Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Towercos To Increase Market Growth of Mobile Towers in Nigeria and Other Sub-Sahara African Countries


Towercos to increase market growth of mobile towers in Sub-Sahara Africa, says Frost & Sullivan

Infrastructure sharing and outsourcing will lead to new growth opportunities

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, June 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains one of the least connected regions in the world, with a mobile penetration of 82% compared to the 100% global average. In order to boost connectivity and increase network coverage, service providers will need to accelerate their investment in mobile towers, particularly in rural areas.

It is anticipated that growth will be driven by third-party tower companies (towercos), which will then lease capacity to mobile network operators (MNOs) as well as other providers of wireless communications services. MNOs are gradually becoming more open to selling off their infrastructure, or outsourcing its management to third-party providers, in order to focus on their core operations.
"Some MNO operators are concerned about losing strategic control and revenues when ownership of infrastructure is transfered to the towercos," said Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Lehlohonolo Mokenela. "To mitigate this, towercos should develop strong partnerships with MNOs in sale and leaseback deals, and invest in building a strong reputation and track record in infrastructure management."

Frost & Sullivan analysis titled "Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Telecom Infrastructure Market, Forecast to 2021" estimates that the market for tower services in the region was worth $991.7 million in 2016, and is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8% over the period 2016-2021, to reach $1,508.4 million by 2021. The study provides an analysis of the telecoms tower industry in SSA, highlighting trends in some of the leading markets in the region; including Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania.

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Reno Omokri's Facts Versus Fiction: Who is Fooling Whom?


Reno Omokri's Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years, Chibok, 2015 and the Conspiracies is stranger than fiction.
Read it for the amusement. Finis.


Reno Omokri’s assumptions and half truths are nothing new and his spurious allegations have been subjects of political gossip among Nigerians who don't need any book on the brazenly corrupt and incompetent administration of former President Goodluck.Jonathan and the abduction of the Chibok school girls on the night of April 14-15, 2014.


Both Omokri and his intellectually challenged boss are still bitter losers who continue to live in denial of the terrible consequences of their bastardization of democracy in the maladministration of the Nigerian government from 2010 to 2015.
They can tell their lies to ignoramuses, but not to those who were insiders of the former national ruling party, People's Democratic Party (PDP).
I was contracted to launch and manage the Transform Nigeria Network social media campaign for the reelection of Mr. Goodluck Jonathan. So, I was an insider.

The ongoing prosecution of the corrupt public officials in his government with shocking discoveries of millions of dollars hidden in soakaway pits, hidden in abandoned houses, in coffins and buried in other strange places should be enough to show the bizzare things done by Jonathan and his partners in crime. How they looted the national treasury and shared the billions of dollars to rig gubernatorial elections in Ekiti state and Rivers state where they sponsored hired killers to murder many members and supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the bloodiest elections in the political history of Nigeria.

Then how can the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces be so clueless about intelligence reports on the abduction of the Chibok school girls? When they should have been rescued before the kidnappers’ trucks left Chibok?


Reno Omokri accused former President of the US, Barack Obama of masterminding the electoral defeat of Goodluck Jonathan, because of his refusal to support gay marriage in Nigeria. This is political nonsense. A very stupid lie.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan lost the 2015 presidential election, because of his corruption and incompetence. 


Has anyone of the indicted military service chiefs denied the gross misappropriations of the revenue allocations of the Nigerian Armed Forces to buy arms for the war against Boko Haram?

Lest we forget, 11 parents of the missing Chibok school girls died afterwards and about 6 of the girls have been reported dead. So, anyone calling their abduction a scam is evil and wicked.


Former President Goodluck Jonathan sacked General Owoye Andrew Azazi (rtd), the National Security Adviser after Azazi said the PDP was implicated in the operations of the Boko Haram. And after his dismissal, Azazi was killed on December 15, 2012, along with Governor Yakowa of Kaduna state in a naval helicopter crash in Okoroba Village of Bayelsa State.
Read some facts on Azazi and Boko Haram on https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owoye_Andrew_Azazi.

