Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Adieu Nigerian Blog Spot

The time has finally come when this blog officially ceases to count. It has done its time, hopefully given a glimpse into the going-ons of Nigerian government, sports, and living. I am very proud to be part Nigerian despite its inadequacies. I see glimpses of hope in Nigeria's weakened infrastructure. I know that there are many who are concerned about creating a better Nigeria, and together we can make a difference. We are the most populous country in Africa, we have numerous resources and brilliant minds at our disposal. I have no doubt that with God on our side, educated youth returning to Nigeria (from universities abroad), and sheer willpower, we will be able to be that change. :)

I hope you have enjoyed learning a little bit more about the corruption, character, and charm of one of my countries of citizenship!

Trailer kills 20 - 25 injured

Trailer kills 20 - 25 injured

By Our Reporter - 12.12.2007

BLOOD flowed freely on Tuesday in Awka, Anambra State, as no fewer than 20 people were feared dead and another 25 sustained varying degrees of injuries in an auto accident.

The crash, which occurred at the busy Akwata junction, according to eyewitnesses, was caused by a truck carrying heavy construction equipment after its brakes failed and it ran into a crowd of people.

Akwata junction is a popular point of convergence for Okada riders, pay-phone operators, hawkers, commuters and other artisans. However, there were conflicting reports on the number of people killed in the accident and those injured.

Many of those involved were Okada operators as no fewer than 10 motor cycles were seen crushed at the scene of the accident. Two vehicles, a blue Peugeot 504 car and a tipper lorry which the truck ran into before it crashed into the block industry premises were seen at the site of the accident.

Reports also said that some passengers who just alighted from some vehicles at the bus stop also fell victim. It was wailing as relatives of the victims and passers-by surged to see the mangled bodies of victims.

At the Regina Ceili Hospital two victims were confirmed dead, while four of those injured were receiving treatment. Some eyewitnesses said that some of the bodies and injured persons were taken to some private hospitals.



This article was taken from the Nigerian Tribune newspaper website, www.tribune.com.

Nigeria: Newcastle Pays Off Babayaro

Olawale Ajimotokan
Lagos

One time Nigerian international Celestine Babayaro is on his way out of Newcastle after both the club and player reportedly reached an agreement to sever company.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle of yesterday reported that the 29 year-old wing back will now be paid off ahead of his contract due to run out at the end of next season.

By the spirit of the deal, departure of the injury prone former Super Eagles defender from St James's Park will now be take effect in the winter transfer window that begins this month.

Babayaro's Magpies spell has been blighted by injuries which has limited his appearances for the club.

He has not been part of the team this season having last played for the club in March against Liverpool in a home league fixture which the Magpies won 2-1.

Babayaro, who was capped 26 times by Nigeria joined Newcastle in January 2005 from Chelsea where he played nearly 150 games for £1m.

He had a rosy spell at Stamford Bridge where he was the backbone of the defence from 1997 with the flamboyant Dutchman Ruud Gullit in charge of the team.

He was an instrumental member of the Nigerian national team that won the Olympic gold medal in Atlanta in 1996. He also posted a five-star display for the Eagles at the 1998 World Cup.

His first call in Europe was Anderlecht of Belgium from where he secured a £2.25m move to Chelsea.

Babayaro only started 66 games for Newcastle and his only goal came in an FA Cup tie with Coventry City at St James's Park in his first season.


His injury record never really endeared him to the Toom Army who wanted Sam Allardyce to offload him when the latter left Bolton at the beginning of the season to replace Glenn Roeder as the team manager.

On the international front, Babayaro touted as the future leader of the Nigerian team also made the headlines for the wrong reasons which thus limited his appearances to 26 matches relative to his age.

He first had a burst out with Nigerian officials over flight ticket refund at Sydney 2000. His career ended after he and two other players were expelled at the Nations Cup in Tunisia 2004 for a breach of a camp curfew.



This article was taken from This Day newspaper, and posted online at allAfrica.com

Monday, December 10, 2007

Senate to Check Budget Misappropriation

Senate to Check Budget Misappropriation
From Sufuyan Ojeifo in Abuja,
12.10.2007

In a bid to ensure that funds allocated for projects are not misappropriated, the Senate has decided to embark on an all-year monitoring of budgets, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Information and Media, Senator Ayogu Eze, has said.Speaking with THISDAY yesterday in Abuja ahead of Senate’s resumption of plenary tomorrow, Eze said the upper legislative chamber had set up an ad-hoc committee on the National Assembly and Research office to fine-tune the process of tracking the budget and expenditure.He said the Senate would receive from the ad-hoc committee reports of its meeting with the House of Representatives with a view to setting up the office.According to him, “the Senate has set up an ad-hoc committee on the National Assembly Budget and Research Office. We would like to hear how far they have gone in their collaboration with the House of Representatives with a view to setting up that office. “One of the reasons that have caused a lot of confusion in our treating the budget has been that the facts are only coming from one side (the Executive branch) and second, the facts are usually delayed and rushed towards the end. “Now, the National Assembly wants to have its own Budget Office that will enable it to track revenue from January to December and be able to have all the propositions so that the issue of benchmarking cannot be an arbitrary decision; so that the issue of Medium-Term Frameworks cannot be arbitrarily determined by one side,” he said.Eze added: “It is something that everybody will understand and consummate and be in positions to make contributions. So the committee is an important committee and we want to know what the committee has been able to do within the short period.”Eze said: “This is also part of the determination of the Senate to ensure that budget monitoring is an all-year round exercise and we are deciding that rather than just hold these sessions during budget, we are going to continue to hold the sessions periodically.” He said the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) would come to defend their budgets all through the year “so that we follow budget performance; so that the sort of things we are seeing now where somebody will appropriate money for a project, assess that project and then put the money in some interest-yielding accounts by some faceless persons will become a thing of the past.” Decrying a situation where “by December, no contract had been awarded and the money had been accessed early in the year simply because there had not been extensive over-sighting,” Eze said, “That will stop. I can assure you.”Eze said the 2008 budget would be ready before the end of this month if the Senate kept up with the speed at which it was currently considering the budget at the sub-committee and Appropriation committee levels.“I believe that working at the speed at which we are going, the budget will be ready before the end of this month. It may not be ready by mid-December, but it should be ready definitely before the end of the month,” he said.“When the Senate resumes on Tuesday (tomorrow), more importantly, we would expect to hear from the Appropriation Committee on how far they have gone with the work of trying to tidy up the budget so that we can go to the next session of calling a joint conference with the lower house so that we can pass the budget,” he said.He also disclosed that the Senate would consider the approval of the three outstanding ambassadorial nominees- Mohammed Buba Marwa, Kema Chikwe and Polycarp Nwite-who were screened by the Foreign Affairs Committee about two weeks ago.According to him, “A lot of outstanding issues will be cleared. You know that there are three ambassadorial nominees that were not screened ab-initio. They have now been screened. They have to come to the Senate for final approval. “There are also a number of committee assignments and reports like the report of the Committee on Finance on the nomination of Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS),” he said.

