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the election due irregularities in 22 states of the federation including Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo; Abia, Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi states.
Others include Ekiti, Ogun, Osun, Lagos, Sokoto, Kaduna, Jigawa, Gombe, Yobe, Zamfara, Adamawa, Nasarawa states and FCT.
Buhari alleged that the computers used in compiling the votes were programmed to rig the election in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
In a petition submitted by his party to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Buhari further sought an investigation into how a software was installed in the computers with the aim of assisting Jonathan to victory in the election.
President Jonathan, who received his certificate of return with his running mate and current Vice President, Namadi Sambo, between 4.40 and 4.45pm had condemned the recent crisis adding that he was prepared to run an all-inclusive government.
But the petition signed by the CPC’s National Chairman, Prince Tony Momoh, and National Secretary, Engr. Buba Galadima, equally accused the PDP of intimidating voters and that result from the south-south and south-east should be cancelled.
According to the petitioner, "We (CPC) are also disagreeing with results from Sokoto, Adamawa, Plateau, Nasarawa, Benue, Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Jigawa among others.
"All results must be subjected to forensic analysis before it is announced. If it is announced without forensic analysis, we will not accept it."
The petition read further: “Our attention has been drawn by our State collation officers, polling agents, and election supervisors in the states of the South-South and South-East and some other states that the presidential elections held on April 16, 2011 in Nigeria were conducted in substantial non-compliance with the principles of the Electoral Act with the effect that the results handed down were substantially affected by massive irregularities that include the following:
1.Members of the public in the areas mentioned were at most polling stations intimidated and driven away from the polling units with the effect that the ballot papers in ballot boxes were printed and stuffed in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
2.Opposition voters were directly and indirectly kept away from polling units through threats of force, violence and death in consequence of which they were disenfranchised.
3.There was clear absence of accreditation of voters in most of the polling units and the regulated procedure for the conduct of the purported election was as a result violently breached to the advantage of PDP.
4.There is strong suspicion, supported by reasonable grounds, that the Excel computer application installed in the computers of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, across the nation was deliberately designed to short change the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC. This can be attested to by the unfolding situation of Katsina and Kano where the manual calculation of the results reveal that our Party was short changed by hundreds of thousands of votes when the results were manually reviewed.
The party therefore asked the INEC chairman to:
1.Order the respective Chief Electoral Commissioners and such other custodians of all
presidential election documents including statement of results, ballot papers and voters registers which are returned to the Commission by the Returning Officers to produce them to be analysed in line with our allegation on multiple and alien voting by voters not registered at the polling units.
2.Investigate the allegation of manipulation of Excel Application Programme installed in the field computers of INEC deliberately designed to favour PDP and short change CPC.
3. Order for the cancellation of the results handed down from the South_South and South East in the event the investigation revealed the alleged breaches.
4. Order for concurrent manual recalculation of the result across the country alongside the Excel Application calculation.
The petitioner further said: “We, therefore, appeal that you demand the ballot papers and result sheets as collated from these zones and states for scrutiny in the interest of peace, prosperity, free, fair and credible elections. We recall that on Sunday April 17, because of reports we received, we issued a press statement that we would accept only collated results from polling stations."
Observers, who monitored the elections have however called on Buhari to accept what they described as one of the freest and fairest elections the country has ever had.
The entire observers, under a coalition, Project 2011 Swift Count, urged the Buhari and other candidates in the election to accept the results as declared by INEC without problems.
Speaking on behalf of the coalition, its First Vice-President, Mr. Dafe Akpedeye, said the exercise was transparent and credible.
According to him, “INEC has conducted the collation of presidential results in a very open manner. Official results by states have immediately been posted on the internet for anyone to see.
"In order to ensure even greater transparency and accountability Project 2011 Swift Count calls upon INEC to also post polling unit level results on its website."
Please if you write a silly book, don't invite Sanusi Lamido Sanusi to make a presentation. ,
I guess Olaniwun Ajayi has learnt from this. Sanusi faults Olaniwun Ajayi on Northern domination.
The Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, surprised guests present at the Muson Centre for the launching of the book of Sir Olaniwun Ajayi at the Muson Centre in Lagos .
The book titled: " Nigeria , Africa 's failed asset?" attracted many important dignitaries, intellectuals and some governors. The argument by discussants centered on whether or not the colonial masters laid the foundation for the problems Nigeria is currently facing.
Many argued that the British loved the North and that was why it gave more than 50 percent of the National Assembly seats to the North at independence.
Sanusi, however, stole the show when he spoke. His speech was anchored on the plank that the British and Nigerian rulers are responsible for the state of the situation Nigeria finds itself today.
Below is his unedited speech.
"Let me start by saying that I am Fulani (laughter). My grandfather was an Emir and therefore I represent all that has been talked about this afternoon. Sir Ajayi has written a book. And like all Nigerians of his generation, he has written in the language of his generation.
"My grandfather was a Northerner, I am a Nigerian. The problem with this country is that in 2009, we speak in the language of 1953. Sir Olaniwun can be forgiven for the way he spoke, but I cannot forgive people of my generation speaking in that language.
"Let us go into this issue because there are so many myths that are being bandied around. Before colonialism, there was nothing like Northern Nigeria, Before the Sokoto Jihad, there was nothing like the Sokoto caliphate. The man from Kano regard himself as bakane. The man from Zaria was bazazzage. The man from Katsina was bakatsine. The kingdoms were at war with each other. They were Hausas, they were Muslims, they were killing each other.
"The Yoruba were Ijebu, Owo, Ijesha, Akoko, Egba. When did they become one? When did the North become one? You have the Sokoto Caliphate that brought every person from Adamawa to Sokoto and said it is one kingdom. They now
said it was a Muslim North.
"The Colonialists came, put that together and said it is now called the Northern Nigeria. Do you know what happened? Our grand fathers were able to transform to being Northerners. We have not been able to transform to being Nigerians. The fault is ours.
Tell me, how many governors has South West produced after Awolowo that are role models of leadership? How many governors has the East produced like Nnamdi Azikiwe that can be role models of leadership? How Many governors in
the Niger Delta are role models of leadership? Tell me. There is no evidence statistically that any part of this country has produced good leaders.
You talk about Babangida and the economy. Who were the people in charge of the economy during Babangida era? Olu Falae, Kalu Idika Kalu. What state are they from in the North?
"We started the banking reform; the first thing I heard was that in Urobo land, that there will be a curse of the ancestors. I said they (ancestors) would not answer. They said why? I said how many factories did Ibru build in Urobo land? So, why will the ancestors of the Urobo people support her?
"We talk ethnicity when it pleases us. It is hypocrisy. You said elections were rigged in 1959, Obasanjo and Maurice Iwu rigged election in 2007. Was it a Southern thing? It was not. "The problem is: everywhere in this country, there is one Hausa, Ibo, Yoruba and Itshekiri man whose concern is how to get his hands on the pile and how much he can steal.
Whether it is in the military or in the civilian government, they sit down, they eat together. In fact, the constitution says there must be a minister from every state.
