₦airaland Forum

Yaya Toure has won the 2013 BBC African Footballer of the Year award.

The Ivory Coast and Manchester City midfielder, who had had been nominated in each of the past four years, beat Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Victor Moses, John Mikel Obi and Jonathan Pitroipa to this year's crown.

The 30-year-old told BBC Sport: "I think I've been nominated for five years in a row and finally winning the award is amazing.
Continue reading the main story

“I'm very happy as it is the fans who have given it to me - so I'm very appreciative”

Yaya Toure

"It's a fantastic achievement because I don't think there has ever been as many quality African players in top level international football as there are now: Aubameyang, Pitroipa, Mikel, Moses, Salomon Kalou, Gervinho... we have fantastic players.

"I also think African football is improving and that means a lot to us. And as an African, I'm very happy."

The shortlist for the award was drawn up by 44 football experts across Africa, who based their choices on players' skill, technical ability, teamwork, consistency and fair play.

A record number of fans then voted for their favourite either online or by text message.

And those fans have considered Toure to be the standout African player over the past year, in recognition of the Ivorian's displays of power, pace, creativity and goals.

Toure said: "Thank you to all the fans around the world who continue to support me. It shows how much fans love you and appreciate your job as well.

"It's something special because it's not the vote of the manager or the club or the captain of the national team, it's just the fans.

"When you have a lot of fans behind you, it's always amazing. And I'm very happy as it is the fans who have given it to me - so I'm very appreciative."

Ghana police and Immigration already aware of this.

The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice has
dismissed the case brought against Ghana by
some Nigerian traders doing business in the
country.
The Court rejected the arguments of the traders
that sections of the new Ghana Investment
Promotion Council (GIPC) Act which bar
foreigners from engaging in retail trade in the
country’s markets were in violation of the
ECOWAS Protocol on free movement of people
and goods.
It upheld submissions filed by the Attorney-
General, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, and
argued by Deputy AG, Dr. Dominic Ayine and
Chief State Attorney, Dorothy Afriyie Ansah.
They, among other things, argued that the law
was necessary to protect Ghana’s domestic
interests and could not have been said to
violate the ECOWAS Protocol on free movement
of people and goods.
Some Nigerian traders, led by the National
Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS) and
the Nigerian Union of Traders Association,
Ghana (NUTAG), petitioned the ECOWAS
Community Court of Justice over the new GIPC
Act which was revised in July this year and
among other things, specifies the criteria
foreigners would have to meet in order to be
able to do business in the country.
The revised law raised the minimum capital for
foreigners wishing to do business in the country
from the previous US$300,000 to US$1 million
either in cash or goods.
Arguing that the law is inconsistent with the
ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Goods
and People, the petitioners prayed the sub-
regional court to intervene and stop Ghana from
enforcing the legislation.
The Nigerians cited the ministries of Trade and
Industry (MOTI), Foreign Affairs and Regional
Integration and Justice and Attorney-General,
as the respondents.
The AG’s department, therefore, filed a
response praying the court to dismiss the
petition.
A source at the A-G’s department told
Myjoyonline, the court gave its verdict,
dismissing the petition on Friday, November 15,
2013.

www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=292664

Igbos will help Nigeria win this world cup

Two Nigerians, Nduka Ogbonna Fidelis and Vincent Emmanuel are in the grips of the Accra Regional Police, for allegedly importing, distributing and selling fake Vermox and Postinor 2 tablets on the Ghanaian market.

The two according to the Food and Drugs Authority, its investigations revealed that the fake medicines were smuggled into the Ghana from Nigeria by road.

Vermox tablets are indicated for treatment of worm infestations whereas Postinor 2 is an oral emergency contraceptive.

The FDA in a release, cautioned "the public to note that the fake Vermox has a batch number of 9CL2400 with a manufacturing date of 09/2013 and expiry date of 08/2017".

"The general public, especially pharmacies, licensed chemical shops, hospitals, clinics and other healthcare facilities are hereby cautioned against buying medicines from drug peddlers and other dubious sources.

"Medicines purchased from these sources are not only fake but are also transported and stored under improper conditions, which could result in their deterioration well before their stated expiry thus putting the health of consumers of such medicines at risk."

http://www.citifmonline.com/index.php?id=1.1595737

Ghana's Deputy Communications Minister Victoria Hammah has been sacked after she was recorded allegedly saying she would stay in politics until she has made $1m (£600,000).

