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To say Nollywood stars have had their fair share of trials and tribulations in the hand of the media is an understatement. Some have been through the fire and are still smarting from the experience. The latest to be hit is popular Nollywood star and Glo ambassador Uche Jombo.

Some weeks ago a certain media house, News of the People based in Ojodu, circulated a story that the actress had undergone an abortion at the advanced stage of 6months for a certain Okechukwu Uche. Shaken by the news, it was decided to track Uche concerning the matter and the actress who was most upset, denied the allegations vehemently. ‘How can I abort a 6 month pregnancy? It is a bloody lie! I do not know how someone can wake up in the morning and his plan is just to destroy others with his poisonous pen! I can not tell you how this story has affected me emotionally and psychologically but I have handed the matter over to my lawyer and it is in court now! When pressed further Uche said, ‘I have issued a press release to the necessary media houses and have also been advised not to discuss the details of the case but I can tell you that I am suing them (News of the People) for one hundred billion naira!

Further efforts to get her to speak were rebuffed with the actress informing me that she was going for a well deserved rest in the United States in the coming week. She however directed me to her lawyer, Victor Ukutt Esq. who she said will handle the matter from now on.

they tracked him down and he intimated me that the media house had already been written formally to retract and publicly apologize to the Star and failure to do this would result in them being served. When asked if the media house had complied and the lawyer said ‘No! So we have no option but to go ahead, sue them and summon them to court on the matter. We will do so formally on Tuesday 16th February 2010’. ‘And how much are you suing them for?’ He replies; ‘100 billion naira!’! I wonder if the media house can pay and voice that out to which he answers, ‘They should have thought of that when they were writing malicious stories about my client! We intend to pursue this matter to the fullest extent of the law till justice is done’. Meanwhile we at Nollywooduncut.com intend to keep you updated on this saga

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AbdulMutallab: Aondoaaka's N50m request stirs controversy

Chiawo Nwankwo and Olusola Fabiyi


A request by former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa (SAN), for the release of N50m to enable a team travel abroad to launder the country's image in the wake of Farouk Abdulmutallab's ill-fated attempt to bomb a US airline, has become a subject of controversy in Abuja.

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Michael Aondoakaa (SAN)


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Aondoaaka had claimed, in a request made late January, that he obtained a presidential approval to undertake the trip to four countries.

The identities of the said countries could not be ascertained, nor was the date in January the request was made.

Meanwhile, the controversial former A-G who was redeployed on the first day of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as the Acting President, commenced a one-month vacation on Friday.

One of our correspondents gathered that Aondoakaa told his close aides that he decided to commence his vacation because he did not want anything to do with the Ag. President status of Jonathan whom he continued to refer to as the vice-president.

The Abdulmuttalab saga and the sectarian crisis in Jos, Plateau State had provoked undue negative foreign reportage of Nigeria , which the minister said, telling the country's side of the story was absolutely necessary.

However, the big question is: was it Yar'Adua, who no public official had seen since he left the country for Saudi Arabia on November 23, 2009 that gave the approval?

It was gathered that the N50m request was addressed to the Minister of Finance, Dr. Mansur Muktar and the Minister of State of Finance, Mr. Remi Babalola.

But the request was ultimately passed to the Director-General Budget, Dr. Bright Okogu.

When contacted on the telephone on Sunday, Okogu confirmed that his office received such application from Aondoaaka.

However, he could not say whether it was approved, just as he said there were many requests of such nature, which were not approved.

Okogu told our correspondent, "Well, I don't specifically remember if it was approved because a lot of so many requests were made during that period and many of them were turned down.

"However, I will find out from my staff and get back to you after our budget seminar."

The former AGF had in January been involved in altercation with the Head of Service of the Federation, Mr. Stephen Oronsanya on a central travel unit for all the MDAs, which he opposed.

Oronsanye had justified the new scheme on the need to save cost for government.

Aondoaaka has reportedly traveled out of the country on vacation, shortly after he was redeployed as Minister of Special Duties.
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Wrong notions about Nigerian visa seekers
World Briefing By Paul Ohia email:paulohia@thisdayonline.com Tel:08034483595, 02.14.2010
Monday, February 15, 2010

If you have abundant money in your account, you are qualified for a British, American or any other advanced country visa but they do their best to restrict people with criminal intentions from getting entry into their developed world.


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Other checks outside these requirements are done perfunctorily and may not matter in your being issued a visa.

However, an indigent person can also gain access into those countries but the person must have a scholarship from a reputable organisation, country or individual but must be ready to evacuate himself from the country upon finishing his studies. He may also be invited by an affluent person.

After 9/11, those countries also started monitoring people with terrorism inclinations and have been doing what they consider the best within their means to stop such elements from gaining entry through their borders.

The dilemma of having a fat is that terrorists normally have big bank accounts to back up their applications for visa.

There are people whose works require travels like journalists, development workers and religious clerics but they may not have fat bank accounts. For instance, whose salary may be on the starting point needs to travel as much as the editor who may have a bigger pay. He may even need to travel more than the government official with a diplomatic or official passport. I have had many complaints from these categories of workers that their careers have been stunted because of the requirement by some embassies that one must have large money moving in and out of their account and once this is not there the response would be that you do not have enough to sustain you in their country. It may embarrass you with an additional comment; that you may not return if you found yourself in their country.

On several occasions they are even assured that the company would foot the bill of the traveller or that some organisations would bear the cost, yet they deny access.

Sometime ago, an American organisation needed to build mud houses and had nobody with the knowledge of doing it in their country hence they had to research and find suitable people in the Eastern Nigeria. The locals were given invitation to travel to the US but were stopped at the embassy because they could not speak English and cannot produce evidence that they would not disappear in a country where they cannot speak their language.

The latest issue on this matter is the British student visa which has been abused by terrorists who infiltrate the country as students. It is meant to favour the bourgeoisie in the sense that they are able to get their off-springs attend the best colleges just like those listed as the Highly Trusted Sponsors.

In this European country, it has not been proven that those who come for short courses who may now be subjected to tougher visa regimes are among the perpetrators of economic or security crimes. In my own view, the whole issue of visa review in Britain is based on hype. So is the fantasy about fat bank accounts.

If Mr. Balogun, a brilliant banker, is not comfortable with poor power supply in Nigeria and has the mind to escape to leave a better life in the Diaspora, nothing stops him from presenting his fat statement of account as a bank manager and taking along his family members to UK to stay forever and add to the increasing population there. Yes this scenario happens very often. Often times, those who escape to those countries are normally people who should be comfortable here also. Some have the poetic feeling that living in Europe or the Americas gives them some superiority like ancient French people who returned from Greece speaking Latin in the medieval ages. Many of them pride themselves with speaking foreign accents and making fun of local idiolects as if foreign accents are not some sort of idiolects themselves.

The point I am struggling hard to make here is that despite the fact that countries have the right to grant access their territories by issuing visas, tying the issuing of visa to a persons monetary, or with property background is not the best policy.

Visa officers should consider other issues like the person’s commitment to his profession and emotional attachment to his home country. Apart from these, experts should be called in to give their suggestions on the matter so that people who should otherwise contribute to the advancement of humanity by a broader interaction with civilizations elsewhere are not sidelined to a particular part of the globe because it appears they may lack the resources required for a traveler.
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Edo road projects to gulp N50bn - Oshiomhole

Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has said N50bn is required to complete on-going road projects throughout the state.


Adams Oshiomholepix20060812102968%5B1%5D.jpg



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He has also criticised previous governments in the state for allegedly constructing hailed roads.

Oshiomhole, who disclosed this amount for the first time in a chance encounter with our correspondent said it was feat that must be accomplished through the regular payment of taxes and proper planning.

Oshiomhole spoke in Benin on Thursday night shortly after returning from Uzairue in Etsako West Local Government Area, where he inagurated the Ayogwiri-Apena Road project.

He said, "We are going to be firm in tax collection because with the construction going on everywhere, nobody will ask us why we are collecting taxes. We have done proper planning and we know what we required.

We have made adequate arrangement to fund the jobs as they come and I am very confident that we have made clear projections. For instance in the first qurater of the year, how much is required to do many of these jobs?

"We have specific commitments and as funds come, we already know what to do with them. So, you don't have the temptation of diverting resources to programmes that were not properly thought out. So, it is a deliberate approach to tie you to specific targets. We are not finished yet."

According to him, the state government is also focusing on education, health and rural electrification.

He called on the people to support the contractors handling the various projects, adding that the communities would benefit from them through job creation.

Asked to comment on his vision for Edo State in the years ahead, Oshiomhole replied. "This is not campaign time; by our actions, you will judge where we are going. It is action time and we are taking our time to design. Some of the roads done by our predecessors have already failed. Even at that, we are working on the basis of knowledge, not intuition."

Other ongoing road proejct are Ewohimi-Agadaga-Igueben road; Igueben-Ewohimi-Ohordua-Emu-Okhuesan road; and Isua-Arue-Uzenema-Egbele road.
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Akin the Computer Guy


Hi There Folks !
A good day to you and the blessings of God to you and your Family .

My name is akin but most people call me akin the Computer guy .

I am the one you look for when you have any challenge that has to do with your PC or the internet.

PC Repair WEB DESIGN VIRUS ISSUES WIFI setup ,Local Area Network . Training etc That is me !

I am not very cheap but I am very fair.

I am not a geek but I am very smart...

I am not a one man Army. It is just plain old me .akin the Computer guy!

Call me on 07879000. TMobile or email me akinthecomputerguy@gmail.com

My call out Fee is only 10pounds.This is for Transportation Costs.

After that I charge according to the time spent to resolve the problem not the magnitude of the problem.

Call me Now.

akin the computer guy





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CEO Interview: Brian Gentile on How to Build a successful Open Source business

Olliance will be running a series of CEO Interviews throughout the year. I sat down with Brian Gentile, CEO of Jaspersoft ( www.jaspersoft.com ), to get his thoughts on Open Source software and current market trends. This is the first in a two part series with Brian where he shares his thoughts.

Part 1: A discussion on open source today – challenges and learnings for commercial Open Source vendors and customer CIOs.

Miriam – Some analysts believe 2010 will be a year of explosive growth for Open Source. What are your thoughts on the 2010?

Brian – Gartner recently issued an open source business intelligence report forecasting a 5-fold increase in the next three years. 2010 will be the third consecutive year where there will have been large jumps in the successful use of open source products; so yes, I am bullish about the up-coming year.

Above the infrastructure layer, more than ever open source will become necessary – more than acceptable . . . expected, mainstream and validated. It is important to distinguish between open source as an underlying infrastructure layer and the layers of software above that are more application like. This marks an important transition in the adoption and use of open source software.

Miriam – So you think that the Open Source B.I. space has moved out of the early adopter stage and is now moving to the top of the curve from a Crossing the Chasm perspective?

Brian – I would say it is early majority – it has crossed the chasm and is now in the early majority. That’s important socio-graphically, because now not just “Type A” customers (those companies and IT teams who see innovative information technology as the means to competitive advantage) are adopting, but “Type B” as well.

Miriam – How many years has it been for the Open Source B.I. segment in the market place – from when it started out in the marketplace to get to that point up the curve? Four years?