"So, anybody that is still preaching that the problem of Nigeria is Yoruba or Hausa or Fulani, he does not love Nigeria . The problem with Nigeria is that a group of people from each and every ethnic tribe is very selfish. The poverty that is found in Maiduguri is even worse than any poverty that you find in any part of the South.
The British came for 60 years and Sir Ajayi talked about few numbers of graduates in the North (two at independence) . What he did not say was that there was a documented policy of the British when they came that the Northerner should not be educated. It was documented. It was British colonial policy. I have the document. I have published articles on it. That if you educate the Northerner you will produce progressive Muslim intellectuals of the type we have in Egypt and India. So, do not educate them. It was documented. And you say they love us (North).
"I have spent the better part of my life to fight and Dr. (Reuben) Abati knows me. Yes, my grandfather was an Emir. Why was I in the pro-democracy movement fighting for June 12? Is (Moshood) Abiola from Kano ? Why am I a founding director of the Kudirat Initiative for Nigerian Development (KIND)?
"There are good Yoruba people, good Igbo people, good Fulani people, good Nigerians and there are bad people everywhere. That is the truth. "Stop talking about dividing Nigeria because we are not the most populous country
in the world. We have all the resources that make it easy to make one united great Nigeria . It is better if we are united than to divide it.
"Every time you talk about division, when you restructure, do you know what will happen? In Delta Area, the people in Warri will say Agbor, you don't have oil. When was the Niger Delta constructed as a political entity? Ten years ago, the Itshekiris were fighting the Urobos. Isn't that what was happening? Now they have become Niger Delta because they have found oil. After, it will be, if you do not have oil in your village then you cannot share our resources.
"There is no country in the world where resources are found in everybody's hamlet. But people have leaders and they said if you have this geography and if we are one state, then we have a responsibility for making sure that the people who belong to this country have a good nature.
"So, why don't you talk about; we don't have infrastructure, we don't have education, we don't have health. We are still talking about Fulani. Is it the Fulani cattle rearer or is anybody saying there is no poverty among the Fulani?", he said.
This is a great message to our generation.
Are we truly ready to develop and unite Nigeria?
quote: "we don dey feel una swagger una no lie o !"
nuff respect to rugged man and ice prince they killed it !
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we don dey feel una swagger una no lie o ! nuff respect to rugged man and ice prince they killed it !
Say hello to Tolu Salawu our hottie for the week and former Miss 9jabook contestant ! abi she no dey ?
News:
North & South by Sanusi Lamido CBN Gov's Response To Sir Olaniwun Ajayi's Book. very interesting insights http://bit.ly/fC2X0t
Susan Ibru convicted of Stalking Rio Ferdinand Man United Defender. http://bit.ly/eArJif
Police deploy officers to Calabar Hausa community: The Cross River State police command has deployed a team of a...http://bit.ly/fX2ZwK
Teenager gets Bail for Satchet water"assasination attempt" on Obasanjo & Ohakim after 18 days in jail http://bit.ly/dJfpRi
We Are All Winners Written by Goodluck Jonathan: Thank you Nigeria. We did it! I knew we could but seeing it com...http://bit.ly/dPnwqE
President Jonathan Suspends Minister of Interior, Emmanuel Iheanacho http://bit.ly/fPoXsm
A Real Man 2011: A man carries cash. A man looks out for those around him — woman, friend, stranger. A man can c...http://bit.ly/greQAL
9jabook wedsDay twitter Feed
today's promo: Secret Question: What would you pay 100 naira for ? http://bit.ly/hARciM
Rio Ferdinand stalker
convicted of harassment
Susanne Ibru made three visits to Manchester United player's Cheshire home, twice disturbing him and his wife at night
A stalker who repeatedly turned up at the home of the Manchester United and England footballer Rio Ferdinand has been convicted of harassment.
Susanne Ibru, 38, twice disturbed the player and his wife Rebecca as they slept at their home in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, claiming she needed to speak to him.
She was convicted at Macclesfield magistrates court in her absence. Ibru, who conducted her own defence, left court after being told that Ferdinand's wife Rebecca, 30, had been excused from giving evidence after the birth of their third child at the weekend. Earlier, Ibru had questioned Ferdinand in the witness box, telling him as he left the court: "I'll see you soon, bye." photo 2: rio ferdiandn far right in soccer argument
A warrant was issued for Ibru by the district judge, Nicholas
Sanders, who asked for her to be brought back before him for sentencing. He said it was "quite clear" that the prosecution case against her had been proved.
Ferdinand, 32, said he was left "angry and upset" by Ibru repeatedly turning up at his home uninvited. Ibru, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, visited his home three times between February and June last year, despite being warned to stay away.
Ian Davies, prosecuting, said that Ibru woke the couple early on 21 February by pressing the intercom buzzer at the entrance gate. Ferdinand went to a bathroom window and saw a figure wearing a hooded top. He shouted down to see who it was. She looked up, and he saw it was Ibru. Asked by Davies how he felt, Ferdinand said: "At first I was angry and upset but then disturbed, really, because I have got a young family and this was not the time or the place to be coming to speak to me."
The player called the club's security staff, who contacted the police, and then watched on his CCTV as Ibru walked away and was stopped by officers at the end of the road. Ibru returned on 16 June. Ferdinand said he saw her on the road opposite his house as he arrived home at about 8pm.
He said he had no idea why she wanted to speak to him. Ibru was given a formal police warning to leave the couple alone. Her third visit came early on 18 June, when she was arrested.
Man arraigned for pouring acid on wife
Kunle Falayi
A suspect, Samson Igbinomewahin, 47, was on Monday arraigned at an Ebute Metta Chief Magistrates' Court, Lagos, for allegedly pouring acid on his wife, Mrs. Susan Jeremiah, 31.
Mrs. Susan Jeremiah![pix201104190421781[1].jpg](http://odili.net/news/source/2011/apr/19/punch/images/pix201104190421781%5B1%5D.jpg)
Jeremiah, a corporal in the Special Fraud Unit of the Nigeria Police in Ikoyi, Lagos, was brought to court with one side of her body disfigured by the acid attack.
Igbinomewahin was charged with attempted murder. The charge sheet read in part that Igbinomewahin "on the 9th of March, 2011, at block 8, room 31, Obalende Police Barrack, Lagos...did unlawfully attempt to kill Susan Jeremiah by pouring acid substance on her body and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 320 (1) of the Criminal Code Cap 17 Vol. II Laws of Lagos State 2003."
The Magistrate, Mrs. Helen Omisore, had earlier asked Igbinomewahin if he wanted to be tried at either the magistrate or higher court before his plea was taken.
The suspect, who chose to be tried in the magistrate court, thereafter pleaded not guilty.
Igbinomewahin's lawyer, Mr. Olatunde Kolawole, urged the court to grant him bail, saying the issue was "a domestic accident." Besides, he told the court that the suspect had been in custody for more than a month.
At this point, Igbinomewahin interrupted the court proceeding by telling his lawyer that he had been detained for more than two months.
The magistrate shouted the suspect down and asked the court orderly to stand beside him in order to prevent further interruption.
But the victim's lawyer, Mr. Lucky Oizimende , objected the bail application. He told the court that Jeremiah was still in intensive care, adding that, "what would stop him from going back to kill her?"
