26 Feb 2009 10:00 Africa/Lagos
Samsung Offers 'Real Dreams' for Youth
LAGOS, Nigeria, February 26/PRNewswire/ --
- Samsung Electronics and International Youth Foundation Announce Employability Projects for Young Nigerians
The International Youth Foundation (IYF), in partnership with Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a market leader and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, recently unveiled "Real Dreams" -- a youth employability program in Nigeria as a part of the company's corporate social responsibility commitment in the region.
The "Real Dreams" program aims to increase economic activity in the region, particularly by promoting job skills and preparing young people for successful, long-term careers.
The program will be implemented in cooperation with three local non-governmental, educational institutions: the Afterschool Graduate Development Centre (AGDC); FATE Foundation; and Pan-African University. Each organization will implement youth employment and development programs focused on delivering training in life skills, information and communication technologies, and entrepreneurship as well as providing work experience through internships. The program, which will potentially benefit over 600 young Nigerians, will commence in February and continue throughout the year.
"Over 60% of Nigeria's population is under the age of 25; and unemployment for youth ages 15-24 is about 20%," said Kyungtae Bae, President of Samsung Middle East and Africa. "Through these programs, we hope to empower Nigeria's young people and prepare them to compete for jobs, and fulfill their dreams and aspirations for a better future for themselves and their communities."
"Helping today's youth get decent jobs is a critical step forward, not only in terms of improving their own prospects, but also positively impacting the social and economic development of their country," said William S. Reese, IYF President and CEO. "We are deeply grateful to Samsung for its commitment to provide these young people with the skills and motivation they need to contribute to Africa's revitalization in the years to come."
Samsung and the IYF announced their partnership in November 2008 to jointly address youth unemployment in Africa. Under the agreement, Samsung and IYF will find ways to utilize the company's cutting-edge technology and expertise to help address the employment needs of Africa's youth.
Description of the projects:
Afterschool Graduate Development Centre (AGDC)
To help address high unemployment rates among university and polytechnic graduates, the Samsung Real Dreams program will enhance the job opportunities of 240 Nigerian youth, ages 23 to 32. Working with the Afterschool Graduate Development Centre (AGDC) in Lagos, the program will provide employability training and internships as well as career development and job placement services to young people from six regions of the country.
FATE Foundation
Providing young entrepreneurs with training, mentorship, technical assistance, and business development services so that they can start and run their own small businesses is the goal of this Samsung Real Dreams program, being implemented in Lagos and Port Harcourt by FATE Foundation. Approximately 270 disadvantaged Nigerian youth, ages 16 to 35, will benefit.
Pan-African University's School of Media and Communication
Working with the Pan-African University's School of Media and Communication in Lagos, the Samsung Real Dreams program will enhance employment opportunities in the media industry for 100 disadvantaged Nigerian youth, ages 21 to 35, through classroom activities and practical hands-on projects. Participants will benefit from training sessions in new media, creativity, innovative thinking, entrepreneurship and life skills, as well as job placement and business development support services.
About Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2007 consolidated sales of US$105 billion. Employing approximately 150,000 people in 134 offices in 62 countries, the company consists of two main business units: Digital Media & Communications and Device Solutions. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.
About International Youth Foundation: The International Youth Foundation (IYF) invests in the extraordinary potential of young people. Founded in 1990, IYF builds and maintains a worldwide community of businesses, governments, and civil society organizations committed to empowering youth to be healthy, productive, and engaged citizens. IYF programs are catalysts of change that help young people obtain a quality education, gain employability skills, make healthy choices, and improve their communities. To learn more visit www.iyfnet.org.
Source: International Youth Foundation
Jakyung Kang of Samsung Electronics, +1-971-4364-8704, Jakyung.k@samsung.com; or Jim Peirce, Vice President Planning and Outreach of the International Youth Foundation, +1-410-951-1606, jim@iyfnet.org
Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time
26 Feb 2009
10:00
Samsung Offers 'Real Dreams' for Youth
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Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Nigerian Christian Book Sells More Than Wole Soyinka's Memoir
The best selling Christian Book
Nigerian
Wole Soyinka
Christian book Scientists Discover Hell: As Astronauts Find Heaven is selling more than the last memoir of the first African Nobel Prize winner in Literature Wole Soyinka's You Must Set Forth at Dawn: A Memoir.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Dear Vint Cerf, We Are Re-Branding Nigeria
There is a subtext to “Don’t be evil” and that is “Don’t be illegal”
~ Vint Cerf
Dear Vint Cerf,
You may be the Chief Internet evangelist at Google, but I bet you that you will not get a standing ovation if you come to Nigeria, because Nigerians do not love anyone who is too much of an evangelist in being legit and most of the evangelists in the most populous country in Africa do not practice what they preach and their millions of followers have also followed in their fast footsteps of sharp practices of get-rich-quick schemes and scams, from the street to the corridors of power.. Nigerians do not think being illegal is evil; otherwise they will not be giving national honors and awards to Nigerian politicians and entrepreneurs whose main source of income is by bribery and corruption. The so called Nigerian public office holders are political contractors who rigged their way into office by hook or crook and to them; honesty is not the best policy in Nigeria.
Do not be disappointed that you will not get a red carpet reception if you come to Nigeria to insist on your gospel of honesty and transparency. You will find some hope in the beacon of the Nigerian intelligentsia of
The news of Nigerians being the happiest people in the world is as bogus as their political hocus pocus, because these so called happiest people on earth are the same millions you will see smiling at you and still lying through their teeth as they grin pretending to be happy to see you. But before you can say VGC, they would have conned you online or offline. So, until further notice, beware of them.
As at present, we are set to re-brand Nigeria after we found out that many other African countries also claimed to be the heart of Africa, we have decided to go higher in the leadership of Africa in the world. So, Vint, you will be happy to see Prof. Dora Akunyili flying the Nigerian Flag in the flying colours of New Nigeria that is the Nigerian Dream of every true Nigerian in Nigeria and the Diaspora.
~ Vint Cerf
Dear Vint Cerf,
You may be the Chief Internet evangelist at Google, but I bet you that you will not get a standing ovation if you come to Nigeria, because Nigerians do not love anyone who is too much of an evangelist in being legit and most of the evangelists in the most populous country in Africa do not practice what they preach and their millions of followers have also followed in their fast footsteps of sharp practices of get-rich-quick schemes and scams, from the street to the corridors of power.. Nigerians do not think being illegal is evil; otherwise they will not be giving national honors and awards to Nigerian politicians and entrepreneurs whose main source of income is by bribery and corruption. The so called Nigerian public office holders are political contractors who rigged their way into office by hook or crook and to them; honesty is not the best policy in Nigeria.
Do not be disappointed that you will not get a red carpet reception if you come to Nigeria to insist on your gospel of honesty and transparency. You will find some hope in the beacon of the Nigerian intelligentsia of
- Chinua Achebe
- Muhammadu Junaidu
- Abu-Abdullah Adelabu
- Pius Okigbo
- Bartholomew Nnaji
- Oluwakayode Osuntokun
- Akinola Aguda
- Jacob Ade Ajayi
- Lazarus Ekwueme
- Oji Umozurike
- Babs Fafunwa
- Femi Osofisan
- Kelsey Harrison
- Olajide Aluko
- Tekena Tamuno
- Ladipo Adamolekun
- Wole Soyinka
- Rems Umeasiegbu
- Gbenga Sesan
- Philip Emeagwali
The news of Nigerians being the happiest people in the world is as bogus as their political hocus pocus, because these so called happiest people on earth are the same millions you will see smiling at you and still lying through their teeth as they grin pretending to be happy to see you. But before you can say VGC, they would have conned you online or offline. So, until further notice, beware of them.
As at present, we are set to re-brand Nigeria after we found out that many other African countries also claimed to be the heart of Africa, we have decided to go higher in the leadership of Africa in the world. So, Vint, you will be happy to see Prof. Dora Akunyili flying the Nigerian Flag in the flying colours of New Nigeria that is the Nigerian Dream of every true Nigerian in Nigeria and the Diaspora.
Nigerians Report and Guaranty Success Reported in This Day of Nigeria
The launch of two of my news blogs was reported in This Day newspaper in Nigeria
2 News Blogs LaunchedNigerians Report.com and Guaranty Success.com are two of the most popular Nigerian news and information blogs on the internet, rich with 24 hours news videos from the BBC, Reuters, AP, ABC and other major news channels in the world.