"If you have money then you can control people," she said on the tape which has been widely circulated in Ghana.

Ms Hammah has not yet commented on the tape or her sacking.

The BBC's Sammy Darko in Accra says she played a key role in President John Mahama's election last year.

In August, she said there was a lot of pressure on her to steal from government because people thought she was rich.

She described such demands as "obnoxious", reports the Ghanaweb news site.

"Corrupt politicians are the reflection of [a] corrupt society!" it quotes her as saying.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24864436

India na rape headquaters of the world

Men in India are already beginning to celebrate as the annual Assam Rape Festival is just days away. Every non-married girl age 7-16 will have the chance to flee to safety or get raped.

Madhuban Ahluwalia who heads up the annual festival told reporters why the event is so important. “This is a long time tradition in Assam dating back thousands of years,” says Ahluwalia. “We rape the evil demons out of the girls, otherwise they will cheat on us and we will be forced to kill them. So it is necessary for everyone.”

The Assam Festival began in 43 BC when Baalkrishan Tamil Nadu raped everyone in his village of Doomdooma. Baalkrishan Tamil Nadu is remembered every year at this event, in fact the trophy given to the man with the most rapes is called “The Baalkrishan”.

24-year-old Harikrishna Majumdar told reporters that he has been training all year for this event. “I’m going to get the most rapes this year. I’ve been practicing all year. I rape my sister and her friends every day. I will be rape superstar number one! I will get the Baalkrishan prize this year for sure!”

12-year-old Jaitashri Majumdar told reporters she almost made it through last year’s festival without getting raped. “I came so close to not getting raped. I almost got to the ‘rape-free-zone’ at the edge of town, but at the last minute 9 men jumped on me and raped me. Luckily I am just recovering now so I can participate in this year’s events, otherwise I would be put to death by stoning.”

34-year-old Brian Barnett from Toronto who is visiting Assam on business told reporters he will be missing the festivities this year. “My company did not tell me anything about a rape festival happening while I was here. Are you serious, a rape festival? I’m getting the f*ck out of this backwards country tonight.”

India is second in reported rapes in the world only behind the United States, though critics are quick to point out that is only because most rapes in India go unreported.



Source: http://news.ugo.co.ug/2013/11/assam-rape-festival-india-begun-week/

ritababe: Our anthem is the best in the world

You must be mad. South africa all day

Up sweden down Nigeria




Nigeria must lose. Fake under 17 men

Judek2: They played the match by 2 pm, naija won 3-0..

Mods, Whyy

Nigeria lost

Ghana’s inspirational captain Asamoah Gyan is backing Nigeria to win the ongoing U17 World Cup in the UAE even though the rivalry between the two West African countries is intense.

The charismatic captain of the Black Stars traveled from his Al Ain base to Dubai to watch the Nigerians thrash Iran to reach the quarter-finals of the tournament.

Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets will see their 2013 Fifa Under-17 World Cup title ambition come under huge test from Uruguay in the quarterfinal at the Sharjah Stadium this Saturday.

The Uruguay-Nigeria clash is one of the big games of the quarterfinals at the ongoing Under-17 World Cup in the UAE.

Gyan picked out Nigerian players Kalechi Iheanacho and Taiwo Awoniyi for special praise in the Golden Eaglets team and said he is backing the Flying Eaglets to win the title.

“Nigeria an Ghana are very close. Of course, we’re rivals in football but we’re brothers in every other way,” said Gyan, who could very well also be talking about fellow west Africans Côte d’Ivoire, who’ve reached through to the quarter-final stage of the competition for the first time in 26 years.

“Any time I meet up with Nigerians it’s like meeting up with family. We’re like the same people really. I’m rooting for them.”

The Nigerians go into this quarterfinal game with an enviable record of having reached the last eight of the Under-17 World Cup nine times.

Uruguay unlike Nigeria have reached the last eight twice but have put up an impressive run in the UAE winning three matches and scoring 14 goals.

Saturday’s game between the Nigerians and Uruguayans will not be lacking in quality after brilliant displays from their youngsters.