PUNCH METRO gathered that Igbinomewahin and his wife, whom he married in 2009, had been having running battles on his insistence that his wife should finance his proposed trip to Malaysia.
As part of the plan, our correspondent gathered that the suspect asked his wife to sell off her landed property and use the proceeds to facilitate his supposed trip.
Igbinomewahin was said to have promised his wife that she would join him when he settled down in Malaysia. PUNCH METRO, however, learnt that Jeremiah was skeptical about this arrangement.
Before the incident, our correspondent learnt that Jeremiah had already filed for divorce and the matter was still pending in another court.
As a result of the pending suit, the couple no longer live together. But the marriage is blessed with a child.
Police investigation revealed that on the fateful day, the suspect allegedly visited his estranged wife and brought a polythene bag into her apartment at police barracks, Obalende, and told his wife that it contained their baby's food. It was learnt that when Jeremiah saw the content, she became suspicious and fled.
Igbinomewahin allegedly ran after her and poured the content in the polythene bag on her through the window.
The magistrate however adjourned ruling on the bail application till April 29, 2011, and ordered the suspect to be remanded in Ikoyi Prisons.
After 18 days of detention at the Owerri Prison, Precious Efurueze, the 13-year-old boy accused of attempting to kill former president Olusegun Obasanjo and the governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim, by pelting their campaign convoy with sachet water, has finally regained freedom. Master Efurueze and 18 other accused persons were granted bail by an Imo State High Court yesterday after two earlier appearances in court. Nelson Ezerioha, the defence counsel, told the court yesterday that most of the principles favouring the granting of bail to an accused are in favour of the applicants.
However, when Mr. Ezerioha explained that the charges are politically motivated, the judge reprimanded him and asked him to stick to the facts of the case and desist from whipping up political sentiments.
In her argument, the prosecution counsel, Nnenna Lelenwa, argued that the accused persons might jump bail due to the severity of the punishment attached to the crime they were accused of, if found guilty. However, when the presiding judge, who is also the Chief Justice of the state, Benjamin Njemanze, asked Mrs. Lelenwa how granting the applicant’s bail would affect the case of the prosecution, she was unable to give any reason.
The presiding judge also faulted the second count of the charge brought against the defendants, which among other things, stated that the applicants “unlawfully attempted to kill the governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim.” The judge ruled this charge failed to show how the applicant intended to do so.
In his ruling, Mr. Njemanze reiterated the argument of the applicant counsel that the offences are bailable, while stating that bail admitted to an accused is a basic right. He further explained that bail is not to be withheld merely as punishment.
He, therefore, granted each of the defendants bail in the sum of N200,000.00 and a surety with like sum. He explained that the surety most be a resident of Imo State.
Intrigue-plagued
The case has been plagued by political intrigues since its initial hearing at a Chief Magistrate Court in Owerri.
Vitoria Isiguzo, the presiding magistrate who is also the wife to the special senior adviser to the deputy governor of Imo State on special duties, Chibututu Isiguzo, had denied the applicants bail, citing the severity of the charges against them.
After the applicants filed a fresh application for bail at the state High Court, the initial judge the case was assigned to, Ngozi Opkara, withdrew, saying he was threatened by unknown persons that he and members of his family would be abducted if he granted bail to the suspects.
Some customers at a local delicacy (pepper soup) joint in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital narrowly escaped death, when a driver lost control and drove into where they were relaxing.
When NEXT visited the scene yesterday, the car was still stuck inside the building which is located beside the road, with the structure completely damaged. Some of the lucky customers who escaped from the rubbles of the damaged building told NEXT that they were full of gratitude to God for saving their lives.
“It was like a child’s play when the car was coming towards us. We quickly realised that there was danger ahead, in view of the fact that the driver lost control. And I want to believe God was on our side; we all escape unhurt.” One of the lucky customers said.
The owner of the outfit could not speak to journalists on the accident.
The Cross River State police command has deployed a team of anti-riot police men to Bogobiri, an area in Calabar populated by northerners, mainly Hausa Fulani. An armoured tank has been stationed in the area.
Another team of policemen has also been dispatched to Nasarawa Bacoco which is about 14 kilometers from Bogobiri. The policemen are expected to ensure that no harm is done to residents of the areas. Bacoco is a cattle market community, where pastoral traders from the North unload their trucks of cows and goats for sale.
Report of protests in some states in the North has generated panic among the residents from the North, as they fear reprisal attacks if the attack on churches and Christians in the North continued.
Though Calabar is always aloof when it comes to ethnic-religious clashes in the country, northerners in the city are not taking chances as they fear the unknown considering conflicting reports from the North on the extent of destruction and number of people killed.
Fear grips northern residents
Previous riots in the north against Christians had no repercussion on Moslems in Calabar, a situation which over the years has been pushing Hausa and Fulani business men and cattle farmers residing in nearby states like Akwa Ibom and Abia to Cross River State for solace.
But when news of the current violent protest in the North broke out yesterday, the atmosphere in Bogobiri and Nasarawa Bacoco changed to that of anxiety as residents were seen gathered in groups discussing in hushed tones the protest back home and whether it has spread to any state in the South and if the uprising would get to Calabar.
At Bogobiri, all the Hausa people seen were glued to their radio sets listening to either BBC Hausa Service or Radio Nigeria Kaduna Hausa Service for up date on the clashes. None was ready to speak on the situation including Sariki Lawal, leader of Hausa community in Calabar when approached by NEXT. Consequently, the groups have been finding it difficult to venture out of their domain. Whenever they do, they do so in groups and not far into the city centre for fear of the unknown.
Thank you Nigeria. We did it! I knew we could but seeing it come to fruition brings back the pleasant memory I had as a child listening on the radio as the Union Jack was lowered and the Green and White Flag raised on October 1st, 1960, our Independence Day. My dear brothers and sisters, today it is independence day for Nigeria yet again. Together we have said yes to one Nigeria. Together we have agreed to be our brother's keeper. Together we have spoken with one voice to say no to dichotomy. Together we have chosen a rebirth and as a Nigerian musical Icon once said Together we shall win forever!
I have however received with great sadness the news of sporadic unrest in some parts of the country which are not unconnected with last Saturday’s elections.
I appeal to those involved to stop this unnecessary and avoidable conduct, more so at this point in time when a lot of sacrifice has been made by all the citizens of this great country in ensuring the conduct of free and fair elections.
It is with the deepest sense of responsibility that I call on all our political leaders especially the contestants to appeal to their supporters to stop further violence in the interest of stability, peace and well being of this great country.
As I said during the campaigns and now say again, I have no enemies to fight. Even at this hour, one of the finest hours of Nigeria, I want to pay tribute to Major Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd), a man I consider as a patriot per excellence and a man who I respect and never looked at as an opponent or a rival but as a partner in progress. To Major Gen. Buhari (Rtd) and all his supporters, I open up my arms wide in embrace and remind them that "this generation of Nigerians and indeed future generations have no other country than Nigeria. We shall remain here and salvage it TOGETHER".
