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Friday, 14 November 2014

Depositors of failed banks to share N105b –NDIC

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Depositors of failed banks in the country are to share N105 billion just as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the liquidation of 83 licensed microfinance banks, the Managing Director, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Umaru Ibrahim, said yesterday.
The NDIC boss disclosed that there are up to 900 microfinance banks in operation of which 83 have been listed for liquidation, adding that plans were on to regulate mobile banking in the country.
Ibrahim disclosed this when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, to defend the Corporation’s budget. He did not give the number of depositors of the failed banks that will share the N105 billion.
On the closure of 83 microfinance banks, the NDIC boss said that it was discovered that some of the banks, “existed only on paper” while some were being used to defraud Nigerians.
“Some assets of the banks will also be sold. There is no doubt that the operations of some of the microfinance banks have become epileptic” he said.
Ibrahim said that the NDIC was already working to determine the number of depositors and how much each deposited in the banks in order to pay them.
Some assets of the banks, he said, would also be sold.
“Funding gap is what we do to prepare for the rainy day. We hope and pray that the rainy day does not come but any insurance should prepare for the rainy day. As we speak, no bank benefited from the fund in 2013.”
On ‘dollarisation’ of the economy by speculators, he said that the issue was being looked into by the CBN to ensure that it does not affect the economy.
He informed lawmakers that the corporation also tried to pay depositors of institutions that had been liquidated.
“We have stepped up awareness and campaigns about our activities to make sure that members of the public put up claims of their locked-up deposits in liquidated financial institutions. We appointed some banks as agents with the assistance of our various zonal offices that we had established in various parts of the country.”
On regulation of mobile banking he said: “The depositors of the institutions offering mobile banking needed to be identified and protected.The whole essence of this is that if we have millions of such people sending and collecting money through mobile banking system, we want to ensure that in event of any crisis, they are covered.
“Unless they have that assurance of being covered, you don’t expect them to accept to participate in this revolutionary project that is coming on board.”

Boko Haram wants to wipe out Christians – Catholic bishop

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Catholic Bishops in the country have claimed that Boko Haram’s main target is to wipe out Christians in Nigeria.
Speaking yesterday after a closed-doors meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan, president of Nigerian Bishops Conference, Ignatius Ayau Kaigama, said that the principal aim of Boko Haram was to eliminate Christianity and pave the way for total Islamisation of the country.
The bishops particularly indicted the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), over the poor distribution of relief materials.
The bishop who led the delegation which included John Cardinal Onaiyakan, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Abuja and Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah, Minister of Works, Mike Onolemenme, Minister of State Education, Prof. Viola Onwuliri, and Federal Capital Territory Minister of State, Olajumoke Akinjide, said they were dissatisfied with the way relief materials were being disbursed and asked to be involved in the distribution.
On what transpired in the meeting, Kaigama said: “We had some concerns about the situation of security in the nation as well as political developments. In general terms, we shared with him in a conversation and discussion. We just wanted to remind him of things he already knows, there was nothing we said that was new, we just wanted to lay emphasis and we wanted him to know we are concerned.
“They are reviewing strategies and by the grace of God this terrorism that we are witnessing will soon be a thing of the past. This is the assurance we are coming away with.
“We feel that things are not right. Territorially, our land is being taken away, the people we look after are displaced, their homes, their villages, towns are captured and they are internally displaced being refugees in their own land.
“We thought this is not right. We have families that are just stranded. We thought that the President should know. As a Catholic we have laid a good structure for relief and taking care of such situation, we want the government to collaborate with us. We have what we call the Catholic Peace and Justice Commission, we respond when there is an emergency. We know how to technically do registration of displaced people.
“The little funds we gather we buy clothings and materials and are able to reach out very effectively, you would almost say scientifically because every victim gets something.
“So we are telling government that we are aware of the wonderful efforts they do, the relief they give through NEMA and other agencies, the effectiveness of the distribution is our concern.”

Africa Cup of Nations: Equatorial Guinea will replace Morocco as hosts of 2015 finals

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The Confederation of African Football has announced Equatorial Guinea will replace Morocco as the hosts of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2015.
Morocco requested the tournament be postponed because of fears about the Ebola outbreak which has so far claimed the lives of 5,000 people, mainly in West Africa.
The completion will take place in January and February next year without Morocco.
Equatorial Guinea hosted the 2012 finals with neighbours Gabon but will take on the 16-team tournament on their own this time.
Morocco wanted the tournament postponed over fears of a spread of the deadly virus but CAF refused and on Tuesday stripped the north African country of the hosting rights.
The new hosts will be able to play in the tournament, despite being disqualified from the preliminaries by CAF for fielding an ineligible player.
CAF said in a statement: “Following fraternal and fruitful discussions, the head of state of Equatorial Guinea has agreed to host the tournament from January 17 to February 8, 2015.
“The national team of Equatorial Guinea qualify for the final tournament as host country.”
The matches will take place in four venues and the draw for the finals will take place on December 3 in the country’s capital, Malabo.

