Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Vote to end 12 years of Corruption and Maladministration


A voter casting his vote. Photo Credit. Capacity4Development

Vote to end 12 years of Corruption and Maladministration in Nigeria

Twelve years of the corruption and maladministration of the ruling party have left the majority of the citizens poorer and powerless with the nightmares of incessant political assassinations, extrajudicial killings, ethnic and religious riots, terrorist attacks and systemic collapse of government administration jeopardizing public health care, public education and economic security of the poor majority in Nigeria.

We had botched National Assembly Elections on Saturday April 2, and there were glaring electoral lapses. Then the elections were rescheduled and the first round of the elections was held last Saturday April 9, 2011.

There were critical issues of violence and many cases of malpractices. But before we could read the reports of the total results, the incumbent President of Nigeria, Mr. Goodluck Jonathan of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) rushed to claim that he has fulfilled his promise of electoral reforms and allowing free and fair elections. But the most important gubernatorial and presidential elections have not been conducted and the remaining National Assembly elections are still pending.

The political fanatics and sycophants of the president and his shamelessly corrupt ruling party have gone to town to hoodwink the ignorant masses and screaming the same misleading claim of free and fair elections when they have not been concluded. It is like a student claiming that he has already passed his final examinations when he has only done the first examination or claiming success when you have not even completed the assignment. This is the same dishonest way Nigerians engage in the notorious crime of 419 advance fee fraud by claiming that they have some huge loot they would share with their White “mugu” if the “mugu” provided thousands of dollars to process the documents for the collection of the loot. The ruling party has been using the same political 419 to lure and con the millions of ignorant masses who have become their political “mugus” or political zombies.

In a country known for mass failures of the pupils and majority of the students engage in examination malpractices with impunity, it is not unusual for them to accept the political 419 of these desperate and greedy political contractors and their beneficiaries who would prefer a corrupt way of life to an honest way of life. If you are a stranger here, don't panic. If you cannot beat them, you might as well join them and share in the looting of the treasury, pay a fat tithe, give a large offering, contribute to the heavenly purse of their celebrated bishops to buy a new private jet, build a new private university for the children of the rich looters and ask God for forgiveness. It is business as usual in Nigeria and life goes on in the house of dogs. But there are true Nigerian patriots who have resolved to end this corrupt government of kleptomaniacs and sack their kleptocracy and replace it with a new government of an honest and transparent leadership for the reformation and transformation of the country in the nation building of a New Nigeria in the leadership of Africa in the 21st century.



Barbara Kingsolver wins Orange Prize for Fiction


Kingsolver crowned Orange winner


Barbara Kingsolver wins Orange Prize for Fiction

Barbara Kingsolver has won this year's Orange Prize for Fiction with her sixth novel The Lacuna.



The US author beat favourite, Booker prize-winner Hilary Mantel, and four other writers, to take the £30,000 prize at a central London ceremony.

The award, which recognizes the work of fiction written by women from around the world, is now in its 15th year.

Author and TV producer Daisy Goodwin, chair of the judges, praised the winning book's "breathtaking scale".

Kingsolver was presented with her award by Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Cornwall, at an awards ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall on Wednesday.

Click here for more details.

Click here to buy The Lacuna.







Tuesday, April 12, 2011

BP pays $3.8 billion to 300, 000 victims of Gulf Coast oil spill


The BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig ablaze. Oil spill picture. Image: U.S. Coast Guard.


BP pays $3.8 billion to 300, 000 victims of Gulf Coast oil spill

The British Petroleum has already paid $3.8 billion to 300, 000 victims of the catastrophic Gulf Coast oil spill according to the Dan Rather Reports.

The spill stemmed from a sea-floor oil gusher that resulted from an explosion of Deepwater Horizon on April 20, 2010. Deepwater Horizon drilled on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. The explosion killed 11 men working on the platform and injured 17 others. On July 15, the leak was stopped by capping the gushing wellhead, after it had released about 4.9 million barrels (205.8 million gallons) of crude oil.

Rather will interview Ken Feinberg, Administrator of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility on Tuesday, April 12 at 8:00 p.m. ET to track progress one year after the spill began.

Feinberg was asked by the Obama Administration and British Petroleum to design, implement, and administer a process to pay eligible claimants.

