If Nigeria follows through with plans to impose taxes on telecommunications services, Nigerians who are already struggling will be further impoverished. This is in addition to the proposed data hike which begins today and already generating a lot of disapprobation among Nigerians. There is no clear reason why the government is doing this other than the fact that it needs money. When the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, spoke on the data price hike some months ago, he said the government was unaware of the decision. Now that they are aware, what is their response to it? Or, are they waiting for people to lead a revolution against them before they respond? While folks are still mulling the potential telecoms tax, the Federal Inland Revenue Service announced that Nigerians would subsequently show evidence of their tax payment to apply for passports.
Thursday, 1 December 2016
Oshiomhole and his Agbalowomeri Gang By Niran Adedokun
I cannot tell whether the word, Agbalowomeri, existed in the Yoruba lexicon before the late J.F. Odunjo gave meaning to it with his definitive book, Agbalomeri Baale Jontolo
Written in 1958, the play is about the head of a village who, in spite of his position and wealth, forcefully sought patronage from his subjects, even the evidently poor ones. Those who could not feed the greedy ruler’s appetite incurred his wrath, until his own day of reckoning came upon him.
Ndoma-Egba, NDDC and Environmental Justice By Greg Odogwu
The visit of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Right to the new Board Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Victor Ndoma-Egba, last Tuesday in Abuja, may have shown a strong signal that the new chairman is actually set to change the NDDC story. Since the new board and management of the commission were inaugurated three weeks ago, I have waited with baited breath to see whether a new order would emerge or it would be business as usual.
Why I Omitted Tinubu From My Victory Speech – Akeredolu
The Ondo State governor-elect, Chief Rotimi Akeredolu, on Wednesday, said he did not acknowledge a national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in his victory speech on Sunday because it was not expedient to do so.
He said having acknowledged President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the recognised national leader of the party, and the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, it was safe to infer that he had acknowledged all the party’s leaders.
Okorocha Cancels MoU By Gibson Achonu
The Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, has cancelled all the Memorandum of Understanding entered into by the leaders of the oil-producing communities in Ohaji/Egbema and Oguta Local Government Areas in the state with the oil companies operating in the areas.
Should Federal Government increase Value Added Tax?
Dr. Muritala Awodun (Executive Chairman, Kwara State Internal Revenue Service)
Increasing Value Added Tax is going to be hard on people now. It will hit hard on people’s disposable income because inflation has already eaten deep into people’s income and then the devaluation of the naira has more or less reduced the real income of people; things are very difficult now for Nigerians. So, if they increase VAT, it means people will have to spend more.
Increasing Value Added Tax is going to be hard on people now. It will hit hard on people’s disposable income because inflation has already eaten deep into people’s income and then the devaluation of the naira has more or less reduced the real income of people; things are very difficult now for Nigerians. So, if they increase VAT, it means people will have to spend more.
We’re Addressing Recession With Wrong Tools —CBN
ABUJA— The on-going economic recession has persisted owing to application of wrong prescription by non-professionals, the Director of Policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Moses Tule, has contended. The CBN chief spoke at the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, CIBN, roundtable meeting organised on the current economic recession in Abuja on Tuesday. His words:
8 Scary Things That Happen to Your Body After a Holiday Food Fest
We know that with the holidays comes an onslaught of foods that are quite high in fat and sugar — typically significantly more so than your day-to-day diet. We wanted to find out exactly what happens when we sabotage our diets go a little hog wild on Thanksgiving and throughout the holidays (eggnog, anyone?), so we consulted two experts on the body and its reaction to food: Lisa Eberly, RD, MPH, and Nicole Aurigemma, MS, physiologist at the Penn State Muscle Biology Lab.
Woman Cannot Give Evidence In A Niqab, Australian Court Rules | TheGuardian
An Australian judge has declined a request from a Muslim woman to wear a niqab while giving evidence in a damages claim against police where she alleges that officers assaulted her during a raid on her home.
