NNPC Spokesman Levi Ajuonuma and others Killed in Dana Plane Crash

Dr. Levi Ajuonuma.

Dr. Levi Ajuonuma, the Group General Manager, Public Affairs Division of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)was among the eminent Nigerians and others who lost their lives in the ill-fated Dana Airline flight 0992 from Abuja that crashed Sunday afternoon in Lagos with about 153 people on board. The plane crashed on Popoola Street, off Akande Street, Toyin Bus Stop, Agbado Road in Iju-Ishaga outskirts of Lagos. Ajuonuma was a popular Radio and TV producer and presenter


Photo of the air disaster from 360nobs.

The outdated McDonnel Douglas 83 aircraft of Dana Air Flight 0992 was already over 22 years old and flying it was a total violation of the aircraft age policy of the Federal Ministry of Aviation. The Federal Government of Nigeria should prosecute Dana Airline and make sure the management of the airline pays fully for the loss of lives and properties caused by this air disaster even if would mean revoking the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) of Dana Airlines until further notice. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is also complicit in the culpable failure to prosecute erring airlines still violating the air safety laws in Nigeria.

The appointment of incompetent administrators is the cause of the maladministration destroying the government and causing the systemic collapse of all the apparatuses of public service in every sector of the Nigerian government. A bad government is responsible for bad administrators, bad roads, bad airports, bad railroads, bad hospitals, bad schools, bad security services and other bad consequences and repercussions such as the catastrophic air disaster of the Sunday afternoon in Lagos. There have been more air disasters in Nigeria since 1999 to date than from when Nigeria became independent on October 1, 1960 to 1998. That is; we have had more air disasters under the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 12 years than we had in 39 years before 1999. And the sooner we dismiss this bad government the better, healthier, safer and wealthier we would be to secure our lives and properties now and in the future, otherwise we would be losing more lives and properties under this bad government. The more time we are wasting the more lives and properties we are wasting as we continue to endure and tolerate the incompetent cabinet of the present corrupt administration of the Nigerian government. Enough is enough!


May the souls of Dr. Levi Ajuonuma and other precious people who died in the Dana Air disaster on Sunday June 3, 2012, in Lagos, rest in peace. And may God who alone knows the depth of the loss comfort the bereaved families, relations, friends, associates and the entire people of our beloved nation Nigeria.


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, Author of Scarlet Tears of London and other books.

Complete Manifest of Lagos Dana Air crash
On June 3, 2012 ·



Taiwo Lamidi, Awodogan Olusanmi, Obi Chinwe ,Shaibu Memuna, Maj. I D Mohammed, Nagidi Ibrahim, Attu Anthonia, Shaibu Sam, Ifeanyi Orakwe, Obinna Akubueze, Li Rui, Xie Zhengfen, Okoe Ese Oghene, Chukwuemeka Okere, Adekunmbi Adebiyi, Ibrahim Matunkari, Wasa Ruth, Wasa Awyetu, Ojukwu Alvana, Lawal Anakobe, Nabil Garba, Mohammed Falmata, Ibrahim Jangana,Okikiolu Olukayode, Komolafe Olugbenga, Dike Chinwe, Dike Chukwu Ezugo, Olusola Arokoyo, Adekola Ayoola, Akinola Olumodeji, Olukoya Banji , Saka Otaru, Adeleke Oluwadamila, Yusuf Ibrahin, Ikpoki Obiola, Aikhomu Ehime, Levy Ajuonuma, Mbong Eventus, Fatokun Olaoluwa, Oshunbade Aderoju, Fatokun Anjuola, Fatokun Ibukun, Buhari Maikudu, Amina Idris Bugaje, Ajani Adenike, Ike Abugu, Adijolola Abraham, Obot Emmanuel, Otegbeye Adiza, Ehioghae Sunny.

others are:

Onwuliri Celestine

Abikalio Otatoru

Norris Kim

Eyo Bassey

Ntuko Charles

Anibaba Tosin

Okocha Christopher

Shobowale femi

Phillip Chukwuebuka

Sparagano Lawrence

Shomolu Oluwakemi

Ariyibe Temitope

Mecha Eke

Ojugbana Amaka

Ojugbana Christopher

Hunna Walter

Coker Olumide

Lillian Last

Mutir Stephanus

Yusuf Alli

Lt. Chumba Ochigbo

Eribake Wale

Zhai Shutao

Wang Yu

D. Awani

O. Awani

N. Chidiac

Rejoel Dhose

Li Huizhu

Apochi Godwin

Kang Yi

Inusa Ahmed

Faysal Inusa

Mojekwu Adeobi

Ibrahim . D

Bamaiyi Adamu

Ifekawa Jones

Peter Nosike

Anthony Nwaokogbara

Mamudu Aliyu

Nnamdi John

Akwa Eze Elizabeth

Dorothy Adeduni

Echiedu Ibe

Maria Okuleri

Jennifer Ibe

Oloko Tunji

Sarah Mshelia

Ahmed Mbana

Okonji Patrick

Oyosore Rajulie

Oyosore Ugabio

Kaikai Farida

David Kolawole Fortune

David Kolawole Eyinlojuoluwa

Kaltun Abubakar

Dukawa Mammud

Pathience Sunday Udo

Asuquo Ini Obong

Onomelease Aimanehi

Onyeagosha Chidinma

Onyeagocha Ogechi

Ike Okoye

Amiaka Rapheal

Ijeoma Onyijuke

Garba Abdu

Abdu Aisha

Benson Oluwayomi

Anthoni Okaro

Onyeka Anyiene

Humra Lawal

Manuma. Ayune

Berki Sumyindadi

Ebuka Enuma

Oluchi Onyia

Sunday O

George Moses

Ogechi Njoku

Nsa Anyere

Kasmisgona Anyene

Stanford Obrutse

Kayinetochi Anyene

Okeke Hope

Kaimarachi Anyene

Rev. Ayodeji Cole

Ngozi

Noah Anyene

Ailendi Ehi

Oluwasegun Funmi Abiodun

Shehu Saad Usman

Aladi Martins

Auta Jennifer

Auta Josephine

Ike Achonogor

Joy Alison

John Ahmadu

Agu Rogers

Tatokin Anjola

Tatokin Idris


Catalogue of Air Disasters in Nigeria compiled by The Guardian Newspaper of Nigeria.

• November 20, 1969: Nigeria Airways BAC VC10 crashed on landing, killing 87 people on board.

• January 22, 1973: Royal Jordanian Airlines flight 707 carrying 171 Nigerian Muslims returning from Mecca and five crewmen crashed in Kano, killing all on board.

• March 1, 1978: Nigeria Airways F28-1000 crashed in Kano, killing 16 people.

• November 28, 1983: Nigeria Airways F28-1000 crashed near Enugu, killing 53 on board.

• December 1988: Skypower Brandeironte aircraft overshot Ilorin Airport’s runway, killing all the passengers.

• February 24,1991: British Helicopter crashed in Eket, Akwa Ibom State, killing all nine people on board.

• May 21, 1991: A Cessna Citation 550 of Ashaka Cement, Hombe, crashed, killing all on board.

• June 26, 1991: An Okada Air Bac-11 crashed in Sokoto, killing three persons.

• September 26, 1992: Nigerian Air Force A C-130 plane crashed minutes after take-off from Lagos. All 200 on board killed.

• June 24, 1995: Harka Air Services Tupolev 34 crashed on landing in Lagos, killing 16.

• November 13, 1995: Nigeria Airways Boeing 737-2F9 crashed on landing in Kaduna, killing 9.

• January 17, 1996: Ibrahim Abacha, son of Sani Abacha, was killed in a plane crash. The group “United Front for Nigeria’s Liberation” (UFNL) claimed responsibility for the crash.

• November 7, 1996: A Nigerian ADC (Aviation Development Corporation) Airline Boeing 727-231 flying from Port Harcourt to Lagos with 142 passengers and 9 crew members crashed on landing, plunging into the lagoon with all on board killed.

• January 31, 1997: SkyPower Express Airways Embraer 110PIA crashed on landing in Yola, killing five.

• September 12, 1997: NAF Dornier 228-212 in Nguru, Borno State ran into a ditch during take off, none of the 10 people died.

• January 5, 2000: SkyPower Express Airways Bandeirante 110P1A crashes on landing in Abuja, killing 17.

• October 26, 2000: Dornier aircraft plunged into a thick bush near the Niger Delta, 6 occupants injured.

• May 4, 2002: EAS Airlines’ BAC 1-11-500 with 105 people on board crashed and burst into flames in a densely populated suburb of Kano, killing 76 on board and 72 on the ground bringing total casualties to148.

• November 30, 2003: A Cargo aircraft of Hydro Cargo, Brussels, Belgium, crash-landed.

• March 6, 2004: An Aenail spray aircraft with registration number 5NBEF belonging to Berfieex Nigeria Ltd, crashed at the Bauchi Airport.

• July 26, 2004: Pan African Airlines’ helicopter crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in Eacraros, Delta State, killing four persons on board.

• December 29, 2004: A Boeing 727 of Chanchangi Airlines belly-landed at the MMA.

• December 29, 2004: A Kenya Airlines aircraft crashed- landed at the MMA due to gear fault.

• January 28, 2005: A Nigeria Air Force fighter plane crashed into a farmland in Yar Kanya, Kano State.

• February 25, 2005: ADC’s B73 aircraft had its tyre burnt while landing at Yola Airport.

• March 27, 2005: A Boeing 737 of Bellview had one of its engines caught fire.

• June 11/12, 2005: Lagos: a Boeing 727-200 aircraft belonging to the domestic Chachangi Airlines overshot the runway at Murtala Muhammed Airport, while yet another overshot the runway at the airport in Jos in central Nigeria a day earlier.