British Petroleum has pledged to put up $20 billion to help the Gulf Coast recover from the spill and the G.C.C.F. has received over 750,000 claims to date from all over the United States. Half of those claims have been denied by the G.C.C.F. and they are currently looking at reviewing another 150,000 pending claims. And the claims continue to pour in at a rate of 500 claims per week; however, claimants will only have until August 13, 2013 that's when the program will go out of existence.

"Dan Rather Reports" also discusses the current state of the Gulf with Feinberg and how he and the G.C.C.F. determined what Feinberg calls a "reasonable" assumption about the Gulf returning to "normal" by the end of 2012.

BP has disagreed with this saying the Gulf will be "perfect in the next three to six months". And this isn't BP's only disagreement with the Administrator.

"BP is not happy," said Feinberg. "First, they say that providing a final payment based on damage through 2012 is way too generous. The final payment should be based on damage through the middle of this year. The other complaint is they think I've been, on some claims, too generous."

Also on tonight's program, Rather and his team look at Afghanistan's largest foreign investment project – a copper mine, now controlled by the Chinese government.

Don't miss "Dan Rather Reports: The Mother Lode" premiering on HDNet, TONIGHT, Tuesday, April 12 at 8:00 p.m. ET with an encore at 11:00 p.m. ET.


































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AU to release its preliminary statement for the parliamentary elections



11 Apr 2011 18:35 Africa/Lagos


Nigeria / The African Union to release its preliminary statement for the parliamentary elections

ADDIS ABABA, April 11, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- On Tuesday 12 April 2011 at 15:00, the African Union Observation Team deployed to Nigeria to witness the parliamentary elections that took place on 9 April will hold a press conference aimed at releasing its preliminary statement.

Journalists are invited to cover and attend the press conference which will take place on 12 of April 2011 at 15:00 at the Sheraton in Abuja, Laki Kwali Conference Center. The press conference will be addressed by Mr Ahmed Issack Hassan, AU team leader for the parliamentary elections and Chairman of the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) of Kenya.



Source: African Union Commission (AUC)





Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time
11 Apr 2011
19:59 22% annual growth predicted for VAS in Africa – Operator leaders meet to set strategies for satisfying local demand
18:35 Nigeria / The African Union to release its preliminary statement for the parliamentary elections
7 Apr 2011
21:11 AU Commissioner receives international recognition




Monday, April 11, 2011

Infinity TV Encrypts, Expands Content





INFINITY TV ENCRYPTS, EXPANDS CONTENT

As part of their resolve to deliver world class satellite television services at affordable price to Nigerians, Infinity TV will from April 10, 2011 encrypt their satellite signals. What this means is that the honeymoon is over for free subscribers who had over the past months enjoyed free uninterrupted viewership.
Conscious of the economic situation in the country, Infinity TV is rolling out two pocket friendly bouquet to subscribers. The first bouquet comprising of 25 channels goes for N1, 500 monthly, while the second, comprising of 40 channels goes for N3, 000.

Outside these pocket friendly and rich contents, Infinity TV is adding to its already enriched bouquet 21 new channels that covers all strata of life. Infinity TV takes into cognizance the character and characteristics, the flora and fauna of its subscribers’ base hence, the need for the additional contents.

