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12166301491?profile=originalPresident Goodluck Ebele Jonathan yesterday made history when he ordered that henceforth, females interested in becoming combatant officers for the Nigerian armed forces should be admitted into the Nigeria Defence Academy.

Minister of Defence, Adetokumbo Kayode who made the disclosure at a media briefing in Abuja, said, though the issue had been under consideration by the military high command for sometime, President Jonathan took the decision to start it immediately because it is the right thing adding that "Other countries in Africa are already doing it and they are not better than us".
Photos: Are of US Female Soldier Lavena Johnson who was Raped/Murdered in the barracks in strange circumstances.Will The "Men" who beat their wives in the 9ja Army allow this to become a norm instead of a "killing" ground of our women ? 

We remember the allegation that the 9ja Army fathered upto a whopping 250,000 kids during the Liberian conflict !



Main Story:
"Presently, we have female armoured tank drivers, female Para-troopers, Jumpers, and so on. We will follow international best practices in this regards. We want to have strong, virile armed forces devoid of discrimination".

Expatiating on the new directive, the minister said, "As you are all aware, the Nigerian Armed forces had always had opening for female officers. However, these have always been limited to non combat duties thereby limiting their career path irrespective of their competence or skill".

"To redress this obvious anomaly and in line with conviction of the President that every Nigerian irrespective of Gender or any affiliation should be given equal opportunity to excel in his or her chosen field of life, Mr. President has directed the immediate enlistment and training of female regular combatant commission officers into the Nigerian armed forces".

"The training of the female regular combatant cadets along with their male counterparts will be at the NDA, Kaduna where they will pass out with a degree in a chosen academic field and a regular combatant commission into the Nigerian Armed forces".

The minister continued, "As you might already know, we have various types of commission in the armed forces namely; Regular Combatant Commission, Short Service Combatant Commission, Direct Regular Commission, Direct Short Service and Executive Commission. Of all these types of commissions, it is only the Regular Combatant Commission that can give an officer the opportunity to aspire to head any of the services or rise to become the Chief of Defence staff".

"It is in this consideration that the Presidential directive was given in other to provide the female officers the same opportunity of rising to the pinnacle of their profession. This directive is also aimed at providing women, career opportunities that would allow them to compete with their male counterparts for the highest offices in the military".12166302064?profile=original

"The female regular combatant officers will therefore have the opportunity, as their male counterparts, to command major units of the army, fly fighter jets of the Airforce and to be seamen officers who could command a combat going vessel of the Nigerian Navy", the minister said..

Reacting to a question, he said, “there will be no discrimination with regard to training. The same standard will be applied to both male and female intakes. There will no gender issues involved as it will be strictly be in compliance with NDA statutes”.

 

LaVena Johnson (July 27, 1985 - July 19, 2005) was a Private First Class in the United States Army whose death, officially ruled a suicide, has attracted international attention amid claims she was raped and murdered. She was the first female soldier from Missouri to die in Iraq.


Johnson's death was officially ruled a suicide by the Department of Defense. However, her father became suspicious when he saw her body in the funeral home and decided to investigate. The Army initially refused to release information, but did so under the Freedom of Information Act after Representative William Lacy Clay, Jr. raised questions about it at the congressional hearings over Pat Tillman's death.[3]
The autopsy report and photographs revealed Johnson had a broken nose, black eye, loose teeth, burns from a corrosive chemical on her genitals, and a gunshot wound that seemed inconsistent with suicide. Several reporters have suspected that the chemical burns were to destroy DNA evidence of a rape

 

Previously:

Amnesty International Report on 9gerian (sic) Soldiers

 

women despoiled by police and army

"Disturbing trends of despoil and sexual violence against women and girls at the hands of police and security forces" have been revealed in Nigeria. Some security forces act as if they were entitled to despoil local women, and they are sure never to face justice.

"There were three men. I have pain even today… they used my daughter too. She is 12 years old… They also despoiled my sister. Another man despoiled a woman who was 4 months pregnant and she lost the child…they were military men. Everyone in the village saw them, they didn't hide, they didn't care. I didn't tell the police because I fear them."

This is one of the testimonies presented at a press conference in Lagos, Nigeria, today by the human rights group Amnesty International. The testimony is part of a report on sexual abuse of women by Nigerian security forces, which according to Amnesty could almost be termed systematic.

despoil by police and security forces is endemic in Nigeria as is the abject failure of the Nigerian authorities to bring perpetrators to justice, the human rights group said at the press conference. They called on Nigeria's federal and State authorities to urgently overhaul the legal and social systems that tolerate widespread despoil and sexual violence against women and girls across the country.

Amnesty launched the report "Nigeria: despoil - the silent weapon", which draws upon the testimony of survivors and "identifies disturbing trends of despoil and sexual violence against women and girls at the hands of police and security forces." The report argues that these acts are compounded and encouraged by failures at every level of the judicial system and persist because of consistent failure by the state to tackle the abuse of women and girls by the police and security forces.

Whether abused by police, security forces or in their homes and community, the report outlines the enormous difficulties faced by women and girls who are despoiled or sexually abused in Nigeria.

"The harsh reality is that if you are a woman or a girl in Nigeria who has suffered the terrible experience of being despoiled, your suffering is likely to be met with intimidation by the police, indifference from the state and the knowledge that the perpetrator is unlikely to ever face justice," said Kolawole Olaniyan of Amnesty.

At the press conference, there was further presented evidence of the use of despoil and sexual slavery by the Nigerian security forces "to intimidate communities in the Niger Delta." The oil-rich but impoverished Delta has fallen into violence as local rebels fight for a greater part of oil revenues to be channelled to the region.

The group further outlined how despoil is used by the police as a means of torture to extract confessions from suspects in custody and how women and girls rarely seek prosecution for fear of intimidation by the police and rejection by their families and community. When they do, widespread failures throughout the judicial system result in only an estimated 10 percent of cases ever being successfully prosecuted.

The report outlines serious obstacles to the reporting and prosecution of despoil in Nigeria, including inadequate training of police that results in the humiliation and intimidation of the victims and police investigations hampered by corruption and incompetence. On the legislative level, differences between federal, state, Shari'a and customary law lead to uneven standards of justice and arbitrary decisions concerning the seriousness of the crime.

"Our report depicts the near total failure of the Nigerian state to protect women and girls from these terrible crimes. The Nigerian government has taken no meaningful action to translate its international legal obligations towards woman and girls into national law, policy and practice. It is now time that the state and federal authorities meet those obligations and offer real security and justice to women and girls in Nigeria," Ms Olaniyan said
.

 

 


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A lot of people remember Eric Obuh also known as Vocal Slender a native of Delta State. Vocal Slender was a scavenger turned aspiring artist that was featured on BBC documentary “Welcome to Lagos” last year April. It has been almost one year since the showed aired and his fan base and popularity has skyrocketed. I actually met him through a friend that was working with him in order to help him out of his current situation. When I spoke to Vocal slender I was in admiration of his good spirit, but was saddened to find out many of the future developments we all thought was going to take place actually never came into reality. To find out if his life changed for the better read this interview.

 

How were you picked to be on the BBC documentary?

 

I was in the dump entertaining my friends, a lot of the guys were dancing to my song, among the crowd were some white men, they walked up and told me that they will like to film me working and singing that is how they began filming me for the documentary.

 

Did you think the BBC documentary accurately showcase your life?

 

Yes, the documentary did. They were able to introduce me to the world.

 

What happened with CokoBar , are you guys still working together?

