Opened Markets, Infrastructure Stoke Competitive Fires in Nigeria

22 Mar 2011 19:00 Africa/Lagos


Opened Markets, Infrastructure Stoke Competitive Fires in Nigeria, Pyramid Finds

PR Newswire

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 22, 2011

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Telecom infrastructure development in Nigeria, such as subsea cables and the Nigerian Communications Commission's (NCC) Internet exchange point, has encouraged competition and facilitated the expansion of data networks to make them more accessible and affordable to the public, according to a new report from Pyramid Research (www.pyr.com).

Nigeria: Opened Markets and New Infrastructure Stoke Competitive Fires offers a precise profile of the country's telecommunications, media and technology sectors based on proprietary data from Pyramid's research in the market. It provides detailed competitive analysis of both the fixed and mobile sectors, tracks the market shares of technologies and services and monitors the introduction and spread of new technologies.

Download an excerpt of this report here: http://www.pyr.com/downloads.htm?id=18&sc=PRN032211_CIRNIG

Purchase the report here: http://www.pyramidresearch.com/store/CIRNIGERIA.htm?sc=PRN032211_CIRNIG

"The competitive landscape of Nigeria's telecom sector has forced operators to rollout new infrastructure to improve coverage and quality, which has resulted in a surge of subscription growth and usage," says Majd Hosn, Associate Research Analyst at Pyramid. "Pyramid expects growth of total market services revenue to continue over the next five years at a 5.9 percent CAGR. Pay-TV, fixed VoIP, broadband Internet and mobile data are anticipated to be the fastest-growth segments," he adds.

"Projects, such as the MainOne undersea cable, have created a strong surge in the quality of the infrastructure backbone," indicates Hosn. "This will translate into increased usage of connectivity, expected to reach 33.8 percent market share in 2015, and infotainment, expected to have a 21 percent mobile data revenue share in 2015," he explains. The infrastructure sharing debate is also ongoing in Nigeria, and Pyramid expects to see some regulations and actions taken to expedite it. "Operators will be able to use less of their expenditure on infrastructure development and more on implementing strategies to expand their customer base and ARPS, such as mobile broadband and value-added services."

The NCC's plan to increase the competition in the telecom sector has been successful. "The addition of marginal lower-spending subscribers to the market, and increased competition among existing GSM- and CDMA-based operators, will continue to drive ARPS downward," notes Hosn. "Number portability in 2011 is expected to further increase the competition and allow for a reshuffling of market shares. This could represent a struggle to keep churn rates low but also an opportunity to attract customers from competitors," he adds.

Nigeria: Opened Markets and New Infrastructure Stoke Competitive Fires is part of Pyramid Research's Africa & Middle East Country Intelligence Report Series and is priced at $990. Download the excerpt here: http://www.pyr.com/downloads.htm?id=18&sc=PRN032211_CIRNIG. It can be purchased online here (http://www.pyramidresearch.com/store/CIRNIGERIA.htm?sc=PRN032211_CIRNIG) or by emailing us at info@pyr.com.

Contact: Jennifer Baker, +1-617-871-1910, jbaker@pyr.com

SOURCE Pyramid Research

Web Site: http://www.pyr.com



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22 Mar 2011


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Opened Markets, Infrastructure Stoke Competitive Fires in Nigeria, Pyramid Finds


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Soyinka warns politicians to stop using his name for campaigns

The PM news of Nigeria has reported that Nobel Literature Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has raised alarm over some political statements being circulated in his name. He has refuted the false messages being used for political campaigns.


Recommended books by Prof. Wole Soyinka:

Climate of Fear: The Quest for Dignity in a Dehumanized World (Reith Lectures)

The Open Sore of a Continent: A Personal Narrative of the Nigerian Crisis

Wole Soyinka's Final Verdict on the PDP of Nigeria

Prof. Wole Soyinka


The following is the final verdict of Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka on the ruling People’s Democratic Party of Nigeria on the coming April elections.