This article was taken from the online version of ThisDay Newspaper, thisdayonline.com

Sosoliso Crash

Sosoliso crash: Families yet to be fully compensated 2 years after
By UCHE USIM
Monday, December 10, 2007

Families of victims of the December 10, 2005 plane crash in Port Harcourt involving a Sosoliso’s DC-9 aircraft (flight 1145) are yet to receive their claims.The situation is worsened by the fact that the airline has been grounded since last year by the Federal Government.According to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regulations, families of air crash victims ought to recieve a $100,000 compensation each. But the airline has been unable to pay as it had an axe to grind with its insurers, Lloyds. Flight 1145 had 109 persons on board at the time of the crash and 103 of them died instantly as a result of fire burns, while five others later died in the hospital, bringing the number of casualties to 108. Report of the Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau blamed the crash on low level windshear and crew’s delay in aborting landing at that time. Many watched helplessly at the airport as the victims, which included Pastor Bimbo Odukoya, a popular evangelist, burnt to death. Fire fighting vehicles of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) were reportedly without water, a situation which hampered rescue operations. As the nation remembers victims of the Sosoliso crash, a call has been made to the Federal Government to refocus on the aviation sector, upgrade the industry and make air travelling safer. Commenting on the non paynment of compensation, the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Harold Demuren, regretted that what was due each family had not been paid in full as only partial compensation had been made. According to the NCAA helmsman, “only N118.5 million has been paid as compensation to some families here and there out of N1.34 billion. Not a single family has been paid the stipulated $100,000.”Continuing, he said: “They will come and tell you they have paid compensation, if they paid true compensation 103 passengers would have collected N1.34 billion, however they paid partially here and there out of that amount they have only paid N118.5 million as of today. So, they have not even paid up to N200 million. So they still have to pay almost N1.2 billion.”
The President of Aviation Round Table (ART) Capt. Dele Ore, told aviation journalists that “as the crash turns two years, our hearts remain with the families of those children and other families, but are we prepared to cope in case of a reoccurence?” “We have gone a long way since then in terms of regulation but in terms of search and rescue, if such happens again, can we readily rescue people? I have my doubts,” he said. Ore said the second year anniversary should serve as a period to refocus on the industry to ensure that adequate facilities were available to offer help to people in case of such emergency. Ore spoke as the victims’ families continued to wait for their compensation claims which statutorily is 100,000 US dollars per victim. Payment of the remaining claims is presently contentious even as parents of the children from Loyola Jesuit College, Abuja, slammed a N30 billion suit on the airline, requesting for damages. Also the nation’s regulatory aviation body, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in November last year, suspended the airline from operations for safety reasons and also for failing to pay up the compensation claims. Following the development, the airline was also unable to scale the recapitalisation hurdle and has since been out of operation with the Federal Government and the NCAA, insisting that only payment of the claims could make its case to be reconsidered. The Director-General of the NCAA, Dr Harold Demuren, has consistently said that until the shortfall of the compensation claims, which is over N1 billion was paid, the airline would remain grounded. The Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau (AIPB) of the Minstry of Aviation had given probable and contributory factors for the crash. “The probable cause of the accident was the crew’s decision to continue the approach (to land) beyond the decision altitude without having the runway and/or airport in sight,” the report stated. The report also said that the aircraft tail section, eventually made contact with the grass strip between the runway 21 and the taxi-way and its rear fuselage later ran into an exposed concrete drainage culvert which detached one of its engines. The report said that wind shear, poor visibility in thunderstorm and rain, as at the time the aircraft came in to land was also a contributory factor as the airfield lightings were not on and may have impaired the pilot from sighting the runway. It recommended that airfield lightings under FAAN should be transferred the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) so that they could be controlled from the control tower.
It also recommended among other things the need for uninterrupted power supply (UPS) to airfield lightings to ensure all critical aids were on throughout the operational period of airports.

This article was taken from the online version of the Daily Sun. sunnewsonline.com

Zeniith Bank: Shareholders reap 600% capital gain

Zenith Bank:Shareholders reap 600% capital gain
Sunday, 09 December 2007


WITH Zenith Bank PLC returning to the capital market in a hybrid offer to raise N130 billion, it has been revealed that investors who participated in the bank’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 2004 have enjoyed capital gains of about 600 per cent.
Zenith Bank is back in the market in an offer for subscription of 1,763,000,000 ordinary shares of 50k each at N38.90k and a rights issue of 1,654,557,911 units at N36.90k. The offer which opened on
Thursday, December 6, 2007 will run till January 17, 2008.
Before trading was frozen, as required by law, Zenith stock traded for N46.09, indicating that the shares on offer are coming at a discount of at least N10 per share.
Since its IPO in 2004, the Zenith stock has enjoyed positive progression from N10.90 to peak at N66.14 per share at the end of trading at the NSE on June 30, 2007, representing a total gain of over N55.24 per share.
Apart from the capital appreciation, investors have also reaped from the bank’s generous dividend payout as the bank made good on the promise made when it went public in 2004 and during the public offer of 2006 by paying out about N20 billion in just three years.
A detailed analysis of the bank’s Annual Report for the past three financial years showed that the bank surpassed its dividend projections of N5.1 billion for 2006 by actually paying out N6.6 billion (or N1.10 per share), representing a 29.6 per cent increase. In a similar fashion, the bank surpassed its projections of N7.6 billion for 2007 by paying out N9.2 billion (or 100 kobo per share), representing a 21 per cent increase.
The bank paid a dividend of N6.6 billion at the end of its 2004/2005 financial year up from the 4.2 billion (or 70 kobo per share) paid out the previous year.
Every year, since its IPO, the bank has scored high on credibility among investors for usually surpassing the dividend projections made when it went public.
Zenith Bank has enjoyed a successful year, with its consistently good financial performance producing high patronage on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), leading to the bank being named the “Quoted Company of the Year” by the Council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
For investors, this is another opportunity to buy into a stock that is structured for long-term value and a bank that has instituted its own unique business model that is designed to surpass its superior performance year after year

This article was taken from vanguardngr.com the online version of the Nigerian paper, Vanguard.

Monday, December 3, 2007

Nigeria: Robbers Attack FCT Medical Store

Nigeria: Robbers Attack FCT Medical Store




Golu Timothy

About 20 armed robbers, at the weekend, attacked the FCT central medical store located around Jabi in Utako district, and injured two of the civilian security personnel keeping guard.

However, the secretary for health in the FCT, Dr. Danladi Rupuba Arabs, said the robbers were disappointed because there was no money to steal in the store.

The robbers were said to have pounced on the strategic medical facility Friday night by jumping the high walls and took the three guards captive.

One of the security men said: "15 of the armed robbers jumped the fence, with four of them holding guns while others stayed outside the fence. As soon as they jumped inside, they started to beat us, and asked us to show them where money was kept. We told them there was no money here, except drugs, but they insisted on checking for themselves".

The robbers broke into all the offices including the toilets, but found a big iron safe locked in the accounts section.

Thinking they had suceeded, they invested all their energy in breaking the heavy iron safe, only to discover there was no single kobo.