• June 24, 2005: A Russian aircraft belonging to Harka Air crash- landed at the MMA, all the people on board died

• July 6, 2005, Port Harcourt: An Air France A330 plane crashed into a herd of cattle at Port Harcourt airport, sustaining serious damage and killing many of the cows.

• July 23, 2005, a Lufthansa aircraft crash-landed at Lagos airport and was badly damaged, but no life was lost.

• October 22, 2005: A Bellview Airlines Boeing 737 with 117 people on board crashed shortly after take-off from Lagos. All on board killed.

• December 10, 2005: A Sosoliso Airlines DC-9 crashes in Port Harcourt, killing all 103 on board.

• September 17, 2006: A 18-seater Dornier 228 Air Force transport plane, carrying 15 senior army officers and three crew members crashed in Benue State, leaving only three survivors.

• October 29, 2006: Aviation Development Corporation Airline Boeing 737 with 104 on board crashed minutes after take-off from Abuja’s airport. All but 6 perished in the disaster.

• November 10, 2006: OAS Service Helicopter crashed in Warri, Delta state killing four on board.

• August 2, 2007: Bristow-owned helicopter crashed inside ExxonMobil facility in Port Harcourt.

• March 15, 2008: Beechcraft 1900D plane marked 5N-JAH, belonging to Wing Aviation crashed in Cross River State. The wreakage was not found until 6 months after. All four crew members died.

• March 14, 2002: A helicopter belonging to the Joint Task Force (JTF) crashed in Kabong, Jos, killing all members onboard including four senior police officers.

• May 4, 2002: Executive Airline Services (EAS) BAC-1-11-525Ft aircraft crashed at Aminu Kano International Airport Kano, killing 70 people.

• December 10 2005: A Port Harcourt bound Sosoliso Airlines flight 1145 crash-landed in Port Harcourt Airport, killing 109 passengers including 60 students of Jesuit Loyola College Abuja.

• October 22, 2005: A twin Engine Boeing 737, belonging to Belview Airline crashed in Lisa Village, Ogun State and killed all the 117 passengers on board.

• October 29, 2006: An ADC aircraft crashed when it took off from Abuja, killing 105 people on board.

• November 10, 2006: A six-seater helicopter belonging to Odengene Air Shuttle (OAS) crashed in Delta State and killed two people.

• September 16 2006: Air Force plane crashed in Benue State killing Army generals.

• March 15, 2008: A twin-turbo Prop 19-seater aircraft belonging to Wings Aviation Ltd crashed in Calabar while on a routine flight from MMA, Lagos.

• March 8, 2011: HS-125 chartered aircraft crashed in Bauchi. No casualty.

July 29, 2011: A Kwara State-bound helicopter crashed in Osun State killing all on board including the Managing Director of Josepdam Group of Companies, Mrs. Josephine Oluwadamilola Kuteyi and her personal assistant.

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Contemporary Russian Writers Meet New Yorkers on the Rooftop

Russian "Queen of Horror" Anna Starobinets


Contemporary Russian Writers Meet New Yorkers on the Rooftop

NEW YORK, June 2, 2012/PRNewswire/ --
Russia Beyond the Headlines (RBTH), an internationally recognized source of information on Russia, will participate in the Read Russia festival - an initiative celebrating contemporary Russian literature and book culture during BookExpo America at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City, June 2-7.

Some events will be held in conjunction with BookExpo America (BEA), where Russia is the 2012 guest of honor. Sponsored by Russia's Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications, Read Russia is by far the largest and most complete program on Russian literature and culture ever organized in the United States.

Gary Shteyngart, author of New York Times Bestseller Super Sad True Love Story

A series of late-night parties, music, and performances devoted to Russian literature called Read Russia Roof at the Dream Hotel will take place during the festival. The full schedule is available at http://readrussia2012.com/events
The RBTH booth at the Read Russia festival (Javits Center, #2424) will offer visitors the latest print supplements appearing in the New York Times and the Washington Post. RBTH supplements provide readers with the latest news and analysis on Russia's political, economic and social life.

A special RBTH magazine - Voices of Read Russia - will also be available for free during the event. This useful guide to contemporary Russian literature will introduce readers to the likes of "Queen of Horror" Anna Starobinets and offer the opportunity to learn more about Gary Shteyngart, whose book Super Sad True Love Story appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list in 2011. The magazine will also feature special content on Dmitry Bykov, a writer and columnist for various Russian periodicals who also authored the verses for "Citizen Poet," a year-long satirical project on Putin's Russia.

Each day during the festival, RBTH will raffle off an album of travel photos, Russia Through a Train Window, by photographer Anton Langue. The album is a travelogue of his multi-year journey across Russia.