 

I no longer work with CokoBar because he is not truthful. He made a lot of promises but he didn't keep them. He promised that he will give me 400 pounds, he promised a remix of my song ( owo ti ya pa) with Wande Coal,and also promised a musical video. The music video wasn't of good quality so they couldn't air it. Even after my performance in Manchester he didn't pay me, and I know that they paid him.

 

Has your life improved since being on the BBC?

 

Life is so hard now, I don't have a house of my own to sleep, I stay with friend, and sometimes it gets so difficult I feel like I am killing myself to live.  I hope that sooner or later my life will change for the better. If I was able to travel to London with CokoBar and was signed on to a label, my life would have improved by now, when I was in the dump I never begged to eat, but now I beg to eat. All the information that CokoBar put out on the internet was to make people believe he has done so much for me, but he never lived up to the promises he made.

 

 

How has your music career grown since being on the documentary?

 

First, I thank GOD for all he has done for me, the documentary has helped my career. Some of my friends who saw what I was going through have decide to help me with my music. Now my music is being played on all radio stations. If not for the documentary I would have still been working on the dump site by now.

 

What are some future developments for your music?

 

I would like to release my album, and set up a studio so my brothers can work on there songs, and a record label.

 

How can the Nigerians support your efforts in the music industry?

 

They can help me by giving me advice, by encouraging me, by helping me get on different shows, and by telling the world my story. All I need now is there support, so that I will not go back to the dump, I feel I have let all my friends in the dump down, because they believe if I make it they too can make it, but I know my GOD will not let me down.

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Inspired by Bollywood musicals and Brazilian soap operas, the Nigerian film industry is now the second largest in the world

Die-hard fans have known for some time that the Nigerian film industry is truly unique, but even they may be surprised to discover just how big – and lucrative – it has become..

A new festival, Nollywood Now, takes place in London from 6-12 October and is the first major event to celebrate the second largest film industry in the world. Its chief aim is to draw wider attention to the success and popularity the films enjoy across Europe, and particularly the UK.

Nollywood makes about 2,400 films per year, putting it ahead of the US, but behind India, according to a Unesco report last year. Nigerian film-makers tend to operate in a fast and furious manner; shoots rarely last longer than two weeks, cheap digital equipment is almost always used and the average budget is about $15,000 (£9,664). The finished products often bypass cinemas altogether and are instead sold directly to the “man on the street” for about $1.50 (£1). Most films shift between 25,000 and 50,000 copies globally – although a blockbuster can easily sell up to 200,000.

So, what exactly is it about the films that resonates so much with their audience? For all of their populist appeal, Nigerian films are very rooted in local concerns, according to Nollywood Now’s creative director, Phoenix Fry: “Many of the films have looked at how traditional beliefs co-exist with Islam and Christianity, Nigeria‘s main religions,” he says. “There are some superb sequences using quite simple video effects to transform aunties into demons, or show evil animal spirits being driven out from the possessed.”

This view is shared by Nigerian director and producer, Ade Adepegba, whose feature film Water Has No Enemy, explores corruption in his native country: “Nigerians are the largest group of Africans living in the UK, and the majority of them live in London,” he says. “Nigerian films still hold their strongest appeal to first generation immigrants who feel a deep attachment to their homeland. So, at the moment nostalgia is the main reason for the appeal of Nollywood.”
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flood%202.jpg

People crossing the flooded area through a wooden bridge from Ajiliti to Mile 12 area. Inset: Okada riders waiting for passengers. Photos: Sylvester Okoruwa

The recent flood that rendered a lot of Lagosians homeless, destroying property worth millions of naira, impoverished the victims, as reported by OWONIBI AYOMIDE.

THE Foursquare Gospel Church in Agiliti a suburb in Mile 12 still stands solidly on its foundation. Though the church is painted white to signify purity, the white paint is gradually peeling away, revealing the ash coloured plastered walls now green and slimy with algae..

Instead of devoted worshippers clapping and singing praises, the church is quiet and desolate. The only sound that can be heard is the sound of water seeping through some of the cracks in the walls. Occasionally, the stillness of the church is broken by the sound of a water creature going about its business as if it belongs there.

Outside the church is a long stretch of algae green water with rows of houses and shops on both sides. The stretch of water was once Oreofe Street. The houses are not like normal houses on dry land. Though once built on dry land, they are now submerged in water up to the window level or the roof as the case may be.

Where is my pot?
For many residents of Ikorodu, Ajegunle and other surrounding communities, the flood that ravaged the community last weekend, will always remain fresh in their memories, as many of them lost valuable properties accumulated after many years of hard work and labour. For Mrs. Theresa Adekanle, a widow living in a one room apartment in one of the streets submerged by water, the flood has reduced her to a beggar as she has to depend on kindhearted neighbours to provide food for her and her three children.

While speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, the widow recalled that she had gone to bed with her children around ten on Friday night, only to wake up two hours later to pray and discovered that somehow, water was seeping under her door.

“I initially thought that someone had mistakenly tripped over a bucket of water I normally keep in front of my door for toilet purposes. I opened the door to reprimand whoever it was, but was surprised to see that the whole passage was filled with water. I raised an alarm and the other tenants started trooping out of their rooms and salvaging their properties.”

Mrs. Adekanle noted with dismay that after making sure that her children were safely perched on the table she uses to display her tomatoes and pepper in front of the house, she discovered that the pot of soup which she allegedly spent N700 in preparing had drifted away to the backyard. She also lamented that the dry foodstuff she bought for the month were also destroyed by the flood waters.

“I am presently going through a lot, as I am living from hand to mouth. If not for my pastor and the little daily contribution I do, me and my children would have taken to the streets in search of our daily bread.”

Harvest of loss
Mrs. Adekanle is not the only one affected by the flood, as hundreds of people living in the area had to flee the area, living behind their property. A man shook his head sadly as he pointed to his car which was submerged in water and declined to give any comment, as his loss was evident enough.

Taking a canoe ride through the submerged street is not easy as the youngsters paddling the canoe have to battle with floating household utensils like pots, plastic plates, and what have you. The water has proved to be a litmus test for many houses which were constructed hurriedly without making sure that the foundations are strong enough to withstand the test of time.

According to a youth leader in the area, more than eight houses have collapsed since the flood began, while many others stand the risk of collapse once the water dry up.

A mechanic operating in the area said that he is only waiting for the water to dry up so that he can retrieve some of his tools that sank. “This is my shop,” he said pointing to what once used to be a wood structure. “I don’t live here, but I was more than shocked when I came to work in the morning and discovered that my shop has been submerged. As you can see, I am only waiting for the waters to dry up. He explained hopefully.

We must survive
A visit to the area revealed that some of the residents of the area who have no where to go; have continued to live in their swamped houses regardless of the dangers inherent in it. Borrowing a leaf from the Ilaje people who build their homes on water, many of them have constructed wooden platforms in their rooms, from where they sleep, cook and eat. Children who are of age are severely warned about the dangers lurking beneath the murky waters, so there is no fear of drowning or any other mishap.

One of the residents who simply identified himself as Sunday, said that some of the major problems they are currently facing is the smell of the water, the large number of mosquitoes and other flying insects, the difficulty in getting clean water to drink and worse of all, the presence of snakes.

“For me, getting water to drink is really not a problem because all I have to do is take a canoe to the other side and buy pure water.” He said, pointing to some bags of water stashed on the platform. “Initially, I didn’t want to abandon my house and go and squat with friends but I am currently rethinking the situation because of the snakes. Though I know they can’t bite while in water, what will happen when they manage to slide up my bed in the night?”

Another resident who continues to live in her house despite the swamped quarters complained about the cold and the difficulty of going to work.

