Monday, January 20, 2014

Public Officials with Forged Certificates in Nigeria and the Hypocrites Among Us


It is common practice among Nigerians to point accusing fingers at anyone caught in the act of an immoral act or crime and they also often condemn, mob and lynch suspects without any evidence of being guilty of any crime.
So, be careful before you join Nigerians in public accusation and condemnation of anyone based on mere allegations, because false accusations and unfounded allegations are common in Nigeria. The best way to rubbish and tarnish the public reputation of a competitor or an enemy in Nigeria is to lie and spread false rumours against the person.
The cases of allegations of forged certificates are not new in Nigerian government since the disgrace of Alhaji Ibrahim Salisu Buhari, former Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1999, whose academic degree from the University of Toronto was false. But I can bet that he was not the only one with forged certificates in public office, but others cannot be disgraced until they are caught.
Of course the legions of Nigerians with fake educational qualifications are actually the millions of youths who have made cheating in academic and professional exams common practice. And there are thousands who also plagiarize theses and have gone ahead to claim first class and second class upper and lower degrees and diplomas and using them to secure dream jobs. But their incompetence in public sector or private sector expose their fraud.
We see them every working day in the offices in Nigeria.
Majority of them cannot defend their qualifications.
You see someone with MBA who cannot write an ordinary executive summary of a project.
You see another one who cannot even express herself in simple English.
I have seen women in the foreign service of Nigeria with certificates they got through the back door and by hired cheats.
But these hypocrites are among those living in denial of their own corruption and joining in the open accusation of Mrs. Stella Oduah, Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation.
~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, prize winning writer and author of "In the House of Dogs", "The Prophet Lied" and other books.

 
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Sunday, January 19, 2014

Inside Nigeria: Forged Certificates Made in Nigeria



 Forged Certificates

~ By Sonala Olumhense


The beauty of the Internet is that you can hear the world in thought.


Mrs. Stella Oduah, Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, has been the subject of considerable fascination because of grievous allegations of corruption against her for which she was indicted by the House of Representatives.


She was found guilty of misappropriating funds of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, a department in her Ministry, “spending” a scandalous N255 million to buy two luxury cars for her own use. The cars were far less expensive that the sums she “spent” on them, in Nigerian parlance, she may simply have eaten the money.


I am one of the most fervent advocates of SaharaReporters, which broke the story in October 2013. If you understand that the principal mission of SaharaReporters (its editorial philosophy is available on the website) is to combat corruption, my support is not difficult to place.


To be sure, SaharaReporters and other serious corruption fighters (and they are very few in Nigeria), make mistakes. I do not know how anyone can report corruption in Nigeria and not make mistakes. That may explain why anti-corruption reporters in Nigeria do not carry identity cards.


Corruption in Nigeria is bad enough; to identify yourself in Abuja as reporting it is the equivalent of putting a gun to your own head and pulling the trigger. Those reporting corruption in Nigeria do Nigeria a favour.
In the government of Mr. Goodluck Jonathan, Mrs. Oduah may be the hardest-working person or the strongest fighter. That is not the issue.


As Aviation Minister, she may have built 100 airports and renovated another 100. That is not the issue.
The issue is that, particularly in a government which claims to be “transforming” Nigeria, she was found guilty of shameless acts of greed and corruption. As it turns out, that was Act One.


Last week, reports emerged that she may also be a certificate forger, in a country where forgery is a crime.
She may well be innocent, but the allegations are extremely disturbing. First, she claimed to have obtained an MBA, a rather distinguished and specialized advanced degree.


She also claimed to have obtained it from a school which has never had a Masters’ programme, and to have obtained it in the same year in which she was serving in the National Youth Service Corps in Nigeria. That is, she claimed to have been in Nigeria and the United States at one and the same time.


As it turns out, she could not have obtained the MBA because the institution has never had such a programme. In other words, Mrs. Oduah must have printed the certificate in Oshodi or Aba or Isale Eko.
Finally—one hopes this is the final entry in the infamous dossier—she claimed to have been honoured with a Ph.D by another institution.


This time, it turns out the ‘awarding’ institution does not even exist. That certificate may have been printed by anyone, anywhere.
What this means is that we have in the federal cabinet someone who had no compunctions about lying to the Senate or to the people of Nigeria. Now, to hear some Nigerians speaking on the Stella Oduah story, these allegations are the product of a “conspiracy” and against the Igbo. For my readers who do not know, Mrs. Oduah is Igbo.