Only idiots and ignoramuses will applaud Omokri and his shameless Otuoke drunkard who even failed to develop his own home state of Bayelsa whilst his equally shameless wife had their ill gotten millions of dollars stashed away in banks.


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, Author of The Victory of Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian Dream, an eye witness account of the 2015 presidential election in Nigeria, and other books.


Monday, June 12, 2017

June 12 and The Mandate of MKO Abiola


June 12 is unofficially MKO Abiola Day in Nigeria in memorial tribute to
Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, CFR (24 August 1937 – 7 July 1998), often referred to as M. K. O. Abiola.

He was a popular Nigerian Yoruba businessman, publisher, politician and aristocrat of the Yoruba Egba  clan.
He ran for the presidency in 1993, and is widely regarded as the presumed winner of the inconclusive election since no official final results were announced. He died in political detention in 1998, after being denied victory when the entire election results were dubiously annulled by the preceding military Head of State of Nigeria, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida because of alleged evidence that they were corrupt and unfair.

MKO Abiola casting his vote during the presidential election on June 12, 1993.

The ill-fated presidential elections were held in Nigeria on June 12, 1993, the first since the 1983 military coup. The result was a victory for Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) who defeated Bashir Tofa  of the National Republican Convention (NRC). The two political parties were formed by the military government.
However, the elections were later annulled by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, leading to a crisis that ended with late Gen.Sani Abacha heading a coup later in the year to take over power from Chief Ernest Adegunle Oladeinde Shonekan who was appointed as Interim President of Nigeria by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida on August 26, 1993.

Gen. Sani Abacha.
Generals Babangida and Abacha before the political fiasco in 1993.

The annulment caused widespread street protests and political riots against the military government with many protesters killed by the Nigerian police and Nigerian Army.

Saturday, June 10, 2017

Stephanie Linus Commiserates With UNFPA On the Passing of Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin

Nollywood star and Goodwill Ambassador of UNFPA for West and Central Africa, Stephanie Linus signing the condolence register at the UNFPA Office in Lagos to mourn Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.

(6 February 1949 – 4 June 2017).

Today, I remember a great man, a renowned global public health leader and a beloved father who passed on recently. Dr Babatunde Osotimehin, who until his death a few days ago was the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is someone whose contributions to reducing maternal mortality and promoting universal access to reproductive health always served as an inspiration to me. It’s sad that he is gone and I commiserate with his family and loved ones. He will always be remembered for his passionate and diligent service.

Rest In Peace.

Friday, June 9, 2017

Federal Republic of Nigeria to Issue Diaspora Bond


Federal Republic of Nigeria to Issue Diaspora Bond



  ABUJA, Nigeria, June 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federal Republic of Nigeria ("Nigeria") announced today the commencement of a global offering of its first Diaspora Bond.  Nigeria has filed a registration statement for the Bonds with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.  Application will be made for the Bonds to be admitted to the official list of the UK Listing Authority and to the London Stock Exchange plc (the "London Stock Exchange") for the bonds to be admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange's regulated market.

The bonds will be direct, general obligations of Nigeria, denominated in U.S. Dollars. The international Joint Lead Managers are Bank of America Merrill Lynch and The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited and the Nigerian Joint Lead Managers are First Bank of Nigeria Limited and United Bank for Africa Plc. There will be a series of investor meetings in the United Kingdom, the United States and Switzerland commencing on June 13, 2017. Pricing is expected to occur following the investor meetings, subject to market conditions.

