smellgist.com: 2016

Saturday 24 December 2016

Buratai: Army Chief salutes soldiers for defeating Boko Haram

The Chief of Army staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Burataihas commended the efforts and sacrifices of gallant soldiers in battle front in the North east.

Buratai gave the commendation in a Christmas and New Year message to the the personnel.

“I congratulate you for your bravery, doggedness and loyalty in these endeavours. I want to urge you all to maintain the momentum and remain steadfast as we continue to professionally and responsively carryout our constitutional roles.

The Osemawe of Ondo Kingdom, His Royal Majesty, Oba Victor Kiladejo, in this interview with TUNDE AJAJA speaks about his life before and after ascension to the throne and interesting things about the custom and tradition in his kingdom

You were a practising medical doctor before you became a king, could you tell us more about your career then?

I’m a medical doctor as far as my profession is concerned. I finished from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) where I studied Medicine. I did my postgraduate studies in reproductive health at an equally reputable institution;

West Africa’s regional bloc, ECOWAS, has put standby military forces on alert in case Gambian President Yahya Jammeh does not step down when his mandate ends on January 19.

The ECOWAS commission president, Marcel de Souza, said this on Malian TV Thursday night.

Mr. Jammeh has vowed to stay in power despite losing a December 1 election to rival Adama Barrow, raising the possibility that regional powers may intervene to oust him if diplomacy does not succeed in persuading him to leave.

That country, from its independence on July 5, 1962, opened its borders to all liberation fighters in Africa, giving them international security cover, military training, arms, funds and passports. From Nelson Mandela, Agostinho Neto of Angola, Mozambique’s Samora Machel, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe to Amilcar Cabral of Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde, all major liberation fighters flocked to Algeria.

Dr. Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini Zuma, 67, is the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and a leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC). She was Minister of Health under President Nelson Mandela, and then Minister of Home Affairs. She married incumbent South African President Jacob Zuma. She is one of the best known South Africans, and many speculate she wants to take a shot at the country’s presidency. Yet she carries, with pride, an Algerian passport!

Nigeria Records 273 Lassa Fever Cases, 149 Deaths In 2015/16

Nigeria recorded the largest outbreak of Lassa fever in its history between 2015 and 2016, with 273 reported cases resulting to 149 deaths, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, said on Friday

Chikwe Ihekweazu, Chief Executive Officer of NCDC, said this in a statement in Lagos.

Mr. Ihekweazu said the cases were reported from 23 states.

Today’s Christian must also recognise that the real Jesus was more human than they care to contemplate. That he was a great man of God who called men to reach out to other men with love. That Saint Paul entered the equation, and what he made of him and his message has been the most astonishing theme in human history.

In the prequel to this write up I explained why, even though I do not necessarily believe that Jesus was born on December 25, I would not disagree with those who choose to celebrate him on this date. I made the point that Jesus was more a physical heir who did not ascend King David’s throne despite the lack of awareness of some of today’s Christians of this fact, and also promised to conclude the subject in this article. Finally, I made a point that there is what I choose to refer to as two ‘Jesuses’ – the Jesus of Faith and Jesus of History.

Seek Daily (NBC)

Saturday, December 24

Luke 2:5-7

MARY DELIVERS HER FIRSTBORN

…and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger. Luke 2:7, NIV

The fact that Mary delivered her firstborn child was not an issue, but the fact that it happened in an unusual place, a manger was and is still an issue. The cause of the unusual birthplace for the King of kings and Lord of lords was, “because there was no room for them in the inn.” One may be tempted to wonder, that even if the personality of the baby born was discountenanced,

Health Watch: 5 foods to avoid if you have stomach ulcer

Stomach ulcers are becoming increasingly common and when not treated/paid attention to, they become fatal.

Ulcer happens when painful sore forms around the stomach which happens when the thick layer of mucus meant to protect the stomach digestive juices is reduced in which case, the digestive acids eats away the tissues lining the stomach!