"If you want breaking news from the grassroots, go to Nigerians Report.com and if you want better jobs and better career opportunities and free books on all subjects, Guaranty Success.com has it all," said Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, the Publisher and Editor, who is fast developing the largest Nigerian news and information portal on the internet with over 37 websites so far.
Nigerians Report has been created to promote citizen journalism in Nigeria and so it is a Free For All (FFA) internet news blog for all literate Nigerians to report their own news and tell their own true life stories 24 hours daily.
"Nigerians are the best reporters of what is happening in Nigeria, because we are in the best position to break our own news and tell our own stories before the CNN, BBC or Sky rush to do so, "Michael Chima elaborated.
Guaranty Success.com is in fact the most syndicated Nigerian business success website. It has been syndicated more than 200, 000 times.
"My mission is to bridge the wide gap in communication between Nigeria and the rest of the world on the internet, and stop the misinformation and miseducation of millions of ignorant people on the internet, whose erroneous and ambiguous notions of Nigeria and Nigerians should be corrected to stop the further damage on the image of Nigeria and the global village," Michael Chima said.
.............................
.............................. .............................. .. Contact: Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, Publisher/Editor, Tel: 234 07032366127
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Friday, February 20, 2009
Democracy in Retreat as Recession Deepens
20 Feb 2009 10:49 Africa/Lagos
Democracy in Retreat as Recession Deepens
LONDON, February 20/PRNewswire/ -- In a dire warning to global leaders, Robin Bew of the Economist Intelligence Unit warns that the march to democracy round the globe is now stalled and could move in to reverse. Regions of the world that have adopted economic liberalism allied to more political openess may very easily slide in to protectionism and more closed government, he warns in his monthly Global Forecast programme on http://www.cantos.com. This would bring to an end a political and economic phase in international development that might herald growing social instability. Organisations like the World Trade Organisation that monitor free trade face a respect deficit and could be increasingly challenged by countries unprepared to play by the rules anymore.
The interview and transcript are available now on http://w3.cantos.com/economist.
It's free to view. All you need to do is register at http://www.cantos.com. Cantos.com, the online financial broadcaster, features in-depth interviews, documentaries and webcasts with senior company executives. If you would like to contact us, please email enquiries@cantos.com or phone +44-207-936-1333.
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit
If you would like to contact us, please email enquiries@cantos.com or phone +44-207-936-1333.
Democracy in Retreat as Recession Deepens
LONDON, February 20/PRNewswire/ -- In a dire warning to global leaders, Robin Bew of the Economist Intelligence Unit warns that the march to democracy round the globe is now stalled and could move in to reverse. Regions of the world that have adopted economic liberalism allied to more political openess may very easily slide in to protectionism and more closed government, he warns in his monthly Global Forecast programme on http://www.cantos.com. This would bring to an end a political and economic phase in international development that might herald growing social instability. Organisations like the World Trade Organisation that monitor free trade face a respect deficit and could be increasingly challenged by countries unprepared to play by the rules anymore.
The interview and transcript are available now on http://w3.cantos.com/economist.
It's free to view. All you need to do is register at http://www.cantos.com. Cantos.com, the online financial broadcaster, features in-depth interviews, documentaries and webcasts with senior company executives. If you would like to contact us, please email enquiries@cantos.com or phone +44-207-936-1333.
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit
If you would like to contact us, please email enquiries@cantos.com or phone +44-207-936-1333.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Is Nigeria A ‘Wayward Child’, Her Father Long Ignored?
Is Nigeria a ‘wayward child’, her father long ignored?
~ADeleke Adeyemi
Not long ago1 noted Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe posed the all-important question: “What is Nigeria?”
Chinua Achebe
Not surprisingly, he then whipped up an answer to it, one brimming with great insight:
“Our 1960 national anthem, given to us as a parting gift by a British housewife in England, called Nigeria 'our sovereign motherland' --the Mother image. The current anthem, which [replaced] that first one, was put together by a committee of Nigerian intellectuals, and in my view is actually worse than the first anthem. This second one invoked the Father image. So Mother image in the first one, Father image in the second one. But it has occurred to me that Nigeria is neither my mother nor my father. Nigeria is a child; gifted, enormously talented, prodigiously endowed and incredibly wayward.
“Being a Nigerian is abysmally frustrating and unbelievably exciting. I have said somewhere that…I want to come back as a Nigerian again. But I have also in a rather testy mood in a book called 'The Trouble with Nigeria' dismissed Nigerian travel advertisements with the suggestion that only tourists with an addiction to self-flagellation pick Nigeria for a holiday. And I mean both. Nigeria needs help; Nigerians have their work cut out for them, to coax this unruly child along the path of useful creative development…”
But the line must be drawn somewhere along the trajectory of Achebe’s extrapolation, where it goes awry and out of kilter. It’s quite simply illogical of him to assert that “We are the parents of Nigeria, not vice versa.” The two Anthems, respectively, assert not ‘Pater’ but ‘Patria’ (Latin patrialis “pertaining to your country”), ‘Matria’ not Mater’, quite opposed to Achebe’s reading of the lyrics. The Latin word ‘mater’ is the source of the following English words: madrigal (a song with parts for several usually unaccompanied voices popular in England in the 16th and 17th centuries), material, maternal, matriculate, matrimony, matrix, matron, and matter. Its Indo-European ancestor in turn gave rise to the English words mammal, metropolis, and, most tellingly, mother. The Latin alma mater (employed with fond affection to refer to a place of learning we’ve passed out from) means “bounteous mother”. Isn't 'a school a book in which is written the future of a nation'?
However, his summing-up of Nigeria as “a wayward child” is quite simply spot-on. Nigeria has a Father; only he has been long ignored, treated as non-existent by a turncoat omo on’ile ol’ona t’o d’agbero; omo wo’le iya bus’ekun (‘a pedigreed son-turned-rascal, now a spring of sorrow’). It is indeed true: “A foolish son is a heartache to his father and bitter grief to his mother.”2
Despite his faulty reading of the words of Anthems at points, Achebe’s conclusion remains apt: “Nigeria is a country where nobody can wake up in the morning and ask 'what can I do now?' Nigeria has work for everybody.”
And this must start with the following prescription: “Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask your father, and he will show thee; your elders, and they will tell you: God Most High gave land to every nation. He assigned a guardian angel to each of them.”3
Can it be that Nigeria does indeed have a father, one whose memoirs we’re meant to consult, to “ask” of him a thing or two? It has to be the most intolerable thing for a father to be ignored and neglected; what else does honour, or the lack of it, consist in? This ignorance and neglect of patrimony always works to the developmental detriment of successive generations: “Honour your father and mother that everything may go well for you, and you may have a long life on earth.” This is an important commandment with a promise.” 4
Our Mother as Nigerians is the Niger Area, as proto-Nigeria: the matrix (womb) or crucible from which a nation, properly speaking, is waiting to be forged and birthed. A readily available well-documented example that should be amenable to adapt is the United States of America: a nation forged out of the crucible of territories settled by the Plymouth Pilgrims (a group of Separatists who broke away from the Church of England). They voted to travel to America from the Netherlands in 1620. The Mayflower landed at Plymouth, near present-day Provincetown, Massachusetts, among others. The land had been uncovered by Italian-born Spanish navigator Christopher Columbus in 1492.
Bishop Ajayi Crowther
Samuel Ajayi Crowther (c.1809 – 1891), Bishop (from Latin episcopus, ‘overseer’, from Greek episkopos, ‘watcher’) of the Niger, awarded a doctorate by Oxford in 1864 for his groundbreaking extensive linguistic work, was a pioneer member and leader of several Expeditions up and down the Niger and the Benue, Nigeria’s twin watermark feature (the pun is intended). But Ajayi Crowther was more than a surveyor; he was a shepherd who went on to codify and delineate various ‘land gauges’ or languages: Yoruba, Ibo, Nupe, Kakanda – entities on both sides of the Niger and Benue Rivers. He was spent working for the best interests of all to be entrenched, regardless of creed or ethnic derivation. In truth and in deed, he’s Nigeria’s long disdained “guardian angel.”
