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With Reports that have filtered in saying Lucky has been facing a serious Obesity Problem and recently his father The Esama of Benin aka "Igbins"was in the News for "enticing" INEC officials into Registering at his private residence.

The previously convicted former governor of Edo State, Chief Lucky Igbinedion has been declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) following fresh discoveries that he fraudulently diverted Edo State Government’s Afribank shares valued at $6.2 million (N961m) and government’s Access Bank Plc shares valued at $775, 000 (N120m) amongst others for his personal use.

we gathered that the anti-graft commission opened fresh investigations into the activities of the former governor after it received a petition from an indigene of the state.

“The new investigations involve a whopping N25 billion naira and Chief Lucky Igbinedion has refused to honour several invitations since December to answer to the charges,” a source at the anti-graft agency told we today..

He is also accused of fraudulently diverting more that N300 million naira of Edo State Government funds which he allegedly used to purchase a Sheraton Hotel in GRA Benin City.

Our source, who pled anonymity, said operatives have been mandated to seek and detain the former governor, who is believed to have gone underground to evade arrest.

Igbinedion is known to frequently shuttle between South Africa, Dubai, London and the United States.

The commission is expected to charge Igbinedion on Monday, January 31, 2010 and would ask INTERPOL to issue a red notice for his arrest worldwide if he fails to voluntarily surrender, the source said.

EFCC spokesman, Mr. Femi Babafemi confirmed that the agency had opened new investigations on Igbinedion and that the charges were different from the ones he pled guilty to in a Federal High Court in Enugu State in 2008, where he was fined a ridiculous N3.5 million naira on a one-count charge after an initial 191 count charge of fraud, theft, embezzlement and money laundering was amended.

The former governor was said to have gotten the lenient punishment following the backing he received from the disgraced former Attorney General and Minister of Justice Michael Andoakaa and the Yar’Adua government.

The EFCC however rejected the sentence and filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal but the matter has not witnessed any reasonable progress since 2008.

Lucky Igbinedion was unarguably one of Nigeria’s most corrupt governors with a very poor record of service delivery while he occupied the Edo State Government House for 8 years (1999-2007).

He allegedly acquired mansions in posh neighbourhoods in South Africa, Dubai, London, United States, Abuja and Benin City with funds meant for the development of his state.

The source said the commission would move for a Mareva injunction to freeze all the assets and funds traced to the politician while it tries to bring him to justice.

This article is part of our guide on how to use scalping techniques to trade forex. If you haven't already we recommend you read the first part of series on forex scalping.

As important as basic concepts like leverage and spreads are for forex scalpers, they are still secondary subjects in comparison to issues related to the broker, his attitude and preferences. Quite simply, the broker is the most important variable determining the possibility, and profitability of a scalping strategy for any trader. A scalper has control over his strategies, stop loss, or take profit orders, as well as his time frame for trading, but he has no say in matters such as server stability, spreads, and the attitude of the broker to scalping.

There are hundreds of brokers operating in the retail forex market today; naturally, each has a technical capability, and business model suitable to a different trader profile. These differences are immaterial to most long term traders, for swing traders they are meaningful but not that significant, but for day traders and scalpers they are the distinction between profit and loss. At the very basic level, the spread is a tax paid on profits and losses to the broker for his services, but the relationship goes a lot deeper than that. Let’s take a look at the various issues related to the scalper-broker relationship. (Once you've read this article make sure to stop by our forex broker review section to find more informations on the most popular retail forex brokers.)

Low Spreads

A trader who doesn’t use the scalping or day-trading strategies will open and close may be one or two positions, at most, in a single day. Although the cost of the spread is still an important variable, a successful trading style can easily justify the relatively small fees paid to the broker. The situation is quite different for the scalper however. Since the scalper will open and close tens of positions in a short period of time, the cost of his trades will be a very significant item on his balance sheet. Let’s see an example.

Suppose that a scalper opens and liquidates 30 positions on a day in the EURUSD pair, for which the spread is commonly 3 pips. Let’s also suppose that his trade sizes are constant, and that 2/3 of his positions are profitable, with an average of 5 pips profit per trade. Let’s also say that the average size of his loss is 3 pips per trade. What is his net gain/loss without the cost of the spread included?

