Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Manchester City Star Yaya Touré is New Global Ambassador of Nissan



PRESS RELEASE



Manchester City & Ivory Coast Star Yaya Touré Joins Nissan As New Global Ambassador

YOKOHAMA, Japan, October 8, 2014/ -- Nissan (http://www.nissan-global.com) is proud to announce Yaya Touré, three-time African Footballer of the Year and UEFA Champions League winner, as its newest global ambassador. The Manchester City and Ivory Coast midfielder has agreed to a deal which will see him work alongside Nissan’s global UEFA Champions League and Orange Africa Cup of Nations 2015 partnerships.






Yaya joins Nissan’s star-studded team of UEFA Champions League ambassadors, which includes the recently announced Barcelona and Spain midfielder, Andrés Iniesta and PSG and Brazil defender, Thiago Silva. The UEFA Champions League ambassadors will work with the company as part of the Engineers of Excitement program, which aims to enhance the experience of football fans through a range of activities including the exclusive Goal of the Week competition. Touré will also star in a series of new television and print advertisements for the UEFA Champions League due to premiere in February 2015.

Yaya Toure said, “I’m proud to be partnering with Nissan across its UEFA Champions League and Orange Africa Cup of Nations 2015 sponsorships. I have been fortunate enough to win lots of trophies in my career, but the Orange Africa Cup of Nations has always been my target as an African, so I am really looking forward to it and to working with Nissan to help bring the excitement around both of these fantastic tournaments to fans around Africa and the rest of the world.”

As the face of Nissan’s advertising campaign in Africa, Yaya Touré will play a key role around Nissan’s Orange Africa Cup of Nations 2015 sponsorship, further connecting football fans with the brand and helping increase excitement around its innovative range of products.

“Nissan is delighted that Yaya Touré has joined our team as a global ambassador,” said Roel de-Vries, Corporate Vice President, Global Head of Marketing, Communications and Brand – Nissan. “As one of the greatest midfielders of his generation, Yaya Touré is the perfect ambassador for our brand as he possesses great all round skills combining pace, power and high technical ability - features Nissan incorporates into its vehicles.”

As well as being named African Footballer of the Year on three occasions, Yaya Touré has also won the UEFA Champions League with Barcelona and five league titles across four countries including England and Spain. With over 80 caps for Ivory Coast, Yaya Touré was recently named captain of the national team and will lead his country in qualification to reach his sixth Orange Africa Cup of Nations 2015 in January.

Takashi Hata, Senior Vice President, Africa, Middle East and India – Nissan added, “As a three-time African Footballer of the Year, Yaya Touré is an icon to millions of people across the continent. As Nissan looks to further increase its market presence in the region, our partnership with Yaya Touré will help bring Nissan closer to the fans around Africa’s biggest football tournament and further strengthen our brand in a region to which we have been committed for over four decades.”

Nissan is the official global automotive sponsor of the UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Champions League, with a four season deal that will cover the period 2014/2015 to 2017/2018. Nissan is the official global automotive supplier to the Orange Africa Cup of Nations 2015.  The tournament is now in its 30th year and kicks off in Morocco on January 17, 2015.

In July 2014, Nissan extended its connections in world football by agreeing a global partnership to become the Official Automotive Partner of City Football Group (CFG). The five-year deal represents a first for CFG, with Nissan becoming the first global partner of the football network, an organisation including Nissan majority owned Yokohama F. Marinos alongside Barclays Premier League Champions, Manchester City FC, Manchester City Women’s FC, New York City FC and Melbourne City FC.

