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Monday, March 31, 2014

2 governors will die before 2015 ends – Soul E prophesies again




The singer turned born-again prophet received a lot of backlash over his initial prophesy which gave a warning of doom ahead for singers, Wizkid and Davido. Even the seat of power, Aso rock could not escape his fiery prophecy.

In a recent interview with Punch Newspapers, he shed more light the vision he says God revealed to him.

He said:
“I have always been in the public eye. My marriage caused a scenario in this country. I don’t know what people saw in me. Anybody who feels I am seeking for attention is making a serious mistake; I am too busy for that. I am in Abuja at the moment; I am heading to Lagos and Port Harcourt before the end of the week. I am busy. I am just doing the work of my father.

It was my God who instructed me to give the prophecy and I have done that. I am not wishing anybody anything bad. All they have to do is to pray. I have received calls from Aso Rock. I got prophesies for Wizkid, Davido and Aso Rock and I said what God asked me to say. I told them to pray. God doesn’t give you prophecy for you to be scared but for you to be aware and pray about it.

Asked why he didn’t call Wizkid and Davido privately to intimate them of the prophecy before making it public, Soul E answered:


They are not my friends and I don’t talk to them. In fact, I have never seen them before and I am not sure they know me. I am not saying they are my enemies. I had to go on Facebook and Instagram to pass my messages. I have said what I want to say and it is fine by me. If they want to take it, fine and if they don’t want to, that is not my problem. I am not a pastor, I am a prophet. A prophet announces his prophecies.

When asked if he was shown other things, Soul E answered in the affirmative revealing that two governors will die before the end of 2015.


He told me two northern governors will go, they will die before the end of 2015. This is what God showed me. Prophets come to tell you what God is saying about a situation. Pastors will tell you ‘you are blessed,’ Prophets will tell you to be careful or tell you not to marry the particular person you wanted to marry because of the vision they had seen.
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Fresh War as Apple sues Samsung for $2 billion




The Apple vs. Samsung war doesn’t seem likely to end very soon as the former has again taken the latter to court over copyright infringement.

Apple has alleged in a new $2 billion suit that the South Korean company stole its designs and features for use in its most recent phones.

This latest matter is coming up less than 2 years after Samsung was ordered to pay $900 million in damages to Apple for infringing on its patents.

The Guardian reports:

The most attention grabbing claim in the case is Apple’s demand that market leader Samsung, which sold one in three of all smartphones last year, pay a $40 royalty for each device running software allegedly conceived by Apple.

That is more than five times more than the amount sought in the previous trial and well above other precedents between smartphone companies. If Apple prevails, the costs to Samsung could reach $2 billion. Apple’s costs, if it lost, are expected to be about $6 million.

The other new twist in the case is that Samsung hope to draw Google into the battle by calling the engineers who designed the search giant’s Android system – which is used by Samsung’s phones – to give evidence explaining how they built it independently of Apple .

The latest case, which begins on Monday in San Jose with jury selection, will be tried less than two years after a federal jury found the South Korean firm was infringing on Apple patents.

Samsung was ordered to pay about $900m but is appealing and has been allowed to continue selling products using the technology. Apple this time accuses Samsung of infringing on five patents on newer devices, including Galaxy smartphones and tablets.

In a counterclaim, Samsung says Apple stole two of its ideas to use on iPhones and iPads.

“Apple revolutionised the market in personal computing devices,” Apple claims in court filings. “Samsung, in contrast, has systematically copied Apple’s innovative technology and products, features and designs, and has deluged markets with infringing devices.“

Samsung countered that it has broken technological barriers with its own ultra-slim, lightweight phones. “Samsung has been a pioneer in the mobile device business sector since the inception of the mobile device industry,” Samsung said. “Apple has copied many of Samsung’s innovations in its Apple iPhone, iPod, and iPad products.”

