Sunday, August 3, 2014

The Different Types of Corruption in Nigeria - John Campbell, US Diplomat


 There are different types of corruption in Nigeria. For example, there is petty corruption. Nigerian policemen are poorly paid. At a checkpoint you hear a policeman saying ‘Do you have anything for me today?’ Because they are poorly paid, it will be difficult for them to keep their families without the ‘bribes’ they levy to let people pass through their checkpoints. Another instance is where a civil servant insists on being paid to perform a service which is supposed to be free of charge. This type of corruption will be very difficult to deal with because it will require a massive restructuring of salaries paid to public servants. But, then there is the corruption where millions of dollar go missing through rigging of contracts, money laundering or oil bunkering
~ John Campbell, US diplomat and author of Nigeria: Dancing on the Brink. Read more on OSUN DEFENDER.

Nigeria, the United States’ most important strategic partner in West Africa, is in grave trouble. While Nigerians often claim they are masters of dancing on the brink without falling off, the disastrous administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, the radical Islamic insurrection Boko Haram, and escalating violence in the delta and the north may finally provide the impetus that pushes it into the abyss of state failure.

In this thoroughly updated edition, John Campbell
explores Nigeria’s post-colonial history and presents a nuanced explanation of the events and conditions that have carried this complex, dynamic, and very troubled giant to the edge. Central to his analysis are the oil wealth, endemic corruption, and elite competition that have undermined Nigeria’s nascent democratic institutions and alienated an increasingly impoverished population. However, state failure is not inevitable, nor is it in the interest of the United States. Campbell provides concrete new policy options that would not only allow the United States to help Nigeria avoid state failure but also to play a positive role in Nigeria’s political, social, and economic development.


 
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Saturday, August 2, 2014

iPost Nigeria Will Make More Nigerians Millionaires and Billionaires

iPost Nigeria Will Make More Nigerians Millionaires and Billionaires


Nigeria’s news an entertainment mobile video app iPost Nigeria will make more Nigerians millionaires and billionaires in Africa’s biggest and largest Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) market with over 125 million users of mobile phones and tablets.

For the first time in online video sharing news and entertainment, users are going to be earning 70% of the revenue from daily views of their various videos of events and incidents posted from wherever they are located in Nigeria and other parts of the world simply using the iPost Nigeria mobile video app on their mobile phones, tablets and PCs.

The Target Market

The primary target audience of iPost Nigeria are Nigerians in Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa  with over 167 million people making the biggest and largest market in the continent for both online and offline products and services.


 There are over 125 million users of mobile phones and tablets spending millions of naira daily on phone calls and text messages for mostly idle chats and gossip without making any money in return while making the GSM telecom operators richer by the day.


Nigerians spent an estimated N2.14trillion ($13.7b) on calls and text messages between January, 2011 and December, 2012 according to verified reports.



Nigerians are already spending over N1. 8 billion (about US$10 million) daily on online gambling as confirmed in a recent report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). 60 million Nigerians placed bets on different matches daily across the country with each one spending an average of N3, 000. And they include the unemployed youths who need to find means of earning daily income for their survival and welfare.


On iPost Nigeria, everyone who knows how to use a GSM phone or tablet can record videos of events and incidents happening everyday in their respective locations and upload their videos instantly live to show and share their videos with millions of others.
  • Users will pay as little as US$1 (for those outside Nigeria) or N100 (for those inside Nigeria) to view each video monetized on the Pay-Per-View Channel of iPost Nigeria. 
  • The users simply pay with their recharge cards on all GSM mobile networks with their mobile phones and tablets or with their credit cards on PCs. 
The content providers and owners keep 70% of whatever amount they make from the daily views of their videos straight into their Paypal accounts.   Users have the rights to monetize their videos or make them free for public viewing on iPost Nigeria.


 Filmmakers and entertainers can premiere their movies and music videos on iPost Nigeria.
Imagine how much the most viewed Nigerian entertainer on YouTube, D’Banj would have made from the over 27 million views of his “Oliver Twist” video or how much the fantastic duo PSquare would have made from their over 22 million views of “Personally” and over 18 million views of "Onyinye" on YouTube if these videos were on an online platform like iPost Nigeria. But the most viewed Nigerian celebrity on YouTube, D’Banj and the most sensational twins in hip hop music in the world were not even nominated in the first ever YouTube Music Awards (YTMA) held at New York City's Pier 36 and were broadcast live at Youtube.com/YTMA. Some notable artists, including Arcade Fire, Pentatonix and Lindsey Stirling (collaboration), Tyler, The Creator, M.I.A., Lady Gaga and Eminem, performed.


 iPost Nigeria which will offer them more than YouTube and hosted on our own media player will let D’Banj, PSquare, Davido, Whiz Kid and other popular entertainers to earn money from the daily views of their music videos 24/7 and they will even earn more when they have world premieres of their music videos on iPost Nigeria.

