Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina battled back to upset five-times champion Roger Federer 3-6 7-6 4-6 7-6 6-2 and win the U.S. Open title on Monday.The 20-year-old Argentine, who stayed alive by winning two tiebreaks, gained confidence as he moved through his first career grand slam and charged to victory, breaking Federer in the last game to end their four-hour, six-minute struggle.The 6-foot-6 Del Potro lay down on his back and covered his face with his hands after the 28-year-old Swiss sailed a backhand long on the Argentine's third championship point.Del Potro, seeded sixth, became the second Argentine to win the U.S. men's crown, joining compatriot Guillermo Vilas who won on clay in 1977, and was watching Monday's final at Arthur Ashe Stadium.The Argentine had never beaten Federer in six previous meetings, losing to the Swiss master in the semi-finals of the French Open after taking a two sets to one lead.
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Posted by Jane Okinedo on September 14, 2009 at 9:55am
An 11-year-old boy was on Saturday flogged to death by his father for disobedience.It was gathered that the suspect, Friday Obot, who is at the State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba, Lagos Mainland, flogged the victim Michael Friday with a cable wire.The incident occurred at 61, Awolowo Way, Ikeja, Lagos.Sources disclosed to The Nation that the suspect had directed his son to carry out some assignments in their shop at the stated address but the boy refused.It was in the process of being disciplined that the boy collapsed.The boy was rushed to the General Hospital Ikeja, where he was confirmed dead.The matter was reported to the police and the suspect was arrested.Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Onyeisi Nwaolai, said that the Commissioner of Police, Mr Marvel Akpoyibo, directed the homicide section of the SCID to take over the case.Also, a customer of one of the commercial banks in FESTAC Town was shot dead by armed robbers at the weekend.According to sources, the deceased had gone to the bank in company of a relative to withdraw N1million around 11am on Friday when the incident occurred.The deceased whose name was given as Olufemi Abiola by the police was in the company of his relative, Kemi Akinremi.It was gathered that the hoodlums who were on a motor cycle, double-crossed the duo on 71 Road immediately they came out of the bank and demanded for the money.There was a little resistance from the deceased who was holding the money, hence the shooting, The Nation learnt.The bandits sped off with the motorcycle while the victim slumped and died on the spot.Nwaolai confirmed the incident. He said that efforts to track down the suspects had begun.Also at the weekend, a bricklayer in a construction company in Maroko was killed by assassins.Jide Moses was killed in a bush path at the new market settlement area.Nwaolai said police were investigating the murder.
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Posted by 9jabook.com on August 13, 2009 at 8:24pm
How Aliko Dangote blackmailed, bribed his way to NSE Presidency !
Aliko Dangote aka Chemical Ali
Now, the die is cast. Nigerian investors' fears over the emergence of Aliko Dangote a Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE)
Council President seems to have triggered a race to the bottom as more savvy institutional investors are re-
channeling their funds to the ’safety’ of government securities, treasury bonds and real estate.
It was intrigues and maneuver galore marked by intimidation, blackmail and shady financial dealings that eventually
saw billionaire business magnate, Alhaji Aliko Dangote emerge as the 17th president of the Council of Nigerian
Stock Exchange (NSE) through what was said to have been a unanimous voice vote.
But when a man with a big question mark hanging over his morally-deficient, corruption-bedecked neck is chaperoned
to the topflight throne, it will take the greatest miracle after the resurrection of Jesus Christ to get the NSE
back on track. The fact that Dangote; a prime suspect in the share manipulation scam involving African Petroleum
(AP) Plc stock prices of Femi Otedola is now the man who will be calling the shots at the NSE, proves, in the words
of an NSE source that: “Nigeria’s capacity to shock and scandalize is infinite.”
Huhuonline.com has learnt that Dangote arm-twisted and bribed his way to the NSE presidency, dishing out as much as N3 million to each NSE Council members who subsequently “elected” him by acclamation. Also nominated was Erastus Akingbola, the Group Chief Executive of Intercontinental Bank, as the NSE 1st Vice President.
Akingbola’s nomination, Huhuonline.com has learnt was the climax of horse-trading and sheer clunker philandering.
Dangote has been at odds with Akingbola after Intercontinental Bank Plc, petitioned President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua asking for his intervention to help compel a "debt cabal" led by Dangote to re-pay the loans it took from
Intercontinental Bank.
In a petition sent on its behalf by A.O.S Practice, a firm of legal practitioners, and dated August 5, 2009,
Intercontinental Bank described Dangote as a loan defaulter and “rabid debtor” who is being daily serenaded in the
media as an affluent Nigerian. A look at the three Dangote companies indebted to Intercontinental Bank as contained
in the said petition shows that their cumulative debt profile stands at about N35.8 billion.
Intercontinental Bank also said: "To proceed to sue these institutions as ordinary legal dictates would suggest, is
to get bogged down with the legal technicalities and slow pace of the adversarial practice of our judicial system,
which these cabal would engage to wear us down.”
Recall that Aliko Dangote had been under intense pressure to resign from the council before the Annual General
Meeting (AGM) of the NSE. The erstwhile NSE president, Oba Osundeko had asked Dangote to resign prior to the
election, due to the market’s perception of Dangote’s alleged role in a price manipulation of African Petroleum
Plc’s shares. During a routine meeting of the NSE council in Lagos A committee of the council reportedly met and
appealed to Dangote to resign.
But Dangote reportedly played hardball, employing underhand tactics and blackmail to force Osundeko to back-off and
play ball. One of the issues involved Pivot Engineering Company owned by Osundeko which failed to execute
government contracts awarded to it but collected payments. Besides, Osundeko was also a member of the “debt cabal”
and was neck deep in debt to First Bank.
In its petition, the bank made "a clarion call" on the President "to dismantle this cabal that is hiding under the
auspices of the Federal government's fiscal and economic policies whilst gang raping our client, as with such other
well meaning banks, that oil the economy of this great country. This gang-rape is obviously because we lack a
credit registry or bureau in Nigeria where information and data on the credit history of persons and companies can
be accessed to determine their standing in relation with other banks."
Although Dangote has denied that he owes the banks, Huhuonline.com investigations showed that Dangote group of
companies have a debt overhang of about $400 million (N58 billion) owed various Nigerian banks and hopes of the
affected banks to recover the loans are fading. Debtors like Dangote have seemingly kept the banks in suspense,
forcing them to categorize the liabilities as bad debts that are being written off to cleanse the financial
institutions' books.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is flooded with petitions from some of the distressed banks, over difficulties in
debt recovery, especially from the major five debtors including Dangote. Already, three banks have written off over
N76 billion in loans, thereby assailing profitability and dividend payouts.
The choice of Dangote does not inspire investor confidence as he owns six companies (Dan sugar, Dan salt, Dan
Flour, Benue Cement, Chevron Texaco, which are listed on the stock exchange. What will eventually happen when
Dangote becomes privy to insider information about the stock prices of his companies can be anyone’s guess. But
this apparent conflict of interest has created a propitious scenario for insider trading and share price
manipulation which Dangote is an expert.