The case underscores a much larger concern about what is allowed to be patented with experts questioning whether Apple should be allowed to make its case. 
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Germany bans managers from calling or emailing staff after work hours



Germany's labor ministry has banned managers from calling or emailing staff out of hours except in emergencies. The ministry says the measure is intended to prevent staff from suffering undue stress by being constantly on call. 
Daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported Friday that the ministry is following the lead of major German companies such as automaker Volkswagen and Deutsche Telekom. 
The newspaper cited official guidelines stating that no staff should be penalized for turning off their cellphone or failing to pick up messages after working hours "to prevent self-exploitation."
It said managers were also being urged to refrain from calling staff while on leave but out-of-hours contact was permitted "in exceptional circumstances."
Can this work in Nigeria?
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MS didn’t kill Zara, ignorance did’, Yemisi Ilo blames Zara’s family for her death




Yemisi Ilo, a creative consultant and project manager, says she has been battling Multiple Sclerosis for nearly 10 years and feels that Zara Gretti’s situation shouldn’t have deteriorated to the point of death. She feels ignorance and not MS killed the singer, who passed away on Friday March 28th about a year after making her illness public. See what Yemisi (pictured right) wrote below...

Read More at thenet.ng/2014/03/ms-didnt-kill-her-ignorance-did-yemisi-ilo-blames-zaras-family-for-her-death/ Follow us: @theNETng on Twitter | theNETng on Facebook
I also have MS and I am currently in Singapore – where by His grace I will finally halt the progression and hopefully and prayerfully reverse some if not all disability. I spoke to Zara on Tuesday. She said she was being given ‘Agbo’ to drink by her family and that it was killing her. Those were her exact words. I told her to not drink it. With an already compromised immune system – Agbo is bullshit. It is poison. MS is not malaria. I gave Zara clear details of exactly what she needed to do to try to get well. It isn’t easy at all - I should know but unfortunately for her, she was surrounded by very ignorant people at the end who felt that they knew best. I first heard of Zara when I read about her on Linda Ikeji‘s blog a year ago. I got in touch with her immediately and started a Skype friendship. I was in London and she was in the States (US). We spoke regularly.
When I went back to Lagos, we would WhatsApp and I would call her. When she came to Nigeria in October last year, I went to see her and she was surprised that she could move better than me! I organized the Battabox interview (which we did at my parents house). She said she didn’t want to live with her mum in the States – yet she had no one to look after her there apart from her mum. She needed someone. She even wanted to come and stay with me, but I am married with small children and my own MS issues were already enough for one house.

I am so pissed off, so angry, so fucking sad, teary and frustrated. If I had been in Nigeria, I would have gone to pick her up on Tuesday when I spoke to her. She was so desperate to leave Ogba. She said she had a return ticket to America and would try to leave ASAP. I gave her my neurologist’s number so she could get some steroids to help her get over the horrible relapse she was having. Also to get her to explain the condition to Zara’s family so they would realize that this was not an ‘Agbo’ matter. I have had MS for nearly 10 years. My walking has deteriorated and I am currently alternating between a walker and a wheelchair. Zara was worried that she wouldn’t get married and have kids – I told her that I had 4 kids and was happily married and continued to work and that there was hope. I have always been vocal about MS and even appeared on a ‘Moments with Mo’ episode talking about it. There are many Nigerians with MS – I know a few but they want to keep quiet. Their families are embarrassed. Why? I don’t know? It can happen to anyone at any time.

Granted, I am extremely fortunate to have the strength of character and a loving and supportive and enlightened family to deal with this HORRIBLE condition that has led to this opportunity for me to undergo Hemapioetic Stem Cell Transplant (HSCT) – Google it. It has taken donations from over 100 people to do this. It costs over $150k (N24,727,501). I told Zara that since she was a US citizen, she could get on a trial at the University of Chicago under Dr. Burt for free. I just want people to know that MS didn’t kill Zara – ignorance did. As well as our fatalistic attitude in Nigeria where everyone prays and no one takes action.
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Sunday, March 30, 2014