Brian – The earliest point would be late 2001 when the first mainstream open source BI project appeared, called JasperReports. Early users were developers that used this open source reporting engine and library. Then, I’d estimate that mainstream use of open source BI began in 2005, when Jaspersoft introduced the first full-fledged BI Server (JasperServer) and other vendors appeared as well.

Miriam – That’s part of cycle maturity, when multiple vendors are in the market. What about other segments above the infrastructure? What are the characteristics that you think would make it possible for another segment to become like Open Source BI?

Brian – Not all software sectors necessarily represent a good market for the open source model. There are characteristics that make certain sectors better for open source.

Miriam – What are they?

Brian – Firstly, the software sector has to be at a maturity level where you don’t have to explain what the software is, what it does, and why it is beneficial. Open source companies don’t have the time or money to educate. You won’t see successful open source companies in new software categories where you have to prove that the software is necessary.

Secondly, it has to be a big enough market where the volume needs of a commercial open source company can be met.

Thirdly, incumbent players should be leaving a portion of the market under-served or over-charged. If these three market characteristics are in place – it can be very fertile for an open source company to come in.

Miriam – What about the customer side? What are the attributes that you have to look at from the customer side in order to benefit from open source.

Brian – The early adopter market was a technical group. Technical audiences – the developers of the world, have historically consumed successful open source projects. In 2010, business users will more and more advocate using open source. It’s kind of like the early days of SaaS where end users said “I am not going to pay the internal IT prices for access to Siebel or Peoplesoft. I am going to use Salesforce because it is a better product and I can use it today not in 6 months.” The business benefits of open source are being widely recognized by business users who will pressure IT to use open source to benefit their business.

Miriam – The open source mantra has always been that the buyer and downloader of the product is technical. As it crosses over to the business side, is there a certain business function that is going to be more predisposed to come to the community, sign up, download, etc.

Brian – I don’t think so. I think that we are now technically savvy enough in every department to be able to do this. So, I think you’ll see pockets of business user adoption and endorsement across all functions in an organization.

Miriam – Even in sales? LOL?

Brian – Yes. There are big pockets everywhere and those pockets grow as the demographics in the workforce change. The most significant demographic shift of all time, at least in the western or developed economies, is underway. It is going to continue to have a dramatic effect on the technical skills of the individual knowledge worker.

Miriam – Jaspersoft is your first Open Source company as a CEO. What were some of the areas that you found critical? Lets start on the sales and marketing side. What are the unique challenges of the open source model from a sales and marketing perspective?

Brian – The biggest challenge is to recognize the value of the open source model and the community that forms over time – it requires patience. You must have an investment and operating model that allows you to get out there with a product in volume that is essentially free and solves some real business problem.

Sales and marketers want to sell something to everybody. Many are just not going to buy your product but they are going to use your product – this is discomforting to sales people. They have to be patient– because if they aren’t, you won’t have a successful open source model.

Secondly, you have to find clever ways to have that community collaborate with you on the product. Product development can’t be fully in charge of the features of the product and where it is going.Your development model must embrace that and take back contributions that originated with the community. That’s uncomfortable for everyone if you have never done it before but getting good at it is a distinction between successful and mediocre open source companies.

Miriam – Your second point is particularly interesting. Many organizations hit two walls – the first how to scale. Once people do want the commercial edition, it can become a people intensive business. How do you scale from 1 to 100 to 1,000? You also have to change the support and services model. Any insight around those challenges?

Brian – The bigger the community, the greater the need for scalable services. One must spend meaningful time trying to put in place mechanisms for community self support and knowledge-based services. So it has to be organic and scalable. There are absolutely acceptable distinctions between classes of services for a community user and commercial customers. Done correctly, it actually becomes a benefit to the P&L. Done incorrectly, it could sink a company.

Miriam – Lastly, how is product management different – you have a background in marketing and product management – you’ve done it both in a traditional company and an open source company. What are the critical success factors?

Brian – In a proprietary software company, the product management function is essentially a guardian of the secrets of where the product is going. The watchwords for open source companies are transparency, participation and collaboration. The product function owns transparency and collaboration. The beginning points for community development is where the website becomes an ideagora – a gathering place for swapping ideas. The product management function has to provide dialogue and the community has to be invited to engage. Using the ideagora, there is voting and dialogue about the direction of the product. The combination of these principles can create unparalleled value – again, if done correctly.

Miriam – So when we look forward to 2010, what do you see as the opportunities and challenges for Jaspersoft and for open source software market in general.

Brian – For 2010, we have five strategic company objectives. They are aligned with where we think the market is going. One of our five objectives is to diversify our revenue stream – ensuring a growing commercial contribution from Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Europe.

Miriam – So do you think 2010 will be easier in terms of the market and the economy – from a software sales perspective.

Brian - I think we will see continued recovery – and as we move through the year, we will pick up momentum. It won’t be a banner year – it will be a solid year but an important one to lead into even bigger growth in 2011.

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images?q=tbn:kJZlkaxOgeDZqM:%3Ca%20href=http://www.jaguda.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/lagos.jpg">
Contrary to all the hype that Lagos is being transformed into a world class city, a recent survey on global cities has shown that Lagos is the fifth worst city to live in the world.
In the annual survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Lagos was only surpassed by Harare (Zimbabwe), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Algiers (Algeria) and Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea) as greater hell holes on earth.

In the opposite end of the spectrum, Vancouver (Canada) for another successive year topped a list of the top ten most liveable cities in the world, giving the Canadian west coast city an extra boost as it opened the 2010 Winter Olympics yesterday.

Vancouver scored 98 percent on a combination of stability, health care, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure – a score unchanged from last year. The city has also topped the index since at least 2007.

In the 2010 ranking, there was little change in the top positions with Vienna, Melbourne and Toronto still taking the second, third and fourth positions and the top ten dominated by Canadian and Australian cities which took seven of the ten slots.

Johannesburg, which is hosting the soccer World Cup finals in June, came in 92nd place, the highest score in sub-Saharan Africa.

"Vancouver scores well across all categories in the survey and the on going Winter Games contribute to a strong score in the cultural and sporting events category,” said Jon Copestake, editor of the report, in a statement.
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“Johannesburg has had well-documented crime problems, but performs better in other categories, with the highest overall livability rating in sub-Saharan Africa."

The EIU survey ranked 140 cities on 30 factors such as healthcare, culture and environment, and education and personal safety, using research involving resident experts and its own analysts.

It said in a statement that these rankings were used by employers assigning hardship allowances as part of expatriate relocation packages.

New York was ranked 56th, two slots behind London which was at number 54, while Los Angeles ranked at number 47.

Zimbabwe's capital Harare scored the least, making it the list's worst city, with a rating of 37.5.

Following is a list of the top 10 most liveable cities as ranked by The Economist: 1. Vancouver, Canada, 2. Vie-nna, Austria, 3. Melbourne, Australia, 4. Toronto, Canada, 5. Calgary, Canada, 6. Hel-sinki, Finland, 7. Sydney, Australia, 8. Perth, Australia, 9. Adelaide, Australia, 10. Auckland, New Zealand.

The bottom 10 cities were: 1. Harare, Zimbabwe, 2. Dhaka, Bangladesh, 3. Algiers, Algeria, 4. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 5. Lagos, Nigeria, 6. Karachi, Pakistan, 7. Douala, Cameroon, 8. Kathmandu, Nepal, 9. Colombo, Sri Lanka, 10. Dakar, Senegal
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Grandfathers take over scam market

It is no longer news that many youths today spend their time and energy hacking the web to dupe any gullible target.

Oshinusi
Oshinusi-scam[1].gif



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But the news from recent Saturday Sun finding is that the scam world in Lagos has been hijacked lately by old men, grandfathers, who se target can never suspect of nursing any harm.

Many of these men are not less than 60 years, and they parade themselves as responsible elders who their victim would gladly entrust their money in their hands. Their style of operation is to advertise in the newspaper that a certain property is for sale and convince their prey they would refer him to the landlord who in turn would prove with documents that the property belongs to him.

To further deceive their target, they would come in flashy cars and take them to choice restaurant or an arranged home. Immediately the buyer pays the landlord would cease to exist and the estate agent would pose as one also duped by the landlord while heaping the blame on his client for failing to make proper investigation.

Recently, the police cracked tracked down some of these men who for years had successfully duped clients. Some of them have track record of several previous arrests and their agents who are mostly lawyers would come to bail them, while they return to the same business. Among those arrested were, Babatunde Oshinusi (62), Olushola Ajayi (58) and Dele Adebayo. Saturday Sun spoke with some of their victims who explained how they were deceived to part with millions of naira for property that don’t exist.

Ivy Nkanor, a retired civil servant lost N1m to them. Months before the journey into the hands of these men, Ivy who had received her gratuity, decided to move into a better flat. On Monday April 6, 2009, she saw an advert in The Guardian Newspaper announcing a three-bedroom flat at Ilupeju for lease and called the agent.

The agent’s numbers listed in the advert were 08096757290 and 08052834181 for Akinremi Demilade and one Wale respectively. “They actually took me to the apartment at No. 2, Oremeji Street, Ilupeju. I liked the house and took my son there for inspection. We were taken to the so-called landlord, Mr. Olukayode Abisarin with telephone No. 08023137262 at 5B, Abimbola Okunuga Cresent, Ikeja off Harold Shodipo Street on Easter Monday, April 13, 2009.

Abisarin claimed he was the owner of the property at Ilupeju and would ensure it would be completed for living on May 1, 2009. Based on the assurance, I wrote a UBA cheque of N1m in favour of Mr. Abisarin on April 13, 2009. He confirmed he cashed the money the following day.

“Two days after picking the money, the fake landlord rang her and fixed an appointment for a joint inspection of the flat on Sunday, April 19 at 3pm. On the way to the apartment on the appointment day, the fake landlord reneged with the excuse that he was involved in a serious meeting. Since we were close to place, my son and I decided to go ahead to see it.

“After the inspection, we were accosted by a well dressed man who alighted from a jeep that he was the legitimate landlord of the property. On hearing that I had plan for the flat, he advised me to lodge my complaint with the police to recover the money I paid. When the case was referred to the Commander of Area F, the man who rented the house at 5B Abimbola Okunuga, Mr. Tokunbo Olawale where I was duped was arrested. He claimed he had lived there for 13 years but had no knowledge of the dubious act with his property.”

Another victim, Lina Ohazurume, a banker saw another advert on January 10, 2009 in The Guardian Newspaper about a 3-bedroom flat in No. 1 Ramonu Street, Surulere by Moshalashi Bus stop. She alled the agent, Samson on 07090029516 and booked an appointment to meet by him at the AP station close to the house. To further convince her, she was referred to a lawyer called John with phone number No 07090029508 and 07089369034.

When they noticed she could not be convinced that the she is dealing with a genuine agent, they referred her to meet the landlord, Oshinusi,who claimed to be a pastor of Christ Deliverance Apostolic Church and Miracle Centre, 12, Oredapo Street, Shasha Akowonjo. On January 23, they visited the church and met the landlord who just stepped out of the church in suits. He directed them to enter his jeep as he intended to entertain his new tenant.