Uruguay 3 - Nigeria 1

Good result by Nigeria. Igbos are doing well in that team!

Is the OP asleep?

Watch the match live on Ghana Televison

Government earnings from oil for the first eight months of the year have risen above the end-year target while that of cocoa and gold have slumped, further intensifying fears that the country is inching closer to the much dreaded Dutch Disease. Latest data from the Bank of Ghana (BoG) showed that total merchandised imports of gold and cocoa within the first eight months of the year was US$3.4 billion and US$1.4 billion respectively. That represented a corresponding 12.6 per cent and 21.4 per cent decline from the period before.

However, that of oil, which is the country’s newest addition to the stream of foreign exchange earners, registered a 46.9 per cent growth within the eight-month period. Total merchandised exports of petroleum, according to the BoG, rose from about US$1.3 billion in the first three quarters of 2012 to US$2.8 billion in the same period in 2013.

This translated to GH¢1.15 billion in real income for the government.

Given that government budgeted to collect GH¢1.12 billion from oil in 2013, the eight-month period earnings of GH¢1.15 billion meant that the country had already exceeded its end-year target from petroleum by about 2.68 per cent.

It was also about 145 per cent higher than the eight-month target of GH¢788.1 million, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning (MoFEP), Mr Seth Terkper, confirmed on October 2.

This development came in the wake of shortfalls in total revenue and grants resulting mainly from delayed disbursement of grants from development partners (DPs) and lower-than anticipated domestic tax collections.

These, together with rising expenditures, have put government budget off gear while reigniting the debate on the existence or otherwise of the Dutch Disease.

The disease is an economic ailment that boosts growth in the petroleum sectors of oil-rich countries thus causing them to limit investments and attentions to the non-oil sectors. That often leads to a contraction in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors.

Why the high oil revenues

Although the country commenced commercial production of oil in late 2010, it was not until the fourth quarter of last year that partners of the Jubilee Field started paying corporate income tax to the government.

For the past three fiscal years, the companies, led by Tullow Ghana, have had to recover the cost incurred in the run-up to the start of oil production at the Jubilee Field in December 2010.

That put them in a position not fit to pay corporate tax as almost all profits made from their operations were plowed back as cost.

That notwithstanding, government continued to budget for corporate tax from oil and that, together with other challenges, caused it to miss its targets from the sector in two years running.

But the trend is now changing, thanks to huge inflows of corporate tax from the Jubilee Partners.

Data from the GRA showed that total corporate tax payments amounted to GH¢264 million in the first half of the year compared to the year-end target of GH¢107.81 million.

Also, prices of crude have risen above projections and that has led to excess revenues for the country.

And while these happened, production figures at the field also continued to improve, rising from about 90,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) in the first part of the year to over 120,000 bopd in the third quarter.

Although these factors played to the revenue advantage of the country and the partners as well, the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) believes the reported excess revenue from the oil, as against target, is mainly due to under projections by the government.

"For your eight-month earnings to exceed the entire year target, then it shows that we didn't get the forecasting right and that is what we at PIAC are concern for," a member of the committee, Mr Michael Edjuekuhene, told the paper on October 9.

Oil to the rescue?

News of oil revenue in the first eight months of the year running above the entire year's target come at a time that total revenue and grants are lagging behind target.

Hon Terkper said at his recent media briefing that revenue and grants from January to August, this year, was GH¢11.9 billion against a target of GH¢14.18 billion.

"The shortfall in the total revenue and grants was mainly as a result of low disbursement of grants from our development partners and partly due to lower than anticipated domestic revenue collection by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA)," the minister explained.

This development in the oil revenue fuels positive passions that the increased revenues from petroleum, resulting from increased crude oil prices, higher production figures and inflows of corporate income taxes, could help mitigate the impact of the entire revenue shortfalls expected to be experienced in the year.

Given that oil production figures, corporate income tax and prices of crude are continuing to show a positive improvement, indications are that the trend in the revenue side from oil will continue well into the end of the year and government could, as well, earn in excess of 50 per cent of its budgeted amount from petroleum for the year under review.

That would be good news for the country and the MoFEP in particular, especially given that earnings from cocoa and gold, the two main revenue earners for the economy, are already lagging behind. Their respective prices on the international market have been dipping since January and that has translated into low revenue inflows to the national kitty.