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Katherine Zachary, Corporate Communications, Nissan Europe
Telephone: +41 79 701 85 16

Sara Jenkins, Corporate Communications, Nissan Europe
Telephone: +41 79 808 33 97

Roland Buerk, Communications, Africa, Middle East and India
Telephone: +971(0)48032667

Ikue Matsuura, Communications, Africa, Middle East and India
Telephone: +81(0)455235652

About Nissan Motor Co.
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (http://www.nissan-global.com), Japan's second-largest automotive company, is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, and is part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Operating with more than 244,500 employees globally, Nissan sold almost 5.2 million vehicles and generated revenue of 10.5 trillion yen (USD 105 billion) in fiscal 2013. Nissan delivers a comprehensive range of more than 60 models under the Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun brands. In 2010, Nissan introduced the Nissan LEAF, and continues to lead in zero-emission mobility. The LEAF, the first mass-market, pure-electric vehicle launched globally, is now the best-selling EV in history with almost 50% share of the zero-emission vehicle segment.
For more information on our products, services and commitment to sustainable mobility, visit our website at http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/

About Nissan in Europe
Nissan has one of the most comprehensive European presences of any overseas manufacturer, employing more than 14,500 staff across locally-based design, research & development, manufacturing, logistics and sales & marketing operations. Last year Nissan plants in the UK, Spain and Russia produced more than 635,000 vehicles including mini-MPVs, award-winning crossovers, SUVs, commercial vehicles and the Nissan LEAF, the world’s most popular Electric Vehicle with 97% performance satisfaction and 95% of customers willing to recommend the car to friends. Nissan now offers 24 diverse and innovative products for sale in Europe today, and is positioned to become the number one Asian brand in Europe.

About Nissan in Africa
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. supplies innovative and exciting cars across the hatchback, SUV, sedan and pickup segments in Africa and is targeting significant growth in the continent. Nissan has two operational hubs in Egypt and South Africa with long established factories, and is developing manufacturing in Nigeria as a third hub. In April Nissan, together with local partner Stallion Group, became the first automaker to build cars in Nigeria after the Government introduced new policies to stimulate the local industry. Nissan is revitalizing its sales network and expanding its product range in many countries with launches of new vehicles like the award-winning Qashqai and X-Trail. The Nissan LEAF is Africa's first electric vehicle, bringing zero emissions motoring to the continent. In 2014 the Datsun brand is returning to Africa with the launch of the Datsun GO in South Africa. In fiscal year 2013 Nissan sold nearly 110,000 units in Africa.

SOURCE 
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.


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Tuesday, October 7, 2014

President Goodluck Jonathan is the Most Highly-Educated President in the History of Nigeria


President Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan is the most highly-educated president in the history of Nigeria. He has a B.Sc. in Zoology; an M.Sc. in Hydrobiology and Fisheries Biology; and a Ph.D. in Zoology.

 ~ Femi Aribisala.








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Media & Telecom Execs Expect Transformational Change in Their Businesses Over Next Three Years


 Media & Telecom Execs Expect Transformational Change In Their Businesses Over Next Three Years 
 Digital services seen as significant growth driver; Cyber security a key concern 


LOS ANGELES, Oct. 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Continued convergence within and between the media and telecommunications industries, and the impact of emerging technologies are just two of the several factors that will lead to transformational changes in core business over the next few years, according to KPMG's 2014 Media & Telecommunications Industry Outlook Survey.


In surveying 100 senior executives in the media and telecom industries, KPMG found that an increasing amount of companies are expecting change at a more rapid pace than they have ever seen before – more than 55 percent of executives polled say that their company will experience a transformational change to their core business in the next three years. When combined with an additional 40 percent that feel their business will continue to change at the current high rate, it shows a dynamic change in executives' outlooks. This is fundamentally different than what the media and telecom industries have previously experienced, KPMG leaders say.


"Historically, change has often had a negative connotation to established businesses," said Paul Wissmann, national sector leader of KPMG's Media & Telecommunications practice in the U.S. "However, in the current environment, transformation – driven by technology, innovation, consumer demand, etc. – is creating new opportunities for media and telecommunications companies to evolve their business models to become more competitive and agile."


