Photos: Music star Kcee hawks MTN recharge cards on the streets

Photos: Music star Kcee hawks MTN recharge cards on the streets

Singer Kcee was spotted early this morning along the major streets of Lagos where he went to sell MTN recharge cards and also to interact with his fans. As a brand ambassador of MTN, he used himself as an example and encouraged his numerous fans never to give up but rather be focused and hard working and also to believe in themselves because this world Na turn by turn according to him. More photos after the cut...

Buhari Jets To London With Diezani On Board

Embattled Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, today booked herself on a British Airways flight to London with Nigeria’s President-Elect, Muhammad Buhari, who sources claimed was on an scheduled trip.

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buhari

Embattled Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, today booked herself on a British Airways flight to London with Nigeria’s President-Elect, Muhammad Buhari, who sources claimed was on an scheduled trip. Muhammadu Buhari Buhari Media Team

Diezani had been billed to travel to the UK next week Tuesday according to a source, however upon learning that Buhari was traveling to London, she asked the airline to book her on the same flight as Buhari so that she could have a chance to discuss directly with the President-Elect. The British Airways flight departed Abuja this morning at 9:00am Nigerian time.
Several aides and close associates of Buhari said they were surprised to learn of the trip since they were with him till 7PM last night shortly after he arrived from his hometown, Duara.
A family source revealed that Buhari was traveling to London for the weekend and is expected back in Nigeria on Tuesday in time for the swearing in ceremonies.

Nigeria Governors’ Forum Turns Against Okonjo-Iweala, Demand Explanation For Missing $20 Billion

The statement expressed outrage, questioned her integrity, and demanded that she give an explanation regarding the missing $20 billion from the state coffers.

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Governors attending Nigeria’s Governors’ Forum took aim at Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in a statement released from the proceedings yesterday. The Forum, presided over by its Chairman Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, was held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.

The statement expressed outrage, questioned her integrity, and demanded that she give an explanation regarding the missing $20 billion from the state coffers.
The Governors’ Forum statement is the latest development centered on the controversial PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) audit of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which was spurred by Lamido Sanusi exposing to the public the missing money. Sanusi, now the Emir of Kano, was sacked by President Jonathan for blowing the whistle on the mission $20 billion.
Governor Amaechi demanded action from Okonjo-Iweala on the missing money in a statement that “In the light of the facts that funds in the Excess Crude Account were last disbursed in May 2013, there is need for the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to provide explanations for accruals to this account from June 2013 to April 2015 which is estimated at over $20billion."
Governor Amaechi also announced that a Governors’ Forum Academy called the “NGF Leadership Academy” would be set up, and will be responsible for leadership development targeting governors and public officials.
Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State was also elected Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, which was also announced by outgoing Chairman Amaechi.
Governor Yari was elected by consensus to serve as Chairman for one year. He has been Deputy Chairman of the Forum but no one has been appointed to replace that role, according to reports.
The future of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum was uncertain in 2013 when it split into two competing groups. During the election, Governor Amaechi dislodged his opponent Jonah Jang, the Governor of Plateau State.

Check out the new ink on Wizkid's arms

Check out the new ink on Wizkid's arms

Wizkid who has always professed his love for Fela Anikulapo Kuti's music went further to show his love for the legend by tattooing the Ebami Eda on one of his forearms and tattoed a Lion on his other forearm.

Check out the photo below:

Pics: National Assembly members move out of Assembly complex

Pics: National Assembly members move out of Assembly complex

Ahead of the May 29th inauguration of a new administration, some lawmakers have started moving out their personal effects from their offices within the National Assembly complex. Pictures show some of their assistants helping them move. More photos after the cut...