Nollywood movie producers and Nollywood stars will also earn more revenues from their videos on iPost Nigeria than they have ever earned on other news and entertainment channels on the internet.

Nollywood boosted the rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria to make the country Africa’s largest economy under “Motion pictures, sound recording and music production,” with a huge increase of N9 trillion in size. Analysts stated Nollywood made about N1.72 trillion in 2013.


Robert Orya, Managing Director, Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), said last year, Nollywood ranked third globally in revenue. According to him, the revenue the film industry has generated in the last three years was between $300 million and $800 million. “The global film and entertainment industry generated about $90.6 billion revenue in 2010,” Orya explained, saying “the revenue increased to $102.7 billion in 2012. Most of these revenue streams are from theatrical distribution. North America contributed the largest market share of about 40 percent. Europe, Middle East and Africa accounted for 24 percent, Latin America 20 percent, and Asia Pacific made only 3 percent contribution.” ~ http://businessdayonline.com/2014/04/nollywood-springs-surprise-in-gdp-rebasing-leaps-to-n9trn/#.U9DJtkBx-wc
  iPost Nigeria has been nominated and shortlisted for international awards and will be launched in October.


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, Publisher/Editor of Nigerians Report Online, the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® SERIES, Nollywood Digital, and other publications online and offline.



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Friday, August 1, 2014

Africa: Only 1 Month Until APO Media Award Entry Deadline: WIN $6,000



PRESS RELEASE

Only One Month Until APO Media Award Entry Deadline

-       WIN $6,000, one lap top, one intercontinental flight ticket to a destination of your choice and more


-       The second-place winner will be awarded $300 a month for one year, and the third-place winner will receive $200 a month for one year

DAKAR, Senegal, August 1, 2014/ -- APO (African Press Organization) (http://www.apo-opa.com), the sole press release wire in Africa and the global leader in media relations relating to Africa, announced today that entry is now open for the 2014 APO Media Award (#APOMediaAward).

The first-place winner will be presented with $500 a month for one year, one laptop and one intercontinental flight ticket to a destination of his or her choice as well as one year of access to over 600 airport VIP lounges worldwide.

The second-place winner will be awarded $300 a month for one year.

The third-place winner will receive $200 a month for one year.




Photo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=782(Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, Founder and CEO of APO (African Press Organization)

APO Media Award celebrates brilliant and inspiring stories about Africa. The subject matter may comprise a single topic or a variety of subjects, including – but not limited to – business, economy, technology, agriculture, health, energy, gender, logistics, tourism, motoring, aviation, not-for-profit issues, diplomacy, environment, mining, entertainment and more.

APO Media Award is open to African journalists and bloggers, whether directly employed or freelancers, working in the continent of Africa who have produced a story that has been broadcast or published in English, French, Portuguese or Arabic in the form of a printed publication, a television feature, a radio story, a website or a blog whose primary audience is based in Africa.

Stories must have been broadcast or published between January and August 2014.

Stories are judged on content, writing, analysis, creativity, human interest and community impact.

All stories must be submitted in electronic format:
a) Print: upload the scan(s) of the published article.
b) Radio: upload the SoundCloud link (SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform that enables its users to upload and share sounds they have created themselves – https://soundcloud.com).
c) Website: upload the URL.
d) TV: upload the YouTube link.

TV material must first be uploaded to YouTube (www.youtube.com) and radio material to SoundCloud (www.soundcloud.com). If you are not a member of these sites, you will need to sign up in order to upload the video or radio material. Once you have obtained the link, you must enter it in this online entry form when inputting your story details.

Online Entry Form is available here: http://www.apo-opa.com/apo_media_award.php?L=E

The deadline for entries is 1 September 2014.

The finalists will be announced on 15 September 2014.

The winners will be announced on 29 September 2014.

Follow APO on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apo_source

Follow the hashtag: #APOMediaAward

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization).

Contact:
+41 22 534 96 97


About APO

APO (African Press Organization) (http://www.apo-opa.com) is the sole press release wire in Africa and the global leader in media relations relating to Africa.

With offices in Senegal, Switzerland, Dubai, Hong Kong, India and Seychelles, APO has a media database comprising over 50,000 contacts and is the main online community for news relating to Africa.

It offers a complete range of services, including press release distribution and monitoring, online press conferences, interactive webcasts, media interactions, strategic advice, public diplomacy, government relations and events promotion. To find out more, please visit http://www.apo-opa.com.