Confirming the development to journalists, the health secretary, Dr. Danlami Arabs said, there was no physical cash, "because we are running a cashless system. We have since stopped money transaction in this place, and therefore we don't keep money here".

He directed that barb wires be put round the fences and enough security lights provided for the entire facility.


According to him, the robbers must have been attracted by the centralisation process in drug distribution, and the pressure put on them by demolitions but that they would not suceed.

He stated that he was happy wth the Utako police for moving in fast to make alternative arrangements, expressing confidence that the police would liaise with the leadership of the store to beef up security.

The secretary was led round the facility by Pharmacist Idris Abdullazeez, a deputy director.


IFJ Outraged Shut Down of Nigeria’s Guardian Newspaper as Management Tries to Break Strike

IFJ Outraged Shut Down of Nigeria’s Guardian Newspaper
By: IFJ

Posted on: 11/20/2007

IFJ Outraged Shut Down of Nigeria’s Guardian Newspaper as Management Tries to Break Strike

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned the move by management at the Guardian newspaper to end a 12-day strike by shutting down the newspaper and dismissing all its employees.

The journalists and the other workers at the paper have been on strike since November 8 after negotiations with managers over a pay raise and better working conditions stalled. The Guardian online and print editions have not been published since then.

“We are outraged by the strike-breaking technique used by The Guardian management,” said Gabriel Baglo, Director of the IFJ Africa office. “Closing the paper and reopening it later with a new staff is an unfair labour practice that only aims to break the union and undermine workers’ rights. We call on the management to resume negotiation with the workers to negotiate a fair contract.”

The Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in a letter sent to the Federal Minister of Labour on November 16 urged him to “intervene directly and immediately” in the dispute between the workers and the management of The Guardian.

The IFJ backs the call of its affiliate the NUJ for the government to take strong action to protect the newspaper employees’ rights, including referring the dispute to the Industrial Arbitration Panel to “save the jobs of about 800 journalists and other workers.”

The Guardian management announced to our in-house members that they will close down the paper with effect from Friday and sack all our members,” Usman Leman, NUJ National Secretary told the IFJ.

The NUJ members and other workers at the newspaper demanded a 50 per cent pay rise, improvement of the computer and Internet system and provision of a staff bus. The talks started in March of this year and were broke down on November 6.

According to the NUJ’s letter to the Minister, the workers agreed to resume work two days later, agreeing to accept 20 per cent pay rise. The management responded by refusing to put any agreements on other issues in dispute in writing and then locked out the NUJ members, the union said.

Taken from mediaforfreedom.com

The Guardian: Why we are off the streets

Monday, November 19, 2007

The Guardian: Why we are off the streets

On Tuesday, November 6, 2007, the leadership of the local branch of National Union of Printing, Publishing and Paper Products Workers (NUPPPPROW) and the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) supported by some outside elements, who invaded the company, decided to suspend the production of the newspaper and ordered the staff out of the premises as they announced the commencement of an industrial action against the company.

Since then, The Guardian titles have been off the streets and online. We would like to apologise to our numerous readers, advertisers, and other partners and patrons for whatever inconvenience this may have caused. We will also like to put on record our heartfelt appreciation of the enormous support and expression of goodwill that we have received from persons and organizations, at home and abroad, who have called to offer advice, and express concern about the sudden disappearance of their darling newspaper from the newsstands.

We observe with great pain that since the incident occurred the leadership of the unions in our company, have been making statements in the media, with the intention of portraying our company in a bad light. Much of what has been reported to the public is no more than outright fabrication, gross misrepresentation, and a campaign of calumny. It is important that the records be set straight and the position of management at this point, explained to the public.

Before the declaration of a workers' strike on November 6, management had been in dialogue with the local unions, a committee was also set up to negotiate with the unions and strengthen the communication channel between management and workers. In the course of the negotiations, the unions insisted on a 50 per cent salary increase across board for their members. Management offered a 20 per cent increase. At The Guardian, salaries are always paid as and when due. We also offer some of the best conditions of service in the industry, including special incentives to encourage performance and commitment. We run a fully automated operation, a computerized system, and only this year, a modern state of the art, new press was installed to make the production process easier. We have also been faithful to every contract of appointment and the principle of collective bargaining. But the unions rejected the 20 per cent increase in salary and stood their ground.

In their statements, the unions have grossly misrepresented the details of the negotiations to the public. We consider the resort to blackmail shocking. We find the animus that has been put forth by the union leaders astounding. We are alarmed that persons who work in a company and who ostensibly would like to remain a part of it, would do so much to humiliate the company in the eyes of the public and even take steps to destroy it.

Nonetheless, management has spent the past two weeks holding meetings with the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the local unions to resolve the impasse. We would like to thank the NLC for its intervention and its representatives for their concern and diligence. On Thursday, November 8, the negotiations yielded good fruit when the local unions, at the behest of the NLC, decided to call off the strike. But no sooner was the strike called off than the leaders of the local unions again asked the management for further negotiations where fresh demands were made which resulted in a deadlock. By now, members of management were being threatened by union members, insulting and threatening text messages had begun to show up on cell phones of directors of the company, there were threats that the new press will be destroyed, with indications that this was no longer just an industrial action, but an organised attempt to sabotage the company.

Still, management resumed negotiations with the local unions and the NLC. On Tuesday, November 13, another breakthrough was recorded, with the unions agreeing to accept the 20 per cent increase earlier offered by management, again at the behest of the NLC. On Wednesday, November 14, a workers' congress was held in the morning at which the workers resolved to return to work and accept the 20 percent salary increase offered by the management. All that remained was for a communique to be signed, and this was to take place the following day. Arrangements were also made for a resumption of operations. Surprisingly, the unions turned up on Thursday, November 15 with fresh conditions that although they had agreed to a 20 per cent salary increase, the payment should be backdated by about five months, and that management should sign an undertaking to accept other commitments. At no time were these fresh conditions part of the negotiations.

Management has learnt useful lessons from this experience. We have resolved to put the entire saga behind us. Last month, The Guardian as a company was 25 years old and this offered us the opportunity for reflection on how to position the business for the next 25 years. Before the industrial crisis, management was already working on a restructuring plan to strengthen its manpower and improve efficiency.

Today, The Guardian has the largest work force in the industry with about 800 workers and a generous incentives plan, in addition to a work environment where workers are given the freedom to realise their potentials to the fullest. It is time to take a second look at our operations so far and absorb the lessons of the past two weeks and their impact.

In keeping with this objective, The Guardian, on the professional advice of consultants working on the planned restructuring, has decided to fast track the plan. The company will, therefore, have to be completely overhauled to position its people, processes and structure in order to deepen its capacity to compete.

We apologise to the numerous loyal members of staff who have reaffirmed their commitment to the company�s vision and objective and expressed their dissatisfaction with the actions of the union leaders. We note their faith in our company�s values and ethos.