The new channels include BOLLYWOOD BY INFINITY, dedicated channel that brings you the best of classic Indian movies to the latest releases of 2010. The channel also features hot, intriguing Indian soaps and series as well as hilarious and compelling comedies. M GOLD Old school music channel. This channel thrills with the very best and unforgettable classic jams of the 70s, 80s and 90s. The world argues that this age remains the golden era of music. QUEST TV, Quest TV is Africa’s premier fashion, Beauty and style Television lifestyle channel. LIFTED is a Gospel Music and Lifestyle channel put together to inspire, inform and entertainment the Christian folks. The channel is focused on lifting body and soul; also promoting upcoming and new gospel music artistes, showcasing their talents as well as their lifestyles, it will highlight personality profile interviews featuring Ministers of the gospel; Singers, evangelist, Bishops, Social workers and Philanthropists; their personal experiences, spiritual encounters, life lessons, thought-provoking experience and their works. This includes local and foreign content. MOVIE EXPRESS, A 24 hour non stop, cutting edge family oriented movies in English. Movie Express makes your day with all the sizzling blockbuster action, racy romance, rib cracking comedy, expensive epics, curious crime and investigation, high octane drama, space age sci – fi and spicy series. DICE suspense filled dramas, soaps, tele-novelas, talk shows and reality show is what awaits you on this channel. Great entertainment with the popular South American soaps, American best sellers and from the rest of the world on hot demand. VIASAT DOCUMENTARY CHANNELS : NATURE,HISTORY,CRIME,EXPLORATION. ODENIBO (THE IGBO LANGUAGE CHANNEL) – sustaining the language, values and tradition of the Igbo speaking tribes of Eastern Nigeria Odenigbo takes you into the heartbeat of Igboland to discover what makes the people tick – their lifestyle, food, fashion, dance and more importantly the people and historic places. INFINITY SPORTS the passion of sports - the electrifying moments, the thrills, the frills and the fireworks. All the adrenalin pumping sporting action from major European Football Leagues, world best tennis action, athletics golf, cricket, and the nerve breaking extreme action sports, Infinity sports has got it all. Watch live EPL matches, the Spanish La Liga, French Championnat, the Italian Serie A, the German Bundesliga among others.

The UEFA champion’s League and the Europa Cup matches are also live with exciting live analysis. SETANTA AFRICA A foreign sports channel that brings you live football matches – EPL, Dutch League, Belgian League, the J League, the American MLS, the Scottish League and the German Bundesliga, European matches – Nations Cup matches etc, athletics, golf, wrestling (WWE), Basketball, Volleyball, Motorsport, Club TV shows – Manchester City TV, Arsenal TV, Tottenham Hotspur TV, Aston Villa TV, etc VIVE, lifestyle channel adding zest into your life.

Vive is designed to give your life meaning and bring out the personality in you. Learn how to cook international delicious finger licking delicacies from world class chefs. Get the scoop on how to turn your home into the cozy paradise you dream of. Vive helps you discover how to give your good old face a brand new appealing look and helps you catch the buzz in travel, career, health, fitness and wellbeing and much more. Vive is all about life and the style you live it. Subscribers and loyal dealers of Infinity Television must get good value for their money, says the MD/CEO, Mr. Anthony Ikeokwu.

The rest of the new channels are AFRICAN MOVIE CHANNEL 2 (AMC 2) – Movie, series and lifestyle AFRICAN SERIES CHANNEL – powered by Zeb Ejiro, Chico Ejiro and Fidelis Dukar. This channel is dedicated to African soaps and series. NIGEZIE – musical DUCK TV – foreign musical channel KISS TV – foreign musical channel KARENG TV - foreign musical ( rock ) channel FASHION ONE – foreign fashion channel MAGIC TV – foreign musical channel AKINKOGUN – a Yoruba language channel DEUTSHE WELLE ( DW TV ) – German News and lifestyle channel.



~ Ingram Osigwe is the media Consultant to Infinity Television.



GSMA Calls on Nigerian Government to support Mobile Broadband Rollout




5 Apr 2011 10:08 Africa/Lagos



GSMA Calls on Nigerian Government to Unlock Economic Growth by Supporting Mobile Broadband Rollout

LAGOS, Nigeria, April 5, 2011/PRNewswire/ --

- Government action required to meet high consumer and business demand for Mobile Broadband

The GSMA, which represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, today called on the Nigerian government to unlock potential NGN862 billion of GDP growth by 2015 by supporting the rollout of Mobile Broadband across the country.

At a press conference in Lagos this morning, Ross Bateson, Special Government Advisor, GSMA, outlined the findings of a new independent report by analyst firm Analysys Mason and called on the Nigerian government to:


- Unlock the 2.6GHz spectrum quickly to support the high demand for
Mobile Broadband in urban areas;
- Release the digital dividend spectrum to deliver broadband services to
rural areas; and
- Reduce the 35 per cent tax level faced by Nigerian mobile operators, a
tax which is double the global average.

According to the study, only 6 per cent of all Nigerians currently have access to broadband services, and 74 per cent of those do so through Mobile Broadband. There is little fixed broadband connectivity outside of Lagos, and even in Nigerian cities, most cyber cafes now connect to the internet using wireless services. It is widely acknowledged that mass-market broadband availability will only be possible using mobile technologies, and this report highlights the steps the Nigerian government must take to promote Mobile Broadband growth.

