Expert to African leaders: Don’t expect much from Trump’s Presidency –

A policy and governance expert, Mr Oseloka Obaze, has advised African leaders to look inward for solutions to their political and economic challenges.

Obaze, the Managing Director of Selonnes Consult, said in a statement in Awka on Friday while reacting to the emergence of Donald Trump as U.S. president-elect.

He said that the emergence of Trump as the president-elect, in spite of the bookmakers’ predictions, was “American Wonder’’.

Obaze, who is also a retired diplomat, said that Trump presidency might hold some fortunes for Africa.

He called for more strategic positioning on the part of African leaders to maximize the relationship.

According to him, Nigeria should not expect much in terms of economic assistance under the ensuing order, but hope that unlike Barack Obama, Trump will visit Nigeria while in office.

“He is likely to deal with Nigeria in the African context, if his foreign engagement is purely strategic, and it will mean seeking partners like Nigeria to outsource the regional challenges.

“Depending on his immigration policies, it will favour Nigerians that need to be regularized.

“On Nigeria’s socio-economic challenges, we should expect little or no assistance.

“Yet, I predict he will visit Nigeria, within his first four years, something Obama did not do in eight years,” he said.

Gun threat stops Anambra sex scandal press briefing

A press briefing scheduled for Wednesday  for Miss Anambra, Chidinma Okeke, to state her own version  of a sex scandal rocking her could not hold.

The briefing scheduled for 10am at the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Anambra State council, in Awka, ended abruptly following information that some gunmen would attack the secretariat.

Miss Chidinma Okeke, was the winner of the 2015 Most Beautiful Girl in Anambra pageant competition.

Her alleged lesbian  video went virile on the social media recently .

She was reported to have vowed to expose the complicity of some top politicians and government officials in the sex scandal at the botched press conference.

But no sooner had the journalists arrived the venue  of the conference than calls started coming, threatening that some gunmen were on their  way to attack the venue.

The journalists had to flee the place for their lives.

“Life has no duplicate,” one of the journalists,  quipped.

A message sent by the embattled Okeke using her Facebook account read in part, “The moment I made public this intention to speak with journalists, I have been under threats by my blackmailers and traducers.

“They are seriously threatening to shoot me at the press conference if I ever open my mouth to say the real truth about the ugly episode.

“Since I have no protection, and if I die now, the truth will be buried forever, it’s my intention to save not just myself but other girls and other upcoming pageant by letting the world know the truth and what we go through.”

Okeke said her traducers had continued to assemble all manner of expertise and professionals to edit the video and send them in batches.

She added that she would not be surprised if more videos were published subsequently.

Meanwhile, her counsel, Ikenna Obidiegwu, told our correspondent on the telephone that his client had to stay away from the press briefing after his attempt to get the Anambra State Police Commissioner, Mr. Sam Okaula, to provide security for the beauty queen failed.

“The commissioner said the notice was too short, and that he could not mobilise police security for the queen immediately,” he said.

Obidiegwu said his client’s blackmailers were powerful people in the state, adding that at the appropriate time their identities would be unveiled.

He denied reports that his client had been smuggled out of the country.

“I was with her just 30 minutes before speaking to you,” the lawyer maintained.

Naira may hit 500 per dollar – Obiano

The Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, has said that the naira will continue to fall against the dollar till it reach N500 to the greenback.

Obiano said this during the commencement of the Anambra State Fire and Safety Summit in Awka on Wednesday.

The governor, who expressed fear that the dollar would continue to rise against the naira, said it would take no fewer than 18 months for the economic downturn in the country to subside.

He said, “People should embrace risk management. That is the solution to disaster, especially in a recession.

“No recession lasts less than 18 months, so we need to wake up. The naira is moving to N500 per dollar.

“We need to secure our certificates and other valuables of ours so that nothing will happen to them overnight. That’s the way to survive in a recession.”

Pastor rapes 13-year-old boy to cure homosexuality

A pastor with the Jesus Miracle Ministries, Awka, Anambra State, Ekene Adaoji, has fled after allegedly raping a 13-year-old boy.

It was gathered that the pastor was told by a traditionalist that his homosexual habit would be cured if he slept with a male teenager.

The victim, who hails from Ebonyi State, said the suspect tricked him by asking him to stay behind after a vigil.

He said, “The pastor told me to wait till dawn and when I insisted on going home, he applied a substance on my eyes which made me to sleep.

“When I woke up, I noticed that my trousers were torn and my anus was damp. I also felt pains in my anus. I went home to inform my people about what happened.”

A relative of the victim, Ngozi, said the family was not aware that Abuchi went to the church that night.

She said after Abuchi told them about what happened, they rushed to the church only to discover that the pastor had fled.

The Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Nkiru Nwode, said the police had launched a manhunt for the pastor.

“The victim has been taken to a hospital for treatment,” he added.

No grazing reserves, ranches in Anambra, says Obiano

 

The Anambra state governor, Willie  Obiano, has said the state had no plans for grazing reserves and ranches.

The governor stated this at the Council Chambers of Government House, Awka, in a press conference to mark the 25^th anniversary of the creation of the state.

Obiano said the state had the smallest land mass in the country and therefore would not want to embark on such land-consuming projects as grazing reserves and ranches.

He said even the state’s small land mass had been eaten up by erosion.

He said the state was in a discussion with an international partner to commence the animal  husbandry indigenous to the area.

On herdsmen attack of communities in the southeast, Obiano said, “on this issue, I am like the guy who saw tomorrow.

“Early in my administration, I constituted a committee known as cattle menace committee, which is headed by the commissioner of police, with five traditional rulers and leaders of the Fulani community in the state.

“We agreed in the committee that if the cattle belonging to the Fulani people destroy our crops, they will pay us; and if our people kill their cattle, we will pay them.”

He said the Fulani herdsmen had defaulted 11 times, and paid compensation to the natives, while the communities had defaulted five times, and paid accordingly for five cows allegedly killed by them.

He said it was agreed  that herdsmen would not be allowed to come into the state wielding AK47 riffles and other dangerous weapons.

He noted that the arrangement had guided the parties in their actions and conducts.

I didn’t sleep with anyone to get roles –Queen Nwokoye

Queen Nwokoye

Queen Nwokoye has been in the industry since 2004. For many years, she was not one of the prominent stars, in spite of the fact that she befriended a lot of star actors. As such, many expected that the light-skinned actress would quit the industry and opt for a white-collar job since she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Anthropology from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.

Speaking on her journey to stardom and how she became a star without relocating to Lagos, which is considered the hub of entertainment, Nwokoye said, “Lagos is too rowdy. It’s too busy for me. In Lagos, everybody is hustling. I am not a hustler. All my life, I have never had to hustle for anything, anything I have came to me, including stardom.”

Does that mean she is one of the said few that didn’t have to sleep with a producer to get movie roles? ‘‘If    it is true that actresses have to sleep with producers to get roles, I’m happy I didn’t have to do so. Sometimes, it is people’s way of trying to explain away their failure. I didn’t pass through it. From my experience, nobody ever asked to sleep with me. If you present yourself as someone that can sleep around to get roles, people will treat you that way. But the truth is how many people do you want to sleep with before you become famous?”

Queen, who has been accused of refusing to discuss her marital status, said stardom hasn’t changed her. “I don’t think anybody can accuse me of being proud. I don’t even consider myself a star and I don’t see how someone like me can begin to act arrogantly.”

With plans to produce movies; Queen said she was grateful to God and her fans that had kept faith with her.