(Positions in black) – (Positions in red) = Net profit/loss

(20*5)-(10*3) = 70 pips in total.

Which is a significant gain. Now let’s include the cost of the spread, and repeat the calculation.

(Positions in black) – (Positions in red + Cost of the Spread) = Net profit/loss

(20*5)-(10*3+30*3) = -20 pips in total.

A nasty surprise awaits our hypothetical trader in his account. The number of his profitable trades were twice the number of his losing ones, and his average loss was about half his average gain. And in spite of that remarkable track record, his scalping activity gained him a net loss. To break even, he would need an average net profit of 9 pips per trade, all else remaining the same.

Now let’s repeat the same calculation, with another hypothetical broker where the spread is just 1 pip in the EURUSD pair. The 5 pips per win, and 3 pips per loss (the same scenario which was examined in the beginning) with a one-pip spread would bring us an outcome of

(20*5)-(10*3+30*1) = 60 pips in total profit.

Why is there such a large discrepancy in our results? Although the numbers do speak for themselves, let’s remind the reader that while we earn money only on our profitable trades, we pay the broker for every position we open, profitable or not. And that is the problem.

In sum, we need to ensure that we choose the broker with the lowest spread for the currency pair we’d like to trade. A scalper must scrutinize the account packages of different brokers thoroughly before deciding to become a client of one of them.

Scalping Policy

What is a scalping policy? Although the majority of well-established firms with a history and a significant client base have an official policy of allowing scalpers freedom with their decisions, some brokers quite simply refuse to allow scalping techniques for clients. Others process client orders slowly, and make scalping an unprofitable endeavor. What is the reason?

In order to understand the cause of this, we should discuss how brokers net out their client’s positions before passing them to the banks. Supposing that a majority of a broker’s clients are losing money while trading, what would happen if at a time these losses were to reach such a large size that some triggered margin calls which could not be met? Since forex brokers are liable to liquidity provider banks for the profits or losses of their clients, they would have faced periodic crises of liquidity and even bankruptcy. In order to prevent such a situation from arising, brokers net-out the positions of clients by trading against them. That is, as a client opens a long position, the broker takes a short position, and vice versa. Since the result of two orders in the opposite direction is that the total exposure to the market is zero, the liquidity issue is resolved, and the firm is unimpacted by losses or profits in traders’ account.

But there’s a problem with this situation. We mentioned that the broker countertrades its clients’ positions, and what if the client makes a profit by closing a long position, for instance. The broker then has to close the short trade which had been opened to net out the trader’s long trade, and while doing so he incurs a loss. And well, isn’t this a great incentive for forex brokers to ensure that their clients are constantly losing money?

Well, not so much. First of all, most of the netting is done internally, where individual traders’ positions are netted out against each other without the broker having to commit any of its own funds. And the small remaining net position (the net long short or position that remains after the broker has netted out client orders against each other), is usually a losing position which can be counter-traded by the broker safely, because it is a well-established fact that the overwhelming majority of forex brokers lose money.

Now that we understand that scalping does not necessarily constitute a problem for a competent broker (just like the occasional winners are not problem for casinos), we are ready to understand why some brokers dislike scalpers so much. As we said, the broker needs to net out trader positions against each other to guarantee that its liability against banks is minimal. Scalpers disrupt that plan by entering trades all over the place, at awkward times, with difficult sizes which not only forces the broker to commit its own capital at times, but also ensures that the system is bombarded with crowded trades. Add to that the possibility that the broker’s servers are not exactly lightning-fast, or modern enough to cope with the rapid flow of orders, and there you have profitable scalpers as the worst nightmare of a broker with a slow outdated system. Since scalpers enter many small, rapid positions over a short period of time, an incompetent broker is unable to cover its exposure efficiently, and sooner or later kicks the trader out by terminating his account, or slows down his access to the system so much that the scalper has to leave by his own account, due to his inability to trade.

All this should make it clear that scalpers must trade with innovative, competent, and technologically alert brokers only, who possess the expertise and the technical capability to handle the large volume of orders arising from scalping activity. A no-dealing desk broker is almost a must for a scalper. Since trades are mostly automated in the system of a no-dealing desk(NDD) broker, there is little risk of external tampering as the system is left to sort out client orders on its own (still profitable of course).