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has spoken on challenges confronting the present administration as well as plans to develop small businesses.

He assured them of government’s commitment and determination to support the growth of small and medium scale enterprises in the country as efforts were ongoing to fix the challenges in the system.

On Thursday, December 22, 2016, former President Goodluck Jonathan was quoted as saying:

"I am under pressure to contest the 2019 election".

Every online news platform went to town with the quotes and amplified same into a story. The commentaries were tumbling in thick and fast.

Carlos Tevez and Vanessa are childhood sweethearts and they finally seal the deal at San Isidro close to Buenos Aires yesterday, December 22, 2016.

The couple 'have been together' since about 19 years ago and despite some on and off moments, and allegations of Carlitos cheating on Vanessa, they have now finally walked each other down the aisle.

Nigeria became the only country in the civilised world where corrupt persons could get court injunctions stopping the prosecutorial agencies and the courts from investigating and prosecuting their corrupt acts. The tide is changing. The wheels of justice are turning and our only prayer is that all those guilty of corruption must be prosecuted and go to jail if found to be guilty.

Section 15(5) of our Constitution is clear: “the State shall abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power.” The prosecutorial agencies and the judiciary, of course, have the responsibility to investigate, prosecute and punish those involved in corrupt practices so that the Nigerian State remains faithful to the injunctions provided by our Grand Norm. We know however that the State has lacked the capacity to abolish corrupt

A Senator, Peter Nwabaoshi, on Thursday, claimed that a former Governor of Delta State, Mr. James Ibori, who was released from prison in the United Kingdom on Wednesday, supported Dr. Bukola Saraki and Mr. Yakubu Dogara to emerge as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively.

The Southwark Crown court had, on April 17, 2012, jailed Ibori for 13 years after he pleaded guilty to 10 counts of money laundering and stealing $50m from the Delta State treasury.

Thousands of Lagos residents, Thursday, besieged various centres across the state to buy LAKE rice, a locally produced rice borne out of a partnership between Lagos and Kebbi states.

The governors of the two states, Akinwunmi Ambode and Atiku Bagudu, had launched the rice on Wednesday with the aim of ensuring food security as well as show Nigeria’s ability as a producing nation.

According to the Lagos State government, the rice would be sold at N12,000, N6,000, and N2,500 for 50 kilogramme, 25kg, and 10kg bags respectively.

Whenever I hear those who ought to know say that Nigeria’s main problem is ethnicity, I often begin to develop cold feet. They seem to argue that if not for ethnicity (a colonial construct), the country would have move ahead. While this I may agree that ethnicity is one of the manifestations of the numerous problems facing the country, I firmly disagree that ethnicity is the Nigerian problem.

The odium of numerous graft stories in Nigeria and their concomitant damage to the image of the country and her people ought to be enough to trigger a groundswell of ethical revolution in any country. But therein lies the grand irony of the situation – business seems to continue as usual.

In the last three decades, Nigeria has won top spots among the comity of nations with a reputation for a roguish ruling class. The annual reports of the global watchdog group, Transparency International (TI) over this period has had Nigeria stuck at the sordid end of the list of most corrupt nations – sometimes leading the pack.

In a video of sermon, posted on Instagram by @Kintoncod, showed Pastor Johnson Suleman telling his followers that any of them involved in MMM should raise his hand and subsequently come forward for deliverance.

Dollar To Conclude Year As Winner

The heightened expectations of higher US interest rates in 2017 has fuelled the Greenback’s market shaking appreciation this quarter with the currency on route to conclude the year as a champion amongst majors.

Sentiment remains firmly bullish towards the Dollar and such was observed on Tuesday when the Dollar Index lurched to fresh 14 year highs above 103.60 despite the holiday season liquidity. With the economic calendar quite thin on Wednesday, prices action may dictate where the Dollar trades with intraday bears exploiting a break below 103.00 on the Dollar Index.

