted to share. There are also concerns that another $202 million belonging to the NIA is yet to be full accounted for. This has attracted the intervention of the EFCC boss, Ibrahim Magu who has promised the lower chamber that the funds would be recovered.

(6) Failure to prosecute indicted APC members:

Some members of Buhari's cabinet and party members especially the former governors and security chiefs have petitions written against them concerning the mismanagement of public funds but it appears that EFCC passes over them at the sight of the ‘broom’ – APC’s symbol at their door step. A few examples are the former Governor of Rivers State and Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi and a former governor of Ekiti State and Minister of Solid Minerals Development Kayode Fayemi. This has led to regular social media outbursts by a beleaguered former Minister of Aviation Femi Fani Kayode.

(7) Illegal payment of fuel subsidy:

The leadership of the APC will never be forgotten in the history of Nigeria for running an opaque government laden with calculated propaganda. After the 66.67% increment of fuel price from N85 to N145 per litre in a bid to abolish the fuel subsidy regime, Nigerians were shocked in December 2017 to learn that the President on a clandestine note authorized the state owned oil company – Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC to be subsidizing petrol by N26 naira due to landing cost at N171 which doesn't favour importers. How the NNPC pays the subsidy which doesn't reflect in the national budget remains an enigma. Buhari's loud silence is a clear instruction that you are free to believe whatever you want to.

The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Maikanti Baru has also revealed the NNPC pays N774 million daily as subsidy for the supply of petrol. This he did shortly after turning down human rights lawyer, Femi Falana’s freedom of information request on how much the government was spending on subsidy.

( Kachikwu’s exposure of the suspicious award of contracts by the Baru-led NNPC:

The minister of state for Petroleum resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu raised an alarm about being sidelined in the affairs of the state-owned oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC with contracts in the tune of $26 billion awarded without his input and adherence to due process. Till date, the issue has been covered up despite the media interest generated. The fact that this is taking place under the administration that intends not only to fight corruption in Nigeria but also Ghana makes it subnormal.

(9) Arms deal fraud:

There is a conspiracy theory that government officials have turned the Boko Haram war into a conduit pipe to divert money as military expenditures are described as classified. The present Chief of Army Staff, Yusuf Tukur Buratai who has houses in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and a snakes’ farm; and the Minister of Interior Abdulrahaman Dambazau have been accused of tampering with security allocations. Recall that there was an outrage on social media in July 2016 when an investigative panel uncovering fraudulent practices in the procurement of arms for the military between 2007 and 2015 exempted Dambazau who was the Chief of Army Staff from 2008 to 2010. Today, the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki appears to be technically playing the role of Jesus Christ by solely paying for the sins of the world.

(9) The IGP of Police scandal

If an interior minister in Portugal, Constanco de Sousa could resign due to political pressure emanating from regular incidents of forest fire, and then a British member of the House of Lords, Lord Bates (junior minister in the UK Department for International Development) could do the same for coming late to the chamber, one would expect the current Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Kpotum Idris to step aside not because of the killings in Benue, Kaduna, Adamawa, Plateau, Taraba States and others but the dirt in his office as unearthed by Senator Isa Misau.

He has been accused of being romantically involved with his female colleagues, patronizing Aisha Buhari - wife of President with car gifts and also presiding over a police office that illegally makes about N10 billion monthly from oil companies and other private individuals who enjoy special protection from the security agency which is unaccounted for and also condoning the collection of bribes for juicy postings. The fact that he is still in office is a conk palm oil stain on Buhari's white garment.

(10) Appointment of dead people in boards of Federal Government agencies:

Supporters of President Buhari were left burying their faces in shame and ashes when the administration hit the Guinness Book of Records by being the first government to give political appointments to about 6 people on permanent recess in their graves. This reminds Nigerians of the problem of ghost workers which is a loophole in the public service used in embezzling vast public funds. There was also duplication of names of appointees in public offices. Till date, no reasonable explanation has been given for the epic gaffe which reeks of negligence and gross incompetence.

(11) Case of bribery and corruption against CCT Chairman, Justice Danladi Umar:

Justice Danladi Umar appears to have done a fantastic job presiding over the case of false declaration of assets by the Senate President Bukola Saraki but does it make sense to wash white clothes with stained hands? Umar has been accused of demanding N10 million bribe from an accused to pervert justice. This serious allegation was been swept under the carpet until the EFCC recently moved to arraign him to the dismay of the Federal Government. It would be recalled that the same EFCC had earlier cleared Umar of any wrongdoing in April, 2016 while presiding over Saraki’s case.