THE NIGERIAN ELECTORATE NEED TO WAKE UP

Over the years, people (myself inclusive) have associated themselves with the popular act of chanting the encomium of democracy in Nigeria. We thought it is and will be as pragmatic as the very father of it - Abraham Lincoln theorized. However, my little political arithmetic following the ups and downs of the imminent election has forced me to say NO! NO! NO!, what we practice in Nigeria is not even in the near neighborhood of democracy, talk nothing of democracy itself. My humble advice at this crucial point in time is that the chanting of such encomium should be brought to an abrupt end for it is no longer sounding melodious. This is for no other reason other than the fact that the dividends of democracy have been rendered cosmetic. The tenets, ethics and ethos of democracy have been treated with levity and reckless abandon –telling tales of “impunity in the high places”.  

Strictly speaking, if what we witnessed during this past six (6) years of Jonathan administration is what democracies all over the universe experience, then it is high time anarchy went for infant baptism or vice versa, either way will serve our purpose. Before taking you on a brief memory lane, it may interest you to know that aside the countless number of lives lost during this regime, more than nineteen thousand (19000) persons were displaced and rendered homeless – bye products of insurgency in the country. This is an administration which inter alia promised us adequate security, efficient transportation system, building of a standard refinery and so on. I would however leave it open for you to adjudge whether such promises were fulfilled, yet “Mr. president” wants to go back on a second tenure.

A questionable question at this juncture may go this way – Of what relevance is the forthcoming election to the following persons: 1. A man who lost his only child or four (4) of his children to the abduction of Chibok girls? 2. A woman who lost her husband in the Kano Market bombing? 3. A child that lost his parents in one or two of such occasions and or a family that was displaced as a result of such unrest. Such individuals abound and they are no less bonafide citizens of the country. In essence, one cannot fathom their lot until one is actually made (God forbid) to be in their shoes. Consequent upon this, it may not be a hyperbole to assert that the imminent election to them is but a fairy tale – for the government has dashed their hopes.

 I have always believed that it is a cardinal duty of government and governance to provide for security and if it falls short of that, it cannot escape culpability. These believe is however anchored on the Chapter Two of the 1999 Nigeria Constitution (2011 as amended) which provides for the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy. To be precise, Section 14(2)(b) postulates that; the “security and welfare” of the people shall be the “primary” purpose of government (emphasis is mine). So, if the government fails in this aspect, then one should encounter no difficulty at all to opine in strong and lucid terms that such government has ultimately failed. Permit me therefore at this juncture to re-emphasize that MR GEJ failed us and as such, no thanks to a failed president.

On the other hand, it appears that a great many Nigerians need change. When I say change , I mean an alternative government. However, it is regrettable that we do not have a very efficacious and formidable political armada in Nigeria now in form of an opposition party. For me, I am yet to be convinced; in fact I am afraid as to whether the so called APC is a pressure group, anomic group, a band of power hungry gladiators or a political party properly so called. My fear stems from a number of variables; 1. I have plied almost all the highways of social networks – running to and fro multiples of sites in search of the ideology of this party, all to no avail. So if you have seen it, kindly forward it to me. 2. Given the fact that not less than 87% of the current members of APC defected from PDP (with the exception a microscopic minority), one may not therefore be wrong in holding that it is just a band of elitist group that has come for no reason other than to continue to masturbate themselves in the corridors of power. In view of this APC can be likened to the case of an old wine in a new wine-skin. 3. Much like what was obtainable in 1946, APC is more or less regional in practice and that being the case is capable of developing us backwards. 4. Have you bordered to look at the slogans of these two parties – PDP & APC? Then get the gist- the former uses “transformation” whereas the latter uses “change”. It is very sad that my little inquiry so far have left me with no clear difference as appertains to these two terms. Merriam Webster Online Dictionary says: TRANSFORMATION – A complete or major “change” in someone’s or something’s appearance, form etc. CHANGE- To undergo “transformation”, transition or substitution. The Word Web Dictionary/Thesaurus did not equally help matters for it defined the former as a qualitative change while the latter was defined as the process of causing transformation and neither did our very own ubiquitous Advanced Learners Dictionary Of English come to their rescue. In essence, the nuts and bolts of the above exercise is indicative of the fact that in so far as the both parties use the same slogan, then it is either that they are playing on the intelligence of the masses or that one of the parties lacks vision/mission or better still that one of the parties is the brain- child of the other.