“Ajayi Crowther’s work, like his name, remains an imperishable monument of all his faith and labour. Whatever achievement … lies on the Niger, it will never be forgotten that he broke the hard and fallow ground. It was his brave heart and strong hand that cut the first path through the dense undergrowth of superstition; it was he, as a wise master builder, who laid the foundations of the work…that was to be. Like [first US President George] Washington, he was the father of his country; but he did more, for he proved in his own person the capacity of the African to serve his own people.... His life has silenced many who made us to differ, and in the advancement and development of the native, not only in spiritual but in civil responsibilities, he will be remembered as the forerunner of a potential race to be.”5
It cannot be gainsaid the truth of the saying, “writing maketh an exact man”, 6 like the eyewitness report, above, by the British Jesse Page. Further, since “in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established” 7 we’ll call on another ‘accessory after the fact’, so to speak, to make our case unassailable or watertight: first without, next within. Below is the full text of a letter of monumental historical import for the Nigerian nation. Dating back to 1881, it was written originally in Hausa – for the attention of none other than the Shepherd of the Niger:
“Salute Crowther, the great Christian minister. After salutation, please tell him he is a father to us in this land; anything he sees will injure us in all this land, he would not like it. This we know perfectly well.
“The matter about which I am speaking with my mouth, write it; it is as if it is done by my hand, it is not a long matter; it is about barasa (or gin). Barasa, barasa, barasa! My God, it has ruined our country; it has ruined our people very much; it has made our people become mad. I have given a law that no one dares buy or sell it; and any one who is found selling it, his house is to be eaten up (plundered); any one found drunk will be killed. I have told all the Christian traders that I agree to anything for trade except barasa. I have told Mr. McIntosh’s people to-day, the barasa remaining with them must be returned down the river. Tell Crowther, the great Christian minister, that he is our father. I beg you, Malam Kipo (Rev. C. Paul, native missionary) don’t forget this writing, because we all beg that he (Bishop Crowther) should beg the great priests (Committee of C.M.S.) that they should beg the English Queen to prevent bringing barasa into this land.
“For God and the prophet’s sake, and the prophet His messenger’s sake, he (Crowther) must help us in this matter, that of barasa. We all have confidence in him; he must not leave our country to become spoiled by barasa. Tell him may God bless him in his work. This is the mouth-word from Maliki, Emir of Nupé.”8
Our present generation of Niger Area dwellers can yet get things right–-by getting the essence of what the Shepherd of the Niger, Ajayi Crowther, stood for and went down fighting into the national consciousness: to vivify and recalibrate our long-moribund value system. The greatest help to destiny is direction and the fuel of destiny is vision. For some reason, this realization came as a thought couched in my language of second course– Yoruba. It rose up suddenly to confront me headlong with the force of its import: Iya l'oun to'mo; Baba l'oun t'omo s'ona. Meaning: It behooves Mother her child to nourish; but it is Father's direction that sets it up to flourish.
We have the memory of Ajayi Crowther to mine for the meaning of our shared destiny, what will power us past the bounds of the present love-hate togetherness of the Niger Area polity. Then and only then will we blossom into the reality of true nationhood.
AD 2010, a marginal year to the Ajayi Crowther Bicentennial in commemoration throughout this year, will be Nigeria's golden jubilee. Let us jubilate at this timely rediscovery of the impeccable heritage of service of distinction left us by a long forgotten father, one who taught his wards, composed of kin of every creed and ethnic derivation: “Only the best is good enough for us.”
References:
1. The Guardian Newspapers Silver Jubilee Lecture, October 9, 2008: Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos; delivered from US base via projector
2. Proverbs 17:25
3. Deuteronomy 32:7-8 (King James and Contemporary English Versions)
4. Ephesians 6:2-3. Even the honour once accorded Ajayi Crowther’s grandson, Herbert Macaulay as the father of Nigerian nationalism seems to have been withdrawn by the authorities since. His portrait that adorned the erstwhile one-naira note is now numismatic nonsense on a coin without credit as currency. Like you, I am yet to handle one since its issuance; least of all move about with it as legal tender– unless you are engaged in coin collecting as a hobby, or amass it and others for other purposes - like smelting!
5. Ajayi Crowther’s biographer, Jesse Page: The Black Bishop, 1916: London
6. Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626), English philosopher and statesman. “One of the pioneers of modern scientific thought” (Encarta Encyclopedia).
7. Matthew 18:16
8Quoted in Jesse Page, The Slave Boy Who Became Bishop, 1892: London. The original letter along with tomes of other Crowtherma is archived in The Crowther Centre, Oxford, England. Ajayi Crowther spoke the emir’s language, Nupé, fluently – as he did Ijaw, Hausa as well as Igbo; he published the first book ever written in it. His son, Dandeson (‘child of liberty’), who worked in the Niger Delta, spoke a number of stock dialects there.
~ADeleke Adeyemi
Not long ago1 noted Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe posed the all-important question: “What is Nigeria?”
Chinua Achebe
Not surprisingly, he then whipped up an answer to it, one brimming with great insight:
“Our 1960 national anthem, given to us as a parting gift by a British housewife in England, called Nigeria 'our sovereign motherland' --the Mother image. The current anthem, which [replaced] that first one, was put together by a committee of Nigerian intellectuals, and in my view is actually worse than the first anthem. This second one invoked the Father image. So Mother image in the first one, Father image in the second one. But it has occurred to me that Nigeria is neither my mother nor my father. Nigeria is a child; gifted, enormously talented, prodigiously endowed and incredibly wayward.
“Being a Nigerian is abysmally frustrating and unbelievably exciting. I have said somewhere that…I want to come back as a Nigerian again. But I have also in a rather testy mood in a book called 'The Trouble with Nigeria' dismissed Nigerian travel advertisements with the suggestion that only tourists with an addiction to self-flagellation pick Nigeria for a holiday. And I mean both. Nigeria needs help; Nigerians have their work cut out for them, to coax this unruly child along the path of useful creative development…”
But the line must be drawn somewhere along the trajectory of Achebe’s extrapolation, where it goes awry and out of kilter. It’s quite simply illogical of him to assert that “We are the parents of Nigeria, not vice versa.” The two Anthems, respectively, assert not ‘Pater’ but ‘Patria’ (Latin patrialis “pertaining to your country”), ‘Matria’ not Mater’, quite opposed to Achebe’s reading of the lyrics. The Latin word ‘mater’ is the source of the following English words: madrigal (a song with parts for several usually unaccompanied voices popular in England in the 16th and 17th centuries), material, maternal, matriculate, matrimony, matrix, matron, and matter. Its Indo-European ancestor in turn gave rise to the English words mammal, metropolis, and, most tellingly, mother. The Latin alma mater (employed with fond affection to refer to a place of learning we’ve passed out from) means “bounteous mother”. Isn't 'a school a book in which is written the future of a nation'?
However, his summing-up of Nigeria as “a wayward child” is quite simply spot-on. Nigeria has a Father; only he has been long ignored, treated as non-existent by a turncoat omo on’ile ol’ona t’o d’agbero; omo wo’le iya bus’ekun (‘a pedigreed son-turned-rascal, now a spring of sorrow’). It is indeed true: “A foolish son is a heartache to his father and bitter grief to his mother.”2
Despite his faulty reading of the words of Anthems at points, Achebe’s conclusion remains apt: “Nigeria is a country where nobody can wake up in the morning and ask 'what can I do now?' Nigeria has work for everybody.”
And this must start with the following prescription: “Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask your father, and he will show thee; your elders, and they will tell you: God Most High gave land to every nation. He assigned a guardian angel to each of them.”3
Can it be that Nigeria does indeed have a father, one whose memoirs we’re meant to consult, to “ask” of him a thing or two? It has to be the most intolerable thing for a father to be ignored and neglected; what else does honour, or the lack of it, consist in? This ignorance and neglect of patrimony always works to the developmental detriment of successive generations: “Honour your father and mother that everything may go well for you, and you may have a long life on earth.” This is an important commandment with a promise.” 4
Our Mother as Nigerians is the Niger Area, as proto-Nigeria: the matrix (womb) or crucible from which a nation, properly speaking, is waiting to be forged and birthed. A readily available well-documented example that should be amenable to adapt is the United States of America: a nation forged out of the crucible of territories settled by the Plymouth Pilgrims (a group of Separatists who broke away from the Church of England). They voted to travel to America from the Netherlands in 1620. The Mayflower landed at Plymouth, near present-day Provincetown, Massachusetts, among others. The land had been uncovered by Italian-born Spanish navigator Christopher Columbus in 1492.