Strong technical tools

Scalping involves technical trading. In the very short time frames preferred by scalpers, fundamentals have no impact on trading. And when they do have, market reaction to them is erratic and entirely unpredictable. As such, a sophisticated technical package which supplies an adequate number of technical tools is a clear necessity for any scalper.

In addition, since the trader will spend a considerable amount of time gazing at the screen, reading quotes, opening and closing positions, it is a good idea to choose an interface that is not too wearying on the eyes. A bright, graphically intense platform may be pleasant to use and look at at first, but after long hours of intense concentration, the visual appeal will be more of a burden than a benefit.

Also, a platform that allows the simultaneous display of multiple time frames can be very useful for a scalper as he monitors price movements on the same screen. Although scalping involves short term trading, awareness of the price action on longer timeframes can be beneficial for money management, and strategical planning.

No slippage, no misquotes, timely execution

We have mentioned in the section on brokers’ scalping policies that a scalper must always seek a competent, modern broker in order to ensure that his trading style and practices are welcome. But timely execution, and precise quotes are also important for ensuring that a trader can profit with a scalping strategy. Since the scalper trades many times in the short time frame of an hour, he must receive timely, correct quotes on a system which allows rapid reaction...

If there’s slippage, the scalper will be unable to trade most of the time. If there are misquotes, he will suffer losses so often that trading will be impractical. And we should not neglect the emotional pressures which will be caused by such a stressful, difficult, and inefficient trading environment either. Scalping is already a burdensome activity on one’s nerves, and we should not agree to suffer the added trouble of broker incompetence on top of all the other problems which we have.

To conclude this section, we’ll add that scalping is a high-intensity technical trading method which requires a highly competent and efficient broker with state-of-the-art tools. Anything less will diminish your profits, and increase your problems.

Seven Chinese men have been arrested for oil theft by officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, at the Federal Housing Authority, Diamond Estate, Isheri area of Lagos State, South West Nigeria.

P.M.NEWS gathered that they were arrested at Road 20, block 11 of the estate after a thorough search was carried out on their apartment which led to the discovery of seven drums fill with refined fuel scooped from an oil well in the area.

The suspected culprits are Lu Di Sheng, Lu Yun Di, Guan Ping Man, Wang Dong, Cheng Chao, Li Xia Tao and Yang Zhao Ye.

The suspects were arrested around 3.00 pm on Thursday and detained at the NSCDC Headquarters, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

The raid and arrest of the suspects was led by the Assistant Commander General, NSCDC, Lagos Command, Mr. Samuel Onyemachi.

Public Relations Officer, NSCDC, Lagos Command, Mrs. Folashade Vera-Cruz told P.M.NEWS that the suspects would be handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, today for prosecution.

According to her, the suspected vandals were scooping fuel from the oil well in the area and had successfully fill seven drums through a hole dug in their compound where they passed a pipe to connect the oil well and then scoop the fuel.

She stated that the anti-vandal squad of the command acted on a tip off and carried out a survey on the area and discovered that an oil well was in the area.

“While our men were surveying the area, they heard that there was a well filled with PMS and our men decided to go there. On getting to the estate, they used a bowl to fetch the fuel from the well and found out that it was pure PMS.

“They decided to carry out a search in some of the apartments close to the oil well. When they got to the flat where the Chinese live, they saw that it was very dirty. Our men were made to know that the Chinese import generators and as we searched the house, we discovered seven drums filled with pure PMS which led to their arrest,” she explained.

Security Chairman of the estate, Alhaji Yusuf Abdulhadir told P.M.NEWS that he was in the house when he was informed that some Chinese men living in the estate had been arrested.

“For a very long time, we have been having fuel smelling in our estate and residents in the estate have not been able to use their boreholes because of the fuel except those who dunged very dip into the ground.

“Behind our estate is a swamp and last December, there was fire outbreak behind the estate and it took the intervention of NNPC officials and fire servicemen from the Lagos State Government to put out the fire,” he said.

According to him, “70 percent of residents of the estate could not use their boreholes because of the contamination by fuel. These Chinese men living near the swamp dig holes where they scoop fuel.

“When we approached the NNPC about the fuel problem in our estate, they told us that the vandalisation of their pipeline 15 years ago led to oil spill in the area and that it will take some time before the spillage will go,” he stated....

