Don Jazzy Congratulates Tiwa Savage

Don Jazzy has taken to social media to sincerely congratulate Mavin singer, Tiwa Savage, on her deal with Jay-Z’s label Roc Nation.

Don Jazzy posted a photo of himself and Tiwa Savage in the office she signed her deal and captioned the post, “Lol see as i nearly sit down for ground. I no want make that illuminati ram head for the wall catch me. Congrats to the First Lady of Mavin on the Rocnation management deal once again@tiwasavage. More success coming our way in GOD’s name. Amen. ”

Nigeria loses average of N127bn to cybercrime annually

The cost to the national economy by activities of cyber criminals has been estimated at N127 billion annually, according to Information Security Society of Africa-Nigeria (ISSAN).
The technology security group, which evaluated cyberspace security trend in the first half of 2016 at its July meeting in Lagos, said that the past six months have seen “strong positioning and metastasis of the ransomware and DDoS attacks globally”.
The society noted that cyber criminals successfully carried out high-profile cyber attacks worldwide in the first half of 2016.
David Isiakwve, President of ISSAN, says Nigeria is not excluded in these blocks of attacks happening on the Internet, adding that Nigerian fraud incidents trended up in the past six months.
According to him, 88 percent of the total cybercrimes in Nigeria comes from card and mobile banking frauds, with fraudulent transfers accounting for eight percent while internal fraud stands at four percent. He said Nigeria actually loses up to N127 billion in a year from cybercrimes.
Isiakvwe lists a number of notable cyber attacks that happened around the world during the first half of this year including massive password attack, which affected Central Bank of Bangladesh; massive phishing attacks and also cites attacks on the payroll department of Snapchat; and hack of social media outfits following attacks on CEOs of Facebook and Google.
Other cyber attacks identified as growing rapidly, according to ISSAN, are identity theft, ATM/card fraud, in-branch POS deposits, BVN related frauds/change of identity, and fraudulent transfer withdrawals.
The list also include business email compromise (BEC), social engineering attacks, DDoS attack kits sold for as little as $5 and malicious Pokemon Go app (Mobile Game), installing a backdoor on Android devices utilising RAT called DroidJack or Sandro RAT that gives the attacker full control of the victim’s device.
On how to combat this evolving threats, Isiakvwe recommends the following: know where your critical data are, take preventive measures to ward off attacks, detect every attack that successfully passes through, respond effectively to contain the attack, recover all, and restore your operations on time.
Incidentally, the rise in cybercrimes may be traced to the growing Internet subscription in the country. Latest data released by NCC shows that Internet subscription increased by five percent to 92 million in May 2016. This is a density of 50 percent as against the African average of 16 percent.
In a related development, Abdul-Raheem Adebayo Shittu, Minister of Communications, has said that the global cybercrime threats to national security has widened government horizon in its attempt to protect the nation’s cyberspace.
Delivering a keynote address at the NGSecure Infosecurity Conference in Lagos recently, the minister said in view of the critical nature of the economy and government activities, it is obvious that protection from different types of cyber and terrorist attacks is required.
Shittu said cyberspace is being exploited to aid radicalisation and violent extremism and that government has realised that those tasked with the responsibility to protect our cyberspace – information security and cybersecurity – can no longer function within the framework of the past.
To address emerging cyber threats, he said, “The government has setup computer emergency response teams through the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and NITDA.
“Additionally, to further improve the nation’s preparedness to secure cyberspace, the Cybercrime Advisory Council has also been inaugurated. The council is expected to facilitate the implementation of the Cybercrime Act, 2015, and as well as the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy”.
The minister said government’s proactive measure is necessary because Nigeria’s growing dependence on digital infrastructure poses grave threats to national security. Quoting ISSAN, he said the country loses about N127 billion which is 0.08 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP), yearly to cybercrime.
He identified software piracy, identity theft, electronic fraud, online spam, intellectual property theft and malware attacks as capable of having devastating and far reaching consequences on the economy.