Only 4 sets of people can vote for the PDP:

(1) those who are intellectually blind.
(2) those who are blinded by ethnicity
(3) those who are blinded by corruption and therefore afraid of the unknown, should power change hands; and finally
(4) those who are suffering from a combination of the above terminal sicknesses"

Gaddafi not a target of western airstrikes

Gaddafi not a target of western airstrikes




After two days of strikes by western forces on Libyan air defenses, the Pentagon said the military is not going after Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Jon Decker reports.
© 2011 Reuters



18 Mar 2011 15:14 Africa/Lagos




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Statement by the UN Secretary-General on Libya

NEW YORK, March 18, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The Security Council today has taken an historic decision. Resolution 1973 affirms, clearly and unequivocally, the international community's determination to fulfil its responsibility to protect civilians from violence perpetrated upon them by their own government. The Resolution authorizes the use of all necessary measures, including a no-fly zone to prevent further casualties and loss of innocent lives. In adopting this Resolution, the Security Council placed great importance on the appeal of the League of Arab States for action.


Given the critical situation on the ground, I expect immediate action on the Resolution's provisions. I am prepared to carry out my responsibilities, as mandated by the resolution, and will work closely with Member States and regional organizations to coordinate a common, effective and timely response.


Once again, I join the Council in calling for an immediate cease-fire, a halt to all attacks on civilians and full humanitarian access to those in need. Our strenuous diplomatic efforts will continue. Following his mission to Tripoli, my Special Envoy for Libya met in Cairo today with the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States. He will brief me this weekend on the results of his conversations. I myself will travel to the region to advance our common efforts in this critical hour.



Source: UNITED NATIONS

The shortcomings of the Nigeria Prize for Literature

The shortcomings of the Nigeria Prize for Literature

The Nigeria Prize for Literature, endowed by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited is a great thing. It is an unprecedented initiative of immense benefit to Nigerian writers and the society for the appreciation of our literary culture.
I have been following the progress of the Nigeria Prize for Literature without any objection to the administration, but not impressed by the impact on the sustainable development of Nigerian literature. There is too much emphasis on the cash prize of $50,000 when the focus should be on promoting the revival of our reading culture for the intellectual development of the Nigerian society that is presently breeding philistines.

The Nigerian Prize for Literature has made the lucky winners richer, but it has failed to make us wiser, because many of the prizes winning books have not reached the majority of the Nigerian society, except the intelligentsia.
The Man Booker Prize, Orange Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Commonwealth Prize and other highly coveted literary awards increase the public appreciation of the winners and their books, but the Nigeria Prize for Literature has failed to make the winners bestsellers and becoming a bestselling author is the dream of every writer.
It looks like there is no budget for a comprehensive media plan for the Nigeria Prize for Literature, because there is no tangible publicity plan for the public appreciation of the winning books beyond the public announcements of the shortlisted authors, the winners and prize giving gala ceremonies. Everybody returns to business as usual after the events and the lucky winner of the $50, 000 prize smiles to the bank. But none of the prize winning books has become a bestseller and the author hardly goes on any book signing tour like in America, the UK or other countries where prize winning books become sought after collector’s items and sell like hot cakes.
What is the use of winning a book prize, but your book is not in demand?
The fact that is; the reading culture in Nigeria is still poor after the efforts of some individuals and groups to promote reading and President Goodluck Jonathan launched a widely publicized “Bring Back the Book” campaign.
The revival of our reading culture is a challenge to the administrators of the Nigeria Prize for Literature.
How can we use the prize to revive the general appreciation of reading in Nigeria?

May I advise the administrators of the Nigeria Prize for Literature to review the budget and the media plan and consider spending more on the promotion of the prize winning books to attract the attention and appreciation of the public.
The promotion of the winning book will attract more readers and boost our reading culture.
Invite the public to vote for the shortlisted books, because such an open invitation will be a good motivation for the public appreciation of the books and will definitely boost their interest to read them.