Air Force helicopter crashes as Boko Haram mount raids

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The Nigerian Air Force on Friday said it had lost another helicopter in the restive northeast, after Boko Haram rebels raided two more towns and vigilantes and hunters clawed back a key militant stronghold.
The second crash in a week happened late Thursday in Yola, the capital of Adamawa, which is one of three states that has been under emergency rule since May last year.
While there was no immediate indication that the armed Islamist movement was responsible for the crash, there has been an increase in Boko Haram activity in the state in recent weeks.
Boko Haram has reportedly taken over more than two dozen towns in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, including the commercial hub of Mubi, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) from Yola.
Last week, the extremists, who have been waging a five-year insurgency to create a hardline Islamic state, renamed Mubi “Madinatul Islam” or “City of Islam” in Arabic, residents said.
Nigeria’s chief of army staff, Major General Kenneth Minimah, told a Senate defence committee on Thursday that the loss of territory was “painful” but promised that troops would recapture lost ground.
Locals and a government official said later that about 200 vigilantes and hunters armed with home-made guns, spears, clubs, bows and arrows, and machetes took back Mubi.
“It is true Mubi has fallen back into the hands of Nigerian soldiers with the help of local vigilantes and hunters,” Chibado Bobi, chief of staff in the Adamawa state governor’s office, told AFP.
“It is however too early for residents who fled to move back to Mubi because the security and vigilantes need to mop up all remnants of the group that may be lurking in nearby areas.”
Boko Haram had introduced its strict version of Islamic law in the town, including amputations for accused thieves, according to residents who fled.
The hunters captured the Boko Haram-appointed emir, or leader, of Mubi after the attack, while militant fighters fled.
But instead of being pushed back to other territory it is reported to control, locals said Boko Haram invaded Hong, 50 kilometres (30 miles) south on the way towards Yola, and Gombi, to the northwest of Mubi.
In both Hong and Gombi, the militants were said to have razed the towns’ police stations.
The move towards Yola will raise concerns about safety in the city, where thousands of people have taken refuge to escape the violence.
The chopper crash near a hall of residence at the Modibbo Adama University of Science and Technology caused panic among students, as weapons said to be on board apparently exploded.
“We heard a huge thundering sound which made us rush out of the hostels, thinking the school was under Boko Haram attack,” said one student, Harisu Abdulaziz.
Another student said there was chaos as residents at the hostel tried to flee but were prevented by soldiers guarding the gates.
The university has been under military protection after a spate of Islamist attacks against schools in the region.
Kyari Mohammed, a lecturer at the university and a specialist in Boko Haram, said the helicopter that came down was one of two that flew over the campus.
“The crash was followed by a series of intermittent explosions inside the chopper, which people believed to be from weapons the chopper was ferrying,” he said.
Air force spokesman Dele Alonge confirmed that one of its aircraft had crashed but provided no details as to the cause or casualties.
On Monday, the military said another helicopter made an emergency landing near Yola airport, with no casualties reported.

Patience Jonathan accused of donating expired rice to Bayelsa women


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News coming from Yenogoa, the Bayelsa State capital says that the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan distributed expired rice to Bayelsa women.
Dame Jonathan had visited the state on Thursday to distribute empowerment materials to women. The exercise caused a heavy traffic gridlock, paralyzing social and commercial activities on the Yenagoa-Mbiama Road.
Women in the state, who were gathered at the Samson Siasia Stadium at Ovom, Yenagoa received gifts and cheques from the First Lady, who urged them to vote en-masse for her husband, Goodluck Jonathan.
However, news reports alleged that the rice distributed by the First Lady were expired ones.
According to Sahara Reporters, “the MDGs, a United Nations benchmark which is aimed at eradicating extreme poverty and hunger for all citizens, became the basis for a political campaign ground for Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), a political group affiliated with President Jonathan’s re-election.”
Several bags of rice repackaged in bags branded with Mr. Jonathan’s photos, sewing machines, hair dryers, and tricycles also known as “Keke NAPEP” were distributed to some at the rally.
A DailyPost source in Yenogoa, responding to enquiries, said she heard the rumour but cannot confirm if Dame Jonathan actually distributed rice or whether the rice were expired. She added that what she is sure the First Lady gave out were tricycles.

Thursday, 23 October 2014

Imagine if these two were to get back together...(photos)

Awww...anything is possible sha! Former spouses Femi and Funke Kuti looking so comfortable in each others arms.

Bill to Place HND at Par with B.Sc Passes Second Reading in the Senate

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With the second reading of a bill seeking to put Nigerian polytechnics at par with the universities on Wednesday, the Senate has intensified moves to address the age-long clamour to bridge the dichotomy between the two higher institutions.
Entitled “A Bill for an Act to Abolish and Prohibit Dichotomy and Discrimination Between First Degrees and the Higher National Diploma in the Same Profession/Field and Related Matters,” the bill was sponsored by Senator Ayo Akinyelure (Ondo Central) who is also the proprietor of All Over Polytechnic in Lagos.
Leading a debate on the bill, Akinyelure who said the framework was propelled by wage disparity and gross discrimination against HND holders in the public and private sectors, noted that the situation “is threatening to derail the nation’s core policy thrust of evolving a technologically and scientifically based, self-sufficient and self-reliant society in the nearest future. Hence, the need for Senate intervention at this juncture.”
He added: “Without mincing words, and as l speak, thousands of would-be polytechnic and technology students are contemplating or have decided to opt for university education because of perceived and real discrimination against HND graduates in relation to their counterparts who are university degree holders. If this contemplation occurs, there is bound to be a vacuum created in our labour market in this regard and dire consequences are bound to follow this trend.”
Akinyelure, who claimed that polytechnic education dwells mainly on the practical while that of the university is merely theoretical, added that the degree of discrimination against HND holders in the country is so appalling to such an extent that they are employed as gatemen while their fellow university graduates are employed with dignity into ranking offices.
The senator who also claimed that HND holders in the field of accountancy, engineering, among others, had been found to be better on the field than degree holders, added that both qualifications are not supposed to compete together but should rather complement each other.
Furthermore, he said initiating this bill had become compelling in view of the fruitless promises allegedly made by the federal government to rectify the disparity between the two institutions in the past adding that the bill aims at promoting “technological advancement instead of 90 per cent of qualified candidates pursuing university education which is more theoretical without adding the needed value to the system of technological advancement of our great nation.”
But a number of senators kicked against the bill, describing it as baseless as they argued that the clamour to raise the value of polytechnic education to that of the university amount to wanting HND holders to reap where they did not to sow.
The opposing senators who described the objectives of the bill as misplaced, argued that the polytechnic education is structurally different from that of the university.
According to them, these structural differences must first of all be addressed before any clamour could be relevant.
Therefore, they argued that not only are the entry requirements into the university more complex than that of the polytechnics, it is mere university graduates that teach in the polytechnics, saying the situation is different in the university where Ph.D is the central qualification to attain ranking in lecturing.
But the opposition notwithstanding, the bill scaled second reading and referred to the committee on education for further legislation.