We promise that the process of restructuring, the ground work for which had been underway long before now, will be completed quickly, and The Guardian titles will be back on the stands and online shortly. This newspaper remains committed to the best traditions of journalism and free enterprise. We want to assure our numerous readers that we will return as a better and stronger newspaper, committed to the truth, the rule of law, and republican democracy, and the dignity of man. "What The Guardian Stands For", our mission statement, remains unchanged. Our commitment to the truth is unshakeable.

We thank everyone who has taken interest in our travails in the past two weeks, most sincerely. The life of a newspaper is like the life of a human being, full of surprises and ups and downs. In 25 years, The Guardian has had its fine and low moments, but like the Phoenix we have always risen to conquer adversity. This adversity will make us stronger and better. Very soon, you shall read The Guardian again.


This came off the official Guardian newspaper website.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Rotary, Gates Give Funds to Fight Polio

November 26, 2007

Rotary, Gates Give Funds to Fight Polio

By MARIA CHENG
AP Medical Writer

LONDON (AP) - The global campaign to wipe out polio is getting a $200 million donation from Rotary International and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, at a time when some worry the effort will fail in the final stages.

Monday's announcement by both organizations came after nearly two decades of work against polio, an infectious disease that can paralyze and sometimes kill.

"This investment is precisely the catalyst we need as we intensify the push to finish polio," Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, said in a statement.

Though polio incidence has been slashed by more than 99 percent worldwide since the eradication effort began in 1988, the virus remains entrenched in Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.

Two deadlines to eliminate polio have been missed: 2000 and 2005. More than $5 billion has been poured into the effort, and some experts worry that unless the job is finished soon, the world community's money and patience may run out.

"They're on a heroic task, but money is not the only problem," said Dr. Donald A. Henderson, who headed WHO's smallpox successful eradication campaign. "We've got to soldier on. We need more money. Look at all we've accomplished. But how do we get to the endpoint?"

Henderson and other experts worry that major obstacles to vaccinating children will be harder to overcome than filling a funding gap.

In countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia and Congo, where there are armed conflicts and weak health services, it has been extremely difficult to reach the high vaccination levels needed to wipe out polio. And in India, the vaccine is less effective, due to poor sanitation and the fact that children are often infected with intestinal viruses.

Experts are also concerned about the use of the oral vaccine, which contains live polio virus. In rare instances, the virus can mutate into a dangerous form capable of causing the disease.

The donation from Rotary International and the Gates Foundation, to be paid over three years, will largely go to immunization campaigns, surveillance and public education.

"This amount of money can make quite a big difference," said Nicholas Grassly, of Imperial College, London, who advises WHO on polio issues. "We can build on the gains that have been made this year."

WHO reports significant progress against polio in India and Nigeria, where 85 percent of the world's polio cases occur. Last year at this time, Nigeria had 958 polio cases. This year, only 226 were reported.

Still, the $200 million falls short of the $650 million that WHO says will be needed by 2009. Eradicating polio will ultimately cost $1 billion more, said Dr. David Heymann, WHO's top polio official.

Pandemonium in Yola as Police shoot undergraduate

Pandemonium in Yola as Police shoot undergraduate
Thursday, November 22, 2007 - Written by Umar Yusuf


YOLA—Pandemonium broke out in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, Tuesday, as Police shot dead an undergraduate of the Federal University of Technology Yola.

Youths in their thousands apparently protesting the killing mobilized themselves when the death of the undergraduate identified as Aminu Buba Tete filtered around and headed to the Jimeta divisional police station, in apparent move to set it ablaze.

Hoodlums quickly took over the advantage of the ensuing confusion, looting shops and other business places.

Shop owners and other business outfits hurriedly closed up their business and economic activities came to a stand still in most parts of the state capital.

No fewer than ten shops were looted and vandalized along the Mohammed Mustapha Way commercial area, while unspecified number of cars and motorcycles believed to be owned by police personnel were burnt to ashes.

Anti-riot policemen in armoured cars were later deployed to the major streets to maintain law and order.

Adamawa State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Aloy Okorie gave a vivid account of what led to near break down of law and order.

He told newsmen in his office that an informant had earlier alerted the police that suspected armed robbers were mobilizing themselves in Guri to raid some targets in the state capital,

He added that the police quickly cordoned off the road leading Guri-Fufore to Yola in an apparent move to track down the suspected robbers.

The Commissioner of Police added that it was at this point that the deceased in company of another person were driving along the cordoned office the Guri- Yola road.

“The duo were traveling in a tinted glass car and when police waved them to stop, they refused and the police chased them from Mbamba along the road into the state and one of the policemen shot at the car,” he stated.

Lagos Assembly May Adopt Yoruba as Official Language

Lagos Assembly May Adopt Yoruba as Official Language

By Deji Elumoye, 11.28.2007


Lagos State House of Assembly yesterday said it is considering the use of Yoruba language as its working language on the floor of the Assembly.
This is in response to a letter to this effect, written by one Mrs Ohiri Anuche, who described herself as a concerned citizen.
In the letter read on the floor of the Assembly, the woman said it was not in the interest of the grassroots for proceedings in the Assembly to be held in English Language, considering the fact that many of them do not understand the language. She cited the examples of Anambra, Ogun and Ekiti states, where local languages are used.
Debating the matter, Honourable Sanai Agunbiade, Ikorodu 1, said writer of the letter was simply drawing attention “to a constitutional provision, which says "state Assemblies could transact their businesses in English Language or other languages spoken by the people."
In his contribution, Mr Oshun Olanrewaju, Lagos Mainland II, argued that it was necessary to conduct the business in Yoruba Language at least once a week, to carry the people at the grassroots along.
“My mother for example, may want to hear her son or follow proceedings of those who represent her, but since she does not understand English, she would be robbed of this privilege,” he said.
Mr Oshinowo Adebayo, Kosofe 1, said this will force children to understand their mother tongue, because many of them do not speak or understand Yoruba.

However, the Majority Leader, Kolawole Taiwo, Ajeromi-Ifelodun 1, differ because, according to him, he represents a section of the state where majority do not speak Yoruba.“I represent Ajegunle, which is dotted with people of various ethnic groups, and I am obliged to use the English Language, so that I can communicate with them and vice-versa,” he said.The Speaker, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, suggested that the matter be put in proper motion for consideration, but added that anybody who had lived in a place for up to 10 years should be able to speak and understand the language of that place.