Gunmen attack SSS headquarters



Suspected Boko Haram members Sunday morning attacked the the headquarters of the Department of State Services.
It is believed that the attackers were on a mission to free their captured leaders being detained at the SSS office.
Yellow House as usually called, is located within the vicinity of the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, which also houses the Supreme Court and the National Assembly.
Presently, all roads leading to the Three Arms Zone have be cordoned off and vehicles are turned back.
Reports however say Presidential Villa is calm. The Sunday service at the Chapel went on as scheduled.
Meanwhile, various points in Abuja city as well as some roads leading to the nation’s capital are under lock down.
Armed Nigerian Air Force personnel are noticeable at roads leading to the airport, while military helicopters have been deployed around the city, especially around Aso Rock.
“What happened was that the suspects handlers went to feed the detainees here but suddenly they attacked him with their handcuffs, disarmed him and started shooting, she said.
“The military was quickly called in before they could do any harm and that is responsible for the shootings you heard.
“It was an attempted jailbreak but it has been brought under control.”
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Jonathan is busy going to churches instead of leading the country – Fashola



Lagos state Governor, Babatunde Fashola has accused President Goodluck Jonathan of spending more time inside the church than leading the country.
Fashola made this observation while speaking at the sixth Bola Tinubu Colloquium in Lagos, tagged ‘The Summit of the Common man’,
According to Fashola, “You must pay critical attention to the people you vote for.
“I know that we have employed somebody for the top job in this country but when we asked him about his qualifications and experience, he said he had no shoes. You must decide whether you want someone who spends most of his time in church or mosque, or the man who is ready to spend his time on the job,” he added.
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Mother Beats 4-year-old son to Death for ‘acting gay’




A mother’s cruelty into has landed into deep trouble as she is said to be the cause of her son’s demise.

25-year-old Jessica Dutro has been accused of beating her 4-year-old son, Zachary Dutro- Boggess until his intestines tore in two places.

Reason – because she thought he was gay.

Dutro subjected her 3 children to continuous beating but Zachary bore the brunt of his mom’s cruel temper.

Daily News reports:

Doctors said as a result of a blow to his abdomen, the contents of Zachary’s intestines leaked out of his bowels for at least two days before he was rushed to a Portland hospital. The child was taken off life support on on Aug. 16, 2012.

Dutro has been charged with murder, murber by abuse, and second-degree assault.

In a Facebook message that is now being used as evidence against her, Dutro reportedly told her 24-year-old boyfriend Brian Canady that Zachary had made her mad. The boy was “facing the wall” as punishment.

Using a slur, Dutro wrote that her son was going to be gay.

“He walks and talks like it. Ugh,” the mom wrote.

She then asked her boyfriend to “work on” Zachary.

Dutro reportedly managed her family “like an army.” The children were forced to march from their rooms at the Good Neighbor Center to the cafeteria.

In court on Thursday, Dutro’s 8-year-old daughter testified that the mom regularly gave her and her brothers “lickins” when they misbehaved. They were told to “face the wall” with their hands in the air for long periods of time. If their hands faltered, they would immediately be hit. The adults warned the siblings not to tell anyone about the punishments.

Canady and Dutro are now accusing each other of delivering the fatal blow that would take young Zachary’s life.

Before the trial, Canady told cops that he had kicked the little boy in the stomach for being naughty. Apparently, he ordered Zachary to sit still and watch TV. But the boy got up to take his shoes off first.

Since then, Canady has changed his story. He now claims Dutro was the one who assaulted the boy. He pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault earlier this month.

The day after the sickening attack happened to be Zachary’s birthday. It was taco night at the shelter, but the little boy could only take one bite of his dinner. Dutro thought he might have the flu and let him lie down. The next morning, Dutro dragged Zachary into the shower because he had wet the bed. His little body was limp and he was groaning.

The mom finally called an ambulance, but by that time, it was too late.

There were bruises all over Zachary’s body that indicated he had been abused multiple times. Dead tissue hung from the boy’s lip.

A child abuse specialist, Dr. Danny Leonhardt, testified that he’d never seen a case like this.

“That thing would have bled a lot,” Leonhardt said. “You just let this flap of lip hang there?”

Leonhardt also noticed that Zachary’s siblings showed signs of abuse. His 3-year-old brother had five broken ribs. His sister was bruised on her back, chest, buttocks, and hips. The couple’s biological son, an infant, was the only one who wasn’t injured.

When Leonhardt told Dutro that he suspected child abuse was the reason for Zachary’s death, the woman became “very angry, very upset” that they’d been made to look like idiots in front of the police.

She told him “had they been made aware, they would have been able to talk to each other and get their story straight.”
Read more ...