He said it was very common to discover fuel in the area after digging a little, adding that even while digging for gutter, fuel was always discovered.

However, one of the suspects, Yang Zhao Ye told P.M.NEWS that only four of them lived in the house and that the other three were their visitors.

He confessed that fuel was found in drums in their apartment which led to their arrest and detention.

— Kazeem Ugbodaga

FCT - Former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, is officially fed up. Reports reaching wazobiareports can confirm that the former General has officially sacked his “jazzman”.

A series of events involving Gen Obasanjo have led him to believe that he is paying the herbalist in question, for nothing.

Sources within the Obasanjo camp have confirmed to wazobiareport that the recent airport assault on the former General, and the public dispute with the former Gov of Ekiti state, has left the General physically shaken and irritated.

The source further stated that the former president has taken active steps to curtail the problem by firing his current herbalist and proceeding to India for “proper cooking”.

“You know that Baba must protect himself against all these enemies of progress around. If the Nigerian jazzman cannot keep little rats like Ayo Fayose away, then he has to turn to India,” the source said.

It is also being widely speculated that the former president may have challenged the former Ekiti State Gov to a second round of hostilities...

Eager to show off his newly imported Indian charms, pundits believe that the ex president will use the rematch to send a strong message to all “enemies of progress.”

A considerable amount of skepticism still remains as to the potency of Obasanjo’s jazz against that of Fayose.

Many believe that for Fayose to have been able to confront the former president in the way he did, he must have been packing some mad heat.

“Ayo must have been carrying something from either Bangladesh or Liberia for him to be able to confront Obasanjo like that without fear,” said a charms consultant.

Only time will reveal which man holds the stronger recipe and hence, greater political influence in the upcoming elections.

It was surprise galore on Thursday at the Ogun State Police Command Headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta, when a 15-year-old boy, Wasiu Odunewu confessed that he cut off the head of the immediate younger brother of his father, Odunewu Ojo and sold it for N8,000...



The suspect confessed that he was forced to commit the crime due to financial constraints. "It was a week to the just concluded Ileya festival and I needed money to buy clothes and to entertain my friends. So when my friend brought the 'business', I quickly accepted it to raise money for the festival."

Police source at the Eleweran told Sunday Tribune that the suspects have confessed to the crime and investigations on the matters would soon be completed. The suspects - Wasiu Odunewu, Toibu Babalola, 23 and Shakiru Tiamiyu, 17 - are currently cooling their feet in one of the cells at Eleweran..

Speaking on what led them into the crime, one of the suspects, Toibu Babalola told Sunday Tribune that It was his immediate elder brother, Yusuff Babalola that requested that he should help him get a human head. "It was about a week to Ileya festival, I cannot remember the exact date when my brother came to our village from Lagos. He told me that I should help him get a human head, either fresh or dry. He promised to pay any amount. My brother is working in Lagos. When he gave me the assignment, I told him to give me sometime. I contacted my friend, Wasiu Odunewu about it and he (Wasiu Odunewu) agreed to get it at the cost of N10,000.00. I called my brother on his mobile phone to inform him about the development and he agreed to pay N10,000. To carry out the deal, Wasiu also informed his other friend, Shakiru Tiamiyu about the deal. So, we all agreed to carry out the assignment."

On how they carried out the deal, Toibu told Sunday Tribune that it was agreed among three of them that it would be very difficult to get a fresh human skull and that since the alleged receiver, Yusuff Babalola was not keen on whether the head should be fresh or dry, it was agreed that the suspects should dig a grave and cut off the head. Wasiu quickly suggested that he would lead them (suspects) to the grave of his uncle "when we agreed to carry out the assignment, Wasiu told us he would lead us to where his uncle Odunewu Ojo was buried. The three of us - Wasiu, Toibu and Shakiru left for their village in Debari in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State. We carried out the assignment in the night around 9.00 pm. But before then, we had gone to the burial site in the afternoon to survey the area. When we went to cut the head, we dug the ground and quickly remove the head and to avoid suspicions we covered the grave and left."