I also salute Malam Nuhu Ribadu and recognize him today as a child of independence who has justified the act of independence and has proved by his gallant conduct as a Presidential candidate that the youth of Nigeria "have come of age". I am not surprised at Malam Ribadu's ability to inspire the youth. In fact, I desired his invigorating presence for Nigeria which was why I used every power at my disposal as President of Nigeria to bring equity to him causing him to feel secure enough to return to the land he loves so much and make him know that I, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, and the Nigeria nation appreciates him. I look forward to a future of synergistic collaboration between the two of us.
I also salute Malam Ibrahim Shekarau and all those who participated with me in this process. As General Yakubu Gowon once said, in a contest amongst brothers "there is no victor nor vanquished". We are all Nigerians and today all Nigerians are winners because we now know that North, South, East or West, Nigeria is best! GEJ
“President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has ordered the immediate suspension of Capt. Emmenuel Iheanacho as Minister of Interior and member of the Federal Executive Council”.
The presidential spokesman stated that Capt. Iheanacho has been directed to hand over to the Minister of Labour, Mr. Emeka Wogu, who will, in addition to his present portfolio, oversee that ministry.
Niboro adjudged that Capt. Iheanacho’s suspension comes as a result of a number of lapses in the political leadership of the ministry traceable to his personal and official conduct. For now, his continued manning of the ministry is not in the interest of the nation.
Bram Stoker's Dracula -- Everything
The year was 1992, and digital effects were on the rise, with Jurassic Park and the aforementioned Terminator 2 changing the game forever. Francis Ford Coppola was in the process of making the gothic masterpiece Bram Stoker's Dracula while Keanu Reeves was simultaneously working on ruining the very same masterpiece.
Come on, act! At least move an eyebrow!
The big-budget project was to have a stylized, surreal look in every frame. The studio, going through a CG craze, dropped its top visual effects artists in the director's lap so they could paint everything in pixels and Phantom Menace that shit.
In response, Coppola fired every one of them and replaced them with his 29-year-old son, Roman. The result is a movie with effects that were 100 percent done "in camera." That is, what you see is what they shot. It doesn't sound that impressive at first, but then you start looking at the kind of shots they needed to get. What on the page was to be as simple as Reeves taking a train ride, wound up looking like this in the movie:
That's a shot out the window of the train where we see Gary Oldman's stare, hovering in the clouds for some reason. To get that, they actually filmed a model landscape moving with the eyes projected on it, then projected the whole thing in back of Reeves sitting in the train. It's a projection of a projection on a projection. And that was a piece of cake compared with this:
Normally, this book-train montage shot would be a cinch: You shoot your train, shoot your book and put it all together in the computer.
Fuck that! To get that shot, they actually built a model train and a gigantic book. Then they filmed it. What you see is what was actually there.
#3.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind -- Freaky Dream Transitions
For those who haven't seen this film, all you need to know is that a large portion of it takes place inside Jim Carrey's deteriorating psyche as he is reliving old memories that are being simultaneously erased. The result is that as he goes through his own degrading memories, they skip around like a scratched CD, creating an extremely disjointed and surreal world where characters and settings rapidly pop in and out with no rhyme or reason.
In some ways, its the most accurate portrayal of therapy we've ever seen.
For example, at one point Carrey's character, Joel, is having a fight with his girlfriend (Kate Winslet), who walks angrily into the bathroom only to completely disappear and transport into the kitchen, then transport to the front door before leaving -- all within the same shot.
Later, Joel walks in on ... himself, talking with the doctor who is later responsible for the memory wipe.
In a blink, the shot then turns from Joel to the doctor ...
... and then to another Joel, the Joel who is in the memory itself.
This keeps happening, back and forth, as the scene unfolds.
Once more, this doesn't seem like a big deal if you can just make a real Jim Carrey interact with a CGI Jim Carrey. This method is probably how the shots would have been done for this scene if Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind had been directed by someone less insane than Michel Gondry.
Instead, Gondry relied on his theater background and insisted on pulling off the illusion using a technique known as "making his actors run and change costume really, really fast."
Above: Michel Gondry, quirking out with Jim Carrey.
No, really. For that scene where Kate Winslet seems to inexplicably appear in two separate rooms, they put a trap door in the bathroom and had her book it over to the kitchen before the camera got there -- then used a double as she left through the door.
The double Jim Carrey shot was actually much more excruciating. To create two Joels, Carrey would change his wardrobe and demeanor whenever the camera panned away from him and run to the other side of the set to play the other part as quickly as possible. It took so many takes to accomplish that Gondry and Carrey actually had an on-set argument about it because the actor didn't think it could be physically done. The strange thing is, we're pretty sure we still agree with Carrey there.
#2.
Apollo 13 -- Weightlessness
Making an actor fly or float or do Matrix-style kung fu is the oldest Hollywood trick in the book. Step 1, hang the actor from cables. Step 2, remove the cables from the finished shot, which these days can be done digitally.
So when they needed the actors to float around in the zero gravity of space in Apollo 13, it seemed pretty simple. Either do the wire trick, or hell, just composite in the actors with CGI entirely.
But NASA stepped in and said, "Look, we put dudes on the moon. Did you read about that? We can do anything. And what you need is to just get rid of this whole gravity thing."
Enter a special craft they affectionately call "The Vomit Comet." It's NASA's own KC-135 airplane designed to do one thing and one thing alone: Create a zero-G environment right here on Earth.
To accomplish this, the plane does a series of parabolic arcs, which is a fancy way of saying that it goes up and down really fast.
This action causes a brief window of complete weightlessness for anybody lucky enough to be on board. It's used as a training program for astronauts, but for Apollo 13, it was turned into the soundstage.
It took a mind-numbing 600 or so arcs to complete all the shooting. So when you watch that film again, concentrate on the faces of the actors during those shots of weightlessness and note that their looks of pants-shitting excitement are completely genuine.
Just another shot of Bill Paxton not acting.
But before you go envying them too much, remember the plane's "Vomit Comet" nickname. Look at the high-speed dives and climbs of the aircraft and imagine you're inside it, and three or four burritos are inside you. It ain't pretty.
#1.
Escape From New York -- 3D NYC
You're probably wondering how anything from a film made in 1981 could possibly be confused as CGI. Well, they did have computer-generated images back then; they just looked terrible. Like this shot, which is supposed to be from Snake's glider's computer as he is descending on the futuristic apocalyptic cityscape that is 1997 New York City:
See? 80s graphics, man.
Believe it or not, what you see there was extremely cutting-edge for the time. In fact, it was so cutting-edge that it was completely out of the question given the film's budget. But John Carpenter wanted this high-tech graphic to appear in the film -- after all, it's supposed to be 1997! So they had to find a way to do that shot of computer graphics without using computer graphics.
For the sequel, they had to find a way to do the whole film without using a plot.
So they grabbed their model of New York, which had been used for various other shots, and bought a roll of green tape and a black light. That's it -- this cutting-edge effect was done with five bucks and a trip to the hardware store.
Also, we think there was a tiny guy with a tiny roll of tape inside every Virtual Boy.
The Dark Knight -- The Big Chase Scene
It was a chase that destroyed the Batmobile, a Joker-themed semi, a dump truck, a paddy wagon, multiple cop cars and God knows how many bystander vehicles. And that shit was worth it.
