Tempting Fate coming to the cinemas on July 17th (watch trailer)

Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired....Tempting Fate Movie will be in Theaters near you July 17th 2015. Be the first to see it in Nigeria. A Hollywood meet Nollywood Film directed by Kevin Nkem Nwankwor (KNN) staring Ramsey Nouah, Dan Davies, Andrew Onochie, John J Vogel and Tiffany Denise Turner. Watch trailer after the cut...

 A KevStel Production distributed by Silverbird Distribution and supported by
 ..‪#‎Fourpointsbysheraton ‪#‎Silverbirdfilmdistribution ‪#‎Temptingfatemovie ‪#‎Blockbuster ‪#‎coolfm ‪#‎cooltv‪#‎silverbirdtv ‪#‎Rythmfm ‪#‎Wazobiafm ‪#‎wazobiatv ‪#‎NTAentertainment ‪#‎Cityfm ‪#‎UnilagFM # RainbowFM‪#‎NtA2 ‪#‎AIT ‪#‎AfricaMoviechannel ‪#‎JOVAGO

Watch the trailer below...

Read More

Organizations Urge the President to Reinterpret Helms Amendment and Aid Nigerian Refugees

Catholics for Choice in partnership with the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE) launched a campaign last week in response to more than 200 girls raped and impregnated by Boko Haram members, urging President Obama to reinterpret the Helms Amendment to include abortion care.

via Andrea

Over 400 women and children who were kidnapped by Boko Haram were returned earlier this year, many of whom are pregnant as the result of rape. Organizations hoping to aid these women are calling on President Obama to sign an interpretation of Helms that could allow for foreign assistance in providing abortion care. The law currently says, “No foreign assistance funds may be used to pay for the performance of abortion as a method of family planning or to motivate or coerce any person to practice abortions.”  However, as abortion in the instance of rape, incest, or life endangerment is not a method of family planning or birth control, Catholics for Choice and CHANGE are urging the President to sign into effect an interpretation of Helms that would allow the girls in Nigeria, some of whom are very young, to access what could be life-saving abortion care.

While the Nigerian government has made abortion illegal except in the case of life endangerment, Nigerian officials signed the Maputo Protocol which demands “the right to abortion in cases of rape, incest, or where pregnancy would pose a danger to the woman’s physical health, mental health, or life.” Even so, there has not been U.S. pressure on the Nigerian government to act in accordance with the Maputo Protocol and allow for abortion in cases of war rape.

Sara Hutchinson Ratcliffe, domestic program director at Catholics for Choice said in a press conference on Friday, “This policy is a disgrace to who we are as Americans… The Obama administration knows this—Catholics for Choice and our partners have spent six and a half years pleading, prodding, but to no avail.”

Other organizations have been struggling to get the President’s attention as well. Last year, Rev. Harry Knox, CEO of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, stated that the Helms Amendment, “… has been misused to deny compassionate abortion care to women and girls who face a pregnancy that results from rape.” He also said it was the United States’ “moral imperative” to provide abortion care.

The schoolgirls raped and impregnated by Boko Haram are running out of time to access safe abortions. Bea Arthur, a therapist and activist who often works with victims of sexual violence, warns of the long-lasting effectsthat denying a victim of violence can have.  “Telling someone they can’t have a choice extends that trauma and denies them their own humanity, integrity, and basic human self-respect,” she says. Studies also indicate that women who are impregnated as a result of rape and bear children are especially vulnerable to mental health issues such as depression and post-traumatic stress. There is also a strong likelihood of these women experiencing severe negative psychological consequences from facing stigma or isolation within their communities.

Read More

Why Ribadu Was Poisoned, Obasanjo Reveals

Nigeria’s former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has said that the ex-

chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, was once poisoned in the course of his duties as anti-corruption czar..

Obasanjo disclosed this at an international forum on Third Tana High Level Forum on Security in Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

He also revealed that Ribadu created enemies for him because of the ruthlessness with which he carried out his responsibilities of tackling corruption in Nigeria.

Obasanjo, who spoke from the floor following a presentation on Illicit Financial Flow and Governance of Natural Resources made by Ribadu, affirmed that he had known from experience that the fight against corruption attracts a lot of enemies.

The former president declared that he has no fear of anyone still living in Nigeria, adding, “it is rather them that fear me.”

Saying that Ribadu took on a lot of highly connected persons in his fight against corruption, Obasanjo said that the former anti-corruption chief was once poisoned, causing a scare among concerned quarters.

“It was a matter of life and death,” the former president said, though further details of the incident were not given.

Obasanjo said that once Ribadu was appointed, he gave him a free hand and that Ribadu investigated him, his late wife and several persons close to him at that time.

He also narrated a story of how a serving minister, who was his senior in secondary school, was indicted and prosecuted by the EFCC, adding that when the minister was found wanting, “there was no issue of seniority again.”