In simple language, Mrs. Oduah has been indicted for fraud. The material evidence examined by the House showed that, contrary to the provisions of the budget under which she was acting, she spent federal funds on herself: excessively, insensitively and irresponsibly.
To the best of my knowledge, she did not take that decision on behalf of her ethnic group. She took the decision because of the prevailing and debilitating culture of impunity in Nigeria, and because she is irresponsible and greedy. She took that action because she cared far more about herself than about the people she swore to serve.


In most other countries of the world, Mrs. Oduah would have been punished under the law. In Mr. Goodluck Jonathan’s Nigeria, she did not even receive an official reprimand.
On account of her impunity, and aided by the weakness of Mr. Jonathan, the Minister attracted considerable public attention, and further media scrutiny.


Some people have not noticed, but the mass media has evolved. It has now grown to involve players who think that journalism may be too important to be left to journalists. They call themselves citizen journalists or citizen reporters. They go where the traditional media would not. They go where the traditional media cannot. They take advantage of their passions and emerging technologies to report their world with greater ferocity. You cannot blame them for reporting crimes you should not have committed.
As difficult as it may be for some Nigerians to believe, some of these reporters cannot be bought with money, no matter how many bales of it are on offer.


That is why, at a time that only the truth could have set the Minister free, it turned out she has been in the lying business for a very long time.
To be fair to Mrs. Odua, people have always forged certificates. In times past, however, the media, even if it was interested, lacked the resources to dig into these things. For certificate forgers and assorted official liars, that has changed. Today, you can print the same certificates or make any claims you wish, but you ought not to complain when you are found out, cruelly.


Some crooks will not be found out, ever. That has always been the nature of things: some people get away with murder and mayhem. Some others, alas, only have to spit in the wrong place, or at the wrong time.
When Mrs. Oduah was making her claims, she was not doing so with her ethnic group or her family in mind. She was driven by her personal ambitions and her greed. She wanted to get ahead of others.
Mrs. Oduah is an embarrassment to herself, but she has embarrassed her country even more, and she ought to pay the price. Actually, but for Nigeria’s weak and groveling leadership, she ought to have paid the price months ago.


Anyone who knows Nigeria knows the Igbo are an enterprising and hardworking people. Oduah’s certificate scandal is a sad comment on all Nigerians who work hard for their qualifications. It is an affront for anyone to say that in Mrs. Oduah, the Igbo are being victimized for crimes that she committed, or that someone is being paid to report her crimes as a person.


What this really underlines is how pathetic the so-called Transformation Agenda is. It lacks an ethical foundation, just as it lacks purpose, and is unveiled as the cheap propaganda tool that it is. Again and again, Mrs. Oduah has provided President Jonathan with the opportunity to go beyond the words people put in his mouth and act like a man who can lead.


He has demonstrated, instead, that he lacks the capacity. In the end, Mr. Jonathan’s frightening achievement may not be the children he failed to send to school or the roads he failed to build, but his subtle re-definition of right and wrong, creating a new Nigerian on the road to hell.


sonala.olumhense@gmail.com
Twitter: @SonalaOlumhense

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Saturday, January 18, 2014

Oscars 2014 Nominees: What A Year!

Oscars 2014 Nominees: What A Year!
What a year for Oscar. The nominations are in for the 86th Annual Academy Awards and the stars are graciously thanking the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the acknowledgment of ... Do you know that 60% of nominated films with American in their titles have won the Oscars. See more on nominees by numbers.
 
 

 
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Please, Immature and Insecure People Should Not Marry


 Whenever I see immature and insecure people rushing to marry, I shake my head in pity.
And majority of poor couples suffering in poverty today should not have married, because if you cannot afford three square meals and cannot pay the school fees for good functional education for your children and cannot afford to pay medical bills for their quality health care, PLEASE I beg you in the name of everything that is good, DON'T MARRY to save yourself and the rest of your family and community from the miseries of a dysfunctional marriage and dysfunctional family caused by your financial insecurity.

Marriage of convenience is the most common marriage in Nigeria today and such marriages need prayers to last.
Most people in these parts marry from insecurity..
Majority marry from peer pressure.
But they forget that God did not create you to impress your peers. But to fulfill your destiny.
Others marry just to have children to bear their last name and that is their greatest achievement on earth, even if their children are liabilities and public nuisance like majority of the children of the poor who in most cases worsen the problems of the society, because they have immature and insecure parents.
Parents who never had good parenting and so cannot be good parents themselves.