The fact that Dangote suffers from incurable money-mindedness and will stop at nothing in his quest for personal
gain is an ominous sign of the times that bodes ill for the future of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
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It has come to this.In the free-for-all that was our banking system, even a nanny could obtain a N13 billion loan from one of our top banks. Especially if she is the owner's nanny.Such was the good fortune of Nanashetu Abdulai, who served Cecilia Ibru as nanny to her eldest son, Oboden.Billion naira Nanny "Mcphee" Nanashetu Bedell her Husband and the Loan Giver CeCeIBRUIn our banking system, this was enough collateral to persuade Oceanic Bank, which is now on life support and has been taken over by the Central Bank, to extend billions to Nanashetu. At least officially.Ms. Abdulai, 51, also known as Nanashetu P. Bedell, received what is now being called the "nanny loan" based solely on her relationship with Mrs. Ibru, who is now a fugitive from the law and is wanted on fraud, money laundering, and stock manipulation charges by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. As at May 31, the loan was non-performing, according to a list released by the Central Bank.Attempts to reach Ms. Abdulai at both her office and by telephone were unsuccessful.Ms. Abdulai secured the loan as the sole director of Circular Global International Ltd. The company turned up as debtor number 13 on the CBN list of debtors to Oceanic Bank, is also the chief executive of the upscale corporate and household gift items suppliers called Nanshet Limited. Its head office is on Akin Olugbade high street of Victoria Island in Lagos.Nanshet Ltd trades in corporate and household gift items and supplies majority, if not all, of Oceanic Bank's corporate souvenirs and staff insignias. Mrs. Ibru's signature neckties are samples of Nanshet's supplies.Nanshet Limited started business in 1990 selling only Christian Books and Gifts. It now specialises in the procurement and distribution of electronics, household items and corporate gifts on a wholesale and retail level. It opened an American office in 2002Ms. Abdulai was the nanny to the former Managing Director of Oceanic Bank and the first son of Mrs. Ibru, Oboden Ibru, but has become a close member of the family."She is generally called Sister Nana within Oceanic Bank," said one source. Another source referred to her as "Cecilia Ibru's twin sister," establishing the close relationship which Ms. Abdulai shares with the Ibru family and also alluding to the influence that Ms. Abdulai wields away from the domestic domain of the Ibru family to the corporate quarters where public funds are held."It is conventional wisdom in Oceanic that the fear of Sister Nana is the beginning of wisdom," said an insider who pleaded anonymity at Oceanic Bank Headquarters on Ozumba Mbadiwe Street on Victoria Island, Lagos.No. 4 Akin Olugbade Street is just a white, plain looking one-storey building that is unremarkable in every aspect apart from sharing a fence with an Oceanic Bank branch. It looks more like a residential building than an office space. In a section of the compound, heaps of ceramic tiles are packed amid large wooden boxes.Nanshet Mega Stores sell luxury gift items, including flower vases, ceramic plates, steel trolleys and large aluminium and enamel pots and dishes. It is located at the ground floor of City Mall directly opposite the entrance of the mall.
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The Inspector General of Police, Ogbonna Onovo has demanded for extra powers for the force to contain violence at the venues of future elections in the country.
Speaking at the public hearing on "A bill for an Act to further amend the Police Act 1967," Mr. Onovo specifically asked that the police should be empowered to shoot any persons who perpetrate violence through the use of gun at polling stations.
The hearing was organised by a subcommittee of the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee on the review of the 1999 Constitution. The subcommittee is headed by the Chief Whip, Emeka Ihedioha.
Mr. Onovo also asked for the amendment of the Section 4 (a) of the Police Act by inserting the word "lawfully" in it.
The section states that "Police shall while on duty safeguard the security of the lives and property of citizens during the campaign and voting so that citizens will not feel unsafe on account of holding, associating with or expressing a political opinion." Others demand Mr. Onovo made are that
1. the police should be empowered to arrest, search and detain any person upon reasonable suspicion of concealment of offensive weapons or electoral materials at the venue of any election or any other place, whatsoever;
2. the police should be empowered to use reasonable force to carry out such duties under the Act;
3. the Police should be empowered to arrest and prosecute any offender before, during and after elections;
4. a reasonable time limit should be spelt out to enable the police to return to their routine duties after the election;
5. the Police should be present at the counting centres and given certified copies of all the elections for record purposes; and
6.the police should be empowered to arrest any other person(s) who commit any other electoral offence under this Act.
Mr. Onovo explained that the force is demanding powers to shoot at the venues of election because some members of the public could confront police officers or electoral officers with guns.
He added that the original act does not give members of the force the powers to do anything unless directed by electoral officers being harassed.
He said that, if amended, the nature of confrontation against the police or electoral officers would determine the kind of weapons the police would use. Among the weapons are teargas, water cannon and lethal weapons.
"We all know that when they are coming they don't come in a friendly manner but they come heavily armed. They even fire to scare people away. So, we will need reasonable force to be able to prevent them from stealing, hijacking or altering results. In this case, we have to stop them when they come with, for example, AK 47. So, we want to use firearms when the lives of others are in danger," Mr. Onovo said.
When probed further by the lawmakers on what "reasonable force" means, the Inspector General said it could also include persuasion and dialogue.
Also speaking at the hearing, the former Inspector General, Sunday Ehindero, argued that it is not the Police Act that needed amendment but the Electoral Act 2006.
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Michael Aondoakaa, told the lawmakers that the bill did not remove any power which the police have but assured that he would reconcile the differences between the bill and the proposals made by Mr. Onovo.
However, member of the subcommittee were suspicious that if given the powers, the police could abuse some of them. They also complained that the powers could be used against members of the opposition parties.
A member, Abdul Ningi, who is also the chairperson of the Police Affairs Committee of the House, said if given the power to arrest, search and detain anybody on reasonable suspicion, the police officers could do so for flimsy reasons.
Another member of the House, George Daika, also complained that if the police were allowed a time limit to stay at election venues, trouble could ensue when they have left.
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Sauna Kawaji is a backside suburb situated on the road to Hadejia town, in the southern end of the ancient city of Kano. It has a number of tiny roads and interlocking lanes that network across a number of unevenly situated mud, and sometimes, block of residential buildings.The mystery goat and its new babiesadvertisementThe compounds host an expanding population of men, women and children.It is normal to see kids playing away in the early morning sun in this neighbourhood. Also, it is normal to see goats loitering or feeding on scattered grains, just as cows are regular feature here. Indeed, human population in this tiny town is intermixed with the population of other domestic species, such as fowls, goats, sheep and cows.However, it could be said that the innocence of the community was figuratively broken on Thursday, August 6, 2009 when a strange “August visitor” came. On that day, a mystery crept into the community and shook it to its very roots. It was the day a she -goat gave birth to a “child” with obvious human features.For the villagers, the story of a she-goat giving birth to a creature with some features of normal human being is incredible. Yet, right before their very eyes, this concrete reality, played out like a script from a horror film.According to a tailor in the community, Alhaji Bashir Haruna, (alias Soldier), 47, that Thursday, like any other day, he woke up with the normal bustling of a new day in a small town. He said that people went about their businesses without constraint or care. The hustling of the day was rather very alive, activated due to the delegate congress of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.He recalled that many people had come home from the city to be part of the congress. Then the news broke: A goat has delivered a semi-human being.Haruna, who resides just a stone throw from the scene of the episode told Saturday Sun that soon after the strange incident, the news to spread like wild fire. And before long, it was everywhere.The owner of the mystery goat, Hajia Amina Mohammed Sauna, confirmed the birth of the creature, which she quickly declared was dead at birth.She said that the unusual creature was delivered at about 12pm on that Thursday, adding that all her life she had never encountered such a strange happening.Being the guardian of the she-goat and the first witness of the rather strange recourse of nature, she recalled that the she-goat, through out her lifespan, had never had such a prolonged labour.She said: “For four days, she was very sick. We all had sleepless nights trying to fend for the goat, to cope with her trouble, night after night. And it was like it would never end. And on the night before that Thursday, it was worst, the tumbling stress of labour was severe on her and at about 12pm the following day, she finally came off it and delivered.“I was nearby at the time she delivered. I was the first to come face to face with the creature. I was shocked and I was shaken. I was afraid. I could not believe my eyes. Here I was, an old woman standing face to face, taking delivery of a human-like goat, a creature I had never imagined was possible in this world. I immediately screamed, partly out of fear and shock and thereafter I said a quick prayer (Muslims recitation) and then dashed out of the house to call for help.