With 7.5M, Chika Won’t Die

Chika-Ogwili-2210.jpg - Chika-Ogwili-2210.jpgHopewell Ukpebor writes that a 40-year-old man from Anambra State is in need of an urgent kidney transplant to stay alive

A few months ago, there was nothing to suggest that Mr. Chika Ogwili, a boisterous and easy going young man from Issieke in Ihiala local government of Anambra state, was struggling with a life threatening ailment,  as he was full of optimism for the future. Now, 40 year old Chika’s life hangs in the balance, and he is in need of an urgent kidney transplant to ensure that his dreams for the future do not just pine away.

Before August of this year, Chika was a bubbly gentleman working hard to make a decent living and there was nothing to indicate that a medical condition had been loitering around him for a long time. One which eventually manifested a few weeks ago and has confined him to the hospital bed, where he has been receiving routine and maintenance haemodialysis twice a week.

Chika has been diagnosed with Chronic Kidney disease and needs to have a kidney transplant in India which costs N7.5 million, in order to help save his life.

As the first child of a family of five, Chika has high hopes placed on him. Before he became bed-ridden, he worked as a driver for Harmony foam in Umuahia, before getting a job in Abuja as a technician at EMMACOOL, where he barely earned enough to take care of his immediate needs and that of his family.

While things have not exactly worked out as planned for him, he still burns with an uncommon optimism that things will turn out well. That hope however appeared to have hit the rocks in early August when Chika started noticing symptoms of an illness he could not explain.

At first, it seemed like malaria, and Chika was prompted to quickly visit a pharmacy to nip it in the bud, but that did not stop the illness from growing further. Soon enough, Chika started throwing up regularly especially while brushing his teeth, and later started having severe difficulty in breathing, which degenerated into nose bleeding, while he also noticed that his legs began to swell and he was always dizzy.

It was at this point that Chika hit the panic button and visited the Okwe community health centre in Umuahia, Anambra state to seek medical help.

While there, he was diagnosed to have Hypertension. However, with his condition still deteriorating and the health centre not possessing the required equipment to carry out a full treatment. Chika, with the help of his family sauntered into Abuja, where he was first admitted at Kubwa general hospital, before he was later referred to National Hospital, Abuja to see a nephrologist.

It was at the National Hospital that he was diagnosed by the Chief consultant at the hospital, and since then has been visiting the hospital twice in a week.

According to Ada Igwilo, a sibling to Chika, ‘’it was when we went there to the National hospital, the consultant told us the problem and also said that a transplant will be needed because the kidney problem is chronic, since then he has been on haemodialysis which I have been paying for worth ninety thousand naira for a session, and it Is really eating deep into our finances because right now I am broke, and I don’t know where to turn to’’, she said.

That arrangement however got complicated after Chika missed one of his hospital visits, which was usually on Mondays and Thursdays, and his appointments was pegged back to just one a week. To keep up with his treatment, Chika’s family have had to visit Zenith medical and kidney centre, where another round of tests were carried out on him.

In Chika’s medical report, Dr. Kareem, the consultant physician and nephrologists of Zenith hospital, said ‘’he is presently on routine and maintenance thrice weekly haemodialysis as well as twice weekly subcutaneous erythropoietin and weekly iron sucrose and other drugs.
He is hypertensive and his case is being managed as a case of chronic kidney disease secondary to chronic Glomerunophrytis. He will benefit from a kidney transplant  which carries a better outcome in terms of life expectancy and costs about N7.5 million’’, the doctor said.

This sum of money has only added more sorrow to Chika and his family, as the purse has run dry after spending so much on his weekly dialysis which has been sponsored by his sister since he started the treatment, while his parents are only low income earners unable to foot such a heavy bill.

To make matters worse, Chika was sacked from his work place late last month and has been struggling to make ends meet ever since. The situation has thrown him into deep pains as he struggles to come to terms with the present predicament, one that will cost him his life if help does not come soon.

Pleading with Nigerians, Chika who barely managed to speak in an emotionally laden tone said, ‘’I am pleading with everyone out there to assist me in raising this money. There is nothing too small or too big. I would sincerely appreciate your help.

‘’Do not look at the fact that you do not know me, because giving is not about that, it is about helping people in need, regardless of the situation. If you know the value of brotherhood, then you will realize that we are all one, whether you know the person or not, and I am sure that as you help, God will repay you in hundred folds.