Since 2007, Russia Beyond the Headlines has published monthly supplements about modern Russia in leading global media. Currently, supplements are published in 19 of the world's leading newspapers, including The New York Times and The Washington Post. RBTH maintains a website http://www.rbth.ru, which features expanded content and resources, website for mobiles mobile.rbth.ru and RBTH for iPad. Free iPad app can be downloaded.:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/touch-russia/id479508480?ls=1&mt=8

Source: Russia Beyond the Headlines

CONTACTS: Anna Sergeeva, RBTH Representative in New York, Tel: +1-201-851-7469, E-mail: anna.sergeeva@rbth.ru



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Ginny, First Coal Mining Search and Rescue Dog in the World

Ginny, First Coal Mining Search and Rescue Dog.

1 Jun 2012 12:30 Africa/Lagos

Alpha Natural Resources Introduces Ginny, the First Coal Mining Search and Rescue Dog
Ginny underscores Alpha Natural Resources' ongoing commitment to safety



BRISTOL, Va., June 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE: ANR), a leading U.S. coal producer, today introduced Ginny, the first canine specifically trained to perform search and rescue in both underground and surface structures typically found at mining operations, as part of the company's signature safety process, Running Right.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120601/CG16907)

Kevin Crutchfield, chairman and CEO of Alpha Natural Resources, said, "We are excited to welcome Ginny to the Alpha Natural Resources family. She is a tremendous new asset for mine search and rescue, both for our company and the industry, and is part of our larger commitment to safety. Ginny also demonstrates our Running Right process in action, showing how our company takes employee ideas to enhance safety and makes them a reality."

Ginny, a brindle-colored Dutch Shepherd, is trained to search for missing, trapped, injured or unresponsive humans in unstable conditions or confined areas. She has a highly-developed scent ability and can canvass large areas in short amounts of time. To help protect and support her when working in the field, Ginny also wears a specially designed protective vest that carries sophisticated technology, such as an infrared camera and atmospheric gas detector when underground.

Ginny was bred at a kennel that provides some of the highest-performing dogs in existence to branches of the U.S. military, law enforcement and homeland security. Her formal training took over two years and was led by Bill Dotson, a well-recognized canine behaviorist with expertise in the development of highly specialized skills for search, rescue and recovery. Ginny continues to train with Alpha's mine search and rescue teams so that they know how to best work with her and leverage her skills.

Ginny currently resides with her handler, Rick McAllister, Alpha's Director of Continuous Improvement; Rick was also the employee who came up with the idea that the Company should train a dog specifically for mine search and rescue.

Ginny is making her first official public appearance today at the Governor's Cup Mine Rescue Contest in Cedar Bluff, VA. In the coming week, she will also be attending the 2012 National Search and Rescue conference in Lake Tahoe, NV.

To learn more about Ginny, please visit www.AlphaMineRescueDog.com, like her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter or watch her on YouTube.

About Alpha Natural Resources

With $7.1 billion in total revenue in 2011, Alpha Natural Resources ranks as America's second-largest coal producer by revenue and third-largest by production. Alpha is the nation's largest supplier of metallurgical coal used in the steel-making process and is a major supplier of thermal coal to electric utilities and manufacturing industries. In 2011, the company had more than 200 customers on five continents. More information about Alpha can be found on the company's Web site at www.alphanr.com.

Note to local media

Ginny will be at the Governor's Cup Mine Rescue Contest today if you are interested in meeting her in-person; two members of the Alpha Natural Resources search and rescue team who work closely with Ginny will also be present to speak with the press. The event is taking place at the Southwest Virginia Community College Activity Field located at 724 Community College Road, Cedar Bluff, VA 24609.

Directions to the event are at: http://www.sw.edu/community/directions.htm.

SOURCE Alpha Natural Resources

CONTACT: Samantha Davison, +1-443-603-8954, sdavison@alphanr.com; John Dudzinsky, +1-212-300-1817, jdudzinsky@apcoworldwide.com

Web Site: http://www.AlphaMineRescueDog.com

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Mr. President, Stop the Domestication and the Abusive Privatization of Police Officers

Nigerian Police officers on duty.

Mr. President, Stop the Domestication and the Abusive Privatization of Police Officers

~ John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D.

President Jonathan, it is time for an executive order to be issued in order to put an end to the ongoing deeply painful domestic and abusive relationship between law enforcement officers, the police in particular and very important persons in the country.

Many reasonable Nigerians take this issue extremely essential, and as one who specialize in police/prison science, forensic psychology and as one born to a father who contributed about forty years of police service to the Nigerian people; it is an eyesore for me to see on a daily basis, a sworn police officer in an enslaved posture in public.

In this respect, this is a personal issue for me and to many thinking Nigerians who see the basic duties and responsibilities of a police officer as that which include protecting the lives and properties of the people.

But as it is now, under the desire of some police officers and many highly placed persons/families in Nigeria a look at various public or open places will show the sight of an officer holding two or three mobile phone handsets, holding handbags, briefcases, umbrellas, coats, or a plastic bag of neatly packed food, and at the same time timidly holding a gun in the unfilled hand.

