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In a swift move to forestall an apparent dramatic scene to re enact the Uzoma Okere Assault case by Naval Boss Arogundade which cumulated in the pay off granted by a court in the sum of 100million naira
The Lagos State House of Assembly on Monday declared i
its intention to sue an actress, Mrs. Ufuoma Ejenabor, for trying to extort money from the House.
Speaker of the Assembly, Mr. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, stated this through his Chief of Staff, Mr. Segun Olusesi, while reacting to the alleged assault of Ejenabor by his aides on October 29.
Olusesi said he was driving in the convoy directly behind the pilot vehicle when Ejenabor suddenly emerged from the left and in an attempt to force herself into the speaker's convoy, hit the rear left of the bumper of the pilot vehicle with her right front bumper.
Olusesi also accused Ejenabor of damaging her own car by deliberately hitting the speaker's official Lexus Jeep.photos Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji Uzoma Okere and Self confessed Uhrobo Witch Ufuoma Ejenabor
He claimed that nobody assaulted her in any form and the photographs of her car as contained in newspaper reports could best be described as "insurance fraud and attempt to extort and blackmail the House and the speaker."
Ejenabor had alleged that her car would cost N595, 000 to repair.
The incident was, however, recorded by the aides of the Speaker and it showed part of the events that transpired.
Olusesi said immediately they noticed Ejenabor's belligerence, the Speaker ordered his aides to begin to record the events so that they would not have a scandal in their hands.
The recording showed Ejenabor hysterically shouting at the aides that she had been beaten, her phone seized and they were in trouble for damaging her car.
"You don jam bad luck! You don jam Urhobo witch. They should beat me o! They should beat me, Urhobo girl! You have to beat me. Shebi una get power,!" she screamed.
Olusesi explained that from the footage, she still had her bag intact and her phone was still with her. He also said that the video evidence showed that there was no damage to her car as was exhibited in the photographs.
Olusesi explained that the convoy was coming from the burial of the wife of a member of the House and was heading for Lagos University Teaching Hospital where another member, Mr. Rotimi Sotomiwa, lay ill. Sotomiwa died a few days after the incident.
In her reaction, Ejenabor said that her Blackberry phone was still with the speaker's aides and would be tracked.
"They beat me to collect my phone. My I-pod was in the car. They ransacked the car and took all things. They said I drove into their convoy.
Why would I do that? It happened during the day and it was on a highway. We can have a forensic check of my car and their car. Forensics don't lie," she said
In a recent joke that many Nigerians are moving out of low brow Croydon and its environs home to the dreaded Homeoffice and a definite Only fools reside where even Angels fear to rent .It has been a
Black Sunday for Nigerians in London …As immigration officials launch raid on illegal immigrants
From ADEWALE SANYAOLU,London with agency reports
Monday, November 15, 2010
It was a black Sunday for Nigerian and Ghanaian illegal migrants yesterday in London as immigration officers stormed into Haley’s in Regent Street and detained contract cleaners from Nigeria, Ghana and Brazil...
The dawn raid, which left four alleged illegal migrants arrested on Britain’s most famous toy shop caught the illegal migrants unaware. The immigration team, which searched all seven floors and rounded up 14 suspects in the teddy bear department, as the Met’s Territorial Support Group guarded the store’s exits.
One suspect, a 17-year-old from Brazil, was found in a locked storeroom cowering under shelves packed with toys. The raid comes as the stores gears up for the pre-Christmas rush. The cleaning staffs are all believed to work for Crystal Cleaning Services, based in Essex. None is employed directly by Haley’s and there is no suggestion that the retailer has done anything wrong...
Surrounded by stuffed bears and Christmas gifts, officers used mobile fingerprint scanners to determine whether the suspects had the right to be in Britain. At the end, four were arrested and could be deported within the next couple of days, while some were led away in handcuffs. Illegal immigrants are often forced to work for sub-standard wages and are frequently victims of trafficking. Tony Moore, a team leader at the UK Border Agency, said “ we are really pleased with the results today. More operations are planned in central London in the coming weeks.
Illegal working has a serious impact, taking jobs from those allowed to work. These employers often bypass health and safety and the minimum wage.” A Hamleys spokesman said: “We are more than happy to help the UK Border Agency.” Employers found guilty of using illegal migrants face a fine of up to’ Illegal working has a serious impact, taking jobs from those allowed to work.
These employers often bypass health and safety and the minimum wage.” A Hamleys spokesman said: “We are more than happy to help the UK Border Agency.” Employers found guilty of using illegal migrants face a fine of up to £10,000 for each one. Crystal Cleaning said it had followed guidance from the Home Office’s “Prevention of Illegal Working,” booklet.
Nigeria's next supermodel returns
Anna Okon
The 2010 edition of the hit reality show, Nigeria's next supermodel promises to be suspense packed as the organizers are leaving no stone unturned to ensure the show is a success and one that will make Nigeria proud.According to Joan Okorodudu, CEO Nigeria's next supermodel, the show which is billed to take place later in the month has all the glare and fanfare accompaniment befitting an international show. "We have several multinational companies buying into the show, it is going to be one of the best," she says...
Last year's winner, 21-year-old Aisha Bello is already putting plans in motion for a worldwide tour; she is to represent Nigeria in international modelling competitions.
As for the initial set back of entering the competition as a Muslim, she tells beauty corner that her family quickly got over their inhibitions when she was declared winner of the show.
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![pix20101114226031[1].jpg](http://odili.net/news/source/2010/nov/14/punch/images/pix20101114226031%5B1%5D.jpg)
This is the first in a series that will provide answers to the most frequently asked questions about Philip Emeagwali’s discoveries and inventions, and will answer
specific questions, such as, Why was Emeagwali called one of the fathers of the
Internet?