This article was taken from http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=96451


Falling Dollar Good for Naira, Says IMF Chief

Falling Dollar Good for Naira, Says IMF Chief


Fund asks Nigeria to define spending priorities
By Ayodele Aminu in Lagos and Constance Ikokwu in Washington D.C., 11.27.2007

As the dollar continues to take a plunge, the naira will strengthen, keep inflation within single digit and stave off any major impact on economic growth, says Director of the Africa Department, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Mr. Abdoulaye Bio-Tchane.
The good news for the naira is coming at a time the IMF is urging the Federal Government to define clearly its spending priorities and strengthen the management of public finances at the three tiers of government to yield better value for money from public spending
Bio-Tchane however warned that higher oil prices, however, means that Nigeria and other oil-producing countries would have to deal with decline in real income, posing a challenge to developmental projects.
The weakening dollar has been a source of concern to many countries, particularly the oil-producing states whose revenue is in that currency.
The depreciating dollar has contributed to rising oil prices and an erosion of the value of dollar reserves, prompting Iran and Venezuela to suggest oil trade in another currency during the Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC) summit last week in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
As at November 23, 2007, Nigeria foreign reserves stood at N50.09 billion.
In an interview with THISDAY in Washington, D.C., Bio-Tchane observed that the fall of the dollar would see a stronger naira, whereby people would spend less and the impact on inflation would be less.
“The stronger naira will help keep inflation well within single digit levels this year and into next year. Developments in domestic food prices, which depend on agricultural conditions including weather, are, however, a more important factor in determining inflation. As for economic growth, we do not expect a major impact from the stronger naira in the short term,” he stated.
He noted that the stronger naira would not impact the implementation of the budget, with the oil price based fiscal rule in place. He however reckoned that it did reduce the naira value of oil revenues and hence the naira value of excess crude account.
He advised the government to continue to apply "the oil price based on fiscal rule as proposed in its budget and its medium term fiscal strategy." "This will help secure the strong non-oil growth of recent years, low inflation, as well as support the increase in spending on infrastructure and on the MDGs that has taken place over the last few years," he said.
The Presidents of Iran and Venezuela, Mahmood Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez had during the OPEC Summit last week said they wished to convert their cash reserves into another currency. They both proposed oil trade in another currency, an idea that Saudi-Arabia was uncomfortable with, being a US ally.
Analysts say changing the oil trade currency will not only be an economic decision but a political statement.
The summit ended with a directive given to OPEC finance ministers to study the issue. No timetable was given for the study. A committee is expected to recommend a body of currencies that OPEC members will deal with.
Meanwhile, the IMF has stressed the need for the Federal Government to define clearly its spending priorities and strengthen the management of public finances at the three tiers of government.
The Fund, which implored Nigeria to define its priorities in a statement yesterday in Abuja after the conclusion of its staff mission to Nigeria for the 2007 Article IV Consultation, also urged the Nigerian authorities to continue to develop new approaches to monetary policy.
This, it said, will be important to monitor developments carefully, in case inflationary pressures emerge.
Mr. David Nellor, Senior Advisor in the African Department, who led the IMF mission’s visit to Abuja during November 7-20, 2007 to conduct the 2007 Article IV Consultation, however, predicted a robust growth for Nigeria in the medium term.
“In the near term, the mission expects that growth will remain robust, with demand from both public and private sectors contributing to growth. Implementation of the 2008 budget in line with the proposed medium-term fiscal strategy would help to ensure strong growth and single-digit inflation. As the authorities continue to develop new approaches to monetary policy, it will be important to monitor developments carefully, in case inflationary pressures emerge.
"The financial sector is evolving rapidly and the authorities need to enhance their capacity to meet the challenges that this poses. With both domestic and foreign investors increasing their appetite for Nigerian assets, it is essential that market participants and regulators alike have a good grasp of the new instruments and developments in the market. Finalising and implementing a robust framework for debt management will also help safeguard the strong external position and the domestic financial system,” the Fund said.
The IMF noted that the immediate challenge is to manage Nigeria's oil revenues and saving to preserve macroeconomic stability.
“The mission welcomes the road map to stability offered by the government's medium-term fiscal strategy, which covers all levels of government. Among the essential features of the strategy are that it proposes spending levels that can be absorbed by the economy while allowing room for infrastructure investment.
“It is most important that the recent agreement among the three levels of government on the use of the oil saving should be implemented in a way that preserves macroeconomic stability. This would mean that additional allocation from the excess crude account should be saved. If it is decided to increase spending, then the macroeconomic risks could be reduced by undertaking infrastructure spending with high import content. Large increases in domestic spending would risk sharply higher inflation, much slower growth over the medium term, or both,” the IMF emphasised.
Commenting on Nigeria’s infrastructure development, IMF said that there is scope to pursue Nigeria’s ambitious goals for growth, infrastructure development, and the Millennium Development Goals within current spending plans.
“The government could identify areas where it can reduce or share its role, including through privatisation and public-private partnerships. Government spending priorities need to be clearly defined. And the management of public finances at all three tiers of government should be strengthened to yield better value for money from public spending.
"The private sector has a pivotal role in securing sustainable growth. Important progress has been made in creating an enabling environment for private sector activity, but more needs to be done. Elements of a strategy might include: supporting wider financial sector activity throughout the economy; promoting the rule of law and corporate governance; and facilitating trade, for instance by building further on the changes brought about by concessioning the ports,” the Fund advised.
The IMF said that the successful completion of Nigeria's two-year Policy Support Instrument (PSI) with the IMF in mid-October 2007 was an important milestone. It however, noted that the economic progress and reform gains had transformed the policy environment, and had created new challenges.
The IMF's framework for PSIs is designed for low-income countries that may not need IMF financial assistance, but still seek close cooperation with the IMF in preparation and endorsement of their policy frameworks. PSI-supported programmes are based on country-owned poverty reduction strategies adopted in a participatory process involving civil society and development partners. This is intended to ensure that PSI-supported programmes are consistent with a comprehensive framework for macroeconomic, structural and social policies to foster growth and reduce poverty. Members' performance under a PSI is reviewed semi-annually, irrespective of the status of the programme.
The 2007 Article IV Consultation is the process that involves economic analysis and discussion of policies that the IMF regularly conducts with each member country.
The mission met with Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman, Minister of Finance; Professor Chukwuma Soludo, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); other members of the Economic Management Team; and senior officials and representatives of the private sector. Discussions focused on recent developments in the Nigerian economy and the outlook for 2008 and the medium term.

This article was taken from http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=96353

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Optimism on Nigeria's war on poverty

Optimism on Nigeria's war on poverty
Nigeria has been the source of more bad news than good recently. But our correspondent Mark Doyle says meeting two very impressive Nigerians in the last week has put him in a much better mood.
Saturday, 21 July 2007,

Oil pipelines in Nigeria
Nigeria is one of the world's largest oil producers
Let's be honest, Nigeria has a poor image. Most outsiders think of it as an oil-rich, corrupt place where there are regular kidnappings and outbreaks of religious violence.

All of that's true, up to a point. But Nigeria is also a place that can surprise and delight.

I was asked recently to find out what progress Nigeria was making in meeting United Nations anti-poverty targets - targets like reducing the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day, and improving education for poor children.

I was ready, frankly, to be disappointed by what I was going to learn.

And I was all geared up to be sceptical when I made an appointment to talk on the subject with an official from the Nigerian Presidency, Mrs Amina Ibrahim. She recently stepped down from her job as poverty advisor to the president but, I was told, retains great influence behind the scenes.

Disarmingly honest

My first shock, when Mrs Ibrahim stepped out of her car and walked into the hotel lobby where we met, was her demeanour.

There was no protocol and none of the usual demands for questions in advance so she could prepare for the tricky ones. It was just a brisk "Good afternoon" from a poised woman in a smart African dress; "Nice to meet you, where do we do this?"