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Angry Fans Blast Davido, Recount their Horrible Experience at Davido's New York Concert Last Night



Contrary to what Davido tweeted some minutes, that his concert in New York was shut down by the New York Police Department because of the too much love and support he got from fans, a lot of angry fans have taken to Twitter, Instagram to blast the singer, hurling insults at him for a messed up concert. With some thinking of demanding a refund. According to one of them, Ronke:
"I guess we all should have known better. He's 21 and he went on stage high and intoxicated! Where they do that at? I'm not an artist and I understand that they do need a little extra something to perform infront of a huge crowd but dude was out of it. I thank God I never waste good money on an outfit for that ...!"
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We won’t probe Diezani – Presidency




The Presidency has said that it will not probe the allegations of misappropriation of  public funds levelled against the Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, told Saturday PUNCHon Friday, that the Federal Government would not set up a probe panel to investigate the minister because the House of Representatives was currently probing her.
Alison-Madueke was alleged to have spent N10bn on a chartered Challenger 850 aircraft in two years for which the House of Representatives is currently probing her.
Okupe said that the Federal Government could not institute a probe panel on matters that had not been substantiated.

Okupe, who spoke to one of our correspondents in a telephone interview in Abuja, on Friday, said since the House of Representatives had started investigating the matter, the right thing to do was to wait for the outcome of such a probe before any further step could be taken.
He said, “The Federal Government cannot set up a probe panel just on things that have not been substantiated as such. The information I have is that the House of Representatives is looking into the matter
and they want to invite the honourable minister. Definitely, the right thing is to wait for the outcome of such an interaction before anybody can decide to do anything.”

Though the House of Representatives had assured Nigerians that it would investigate the allegations against the petroleum minister, it  is yet to start the probe one week after it  gave the promise. The House Committee on Public Accounts  was given three weeks to conduct the investigation and produce a report.
But as at Thursday, there was no formal action on the probe and no invitation had been sent out to any government official to appear before the committee.

This confirmed an earlier report by The PUNCH  that the probe committee, chaired by Mr. Solomon Olamilekan, had only held preliminary meetings on the probe, but had yet to swing into full action.
There were also indications that members of the committee had come under pressure to soft-pedal on the matter.  But the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Victor Ogene, said the investigation was being delayed because the committee had not yet received an official  notification  from the House to proceed with it.

He explained that the normal procedure was for the committee to get the gazetted copy of the resolution and wait to be notified officially by the Clerk of the House.
He had also implied that the allegation might not be substantiated at the end of the day  as he clarified that nobody had been found guilty. He said,” Nobody is guilty and we don’t have to be judgemental until the investigation is concluded.’’

However, criticisms have trailed the decision of the Presidency not to probe the petroleum minister.
Lagos lawyer and activist, Bamidele Aturu, told Saturday PUNCH in a telephone interview that he would have been shocked if the Presidency had said it would conduct a probe.
He said, “This government does not probe anyone in the first place. Anything goes under this government. Nigerians would have been surprised if the Presidency was willing to take the Allison-Madueke matter any further.

“It has become a stock in trade for the government not to probe any matter. Nobody should be shocked about the government’s stand.
“It is clear that there are sacred cows in this government when you consider what is happening at the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Financial Reporting Council; an organisation which nobody knew anything about and which had been inactive, was suddenly resuscitated to do all sorts of things against the sacked CBN Governor, Lamido Sanusi.”

Aturu said that calls for probe were the same as saying she was guilty. He, however, insisted that the Federal Government owed Nigerians the investigation to shed light on the issue.
Another lawyer and activist, Mr. Jiti Ogunye, described the development as “very unfortunate and unexpected of any responsible government.”

He said it was unfortunate that the Presidency which was smaller than the entire Federal Government of Nigeria had decided to conduct itself in a way that militated against the interest of Nigerians.
According to him, by the Federal Government’s pronouncement on the issue, it has permanently demobilised anti-corruption agencies and the Code of Conduct Bureau from taking action even when they receive petitions against the minister.
Ogunye said, “By giving this careless statement, the presidency has granted a ministerial immunity to the minister and combined that with impunity.