How did his seventeen years in eight degree programs at five universities help him solve one of the “20 Grand Challenges” in science and engineering? Why did he
need a supercomputer that sends and receives emails as an internet to solve it? How did he get exclusive access to a supercomputer, which today costs 1.32 BILLION
dollars, according to The Wall Street Journal (October 4, 2010)?
Most importantly, how did he become a famous scientist? The key to success, Emeagwali believes, is to make discoveries and inventions and then become
famous for creating new knowledge to be taught to mankind, present and future.
The reason President Bill Clinton extolled Philip Emeagwali for creating the
knowledge now used to program the supercomputer is that Clinton understood that
the inventor is the first teacher of his invention to humanity.
Our weekly series will put the most emphasis on his discoveries and inventions.
We’ll begin with Emeagwali’s “41 patent claims,” filed 20 years ago.
Regards,
His Inventions
Philip Emeagwali scribbled the actual equations used by the oil company Exxon (now Exxon Mobil) to simulate the flow of oil, water, and gas inside its petroleum
reservoirs. Emeagwali pointed out that four forces exist inside every petroleum
reservoir; he discovered that the Exxon Mobil equation had summed only three
forces. Emeagwali correctly summed all four forces, namely: pressure,
viscosity, gravity, and inertia. After learning about his discovery, Mobil
Research and Development invited him (in a letter dated March 19, 1990) help
the company in “reservoir simulation.” It’s as abstract as the Navier-Stokes
equations listed in the “Seven Millennium Problems” but yet computably solved
by Emeagwali. His equivalent of six degrees in mathematics and engineering
helped him to discover the 36 partial derivative inertial terms and to invent
36 algorithms for solving them.
His Lectures
As an invited speaker at the world’s largest gathering of mathematicians on July 8, 1991, in Washington, D.C, Philip Emeagwali presented his discoveries and
inventions to the field’s foremost experts. From 1993 to 1998, Emeagwali
represented the world’s two premier computer societies, The IEEE Computer
Society and the Association for Computing Machinery, as their Distinguished Speaker
at Computer Science Departments in the United States. As the headline speaker
at a top science festival (on January 30, 2009, near Calcutta, India), he held
7,000 attendees spellbound for 40 minutes. When he stepped down from the stage,
the audience mobbed him like a rock star....
How “41 Patent Claims” Was Shortened to “Patents”
Stories evolve, often subtly, with each retelling by others. The retelling of the story of “the 41 patent claims” that Philip Emeagwali told on July 8, 1991 at the
International Congress on Industrial and Applied Mathematics evolved into “41
patents.”
This conference is to mathematics what the World Cup is to soccer—unique and held only once every four years. Emeagwali told mathematicians at the conference
that he had filed 41 patent claims, which covered the 36 algorithms he had
invented for solving the 36 partial derivative inertial terms that he had
discovered.
As non-mathematicians retold his story, his “41 patent claims” was shortened to “41 patents.” Similarly, his young age of 35 years, published accurately in a
1989 interview, was repeated over and over for 21 years, which contributed to a
few mistaken tabloid media attacks claiming Emeagwali had “lied about his age.”
Philip Emeagwali told the mathematicians at the International Congress that his 41 patent claims were precise legal definitions of his algorithms for solving the
36 partial derivative inertial terms that he had discovered. He filed his 36
algorithms as 36 patent claims to avoid losing some of his rights and protection
under the law. He also filed five additional dependent claims, bringing his
total number of claims to 41.
Emeagwali stopped pursuing his patent claims because the United States Patent and Trademark Office told him that his 36 algorithms were discoveries, not
inventions. He argued that they were inventions, not discoveries, explaining
that although the Second Law of Motion encoded within his algorithms was not
patentable, his algorithmic techniques that embodied that Second Law within
supercomputers should be, because they are the discrete analogue of the 36
partial derivative inertial terms that he had discovered. In other words, they
were functions with input and output.
Patenting algorithms was a gray area in 1989.Today, it is possible to patent algorithms; however, because he publicly disclosed his inventions in 1989, the one year
filing deadline passed.
Importantly, scientific progress is only measured by discoveries, not patents. To discover means to see something that is previously unseen or unknown. Philip Emeagwali
discovered that petroleum reservoir engineers summed only three forces, instead
of summing all four forces within their oilfields. The word “invent” means the
contrivance of that which did not before exists. He invented 36 algorithms for
summing all four forces.
To invent means to originate or create as a product of the inventor’s ingenuity. It does not mean to patent. In supercomputing, it means to correctly formulate
and solve one of the “Twenty Grand Challenges” at a world-record speed. Philip
Emeagwali simulated the flow of oil, water, and gas— with the forces correctly
summed—at the then unheard of speed of 3.1 billion calculations per second. It
was a Grand Challenge that was of interest to Mobile, but completed by one man in
1989....
In summary, Philip Emeagwali received a standing ovation at the International Congress for telling the field’s foremost experts that: Exxon was falsifying
its petroleum reservoir equations and that the equations taught in universities
are not equating to what’s happening inside a petroleum reservoir. It is an
unpatented invention just as the internet is an unpatented invention. Your
dictionary defines the word “invention” without using the word “patent” and
groundbreaking inventions, such as the Internet, cannot be patented because it
has many fathers, mothers, aunts, and uncles. Most importantly, the discoverer
is the first teacher of his discovery to humanity.
The Abia Police Command has said 38 of its officers to kidnappers in the last few months.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Jonathan Johnson, made this known on Monday in Umuahia, while presenting the arms surrendered by some fleeing kidnappers to the state's governor, Theodore Orji.