“Right before my eyes, I saw a creature with the following features: The face is that of a human being, but the ears are that of a goat. Its eyes were shut because it was lifeless at birth. It has a small tail, like a normal goat and both its two legs and hands have hoofs at the end. But from the chest to the hip, the body of the creature was that of a human being. Interestingly, it does have the usual hairy body of a normal goat, just light hairs in some part of the body.”According to her, when the people gathered, it was agreed that such a strange encounter must be reported to the village head of Sauna/Kawaji, Alhaji Ado Umar. So, she called two other relatives who were around and they took the creature to the village head, who advised that they should immediately report the matter to the Police in the state.Subsequently, they took the creature, accompanied by a mammoth crowd of curious onlookers to the Dakata Police Station, a division of the Police in the state. She revealed that the decision to report the matter to the police was out of the need to avoid a situation where they, the immediate owners of the goat, would be held for the failure to report matter to the police.Incidentally, while the creature was being taken to the police station, the mother goat, which was yet to finally come out of labour, completed her assignment. She delivered yet another set of babies, two of them in all. These additional babies were however, different from the creature that preceded their birth. They looked like the normal goats and had no features of a human being at all.Alhaji Mazzadeen Ibrahim, (alias Officer) said that the mammoth crowd that turned up with the strange creature to the police station, that afternoon, at about 3pm, was overwhelming.Mazzadeenn, who runs a mechanic workshop in front of the Dakata divisional police station, told Saturday Sun that the crowd overwhelmed the station by its size. He recalled that people poured in hundreds from Sauna and neighbouring towns, adding that while some people were inside the police station compound, others scaled the fence.“It was not easy, but I was lucky to have gone inside and I saw it. They brought it in cartoon, wrapped in an old black coat,” he said while confirming the earlier description of the features of the strange creature.He recalled that the creature had a human vagina, a human face and a goat-like hoof and ears. He summed up thus: “All my life, I have never seen anything close to this. The nearest that I have seen was a goat with eight legs at birth and that was five years ago.”The police DPO, it was gathered, was speechless and shocked by what he saw. After due consultation with his superiors at the Bompai headquarters of the command, he referred the matter to a vet clinic in Ugwar Ugwu area of the state.At the vet clinic, the doctor demanded to know the kind of food the goat eats and was told that it feeds by the way side, picking whatever it can. The doctor advised that in future, the goats should be fed with grains.Speaking further on her goat, Sauna said it was born in the village 10 years ago. She said that it grew up in the environment and had given birth to several young goats. Sauna said: “At least, I remember that she had delivered sets of young ones on eight occasions, some sets of twins, some triplets and on a few occasions, quadrates.“The mother goat belongs to my daughter, who resides in Lagos. The goat stays with us here; she sleeps in this house (pointing backwards to the stained-roofed, dilapidated structure that hosts their compound). When it is dawn, we let the goat wander into town in search of food to eat, and in the evening, she comes back home to sleep. At home, we cannot afford to buy her grains of food. As matter of practice, we don’t keep goats at home or restrict the movement of goats in this area. The goats roam to any area of convenience and get to feed themselves,” she declared.Sauna said that the mother goat has since returned to her normal life after the birth of the creature, adding: “Surprisingly, she is not sick and although I am not an a veterinary doctor, I know that she is well.”In his comment, the Kano State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Baba Mohammed, confirmed the incident and said the police had directed that the creature be sent to a vet hospital in the state for their further advice. He observed that, like every other person, policemen were shocked at the birth of a goat with dual features, some of which are human look. He however, concluded that only the experts in the field of animal medicine could explain what happened.The curious part of the story is that some people believe that a man may have violated the mother goat. Those in this school of thought say that since the mother goat wander about anything was possible.However, a veterinary doctor, Salisu Atiku and a senior livestock superintendent in the state, Abbas Ibrahim, who both commented on the development, are of a different views. For them, it is wrong to link the strange occurrence with a sexual relationship between a goat and a human being.
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The recent death of Lekan Benson Adelaja and others in boats mishap in a Lagos community, just seven days after his wedding, has generated many controversies between his family and his wife’s. Adewale Ajayi reports.
When the family of Benson Adelaja gathered on August 1 to consummate the marriage of their son, Lekan to Sunbo in Ikenne, Ogun State, they never knew that the joy of their son getting married would be short-lived .
The family never had any inkling that the husband would die a week after his wedding, although there was a spiritual warning handed over to Lekan’s mother that his son should not travel out of his town Sagamu, Ogun State, some days after his wedding, a warning which his mother was said to have repeated to him.
On August 7, a Friday , Lekan was said to have left Sagamu to attend a party organised by his boss somewhere in Ajah , Eti Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State.
He was said to have travelled in company of his wife, younger sister, two of his friends , and his boss’s wife, who was said to have been picked up in Ikorodu for the trip. They drove to Baiyeku, in Ikorodu Local Government Area, and decided to make the rest of the trip by canoe , which transports people from that area to Ajah and Langbasa.
Lekan parked his car, a metallic colour Honda Accord with registration number KC 906 KJA by the shore of the river, and off they went. Less than 10 minutes after, the canoe left the shore and, still within the vicinity of the shore, capsized , it ran into strong ocean waves , which damaged the steering of the boat engine. The canoe capsized, , throwing its about 26 passengers overboard.
The sailor of another canoe, which had six passengers had, on the scene of the accident, attempted to rescue the passengers of the capsized canoe. But that also capsized, and the passengers in the two canoes were discharged into the lagoon.
With the assistance of fishermen, divers and marine policemen that came on board, some passengers were rescued, among whom was Lekan. He, however, took a plunge into the lagoon when his wife, Sunbo, was not found. Eventually, his wife was rescued, and a search for him and others continued.
On that day, five people were said to have been rescued alive, out of whom two dropped dead before medical aid could reach them, while five corpses were also said to have been brought out of the lagoon, including that of a woman with a baby strapped to her back. The baby was still alive. Of the three rescued, one survivor was said to have swam to the shore.
The rescue operation was put on hold till the next day , which was a Saturday, exactly a week after Lekan consummated his marriage to Sunbo.
The salvage operation was put on hold because it was assumed that the victims would have died, as they had not been found three hours after the incident, and that their corpses would be found floating on the river by the next day.
On Saturday, the environment became tense; the entire community was in a mournful mood, as friends and relatives of those who came in search of their loved ones bewailed their loss.
Friends of Lekan from Ijagba, in Sagamu, Ogun State, besieged the town, demanding for explanations on why such a thing should happen to their pal, and blaming the boat operators for failing to provide safety measures like life jackets for their passengers .
They wondered why such a thing should happen to him barely a week after his marriage. While some wailed to register their displeasure, others threatened to set ablaze, the houses in the community. Though they were prevented from doing that, the canoe operators’ office was not spared. It was vandalised, and the locally-made life jackets hung on the wall were destroyed and thrown into the lagoon.
Those whose relatives were yet to be found were seen moving up and down the shore of the lagoon with drawn faces, while others glued their eyes to the lagoon, perhaps probing it for swallowing their loved ones.
On the third day of the incident, a Sunday, six swollen corpses were found. Among them was Lekan’s, his friend’s and his sister-in-law’s. The atmosphere became charged, as members of his family became enraged, blaming his wife for contributing to his death, arguing that if he had not taken the risk of plunging into the lagoon , in search of the wife, he would probably have been alive today.
The two families that had, a week earlier, exchanged pleasantries when giving out their children in marriage , suddenly became enemies , and Lekan’s friends threatened to beat them up. It took the intervention of members of Baiyeku community and the policemen drafted to the town to restore order.
In line with the Yoruba tradition , to the effect that anyone who dies in a river , lagoon , sea or brook should be buried at its bank , it was unanimously agreed that the corpses be buried at the bank of the lagoon .
In other to scare the women and other lily-livered men away from the burial site, the Oro (traditional ritual which women were forbidden to watch) was invoked, while the corpses were ferried to the portion earmarked for their burial with a boat, and the corpses floated on the lagoon, tied to the canoe.
It was an emotion-laden event, as relatives of the deceased wept , as the corpses were being pulled from the lagoon into their grave.
Commenting on the incident, Mr Kunle Jegede, who claimed to have been traveling to Ajah on boat en route Baiyeku in the last seven years, said the boat operators should be blamed for the incident, because many of them usually overloaded their boats and failed to provide life jackets for their passengers.
He explained that government should also share part of the blame , explaining that despite the approval given to the boat operators by the government, they were not being properly monitored. He explained further that the boat in question had once been involved in an accident at Majidun, near Ikorodu town, and that this was why it was barred from loading in the area, and was eventually taken to Baiyeku .
Another boat operator in Baiyeku, Mr. Segun Omogunle, said officials of the Lagos State Water Traffic Management Authority (LASTWA) had, on many occasions, arrested the boat operators, and that in the last one year, they have been arrested more than 20 times for failing to comply with laid-down regulations for operation.
He explained that on one occasion, the marine police impounded three of the boats because they lacked the necessary facilities, and they had to bribe the police with N60,000 before the boats were released .
Speaking on the development, the head of the community, Chief Kehinde Ogunyera, said such a sad incident had never occurred in the past 70 years of his existence. He explained that the council of chiefs in the community usually took time off to monitor the activities of the boat operators, and that they usually complied with the conditions and rules given to them.
He said they never overloaded their boats, as claimed by some people, and that the life jackets they used were the brand recommended for them, and were not inferior as claimed .
Chief Ogunyera stated that, many times , the passengers refused to wear life jacket given to them , giving the excuse that they might contact disease by wearing it , because people afflicted with a disease might have worn it before.