On leadership,

Obasanjo, who is also the chairperson of the Tana Forum, re-echoed Ribadu’s submission that at the centre of anti-corruption fight there was the need for willing political leadership at the highest level.

He, however, added that the leader also needs relevant legislations to work with, narrating his experience with the bill establishing ICPC which, he said, was whittled down by lawmakers, who felt they could be victims of the law.

In his remarks, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn, thanked Ribadu for his presentation, which, he said, highlighted many good things about Nigeria different from what is portrayed in the media.

In his presentation, Ribadu offered measures African countries can take to tackle illicit financial flow and repatriate money already illegally taken out of the African countries.

He said that what Africa needs is honest and committed leaders who will set examples with themselves by eschewing corruption and close avenues of illicit financial flow.

According to him, it is the seriousness and commitment showed by the political leadership that will convince other foreign countries to work with them towards recovering looted monies stashed abroad.

Ribadu also emphasised the need for concerted effort among countries and a synergy between law enforcement agencies so that looters could be caught.

Read More

NLC lambasts David Mark-led Senate; says 46 Bills passed in 10 minutes ‘reckless’

The outgoing Senate led by David Mark, has come under heavy lashing by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, which described the Senate’s unprecedented passage of 46 bills in 10 minutes last Wednesday as a “reckless path to lawmaking”.

The 46 Bills had earlier been passed by the House of Representatives and transmitted to the Senate for concurrence.

In a rare move, the Senators on Wednesday set aside all known law making protocols to get the Bills passed into law, as they came under pressure to leave behind an impressive record of performance with the 7th Assembly session coming to a close.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Ita Enang, (APC-Akwa Ibom North-East), led the lawmakers to invoke Order 79 (1) (b) of the Senate Standing Order 2011 (as amended) to adopt a special procedure on pending Bills for concurrence.

The Senate Standing Orders authorised the passage of the Bills without the draft laws having to pass the first, second and third readings on the floor of the Senate, while the concurred Bills were reproduced and circulated to all Senators before final passage.

The NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, on Monday expressed “profound shock and disappointment at the action of the National Assembly”, saying the Senate’s passage of 46 Bills “without legislation” in ten minutes was “competing for the Guinness Book of Records for legislative infamy.”

Some of the Bills are the Office of the Nigerian Financial Ombudsman Bill, 2015; Institute of Chartered Trustees of Nigeria Bill, 2015; Nigerian Bank for Commerce and Industry Act (Repeal) Bill, 2015; Federal Saving Bank Act (Repeal) Bill, 2015 and People’s Bank of Nigeria Act (Repeal) Bill, 2015.

The Senate also passed Federal Audit Commission Bill, 2015; Treasury Management Bill, 2015; Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Act 2010 (Amendment) Bill, 2015 and Investment, Securities (Amendment) Bill, 2015 Loan (State Development) Act (Repeal) Bill, 2015; Chartered Institute of Statisticians of Nigeria Bill, 2015 and Nigerian Metallurgical Industry Bill, 2015.

The National Assembly was criticised for spending over N600 billion in four years in passing only about 106 within the period.

Members of the House of Representatives, Mr. Wabba said, also took their turn the next day to pass 14 Bills transmitted by the Senate, without following the regular legislative procedures.

“Whoever advised our lawmakers to take this reckless path to law making has only succeeded in putting an indelible dent on whatever achievements that the 7th session of the National Assembly wished to be ascribed to it,” the NLC president said.

By this singular action, Mr. Wabba said the lawmakers not only displayed gross disdain for the philosophy of law making in a democratic setting, but have also exposed their manifest lack of interest in and commitment to the wellbeing of Nigerians.

Apart from ridiculing themselves, he said the Senators have unfortunately embarrassed the country in the eyes of the civilised global community.

By abridging the law making process and skipping the first, second and third reading process and public hearing on the Bills, he said the lawmakers denied Nigerians the opportunity to interrogate their desirability or otherwise of these bills.

With the manner the Bills were passed, the NLC urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to sign them into law, rather he should return them to the incoming National Assembly to be subjected to proper legislative procedures.

The NLC President called on the incoming 8th legislature to ensure that they departed from the opaque ways of the previous, particularly in being prudent, accountable, transparent and more effective in their legislative and oversight functions.

Specifically, he said it would be in the public interest if the huge resources committed to lawmakers’ welfare and other pecks of office, were reviewed drastically downward and re-directed to more demanding areas of the economy in line with current economic realities in the overall interest of all.

He promised to meet with the leaderships of both chambers of the 8th National Assembly in due course once they are put in place, to further engage them on these and other issues of national interest.