Mr. Johnson said 10 officers were injured during the operations, six of them had been discharged from the hospital while the remaining four were still receiving treatment.
The commissioner said that the arms were recovered during the second amnesty programme, which the state government cancelled and that that the programme was yielding results before its cancellation.
Mr. Johnson said the arms were recovered in the kidnappers' camps.
``Some of the arms are 20 AK 47, 12 locally made AK 47, seven assault rifles, one general purpose machine gun, four rocket launchers, 15 pistols and 12 dynamites...
``Others are 23 double-barrelled guns 106 assorted magazines, gas cylinders, tool boxes and one G3riffle,'' he said.
The commissioner thanked the government for empowering the police to combat the crime, stressing that those who died during the operations had paid the supreme price to make Abia free of kidnapping.
Speaking while inspecting the arms, Mr. Orji said the police should compile the names of the dead officers for the state government to compensate their families.
The governor expressed the sympathy with the police command the bereaved families, stressing that Abia is now a safe heaven for investors.
``There was a time when Abia was synonymous with kidnapping. We tried the amnesty option and it failed before inviting the army to come to our aid,'' he said.
Mr. Orji said that the second amnesty programme was partially successful because of the harvest of arms by the committee.
The governor commended the police for their gallantry. ``I know we have efficient police force in the country but they lack adequate fire power to combat crime and criminals.
``You cannot expect a policeman to confront a criminal with a rapid machine gun,'' he remarked.
The governor stressed that his administration would continue to provide the enabling environment for the force.
Minister of Information and Communication, Prof. Dora Akunyili, made the remarks while receiving the participants of Heir Apparent Reality Show in her office in Abuja yesterday.
Akunyili, who frowned on the continuous misrepresentation of the country's official name in place of a “corrupt” version, said: "It is very offensive to call Nigeria ‘Naija’. We are making plans to write companies to stop using the word Naija. I have heard that name Naija in adverts. I want them to go back and remove that word.
"If anybody says this is Naija, ask the person, 'Where is Naija?' We have to stop this word because it is catching up with the young. If we don't put a stop to its usage now, it will continue to project us wrongly.”
The minister's condemnation was prompted by a sentence in the presentation of the visiting group where “our world is Naija” was inserted.
Akunyili, who fervently spoke against the use of the word, ordered that the sentence be removed from the programme and changed to “our world is Nigeria”.
“Naija” is obviously a Nigerianised form of Niger, from where Nigeria derived its name...
The word is popularly used by musicians, artistes, advert managers and corporate companies and it could be positive or negative, although it is being used more positively in recent times.
It is believed to be trendier and is used by the younger generation.
Though no official condemnation of the word has been made, several reports have warned of the consequence of the usage of such words among the youths.
Intellectual Fraud: Crisis Allegedly Rocks “Philip Emeagwali Myths”—Reports
New York [RR] New York—supercomputing applications, faster speed measured by mega-capacities makes the global community much smaller more than any other time in human history, so is the speed of accessibilites of informations, RepublicReport has gathered....
Recently, there have been intellectual pundits trading claims and counter-claims of alleged discussion of one Emeagwali’s academic credentials, which others call out as intellectual jealousy and envy, others say, “the man is an intellectual fraud”. Reports say, purported intellectual observers like Chioma Ezeilo which others declared as intellectual competitors sees Emeagwali academic record, simply: “pack of lies, half-truths, self-promotional and self-authentication”, RR has learnt.
Read more…
This page briefly addresses some specific claims appearing on Emeagwali’s self-promotional website and elsewhere. For a more in-depth discussion of Emeagwali’s “outright lies, half-truths, and numerous unsubstantiated claims,” see the article Self-Promotion and Self-Authentication: “Father of the Internet” by Chioma Ezeilo.
MYTH #1:
Emeagwali made the “world’s fastest computation” in 1989
Each year since 1987, the judges for the annual Gordon Bell competition have given out multiple prizes for supercomputing applications, usually including one for performance (fastest speed), and one forprice/performance (best speed/cost ratio; specifically, “price-performance ratio as measured in megaflop/s per dollar on a genuine application”).
Despite what you may have read on the Internet, the 1989 prize for the fastest performance was awarded not to Emeagwali, but to another entrant:
In the performance category, we awarded the prize to a team from Mobil Research and Development and Thinking Machines Corp. [...] Their solution of a seismic data-processing problem ran at almost 6 Gflops on a CM-2 Connection Machine.
“Special Report: 1989 Gordon Bell Prize,” IEEE Software, May 1990, p. 101
The winning speed of 6 Gflops was almost double that of Emeagwali’s entry (3.1 Gflops, a speed that Emeagwali has repeatedly misrepresented as the “world’s fastest”). The Mobil/TMC team achieved the best price-performance ratio too, but since no entry was allowed more than one prize, the price/performance award passed to Emeagwali (who also used a CM-2 Connection Machine) even though his score in that category was about 20% worse than the leading score:
We awarded the price/performance prize to Philip Emeagwali [...] His model ran at a price/performance of slightly less than 400 Mflops per $1 million. While the Mobil/TMC team achieved almost 500 Mflops per $1 million, we decided to award only one prize per entry.
“Special Report: 1989 Gordon Bell Prize,” IEEE Software, May 1990, p. 101
See the yearly results for the performance and price/performance categories. In no year did Emeagwali achieve what he claims he did.