‘’It is my prayer today that God will not allow such predicaments befall you or your family, and even as you help you will never lack. I beseech all Nigerians to come to my aid. Do not let me die. My family has suffered enough because of my illness, and they don’t have anything anymore to fund my hospital bills much less sponsor the kidney transplant. This is why I am calling on everyone to come to my rescue, since we have only been able to raise a hundred thousand naira. I pray God answers all your prayers too’’.

Chika said Good Samaritans can help rescue him from untimely death by paying into the following bank account: CHIKA IGWILO ECOBANK PLC, 4232038324. He can be contacted through his mobile numbers: 08034940624, 08088267959 and 08034040624

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Wednesday, 22 October 2014

Toke Makinwa talks about pressure of getting pregnant after marriage


The TV/Radio personality took to twitter just now to talk about the pressure she's receiving from folks about her not being pregnant many months after marriage.

Dear MJ women, would you have a problem with a boyfriend who constantly takes selfies?

It's cute when a woman takes a selfie and shares on social media but when it's a man...it's cute at first but when he does it constantly, you're like "chill Ni**a, WTH?" lol.

But seriously, would you have a problem with a boyfriend or a husband who takes selfies all the time and shares on social media? Please share your thoughts..

"I am not in politics to compete" - Desmond Elliot

Over 1000 youths gathered at the Eagles square, Surulere on Sunday Oct. 20th to interact with actor, Desmond Elliot and to endorse his candidature for the APC constituency seat ticket at the Lagos State House of Assembly Representing Surulere constituency one. 

Speaking after the event with journalists, Desmond Elliot said 
“I have plans of taking this above legislative work, I believe 80% of the youths should have access to tertiary education and still earn a living, so we have a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the National Open University on admissions and to grant the students work permit. There is also an empowerment program for the youths which will come up soon; we also have plans for the elderly ones with an insurance scheme”.
 The actor who graduated from LASU promised wave of change and said he’s assured of winning Surulere for APC as soon as he gets the ticket to run.

Foodies & Spice Cooking Show kicks off Season 5


Foodies & Spice Cooking Show, Nigeria’s only Pidgin Culinary TV Programme, has commenced its October to December, 2014 Quarter on Terrestrial and Cable Television much to the delight of millions of families across Nigeria who enjoy Healthy and Affordable Cooking Recipes. 

This Season 5, tagged “#sumfngchikiny” features recipes for Affordable meals using Chicken, Semovita, Meatloaf, Pasta, Sausages, Semolina and other easily-accessible ingredients. 

It will also focus on maintaining a healthy cooking environment including the use of HANDWASH, LIQUID DISHWASH and HAND SANITISER.
According to Geena (Gina Ehikodi), Host and co-producer of the show, “This 5th Season of FOODIES & SPICE is a must-watch for all food-lovers out there regardless of Age, Gender or Culture. We are really grateful to CHI CHICKEN, GOLDEN PENNY FOODS, CORMART Nigeria Ltd and other cooperate bodies partnering with us to make this our best season yet”.
Top celebrities, including ORITSEFEMI, AMANDA EBEYE, JAYWON, AFRICAN CHINA, EVAEZI, LAMBOGINNY, BUCHI and others, also appear on the show to sample the meals and chat with their fans.
FOODIES & SPICE, a production of Geenamoore & Associates and wapTV, airs on TVC LAGOS every Friday 5:00 – 5:30pm; and across Nigeria on WAPTV (StarTimes 116, StarSat 189 and CONSAT 812) every Saturday 7:30 – 8:00pm, with repeat broadcast on Thursdays at 5:00 – 5:30pm.


Tuesday, 21 October 2014

Before you choose any bank

BANKInvestigations have revealed that many people have a casual attitude when it comes to deciding on which bank to deal with. Like marriage relationship, banking relationship can make or mar an individual or a business entity.
For example, some people choose a bank simply because their relative or friend works in that bank. Some make the choice simply because their client or their employer bank with such bank.
Others make the choice because of the mouth watering promotional or marketing offers of the bank. Such decision has made many people victims of failed banks, with significant loss of money.
In the past when banking distress was a common occurrence and when bank closure happened at an average of three per year, some people became customers of a distressed bank a month or even a week before the licence of the bank was revoked.
Don’t choose a bank because your relative or friend is working in the bank, as he would not work there forever or be in that branch forever.
And when he chooses to leave the bank or is to be transferred, he would not likely consult or inform you. Furthermore, that person, depending on his level of responsibility may not have adequate information about the financial health of the bank. And even if he has such information, why should he disclose it to you. Meanwhile, the main reason why that relative or friend wants you to choose his bank is to enable him meet his deposit target.
The same reason applies to choosing a bank because that is where your client or employer banks. There is no law that says an employee must choose the bank of his employer. And choosing the bank of your client is immaterial to the main factor in your relationship, which is delivering quality services. Banks are major culprits in this regard. Most of them now insist that their service providers must open account with them.
The above is very instructive to the millions of unbanked Nigerians who would soon have to choose a bank, due to the vigorous pursuit of the financial inclusion goals of the Central Bank of Nigeria. While many of them are not educated, most of them have some level of education. Hence it is instructive that they are fully aware of the implications of the choice of banking relationship, and the factors to consider before making such choice.
The first factor that should be considered is service. Most times, people want to know if a bank is strong or weak before they can do business with it. But besides the financial results published annually by banks, it can be quite difficult for somebody who is not an insider to know the health of a bank. But through the services of the bank, and how it is delivered, you can have an idea.
The most important issue in this regard, is to first determine the banking services you need, or that are vital to what you do, and then inquire for the bank that offers these services, and which ones offer it efficiently. 