A spiritual dimension was, however, introduced by some people, who blamed the community for failing to make sacrifices to the water goddess, arguing that the river goddess was probably angry. Some blamed Lekan for refusing to abide by the spiritual instruction given to him through his mother, which forbade him from going out of his town, Sagamu, for some days.
Buttressing that fact, Lekan’s boss, Chief Muyideen Oladegun, said although Lekan had been travelling on that lagoon for over seven years, and that he and Lekan used that route many times, he had warned him against attending the ill-fated party, having earlier on reminded him of the spiritual message which forbade him from going out of his town for some days after his wedding.
While those who lost their loved ones are bemoaning their ill-fortune, it is necessary for the state government, which has made known its intention to popularize water transportation, to make sure that most of the private boat operators who are given approval are closely monitored, to prevent tragedies such as the one that claimed passengers.
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About 80 Nigerians on Wednesday left for several universities in the United Kingdom as part of Overseas Scholarship Scheme of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) aimed at improving local participation in the oil and gas sector.
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Another 320 are expected to depart the country in the coming days to bring the total of those being sent out on overseas scholarship this year to 500.
Assistant General Manager, Training and Education Division of the PTDF, Aminu Galadima, disclosed this to Daily Independent during an interview in Abuja.
He said the scholars are being sent to top 20 universities in the UK with excellent training facilities on oil and gas related fields.
Galadima explained that while 60 of the scholars would study for their PhD, the remaining 340 would be in the UK for their master's programme.
He added that the scholars who are expected to be in the UK for 12 to 36 months would upon completion of studies boost the country's quest for increased participation of its citizens in the oil and gas industry.
He stated that PTDF has a Memorandum of Understanding with several universities in the UK such as the University of Aberdeen, University College, London, University of Newcastle, University of Leeds and Crown Field University, among others that allow it to send up to 50 Nigerians to each intituction.
While saying that the universities were not arbitrarily selected, Galadima disclosed that their facilities and programmes were inspected by officials of PTDF led by its Executive Secretary, Muttagha Rabe Darma to ascertain their suitability to handle the students.
He said the beneficiaries were selected to meet specific gaps discovered by PTDF in the oil and gas industry where Nigeria does not have prerequisite training to man such positions.
To this end, he noted, the beneficiaries would specialise in process engineering, sub-sea engineering, reservoir engineering among others.
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The Bible says,
“Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are” (James 5:17).
Yet he was mightily used of God. This reference is talking about the time Elijah became so despondent that he asked God to kill him (1 Kin. 19:4).
Elijah wasn’t perfect; yet he called fire down from heaven three times; he was the first person to raise someone from the dead; he caused the greatest revival in history up to that point; his word started and ended a three-year drought; he multiplied food miraculously; and he is one of only two men who never died—he was caught up alive into heaven. There is a lot we can learn from a man like this, both positive and negative.
The Bible gives little background on Elijah. It wasn’t his pedigree or education that brought him into a position of influence and power. Elijah was nobody until he received a word from God. It was the revelation God gave him that put him into a position of leadership.
Likewise, anyone who is born again, or baptized in the Holy Spirit, or has a good relationship with the Lord, has a revelation from God too. Just as Elijah’s revelation from God put him into a position of influence, anyone who has a revelation of God has the potential to influence others also. The only difference is that Elijah knew what he had and was bold enough to speak.
Many of us have been intimidated by the ungodly. We aren’t boldly speaking the truth we have from the Lord. What if Elijah hadn’t spoken that prophecy to King Ahab? The drought may have occurred anyway, but Elijah wouldn’t have been able to use it to affect the nation. The people would have dismissed the drought as a natural occurrence.
Elijah was bold enough to speak before there was any proof that what he was saying would come to pass. That took faith and great courage.
When the drought came as promised, Elijah became the most sought after man in the nation:
“As the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not” (1 Kin. 18:10).
If we would speak forth the truths God has shown us, just like Elijah, the truths we speak would ultimately prevail.
Elijah didn’t have all the answers or know what would happen next when he spoke the prophecy to King Ahab (1 Kin. 17:1). Ahab had forbidden worship of the true God, instituting Baal worship. He killed the prophets of the Lord, and Elijah was putting himself in harm’s way by obeying the Lord.
It wasn’t until after Elijah delivered the word of the Lord, that God spoke to him about how He would protect and sustain him.
First Kings 17:2-4 says,
“And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.”
One of the great lessons we can learn here is that God doesn’t reveal His complete plan immediately. He reveals His will to us one step at a time. After we obey the first step, He shows us the next. Why should the Lord show us step two or ten if we haven’t obeyed step one? That would just make us more accountable. So, don’t try to figure out the next step until you have acted on what you know to do now. That’s a powerful truth.
The Lord told Elijah to go to the Brook Cherith. He had already commanded the ravens to bring Elijah bread and meat “THERE” every morning and evening. This was miraculous! What a provision during a terrible time!
But notice this: The Lord didn’t send Elijah’s provision to where he was. A quarterback doesn’t throw the football to where the receiver is, but where the receiver is going. Elijah’s miracle wasn’t where he was but where the Lord was sending him. That’s awesome!
Each of us has a place called “THERE,” where the blessings of the Lord are waiting. The Lord never fails to provide, but people often fail to receive because they aren’t all “THERE.” If Elijah had not gone to his place called “THERE,” his disobedience would not have stopped God’s faithfulness; however, he would not have received the provision; it was over “THERE,” by the Brook Cherith.
This is exactly what is happening to many of us. The Lord has placed something on our hearts to say or do. But, if we haven’t obeyed, we aren’t in our place of “THERE.” We aren’t seeing God’s provision, because we aren’t in that place of obedience.
I’ve heard many people say the Lord told them to attend Charis Bible College. But they just can’t see how it could happen. They want to see the Lord’s provision before they go “THERE.” That’s not how it works.
Some of you are not seeing God’s provision because you aren’t doing what He has told you to do. This doesn’t mean the Lord is punishing you. If Elijah hadn’t gone “THERE,” he would have lost his provision. The Lord has provision for you too, but it’s “THERE.”
This place called “THERE” changes. God changed the place and method of Elijah’s provision:
“And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee” (1 Kin. 17:8-9).
You can’t just seek the Lord once, hear His voice, step out in faith, and then stop listening. The Lord brings us into His perfect will step by step. Elijah moved when the Lord told him to move.
This led Elijah to the city of Zarephath where he asked a widow to give him the last of her food. It looked like he was taking from this woman, but he was actually giving to her. Instead of this being her last meal before dying, the Lord multiplied this woman’s supplies, which kept her, her son, and Elijah alive for about three years (1 Kin. 17:15-16). What a great miracle!
That wasn’t all the widow received. Her faithfulness in giving caused her son to be raised from the dead (1 Kin. 17:17-23). She had been operating in faith every day. She would use the last bit of oil and meal for Elijah and then find that there was always enough to make a cake for herself and her son. This was a great faith builder, which I’m sure figured into the miracle of her son.
Elijah went on to call fire down from heaven and consume a sacrifice in the sight of all of the people of Israel (1 Kin. 18:36-38). The people who saw it cried out, “The Lord, He is the God. The Lord, He is the God.” They killed all the prophets of Baal, and the whole nation turned to the Lord.
That same day, Elijah prayed and ended the drought by a great rain storm (1 Kin. 18:41-45). He was so pumped, he outran Ahab’s chariot in a twenty-mile race after Ahab had a head start. Elijah was excited!
Here is a very important lesson: After great victories come great temptations. This is primarily because we lose our sense of humility and dependence upon God (1 Kin. 19:4). Elijah had successfully defied the king, his armies, his prophets, and all the people in the nation. But the next day, a note from a woman caused him to run in terror (1 Kin. 19:2-3).
The Lord appeared to Elijah and asked, “What are you doing HERE, Elijah?” (1 Kin. 19:9). Elijah wasn’t “THERE” anymore. His place called “THERE” was back in Samaria. People were now worshiping the true God, but Elijah had run away in fear, leaving the people without a leader.
This resulted in the Lord replacing Elijah with Elisha. Elijah’s ministry fell short of what it could have been. The Lord actually spoke to Elijah in an audible voice. He told him to do three things, one of which was to anoint Elisha to replace him (1 Kin. 19:15-16). Elijah anointed Elisha (1 Kin. 19:19), but didn’t do the other two things. That means Elijah failed in two-thirds of the things the Lord told him to do. That’s amazing.