The Nigeria Prize for Literature needs more cooperation and support of the Nigerian news media to achieve more for the overall benefit of the Nigerian society. The Guardian and other Nigerian newspapers should learn from The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, the Guardian of the UK and others in America and Europe by dedicating more pages to literary appreciation such as initiating and promoting a Nigerian Bestsellers List for both fiction and non-fiction like New York Times: Best-Seller Lists, Book of the Month and other promotions that will go a long way to increase the public appreciation of the goals and objectives of the Nigeria Prize for Literature beyond the competition for the cash prize and the glitz of the ceremony.


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has built a mosque

Olusegun Obasanjo is an enigmatic politician


Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has built a mosque beside his Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta. The former president has already built a 1000 seater church, Chapel of Christ the Glorious King within the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL).

According Afis Oladosu of the Friday Worship column on Islam in The Guardian of Nigeria, the news was broken by an elder in a mosque where he observed the Jumuat service last Friday in Lagos.
“Don’t ever say a man is a disbeliever in Allah. Obasanjo has built a mosque. I attended the opening ceremony together with some Moslem scholars from Ilorin!” The elder said.
Afis said the listeners were shocked and wondered why Obasanjo was doing so when he is not a Moslem.
“Since when did Obasanjo become a Christian philanthropist?”
“What is wrong in the donation of a mosque by Obasanjo to the Moslems? Is this mosque not a Greek’s gift? “
“Did Obasanjo say he has become a Moslem? “ Afis asked.
The man shook his head in the negative.
“Did the Moslems ask him to build a mosque for them?”
The man was not sure.

Afis concluded that the mosque built by Obasanjo is “reminiscent of Masjid Dirar, built by Abu ‘Amir - a political mosque, a mosque built to “settle” the Moslem segments of Ogun State, to solace them to forget the injustice being visited on them by Ogun politicians, who appear to have the notion that no Moslem is worthy of being a governor of the state as yet? Is this mosque not a metaphor for the money usually given to the electorates by politicians in order to corner their conscience, corrupt their vision and appropriate their votes?”

And as for those, who put up a mosque by way of harm and disbelief and to disunite the believers and as an outpost for those, who warred against Allah and His Messenger aforetime, they will indeed swear that their intention is nothing but good. Allâh bears witness that they are certainly liars. Never stand you therein... (Quran 9: 107).

Click here for more details.

Google Executive to Lead Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center

Google executive Kevin Willer



17 Mar 2011 13:00 Africa/Lagos


Google Executive to Lead Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center

New CEO's background a perfect match for economic growth, civic engagement

PR Newswire

CHICAGO, March 17, 2011

CHICAGO, March 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center (CEC) today announced Google executive Kevin Willer will take over as the organization's CEO on April 4, 2011. An affiliate of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, the CEC identifies the region's most promising entrepreneurs and helps them build high-growth, sustainable businesses that serve as platforms for economic development and civic leadership.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110317/CG66928)

"There is an entrepreneurial renaissance emerging in Chicago and the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center is at its epicenter," says James J. O'Connor, CEC board co-chairman. "Kevin is the ideal leader at the ideal time. Who better to put entrepreneurism into hyper-drive in Chicago than one of Google's original members who took Google to new heights in Chicago."

Willer co-founded Google's Chicago office in late 2000. Over the last decade, he has helped grow the Google Chicago office to more than 400 professionals. In this leadership role, he spearheaded partnerships with some of the world's most successful companies, such as Dell, United Airlines, Sears, AT&T, Sprint and Motorola among others. He also developed partnerships early on with successful Chicago-area start-ups, such as TicketsNow, Performics and optionsXpress.

As part of his executive responsibilities, Willer advanced Google's civic development efforts in Chicagoland. Over 10 years as a leader of Google's Chicago office, he formed partnerships with various stakeholders including city and state governments, universities, non-profits, industry associations and entrepreneurial organizations.

"Being on the frontlines of Google's growth from start-up to global technology leader gave me a deep understanding of how important business mentorship and support from the civic community is for entrepreneurs," says Kevin Willer, CEO of the CEC. "I'm excited about this opportunity to support the next generation of high-potential entrepreneurs to drive new economic activity in Chicagoland."