All these are going on with the very important person, “big man”, or “madam” or even oyinbo (a white person) who may be on the officer’s side spotting a look of superiority with completely empty hands.

Mr. President if this is not open insanity then the world would like to know what this type of image is, especially when both hands are supposed to be on a gun for the purpose of accuracy and quickness in a life and death situation?

If not for poor judgment the person being guarded ought to know that it is a lot harder to have an accurate grip of a gun with the officer’s gun resting on his/her side, or hanging on the wall, or anywhere else because both hands are occupied with goods and gadgets.

It is not unusual to see this type of sight with the officer in a standing or passive position while the important person or boss is using the phones interchangeably, talking/laughing loudly, seriously engaged in telephone or having a face to face talk in an open setting.

As a psychologist, I have always wondered what could be going through the thoughts and feelings of the police officer–turned servant who in many cases appeared to hold a face marked with a hungry look, a very serious expression or an artificially smiling face.

Mr. President, in a highly challenged society like ours there is need for highly placed persons to have security but for God’s sake the unscrupulous, authoritarian, unoriginal, dishonorable and imprudent behaviors of some in power or in high positions should stop now.

Mr. President, in the last one year the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, retired Deputy-General of Police, Mr. Parry Osayande, and just of recent the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, and a former Lagos State police commissioner, Mr. Abubakar Tsav have respectively called for a stop to the barbarous misuse of our law enforcement officers.

Mr. President, we live at a time when various areas of the Nigerian criminal justice system are being called upon locally and internationally to become more effective, efficient or valuable in their constitutional duties.

Just like the order you gave as in the case of the directive to have Executive positions being advertised and given out on merit, the same should be done in regards to the ethical and professional use of our law enforcement officers.
Sir, the brutal truth is that the dehumanization, oppression, bullying, and the cross sexualized image we see when a male uniform officer is holding an Italian shinning real leather handbag for “madam” due to misuse of power is disgusting and should stop now.

Mr. President, no matter what many of your aides say, including the acting Inspector-General of Police who is waiting to be confirmed by some of these social offenders to officers, it will be almost suicidal for a police man or woman to tell the very important person to carry his or her own handbag or briefcase.

Mr. President while of some of these power-that-be may defy your order as some have done in regards to your order that Ministers should have a certain number of aides, let this be different this time by applying the psychology of shame.

In an emerging democracy like Nigeria the duty of a police officer, whether in the service to an average or highly placed person is to extend his or her constitutional responsibilities which include ensuring the safety of the individual and not playing the role of a servant or a domestic as enslavement practices ended in Nigeria a very long time ago.


~ John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D., is an Abuja based Forensic/Clinical Psychologist. Jos5930458@aol.com 08126909839.

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The Biggest and Largest Nigerian Website Has 8 Million Users

Yookos is the biggest and largest Nigerian website and the fastest growing social networking site in Africa developed and owned by Nigerians and has already attracted over 8 million users within a year.

Yookos has a special focus on Africans and blacks in the Diaspora to provide a cosmopolitan hub for them on the internet and without the irrelevant junk found on the most popular Western social networking sites where pornography and antisocial trivialities have corrupted the users and polluted cyberspace.

The CEO of Yookos is Mr. Tomisin Fashina and Yookos is targeting 20 million users before the end of 2012.

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GT Bank’s GMD Agbaje Wins African Banker of the Year Award

Mr. Agbaje

Mr. J. K. Olusegun Agbaje, the Group Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc has won the 2012 African Banker of the Year award at the 6th and first ever African Banker Awards held in Africa.
Mr. Tim Turner, Director of the Private Sector Operations of the African Development Bank (AfDB), made the presentation of the award at the well attended African Banker Awards on May 30, 2012, in Arusha, Tanzania.

Other winners included Mr. Arnold Ekpe, Group Managing Director of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) who was given a Lifetime Achievement Award and Access Bank Plc won the Best Bank in West Africa Award.

The African Banker Awards is one of the biggest landmark annual events that recognizes and celebrates the achievements of Africa’s banking and financial sector.


About Mr. Agbaje:

With over 19 years investment and international banking experience, Mr. Agbaje is involved in the general management of the bank’s day-to-day operations and has earned a reputation as a truly accomplished and highly respected professional within the West Africa sub-region, given his diverse experience in the financial services industry.

Prior to joining Guaranty Trust Bank plc, he worked with Ernst & Young, San Francisco, USA. He subsequently joined Guaranty Trust Bank as a pioneer staff in 1991 and rose through the ranks to become an Executive Director in January 2000, and Deputy Managing Director in August 2002, in light of his diverse background and experience in almost all areas of the bank’s activities including commercial banking, investment banking, treasury, corporate planning and strategy, settlements and operations.

Mr. Agbaje possesses a deep understanding of the Nigerian business environment having initiated and led the execution of large, innovative and complex transactions in financial advisory, structured and project finance, balance sheet restructuring and debt and equity capital raising in several sectors of the Nigerian economy notably Oil and Gas, Energy, Telecommunications, Financial Services and Manufacturing industries. In addition, he helped in developing the Interbank Derivatives market amongst dealers in the Nigerian banking industry and introduced the Balance Sheet Management Efficiency system.