Bishop Ajayi Crowther
Samuel Ajayi Crowther (c.1809 – 1891), Bishop (from Latin episcopus, ‘overseer’, from Greek episkopos, ‘watcher’) of the Niger, awarded a doctorate by Oxford in 1864 for his groundbreaking extensive linguistic work, was a pioneer member and leader of several Expeditions up and down the Niger and the Benue, Nigeria’s twin watermark feature (the pun is intended). But Ajayi Crowther was more than a surveyor; he was a shepherd who went on to codify and delineate various ‘land gauges’ or languages: Yoruba, Ibo, Nupe, Kakanda – entities on both sides of the Niger and Benue Rivers. He was spent working for the best interests of all to be entrenched, regardless of creed or ethnic derivation. In truth and in deed, he’s Nigeria’s long disdained “guardian angel.”
“Ajayi Crowther’s work, like his name, remains an imperishable monument of all his faith and labour. Whatever achievement … lies on the Niger, it will never be forgotten that he broke the hard and fallow ground. It was his brave heart and strong hand that cut the first path through the dense undergrowth of superstition; it was he, as a wise master builder, who laid the foundations of the work…that was to be. Like [first US President George] Washington, he was the father of his country; but he did more, for he proved in his own person the capacity of the African to serve his own people.... His life has silenced many who made us to differ, and in the advancement and development of the native, not only in spiritual but in civil responsibilities, he will be remembered as the forerunner of a potential race to be.”5
It cannot be gainsaid the truth of the saying, “writing maketh an exact man”, 6 like the eyewitness report, above, by the British Jesse Page. Further, since “in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established” 7 we’ll call on another ‘accessory after the fact’, so to speak, to make our case unassailable or watertight: first without, next within. Below is the full text of a letter of monumental historical import for the Nigerian nation. Dating back to 1881, it was written originally in Hausa – for the attention of none other than the Shepherd of the Niger:
“Salute Crowther, the great Christian minister. After salutation, please tell him he is a father to us in this land; anything he sees will injure us in all this land, he would not like it. This we know perfectly well.
“The matter about which I am speaking with my mouth, write it; it is as if it is done by my hand, it is not a long matter; it is about barasa (or gin). Barasa, barasa, barasa! My God, it has ruined our country; it has ruined our people very much; it has made our people become mad. I have given a law that no one dares buy or sell it; and any one who is found selling it, his house is to be eaten up (plundered); any one found drunk will be killed. I have told all the Christian traders that I agree to anything for trade except barasa. I have told Mr. McIntosh’s people to-day, the barasa remaining with them must be returned down the river. Tell Crowther, the great Christian minister, that he is our father. I beg you, Malam Kipo (Rev. C. Paul, native missionary) don’t forget this writing, because we all beg that he (Bishop Crowther) should beg the great priests (Committee of C.M.S.) that they should beg the English Queen to prevent bringing barasa into this land.
“For God and the prophet’s sake, and the prophet His messenger’s sake, he (Crowther) must help us in this matter, that of barasa. We all have confidence in him; he must not leave our country to become spoiled by barasa. Tell him may God bless him in his work. This is the mouth-word from Maliki, Emir of Nupé.”8
Our present generation of Niger Area dwellers can yet get things right–-by getting the essence of what the Shepherd of the Niger, Ajayi Crowther, stood for and went down fighting into the national consciousness: to vivify and recalibrate our long-moribund value system. The greatest help to destiny is direction and the fuel of destiny is vision. For some reason, this realization came as a thought couched in my language of second course– Yoruba. It rose up suddenly to confront me headlong with the force of its import: Iya l'oun to'mo; Baba l'oun t'omo s'ona. Meaning: It behooves Mother her child to nourish; but it is Father's direction that sets it up to flourish.
We have the memory of Ajayi Crowther to mine for the meaning of our shared destiny, what will power us past the bounds of the present love-hate togetherness of the Niger Area polity. Then and only then will we blossom into the reality of true nationhood.
AD 2010, a marginal year to the Ajayi Crowther Bicentennial in commemoration throughout this year, will be Nigeria's golden jubilee. Let us jubilate at this timely rediscovery of the impeccable heritage of service of distinction left us by a long forgotten father, one who taught his wards, composed of kin of every creed and ethnic derivation: “Only the best is good enough for us.”
References:
1. The Guardian Newspapers Silver Jubilee Lecture, October 9, 2008: Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos; delivered from US base via projector
2. Proverbs 17:25
3. Deuteronomy 32:7-8 (King James and Contemporary English Versions)
4. Ephesians 6:2-3. Even the honour once accorded Ajayi Crowther’s grandson, Herbert Macaulay as the father of Nigerian nationalism seems to have been withdrawn by the authorities since. His portrait that adorned the erstwhile one-naira note is now numismatic nonsense on a coin without credit as currency. Like you, I am yet to handle one since its issuance; least of all move about with it as legal tender– unless you are engaged in coin collecting as a hobby, or amass it and others for other purposes - like smelting!
5. Ajayi Crowther’s biographer, Jesse Page: The Black Bishop, 1916: London
6. Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626), English philosopher and statesman. “One of the pioneers of modern scientific thought” (Encarta Encyclopedia).
7. Matthew 18:16
8Quoted in Jesse Page, The Slave Boy Who Became Bishop, 1892: London. The original letter along with tomes of other Crowtherma is archived in The Crowther Centre, Oxford, England. Ajayi Crowther spoke the emir’s language, Nupé, fluently – as he did Ijaw, Hausa as well as Igbo; he published the first book ever written in it. His son, Dandeson (‘child of liberty’), who worked in the Niger Delta, spoke a number of stock dialects there.
Unregulated Money in Politics Is Greatest Corruption Threat Globally, Study Finds
18 Feb 2009 16:00 Africa/Lagos
Unregulated Money in Politics Is Greatest Corruption Threat Globally, Study Finds
Iraq and Somalia Included For First Time in New Report Assessing Anti-Corruption Mechanisms and Government Accountability in 57 Countries
WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Regardless of income levels, the #1 corruption threat facing a majority of countries is the unregulated flow of money into the political process, a new report finds. The report, a major investigative study of 57 countries, was released today by Global Integrity, an award-winning international nonprofit organization that tracks governance and corruption trends globally.
"For the third straight year, poor transparency around the financing of political parties and candidates was the weakest element of most countries' anti-corruption frameworks," said Global Integrity's Managing Director, Nathaniel Heller. "If we're serious about rolling back corruption and abuse of power in both the developed and developing worlds, more effective safeguards to curb the influence of money in politics are desperately needed. The Rod Blagojevichs of the world are just the tip of the iceberg."
The Global Integrity Report: 2008 covers developed countries such as Canada, Japan and Italy as well as dozens of the world's emerging markets and developing nations, from Argentina and China to the West Bank and Iraq. Rather than measure perceptions of corruption, the report assesses the accountability mechanisms and transparency measures in place (or not) to prevent corruption through more than 300 "Integrity Indicators." Gaps in those safeguards suggest where corruption is more likely to occur.
Global Integrity's new Grand Corruption Watch List, introduced as part of the 2008 report, includes Angola, Belarus, Cambodia, China, Georgia, Iraq, Montenegro, Morocco, Nicaragua, Serbia, Somalia, the West Bank, and Yemen, all countries viewed at serious risk for high-level corruption. The Watch List identifies countries where the lack of effective conflicts of interest regulations, unregulated flows of money into the political process, and poor oversight over large state-owned enterprises combine to pose a systemic risk of large-scale theft of public resources. "Watch List countries are unfortunately characterized by a toxic mix of corruption risk factors that should be cause for alarm," said Heller.
Other major findings of the report include the following:
-- The most significant anti-corruption failure in much of the Arab world
is poor access to government information. While the countries in the
Middle East and North Africa assessed in the 2008 Report struggle to
match global medians on many factors, their comprehensive lack of
effective access to government information is virtually double those
countries' deficit on any other issue assessed by Global Integrity.
-- Several key countries experienced gains or backsliding since 2007.
Important anti-corruption improvements were noted in Bangladesh and
Nigeria; in China, a more positive assessment was linked to the
introduction of a new regulation granting citizens access to
government information. Noticeable decliners included Bosnia and
Herzegovina and Ecuador; Georgia also slipped for the second straight
year and continues to struggle consolidating democratic gains since
the 2003 Rose Revolution.