Eary this morning, Indonesia Executed three Nigerians

 

Indonesia executed four convicted drug traffickers, three of them Nigerians, in the early hours of Friday, leaving the fate of 10 others uncertain.
The Africans and an Indonesian man were shot by firing squad during a thunderstorm shortly after midnight on Nusakambangan Island in Central Java, as the government ignored international calls for clemency and pushed ahead with what it considers a war on drugs.
The attorney general said on Wednesday that 14 prisoners, including citizens of India, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe, would be executed this weekend.
An official said on Friday the planned executions would go ahead “in stages” but declined to give a timeframe.
Security was stepped up at the Indonesian embassy in Nigerian capital Abuja on Thursday as protesters gathered to urge Indonesia to halt the executions. Indian and Pakistani officials said they were making last-minute efforts to save their citizens.
“We considered several factors and decided that for now four death row inmates would be executed,” Noor Rachmad, an official at the attorney general’s office, told reporters shortly after Friday’s executions.
Just over a year ago, Indonesia executed 14 prisoners, mostly foreign drugs offenders, causing diplomatic outrage.
Rights activists and governments have again called on Indonesia to abolish the death penalty.
But that has gone unheeded by the government of President Joko Widodo, who has said drugs pose as serious a threat as terrorism in what is one of Southeast Asia’s biggest markets for narcotics.
The death penalty is widely accepted by the Indonesian public, but police on Thursday had to break up a protest outside the prison by members of a migrant workers group who called for mercy for an Indonesian woman who was scheduled to be executed.
The United Nations and European Union had urged the executions be halted.
“Such death sentences are unlawful and tantamount to an arbitrary execution as they are undertaken in contravention of Indonesia’s international human rights obligations,” the U.N. said in a statement on Thursday.
Amnesty International called the executions “a deplorable act that violates international and Indonesian law” and pleaded that the other death sentences not be carried out.
“The injustice already done cannot be reversed, but there is still hope that it won’t be compounded,” the rights group’s regional director, Rafendi Djamin, said.
Around 152 people remain on death row in the country, including convicted drug traffickers from the Philippines, France and Britain. Authorities plan to execute 16 prisoners this year and more than double that number in 2017.

Argentine FA set to convince Messi to make U-turn on international retirement

The acting head of Argentina’s FA, Armando Perez, will travel to Spain to try and convince star striker Lionel Messi to reconsider his international retirement, according to reports in Argentina on Thursday.
“I spoke with Leo’s father, we have agreed to meet next week,” said Perez, in quotes published by Argentine sports daily Ole.
“The most important thing is to see if Messi will take part in (qualifying) matches” for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, added Perez, the head of a FIFA-appointed normalisation committee currently in charge of the AFA.
Messi, the five-time world player of the year, announced his shock retirement after Argentina lost the Copa America Centenario final to defending champions Chile on penalties last month.
Perez is also due to meet Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli, the man who led Chile past Argentina to their maiden Copa America title a year ago, with the aim of recruiting him as the new national team coach.
Sampaoli, 56, joined Europa League champions Sevilla last month after replacing Unai Emery and the club have ruled out the Argentine’s departure or any job-sharing arrangement.
“I spoke with Sampaoli (on Wednesday), we will see. There is work to do. We need to meet,” Perez told several radio stations, adding he was “not going to leave defeated”.
Should Perez be knocked back in his attempts to tie down Sampaoli, the AFA could turn their attentions to former Paraguay boss Ramon Diaz or ex-Boca Juniors coach Carlos Bianchi, although Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone remains the most popular choice.

7-year-old girl dies after elephant throws stone in Morocco zoo

 

  (Abdelhak Senna/AFP/Getty Images)

 

A 7-year-old girl died Tuesday from injuries she suffered when an elephant threw a stone out of its enclosure and struck her on the head at Rabat Zoo in Morocco.
Cellphone video taken moments after the incident shows the rock that allegedly hit the girl and a group of bystanders huddled near her, tending to her injuries while waiting for an ambulance. (The video, uploaded to YouTube, is graphic and should be viewed with caution.)
After being taken to the hospital, the unidentified girl died a few hours later, the zoo said.
An official statement released by Rabat Zoo denied responsibility for the young girl's death, according to Morocco World News, and said that the elephant enclosure met all international standards.
The zoo offered its condolences to the family of the deceased girl and said that "this kind of incident is rare, unpredictable and strange." The statement, written in French, added that similar types of incidents have happened recently in the United States, such as in Disney World Orlando and the Cincinnati Zoo, a reference to the 2-year-old boy who died after an alligator attack in June and when a 3-year-old boy fell into a gorilla enclosure in May.

But some social media users have criticized the way the zoo handled the case, according to Morocco World News, arguing that it took far too long for the ambulance to arrive and that there should have been an ambulance station already at the zoo.
"It can happen when elephants are frustrated or bored," Phyllis Lee, scientific director of the Amboseli Trust for Elephants told the BBC. "In my opinion, it's unlikely the elephant was directly targeting the girl — but exhibiting frustration. You can't predict what animals in captivity will do."