(12) Failure of Buhari to disclose health costs in London:

President Buhari cumulatively spent about six months on medical vacation in London, United Kingdom with the presidential jet idly gulping money per day at the hanger according to reports. Till date, Nigerians haven't been kept abreast about the funds expended for his medical expenses.

U.S President Donald Trump’s Health Secretary Tom Price was forced to resign in September, 2017 over the misuse of private jets at the cost ($400,000) of the sweats of tax payers. But in Nigeria, accountability and transparency are absent. An opaque administration where the public is denied its constitutional right to know is like a loamy soil for corrupt practices.

(13) Clannishness and favouritism:

Many have argued that Nigeria has never been this disunited owing to the actions and inactions of the Buhari administration where some citizens appear more equal than others. Buhari's lopsided appointments which have put more northerners at the helm of affairs re-ignited the Biafra agitations. It should be noted that nepotism is also corruption and not just financial infractions alone.

(14) Escalating Fulani herdsmen/farmers crises:

Under the present administration, there are wild jokes that the Fulani herdsmen encroaching on farmlands with their cattle are above the law and their cows are more valuable than human lives. Buhari's failure to mitigate the Fulani-farmers' clashes and disarm the AK-47 wielding pastoralists earned him the title of the 'president of the north' who has taken sides with the alleged oppressors. This suspected act of favouritism in a polarized state like Nigeria has further added salt to the open sore of discord among the major tribes in Nigeria. Hundreds of lives have been lost to the herdsmen/farmers clashes across the geopolitical zones in the country.

(15) Withdrawal of $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account:

The decision of the governors' forum to endorse the withdrawal of a whopping sum of $1 billion to tackle insecurity in Nigeria was welcomed with mixed reactions across the country. The reasons are not farfetched as funds gave been stolen from the nation's treasury under the secrecy of security allocations. For over 24hrs the Buhari administration struggled to define specific areas the funds would cater for. It was on this note that Governors Ayodele Fayose and Nyesom Wike washed their hands off the ECA withdrawal.

(16) Gross wastage of resources:

Despite President Buhari's bid to curb the wastage of resources in Nigeria, indications have it that it’s still business as usual. The State House clinic at the Aso Rock Villa can't boast of paracetamol, syringes and other basic clinic needs despite the allocation of N3.2 billion in the 2016 national budget. N65 million has also be allocated in the 2017 budget to design the already existing website of the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. About N4.9 billion has also been allocated this year for the mere maintenance of mechanical and electrical equipment at the Aso Rock Villa while majority of Nigerians languish in penury.

In conclusion, the recent report on corruption by the global anti-corruption watchdog - Transparency International has dealt a fatal blow to the anti-corruption drive of President Buhari with a Corruption Perception Index rating of 27 out of 100 which is a confirmation that he has been running in circles. According to the international body, corruption in Nigeria worsened last year 2017 with the country rated 148th out of 180 evaluated countries.

Compiled exclusively for Tori News by Osayimwen Osahon George

Source: https://www.tori.ng/news/90921/anticorruption-fight-top-own-goals-scored-by-the-b.html

A Nigerian photojournalist, Etinosa Osayimwen who is presently working for an International Non-governmental Organization, The Bright Continent has lamented about the spread of Lassa Fever in Edo State.

Miss Etinosa Osayimwen, a photojournalist has been in Edo State, South-south part of Nigeria covering the present outbreak of Lassa fever in the state which has been largely unreported.

According to her, the Federal Government hasn't done enough in containing the disease which has been claiming lives. Etinosa took to her Facebook page to make a staggering revelation that Irrua Specialist hospital in Edo state has had over a 100 admissions in the last two months while locals are plagued with ignorance about the disease.

Read her words below:

"This year, the outbreak of Lassa fever has been overwhelming. Irrua Specialist hospital in Edo state has had over a 100 admissions in the last two months, yet lots of locals in Irrua Don't really know much about the deadly disease talk less of how to avoid it.

Lassa fever is the younger brother of Ebola so that gives you an idea of how deadly it is.

The Nigerian government is down playing the reality of the outbreak because, 2019 is just around the corner.

International organizations are doing all they can to curb the spread.

Weeks back the NCDC falsified data to make it look like they were winning the fight, but thank God for white people and how they collate and value data.

I've been trying to get my PVC but the queue has been so discouraging. However, I need to ensure I get it because my vote counts. I need to exercise my rights and we all need to do same.