-- Corruption and transparency challenges appear to be worsening on the
Horn of Africa, threatening to exacerbate tensions in an
already-fragile security situation. Drops in performance in Kenya and
Ethiopia, combined with Somalia's ignominious honor of boasting the
worst-ever overall Global Integrity country score, do not bode well
for establishing the kinds of checks and balances in all three
countries that could promote good governance and improve stability.
"The country assessments that comprise the Report offer among the most detailed, evidence-based evaluations of anti-corruption mechanisms available anywhere in the world," said Global Integrity's International Director, Marianne Camerer. "They provide policymakers, investors, and citizens alike with the information to understand the governance challenges unique to each country and to take action."
The report is the product of months of on-the-ground reporting and data gathering by a team of more than 260 in-country journalists and researchers who prepared more than a million words of text and 20,000 data points for their respective countries. The 2008 report covers the following diverse countries:
Albania
Angola
Argentina
Azerbaijan
Bangladesh
Belarus
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Chile
China
Colombia
D.R. Congo
Ecuador
Egypt
Ethiopia
Fiji
Georgia
Ghana
Guatemala
Hungary
India
Indonesia
Iraq
Italy
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kuwait
Kyrgyz Republic
Lithuania
Macedonia (FYROM)
Moldova
Montenegro
Morocco
Nepal
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Pakistan
Philippines
Poland
Romania
Russia
Serbia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
Tanzania
Tunisia
Turkey
Uganda
West Bank
Yemen
Zimbabwe
To access the Global Integrity Report: 2008, please visit http://report.globalintegrity.org/.
The Global Integrity Report: 2008 was generously supported by the Australian Agency for International Development, the Canadian International Development Agency, the Legatum Institute, and the World Bank.
Global Integrity is a leading international non-profit organization that tracks governance and corruption trends around the world. Working with a network of several hundred in-country journalists and researchers in 92 countries, we aim to shape and inform the debate around governance and anti-corruption reforms through in-depth diagnostic tools at the national, sub-national, and sector levels. Our information is regularly used by aid donors, civil society advocates, and governments alike to press for governance reforms in both the developed and developing world. For more information about the organization, visit http://www.globalintegrity.org/.
Source: Global Integrity
CONTACT: Nathaniel Heller, +1-202-449-4100,
nathaniel.heller@globalintegrity.org, or Jonathan Werve, +1-202-449-8123,
jonathan.werve@globalintegrity.org, both of Global Integrity
Web Site: http://report.globalintegrity.org/
Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time
19 Feb 2009
06:00
Bill-und-Melinda-Gates-Stiftung und Partner setzen 90 Millionen US-Dollar zur Steigerung der Einkünfte von Kleinbauern in Afrika ein
06:00
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Partners Pledge $90 Million to Boost Incomes of Small Farmers in Africa
18 Feb 2009
17:52
Recycling Electrical and Electronic Equipment: Shipment for Re-use Overseas - A Statement From Electrolink
16:00
Unregulated Money in Politics Is Greatest Corruption Threat Globally, Study Finds
12:00
Bristow Group Announces Preferred Dividend
11:29
Zain Dials up Mobile Banking in Africa With Zap
08:00
Zain Group Selects Oberthur Technologies' End-to-End Security Platform for Africa's Biggest Mobil e Commerce Service
Unregulated Money in Politics Is Greatest Corruption Threat Globally, Study Finds
Iraq and Somalia Included For First Time in New Report Assessing Anti-Corruption Mechanisms and Government Accountability in 57 Countries
WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Regardless of income levels, the #1 corruption threat facing a majority of countries is the unregulated flow of money into the political process, a new report finds. The report, a major investigative study of 57 countries, was released today by Global Integrity, an award-winning international nonprofit organization that tracks governance and corruption trends globally.
"For the third straight year, poor transparency around the financing of political parties and candidates was the weakest element of most countries' anti-corruption frameworks," said Global Integrity's Managing Director, Nathaniel Heller. "If we're serious about rolling back corruption and abuse of power in both the developed and developing worlds, more effective safeguards to curb the influence of money in politics are desperately needed. The Rod Blagojevichs of the world are just the tip of the iceberg."
The Global Integrity Report: 2008 covers developed countries such as Canada, Japan and Italy as well as dozens of the world's emerging markets and developing nations, from Argentina and China to the West Bank and Iraq. Rather than measure perceptions of corruption, the report assesses the accountability mechanisms and transparency measures in place (or not) to prevent corruption through more than 300 "Integrity Indicators." Gaps in those safeguards suggest where corruption is more likely to occur.
Global Integrity's new Grand Corruption Watch List, introduced as part of the 2008 report, includes Angola, Belarus, Cambodia, China, Georgia, Iraq, Montenegro, Morocco, Nicaragua, Serbia, Somalia, the West Bank, and Yemen, all countries viewed at serious risk for high-level corruption. The Watch List identifies countries where the lack of effective conflicts of interest regulations, unregulated flows of money into the political process, and poor oversight over large state-owned enterprises combine to pose a systemic risk of large-scale theft of public resources. "Watch List countries are unfortunately characterized by a toxic mix of corruption risk factors that should be cause for alarm," said Heller.
Other major findings of the report include the following:
-- The most significant anti-corruption failure in much of the Arab world
is poor access to government information. While the countries in the
Middle East and North Africa assessed in the 2008 Report struggle to
match global medians on many factors, their comprehensive lack of
effective access to government information is virtually double those
countries' deficit on any other issue assessed by Global Integrity.
-- Several key countries experienced gains or backsliding since 2007.
Important anti-corruption improvements were noted in Bangladesh and
Nigeria; in China, a more positive assessment was linked to the
introduction of a new regulation granting citizens access to
government information. Noticeable decliners included Bosnia and
Herzegovina and Ecuador; Georgia also slipped for the second straight
year and continues to struggle consolidating democratic gains since
the 2003 Rose Revolution.
-- Corruption and transparency challenges appear to be worsening on the
Horn of Africa, threatening to exacerbate tensions in an
already-fragile security situation. Drops in performance in Kenya and
Ethiopia, combined with Somalia's ignominious honor of boasting the
worst-ever overall Global Integrity country score, do not bode well
for establishing the kinds of checks and balances in all three
countries that could promote good governance and improve stability.
"The country assessments that comprise the Report offer among the most detailed, evidence-based evaluations of anti-corruption mechanisms available anywhere in the world," said Global Integrity's International Director, Marianne Camerer. "They provide policymakers, investors, and citizens alike with the information to understand the governance challenges unique to each country and to take action."
The report is the product of months of on-the-ground reporting and data gathering by a team of more than 260 in-country journalists and researchers who prepared more than a million words of text and 20,000 data points for their respective countries. The 2008 report covers the following diverse countries:
Albania
Angola
Argentina
Azerbaijan
Bangladesh
Belarus
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Chile
China
Colombia
D.R. Congo
Ecuador
Egypt
Ethiopia
Fiji
Georgia
Ghana
Guatemala
Hungary
India
Indonesia
Iraq
Italy
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kuwait
Kyrgyz Republic
Lithuania
Macedonia (FYROM)
Moldova
Montenegro
Morocco
Nepal
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Pakistan
Philippines
Poland
Romania
Russia
Serbia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
Tanzania
Tunisia
Turkey
Uganda
West Bank
Yemen
Zimbabwe
To access the Global Integrity Report: 2008, please visit http://report.globalintegrity.org/.
The Global Integrity Report: 2008 was generously supported by the Australian Agency for International Development, the Canadian International Development Agency, the Legatum Institute, and the World Bank.
Global Integrity is a leading international non-profit organization that tracks governance and corruption trends around the world. Working with a network of several hundred in-country journalists and researchers in 92 countries, we aim to shape and inform the debate around governance and anti-corruption reforms through in-depth diagnostic tools at the national, sub-national, and sector levels. Our information is regularly used by aid donors, civil society advocates, and governments alike to press for governance reforms in both the developed and developing world. For more information about the organization, visit http://www.globalintegrity.org/.