Batman on a motorcycle. This should win Best Picture every year.
Two specific points during the insane car chase at the halfway point of The Dark Knight are so over-the-top they seem like they would have had to be computer-generated, if for no other reason than they would have killed the stunt drivers.
The first is when the Batmobile first shows up to take out the Joker's convoy. It speeds in ...
... and offers what equates to a vehicular uppercut to a garbage truck.
The scene ended up in the trailer and inadvertently encouraged a bloat of fanboys to flock to their keyboards and pound out protests against the fake-looking CGI in the movie. But as Christopher Nolan has proved time and again, he doesn't mess with that shit if he doesn't have to.
No, what you are actually seeing there is a complete one-third-scale model of the Batmobile, the garbage truck and a large section of lower Wacker Drive in Chicago.
Even the damn 180-degree move that the Batmobile pulls off at the end was done by a radio-controlled model.
So what about the climactic moment in that scene when they flip the Joker's 18-wheeler after Batman clotheslines it with a grappling hook? If that was a model, it was pretty goddamned convincing.
The flipping of the semi was accomplished with a technique known in Hollywood as flipping a real goddamned semi. To get the mind-boggling amount of upward force needed to lift the big bastard head over heels, the FX crew built a huge steam-piston mechanism in the trailer.
Wait, why can't that shit come standard in cars now?
Of course, then the challenge was to make it look like this insane stunt was occurring right in the middle of the banking district in Gotham. So how the hell do you pull that off? Build a miniature city and edit in the truck somehow? Film the truck out on an open course and use CGI to fill in the background? Shit, no! They just went to downtown Chicago, closed off a street and flipped their goddamned semi.
Why? Because that's how Batman would do it.
CGI is for squares.
#7.
Independence Day -- The Wall of Flames
You can mock its many plot holes if you want, but we're pretty sure the reason Independence Day dominated the box office in 1996 was because millions of people thought that seeing New York slowly enveloped by a gargantuan ball of fire was worth every cent of the ticket price. The ad campaign sold the film on that image -- the fire rolling down between New York skyscrapers. And by God, we lined up on opening night.
Seriously, you can leave after this scene.
And even if you watch it today, there's something oddly realistic about it, especially when compared with more recent Roland Emmerich stuff like 2012, which made the destruction of L.A. look like a very expensive video game cut-scene:
The difference, of course, is that the fire in the streets in ID4 is not CGI. It's real fire.
That sort of thing isn't easy to do in real life -- after all, how do you make the fire go sideways? Fire doesn't normally plume horizontally, which is a good thing most of the time, but the whole point of the aliens' city-destroying weapon was the unearthly way the blaze would slowly spill outward and engulf the city.
For the effects team, the solution to this shot was relatively simple.
Can you tell what you're looking at? That's a model city on its side. You'd probably recognize it better like this:
They called it the death chimney. Just turn the city model sideways, put the pyrotechnics at the bottom and put the camera at the top. Then they shot the explosion at a high shutter speed so that when the film was slowed down, they got their horrific, creeping wall of unstoppable fire.
See, this is how destruction used to be filmed back in the day. Someone spent weeks making a detailed model of New York, then you set it on fire and hoped to hell you didn't screw it up so they'd have to build it all over again (because then the model builder would find you in the parking lot and beat your ass).
"Roland Emmerich is a dick."
#6.
The Lord Of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring -- Little Hobbit, Big Gandalf
Here's an effect so seamless that you probably never gave it a second thought during the 27-hour runtime of the Lord of the Rings trilogy: the fact that Elijah Wood and the other actors playing hobbits are not in fact three feet tall.
The camera takes off ... a few feet.
Ah, but who cares, right? With CGI, you can probably just click on an actor and tell the computer to shrink him by 50 percent and you're done. Right?
"Bam. Hobbits. Give me 20 minutes and a chimp and I'll give you King Kong."
Not if you don't want it to look like shit. It's one thing if the actor is just standing next to the normal-size characters in a field, but at various points in the trilogy, you see Gandalf grab the tiny Frodo, hug him, ride on the same carriage with him and sit down at the same table. To pull that off Peter Jackson, needed a buffet of effects techniques ranging from simple to insane.
Sometimes it was as easy as using a child in a Frodo wig shot from behind ...
... or just compositing the actors together from different shots, or digitally sticking Frodo's face onto a tiny double. But the coolest effects didn't involve any computers or green-screen trickery at all. It's called "forced perspective."
Or Hobbitvision.
The idea is that you put one actor really far from the camera and the other one really close to the camera, then shoot at such an angle that it appears they are next to each other and that one of them is really big and the other really small. Which sounds simple, until you realize that you need to build everything on the set so that the actors can interact with it at the same time while hiding the fact that they're far away from each other.
The simplest example is with Gandalf's cart. In the movie, you see them sitting side by side ...
... but the real cart is built so that if the camera is stuck in that spot, it hides the fact that Frodo is actually sitting about four feet behind Gandalf, with Ian McKellen's body hiding where the bench is split:
But the complication comes when you realize that this works only if the camera remains perfectly still. So any shot where the camera moves around has to involve a computer, right? Nope. In scenes like this one, where they share a table ...
... they are actually sitting at two different tables, one human-sized and one hobbit-sized ...
... that are made in such a way that each piece slowly turns with the camera, so that the whole time, they appear to be one simple table, shifting with the perspective of the viewer. This required that the camera be put on a motion-control rig and half of the set be put on another rig that completely counteracted the movement of the camera. So when the shot moved, the set, props and even the actors moved accordingly (yes, while McKellen was trying to stay in character as Gandalf, he was on a stool that was slowly scooting him around the room).
"It's a little bit trippy when you've had too much pipe weed."
Take a moment to think about the crew that put that together, knowing the final goal was for you to never notice it.
#5.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day -- Digging Into the Terminator's Brain
We have previously pointed out how few of the effects in Terminator 2 were CGI, even though the computer-generated morphing of the T-1000 from liquid metal to Robert Patrick is all anyone talked about at the time. The vast majority of what you saw on the screen involved good old-fashioned makeup, models and trickery by FX wizard Stan Winston.
Linda Hamilton's biceps also played a substantial role in the magic.
Maybe the best example of the mind-boggling ingenuity that goes into any "I can't believe it's not CGI" scene is one that was cut from this film (a scene which, as we explained in the past, fills in a pretty big plot hole). The scene shows Sarah and John Connor opening up the Terminator's head to extract and reboot his CPU, giving him the ability to learn and adapt easier.
In a single take, we see the back of the Terminator's head in the foreground and his face reflected in the mirror in the background, clearly showing Arnold's un-animatronic likeness talking and emoting.
As much as one expects Arnold Schwarzenegger to emote ...
As they unscrew his dome, the camera moves around until the shot finally ends on the top of the non-reflected Terminator head, which is opened up like a damn pickle jar.
Now those of you who are experts in Arnold Schwarzenegger trivia already know that the man does not have a giant hole in his brain. So, what, they just had a fake head in the foreground and used CGI to put a fake reflection in the mirror? Easy!