“The legislature is investigating but what this statement implies is that the House of Representatives could do whatever it likes but that the Federal Government would never take an action on whatever its findings will be since the legislature do not have the power of implementation.
“The Presidency is telling the legislature to its face that, just like it did with Arunma Oteh and other reports, even if Allison-Madueke is found culpable, nothing would happen. This is an invitation to anarchy because we can easily slip into a dictatorship this way.”

Also, the National Coordinator, Committee for Democracy and Rights of the People, Alhaji Amitolu Shittu, said President Goodluck Jonathan should simply resign as a result of this.
He said that the decision not to probe Allison-Madueke showed the level of corruption and waste by Jonathan’s government.
“Why should Allison-Madueke not be probed? Is it because she is helping the President to stash away money for his coming re-election? This is why the controversial letter written by former President Olusegun Obasanjo should be revisited,” Shittu said.

Founder, Justice Now Foundation, Alhaji Lawal, who also reacted to the issue in a telephone interview with Saturday PUNCH on Friday, said the Presidency had come out in the open to encourage corruption.
He said the government should be courageous to conduct a probe since she has yet to be indicted.
 The President, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, Debo Adesina, also stated that the presidency’s decision was a way of telling the  world that the President Jonathan condones corruption.
“It accentuates  the belief that there are sacred cows within the President’s cabinet. It seems to be confirming the belief among the public that the President has some people on whose ministry he is relying on to amass fund for his campaign,” he said.
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Bella Adenuga-Disu & Jameel welcome 2nd child




Otunba Mike Adenuga's daughter, Bella Adenuga-Disu and husband Jameel who welcomed their second baby nearly two weeks ago. The baby's naming ceremony was celebrated four days ago Tuesday, March 25, 2014.
Bella and hubby already have a 3 year old son (pictured above).
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Singer Zara Gretti dies after battle with Multiple Sclerosis




Singer Margaret Mary Oluwatoyin Ejiro Joseph popularly known as Zara Gretti has died. She died this morning in Nigeria after a battle with Multiple Sclerosis. (MS is an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord).

Her last tweet last night was "I love and hate my life". She died a few hours later, this morning. She was only 28 years old. Zara, may your beautiful soul rest in perfect peace.
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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Senate Approves Godwin Emefiele as New CBN Governor


Godwin Emefiele's finally gets appointed by the Senate today as Nigeria's new central bank governor. The Zenith Bank boss appeared before the lawmakers today in a live broadcast, and at the end of the day, his appointment was unanimously approved.

Godwin is to replace Lamido Sanusi, who was suspended on government charges of “financial recklessness and misconduct”. President Goodluck Jonathan had suspended Sanusi on February 20, just days after he had accused the state oil company of embezzling $20 billion (14.5 billion euros) of public funds. Sanusi had been well-regarded among international economists and was credited with overhauling a crumbling and deeply corrupt banking sector and stabilizing the currency. He was due to step down in June before his suspension.
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UK Landlord angry with Joseph Yobo for mismanaging his home




A certain UK landlord is currently displeased with Nigerian footballer, Joseph Yobo for mismanaging the pent house he leased to him.
“He was totally horrified after he walked into the South Ferry Quay penthouse he rented to Super Eagles defender and Everton FC star, Joseph Yobo, to be confronted with a total mess; there were burnt marks on the carpet, a dirty kitchen and bathroom, and holes in the wall left from a flat screen television. “ Dailymail reports.
Yobo who recently moved into a multimillion Naira home in Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria however says he has never lived in the apartment and that his younger brother Gideon paid for the rent;
“It’s my name on the lease, but I never lived in the flat and I’ve never even been there. The landlord doesn’t know me and he hasn’t spoken to Gideon about this. I have property too and the landlord should have gone to the letting agents if he was unhappy. If he puts in a full inventory, Gideon is ready to pay for anything that is damaged’ he said.
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EVENT: NAIJAPLAYLIST #JAMSESSION [ @naijaplaylist @Henrisoul @itschuddyk ]


NAIJAPLAYLIST #JAMSESSION
Presents Session with Chuddy k, Cynthia Morgan, Henrisoul, K-soul, Soje, Switch
Host: Mannie Coolfm
Official Dj Macino and Dj BaGGio

Time: 9pm (Red Carpet)
Date: March 27th, 2014
Venue: The Place by Papas, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.