Impact of New Technologies and Digital Services
More than 70 percent of both media and telecom executives believe the continued emergence of new technology devices and services will positively impact their business in the next year. Additionally, 70 percent of industry executives believe that their company's revenue will increase as a result of mobile device transactions. In fact, the sale of applications and content over smartphones, tablets and other wireless devices is also expected to be a top revenue driver over the next three years (65 percent media and entertainment executives, 76 percent telecom executives).


The survey finds that media executives are even more bullish than their telecom counterparts about how new digital distribution methods will increase their revenue over time. In fact, 59 percent of media and entertainment executives feel that emerging digital distribution methods will be one of the top three drivers of their company's revenue growth in the next three years (as compared to just 36 percent of telecom executives). Nearly 30 percent of executives feel that machine-to-machine (M2M) service will also be a top revenue driver.


These changes will also affect how businesses run themselves. Many companies expect to see a change in the level of centralization or autonomy that they give to key subsidiaries. This is largely being driven by the need for cost containment and increased access to new technology and products.


The Effects of Convergence
More than 65 percent believe that the media and telecom industries will continue to converge over the next year and that it will positively impact their business. An overwhelming amount of that statistic is dominated by those in the telecom industry, suggesting that industry leaders anticipate more deals similar to the recently proposed media-telecom mergers that have been seen in the press.
Concerns
While many executives have not yet experienced a cyber-security related issue within their company, many are concerned about it. When asked to consider their company's current IT security structure, 74 percent feel that it is likely that their company will experience a major security issue within the next three years.
When asked what concerns them most about their company's future, KPMG found some clear differences between media and telecom executives. Forty-four percent of media executives are worried about the economy's impact on their company compared with only 22 percent of telecom executives. Meanwhile, 38 percent of telecom executives are worried about keeping pace with changing technology (an increase from 2013) compared with only 24 percent of media executives (a decrease from 2013).


About the Study
KPMG's 2014 Media & Telecommunications Industry Outlook reflects the viewpoints of 100 senior executives in the United States. The web survey was concluded in April 2014. For more information, visit www.kpmg.com/us/mediatelecomindustry.


About KPMG LLP
KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm (www.kpmg.com/us), is the U.S. member firm of KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International's member firms have 155,000 professionals, including more than 8,600 partners, in 155 countries.

Contact: 
Brandon Hatler
KPMG LLP
201-307-8637
201-638-5263 (mobile)
bhatler@kpmg.com

SOURCE KPMG LLP
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Megacities and the Boardroom Agenda


Megacities and the Boardroom Agenda 

WomenCorporateDirectors Explores Threats and Opportunities around Unprecedented Urban Growth How are boards coming to terms with explosive urban growth -- and what risks do "megacities" pose to global companies? 

 Lagos megacity.

NEW YORK, Oct. 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The rise of megacities – cities with over 10 million in population – has emerged as a key concern for boardrooms as companies become more global. Ebola containment, urban unrest, and food and water sustainability are just some of the areas


WomenCorporateDirectors is exploring in its programs for directors worldwide. Panels at the WCD Global Institute and Asia Institute, as well as a paper jointly produced with KPMG, are tackling urban growth from the boardroom perspective, with directors from WCD's 60+ global chapters weighing in about the impact on corporate strategy.


"With 80% of the world's consumption and growth occurring in major metropolitan areas, megacities are setting the agenda for companies globally," said Phyllis Campbell at WCD's recent Asia Institute held in Singapore. Campbell, chairman of the Pacific Northwest for JPMorgan Chase and a director at Nordstrom and Alaska Air Group, led a director panel on megacities at the Institute, which discussed how companies are taking significant steps to address cities as a strategic force.