Source: WP

Yahoo is no longer an independent company

IT WAS one of Silicon Valley’s most riveting success stories. Now it stands as a warning to others. Yahoo began in 1994 as a lark in Stanford’s dormitories, when two students, David Filo and Jerry Yang, assembled their favourite links on a page called “Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web”. The site, which they renamed Yahoo, quickly became the “portal” through which millions first encountered the internet. At its peak in 2000, Yahoo had a market value of $128 billion. In the dotcom version of Monopoly, Yahoo got the prime slot.
This week its history as an independent firm came to an end. On July 25th Verizon, a telecoms giant, announced that it would pay around $4.8 billion to acquire Yahoo’s core business (see article). The sale will come as a blessed relief to shareholders. Yahoo churned through four chief executives in the three years before the hiring of Marissa Mayer in 2012. Her efforts to turn the company round may have failed, but the seeds of this week’s sale were sown long before she arrived. Three problems explain the firm’s demise.

In this section

The first was a chronic lack of focus. Right from the start Yahoo was ambivalent about whether it should be a media or a technology company. As a result, whenever the internet zigged, Yahoo zagged. It could not decide whether search was a “commodity” business to be outsourced or an area worthy of heavy investment; its prevarication allowed Google to rise. It took too long to respond to the emergence of social media and the coming of the mobile internet. Ms Mayer, and the company’s toothless board, did nothing to resolve Yahoo’s split corporate personality.
Instead of focusing, Yahoo sprawled. By 2001 it had 400 different products and services. Its cumbersome structure proved no match for specialised rivals such as Google in search and eBay in e-commerce. Yahoo was notoriously dysfunctional: at one point it had four different classified-advertising businesses, each using different technology. This contains a warning for others. Silicon Valley is known for its world-changing ambitions, but managers can be distracted by doing too many things at once. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, which continues to push into new areas, should take note.
A second problem at Yahoo concerned dealmaking. Some of its purchases paid off: by the end, its stake in another web giant—Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce firm—was worth far more than its own internet properties. Others flopped: Ms Mayer, for example, bought Tumblr, a social-networking platform, for $1.1 billion in 2013, even though it was about to run out of money. But a company’s success depends as much on the deals it does not do as on the ones it does. Yahoo’s history is littered with transactions that should not have been passed up. It did not buy Google for $1m when it had the chance. It agreed to buy Facebook for $1 billion, but the deal fell through when Yahoo tried to negotiate down the price. It eschewed the chance to buy YouTube (subsequently bought by Google), and its purchase of eBay fell through because of clashing egos.

The long shadow of Steve Jobs

Most galling of all, Mr Yang, the chief executive at the time, had the chance to sell Yahoo to Microsoft for around $45 billion in early 2008. His pride and his desire to head his company led him to reject the offer. This is the third lesson from Yahoo’s demise: founders can often be too attached to their progeny to make the right strategic decisions. Silicon Valley still believes in the idea of founders as visionary turnaround artists. Last year Jack Dorsey was brought back to run Twitter, a social-media firm (while continuing to run Square, a payments company that he also founded). Shareholders of both firms should consider Yahoo’s example carefully. For every Steve Jobs, who successfully resurrected Apple, there is a Mr Yang.

Source: The Economics

Mikel reportedly denies donating $30,000 to Dream Team

Captain of Team Nigeria to the Rio Olympics, John Mikel Obi has denied media reports making the rounds in Nigeria that he gave $30,000 dollars to his teammates in the U23 football team.

Speaking from the team’s camp at the Hyatt Place in Atlanta, USA, Mikel said, “I was first told of this unfortunate story by a friend who called me from Nigeria. I thought he was joking until he sent me the link.

“I don’t know the source of this story which to me is all out to divide us as a team. I would have thought that stories that should be coming out in the media are stories that will unite the team instead of dividing us. Our target in Rio is to excel, but if they continue like this, then I wonder how we can be united.”

Wondering why the writer thinks that the players are hungry that needed his money, Mikel asked: “Tell me the players who are in this team that are so hungry that will be looking up to me for survival? Is it (William) Ekong, (Oghenekaro) Etebo, (Shehu) Abdulahi, (Daniel) Akpeyi, (Kingsley) Madu, (Okechukwu) Azubuike or (Stanley) Amuzie, who are my team mates in the Super Eagles, that I will be donating to, or other players who are plying their trade abroad and are doing well for themselves? To me, this is just mere distraction that won’t help this team going into a major tournament like the Olympics.”

The Chelsea FC ace then appealed to the sporting press and Nigerians generally to rally round the team and wish the players and officials well as they get ready for the men’s football tournament of the Rio Olympics.