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) says Nigeria’s membership of the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILMC) should be withdrawn.

Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was made chairman of the IILMC during the 17th governing board meeting of the organisation in Jakarta, Indonesia.

But in a statement on Thursday, Bayo Oladeji, media assistant to Samson Ayokunle, president of CAN, said this was contrary to section 10 of the Nigerian constitution, which states that “the government of the federation or a state shall not adopt any religion as state religion”.

I personally think that getting involved in get rich quick schemes is much more dangerous than robbing a bank or robbing cars on the highways. The reason is because when someone attacks you in the house with a gun, at least you know that this is a thief coming… Here in lies the greatest hazards of Ponzi schemes, because they come to you in a subtle manner, making you to drop your guard.

Before I started writing these series on the activities of MMM Nigeria, as it is my custom with everything I do, I took the time to do my research on the philosophy of the company, the promoters of the company in Nigeria and the brains behind its operation.

The media should be lauded for its nice job on this “Wike-leak”. The leaked tape, however, would end up as useless – almost as usual – if Wike and his partners in INEC are not investigated and prosecuted.

A leaked audio tape revealing how the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, and his foot soldiers bribed Independence National Electoral Commission officials to rig the recently concluded rerun elections in Rivers State, should not come to many Nigerians as a surprise.

Bright lights! Gift boxes! Hampers filled with plenty of goodies! New clothes and shoes! The well-decorated Christmas trees, and not forgetting the parties! The paraphernalia and pomp and pageantry that were unmissable indicators of the Christmas season once upon a time. Christmas is here once again, and I don’t know if I’m the only one who has observed it, but it really doesn’t feel like it. In the last couple of years, the usual celebrations that accompanied the Yuletide season have seemed forced; a trite attempt at making things happen instead of the fluidity and ease of merrymaking which naturally come with festive periods.

The Nigerian government has denied reports claiming the release of another set of 21 Chibok school girls abducted by Boko Haram.

Reports had claimed that the girls, who were kidnapped in April 2014, had been transported to Yola, Adamawa State, after their release on Thursday.

Presidential spokesperson Garba Shehu denied that more girls had been released.

The State Security Service, SSS, has accused the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, of working with an aide to Senate President Bukola Saraki to destabilise the Federal Capital Territory during yuletide with a view to casting federal authorities in bad light.

The said aide to the Senate President, Ikenga Ugochinyere, is to help Mr. Wike mobilise hoodlums to execute the violent plan, SSS alleged in a statement signed by an official, Tony Opuiyo, and distributed by PR Nigeria.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday requested state governors to pay as outstanding workers’ entitlements, at least 25 percent of the refunds made to them from excess deductions for external debt service.

According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President approved N552.74bn to be paid in batches to all the states that are owed.

They are, however, expected to receive 25 per cent of their approved sums in the first instance before this week ends. About 33 states are affected.

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has said the current down turn in Nigeria’s economy has exposed the inherent weaknesses of our kind of Federal structure.

The former Vice President said this in a series of tweets in response to questions from some of his followers on his twitter handle @atiku on Thursday.

He used the opportunity to reiterate his argument that we need to reduce the Federal Government’s control on the economy which he said would make government function more efficiently.

Over and over again, we have been admonished not to make fun of poor folks who were dupes of the now faltering Ponzi scheme, MMM. We have been enjoined to be empathic, to spare those who have their money trapped in the scheme our sharpened tongues and the smug I-told-you-sos. We have been rightly reminded that Nigeria is currently experiencing recession pangs; the times are so hard it feels like the Sani Abacha years. Nigeria is in a poor shape, people are desperate and therefore vulnerable and in such a situation, they say, it is only fair to pity fellow Nigerians who invested their lifeblood in the MMM.

The Nigerian Government has said the European Union, EU, is willing to fund a social intervention programme for the repatriation of illegal Nigerian migrants from EU countries.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, told the correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in New York that the Federal Government was also addressing factors predisposing Nigerians to migrate abroad illegally.