On Tuesday in the New South Wales district court, Judge Audrey Balla ruled on a request from Moutia Elzahed to wear her niqab while giving evidence to the court, in what may by one of the first rulings of its kind in Australia.
Why Samsung May Release A Foldable Smartphone Next Year — Even If It Won’t Make Them Any Money
In recent years, Samsung has been pushing innovative boundaries in display technology. It released the world’s first smartphone with a dual-edge display with its Galaxy S6 edge in 2015, and it is already an industry standard. Chinese smartphones like Xiaomi’s Mi Note 2 and Huawei’s Mate 9 Pro feature a curved display on both sides, and Apple is expected to release an iPhone with a curved screen next year.
Now, Samsung could soon release its latest display technology: foldable screens.
Samsung’s foldable smartphone, likely to be called the Galaxy X, could be released in 2017, Bloomberg reported in June. The one reason the company might wait to release the phone is profitability.
Meet The New Favorite To Become The Next President Of France
The first round of the centre-right Les Républicains primary election in France ended with a familiar outcome on Sunday: an outcome few predicted would happen.
A vote that will decide who will become the favourite to succeed François Hollande as the next president of France will see former prime minister François Fillon and Bordeaux mayor Alain Juppe face each other in a runoff vote this coming Sunday. The candidate everyone outside of France knew best, former president Nicolas Sarkozy, suffered a crushing defeat that is likely to put an end to his political career.
When A Loved One Dies, Their Facebook Profile Can Help And Hurt
LONDON — When someone you love passes away, processing that loss can be incredibly hard.
Through the annals of time, the physical vestiges of a person’s life — like clothing, letters, photographs and jewellery — have provided comfort to those grieving after their death. But now, social media means a digital imprint of a person’s life can also live on after a person has died.
SHALL I INDEED BEAR A CHILD?
Seek Daily (NBC)
Thursday, December 1
Genesis 18:9-15
SHALL I INDEED BEAR A CHILD?
So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, ‘After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?’ Genesis 18:12, NIV
God specialises in turning impossible situations around. This is what He did in the case of Sarah who was barren. She and her husband had advanced in age at the time they entertained angels as visitors and through that, God visited them.
Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Let Women Drive Now, Saudi Prince Urges
"Stop the debate: Time for women to drive," Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said on his official Twitter account, @Alwaleed_Talal.
Why We Proposed, Then Reversed Plans To Hike Data Price – NCC
The Nigerian Communications Commission on Wednesday announced the immediate suspension of the new minimum pricing template for data services by mobile operators in the country.
The director, Public Affairs at the NCC, Tony Ojobo, said the decision to rescind its earlier directive to telecom operators to commence charging the new floor price rate for data from December 1, was to allow for further consultation with industry interest groups.
Breast Cancer warning: Cossy Orjiakor Replies Kemi Olunloyo, ‘You Are Not Enlightened’
Survival of the fittest: Banky W vs Teeblizz
Is Senate Right In Delaying Magu’s Confirmation?
It is bad on the part of the National Assembly to delay the confirmation of Ibrahim Magu as the substantive executive chairman of the EFCC.
In his bid to perform his role as the chief executive of the anti-corruption agency and because many of them know that they have one corruption charge or the other to contend with, they know that Magu will not give in to their antics of bribery and corruption.
Senate kick against Tariff hike
This FRSC Is Drifting (1), By Dele Agekameh
That most Nigerian roads are in a deplorable state is no longer news. Everyday there are chilling stories of accidents on these roads. The cost to the economy and the toll it takes on lives and property can only be imagined. It is for this reason that the Federal Government set up the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).
The many not-too-palatable stories about the bad state of Nigerian roads have become very frightening to most road users. Long ago, I made it a point of duty to always go by air to any place where there is an airport or at least, where an airport is nearby, as I always try to avoid travelling on the death traps that our highways have become. Last Thursday, November 24, 2016, however, I had to break this rule to meet up a long pending appointment in Osogbo.