MYTH #2:
Emeagwali won computing’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize
In spite of efforts by Emeagwali and his admirers to hype up his $1000 Gordon Bell award as the “Nobel Prize” of computing, the rest of the computing world continues to associate that lofty label with the Turing Award, which Emeagwali has never won. The Gordon Bell prize, however, is just one of many other annual computing awards, respectable but not at all comparable to either the Nobel Prize or the Turing Award in prestige or prize money. Nor are the selection criteria analogous: Emeagwali was awarded for his performance in an annual competition, not in recognition of lasting contributions to his field.
MYTH #3:
Emeagwali is a “Father of the Internet”
1. Emeagwali’s paternity claims to the Internet are judged and found baseless. Emeagwali has not shown any evidence that he was involved with ARPA or any other research organization or company connected with the genesis of the Internet, nor did he express his ideas in technical journals or any other channel through which he could have influenced the development of the Internet during its formative stages.
2. Is there a father of the Internet? A discussion of the main contenders: JCR Licklider, Bob Taylor, Paul Baran, Donald Davies, and Lawrence Roberts.
MYTH #4:
The “Connection Machine” was invented by Emeagwali
A few Web sources expand the fallacy that Emeagwali created the fastest computer program, insisting that he was also responsible for the massively parallel supercomputer on which the program ran. However, the 65,000-processor “Connection Machine” that allowed such speedy computations was actually the brainchild of Danny Hillis and was built by Thinking Machines Corporation, the company Hillis co-founded. The fact is extensively documented on the web and is so well established that I won’t devote more attention to it.
MYTH #5:
Emeagwali has lots of patents or patent applications
The number of Emeagwali’s patents or patent applications is sometimes claimed to be as high as 30. However, a search of the USPTO and esp@cenet patent databases (as of September 2003) reveals the true number to be zero. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which has a fully searchable online database for all U.S. patents since 1976 as well as all current applications, simply has nothing on file for Emeagwali.
MYTH #6:
“Dr.” Emeagwali?
Emeagwali is frequently referred to on his own and other websites as “Dr. Philip Emeagwali” or simply “Dr. Emeagwali.” Though he did in fact enroll in a PhD program at the University of Michigan, he did not get the degree after failing his qualification examinations twice and having his thesis rejected by a committee of faculty members. Emeagwali subsequently sued the university, alleging civil rights violations and racial discrimination. His case was dismissed without trial. When Emeagwali appealed to a higher court, a three-judge panel rejected his discrimination claims unanimously.
Read more…
Amiel, Written By
With all due respect, I am very disappointed in your insistence that we honor Emeagwali’s true “achievements” even after confirming for yourself that the man is indeed a fraud of immense proportion, a self-promoting genius who is, in his claimed field of expertise, a mediocre at best. I can understand Ikhide’s frustration. The “debate” on Emeagwali’s intellectual fraud has long been settled in the Nigerian cyberspace. Only the most fanatical Nigerian and African American sentimental (as opposed to a rational) investors in black scientific heroism, still take the fool seriously. And, of course, our people back home, for whom even the mere fact of foreign residency is a validation, let alone one that is backed by aggressively deceptive self promotion. Okay, let’s do what you’re asking us to do and strip away the lies, deceptions, exaggerations, false claims, and the entire intellectual pyramid scheme as someone called Emeagwali’s internet based edifice of fraud. When we are done with that, we’re left with:
1. A guy who FAILED his PhD qualifying exam TWICE at my alma mater, the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
2. A guy whose doctoral research was subsequently evaluated by internal and external examiners and declared substandard.
3. A guy whose research won a minor THIRD PLACE prize in a very narrow field of applied computing. He was bumped to first place only when the teams ahead of him with higher computing speed won another prize and therefore forfeited the category to Emeagwali. In other words, he “won” by default. The prize had nothing to do with the internet or even computing as a field. It was for application of computing to oil exploration.
4. A guy who has no single published paper in a peer reviewed publication in his field
5. A guy who has no single patent or “patent pending” as he claims
6. A guy who has managed through internet trickery to get many media organizations, especially the black press, to buy into and as a result, validate his hoax. He then cites those naive, ignorant press validations, recycling them through links, which then show up on google and are then picked up by naive, hero-hunting black folks all over the world. As a fraud, it is very clever, but it is still a fraud and a huge one at that.
7. A guy who has parlayed his falsehoods into all kinds of lucrative speaking engagements in black America, Nigeria, and the Caribbean, deceiving our people who are hungry for heroes and collecting their hard earned money to make them feel good about themselves.
8. A guy who routinely goes around calling himself professor and Dr but who has never taught a university class, failed his PhD, and is not an academic.
I can go on, but let me not bore you with that your own research has revealed to you already. So, here you have a guy whose only achievement is the Gordon Bell Prize ($1000), which he won by default after coming THIRD and which he fraudulently calls “the Nobel Prize of Computing.” I put it to you that there are THOUSANDS of Nigerians whose research have won such narrow prizes in their fields and won not by default or by coming THIRD but by beating the competition. They don’t make noise or self-promote. They don’t lie about themselves. They don’t call themselves “Africa’s greatest scientist,” “father of the internet,” etc. Even on this list, there are many scientists who have won more prestigious prizes and awards. Our own Joseph Igietseme recently led a team of scientists at the prestigious CDC to win a highly coveted award in the field of biomedical research. The man did not grab a megaphone to announce that he was the greatest African scientist alive.
Has Nigeria honored the genuine achievers in our midst? How about our own Oga Falola, has he been given a national award let alone being put on a postage stamp? How about Pius Adesanmi and many others who have been making us proud by hauling in prestigious literary prizes from across the world; have they been as much as recognized in Nigeria?