Rather than viewing the challenge of megacities through a more "unilateral" lens, a trend of current corporate projects has been to focus on collaborative efforts to address what is needed around talent, infrastructure, and safety, among other factors. Such is the case with the Global Cities Initiative – a major, multi-year partnership between JPMorgan Chase and Brookings. As Campbell explains, one of its core components is the development of a network of leaders who can collaborate on actionable strategies. "The goal is to help U.S. city leaders better leverage their global assets and then work with leaders from other cities around the world to develop stronger trade relationships," she said.


With relationships and trade, however, come serious threats that neither the public nor private sector can ignore, said panelist Dr. Anne Kerr, the director of the Urbanization Initiative at Mott MacDonald Hong Kong. "Threats such as susceptibility to epidemics, vulnerability around food imports, and infrastructure shortfalls are realities that companies must put on the table early on when thinking about markets. Are companies – and the governments – really putting in the work to be sustainable?"


The recently elected government in India announced urbanization as a priority in its agenda, pointed out panelist Neera Saggi, chief executive of L&T Seaweeds and president of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry. One million young people in India will enter the labor force every month for the next twenty years, primarily in cities, and Saggi argues that the success of these cities "depends on whether large numbers of people want to go to live there, and whether it can meet their economic and social aspirations."


Saggi adds that cities in India and elsewhere will need to be shaped by "innovative policy solutions, an engagement of all stakeholders, and an understanding of what people need and aspire to."
Ultimately, Kerr said, it's going to take companies and countries really thinking about the "users" – the population. "There's no 'magic' in sustainability: it's about good planning, good execution, and good delivery of products."


For more information about WomenCorporateDirectors and WCD programs for directors, please contact Suzanne Oaks Brownstein or Trang Mar of Temin and Company at 212-588-8788 or news@temin.co.  


About WomenCorporateDirectors (WCD) WomenCorporateDirectors (WCD) is the only global membership organization and community of women corporate directors, comprised of more than 3,500 members serving on over 6,500 boards in 66 chapters around the world, with many more slated in the next two quarters. The aggregate market capitalization of public companies on whose boards WCD members serve is $8 trillion – if WCD were a country, its economy would be the world's third largest, behind only the U.S. and China. In addition, WCD members serve on numerous boards of large private companies globally.


WCD membership provides a unique platform for learning from the intellectual capital of accomplished women from around the world, and WCD's mission is to increase courage, candor, inclusion, and cohesion in the boardroom. KPMG is a Global Partner of WCD. Spencer Stuart is a Premier Partner, and WCD Strategic Partners include Marriott International, Marsh & McLennan Companies, and Pearl Meyer & Partners; WCD Alliance Partners include International Finance Corporation (IFC), JPMorgan Chase, and Northern Trust.


WCD has 66 global chapters, located in Arizona, Atlanta, Beijing, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Chile, Cleveland, Colombia, Columbus, Dallas/Fort Worth, Delhi, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greater Colorado, Greater New Mexico, Gulf Cooperation Council, Hanoi, Hawaii, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Houston, Iceland, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kansas City, Kenya, London, Los Angeles/Orange County, Malaysia, Melbourne, Mexico, Milan, Minnesota, Morocco, Mumbai, Netherlands, New York, New Zealand, Nigeria, Northern California, North Florida/South Georgia, Panama, Peru, Philadelphia, Philippines, Quebec, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, San Diego, Sao Paulo, Seattle, Shanghai, Singapore, South Africa, South Florida, Switzerland, Sydney, Tennessee, Toronto, Turkey, Washington, D.C., and Western Canada. Upcoming chapters include Argentina, Brussels, Egypt, Guatemala, Mongolia, Poland, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Spain, Tampa, and Thailand. For more information, visit www.womencorporatedirectors.com.


SOURCE WomenCorporateDirectors
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Monday, October 6, 2014

Women Can Redefine Leadership Performance...

 Chairman and CEO of Xerox Ursula Burns speaks onstage at the FORTUNE Most Powerful Women Summit on October 17, 2013 in Washington, DC. ©Paul Morigi/Getty Images.