Willer's genuine commitment to civic and economic advancement is reflected in his active involvement with several civic and charitable organizations. He serves as a director of The Economic Club of Chicago and is a trustee of his alma mater, Loyola Academy in Wilmette. He is a member of the 2010 Class of Emerging Leaders at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. And, he serves on Mayor Richard M. Daley's Council of Technology Advisers. He also serves on the boards of TiE Midwest, Children's Memorial Hospital, WHITIA, World Sport Chicago, Urban Students Empowered, Illinois Technology Association, and Chicago Architecture Foundation.

"The rare mix of entrepreneurial genius and civic engagement is part of Kevin's DNA," says Jerry Roper, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce CEO. "His record of success in both domains overlays perfectly with the CEC mission to make an impact on jobs, growth and society in the Chicagoland area."

Willer earned his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and his Bachelor's degree from Boston College. In addition, he has studied at the London School of Economics.

About the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center

The Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center (CEC) works at the intersection of business success and civic engagement. It identifies the region's most promising entrepreneurs and helps them build high-growth, sustainable businesses that serve as platforms for economic development and civic leadership for the Chicagoland area. Since 2003, the CEC has helped our client entrepreneurs secure $229 million in revenue, raise $130.5 million in financing, and create or retain nearly 5,844 jobs. In turn, CEC clients fuel the entrepreneurial ecosystem of our city by mentoring young talent, advising their peers, and joining the CEC "movement" to inspire entrepreneurship in Chicagoland. The Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center is an affiliate of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. To learn more visit www.chicagolandec.org.

SOURCE Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center

CONTACT: Karl Robe, APR, +1-312-924-3731, karl.robe@karljames.com, for Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center

Web Site: http://www.chicagolandec.org

Is President Goodluck Jonathan the last hope of the PDP?

President Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, GCFR, GCON


Is President Goodluck Jonathan the last hope of the PDP?

The ruling People’s Democratic Party is being destabilized by both internal and external forces of discord. Attacks from disgruntled political spoilers in the party have left deep cracks in her walls as many of the losers in the controversial primaries have decamped to different opposition parties and those who have chosen to remain may not prove to be formidable in the forthcoming make or break elections in April and the Opposition is pouring more fuel in the flames of wrath engulfing the PDP.

The PDP has become so unpopular among the masses that the party is spending millions of naira to rent crowds for political rallies and pay for constant rotation of adverts in the print and electronic news media and also desperately using both lawful and unlawful measures to overcome the Opposition.


The horrors of incessant ethno-religious conflicts, assassinations, kidnappings, armed robberies, terrorist bomb attacks and other terrifying incidents have left the citizens in hysteria and melancholia since the ruling party rigged elections in 1999, 2003 and 2007 to control the political leadership of Nigeria. The most harrowing is the insecurity of lives and properties that the masses are now saying that the good luck they expected from President Goodluck Jonathan has turned to bad luck from Yenagoa to Abuja, because the state of insecurity worsened when he was sworn in as the President of Nigeria on May 6, 2010 after the unfortunate death of President Umaru Yar’Adua. But Mr. Jonathan is still undaunted by the nightmarish misfortunes trailing him and continues to hang on to the superstitious belief in his name. In fact, his ruling party seems to have decided to hold on to the same fate as their only hope of surviving the onslaught of the Opposition and the indignation of the disappointed masses. Will their superstition save them?


What the suffering masses of the most populous country in Africa need now is not a superstitious belief in the name of President Goodluck Jonathan, but a realistic solution for the reformation and transformation of Nigeria to end their nightmares of recurrent ethno-religious conflicts, social and economic woes of the perennial crises plaguing them.




~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima

All roads lead to BOB TV 2011

I have been invited to the 2011 Best of the Best in films and TV programmes(BOBTV) opening today at the Ladi Kwali Conference Centre, Sheraton Hotel & Towers, Abuja, but I cannot be there in person, because of my busy work in Lagos.