He was also very instrumental in putting together Guaranty Trust Bank’s landmark USD350million Eurobond offering in 2007 and later that year, the listing of its US$750 million Global Depository Receipts (GDR) in an unprecedented concurrent global offering in the domestic and international capital markets – which made Guaranty Trust Bank the first Nigerian company and first bank in Sub-Saharan Africa to be listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. In 2011, he further led GTBank to launch the first Sub-Saharan Africa financial sector benchmark Eurobond when the Bank launched its USD500million Eurobond without a sovereign guarantee or credit enhancement from any international financial institution.
Mr. Agbaje serves on the boards of several other notable companies including Guaranty Trust Assurance Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank (Ghana) Limited, Guaranty Trust Bank (Gambia) Limited and Guaranty Trust Bank (UK) Limited.

He is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School and holds a B.Sc and MBA from the University of San Francisco, USA.

Mr. Agbaje was appointed Acting Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank plc in April 2011, and became Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Bank in June, 2011.

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Email List Followers Are Better Than Friends On Facebook or Twitter

Most people think using Facebook or Twitter can help drive the most traffic & income to a blog...

Unfortunately, this isn't the case!

The #1 "Secret Weapon" of successful bloggers is...

BUILDING AN EMAIL LIST!

Having an email newsletter to send articles to or to alert people that you've made a new blog post is 100 TIMES more effective than posting to Facebook, Twitter, or other Social Media sites.

Users respond more to emails than any other source.
It's the easiest way to drive people back to your blog, so they click more links and make you more money.

* You can also easily include affiliate links directly in your emails so you can get paid without people even going back to your blog!

And it's incredibly easy to build an email list of people that give you their permission to email them. You can setup a simple "Subscribe To My Newsletter" form
on the side bar on your blog or put it anywhere else on your site. It's really easy.

TIP: To maximize the number of people that will subscribe to your email newsletter just offer a special report or bonus articles about the topic you write about if they subscribe. For example...

Subscribe to my email newsletter and I'll immediately send you my Free Report: 'How To Grow Massive Tomatoes'

* Just a quick example if you had a gardening blog.

Everyday you aren't collecting email subscribers is money that you're losing! Heck, once you build up a list of thousands of people you could even shutdown your blog and still make a great income!

Because having an email list creates "Cash-On-Demand."

Anytime you want to generate some cash you can just mail an affiliate offer or promotion to your email list -- such as for an Amazon gardening book, etc.

By far the best service to use for building an Email List for bloggers is AWeber. AWeber is inexpensive to use and they handle EVERYTHING. You just add some simple
code that they will give you to your blog. Then you'll just login to your account to send out or preschedule messages. They even have an HTML email builder and other cool stuff to make it easy to profit from having your own email list.

* AWeber makes it easy to automatically send your new email subscribers a special report or pre-loaded messages like I mentioned above.

You can try AWeber today for just $1. You need to go right now and create an AWeber account and start collecting email subscribers for your blog! Don't wait and lose out on this additional income everyday that you aren't doing it.

Get AWeber Now For Just $1 By Clicking Here: http://tools.pingoat.com/aweber

We'll be in touch soon with more tips to help you grow your blog traffic and income!

~ Pingoat Team

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Chevron Faces Shareholder, Union and Community Revolt at Annual Meeting

Chevron Faces Shareholder, Union and Community Revolt at Annual Meeting, says Rainforest Action Network

Rep from Brazil's Largest Union Denied Access to Meeting; No Mention of Brazil and Nigeria Liabilities; Record Votes for Separation of CEO and Chairman

SAN RAMON, Calif., May 30, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, more than 150 protested at Chevron's annual shareholder meeting, joining a unique group of union members, shareholders and community leaders. Every year, Chevron faces opposition at its shareholder meeting, but today's drew a larger and more diverse crowd galvanized by the oil giant's year of legal problems, oil spills and fines for reckless practices.

"CEO Watson's fraudulent omission of the current liabilities the company is facing in Brazil, Ecuador and Nigeria once again highlights his gross negligence when it comes to worker safety, environmental health and human rights. This was reflected in record high votes for the resolution calling for separation of chair and board," said Ginger Cassady of Rainforest Action Network.

Chevron faces more than $43 billion in actual and potential fines: $22 billion for oil spills off the coast of Brazil, $18 billion for oil contamination in Ecuador, $3 million for gas explosions off the coast of Nigeria, and $27 million for tax-dodging in Richmond.

Joao Antonio de Moraes, National Coordinator of the United Federation of Oil Workers in Brazil, the country's largest union, was denied access to the meeting based on a supposed paperwork error: "I traveled across the globe to call on Chevron to increase the safety of its oil rigs and refineries. Being refused access to the meeting underscores the lack of respect Chevron has for the communities where it operates."