They took Lina to a restaurant, entertained her, while she issued a cheque of N1.2m which was addressed to the landlord. I had to escort him to Zenith Bank Akowonjo to cash my cheque with an international Passport bearing Oladunjoye Gbadegesin.

“On the same day, his lawyer collected N200,000 cash. On getting to the house I was told that I paid to the wrong person. The story changed that the owner of the house is an Alhaji and a lecturer with Unilag. I called back the Gbadegesin man and he ordered me to come and pick my money back. I rushed back to Zenith bank and they gave me some policemen, we reported the case at Idimu police station and from there we carried a search to the house and nobody was found. Few days after, I got a call from DPO of Idimu inviting me to come and identify the people they arrested.

I was able to identify two of them who were later taken to Panti and many of them were arrested and released. Few months after, I saw the Gbadegesin man (Oshinusi)on the road and arrested him. He spent few days in Panti and was released. Till date the other set never showed up again. Some of the properties recovered from them had already been given back to them and since then I have been going through stress trying to see how I can get him. I sold my car and borrowed to pay that amount only to be duped.”

A recent victim is a widow Mrs. Onwu who deals in industrial spare parts. She was convinced to part with N600,000 before she realized that she was duped. Few weeks before they called her, the group did a thorough investigation into the background of the woman and her family. Weeks later they sent a convoy to console her on the death of her husband who according to their investigation died just recently.

When they visited, they introduced themselves as business partners of her late husband. They gave her gifts promising to assist her should the need arise. So when she received a phone call on the January 13 from one Engineer Emma who claimed to be the H.O.D Maintenance of Port Oil Company in Port Harcourt claiming to be one of those who visited sometime last year, she wasn’t suspicious. The story was that her husband was a contractor with him and he would want her to continue with the business assist her to support her family.

Excited, she agreed to go on with the business. Engineer Emma who is in her late 50s gave Mrs. Onwu a number to contact to assist her to buy some quantity of oil pipe cork which she is to supply. The business Emma encouraged would fetch her millions of naira. “He directed me to Mr. William Oni at Ayobo power plant Iyana Ipaja New Road, Lagos who was to assist me procure the goods. Oni told me that a pack of the product would be sold for N210,000. I paid for two packs and called Emma who promised to meet me at the airport.”

Because of her lack of knowledge in the business, she never knew the cork she paid for is meant for bicycle tyres. The next day, still keeping in touch with Emma she was told to go to the international Airport to meet the person directly involved with the business. When she got to the Airport she met another fraudster who called himself, Dr. James Jonathan. The conman who was dressed in a flowing gown told her that his decision to still do business with her was because her husband performed very well. “I met Dr. Jonathan at the arrival point of the international airport and he took the sample I brought. He took me to a fast food joint where he ordered me to eat whatever I wanted while he inspects the sample product.

After some fiddling on his computer, he said that it was perfect but that he would need four more packs to be able to pay for the supply. Hoping that they were real, I rushed to the bank, withdrew some money and went back to the warehouse to collect about 6 cartons of the product. They kept on demanding till I had sunk about N600,000. My eyes opened when they kept on demanding for more money without coming to see me again.”

Nigerians respect elders

Oshinusi who lives at No. 11 Akorohunfayo street, Fadeyi, Yaba, and has been in the business for two years told Saturday Sun that their age is a capital in the game as the victims never suspect they could be dupes especially with the respect Nigerians have for elders and conceive them as people who would not involve in dubious acts.

He revealed that part of the deal is to hire posh cars and well furnished apartments where they would take their victim. He said: “Because we are not greedy, we spend much on entertainment just to convince our target. We hire clothes and settle the gateman of the property who will ensure that we have unhindered access.”

According to Dele, the adverts are made based on what the landlords who came to their office gave them. “Sometimes, they would come with various addresses and hoping that he is right, we would advertise on their behalf. In other cases we would find an incomplete building and take the number to advertise in the paper. When prospective buyers come, we offer to sell the property very cheap. We later send some of our boys on ground to take the person to the landlord who is part of the syndicate. The job of the landlord is to convince the client”.

He is also expected to refer him to his lawyer who in turn would encourage the buyer to pay. “We do that to create the impression that the sale is genuine by allowing him to do part of the transaction with the purported landlord. If the land is not genuine, as soon as the client pays, the landlord will disappear.”
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Why Jonathan Goodluck demoted Aondoakaa (SAN)
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Last Tuesday, members of the two chambers of the National Assembly passed a special resolution pursuant to section 145 of the 1999 constitution, empowering Dr Jonathan Goodluck to act as the President and Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Mrs Dora Akunyili and Chief Michael Kaase Andoakaa (SAN)

The decision of the National Assembly was hinged on the absence of the country’s ailing President, Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua from his duty post for well over two months.
The lawmakers had used the transcript of the BBC interview granted on January 12, 2010 by President Yar’Adua in Saudi Arabia where he is still receiving treatment to activate the provision of section 145 of the 1999 constitution which the judiciary refused to activate.
The content of the interview satisfied the conditions precedent to activate section 145 of the 1999 constitution. The provision (section 145) allows the Vice President to perform the functions of the president in his own right as acting president.
Although a few powerful individuals, including some serving ministers knew that Yar’Adua’s health condition was very serious and that he could no longer discharge the functions of his office, the agreement by the cabal was that they would not allow Vice President Jonathan Goodluck to smell the number one position.
Indeed, the cabal practically seized the presidential powers for more than two months and exercised it, anyhow, under the guise that President Yar’Adua, in whom the 1999 constitution vested the entire executive powers of the Federation, was invoking its section 5(1) to discharge his functions through his ministers and the vice president.
The point-man of the cabal was the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Michael Kaase Andoakaa (SAN).
He told several stories to defend the position of the cabal publicly and courageously too for 78 days before the castle of deceit built by them collapsed on his head on February 10, this year.
That was the day when Jonathan, on assuming full presidential powers, through the resolution of the National Assembly, removed him from office.
Aondoakaa (SAN) who was redeployed to the Ministry of Special Duties confessed upon his removal that he told a lot of lies that there was no vacuum in governance. He said he had to defy all threats and insults being rained on him simply because “no Attorney-General of the Federation worth his salt would go on the pages of newspapers to admit that there was a vacuum” even when it is evident.
Although, the controversial role of Aondoakaa (SAN) during the 78 days of absence of President Yar’Adua was fingered by critics as the reason why he was removed from office, Saturday Vanguard gathered that his sack had no link with it.
According to an impeccable source close to the Presidency, Aondoakaa’s selector was already considering swapping him before he fell ill and was flown abroad.
The source said that Aondoakaa (SAN) was the most controversial minister on President Yar’Adua’s cabinet whose continued stay in office was giving the gentle man a lot of worries.
“He was removed simply because the relationship of Nigeria with some foreign countries was under threat, just because he is still there.
“If Jonathan wanted to pay him back, he would have sacked him outright without swapping him,” the source said, adding, “Jonathan removed him based on advice to eschew his Presidency from unnecessary controversies which he is not alien to.”
Indeed, between 2007 and the time he was sacked, there had been dozens of calls on Chief Michael Kaase Aondoakaa (SAN) to honorably resign his office as the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
Some of the requests came from individuals resident within and outside the country, corporate organizations, civil societies and prominent politicians including members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
They advised him to resign his appointment after it was evident that President Yar’Adua who hired him was reluctant to invoke his powers under section 147 of the 1999 constitution to change his duties of office in the event he is unwilling to sack him from his cabinet.
But each time the call for his resignation or sack came, he had either ignored it or declared in no unmistakable words that he would never resign his office.
It was so bad that many people, particularly lawyers, were unwilling to discuss him in relation to the performance of duties of his office for many reasons.
They said he was an irritant.
But Aondoakaa had always replied his critics that he was not begging anybody to like him.
He said the criticism he was getting was the price of the office he was holding.
He listed some of his predecessors in office and said that several negative things were said about them.
He said he would not allow such bickering to affect the performance of his duties.
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But his accusers agreed with him that Nigerians had indeed suffered in the past owing to the infamous roles played by some of the Attorneys-General that served the Nigerian state in the past.
But they added that of all the Attorneys-General of the Federation that had served , Aondoakaa (SAN) was the worst and must vacate his seat for more reasons than one.
THE MANY SINS OF AONDOAKAA
Firstly, it was their case that he was not experienced to hold the exalted office.
Those who bandied that argument said the ex-chief law officer of the Federation was practicing in the rural Gboko and did not really have a successful practice until he got the appointment.
They said he was never appointed out of exceptional performance in the practice of law but on political ground to perform what they called some “political functions” in order to stabilize the government of President Yar’Adua.
They said he ought to be removed because the demands of the Office of the Attorney_General required an experienced hand.
Again, it was the claim of his accusers that Aondoakaa (SAN) was in the habit of standing on the way of government agencies fighting corruption in the country.
They said if he was not suggesting to government how to collapse all the anti_graft agencies in the country like the EFCC, ICPC and the Code of Conduct Bureau into one in order to weaken the nation’s fight against graft, he would be writing letters to foreign governments not to prosecute some Nigerians accused of corruption.
They cited the two letters he wrote to the Government of the United Kingdom to stop the trial of former Governor of Delta state, Chief James Ibori and another he wrote to French Government to stop the trial of Dan Etete as few of the instances.
Besides, it is also the case of Aondoakaa’s critics that he had severally compromised his office and desecrated the hallowed chambers he occupied in many ways.
They alleged that Aondoakaa (SAN) had written letters as the Attorney-General of the Federation to constituted authorities not to obey court judgments of the court as if he was an appellate court over the courts from which such orders issued.
Examples abound and Aondoakaa (SAN) always had a reason to justify his position, including the excuse that he got a petition from one of the parties in such cases.
But his critics had always said that it was not available to the Honourable Attorney-General to dabble into the arena even if a petition was written to him as he claimed.
According to a former Chief Judge of Lagos State, Chief Omotunde Ilori, what the Attorney-General of the Federation did was what he called “pollution of the water of justice.”
Hear him: “The attorney-general is not an appellate court over the court. It has no appellate jurisdiction over any court. The attorney general cannot exercise any appellate authority on any court. Once the court has given an order, the attorney general cannot grant stay of execution. “Only the court can grant stay of execution. Only the court which gives an order can stay execution on that order. No other authority whatsoever can stay execution of that order.
“If the court says go and do XYZ, and there is need to stay it, you take an application before the court and say for this reason and this reason, the order cannot be obeyed now. It is only for the court to say the order is stayed.
“This unfortunate action by some people not vested with judicial powers interfering with the exercise of that powers only pollutes the judicial powers of that authority.
“Anybody not vested with judiciary powers but interfering with the exercise of that power is a pollutant.
“The waters of justice must run without any pollution so that anybody who wants a suspension of an order ought to go back to that court for stay of execution. Nobody else can stay it.
“Anybody who wants a suspension of an order of the court will go back before that court for a stay or suspension of that order.
“I agree that the rule of law must be complied with as he allegedly claimed but the meaning of rule of law is that the law shall reign supreme. “The rule of law does not say that anybody who is not a judge shall interfere with the exercise of judicial powers.
“If somebody is an object of the ruling of a court and he does not want that ruling to be executed, all he needs do is to file an application for stay of proceedings in the deputy sheriff’s office.
“Once that application is there, nobody can enforce that ruling. “Anybody who has nothing to do with the judiciary cannot stay the order of the court,” the retired chief judge added.
Aondoakaa’s critics also alleged that the Attorney-General of the Federation had so much desecrated his office so much that if you go to his chambers during his days, you would see all manners of accused persons facing trial in court wanting to meet with him for audience.
They said it was unfortunate that a person to whom the 1999 constitution, the basic law of the land, donates power of prosecution to is the one who allegedly debases that office by allegedly offering free legal advice on how to escape prosecution to accused persons in his chambers.
Aondoakaa’s critics though argued that there was nothing wrong in any Nigerian seeking audience with the Federation Attorney-General but that when all manners of accused persons that ought to be prosecuted by his office were loitering around his chambers, they said one could not but conclude that the chief law officer was debasing the sacredness of the office and should be removed with immediate effect.
Another reason why his critics pushed for his removal was because they alleged that he was out-sourcing the constitutional duties of his office to the executive.
For instance, they quoted the Attorney-General of the Federation to have said that after the Okiro-led panel must have concluded its assignment on the probe of the $180million Halliburton bribery, he said he would not prosecute the indicted except he was given the permission by President Umaru Yar’Adua to so do.
Indeed, Saturday Vanguard can confirm that Chief Aondoakaa (SAN) made the disclosure shortly after he inaugurated the five-member inter-agency probe panel headed by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mike Okiro, with a mandate to look into the Halliburton bribery scandal.
He tacitly said that his difficulty was the 1999 constitution.
But when he was reminded by newsmen that by virtue of section 174 of the 1999 constitution, he had the constitutional rights to initiate criminal proceedings against any person before any law court in Nigeria in respect of any offence like the instant one created by or under any Act of the National Assembly without any recourse to anybody, Aondoakaa (SAN) said he admitted but that his discretion to exercise his prosecutorial powers is, unfortunately, subject to the approval of Mr President.
He fingered section 130 (1) (2) of the 1999 constitution as one that limited his discretion to exercise his unlimited prosecutorial power.
The said section 130 of the 1999 constitution states:
(1) There shall be for the Federation a President.
(2) The president shall be the Head of State, the Chief Executive of the Federation and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federation.
Although a thorough reading of the cited constitutional provision did not circumscribe, in any clear term, the discretion of the chief law officer of the Federation to prosecute any person in any law court as claimed by Aondoakaa (SAN), he however laboured in vain to explain that the addition of “Chief Executive” to the appellation of Mr President which was absent in the 1979 constitution implied that all ministers serving in his (Mr President’s) cabinet must take instruction from him on anything in their ministries including prosecution of criminals.
Human rights activist, Prof Chidi Odinkalu and a former Chief Judge of Lagos State , Justice Omotunde Ilori separately disagreed with Aondoakaa on this issue.
The duo said they were not interested in discussing Aondoakaa as a person but his office.
According to Justice Ilori, he said the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 has three principal concepts. “The first is the separation of powers. That is you have the executive, the judiciary and the legislature.
“Secondly, you have division of powers. That is the division of powers between the federal, states and local governments”.
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You are messing with the Wrong Female !
Minister of Information and Communications, Prof Dora Akunyili, has rejected the explanation offered by Minister of Special Duties, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, over the latter’s statement about her considered to be libellous.