Buhari hails Mbaka on 21st ordination anniversary

Photo thenewsnigeria.com.ng

President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated Rev. Father Ejike Mbaka, Director of Adoration Ministry, on the 21st anniversary of his ordination to priesthood in the Catholic Church, slated for Friday.
In a statement on Thursday by Femi Adesina, the president’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, said Buhari felicitated with the Mbaka’s family, congregation and well-wishers “as they celebrate this special occasion with him in his continued devotion to the well being of others as a father, wise counselor, teacher and guardian.’’
He commended Mbaka’s steadfast devotion to his vocation and ministry amply demonstrated in his love and service for his people, nation and God.
He prayed that God Almighty, who had given the cleric the strength to devote his entire life to service in the Vineyard , would continually bless and prosper his ministry.

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg Calls Trump A 'Dangerous Demagogue'

 

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks at the DNC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

In a speech at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night, former New York City mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg called on Americans to vote for Hillary Clinton as the sane alternative to Republican nominee Donald Trump, who he described as a “dangerous demagogue.”
During the speech, Bloomberg sharply criticized his fellow New York billionaire for his business record. “Trump says he wants to run the nation like he’s run his business. God help us,” Bloomberg said, citing Trump’s lawsuits and bankruptcies. “I’m a New Yorker, and New Yorkers know a con when we see one!”
Bloomberg noted the attractiveness of electing a “businessman president” and contrasted Trump’s business record with his own. Bloomberg, whose net worth of $47.7 billion is more than ten times that of Trump, noted that he built his business without a “million-dollar check” from his father. “Truth be told, the richest thing about Donald Trump is his hypocrisy,” Bloomberg said.
Earlier this year, Bloomberg had considered a run for president as an independent, but decided against it in early March. In a post on BloombergView titled “The Risk I Will Not Take,” he explained that he couldn’t risk  running because it might lead to Trump or Senator Ted Cruz winning the election. At that time, Bloomberg said he was not ready to endorse anyone for president.
Four months since writing that article, Bloomberg endorsed Clinton for president on the stage of the DNC convention in Philadelphia, calling on his fellow independents to vote for Clinton, not out of party loyalty, but out of concern for America. His speech was much more a biting takedown of Trump than an unqualified endorsement of Clinton. Bloomberg said he sometimes disagreed with Clinton but painted her as the obvious choice in the face of Trump as her opponent.

Recommended by Forbes

“The bottom line is: Trump is a risky, reckless and radical choice. And we can’t afford to make that choice,” Bloomberg said. “No matter what you may think about her politics or her record, Hillary Clinton understands that this is not reality television; this is reality.”

Mark Zuckerberg Gains $3.4 Billion In An Hour

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg gains $3.4billion in an hour after positive second-quarter Earnings

 

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (Photo credit: Kay Nietfeld/AFP/Getty Images)

Facebook  CEO Mark Zuckerberg added $3.4 billion to his fortune in just over an hour on Wednesday in after-hours trading, as the market cheered the social media company’s impressive second-quarter results.
The gains pushed Zuckerberg’s net worth to a new high of $56.7 billion, according to FORBES estimates. He is currently the world’s fifth-richest person, right behind Jeff Bezos, who has an estimated fortune of $64 billion.
Facebook’s stock price soared 6.5% in after-hours trading to $131.40, as of 5:15 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday. The rise followed the company’s announcement that revenues and earnings had eclipsed analysts’ estimates, primarily thanks to gains in mobile ad revenue. Revenues in the second quarter rose about 59% to $6.44 billion, topping the $6.02 billion that analysts predicted. Profits increased to $2.1 billion, or 71 cents a share, exceeding analysts’ estimates of 57 cents a share.
In April, Zuckerberg’s fortune rocketed up by $4.2 billion in after-hours trading after Facebook’s strong first-quarter earnings. Like other billionaires who hold the vast majority of their wealth in one company’s stock, his fortune can rise or fall by billions of dollars in minutes or hours, following quarterly reports or other major company news.
At age 32, Zuckerberg is the youngest of the world’s ten richest people. He first appeared on the Forbes 400 in September 2008 with a net worth of $1.5 billion, when Facebook was still a private company. Since its IPO in May 2012, Facebook stock has risen nearly 223%, catapulting him into the ranks of the five richest people on Earth. Besides Bezos, only Bill Gates, Amancio Ortega, Warren Buffett and Bezos are wealthier.