In furtherance, a cursory look at the then administration of the current APC presidential aspirant revealed many sad events which among other things include the indiscriminate imprisonment of our illustrious sons & leaders – the likes of Ambrose Alli, Pa Adekunle Ajason, Jim Ifeanyi Nwobodo (One-time Governor, old Anambra state) and Sir. Ifeanyi Alex Ekwueme (one-time vice president of Nigeria) notable for inter alia spear heading the building of the hitherto celebrated UNN Library Complex. As if he has not done enough harm and regardless of his age, it becomes a puzzle in my mind as to what GMB is still looking for in the political scene. The same applies to GEJ because, never was bloodshed known in the annals of Nigeria history than in his tenure. Following from this, one can safely gather that in a nutshell, the imminent election can be described as a contest between a failed president and a former military dictator.

What is now the position of the electorates?

Notwithstanding the political dusts already projected into the atmosphere and which seems to have beclouded many Nigerians, I think it is incumbent here to assert that it is not arguable at any length as to whether the electorate has any special power to that effect. The precise provision of S.14(2)(a) of 1999 constitution of Nigeria as amended makes it clear that sovereignty belongs to the people from whom the government derives its power. However, the electorate unlike what should be obtained in a democratic dispensation, have thrown that right to the birds. In short, that provision is of no much importance to an average Nigeria more than is lipstick important to a man. Many factors can account for this; apathy, illiteracy, ignorance, naivety, tribalism (sectionalism), greed. A concatenation of the above points renders the average Nigerian electorate powerless otherwise, tell me the reason why some of our politicians will promise us “heaven” whereas “hell” is not even in their possession, after which they fail and still come back to convince us as to why they couldn’t bring heaven to earth, yet we will still vote them – giving them the latitude to aside looting the economy, commit more horrible fallacies.

For me, I am less perturbed about whether the president is a man from Isiukwuato LGA –Abia, a man from Oduduwa empire, an Ogbomosho man, a man from Gwoza(Borno), Anyigba(Kogi), or a man from Enugu-Ezike (Enugu) or better still a woman. Besides, there is a common denominator - government of the people, by the people and for the people. So, if we can have a visionary leader capable of rendering the dividends of democracy to the people in general, then why do we talk of zoning? Why do we still at this juncture emphasize the fons et origo (the origin) of a presidential aspirant? Why do we engage in the endless bargain of religious affiliation? All these are outside the purview of democratic requirements and should be cast into the dustbins of tribalism, sectionalism and religious cum doctrinal bias respectively. Some will stand and tell you - “the other is a Christian while the other is a Muslim”, but the question is ; what difference do that make? How does it affect the transmogrification of the battered economic/political status of the nation? After all it was not a gentile that betrayed Jesus Christ. The sum and substance of the above points to the conclusive conclusion that the electorates need to wake up to realities.

  In conclusion, No doubt, we are faced with a situation I can best describe as a dilemma for many have gone to town propagating that none of the two parties can serve our purpose at this crucial point. In so far as that fact is appreciated, then culpability cannot be on your side if you liken the situation to that of a double-edged sword. However, Nigerians are not bound to run head-straight into such dilemma, we can steer a delicate (middle) course thus; 1. We can decide to vote none of the two tough power centers, there are other contestants from other platforms and they can still make good bargain for this country. If this cannot rescue us then… 2. Must we practice a presidential system? The answer is unflinchingly in the negative, so, we can as well revert to parliamentary system in which case a COALITION GOVERNMENT will safely lead us home – GEJ becomes the “presidoo” while GMB becomes “vice” or vice versa, either way will exculpate us. 3. One of the two (APC or PDP) has to renegotiate their political imbroglio, accept the bitter outcome of tomorrow’s election and thereafter wait patiently for the year 2019. TO FELLOW NIGERIANS: Remember that in as much as that your single vote is concerned, you are to that extent a law unto yourself , therefore, vote wisely, vote prudently and remain a good citizen of the country.     As submitted by

                             IFEANYI E. UGWUANYI.