According to him, the social intervention programme by the federal government is going to be a very important component of the 2017 budget.

The British government has expressed concern over Nigeria’s plan to close Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport for six weeks in 2017.

The UK Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Harriet Thompson, met with Nigeria’s Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, on Thursday, three days after the government announced the planned closure.

The government had announced on Monday that all Abuja-bound domestic and international flights would be diverted to Kaduna for six weeks in 2017 to enable the government upgrade the airport’s runway.

The numerous negative side effects of Buhari’s sectionalism are being felt across board. From a largely incompetent Federal Executive Council, to the absence of an economic management team, thereby leaving the nation’s economy in a limbo and drifting into recession with the heavy consequence of mass poverty among a large section of citizens.

Nepotism, tribalism, regionalism, cronyism and religious bigotry – collectively known as sectionalism – are at the roots of corruption. Sectionalism rewards mediocrity and relegates competent expertise because the yardstick is who knows you and not what you know. Sectionalism rewards complacency but punishes hard work because the index is where you are coming from, not being the first to arrive. Sectionalism has been the fundamental cause of Nigeria’s underdevelopment and inability to evolve into an egalitarian and prosperous modern nation. If corruption has national security implications then Buhari’s sectionalism is a threat to national security.

…what we need now is to join hands together and focus singularly on how we can infiltrate and weaken existing structures to the point where we can successfully force a constitutional amendment that will herald, at the least, the birth of a unicameral Parliamentary System. That is our best shot at being able to produce a leader of the kind we are pushing for.

New political parties are emerging from the trenches. The Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP) being championed by my friend, passionate patriot and people-oriented economist, ‘Tope Fasua is one of them. We should be excited. Should we not be? Well, there are 40 registered political parties in Nigeria at the moment. Apart from that, as at last week, 60 associations have sought registration, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Video: 10 ways to propose to a girl

Did you found the woman you want to spend the rest of your life with. How do you ask her to be yours -- forever? You should push your nervousness aside and remember that, once you have a full plan and know what to expect, you'll be able to propose to your girlfriend without any blunders at any stage. You don't have to do anything over-the-top or crazy, unless you think that's what she wants and its what you want. Make that grand gesture if you want to and think she will appreciate it. Proposing marriage is a big step, get started. Go get her.

Nigerians divided on whether Ibori should be prosecuted upon return to the country | PremiumTimes

Some lawyers who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES are divided about what is to become of a former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, who was released from a United Kingdom jail, Wednesday.

A Royal Court of Justice dismissed a last ditch attempt by British Home Office to keep Mr. Ibori, whose jail term ran concurrently, in jail pending the determination of his asset forfeiture suit.

Mr. Ibori was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2012 after he pleaded guilty to laundering over £50 million.
The trial judge, Juliet May, describing the attempt of the Home Office to keep Mr Ibori in jail as unlawful and a misuse of power, ordered that the ex-governor of the oil rich state be immediately released having completely served his jail term.

EKEDC Announces Planned Power Outage

The management of Eko Electricity Distribution Plc (EKEDP) has announced that there will be interruption in power supply to some areas within its network between 10.00am and 2.00pm on Thursday, 29th December, 2016.

A release signed by the company’s General Manager, Corporate Communications, Godwin Idemudia said the planned power outage was occasioned by routine maintenance work to be carried out on Ijora-Alagbon 132kv line.

According to the statement, areas to be affected by the outage are Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Obalende, Banana Island and Lagos Island.

The statement further stated that the routine maintenance to be carried out was for better efficiency of power facilities so as to enhance improved service delivery to the company’s customers.

The company appealed to its customers to please bear with the company for the inconvenience the outage might cause adding that supply would be restored immediately the maintenance work was concluded.