Source: Forbes

Heartland fined N4.5m, to play behind closed-door

Heartland FC of Owerri has been issued a Summary Jurisdiction notice with fines totalling N4.750 million, an order to play three home fixtures behind closed-door and suspended points deduction for the crowd incidence that trailed their Match Day 28 fixture against FC IfeanyiUbah at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri.
One, Iyke Jacob, identified as the club’s Supporters Club Chairman, was also banned from all Nigeria Professional Football League matches for the rest of the 2015/16 season by the League Management Company.
The LMC also recommended to the Imo State Football Association and the Nigeria Football Federation to reconsider the role of the ISFA Security Committee Chairman, Teddy Isiadinso, who also serves as a Match Commissioner for the NFF.
The recommendation was based on the Match Commissioner’s report which cited Isiadinso as pledging to accept responsibility for any breach of the peace before, during and after the match.
The Owerri-based club was slammed six count violations of the NPFL Framework and Rules by the LMC after reviewing reports and video evidence provided by the Match Commissioner and Delegates to the match.
Heartland was fined of N750,000.00 for failing to ensure restriction of access to restricted areas by unauthorized persons in the course of the match, in breach of Rule B13.52.
The second count read: “You are in breach of Rule B13.52 of the Framework and Rules of the Nigeria Professional Football League, in that on Saturday, 23rd July 2016, after your Match Day 28 fixture: Heartland FC vs. FC Ifeanyiubah, you failed to ensure adequate security and crowd control particularly in the manner in which match officials and members of the visiting team were exposed to aggression and crowd violence perpetrated by your supporters.”
For this breach, the club was fined another N750,000.
On the third count of the supporters encroachment on to the field of play and throwing objects towards the field of play immediately after the match in breach of Rule B13.18, Heartland was fined of N1,000,000.00
On the fourth count, the LMC charged Heartland for breach of Rule B6.23 of the Framework and Rules of the NPFL, stating: “That on Saturday, 23rd July 2016, in the course of your Match Day 28 fixture: Heartland FC vs. FC IfeanyiUbah, your supporters hindered the complete video-coverage of the match, particularly the post-match scenes.”
The penalty for this offence read: “A fine of N1,000,000.00 and a two-point deduction for hindering the complete video-coverage of the match, in breach of Rule B6.23, provided that the execution of the two-point deduction shall be suspended subject to a probationary period of the remainder of the season.”
Heartland’s fifth charge read: “You are in breach of Rule C1, punishable by virtue of Rule B15.16, of the Framework and Rules of the Nigeria Professional Football League, in that on Saturday, 23rd July 2016, immediately after your Match Day 28 fixture: Heartland FC vs. FC Ifeanyiubah, some of your supporters assaulted match officials by hitting them and throwing objects (including plastic chairs, tables, stones and cans) at them.”
Having been found culpable, the sanction by the LMC included a fine of N1.25 million being compensation to the four match officials and the Match Commissioner at N250,000 for each of them.
Heartland Supporters were also found to have attacked the visiting team players, officials and supporters leading to damage to the visiting team bus whose windows were shattered in breach of Rule C1.
Consequently, the club has been ordered to play their next three home matches behind closed-door beginning with the August 7 fixture against Nasarawa United for breach of Rule B13.21.
A pre-condition for opening the stadium to spectators and supporters again is that “Heartland must take steps which shall include proper demarcation of restricted areas and workshops for stewards and supporters on code of conduct”.
The LMC further ruled: “In view of the gravity of the incident and the complicity of the Club and its officials, pursuant to Rule C18.6, Heartland FC shall also forfeit the one (1) point it previously earned in the match, provided that the execution of the one-point deduction shall be suspended subject to a probationary period of the remainder of the season.
Lastly, the club was notified that “pursuant to Rule B13.23, Heartland shall pay for the costs of damages to FCIfeanyiubah bus and for injuries sustained by its players and officials”.
Heartland must respond in writing accepting the sanctions or elect to be heard by a Commission not later than July 29.
But should it fail to comply with this requirement within the time limit, which constitutes a breach of the League Rules, it will be liable to be dealt with under the provisions of Section C.
Furthermore, the LMC reminded the club: “In accordance with Rule E1, where an appeal or election to be dealt with by a Commission fails or is found to have been frivolous, you may be liable to such additional sanction as may be deemed fit in the circumstances.”

Court remands teenager in prison for alleged rape of 35-yr-old woman

An Ado-Ekiti Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday remanded in prison custody a 19-year-old man, John Julius, for alleged rape of a 35-year-old woman.
The Prosecutor, Insp. Bayo Ajiboye, had told the court that the accused allegedly committed the offence on July 12 at Efon Alaaye-Ekiti.
Ajiboye said that the accused unlawfully raped a 35-year-old woman on her way from the farm and inflicted injuries that led to her being hospitalised.
He said the offence contravened Section 358 of the Criminal Code, Cap C 16,Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.
He told the court that he had forwarded a duplicate of the case file to the office of the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP), for legal advice.
No plea was taken.
Magistrate Modupe Afeniforo remanded the accused in prison custody, and adjourned the case till Aug.19 for further mention.