The United Federation of Oil Workers filed suit in March to demand the cancellation of all Chevron oil and gas concession contracts in Brazil.

Seven shareholder resolutions were presented to address Chevron's risky operations, including a call for the separation of CEO and chairman that received 38 percent of the vote (double previous years). New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli joined with 39 other investors, with a combined total of $580 billion in assets under management, called on Chevron to settle its two-decade-long legal battle in Ecuador.

"Chevron needs to put its pants on, start acting like a grown up and accept responsibility for its mess in Ecuador," Luz Trinidad Andrea Cusangua, plaintiff in the Ecuador case, said to CEO Watson.


SOURCE Rainforest Action Network
CONTACT: Kerul Dyer, +1-415-866-0005

Web Site: http://www.ran.org

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President Jonathan’s 2015 Political Desperation To MAUL UNILAG

Chief MKO Abiola.

President Jonathan’s 2015 Political Desperation To MAUL UNILAG

Thousands of students and alumni of the world famous University of Lagos (UNILAG) woke up on May 29, to suddenly hear that their beloved citadel of academia has been renamed Moshood Abiola University, Lagos (MAUL) by the dictatorial civilian President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan as one of the dividends of the unpopular Democracy Day enforced his corrupt ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

President Goodluck Jonathan.

University of Lagos.

He said he has changed the name of UNILAG to MAUL to immortalize the late Chief MKO Abiola, the martyr of the presidential election of June 12, 1993, which he won, but was annulled on June 23, 1993 by the military fiat of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babaginda who actually had the right to annual the presidential election after he had earlier cancelled the presidential primaries of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and National Republican Convention (NRC), two political parties formed by his military regime.

General Ibrahim Badamsi Babaginda's Botched transition to civilian rule

In 1989 Babangida legalized the formation of political parties, and after a census was carried out in November 1991, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced on January 24, 1992 that both legislative elections to a bicameral National Assembly and a presidential election would be held that year.

Babangida banned all political parties and formed two political parties by himself, namely the SDP (Social Democratic Party) and NRC (National Republican Convention) and urged all Nigerians to join either of the parties, which the Late Chief Ajibola Ige famously referred to as "two leper hands." The two-party state had been a recommendation of the 17-member Political Bureau.

The legislative elections went ahead as planned, with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) winning majorities in both houses of the National Assembly, but on August 7, 1992, the INEC annulled the first round of presidential primaries, alleging widespread irregularities. January 4, 1993 saw the announcement by Babangida of a National Defense and Security Council, of which Babangida himself was to be President, while in April 1993 the SDP nominated Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola (MKO) as its presidential candidate, with the National Republican Convention (NRC) choosing Bashir Tofa to run for the same position. On June 12, 1993, presidential elections were finally held, but the results were held back although it was announced in some states that Abiola had in fact won 19 of the 30 states, and therefore the presidency.

Rather than allow the announcement of the results to proceed, Babangida decided to annul the elections. Babangida then issued a decree banning the presidential candidates of both the NRC and the SDP from running in new presidential elections that he planned to have held. Widespread acts of civil disobedience began to occur, particularly in the Southwest region from which Abiola hailed, resulting in the killings. On July 6, 1993, the NDSC issued an ultimatum to the SDP and NRC to join an interim government or face yet another round of elections, and Babangida then announced that the interim government would be inaugurated on August 27, 1993. On August 26, amidst a new round of strikes and protests that had brought all economic activity in the country to a halt, Babangida declared that he was stepping aside as head of the military regime, and handing over the reins of government to Ernest Shonekan. Within 3 months of the handover, General Sani Abacha seized control of the government while Babangida was on a visit to Egypt

~ From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibrahim_Babangida

The 1993 presidential election was not free and fair as claimed by the purported winner Chief MKO Abiola, because both political parties rigged the election and the more affluent Abiola defeated his only opponent Alhaji Bashir Tofa who was relatively an unknown politician from Kano and obviously no match for the financial and political machinery of the billionaire MKO Abiola who was one of the richest people on earth at the time.

I was employed as an attaché to the Director of Publicity for the Alhaji Bamanga Tukur Presidential Campaign, therefore was an insider who was fully briefed on all the political developments in the country as the SDP and NRC campaigned for the presidential election. But when the late retired Major-General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua the main presidential candidate of the SDP was leading the presidential primaries by a very wide margin ahead of the presidential candidates of the NRC, the military regime of Gen. Babaginda suddenly cancelled the primaries. I tore my ID card and resigned immediately, because I knew that the whole political shenanigans of Gen. Babaginda and his ruling mafia would end up in a political fiasco. The presidential election was a hoax masterminded by Gen. Babaginda to hoodwink the ignorant Nigerians and the rest of the world. And he really fooled them, including his bosom “friend” MKO Abiola who went along with the so called transition to democracy plan. Then two new presidential candidates suddenly emerged to replace the previous ones and the late Chief MKO Abiola who was a very powerful associate and friend of Gen. Babaginda and his military regime suddenly became the presidential candidate of the SDP and Alhaji Bashir Tofa became the presidential candidate of the NRC after the intrigues of the political power brokers.