Read More

THE LATEST: BAVARIAN POLICE SAY G-7 LESS VIOLENT THAN FEARED

Eight officers were injured and 72 people were detained temporarily, but Bavarian police say the G-7 summit passed without significant disturbances, and with far fewer potentially violent protesters than expected.

Germany's dpa news agency quoted police spokesman Hans-Peter Kammerer as saying two men were jailed: an Austrian accused of throwing a soup dish at police, and a Ger man who threw a wooden spear at an officer.

Kammerer says that between 300 and 500 of the activists who gathered in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, near the summit venue, were believed to be potentially violent. Bavaria's top security official, Joachim Herrmann, said before the summit he expected 2,000 to 3,000 such demonstrators.

---

5:36 p.m. (1536GMT; 11:44 a.m. EDT)

Italian Premier Matteo Renzi says he was pleased that his country was no longer regarded as the sick man of Europe at the G-7 summit.

He told reporters that Italy was treat "as a protagonist - albeit with its limits."

In recent months, Italy began a gradual recovery after a lengthy recession, with growth recently projected by the OECD at 0.6 percent this year and 1.5 percent next year.

However, Renzi complained that Europe still isn't doing its part to shoulder the burden of taking in recent refugees, after a weekend that saw nearly 6,000 migrants rescued.

---

5:27 p.m. (1527GMT; 11:27 a.m. EDT)

President Barack Obama has told a news conference before returning to Washington that G-7 leaders had discussed additional steps they could take if Russia were to "double-down" on aggression inside Ukraine. He says those discussions have been taking place "at a technical level, not yet at a political level," and said the first step was for the European Union to commit to extending the current sanctions during an upcoming summit.

In a direct jab at Vladimir Putin, Obama said the Russian leader must decide whether he wants to wreck his economy and further Russia's isolation "in pursuit of a wrongheaded desire to recreate the glories of the Soviet empire." Obama said it was ironic that Putin has insisted he's trying to protect the Russian-speaking people in eastern Ukraine.

Obama said: "Russian speakers inside of Ukraine are precisely the ones who are bearing the brunt of the fighting."

---

4:59 p.m. (1459GMT; 10:59 a.m. EDT)

The Group of Seven major economies has pledged to increase vocational training for women in developing countries by a third by 2030.

The plan is part of a series of measures aimed at combating poverty and disease that G-7 leaders backed at their two-day summit in southern Germany.

Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States also announced Monday that they will support plans to better fight outbreaks of deadly diseases, such as Ebola, and aim to lift 500 million people out of hunger and malnutrition by 2030.

----

4:23 p.m. (1423GMT; 10:23 a.m. EDT)

The Nigerian government says new President Muhammadu Buhari has told France's leader at the G-7 summit that his country would welcome greater support from other nations in its effort to end Boko Haram's insurgency.

A government statement said Buhari also said Monday that Nigeria would like more intelligence on Boko Haram's links with the extremist Islamic State group, its movements and training and the sources of its weapons. It said that, at the meeting with French President Francois Hollande, Buhari reaffirmed his government's "total commitment to ending Boko Haram's insurgency in the shortest possible time."

The Islamic extremist uprising has killed an estimated 13,000 people and forced 1.5 million from their homes.

Buhari took office on May 29.

---

3:29 p.m. (1329GMT; 9:29 a.m. EDT)

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon has warned world leaders that efforts to fight terrorism can misfire if they don't respect fundamental rights.

Ban told the Group of Seven meeting in Germany on Monday that security measures and even military action may be necessary to combat violent extremists.

But he cautioned that "when counter-terrorism efforts ignore the rule of law and violate fundamental rights - which they do far too often - they not only betray the values they seek to uphold, but can also end up further fueling violent extremism."

Ban said targeting entire minorities increases bitterness, radicalism and extremism within those communities

---

3:21 p.m. (1321GMT; 9:21 a.m. EDT)

President Barack Obama says it will take time but Islamic State militants will ultimately be defeated and driven out of Iraq.

Obama says the challenges remain significant in Iraq, where the IS group controls large swaths of territory and recently took the key city of Ramadi.

But the president adds that success against the militants will ultimately depend on an effective international coalition backing Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

Obama says he's "absolutely confident we will succeed" if the international coalition supports Abadi and the prime minister has a government that represents everyone.

Abadi thanked Obama and leaders from the Group of Seven wealthy democracies for their support. He also expressed confidence in ultimate victory.

The two leaders commented Monday as they met on the sidelines of the G-7 summit being held in Elmau, Germany.

---

3:15 p.m. (1315 GMT; 9:15 a.m. EDT)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says there is "not a lot of time" to work out a deal over more bailout money for financially troubled Greece.

Merkel said at the Group of Seven summit in Germany on Monday that Greece needs to agree to take steps to straighten out its finances and economy, as it negotiates with other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund for more bailout loan money.