Real Madrid still interested in Pogba – Zidane

Zinedine Zidane

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is not giving up on signing Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba this summer, saying “anything can happen” before the transfer deadline.

Manchester United appear best placed to sign Pogba, 23, although sources close to Juventus have told ESPN FC that the Italian champions will not accept less than €120m for the France international and also want the Premier League club to pay the €25m fee for agent Mino Raiola, with the Old Trafford hierarchy reluctant to meet those demands.

Ex-France star Zidane has spoken regularly, if guardedly, through the summer on his admiration for his compatriot, and Pogba himself has also chosen his words carefully when asked if he would prefer to return to former club United or join the European champions.

Speaking at a news conference in Ohio ahead of Madrid’s first preseason outing this summer against Paris Saint-Germain, Zidane was asked if there was now any chance of Pogba moving to the Bernabeu before the transfer deadline on August  31.

“I don’t know. At the moment we are here working,” he replied. “Until  (August  31) anything can happen. He is not yet a Madrid player. We cannot talk about what will happen.”

Madrid appear unlikely to pay anything like the €120m asking price unless they could first raise funds by selling squad players such as James Rodriguez or Alvaro Morata for significant sums.

Pressed as to whether this meant he had asked club president Florentino Perez to sign Pogba, he said: “Now is not the moment to talk about this.

“Everyone is interested in Pogba. He is a great player and when you are at Madrid, you always want the best. Now we must respect some things – he is a Juve player. Today I can say nothing.”

Zidane added that it was difficult but not impossible for a club in Madrid’s position, having won two of the last three Champions Leagues, to sign players to keep improving.

“It is difficult to improve Madrid’s squad. We won [the Champions League] with this squad,” he said. “There are good players elsewhere too. You can always improve things and it will always be like that here. There are always players who can improve the team.”

Naira hits all time-low at 334.50/dollar

Naira

The naira fell against the dollar at the interbank foreign exchange market to an all-time low of 334.50 on Wednesday, a day after the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee hiked interest rates to lure foreign investors back into local assets.

The naira had closed at 310 against the interbank market on Tuesday.

About $10m was traded at the new record low, Reuters reported.

Foreign exchange traders said investors were pushing the currency lower to test the limit of how far it could fall, given a spread of almost 12 per cent between the official and black market naira rates.

“If we have more people trying to buy the naira then it should strengthen. I think we will keep seeing the trickles … I don’t think we will see large inflows until the fundamentals of the economy improves,” one trader told Reuters.

Economic analysts said the fall in the value of the naira against the dollar at the interbank market had nothing to do with the increase in the Monetary Policy Rate.

A currency analyst at Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Kunle Ezun, said the exchange rate was reacting to the interplay of demand and supply at the interbank market.

He said, “This is what the interbank forex market really wants, that is, a situation where only the forces of demand and supply will determine price. So far, the CBN has not intervened this week. The rate at the interbank market today has nothing to do with the increase in the MPR.

Ezun said a depreciating naira might attract some foreign portfolio investors into the economy but would cause higher inflation in coming months.

 “There is no shortcut. Rising inflation will affect consumer demand and the value of the naira,” he added,

An expert and Partner, Transaction Advisory Services, Ernst and Young Nigeria, Mr. Bisi Sanda, said the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee should have reduced the interest rate in order to stimulate economic growth, instead of increasing the MPR.

He said, “The inflation we are experiencing is not caused by a shift in demand curve, but a shift in the supply curve. Instead of hiking the interest rate, we should have reduced it in order to stimulate growth through increased spending.

The voting pattern at the MPC shows that not all the members are actually in support of the increase in the interest rate.”

According to the Chief Executive Officer, Cowry Assets Management Limited, Mr. Johnson Chuwkwu, the CBN needs to act fast and restore confidence back to the market.

This, he said, could be done by ensuring that the exchange rate stability is achieved as soon as possible.

Chukwu said, “As it is, there is no amount of depreciation or devaluation that happens that will give foreign portfolio investors confidence. They want to see stability. They want to be able to predict the naira.

Once there is stability, confidence will return. The CBN may do this by accessing a lifeline from the International Monetary Policy Committee.”

Source: Punch

Paul Okoye confirms PSquare is back together

Tackle economic problems, Gowon tells Buhari

Gen. Yakubu Gowon

A former Military Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently address the  economic and other problems ravaging Nigeria.