With the stories about the gridlocks on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in recent times, I set out as early as 5.30am on the journey to the capital of the State of Osun, which is how the incumbent governor, Rauf Aregbesola, has rechristened the former Osun State since he came to power exactly six years ago. I made it that early in order to avoid the usual early morning rush on Lagos roads, as one traverses the city on the way towards the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. At the exit point underneath the Otedola Bridge, close to Alausa, the seat of the Lagos State government, I noticed that the whole place had become well illuminated, with lights radiating everywhere as if it was afternoon. And then there was the usual police presence with their patrol vehicle conspicuously positioned by the road. In the past, that spot was a terrible place to pass through in the dead of the night as commuters were prone to attacks by dare-devil criminals operating under the cover of darkness.
By the time we entered the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, one could notice that there were so many cars already on the road at that particular time of the day. The journey was smooth until we passed the Berger area which was also wearing a new look with the pedestrian bridge, as well as the expansion of the shoulders of the road to accommodate vehicles, particularly the commercial vehicles that were hitherto notorious for picking and dropping off passengers anyhow along the road. The usual traffic snarl associated with this indiscriminate dropping and picking of passengers has now become a thing of the past.
As we approached the ‘Long Bridge,’ looking ahead, I noticed that traffic had started building up on the road. From that point, it took us more than an hour to wade through to much easy flowing traffic. Those who were not patient enough had to move to the left lane where they faced on-coming vehicles in a fight for space. The whole thing was chaotic as there were no security agent present on the road at that time. This snail-speed continued again shortly before the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Camp, all the way to the Sagamu interchange. From then on, there was a little breathing space on the drive towards Ibadan, except that at the point after Ogere, the road was extremely bad with potholes and irregular surface all over.
We managed to reach Ibadan after a gruesome journey that lasted almost three hours from Lagos. And don’t ask me how the journey from the Ibadan end of the toll gate to Iwo Road felt like. The whole place was a mess. Added to this is the fact that the city, at least, around the places we drove through towards Iwo Road, was dirty, filthy, unkempt and stinking. It was as if there was no government or governor in the place as the city maintains its unenviable record of one of the dirtiest cities in Africa.
The road from Iwo Road to Gbongan was not any better. The Ikire-end of it was particularly bad as a greater part of the road had been encroached upon by erosion which had literally narrowed it down, while a sea of hawkers compete with motorists on the little available space. As we veered off from the Ibadan-Ife Road to Gbongan-Ode-Omu-Osogbo Road, we came face-to-face with another very bad portion of the road. I am aware that that particular area has been under permanent construction since Governor Aregbesola came to power six years ago. And it looks as if the road could be under construction for eternity. The good news is that while marking his sixth-year anniversary in office recently, the governor promised that all the projects he has embarked upon while in office will be completed before his exit from office in 2018. May God help him!
However, an appalling scene soon stared me in the face and I was shaken to my bone marrow. As we moved from Gbongan towards Osogbo, we ran into a patrol team of the Federal Road Safety Commission on a “stop and grab” operation by the side of the road. From what I saw, the corps members were engaged in an extortion-spree of commercial vehicles plying the road. While they look the other way when private vehicles approach, they were more interested in flagging down commercial vehicles. Some of the drivers, who obviously understood the game, just brought out their hands clutching one hundred naira notes as one of the officers stepped forward to swiftly collect the money and pretend as if nothing happened.
I was particularly irked because I had been involved in FRSC’s activities since the commission was established in February 1988. That was the time when two illustrious sons of Nigeria (or should I say two illustrious sons of Africa) – Professor Wole Soyinka and Dr. Olu Agunloye – were the pioneer Chairman and Corps Marshal and the Chief Executive, COMACE, respectively of the Commission. Both of them had zero tolerance for corruption, extortion and bribery of any kind whatsoever. I remember those days when the Commission had an intelligence unit that was responsible for tracking down officers whose conducts on the roads were less than satisfactory. It was through this unit that many bad eggs in the Commission were summarily weeded out of the system.