You might think this meant Elijah was washed up and was never used of God again. That’s not the case. Elijah went on to prophesy (1 Kin. 21:17-24), and he called the fire of God down two more times (2 Kin. 1:9-12). And most impressive of all, Elijah never died; he was caught up into heaven by a whirlwind (2 Kin. 2:11).
This man, who failed miserably, still walked so closely with God that he never died. This speaks volumes to us. The Lord has never had anyone working for Him yet who was qualified. He uses us in spite of what we do, and not because of what we do. If we will hold on to our faith, we can still experience wonderful things from the Lord even after failing BIG TIME. What powerful truths.Read more…
Posted by Politics X on September 2, 2009 at 4:35am
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, yesterday promised to resign if the recent intervention to sanitise the financial services industry fails.The governor said this at the bi-monthly Monetary Policy Meeting, which held on Tuesday in Abuja.Mr. Sanusi, responding to insinuations that the intervention was politically motivated, said time would tell, emphasising that the primary motivation for the intervention is to protect depositors and shield the industry from collapse.Read communique hereHe also denied allegations that CBN’s action was a ploy to prepare the grounds for a take over of the banks by foreigners.It’s the economyAccording to Sanusi: “Where we are today, as far as the five banks are concerned, is that the CBN has put in money to protect depositors and creditors from any losses, to shield them from further deterioration as a result of non-performing loans. The principal objective of the action at this point in time is not to sell the banks. I have said this at several fora.”With regard to the town hall meeting held in the United Kingdom, he said it was neither to sell the banks nor to meet investors, rather he was there “to meet correspondent banking institutions and creditors, to assure them of the safety and soundness of the banking institution in Nigeria.”He added that because of the decision to change the management of the banks, the CBN needed to make itself available to international creditors, “to answer any question that might have arisen from the action we took.“The primary focus of the trip was to tell the creditors about the country’s economy and to situate our action within the context of a general process of guaranteeing financial stability,” he explained.Though, he said the CBN has not received any proposal from any prospective investor interested in any of the banks, he added that the bank will not stop any investor from expressing interest as long as it demonstrates sufficient commitment to the development of the Nigerian economy.“Once these banks have stabilised and it is time to move on, our preference is for them to have core investors that would run them professionally and put in place a governance structure that will ensure that we do not have a recurrence of the kind of things we have seen in the past. The core investor could be local or foreign.There is no law in Nigeria today that stops foreign banks from owning Nigerian banks, and the CBN will not preclude any bank from owning Nigerian banks simply because it is foreign,” he said.“That is not the same thing as saying we prefer selling our banks to foreigners. We are saying in principle that the CBN will not stand in the way of a foreign bank owning a Nigerian bank. We have stressed that any foreign bank that is coming in must be ready to show a clear commitment to the development of the Nigerian economy,” he stressed.Understanding the bailoutOn reports that some federal legislators have called the bailout illegal, saying it did not receive the approval of the National Assembly, Sanusi said he is not aware of any section of the CBN Act that demands such authorisation before the bank can perform its statutory function as lender of last resort.“What the CBN did was merely to create money to lift the balance sheets of the affected banks and increase money supply. The N400 billion loan given to the banks was (not) meant to bail them out by way of equity, but (was) a convertible facility."The CBN Act gives the CBN absolute control over the supply of money in circulation. The CBN does not need appropriation from the National Assembly to do what it did. Prior to what happened, the CBN gave these same banks and others, as a lender of last resort, money to expand their capital base."All that was done was to ask them to take the expanded facility for a longer time as quasi-capital and focus on meeting their obligations to creditors and depositors till when they are able to repay,” he said.On the monetary policy meeting, the CBN boss said the committee resolved to keep the country’s monetary policy rate unchanged at six per cent per annum, while also maintaining interest rate corridor at +/-two per cent around the MPR as well as giving approval for the establishment of an “Asset Purchase Facility Fund”.Though he said the country’s revised growth rate for last year stands at 5.99 per cent against the estimate of 6.41 per cent earlier in the year, the projection for the current year has been put at 5.33 per cent, compared to the 5.75 per cent projection.On year-on-year basis, he said the country’s inflation level has stabilised at a little over 11 per cent as at July 2009, with average rates of headline inflation and food inflation in the first seven months of the year standing at 13.11 per cent and 15.94 per cent, compared with 11.53 per cent and 15.98 per cent for last year.
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The rising complaints of abuse and sexual harassment in the banking industry, traceable to the emergence of Nigeria's new generation banks, has continued to cause concern about questionable labour practices allowed to thrive in the sector due to the glut in the labour market.
The burden of banks' seemingly insatiable desire for deposits experts said is carried largely by female bank officials -who are subjected to various forms of threats, intimidations, queries and demotions, if they are unable to meet the monthly targets.
Meeting the target
According to a female bank staff, "some banks, attach the payment of the salaries of marketers to performance on their given targets. If the target is not met, a percentage of their salary may be deducted and their promotion and other bonuses delayed. I have a friend who has just lost his job because he didn't meet his target. The management called him and advised him to resign or get sacked."
According to her, some female bankers are recruited with clear instructions to generate between N150 million and N300 million within 3-6 months, while those in the operations department have specified targets, like N1 million per month, two savings accounts in one week or three in a month, depending on the branch head and stability of the branch.
No bank has publicly acknowledged the truth of these allegations though.
According to the CBN governor, Lamido Sanusi, in his maiden meeting with the House of Representatives committee on banking and currency in Abuja, last month, "Yes this thing is here, although in my over 20 years in the banking industry, I have not experienced where a lady was asked to go and sleep with a man to get deposit. I am sure no bank will say that."
Mind games
According to a female marketer at a top bank, the ultimate decision lies with the marketers as individuals. "It has not been easy, but I am getting used to it. Sometimes, in the process of persuading customers to open accounts, I realise that I am already crying, and then, they are moved and just open the account with much more money than I was even asking for. Sometimes, with just two or three people opening accounts, you can cover your targets for that period.
"Of course, you may not always be lucky, because things don't always turn out that way, but once in a while, we meet decent men, who understand our plight and help us," she explained.
Taking action
The acting secretary general of the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance, and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI), O.P. Orere, explained that the association has never been in support of unrealistic targeting. According to him, "This institution has never supported this. We have frowned at, condemned and castigated it through our various publications and press releases.
"There is nothing we can do. At a time, some of our members complained that condoms were being distributed to them at their offices. It is a fight that has been in existence for a long time. In my 25 years of working in the bank, we didn't have targets."
He puts the blame on the new generation banks. "These banks have 25 billion with the CBN which they do not have free access to, but they need money to carry out their day to day transactions. We have advised them that they can get this by introducing good products to the public and not exposing these ladies to various vices. It is against the International Labour Organisation's decent work agenda, which Nigeria is a member of."
Investigations however reveal that an arm of the ASSBIFI is sponsoring a bill at the National Assembly to check these ‘outrageous' practices.