April 11 elections may be sabotaged by anti-democratic forces, which could lead the military to stage a coup d’etat and set in place an interim government. Femi Falana
Mr. Falana, who stated this in a speech delivered at the Foursquare Gospel Church owned Life Theological Seminary, Ikorodu, on Sunday, said despite assurances by President Goodluck Jonathan and the Independent National Electoral Commission, there was no indication that the election will hold as billed.
He also warned of the likelihood of post-election violence should the vote go forward.
Both President Jonathan and the Independent Electoral Commission chair, Attahiru Jega, have maintained that the new election dates are sacrosanct.
“There is no indication that the election will hold,” he said. “If the INEC goes ahead with the conduct of the elections there are fears that the exercise may be sabotaged by anti-democratic forces. If the election holds the results may be rejected leading to a post-election violence which may threaten the corporate existence of the nation.
“In the circumstance, an interim government may be established and be saddled with the task of preparing the country for another political transition. In the alternative, a coup d’etat that may be staged by the top echelon of the armed forces under the pretext of restoring law and order and fighting the menace of insurgency. The military wing of the ruling parties succeeded in Mali and Burkina Faso. But having divided the country along ethnic and religious lines, the masterminds of the political crisis are not likely to profit from the perfidy.”
He therefore, asked Nigerians to prepare “for a long drawn out battle for the liberation of the country from political and economic predators”.
In his speech, the lawyer commended the renewed onslaught against the deadly terror group, Boko Haram, in the North-East region of Nigeria by both the federal government and the Nigerian military.
He, however, asked the military to discontinue the court martial of several solders who had earlier complained about lack of sophisticated weapons to face the insurgents.
He said the government’s admittance that it purchased new equipment for the fight to succeed, meant that the soldiers were justified in the earlier protest.
He also asked the Federal Government to implement the recommendations of the Ambassador Usman Gilmatiri presidential panel on insurgency in the north east region and embark on a special programme to address the problems of child education and youth unemployment in the region.
On the state of the nation’s economy, Mr. Falana said the bulk of the intervention funds created by the Goodluck Jonathan-led administration was for the rich.
According to Mr. Falana, the funds including- Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme (N69billion); Commercial Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme (N200billion); the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (N200billion); Small and Medium Enterprises Credit Guarantee Scheme (N200billion); the SMEs Restructuring and Refinancing Scheme (N200billion) and Power and Airlines Intervention Fund (N300billion) are yet to have effect on the economy.  
“Sequel to the crash in the price of crude oil the Federal Government announced that austerity measures would be imposed on the hapless Nigerian people,” he said. “Because of the gross mismanagement of the economy by the government and its allies workers are now salaries for months. After the elections the people are going to be made to bear the brunt of the looting of the treasury and costs of running the government.
“But in spite of the grinding poverty in the land Nigerian legislators are said to be the highest paid in the world. The country’s public officers equally receive the highest estacodes in the world. With over 10 aircraft Nigeria has the largest presidential fleet among the developing nations in the world.”
The lawyer also accused the Central Bank of Nigeria of “dollarization of the economy”.
“In a bid to dollarize the economy and destroys the Nigerian economy the CBN supplies millions of dollars to the foreign exchange market on a weekly basis,” he said. “Although Nigeria has become the largest importer of the United States dollars in the world neither the International Monetary Fund (IMF) nor the World Bank has ever questioned the reckless devaluation of the economy. Even, the National Assembly which is debating the 2015 Appropriation Bill has not deemed it to consider the deleterious effects of the increasing devaluation of the national currency on the implementation of the Budget.”
The media was also not left out as Mr. Falana accused the media of diverting attention from Nigeria’s problem of youth unemployment, infrastructural decay, insecurity, corruption, currency devaluation to giving undue prominence to the campaign of calumny and character assassination embarked upon by some politicians.
“The media have thrown caution to the winds by colluding with certain politicians to divert attention from the crises of youth unemployment, infrastructural decay, insecurity, corruption, currency devaluation etc,” he said. “Thus, by giving undue prominence to the campaign of calumny and character assassination embarked upon by some politicians the media have denied the Nigerian people the opportunity to make informed decisions on the candidates of their choice.”