She then went on to be disarmingly honest, including about Nigeria's education system, which was, she said, in an "abysmal state" when she first started evaluating it.

She should know. Amina Ibrahim has spent the past three years spending the lion's share of $1bn worth of foreign debt relief that Nigeria negotiated with countries like Britain in exchange for promising to spend the proceeds on the poor.

So what had she been doing with the money?

I expected vague answers, but there was precision. "Spend, spend, spend," she answered with a smile.

Posters during the 2007 Nigerian election campaign
Nigeria's recent elections were flawed according to the opposition
"We've given in-service teacher training to 145,000 teachers, for example, and we've upgraded six major teacher training centres with new infrastructure and IT systems."

The big question I had was, does Mrs Ibrahim think Nigeria will meet the United Nations poverty-busting targets?

The answer? Another surprise that made me sit up: "Yes, she replied, if we keep at it and scale up the projects to a much higher level, yes, I do think we'll meet those targets".

It is difficult to emphasise how refreshing for me this conversation was.

Man-made poverty

I have got so used to speaking to Nigerian - and other government officials around the world - who are vague, clearly lying or just plain incompetent, that this frank and intelligent woman was like a breath of fresh air.

I do not know if everything she said was true, of course, but I am prepared to bet that most of it was.

So I was in a good mood when I went to meet my next interviewee, another expert on poverty in Nigeria, the country boss of the international charity, Action Aid.

I was not sure of the man's name when I went to meet him - just that he was the boss in Nigeria of the charity.

So when a tall Nigerian chap in traditional dress walked confidently into the waiting room where I was sitting, I greeted him politely but assumed he was another visitor.

Then he looked at me and I looked at him. And then I realised this Nigerian WAS the boss.

Of course, I'd been expecting a white man.

All international aid agency bosses - or 95% of them anyway - are white Westerners.

Otive Igbuzor is the exception, a Nigerian now working day after day at the tough coal face of poverty reduction.

When I asked him why, in an oil-rich country, over half of all Nigerians, or more than 60 million people, lived in abject poverty, he replied in a clear, powerful voice.

Poverty in Nigeria is man-made, he said, it was not due to any lack of resources.

Clear, confident analysis

The causes, not necessarily in order, were, one, colonialism, two, exploitative capitalism and, three, the failure of Nigerian politicians who were often the local collaborators of multinational corporations.

It sounded like textbook left-wing theory, and I said so, but he shot back that it was not about labels, left or right. It was about the reality of life for most poor Nigerians.

Government policies, Otive Igbuzor said firmly, would have to change.

Privatisation, for example, which only benefits the rich and the middle classes, had to end.

Otive Igbuzor
The pace of change might not be what we wish, but we are definitely moving forward.
Otive Igbuzor
He had all my attention by now - not because I agreed or disagreed with him, but because aid agency bosses just do not speak like this normally - not even comfortably-off white Western ones, who know they can probably get another nicely paid job if they upset the politicians above them.

This man's analysis was crystal clear, his confidence in it infectious.

But back to my central question. Did Otive Igbuzor think the fight against poverty in Nigeria could work?

And remember, this is NOT a politician answering, but a practical aid agency boss who sees poverty all the time.

"We are moving forward", he said. "There are some decent people working on it in government and some decent people in the private sector. The pace of change might not be what we wish, but we are definitely moving forward, I can assure you of that."

So there you have it. Two hugely impressive Nigerians.

You do not have to agree with them, of course. But I would defy you not to respect them.

Perhaps you'll remember them the next time you hear nothing but bad news coming from Nigeria.

Nigeria's police chief Mike Okiro has admitted that 785 suspected armed robbers have died in encounters with police in the last three months.

Nigeria's police chief Mike Okiro has admitted that 785 suspected armed robbers have died in encounters with police in the last three months.
Thursday, 15 November 2007

The Nigerian police force has been criticised by human rights groups for killing suspects instead of arresting them and giving them a fair trial.

But Mr Okiro said almost 1,600 suspected armed robbers had also been arrested and charged in that time.

He took over as acting police inspector general just over 100 days ago.

Funding call

To mark the anniversary, Mr Okiro paraded a crack squad of about 50 police officers in front of reporters on Thursday at police headquarters in the capital, Abuja.

Mike Okiro (Picture from: www.nigeriapolice.org)
Mr Okiro has been in office for just over 100 days

He said they were responsible for the crackdown on crime mainly witnessed in north-eastern Nigeria.

A police spokesman told the BBC that 62 officers had also lost their lives when taking on suspected armed robbers.

As part of his anti-corruption crusade, Mr Okiro said 28 police officers caught collecting bribes on the roads had been dismissed during his time in office.

Speaking to a parliamentary committee on Wednesday, he called for $26m of outstanding state funding to be paid to the police.

He said the force was in dire need of accommodation for its more than 360,000 personnel, Nigeria's Daily Trust newspaper reports.

Nigeria: Bakassi Killings - Govt, Cameroon Commence Probe

Nigeria: Bakassi Killings - Govt, Cameroon Commence Probe


This Day (Lagos)

Paul Ohia With Agency Report
Lagos

Barely 24 hours after some 22 Cameroonian soldiers were felled by gunmen in the Bakassi Peninsula, Nigeria and Cameroon have pledged to work together to find out the killers of the 21 soldiers.

But sources have claimed that the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta is behind the attack.

As at press time, MEND has laid no claim to the killings but a Delta activist, Miabiye Kuromiema said the militant group was responsible for both an earlier attack at the Qua Iboe oil terminal and the soldiers' death.

"It appears likely it was the Henry Okah group led by Farah," said Kuromiema to Reuters news agency yesterday.

"They made a statement of relevance, that they are a faction to be reckoned with," he added.

MEND has staged a string of attacks and kidnappings on oil facilities since late 2005, forcing thousands of foreign workers to leave.

In Monday's first attack on the oil terminal, militants stormed a heavily guarded jetty, seized two machine guns, stole a navy boat and blew up a police boat, industry sources said. A pregnant woman was killed in the crossfire.

The fierce gun battle prompted US company ExxonMobil to evacuate families of staff from the 400,000 barrel per day facility, but production was not affected, the company said.

An associate of Okah, asking not to be named for security reasons, said: "It was a MEND operation. They wanted those machine guns because they are preparing for war."

The raid in Bakassi, some 50 miles (80 km) away, raised tensions in the long-disputed peninsula, which has offshore oil deposits and was handed back to Cameroon by Nigeria last year.

MEND had observed a ceasefire for four months to allow for peace talks with the government until September when Okah was arrested in Angola. Since then, it has staged two kidnappings on foreign operated offshore oilfields and threatened more attacks.

Relevant Links

The government's attempts to lure militants to the negotiating table has split them into factions, and activists say rival militant groups could be rearming for a major battle, either between factions or against the federal government.

MEND's Okah has been in a war of words with rival militia leader, Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, who has joined the peace talks and spoken out against kidnapping.

Activists say Farah's real name is Farouk, a Muslim converted by Asari who has since allied with Okah. His militia is believed to have staged several MEND operations over the past two years under Okah's direction.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Nigeria: Govt Set to Tackle Climate Change Seriously

Abuja

President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has pledged that his Administration will take effective action to confront the challenges of global climate change on the Nigerian environment.