Greece is dangerously close to running out of money and defaulting on debt repayments to the IMF and the European Central Bank. A default could worsen Greece's situation and perhaps force it out of the euro

Merkel said that "we want Greece to remain part of the eurozone but we've got the clear message that solidarity... requires Greece to implement measures."

---

3:05 p.m. (1305 GMT; 9:05 a.m. EDT)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the Group of Seven wealthy democracies have agreed that the world should phase out the use of fossil fuels by the end of this century.

Merkel said Monday that the G-7 leaders committed themselves to the need to "decarbonize the global economy in the course of this century."

That is a technical term for ending the use of oil, gas and coal - but not nuclear power - and replacing them with alternative sources of energy such as wind and solar power.

Merkel had pressed for the G-7 to agree on the goal so it can be put forward at a summit on climate change later this year in Paris. Burning carbon-based fuels such as oil and gas releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is blamed for global warming.

---

2:58 p.m. (1258 GMT; 8:58 a.m. EDT)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the Group of Seven democracies have agreed that sanctions against Russia must remain in place until a cease-fire deal for eastern Ukraine is fully respected.

Merkel, closing a two-day summit in southern Germany, said Monday that the G7 was ready to step up the sanctions later if the situation called for it.

The European Union and the United States have imposed economic sanctions on Russia over its conflict with Ukraine. A cease-fire agreement reached in Minsk has been shaky, with the heaviest fighting in months breaking out in recent days between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces.

---

12:25 p.m. (1125 GMT; 6:25 a.m EDT)

The White House says President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande are in agreement on some of the world's vexing problems, including Russia's actions in Ukraine and keeping Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

The two leaders met Monday on the sidelines of a summit of the Group of Seven leading democracies being held in Elmau, Germany.

Obama and Hollande agreed that economic sanctions against Russia should stay in place until Russia fully implements terms of a peace accord with Ukraine. They also agreed to stay united in pursuit of a deal with several other world powers to restrict Iran's nuclear program.

France at times has taken a harder line and expressed more skepticism than Washington on the Iran talks.

The White House says the leaders also discussed climate change, trade, countering Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, and instability in Libya.

--

12:20 p.m. (1120 GMT; 6:20 a.m EDT)

Activists have had a hard time sending their message to the G-7 leaders, who are tucked away in a secluded Alpine valley guarded by thousands of police.

So Greenpeace decided Monday to project its demands onto a nearby mountain.

The environmental group used green lasers to beam the words "G-7: Go for 100 percent renewables" onto the side of the Zugspitze, Germany's highest peak.

Greenpeace climate policy chief Martin Kaiser said he hopes German Chancellor Angela Merkel will manage to convince climate holdouts such as Japan's Shinzo Abe to drastically cut down on carbon emissions in the coming decades.

---

11:50 a.m. (0950 GMT; 5:50 a.m. EDT)

The G-7 has opened its exclusive circle to meet with the leaders of Iraq and several African nations, along with the heads of various international organizations.

Key topics of discussion include the threat from terrorism and deadly diseases.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Arabi will brief leaders Monday on his country's fight against the Islamic State group, while African countries will talk about their efforts to stop the spread of Ebola.

The so-called "outreach" format also ensures that developing countries' views are heard on global issues such as plans to rein in global warming.

---

11.15 a.m. (0915 GMT; 5:15 a.m. EDT)

Mystery solved: the mayor of the village where President Barack Obama was served a pre-lunchtime beer says it was alcohol-free.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed Obama to Kruen, near the G-7 summit venue, a few hours before the meeting began on Sunday. It wasn't yet noon, but the president was served local delicacies including a tall glass of beer.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Sunday he didn't know what kind of beer Obama was served but he was confident the president didn't order a non-alcoholic version.

Kruen Mayor Thomas Schwarzenberger told news agency dpa Monday that German and U.S. officials had asked that the guests be given only alcohol-free beer, so that's what Obama, Merkel and her husband, Joachim Sauer, were given.

---

10:45 a.m. (0845 GMT; 4:45 a.m. EDT)

Leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy democracies are searching for a common stance on climate change on the second and final day of their summit in southeastern Germany.

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany is seeking agreement on eventually moving away from the use of carbon-based fossil fuels and an endorsement of goals to limit the long-term rise in global temperatures and provide financing to help countries deal with the impact of climate change. Her idea is to forge a united front going into a conference on climate change in Paris later this year.