In Nigeria, nobody gets elected as president on the platform that he is going to be an anti-corruption crusader when he gets into office.
One thing is for sure: Muhammadu Buhari would like to be the next president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.  He has tried three times and has failed every time.  Finally realizing it is a lost cause, he said he would not try again.
But now he is persuaded to try again.  His supporters are impressed that he won 12 million votes against Goodluck Jonathan in 2011.  However, they need to be reminded that he lost to Jonathan by over 10 million votes.
Gen. Buhari
Gen. Buhari
Since the third time did not turn out to be a charm for Buhari, what are we to call his fourth attempt?  Listening to the declaration of his new-fangled presidential bid in Eagles’ Square, Abuja a few days ago, it is seems this fourth time is going to be one big charade.
The sign was provided by none other than Buhari himself.  Since his one credential is that he is a man of integrity who, as president, is expected to wrestle corruption down to the ground, Buhari decided to burnish his anti-corruption image by revealing that he obtained his 27.5 million naira APC nomination form with a bank loan.  However, what this declaration did was to tell Nigerians that Buhari is a pretentious anti-corruption crusader.  His Mr. Clean posture is nothing but a public relations gimmick.
Question marks
In fairness, some of us have known this all along.  Under Buhari’s watch as Petroleum Minister in the late 1970s, $2.8 billion (worth billions of naira today) was missing from the NNPC account.  The matter was subject to Senate investigation under the chairmanship of Olusola Saraki in 1983.  But before the report could be dealt with, Buhari conveniently overthrew the Shagari government in a military coup d’état.
Vera Ifudu, an NTA newscaster, revealed that Saraki told her in an interview that the missing money was traced to Buhari’s account at Midland Bank in London.  For this disclosure, Vera was summarily sacked by the NTA.  However, she appealed against her dismissal in court and won.  She even received a handsome financial compensation for wrongful dismissal from the NTA.
Instead of clearing his name as a man of integrity, Buhari refused to appear before the Oputa Panel set up to look into the matter (among under things) by the Obasanjo administration.
Buhari claims to be an anti-corruption crusader, nevertheless, he agreed to serve under Sani Abacha, one of the most corrupt Heads-of-State ever in the history of Nigeria.  While there has been no proven allegation that Buhari corruptly enriched himself as Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund under Abacha, it is abundantly clear that this fabled anti-corruption crusader failed to curb the rampant corruption that prevailed in the organization.  Group Captain Usman Jibrin, a board member of PTF, resigned from the organization in protest over Buhari’s irregular appointments of consultants.
In 2000, the Obasanjo administration set up an Interim Management Committee to look into the affairs of the PTF, under the chairmanship of Haroun Adamu.  The Committee discovered that billions of naira was stolen under Buhari’s chairmanship.
Political platform
Now the same Buhari who would not or could not curb corruption in the PTF wants us to believe he will fight corruption as president of Nigeria.  However, he has chosen the APC as the political platform on which to undertake this.  But the APC is an unscrupulous political party that is choc-full of corrupt politicians.  It is the party of Murtala Nyako who was impeached as governor of Adamawa State for converting state money to personal use.  It is the party where Buhari himself and others went cap-in-hand to Otta to beg Obasanjo to be their “navigator.”
Surely Buhari knows that he cannot fight corruption by being the presidential candidate of the APC.  Whatever anti-corruption crusading Buhari had in him in the past must have ended when he decided to join the APC.  Should he become president, does he intend to probe his corrupt party-members?  Has he made them understand he would be coming after them once elected?  If he has, does he really expect them to help him get elected so he can retrieve their stolen loot and send them off to jail?
A 72 year-old man with Buhari’s experience, who was overthrown in a preemptive coup by members of his own government, knows that in Nigeria, nobody gets elected as president on the platform that he is going to be an anti-corruption crusader when he gets into office.  That is a sure signal for all the politicians in all the parties to gang up against him and make sure he never makes it.
If you really want to be anti-corruption, you have to keep your mouth shut about your plans until you get elected and then catch your corrupt colleagues by surprise.  You must also have resolved not to seek re-election for a second-term.  It is not only the populace, but the politicians in particular, who insist on “stomach infrastructure.”  But if you are talking anti-corruption while still seeking the nomination of your party, it must be because it is well known to your corrupt colleagues that your anti-corruption stance is merely for public consumption.
Cleaning up APC
It is not surprising, therefore, that despite all the noise about anti-corruption coming from Buhari and his cohorts; he has failed to fight against corruption in the APC.  We did not hear him raise a voice against the incongruity of a so-called progressive party demanding a cynical nomination fee of 27.5 million naira for its presidential primaries.  One would have expected a truly anti-corruption crusader to make the point that the nomination fee is unacceptable.  Instead, Buhari readily acquiesced to the requirement in order to safeguard his all-important presidential ambitions.
Since Buhari cannot, or does not, fight against this corrupting nomination fee in the APC, and insist on its reduction to something far more reasonable, how can he expect us to believe that as president in a political system with the separation of powers; against a legislature likely to be controlled by the PDP; he would be able to fight corruption?  Somebody is fooling somebody here.  Or else, somebody is living in a cloud cuckoo land.
Charity, they say, begins at home.  If Buhari is truly anti-corruption, he should begin his crusade in the APC.  Is it progressive for a political party in Nigeria to ask its candidates to come up with 27.5 million just for the nomination papers for an election where only one person will emerge as the winner?  Is it not corrupt politicians that are likely to have this type of easy-come easy-go money?  Is this not an open invitation for the winner, if he actually manages to secure election to the presidency, to recoup this extortionate fee from public funds?