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apo_source



SOURCE 
APO (African Press Organization)

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US$150,000 Innovation Prize for Africa for 2015 Now Open



PRESS RELEASE

Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) 2015 now open – USD 150,000 in prizes for continent’s brightest innovators to accelerate Africa’s development


With 2000 innovators from 48 countries entering in its first three years; IPA 2015 takes investment in unleashing and supporting sustainable African led innovation past half a million USD

JOHANNESBURG, South-Africa, August 1, 2014/ -- The African Innovation Foundation (AIF) (http://www.africaninnovation.org) is calling on all African innovators to submit their entries for the fourth edition of the Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) competition (http://www.innovationprizeforafrica.org). The IPA is presented annually, enabling and encouraging African pioneers to develop creative ideas and techniques to overcome some of the challenges faced by the continent and support sustainable development.

Video of IPA Winner 2014:http://africaninnovationnews.com/wp-content/uploads/video/2014/src/IPA_2014v2.mp4



AIF and IPA founder Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais with the 2014 IPA winners: Dr. Nicolaas Duneas & Mr. Nuno Pires and the Nigerian Former Minister of Science and Technology.

Photo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1269 (AIF and IPA founder Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais with the 2014 IPA winners: Dr. Nicolaas Duneas & Mr. Nuno Pires and the Nigerian Former Minister of Science and Technology)



“At the African Innovation Foundation we are passionate about Africa and its potential, that we firmly believe will be led by empowering a new generation of African innovators and entrepreneurs.  But we also recognise that this new generation needs the resources and the opportunities to realise their ambition,” said AIF and IPA founder Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais.  “ IPA provides a platform to encourage and harness these entrepreneurial skills in order to help improve the lives of Africans and to help realise untapped potential. The prize is also a great way of unleashing creativity and promoting growth within the African continent.”

The IPA is becoming integral to facilitating ground-breaking thinking, creativity and driving awareness to the outstanding work being done in Africa by Africans. IPA 2013 winner, AgriProtein went on to raise $11 million to build its first two commercial farms in Cape Town.

“Africa needs meaningful investment to alleviate poverty and provide inclusive prosperity. To achieve this, we need to be able to provide environments that promote quality investment for the people and reduce risks. Forums like the IPA are necessary to make the most of the continent's investment," said AgriProtein spokesperson, David Drew.

All innovations are evaluated based on the following criteria: originality, marketability, scalability, social impact and scientific/technical aspects. The best submission will be awarded a grand prize of USD 100 000.  The second prize of USD 25 000 will be awarded to an innovator with an innovation which has the best commercial and business potential. An additional award is a special prize granted to the innovator whose innovation has the best social impact in the community.

The IPA encourages entries in five key categories: Agriculture and Agribusiness, Environment, Energy and Water, Health and Wellbeing, ICT applications, and Manufacturing and Services Industries.

Recognising home grown innovative ingenuity, the prize contributes to increased funding of start-ups, adoption of new and emerging technologies and accelerated growth of the private sector.   With ever changing economic and social environments, it is critical that proposed solutions tackle issues affecting African lives, and that they are effective and are different from the existing ones. 

IPA 2014 named Dr Nicolaas Duneas and Mr Nuno Pires from South Africa the winners of the grand Prize and received USD 100’000 for their Altis Osteogenic Bone Matrix (Altis OBM TM), the first injectable porcine derived BMP medical device in the world — an innovative product for the treatment of bone injuries and voids through the use of a regenerative biological implant.

The IPA also beckons all investors, governments and other stakeholders interested in evaluating, investing and maximising the continent’s resources to participate in this innovative and empowering initiative and make a significant change through generous contributions that will accelerate the Africa’s economic growth.

The deadline for submitting applications for IPA 2015 is 31 October 2014 at 24h00 GMT. For more information on competition categories, conditions of entry, and submission details, please visit: http://innovationprizeforafrica.org/.

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of the Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA).


Contacts
Janine Raftopoulos, Burson-Marsteller
Phone: +27 11 480 8525

Pauline Mujawamariya, AIF    
Phone: + 41 44 515 5466  

About IPA
The Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) (http://www.innovationprizeforafrica.org) is an award founded by the African Innovation Foundation (http://www.africaninnovation.org). It mobilizes African innovators and entrepreneurs by providing a total of USD 150 000 to winners who deliver market-oriented solutions for African-led development. The IPA honours and encourages innovative achievements that contribute toward developing new products, increasing efficiency or cost savings in Africa. The prize also encourages private equity investors, government and development leaders to invest across sectors and build a climate that fuels Africa’s economic growth.  For more information and additional media background go to http://www.innovationprizeforafrica.org , and follow the IPA on Twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/IPAprize) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/InnovationPrizeforAfrica).

About AIF
The African Innovation Foundation (AIF) (http://www.africaninnovation.org) is a new model of 'next generation' African foundations, mobilising innovation across the continent for the personal, cultural and economic benefit of all Africans. AIF’s projects are aimed at releasing untapped potential in Africa, stimulating African ideas & perspectives within emerging industries and across diverse disciplines.  For more information visit http://www.africaninnovation.org/

SOURCE 
Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA)


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