Prof Dora Akunyili
Akunyili[1].jpg


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A letter written by KOP Odidika, principal partner of Sower & Messuarius Solicitors, dated February 11, 2010, said that Aondoakaa’s explanation on the statement he made about Akunyili “begged the issue.”

The letter said that by saying, “what she is trying to do is self-seeking: let her go and confront herself with what happened in NAFDAC,” Aondoakaa obviously libelled Akunyili.

It said that ever since Aondoakaa made the statement, Akunyili has been inundated with telephone calls from people who think that there was something she did wrong when she was director general of the National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

Akunyili’s lawyers, therefore, demanded a clear apology from Aondoakaa, within seven days, to be published prominently in the media.

They said failure to do this would leave them with no alternative than to press charges against Aondoakaa. The letter, entitled: “Libellous publication against Prof Dora N. Akunyili,” reads: “We are the solicitors to Prof Dora N. Akunyili, on whose behalf and instruction we write to you in connection with the above subject matter. It is our instruction that you issued a statement, which was published on Monday the 8th of February 2010 in a widely circulating national newspaper, The Nation, wherein you said, inter alia: “Bringing the memo to Federal Executive Council is just to make herself an angel.

She wants to be seen as populist. Whatever she wants from it is still personal. None of the FEC members has disrespect to the Vice-President. As far as we are concerned, the VP is our leader and he is leading us. What she is trying to do is self-seeking: let her go and confront herself with what happened in NAFDAC”.

“Our client has been inundated with telephone calls and personal enquiries from numerous people about your said statement concerning the implication that she did something wrong while she was the Director General of NAFDAC. She duly informed you of these enquiries and demanded, by her letter to you, dated February 8, 2010, that you confirm the authenticity of the authorship of the statement and if confirmed to supply full particulars of your allegations of her misdeeds in NAFDAC to which you alluded.

“By your letter of February 9, 2010 addressed to our client, you admitted making the statement but most disingenuously tried to put a spin on an otherwise clear and unambiguous statement that has only one interpretation, to wit: that our client committed some untoward acts while at the helm of affairs in NAFDAC.

“There is no doubt that as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, you are presumed to be conversant with not only legal matters but with English Language as well. Whilst one can concede your privilege to use any language, no matter how crude and unbecoming of a lawyer and public servant, in your private home and office, same should be tempered and civilized when describing and referring to another person.

“More regrettable is the fact that your libellous publication was against our client whose integrity has been unimpeachable. Her tenure at NAFDAC can accurately be described as the golden years of that establishment as no other head, whether prior to, or subsequent to her appointment, has achieved so much as to even merit comparison with her.

“Our client, therefore, finds it totally unacceptable that her peers and generality of Nigerians have begun to question her integrity and now consider her a disreputable person because of the statement you made. Your said letter of February 9, 2010, therefore, begs the issue.

“We hereby demand that you issue a clear apology to our client and cause the said apology to be published prominently in the media, including The Nation newspaper. Please take notice that unless this demand is met within seven days from the date hereof we shall commence legal proceedings, against you to compel obedience and seek financial compensation for the injury done to our client’s reputation.”

It will be recalled that Aondoakaa, in letter dated February 9, 2010 to Akunyili, said although he was misquoted, his statement was a compliment. His letter to Akunyili said: I wish to draw your attention to the above subject matter conveyed to me by your letter dated 8th February 2010.

“While much of the quoted words in your letter can rightly be ascribed to me, the impact of the last sentence to the effect that “…Let her go and confront herself with what happened in NAFDAC” was meant to be in the positive but was wrongly presented in the negative.

“The correct impact of the above words that the Hon Minister had already earned a reputation for herself while at NAFDAC and needs not seek to do more by embarking on the present course of action to the detriment of a resolution already adopted unanimously by members of the FEC.

“Accept the assurances of my highest regards and consideration.”
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Panic in Abuja: Cabal plots Yar’Adua’s return, Jonathan’s exit • New Service Chiefs, Chief of Staff may emerge this week
By Daniel Alabrah & Olusola Balogun

Sunday, February 14, 2010
Those thinking that the political and constitutional crisis occasioned by the refusal of ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua to hand over to his deputy, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, was over had better brace up fro fresh challenges.

Jonathan & Yar’Adua
yara&goodluck[1].jpg

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It is not yet Uhuru as another round of crisis is looming in the Presidency following an alleged plot by Yar’Adua’s diehard loyalists to bring him back to the country at all costs.

Sunday Sun learnt authoritatively that the bemused loyalists are still smarting over the National Assembly resolution that empowered the Vice President, Dr Jonathan, to assume the position of Acting President and are bent on bringing the ailing President back even if it will be for one week.

A source privy to the plan informed Sunday Sun that the plot is for Yar’Adua to be brought to Nigeria in an air ambulance while an ambulance limousine and other life support equipment that had been imported into the country would be on standby.

He would then be made to write a letter to the National Assembly asking that power be reverted to him.

But, according to our source, because the President is still not medically fit to assume office, there is every possibility that he will break down again and the country will begin another round of handover crisis.

“The cabal is very uncomfortable with Jonathan as Acting President, so they are doing everything possible to ensure Yar’Adua returns to Nigeria. Their fear is that they will lose power completely if Jonathan is allowed to complete Yar’Adua’s tenure. They want to bring Yar’Adua back to Nigeria at all costs,” said the source.

Another source said the visit of the Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda, his Benue and Katsina counterparts, Gabriel Suswam and Ibrahim Shema, as well as chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Vincent Ogbulafor, to Saudi Arabia is part of the plot to bring the ailing President back.

Even the former Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Michael Aondoakaa, who was redeployed to the Special Duties Ministry on Wednesday in a minor cabinet reshuffle, is also said to be in Saudi Arabia on his annual leave, which is believed to be a decoy.

A source close to the Presidency however said Aondoakaa should not have been allowed to travel out of the country because of the mood of the nation and the role he played in the handover crisis.

Sunday Sun however learnt that Aondoakaa’s redeployment sent jitters into members of the Yar’Adua kitchen cabinet and they now are afraid that Jonathan would sooner or later move against them.

Some politicians close to the corridors of power are also said to be unsure if Jonathan will not move against pro-Yar’Adua elements in the government.

“The demotion of Mike Aondoakaa from the exalted position of Attorney General to Special Duties on his first day in office without consulting anyone, including the party hierarchy, is a clear signal that Jonathan wants to be his own man and might be ready to rock the boat.

“Some are scared of the possibility of the man going after some ministers in Yar’Adua’s kitchen cabinet like Sayyad Abba-Ruma and super-aides like Mohammed Abba-Aji and Tanimu Kurfi as well as others who treated him with scorn while he was vice president,” the sourced said.

Sunday Sun gathered that the biggest fear of the Yar’Adua loyalists is “the possibility of the man (Jonathan) inserting certain provisions in the 1999 Constitution that might be against the interest of the North. What happens if he suddenly decides to support the call for resource control? You know he is from there (Niger Delta) and he will be seen to be doing his people a favour. He can do that on the pretence that he is trying to ensure that the restive militants don’t disturb again. We heard the man is also very committed to electoral reform.”

Perhaps, the biggest fear that prompted the plot against the Jonathan government is that he might contest the 2011 presidential election.

“Yes, they were able to extract some commitment from him in that direction, but can you stop a man that has all the power he has from doing anything? After all, such commitments are not binding on anyone.

“They feel this is the time to quickly move in and circle him before he grows wings. The actions he took in the first few days in office did not inspire a lot of confidence,” the source said, adding that part of the plot is to discredit the Jonathan-led administration before Nigerians, for instance, by pinning the tag of a stooge on the Acting President.

“They will try to pin the tag of a stooge of former President Olusegun Obasanjo on him. You know not many Nigerians love Obasanjo because of his style. They feel the best way they can make him lose the acceptance of Nigerians is link him to Obasanjo,” the source further said.