Obasanjo: Was EFCC Chairman Permanently Zoned to the North?, By Ropo Sekoni

Before the final nominee to replace Magu is announced and before professional demonstrators carry placards to remind President Buhari of the sanctity of federal character in choosing nominees for the post of the country’s chief warrior against corruption, Baba should speak if there was any hidden subtext to the establishment of EFCC.

Ordinarily, though nothing is ordinary in Nigeria, former President Olusegun Obasanjo should not be subjected to queries for what he did as the first post-military president of our country at a time when corruption was considered normative and probity deviant by members of the ruling class. But recent developments in the pattern of appointment of chairpersons to lead the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) make sending this open letter to President Obasanjo urgent, in view of suggestions of candidates that should be appointed to replace Ibrahim Magu, who failed to get his appointment confirmed by the Senate a few days ago.

Volkswagen Snubs Nigeria, Moves Into Kenya, Rwanda in Africa Expansion

Volkswagen on Wednesday opened a new assembly plant in Kenya and launched plans for a ride-sharing service in Rwanda as it seeks to take advantage of surging car demand in Africa.
The German car manufacturer’s move into East Africa comes just weeks after it signed a deal to build an assembly plant in Algeria.

“Overall car sales in Africa are bound to rise by 40 percent within the next five years, that is why we are expanding our business,” said Volkswagen Brand CEO Herbert Diess.

[UPDATED] Though Released From Jail, Ibori Can’t Come Home Yet

Residents of Asaba, Delta State, who are currently celebrating the release of their former governor, James Ibori, may have to wait till well after January 2017 before they can physically embrace their son.

According to reports, on Tuesday, a London High court had ruled that the Home Office could no longer hold the ex-governor who had served six-and-a-half-years of his 13-year jail term, as the sentence ran concurrently.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has explained how its new policy on whistle blowing will work.

The policy aims to encourage Nigerians to report financial and other related crimes to relevant authorities.

The Government released a 19-point agenda of how the policy will operate, via a statement by the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday.

These include the types of information whistle blowers are expected to submit and

There Was Once A Bench By Eric Teniola

“Chief Justice, I am glad you gave that judgment, because I want you to feel free, If I commit a crime or do wrong in your opinion, to say so……if I am brought before you, send me to your jail—this is the way I want the judiciary to perform. You will never waver from the truth”.

These were the words of the late Prime Minister,Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa(1912-1966), to the first indigenous Chief Justice of Nigeria, Sir Adetokunbo Adegboyega Ademola(1906-1993) in 1961 as published by Mr. Trevor Clark on page 541 of his book titled ”A RIGHT HONOURABLE GENTLEMAN”. Mr Trevor Clark, a Briton, worked in the colonial administrative service in Nigeria from 1948-1977.Sir Adetokunbo Ademola was the longest serving Chief Justice of Nigeria (1958-1972).

Wike Audio: Nigeria Police invite foreign forensic experts, recover corpse of slain officers | PremiumTimes

The Nigeria Police will hire foreign forensic experts to investigate the leaked audio where Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike was heard threatening to kill uncooperative electoral officials.

The audio was released days after the Rivers re-run election that was marred by violence leading to the death of at least two police officers.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mr. Wike could be heard in the audio threatening to kill some electoral commission, INEC, officials whom he claimed had received money but were yet to deliver on their promise.

The greatest Challenge before any leader in the world today is the creation of meaningful opportunities for its youthful population in terms of gainful employment, decent livelihood and an optimism towards a secure future. This demand is even more pressing for African leaders with a fast growing youth population with limited opportunities.

The young people in Africa constitutes a whooping 37% of the population and make up 60% of the unemployment rate.

By 2020, 1.1billion Africans will be of working age seeking an improved standard of living and a place to focus their energies. History is a great reminder of where young people will focus their energies in the absence of meaningful economic opportunities. Hence the focus of African leaders shouldn’t be about how many millionaires emerges but how many millions we can get out of poverty. It should be about the structural adjustments that stimulates economic growth and shared prosperity anchored by a grand vision.

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