The suspect, Toibu told Sunday Tribune that immediately he got the head, he called his brother to come for it. "After carrying out the deal, I called my brother and he came from Lagos to take the head. He gave me N8,000 and I gave the money to Wasiu. He shared it with his friend, Shakiru. My brother must have used the head for the ritual he wanted to perform."

How they were arrested by the Police, Sunday Tribune learnt that some people in the community noticed that the grave had been tampered with and they raised alarm. They contacted the father of one of the suspects. The family of the dead man went to a traditionalist whom employing charms, the suspects confessed to the crime.

Also speaking and how they were nabbed. Wasiu, told Sunday Tribune saying, "You see, on the day of the operation, we went to the burial site of that my uncle in the afternoon and some people saw us. So, when they saw that the grave had been tampered with, I became the first suspect. The people in the community told my daddy about it and he brought out a charm and told me to tell him everything I knew about the missing head. At that point, I told him that I was responsible for it. He was very sad about it because, the head was that of his immediate younger brother whom he was fond of while alive. My father later invited the Police and I was arrested. I later gave the Police all the necessary information that led to the arrest of my colleagues."

All the suspects explained that they used the money realised from the deal to take care of the ileya festival expenses. "The deal came at a time I needed money for Ileya festival, so when he brought the idea, I could not resist it," Wasiu said.

The Kano State Police Command has dismissed two

constables who abducted and raped a 16-year-old girl for one month, and demoted the police inspector who connived in the crime. Photo:The Kano state governor, Ibrahim Shekarau and the Inspector General of police, Afeez Ringim. A 16-year-old girl was abducted by the some policemen who were on night patrol in Kano city and used as sex slave for about 28 days. Photo: NEXT

The state's Police Commissioner, Muhammad Tambari Yabo said the dismissed policemen, Yusuf Ibrahim and Salisu Mahmud were found to be the prime suspects in the rape case, while Mohammed Dantalle, the inspector, was demoted for his complicity.

Mr Yabo said the three policemen were tried and found guilty at orderly room level. He said that he personally reviewed the outcome of the orderly room trial and handed them the punishment.

He also said plans are afoot to send the case diary to the state's Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for professional advice in prosecuting the three men.

On the civilian collaborators said to be linked with the crime, the commissioner said information available to the police showed that they have fled to Lagos and Ibadan. He said the command had already declared them wanted and circulated their photographs in those areas for easy apprehension.

Mr Yabo said the three civilians actively took part in the alleged crime alongside the policemen, and there will be no hiding place for them because soon the law will catch up with them.

"We will continue to do our work with the fear of God," he said. "We hope that the measures taken against the cops will help address the concern being raised by members of the public since the matter came to limelight last month."

The 16-year-old girl, name withheld, was abducted by some policemen who were on night patrol in Kano city. She was subsequently kept in captivity for 28 days inside a room at Kwali Police Station where she was serially raped....

A horror story

The teenager, who said she was a virgin before the incident, explained that one of the policemen who abducted her proceeded to give her to other men who also raped her and paid him for it. According to her, the policemen often used their official patrol vehicle to take her to the patrons.

Narrating her ordeal, the teenager recalled that she got on a motorcycle from Unguwa Uku, with the intention of returning home to Yakasai quarters after visiting her mother.

Her mother has been married to another man since the death of her father and she makes it a duty to visit her mother from the house of her grandparents in Yakasai.

She said while on her way home, the commercial motorcycle rider spotted a team of policemen on patrol a few metres ahead of them. It was still around 9pm. However, knowing that his motorcycle had no headlamp, the motorcyclist turned off his engine and pushed the bike until they got past the police.

"But as we got to the policemen, they asked him why he was moving with a girl," she said. "He replied that the motorcycle developed a problem. They now asked him if it still has fuel and he answered yes. One of the policemen collected the key from him and started the bike and thereafter challenged him for riding without light."

The policemen asked the motorcyclist to ride on and leave her behind. They told him they were going to take her home in their patrol vehicle and also asked her to go and wait for them in the police car.

She pleaded with the policemen to allow her to go home because she was sleepy. After keeping her until 2am, they drove with her into their barracks in Kwalli area where they locked her in a room and went away. She said Mr Yusuf later came in with a gun and threatened to kill her if she shouts, before proceeding to rape her.

"He threatened that if I didn't shut my mouth, he was going to shoot me with the gun. He slapped me and tore my shirt and pointing a gun to my face," she said.