Nollywood icon Amaka Igwe is the brain behind this important fiesta of movies and TV programmes.

The 8th BOBTV is attracting visitors and participants from within Nigeria, Ghana, Canada, Zimbabwe, Namibia, England, United States, South Africa and other countries.

See the details in the following press release on the event that will end on Thursday march 17, 2011.


The organizers of BOBTV, Africa’s premiere film and television programmes expo, have released the list of “Best of the Best” honours for 2011. The list includes chairman of the Silverbird group, Ben Murray Bruce, Nollywood movie marketer Ossy Affason, copyright lawyer Efere Ozakor and Make-up and special effects virtuoso Dagogo Diminas.

Acknowledging hardworking professionals who have contributed to the growth of the movie and television industry in Nigeria has always been an integral part of BOBTV. The recipients will be showcased and celebrated at the 8th African Film and TV Programmes Market, BOBTV 2011, scheduled to hold from the 15th to the 17th of March at the Ladi Kwali Conference Centre, Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Abuja.

Ben Murray Bruce, Director of the Silverbird group, owners of the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria franchise, Silverbird Television and Rhythm 93.7 radio stations, was chosen in recognition of his mammoth contribution to the entertainment industry in Nigeria.

Ossy Affason’s immense contributions to Nigeria’s movie market can’t be understated. The renowned movie marketer and distributor of Nollywood movies has been chosen for his pioneering contribution to movie marketing in Nollywood.

Entertainment lawyer Efere Ozakor, who took a different approach to entertainment law in Nigeria was chosen for his outstanding contribution to the provision of legal framework for the Nigerian broadcast and entertainment industry.

Dagogo Diminas, make-up and special effects pioneer, with over two decades of experience has been chosen for his pioneering excellence in special effects in Nollywood.

This year’s recipients join the prestigious “Best of the Best” honours list that includes Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, Chief Peter Igho, Ms. Liz Benson, Mr. Andy Amenechi, Sam Loco Efe, Chika Onu, Dr. Umar Farouk Jibril, Antar Olaniyan and Engr. Tony Ikoku. Mr. Lekan Ogunbamwo, Mr. Sam Dede, Bukky Ajayi, amongst others.

ECOWAS flags off campaign on elimination of malaria by 2015

15 Mar 2011 20:56 Africa/Lagos


ECOWAS flags off campaign on elimination of malaria by 2015

ABUJA, March 15, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- ECOWAS Commission has flagged off its campaign for the elimination of malaria in the region by 2015, with the launching of the programme in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State in South-South Nigeria.

The campaign will focus on strengthening the vector control component of the fight against malaria in the region through the use of Cuban technology on bio-larvicides.

Bio-larvicides are environmental-friendly substances that are applied to mosquito reservoirs and kill the larvae while the adults are eliminated through residual spraying of homes.

The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Ambassador James Victor Gbeho, said

the strategy of vector control using this technology was “adopted to tackle the menace of malaria and guarantee total annihilation of the disease in the subcontinent in the spirit of the agreement by ECOWAS Member States to eliminate malaria by 2015”.

In the message to the ceremony, the President said that the battle against malaria has been multi-faceted and that the “current strategy is being adopted because of the evidence of its success in other parts of the world where malaria has since ceased to exist”.

The President said that the launching of the programme in Rivers State in Nigeria's Niger Delta “where the terrain is swampy and a natural habitat for the breeding of the mosquito vector” is instructive as it shares the same characteristics with the entire West African coast since the terrain is the same.

The programme also involves the establishment of factories in collaboration with Venezuela for the local production of bio-larvicides in Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Rivers State, Nigeria

to be used in the regional campaign for the elimination of malaria.

The Rivers State Deputy Governor who flagged off the campaign, Mr. Tele Ikuru, described the occasion as historic in the annals of health care delivery in the state and West Africa, saying that by hosting the pilot project, the state has defied skeptics, who believe “that it is our destiny to continue to control malaria rather than eliminate it”.


The ceremony was attended by the Cuban Ambassador to Nigeria, Elio Savon Oliva.

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