Uh, no. There is no mirror. It's a window. On opposite sides are two John and Sarah Connors, and two Terminators miming each other's movements exactly so that they would appear to be reflected in a mirror.
But wait -- something doesn't quite add up. That's clearly Sarah Connor in both the foreground and the reflection ... what gives? It's not like there are two Linda Hamiltons out there.
Oh.
Meet Leslie Hamilton, Linda's identical twin sister. She came in quite handy during the making of this film, especially when the T-1000 took on Sarah Connor's form.
Yep, for all that you heard about the groundbreaking CGI, it all came down to identical-twin shenanigans. Basically, a special effects version of The Parent Trap.
A man carries cash. A man looks out for those around him — woman, friend, stranger. A man can cook eggs. A man can always find something good to watch on television. A man makes things — a rock wall, a table, the tuition money. Or he rebuilds — engines, watches, fortunes. He passes along expertise, one man to the next. Know-how survives him. This is immortality. A man can speak to dogs. A man fantasizes that kung fu lives deep inside him somewhere. A man knows how to sneak a look at cleavage and doesn't care if he gets busted once in a while. A man is good at his job. Not his work, not his avocation, not his hobby. Not his career. His job. It doesn't matter what his job is, because if a man doesn't like his job, he gets a new one.
A man can look you up and down and figure some things out. Before you say a word, he makes you. From your suitcase, from your watch, from your posture. A man infers.
A man owns up. . A man grasps his mistakes. He lays claim to who he is, and what he was, whether he likes them or not.
Some mistakes, though, he lets pass if no one notices. Like dropping the steak in the dirt.
A man loves the human body, the revelation of nakedness. He loves the sight of the pale breast, the physics of the human skeleton, the alternating current of the flesh. He is thrilled by the snatch, by the wrist, the sight of a bare shoulder. He likes the crease of a bent knee. When his woman bends to pick up her underwear, he feels that thrum that only a man can feel.
A man doesn't point out that he did the dishes.
A man looks out for children. Makes them stand behind him.
A man knows how to bust his balls working to feed his family.
A man has had liquor enough in his life that he can order a drink without sounding breathless, clueless, or obtuse. When he doesn't want to think, he orders Gordon's gin or something harder .When he doesnt want to not think. he stops. A real man knows when to stop drinking
A man welcomes the coming of age. It frees him. It allows him to assume the upper hand and teaches him when to step aside.
Maybe he never has, and maybe he never will, but a man figures he can knock someone, somewhere, on his ass.
He does not rely on rationalizations or explanations. He doesn't winnow, winnow, winnow until truths can be humbly categorized, or intellectualized, until behavior can be written off with an explanation. He doesn't see himself lost in some great maw of humanity, some grand sweep. That's the liberal thread; it's why men won't line up as liberals.
A man gets the door. Without thinking.
He stops traffic when he must.
A man resists formulations, questions belief, embraces ambiguity without making a fetish out of it. A man revisits his beliefs. Continually. That's why men won't forever line up with conservatives, either.
A man knows his tools and how to use them — just the ones he needs. Knows which saw is for what, how to find the stud, when to use galvanized nails.
A miter saw, incidentally, is the kind that sits on a table, has a circular blade, and is used for cutting at precise angles. Very satisfying saw. A real man knows when it is time to fess up to God .
A real man beleieves in something . A real man goes to church even if it is on TBN.
A man knows how to lose an afternoon. Drinking, playing Grand Theft Auto, driving aimlessly, shooting pool. A real man will go to the orphanage at least 3 times in his life .
He knows how to lose a month, also.
A man listens, and that's how he argues. He crafts opinions. He can pound the table, take the floor. It's not that he must. It's that he can.
A man is comfortable being alone. Loves being alone, actually. He sleeps.
Or he stands watch. He interrupts trouble. This is the state policeman. This is the poet. Men, both of them.
A man loves driving alone most of all.
Style — a man has that. No matter how eccentric that style is, it is uncontrived. It's a set of rules.
He understands the basic mechanics of the planet. Or he can close one eye, look up at the sun, and tell you what time of day it is. Or where north is. He can tell you where you might find something to eat or where the fish run. He understands electricity or the internal-combustion engine, the mechanics of flight or how to figure a pitcher's ERA.
A real man can cross the atlantic in a boat with his family if he was on the titanic and bring them back alive .If he cant he does not live to tell the tale .He can also cross the Sahara desert too.
A man does not know everything. He doesn't try. He likes what other men know.
A man can tell you he was wrong. That he did wrong. That he planned to. He can tell you when he is lost. He can apologize, even if sometimes it's just to put an end to the bickering.
A man does not wither at the thought of dancing. But it is generally to be avoided.
A man watches. Sometimes he goes and sits at an auction knowing he won't spend a dime, witnessing the temptation and the maneuvering of others. Sometimes he stands on the street corner watching stuff. This is not about quietude so much as collection. It is not about meditation so much as considering. A man refracts his vision and gains acuity. This serves him in every way. No one taught him this — to be quiet, to cipher, to watch. In this way, in these moments, the man is like a zoo animal: both captive and free. You cannot take your eyes off a man when he is like that. You shouldn't. The hell if you know what he is thinking, who he is, or what he will do next.
The last time we had cinematic battle among Nigerian films was in December when Anchor Baby, Ije, Champions of Our Time and Between Kings and Queen hit the screens. Anchor Baby came top by selling over N17 million to beat others. It is worthy of note that Ije is the highest selling movie of all time, so far. The December release was a re-release in the cinema.
A repeat of cinema battle is about to play out again, come April 22, as Ghetto Dreamz (the Dagrin biopic) and Tango With Me will be making strong cinema debut. The April cinema battle will be interesting, because it seems like the battle of David and Goliath. Ghetto Dreamz’s actor is young Trybson Dudukoko, while Tango With Me has veteran actress, Genevieve Nnaji, playing the lead role.
Ghetto Dreamz is a biopic on the late rapper, Dagrin, who died just as he was gaining popularity last year, and the frenzy that followed his death catapulted him to the class some industry greats dream of. The movie tells the story of his challenges, the pain, the struggle and the eventual success and true story of his death.
The movie, which was told in such a way that made many people cry, was screened exclusively to members of the media at Silverbird Galleria on Tuesday. And many left the premiere crying, while others left with satisfaction, saying that at last there is something to keep the legacy of the Yoruba-language rapping singer alive. Directed by innovative director, Daniel Ademinokan, and produced by Ope Banwo, Ghetto Dreamz features other stars like Rachael Oniga, Pa Kasumu, Oyindamola, Gabriel Afolayan, among others.
Tango With Me, however, is the story of love that stars Genevieve Nnaji and Joseph Benjamin, presenter of Project Fame West Africa. Tango With Me, which was shot on 35mm, also features stars like Kate Henshaw-Nuttal, Joke Silva, Alex Osifo, among others. Produced and directed by Mahmood Ali Balogun, the story highlights the intrigues and many turns of love between couples. The movie was also screened for the media last Tuesday.
Ghetto Dreamz has been predicted to have huge youth followers across the nation, while Tango With Me would be solely carried on the popularity strength of Genevieve Nnaji and the fact that it was shot on 35mm.