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Detectives from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Imo State Police Command, Owerri are working assiduously to unravel the mysterious death of Miss Mary Oguchukwu of Ime Owerre in Isu Njaba Local Government Area of the state.The late Mary, a hair stylist based in Onitsha, was reported to have gone to see off a male friend, one Christian Mmereukwu of Uburu Ekwe in the same council area who was alleged to have come to see her on August 21, 2009.But she could not return to her house as she was found dead in a nearby bush with blood gushing out from her private part with her clothes torn.Narrating the ugly incident to Daily Sun, the immediate younger brother to the late Mary, Mr Nnorom Oguchukwu, a former judiciary correspondent of Business Day, Abuja, said that his late sister had come back to the village from Onitsha hail and hearty to see him on learning that he was coming home from aboard.According to him, the suspect, Mr Mmereukwu, had been severally warned by members of their family to steer clear from his late sister as he had continuously been proposing marriage to her.“My sister, Miss Mary Oguchukwu was healthy. She came back from Onitsha, Anambra State. She returned home to see me when she heard that I was coming back from abroad, unfortunately, she was hacked to death on August 21, 2009.According to my younger ones, who alerted me on what had happened, they said that on the fateful day of August 21, 2009 evening at about 4 p.m. to 6p.m. one man from Uburu Ekwe, Mr Christian Mmereukwu, came to our compound.On that fateful day, my late sister was with my younger ones and according to them, Christian arrived at our compound and the first person that saw him was my aunty, Agnes Nnanna, who confronted him. She reminded him that he has been warned not to be visiting our compound, but he allegedly ignored her and went straight where my sister was staying.They said that he stayed for a longer period and when he was about going home he beckoned on my sister Mary Oguchukwu to escort him after much pressure and my sister now followed him.She escorted him not knowing that would be her last day on earth.Explaining further, Mr Nnorom alleged that Christian dragged her inside the bush and raped her after which he hacked her to death.He tore her brazier, left it somewhere, killed her and left her in her pool of blood. While I was at Enugu where I took my son for medical treatment I didn’t know that this thing was happening. I only heard a telephone call the following day that one Christian Mmereukwu had killed my elder sister.Any misunderstanding with both families ?Not at all; not to the best of my knowledge. We are good neighbours even where he had his maternal home. We were never in enmity with them. They visit us and we visit them. I don’t actually know what had gone wrong. I don’t really know why the man should come to our place, picked my sister to go and killed her.Marriage proposalI don’t think that my sister was bluffing him, but from his character she may have seen somebody, you cannot attest to his character. She may start distancing herself from such request. The said Christian has that tendency of fighting when he was growing up in his maternal home.My sister’s professionShe is a hair dresser and she wanted to start her own business again in Onitsha, but she heard that I was coming back from abroad and she came back home to stay with me.AppealThe matter was first reported at the Umudugba Divisional Police station. It has now been transferred to State Police Command, Owerri. I believe that this is not a matter that should be swept under the carpet. My humble request is that my sister has been raped, and killed for nothing sake. I am calling on the police and international organizations on anti-rape to take over this matter and see to the last point of it. I want the security agencies to conduct proper investigations on this matter to see that justice is done in this matter. It will be the only way the soul of my sister will have rest. I am also appealing to the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ogbonnaya Onovo and human rights organizations to come to my rescue. I am shedding tears in my heart.our sourceslearnt that the suspect Mr Mmereukwu is now held at the state CID where he has been telling the police all he knows about the death of Mary.The police spokesman, ASP Linus Nwaiwu who confirmed the incident said that, investigations are still going on.
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Posted by CHIZILLAR on September 6, 2009 at 2:12am
Writing paid post is perhaps the most straightforward way to earn some revenue from blogging. The way paid post works hasn’t changed much; after reaching mutual agreement with advertisers, you write about them, they pay you. And if there is a third party (middle man company) involved, they take cuts. Most ‘middle men company’ provide marketplace for advertisers to look for publishers, vice versa.Here are a list of web services that pays you to blog.1. PayPerPostPayPerPost is an incredible new self-service marketplace that allows you to get paid to blog about the products, services and websites you love. You can easily earn $500 per month or more with your current blog.2. Link PostUnlike some other services, they pay our Partners up to 70% for each LinkPost written. Access to thousands of advertisers hungry for reviews. A variety of payment options. Receive payouts monthly by check, PayPal, direct deposit, or Wire. Automated advertising management. An easy way to sell paid blog posts.3. Review MeGet paid $20 – $200 to review products and services on your site. You control what you review.4. ShvoongThe more abstracts you post at Shvoong, the more chances to attract readers. Create link to your abstract elsewhere(on blogs, forums, your personal homepage, or other sites). Spread the word by joining our “Invite a friend” and/or “Affiliates” programs, and earn bonuses equivalent to the invite members’ royalties, upto $100 for every new writer.5. SmortyGet paid for blogging. Write your opinion about peoples products, services and websites on your blog. Get paid weekly.6. 451 Press451 Press is always looking for bright, talented writers who want to have their voices heard. We are looking for writers with unique voices to contribute to our growing network of blogs. Our blogs cover a wide range of topics. If you have a passion for a subject then we just might have a place for you.7. Be A Guide (About.com)All About.com Guides are freelancers who work online and set their own schedules, giving them the flexibility to log on from anywhere in the world whenever they have the time. With no timesheets to fill out and no timecards to punch, working for About.com gives you the flexibility to write when you want, even if you have a full-time day job.8. BlogBurnerSo here’s how it works:o You create an account with us.o You create an account with Google Adsense.o You login and write content to your "blog" on our site.o You try to write as often as you can.o We publish your content to our site.o We serve ads on the pages that have your content.o Half the time you make money on the ads. Half the time we do.9. Blog FeastThey are a blog community that:1. Host your blog for free2. Provide you with readers and traffic3. Serve your Adsense ads 90% of the time4. Helps you to make money blogging5. Leading you step by step to earn $1,000 a month!10. BloggerwaveThey’ve got advertisers that would like you to write about their products or services. So you do. In your blog. And get paid!More are Available at www.easymanual.biz.(Nigeria No. 1 site for Legal internet money making).You will be happy you did..PHONE NO. 07033097160.pls have a wonderful day.
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15 Years later: FHA tells Super Eagles team who won 1994 Nations Cup in Tunisia to come for the houses promised themBy FEMI ADEOTIThursday, July 23, 2009The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) has advised members of the Super Eagles who won the 1994 African Cup of Nations in Tunisia, to report to its Estates Department, to take possession of the houses allocated to them for winning the cup.S. M. Ndanusa, Minister/Chairman, National Sport CommissionAccording to the authority in response to enquiries made by Daily Sun, the houses are located at Isheri Olofin 1 Estate, Lagos, and 1st Avenue 1 (C) Close, Lugbe Estate, Abuja.Daily Sun had on Thursday, July 2, 2009, published an exclusive story on the plight of the members of the team who are yet to be allocated houses promised them by the Abacha Government, 15 years after they won the cup.But FHA’s Head of Communications, Mr Tunde Ipinmisho, in response to enquiries asked the affected team members to come over to the authority’s Estates Department. His e-mail message reads:“Please note that eight units of houses were allocated to the Eagles 1st Avenue 1 (C) Close, Lugbe Estate, Abuja.“Nineteen units of houses were also allocated to them at Isheri Olofin 1, Lagos.“In 2004, FHA went into partnership with Lock Int. Limited and an MoU was signed to complete some houses but the agreement was not followed up by the company leading to the abandonment of the project.“It is, however, advised that all members of Super Eagles of 1994 who have not taken over their houses should come to the Estates Department of the Federal Housing Authority.”Daily Sun had sent a message by e-mail to the FHA, Abuja, seeking clarifications on the inability of the housing authority to fulfill the obligation. The message reads:“The Super Eagles won the 1994 African Cup of Nations in Tunisia. They were given houses (three-bedroom each) by the then General Sani Abacha Government. There were 23 players and eight officials in the team.“On June 3, 1994, the General Staff Headquarters, State House, Abuja, wrote to the Executive Chairman, National Sport Commission, informing him of the package. It reads in part: ‘23 players and eight officials be given $8,000, N250,000.00; and three-bedroom house each.’ The letter was signed by Lt. Col. AO Peters for the Chief of General Staff (CGS) and Vice Chairman, PRC.“Members of the team are: Eguavoen A, Iroha Ben, Keshi Okechukwu, Okafor Uche, Finidi George, Oliha Thompson, Yekini Rasheed, Okocha Austin, Siasia Samson, Amokachi Daniel, Oliseh Sunday, Ago Aloy, Ikpeba Victor, Adepoju Mutiu, Rufai Peter, Agbonavdare W, Amunike Emmanuel, Senitoju Isaac, Ikoku Efah, Ugbade Nduka and Ike Sorounmu.“On June 10, 1994, Air Commodore Emeka Omeruah, Chairman, NFA, wrote each member of the team of the allocation of a three-bedroom house. He wrote a similar letter on October 19, 1994, to the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing ‘to kindly expedite action to allocate the houses in Abuja and Lagos, accordingly.’“On December 27, 1995, Chief Jim Nwobodo, then Minister of Youth and Sports, wrote the team members: ‘Allocation of houses’ promising that Works & Housing Ministry had been directed for ‘the immediate release of the houses.’“Not until April 3, 1997, that the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) wrote to the team members: ‘You are hereby allocated Isheri Olofin Estate, Lagos, for a term of ninety (90) years certain, commencing from the date you are invited to take possession of the housing unit.’ Ibrahim Ali, MD/CE, FHA, signed the letter.“Nothing happened until October 9, 2000, when Olusola Akanmode, Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the Vice President, wrote the Minister of Sports & Social Development ‘to draw your attention to the VP’s directive for your urgent necessary action,’ on the matter.“A lot of correspondence went on. Sources said those in Abuja and Finidi George in Port Harcourt River States, were given their houses. The rest 28 are yet to take possession, 15 years after.“Isheri Estate has been re-structured and the addresses of the houses supposedly allocated to the Eagles members are no longer in existence.”On his part, the Director-General, National Sports Commission (NSC), Chief Patrick Ekeji, claimed total ignorance. He told Daily Sun in a telephone conversation:“Nobody has brought this matter to my notice. By 1994, I was in Imo State. I am not privy to any document relating to that issue.“Except the matter is brought to my notice, I cannot comment on it. In fact, I don’t even know what to say or do on it. So, I am not aware of what you are saying.”