So much chaos in the country but it seems our leaders don't give a sh*t.

It's tough being a Nigerian sometimes, it really is."

Source: https://www.tori.ng/news/90318/over-100-cases-of-lassa-fever-recorded-in-edo-stat.html

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"The worst illiterate is the political illiterate. He hears nothing, sees nothing, takes no part in political life. He doesn't seem to know that the cost of living, the price of beans, of flour, of rent, of medicines all depend on political decisions. He even prides himself on his political ignorance, sticks out his chest and says he hates politics. He doesn't know, the slowpoke, that from his political non-participation comes the prostitute, the abandoned child, the robber and, worst of all, corrupt officials, the lackeys of exploitative multinational corporations" - Bertolt Brecht


One of the biggest political lies making the rounds is that Nigerian youths are not too young to occupy public offices. The #NotTooYoungToRun bill initiated by the National Assembly could be likened to a situation whereby a toddler is being offered his father's nipples in the absence of his mother. No matter how hard he tries to extract milk from it, it will amount to a futile mouth exercise designed to distract him from crying momentarily.

First of all, the Nigerian system itself is designed to sideline youths and credible people. Preliminary studies have shown that most people acquire the Permanent Voter's Cards for the purpose of currying cheap favours from politicians. The motives are never about the general interest of the people which is the essence of governance.

In my first three months in the field of journalism, I observed our company's driver then was so eager to obtain his Permanent Voter’s Card, PVC. His level of determination and enthusiasm baffled me and I was forced to ask him if it was the quest for a ‘change’ that was driving him as we experienced in the year 2015. To my greatest shock, he said;

"I need the PVC so that I can sell my vote to the highest bidder. On a normal day, my vote could cost N4,000 or more depending on the heat of the election".

I swiftly ended the inquiry in order to save my ears from more vile details. Election time is a money-sharing period in Nigeria where people mortgage their futures and destinies over a mesh of porridge just like Esau in the Holy Bible. Unlike the American political system where voters engage in fundraising for the candidates of their choice, the ones in Nigeria will put cotton wool in their ears during the electioneering campaign pending when their palms are greased with some coins. This has given politics an outlook of business investment and actors tend to recoup their ‘production costs’ at the expense of the poor masses as soon as they win political power.

But against all these challenges of dealing with recycled and tired leaders trying to run the latest computer software of the 21st century with a Windows 95 Operating System, what are the youths doing to make a difference in a failing country dominated by them? The bitter truth is that we youths are doing nothing. We are on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat monitoring celebrities and celebutantes living a lie to impress us; we are constantly scrolling through the profiles of some cleavage-bearing and twerking ladies on Instagram with a sure plan to slide into their DMs, following comedians online and being engrossed with their skits, monitoring sensational news, social media dramas and gossips to enjoy the moment, we are glued to our TV screens watching Big Brother Naija for the next housemate that would engage in a sensual activity with the opposite sex.

The level of apathy for politics among youths is unprecedented and nauseating; even the so-called social media warriors making the loudest noise about the mysterious snake that purportedly swallowed N36 million Joint Admission Matriculation Board, JAMB money have no PVC. This accounts for the reason why a gubernatorial candidate in Anambra State Osita Chidoka won the election on social media and abysmally lost in real life despite his impressive debate on Channels TV prior to the governorship election.

One of the reasons is that the youths who dominate the social media space don't have voter's cards. They gladly talk the talk on social media amid all manners of frivolities while most of our rugged brothers from the northern part of the country walk the walk; they boldly put action to their words.
In the buildup of the 2015 general elections, I noticed there was a mass exodus of northerners from Ibadan, Oyo State where I resided at that time to their respective states in the northern part of Nigeria. They knew the value of power and the importance of a Buhari Presidency. Most of them expended their life savings in making those long trips and the resultant effect was Buhari's rout of the northern part of Nigeria while some South-westerners either showed apathy or waited for ‘mobilization fee’ from politicians and political parties to exercise their franchise.

While the youths slumber at the driver's seat, it now hurts more that the underaged folks have gone ahead to obtain PVCs without the slightest idea of its essence. The incident of the Kano State Local Government elections where pictures and videos of minors freely participating in the electoral process has supplied us with the robust evidence to buttress this claim.