Given all these permutations, there is already panic in the federal capital that the Acting President will this week appoint new Service Chiefs and a new Chief of Staff, who would also double as a de facto Vice President.

Yar’Adua’s Principal Private Secretary, Mr David Edevbie, is also said to have briefed Jonathan on the outcome of his visit to Jeddah purportedly to present the 2009 Supplementary Appropriation Bill to Yar’Adua for his signature.

Edevbie was said to have confessed to Jonathan that he was not allowed to meet Yar’Adua in Jeddah.

“He (Edevbie) admitted before the Acting President that Yar’Adua’s wife, Turai, and the ADC did not allow him to meet President Yar’Adua. He said he was asked to stay in his hotel where Yar’Adua’s ADC and CSO (Chief Security Officer) met him to pick the budget document and later returned it to him there.

“Edevbie has been in a dilemma over the controversy that his visit to Saudi Arabia sparked off and he is desperate to clear his name. That was why he had to tell Jonathan the whole truth,” our source said.
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Poets, novelists and songwriters have described it in countless turns of phrase, but at the level of biology, love is all about chemicals.

t1larg.heart.love.gi.jpg

Although the physiology of romantic love has not been extensively studied, scientists can trace the symptoms of deep attraction to their logical sources.

"Part of the whole attraction process is strongly linked to physiological arousal as a whole," said Timothy Loving (his real name), assistant professor of
human ecology at the University of Texas, Austin. "Typically, that's
going to start with things like increased heart rate, sweatiness and so
on,"

When you catch sight of your beloved and your heart starts racing, that's because of an adrenaline rush, said Dr. Reginald Ho, a cardiac electrophysiologist and associate professor of medicine
at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Here's how it works: The brain sends signals to the adrenal gland, which secretes hormones such as adrenaline, epinephrine and norepinephrine.
They flow through the blood and cause the heart to beat faster and
stronger, Ho said.

The response is somewhat similar to a fast heartbeat while running on a treadmill, although exercise has other benefits, he said.

For people with serious heart problems, love could actually be dangerous, Ho said. That's because when the heart rate goes up, the heart uses more oxygen, which can be risky for
an older person with blood vessel blockages or who has had a prior
heart attack. But good medicines such as beta blockers help curb the
adrenaline response, Ho said.

It is also likely that norepinephrine, a stress hormone that governs attention and responding actions, makes you feel weak in the knees, said Helen Fisher, professor
at Rutgers University and author of the book "Why Him? Why Her? Finding
Real Love by Understanding Your Personality Type."

Fisher's research team did brain imaging of people who said they were "madly in love" and found activity in the area of the brain that produces the
neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine and norepinephrine are closely
related.

"What dopamine does is it gives you that focused attention, the craving, the euphoria, the energy and the motivation, in this case the motivation to win life's greatest prize," she said.

This norepinephrine response has never been precisely studied in relation to romantic love, but the system seems to be more activated in people in love, she said..

Also likely involved is the serotonin system, she said. Some data from an Italian study indicate that a drop in serotonin levels is associated with obsessive thinking.

The stress hormone cortisol has also been shown to have implications for love, Loving said. His lab showed study participants who had recently
fallen in love a picture of a romantic partner or friend, and had them
describe or "relive" the moment of falling in love or wanting to be
friends, respectively. Those who recalled falling in love showed an
increase in stress hormones such as cortisol even 30 minutes after they
were asked to think about it.

Generally, there are three brain systems involved in romantic love: sex drive, love and attachment, Fisher said. The sex drive evolved to get you to look for a lot of partners, the "love" portion is for focusing mating energy on one specific person at a time, and
attachment is for allowing you to tolerate the partner -- at least,
long enough to have children with him or her.

These systems are often connected, but can operate separately, she said. That means you can start out with one of them -- casual sex, or an intense feeling of
love, or an emotional connection -- and move on to the others. For
example, what may start out as a one-night stand may feel like more
because the hormones oxytocin and vasopressin, released during orgasm,
make you feel deeply attached to someone. You may feel in love after
that, or instead feel somehow responsible for the person, because of
these hormones.

Fisher's team has found that romantic love doesn't have to die -- they found the same activity in the brains of people who said they were in love after 20 years of marriage as in
people who had just fallen in love. This brain area makes dopamine and
sends it to other areas.

In the days of early humans, in hunting-and-gathering societies, these qualities were especially advantageous for finding a person to bear and raise children with, she
said.

Why, then, do small children fall in love if they are not trying to reproduce? Fisher hypothesizes that kids -- even 4-year-olds -- practice at love and learning more about themselves
before it begins to become important to them.

Love also has health benefits for people who have aged beyond their reproductive years, she said. Being in love makes people feel optimistic, energetic,
focused and motivated, which were all positive for health and societal
contribution in the early days of humans, she said. So, it makes sense
evolutionarily that people can still fall in love after their
childbearing period.

Romance also is good for you. Studies have shown that people who have frequent sex are generally healthier, with a longer life, fewer coronary events and lower blood pressure. A 1995
study in the journal Demography found that marriage adds seven years to
a man's life and two years to a woman's.

Loving's team is studying how people who have recently fallen in love respond to stressful situations. They hypothesize that people for whom the love is
still new will respond to the stress and recover from it quicker than
those who have recently been in a breakup or have been in a relationship for a long time.

"The guess is that when individuals are falling in love, they are walking around with rose-colored glasses," he said.

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3ping 3Ps to Success Which October ist are you

Purpose, Passion, Peace. A Rebirth of a Nation. There was ONE who embodied this while he was "on" earth .Is your October Ist going to be just another Holiday or a prequel to the 3Ps .Live 80years but 3Peed 5years,5 years of purpose,passion and peace out of 80 ? what a waste ! We MUST transform ourselves from name calling and buck passing to Name Builders and Buck giving. It is Clear Our Leaders are USELESS nincompoops hellbent on destroying what ever Sanity that is left in our Nation.I have traversed this country for two months and Have not found one "nobility" Person that readily takes or has the pride of life of Naija .I have however met many plebeians,Street people .Unknowns ! Who see Nigeria as the only solution to their problems. Illiterate and without connections nor money to Andrew and check out of the country .These are the Real Nigerians , Who have no stakes anywhere, no hidden bank of ibori accounts abroad.Who will look at October ist and realise and say "Naija for life" .E go better syndrome is what keeps them for they know nothing else. October ist to them might turn out to be the day President Go slow has a positive Brain Transplant or better Still RESIGNS ! and then Dancing on the Streets as the day a certain Aviator Sunglasses wearing General Baddest President for Life Sanni Abacha gave up the ghost in office .Remember that day ? There was dancing on the streets of Lagos. When the wicked perish there are Shouts of Joy ! PURPOSE 3Ps WE wish for a purpose in our Nation.We have been ridiculed to what they call rebranding ? How can you rebrand a brand that never was ? When the people ,The State ,The Fatherland is being run by charlatans.Our Day of joy as a Nation Birthed 49years ago will come and go amidst the pomp and pageantry and possibly The New Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia might just do another hiatus and not even be present for it. Rebranding is not our purpose.Our Purpose should be Prosperity ,Good Roads,Running Tap Water,Electricity,Education,Health Care.What is the purpose of a country ? If not its citizens welfare ? Please, Pray tell me.what is the purpose of the Body if not to provide the pleasures of life to its owners ! Passion The passion of the Christ movie stems from responsibilty, It was engendered by talent and sustained through sheer determination to accomplish Purpose .The ultimate goal of any passion is to accomplish.Mel Gibson did that movie in aramaic ? He could have done it in English but then that is what passion is all about ! Have we a passion for our Nation ? As citizens , do we share a national pride in being nigerian, Artisans,Academics,Soldiers Of all the professions in this country there is "none" that shows true passion than our Armed Forces .In a nation riddled with corruption and hopelessness of the pushed to the wall and break it type.There Still exists people that would willingly give their lives to protect this country ! Willingly not conscripted.Not forced. They dont get huge bank bonuses nor offficial cars and drivers .Their salaries and living conditions are pitiful.A life of armed Robbery would be more profitable for these unfortunate souls , And yet they still do it ! They are true Soldiers What then is Nobility ? Is it by birth or class standing or is it by Character that pervades selflessness and the Joy of Purpose fuelled by this passion to serve without expecting anything in return ? Passion for This october ist will give us all a chance to another holiday or another chance to say hmm 49years old country . Add 1 for center u go get 4-1-9years. Life begins at 40 ... A fool at 40 might still be a fool at 80 . Someone said "we are still a young country, dont compare usto america they are 200 odd years ) .LOL (lights on Lightsaber) Let me make a daring thrust at the heart of this malaise wielding rhetoric. If Alexander the Great barely before he was 25 in a span of less than 10years was running the show in what was The larger part of this Real EState called Earth and a host of other nations like Ghana, Malaysia who in the earSixtiesed to look up to us as big brother .Then the "Age" of a country should be measured by its leadership accomplishments .The bible always in the old testament and i often wondered at this . "In the Reign of so and so King........" In the Reign of Obasanjo.... The king " Behold a king shall reign in righteosness and Princes shall rule in justice .Isa 32:6 He fall him own hand as OBJ he had a passion ,passion to become UN Secretary General not president.Yaradua's pasion might be to He lost his passion We cant lose ours. This passion has to return back to us to the point that Our Ori E must 4kasibe naija must gongo aso and enta the place where all the African Kings and Queens are bracketing because love is a beautiful thing.Mister naiajman that will be most definitely incredible stuff coming straight out of Naija. As for The third P , Peace We shall not spill our blood for the "Aristos" in power WE have done it before .He is here, many of us are not

Peace be unto You and all (Who no like peace even al qaeda want am bad well after dem don erase America off the face of the earth ) So lets keep 3ping 3Ps to Success Which October ist are you ? Happy October Ist Abi John Balogun Aka Weboga
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Sunday Sermon: Dont worry Stay happy

Worry is Like a Rocking Chair by Joel Osteen

You might be rocking away, and it might feel like you're getting somewhere; but in the end, you are exactly where you started.

With the state of the economy and the unemployment rate, it's easy to worry.

Most of us remember the first time we heard officially on the news that our economy is in a recession. But did you know that the next morning, the birds still woke up and sang? They didn't fall off their branches in unbelief and start flying around here and there worrying, stopping their song.

No, the little birds sang and the big birds sang, and it was like a beautiful symphony.

You might be thinking, "Joel, that's great, birds singing and all; but come on, our economy is in a crisis."KeepYourSong_01.jpg

Listen to what Jesus says, "Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure to his stature or to the span of his life? And why should you be anxious about clothes? Consider the lilies of the field and learn thoroughly how they grow; they neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his magnificence was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and green and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will he not much more surely clothe you, O you of little faith?
Do Not Worry..
Therefore, do not worry and be anxious, saying, "What are we going to eat? Or "What are we going to have to drink? Or, what are we going to have to wear? But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things taken together will be given to you. So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own." (Matthew 6:26-30, Amplified)

Friends, nothing is new under the sun. They might not have had economists back then with the term "recession", but there have been many who've gone before us that worried about what to eat, drink, wear, where to live, where to send their kids, how to pay for this or that; but God lovingly reminds us that He takes care of the flowers in the field and the birds in the air. How much more valuable are we to Him?