The root of the widespread poverty and insecurity in Nigeria and other poor countries is useless marriages. Because, any couple that cannot guarantee three square meals, functional good education and good healthcare for their children, should not marry until they can do so.
The stupidity of poor couples rushing to marry and make babies in abject poverty is a social malaise.
That is why you see the widespread poverty jeopardizing the lives of millions of innocent children like the ones on the 'Okada" motorbike shown in the picture above.
To me the most evil and wicked people on earth are couples who bring innocent children to suffer the misery of their poverty.
It is stupid and wicked to have children you suffer gladly as you put them in great disadvantages of life in a dog eat dog capitalist society.
If you are poor, PLEASE, DON'T MARRY and save innocent children from the misery of your own failures.

You complain and whine about lack of money to pay rent.
Lack of enough money to feed well.
Lack of enough money to pay school fees.
Lack of enough money to pay medical bills and so on.
But only fools will breed kids they cannot feed.
I remember that my father sent me to the famous St. Gregory's College in Lagos when it was a private and prestigious secondary school in the late 1970s and he never failed to pay my school fees until I left and would have been able to pay my fees to St Aldates College, Oxford, if not for his protracted terminal illness.
He always shopped for us at the popular Kingsway shopping mall on the Marina in Lagos.
We had more than three square meals every day.

So, couples who are still struggling to make ends meet, should never marry.
Marriage is not by force.
And if increasing the population of poor people in the world is an achievement to you, then you are insane.

Many girls who are not secure and not sure of their future marry as a safety net.
But I prefer every Nigerian girl or woman to be Miss Independent of the African American singer Neyo in class and career before getting married.
A marriage is not a job or a way to escape from insecurity.

The world is still suffering from the horrible and terrible consequences of dysfunctional marriages of dysfunctional families, so don't worsen the miseries of poverty plaguing humanity.

Let only those who are truly intellectually and financially ready marry.


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, author of Children of Heaven, Scarlet Tears of London, Bye, Bye Mugabe, In the House of Dogs, Diary of the Memory Keeper, The Prophet Lied, co-author of Naked Beauty, editor of The Language of True Love and Publisher/Editor of NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® SERIES.








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Friday, January 17, 2014

AARP Congratulates Michelle Obama On Her 50th Birthday



17 Jan 2014 18:25 Africa/Lagos.


AARP Congratulates Michelle Obama On Her 50th Birthday


WASHINGTON, Jan. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As the First Lady Michelle Obama celebrates her 50th birthday, AARP today released the following statement from CEO A. Barry Rand:

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140117/DC48422-a)
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140117/DC48422-b)
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20070209/NYF043LOGO)


"On behalf of AARP and its nearly 38 million members, we want to wish a warm and very happy 50th birthday to First Lady Michelle Obama, as she reaches this very special milestone. Welcome to the club! Not only is Mrs. Obama helping to change and reshape the way people look at aging in this country, but she's also showing folks how great 50 looks today. We're proud to be able to call her a member of the AARP family and know that she will continue to set a great example to all by showing that age sets no boundaries on what you can achieve in life."
A photo of Mrs. Obama receiving her AARP Membership card at the White House, as well as a special mock cover of AARP The Magazine featuring the First Lady are available upon request by emailing Michelle Alvarez at malvarez@aarp.org.

For articles and more information on the last of the Baby Boomer generation turning 50 in 2014, please visit www.aarp.org/boomers.

About AARP
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, with a membership of nearly 38 million, that helps people turn their goals and dreams into real possibilities, strengthens communities and fights for the issues that matter most to families such as healthcare, employment and income security, retirement planning, affordable utilities and protection from financial abuse. We advocate for individuals in the marketplace by selecting products and services of high quality and value to carry the AARP name as well as help our members obtain discounts on a wide range of products, travel, and services.  A trusted source for lifestyle tips, news and educational information, AARP produces AARP The Magazine, the world's largest circulation magazine; AARP Bulletin; www.aarp.org; AARP TV & Radio; AARP Books; and AARP en Espanol, a Spanish-language website addressing the interests and needs of Hispanics. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to political campaigns or candidates.  The AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. AARP has staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Learn more at www.aarp.org.


SOURCE AARP
CONTACT: Michelle Alvarez, 202.434.2555, malvarez@aarp.org Web Site: http://www.aarp.org

 

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BBC Calls PDP Nigeria's Bad Luck Party?


While the storm within the party was gaining momentum, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, political benefactor of Mr Jonathan and a strong influence within the party, wrote a damning letter last month cataloguing alleged personal shortcomings of the president and his style of governance.
The letter was more devastating than if it had been written by the leader of the main opposition party.
President Jonathan replied, denying all the allegations.
He said that the former president had done him "grave injustice" with the public letter.
He accused Mr Obasanjo of trying to incite the populace against him.