A sex slave

She said she was later repeatedly raped by Mr. Yusuf and two other policemen, Dantalle and Salisu Dansanda, as well as three civilians, Shehu, Misbahu Mohammed and Sanusi Pele.

She added that she was even taken to an Indian hemp dealer and some other persons who raped her and paid the policemen some money afterwards. They came back to pick her up with the police patrol van the next day.

The teenager said during her 28-day captivity, apart from Mr Yusuf whom she said turned her into a sex-slave, each of the two policemen and the three civilians serially raped her and mostly without using condom.

She disclosed that when she managed to escape from her captors three weeks ago, her uncle went with her the next day to report at Kwalli police station. But the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the station begged the relatives to forgive his men and let the matter die.

The grandfather, who rejected the position of the DPO, instructed her brothers to take the matter up with the Hisbah, the state shari'ah law enforcement agency.

The secretary of the Hisbah board, Sunusi Salisu Aliyu, said when Mr. Yusuf was invited by his men for questioning and admitted abducting the girl but denied raping her.

"We wonder how the policeman failed to provide an answer as to why the police chose to hide a person they picked during patrol in a private room instead of registering her at the counter," Mr Aliyu said.

Calls for prosecution

The family said it has been under pressure by some police officers to abandon the case.

The Kano office of the Legal Aid Council has, through its coordinator, Nurudeen Ishola, said it is going to wade into the matter and take the girl's plight up with the Kano State Attorney General.

The National Human Rights Commission had also expressed concern at reports that policemen had tried to suppress evidence in the case, including attempting to persuade the victims' parents to abandon the case.

Renowned Islamic scholar, Tijjani Bala Kalarawi condemned the act and called on the authority not to only dismiss the officers but to take them to the court where the teenager can be compensated.

"This world is full of evil men," he said. "You can imagine people saddled with the responsibility of protecting the citizens would now deviate and carry out such bad act. It is a pity that this can happen in our society; these people must be brought to book to serve as a deterrent to others."

A group of concerned persons in Kano had also addressed the media, demanding the immediate trial of the suspected rapists.

The group, led by a lawyer, Abdulla Imam, called on both the state and the federal government to prosecute the accused persons. He said a group of lawyers were working together in respect of the case and vowed to pursue it until justice is done.

Former Minister of Petroleum Resources Prof. Tam David-West yesterday criticised President Goodluck Jonathan for kneeling down to receive blessings from the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye.

David-West said: "I ‘m forced to react very negatively to President Jonathan kneeling down to be blessed by Pastor Adeboye pointedly for election 2011.

"President Jonathan has not gone to the Congress to be so advertised, except now. There is no record available to me that he has been there for any of the revivals. I respect Pastor Adeboye. He is one of the serious ones of the multitude of new evangelists sprouting like mushrooms on the field. I’m sure the great pastor knows that I respect him and I have evidence for it. But his picture (showing him kneeling down and being blessed by Pastor Adeboye) publicised by many newspapers today offends my fundamental Anglicanism. .

" Nigeria is a secular state. We have two major religions – Christianity and Islam. Will Jonathan also go to an Imam to kneel down to be blessed? This is where he has run foul of the Constitution. I’m not against any Christian going to a pastor to be blessed with a caveat that I hope the person who is blessing is chosen and anointed by God because the Bible says God knows who worships Him sincerely. "

" What Nigeria needs for 2011 and beyond are leaders who sincerely believe in God and because of this belief in God they live uprightly. Nigeria needs leaders of integrity, discipline not corrupt. Without these ingredients for god governance, God will not hear the prayer of corrupt politicians. "

I think He should find out how many Imams & Alfa's IBB and Co. have knelt down before. Then he should shut up !

For the first time, a Nigerian artiste came clean on the financial value of his album. "This is not to prove any point, it's only to inspire someone that we are doing this. Mr Abhu can you step up please" said M.I, and with that intro, CEO Abhu ventures, a strong force in .the Alaba 'conglomerate' presented a N20million cheque to M.I in exchange for distribution rights to his MI2 album through out West Africa. - Vanguard Newspapers

I remember sitting in Mr. Kayode’s geography class in secondary school, an atlas in hand looking at political boundaries; countries way beyond my reach. “I will reach the North Pole,” I often said to friends and family, oblivious to the fact that I was sitting in tropical sub-Saharan Africa and had never seen snow at that time.