If we’re desperate for heroes, why don’t we honor genuine ones? Why validate liars and frauds like Emeagwali who have actually brought dishonor to the country as their claims have been serially debunked and have been sometimes generalized to Nigerians and “their 419 ways”? Remember that every time their false claims are debunked their nationality and Africanness are referenced. How can that be good for a country that has genuine scientific pioneers working in the most prestigious and cutting edge scientific institutions in the world (CDC, NASA, etc).
As we speak, there is another fraud who has similarly cast a spell on home audiences, hauling in cash and recognition. Dr. Gabriel Oyibo self-describes as a five time Nobel Prize nominee even though Nobel nominations are not revealed until at least a hundred years or so, and even though his peers cannot even vouch for the validity of his bizarre claims, which reside at the confusing intersection of religion, metaphysics, African history and mythology, and physics!
A trained physicist, the man, who cannot even hold down an academic job and has no impressive research pedigree to speak of, claims that he has invented a theory of everything, which he calls GAGUT! The Nigerian national assembly issued a declaration honoring him as a great African scientist! He, too, is on a Nigerian postal stamp!
Oyibo is in some respect even worse than Emeagwali since he actually has a PhD and used to have an adjunct teaching position that gives him a perfect cover to perpetrate his deception. At least Emeagwali is a good motivational public speaker and writer (which I think is his actual calling in life). The GAGUT man speaks in an incomprehensible metaphysical language that is clearly a sign of lunacy.
A country that honors frauds and ignores true achievers and truthful, quiet heroes deserves what is happening to her.
_________________
As welcome as it is, Aung San Suu Kyi’s release is part of a Machiavellian calculation by the military junta in Myanmar that it has a lot less to fear from her....
Last Sunday’s election, the first to be held in 20 years had the military regime’s Union Solidarity and Development Party heading for a sweeping victory, winning 80 percent of the seats, and assuring Prime Minister General Than Shwe and other top military leaders of a role in Parliament. A significant number of the seats the USDP won came from areas where the party was the sole contestant.
Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy had taken the decision to boycott what it considered a process that had been rigged to ensure the success of the Union Solidarity and Development party while allowing the emergence of small opposition groups that would divide the opposition. It also insisted that it could not abandon its leader who was at the time still under house arrest. As a result of its refusal to register for the elections the National League for Democracy was officially disbanded as a political party.
Two decades ago, when the last elections were held in the country then known as Burma, the NLD, with Aung San Suu Kyi already in detention, won in a landslide victory (80 percent of parliamentary seats and 59 percent of the popular vote) which the military regime quickly annulled. Suu Kyi would spend 15 of the next 20 years under house arrest, until her release last Saturday.
The Nobel Peace laureate whose father, Gen. U Aung San, was hailed as the founder of modern Burma, has led a life that was circumscribed by her commitment to the cause of freedom and democracy in her country. Political rivals assassinated U Aung San in 1947. Suu Kyi’s life thereafter followed the course of her mother ‘s political and diplomatic career until she returned to Burma in 1988 in the middle of a successful academic career, to take care of her then ailing mother, leaving her husband and two sons in England. She stayed on to lead the pro-democracy movement and never left. She was first placed under house arrest in 1989. Her husband Michael Aris’ visit to Myanmar in1995 was the last time she ever saw him alive. When he was diagnosed with cancer in 1997 the Burmese government refused to grant him a visa to the country. Suu Kyi, fearing that the regime’s insistence that she visit him instead was a ruse not to allow her back, did not go. From the time she retuned to Burma in 1988 to when he died in March 1999, she saw her husband five times.
It is quite clear that the sacrifices Ms Suu Kyi will have to make are not yet over. It is a changed political terrain with far more disparate issues to contend with, not the least of which will be a jostling for power in more divided political field. Her message to the emotional crowd of supporters outside her gates on Sunday night seemed to recognise this. She spoke in tones that had echoes of Nelson Mandela, of her willingness to reconcile with her jailers and to meet with the country’s strongman, Gen. Than Shwe. She indicated she would be willing to speak with Western leaders about lifting economic sanctions against Myanmar, if that was what the people wanted. To her followers she urged patience, adding there was much work to do together.
Already the NLD has asserted its preparedness to challenge the alleged election malpractices of the USDP, as have the other parties who contested. The road ahead promises still to be tough but the direction is a lot clearer, not the least because of the courage of Aung San Suu Kyi.
CNN's Christian Purefoy talks with a Nigerian entrepenuer who sees an opportunity in providing quality portable toilet units in the country.
Long, long, long, long time ago
African man we no dey carry shit
We dey shit inside big big hole
For Yoruba-land na "Shalanga"
Sam Olukoya reports from Lagos where a local entrepreneur is benefiting from a niche in the market - providing portable toilets.
Isaac Durojaiye was sure that his business would succeed
"Years back those who evacuated human waste in Nigeria were ashamed to do the job - they covered their faces so nobody could recognise them.
"But all that is changing now," says Isaac Durojaiye - also known as Otunba Gaddafi - who runs a mobile toilet business called Dignified Mobile Toilets (DMT).
"I named it dignified to show the world that there is dignity in the business," says the former bodyguard whose code name while working in government security circles was Gaddafi.
"There is nothing to be ashamed about human waste, it is a reality - we all have to answer the call of nature."
Confident of success
He started the business in 1992 after observing that there were only about 500 functional public toilets in Nigeria, a country with a population of more than 130m.
The toilets are becoming a familiar sight in Nigeria's major cities
"Even then most of the public toilets were poorly maintained," he says.
Mr Durojaiye says his mobile toilets which are made of high quality plastic materials are available for sale, rent and for leasing. DMT maintains the toilets and its specialized trucks evacuate the human waste twice a week from each toilet.
He recalls that when he set up the business he was confident of success given that with a population of Nigeria's size, there is a huge demand for public toilets.