Leaders at the annual meeting will also hold discussions Monday on combating terrorism. The G-7 consists of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

Read More

Gunmen kill Nigerian businessman in South Africa

A Nigerian businessman based in Johannesburg, South Africa, Mr Emmanuel Onyekaozuru, 50, was killed on Sunday by gunmen. The President of Nigeria Union in South Africa, Mr Ikechukwu Anyene, on Monday told newsmen in Pretoria, South Africa, that Onyekaozuru was shot by two gunmen.
‘’ The union has received a report that a Nigerian businessman, Emmanuel Onyekaozuru, was shot in his business premises at 9.00 p.m. yesterday (June 7). ‘’ The report said that the gunmen shot the deceased and escaped in a car.
‘’ The incident has been reported to the police and the Nigerian Consul General in South Africa,’’ he said. Anyene said that the union would work with the consul general and the police to ensure that justice was done in the case.
‘’ Mr Onyekaozuru is the only son of his parents. He is married with three children. ‘’ He is an indigene of Abatete in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State,’’ he said.
Anyene also said that the gunmen did not remove anything from the business premises of the deceased. ‘’This is one death too many and we are not happy that a Nigerian has been killed,’’ he said.

Read More

Empowering Our Youths through Sports and Entertainment

Guest Columnist: Ben MurrayBruce

  In a country of 175 million people where over 100 million people are youths, the most important ministry is not the ministry of finance or the ministry of petroleum.  It is the ministry of youths!

Nigeria has spent decades living off the minerals under her ground, especially oil, and we as a nation have forgotten that the most valuable resource we have are our people and especially our youth.

Nigeria is still operating under a colonial era mentality whereby minerals, raw materials and cash crops are regarded as assets and people are regarded as liabilities.

This is why Nigerian leaders misunderstand the term employment. Employment refers to being occupied. It involves utilizing ones mental and physical energies in a rewarding manner.

In practical terms, it is impossible to immediately provide paid employment for all our youths in the short term.
There is a law of process involved in achieving that aim.

However, we can and we should provide our youths other activities through which they can positively employ their mental and physical energies.

Sports is one of those activities. We have stadia that lie fallow all over Nigeria. Until recently, the national stadium in Abuja was overgrown with weeds as are other stadia.

The ministry of youths should collaborate with the ministry of sports to throw them open and encourage youths to utilize the facilities.
Our stadia and sports facilities should not only be used to host the very occasional football games. They should be used to positively employ the minds and bodies of our youth in positive activities.

With only a small amount of money we can keep these facilities running and available to our youth. The devil finds work for idle hands. If we keep
Our youths positively employed, they will not be armed robbers, Boko Haram terrorist or area boys.
And Nigeria as a country has been making efforts to make one people out of many people. Unity has been a recurring challenge as many Nigerians cling to primordial and regional sentiments over national sentiments.

What can unite a country better than sports? Who can unite a country better than youths?
Nigeria is at its most united state when we are playing a game of soccer against another country or competing in an athletic meet with other nations.
Since we know that, let us use sports and games to both unite the nation and redirect the energy of our youth towards something positive.

Nigeria needs to prioritize the ministry of youths. Quality brains should be appointed and employed as minister, Permanent Secretary and directors. These should be people with ideas, who know the value of recreation as a means of engendering productivity in our young people.

President Muhammadu Buhari has repeatedly said he wants to create employment for our youth.
We can create employment through sports.

The ministry of sports must remake itself from being a ministry of football to a ministry that impacts Nigeria.
As a former Director General of the Nigerian Television Authority, I know that sophisticated cameras, that can shoot underwater and in high altitudes, were bought for the 2003 All Africa Games in Abuja. There were others that were also bought for the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship (U-20 World Cup) which held in Nigeria.

NTA has cameras and equipment that can be used to cover every Olympic sport. NTA also has outside broadcasting vans.
We do not have to limit ourselves to going to the Olympics and the All Africa Games every four years.

We can institute a national sporting event to occupy our youths and also identify talents. In the past we used to have Mobil Track and Field events every year, but ever since ExxonMobil pulled out in 2011, we have not been able to replicate a national track and field event of such a magnitude.

The ministry of sports has all that is required to revive that event even without private sponsorship. As a matter of fact, if you revive it, the private sponsors will come.

Nigeria can project her greatness via sport, but we are short changing ourselves if we do not invest in sports as a way to channel the creative energies of our youths into positive ventures.

As a child, I idolized Dick Tiger, the first African to win an international boxing title when won the world middleweight boxing championship in 1962.

Dick Tiger was discovered when a British prize fighter came to Nigeria and offered anyone who could knock him out the sum of three guineas. Of course an unknown young man named Richard Ihetu (Dick Tiger’s real name) knocked him out and the rest is history.

If that Briton did not come to Nigeria, Richard Ihetu would never have become Dick Tiger.
I cannot help but wonder how many Dick Tigers we are missing out on every year.

And even in football, the one sport that we have concentrated on, we are not maximizing the opportunities that professional football brings to a country.