I have understudied the mind-boggling passion of Nigerian youths for the Big Brother Naija reality show and I have tentatively reached the conclusion that there might be a spiritual undertone to it. Some Nigerian youths stay glued to their TV sets and make recordings of romantic moments between Tobi and Cee-C, Miracle and Nina, Teddy A and Bambam, Bito and Ifu Ennada and other emotionally-confused people to share online regardless of the large internet data consumption. Reactions just never stop flowing like woman with the issue of blood. One can only imagine the kind of positive results we will attain if those energies are channeled into political consciousness towards demanding accountability from our leaders.

Attacks by Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen, high-profile kidnappings, exposure of gargantuan fraud in the political circle and others have failed to gain the kind of buzz generated by the BB Naija which gives viewers a mere masturbatory feeling. One imagines the economic advantage Payporte, an e-commerce platform and other sponsors can generate if they convert the 3-month reality show into a workshop to train programmers & Information Technology enthusiasts. At least Nigeria could have our own version of Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos.

The same old leaders were are bad-mouthing are still the ones pleading with us to avoid being distracted by the reality show and endeavor to participate in the electoral process and appropriate political discuss via available channels.

On the 3Oth of January, 2018, a concerned People’s Democratic Party chieftain and Governor of Gombe State, Ibrahim Dankwambo took to his Twitter account to appeal to Nigerian youths to keep their eyes on the ball.

“#BigBrotherNaija is good and I commend the ingenuity of our youths but the future is not #BBNaija3, it is in your hands dear Nigerian youths. Go and get your #PVC” he posted but this has fallen on permanently deaf ears. We will rather prefer to storm religious centres for fasting and praying when the Shylocks and other political sharks hijack power in 2019 and increase the tempo of economic hardship.

The Senator representing Bayelsa East, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, also reiterated the stand of Governor Dankwambo.

In his words:

”I urge Nigerian youths not to be lulled by #BBNaija and forget to get their PVCs. 12 million Nigerians have lost their jobs since President Buhari assumed office two years ago.

”Most of those 12 million are youths. The power to change this equation is in your PVC and not BBNaija!”


Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), recently went hard on Nigerian youths describing the dreams of political leadership as a mirage as well as dangerous journey.

According to him, there is no evidence that youths were better than elders in leadership.

“They (youths) will be fooling themselves if they think they can sit on their back-pedal and somebody will hand over power to them. That is a pure delusion.

“Speaking generally, there is no evidence whatsoever that the youths are better.

“In fact, the preponderance of evidence is that it is riskier to have a youth, at least in this country, at the helm of affairs.” he emphasized.

His harsh words have attracted hasty and emotional reactions from youths who feel the legal luminary might be acting controversial as usual but he is only speaking the bitter truth.
We can only admire young world leaders like Emmanuel Macron of France (41), Justin Trudeau of Canada (46), the infamous Kim Jong Un of North Korea (34), Kim Yo Jong of North Korea (30), Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia (32), Sebastian Kurz of Austria (31) and George Weah of Liberia (51) but we might never produce them with our poor level of political consciousness, lack of coordination and obsession with frivolities.

The Nigerian youths are dominated by proud side-chicks of married men parading themselves as Nollywood actresses, models, Make-up artists, video vixens and other flexible jobs associated with showbiz. Among the youths, we have ill-mannered ladies posing as feminists looking for rich men to date and marry; we celebrate internet fraudsters and others with unfounded wealth; we give support to musicians who preach societal decadence, immorality, drug abuse, internet scam, and living in the fast lane.

The school libraries have become empty with the Big Brother Naija craze, the unprofitable gist has dominated the media space and the truth is that no matter how entertaining the show might be, it will take us nowhere as youths. At the age of 24, President Muhammadu Buhari had participated in the second military coup of July, 1966, at age 33, Yakubu Gowon presided over the civil war and kept Nigeria as one. Late chief Obafemi Awolowo at 40 founded the Nigerian Tribune – the oldest surviving private Nigerian newspaper to prosecute the nationalist movement. Lawyer, politician and diplomat Matthew Tawo Mbu, from Okundu in Cross River State was appointed Federal Minister for Labour at age 23 in 1953 and he is the youngest Minister Nigeria has ever had in history.

At 25, former Nigerian military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida had become a key player in most of the military coups in Nigeria (July 1966, February 1976, December 1983, August 1985, December 1985 and April 1990). At 44, he subsequently became the President. What about Chief Olusegun Obasanjo? At 39 (going by his date of birth - 1937) he became a military ruler at 39. The list is endless, but what are people of that age doing today? The answer is simple, they are doctoring their pictures taken at exotic locations to showboat on social media as well as doing intellectual analysis of the Big Brother Naija show while the organizers rip them of their funds through text messages and coast to financial success. They are busy online sharing memes, flirting with ladies and making jokes out of all scenarios. This is really sad and it portends a grave danger!