As far as I am concerned the whole June 12 Crisis was a power tussle of the corrupt Nigerian ruling class and the ignorant masses were used as pawns in the gambit of the power brokers and hundreds lost their lives in the end. But the same corrupt power brokers divided on two opposing sides have been using the MKO Abiola phenomenon for their political campaigns and those from the same south western region as MKO Abiola have been using it to sway the political passions of the masses to favour their political ambitions. But God knows that the late Chief MKO Abiola was never as great as the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, one of the leading founding fathers of modern Nigeria who deserves all the honours given to him for his unprecedented achievements in the political development of the western region and the nation building of a New Nigeria in the leadership of Africa.

President Goodluck Jonathan and his ruling cabal in the PDP are scared of their loss of many states in the southwest at the Election Tribunal and the unpopularity of their party among the majority of Yorubas. Therefore, the only way to prevent losing the 2015 presidential election to the main opposition party the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) is to do the most desperate thing by using MKO Abiola to sway the Yorubas to favour the PDP's presidential election master plan for 2015.
They also want to preempt the plan of the ACN to name a new university after MKO Abiola before 2015.

Chief MKO Abiola was a first calss graduate of Glasgow University in accountancy and later worked as a senior accountant at the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital, before going into private practice and becoming a business mogul and a billionaire. He was the undisputed Pillar of Sports and the National Stadium in Lagos would have been more befitting to be named after him as the same President Goodluck Jonathan renamed Liberty Stadium to Obafemi Awolowo Stadium on November 12, 2010 during his maiden working tour of Ogun State.

Imagine renaming Harvard, Yale or Columbia after the late Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. or any of the past presidents of America?
The University of Lagos is as important to Nigerians as Harvard, Yale or Columbia.
It is greater than the personality of any Nigerian living or dead. It is an academic institution that is a timeless heritage of the citadel of knowledge; the legacy of the Nigerian intelligentsia.

President Jonathan can name one of the new nine federal universities after MKO Abiola and leave the University of Lagos alone as the flagship of academia in Lagos, the former federal capital of Nigeria.
Infact, President Jonathan would have even won the support of the majority of Nigerians if he declared June 12 as the MKO Abiola Day.


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, Author of Children of Heaven, Scarlet Tears of London, Bye, Bye Mugabe, In the House of Dogs and other books.

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Allah Save The Queen, say Muslims

30 May 2012 15:30 Africa/Lagos


Allah Save The Queen, say Muslims

LONDON, May 30, 2012/PRNewswire/ --

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community unveils national Jubilee programme

A British Muslim community has set out plans to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee with street parties, lighting up of mosques throughout the UK, feeding the homeless and a launch of 200 special Diamond Jubilee buses across London - a unique contribution to this historic event.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120530/535675 )


Ahmadiyya Muslims will play the national anthem in street parties across 30 towns and cities from London to Glasgow. In Birmingham for example the celebrations will feature the Royal Navy band playing the national anthem at the mosque and congratulatory messages being read out in 60 languages by local community representatives.

There will also be special prayers for The Queen at 100 mosques and prayer halls belonging to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community - one of the oldest Islamic groups in Britain.

The community has also launched a special edition of the book 'A Gift for the Queen' written by their founder, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, on the occasion of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897.

The National President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK, Mr Rafiq Hayat said:

"In the history of the British monarch there have only been two diamond Jubilees, and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community have been involved with both.

"We share in our country's pride and joy at Her Majesty The Queen's Diamond Jubilee. It is our heartfelt prayer that may God continue to protect the Queen and we look forward to the festivities of the Jubilee weekend and to make them as inclusive as possible.

"As Muslims, we are duty bound to serve Queen and country and we regard this as an important part of our religion as we were taught by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that loyalty to one's country is a part of faith."

In addition, Ahmadi Muslims will:

- Take part in the Big Lunch on 3rd June

- Light up all its mosques across the UK

- Say special prayers for the Queen on 1st June

- Feed the Homeless - 10,000 will benefit from this endeavour

- Hold charity walks to raise GBP400,000 for the Queen's charities

- Fundraise through the community's women's network

- Organise blood donation sessions

- Hold interfaith symposia throughout the UK

A charity walk by thousands of community members around the Tower of London has already raised tens of thousands of pounds for the Queen's Jubilee charities.

London buses with the special Diamond Jubilee poster also feature the peace campaign website for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community http://www.MuslimsForPeace.org.uk


Contact:
Basharat Nazir, media@ahmadiyya.org.uk , Tel +44-7703-483-384
OR, Mahmood Rafiq, Tel +44-7971-060-962
http://www.loveforallhatredfornone.org
http://www.alislam.org


Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120530/535675

Source: Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UK

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