Jesus made it so clear about worrying. How many more days to our life will we added by worrying? Are you going to grow taller? Are you going to grow smarter? Are your problems going to disappear? Worrying does us no good! But what does us good is when we magnify God and not our problems. The Bible even says, "Do not fret, it only leads to evil."

So what are we to do? Trust God, and just like the birds, praise Him. Keep that song of praise in your heart. When the praises go up, the blessings come down. His joy is our strength through the hard times. When you spend your time worrying, you're not putting your faith out there.

Worry says, "I'm not going to get a job. I'm never going to get my retirement back."

The garment of praise says, "Father, I thank you for the victories you've already brought me. Thank you for the favor. Thank you that you're turning my situation around."

One thing I've learned is that you can't worry and praise at the same time.

You can't say, "I know You're on the throne, and You're good all the time. You always cause me to triumph. You make a way when there seems to be no way," and then worry and think, "I don't know how this is going to turn around."

Supernatural things will happen when we praise. Supernatural things do not happen when we worry. Worry does nothing but rob your joy.

You might feel like worrying is getting you somewhere, but it does nothing but zap your strength. We need our energy for the battles in life, and we need the knowledge of who God is during these difficulties to keep singing.

Suddenly, God can change your situation around like Paul and Silas when they were in prison. In the midnight hour, they were set free. But was it from them crying, fretting and wringing their hands, being in despair and complaining? No, they were praising God and the prison door went wide open.

No matter what the news report says about how many points the Dow Jones is down, each day, wake up with great faith and keep your joy and praise God.

And don't forget to enlarge your vision. You can't do that when you're worrying. You might have lost a lot in the stock market, but God can cause you to make back everything you lost, plus more. There is no limit to what God can do. But what does limit Him is when we don't believe, and we allow worry to rob our joy and faith.

This is what Scripture says in Jeremiah 33:11, "'…Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; his love endures forever. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before.' says the Lord."

KeepYourSong_02.jpg

That means when you wake up, praise God. Believe Him for restoration in your retirement and savings. Believe God for restoration in that business you lost. There is nothing too difficult for God to do. Everything that was stolen can be restored in your life. God always gives us double for our trouble, and He likes to outdo Himself. The question is do you believe He will?

Keep your hopes up. Don't let worry have any room in your heart today.

Keep a song in your heart. And when you wake up in the morning and hear the birds singing, let it remind you to praise God during these difficult economic times. He has the whole world in His hands. In fact, He has you in the palm of His Hand. Nothing is a surprise to Him. If you will stay full of hope and praise, God will show Himself strong in your life, and you will not be disappointed!

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JOEL OSTEEN

Joel Osteen is pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas — a vibrant and diverse church that Forbes calls the largest and fastest-growing congregation in America. Joel shares a positive message of hope and encouragement that extends all around the world. This message reaches all across America and 100 nations of the world. Joel's books, Your Best Life Now and Become a Better You, quickly became #1 New York Times Bestsellers and are distributed worldwide in several languages.



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Those who could be vice president

Aliyu Muhammed Gusau

Aliyu Gusau has always been in the precipice of power. Commonly referred to as the ‘spy master’, this retired army general has constantly had a role to play in the balance of power in the country. The recluse former intelligence officer first rose to prominence when he was made the Director of Military Intelligence under former President Shehu Shagari.

Mr. Gusau and Oladipupo Diya, another retired general, were also said to be masterminds behind the fall of the Ernest Shonekan-led Interim National Government. Under the Ibrahim Babangida regime, he became the Chief of Army Staff and was appointed National Security Adviser under former president Olusegun Obasanjo.

Adamu Aliero

Adamu Aliero was born on January 1, 1957 in Aliero Local Government in Kebbi State. Mr. Aliero graduated from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, with a Bachelors of Science degree in Political Science. His political career took off in 1998 when he contested for a senatorial seat under the banner of the United Nigerian Congress Party (UNCP). Mr. Aliero, a former customs officer, was elected governor for two terms of four years each on the platform of the opposition All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) but switched loyalty to the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) at the end of his second term as governor and was elected into the Senate in 2007. He, however, vacated his seat in the senate when he was appointed Minister of the Federal Capital Territory in December 2008.

Sule Lamido

Born in April 1948, Sule Lamido was appointed minister of foreign affairs in 1999 by former president Olusegun Obasanjo and Mr. Lamido retained that position until 2003. Mr. Lamido was the National Secretary of the defunct Social Democratic Party during the Third Republic and was heavily criticised for his handling of the botched June 12 1993 presidential elections believed to have been won by the late Moshood Abiola. He was, however, imprisoned in 1998 by the late dictator Sani Abacha for criticising Mr. Abacha’s plan to perpetuate himself in office. He was elected governor of Jigawa State in 2007. Mr. Lamido has been involved in politics for more than 30 years. His political career dates back to his days in the defunct People’s Redemption Party (PRP)..

Jubril Aminu

Born August 1939, the senator representing the Adamawa Central Senatorial district attended the University of Ibadan, where he graduated in 1965 as a medical doctor. Mr. Aminu was the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri between 1980 and 1985, and has been education minister and also petroleum and mineral resources minister under the Ibrahim Babangida regime between 1989 and 1992. He was also Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission and then Nigerian Ambassador to the United States between 1999 and 2003.

Mr. Aminu was a delegate of the Nigerian National Constitutional Conference from 1994 to 1995, and has been a senator since 2003 on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party. Chairman of the senate committee on foreign affairs, he was mentioned in a German court as one of the beneficiaries of the $12.7million bribe allegedly paid by Siemens between 2001 and 2004 to top government officials to secure contracts in Nigeria.

Murtala Nyako

Murtala Hammanyero Nyako, a retired vice-admiral of the Nigerian Navy, was elected governor of Adamawa State in 2007 on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Mr. Nyako, born on August 27, 1943 was appointed Chief of Naval Staff in January 1990 and Deputy Chief of Defence Staff in 1992 before retiring from the Navy in 1993.

Mr. Nyako’s election as governor, in the 2007 general elections, was nullified by the the Adamawa State Election Petitions Tribunal. He, however, won the re-run election held on April 26,

2008. He was a member of the National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) which annulled the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

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The battle to be Vice President

Despite the jostle for an imagined vacancy in the office of the vice-president by cronies of ailing president Umaru Yar'Adua, Acting President Goodluck Jonathan could run a one man presidency until 2011, legal experts and political insiders say.

Highly connected sources, who spoke on conditions of anonymity, told NEXT at the weekend in Abuja that the friends of Mr. Yar'Adua, now notoriously called the ‘cabal,' are actively seeking to insinuate a friendly party into the presidency.

Mr. Jonathan, who only became Acting president after 78 days of obstructionist politics by the cabal, has through some obscure arrangement, been allowed a 40-day window to select a deputy from a list of Yar'Adua loyalists. The five frontrunners for this job, whenever it becomes viable, are the governor of Katsina State, Ibrahim Shema; the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Yayale Ahmed; Aliyu Gusau, Nigeria's former army and intelligence chief; and Sule lamido, the incumbent governor of Jigawa State, our source said.

But while the group continues to ignore the constitutional implications of their ambitions, lawyers argue that Mr. Jonathan does not have the powers to select a vice president as no vacancy currently exists for the seat.

According to the lawyers, while Mr. Jonathan now serves as the commander-in-chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, there currently exists no vacancy in the vice presidency, the position Mr. Jonathan occupied until last week when a resolution by the National Assembly declared him the Acting President of the country. The lawyers said that Mr. Jonathan will continue to run the presidency without an official deputy until 2011 unless the ailing president, Umaru Yar'Adua, ceases to be president as a result of his impeachment or permanent incapacitation.

"It is envisaged that the president is alive; it is envisaged that the President is not permanently incapable; it is envisaged that he is only temporarily incapable and so whenever he comes back, he becomes the president while Jonathan returns to the position of Vice President. So if the president does not come until the 2011 elections or whatever, there will be no Vice President, that office becomes permanently vacant," said Bamidele Aturu, a prominent Lagos based human rights attorney.

A senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ricky Tarfa, described the scramble by the politicians for the office of the Vice-President is ‘an act of illegality and unconstitutionality'.

Vice-presidency for the North

In the miasma of events leading to the political arrangement that saw Mr. Jonathan become Acting President is an obscure pact that the Acting President should pick a deputy from a myriad of names, all northern elites, in the event that the vice-president slot does become open.

While it is not clear in what manner such a position will become vacant, politicians are frenetically pulling strings in Abuja, positioning themselves for the job.

Mr. Yar'Adua's friends continue to push forward names of close allies and in a bizarre move, some have even nominated the wife of the president, Turai, for the No.2 position.

Sources say that the unconstitutionality of the selection of a vice-president is a matter which the absent president's kitchen cabinet had not initially put into consideration.

"There now exists a renewed challenge in the wake of the Goodluck presidency," our sources said, adding that there is the likelihood that Mr. Jonathan may remain as the Acting President until 2011, when the next presidential elections will take place, because of circumstances beyond his control.

Still, reluctant to lose their influence, Mr. Yar ‘Adua's allies who have been worried that power appears to have slipped from the northern elites following the crucial memo from the National Assembly, continued their manoeuvres at the weekend, narrowing their options around Mr. Shema, the youthful governor of Katsina State and an acolyte of the ailing president.

Mr. Shema is believed to have the backing of the northern governors who, in a desperate need for political survival, threw their considerable support behind Mr. Jonathan's presidency, effectively negating the Yar ‘Adua presidency.

The Shema candidacy

All this however comes with its own complications and embarrassment. Already, an intense political warfare is raging in Katsina, home state of Mr. Yar Adua. Political insiders suspect that political fratricide is destined to consume Mr. Yar Adua's own three political godsons of whom Mr. Shema is the most prominent at the moment. The two others are Tanimu Yakubu, the economic adviser of Mr. Yar Adua, and Abba Ruma, his agriculture minister, both of whom are also eyeing the governorship of Katsina State.

If Mr. Shema ultimately loses it, People Democratic Party insiders told NEXT last weekend, the only reason will be because "he was marginalised these past 78 days and Tanimu and Ruma were closer to the first lady who never really wants Sherma for a second term as governor let alone something as high as the vice presidency.

Shema too, may be a victim of the principle of elimination by prominence since his early promotion as a candidate may be a strategy destined to sideline or even damage his candidacy" said our source.

There are other contenders however, and the name of the current secretary to the federal government, Mr. Ahmed had been promoted with the same fervour as that of Sule Lamido, the current governor of Jigawa. Both men are credited with experience and good judgement. Mr. Ahmed comes from Bauchi, which together with Jigawa shares the same zone with Katsina in the country's geo-political zoning block.

Constitutionality or Unconstitutionality

Some lawyers however condemn not only the current quest for the vice presidency by the politicians but also the very resolution that has made Mr. Jonathan the Acting President.