We have to wake up from our slumber and snatch our lives from the alleged political cabal ruling the country using the President’s face. Power can never be handed to us on a platter of gold as the diminutive governor of Kaduna State, Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai opined on social media.

We need the dedication employed by one of the most successful countries in the world – South Korea where the citizens once donated their expensive jewelries and other golden personal effects in 1998 to the state to sell them off and recover from economic crisis. At that time, it was estimated that South Korean households held roughly $20 billion in gold, in the form of necklaces, coins, bars, trinkets, statuettes, medals, pendants, military insignias, trophies and more. It was an emergency situation that demanded for an uncanny approach. That act of self-sacrifice stunned the world as the citizens came as a formidable force to salvage their debt-ridden country. The real change starts from the mindset and from there; we can put actions to our words.

We shouldn’t be deceived by the development that 25 Houses of Assembly have passed the #NotTooYoungToRun bill. Youths will soon realize we are #NotTooYoungToLose. Enacting the law is not the challenge but the feasibility of contesting in a faltering system. What is the essence when the structure is closed and youths are selfishly aligned to the old leaders causing us to sing in discordant tunes?

Written by Osayimwen Osahon George, a Journalist and a Political Scientist based in Lagos State.

Source: http://www.villagetowncrier.com/2018/02/big-brother-naija-craze-why-nigerian.html

More images

A commercial motorcycle rider operating in Ibadan, Oyo State has passed away alongside a passenger in a road accident which took place around the 110 area of Alalubosa close to the popular Nustreams event centre.

A local trader in transit to sell some food materials at the Sabo area of Ibadan has been involved in an accident alongside her son.

The duo were on a motorbike around the Alalubosa area when they were hit by a commercial bus. The woman's son and the motorcycle rider popularly called Okada Man died on the spot while the woman survived with serious injuries.

A source revealed to Tori News that the woman who was in a state of coma was swiftly rushed to the hospital by the first responders. The gory event which took place at 6:00pm caused a traffic jam on the busy road with a large scene of sympathizers.

The accident scene was littered with fresh human blood and the wares belonging to the woman currently hospitalized.

The identities of the victims are yet to be ascertained but an eye witness confirmed that the Okada Man is of northern extraction.

Watch a video from the accident scene below:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4YObs7gmBs

Source: https://www.tori.ng/news/88702/fresh-accident-at-alalubosa-area-of-ibadan-claims.html

A single man based in Lagos State is organizing a national search for a beautiful lady he met in a bus heading to Ago Palace Way yesterday night.

Reports gathered have it that he was thrilled when he met her and also paid her transport fare as the driver had no change to give her. His tweet has gone viral and efforts are being made to locate the young lady presumed to be single.

See his tweet below:

VillageTownCrier‏
@osahon87

If you are the light-skinned lady I met in a bus heading to Ago Palace Way, Lagos yesterday that I paid your tfare; I will like to see you again. Pls contact me. You have all I have ever wished for in a woman. @Gidi_Traffic

https://twitter.com/osahon87/status/956115202642202624

It was a scene of intense heat, fire, smoke and tears as business owners lost goods worth millions of naira in a raging fire accident.

A fire outbreak on First Avenue in the FESTAC town part of Lagos State has razed a car and furniture shops in the area with about 26 vehicles and 4 motorcycles destroyed, TORI NEWS can authoritatively report.

The fire incident reportedly broke out at about 12pm around the FESTAC link bridge as the tanker driver attempted to mount the sloppy bridge, a police officer told a TORI NEWS reporter.

Multiple accounts gathered revealed there was no casuality and the tanker driver in the eye of the storm was not in sight as he had evaded the scene for the fear of being mobbed.

The inferno however threw the area into pandemonium with residents and other business operators scampering for safety.

The first respondents at the scene of the accident blamed the Local Government authorities over the inability to site an Emergency Service Agency around the opulent FESTAC Area.

"The government has failed us again. This disaster could have been averted if the fire services came on time.

"The fire incident started at 12pm and it took the firefighters almost two hours when the fire had escalated to visit the scene and salvage the situation. We struggled helplessly for hours with the little we had," an angry resident revealed while speaking to journalists.