Bateson said: "It is essential that the new Nigerian government acts quickly to support Mobile Broadband expansion, as failure to do so could hinder the country's social and economic growth. Not only could the country realise as much as NGN862 billion of incremental GDP, but people of all ages and livelihoods would benefit from the vast amount of information and opportunities Mobile Broadband can unlock."

The study found that Mobile Broadband could potentially contribute more than 1 per cent of GDP, or 1.7 per cent of non-oil GDP, as soon as 2015 and will facilitate much needed diversification of the economy. According to the report, government support for Mobile Broadband services could help deliver significant advantages to the wider wireless ecosystem and the way in which other sectors use the internet:


- 55 per cent annual growth would be seen from the online retail
industry, growing from NGN4.5bn in 2010 to 44.9bn in 2015;
- The financial services industry's benefit from broadband would grow by
95 per cent CAGR, as a result of mobile access to bank accounts and
money transfer services, from NGN0.6bn in 2010 to 16.8bn in 2015;
- The use of the internet and mobile to deliver of social services,
including healthcare and education, would generate growth of 70 per
cent CAGR, from NGN2.2bn to 30.3bn in 2015; and
- The overall corporate market, especially agriculture and utilities,
would experience a 55 per cent annual growth rate through the provision
of services online, from NGN3.6bn in 2010 to 32.1bn in 2015.

Wider availability of Mobile Broadband could also vastly improve overall industrial productivity through improvements in business processes. A 73 per cent annual increase in the working population with access to Mobile Broadband, reaching 5.2 million users by 2015, will deliver an additional NGN140 billion to the Nigerian economy each year.

Bateson concluded: "Mobile is the most cost-effective way of delivering broadband services in Nigeria. Nigeria already has advanced mobile networks, such as Glo's recently launched LTE network, and has experienced significant take-up of HSPA Mobile Broadband. The laying of submarine data cables between Lagos and Europe has provided much of the international backhaul needed, but mobile is vital in providing 'last mile' connectivity to consumers, especially in rural areas. However, without proper spectrum allocation in line with internationally harmonised band plans and broader government support, it will not be possible to realise the full potential of Mobile Broadband."

Notes to editors

*ITU Option 1 (ITU-R M.1036-3), for 2.6GHz spectrum allocation dictates that 2 X 70 MHz FDD (2500 MHz - 2570 MHz paired with 2620 MHz - 2690 MHz) be allocated to Mobile Broadband deployment, and 50 MHz is allocated to TDD (2570 MHz - 2620 MHz).

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide. Uniting nearly 800 of the world's mobile operators and more than 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, the GSMA is focused on innovating, incubating and creating new opportunities for its membership and driving the growth of the mobile industry.

For more information, please visit Mobile World Live, the online portal for the mobile communications industry, at http://www.mobileworldlive.com or the GSMA corporate website at http://www.gsmworld.com.

Source: GSMA

Alima Atta on behalf of the GSMA, +234-1-474-1223; 898-2587, alima.atta@sesema.com



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Fake Prophet, Madam Boy’s Quarters, Iyobosa and other Nigerians



Fake Prophet, Madam Boy’s Quarters, Iyobosa and other Nigerians

In his gripping play, The Anger of Unfulfillment, Jekwu Ozoemene has captured the heart and soul of the disenchantment and discontentment of majority of Nigerians in his contemporary analysis of the Nigerian crisis.
The title of his captivating book of three plays is deduced from the indignation of the victims of the lingering anomie plaguing Nigeria as desperate times call for desperate measures in the struggle for survival and a sense of belonging. The author gives us a naturalistic montage of glaring realities of the challenges of living and working in Nigeria under a corrupt government of kleptomaniacs.

He takes us into the human trafficking ring of the fake Prophet, a tall bald and bearded middle-aged man with an imposing stature and his bootylicious assistant Madam Boy’s Quarters who must have been a Nigerian prostitute in Italy and their willing clients posing as the congregation of the fake duo posturing as ministers of a Christian fellowship. The well educated non-compromising and hopeful Adesuwa who uses her blog to expose the ills in the Nigerian society and her hopeless squatter Iyobosa, the flirtatious drama queen who has lost faith in the Nigerian Dream and exploits her sexuality to comfort herself show us the contrasts of two young Nigerian women who respond to the Nigerian crisis with positive and negative resolutions. Nari, aka “General Tinker-Tailor” the Niger Delta militant with his comrades Zino and Marshall tell us the raison d'être of their revolutionary mission for resource control for which they were ready to die. The Narrator who is also Greg the repentant 419 fraudster with the hilarious Ben and Orji binging at the local bar give us informed commentary on the social, political and economic malaise in the country.