"Mr. Jonathan can continue as Acting President till next elections or until either President Yar'Adua comes back or until after the elections, or until a court declares his emergence unconstitutional. Because the way he was appointed is not legal, strictly speaking, it's not constitutional. The constitution was not followed, because no letter was written. The National Assembly said the broadcast on radio is deemed to be a letter. I do not know how you can do that, but they said the doctrine of necessity is a constitutional necessity," said Charles Musa, another human rights lawyer.

Like Mr. Musa, the opposition Action Congress (AC), has also condemned the National Assembly resolution..

"Our party, the AC, believes in constitutionality and the rule of law, hence our stand is not determined by what is popular but by what is legal and Constitutional," said the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Lai Mohammed.

The opposition against the constitutional propriety of Mr. Jonathan's emergence is currently running askance with the popular mood. "If the opposition can just take time to read the currents well" said Hassan Ado Ibrahim, an Abuja policy analyst, "they will see that the currents are so strong that even our parliamentarians and the governors have read the trend so accurately, and have opportunistically grafted their own interest into the mix."

Mr. Ibrahim believes that the Jonathan presidency will ride this wave of popular will long enough to make the question of a deputy needless, adding that "no one caused this problem anymore than the Yar' Adua people who abused the intelligence of the whole nation for so long that they whipped up so much negative sentiments against their patron and their platform."

He said, "from all indications the governors were genuinely angry that they got no access to the ailing president, and had no credible report on his status forcing them to switch loyalty to Mr. Jonathan" but added that they, "craftily yoked this objective grounds for outrage with their selfish desire to get someone that will sign off on the excess crude account which is their main motivation; and their selfish desire to change some of the people they had nominated to the federal cabinet."

Additional reporting by Idris Akinbajo and Ifedayo Adebayo

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China overtakes Germany as world top exporter

Germany's multi-year reign as the world's No 1 exporter is officially over, with the crown formally passing to rising China after new figures showed that German exports slid by nearly a fifth in 2009, the biggest decline in 60 years.

Tuesday's German government figures only confirmed an open secret: China's runaway growth and resilience amid the financial crisis put its exports ahead of Germany, which suffered a severe recession before returning to growth in last year's second quarter.

Last month, China's customs reported that total 2009 exports were more than $1.2 trillion, well ahead of the 803.2 billion euro ($1.1 trillion) that Germany reported Tuesday.

For Germany, the figure was a drop of 18.4 percent from 2008, although exports returned to year-on-year growth in December.

"The crisis has accelerated the shift in power in world trade toward the emerging countries," said Anton Boerner, the head of Germany's BGA exporters' association.

However, "the fact that we are passing on the title of world export champion to China doesn't cause us any worries," he added. "The growth of the Chinese economy will also secure our growth and jobs in Germany for long years."

Boerner noted that in December demand for German products from all parts of the world was up on the year.

Declining imports indicate that "large parts of the economy are still in neutral," Boerner said. "Everything must be done to encourage and stabilize the upturn in exports."

Germany took over the top spot in terms of exports in 2003, surpassing the US.

China's newfound status is mostly symbolic but highlights its growing presence as an industrial power, major buyer of oil, iron ore and other commodities and, increasingly, as an investor and key voice in managing the global economy.

Its ability to unseat longtime export leader Germany reflected the ability of agile, low-cost Chinese manufacturers to keep selling abroad even as other exporters have been hammered by a slump in global demand.

The change is the second time in three years Germany has been overtaken by China.

In 2007, China surpassed Germany to become the world's third-largest economy, just behind No. 2 Japan and the United States, which holds the top spot.

China's growth also benefits other companies and countries, particularly those in Germany, because of its voracious demand for raw materials, consumer goods and more.

Germany's leading luxury car makers, Mercedes-Benz, BMW AG and Audi AG, all have reported that their sales in China more than doubled on the year last month, helping them to improve their global performance.

Germany, and Europe, is also noted for quality and craftsmanship.

Nick Reilly, the new chief executive of General Motors Co's German-based European unit, Opel, said Tuesday he believes that "manufacturing must have and will have a bright future in Europe."

"Yes, wage rates are higher here than in other countries, but productivity, production excellence, logistics costs, quality and the work force's outstanding skill base largely offset that cost disadvantage," said Reilly, who was previously the US automaker's Shanghai-based executive vice president of international operations.

He pointed to "Opel's German engineering" as an asset to GM.

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•As Rainstorm Wreaks Havoc

By Ofonime Umanah , Bureau Chief, Port Harcourt



Port Harcourt, the Garden City was plunged into mourning on Saturday after an early morning downpour felled some electricity poles in the Trans-Amadi area of the Rivers State capital.

While eyewitnesses put the death toll at 40 with several critically injured, the government confirmed the death of 10.

The rainfall lasted from 7.25 a.m. till 12.38 p.m. on Saturday.

An eyewitness recounted to Sunday Independent that the victims got electrocuted while walking past the drenched road.

He said at least 25 others were critically injured and have since been taken to the hospital.

“The tragedy occurred when a thunderstorm accompanied by a downpour struck down a tension line belonging to the PHCN (Power Holding Company of Nigeria) in the industrial haven of the city,” the eyewitness said, adding that construction workers have started rescue operation.

Most of the dead were children, Sunday Independent gathered.

Officials of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and top government officials rushed to the scene to cut off power supply, an intervention that eyewitnesses said saved several other lives.

The PHCN, meanwhile, had opened investigation into Saturday’s snapping of its high-tension wire in the city, hours after the incident.

John Onyi, a Senior Public Relations Officer of PHCN in Port Harcourt, told newsmen that the wire snapped following a heavy downpour.

He said the company had isolated the Oginigba and Slaughter areas of the city where the wire broke to save lives and property.

The Rivers State Police Command’s spokeswoman, Rita Innoma-Abbey, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), confirmed that the police recovered 10 bodies, but noted that the death toll was still being counted. She also said 12 persons were in critical condition at press time. The dead bodies, Innoma-Abbey said, were deposited at the Braithwaite Memorial Hospital in Port Harcourt.

An angry Rivers State chapter of the Action Congress (AC) pilloried PHCN over the incident. The party’s spokesman, Eze Chukwuemeka, said in a text message that the deaths would have been avoided if the agency had taken steps to ensure that their facilities were in good shape.

The party called on the state government to probe the incident to ascertain the extent of PHCN’s culpability.

The party, however, sympathised with the families of those whose relatives were affected.

The state government however claimed only 10 lives were lost and that it would make efforts to give medical care to those injured.

The Commissioner for Information, Ibim Seminitari, said in a live radio programme that the government was unhappy over the occurrence.

Earlier, Secretary to the Government of Rivers State, Magnus Abe, visited the scene of the incident and the hospital to assess the degree of damage.

Though a construction worker told Sunday Independent that he counted 40 dead bodies at about 4.20 p.m., Abe told reporters that the police and the hospital management confirmed only 10 persons dead.

He reiterated that government will pick the bills of all those injured in the incident, noting that efforts were being made by government to contact the families of the deceased.
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When will we stop hearing about this man called Obasanjo ? WHEN !

Acting President Goodluck Jonathan and former President Olusegun Obasanjo met at a secret location in Abuja on Wednesday night, THISDAY can report.

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Although THISDAY could not confirm the venue and details of the meeting, it was learnt that the talk did not take place at the Vice-President’s Akinola Aguda House residence in Aso Rock.

The meeting, which started before midnight and lasted for about three hours, afforded the immediate past president, who was instrumental to the Yar’Adua/Jonathan ticket in the 2007 presidential election, an opportunity to offer far-reaching advice to the Acting President.

Obasanjo flew into Abuja in a private jet around 8pm on the day. After the meeting ended around 2am yesterday, he flew out of Abuja an hour later.

An aide to Jonathan, who confirmed the meeting, said the Acting President was open to support and advice from all quarters, as he had already held meetings with other key stakeholders in the polity.

And the wheel of government, which had virtually been clogged with the power vacuum created by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s prolonged absence, is now running in full force as Jonathan yesterday swore in 17 new Federal Permanent Secretaries.

Jonathan also played host to principal officers of the Senate at his residence and promised to start sending executive communications to the National Assembly soon.

Jonathan became Acting President on Tuesday after the two chambers of the National Assembly passed resolutions empowering him to assume full presidential powers in the absence of Yar’Adua who left the country for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia on November 23 last year.

Meanwhile, the former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Mike Aondoakaa, was also seen at the Abuja airport last night on his way out of the country.

He was said to be heading to somewhere in Europe “to rest” a day after he lost his high-profile job in a minor cabinet reshuffle.

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, and three other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party left Abuja via London yesterday to brief Yar'Adua on the developments in Nigeria.

The decision of the leadership of the PDP to visit Yar'Adua in Saudi Arabia was taken after the NWC meeting with the principal officers of the National Assembly at the PDP office in Abuja.

Three governors, Isa Yuguda (Bauchi), Ibrahim Shema (Katsina) and Gabriel Suswam (Benue) had left Nigeria for Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to meet Yar'Adua.

The delayed swearing-in of the permanent secretaries had raised concerns as the Vice-President could not swear them in without full presidential powers and many ministries had been operating without the heads of bureaucracy for months.

The permanent secretaries, comprising three women and 14 men, had been selected since November last year through written and oral process but their swearing-in and assumption of office had been stalled until yesterday.

While receiving the principal officers of the Senate in an early morning visit, Jonathan assured them that the executive arm of government would continue to maintain cordial working relationship with the legislative arm of government.

He also thanked members of the National Assembly for their courage in moving the nation forward in spite of the heated debate occasioned by the President’s absence.

Senate President David Mark, who led the Senate leadership on the visit, prayed God to give Jonathan the courage and wisdom to lead the country in the right direction, assuring him that “we will join you to continue to pray for quick recovery for President Umaru Yar’Adua”.

Mark was accompanied by his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu; the Senate Leader, Senator Teslim Folarin; Senate Chief Whip, Senator Mahmud Kanti Bello; Senate Minority Leader, Senator Maina Maaji Lawan; Deputy Minority Leader, Senator Olorunnibe Mamora; Minority Whip, Senator Ahmed Yerima; Deputy Majority Whip, Senator Mohammed Mana; and Deputy Minority Whip, Senator Kabiru Ibrahim Gaya.
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Like a whirl wind he struck the music industry. And just as a new plug would bring life to a tired engine, he sparked life back into an industry that was almost comatose.

His genre of music was refreshingly different, so was the lyrics, simple and uncomplicated. His name is Chris Okotie and he came with a new swagger that was uncommon with the music industry of the 80s.

Apart from his music, he led the revolution that introduced solo career and almost extinguished band music, a feature that was common in that era. His debut album, I Need Someone, not only took the industry by storm, it also redefined the music industry.

Pastor Chris-Okotie

Thirty years after, Chris who has since become a fisherman for Christ opens up on his life as a secular musician. It ‘s explosive an

We hear that your ministry will be 23 years old this month….

In fact today. We started our church, the Household of God Ministry on February 1, 1987. So, we are actually 23 years old today. We have started a programme to mark the anniversary and it will run through the month.

How has the journey been?

The journey has been that of grace. I think that is the best way to put it. The journey has been that of mercy of the faithfulness of the Almighty God, the plenitude of His grace. I think that is just the way to put it. It has been grace, grace all the way.

In retrospect, how did you arrive at where you are today?