Though Ghetto Dreamz have been highly publicized and the publicity described as the biggest so far, Tango With Me is keeping the publicity low because it is believed that the 35mm and star presence would carry the movie far. As a sign of what is to come, banners, stands, posters and handbills of these movies already litter cinemas across the nation.
Now, the question cinema lovers ask is, which of these movies will win the box office war? Only time will tell.
Denrele leaves Soundcity
Controversial Soundcity vee-jay, Denrele Edun, has confirmed his resignation from the popular urban music channel, Soundcity.
The popular presenter, who is famous for his peculiar lifestyle as well as for impressively conducting many red carpet interviews for the music channel, revealed that he voluntarily left his job of six years to pursue some other personal dreams.
"I resigned two weeks ago," said Denrele, who has now attained a celebrity status, in a telephone conversation with X2. "I believe it was time I move on to a greener pasture and do other things for myself."
Denrele, who is currently on the location of a yet-to-be titled new traditional epic movie with Funke Akindele and Yinka Quadri in Oyo State, also quickly dispelled rumours that his exit from his old job is fuelled by a fallout with his boss concerning his infamous picture with Charly Boy.
"It had nothing to do with it. The picture happened before last year's Soundcity Music Video Awards and since then, I have continued to host shows for Soundcity without any issue. Initially, I thought it will cause a little tension because I know I am a controversial figure but really it did not," he said.
Denrele also reveals that aside taking more prominent roles in movies, his next plan includes coming up with his own television show.
"I hope to soon flag up my own celebrity interview show. I have interviewed so many celebrities and I hope to use that to start on my own. Recently, I was in Dubai to host a show Usher had, so I hope to continue to do things for myself," he said.
Mid-last year, a picture of Denrele in a mouth-to-mouth kiss with Charly Boy was released on the Internet and met with wide spread condemnation.
Although Soundcity boss, Tajudeen Adepetu, isn't available to comment on Denrele's exit, he was vociferous in condemning the picture with Charly Boy in an old interview. He called it "a foolish act".
New music
Many Nigerian entertainers have released new music and new music videos over the weekend. Storm Records' new recruit, Young6ix, teamed up with Empire Mate Music's singer, Wizkid, on a dance oriented track, ‘Follow Me'. Also, Hip-Hop World Awards nominee, Lord of Ajasa, popular for his witty raps in Yoruba, has released a new single, ‘Gbafun'. Toeing his trade mark rhyming in Yoruba, Ajasa laid his braggadocio rap over a laid back beat.
Similarly, Kennis Music's frontline act, JayWon, released his latest single ‘Oya' featuring label mates, Eedris Abdulkareem and Joe EL on a Jay Sleek production.
Singer cum producer and chief executive of Kasbeats Entertainment, Kas, has released the music video of the second lead single off his debut album. The music video, ‘If You Wind For Me', is directed by Gini.
The deficit-reduction plan he unveiled did not always live up to that vision and should have been less fixated on spending cuts at the expense of tax increases. It may give up too much as an opening position. But at least it was a reasonable basis for a conversation and is far better than its most prominent competitors. That is because it is grounded in themes of generosity and responsibility that, until recently, had been shared by leaders of both parties.
Because everyone deserves “some basic measure of security and dignity,” he said, the nation contributes to programs like Medicare, Medicaid and unemployment insurance. He said that “we would not be a great country without those commitments.”
But House Republicans and many of their party’s presidential candidates are trying to terminate that promise, he said, leaving seniors on their own and abandoning 50 million uninsured Americans. They are saying no to rebuilding bridges, sending students to college, to investing in research while giving the rich $1 trillion in tax cuts.
“That’s not right, and it’s not going to happen as long as I’m president,” he said.
Perhaps it was inevitable that Mr. Obama would begin to restate his most appealing principles as he embarks on his re-election campaign, which opened with this speech. It came just days after he seemed to swallow the Republican Party’s insincere talk of deficit reduction by praising a six-month budget deal that cuts too deeply, and a week after Republicans released their proposal to cut taxes and erase decades of social progress by rewriting entitlement programs.
Mr. Obama said he would “refuse to renew” the Bush tax cuts for the rich when they expire at the end of 2012. That alone would save $700 billion over 10 years, and he proposed another $1 trillion in savings by limiting itemized deductions for the wealthiest 2 percent and by ending various unspecified loopholes.
Still, his plan relies on about two parts spending cuts to one part tax increases. It should have been closer to 50-50, broadening the sacrifice. That could have been achieved by reminding those in the middle class that their income taxes remain low and will need to go up, and also through new revenue sources like energy taxes, a financial-transactions tax or a value-added tax.
His target for those increases was surprisingly low, much less than the current rate of growth, and it is not clear that that goal can be met without harming providers or beneficiaries. He would try to do so by giving greater powers to a special board to promote and enforce changes in health care delivery. He also promised real savings on prescription drug costs in Medicare and refused to accept Mr. Ryan’s notion of shrinking Medicaid into block grants.
Negotiations with an implacable opposition are about to get much tougher, but it was a relief to see Mr. Obama standing up for the values that got him to the table.
New York Times
Who is Goodluck Ebele Jonathan? Who is this political phenomenon who many across the country are attempting to deconstruct? Central to most of the stories on Goodluck Jonathan is the place of destiny and providence in his meteoric rise to power in Nigeria. There is talk of “unmerited favour”, “destined to supplant superiors.” The media is awash with stories of how Goodluck has always been lucky to be in the right place at the right time. The story is all over the place that Jonathan is always there to profit from the bad luck or mistakes of his superiors. We are told he is always privileged to be fortuitously positioned to step into dead men’s shoes!
This writer spoke with Femi Ajayi who has known Mr. President from his NYSC days and also dug into the archives to know the real Jonathan story. Femi Ajayi explained: “Goodluck Jonathan is not all about good fortune. Goodluck’s academic exploits, political feats, immense goodwill and extensive social networks did not come out of sheer luck and happenstance…”
The Goodluck Jonathan that he knows, “is not the one in the fertile imagination of ideologues of unmerited favour, is a divinely rewarded honest, hard-working and dedicated person.”
Ajayi argued it is important to realise that no matter our God-given talents, situations in life or in circumstance of birth, what we become at the end of the day is largely an outcome of the result-oriented choices we make daily.
On November 20, 1957, three years before Nigeria became a nation, the family of Jonathan in Otueke, Ogbia Local Government Area of the then Eastern Region, later Rivers State, and now Bayelsa State, was blessed with a baby boy, the parents, going by the tradition in Nigeria, where a child’s name often expresses the parents’ expectations of the child or the circumstances surrounding the child’s birth, instinctively realised that this child had an element of fortune in him and so named him ‘Goodluck’. This Jonathans’ action should be taken as a prayer, a wish followed with diligence, obedience and good citizenship, Ajayi argued.