“It is not as bad as people out there think. In life we must all learn to adapt to whatever situation we find ourselves. The only challenge I am having right now is the difficulty in getting to work. Getting a canoe is not easy, because the youngsters who paddle the canoe are afraid of my end, complaining that the snakes are too much.”

While many are lamenting bitterly, the canoe business is thriving beautifully, as the paddlers make as high as N2000 daily from ferrying people to and fro the flooded areas. Carpenters now have to work overtime because suddenly, every unemployed youth now wants to have a canoe because of the fringe benefits.

Echoes of help
Looking more like a ghost town, the submerged areas in Agiliti and Madan areas is so deserted and quiet that the voice of the few left behind, echo loudly, reverberating inside the abandoned houses now inhabited by water left to their fate by the former occupants. The playing ground of the schools located in the areas which was once filled with happy children is now a shadow of itself. The only living creatures are frogs and other water creatures.

Some of the residents who spoke with the Sunday Tribune pleaded with Governor Fashola to come to their rescue as they had been cut off from their means of livelihood. However, there was a twist in the whole plea for help as some of the residents said that they were not suffering and that nothing should be written about them or the government would come and demolish their houses.

“We don’t want any interference from the government. All we want from them is that they should give us good roads and find a way of channeling the dam from Ogun State to somewhere else. Governor Fashola cannot just come here and tell us to go somewhere else. This happens once in year and we are well prepared for it. We knew this was a water area when we bought our land.” One of the elders in the community yelled angrily.

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Next NewsPapers Say it is now 350,000Naira Daily Sun says It is now 40million all Accounts are from the ever efficient and buck passing Nigerian Police .who now say the Kidnappers are Actually Robbers ! nice to know our Criminals now have choice of vocation

Kidnappers of the 15 pupils of Abayi International School, Aba, had reduced their ransom to N350,000, an indication that they are willing to release the toddlers from a tortuous ordeal which has drawn worldwide condemnation.

It was further gathered that the failure to release the kids on Wednesday was as a result of multiple negotiations which the criminals were taking advantage of, possibly to make more money.
Photo:Policemen looking for the kidnappers what about the Corpers kidnapped last week ?
According to our source, a hamonised negotiation has been adopted, which may lead to the early release of the school children.

The Abia State commissioner of police, Jonathan Johnson, also said yesterday in Umuahia that final negotiations were going on with the abductors of the children to effect their release and save them from further mental and emotional torture that they have been subjected to since Monday, when they were snatched on their way to school.

He confirmed that the children would have been released yesterday, but for some minor hitches in the negotiations with the kidnappers, even as he appealed to Abia residents to remain calm as the children would be released soon..

The police boss said the kidnapping of the kids was his greatest challenge and one which has given him sleepless nights.

Police sources said their non confrontational negotiation with the kidnappers was the best option, so as to save the children from possible harm hurt during a shoot out, adding that if the victims were grown ups, the police would have adopted a confrontational stand.

Robbers turned kidnappers

The commissioner, who said it was difficult for him to understand why anybody could abduct kids of between three and 10 years, added that the police and the government were working together to ensure the early release of the children.

Throwing more light on how the children were kidnapped, another source said the kidnappers were not initially out to abduct them, but had used them to escape from the police who had attacked them as they were trying to rob a jeep.

According to the source, when the police swooped on them, they ran into the bush and when they saw the school bus conveying the children to school, they hijacked it to make good their escape, but might have changed their mind later after escaping with the kids.

The Abia State government has condemned the abduction and called on the kidnappers to release the kids forthwith.

The commissioner for information and strategy, ACB Agbazuere, said in Umuahia that the action was condemnable, and appealed to the hoodlums to embrace the amnesty programme and quit criminality.


Daily Sun


Kidnapped school kids: Ransom now N40m ...Parents besiege school
From OKEY SAMPSON, Aba, Taiwo Amodu, Abuja


Outrage trailed the abduction of 15 pupils of Abayi International School in Aba, Abia State yesterday, but the kidnappers upped the ante by increasing the ransom demanded on the school children to N40 million from N20 million. Contrary to the speculation on Monday evening that the school kids were abandoned in a bush path near a village in Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area few hours after their kidnap on the way to school on Monday, investigations showed that they were still held captive.



When Daily Sun visited the school at about 2.45 p.m yesterday, none of the principal officers was around. They were said to have gone out with some policemen in search of the pupils, aged between three and 10.

A staff member who preferred anonymity confided in Daily Sun that the kids had not been freed and that frantic efforts were being made towards their release.

Some parents of the kidnapped school children were seen trooping into the compound perhaps to discuss with the school officials on the way forward.

When contacted, the spokesman, Abia State Police, ASP Geoffrey Ogbonna, said the command had been unable to establish contact with the school authorities. However, a senior police officer in Aba, on condition of anonymity, claimed they visited the school yesterday morning but could not get any concrete information.

According to him, “we went to the school this morning (Tuesday) to get information about the children from the authorities, but all they told us was that God was in control. Please, my brother, if you have information concerning the whereabouts of the children, give us so that we can work on it,” he said.

There were, however, moves yesterday indicating the children would be freed as the authorities of the school, with the parents, intensified moves towards this direction but how soon that could be remained unknown.

In a related development, the National Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, yesterday, reacted angrily to the kidnap of the 15 pupils by unknown gunmen in Osisioma near Aba in Abia State describing it as callous and unacceptable.

Nwodo, in a statement by his media aide, Ike Abonyi, described the action of the hijackers of the children, most of them in nursery and primary level, as wicked and challenged relevant security agencies to fish them out and save the children, their families and the nation the trauma.

The PDP national chairman said such wicked action by anybody at a time the nation was in the celebration mood and many foreign dignitaries already in the country for the nation’s golden jubilee was not only callous but distracting.

He said the issue of kidnapping in the South-east, especially Abia, had become a huge embarrassment to the nation and should be condemned by all reasonable persons.

The last high profile kidnap in the same area involved three Lagos-based journalists returning to Lagos after attending a conference of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital.

In addition, the UN Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF) has joined the array of those crying out against the kidnap of the 15 school children in Abia on Monday describing it as craven.

“Under no circumstances should children be the target of violence,’’ said the Representative of UNICEF in Nigeria, Dr. Suomi Sakai, in a statement yesterday in Abuja.

“Kidnapping children for financial gain is simply heinous,’’ the statement noted.

The children’s fund, which advocates everywhere for the inviolability of schools, hoped the law enforcement agencies would be able to find and bring the children to safety quickly.

“In all its work, UNICEF stresses the need for families, communities and civil society to work in partnership to protect the rights and well-being of children,” the statement added.

“Communities in which children are safe and well, are communities in which everyone is safe and well,” the statement added.
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Three British scientists shocked the world when they revealed on May 16th,1985 -25 years ago -that aerosol chemicals, among other factors, hadtorn a pointer; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1273223566_0"">hole in the ozone layerover the 0% transparent;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1273223566_1"">South Pole.The ozone layer,which protects scroll 0% 0% transparent;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1273223566_2"">lifeon Earth from damaging none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1273223566_3"">solar radiation, became anovernight sensation. And the hole in the ozone layer became theposter-child for mankind's impact on the planet.

Today, the ozonehole - actually a region of thinned ozone, not actually a pure hole -doesn't make headlines like it used to. The size of the hole hasstabilized, thanks to decades of aerosol-banning legislation. But,scientists warn, some danger still remains.