Never in my wildest thoughts would I have imagined realizing my specific childhood dream was a few votes and judges away.

Reaching the Arctic Circle seemed a precursor; this imaginary line I’d only traced fingers across on a map. Over the summer, I took a road trip along Sweden’s eastern coast towards the Arctic Circle with my parents.

We finally arrived unceremoniously at the “sign”. Getting out of the car, Mom casually tossed her black scarf over her shoulders, sunglasses resting on her face.

“Where is it?” she asked.

“This is it,” I responded.

“The Arctic Circle?” She wasn’t sure..

“Yes!”

“But where is the thing?” She prodded.

“There is no ‘thing’. It’s an imaginary line.” I tried to explain.

“Hmm…Ok then, let’s get back in quickly before a moose gets us…”

--

As an experienced travel writer, blogger, and photographer, documenting our polar expedition exceptionally through engaging narrative reports and vivid photography will be an absolute honor and once-in-a-lifetime experience for me and Quark Expeditions.

The wind will bellow in an eerie yet welcoming fashion. Frigid waves will trash against the ice breaker, intimidating yet slowly guiding us north. We will sail past dramatic towers of icebergs, awe struck. Whales will surface to observe us visitors, ensuring we proceed reverently. Voyeuristically taking in fluffy white polar bears and corduroy brown walruses through my lens, a glimpse into the wonders of our world will be offered up.

I will blog, tweet, photograph, Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Facebook like crazy too...sharing our incredible expedition through social and traditional media outlets with everyone who dares to dream beyond the status quo.

I will scribble "epiphanies" into a spanking new journal, filling pages with dreams and experiences leading up to this grand moment.

Finally landing on centuries-old ice at the top of the world, I will scream at the top of my lungs… “I’m a loooong way from Africa!”

Please cast your fair and honest vote to fulfill this once unreachable dream.

http://www.blogyourwaytothenorthpole.com/entries/15

They closed down the 3rd Mainland Bridge. All because a book of the president's Facebook quotes was being launched..

The president's Facebook quotes!

I don't want to go into the argument about the value of a compilation of Facebook quotes, but I must ask what they will add to the body of knowledge, and why the launch of such a book should be turned into such a humongous event?

For the record, 3rd Mainland Bridge at 12km is the longest bridge on the continent. Because of the number of areas in Lagos that can be accessed through that bridge, it services over a million people each day. The traffic on that bridge has actually gone up slightly since the road works at the Orile axis began. Driving at a constant 100km/h on that bridge will take you across it in 12 minutes. Now imagine the hell that people went through yesterday simply because of a political gimmick?

My anger however is not directed at Goodluck Jonathan. In my view, this event shows that he is absolutely no different from the politicians around him, and the vast majority of those who came before him. My anger is directed at Nigerians.

Why are we so tame?

When I complained about this incident on the Internet, a friend of mine admonished me that since he is president it is his right to close down traffic. Did I not grow up in Nigeria?.

Which leader has not done this before? Good question. My reply to that friend would be the fact that previous Nigerian leaders (most of them military dictators) did it, does not make it right? Why do we as a people have this really annoying tendency of defending what is wrong simply because other people are doing it or have done it before?

Being that this friend of mine lived in the UK for some years, I would point him to the outcry that followed Tony Blair. When returning from a trip to the US in 2006, Mr. Blair's driver decided to avoid traffic by driving on a bus lane! People screamed, Mr. Blair paid the fine and it did not happen again.

That, my people, is a leader who (at least on the surface), panders to the wishes of the electorate who voted him in.

They have been criticising Jonathan for kneeling before God and now saying it is a political gimmick .

The Man is not the messiah neither is he a mess ! Our Take on this on 9jabook..

It takes guts for a man with so much power to go before another man whom he apparently has power over and ask for the blessings of a being whom he cannot see but whom we know exists . If a man with such Power can do this he must be aware of the consequnces of using it as  political gimmick .Jonathan is not the messiah but he is better than the mess of panderers, atikus and so called freedom activists whose agenda has long ben exposed. Buhari i wish for but he wont win. he knows it .it is bw atiku & Goodluck .