According to him, Jonathan chose to be an obedient son to his parents and a law-abiding citizen in his village. He argued he could have opted to be a deviant, become a juvenile delinquent or an outright vagabond. He recalled, in school he chose to be a bookworm who faithfully applied himself to his books rather than be a lay-about. He argued he could have dropped out of school because of one social deprivation and economic problem or the other but he trudged on until he earned the highest academic certificate, that is, a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
Jonathan holds a B.Sc. degree in Zoology (Second Class Honours, Upper Division). He also holds a Msc. degree in Hydrobiology and Fisheries Biology, and a Ph.D. degree in Zoology from the University of Port Harcourt. After obtaining his degree, he worked as an education inspector, lecturer, and environmental-protection officer, until he decided to enter politics in 1998. Jonathan is married to Patience and has two children. Jonathan is a current member of the Ijaw ethnic group.
Recalling Goodluck Jonathan’s National Youth service days which they had together, he argued it was not sheer good fortune and luck that endeared Goodluck to his students and school management then. “He was a likeable and popular person because of his generosity, hard work, commitment to duty, and dedication to service. As a youth corps member, he bought meals and books for needy-but-brilliant students, yet he earned a meagre N200 per month allowance. He organised extra lectures and practical classes to adequately prepare his students for Biology in the West African School Certificate Examination,” he said.
Again, for those whose traditional thinking is that Goodluck Jonathan is a perpetual beneficiary of good fortune, he argued that the President needed more than mother luck to survive the murky and difficult political terrain in Bayelsa. For him, it is on record that Jonathan deployed his quiet diplomacy, mediatory skills and conciliation acumen to stabilise the conflict-prone and crisis-ridden communities of Bayelsa to promote lasting peace.
He argued, “Despite all the marginalisation, deprivations, and provocations he was exposed to in Bayelsa, his legendary patience, uncommon perseverance, dovelike disposition, and meekness, even-handedness most probably endeared him to both God and man and thus ensured that he laughed last.”
And for those who do not know the hell Jonathan went through in Aso Rock when he was vice president which he called, “the fractious, difficult and challenges politics of Umaru Yar’Adua’s presidency”, he explained he became a vice president without any budget of his own in the name of one presidency. “He had great responsibility without commensurate power or resources. He stoically endured the relegation, provocation and disempowerment by the Turks that hijacked the Yar’Adua Presidency,” he said. This, he believes, like many others do too, does not make him a weakling.
In fact, commenting on the view in some quarters that “he is too soft to be a successful politician”, he explained “I do not believe that you need to carry fire on your head to be a successful leader or politician.” Goodluck Jonathan, according to Ajayi, has this allegory – the allegory of the lion and the python. “The lion and the python are two effective but radically different predators. While the python stays on one spot and patiently waits for its prey, the lion runs after and overpowers its own prey.” He said he does not believe in motion without movement or dissipating heat where light is needed. “Where you can factorise a simple equation to get your answers, why dissipate energy using the almighty formula or binomial theorem?” he argued.
Take this character trait along with the way the current elections are playing out, you would want to agree with Jonathan’s philosophy of ‘slow and steady wins the race’ so to speak. Jonathan has come out as a transformational leader who works with and for the people rather than a ruler who reigns over the people. His transformational essence, according to Ajayi, is discernible from his pan-Nigeria perspective as well as his soft power approach such as across political divides and discourse, transcending party differences. But like argued earlier on, hawkish politicians mistake this democratic disposition for weakness and prevarication.
Any observer, who trailed his political moves, campaigning for the presidential election, would have noticed the deft manner he went about it. Jonathan spoke to groups across the country – ethnic, religious, institutions of all sorts. He reached out robustly. That is the beauty of politics, of decent politics, the beauty of democracy. Jonathan has barely spent a year as the President. Within this period he has scored some goals. The Niger Delta problem is being actively addressed – several militants are outside of our shores for training, the nation’s education issue is being addressed – some universities have been established, the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) that will open door for robust business in the oil and gas sector is set for passing by the National Assembly, democracy is being deepened- the ongoing general election is a case in point.
quote: "First Movers are not necessarily first Shakers . remember the movers in school ? remember myspace ?"
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today's promo: Secret Question: What would you pay 100 naira for ? http://bit.ly/hARciM
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Nigeria's U-20 team, the Flying Eagles, got their campaign at the 2011 Africa Youth Championships (AYC) off to a winning start as they defeated the reigning world and African champions, the Black Satellites of Ghana, by 2-1.
Two strikes from Enugu Rangers forward, Uche Nwofor, ensured Nigeria's first victory over Ghana. The Black Satellites had recorded a hat trick of wins in the previous meetings between both teams at the AYC.
The Flying Eagles started the stronger of the two teams, with star attacker Ahmed Musa, who only joined the team on Sunday evening from Holland, posing so much threat to the Ghanaian defence.
After much incursion into the Ghanaian deeper half, the Flying Eagles deservedly took the lead in the 17th minute, taking advantage of poor defending by their opponents.
A cross from the right flank was flicked-on by Abdul Ajagun to Uche Nwofor who fired the ball beyond the reach of goalkeeper James Achampong to make it 1-0.
The goal seemed to spur the Black Satellites into action as they got back on level terms in the 32nd minute. Right-back Richmond Nketiah crossed to the near post from a corner kick which Kwame Nsor scored with a header.
With the first half ending even, both teams resumed for the second half seeking another goal that would guarantee the three points in the testy opening encounter.
Both teams had their chances to change the scoreline in the second half but it wasn't until the 82nd minute that the deadlock was broken.
Winning goal
Nwofor again found himself in space on the right flank and looked to be lining up a cross; the ball bobbled up off the pitch, causing the attacker to mis-time his kick, while the ball looped over a helpless Achampong and found its way to the back of the Ghanaian net.
At the end of the game the happier of the coaches, expectedly, was John Obuh who was thrilled by the important opening day win over Ghana. "I am happy to have won the opening game, especially against a strong team like Ghana. We have done well. Congratulations to my boys, and thank God," declared Obuh.
Ghana coach, Orlando Wellington, said he is still optimistic that his side would cruise through the group phase with six points in their next two matches to grab one of the two slots for the semi-finals, and also for the World Cup in Columbia. "My team lost because of tactical indiscipline on the part of my players. We will go home and fix the problem so that we can win the next two games and qualify for the next round.
Nigeria, now atop Group B, will be meeting the Young Lions of Cameroon on Thursday, April 21. The Young Lions had defeated Gambia 1-0. Ghana will be meeting Gambia on the same day.
This past weekend, CNN International’s African Voices featured an extensive interview with Mama Nike.
She discussed her work aimed at empowering disadvantaged young people and women using Adire and art – “When they come there, it is free for them. They can eat and they can also discover themselves as an artist….And I always arrange exhibition for them, so they will be able to sell their work, not only to just do the work.” says Okundaye
Mama Nike also opened up about her humble beginning and how she learned the art of weaving and textile design “My great-grandmother started teaching me how to weave — from weaving to embroidery, embroidery to Adire, Adire to painting, painting to patchwork” she says.
She also discussed her spirituality including drawing her artistic and spiritual inspiration from Osun, the river goddess. “Nobody sees the goddess face to face, but you can see her in your dream. And sometime it talks to me in my dream….Immediately I dream and I wake up, I will quickly sketch it, because if I have to wait, it may go off my head. So the river has made a lot of impact because a lot of what I draw is about female who do the worshipping.“
Very intriguing interview and profile.