Women Can Redefine Leadership Performance... 

 If Challenges Are Met In Talent Pipeline Heidrick & Struggles to host "The Talent Pipeline" at 2014 Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit

CHICAGO, Oct. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --  Future generations of female leaders will prove transformational to business, government, higher education and philanthropic organizations, if challenges can be overcome in the talent pipeline for female executives.

That is the premise behind "The Talent Pipeline," a discussion addressing growing global pressures in the boardroom and in the C-suite to attract and retain top female talent. The discussion will be presented October 8 by Heidrick & Struggles (Nasdaq:HSII), a premier provider of Executive Search, Leadership Consulting and Culture Shaping services worldwide, as part of the 2014 Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, October 6-8 in Laguna Niguel, California. Anne Lim O'Brien vice chairman, CEO & Board Practice, Heidrick & Struggles, will be a featured panelist, along with Edith Cooper, Global Head, Human Capital Management, The Goldman Sachs Group and Susan Peters, Senior Vice President, Human Relations, GE.  The session will be moderated by Fortune writer Beth Kowitt.

"Our firm is dedicated to finding and fostering exceptional talent and helping our clients succeed, one leadership team at a time," said Lee Hanson, vice chairman, CEO & Board Practice, Heidrick & Struggles. "We are particularly poised to help organizations inspire and develop future generations of women leaders globally.  These new generations of female executives will transform the very concept of leadership."
Heidrick & Struggles returns as a gold sponsor of the 2014 Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, an annual invitation-only event that brings together women leaders across business, government, academia, philanthropy and the arts. The Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit features a unique format:  lively panel discussions, on-stage conversations, and interactive breakout sessions; no formal speeches. A list of 2014 speakers can be found here.

Heidrick & Struggles 2014 Global Delegation: This year, Karen Fifer (Hong Kong), Managing Partner, Consumer Markets Practice, Lee Hanson (San Francisco), Vice Chairman, CEO & Board Practice, Anne Lim O'Brien (New York), Vice Chairman, CEO & Board Practice and Victoria Reese (New York), Managing Partner, Legal, Risk, Compliance and Government Affairs Practice are representing the firm.
For the second year, Heidrick & Struggles will also be participating in the Fortune Notebook Mentoring Session, helping launch the next generation of women leaders.  This year, 31 high school women from active military families will participate and gain practical advice from top business professionals. The mentoring program features direct career advice and learning's from some of the most powerful women in business.

About Heidrick & Struggles Heidrick & Struggles (Nasdaq: HSII) is a premier provider of senior-level Executive Search, Culture Shaping and Leadership Consulting services. For more than 60 years, we have helped our clients build strong leadership teams through quality service, deep insights and our relationships with talented individuals worldwide. Today, Heidrick & Struggles' leadership experts operate from principal business centers in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. For more information about Heidrick & Struggles, please visit www.heidrick.com.
Media Contact: Lia L. Randazzo

+1 312.496.1788
lrandazzo@heidrick.com
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140822/139029
SOURCE Heidrick & Struggles
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Johannesburg Stock Exchange Listed Three New Currency Futures To Track the Exchange Rate Between Naira


Johannesburg Stock Exchange launches new range of African currency futures to track the exchange rate between the Rand and the Zambian Kwacha, Kenyan Shilling and Nigerian Naira

JOHANNESBURG, South-Africa, October 6, 2014/ -- Today the JSE (http://www.jse.co.za) launched the first currency futures which track the exchange rate between the Rand and select African currencies.

Capture.PNGLogo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/jse-1.png
Photo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1418

The JSE listed three new currency futures contracts which track the exchange rate between the Rand and the Zambian Kwacha, Kenyan Shilling and Nigerian Naira. Currency futures allow investors as well as importers and exporters to protect themselves against the currency movement in the foreign country.