Social service
The toilets are becoming a familiar sight at densely populated public places like bus stops and motor parks in major Nigerian cities.
"We are performing a major social service as we are eliminating the need for people to defecate in public places," he says.
Each toilet according to him typically serves about 100 people each day for a fee of 20 Nigerian naira per usage.
And for a fee, businesses can advertise their products on the toilet doors. To date, about 25% of DMT's revenue comes from advertising.
The company is also working on plans to recycle the waste collected to generate bio-gas, electricity and fertilizer for farmers.
watch bbc interview
http://www.9jamovies.com/play.php?vid=1025
Long, long, long, long time ago
African man we no dey carry shit
We dey shit inside big big hole
For Yoruba-land na "Shalanga"
For Igbo-land na "Onunu-insi"
For Hausa-land na "Salga"
For Gaa-land na "Tiafi"
For Ashanti-land na "Yarni"
For Ethiopia-land na "Sagara-be"
For Kagyu-land na "Cho-Cho"
For Bemba-land na "Chimbuzi"
For Tunga-land na "Echibuzi"
Long, long, long, long time ago
African man we no dey carry shit
We dey shit inside big big hole
Onyemaechi has been arraigned before the Ikeja Magistrate’s Court for using his
blackberry phone to take pictures of some police officers at their duty
post.
When he was arraigned before Magistrate Botoku, who held brief for Magistrate A.O Komolafe, Michael, who just came into Nigeria nine days ago after
seven years of studying abroad to commence Law School in Abuja, pleaded not
guilty to the two-count charge brought against him by the police
prosecutor.
The two-count charge brought against him bordered on assault and breach of peace by indiscriminately taking pictures at a public
place.
The charge sheet read: “That you Onyekwere Michael Onyemaechi “m” on the 4/11/2010 at about 1800hrs at Acme Road junction, Ogba, Lagos, in the
Ikeja Magisterial District did conduct yourself in a manner likely to cause
breach of peace at Acme Road junction, being a public place, by using your
blackberry mobile phone to take photographs of people indiscriminately,
including that of two police officers namely Inspector Jerry Abuo and Cpl. Etim
Itoro, for a ill motive and thereby committed an offence contrary to and
punishable under Section 249(D) of the Criminal Code, Cap.17, Vol. 11 Laws of
Lagos State of Nigeria 2003.”....
The friendly match scheduled to hold between Nigeria and Iran at the Azadi Stadium, Tehran, on Wednesday, has been cancelled.
The world football governing body, FIFA, has always tried to dissociate football from politics. But in the cancellation of the supposedly ‘friendly' match between Iran and Nigeria, issues of foreign affairs have definitely impinged on football.
Official sources from both sides have been reluctant to discuss the cancellation, but information on some websites and a member of the Nigeria Football Federation confirmed that indeed the friendly match will not take place.
Nigeria officials told a local website in Nigeria that the unavailability of key players for the Super Eagles due to injuries prompted the cancellation, but the decision has also been seen in the light of cooling diplomatic relations between both countries, based on the interception of a shipment of arms that originated from the Middle-East country that found its way to Nigeria.
A member of the new board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Deji Tinubu, head, marketing department, confirmed to Nextsports that the friendly match between the Nigeria national team against their Iranian counterparts has been called off.
In a terse text message, Mr. Tinubu said, "Unfortunately, friendly cancelled. The reason was because of technical issues beyond our control."
Musa Amadu, the NFF's acting secretary general, also told The Associated Press on Monday that the match in Tehran had been postponed because Nigeria's star footballers were going to be absent on account of injuries.
When asked if the decision was connected to the arms cache seizure in Lagos on October 12 at Apapa ports, Mr. Amadu, tellingly did not outrightly deny a connnection, but instead responded by saying, "it's for you to speculate."
When Nextsports got in touch with Mr. Amadu to try and have a more detailed chat on the issue, he declined to speak, citiing vital emergency issues that needed tending, adding, "Please call me back later."
Abbas Torabian, director of the International Relations Committee of Iran Football Federation, had said last week that there was no problem between both countries.
"Nigeria will travel to Iran with its big football stars. Nigeria's ban from international football has been lifted by FIFA and the Super Eagles have no problem to play Iran," Mr. Torabian had said.
Iran football coach, Afshin Ghotbi, also released a list of 26 players on Saturday night for the friendly match against Nigeria.
Nigeria has just appointed a new coach for the national team, Samson Siasia, and he was supposed to see the team he is inheriting in the Iran match under the tutelage of the interim coach, Augustine Eguavoen. But that opportunity is now gone and he will have to wait till December 1, when he officially resumes as the Eagles' gaffer.
The friendly match was also supposed to be part of Iran's preparation for the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup, to be hosted by Qatar in 2011. They lost to Brazil 3-0 in a friendly held in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last month.
We thank Allah for making us witness yet another Eid on earth. We pray He makes us witness many more on earth.
While we savour the meats and food, let the message of the festival not be lost on us.
Eid Mubarak
Nigerian Muslims, today, join the rest of the Islamic world to celebrate Eld-el-Kabir, an important festival which is the climax of the climbing of Mount Arafat by pilgrims in Saudi Arabia. It is marked by festivities that will involve the killing of rams to symbolise Prophet Ibrahim's obedience and strict compliance with Allah's instruction to offer his son, Ismael, as a sacrifice to him.
Allah, as the Muslim Holy Book records it, provided a white ram to replace Ismael just at the point he was to be sacrificed by his father, thereby instituting for all generations a model for uncommon obedience and trust in Allah. Nigerian Muslims will join fellow faithful in killing rams for this festival to mark the important historic incident, which unequivocally confirmed Prophet Ibrahim's faithfulness to Allah.