A resident, in the rowdy scene who sympathized with the yet to be identified car shop owner claims the owner would have lost exotic vehicles including a Venza and others reportedly worth about N500 million.

An official of the Lagos State Fire Service told TORI NEWS correspondent that his office was contacted around 12pm when the fire was raging and they swung right into action.

Officials of the LASEMA Response Unit, LRU, were spotted at the scene trying to assist in quenching the fire at different ends of the scene.

Multiple police officers were also seen at the scene of the fire incident patroling the area to prevent the breakdown of law and order while also trying to maintain an appreciable flow of traffic.

"The FESTAC bridge road will be blocked throughout today" a police officer at the scene who didn't want his identity revealed stated.

"We are trying to control the crowd and make sure nobody gets hurt. We were called at 12pm and we have been here (at the scene) trying to do our bit.

"Our DPO is also on ground trying to liase with officials of the Emergency Services," the officer added.

Scores of motorcylists and hundreds of sympathizers were seen at the razed area just as motorists lament bitterly in the gridlock caused.

Watch the video recorded by a TORI News correspondent below:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J2hUeQ0ItQ

Source: https://www.tori.ng/news/83143/how-26-vehicles-4-motorcycles-and-others-were-dest.html

Nigeria is heading to the polls again in 2019 and the weapon of populism which is a political approach that seeks to disrupt the existing social order by solidifying and mobilizing the animosity of the "common man" or "the people" against "privileged elites" and the "establishment" is being deployed massively to sway weak-willed people as usual.

The Nigerian electorate could be likened to that beautiful but orphaned teenage girl roaming the unsafe streets homelessly without the essential guidance of her parents or family members.

Her first hurdle will be her encounter with some elderly wolves in human clothing regarded as paedophiles trying to take her home as if they are interested in fixing her present predicament. But when they get home, her first lesson would be that nothing is free in this world. She would be forced to pay labouriously with what is between her legs.

After being pleasurably used, abused and dumped on the streets where she came from, another paedophile targets her with a different approach in exploitation of her naivety to lure her to his den. They will come with different offers of money, clothing, shelter, food, security, true love and even job just to secure her behind closed doors and have a carnal knowledge of her till her life is completely ruined. One of them might finally decide to end her earthly sufferings by using her for money-making rituals.

This simple analogy embodies the plight of the Nigerian masses right from the inception of the military era since 1966 till date. No political leader dead or alive would honestly admit his misrule; not even the late dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha whose legendary loot keeps returning to Nigeria posthumously almost two decades of his demise. Even a former military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (Rtd) and 'Saint' Muhammadu Buhari once cleared Abacha of corruption charges at the tenth year anniversary of his death in 2008.

I remember vividly the widespread celebrations across Nigeria when the death of Sani Abacha was announced on the 8th of June. 2008. Some called an end to his 5-year tumultuous reign of blood and terror an ‘art of God’ while others in the know called it another ‘machination by power hawks’ who simply got rid of an obstacle before them. The jollifications of that fateful day could be likened to the national hysteria felt in Zimbabwe when the 37-year reign of former President Robert Mugabe, 93 was ‘militarily’ laid to rest on the 21st of November earlier this year. Critical and discerning minds wondered why they celebrated his exit considering the fact that his crony, President Emmerson Mnangagwa self-styled ‘the Crocodile’ who was part of the Draconian rule for decades is now at the helm of authority. The people have been tortured and marginalised so much that they just want to be happy for a second even if that will mean them being mere ‘happy fools’with due respect.

When President Muhammadu Buhari kept contesting serially for Presidency from the year 2003, we all believed the 74 year had a metaphysical antidote to our challenges. Buhari insisted that he kept throwing his hat in the ring every 4 years due to the failure of the Nigerian State to get better.

Today, Buhari is President and we can’t categorically say life in Nigeria has reasonably improved. Even his ruling party member, Governor of Imo State Rochas Okorocha admitted that 89% of Nigerians are not happy even though we don’t know the parameter the statue-obsessed APC chieftain used in arriving at that figure. Under Buhari, we can only take our grievances to our nearby religious institutions and keep hoping for the best as Karl Max postulated.

In less than two years, Nigerians will be heading to the polls again and it seems that orphaned teenage girl on the street is about to be s*xually-abused once more by the paedophiles. A former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who was a part of the APC process has devised a new strategy to lure the poor girl home again for notorious defilement. Nigerians might be sold into modern slavery again like the illegal migrants in Libya for the next 4 years.