Anti-corruption bank loan
What did anti-corruption Buhari do about this outrageous APC requirement?  This is where the whole matter becomes ridiculously implausible.  According to Buhari, rather than fight against the measure, he took out a ban loan to pay for it.
Buhari told us about his “loan” out of embarrassment; in a pathetic bid to validate his anti-corruption credentials.  But this so-called loan indicates that Buhari does not understand what it means to be anti-corruption.  For Buhari, anti-corruption is a posture; it is a swagger; it is a badge; but it has no bite and, in the usual Nigerian fashion, it will be prosecuted with hypocrisy.
Buhari wants us to believe that he cannot afford 27.5 million naira.  Nevertheless, he rides around in a bullet-proof Jeep and maintains a convoy of Land Cruisers.  He cannot afford 27.5 million naira.  Nevertheless, he declared his candidacy lavishly in Eagle Square, Abuja.  Did he also take out a bank loan for that?  Four months to a make-or-break election, Buhari would have us believe he has no money.  How does he propose to finance his presidential campaign?  Is he going to take 1 billion naira loan from the World Bank for this?
Dubious loan
Why would a bank lend Buhari that amount for a presidential pie-in-the-sky that failed to materialize three times in the past?  Is that not likely to be a bad loan?  How long did it take for the loan to be processed?  What did he put down as anti-corruption collateral?  How does he propose to pay the money back?  Mr. Integrity needs to spell all this out for the sake of his fast-disintegrating anti-corruption credentials.
I did not know loans are so easy to secure in Nigerian banks today.  Perhaps Buhari could introduce me to his bank manager.  I would also not mind taking this kind of soft loan.  I am sure I can always come up with some unproductive excuse or the other for it.  Is such a loan even legal today under Nigeria’s stricter banking laws?
How many honest Nigerians can afford to give a non-refundable 27.5 million naira to a political party, on the off-chance that they will be able to secure the party’s presidential ticket?  If they win the nomination and even get elected president, how would they pay back the money?
Not presidential material
It is clear that Buhari is not only lacking the money to pay for APC nomination papers, he does not have the funds to pay for advisers, to counsel him about what to tell the public and how to prosecute an effective presidential campaign.  His advisers might have educated him that there is something called “fund-raising.”  Surely, the most popular politician in the North-West can find some of his ardent supporters to give him 27 million naira.  Certainly, a former governor of the Central Bank can easily cough up the money.
Buhari wants to fight an election that will take place in four months time.  From what he tells us, he does not have 27 million to prosecute that election now.  If this is true, he is not the right man to be president of Nigeria.  For a man who is running for election for the fourth time, that is the height of cluelessness.  It shows Buhari is lousy at marshalling resources.  Otherwise, he is fooling nobody but himself.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/10/muhammadu-buhari-running-president-anti-corruption-bank-loan/#sthash.p00ZhZ31.dpuf
In Nigeria, nobody gets elected as president on the platform that he is going to be an anti-corruption crusader when he gets into office.
One thing is for sure: Muhammadu Buhari would like to be the next president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.  He has tried three times and has failed every time.  Finally realizing it is a lost cause, he said he would not try again.
But now he is persuaded to try again.  His supporters are impressed that he won 12 million votes against Goodluck Jonathan in 2011.  However, they need to be reminded that he lost to Jonathan by over 10 million votes.
Gen. Buhari
Gen. Buhari
Since the third time did not turn out to be a charm for Buhari, what are we to call his fourth attempt?  Listening to the declaration of his new-fangled presidential bid in Eagles’ Square, Abuja a few days ago, it is seems this fourth time is going to be one big charade.
The sign was provided by none other than Buhari himself.  Since his one credential is that he is a man of integrity who, as president, is expected to wrestle corruption down to the ground, Buhari decided to burnish his anti-corruption image by revealing that he obtained his 27.5 million naira APC nomination form with a bank loan.  However, what this declaration did was to tell Nigerians that Buhari is a pretentious anti-corruption crusader.  His Mr. Clean posture is nothing but a public relations gimmick.
Question marks
In fairness, some of us have known this all along.  Under Buhari’s watch as Petroleum Minister in the late 1970s, $2.8 billion (worth billions of naira today) was missing from the NNPC account.  The matter was subject to Senate investigation under the chairmanship of Olusola Saraki in 1983.  But before the report could be dealt with, Buhari conveniently overthrew the Shagari government in a military coup d’état.
Vera Ifudu, an NTA newscaster, revealed that Saraki told her in an interview that the missing money was traced to Buhari’s account at Midland Bank in London.  For this disclosure, Vera was summarily sacked by the NTA.  However, she appealed against her dismissal in court and won.  She even received a handsome financial compensation for wrongful dismissal from the NTA.
Instead of clearing his name as a man of integrity, Buhari refused to appear before the Oputa Panel set up to look into the matter (among under things) by the Obasanjo administration.
Buhari claims to be an anti-corruption crusader, nevertheless, he agreed to serve under Sani Abacha, one of the most corrupt Heads-of-State ever in the history of Nigeria.  While there has been no proven allegation that Buhari corruptly enriched himself as Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund under Abacha, it is abundantly clear that this fabled anti-corruption crusader failed to curb the rampant corruption that prevailed in the organization.  Group Captain Usman Jibrin, a board member of PTF, resigned from the organization in protest over Buhari’s irregular appointments of consultants.
In 2000, the Obasanjo administration set up an Interim Management Committee to look into the affairs of the PTF, under the chairmanship of Haroun Adamu.  The Committee discovered that billions of naira was stolen under Buhari’s chairmanship.
Political platform