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Rosemary Obiakor, 46, of Lagos, won more than three million naira (£13,500) in the National Sports Lottery, reports the Daily Metro.When asked what she planned to do with the money after she was presented with her cheque in a ceremony on local TV, Mrs Obiakor said she'd give it to a "lucky beggar"."I have heard a lot of stories about how people win the lottery, and they get broke in the short run and come across a lot of misfortune. I am scared, and so I'll give it to a lucky beggar on the street," she told TV reporters.She collected her cheque, cashed the money and gave the money to a female beggar who was sitting by the street side with her two-year old baby.When Mrs Obiakor and a team of lottery executives handed the beggar a bag full of banknotes, she screamed with delight, and hugged them all.She thanked her benefactor profusely and promised to start a food retail business immediately.Before she went away with her money, the new 'millionaire' gave handfuls of money to other beggars on the street.
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Posted by 9jabook.com on September 11, 2009 at 3:09am
In this report, Efem Nkanga writes on the feat achieved by Globacom a few days ago, when its GLO-1 Submarine cable landed in Lagos and concludes that Nigerians are set to experience the benefits of available broadband capacity by the emergence of the cable.
The Nigerian telecoms industry, a few days ago recorded a milestone when, indigenous telecoms player and Second National Carrier, Globacom’ landed its Submarine Cable in Lagos.
The cable, which drained the company’s purse by a whopping $800 million dollars is the buzz in the sector today because it was done entirely alone by the Mike Adenuga led company. The company is known for its innovative style and has in the last six years of operations pioneered the introduction of several other innovative services in Nigeria including Per Second Billing, Mobile Internet, Blackberry, Vehicle Tracking, Voice SMS and In-flight Roaming.
The fact that the company, which came in six years ago after other players had had two years head start could achieve this has confounded friends and foes alike because it has gone down in history as the world's first submarine optic fibre cable to be built by a single individual company as opposed to the normal practice, where a consortium of players partner to build one. Sometimes nations even come together and partner to build one e.g., the popular SAT3 built by a consortium of 36 countries, including Nigeria.
Other such examples include the Eassy project, a project of a Consortium of regional incumbent telecom operators in East Africa at the cost $265 million with a target launch date of 2009. Another initiative is that of the profit association of the international satellite industry called Global VSAT Forum , a not-for-profit organisation that is working to double the number of earth station terminals operating in Africa by 2012. A worldwide Global body of firms are involved in the business of delivering advanced digital fixed satellite speed up development in Africa. The initiative plans to bring in more than 20 satellites which will be brought into service to connect Africa during the next five years. Aside from the satellites, complimentary capacity building will also be delivered to governments in Africa by the GVF and the “MaIN OnE” Fiber project of Main Street Technologies, which will interconnect countries on the Atlantic Coast from Morocco through to Angola with each other, and through Portugal to the rest of the world. All these projects which are expected to help Africa achieve maximum coverage are being done by a body of companies and countries partnering together. Globacom is the only one done by a single individual company.
The cable, 9,800km long stretching all the way from the United Kingdom across Mauritania, Morocco and 16 West African countries with dedicated extension to New York, was anchored at its Landing Station at Alpha Beach, Lekki, Lagos precisely on the morning of Saturday, the fifth of September 2009.
The Glo 1 cable will deliver transmission capacity that will radically change Nigeria and Africa's economic landscape by providing unprecedented high speed internet services and make telecom services much faster, more reliable and cheaper for consumers. The project was handled by Alcatel-Lucent, the world leader in submarine cable installation. The Intrepid, the ship which brought the Glo 1 cable has left for Accra, Ghana to complete the Phase One of the installation in other West African countries including Senegal and Cote D'Ivoire. The landing of Glo 1 in Ghana will also boost the preparation for the nationwide launch of Glo Mobile Ghana.
Glo also said that the phase 2 of the submarine cable project will connect South Africa through Angola.
The revolution of mobile technology especially in Nigeria has spawned successes driven largely by competition, but the irony of this huge success is that while the mobile arm is experiencing galloping growth, with accessible access across the length and breadth of the country including the urban and rural areas, the area of Broadband and Internet access has not kept pace with this growth and has been relegated to the background. Nigeria’s internet penetration is still a dismal 4 per cent compared to the 97 per cent access recorded in the country in the area of mobile technology. With Bandwidth demand rising across the African continent by 19 per cent in the 2001, 28 per cent in 2002 and 37 per cent in 2003, Africa and Nigeria needs to have more of such increases.
This is why the move of Globacom, to enable adequate broadband through its GLO-1 for West Africa project is a welcome development. Globacom which has shown its financial muscle, capacity and foresight through its recent foray into the Republic of Benin to provide mobile technology services in that country. The building of an undersea fibre optic cable from the United Kingdom to Nigeria is the dawn of an era that many hope will ensure the spread of broadband across the country.
The GLO-1 project which has landed in Lagos was said to have experienced some challenges due to lack of political co-operation for landing rights etc. But despite all the challenges, the cable has landed and Globacom is said to be planning to offer its services at a very affordable rate that will be below the current SAT3 rates, it’s a move many are looking forward to and a welcome development that will help Nigeria’s economy. Nigerians have not forgotten the last SAT 3 outage which crippled the nation for almost two weeks and Globacom’s foresight is commendable and stakeholders have expressed the hope that arrival of GLO -1 will help ensure that such is never experienced by the country again. The current scenario, where West African countries presently have a high dependability on satellite based operators for fulfilling their bandwidth requirements and the fact that bandwidth providers are retailing bandwidth they procure in bulk, which invariably is very expensive is expected to be solved by the the entrance of GLO-1. Apart from the fact that the Widening Digital divide between Nigeria, Africa and the rest of the World will be solved, price to value issues as well as issues of reliability and availability issues on the side of the only provider of Capacity between Nigeria and the rest of the World will become a thing of the past. Globacom's Group Executive Director, Mr. Paddy Adenuga said Glo-1's current and ultimate capacity is enough to cater to the required broadband capacity of Nigeria for at least the next 15 to 20 years. Glo 1 has a current capacity of 640Gigabit per second and an ultimate capacity of 2.5 Terabit per second. Adenuga said, ”Glo 1 will provide the needed opportunity for West African countries and indeed Africa to leap forward economically through an excellent communication network and a cost-effective voice, data, video and e-commerce services across Africa, Europe and the rest of the world". He added that “The facility will provide the most comprehensive international communication services on the continent to bridge the digital divide between Africa and the rest of the World,’ he added.
Adenuga said Glo 1 has 99.9 per cent up time reliability, world-class long distance voice, video and data communication services for African customers, adding that the cable will support the large bandwidth requirements of direct consumers and other service providers.
He said the cable will free up resources for other forms of investments which governments and business developments need through broad market coverage at high capacity and at a fraction of cost and time.
Glo 1 will also facilitate foreign investment and employment opportunities in the sub region, he stated.
He emphasized that a new dawn has arrived for Nigerians because ‘’Glo 1 will stimulate a new era of prosperity in the sub-continent,” said Adenuga who added that the successful delivery of the cable has shown that Globacom has an awesome capacity to deliver complex projects.
Dwelling on Glo 1's specific benefits to Nigerians in particular and Africans in general, Adenuga said the cable will facilitate teleconferencing, distance learning, disaster recovery and telemedicine among several other benefits for the people.
“The facility will aid on-line diagnosis and video conferencing during surgery and research, while distance learning will be made easy by enabling the participation of a class of students and lecturers from different parts of the world in real time,” he explained.
Globacom and Alcatel-Lucent officials also disclosed that the facility will be live in about six weeks when all the connections have been effected.
Commenting on the Submarine cable while it was still being awaited in Lagos, the Group Chief Operating Officer, Globacom, Jameel Mohammed explained the seeming delay in Glo-1’s arrival. He disclosed that implementing submarine cable projects, particularly one spanning about 10,000 km from London to Lagos is an initiative that usually takes between two to two and a half years to complete.