Atiku, a shrewd and opulent businessman has opted to use the slogans of ‘restructuring’, ‘youth emancipation’ and ‘job creation’ to win the support of Nigerians. Atiku has been actively using social media platforms namely Facebook and Twitter to worm his way into the hearts of Nigerian youths who constitute about 60% of Nigeria’s population and also dominate the internet space.

Atiku has also been rolling out his economic achievements while he served as the Vice President with former President Olusegun Obasanjo from the year 1999 till 2007.

"I run my businesses to international standards. Let any of those who want to compete with me show what they have managed successfully. I’ve lifted over 45,000 families out of joblessness and poverty through my microfinance company in my State Adamawa and we’ve have empowered mostly women."

“As VP, I assembled what is arguably the best Economic Team ever in Nigeria. It was made up of young, world class professionals, who came home to work. Some of those professionals are now political leaders, governors and world leaders in their own right" Atiku has boasted on separate occasions.

Atiku claims the banking consolidation process he backed politically has protected commercial banks from collapsing today which is applaudable. According to the itinerant politician, he oversaw the telecoms revolution which enabled 99 million Nigeria to have mobile phones.

"In my home state of Adamawa for example, I’ve created over 50,000 direct jobs and 250,000 indirect ones. We are the largest private employers of labour in the state only second to the state government. It’s not a lot, but it does help reduce unemployment. Who do you think are holding those jobs? Yes, young people." he claimed in his open letter to ace Nigerian comedian, I Go Dye.

To cap it all, Atiku revealed that he was worth several millions of dollars before venturing into politics and that he even bankrolled the PDP at some point. His CV is alluring enough to sway millions of Nigerian youths living without purpose and motivation due to the unending impecuniosity in the land.

Nigerian youths believe Atiku could translate his personal economic prosperity records into a national one that would affect the lives of Nigerians positively. Aside the seeming unfounded perception that Atiku who has been carefully avoiding a visit to the United States of America due to alleged links with the Halliburton Scandal might be too corrupt to trust with the Nigeria’s already emaciated treasury, he seems to have the political framework to give Buhari a run for his money in 2019.

Atiku has been accused of merely telling Nigerians what they want to hear in his bid to control the blossoming political business in Nigeria. This might not be far from the truth as politicians in Nigeria have graciously used populism to hoodwink the people in whose names they sign fat cheques and get richer while the people whose interests they are supposed to represent become their victims.

Most times, one would wonder how Buhari and his APC friends sleep well at night with the ‘Change’ slogan turning negative before their very eyes.

The leadership of the APC deployed populism in securing power and Atiku, a former member seems to have borrowed a leaf from that playbook to win power ahead of 2019. An X-ray of the campaign promises of the APC seems to show the party intentionally made bombastic promises reminiscent of the Tales by Moonlight told to kids whose brain capacities lack maturity.

The bitter truth is that Buhari would have never happened if the right questions were asked as the party manifesto circulated the media space in 2015.

The APC promised to create 3 million jobs annually and nobody cared about asking the party how; not even the seasoned economists in Nigeria pleaded with the APC to draw a roadmap for the achievement of that mirage in a regressive system like Nigeria. Buhari allegedly promised to make N1 equal to $1 and we never asked how!

Today, about 4.58 million jobs have been lost under Buhari (2016 NBS report) not to talk about the worsening issue of under-employment which has made suicide beguiling to people.

The party also promised to revive the local economy, diversify it and develop vast infrastructural facilities at a period when the price of oil – the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy was dwindling and we asked no further questions. What about the promises of fixing the issues of power supply, security, Boko Haram and others? They have been replaced by either the usual blame game or the endless call for patience. Those listing security as one of the achievements of the Buhari administration might be yet to entertain the gun-wielding Fulani Herdsmen unleashing terror across the different geopolitical zones in Nigeria. What about the Boko Haram sect? A recent investigation by Daily Trust newspaper shows that the terrorist group has killed about 1,100 Nigerians since the government prematurely claimed in 2015 they have been technically defeated.

Did the APC undertake an assessment of our moribund power plants and hapless DISCOs before promising steady electricity supply during the campaign period? The answer is a blatant NO considering the odd realities on ground.

What about Buhari’s promise to improve healthcare delivery in Nigeria? He is the biggest high-profile medical tourist in the world currently while the State House Clinic established to cater for the Presidency can’t boast of common Paracetamol and syringes despite the huge budgetary allocations.