But, beyond the fanfair of ram killing and merry-making, we urge all Nigerians not to allow the significance of this notable event to be lost on them.
We should not just slaughter rams and feast at this time, we must strive to imbibe and demonstrate the useful lessons in the monumental action of Prophet Ibrahim. We must ask ourselves if we are capable of exhibiting the humility, total trust and obedience demonstrated by the Prophet. Sadly, this sacrificial attitude is rare among Nigerians today. Everywhere, especially among our political leaders, there is so much selfishness. Public office holders cherish their self-interest above all else.
We urge Nigerians to go beyond the routine merriment of this festivity and bring to life the morals and virtues behind Prophet Ibrahim's awesome act of worship. Our leaders should bow to the wishes of the people as expressed through the ballot.
This Eid-el-Kabir, we urge everyone to go beyond tokenism in faith and make sacrifices for the common good. Our leaders should give selfless service, and trust in God to fulfill their expectations and aspirations in the coming polls, rather than resort to wicked and ungodly tactics to get into office. The people are sovereign in a democracy. Leaders ought to demonstrate great humility, just as Prophet Ibrahim did, relying totally on God to work out His perfect will for his life...
As true servant leaders, Nigerian leaders should not lord it over the people. Let them draw useful lessons from Prophet Ibrahim's awesome act of devotion, and receive fresh vision and vigour to serve the people in a sacrificial manner.
Let the essence of this festival guide their conduct, henceforth. It should reflect in the behaviour of all Nigerians. Let it propel us to ensure good neighbourliness and trust in God. Relationship between the leaders and the people should be based on trust, and the welfare of the people should be the primary focus of the government.
We call on all Nigerians to imbibe the virtues in Prophet Ibrahim's conduct so that we can live peaceably, while working for progress of the country.
Doing this will help the nation untie the Gordian knot of credible political leadership that eluded it for five decades.
Hausa-speaking community across the globe, from villages in Northern
Nigeria to diaspora audiences in Europe. Here she tells of a new
initiative to connect rural Nigeria to the web and life of a young
connected urbanite in London. I know that mobile phones rule my
children's world but frankly they rule my world too. It also appears
they are starting to rule some African rural communities as well. ...
Mobile phones are becoming increasingly popular in Nigeria. However,usage is largely limited to voice calls and SMS, and for some areas,
becoming connected to the internet can be a major challenge. When
mobile technology really began to be taken seriously some two decades
ago, no-one knew what the scale of the impact would be, in terms of
communication, accessibility, convenience, or the nuisance they can
sometimes become.
Back in January as part of the SuperPower season, BBC Hausa providedvillagers of Gitata in Nasarawa, Northern Nigeria, with two
internet-enabled mobile phones. I'm looking forward to the BBC Hausa's
"Gagabadau" at 06.30 GMT on March 15, as Ibrahim Isa revisits the
village to see how the devices might have changed the lives of the
villagers.
Gitata continues our Labarinku A Tafinku (Your World in Your Palms)story, which started last summer. By giving village communities in
Nigeria mobile phones, we are empowering them. I also see it as some
sort of partnership between journalists and 'citizens', and I am hopeful
it will benefit all involved. ...
Exploring the other end of the 'connectivity scale', we also wantedto look at the effect of the internet on young urbanites and to find out
what it means to them to keep 'connected'. A second-generation Hausa
girl living in London, Khadija Ahmed, enjoys surfing the net and social
networking and spends several hours a day on the internet via her iPod,
which she uses to chat, visit Facebook, exchange pictures and listen to
music.
Yet Khadija still finds time to study - she is an A-student whohopes to read Law at Oxford University. The popularity of online social
networking, particularly sites such as Facebook, is also rapidly
increasing in Northern Nigeria, and many young people use BBC Hausa's
Facebook page as their meeting point where they exchange views on topics
ranging from sports to politics to social issues.
I am going to be talking to Khadija in Zamani Riga at 06.30 onTuesday 16 March, and Ahmed Wakil will be asking youngsters in Abuja
about the ways in which mobile phones and online social networking are
changing social dynamics and habits. That will be on Kungiyar Zumunta at
06.30 on Wednesday 17 March.
BBC Hausa is also going to be looking at the 'non-mobile' generation- the 'unconnected', with Nazir Mika'ilu reporting on whether the older
generation is missing out on what many believe is a tool of
empowerment. That will be on Jiya Ba Yau Ba at 06.30 GMT on Friday 19
March. In English you can hear from Gitata village on The World Today
(radio) on March 8 and on TV on March 20.
I am hopeful lots of benefits will be reaped both on our part and onthe part of the communities too. After all we share a common objective:
the will to change life for the better!
Source: Jamilah Tangaza, BBC
Nigeria’s Super Falcons yesterday defeated defending champions Equatorial Guinea’s Nzalang Nacional 4-2 to win the 7th African Women’s Championship, in South Africa.
It was the 6th time Nigeria will be emerging as champions of Africa and the win served as sweet revenge for the Super Falcons, who had lost out at the semi final stage of the 2008 tournament to the Nzalang Nacional.
Perpetua Nkwocha shot Nigeria into the lead in the first half to score her 11th goal of the tournament. But it wasn’t until the second half that the game came alive with both sides thrilling spectators to an incredible display of attacking football with five goals arriving in the final half-hour of the game - one from the head of Nigeria’s Ugochi Oparanozie, and four by the Equatoguineans, including two own goals.