“Start Quote

It is not only raining over President Jonathan, it is like a deluge falling on him”
His supporters within the PDP leadership and his political aides fired a barrage of denunciations against Mr Obasanjo but the resultant controversy has not helped the president.
Yet another political bombshell was delivered by the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He alleged that nearly $50bn (£30bn) was unaccounted for from crude oil receipts taken by the national petroleum corporation.
Official denials followed shortly afterwards but in the end it was admitted that about $10bn was yet to be accounted for.
 Read the full report on Letter from Africa: Nigeria's bad luck party?




 
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Thursday, January 16, 2014

Lest We Forget...


Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day. 

~ Thomas Jefferson, (April 13 [O.S. April 2] 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the third President of the United States (1801–1809). He was a spokesman for democracy and the rights of man with worldwide influence. At the beginning of the American Revolution, he served in the Continental Congress, representing Virginia and then served as a wartime Governor of Virginia (1779–1781).  



 
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Wednesday, January 15, 2014

UK – Nigeria Sign Compulsory Prisoner Transfer Agreement



LONDON, 10 January 2014 / PRNewswire Africa / - The Federal Republic of Nigeria and the United Kingdom today signed an agreement providing for the transfer of prisoners between the two States.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria and the United Kingdom today signed an agreement providing for the transfer of prisoners between the two States. This Agreement was one of the key objectives of the communiqué issued by President Jonathan and Prime Minister Cameron following their meeting in 2011.
The Agreement will allow Nigerians who commit crimes in the United Kingdom, and Britons who commit crimes in Nigeria, to serve their sentences in their own country, where they can be properly prepared for release into the community in which they will live following their release.


Both the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the United Kingdom have in place prisoner transfer arrangements with a number of other countries. The signature of this Agreement builds on the already close links between the two countries in the criminal justice field. A special joint committee of officials will oversee the implementation of this Agreement. It is expected that the first prisoners will be transferred under this Agreement before the end of 2014.


Jeremy Wright, the British Justice Minister said:
Removing foreign national offenders is a key priority for the British Government and the prisoner transfer agreement I signed this morning with the Nigerian Attorney-General plays a significant role in supporting this. Both the United Kingdom and Nigeria have prisoner transfer arrangements with other countries and it is right that our two countries, which have such strong ties and shared interests, should develop our own arrangements. I strongly believe that this Agreement will have significant benefits for both our countries.


SOURCE UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office


Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time
15 Jan 2014
17:05 REVOLT To Air First Original Documentary - "Wale: I Am From"
15:12 UN human rights chief denounces new anti-homosexuality law in Nigeria
11:25 UNAIDS and the Global Fund express deep concern about the impact of a new law affecting the AIDS response and human rights of LGBT people in Nigeria - Press Statement 14/01/2014
05:29 UN HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF DENOUNCES ‘DRACONIAN' ANTI-HOMOSEXUALITY LAW IN NIGERIA
14 Jan 2014
16:00 ITC Global Names Jean-Michel Rouylou as Executive Vice President of Americas and Establishes Houston as Regional Headquarters
13:00 MallforAfrica Platform Offers U.S. Retailers Access To Rapidly Growing African Consumer Class
06:54 Nigerian Patient Undergoes Scarless Surgery to Regain his Vision at Columbia Asia Hospital, Hebbal
02:32 Canada Concerned by Increased Criminalization of Homosexuality in Nigeria
13 Jan 2014
12:30 Global ICT Market in the Education Sector 2014-2018: Industry Shares, Size, Trend, Analysis, and Forecasts to 2018 Report Available Online By ResearchMoz.us
12 Jan 2014
05:12 GAC Motor Debuts in Dubai, Leverages on Table Tennis for Global Expansion
02:29 UK – Nigeria Sign Compulsory Prisoner Transfer Agreement
10 Jan 2014
21:09 Platts Survey: OPEC Pumps 29.72 Million Barrels of Crude Oil Per Day in December
16:49 Rotary celebrates India's third straight polio-free year
13:00 Bristow Group Announces Fiscal Year 2014 Third Quarter Earnings Release and Conference Call Schedule
07:00 Téléphonie et applications mobiles - bouée de sauvetage pour les personnes atteintes de troubles mentaux et de maladies du cerveau dans les coins reculés du monde
8 Jan 2014
18:53 Les Champions nationaux doivent être soutenus en vue d'atteindre une puissante prospérité.