Now the same Buhari who would not or could not curb corruption in the PTF wants us to believe he will fight corruption as president of Nigeria.  However, he has chosen the APC as the political platform on which to undertake this.  But the APC is an unscrupulous political party that is choc-full of corrupt politicians.  It is the party of Murtala Nyako who was impeached as governor of Adamawa State for converting state money to personal use.  It is the party where Buhari himself and others went cap-in-hand to Otta to beg Obasanjo to be their “navigator.”
Surely Buhari knows that he cannot fight corruption by being the presidential candidate of the APC.  Whatever anti-corruption crusading Buhari had in him in the past must have ended when he decided to join the APC.  Should he become president, does he intend to probe his corrupt party-members?  Has he made them understand he would be coming after them once elected?  If he has, does he really expect them to help him get elected so he can retrieve their stolen loot and send them off to jail?
A 72 year-old man with Buhari’s experience, who was overthrown in a preemptive coup by members of his own government, knows that in Nigeria, nobody gets elected as president on the platform that he is going to be an anti-corruption crusader when he gets into office.  That is a sure signal for all the politicians in all the parties to gang up against him and make sure he never makes it.
If you really want to be anti-corruption, you have to keep your mouth shut about your plans until you get elected and then catch your corrupt colleagues by surprise.  You must also have resolved not to seek re-election for a second-term.  It is not only the populace, but the politicians in particular, who insist on “stomach infrastructure.”  But if you are talking anti-corruption while still seeking the nomination of your party, it must be because it is well known to your corrupt colleagues that your anti-corruption stance is merely for public consumption.
Cleaning up APC
It is not surprising, therefore, that despite all the noise about anti-corruption coming from Buhari and his cohorts; he has failed to fight against corruption in the APC.  We did not hear him raise a voice against the incongruity of a so-called progressive party demanding a cynical nomination fee of 27.5 million naira for its presidential primaries.  One would have expected a truly anti-corruption crusader to make the point that the nomination fee is unacceptable.  Instead, Buhari readily acquiesced to the requirement in order to safeguard his all-important presidential ambitions.
Since Buhari cannot, or does not, fight against this corrupting nomination fee in the APC, and insist on its reduction to something far more reasonable, how can he expect us to believe that as president in a political system with the separation of powers; against a legislature likely to be controlled by the PDP; he would be able to fight corruption?  Somebody is fooling somebody here.  Or else, somebody is living in a cloud cuckoo land.
Charity, they say, begins at home.  If Buhari is truly anti-corruption, he should begin his crusade in the APC.  Is it progressive for a political party in Nigeria to ask its candidates to come up with 27.5 million just for the nomination papers for an election where only one person will emerge as the winner?  Is it not corrupt politicians that are likely to have this type of easy-come easy-go money?  Is this not an open invitation for the winner, if he actually manages to secure election to the presidency, to recoup this extortionate fee from public funds?
Anti-corruption bank loan
What did anti-corruption Buhari do about this outrageous APC requirement?  This is where the whole matter becomes ridiculously implausible.  According to Buhari, rather than fight against the measure, he took out a ban loan to pay for it.
Buhari told us about his “loan” out of embarrassment; in a pathetic bid to validate his anti-corruption credentials.  But this so-called loan indicates that Buhari does not understand what it means to be anti-corruption.  For Buhari, anti-corruption is a posture; it is a swagger; it is a badge; but it has no bite and, in the usual Nigerian fashion, it will be prosecuted with hypocrisy.
Buhari wants us to believe that he cannot afford 27.5 million naira.  Nevertheless, he rides around in a bullet-proof Jeep and maintains a convoy of Land Cruisers.  He cannot afford 27.5 million naira.  Nevertheless, he declared his candidacy lavishly in Eagle Square, Abuja.  Did he also take out a bank loan for that?  Four months to a make-or-break election, Buhari would have us believe he has no money.  How does he propose to finance his presidential campaign?  Is he going to take 1 billion naira loan from the World Bank for this?
Dubious loan
Why would a bank lend Buhari that amount for a presidential pie-in-the-sky that failed to materialize three times in the past?  Is that not likely to be a bad loan?  How long did it take for the loan to be processed?  What did he put down as anti-corruption collateral?  How does he propose to pay the money back?  Mr. Integrity needs to spell all this out for the sake of his fast-disintegrating anti-corruption credentials.
I did not know loans are so easy to secure in Nigerian banks today.  Perhaps Buhari could introduce me to his bank manager.  I would also not mind taking this kind of soft loan.  I am sure I can always come up with some unproductive excuse or the other for it.  Is such a loan even legal today under Nigeria’s stricter banking laws?
How many honest Nigerians can afford to give a non-refundable 27.5 million naira to a political party, on the off-chance that they will be able to secure the party’s presidential ticket?  If they win the nomination and even get elected president, how would they pay back the money?
Not presidential material
It is clear that Buhari is not only lacking the money to pay for APC nomination papers, he does not have the funds to pay for advisers, to counsel him about what to tell the public and how to prosecute an effective presidential campaign.  His advisers might have educated him that there is something called “fund-raising.”  Surely, the most popular politician in the North-West can find some of his ardent supporters to give him 27 million naira.  Certainly, a former governor of the Central Bank can easily cough up the money.
Buhari wants to fight an election that will take place in four months time.  From what he tells us, he does not have 27 million to prosecute that election now.  If this is true, he is not the right man to be president of Nigeria.  For a man who is running for election for the fourth time, that is the height of cluelessness.  It shows Buhari is lousy at marshalling resources.  Otherwise, he is fooling nobody but himself.