The President who made the pledge on November 13 in Abuja at an audience with members of the Board of Trustees of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), said that some measures to deal with threats to the country's environment have already been factored into his Administration's plans to revitalize and accelerate the pace of national economic development.

While noting that all Nigerians need to take the threats posed by climate change more seriously, the President expressed the Federal Government's willingness to work in close collaboration with the NCF "to ensure that we bequeath to future generations a country that can sustain life".

He said, "Nigerians who cast their minds back to about 50 years ago can see the devastation of our environment and from that begin to picture how our activities today can impact on the future. It is the duty of every Nigerian to take the issue of conservation and protecting our environment more seriously as we begin to plan for the future."

President Yar'Adua commended the NCF headed by Chief Philip Asiodu for its efforts to combat ecological degradation in Nigeria and welcomed its offer of further cooperation with all tiers of government in the country to address Nigeria's environmental challenges.


This article was taken from allAfrica.com

Fund paucity threatens Lagos-Kano rail project

Fund paucity threatens Lagos-Kano rail project
By Moses Ebosele, Senior Transport Reporter

ONE year after it was launched with fanfare by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Lagos-Kano rail modernisation project may have screeched to a halt.

The first phase of the project, awarded to the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), involves a 1,315-kilometre double track standard gauge rail lines. It is divided into five segments and costs $8.3 billion, excluding other administrative and consultancy costs.

Kicking off the project at Kajola, Ifo Local Council of Ogun State in November 2006, Obasanjo announced its completion period as "the next 48 months."

The Guardian learnt that the project is being reviewed by the Umaru Musa Yar'Adua administration, particularly in view of its costs.

The Minister of Transportation, Diezani Alison-Madueke, however, buttressed this at the weekend when she said that the Federal Government had raised an inter-ministerial committee, among others, to determine how to fund the project.

The minister, who took a 10-kilometre train ride from Ebute-Metta to Ikeja Rail Station, as part of activities lined up for her maiden visit, explained that the Federal Government is determined to embark on an aggressive marketing aimed at restoring the lost glory of the parastatal.

She reiterated the commitment of some private organisations to partner with the government in its effort to revive the sector.

Though Mrs. Alison-Madueke declined to entertain questions after reading from a prepared speech, The Guardian learnt that Yar'Adua, recently, expressed his concern over the $8.3 billion project. The source added that the Chinese firm had prepared the survey while the design and construction have not been completed.

"The President is still consulting with experts on how to handle this project", the source said, adding that there is need for extreme caution.

Recently, Finance Minister, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, said that the government may review the terms of the Chinese loan for Railway projects.

The minister, who spoke in Washington DC, United States (U.S.), explained some of the terms of the loan were of concern to the Yar'Adua administration

The government in June 2006 secured a $2.5 billion Chinese loan for the reconstruction of the country's railway line that would pass through seven major towns of Lagos, Ibadan, Ilorin, Abuja, Kaduna, Zaria and Kano.

The Obasanjo administration had in 2002 unveiled a 25-year plan to restructure the moribund Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).

The scheme embraces what it termed "a restoration, renewal, modernisation and expansion of over 7,800 km railway lines traversing through the entire country."

Under the project, railway modernisation and expansion is estimated to cost over $40 billion.

Alison-Madueke, during the visit, inspected facilities at the locomotive workshop, running shed, mechanical/electrical training school and foundry department, among others.

In his presentation during the minister's visit, NRC Managing Director, Jetson Nwankwo, said the Corporation was assisting the CCECC in the movement of its equipment to site.

"It is pertinent to mention here, however, that the government is aware of the aforementioned constraints and challenges that have occasioned the attendant and phenomenal downturn in the fortunes of the corporation.

"This is why the Federal Government is armed with greater quest and preparedness to bring Nigeria Railway to the front burner where it will, most efficiently, perform its social and economic roles for a better society," he said.

Alison-Madueke believes that drastic reform in the NRC will make it more energised, invigorated, enterprising, innovative, result-oriented and a creative organisation to drive the nation's economy.

At the boardroom of the NRC headquarters in Lagos, the minister stated that "we really and truly need to resuscitate our railways' system and we need to do it in the shortest possible time to allow the railway mode of transportation exert the desired impact in the on-going economic transformation of Nigeria."

She added that "it is not enough for us to have just the roads as our major arteries of transportation. That will not do any longer. It is clear to everybody that the dilapidated and degraded state of our roads is as a result of the heavy volume of traffic and the increasing tonnage that these roads take, which they were never designed for in the first place. It is almost impossible to find an engineering solution for our roads. And, believe me, I am desperately looking for one right now that will continue to take these unexpected and unplanned-for volume and weight of traffic."

The minister recalled the contributions of the Nigerian railways to national development in its glorious heydays, and regretted that within the last 20 years, the NRC had declined drastically, partly because of increased competition from road transport and the integral problems of management inertia, poor funding, aged and ageing assets which have not been renewed.

She admitted that the 25-year rail development plan started in 2006 with the award of the first phase of standard gauge rail line spanning over 1,315 kilometres from Lagos to Kano, and awarded to Messrs CCECC at a cost of $8.3 billion and the planned second phase extending from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri at a cost of over $9 billion were facing serious challenges.

On the pension crisis in NRC, Alison-Madueke pledged: "Very importantly, I will explore all practical and creative avenues to ensure that we find solution to the lingering NRC pension related matters. It goes against grain to have people who have worked diligently for their country for so many years particularly in this area where we have some of the finest craftsmen and women in this country out there, to find them suffering because they have not been paid their pensions. We will go out of our way, and I mean it to liquidate all NRC pension arrears within the shortest possible time."


This article was taken from the online Nigerian Guardian newspaper.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