Boboye Oyeyemi, the current COMACE, who was then known as Yemi Oyeyemi, was the pioneer zonal commander of FRSC Zone 4, RS4, with headquarters in Lagos. At that time, there were about three senior officers bearing Yemi. There was Yemi Agoro and Yemi Omidiji, both of who have retired from service. Oyeyemi had had a good record of excellent conduct right from the time he joined the Commission shortly after his National Youth Service (NYSC) programme in 1987. He was known to be a strict disciplinarian, a quality that endeared him to both Soyinka and Agunloye. Everybody knew that Oyeyemi was Agunloye and Soyinka’s boy and he never let anyone down.
There is the need for the leadership of the FRSC under Oyeyemi to exhibit zero tolerance for indiscipline and other bad behaviours that have crept into the system. That is, if the organisation is to maintain the sort of sanity, trust and respect for which it has been known since inception. There is no doubt that some bad elements, who probably do not share in the vision and objectives of the body, have found their ways into the system. They must be weeded out before they rubbish the hard-earned reputation of the Commission. In the past, I heard people complain loudly about the bad treatment meted out to them on our roads by some unscrupulous officials of the Commission. I believe the time has now come for FRSC to do something to correct the anomalies in the system. This is a good organisation that should not be allowed to falter or waiver.
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A LOOK AT BRITISH AEROSPACE PLANE THAT CRASHED IN COLOMBIA
LONDON (AP) — The plane that crashed near Medellin, Colombia, is a short-haul aircraft that was used to land in hard-to-access airports and frequently flew soccer teams across South America.
Among the 75 people reported to have been killed in the crash Monday night of the 17-year-old plane, which was part of the British Aerospace 146 stable of aircraft, were members of the Chapecoense soccer team from Brazil.
The same plane that crashed is said to have earlier this month ferried world soccer player of the year Lionel Messi and his Argentina team from Brazil to Buenos Aires between World Cup qualifier matches.
The same plane that crashed is said to have earlier this month ferried world soccer player of the year Lionel Messi and his Argentina team from Brazil to Buenos Aires between World Cup qualifier matches.
Michelle Will Never Run For President – Obama
For anyone who might like to see Michelle Obama run for president as a Democrat, it’s time to rein in that early enthusiasm. Or so says her husband, President Barack Obama.
“Michelle will never run for office,” the president said in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine done the day after Donald Trump’s surprise win, and amid some social media swirl urging the first lady to consider throwing her hat in the ring.
Trump’s Election Led To ‘Barrage of Hate’, Report Finds | TheGuardian
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has counted 867 hate incidents in the 10 days after the US election, a report released Tuesday found, a phenomenon it partly blamed on the rhetoric of Donald Trump.
The advocacy group collected reports of incidents from media outlets and its own #ReportHate page. SPLC said it was not able to confirm all reports but believed the number of actual incidents was far higher, as according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics most hate crimes go unreported.
Seun Egbegbe is looking an Alibi, Tells Media To Stop The Rumours - Video
This guy must think we are dumb! D3mn this even makes it so bad. Smh. So Mr Seun Egbegbe is still trying hard to prove he didn’t steal iphones at computer village despite there are photos to prove it and the Nigerian police even charged him to court for theft. Smh. Do watch the video...
Trump Finds a Phone Friend in President Obama
Donald Trump can phone a friend when he has a question about governing. And most improbably, that valued resource turns out to be President Obama, who took Trump’s call Saturday – and not for the first time.
A 45-minute “consultation” is how White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest described their weekend conversation, one of “a handful” of telephone exchanges the two men have shared since their first face-to-face meeting in the Oval Office, which lasted 90 minutes earlier this month.
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