Source: Global Integrity
CONTACT: Nathaniel Heller, +1-202-449-4100,
nathaniel.heller@globalintegrity.org, or Jonathan Werve, +1-202-449-8123,
jonathan.werve@globalintegrity.org, both of Global Integrity
Web Site: http://report.globalintegrity.org/
Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time
19 Feb 2009
06:00
Bill-und-Melinda-Gates-Stiftung und Partner setzen 90 Millionen US-Dollar zur Steigerung der Einkünfte von Kleinbauern in Afrika ein
06:00
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Partners Pledge $90 Million to Boost Incomes of Small Farmers in Africa
18 Feb 2009
17:52
Recycling Electrical and Electronic Equipment: Shipment for Re-use Overseas - A Statement From Electrolink
16:00
Unregulated Money in Politics Is Greatest Corruption Threat Globally, Study Finds
12:00
Bristow Group Announces Preferred Dividend
11:29
Zain Dials up Mobile Banking in Africa With Zap
08:00
Zain Group Selects Oberthur Technologies' End-to-End Security Platform for Africa's Biggest Mobil e Commerce Service
World Cocoa Foundation and Leading Chocolate Industry Companies Partner with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to Significantly Improve Cocoa Farmer Liv
19 Feb 2009 07:00 Africa/Lagos
World Cocoa Foundation and Leading Chocolate Industry Companies Partner with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to Significantly Improve Cocoa Farmer Livelihoods in West Africa
Five-Year, $40 Million Investment to Focus on Increasing Cocoa Farmer Knowledge, Marketing Efficiency and Incomes
WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The World Cocoa Foundation today announced a new, $40 million program funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and chocolate industry companies to significantly improve the livelihoods of approximately 200,000 cocoa farmers in Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and Liberia. The innovative, five-year West Africa Cocoa Livelihoods Program will focus on enhancing farmer knowledge and competitiveness, improving productivity and quality, promoting crop diversification and improving supply chain efficiency. These initiatives will help increase farmers' incomes and significantly improve cocoa community well-being.
The program will be managed by the World Cocoa Foundation and be implemented through a consortium of five organizations including ACDI/VOCA, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)/Sustainable Tree Crops Program, SOCODEVI and TechnoServe. In addition to the $23 million in funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, over $17 million in financial support and in-kind contributions come from the private sector: major branded manufacturers The Hershey Company, Kraft Foods and Mars, Incorporated; cocoa processors Archer Daniels Midland Company, Barry Callebaut, Blommer Chocolate Company and Cargill; and supply chain managers and allied industries Armajaro, Ecom-Agrocacao, Olam International Ltd. and Starbucks Coffee Company. The governments of the participating West African countries will support and be full partners in the program's implementation.
"We know from experience that cocoa can play a significant, positive role in improving farm family incomes in the developing world," said Bill Guyton, President, World Cocoa Foundation. "However, many cocoa farmers today lack the practical knowledge and organizational support needed to grow this unique crop profitably and sustainably. Thanks to our new partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we will be able to dramatically expand our efforts to reach these farmers in West Africa and to promote economic and social development as well as environmental conservation in cocoa-growing communities."
Implementation plans and site selection for the West Africa Cocoa Livelihoods Program will be finalized over the coming months. On-the-ground program activities are expected to begin in late 2009 and early 2010. Once underway, the program will train farmers in better production techniques, quality improvement and business skills; professionalize farmer organizations to better meet member needs; and improve farmer access to agricultural inputs and improved-quality seedlings. The project will also improve farmers' access to market information and opportunities for diversification into alternative food and cash crops to maximize farmer income and security.
"Cocoa is West Africa's largest agricultural export, providing a living for nearly two million smallholder farmers and their families in the region," said Madame Amouan Acquah Assouan, Vice President, Coffee-Cocoa Sector Management Committee, Republic of Cote d'Ivoire. "Too many of them grow cocoa on a subsistence basis, failing to realize the economic benefit this important crop can provide. The new West Africa Cocoa Livelihoods Program can change this situation for the better, lifting thousands of these farm families out of poverty."
"Agriculture offers powerful pathways out of poverty, but without access to knowledge, tools, and markets, millions of smallholder farmers - most of whom are women - aren't able to prosper from their land and labor," said Dr. Rajiv Shah, Director of Agricultural Development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "We're excited to support this partnership, which will create opportunities for these farmers to sustainably boost their incomes and lift themselves and their families out of hunger and poverty." To date, the foundation has committed more than $1 billion in agricultural development efforts to increase opportunities for small farmers to succeed at every step of the way--from seed to sale.
About the World Cocoa Foundation
Established in 2000, the World Cocoa Foundation is a leader in promoting economic and social development and environmental stewardship in 15 cocoa-producing countries around the world. With nearly 70 member companies from the Americas, Europe and Asia, the Foundation actively supports a range of farm-level programs harnessing sustainable agriculture practices to improve the quality of life for the millions of smallholder farmers growing this unique crop. For more information about the World Cocoa Foundation, visit: www.worldcocoafoundation.org
About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people - especially those with the fewest resources -- have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and Co-Chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett. Learn more at www.gatesfoundation.org.
About ACDI/VOCA
ACDI/VOCA is a nonprofit international development organization that delivers technical and management assistance in agribusiness, financial services, enterprise development, community development and food security in order to promote broad-based economic growth and vibrant civil society. Based in Washington, D.C., ACDI/VOCA has empowered people in developing and transitional nations to succeed in the global economy for 45 years and in 145 countries. ACDI/VOCA currently has approximately 80 projects in 40 countries and revenues of approximately $100 million.
About GTZ
As an international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations, the federally owned Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH supports the German Government in achieving its development-policy objectives. It provides viable, forward-looking solutions for political, economic, ecological and social development in a globalised world. Working under difficult conditions, GTZ promotes complex reforms and change processes. Its corporate objective is to improve people's living conditions on a sustainable basis. The company works on public benefit.
About the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
Africa has complex problems that plague agriculture and people's lives. We develop agricultural solutions with our partners to tackle hunger and poverty. Our award winning research for development (R4D) is based on focused, authoritative thinking anchored on the development needs of sub-Saharan Africa. We work with partners in Africa and beyond to reduce producer and consumer risks, enhance crop quality and productivity, and generate wealth from agriculture. IITA is an international non-profit R4D organization since 1967, governed by a Board of Trustees, and supported primarily by the CGIAR.
About SOCODEVI
SOCODEVI is a network of Canadian cooperatives and mutuals that cooperate and share technical expertise and know-how with partners in developing countries in order to create, protect and distribute wealth. Since 1985, SOCODEVI has supported over 500 cooperative and mutual enterprises and organizations in 30 countries. SOCODEVI measures its success by the extent to which the enterprises supported become models for their sustainability and the benefits their activities provide. The ultimate goal of SOCODEVI: improved living conditions for the communities.
About TechnoServe
TechnoServe is leading a movement that empowers people in the developing world to build businesses that break the cycle of poverty. Growing enterprises generate jobs and other income opportunities for poor people, enabling them to improve their lives and secure a better future for their families. Since its founding in 1968, the U.S.-based nonprofit has helped to create or expand thousands of businesses, benefiting millions of people in more than 30 countries. The Financial Times has rated TechnoServe one of the top five NGOs for corporate partnerships. Charity Navigator has also awarded its highest Four Star ranking to TechnoServe.
Source: World Cocoa Foundation
CONTACT: Bill Guyton of World Cocoa Foundation, +1-202-737-7870,
bill.guyton@worldcocoa.org
Web Site: http://www.worldcocoafoundation.org/
World Cocoa Foundation and Leading Chocolate Industry Companies Partner with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to Significantly Improve Cocoa Farmer Livelihoods in West Africa
Five-Year, $40 Million Investment to Focus on Increasing Cocoa Farmer Knowledge, Marketing Efficiency and Incomes
WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The World Cocoa Foundation today announced a new, $40 million program funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and chocolate industry companies to significantly improve the livelihoods of approximately 200,000 cocoa farmers in Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and Liberia. The innovative, five-year West Africa Cocoa Livelihoods Program will focus on enhancing farmer knowledge and competitiveness, improving productivity and quality, promoting crop diversification and improving supply chain efficiency. These initiatives will help increase farmers' incomes and significantly improve cocoa community well-being.