First, the good news: Since the 1989 dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1273223566_5"">Montreal Protocol banned the useof ozone-depleting chemicals worldwide, the ozone hole has stoppedgrowing. Additionally, the ozone layer is blocking more cancer-causingradiation than any time in a decade because its average thickness hasincreased, according to a 2006 United Nations report. Atmospheric levelsof ozone-depleting chemicals have reached their lowest levels sincepeaking in the 1990s, and the hole has begun to shrink.

Now the bad news: The ozone layer has also thinned over the http://www.livescience.com/environment/top10_polar_differences.html">NorthPole. This thinning is predicted to continue for the next 15yearsdue to weather-related phenomena that scientists still cannot fullyexplain, according to the same UN report . And, repairing the ozone holeover the South Pole will take longer than previously expected, andwon't finish until between 2060 and 2075. Scientists now understand thatthe size of the ozone hole varies dramatically from year to year, whichcomplicates attempts to accurately predict the hole's future size.

Interestingly, recent studies have shown that the size of the ozonehole affects the http://www.lifeslittlemysteries.com/if-global-warming-is-real-why-is-it-still-snowing-0480/">globaltemperature. Closing the ozone hole actually speeds up themeltingof the 0% transparent;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1273223566_8"">polar ice caps,according to a 2009 study from ScientificCommittee on Antarctic Research.

So even though environmentally friendly laws have successfullyreversed the trend of repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1273223566_9"">ozone depletion, the lingering effects ofaerosoluse, and the link between the ozone hole and pointer; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1273223566_10"">global warming,virtuallyensure that this problem will persist until the end of the century.

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THE LAWSUIT involving Zenon Oil President, Femi Otedola, and Bank PHB turned messier on Friday as counsel for Bank PHB, Ajibola Aribisala, told the Lagos High Court that his client - Bank PHB Managing Director, Cyril Chukwuma - was threatened by Acting President Goodluck Jonathan to reach an amicable settlement with Otedola or risk sack.

Aribisala disclosed this while reacting to an oral application moved by Otedola's counsel, Kemi Pinerro.


Pinerro had told Justice Kazeem Alogba that Bank PHB, without an order of court, caused to be published in The Guardian last Thursday an advertorial of the motion on notice and the Mareva injunction issued by the court.
Photos:Otedola and Cyril Chukwuma
He said the action is contemptuous of court and an abuse of court process.

He urged the court to compel the bank to retract the publication, failing which it would amount to self help and trying the hand of the court.

Counsel to the other defendants - Zenon, African Petroleum, Afribank Registrars, Julius Berger, Skye Bank, and Zenith Bank - agreed with Pinerro.

However, Aribisala countered that he does not need the express permission of the court to publish court documents and a court order.

He said he adopted the measure based on threats against Chukwuma from Abuja..


He disclosed that apart from Jonathan making telephone calls to Chukwuma asking him to reach an amicable settlement with Otedola, his security details were withdrawn by the Inspector General of Police, Ogbonna Onovo, thereby exposing his life to danger.

Aribisala also alleged that Jonathan threatened to have Chukwuma fired if he refuses to withdraw the suit.

He said these are a few cases of the intimidation and harassment of his client since the commencement of the court case, and that Chukwuma would depose to an affidavit on the allegations.

He asked Pinerro to cite the Section of the law breached by the publication of the advertorial.

The court granted Otedola leave to do a retraction in The Guardian and adjourned the case for further hearing.

However, Bank PHB has obtained a Mareva injunction against Zenon freezing all its accounts in 10 banks in a bid to recover a N5.839 billion debt owed it by the oil marketing firm.

The order, made by Alogba, was sequel to a statement of claim issued by Aribisala on behalf of Bank PHB, which also asked the court to cause to be transferred to it all the funds in the 10 banks that have made returns in response to the order.


The accounts, containing a total credit balance of over N2.4 billion, are in Ecobank, Finbank, First Bank, Oceanic, Skye, StabicIBTC, Standard Chartered, Sterling, Unity, and Zenith.

They were identified upon an order made by Alogba directing all banks in the country to disclose Zenon's funds in their books.

Bank PHB's request, contained in a motion on notice, is in addition to an earlier order of Alogba freezing African Petroleum (AP's) account in the bank, with a credit balance of N2.317 billion.

AP is described as a member of the Zenon Energy Group of companies, with Otedola as Chairman.

Also to be affected is the N397.8 million allegedly owed Zenon by Julius Berger, which the court ordered to be paid into an interest yielding account in the name of its Chief Registrar.

These resulted from a suit filed by Bank PHB alleging that Zenon is owing it N5,839,709,439.91 as at January 11 in loans granted between 2007 and 2008.

The defendants are Zenon, Otedola, Afribank Registrars, and Julius Berger.


Bank PHB, in the motion for mareva injunction to freeze Zenon's accounts, said the order is to prevent it from dissipating its funds in the 10 banks, with the aim of frustrating whatever the court's decision may be in the substantive suit.

It accused Zenon of breaching the terms of the credit facilities by not disclosing its earnings from its sales, failing to remit the proceeds, not fulfilling its commitment to liquidate the debt, and avoiding its obligation to the bank.

Bank PHB averred, in a statement of claim, that in the course of its banker-customer relationship with Zenon, it granted the company various credit facilities between 2007 and 2008, with Zenon accepting all the conditions.

It added that at every occasion when loan was granted Zenon, Otedola "had always guaranteed due compliance, by the first defendant (Zenon), with the bank's (claimant's) stipulated terms and conditions of the respective facilities."

It averred that, as part of collaterals for the facilities, Zenon pledged, among others, the payment of rental proceeds from its property at 3B Agodogba Avenue and 12A and 12B Parkview Estate Ikoyi, Lagos.

Zenon also allegedly pledged dividends payment from its investments in AP for 2009 and 2010; its expected proceeds from Julius Berger for the supply of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), and mortgage on its property at 1399A or 5 Tiamiyu Savage, Street, Victoria Island.

The bank accused Zenon of defaulting and refusing to abide by the conditions and, aside repaying a fraction of the loan, refused to honour demands made by the bank since the expiration of the facility.

Bank PHB averred that Zenon's failure to comply with the agreement led to the classification of its accounts as non-performing by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and contributed to why the CBN appointed a new management for the bank..

The case was adjoined to April 29.
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Women now invite male hairstylists for home service

• But other services are also on the card
Hairdressing was once a profession exclusively for the women. But that has changed, as it is now moving fast away from them into the dominance of the men. Today that world has been invaded and taken over by the male folk. They have not only harnessed it but also elevated it to a different dimension, with a touch of creativity. Home service has become the latest rave in the business.

Saturday Sun finding showed that home service has become the lucrative aspect of the profession, whereby super-rich women invite male hairdressers to the comfort of their homes for a special treat. Apart from the extra fee involved, the male hairdressers also enjoy the generosity of these super-rich women.
However, many of these young boys have fallen into the antics of these ladies, who deceptively lured them into their homes and only to end up in other engagements, after promises of heaven and earth. With their financial power, coupled with the economic crunch of the society, the boys’ spirit of resistance is subdued. These ladies’ desperation is induced by the sweet feelings they experience during hair treatment. In the process, they dangle car keys, accommodation, cash and other kinds of attractive gifts, just to have their way. The major gist is that majority of these affluent ladies are married with kids.

Saturday Sun checked out these wonder fingers, who deliver home services in areas, like Ajao Estate, Ikeja, Surulere and the up-class Island areas. Some of them, who own a cossy hair salon around Asa Afariogun Street, in Ajao Estate, confided that many of them in the art have made money and deployed the proceeds to travel abroad where hairdressing is oil block.