 
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World Premiere of "Wale: I Am From" on January 20th Only On REVOLT TV

15 Jan 2014 17:05 Africa/Lagos

 REVOLT To Air First Original Documentary - "Wale: I Am From" 

Rapper's journey to Nigeria premieres January 20th at 10 p.m. EST Only On REVOLT TV



HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Jan. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- To kick off the new year, REVOLT announced plans today to air its first original documentary special entitled, "Wale: I Am From." Premiering on January 20 th at 10 p.m. EST, "Wale: I Am From" will follow Maybach Music superstar Wale on his recent trek to Africa to discover his Nigerian roots. The hour-long special produced by REVOLT TV documents the rapper and Washington DC native's journey to meet his grandparents while racing against the clock to get back to the United States.

Following Wale for one week, REVOLT captured the witty MC as he made preparations for his trip, raced against time to the motherland, battling his jam-packed schedule as he met his family for the first time, and journey back to the United States to return to his day-to-day grind. "I just feel like REVOLT as a whole is 'real'...it's an aggressive approach to get the culture back," said Wale.

"Fans will see an intimate look into the emotions and hurdles that accompanied Wale at every turn during his recent life-changing trek," stated  Rahman Dukes , executive producer and vice president of programming news. "We feel honored that Wale allowed us to join him on this deeply personal voyage to Africa, and that he chose to share his experience with REVOLT viewers," said Val Boreland , executive vice president of programming and production and executive producer.

The January 20 th premiere of Wale's story of redemption in Nigeria will be televised on REVOLT followed by a live Ustream with the rapper at 11 p.m. EST.
Visit www.revolt.tv to confirm local channel listings. Follow REVOLT TV in social media for continued artist interviews, music news, and programming updates.

To view the trailer, please visit: http://youtu.be/nYgkycAaOoU
Premiere: Monday 1/20/14 at 10-11pm EST
Encore Airings:
Tuesday 1/21 at 2-3 a.m. EST
Tuesday 1/21 at 3pm-4 p.m. EST
Wednesday 1/22 at 8-9 p.m. EST
Sunday 1/26 at 5 p.m. EST
 
CREDITS: Pace Bowden, Director; Rahman Dukes, Executive Producer; Val Boreland, Executive Producer; Jason Arambulo, Co-executive Producer; Jorge Alvarez, Line Producer; Bernald Rock, Assistant Editor

ABOUT REVOLT MEDIA & TV
REVOLT, www.revolt.tv, is the new #1 name in music. Available on Comcast's Xfinity TV and Time Warner Cable, the multi-genre, multi-platform music network delivers music news in real-time, and the best of the best in music programming. A "social by design" network built to play at the speed of social media, REVOLT is live, direct, and always on - anytime, anywhere, any screen.

SOURCE REVOLT TV
CONTACT: Kai D. Wright, VP/Director of Communications, kwright@REVOLT.tv, (212) 500-2235; or Sarah Rothman (42 West), Sarah.Rothman@42West.net, (212) 277-7555
Web Site: http://revolt.tv



 
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Famous Nigerian Comedian IGoDye Becomes UN Ambassador for Millennium Development Goals


Francis Agoda, popularly known as "Igodye" is now a United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Ambassador. Igodye regarded as one of Africa’s funniest comedians has been given this honor in recognition of his support for the realization of the MDGs in Nigeria.

 Well, this Initiative is a Global recognition to individuals who have championed and enhanced through their work the overall development of humanity, based on selfless service, creativity and compassion towards human development. However, this mandate strengthens the desire of the ace comedian Igodye who has been committed to philanthropic gestures, also advocating a non-violence approach to the resolution of conflicts among youths in Africa; inspiring the youths and advocating for good leadership towards the eradication of poverty.


Igodye said:
“I feel honored and it will be more gratifying to me, when I will see that our leaders create opportunities for youths to be gainfully employed. Because as at today, millions of Africans are suffering, and faced with uncertainty. The future seems vague and no hope in sight. Until this personal desire of a better Africa is achieved; my heart knows no happiness; because someone is still sleeping without a meal. But with this recognition, it shows that my work is not in vain. I Thank God for giving me this talent that is inspiring others and also to my fans all over the world who have been supporting me with their prayers and love. Without you, all these achievements won’t have been possible. May God Bless you all."


The United Nations Millennium Development Goals Ambassador came with a customized vehicle plate number: MDG AMB 7K Ambassador, international identification card and an honorary plaque.
Igodye is now among other UN MDGs Ambassadors around the world working to actualize the objectives of the United Nations.



 
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