Follow us on twitter and instagram @naijaplaylist, like our fan page on facebook.com/naijaplaylist
For booking/reservation:
Call: 08090623156


Brought to you by: Naijaplaylist Productions
Powered by: Coolfm and Wazobiafm
Proudly Supported by  MyStreetMag, Tush Magazine, Cameleon MultiMedia, Rilwanandassociates, Papas Ent.
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Tuesday, March 25, 2014

The Obama's Called Monkeys By A Belgian Newspaper!



Despite the long gone fight against racism around the world, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are at the center of another recent racist attack. A Belgian newspaper De Morgen, which marked Obama's recent visit to the Netherlands to commemorate their 100th anniversary of the start of World War I; with a picture of the first couple with ape mouths.
The publication even went further by posting another photo of the US President with the following caption:"First black president of the USA starts selling weed.” 
Reports say De Morgen Newspaper ran the photos alongside a story that was supposed to be a "satirical" take on Obama's strained relationship with Russia's president Vladimir Putin
But it looks like it was the Russian Leader himself who allegedly forwarded the photos to the Belgian media house, "Vladimir Putin is the president of Russia. He sent us this attachment at our request, and chose to send pictures instead of text 'because he doesn't have a lot of time'," the article reportedly stated.
However, Nigeria writer Chika Unigwe has shared his thoughts on the article on Twitter with this post:
@chikaunigwe – so photo of the Obama's as chimps in De Morgen of today is the paper's attempt at satire. I forgot to laugh #racist
The negative feedbacks from people across the globe including that of Chika apparently caused the paper to apologize for the offensive image of the First Couple and admits they showed "bad taste" by publishing it. The paper wrote:
"When you consider the fragment apart from its context, which is a properly worked out satirical section, then you don’t see the joke but just a picture evoking sheer racism …We wrongly assumed that racism is no longer accepted, and that in this way it could be the subject of a joke.”
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Singer Kelly Handsome explains why he performed inside a coffin



Nigerian singer, Kelly Hansome who has been off the music scene for a while, staged a comeback at a recent show in Owerri by coming out of a coffin on stage.
Kelly Hansome in a recent interview revealed his reason for such decision.
“I’m at that point in my life when many believe that Kelly Hansome’s musical career is dead; so I thought of a concept that would best depict my comeback, and that was what I came up with. It wasn’t an easy decision but I had to take the bull by the horn and my fans loved it”.
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Lagos : Central Bank of Nigeria on Fire



The fire at The Lagos State office of the Central Bank of Nigeria started at about 5:40 PM at the top most part of the building.
Men of the Lagos Fire Service and other emergency agency officials are said to have arrived the scene.
The over 50 year old building is located at the Tinubu area of Lagos Island. It is situated opposite the Stock Exchange office on Custom Street, Marina.
The building used to serve as the bank’s headquarters before the Federal Capital Territory was moved to Abuja.
The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
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Friday, March 21, 2014

Kenyan parliament passes polygamy law



Kenya's parliament has passed a bill allowing men to marry as many women as they want, prompting a furious backlash from female politicians.
The bill, which amended existing marriage legislation, was passed late on Thursday to formalise customary law about marrying more than one person.
The proposed bill had initially given a wife the right to veto the husband's choice, but male members of parliament overcame party divisions to push through a text that dropped this clause, the AFP news agency reported.
"When you marry an African woman, she must know the second one is on the way, and a third wife... this is Africa," MP Junet Mohammed told the house, according to Nairobi's Capital FM.
As in many parts of Africa, polygamy is common among traditional communities in Kenya, as well as among the country's Muslim community, which accounts for up to a fifth of the population.
"Any time a man comes home with a woman, that would be assumed to be a second or third wife," said Samuel Chepkong'a, chairman of the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, the Daily Nation newspaper reported.
"Under customary law, women or wives you have married do not need to be told when you're coming home with a second or third wife. Any lady you bring home is your wife," he added.