Through these principal characters Ozoemene has succeeded to use the picture of each one to capture the psyche of the unfortunate victims of the corrupt ruling class.

The other plays address other unavoidable issues such as the fears and ignorance of the scourge of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in “Hell’s Invitation” where I could see another Adesuwa in the intelligent Stella who is the only female among four young men and they are all unemployed graduates from different tribes sharing a room with only one bed and discussing the nightmares haunting their Nigerian Dream. The exciting prospects of a dream job for one of them are soon threatened by the fears of having a compulsory HIV test. In the last play “This Time Tomorrow” Ozoemene takes us into the theatre world and probably reminiscent of his days with Theatre 15 at the University of Lagos where he studied English. The principal characters address the ethics and economics of the Nigerian family, social and political sensibilities of the old and young people in Nigeria.

Ozoemene’s characters are real people one can actually recognize among us in the Nigerian society and most of them like Madam Boys’s Quarters, Nari, Iyobosa, Orji, Bimbo, Aliyu, Papa Ruka, the eccentric Professor and his wife Folake,his brilliant and smart son Jide and daughter Keji with her sexy swagger are going to end up among the most memorable characters in Nigerian drama.

If you really want to know what life is like in Nigeria in the last decade of the 20th century and in the first decade of the 21st century and how her citizens have been reacting to the challenges of surviving and succeeding in spite of the embarrassment and harassment of a corrupt government, then you should read Jekwu Ozoemene’s The Anger of Unfulfillment: Three Plays Out of Nigeria. It is a good recommendation in every collection of must read books.


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima
Thursday April 7, 2011.







Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time
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10:08 GSMA Calls on Nigerian Government to Unlock Economic Growth by Supporting Mobile Broadband Rollout La GSMA demande au gouvernement nig?rian de lib?rer la croissance ?conomique en soutenant le d?ploiement de l'Internet ? haut d?bit mobile



These uncivilized Nigerians are not ready to practice democracy


INEC Polling Centre in Nigeria

From field reports all over Nigeria, the National Assembly Elections of last Saturday April 9, 2011, have not been really free and fair.

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Professor Attahiru Jega has shown that he has been overwhelmed by the herculean task of conducting free and fair elections in a nation that is ruled by corruption at all levels of public administration and the unscrupulous citizens prefer ignominious ways of life to honourable and noble values and virtues of a civilized society and they would rather practice kleptocracy instead of democracy.

One of the shocking cases of corruption is the current political drama in Anambra State over the polls in the Anambra Central Senatorial District where Mr. Alex Anene, the returning officer/collation officer of INEC alleged that his life has been threatened by the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the state government, because he refused the offer of N10million, a duplex and a car to falsify the result in favour of APGA's candidate Prof. Dora Akunyili and deny the actual winner Dr. Chris Ngige of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

These are the agonies and ironies of President Goodluck Jonathan's Nigeria as vividly captured in Jekwu Ozoemene's The Anger of Unfulfillment: Three Plays Out of Nigeria as he aptly addressed the dreams and nightmares of Nigerians confronting the contemporary challenges of life in the most populous country in Africa. A nation so well endowed with great human and mineral resources, but abused and misused by corrupt rulers.

In civilized nations, the omissions of the names or logos of any duly registered political party on the ballot are enough to cancel the entire election. Therefore, let us stop all these mischievous gerrymandering of electoral fraud and do the right thing or annul the whole April elections until further notice.

I will not join in the bandwagon of political sycophants and opportunists to flatter the so called winners or pat Professor Attahiru Jega on the back until I see political equity and electoral justice in every state in Nigeria.
Whatever is worth doing at all, should be done well.


These uncivilized Nigerians are not ready to practice democracy.

This is my final verdict on the NASS polls.


~ Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima









Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Do not Vote for the PDP!



The following are the simple reasons you and I should not vote for the corrupt People's Democratic Party (PDP) in the April elections.