The program will be managed by the World Cocoa Foundation and be implemented through a consortium of five organizations including ACDI/VOCA, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)/Sustainable Tree Crops Program, SOCODEVI and TechnoServe. In addition to the $23 million in funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, over $17 million in financial support and in-kind contributions come from the private sector: major branded manufacturers The Hershey Company, Kraft Foods and Mars, Incorporated; cocoa processors Archer Daniels Midland Company, Barry Callebaut, Blommer Chocolate Company and Cargill; and supply chain managers and allied industries Armajaro, Ecom-Agrocacao, Olam International Ltd. and Starbucks Coffee Company. The governments of the participating West African countries will support and be full partners in the program's implementation.
"We know from experience that cocoa can play a significant, positive role in improving farm family incomes in the developing world," said Bill Guyton, President, World Cocoa Foundation. "However, many cocoa farmers today lack the practical knowledge and organizational support needed to grow this unique crop profitably and sustainably. Thanks to our new partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we will be able to dramatically expand our efforts to reach these farmers in West Africa and to promote economic and social development as well as environmental conservation in cocoa-growing communities."
Implementation plans and site selection for the West Africa Cocoa Livelihoods Program will be finalized over the coming months. On-the-ground program activities are expected to begin in late 2009 and early 2010. Once underway, the program will train farmers in better production techniques, quality improvement and business skills; professionalize farmer organizations to better meet member needs; and improve farmer access to agricultural inputs and improved-quality seedlings. The project will also improve farmers' access to market information and opportunities for diversification into alternative food and cash crops to maximize farmer income and security.
"Cocoa is West Africa's largest agricultural export, providing a living for nearly two million smallholder farmers and their families in the region," said Madame Amouan Acquah Assouan, Vice President, Coffee-Cocoa Sector Management Committee, Republic of Cote d'Ivoire. "Too many of them grow cocoa on a subsistence basis, failing to realize the economic benefit this important crop can provide. The new West Africa Cocoa Livelihoods Program can change this situation for the better, lifting thousands of these farm families out of poverty."
"Agriculture offers powerful pathways out of poverty, but without access to knowledge, tools, and markets, millions of smallholder farmers - most of whom are women - aren't able to prosper from their land and labor," said Dr. Rajiv Shah, Director of Agricultural Development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "We're excited to support this partnership, which will create opportunities for these farmers to sustainably boost their incomes and lift themselves and their families out of hunger and poverty." To date, the foundation has committed more than $1 billion in agricultural development efforts to increase opportunities for small farmers to succeed at every step of the way--from seed to sale.
About the World Cocoa Foundation
Established in 2000, the World Cocoa Foundation is a leader in promoting economic and social development and environmental stewardship in 15 cocoa-producing countries around the world. With nearly 70 member companies from the Americas, Europe and Asia, the Foundation actively supports a range of farm-level programs harnessing sustainable agriculture practices to improve the quality of life for the millions of smallholder farmers growing this unique crop. For more information about the World Cocoa Foundation, visit: www.worldcocoafoundation.org
About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people - especially those with the fewest resources -- have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and Co-Chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett. Learn more at www.gatesfoundation.org.
About ACDI/VOCA
ACDI/VOCA is a nonprofit international development organization that delivers technical and management assistance in agribusiness, financial services, enterprise development, community development and food security in order to promote broad-based economic growth and vibrant civil society. Based in Washington, D.C., ACDI/VOCA has empowered people in developing and transitional nations to succeed in the global economy for 45 years and in 145 countries. ACDI/VOCA currently has approximately 80 projects in 40 countries and revenues of approximately $100 million.
About GTZ
As an international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations, the federally owned Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH supports the German Government in achieving its development-policy objectives. It provides viable, forward-looking solutions for political, economic, ecological and social development in a globalised world. Working under difficult conditions, GTZ promotes complex reforms and change processes. Its corporate objective is to improve people's living conditions on a sustainable basis. The company works on public benefit.
About the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
Africa has complex problems that plague agriculture and people's lives. We develop agricultural solutions with our partners to tackle hunger and poverty. Our award winning research for development (R4D) is based on focused, authoritative thinking anchored on the development needs of sub-Saharan Africa. We work with partners in Africa and beyond to reduce producer and consumer risks, enhance crop quality and productivity, and generate wealth from agriculture. IITA is an international non-profit R4D organization since 1967, governed by a Board of Trustees, and supported primarily by the CGIAR.
About SOCODEVI
SOCODEVI is a network of Canadian cooperatives and mutuals that cooperate and share technical expertise and know-how with partners in developing countries in order to create, protect and distribute wealth. Since 1985, SOCODEVI has supported over 500 cooperative and mutual enterprises and organizations in 30 countries. SOCODEVI measures its success by the extent to which the enterprises supported become models for their sustainability and the benefits their activities provide. The ultimate goal of SOCODEVI: improved living conditions for the communities.
About TechnoServe
TechnoServe is leading a movement that empowers people in the developing world to build businesses that break the cycle of poverty. Growing enterprises generate jobs and other income opportunities for poor people, enabling them to improve their lives and secure a better future for their families. Since its founding in 1968, the U.S.-based nonprofit has helped to create or expand thousands of businesses, benefiting millions of people in more than 30 countries. The Financial Times has rated TechnoServe one of the top five NGOs for corporate partnerships. Charity Navigator has also awarded its highest Four Star ranking to TechnoServe.
Source: World Cocoa Foundation
CONTACT: Bill Guyton of World Cocoa Foundation, +1-202-737-7870,
bill.guyton@worldcocoa.org
Web Site: http://www.worldcocoafoundation.org/
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
National Daily Awards for "Excellence" or Pretence
Awards events in Nigeria are mere publicity stunts by many newspapers and NGOs who have been giving awards to many so called worthy Nigerians who should rather be prosecuted for fraudulent activities and arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and not collecting fake awards like the strange bed fellows I saw at the last National Daily Awards for “excellence” or pretence on Thursday February 12, 2009.
Does the fake Senate President deserve an award?
For what? Rigging election?
How was he elected?
The venue of the awards ceremony, the Expo Hall of the Eko Hotel on the Victoria Island was a gathering of wolves in sheep clothing and many pretenders.
It was a comedy of errors.
Why should you give an award to a public official for simply doing his job?
A governor building a road with tax payers money is given a standing ovation?
A forgotten singer Mandy Ojugbana suddenly resurfaced to strangulate the National Anthem and got a lashing from Prof. Dora Akunyili, the new Minister of Information and Communication who was a fearless crusader against fake drugs whilst she was the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
Does the fake Senate President deserve an award?
For what? Rigging election?
How was he elected?
The venue of the awards ceremony, the Expo Hall of the Eko Hotel on the Victoria Island was a gathering of wolves in sheep clothing and many pretenders.
It was a comedy of errors.
Why should you give an award to a public official for simply doing his job?
A governor building a road with tax payers money is given a standing ovation?
A forgotten singer Mandy Ojugbana suddenly resurfaced to strangulate the National Anthem and got a lashing from Prof. Dora Akunyili, the new Minister of Information and Communication who was a fearless crusader against fake drugs whilst she was the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
| Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time | |
| 17 Feb 2009 | |
| 14:40 | 'AL-KIAMA: The Life After': Sequence Leading to Armageddon Battle and Commencement of Judgment Day |
| 14:35 | 'HAMZA: Strive for a Wiser Life': Author Offers Accessible Introduction to Druze Faith in Story of Faith and Tradition |
Postilion Showcases New Customer Administration Portal at Africa's Premier Banking Technologies Conference
16 Feb 2009 13:00 Africa/Lagos
Postilion Showcases New Customer Administration Portal at Africa's Premier Banking Technologies Conference
Postilion co-sponsors East Africa 2009 Banking & Payment Technologies Conference
JOHANNESBURG and NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Postilion, a leading provider of software solutions for self-service banking and payments and a division of S1 Corporation (NASDAQ:SONE) , today announced that they will be participating at the annual AITEC event in Nairobi from 17 to 19 February. This year's event will focus on the customer's experience of technology implementation and services, challenging suppliers and bankers alike to evaluate their systems in light of customer needs and preferences.
The latest enhancements to Postilion's market leading payments solutions, a new customer administration portal, will be on show at stand E1. Payments experts will be on hand to demonstrate the Postilion Portal, which gives a unified view of customers, accounts, transactions, and activity across various payments channels via a web browser.