Ladies PLEASE your Lives are literally in your HANDS ! USE Them, BREAST CANCER IS NOT A RESPECTER OF PERSONS !

The Comrade Governor of Edo State, Mr. Adams Oshiomole has reportedly lost his wife of many years, Mrs. Clara Oshiomole to breast Cancer. the woman who was last seen in public
some months back, died of the disease according to a source.

.Mrs. Clara Oshiomole, the wife of GovernorAdams Oshiomhole of Edo State has passed on. Vanguard uncovered that the deceased died after a battle with breast cancer.

Further inquest divulged that she died this morning, in Abuja with only about some days to her daughter’s wedding.

The 54 year old Edo First Lady had abstained from public functions because she was receiving treatment overseas and only returned to Nigeria some days ago for the daughter’s wedding slated for 19th of December .

Sadly as Liz Edwards below there are rumours of separation with the Comrade Governor before her passing.May her Soul Rest in Peace .

Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former presidential candidate, succumbs to cancer at 61

Elizabeth Edwards, who as the wife of former Sen. John Edwards gave America an intimate look at a candidate's marriage by sharing his quest for the 2008 presidential nomination as she struggled with incurable cancer and, secretly, with his infidelity, died Tuesday. She was 61.

Her family confirmed the death, saying Mrs. Edwards was surrounded by relatives when she died at her Chapel Hill, N.C., home. A family friend said John Edwards was present. Two family friends said Monday that Mrs. Edwards' cancer had spread to her liver and that doctors had advised against further medical treatment.

She posted a Facebook message to friends the same day, saying, "I have been sustained throughout my life by three saving graces — my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope."

"The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that," she added.

Mrs. Edwards spent much of her life as a little-known lawyer and mother. That changed when her husband became a U.S. senator, presidential candidate and Democratic nominee for vice president, propelling her into the spotlight as a smart, plain-spoken wife and key adviser to her husband.

She later became a figure of sympathy as she battled breast cancer and dealt with her husband's infidelity. Her public image shifted again in recent years: the scorned woman whose husband fathered a child with another woman.

She and John Edwards separated early this year but remained close.

Nominees announced for FIFA Ballon d’Or gala 2010

The contenders for this year’s FIFA Ballon d’Or award for the best player of 2010 and for the FIFA Women’s WorldPlayer of the Year 2010 award were announced on Monday during a pressconference held at the headquarters of the sports daily L’Equipe in Paris, inwhich Jérôme Valcke, FIFA Secretary General, François Morinière, CEO of FranceFootball, Jean-Pierre Papin, a former winner of the Ballon d’Or, and ChristianKarembeu, a member of FIFA’s Football Committee, took part.

In alphabetical order, the male nominees are Andrés Iniesta (Spain), Lionel Messi (Argentina) and Xavi (Spain), whileFatmire Bajramaj (Germany), Marta (Brazil) and Birgit Prinz (Germany) willcontest the women’s award.

The candidates for the newly created FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men’s Football award and the FIFA World Coachof the Year for Women’s Football award were also announced. The contenders arethe following: Vicente del Bosque (Spain/Spanish national team), Pep Guardiola(Spain/FC Barcelona) and José Mourinho (Portugal/FC Internazionale and RealMadrid CF) in the men’s category, and Maren Meinert (Germany/German U-20national team) Silvia Neid (Germany/German national team) and Pia Sundhage(Sweden/USA national team) in the women’s category...

All of these nominees were confirmed after a poll in which the captains and head coaches of the men’s and women’snational teams as well as international media representatives selected byFrance Football voted for candidates. The votes from each of the three groupscounted for one-third to obtain the final result.

The winners will be revealed at the first FIFA Ballon d’Or gala as part of a televised ceremony at the ZurichKongresshaus on 10 January 2011, during which the FIFA FIFPro World XI and theFIFA Puskás Award for the most beautiful goal of the year will also beannounced for the second year running. The online vote for fans on FIFA.com forthe FIFA Puskás Award has now reached the 1 million vote landmark, with oneweek to go until the poll closes at noon CET on 13 December. The FIFAPresidential Award and the FIFA Fair Play Award will also be presented duringthe gala.

FIFA.COM