Chinese state media to readers: Don't name yourself 'Dragon'

Chinese state media CCTV advises its readers to avoid "names that are in fact, not names." For example, Surprise, Dragon, or Fish. In China, language learners are given the freedom to choose their own English names -- perhaps sometimes a little too much freedom.
With names like Fish, Lawyer and Surprise, many Chinese people "like to pick names that are in fact, not names," says China's state-run CCTV news.
That's why the media outlet has published a guide explaining to Chinese people what types of English names are best -- and which are better to avoid.
This slideshow contains some of its suggestions. And who knows -- they could help you out, too.

Unending gang violence in Lagos

Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Kayode Aderanti
ONCE again, violence and criminality are spiralling out of control in Lagos, painting a nefarious image of Nigeria’s commercial capital. For four consecutive days last week, hoodlums, masquerading as political thugs, descended on Mushin and Fadeyi areas. The deadly gangs attacked themselves, maimed and robbed innocent people, sacked entire streets and destroyed cars. Businesses and places of worship were hurriedly closed down as the gangsters visited terror on the people.
The hoodlums not only killed Sheriff Alasia, a lottery agent in Fadeyi, they took anarchy to a new height by shooting dead a man, Tunde Ibikunle, who they later beheaded in an apparent reprisal. They paraded their bloody prize as if Lagos had become an ungoverned territory. “They first riddled his body with bullets before beheading him. What we have left here is his stump,” a resident said. It took four days for the police to recover the severed head.
This savagery belongs to the Hobbesian era, not the 21st Century. The thugs had mobilised themselves from Ebute-Meta, Somolu, Bariga, moving to Mushin to wreak havoc. Where were the police when this large army of hoodlums were moving across the state unchecked?
For a state eyeing a megacity status by 2020, this violence is a strong disincentive. It scares investors. Governor Babatunde Fashola, who has made hefty strides in the area of security, has been uncharacteristically indecisive in dealing with this pervasive security conundrum. He can still make amends by taking charge of the situation directly. Fashola should use the might of the state to investigate, prosecute and punish the offenders without letting politics becloud the enforcement of the law.
The governor should seize the initiative from the police, who appear to be lethargic and helpless. Not minding the side of the political divide that is instigating the violence, Fashola’s primary duty is to deliver Lagos residents from the army of hoodlums bent on tainting all his hard work of the past seven years.
Although the governor determinedly cleared Oshodi, which was once notorious for traffic congestion, filth and crime, he scores poor marks in the handling of the gangs holding Lagos residents to ransom. The inaction is jeopardising his legacy and could prevent him from concluding his tenure on a high note.
In September, thugs killed one Azeez Asake, an official of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, and two others shortly after a rally on Lagos Island addressed by President Goodluck Jonathan. The best the police have done since then is to carry out indiscriminate arrests of innocent citizens. Two other people were also killed in related assaults by the criminals. This is a long-standing trick of the police. It has never worked.
Kayode Aderanti, the new State Police Commissioner, has a huge task on his hands. Aderanti should change tack. The job of a police chief is not to issue empty threats, but to use novel investigative methods and the coercive powers of the state to checkmate criminals.
Let nobody be deceived about this threat: these marauders belong to criminal gangs. Aderanti needs to unveil his agenda for taming these ubiquitous gangs. Criminal gangs thrive in societies where government is weak. But every serious city or state that has this kind of challenge fashions a cogent response.
Early this year, the London Metropolitan Police conducted a sting operation that involved well armed and protected officers numbering about 200 against the most notorious crime syndicates in the English capital. The Met has identified 250 criminal gangs in London, but through aggressive, intelligence-driven schemes, street-level crime was brought down by 20 per cent in 2013.
The police should shelve their image of helplessness. Through intelligence gathering, modern methods, and profiling, they should identify the troublemakers and go after them. Early this year, Chicago, an American city in the state of Illinois notorious for gun crime and gangland wars, moved into action to check the menace. The police launched a new offensive by changing their tactics. The ploy worked as there is now a significant reduction in killings and other violent crimes that gave the state a bad name.
Violent crime inhibits freedom, creates fear, constrains business activities and innocent citizens suffer human and material losses. In coordination with the state government, the police should fish out the terror gangs, starting with the latest mayhem. This will put down the marker that the police are capable of enforcing the law.
As Lagos expands, the government must constantly think proactively of ways to combat criminal gangs. As we have stated before, there is an urgent need to carve out an anti-gang crime unit in the police that will be assigned the task of preventing, investigating and rapidly responding to gangland wars. It is an anomaly for street gangs to operate for hours and days on end without an appropriate police response to take them out. The criminal gangs should be identified and outlawed.
The governor has to find the will and courage to deal with these deviant souls by putting them where they belong – in jail.

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