“The JSE is very excited about this new groundbreaking initiative as we have been working on this strategy for two years. With Africa being a global investment destination it makes sense for the JSE as a major exchange player in Africa to be involved in providing appropriate products to mitigate currency risk and exposure when dealing in Africa,” says Warren Geers, General Manager: Capital Markets at the JSE.

The latest trade statistics from the South African Revenue Service (SARS) show trade flow between South Africa and Nigeria amounted to R34,4 billion between January and July this year. In the same period, trade between South Africa and Kenya amounted to R4,6 billion and trade between South Africa and Zambia was valued at just less than R18 billion.

The JSE has partnered with Barclays Africa and specialist brokers, Tradition Futures, to bring this new offering to market.

Lourens Harmse of Barclays Africa who looks after sub-Saharan Africa Trading at the Corporate and Investment Banking division says, “Our involvement with the listing of the African currency futures on the JSE further deepens Barclays Africa’s commitment to growing Markets participation in Africa. As part of our vision to be the ‘Go-To’ bank, we strive to give our clients superior execution and access to the continent through world-class and leading innovation.”

Andrew Gillespie of Tradition Futures says “It is a groundbreaking development to have a transparent, independent, well regulated platform to mitigate or assume FX Risk in these African countries, against any other currency of their choice - that does not prejudice anyone, irrespective of size, domicile or nationality. The ability to transact anonymously, through specialist brokers such as Tradition Futures, and to have access to full and fair, timeous price discovery is an international benchmark requirement for a developed market. This allows for a level and fair playing field, where the best price is available to all, without bias or favour, which is a significant facet and feature of this market in African FX on the JSE.

The new futures contracts will provide the market participants with the ability to get exposure on the JSE to the exchange rate between the US Dollar and the Zambian, Kenyan and Nigerian currencies through trading synthetic cross currencies. For example, investors can get exposure to the exchange rate between the US Dollar and the Kenyan Shilling by trading both against the Rand. To promote cross-currency trading the JSE will charge trading fees on only one of the foreign trade logs and not both.

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).

Issued by:
Mari Blumenthal
H+K Strategies South Africa
Tel: +27 11 463 2198
Email: mari.blumenthal@hkstrategies.co.za
JSE contact:
Pheliswa Mayekiso
Media Associate

JSE Limited

ABOUT JSE

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (http://www.jse.co.za) is based in South Africa where it has operated as a market place for the trading of financial products for 125 years. It connects buyers and sellers in equity, derivative and debt markets. The JSE is one of the top 20 exchanges in the world in terms of market capitalisation and is a member of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE). The JSE offers a fully electronic, efficient, secure market with world class regulation, trading and clearing systems, settlement assurance and risk management. http://www.jse.co.za

ABOUT CURRENCY FUTURES

A Currency Futures (CFs) Contract is an obligation to buy or sell an underlying currency at a fixed exchange rate at a specified date in the future. For example, a futures contract can give an investor the right to buy dollars at R10 per dollar at the end of December. One party to the agreement is obligated to buy (longs) the currency at a specified exchange rate and the other agrees to sell (shorts) it at the expiry date. A futures contract is therefore an agreement between two investors with different views on the way or extent a currency will move.

The underlying instrument of a currency future contract is the rate of exchange between one unit of foreign currency and the South African Rand. This means that the value of the futures contract moves up and down with this exchange rate – the level of the exchange rate determines the value of the futures contract. Currency futures contracts therefore allow participants to take a view on the movement of the exchange rate as well as to hedge against currency risk. Currency futures are used as a trading, speculating and hedging tool by all interested participants.

SOURCE

Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE)


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Sunday, October 5, 2014

Nigeria Ranks 8 in Top 10 Countries with Highest Number of Internet Users

 In Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, a model backstage at the MTN Fashion and Design Week is pictured with her mobile phones. Photo Credit: BBC News.

Nigeria is the only African country on the top 10 countries with the highest number of internet users in the world. Nigeria is number 8 on the list with over 67,101,452 users from a population of over 178,516,904 as at today Sunday October 5, 2014.