Incidentally, home services for women are carried out without the knowledge of the client’s spouse, who is away fighting to oil the wheel of fortunes of the family. With this antics, it is only a man who is really principled that can just do the hair and stop at that, a male hairdresser, who has been in the home service front for five years revealed.

Speaking to Saturday Sun, Austin (surname withheld), who has been in hairdressing for 10 years confirmed the story that some women actually tempt male hairdressers, who are involved in home service.

“Majority of the boys operating salon business today are involved in such acts because it fetches faster money. That is the source of the big cars some of them ride,” he said. But he lamented that such wealth and accidental fame might not last because it is a taboo in African culture to engage a married woman in a romanntic relationship. He explained that no amount of money or any kind of inducement could influence him to fall prey to such act because of his faith and fear of God.

Austin, in his sanctimony, added that it is abomination in the area where he comes from. Relating his experience with a certain woman years back, he said: “On this fateful day, I was invited to a hotel room by a certain woman who asked me to come and fix her hair. She just came back from abroad. Honestly, I was very happy because of the extra fee I would realize from it. I packed all the things I needed for the service and reported at the hotel. She willingly accepted my charges and I settled down to work. To my dismay, she turned the service to massaging. ‘I want you to massage my back,’ she said. ‘No, it is not there. Oh yes, it is there,’ she would say.

That was how she was screaming until I became apprehensive. Not quite long, she opened up and needed to be fixed under. I declined vehemently. She dangled car key, cash gifts and with a promise to take me abroad. I stood my ground because I knew the devil was at work. I quickly packed my things and disappeared from the room. That encounter taught me a great lesson. That is why today, anytime I have a home service, one of my boys must accompany me to avoiding a repeat.”

On why hairdressing has suddenly become a male affair, the hairstylist, who operates Bistel’s Hair and Skin Clinic at No. 5, Olutosin Street, Ajao Estate, Lagos, asserted that it is because of its lucrativeness in the developed world. He stressed that majority of the boys into the profession do not want to practice in Nigeria. He disclosed that many of the boys he trained are presently in Spain, Italy, Germany and other countries practicing the trade, adding that all of them have become big boys.

He said: “One of my boys even left three weeks ago. He is in Spain. That boy stabbed me in the back because it was the opportunity I had to travel that he hijacked. He had deceived the woman who came to pick me from abroad. He told her that I was no longer in the trade and he was in charge. He pleaded with the woman to take take him in my place and eventually he succeeded and traveled. When the woman later met me and realised that she had been fooled, it was too late. The whole thing really made me sad, but there was nothing I could do. So, I am now hoping in God that one day it will get to my turn.”

Mr. Nwanodo said he doesn’t want to ply his trade in Nigeria any longer just to train hairstylists, else he becomes a teacher who must beg before seeing food to eat. According to him, while many of his boys are cruising in expensive cars and have houses, he has remained in the same shop they had known him with before they left. He added that his plan is to join the league abroad and also make fortunes.

Asked how he became a hairstylist, the school certificate holder, who hails from Delta State, explained that his friend, Henry, also a hairstylist, brought him into the business.

His initial dream was to be a footballer or an athlete. But when his aspiration fell through, he said he had to pitch tent with hairdressing.

“That was how I started training under Henry, my friend. I was with him for six months before he traveled abroad. It was then I knew that with element of luck, this profession could take me far in life. I also know that when you are in a trade where women constitute the market, you are bound to make it because they are always conscious of beauty. They always want to look good. Such business cannot run dry of patronage. I have no regret going into it,” he said.

According to Nwanodo, who parades a heavy clientele of top society ladies, his major challenge in the business remains the persistent power failure. He lamented that the constant use of generator in his shop grossly drains him financially.
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Soon Yahoo Yahoo will be legal .
If people like James Ohanefe Ibori are close friends with the ailing President I am wondering why it took The Career Criminals in the senate this long to Legalise it. PHOTO:MugShot of THE DEPUTY SENATE PRESIDENT

In a dramatic move, the Senate yesterday voted to delete an aspect of the Constitution which prohibits people indicted for various offences from contesting elections.

Ike Ekweremadu, the deputy senate president and the leader of the constitution review committee which made the recommendation argued that if left in the constitution, it can be used by government officials to witch-hunt political opponents.

Mr. Ekweremadu, a lawyer, also argued that other provisions in section 137 of the constitution can adequately cover the intentions of the deleted section. The section, 137 (1), prohibits people who have been indicted for embezzlement or fraud by state or federal panels of enquiry or tribunals from running for presidential office.

During the voting, 90 senators supported that it be deleted while only five senators voted for the retention of the section.

However, typographical errors and omissions prevented the Senate from formally passing the draft after the final reading on Wednesday.

Government of thieves

Various reactions across the country have trailed the vote for the removal of this section.

"This confirms what we have always been saying, that this is a government of thieves and therefore the anti-corruption campaign is dead," lamented Balarabe Musa, the chairman of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties. Mr. Musa, in a phone interview from Kaduna added that, "we are now in trouble in Nigeria because we are apparently now being ruled by thieves in Nigeria." He likened the ‘Senate's abysmal act' to the failure of the National Assembly in passing the forfeiture bill sent to them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to confiscate properties of treasury looters.

This sentiment was echoed by Rotimi Akeredolu, the Nigerian Bar Association president who described the Senators' action in a terse text message, as a "futile exercise" adding that, "the Senate cannot on its own alone repeal any provision of Constitution."

A timely amendment

However, Sam Amadi, a lawyer, and director, Ken Nnamani Centre for Leadership and Development said the repeal of the act was not an anomaly. Mr Amadi said that in line with other constitutions across the world, the Electoral Act and not the Constitution should specify the eligibility of candidates to contest for election. "I think the clause should be removed completely from the constitution," Mr. Amadi said. "Our Constitution is not working because we have so many unnecessary things in it. Given our country where corrupt persons aspire to the highest offices in the land, the Electoral Act should be what is to be amended and the eligibility clause should be streamlined into criminal conviction and not just indictments." He also warned about what he called, "retaliatory indictments," saying, "we've seen in the past where governors set up panels and enquiries to get back at foes thereby discrediting the person(s) candidature for elections through such indictments and thereby creating confusion and legal challenges for the electoral process."

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Another legal practitioner who welcomed the Senate's action is Chris Uche, who said, "the amendment of Section 137 (1)of the Constitution is timely and welcome to remove disqualification to contest election based on indictment by panel of inquiry given the abuse of that clause by governments."

According to Mr Uche, "the need has arisen because of the abuse of this provision by the federal and state governments to block political opponents from contesting elections."

Mr Uche based his argument on what happened to former Vice-President Abubakar Atiku and the former administration in Abia State which also issued a white paper indicting several politicians. "Happily, the Supreme court had in the Atiku case (AC vs INEC) in 2007, neutralised that provision which has now been repealed by defining indictment to mean trial by a court of law. Therefore, what the Senate has done is a legislative endorsement of a judicial reformation of the law by a proactive Supreme court."

Yinka Odumakin, the spokesperson of the Save Nigeria Group who recalled a statement credited to a Senator, Nuhu Aliyu, that the "National Assembly is full of criminals," warned that politicians should not think of using this avenue to pave the way for their return in the forthcoming elections.

He however recalled that the supreme court already ruled that an indictment by an admnistrative panel is not a judicial conviction. "We saw the way this section was abused under Olusegun Obasanjo. Even Orji Kalu set up a panel to do a counter-indictment of Mr. Obasanjo and Iyabo."