Buhari was presented as the ‘Incorruptible Judge’ who would knock out corruption which is a citizen of Nigeria like Anthony Joshua but nobody asked how. Today, the anti-corruption fighter jets have only been dropping bombs in the camp of the opposition members. Kudos to Buhari for recovering over N5 trillion from looters thus far but it is disheartening that no major conviction has been secured since 2015. There is a palpable fear that these corruption cases would be squashed if a new government particularly from the opposition party - PDP wins power in 2019. Nigeria is still riddled with weak institutions and widespread poverty which are like catalysts for graft. Under the present administration, tertiary institutions have been closely competing with thunder in the area of ‘strikes’.

A recent anomaly in the system was when it was discovered that one Adamu Abubakar Rasheed, the son of the current Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, NUC - Professor Adamu Abubakar Rasheed bagged a PhD degree in Engineering at the University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom and the man, a former Vice-Chancellor of the Bayero University, Kano celebrated it on social media with colourful pictures without considering the political implications of his actions. Buhari and the APC leadership promised to restructure Nigeria but never explained how as they today hide under the ambiguity of the concept.

Now the Waziri of Adamawa, Atiku is here with the revised textbook of populism and his media team appears to be doing a fantastic job with the contents. You will know politics is about to get comical when you see a ‘yesterday man’ of 71 contesting for Presidency and at the sametime advocating for the youths to be given a chance. Atiku’s claims about the marginalization of the youths would have looked valid and sincere if he could step down and sponsor a youth he must have mentored all his life. An Atiku Presidency means the youths will wait for another 8 years before it might be their turn because he will certainly gun for a second term as an African man who knows the sweetness of the political business. Specifically, he is giving the youths some 10 years to fully take over government after he must have been done with his two terms.

It’s a good thing Atiku has been promising the creation of jobs which is a global campaign promise in the league of politicians but we need to ask him how and when? This is not about pessimism and scepticism but there is a need for Atiku to show us his economic blueprint and timeframe to actualize it before he blames the Buhari administration and advocate for endless patience like Mama Peace. This is necessary so that the despondent youths can realize what they are up against so that 8 years of faint hopes wouldn’t be wasted.

One wonders how Atiku can restructure Nigeria and devolve powers to the state governments considering the current posture of the National Assembly and the 36 Houses of Assembly concerning restructuring. The National Assembly expressed their nonchalance towards restructuring when they voted against the devolution of powers to the state governments in August, 2017. Is Atiku planning to enforce restructuring by decrees just like the military era? Or Atiku will be the Nigerian version of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Bin Salman who is breaking standard governing protocols?

This imminent Wild Goose Chase is synonymous to President Donald Trump disdain for the ObamaCare, obsession with travel ban, and building of the wall at the Mexican border at the profligate cost of $66.9 billion aside the annual maintenance cost of $150 million according to the Senate Democrats. Today, Trump has been coerced into supporting the relocation of the Israeli capital from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem purportedly to score high ratings among the Evangelicals as a fulfilment of his election campaign promise.

Atiku delivered a wonderful speech at the recent national convention of the PDP but one grey area was when he advocated against the high recurrent expenditure in Nigeria. He harped on; “a smaller, more effective government that does not consume 75% of the federal budget just on paying salaries”. This is intriguing but it would be more explicit for Atiku to spell out how he intends to reduce the over-bloated salary burden on the federal government. Will he cut the salaries of civil servants, lawmakers or even downsize the present workforce? Can an all-embracing man like him latching unto all Twitter trends for support summon the courage to take food off the mouths of the ‘great’ Senator Dino Melaye and his colleagues? That will be a blockbusting drama to watch!

U.S President Donald Trump was able to create a record of 261,000 jobs in October, 2017 partly because of the working nature of the American system. One wonders if such a revival is possible in Nigeria where the country is at the brink of collapse after its life has almost be snuffed out due to age-long looting by political businessmen still being recycled till date.

I have a premonition that Nigeria might be ultimately sold to China when Atiku is done recouping his invested funds which some journalists, publicists and other political stakeholders have eaten over the years of his failed attempts at winning power.

A parting question; will Nigerians want to return to the PDP days especially with the latest damning report by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, DFID Nigeria that a about $32 billion was lost to corruption under the previous 6-year administration of former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan?

Osayimwen Osahon George is a Political Scientist and a journalist. He writes from Lagos State.

Source: https://www.tori.ng/news/83065/atiku-abubakar-2019-before-nigeria-is-eventually-s.html

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