Gowon said this in a chat with journalists on the sideline of the Free Health Caravan for hepatitis test and vaccination organised under the auspices of SHEAM Health Care Foundation at the  Ooni Palace in Ile Ife, Osun State on Wednesday

He said the Federal Government should do everything possible to find lasting solutions to  the numerous problems confronting Nigeria in order to boost the citizens’confidence.

He said,  “Let the current authority find a way out of the current economic crisis. The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, has been telling us what they have been doing to get the economy strong again. She said all will be well by September. Let’s wait till then.

“I have left government for a long time, so I may not really know what the problem is. The current administration should do whatever they can to solve the economic challenge. They should find a way to restore confidence in citizens and the nation at large by fixing the economy.”

Gowon expressed shock at the allegations of budget padding, saying nobody made any attempt to pad budget during his time.

He also urged those involved to stop that in the interest of the nation.

“If that is true, if anybody is doing that, the person should be checked and stopped to ensure that such does not occur in the future.

“We didn’t do it during my time. We had the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo in charge of our finance during my time and he taught us how to survive without borrowing. Such (budget paddling) should stop, there is no point doing that,” he added.

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, who was conferred with the Royal Ambassador for Hepatitis Advocacy in Nigeria, said Nigerians, especially the wealthy ones, should rise up to sponsor programmes which would lead to the drastic reduction of the disease.

He said, “Why should we be busy amassing wealth, beautiful houses, and acquiring exotic cars when there are millions out there who do not know they are having viral hepatitis in their system?”

The monarch promised to let the world know that  he had been saddled with the responsibility to sensitise everybody on how to tackle the health issue.

SOURCE: PUNCH.  

Man fades up with life, commits suicide

Ijebu Igbo area

Tragedy struck on Tuesday in the Ijebu Igbo area of Ogun State after a motorcycle rider, identified as Monday Onoja, hanged himself.

Monday, 45, who had been incapacitated after an accident, was said to be dependent on his wife.

It was learnt that the father of five expressed dissatisfaction with his life the previous day and threatened to kill himself.

Efforts by his wife, Esther, and a relative to make the Benue State indigene change his mind reportedly proved abortive.

The victim was reported to have woken up early and hanged himself in his room.

The corpse of the motorcycle rider was discovered around 8am at the victim’s residence on Ogunnaya Street, Ojowo, Ijebu-Igbo.

Esther told PUNCH Metro on the telephone that she was bathing one of their children when her attention was called to the dangling corpse of her husband.

She said, “We have been married for the past 15 years and we had five children together. While he was a commercial okada rider, I am into trading. He was on his motorcycle on May 3, 2016, when he was involved in an accident.

“He broke his leg. Since that time, he had been staying at home and we had been managing the little I could provide for the family.

“Although he had yet to fully recover to start working again, he had started using crutches.

“Last night (Monday), he said he didn’t want to eat rice, that he wanted something else. Later, he threatened that he would kill himself. I begged him not to, but he shunned me. I called one of his brothers, who also came to talk to him. But he said he would sell his motorcycle and return to the village.

“This morning (Tuesday), I was bathing our child when one of the other children came to call me that their father was dangling from the ceiling. I ran there and met him dead.”

A resident, Mr. Kehinde Ogunbanjo, told our correspondent that the deceased killed himself because he could no longer provide for his family.

 “The accident really affected him. He was depressed due to financial difficulty and because he could not provide for his family,” he said.

A source said policemen from the Ijebu Igbo division had visited the scene.

He explained that the police did not go with the corpse because it was the tradition of the town that whenever anyone died in that circumstance, certain rites must be performed before burial.

“The Osugbo cult will take the corpse away. The police only took the statement of the wife,” he said.

 The Police Public Relations officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed the incident, adding that the police did not suspect any foul play.

 Adejobi, a Superintendent of Police, however, said the victim’s wife in her statement claimed she met her husband’s corpse after returning from their children’s school, where she had gone to pay school fees.

He said, “The man’s wife, Esther, reported at the station that she went to the children’s school to settle their school fees and on her return, she discovered that her husband, Monday, had committed suicide by hanging himself with a rope.

“Detectives visited the scene and took pictures. All necessary arrangements have been put in place to move the body to the mortuary. No foul play suspected, while investigations are ongoing.”

Source: PUNCH.