 Popular Nollywood diva Tonto Dikeh is the most talked about Nigerian Nollywood actress on the internet. See her in Tattoo Girls, Men in Love and other movies from Amazon.

 The increase in users of the internet is due to the popularity of smart phones and tablets with more than 127 million subscribers of GSM networks, the largest in Africa and a market penetration of around 75% according to latest reports and forecasts.


Source: Internet Users by Country (2014) http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users-by-country/







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God, the Political Religion of Nigerian Leaders and the Cockatrice of Terrorism



All the heads of state in the political history of Nigeria make a public display of their religions and like the millions of their fellow Nigerians want to be seen going to church or the mosque and going on pilgrimages to Jerusalem and Mecca. But their lifestyles are contrary to the commandments of God they claim to believe as Christians and Muslims. From the predecessors to their successor, they have all been hypocrites, fooling and misleading the populace in conceit and deceit.

Section 10 of our 1999 constitution clearly prohibits Federal and state governments from adopting any state religion, because the Federal Constitution says Nigeria is a secular state. But every government has violated this rule by sponsoring either Christianity or Islam and using these two religions for their political pursuits and caused the political dichotomy between the predominantly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south.
That is why you see a Muslim presidential candidate telling his fellow Muslims in the north never to vote for a Christian presidential candidate. And the Christian presidential candidate telling his fellow Christians in the south never to vote for a Muslim presidential candidate. And thus provoking the religious and tribal bigotry destroying lives and properties in Nigeria today.
Their violation of the Federal Constitution is enough for their disqualification from contesting in any election. But the equally hypocritical and incompetent leadership of the so called independent electoral body continues to approve these unqualified political leaders to contest in elections for public office and end up being complicit in the political violence of religious and tribal bigotry.
These political contractors and political opportunists use the name of God in their respective religions to do more harm than good to Nigeria.
But heaven knows that they don't fear God at all.

The problem of the political leaders of Nigeria since the independence of the country on October 1, 1960 to date is lack of the fear of God.
Many of those who have been heads of state lacked the fear of God in truth and in spirit and the present head of state is not different from them.

The fear of God is not determined by mere claims of being a Christian or Muslim, going to the church or mosque and going on pilgrimage to Jerusalem or Mecca, but by obeying the commandments of God. And anyone who fears God will not disobey Him.

You cannot handover the maritime security of Nigeria to cultists who have been running the oligarchy with the corrupt ruling class and then expect to please God.
You cannot cheat and lie to win elections and expect God to bless you.
You may kneel down a thousand times before pastors and bishops to pray for you, but you still continue to dine and wine with the devil and his errand boys from the Niger Delta to Lake Chad and make well written national speeches; but until you stop to dine and wine with cultists and share billion naira contracts with them, you are fooling yourself, because you cannot fool God.
God does not answer the prayers of unrepentant liars.
God does not answer the prayers of unrepentant idolators.
God does not answer the prayers of unrepentant adulterers.
God does not answer the prayers of unrepentant political gluttons whose avarice feeds the Cockatrice of terrorism destroying thousands of lives in Nigeria.

When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes his enemies to be at peace with him. 
~ (Proverbs 16:7)
Therefore whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. 
~ 2 Corinthians 5:9 (NLT)


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, aka "Orikinla Osinachi",  Publisher/Editor of Nigerians Report Online, author of Children of Heaven, Scarlet Tears of London, The Language of True Love, Bye, Bye Zimbabwe, In the House of Dogs, The Prophet Lied, Diary of the Memory Keeper, NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® and other books in print and electronic versions distributed by Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Lulu, Tower Books and other booksellers worldwide. He has been a former aide in the publicity department of the Alhaji Bamanga Tukur's Presidential Campaign in 1990 and now coordinating the Transform Nigeria Network in the social media.
 






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