Furthermore, he said that because the cable passed through various territorial waters and jurisdictions of several African countries, Globacom had to contend with lengthy approval processes.“We needed so much permission from all those countries to pass the cable through their territorial waters. We needed approval from security agencies, approvals from oil companies and from various bodies”, he said.
Gleefully announcing the imminent change that will hit the sector, Mohammed stated that the Glo 1 would deliver transmission capacity that would radically change Nigeria and West Africa's economic landscape. Emphasizing that Glo-1 was another milestone in the history of Nigeria’s communications industry, he added that the cable would provide unprecedented high speed internet services and make telecom services much faster, more reliable and cheaper for consumers. This information from Mohammed is a good one because the problem of bandwidth is a problem that the nation had been grappling with for a long time.
Glo 1 is expected to provide the needed Opportunity for West African Countries and indeed Africa to leap forward economically through an excellent Communication network and a Cost effective voice, data, video and e-commerce services across Africa, Europe and rest of the world. It is also expected to enable the most comprehensive international communication services on the continent to bridge the digital divide between Nigeria/Africa and the Rest of the World. Paddy Adenuga pledged that it will offer 99.9 per cent up time reliability, World-class long distance voice, video and data communication services to the African customer. This is in addition to high speed and reliable data, voice and video connectivity to meet and support the large bandwidth requirements of direct consumers and other service providers. Amongst all other benefits of Glo-1 enumerated by Adenuga include free resources for other forms of investments, governments and business development needs through broad market coverage at high capacity and at a fraction of cost and time, as well as long term business Plans regarding communication strategies, and the facilitation of foreign investment and employment opportunities for Nigerians.
No doubt, Glo- will help assuage Nigerians hungry for Broadband Access. The benefits derived from mobile technology has whetted the appetite of the people for more. The benefits of Broadband everywhere in the country will accelerate development to unquantifiable levels. It will give a boost to productivity as people will be able to achieve more quickly and efficiently. In the area of medicine, the advantages of telemedicine newly introduced into the country will be consolidated for the benefits of rural folks. Economic benefits would accrue, allowing businesses to thrive as new frontiers are conquered. In the area of Education, elearning programmes would be easier to support. Socially, beneficial interactions will be enabled and a flexible working environment will make for a more productive and efficient workforce that will translate to a more vibrant economy.
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Agency reportsSeptember 13, 2009 06:53PMTSerena Williams is about to be investigated over an outburst that prompted her exit from the U.S. Open.Yahoo! Sports revealed yesterday that Williams will be asked to explain her actions toward a female line judge at the end of her semifinal defeat to Kim Clijsters on Saturday night.A source revealed that representatives from the tennis' governing body, the International Tennis Federation with members of the Grand Slam Committee, which oversees the four major tournaments were to convene along with U.S. Open referee, Brian Earley yesterday.The group is expected to review the video footage of the incident, seek clarification from the line judge and most likely hand down a heavy fine to Williams.A representative from the Women Tennis Association (WTA) Tour is also expected to be included, although the Tour does not have jurisdiction over Grand Slam events.Williams lost her cool after being called for a foot fault on a second serve while trailing 15-30 and 5-6 in the second set.Clijsters won the first set 6-4.Point to ClijstersThe call gave Clijsters a match point, but it was never played as Williams exploded into a verbal tirade at the line judge. According to the Associated Press, Williams screamed at the official, "If I could, I would take this ... ball and shove it down your ... throat," Williams said.The line judge then reported the comments to umpire Louise Engzell, as tournament referee Earley rushed on to the court. Williams was heard to yell again at the line judge, loudly insisting "I didn't say I would kill you. Are you serious? Are you serious? I didn't say that."A code violation was issued for unsportsmanlike conduct, which indicates that Williams was penalised a point, thereby ending the contest.
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Nig.e.ria is expected to get about $1.5 billion under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Special Drawing Rights scheme. The sum is broken into $1.3 billion under the general loan scheme and $218.6 million under the special rights scheme.
The facility is being offered under the IMF $283 billion Special Drawing Rights loan to strengthen liquidity in the global system. The move is in response to April's call by the G-20 to supplement the existing reserve assets of member nations to combat the negative impact of the global economic crisis,
Announcing the allocations to countries on Friday, the monetary fund, in a statement, said the facility would be released in tranches with an initial allocation of $250 billion, and will be subsequently followed by an additional $33 billion to be disbursed Wednesday, September 9. The allocations will significantly increase SDR's outstanding stock to about $316 billion.
About $110 billion of the combined allocations will go to the emerging market and developing countries, including over $20 billion to low-income countries, most of which currently face difficult spending decisions on how to handle the impact of the global crisis.
The SDR allocations, seen as IMF's strategy to boost member countries' foreign exchange reserves, to give them the impetus to weather the storm of global economic recession, is based on a long-term global need, to provide succour to low-income countries, like Nigeria.
Caroline Atkinson, IMF External Relations Director, explained that the loans were meant to provide access to unconditional financial resources to mitigate the need for adjustment through contractionary policies and allow greater scope for counter-cyclical policies in the face of recession and rising unemployment.
"The general SDR allocation is a key part of our response to the global crisis, demonstrating the value of a cooperative multilateral approach," Ms. Atkinson said, adding that despite a smaller number of SDRs going to the IMF's low-income members, the allocation would result in a proportionately higher increase in reserves for them than it will for the advanced economies, which already have a substantial cushion of reserves.
Under the voluntary trading arrangements, Atkinson urged individual member countries to be ready to trade the SDRs within certain limits, with the IMF acting as a voluntary broker charged with the responsibility of arranging transactions between prospective buyers and sellers.
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American singer Chris Brown has been sentenced to five years probation and six months hard labour.Reading the verdict in Los Angeles , Judge Patricia Schnegg said Brown is to perform the hard labour at the Commonwealth Catholic Charities in Richmond, Virginia where he must also take a 52-week domestic violence course.Brown who pleaded guilty to the charge of assault must stay 100 yards away from Rihanna, except under an entertainment plat form.The protective order is expected to last five years.
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Nigeria TribuneLanre Adewole, AbujaMonday, July 20, 2009THE Federal Government is said to have formally applied to the United States of America for the extradition of former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, in order to face trial in Nigeria for alleged fraud while in office.An eight-count charge of criminal conspiracy, abuse of office, misappropriation of N32 billion and allocation of land to associates and family members slammed on the former minister and two associates by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had also been pasted on his Abuja residence, as ordered by the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.The EFCC’s spokesperson, Mr Femi Babafemi, confirmed the pasting of the charge. The house is located at No. 12 Mambila Street, Maitama, Abuja.Nigerian Tribune gathered from a source that the commission routed its extradition request through the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mike Aondoaaka (SAN), who in turn reportedly forwarded the request to the relevant authorities in the United States under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty between the two countries.The commission’s request was received in the minister’s office penultimate Thursday. It could not be confirmed at the time of filing the report if the United States had communicated the Federal Government over the request.An International Treaty between Nigeria and United States of America empowers the anti-graft commission to extradite the embattled former minister using the instrumentality of the Nigerian government.The treaty entitled “TREATY BETWEEN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ON MUTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE IN CRIMINAL MATTERS” was signed at Washington on November 2, 1987.The introductory part states that “the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the government of the United States of America, hereinafter called the “Contracting Parties”.The provision of the Treaty which deals with deportation of nationals of the two contracting parties when such is required is under Article XVIII entitled “Information on Crimes, Arrests, Convictions, and Deportations”Meanwhile, following the commission’s inability to serve the charge on el-Rufai who is resident in the US, the commission asked the trial court for an order to have the charge pasted on his residence.Justice Adamu Bello last Thursday granted the request, though he said he believed that the former minister was aware of the charge which made him to engage the services of the former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Akinlolu Olujinmi SAN.When the matter came up on July 8, former General Manager of Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS) Altine Jubrin and former Director General Ismaila Iro who were also charged with the former minister were present.The judge fixed October 14 for el-Rufai’s plea. The commission had declared el-Rufai wanted over the alleged fraud. Nigerian Tribune gathered that el-Rufai has many petitions against him which the commission had been investigating, with a petition from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) said to be receiving top priority from the commission.Documents secured by the Nigerian Tribune had revealed an alleged conversion of 13 plots of land originally allocated in the Abuja Master Plan to the PHCN, for his family use, despite warnings from top civil servants in the ministry and construction giants, Julius Berger, which was reportedly given the contract to convert the plots for private use.The plots located in Asokoro Area D were allegedly distributed among himself, his wife and children.
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