Four speakers will showcase Postilion's customer-centric payments solutions at the conference:
* Case Study: The Umoja Switch in Tanzania, by Paul Nilsen, GM of
Business Connexion, a Postilion client based in Tanzania (Session 3)
* Innovating for EFT Success, by Andre Niemand, Sales Manager, Postilion
Africa (Session 3)
* Point of Sale Value-Added Services, by Ophias Sherewa, MD of Transaction
Payment Systems, a Postilion reseller in Africa (Session 6)
* Facilitating Prepaid with Electronic Voucher Distribution, Jim Baird, MD
of ATM Africa, a Postilion reseller in Africa (Session 7)
More than 90 organizations in Africa now use Postilion to enhance their customers' experience of electronic payments. Internationally, more than 300 clients have successfully implemented various Postilion solutions. Postilion drives major transaction switches and processors in numerous African countries, including the continent's largest economies: South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya. Smaller regional switches, such as those in Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Uganda, also run on Postilion platforms. Africa's top three banks and top three retailers use Postilion to drive their electronic payments. Postilion has a presence in 15 countries across the African continent.
About Postilion
Postilion, a division of S1 Corporation (NASDAQ:SONE) , is a leading provider of integrated solutions for self-service banking and payment processing. Our offices, on five continents, serve over 1,500 customers in more than 50 countries. Postilion solutions drive self-service financial transactions and payments, including advanced transactions such as prepay, through Internet access points, ATMs, POS terminals, and phones.
More than 100,000 ATMs and 500,000 POS terminals worldwide run on Postilion solutions. In the United States, over 1,250 credit unions and community financial institutions use Postilion solutions. Built on open systems, Postilion solutions provide consolidated management information, card management, 3DES and EMV enablement, and loyalty management. At the forefront of compliance with new regulations and security enhancements, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and Visa's Payment Application Best Practices (PABP), Postilion can help customers achieve compliance with the latest data security standards developed by the payment card industry. More information is available at www.postilion.com.
About S1 Corporation
S1 Corporation (NASDAQ:SONE) delivers customer interaction software for financial and payment services and offers unique solution sets for financial institutions, retailers, and processors under three brand names: Postilion, S1 Enterprise and FSB Solutions. Additional information about S1 solutions is available at www.s1.com, www.postilion.com, www.S1enterprise.com, and www.fsb-solutions.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These statements include statements with respect to our financial condition, results of operations and business. The words "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "should," "projects," "contemplates," "anticipates," "forecasts," "intends" or similar terminology identify forward-looking statements. These statements are based on our beliefs as well as assumptions made using information currently available to us. Because these statements reflect our current views concerning future events, they involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Therefore, actual results may differ significantly from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. The risk factors included in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (and available on our web site at www.s1.com or the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov) provide examples of risks, uncertainties and events that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements. Except as provided by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.
Source: S1 Corporation
CONTACT: Eduan Swanepoel, + 27 21 525 5000,
eduan.swanepoel@postilion.com
Web site: http://www.s1.com/
http://www.postilion.com/
Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time
17 Feb 2009
10:58
Coartem(R) Dispersible, le premier ACT* Dispersible pour enfants, est lancé cette semaine en Afrique par Novartis et par Medicines for Malaria Venture
16 Feb 2009
13:00
Postilion Showcases New Customer Administration Portal at Africa's Premier Banking Technologies Conference
09:05
Foris and Runcom are Launching a WiMAX Network in Mozambique
06:00
Coartem(R) Dispersible, the First Dispersible ACT* for Children, Launched This Week in Africa by Novartis and Medicines for Malaria Venture
13 Feb 2009
17:42
Ebiakpo Jituboh and DeKeisha George of Queens, NY Named as the Winners of ESSENCE Magazine's Will You Marry Me? 2009 Contest!
12 Feb 2009
17:21
Oscar Nominated Films Raise Polio Awareness
12:34
World's poor to be helped by 'txt msg' technology
Postilion Showcases New Customer Administration Portal at Africa's Premier Banking Technologies Conference
Postilion co-sponsors East Africa 2009 Banking & Payment Technologies Conference
JOHANNESBURG and NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Postilion, a leading provider of software solutions for self-service banking and payments and a division of S1 Corporation (NASDAQ:SONE) , today announced that they will be participating at the annual AITEC event in Nairobi from 17 to 19 February. This year's event will focus on the customer's experience of technology implementation and services, challenging suppliers and bankers alike to evaluate their systems in light of customer needs and preferences.
The latest enhancements to Postilion's market leading payments solutions, a new customer administration portal, will be on show at stand E1. Payments experts will be on hand to demonstrate the Postilion Portal, which gives a unified view of customers, accounts, transactions, and activity across various payments channels via a web browser.
Four speakers will showcase Postilion's customer-centric payments solutions at the conference:
* Case Study: The Umoja Switch in Tanzania, by Paul Nilsen, GM of
Business Connexion, a Postilion client based in Tanzania (Session 3)
* Innovating for EFT Success, by Andre Niemand, Sales Manager, Postilion
Africa (Session 3)
* Point of Sale Value-Added Services, by Ophias Sherewa, MD of Transaction
Payment Systems, a Postilion reseller in Africa (Session 6)
* Facilitating Prepaid with Electronic Voucher Distribution, Jim Baird, MD
of ATM Africa, a Postilion reseller in Africa (Session 7)
More than 90 organizations in Africa now use Postilion to enhance their customers' experience of electronic payments. Internationally, more than 300 clients have successfully implemented various Postilion solutions. Postilion drives major transaction switches and processors in numerous African countries, including the continent's largest economies: South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya. Smaller regional switches, such as those in Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Uganda, also run on Postilion platforms. Africa's top three banks and top three retailers use Postilion to drive their electronic payments. Postilion has a presence in 15 countries across the African continent.
About Postilion
Postilion, a division of S1 Corporation (NASDAQ:SONE) , is a leading provider of integrated solutions for self-service banking and payment processing. Our offices, on five continents, serve over 1,500 customers in more than 50 countries. Postilion solutions drive self-service financial transactions and payments, including advanced transactions such as prepay, through Internet access points, ATMs, POS terminals, and phones.
More than 100,000 ATMs and 500,000 POS terminals worldwide run on Postilion solutions. In the United States, over 1,250 credit unions and community financial institutions use Postilion solutions. Built on open systems, Postilion solutions provide consolidated management information, card management, 3DES and EMV enablement, and loyalty management. At the forefront of compliance with new regulations and security enhancements, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and Visa's Payment Application Best Practices (PABP), Postilion can help customers achieve compliance with the latest data security standards developed by the payment card industry. More information is available at www.postilion.com.
About S1 Corporation
S1 Corporation (NASDAQ:SONE) delivers customer interaction software for financial and payment services and offers unique solution sets for financial institutions, retailers, and processors under three brand names: Postilion, S1 Enterprise and FSB Solutions. Additional information about S1 solutions is available at www.s1.com, www.postilion.com, www.S1enterprise.com, and www.fsb-solutions.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These statements include statements with respect to our financial condition, results of operations and business. The words "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "should," "projects," "contemplates," "anticipates," "forecasts," "intends" or similar terminology identify forward-looking statements. These statements are based on our beliefs as well as assumptions made using information currently available to us. Because these statements reflect our current views concerning future events, they involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Therefore, actual results may differ significantly from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. The risk factors included in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (and available on our web site at www.s1.com or the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov) provide examples of risks, uncertainties and events that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements. Except as provided by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.
Source: S1 Corporation
CONTACT: Eduan Swanepoel, + 27 21 525 5000,
eduan.swanepoel@postilion.com
Web site: http://www.s1.com/
http://www.postilion.com/
Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time
17 Feb 2009
10:58
Coartem(R) Dispersible, le premier ACT* Dispersible pour enfants, est lancé cette semaine en Afrique par Novartis et par Medicines for Malaria Venture
16 Feb 2009
13:00
Postilion Showcases New Customer Administration Portal at Africa's Premier Banking Technologies Conference
09:05
Foris and Runcom are Launching a WiMAX Network in Mozambique
06:00
Coartem(R) Dispersible, the First Dispersible ACT* for Children, Launched This Week in Africa by Novartis and Medicines for Malaria Venture
13 Feb 2009
17:42
Ebiakpo Jituboh and DeKeisha George of Queens, NY Named as the Winners of ESSENCE Magazine's Will You Marry Me? 2009 Contest!
12 Feb 2009
17:21
Oscar Nominated Films Raise Polio Awareness
12:34
World's poor to be helped by 'txt msg' technology
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