AYOGU EZE V. IFEANYI UGWUANYI: court adjourns till 27th February.

There is a clear evidence of increased political tension in Enugu state among notable political camps at the moment following the decision of a Federal High court siting in
Abuja, the Nigeria capital to shift till Friday 27, February 2015 the judgement on the case of who is the authentic Governorship
candidate of the ruling People Democratic Party PDP in the state involving Senator Ayogu Eze as Plaintiff and Hon. Ifeanyi
Ugwuanyi as Respondent.
Senator Eze the member representing Enugu
North Senatorial District and Chairman
Senate Committee on Works who
championed a parallel primary election for
the governorship ticket of the PDP with a
different delegates, went to court to
challenge the decision of the leadership of
the party in fielding Ugwuanyi as its
governorship candidate in Enugu.
Eze is asking the court to declare him as the
authentic governorship candidate of the PDP
in Enugu state as according to him he was
duly elected by the party delegates who had
the mandate to elect the flag bearer of the
party for the governorship election in the
state.
On other hand, Ugwuanyi otherwise called
Gburugburu who commands intimidating
popularity all round the state, has already
rounded up his campaign tour to all the 17
Local government areas in the state in
anticipation of the April 11, 2015
rescheduled governorship election.
Originally, the judgement was scheduled to
hold today but the court adjourned till
Friday. Our correspondents who monitored
the political situation in Enugu following the
news about the shift in judgement day
reports that the shift in judgement day has
generated panic among the camps of
Senator Eze and that of Ugwuanyi..
Evidence of the panic in the town is based
on the fact that attempts by our
correspondents to get the views and
opinions of politicians from both camps
were futile as none of them was willing to
make comment on the matter.
As at the time of filling this report, no
politician yielded to request for comment
instead they referred to those who they
believe are in a better position to make
comment on the matter.

YOU MAY FIND THIS; IMPORTANT

At a certain point , you just need to re-strategize, ssome of this attitude need to be changed

1. Believing that you have to wait for the right time to begin.

There is no perfect time to start this journey. It will never be perfect and you will always have challenges and obstacles to overcome – it doesn’t really matter – just start NOW.  When you choose to be successful then the actions, the decisions and the choices you make today will create your future.

“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great”.
-Zig Ziglar

2. Accepting that moderate success is easier to achieve then aiming to achieve your wildest dreams.

It is so much easier to accept being moderately successful than aiming to achieve success beyond your wildest dreams. Dream big and set goals that are beyond the realms of your current reality – go for it ,you may just surprise yourself as to what amazing successes you can achieve.

“If any of you have a desire to be mediocre, you will probably find that you have already achieved your ambition.”
-Hugh B. Brown

3. Believing other peoples’ approval is important to defining your success in life.

You will never start your journey to success if you are waiting for others to give their approval. It is your ego and your fear of being criticised that directs you to seeking their approval. Get over it and move on and do what you have to do to be successful. For me committing to my 12 month plan with practical goals, set tasks and activities was how I overcame this bad habit. I just had to follow the plan and didn’t need anyones approval to do so.

“The good news is that the moment you decide that what you know is more important than what you have been taught to believe, you will have shifted gears in your quest for abundance. Success comes from within, not from without”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

4. Believing that your success can only be defined by the success in your professional life.

This bad habit you have to give up immediately because there is no way you can be successful in one part of your life. Your professional and your personal life are interconnected and all aspects of your life need to be balanced.

“I believe that being successful means having a balance of success stories across the many areas of your life. You can’t truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles.”
-Zig Ziglar

5. Using other peoples’ definition of success to define who you are and what success looks like for you.

This was one of my really bad habits, in that I constantly compared other people’s successes to how I wanted success to be for me in my life. I now know that success comes from within and once I achieved true happiness living the life I love, then success was guaranteed. Using other peoples success, as a benchmark for my success in life would not bring me happiness – that was something only I could do, nobody else could do that for me.