Go and read "Why do they fret over Buhari/Bakare?" on page 80 of The Guardian newspaper of today April 5, 2011.

Femi Akintunde-Johnson (FAJ) exposes the desperation of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) to stop the election of the most credible and formidable presidential opponents General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) and Pastor Tunde Bakare of the transformational Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

I challenge the corrupt PDP to pitch Jonathan/Sambo against Buhari/Bakare to prove their CAPABILITIES in LEADERSHIP on the issues of fighting CORRUPTION, tackling the nightmarish INSECURITY in Nigeria and addressing the challenges of ENERGY to power an industrial revolution to boost the economy and provide the jobs needed by millions of unemployed Nigerians.

The PDP has already FAILED on the three issues at stake since May 29, 1999 to date, after wasting billions of dollars on security and energy, causing the untimely and unfortunate deaths of thousands of innocent Nigerians in political, ethnic and religious riots and causing the closure of many factories where thousands of Nigerians lost their jobs and many manufacturers relocated to Ghana.


Buhari and Bakare are the only ones in the race who have the balls and guts to deal with the issues at stake, CORRUPTION, SECURITY and ENERGY.


WAR AGAINST CORRUPTION AND VIOLENCE

Mr. Jonathan and Sambo have shown that they cannot fight corruption and they cannot secure lives and properties in Nigeria. Majority of those supporting Jonathan do not know the gravity of what is at stake. If you ask them what the issues are, they cannot address them.

They will be mentioning the plans of their GEJ, but unfortunately the only issue he has addressed is his plan on energy, but he has no plans on how to tackle corruption and security. In fact, corruption and insecurity are now worse under GEJ.

The Amnesty programme is a billion dollar scam and the CIA, MI5/MI6, MOSSAD and NATO know that the Amnesty deal has not stopped the illegal trade by oil pirates valued at $20 million daily.

Majority of those posing and posturing as beneficiaries of the Amnesty programmes were not the real militants.

Only fools can be fooled by GEJ and his godfathers who want to use him as their political trump card to deceive the ignorant electorate to get their mandate so that they can perpetuate their corrupt rule in Nigeria. Because, the election of Buhari and Bakare will end their evil reign from Abuja to the Niger Delta. Why were they after James Ibori who was once one of their chief sponsors?

It is a pity that the misinformed supporters of GEJ have been politically hypnotized by the campaign strategists of GEJ who are using the advantage of the power of incumbency to use the national media and other government tools for their political propaganda. Mr. Ben Bruce of the Silverbird Group owes the establishment of his STV to former President Olusegun Obasanjo who did a lot for him through the late Stella Obasanjo. Therefore, Chief Obasanjo who is the godfather of GEJ is responsible for the mutual agreement between Ben Bruce and GEJ and Both of them are from the same Bayelsa State where Silverbird Group has properties and investments. OBJ, GEJ and Ben Bruce are partners with mutual interests. Ben Bruce is the brain behind the mobilization of Nigerian entertainers to support GEJ. The $200 million loan facility for the entertainment sector was a stage managed campaign strategy that was not in the budget. They can fool the ignorant masses with all their political shenanigans, but they cannot fool GOD.


A public official in President Jonathan's team has been caught by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for misappropriating the pensions of thousands of retired civil servants and he is still enjoying the loot. See the EFCC report on the N12 billion pension scam in the Pension Dept of the Head of Service (HoS).

Dear Clones of the PDP, have you heard the news?

That Nigeria under the PDP has failed woefully to meet the health target of at least 15% of the national budget for Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The PDP government has been allocating between 5 and 8 percent of the national budget to health since 2001 to date! Nigeria is one of the 17 African countries that spent less than $38 per capita as health share of the total spending of government and are off track on health MDGs.

Now you see HOW EVIL YOUR PDP IS? Do you know how many Nigerians have died, because of the govt neglect of health care? GOD will judge you all for every innocent blood shed because of your maladministration. Is this not EVIL!

Any Nigerian supporting a corrupt government is an enemy of the state. Nigerians would be better, healthier, safer and wealthier without the corrupt PDP in power. If Nigerians fail to remove the PDP by election, this political gargantuan of corruption will be sacked by a revolution.


Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time
5 Apr 2011
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4 Apr 2011
21:49 8th Tarifa Africa Film Festival Presents African Projects Seeking Co-Production
21:48 La 8ème édition du Festival du Cinéma Africain de Tarifa présente des projets africains en recherche de coproduction.
13:06 Nigeria / Parliamentary elections postponed



Google, Facebook, and YouTube Top the List of the World's Best Global Websites in 2011

Cost of Owning and Operating Vehicle in U.S. Increased 3.4 Percent According to AAA's 2011 'Your Driving Costs' Study

Funded Status of U.S. Pensions Rises to 88.5 Percent, According to BNY Mellon Asset Management


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Sunday, April 3, 2011

Jega, Show Your Best Crisis Management Skills within 24 Hours


Prof Attahiru Jega

Prof Attahiru Jega, Show Your Best Crisis Management Skills in the Next 24 Hours


As Nigerians, we must face the reality that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega has spoken and it matters not whether his reasons for postponing the April 2nd parliamentary election to Monday are realistic or not. Why, because we are in a crisis now.

What is clear is that we need an environment where this crisis could be managed effectively. There is no doubt that on a psychological and spiritual level, this sudden occurrence is a major event that threatens to harm the faith we have in the system.

INEC, on behalf of the general public should effectively manage the threatposed by this huge matter as it relates to the element of surprise, and we all expect a short decision time for this to be done.

Jega has told us that he saw what was happening in the last few hours as a crisiswhich needed to be quenched, that is a process of transformation that needed to climb above existing failures. As for the chairman, this issue need not be maintained but corrected immediately for change sake.
According to Jega, if the change is not proceeded with the episode could become more of a national humiliation and fiasco—no one wants such doom.

To the credit of President Jonathan, instead of remaining outside the nation’s capital(as he was reportedly in his home town), mistakes we have seen before, even among leaders in the western world;he returned to the capital immediately, and took the first instant step required in risk management, which involves assessing would-be threats and discovering for the people the best ways to avoid further complications to this threat.
In the broader context of managing this political crisis every INEC worker and those involve in executing the elections must immediately be trained in crisis management skills in addition to other skills and techniques required to pinpoint, assess, understand, and cope with any serious situation, especially from the moment it first occurs to the point of when the regaining procedures start.

According to the Nigeria’s electoral commission, some States have already began voting, therefore the sacredness of those completed ballot papers in today’s parliamentary vote, must be protected.
This is not the time for casting blames or passing emotions across personnel or stakeholders at this time. There will be time for that! Because the conduct of elections falls through the 4th, the 9th and the 16th of this month, Jega must show not through apology, but through competence that within this short period of time, that all regional constituents, INEC facilities, finances and above all its reputation does not remain in crisis.

Jega must realize that good crisis management is an art in decision making required to reduce or mitigate the effects of this current episode, something needed now while the incident itself is unfolding.

Jega should realize right now, while corrective decisions are being made workers and management as well as the INEC institutions are under stress, therefore there is need to watch out for more mistakes such as missing key pieces of information that are needed now.

Essential planning is needed now in order to best position INEC for the coming elections beginning April 4th.so as to reduce further chaos and doubts over what could happen next in terms of maintaining proper logistics.

Jega must help the workers or those involve in the electoral work engage in a series of positive behaviors (e.g.Restful sleep, take a break, support personnel, releasing muscle tension, good food habits, sit in a comfortable chair, etc.).

These tips are important to enhance better time management as they relate to quick manning of the polling units, focused entering of the results in the sheets, upholding the integrity of the ballots as well as preserving the effective overall control of the voting process.

This is a very critical and sensitive time for all of us and we must avoid planting into the consciousness of some people words of apprehension, upheaval, manipulation, or division.

What Jega needs now in this short period is an unwavering support from all Nigerians as we join together to fight this sudden uproar, and if the transmission of free, fair and credible elections is what we yearn for let’s take Jega for his stressful words, and with this little delay the credibility of the elections will be fully or almost ensured. God bless Nigeria.



~ By John EgbeazienOshodi, Ph.D., DABPS; FACFE; is a Licensed Clinical/Forensic Psychologist; Diplomate of American Board of Psychological Specialties; Fellow of American College of Forensic Examiners (For Psy); Former Interim Associate Dean and an Assistant Professor of Psychology, Broward College - North Campus, Florida. joshodi@broward.edu