The second half
The Nzalang Nacional started out the stronger of both sides after the half-time break with their most dangerous player Salimata Simpore doing her best to trouble the Nigerian backline, but Osinachi Ohale, and Rita Chikwelu who had to abandon her responsibilities in the Super Falcons midfield ensured that the threat posed by the 23-year-old forward was nullified. Simpore got past her markers on one occasion, in the 57th minute, only to shoot over the Nigerian crossbar.
Two minutes later, Oparanozie, put through on goal by Stella Mbachu, got the better of her marker only for her shot to be parried out for a corner kick by the Nacional’s Brazilian-born goalkeeper Mirian.
From the resultant corner kick, Oparanozie came close to extending Nigeria’s lead but her header from four yards out went over the bar.
Paying the price
The Nigerians were to eventually rue those misses when Caroline Conceicao headed home a corner kick, in the 63rd minute to draw the Equatoguineans level. In the process, the Brazilian-born central defender received a blow from the Nigerian goalkeeper, Precious Dede, and she had to be taken off the pitch for treatment.
The equalizer served as a wake-up call for the Super Falcons and raided the Nzalang Nacional’s backline in search of the winning goal. The pressure paid off in the 76th minute when Oparanozie rose higher than every other person in the penalty area to nod Nigeria back into the lead, with her third goal of the tournament.
Three minutes later, Ghislaine Nke scored an own goal from a cross by Mbacu to make it 3-1.
The Nzalang Nacional however responded almost immediately with an 82nd minute goal by Jade Boho Sayo, who was actually a member of the Spanish team that won the 2004 UEFA Women’s Under-19 Championship in Finland. She scored the opening goal of Spain’s 2-1 win over the Germans in that 2004 final....
But a dazzling run down the right flank, right after the restart, resulted in yet another own goal by the Equatoguineans, this time by Conceicao, who side footed a cross by Mbachu past her goalkeeper.
No frayed nerves
“We were not worried,” said Nkwocha in response to a question about the attempted comeback by the Equatoguineans. “I was not worried because we remained focused all through. We had our targets, which were to qualify for the World Cup and to win the tournament so we were always confident of winning,” added the Swedish-based player who ended up as the tourney’s leading scorer.
She however fell short of the 15 goals that had been set for her by her teammates.
“I tried my best to score because I said I was going to score 15 goals,” said Nkwocha before adding: “Actually my friends did, but at least I tried by scoring more than half of it.” Mbachu said she is convinced that Nkwocha did her best.
“You can see that she tried to do it,” she said. “Anytime she is on the pitch she gives us confidence. We have so much faith in her and she didn’t disappoint.”
Apart from Nkwocha’s top scorer award, Nigeria also won the Fair Play Trophy while Mbachu was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. And there was none more pleased about it all than the team’s coach Eucharia Uche, herself a former Falcon player.
“I’m really happy about it all,” said an elated Uche. “I’m really glad that almost all the awards here are for Nigerians.”
The next task for the Super Falcons is to get ready for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, which has been scheduled to take place between June 26 and July 17 in Germany. They have never made it past the quarter finals of the World Cup...
And this is how smartphone users see 2G users.................
Are you struggling to stimulate activity in your online community? Do you have lots of members but little participation. Try asking the sorts of questions that stimulate discussion in every online community.
Here are 20 to get you started:
- What is your favourite ………. ? Asking members about their favourite anything will stimulate a response. Try it.
- What is your average day like? People love to talk about themselves. Ask them what their average day is like and they’ll tell you. They’ll also compare it with anyone else that answers.
- What do you think about ………? Giving opinions is human nature. When you ask for opinions you’ll get a lot.
- What advice would you give to the person above you? Careful about these. Can stimulate a lot of activity, can also get way out of hand. Useful for a light-hearted touch to your community efforts.
- Can anyone recommend …..? People like to be helpful and show off knowledge. Asking for recommendations will solicit knowledge and engagement from users.
- What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you whilst ….. ? Self explanatory. Let members share their stories. It’ll almost certainly boost activity and return visits. Members will slowly get to know and like each other.
- Can anyone fix …… ? Present a difficult problem, let members try to suggest ways to fix it.
- What is the best/worst …………….. ? Opinions, opinions, opinions. Solicit them in as many different ways as possible. Pick a sub-category and ask people for their best/worst suggestions.
- Who do you most admire? Pick someone in your niche you most admire and tell others why.
- Is {x} really better than {y}? Make it controversial. Pick an issue members will be split on – but not divisively so. Ask questions about it. Let people take sides.
- If you weren’t ……….., would you ………….. ? Create a hypothetical situation in which all members can give their opinion on something radical.
- Who/What are your top 5 …………… ? Ranking is addictive. Ask people to rank their top 5 anything and then try to create an overall ranking based upon the community.
- How would you handle {topical issue}? If your members in charge, how would they handle a topical issue in your sector?
- What …… do you use? Relevant in almost all online communities, ask people to compare what relevant products/services they use. Companies love this information too.
- Does anyone know how to ………….. ? Does anyone know provokes interest, the how to can be broad or specific. People are likely to participate.
- Has anyone tried…………….. ? Again, has anyone is all-encompassing and people are likely to share their experiences.
- Is …….. right about ………. ? Take someone’s stance on a topical issue and throw it open to comment by the entire community.
- What would you do if ……. ? Create a hypothetical situation, perhaps a problem lots of people face, and ask members what they would do. Life problems work well here.
- What should every newcomer know about ….? Well, what should every newcomer know about something relevant in your sector? It’s great advice – perfect for a sticky-thread.
- Share your pictures/top tips here. Sharing advice and pictures can be an easy win for stimulating activity. Try it. I suspect you will find it easy to gain lots of valuable insights....
The more open-ended the question, the more everyone can participate. When you post a question, try prodding a few members to reply and get the activity started.