The cross carpeting law

Senate also deleted the section prohibiting lawmakers from cross carpeting. Section 68 (g) prohibits federal legislators from dumping the political party on whose platform they were elected unless there is a division in that party. It was deleted by a lean margin of 75 votes, two votes above the required minimum of 73.

Insertions were also made in the constitution, including two clauses in section 228 of the 1999 constitution, to enable the National Assembly make laws that will regulate internal democracies in political parties.

The new section, which got at least 89 votes on Wednesday now reads:

"The National assembly may by law provide for guidelines and rules to ensure internal democracy within political parties, including making laws for the conduct of party primaries, party primaries and party conventions."

Another insertion, to account for every day a governor or president whose election was annulled but wins the re-run election spent before the re-run election was also very popular with the senators. It was passed with 88 votes.

"In the calculation of the four year term, where a re-election has taken place and the person earlier sworn in wins, the time spent in the office before the date the election was annulled, shall be taken into account," the section reads.

The other recommendations which passed include clauses which make the Independent National Electoral Commission and its chairman above the authority of the president or any other body, and the recommendations to make the commission, the National Assembly and the Judiciary financially independent of the executive.

The independent candidacy clause and the recommendation to conduct election not earlier than 150 days before swearing in and not later than 90 days, were also passed overwhelmingly.

The draft amended constitution also recommended a fixed time for hearing and ruling on election petitions by both election petition tribunals and courts of appeal.

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Augustine Amedu popularly known as Blackface of the Plantashun Boiz fame is back on the block. The Benue State-born musician has made it known to all and sundry that the launch of his new album, billed for next Saturday in Lagos, is going to be the bomb.
For sometime now, Ahmedu, who would now love to be referred to as Blackface Naija, has been a scarce commodity in the music scene, making tongues to wag that he has nothing more to offer and has thus gone underground.

But speaking exclusively to nigeriafilms.com, Blackface says his critics are wrong, adding that his latest effort will shut their mouths permanently.

He also revealed for the first time the reason he went underground, why his new album is the bomb, his life with marijuana and on many more issues. It’s da bomb. Enjoy:

Growing up
Since I’ve been a kid, I have always listened to music as one of the things I found when I was growing up. I just followed it from there. I listened to a lot of people, so many singers from Bonny M to Sledge Sisters and Whispers.

Then I decided to write my own music. Overtime, I started listening to hip hop, and people like Tupac, Nas, Methodman and Redman inspired me. Then I started listening to dancehall of Sizzler, Elephant man and also R&B. That is why when I bring out my music, it’s a whole lot of musical idioms.

Environment inspires me
I derive my inspiration from the environment generally. I have a new song on radio, Gen for my Head, as you are sitting down, you can hear the sound of generator. It is constant. We don’t need that noise to create. So, I keep asking myself, what is the reason for that generator on my head? Why? There must be something wrong and whatever is wrong, we have to put it right. But it is killing me. You never thought about it until I point it out to you.

So, a musician has to be creative in his environment. The generator gives me a new sound, reasoning and melody. So, the environment basically is what I use to sing my song. If I am writing a love song, I must be feeling love and am married to the best woman in the world, and my woman gives me so much love in so many ways. I can write about it in several ways. And some friends are backbiters, that would give me another inspiration and some ladies would want to come and get your pulse and get out, I write about that also and some haters don’t want to see you, I write that also. What I see, I write about.

Dancehall Business
Before now I had an album, Me, My Music and I that has tracks like Erima, Ghetto girls, The Way You Move, and If You Leave Me. After that, I went on tour of Europe. I went to Switzerland and Italy. In Italy, I played in Modina and Torino. I also went to Palma de Mayoka and Malaga in Spain. This was one of the times that I was able to reach out to my fans in some other parts of the world.

Right now, I’m back home and since December that I came back, I have gone back to the studio. I have finished the recording of my next album, Dancehall Business. I already have some singles out on the radio and people are feeling some of the sounds and I’m feeling some of them too. I know when the album comes up that’s when they are going to feel it more. I’m just like getting ready till I put the album out and the release date is March 27. From then, I’ll start showing the videos.

What to expect
Nigerians know what to expect because it’s got to be the next stage of Blackface Naija since they have been following me for sometime. When I came out with Ghetto Child, they were there for me, I dropped Evergreen and Jungle Fever, they were there for me. I went to Me, Music and I, my fans were still there for me. After that, I gave a two-year grace before I came out with the new album. So, you can imagine how long they can wait to get a hold of some lyrics from me. It was not deliberate but I was getting ready for them like they want to hear from me and I got caught up with the tour. The new album features some artistes like Spiderman, Rocksteady, Oti and Ruffman, among others.

I discovered Tuface
I am the CEO of Loudhouz Entertainment. I have discovered a lot of talents because it is not for me to tell you that I discovered this or that. And if I tell you that I discovered Tuface Idibia, you will say it’s a joke. Most of the songs that he rendered were songs that I created and most of the songs that he delivered are songs that I have decided that this was the way it got to go for this artiste.

So, it’s just about me being the CEO and to know who’s good and who’s not but in between I still got myself as Blackface Naija. However, Tuface is my friend and brother. Sometimes you are closer to your friend more than your brother. Sometimes you are closer to your neighbour than your brother because your brother is not there but your neighbour is there, and he’s always asking you how you are doing.

You can be close to your neighbour because he is talking to you more and you are both relating more. So being my friend, being my brother has got nothing to do with it. For me Tuface is a friend, he is my buddy and we’re just moving forward.

Re-uniting Platashun Boiz
The Platashun Boiz is a group that was formed by me. Tuface and I were the ones that said it’s cool to have somebody else in the group so as to bring out a different kind of opinion, a different kind of vibes. It’s possible to get together once more. I’ve been in the Plantashun business for a very long time. We’ve had times that we were supposed to be taking decisions together and we are not doing so because of distractions from different places. I remember all the works that I did for all the time we were together as Plantashun Boyz like building the group, writing the songs that the group sang, writing the songs that made the group famous.

We never had videos but we have the sounds and that is the issue but then the video is very important. Now it’s time to get the videos done and nobody is sitting on the table, so what’s going on? I’ve been worried about that for too long and I don’t want to put my mind to it any more. So, I feel its time to do my thing. It is not that I do not have love for my brothers like Tuface and Faze but they are doing their own thing. They are the ones that have the big videos but it’s time for me to do my own thing. It’s time for me to kick start my career once again.

Celebrating 10 years in music
I have been in music for about 10 years. I don’t have to celebrate it because a lot of people have been celebrating it already. People that have my albums in their homes have been celebrating the fact that I’m still there to give them more. When we get corporate bodies that are trying to work with us, then we can showcase one or two things about ourselves. But for now, we are just getting the fan base ready. A lot of people have been doing music, enough respect for them, but we know that when the masquerade comes out, the vibe is going to be different.

Music then and now
When we started, we didn’t use to do like copycats, trying to copy somebody’s lyrics and all that. We used to create something new that if someone that is creative hears it he would know that it’s something done out lots of thinking. Right now, everybody just creates from what has been created. I got to spend sometime to create music that is mine and with a landmark that this is my song but everybody is just jumping into other people’s song, they jump into me, they jump into foreign artistes. You have to take your time as a musician to create. Nobody says you cannot dribble like Ronaldo but dribble like Ronaldo with your own style. Everybody wants to be Kaka and Gerald. But it’s better to be yourself.

Me and marijuana
Weed, marijuana, ganja, can you ask yourself a question? The most prominent people in the society do they smoke weed? If somebody as great as Malcolm X could make a change in the world so why do you think he shouldn’t. Asking me about marijuana is like asking why a footballer uses boot, because it is to prevent him from getting a bad foot. Both of us are under a building which can collapse now. Let’s just live and give praise to the Most High and stop asking ourselves questions like why are we watching TV. You drive in a car, there is hazard, you send your children to school, there is hazard, you go to your office, there’s hazard. We all live with the hazards of life.