Contact information:
Debt Management Office
The Presidency
Plot 447/448, Constitution Avenue
Central Business District
P.M.B. 532 Garki, Abuja – Nigeria
Tel: 234(0)8110000881-3
Email: enquiries@dmo.gov.ng

Thursday, June 8, 2017

Stephanie Linus's Statement in Response To Allegations of Copyright Infringement on "Dry"



Stephanie Linus's Statement in Response To Allegations of Copyright Infringement on "Dry"


PRESS RELEASE

Character assassination is at once easier and surer than physical assault; and it involves far less risk for the assassin. It leaves him free to commit the same deed over and over again, and may indeed win him the honors of a hero in the country of his victims.
Alan Barth (1906  1979)

On the 19TH of May, 2017, I received a letter from one Rafiu Bello acting on behalf of one Daniella Madudu accusing me of appropriation of an original literary work that was allegedly stolen from her by Ms. Joy Ndidi (an allegation that has been roundly refuted), copyright infringement and all manner of impropriety as relates my movie DRY and demanding that I credit this Daniella Madudu with ownership of my work, pay the sum of N60,000,000 (SIXTY MILLION NAIRA) and royalties; or face a campaign of calumny(which by the way is already afoot) both home and abroad.
Naturally, my initial reaction was to ignore it as something so ludicrous as to be able to find firm footing in the mind of any normal or rightly thinking individual and only routinely passed it onto my lawyers at a later date and thought nothing more of it. They (my lawyers), as a matter of course responded to it.

That these persons have since gone ahead with their premeditated plan to defame me upon allegations they know to be baseless, spurious and glaringly untrue is no longer news as the media is presently awash with the fruit of their labour and ordinarily I would not have dignified it with a response but for the sake of posterity and lest my silence be termed an admission of any wrongdoing whatsoever, I will simply proceed to state the facts here, viz:
That since my undergraduate days at the University of Calabar, I have been very passionate and deeply concerned about Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF), the plight of the girl-child and sexual violence against the female gender.

That in 2006 whilst still on crutches as a result of my ghastly automobile accident from the year before, I volunteered with the Mercy Ships Aberdeen West Africa Fistula Centre (as it then was) in Sierra Leone all out of my own personal savings as this was and will always be a cause very dear to my heart.

That in 2007/08 I visited the Mariam Abacha Women and Childrens Hospital, Sokoto where I personally made donations to the victims of VVF.

That in 2008 I was invited by The United Nations and the Government of Liberia to participate in the anti-rape campaign, Stop Rape and the Liberia Fistula Project.

That through my non-governmental organisation, The Extended Hands Foundation and our numerous partners, over 150 women and young ladies across the country have successfully undergone reconstructive surgery and have gone on to live wholesome fulfilling lives free of the stigmatization and the sheer pain and discomfort that comes with VVF.
That I registered the script for my movie DRY with The United States Copyright Office on November 28TH, 2011.

That I registered the script for my movie DRY with The Nigerian Copyright Commission on July 27TH, 2012.
That my movie DRY was shot in the months of August and September, 2012 in Nigeria.
That the unofficial trailer for DRY was released to lend my voice in support of the Child Not Bride campaign.

That Ms. Joy Ndidis first ever contact with me was in 2013 (DRY was already a finished project at this time) and it was not until June 2013 that she was officially engaged to provide content and ad-placement for my personal blog, The Stephanie Daily for all of six (6) months and this she did from the comfort of her home.

That the so called original literary work of the Daniella Madudu, I was supposed to have appropriated in my movie has never been registered at The Nigerian Copyright Commission even as we speak.
These are easily verifiable facts that any half-hearted attempt at investigative and responsible journalism would have turned up if indeed uncovering the truth for the benefit of the public was the primary motive behind the malicious publication.
It is truly a sorry pass we have come to as society when all it takes to ruin a persons reputation overnight is the spewing forth of mere accusations just because he or she happens to be in the public eye.

I choose to speak out and address this vice that has suddenly become the norm in our society and the acceptable standard of modern day journalism. We used to be better than this as a people; my prayer is that we still are.

DRY is more than just a movie; it is a righteous cause for voiceless women and young girls who have suffered the most debilitating kind of emotional and physical abuse, and anyone who seeks to denigrate this painful sacrifice with a smear campaign, with the intent to make gain or attract cheap publicity, simply lacks wisdom.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all those that have shown tremendous support and spoken up these past few days to end these words the same way it began:
"An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does the truth become error because nobody sees it. Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self-sustained. "
~ Mahatma Gandhi

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Real-time IoT Data in Smart Cities, Buildings, and Homes 2017 - 2022

Photo Credit: Sensus.