In England in 2013, 32% of the population were actively engaged in one way or the other with the English Premiership League. The League itself made a revenue of over £3 Billion in 2013 (that is money the EPL made for itself alone). In 2012, 900,000 foreign fans came to England to attend Barclays Premier League matches and spent £706 Million. 1.5 Billion people watch the English Premiership League worldwide. They buy merchandise from Britain, keeping the British people employed and prosperous. Britain made over £2 Billion in the 2013 by selling overseas broadcasting rights to the EPL.

As an example of how the EPL contributes to job growth, in 2011, when Swansea City was promoted to the EPL, that promotion led to 295  new full time jobs being created in the small town of Swansea, and the promotion attracted tourists who spent £8.13 million in Swansea in that season.

In short, sports and especially football, can generate jobs and boost our Gross Domestic Product if developed.
What is wrong if the President personally goes to watch matches in the Nigeria Premier League? What is wrong if he directs his ministers to do likewise?
Imagine the impact on the popularity and acceptability of the Nigeria Premier League if the public sees the President and top Nigerians at their matches rather than at British Matches? British Prime Minister,  David Cameron does it, German Chsncellor, Angela Merkel, does it. Why can’t our leaders do it?

It will boost the popularity of the league which will attract sponsors which will attract big broadcasters which will make it international which  will attract foreign investments which will create JOBS!

Our youths need jobs and because we are not creating enough job opportunities for them, they are terrorizing us all over the country.
We have to be creative with ideas to lift Nigeria out of the doldrums and launch her into orbit as one of the world’s economic power houses.

Even if we start out now with a plan to compete with the West and the Asian Tigers in the area of technology and manufacturing, it will take us at least one generation to make any meaningful impact, if at all.
But we have areas of comparative advantage as a nation and if we focus on those areas, we can reach and surpass what has been done in the West and Asia.

One of the areas where we have a comparative advantage is in the motion picture industry.
Nollywood is now the third largest movie industry in the world. The industry has been driven by the raw talent of the Nigerian youth and the grit of largely Idumota based marketers and their international chain.

Nollywood is a youth driven industry. When you support Nollywood, you are giving Nigerian youths an escape that gives them hope and helps them cope with the duality challenges of being a youth in a nation like Nigeria.

Government may think that Nollywood is just entertainment, but they will be very wrong if we think that. No one buys into your industrial and manufacturing complex except they first buy your culture.

Western governments understand this which is why President Obama got personally involved when North Korea threatened Sony Pictures over the movie ‘The Interview’.

Culture projection is the first vital step in winning the hearts and minds of a people. It has been done since time immemorial.
It is the reason the British always sent in their missionaries that propagated their particular Christian denomination in the areas they wanted to colonize. After selling their culture, they then sent in their merchants.

It is the reason Nigerian youths are so crazy about European Premiership Football. We first of all fall in love with European Football and next we start going to Europe on holiday to spend our hard earned cash.

Michael Jackson was the first black artist to be played on MTV and when White America fell in love with him, they bought into Black culture and because they bought into Black culture, Black cultural icons like Jayz, Dr. Dre and P Diddy took it to the next level and became business mogul selling products of black origin to first White America, then the rest of the world. Now, Apple has made Dr. Dre a billionaire by buying ‘Beats by Dr. Dre’ for $3 billion.

What the Buhari administration ought to do, if it is truly interested in creating jobs, is to continue the unprecedented support that industry enjoyed during the Jonathan years.

No other administration in Nigeria’s history supported Nollywood as much as the Jonathan administration. He gave them a grant of 3 Billion Naira to develop capacity and he encouraged them with his presence at their industry wide events.
This helped Nollywood shoot quality movies that can be entered in for international film competitions like the Academy Awards, the Cannes Film Festival and the Montreal Film Festival.

The more visibility Nolywood gets, the more the image of the average Nigerian is rehabilitated. The more the image of Nigeria is rehabilitated, the more the world buys into Nigerian brands like Glo, UBA, Dangote Cement etc.

Going forward, whoever President Buhari appoints as minister of culture has to work with the President’s protocol people to include Nollywood icons in his entourage when he travels abroad. The minister of Sports has to do the same with sports stars and our international athletes. This will help transfer some of the goodwill and credibility these icons have amassed on both the President and the country.

We just had President Buhari’s inauguration and look who the US sent-John Kerry (the US Secretary of State) and Akeem Olajuwon!
The US was not being sentimental when they chose Akeem. No! He is a US citizen and a well loved sports icon. They know that if he is seen in their official delegation, those who see him will associate the warmth and goodwill they feel for him with America.

If those people are government officials, which they are likely to be, then they become more likely to tilt Nigerian foreign policy towards America.

If they are business leaders, they are more likely to award contracts to American companies and buy American products.
If they are ordinary Nigerians, they are more likely to want to spend their holidays and their hard earned money in America and on American products.