On my dreadlocks
My dreadlocks are gone. I came back from Europe and couldn’t stand the heat. I had to cover my head all the time. My kids never really saw me without my dreadlocks. So, I guess it’s time to see what daddy looks like. It still doesn’t mean I am not a Rasta man, I am still one, I still believe in Jah. I believe that the only way to achieving good life is through revolution. I still believe in the teachings and projections of Emperor Haile Selasie.

I’m a sports freak
Aside music, I love sports. I love playing football, basketball, table tennis, badminton, handball and volleyball. I’m also a ballet dancer. Sport is just another part of me but I can only let people feel the music part of me.

Regrets
I don’t have any regret. The only regret you can have is when you have not achieved anything. I have achieved a lot that I can beat my chest and say thank God for this. Before, nobody knows me. I couldn’t have a reporter ask for my opinion but now they do. I couldn’t have people say hello to me in the streets but now they do. I didn’t have people ask me what’s up, what is the problem? Now they do, which means God has taken me to another level because of the talent He has given me.
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Information Minister Dora Akunyili announced the decision by Acting President Goodluck Jonathan at the same time that the state-run broadcaster broke the news to citizens long confused about who remained in charge of the oil-rich nation. Akunyili said Jonathan would issue a statement soon on who will now serve in the Cabinet.

"The acting president gives no reason for the dissolution," Akunyili told reporters Wednesday night. "There is no vacuum in the government as permanent secretaries will take charge."

The Cabinet remained stocked with loyalists of President Umaru Yar'Adua, a Muslim from the country's north. Some cabinet members had begun to shift allegiances from Yar'Adua to Jonathan, a Christian from the country's south, as time passed. Akunyili herself had previously circulated a memo to the cabinet calling on it to install Jonathan as acting president — providing a rare public voice for those uncomfortable with Yar'Adua's long absence from the country.

The move is the first major step by Jonathan, a quiet 52-year-old biologist from the Niger Delta who largely remained quiet as a constitutional crisis gripped the nation over Yar'Adua's absence. Yar'Adua left Nigeria in late November for medical treatment at a Saudi Arabian hospital over what his physician described as serious heart condition.

Though the nation's constitution offers clear steps for president to hand over power in his absence, Yar'Adua chose not to implement them. For months, many wondered how Yar'Adua would rule Africa's most populous nation from abroad.

The National Assembly empowered Jonathan to become acting president in a vote Feb. 9. Two weeks later, Yar'Adua's handlers apparently whisked the ill president back to the presidential palace in an ambulance surrounded by a military convoy. However, Yar'Adua still has not been seen publicly since returning.

Jonathan largely shied away from making major decisions since becoming acting president, though he did move some cabinet ministers loyal to Yar'Adua into new positions. While fears of a coup permeated the country, which has a long history of military dictators, top officials in the armed forces promised not to intervene.

Those forces likely will be kept at bay, even with Jonathan asserting more power, said analyst Charles Dokubo of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs.

"I think the Nigerian people have been so quiet and have been allowing things to unfold in an evolutionary manner," Dokubo told The Associated Press. Yar'Adua supporters "might make noise about it, but I don't think it will lead to any other upheaval or anarchy in the country."

Still Jonathan remains largely unknown in Nigeria, a former deputy state governor who rose to the governor's office after his predecessor was indicted on corruption charges. Now, as Yar'Adua remains ill and unseen, Jonathan finds himself at the helm as the West African country faces endemic corruption, simmering militancy in the oil-rich Niger Delta and long-running religious tensions that have led to hundreds of deaths in recent months.

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Are You Feeding Your Soul? Are you happy with what you see when you look in the mirror? And I’m not talking about your physical body when I ask this question — I’m talking about your spiritual body. Has your soul been getting the nourishment it needs to grow in health and strength, or have you deprived it from the Word it so desperately needs? If what you see in the mirror doesn’t even begin to reflect what you know you can be, it’s time to make a change, time to dive into God’s Word and receive all the love and forgiveness He has been waiting to give you . . . a time to release your life into God’s hands. The Word tells us, But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image (2 Corinthians 3:16-18 NLT). You may not like what you see now, but just wait. Rely on God’s faithfulness and perfect timing and begin to make changes when God shows you it is necessary. And soon, you’ll be able to look back and say, “Look where God moved me from. Look what He saved me from. I stand blessed where I am all because of the transforming grace of God.” An Evangelistic Tool The following is an evangelistic tool. Feel free to use this tool to lead someone to the Savior. It can also be used in your church. Tony lead the members of our church through this process, and then commissioned them to offer the good news to those they come in contact with in the course of their day. This is one of our outreach programs for this year. OPENING QUESTION: Has anyone ever shown you from the Bible how you can be sure you are on your way to heaven? Would you allow me to show you? I. First the Bad News a. The Problem: Every person is a sinner before a Holy God and unable to save themselves (Romans 3:10, 23). b. The Penalty: Every person is under the sentence of death and will be forever separated from God because of their sin (Romans 5:12; 6:23). I. Now the Good News a. The Provision: Through the substitutionary sacrificial death of Christ, God has addressed the sin problem for us (Romans 5:8, 17-21). b. The Pardon: God offers a free pardon and eternal life to all who place faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation (Romans 10:9-10; 4:4-5). CLOSING QUESTION: Would you like to trust the Lord Jesus Christ right now as your personal Savior? PRAYER: Lord Jesus thank You for dying on the cross for my sins and rising from the dead to save me. By transferring my total trust to You alone as my Savior, I now receive the forgiveness for my sins and the free gift of eternal life that You offered me.
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National Radio has just come out with a special announcement that the Justice Minister Michael kaase Aondoakaa has approved VP Goodluck Jonathan as Acting president .this comes after his comments on The VP quote "I CANT DIRECT JONATHAN TO TAKE OVER"so what has changed now that he can direct ? Jonathan to do so now ?A letter purportedly written by Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Michael Aondoakaa (SAN) asking Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to take over power triggered the controversy.But the tension was doused before it could grow out of hand, with Aondoakaa saying he had no power to ask Jonathan to take over. The Presidency also denied the existence of the purported letter.President Umaru Yar’Adua has been in King Faisal Specialist Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, since November 23, receiving treatment for acute pericarditis (inflammation of the heart’s lining).His absence has elicited calls for his resignation to pave the way for Jonathan to assume power.Last week, activist lawyer Femi Falana went to court, seeking the constitutional interpretation of the President’s absence from home.A similar suit was filed at the Abuja Federal High Court yesterday by former Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Farouk Aliyu. He was in the House between 2003 and 2007.Aondoakaa was reported on Wednesday to have asked Jonathan to take over in accordance with Section 5 of the Constitution, which he claims overrides Section 145 since the President did not write the National Assembly before travelling.
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It has been revealed how Super Eagles striker, Obafemi Martins, extranvagantly squandered about N3.1 trillions while a player of Newcastle.MartinsadvertisementHis former management company, NVA Management Limited who has dragged the player to court over breach of contarct, told the jury how the player’s account almost went red because of his lifestyle.Obafemi Martins was paid £75,000, but allegedly squandered the earnings on an extravagant lifestyleA former Premiership footballer routinely blew his £75,000 a week wages in a matter of days and was constantly overdrawn, a court was told yesterday.Obafemi, ex-Newcastle striker 25, was paid the handsome salary after he joined the club for a £10million fee in August 2006.But despite his extraordinary earnings, his former management team yesterday claimed they repeatedly bailed him out after his bank account continually slipped into the red.The High Court heard that the Nigerian international player would withdraw £40,000 in cash from his bank account at the end of the week.But that would only last him two days, the court heard, as he topped up with a further £25,000 on the Monday morning.He was always overdrawn and repeatedly relied upon NVA Management Limited to ‘manage his life’, the High Court was told.Martins, who owned several fast cars including a top of the range Porsche 4X4, spent the money funding an extravagant lifestyle of luxurious penthouse homes and fine dining.He is now being sued by his former management company which claims that he still owes them 300,000 for sorting out his finances.He told the court that Martins would withdraw £40,000 for the weekend, followed by another £25,000 on the Monday.‘Despite earning these vast sums of money he was constantly overdrawn,’ added Mr Tennink.He said the firm, which looks after the affairs of several footballers, film and music stars, said that Martins had agreed to pay them for simply managing his life.It was under their stewardship that Martins agreed a £2million image rights deal ‘simply for being Mr Martins’.It’s claimed Martins was constantly overdrawn despite earning £75,000-a-weekHe also had lucrative sponsorship deals with various companies including Pepsi and Nike but had not been paid.When the company stepped in to run his affairs they sorted the unpaid contracts, bringing in thousands of pounds.They also organised visas when he travelled to Italy, where he once played for Inter Milan, and sorted out his passport, his mortgage and property valuations.They even arranged critical illness cover and were constantly running up and down the motorway from their London offices to Newcastle in a bid to do all that he required.‘But surely these were things a secretary could do?’ asked Judge Richard Seymour QC, referring to the size of fees charged.‘It was a Jeeves-type of role that they performed.’Mr Tennink protested that managing every aspect of his life was just part of what they did, and asked the judge to bear in mind the sort of figures these players earned.He said Martins had come to them in July 2007 and had agreed a fee of around £300,000 plus 20 per cent of any sponsorship monies they managed to acquire on his behalf.“He asked for these services to be carried out,” Mr Tennink told the court.Before they managed his affairs, Martins had not been paid a penny for his image rights for the use of his name on Newcastle shirts and mugs and had received nothing from his sponsorship deals.He could not even find the contracts he had originally signed, Mr Tennink added.Martins paid the company £67,500 in January last year and another £25,000 in April last year.But the question for the court to decide, said Mr Tennink, was whether there was a ‘binding obligation’ for him to pay the outstanding bill of over £300,000.After Newcastle were relegated from the Premiership last summer Martins was sold for £9million to German Bundesliga Champions Wolfsburg.Martins, who once owned a penthouse apartment overlooking Newcastle’s exclusive Quayside, is fighting the claim.The hearing is scheduled to last for three days.
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Etisalat Jobs Aply now !