Real-time IoT Data in Smart Cities, Buildings, and Homes 2017 - 2022

Real-time IoT Data in Smart Cities, Buildings, and Homes 2017 - 2022
May 2017 53 pages Mind Commerce Publishing
Report ID: 4927546.

Overview:
Smart Cities represent a combination of technologies deployed in an urban environment to transform the administration and support of living and working environments. One very important aspect of smart city deployments is use of various Internet of Things (IoT) technologies for purposes of monitoring systems, automating processes, and gathering data.

As a subset of Smart Cities, Smart Buildings utilize IoT and other technologies to provide enhanced facility management as well as improved safety, comfort, security, and productivity for workers. Another important part of Smart Cities is Smart Homes, which represents Internet connected residences that provide an enhanced lifestyle for its occupants by way of home automation as well as enhanced information, entertainment, and safety services.

In the case of all Smart City elements, there is underlying support from IoT Platforms and IoT Data Management and analytics to provide control, automation, and enable better decision making. This research assesses the global market for IoT generated from Smart Cities, Smart Buildings, and Smart Homes. All purchases of Mind Commerce reports includes time with an expert analyst who will help you link key findings in the report to the business issues you're addressing. This needs to be used within three months of purchasing the report.

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

The Best Nigerian Films from 1970 - 2016

Francis Oladele.

The Best Nigerian Films from 1970 - 2016

In the history of Nigerian cinema from when I started going to the movie theatres in 1970 (following my great father Sunday Eke, who loved movies) to date, I have not seen up to 20 Nigerian films that I can call great movies.

Francis Oladele produced "Kongi's Harvest" in 1970, directed by the African American filmmaker, Ossie Davis with the screenplay by Prof. Wole Soyinka adapted from his 1965 play of the same title. Oladele also produced "Bullfrog in the Sun" of 1972, the film adaptation of the great Chinua Achebe's two classic novels, "Things Fall Apart" and "No Longer at Ease" directed by Hansjürgen Pohland of Germany whom I contacted in 2012, before he passed away on May 17, 2014 in Mandelieu-la-Napoule (Alpes-Maritimes, France).


He was a member of the jury at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1965. Oladele passed away on Monday, June 22, 2015.
The following are Pohland's emails.
Dear Michael Chima,

yes,  My name is Hansjuergen , but also called JASON POHLAND.

I directeted this movie.

But I myself are looking for a print of the movie.

Where is Francis OLADELE now?

If you find one, please inform  me, so we can secure the material.

Also if you find posters etc.

Good to have contact with you.

Best JASON

www.POHLAND-JASON.com.
Dear Michael Chima,

please give my best regards and wishes for his birthday to Francis:

If you get hold of a print try to make a file and send it to me.
The BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL has strong interest to show the film during
its festival.

Thank you for all the informations you wrote, very interesting.

Hope to see you in the future.

Warmest regards,
JASON    

Scenes from "Bullfrog in the Sun".



"Shaihu Umar" in Hausa
by Adamu Halilu, Epic Drama, Nigeria, 1976, 142', Hausa with English Subtitles"
https://www.africanfilm.com/products/shaihu-umar

Dr. Ola Balogun, Nigeria's greatest filmmaker since 1970 to date, directed the first Igbo language film, "Amadi" in 1975 and the Yoruba language film, "Ajani Ogun" in 1976.


Dr. Ola Balogun as a young filmmaker directing one of his films.



Ossie Davis directed "Countdown at Kusini" in 1976, produced by Ladi Ladebo.
"Bisi Daughter of the River" in 1977 directed by Joseph Abiodun Babajide, aka "Jab Adu" and produced by Ladi Ladebo is one of the best films in the Nigerian film industry.