Female MPs stormed out of the late-night session in fury after a heated debate.
"We know that men are afraid of women's tongues more than anything else," Soipan Tuya told fellow MPs, according to Capital FM.
"But at the end of the day, if you are the man of the house, and you choose to bring on another party - and they may be two or three - I think it behoves you to be man enough to agree that your wife and family should know," she added.
A clause in which a partner who had promised marriage but then backed out of the wedding could face financial damages was also dropped, as male MPs argued it could have been used to extort cash.
They also argued that marriage should be based on love, and not have a financial cost placed upon it.
Women are not allowed to marry more than one man in Kenya.
The bill must now pass before the president to be signed before becoming law.
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Boko Haram: Cameroonian arms dealer arrested in Borno


A Cameroonian national, accused of supplying the Nigerian Islamists, Boko Haram with sophisticated weapons has been arrested by Nigerian military in Balabalge area of Borno State
It was disclosed that the Cameroonian national has helped in arresting some other suspects, who act as middle men between him and other sect members.“The weapons were found in a building, which used to be a church in the area but the Boko Haram burnt it down after killing the worshipers and turned the building into a store house for keeping weapons”.
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Shoprite Opens First Outlet In Northern Nigeria





As part of its aggressive expansion drive, Africa’s largest retailer by stores, Shoprite defied growing security concerns to open its first retail outlet in Kano, northern Nigeria’s largest city and main commercial hub on Thursday amid tight security.
The South African retailer’s new $20m 24,000m² centre at the new Ado Bayero Mall, which said to be Nigeria’s biggest, brings the number of its stores in Nigeria to eight. The retailer already has about 1,800 outlets globally and it is planning to open additional four shops are slated to open before the end of the year.
The South African retailer’s aggressive expansion move in the Nigerian retail market is a sign of sustained foreign interest in Africa’s second-biggest economy.
Store manager Adulhakeem Abdulganiyu told AFP that Shoprite is hoping to leverage on kano’s huge population which provides ample business opportunity.
“We decided to expand our reach to Kano as part of our commitment to widen our presence in the Nigerian mega cities.”
“With…Shoprite’s status, other retailers will have to sit up and compete in terms of prices, efficiency, customer satisfaction, product guarantees, security of environment and other customer-related needs,” AFP quoted Badayi Sani, an economist, as saying
Although some businesses have closed shop, with residents relocating to more peaceful parts of the country as a result of the violent attacks, Shoprite is apparently determined to cash in on the potential of Kano’s market despite the prevalent security challenges in the northern Nigeria.
“If we continue saying we will not come due to the prevailing security situation we will not move forward. All we need to do is make adequate provisions to overcome such challenges,” Abdulganiyu said addressing security concerns.

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Wednesday, March 19, 2014

How To End Corruption In Nigeria - Okonjo Iweala Tells CNN

Minister for Finance and Coordinator of the Economy Ngozi Okonjo Iweala was a guest on CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS programme on Sunday where she acknowledged that there was corruption in Nigeria but said that the fight against corruption must involve every Nigerian...
"No one can fight corruption for Nigerians except Nigerians. Everyone has to be committed from the top to the bottom to fight it. In our country, we need to, coupled with – by all means pursue those who are corrupt, punish them, you know, make sure there’s no impunity.  But that has to be coupled with something which doesn’t get as much attention, which is building institutions.  It’s unglamorous; it’s work that takes time, but we have to do it.  We have to put it in place.” she said.
The Minister was also taken up by the presenter on Sanusi's suspension. He asked her why Sanusi was suspended after he discovered that monies had been siphoned from the NNPC account of which the Minister responded that Sanusi did not say monies were siphoned, he said money was unaccounted for. Full text of the Interview after the cut...


ZAKARIA:  Listen in to our conversation.  I began by asking her why the central banker was suspended for blowing the whistle.

NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA, NIGERIAN FINANCE MINISTER:  I believe that when you find problems, you should also find solutions.  I think the problem began the first time when he said that the amount that was – he never said it was stolen.  He said it was unaccounted for, was $49.8 billion.
And he wrote a letter to the president; he called me a couple of days after, to say I’ve written this letter.  And my first reaction was, that’s not possible.  We couldn’t be missing $50 billion as finance minister in this country.  We wouldn’t be able to function because that’s too high a hit.  Everybody would know it and feel it in the economy.

ZAKARIA:  There is some substantial gap.