  “Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner”
-Lao Tzu

6. Believing that money and wealth is the only measurement to defining how successful you are 

I don’t know why so many of us believe that money and wealth defines how successful we are. If I wanted success in my life I had to be earning lots of money – the happiness would come later! Well that didn’t work out for me – even with money I didn’t feel successful! I knew in my heart that money wasn’t going to bring me happiness and for me to feel that I was successful I had to overcome my belief that, my success would be measured by how much money I could make. Once I got that bad habit out of the way, then I was free to embrace on my terms success and happiness in my life.

“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing,and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you”
-Maya Angelo

7. Constantly focusing on all the reasons why you don’t deserve success in your life

This bad habit reflects a lack of self-confidence and belief in you! I had to work really hard to overcome this bad habit. For a long time I would rationalise in my head all the reasons why I felt I wasn’t as successful as my peers, colleagues, and friends. I would look back at all the bad choices I had made in my life and wish I could have been a different person. I spent a lot of time wishing I could be the same as everybody else, because then I would be successful! I didn’t deserve success because I didn’t have the qualities that successful people have. Now I reflect back and I shake my head – what was I thinking??

“In the School of Life events, situations, and the people you have attracted to be part of your personal experiences is synchronized perfectly in order to teach you the lessons that need to be learned. They show you exactly what is needed to be successful in your Life.”
-Jacqueline Ripstein

8. You don’t know what you want or what success means for you so you just don’t do anything.

Achieving success in your life is not complicated but you can make it as complicated and as hard as you want. Success requires hard work, perseverance, clarity and focus. If you look at any successful person those elements will feature somewhere in their journey to having a successful life.

To aspire to be successful in your life you have to know what a successful life means for you. Success comes from the way you act, the way you think, your attitude toward life – success is a habit and you work on it everyday of your life. If you don’t know what success means to you then it is really hard to start the journey.

Knowing what you want and setting out a plan with practical goals increases your chances of success. The plan gives you the clarity and focus you need to start the journey – without a plan and not knowing what you want, you will never begin the journey.

“One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular.”
-Anthony Robbins

9. You have a limiting belief that to be successful you have to pay a price at the expense of others.

This belief has come about as a result of society promoting that to be successful, you have to be tough and prepared to make sacrifices. It is  people that will pay a price for your success – mainly because successful people will do what ever it takes to get what they want. This is rubbish and if you believe this to be true then you will not experiences the great joy and happiness success can bring to your life.

Your success in life is not determined by how many people you have to step over or push aside to get what you want. You, your actions, your thoughts and how well you serve others are what contribute to you having success in your life.

10. The fear of failing and making mistakes is a huge block to you making the changes you need to make in your life.

For me, clinging on to this bad habit stopped me from making the changes I needed to make for me to be happy and have a successful life doing what I love to do – writing, speaking and coaching. If you want to be happy and successful you are going to have to accept that failures are necessary on the path to success. It is a given.

This book gave me great tools and strategies to effectively manage my fear of failure. Tim Hartford talks about the wrong way we react to failure and that our egos take control and as a result we try to “bury the failure – not a good thing. He suggests that we should adapt the way we think and react to failure by adopting a “trial and error approach”. What this means is that we cant really predict how things are going to turn out and so we test it, adapt and adjust along the way. Failure according to Tim is the opportunity we need to figure out how we can succeed.

If you desire success in your life, you have to be prepared to change. The first step to change, is for you to face those “bad habits” that prevent you from achieving the success and happiness you desire in your life. Once you have overcome your bad habits, you will be unstoppable, and your life will be full of happiness and success.

“So be sure when you step, Step with care and great tact. And remember that life’s A Great Balancing Act. And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed) Kid, you’ll move mountains.”
-Dr Seuss