"The Rise and Fall of Dr. Oyenusi" - A Film by Eddie Ugbomah
Eddie Ugbomah (19 December 1940 – 11 May 2019) was a Nigerian film director and producer. He directed and produced films such as the Rise and Fall of Oyenusi in 1979, The Boy is Good and Apalara, a film about the life and murder of Alfa Apalara in Oko Awo, Lagos. The plots of some of his films are loosely based on real life events, The Rise and Fall of Oyenusi is based on the career of a notorious robber, Ishola Oyenusi.
Sociopolitical Representations in African Cinema: Paulin S. Vieyra, Djibril Diop Mambéty, Eddie Ugbomah and Ola Balogun in the Footsteps of Ousmane Sembène | Africa Development
https://www.journals.codesria.org/index.php/ad/article/view/644



Ola Balogun directed "Ija Ominira" in 1978 for Adeyemi Afolayan, popularly known as "Ade Love".


Chief Hubert Ogunde, the greatest dramatist in the history of Nigerian drama produced a great film, "Aiye" in 1980 directed by Ola Balogun who directed his own war film, " Cry Freedom" in 1981.

EFUNSETAN ANIWURA

The film adaptation of, a historical biography of Efunsetan Aniwura by Prof. Akinwunmi Ishola was shot on celluloid by the popular Yoruba dramatist Ishola Ogunshola in 1981 after the stage plays by Ishola Ogunshola's I Sho Pepper travelling theatre group in Oyo state, Lagos state and other places in the south west of Nigeria.

EFUNSETAN ANIWURA 1981, directed by Bankole Bello.was the only Nigerian film in the Official Selection for International Competition at the 1982 Festival of 3 Continents in France and later selected in 1986 special focus on Nigerian cinema at the same film festival."
http://totnaija.blogspot.com/2018/01/retro-efunsetan-aniwura-classics-of.html
 

Adeyemi Afolayan's "Kadara" of 1980 and "Taxi Driver" of 1983 are classics.

Monday, June 5, 2017

National Geographic's Chasing Genius Challenges Anyone To Unleash Their Inner Genius And Win $25,000



National Geographic's Chasing Genius Announces First Series Of Challenges Enabling Anyone To Unleash Their Inner Genius And Win $25,000 To Turn Their Ideas Into A Catalyst For Change In The World.


CHASING GENIUS, Part of an Integrated Partnership with GSK Consumer Healthcare, is a Groundbreaking Initiative Designed to Accelerate Transformative Ideas

WASHINGTON, June 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Based on the premise that transformative ideas can come from anywhere, and from anyone, National Geographic, along with partner GSK Consumer Healthcare, is introducing CHASING GENIUS, a global community that can help change the world. The Chasing Genius Challenge, a competition to find innovative ideas that address some of the world's most critical issues, offers an incredible opportunity to provide real solutions by everyday people. Winners of the Chasing Genius Challenge will receive $25,000 to expand upon their ideas, helping to further creative solutions toward positive global change.
Anyone with an idea that can help make the world a better place can learn more and apply today at www.natgeochasinggenius.com.

CHASING GENIUS is part of a broader, groundbreaking integrated partnership between National Geographic and GSK Consumer Healthcare, the makers of some of the world's best loved health care brands including Sensodyne®, Flonase® Sensimist™ and Excedrin®, that spans premium programming, custom storytelling and consumer engagement designed to inspire consumers to tap into their inner genius.
Click here to read the full report.

Saturday, June 3, 2017

The Most Secret Boko Haram Videos from Boko Haram



The execution of the men in the town of Kumshe, and other scenes showing Boko Haram members callously going about the daily business of their self-proclaimed caliphate are the subject of a VOA four-part video series, “Boko Haram: Terror Unmasked.”


The unedited recordings made little or no effort to hide the group’s most brutal acts. By all indications – time stamps on the videos, references by fighters, events described in news broadcasts heard in the background – the recordings were made in late 2014 and 2015, a period of expansion by Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria.

Click here to read how How VOA Obtained Secret Boko Haram Videos | VOA Special Report.
The Victory of Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian Dream: My Testimony on the 2015 Presidential Election


Click here to order paperback edition.
Click here to order Amazon Kindle version.