OKONJO-IWEALA:  Oh, yes –

ZAKARIA:  Right?  I mean –

OKONJO-IWEALA:  No, we –

ZAKARIA:  – the World Bank, I think when you were one of the managing directors, issued a report on the Nigerian economy in which it said hundreds of billions of dollars over the past 30 or 40 years have been siphoned off.  And so this would be a perfect example of precisely this kind of siphoning off.

OKONJO-IWEALA:  No.  I think we should hold our horses a little bit.  Sanusi please ask him never said the money had been siphoned off.  He said it was unaccounted for.
And hold on.  There’s a difference, because when he alleged $49.8 billion – and this was looked at, it was found that some of that money had really been remitted to the tax agency directly and his people were not aware of it.
So $16 billion was immediately accounted for that, you know, they didn’t seem to know the accounting mode of the agency, so that’s what I’m saying.
But there has been – there’s no doubt that Nigerians feel suspicious of the oil sector, that it has been regarded as opaque over the years and this is not an issue, you know, whether it’s $10.8 billion, whether it’s $1, you know, we can’t afford to lose any money from the treasury.

ZAKARIA:  But then why fire the central banker, a respected central banker?

OKOJO-IWEALA:  You know, Fareed, what I would like to do is perhaps focus on the economy, because I don’t think I want to get into this issue of firing/not firing.  He’s still governor of the central bank.  He has been suspended.  He hasn’t been fired.
But I think we need to focus on the central issue, which is no one dollar should be lost from the treasury.  Any money that belongs to it must be remitted.  That’s what we’re insisting.
And the president, we pushed for – he has ordered one yesterday, that there should be a forensic audit to determine where these moneys, that what is unaccounted for, is it the $10.8 billion that we are saying from the accounts?
We’ve been working on this for two years.
And you know, is it $50 billion?  Is it $20 billion?  Is it $12 billion?  What is the amount?  We need to know for the sake of the Nigerian people and he has ordered that.  So we want it to be independent; we want it to be well done, so that we can lay it to rest.

ZAKARIA:  So how do we – how do you solve the problem of corruption?

You’ve been in government twice.  You have a reputation for being extremely honest.
What would you do, if you had a magic wand, if you were president, what would you do to get Nigeria to get this cancer out of its system?

OKOJO-IWEALA:  Well, you know, Fareed, you know with that, there are no easy answers.  But there’s one thing I want to say and repeat.  No one can fight corruption for Nigerians except Nigerians.  Everyone has to be committed from the top to the bottom to fight it.
And I think there are two key things that need to be done all along, and it’s not just in Nigeria.  It’s in many developing countries that you need to do this.
But in our country, you need to, coupled with – by all means pursue those who are corrupt, punish them, you know, make sure there’s no impunity.  But that has to be coupled with something which doesn’t get as much attention, which is building institutions.  It’s unglamorous; it’s work that takes time, but we have to do it.  We have to put it in place.

ZAKARIA:  I have to ask you a question that is not part of directly your portfolio, but it is your government.
Nigeria has always had laws banning homosexuality.  But you advanced a further law which criminalized it so that somebody who is gay would have to spend 14 years in prison.
You also have passed – the law says that people who are in some way promoting gay clubs or gay discussion would be imprisoned for 10 years.  This seems an assault on a minority’s rights.  It also seems an assault on free speech.
Why is Nigeria doing this?

OKOJO-IWEALA:  Well, let me say this, Fareed, that, you know, we’re here in the U.S.  And it took 40 to 50 years or more under conversation of, you know, the gay community to get where the U.S. is.
I think that, you know, we need a conversation in the country.  We need evolution.  Ninety-six percent of people support these laws, but I think we need to unpack the laws, for them to see, you know, between being a gay person and between same-sex marriage because the two are compounded in people’s minds and there’s a strong sentiment against same-sex marriage, just as you had here before.
And it’s still evolving.  I think it’s a question of conversation, discussion, evolution, education and engagement over time, just as happened in this country and in Europe.  It’s not something that happened overnight.  So I would say withhold judgment and let us work on this.
ZAKARIA:  Madam Finance Minister, pleasure to have you on.

OKOJO-IWEALA:  Thank you.
ZAKARIA:  And we will be back.
End.
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