You can register and upload your cv on http://www.dragnetnigeria.com/etisalat/jobs.aspx NETWORK ROLL- OUT DEPARTMENT Job Reference: SMRO Position: Senior Manager, Network Roll-Out Job Reference: SMCP Position: Senior Manager, Core Planning Job Reference: SM.VAS Position: Senior Manager, VAS Planning Job Reference: SMCD Position: Senior Manager, Civil Design Job Reference: SMSAQ Position: Site Acquisition Job Reference: MNIS Position: Manager, Network & Infrastructure Support NETWORK OPERATIONS Job Reference: SMQS Position: Senior Manager, Quality & Support Services Job Reference: SEQS Position: Senior Engineer, Network Quality Support Services Job Reference: SEVM Position: Senior Engineer, VAS Messaging Job Reference: SEBO Position: Senior Engineer, BSS Operations (Software & Solution) Job Reference: SEDT Position: Senior Engineer (Database and Data Transcript) Job Reference: SEAT Position: Senior Engineer, Access Transmission Operation Job Reference: SE. Access Support Position: Senior Engineer, Access Network Support Job Reference: MCSO Position: Manager, Circuit Services/Operations Job Reference: MCCO Position: Manager, Circuit Core/Operations Job Reference: ECCO Position: Engineer, Circuit Core/Operations Job Reference: SEIP Position: Senior Engineer, IP Backbone Security/Operations Job Reference: Engr. Circuit VAS Position: Engineer, Circuit Switch VAS/Opeations INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Job Reference: SMPS Position: Specialist, Mediation & Provisioning Support Job Reference: SDCS Position: Specialist, Data Centric Systems Support Job Reference: SPBI Position: Specialist, Billing Integration Job Reference: MSDI Position: Manager, Systems Development & Integration Job Reference: SUNIX Position: Specialist, UNIX Systems Job Reference: AUNIX Position: Analyst , UNIX Systems Job Reference: SDSM Position: Specialist, Data Storage Management Job Reference: SDBA Position: Specialist, Database Administration Job Reference: SNIS Position: Specialist, Network Infrastructure/Support Job Reference: Infr.Imple Position: Specialist, Network Infrastructure/ Implementation Job Reference: Sp.ERP Position: Specialist, ERP & Collaboration Systems Job Reference: Anal.ERP Position: Analyst, ERP & Collaborations Support Job Reference: SPBC Position: Specialist, Post-Paid Billing & Customer Care Job Reference: SSIT Position: Specialist, System Integration Job Reference: ITSS -27 Position: IT Security Specialist Job Reference: ITAS -28 Position: IT Architecture Specialist INTER – CARRIER BUSINESS Job Reference: SPRM Position: Specialist, Roaming Job Reference: SPIC Position: Specialist, Interconnect GOVERNMENT AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT Job Reference: SMRA Position: SENIOR MANAGER, REGULATORY AFFAIRS AUDIT Job Reference: AMNG-1 Position: Audit Manager Job Reference: ASPP-2 Position: Audit Specialist FINANCE Job Reference: SMPF-3 Position: Senior Manager,Policies & FIS Job Reference: SPPC-4 Position: Specialist Policies & COA Job Reference: SPCR-5 Position: Specialist Costing and Regulatory Job Reference: SPNL-6 Position: Specialist- Nominal Ledger CONTRACTS AND PROCUREMENT Job Reference: SCMP-7 Position: Senior Category Manager,Procurement Job Reference: MCP-8 Position: Manager Category Procurement Job Reference: CPS-9 Position: Category Procurement specialist BRAND AND COMMUNICATIONS Job Reference: SMCC-10 Position: Senior Manager Corporate Communication Job Reference: MMPM-11 Position: Manager Media Planning and Management SALES Job Reference: SMCN-12 Position: Specialist, Merchandising & Communication Job Reference: STKA - 13 Position: Specialist, Trade Key Account Job Reference: DEMN - 14 Position: Manager, Dealer Job Reference: DESN - 15 Position: Specialist, Dealer Job Reference: SSCN - 16 Position: Specialist, Supply Chain Job Reference: AMCS-17 Position: Account Manager, Regional Corporate Sales Job Reference: RRSM-18 Position: Manager, Regional Retail Sales CUSTOMER CARE Job Reference: SMRL-19 Position: Senior Manager, Retention & Loyalty Job Reference: MCCO-20 Position: Manager, Call Centre Operations Job Reference: MOCC-21 Position: Manager, Outbound Call Centre Job Reference: SCEI-22 Position: Specialist, Customer Experience Intelligence Job Reference: SCEM-23 Position: Specialist, Customer Experience Management PRODUCTS & SERVICES Job Reference: PDMM-24 Position: Product Development Manager, Messaging Job Reference: PDMD-25 Position: Product Development Manager, Data
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