When ambassadorial nominees cannot sing the Nigeria national anthem

An ambassadorial nominee, Alhaji Ibrahim Bida, from Niger state currently serving in Turkey shockingly failed to recite the Nigeria National pledge when asked to do so by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Ibrahim, who is among the 47 ambassadorial nominees currently being screened, began stammering having introduced himself successfully and on getting to singing the pledge, it became difficult for him as he began to mix up the wordings.
The entire 8-man Committee including its Chairman, Senator Munsirat Sunmonu burst into laughter, until James Manager intervened in completing the pledge.
Pressed further on his knowledge of foreign economic blueprint, the nominee explained succinctly how China got their economic prosperity right because their President as at the time of their recession decided to shut its doors against import from other nations and was busy rebuilding China through domestic policy approach.
The nominee also stressed that if Nigeria could configure its foreign policies with the interest of benefiting from resources abroad, it would help the situation immensely.

A composite Picture of African America A Look at Richard Wright's 'Black Boy' By Henry Kwaghkule

A composite Picture of African America A Look at Richard Wright's Black Boy.

By Henry Kwaghkule.

Henry Kwaghkule

African Americans constitute the second largest racial and ethnic minority in the United States which started in the 16th  century, with Africans forcibly taken to Spanish and English colonies in Northern America as slaves. After the United States come in to being, black people continued to be enslaved and treated inferiors as the native sons and daughters of the country, the circumstances were change by reconstruction and development of black communities, participation in the great Military conflict of the United States, the elimination of racial segregation and civil right movement, and the Freedom of humans by Abraham Lincoln. But before all these, black scholars were able to write some thing for generations to know the panoramic happenings of their time.

Richard Wright's Black Boy is a true picture of all the experience blacks were passing through in America. It is a tragic and a harrowing story of a young negro growing up in a difficult and treacherous world that is dominated by Whites who look upon blacks as Chimpanzees and bush animals with no senses and desirable values...

Racism is captures in the novel where the entire Americans society is polarized along racial lives, with the whites feeling Superior to blacks and having little or nothing to do with them. For a close example in the novel, Richard on his way to Arkansas to visit his Grammy, Richard notices that there are two different lines at the station for people who wants to purchase tickets: one line for blacks and another line for whites. This is what was happening in all areas, discrimination, separating blacks from whites was all over. The even form a movement against blacks occupation known as Ku Klux Klan ( Kkk) to kill any back who fall in love wit a white Lady.

Poverty was one of the major problems of blacks, because the whites succeeded in making it in a way that blacks can not get a well paid jobs, hence they remains perpetually poor and line in shanties and shims, congested in one room apartments, no food eat, at a time the author himself goes hungry for lack of meal in the house. On many occasions he drops out from school for lack of fees. This experience of Richard Wright was a true picture of all what blacks were passing through in 16th,17th,18th, 19th, - to mid 20th centuries..

The author of the novel succeed in painting the picture of what the entire blacks were passing through in his autobiography text. As far as blacks were concerned there was no peace for them, they always live in fear. A black could be kill at any time as in the case of brother, uncle Hoskins who was killed because the whites sees that he is progressing and doing well in his restaurant business. Also in the text Richard Wright' reveals how a black name Bobby was killed for befriending a white Lady.

In the same reality off all odd, if a whiteman's dog bite a black man, he will be left untreated to die. Blacks servants were given rotten food to eat after serving their masters .

To unravel it all, I stand to agree with G.H Levis " art always aims at the representation of reality of truth and no departure from the truth is permissible " what happens real should be presented real within the environment, which Richard Wright' in his autobiographical text tells us the naive of their lives in general. What Blacks were passing through from whites.

The novel is a historical text, a real facts of the suppression, depression, segregation, maltreatment, religious bigotry, indifference, inferiority, violence,  and also trials of Afro- Americans known as African Americans...

Kwaghkule, Henry is an aspiring Poet, a Short Story Writer and a Critic.

Kwaghkulehenry@gmail.com

From Ikoyi Lagos,

Nigeria.

09094614255

The secrets to a happy marriage

A recent study has revealed that kissing and telling your partner 'I love you' ten times a week is the secret to a happy marriage.

A recent study has revealed that kissing and telling your partner ‘I love you’ ten times a week is the secret to a happy marriage. The study, conducted by OnePoll.com, has found that 92 per cent of Americans considered themselves to be happily married, going on three dates a month, with three romantic surprises and ten deep conversations will also lead to a happy relationship, the Daily Express reported.

The survey revealed that having three arguments a month adds to the magic but, importantly, a couple must be able to say sorry and couples should accept each other’s faults. The survey also found that, in the perfect marriage, couples make love three times a week and spend six nights a month cuddled up in front of the TV.

The website said that anyone can get married, but it takes a lot of commitment and effort to make your marriage a perfect one, and if two people are not p

repared to put the work in and take the rough with the smooth, they are going to struggle to find that ideal.