The September 2013 report of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ghana showed that while total merchandised export of gold for the first eight months was US$3.4 billion, about 12.6 short of target, that of cocoa was US$1.4 billion, representing a shortfall of 21.4 per cent.

Implications on national revenue

Although the excess revenue from oil is good news to the country, its impact will barely be felt in the economy due to the law guiding the disbursement of inflows from the petroleum sector.

The Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA), which dictates how oil revenue should be applied, states that all excess revenues shall be paid into the Ghana Stabilization Fund (GSF).

The fund is one of two such mediums introduced by the act to hold revenues from the nascent oil sector for difficult times and posterity.

But with the country's revenue appetite running beyond its revenue generation ability, it may just be right to ask if it makes sense saving money in return for arguably low rates while borrowing at higher interest rates.

Never spend your money on a lady with the notion that you want to marry her in the near future. You are not her parent to pay her school fees, pay for her apprenticeship, pay for her hostel and give her pocket money. When you decide to do that, note that you are doing it for charity and it is at your own risk. She is not obliged to marry you because you have spent your money on her. In fact, it is for your own good for her not to accept to marry you because you have spent on her. That love or marriage will be conditional and deadly. It is about time you young and single guys reason wisely

Ex-Liberian President Charles Taylor has asked to serve his 50-year sentence for war crimes in Rwanda, rather than the UK.

In a letter sent to the court that convicted him, he says it would be easier - and less expensive - for his family to visit him in Africa.
He also said he feared being attacked in a British prison.

Taylor was convicted of aiding rebels who committed atrocities in Sierra Leone during its civil war. Last week, a UK minister confirmed that Taylor would be transferred to a British prison.

He was convicted by the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), but his trial was held in The Hague in case it sparked renewed unrest in West Africa. The Netherlands only agreed to host the trial if he was imprisoned elsewhere.

In a letter seen by the BBC, Taylor wrote:

"My position is that serving my sentence in Rwanda, in my home continent of Africa, would be substantially more humane not only on my own account, but also on account of the impact on my family."

He noted that the court's statutes said access for prisoners' relatives should be taken into account when deciding where they should serve their sentence.

He said that it would be cheaper and easier to travel to Rwanda - and that Liberian nationals could obtain visas at the airport, unlike in the UK.

Taylor, 65, was convicted on 11 crimes including terrorism, rape, murder and the use of child soldiers by rebel groups in neighbouring Sierra Leone during the 1991-2002 conflict, in which some 50,000 people died.

He was found to have supplied weapons to the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in exchange for so-called blood diamonds. The rebels were notorious for hacking off the limbs of civilians to terrorise the population.

Taylor has always insisted he is innocent and his only contact with the rebels was to urge them to stop fighting. He is the first former head of state convicted by an international war crimes court since World War II.

In his three-page letter, dated 10 October, Taylor continued: "My name is now associated with horrendous atrocities. Prison inmates, whether from the region or not, are likely to be inclined to inflict their own brand of justice by attacking me."

He pointed out that "a significant number of individuals from Sierra Leonean background are in detention in prisons in the UK" and noted that in 2011, Bosnian war criminal Radislav Krstic was attacked in a British jail by three Muslim men, apparently in revenge for his role in the Bosnian conflict.

Taylor argued that the UK authorities "may also simply be unaware of the groups that might be particularly motivated to attack me in prison". "In short, incarceration in the United Kingdom will likely - and very soon - lead to me being seriously injured or killed."

Some other people convicted by the SCSL are already serving their sentences in Rwanda. Last week, UK Justice Minister Jeremy Wright noted that the British offer to host Taylor had enabled his trial to proceed in The Hague.

He told parliament: "The conviction of Charles Taylor is a landmark moment for international justice." "It clearly demonstrates that those who commit atrocities will be held to account and that no matter their position they will not enjoy impunity."

Taylor's appeal against his conviction was rejected last month and he remains in The Hague, awaiting transfer.

Source: BBC

Biim: The op is definitely sick, is this trash his definition of humour?
All these obanje bloggers will soon post it on their blogs.

It's scary to think that people like you are allowed to vote.