D’banj is MTV Best African Act 2007

D’banj is MTV Best African Act 2007

Beats with Ayeni Adekunle 11.03.2007

He lost the best African act prize to 2face Idibia at the 12 th edition of MOBO awards last September. But on Thursday November 1, master entertainer and bona-fide ladies’ man, D’banj got a worthy compensation when he was announced the Best African act at the MTV Europe Music awards which held at the OlympiaHalle hall in Munich , Germany .
The 27 year-old performer is the second Nigerian to win the prize in two years. Compatriot 2face Idibia was the first ever artiste to win the award when it was started in 2005.
Last year, Nigeria ’s rave pop twins Psquare were nominated for the cherished prize, but they lost to South Africa ’s Freshlyground
Dbanj beat South Africa ’s HHP ,Kenya ’s Jua Kali ,Ghana ’s Samini and Uganda ’s Chameleone to come top. Earlier in the week, there had been speculations D’banj might lose the prize to HHP, as he was lagging behind by over 2000 votes. But pundits insisted the exuberant Nigerian singer was the most qualified for the prize; and definitely the favourite of fans and VJs across the African continent where voting is decided.
D’banj flew to Munich on Tuesday November 30 to attend the award which is beamed to millions of audiences across the world.
Born Oladapo Oyebanjo, D’banj’s career has grown in leaps and bounds since he returned to Nigeria in 2005. from a wannabe R&B singer, who fled to London at an early age and pitched his tent with the popular Backbone crew; D’banj has grown to become one of the most accomplished Nigerian entertainers in recent times. With dozens of awards to show for his success, and millions of album units sold, the dashing singer is living his dreams, and glad he settled for music even when it appeared a stupid decision.
He started his recording career in Lagos , working with producer OJB before he relocated to England . It was while in England he met JJC (aka Mr Skillz) and his crew, and became part of the family. Along with Kween, MP, Don Jazzy and others, they rolled together and former a coalition of sorts. He would later leave JJC, under controversial circumdtances, to form Mo Hits Records with don Jazzy, a gifted producer who many give the credit for the D’Banj brand. He relocated to Nigeria with Jazzy in 2005, after his debut single ‘Tongolo’ became fairly popular and it seemed Nigerian were ready for what he had to offer.
Only last month, he dumped his Michael Otedola estate (in Magodo, a Lagos suburb) for a posh Maryland (also in Lagos ) residence. The singer’s new home is an 8-bedroom apartment, with all the trappings of a star – and he’s already contemplating naming it ‘Koko Villa’.
The MTV prize, is expected to immediately reflect on his career, although many have criticized organisers of the award for not presenting regional awards during the main ceremony, and for only showing images to audiences in Africa . D’banj’s award was reportedly presented hours before the main event started. It was the same, when 2face won the award in 2005.
Originally groomed to be a soldier, D’Banj was born as Dapo Daniel Oyebanjo in the Northern city of Zaria , Kaduna State , Nigeria to an artillery officer and a church dignitary whom hailed from Shagamu in Ogun State .
Due to his father’s job, D’Banj moved several times within Nigeria as well as abroad to India . At 11, he was enrolled in the military school, and it appeared certain he was going to be a combatant like his father. But few years, later, after losing his immediate elder brother (Femi Oyebanjo) to a plane crash, D’Banj picked up a different, harmless weapon entirely- the harmonica, which, incidentally, was the only item recovered from his late brother’s remains. Together with an hitherto ignored musical talent, the harmonica nudged him towards the path of music, and he succumbed to the lure, despite initial attempts by his parents to discourage him.

This article was taken from the Glitteratti section of This Day Newspaper.

UK Admits Pressure from Nigeria to Try Corrupt Officials

UK Admits Pressure from Nigeria to Try Corrupt Officials

From Constance Ikokwu in Washington, D.C., 11.06.2007

The United Kingdom has admitted that its decision to go after corrupt Nigerian public officers who use its country as a safe haven to launder stolen wealth was at the prompting of the Nigerian government.
Talking with THISDAY in Washington, D.C., former leader of the House of Lords in the UK, Baroness Valerie Amos, said the British government had to make legislations following pressure mounted by Nigeria and concerns expressed about money laundering through financial institutions in the UK.
Amos did not mention any particular administration but Nigeria’s high profile fight against corruption and money laundering came to world attention under President Olusegun Obasanjo, with the creation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to Amos, “on the issue of stolen assets, we have legislation now. You will know that we’ve been pushed very hard by the Nigerian government in the past where there was concern that there were assets which had been stolen from the people of Nigeria which were then laundered through financial institutions in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.
“I am very proud that my government passed the legislation with respect to the issue of stolen assets wherever they come from and it’s now possible for governments outside the UK to use that legislation to recover assets where they could prove that those assets were stolen from the people of that country. So that’s why I think it has become a much more high profile issue in the last few years,” she said.
Former Governor of Plateau State, Chief Joshua Dariye, was the first state executive to fall in the anti-corruption crusade but jumped bail and returned to Nigeria. Former Governor of Bayelsa State, Dieprieye Alamieyeseigha, was also arrested at Heathrow Airport for money laundering. He however escaped the UK in mysterious circumstances and later claimed his escape was facilitated by Britain, a charge the country has denied.
Asked if the British government is appalled at the state of affairs in Nigeria, Amos said no government has the right to make comments of that nature. She said any government, including that of Britain, needs to soften their criticisms of Nigeria considering that it is not even 50 years old as an independent country.
“Nigeria hasn’t been an independent country for 50 years yet. So I think we should focus on reporting the positive and talking in robust terms in private about the things we think need to be improved. I think it’s inappropriate for me to come out with a long list of things and say that we are disappointed with the government of Nigeria. I know we will be disappointed if they came out and said the British government hasn’t done that,” she said.
She stated that the UK would continue to work in partnership with Nigeria, recognising the country’s importance to the development of the continent.
Amos, who has been nominated by Prime Minister Gordon Brown as the European Union (EU) Special Representative to the Africa Union (AU), was in Washington, D.C. for a conference. If her nomination is approved, her office will focus on the wider issues of governance, transparency and accountability, she said.
Amos was the first black woman to sit in the Cabinet of the UK. She was the Leader of the House of Lords from 2003 to June 2007.



This article was taken from thisdayonline.com, the online version of the Nigerian This Day newspaper.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Dutch smash 'voodoo' child trade

Dutch smash 'voodoo' child trade
Thursday, 25 October 2007
Red Light district, Amsterdam
The children were allegedly trafficked into the sex industry
Police in the Netherlands say they have cracked a crime ring which allegedly trafficked Nigerian children into the West to work as sex slaves.

At least 19 people were arrested in the Netherlands and five other countries including the US and Britain.

Traffickers used voodoo to gain a hold over children before smuggling them abroad in a racket which exploited the asylum system, police say.

Scores of underage Nigerians, mainly girls, may have been trafficked.

Dutch authorities had been investigating the disappearance of 140 Nigerian children from asylum-seeker holding centres since January 2006.

Several of the children were later found working as prostitutes in France, Italy and Spain, according to Dutch police.

'Voodoo vow'

Thirteen arrests were made in Dutch cities and towns while a further six people, all Nigerians, were detained in New York, Madrid, Dublin, Coventry and Antwerp.

Trafficking in Nigeria is... seen as an everyday part of West African life
Allan Little
BBC correspondent

Police said Germany and France were also involved in the operation but did not give details of any arrests there, though they said that "dozens" of arrests and searches of premises had been made overall.

Those arrested are suspected of people-trafficking and involvement in a criminal organisation, falsifying travel documents, fraud and money-laundering.

The Hague has asked for the suspects arrested abroad to be extradited to the Netherlands.

"The human-traffickers supplied the victims with false travel documents, flight tickets and instructions to seek asylum upon arrival at Schiphol Airport [Amsterdam]," a police statement said.

"The minors were placed in open shelters in the Netherlands, which made it relatively easy for the criminal organisation to keep control over the victims.

"Voodoo sometimes also kept the minors in line. In Nigeria they were forced to take a vow before a voodoo priest to repay a so-called debt.

"This debt had to settled with the earnings made in the prostitution. At their final destination the minor victims are under the constant supervision of a so-called 'Madam'."


Taken from bbc.com