Do we see the multiplier effect?
And finally, together with the minister of information, the minister of culture should be a custodian of our national culture and historical records.

We do not document our leaders and their highs and lows and their successes and failures and as George Santayana said “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”!

That is why we keep repeating the sake mistakes over and over again as a nation.
Nigerians may be surprised to note that if you want to get accurate records of the Nigerian Civil War, of Supreme Military Council activities of leaders that were deposed (eg Buhari’s first regime), of defining moments of Nigeria’s history, you have to go to either the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC or the British ITV.   
What does that say of us as a nation and as a people?

Read More

Everything you can expect Apple to announce on Monday

Every year, Apple holds a big press event at its conference for developers and tells the world about its future plans for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Now, there's a new addition to that lineup: the Apple Watch.

Apple doesn't usually talk about its plans or future products until it's ready to unveil them to the world. But the company wants us to know that big improvements for the Apple Watch are coming.

"Third-party apps will get much better," Jeff Williams, Apple's senior vice president of operations, said at a conference last month. 

This is one of many announcements Apple is expected to make on Monday that will tell us about the company's direction for the year.

Here's a rundown of what else we might see:

Apple's answer to Spotify

Apple

This is among the biggest announcements we are expecting to see.

For months, reports have suggested Apple will debut its own streaming-music service that sounds a lot like Spotify. It will probably cost $10 per month, according to The Wall Street Journal, and Apple has been said to be in talks with various artists and record labels to beef up the music selection. The service, which is said to be called Apple Music according toBloomberg, will be powered by Beats Music, which Apple acquired last year. There will also be an Android version of the app, which is a first for the company.

It's an important move for Apple if it wants to reestablish the dominance it asserted over the music industry when it introduced the iTunes Music Store in 2003. Now streaming is becoming more prominent than downloads, and Apple needs to catch up.

Analysts don't expect the music service to add too much to Apple's revenue though — hardware is Apple's biggest moneymaker.  If Apple's streaming service attracted as many subscribers as Spotify (15 million), it would only add less than 1% to revenue in 2016, assuming Apple charges a $10 monthly subscription fee to each subscriber, the analysts at Piper Jaffray report. 

The next big update for iPhones and iPads

Business Insider

Apple will also show us the new features we'll see on iPhones and iPads with its next software update, iOS 9. It probably won't be a big aesthetic change like the last update, iOS 8. Instead, Apple is said to be focusing on stability and security. In particular, Apple is reportedly making an effort to ensure older iPhones and iPads will be able to run the software smoothly, unlike previous versions of the software that usually ran slowly on gadgets from years past. 

Apple is said to be making big improvements to Siri, too. The new Siri will look more like the version that appears on the Apple Watch, and it'll be able to communicate with other Apple apps such as Passbook, Calendar, and Spotlight search, as 9to5Mac's Mark Gurman writes. It sounds like a much-needed answer to Google Now. 

There's talk of Apple Maps getting some enhancements too, including public-transit directions. 

Apple will also add a new split-screen interface for the iPad, according to the report, which means you'd be able to run one app alongside another. It's a feature that other tablets, such as those made by Samsung, have had for a while. And, most importantly, it would add some new functionality for the iPad, especially when it comes to productivity and multitasking. This is especially important because iPad sales have been in a slump.

What's new for the Mac

Apple will probably give us a preview of what its next update for the Mac will be like as well. Similar to iOS, we probably won't see too many flashy new features. Instead, Apple will likely focus on two things: Stability and performance, and making it even easier for your Mac to communicate with all of your other Apple devices. 

The new Mac operating system is supposedly codenamed Gala, although it's unclear whether or not that will be its official name. The last couple versions have been named after landmarks in California, and Apple has trademarked several of those, including OS X Mojave, Sequoia, Sonoma, and Ventura.

Better apps for the Apple Watch

Apple

As mentioned above, it sounds like Apple is putting a big focus on improving apps for the Apple Watch. Specifically, the company is expected to announce that developers will be able to incorporate the watch's native code into their apps. This means that apps will be able to take advantage of the sensors inside the watch instead of just relaying information from your phone. So an app like Shazam, for example, would be able to access the microphone to listen for music. 

Read more about what developers want to see from the Apple Watch here>>

More about Apple's plan to make the iPhone as a remote control for your home

AppleApple's HomeKit app will be used to pair your connected devices to your iOS device.

We'll probably hear more about HomeKit too — the platform for smart-home-connected products Apple announced last year. The first products that are compatible with HomeKit just went on sale this month, so we're likely to hear more about them.

In particular, Apple is likely to talk about the new Home app we'll probably see in iOS 9. This is the app that actually lets you control all of your HomeKit-certified products. From the app, you'll probably be able to easily pair them, group them together by room so you can control multiple devices at once, and more. Currently, you have to download separate apps for each accessory. 