(Laughs) There are two systems of life on earth—the physical and the spiritual and most of the time when we are not aware we, live only in the physical system but when a man confronts the spiritual world, he recognises that it is actually the spiritual system that is more authentic than the physical one.

It is in the spiritual that we come recognise what God has done for us by way of salvation—sending Jesus to die for us. And when I heard the gospel, I recognised the need to adjust to the spiritual reality of man and that by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. Which was what I did in 1983.

Were you running away from something then?

Not at all! If people think that I stopped playing music because I became a Christian, it is the wrong order. I stopped playing music before I became a Christian. That is what happened. I had already made up my mind that I have had enough of music and decided to go back to school and pursue my law degree and it was in the process that I got saved.

How did your music career start?

We have been musical in our family. My father really liked music and he used to sing a lot and I think I got that from him.

Just like sister Loraine. He wasn’t a professional singer but he was into music, singing at home and sometimes he would get his friends together and they would do their music thing; that’s how I used to call it then. They had their music thing going.

I think I got the music gift from him. I used to belong to the music band in those days at Edo College where we were doing thongs from James Brown and others of that time. My father didn’t like that because he felt that getting into music would take you away from your academic work and the seriousness needed for you to become a success. So, he was very opposed to that. But by 1979 when he died and coming from a polygamous family, I knew we had to fend for ourselves and the only thing I knew I could outside of going to school was music.

So, I went to the studio on my own, did a little work with some friends of mine which became my demo, which I brought to Lagos to show Mr. Odion Iruoje who was the most promising producers of the time. He was Decca at the time but later moved to Phonodisk. He heard my work at the time and told me that when the company was ready to take on new artistes he would get in touch with me.

And he did. So, by 1980, he came to meet me on campus and told me he had arranged with BLO, one of my favourite bands at the time, to do my backup for me. That’s how we came to Lagos and in 10 days we had done every thing and it was fantastic.

And where did you get your inspiration from?

It is difficult to say. Let me put it this way, I believe that everything I did in music was ordained by God and I tried to mess it up just like Adam tried to mess up God’s work originally. He accepted the course for my life but wanted to use music to bring me to the place of visibility for the work He had called me to do.

Because you see, you are ordained by God before you are born, like He told Jeremiah, ‘Before I formed you in your mother’s womb, I knew you, I ordained you a prophet to the nations.’

Pastor Chris

So, He gave me that ability because He recognised that I would need it to come yo a place of visibility where I would be known and on that platform begin the work of the gospel. And from there build to a place of political leadership. So, I found myself driven, not just by the circumstances, because I could sustain myself even if I didn’t do the music. But I felt compelled to do the music and the music came to me.

I remember the song, I Need Someone, I heard one afternoon when I was sleeping during my siesta period on campus. Somebody was singing it and I got up and I recorded it. I will not call myself the inspired artistes who seats down and starts to contemplate the circumstances or picks up inspiration from them. Mine is slightly different. It comes to me, almost already packaged even till tomorrow.

Even the songs I do in church now and things like that. That’s the way it has always been. Every time I try to do myself, I find that I just can’t. But most artistic people can always seat down and say, let me go and write a song…but I have never been able to do that.

It has to come and once it comes the melody, then I start to work on the lyrics to try to find out the message behind the lyrics.

I knew someone, something going to change my life completely forever and it took me a while to decide on it.

And I always knew it has something to do with God even though I was not a believer then. When He eventually spoke to me the night I got saved He mentioned to me that He had done it all, and I knew He did. There were human excesses involved but the substance and inspiration were definitely of Him.

You came into the music scene when there were music bands doing their thing. You didn’t have a band and you chose the medium of pop when every other persons were doing something different—soul and what have you. Why?

That is why I am saying that He wanted to make me visible, because if I belonged to a band, I would have been like may be OFEGE or BLO and all that but He wanted my name because that is what He wanted to use. He wanted to use Chris Okotie as a name, because that is what He wanted to use. Sometimes, people think it is one name, the way they call me.

He wanted to use that name to achieve His own purpose here in this country and so, He didn’t want me to belong to a band. He arranged it Himself and that’s why He used Mr. Odion Iruoje and He organised and orchestrated the whole process.

The kind of songs, they were very simple but very melodious songs. They didn’t really have too much of a meaning to me then. But, I believe that anything I would have done at that time would have been successful because that was how God ordained it to be…for a purpose beyond me. It wasn’t for me, but for Him. And so when He was ready He came to claim what belonged to Him.

Please confirm the story that you actually used your producer’s jacket.

(Laughs) Yes! You know; because I was student at the time and I didn’t really have a lot of clothes because my father died and we didn’t have a lot of money.

So, Mr. Iruoje actually gave me that coat which I ended up giving to Felix Lebarty because he also was holding on to it in one of his works. I had friends then, Jide Obi, Felix Lebarty and a few other people who were close to me and I always wanted them involved in anything I was doing. Mr. Iruoje and I became friends. I discovered him to very sincere, upright, principled and those qualities appealed to me.

How were those days?

Very simple days! When I look back now, what I can recollect is the simplicity of the Nigerian society. The fact that people just accepted you for who you are and there was almost that universal fidelity; some kind of trust people had.

The suspicion that we have today wasn’t there. The WAZOBIA divide we have today wasn’t there and so you the liberty to leave in any part of this country. People loved you for what you could do, not your tribe or religion or something. It was very wonderful.

The acceptance was universal and almost overnight. Completely unbelievable. I remember, Mr. Iruoje took me somewhere when I came to Lagos about a month after the release of I Need Someone, and we were close to the School of Nursing in the Island and somebody recognised me and in five minutes barely all the windows were openly and they were all playing my music. I had to leave that place because I was so embarrassed. I hadn’t seen anything like it since then.

It wasn’t just about the music. It was just a kindred thing. It was as I was related to a people and that is the way some people relate to me since then. They get so personal about things that affect me. Somebody once wrote: “You can’t ignore Chris Okotie, you either love him passionately or you hate him passionately.” And I think that’s the way it has been with people. You have to take a stand when it comes to Chris Okotie!

How much did you make from I Need Someone?

I can’t recollect, but it was a lot of money. I was very rich particularly with my first two records because I became the highest paid artiste in the country at that time in terms of royalty and everything. And it is all thanks to Mr. Iruoje because he organised all that for me, but I was young and reckless and I spent the money without thinking…went to all kinds of places in the world.

I could afford anything I wanted. I think that it was also part of God’s plan that I would earn money on my own and loose respect for it, because it is important that as a minister of the gospel you don’t respect money. And I do not mean that you don’t put any value to it; you control it, you don’t allow it to control you. And that is why you can be become generous, because I have had so much money in my life that it is very easy for me to give it out.

It is very easy for me to do so, because from an age, it wasn’t money given to me by my parents or anybody. I remember when I went for a performance at Owerri and I was told that what the organisers had charged was too much for the young people to pay.

So, I called my manager to bring my brief case and I gave out the money they had just paid me for the performance so that the people could come in for the show. It was easy for me to do then and that is what I still do till now. But I think God wanted to use that to teach me to be generous, because when you know that what you have is given to you not because of anything…there are a lot of people who could do these things that I do.

But I haven’t been that blessed. It just helps me to see that money is a means to an end and not an end in itself. I’m happy with or without money. Money doesn’t determine what I do, it doesn’t determine the state of my mind or heart or my joy. It is freedom, because that is greatest power on earth—the power of money and I have been liberated from it.

You lived on the fast lane because money came when you were extremely young. When you look back now, do you believe that if God didn’t intervene at the time He did, the worst may have happened?

There is no doubt that if it were not for the divine intervention, I could have killed myself. No doubt about it because there were situations that I put myself into but the deliverance of God came in. When you have that kind of money and you have no parental guidance, no control…outside of Mr. Iruoje there was really nobody else who had enough wisdom to talk to me about the lifestyle I was leading.

Another thing that saved me was that, I am an introvert of some sort. They used to call me the hermit. If I were to be an extrovert, I probably would have exposed myself to more danger. I was always indoors. People came to me. I didn’t go to them, so it reduced the risk involved. I lived in that hotel for over a year.

It was the best hotel in the country at the time and I had friends—men and women who came to me, but the Lord still used that to prepare me for what I do now, in the sense that there is really nothing that I haven’t seen; that I haven’t done more or less.

So, the contentment that I have seen it all and I have come to a place of contentment and I am satisfied, totally and completely satisfied with the life I have today. Because, I have recognised that none of those things can give you happiness and when I met Jesus I recognised what I was searching for all my life, peace and contentment.

What are you referring to as ‘those things’?

The worldly acquisitions that we have; whether it is money or property. They make you comfortable, no doubt but they don’t give you joy and happiness because there is a void in the heart of everybody that God had placed there and until that void is filled with the love of God you will keep searching and craving.

Inordinate ambition is not man’s desire to just accumulate wealth, it is because he had no other choice. He is so empty within himself, so he thinks that as continues the journey of self aggrandizement and acquisition that he would find the balance of peace and joy; but he never does. The journey is futility, until he comes in contact with God through Christ Jesus.

Was there anything you did that you regret today?

Oh! Nearly everything I did I regretted. (Laugh) Recklessness. Basically, things that were done under the influence of alcohol which what a lot of young people do today under the influence of drugs. I was very fortunate that I didn’t get into drugs.

Can you list some of those things?

I’m too ashamed of them. They are not a testimony. Let me put it this way, the way of the transgressor is hard. (Laugh) There is a way that seemest right unto man, the end thereof is destruction. That is what I can tell you, because when you are young, your appreciation of life is so superficial. But for the love of God, there is no way I would have made it.

Did you do drugs?

Not at all! I knew I didn’t have the head. Even to smoke a cigarette was so difficult because anytime I smoked one I became dizzy, so there was no way I could have taken anything more than cigarette because I didn’t have the constitution for it. But, I drank! Out of burden, I drank beer or whatever. That is all I did.

Women?

Oh! Naturally, because I was a recording artiste and I was popular you meet a lot of girls and even boys who want to be friends with you and the reckless abandon and the characteristic of that age particularly when you have the additional comfort of money.

For some people, it is like that is the kind of life I want to live but if you look what goes on even in Hollywood and you see the level decadence and the depravity that is there; many times they lead to death—premature death. So, I thank God for His salvation.

Why did you abandon the music if it was a divine vehicle to something greater?

I haven’t. It is just a hiatus! You cannot abandon that stuff like that. It is part of you for the rest of your life. It is just that it is not necessary now. My music is still there. It is just that what I do now is just within the local assembly for now. It is an artistic gift that you have that is eternal.

You don’t believe that gospel music is a better tool of evangelism?

Yes! But when you are servant of God there is timing to everything that you do. The time hasn’t come. When that time comes we will do gospel music.

Will you say you made the right choice in marrying Stephanie?

Absolutely. I have always said that marriage is a personal decision. There’s perfect marriage; both of you have to take the time and work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

But I love the woman unconditionally. Marriage is not about what the woman feels for me; it is what I feel for her. It’s easy for people to love me because of the kind of a man that I am. When I talk love, I say I love her because that is the most important thing.

I think it is one of the best decisions that I have made in my entire life and I thank God for it.
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