No big Apple TV news

Apple

For months, reports have suggested that Apple is readying its own streaming TV service that would offer access various types of video content, including local channels, for between $30 and $40 per month. Initially, the rumor mill said Apple would unveil this service at WWDC, but Apple could delay the launch because it still has to finalize licensing deals. 

It sounds like there won't be a new Apple TV either — Apple was expected to announce a new version of its set-top box, but The New York Times recently reported that those plans have been postponed. 

However, some analysts think Apple will unveil a new set top box at the event, in addition to an improved remote control for the box and an app store dedicated solely to Apple TV. This could potentially include games that are tailored to larger screens like those on televisions. 

Read More

NUPENG’s patriotic position on fuel subsidy

Have you heard? The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has thrown its weight behind the removal of subsidy on petroleum products, saying such funds should be channelled to the rehabilitation of refineries and infrastructural development in the country. The union’s president, Comrade Igwe Achese, said the action was the only way to end the perennial fuel crisis in the country.

Interestingly, the Nigeria Labour Congress last May 1 during the Workers’ Day celebration warned against any move by the Federal Government to remove fuel subsidy, saying such action was capable of plunging the country into “unnecessary crisis.” Given that NUPENG is a strategic members of the NLC, its rejection of fuel subsidy should be seen as an ideological suicide on the issue.

Ideologically, labour has always been pro subsidy, since such economic intervention by government creates humane conditions that make life interesting for the workers, the creators of the wealth of a nation. The NUPENG’s position is a repudiation of that traditional position. I have asked some radical leftist friends what they made of NUPENG’s stance. The consensus is that such repudiation is an ideological somersault.

Personally, I see the stance of NUPENG as arising from a proper articulation of the political economy of oil subsidy in Nigeria borne by prevailing socio-economic and political reality. I have been a disciple of pro subsidy. The reason is more ideological than economic. I have always found it socially non-permissible and indeed indefensible that a section of the society should be denied access to certain public goods like education and healthcare. Education because it liberates the mind from ignorance and superstition; and also because it is the most effective weapon against social inequality.

And healthcare because lack of it shortens life and impedes productivity of the mind and body. I added petroleum products to my list because I have always found it offensive that a product so freely given to the country by Nature should be priced out of the reach of all Nigerians. The socialization of access to petroleum products in caring and concerned countries like Venezuela under Hugo Chavez, Libya under Muammer Gaddafi and Saudi Arabia under her successive kings, is a model worthy of emulation.

I must admit that the implementation of subsidy regime in Nigeria is rudimentary, fraudulent and self serving. In the public sector education, the Nigerian state has been overburdened by the weight of subsidy implementation. There is one form of subsidy or another in public sector education, the greatest burden being in the tertiary subsector. For confirmation, compare the bills payable in private schools, (primary, secondary and university) to those of public schools. The attempt to sustain government’s fidelity to the equalization of access to education even why economically disadvantageous is why the palpable decline in the quality of education in the country has set in.

Subsidy in the public health sector is generally kept low. You get a feel of its existence when you compare the bills payable in public health institutions to private ones. Such comparison will have to be extended to services on offer in the two sectors to make meaning! Since 2008 a community-based Social Health Insurance Programme of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) for all registered pregnant women and children under five years of age has been on; some states in the country equally subsidize treatment for some select classes of people, particularly children and the aged.

However, the big subsidy issue in Nigeria and the most contentious is the fuel subsidy. Its awesome size, philosophical underpinning and management template have combined to create an eerie atmosphere of esotericism around it.

The first puzzle in the fuel subsidy bogey in Nigeria is the determination of its weight. If it is taken that subsidy is an amount of money given directly to firms by the government to encourage production and consumption of goods and services, the first task is to determine the economic cost of such a product and what percentage the government will pay to the producer to enable him/ her sell to the final consumers at cheaper and affordable prices. In Nigeria’s voodoo economics of subsidy, the weight of subsidy is politically determined, which is why we are still looking for the realistic economic cost of a litre of PMS. In the absence of this, the mandarins in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and Federal Ministry of Finance, have been having a field day, more often than not working for the oil marketers to rip off the nation.

Between 2006, when the Petroleum Support Fund (PSF) Scheme kicked off and the end of 2014, Nigeria spent about N11 trillion on subsidy payments. In this year’s budget prepared by the former administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, N460 billion was appropriated as subsidy for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and N160 billion as subsidy for kerosene. This adds up to about N11.6 trillion as subsidy since 2006. The social opportunity cost of this is enormous.

Yet, another form of oil subsidy exists: It arises from the enthronement of a regime of uniform prices of petroleum products across the length and breadth of Nigeria since 1973. This compounds the mystifying subsidy bogey in the country.

Read More