Sunday, August 12, 2012
ECO- Dr Lover
Sequel to his first single “feeling myself”, ECO ,winner 2011 sprite triple slam music category and regional 2008 multina dance all. the multi-talented young abuja based artist signed under POSHYEAL ENTERTAINMENT is poised to strike a visible impression with his new firecracker titled ”DR LOVER” produced by renowned music producerTEKNO and mixed by MEKOYO. listen download enjoy !!!
VIDEO: Essence – Orin ft InkEdwards
First time Essence featured a Rapper, itwas Naeto C doing the facebook love remix with Jaywon Here, Essence introduces Ink Edwards in a song written for the love and passion of the art.Produced by Masterkraft, The video depicts how boring life would be without music. It also shows how the old can love to get jiggy with it.
The video also celebrates; great womensingers in Nigeria, such as- Ayo Balogun, Onyeka Nwenu, Salawa Abeni,Stella Monye, Christy Essien, Evi Edna Ogoli.
watch and enjoy peeps.
DIRECTED BY MEX.
The video also celebrates; great womensingers in Nigeria, such as- Ayo Balogun, Onyeka Nwenu, Salawa Abeni,Stella Monye, Christy Essien, Evi Edna Ogoli.
watch and enjoy peeps.
DIRECTED BY MEX.
B.O.U.Q.U.I – Good & Bad ft Obiwon
Gospel and inspirational music could only get better with B.O.UQU.I finding her rhythm and unleashing the power of ministration through her potent lyrics and testimonial music endowment.
Having released two hot singles “Sokuyokoto and Emi Lelei featuring Midnight Crew” off her forthcoming studio album titled “ Mark Of The General”, the exhilarating gospel/Inspirational music queen “B.O.U.Q.U.I” is back for the umpteenthtime with another praise invasion single “GOOD & BAD” featuring Obiwon.
With the chorus clamoring on ‘whether he good or bad…..’ the song featuring Obimo crooner “Obiwon” is deemed to praise the heavenly LORD in all situations and at every circumstances of life. Bukola Afolayan with the stage name Bouqui on the song magically unravels a diverse praise style with an Igbo lyrical dexterity to complement the striking vocal delivery by Obiwon.
The song ‘Good & Bad’ will not only pave the way for Bouqui’s forthcoming album “Mark Of The General” but will also earmark a great return for the dark skinned singer ‘Obiwon’.
Good & Bad is the last single off Bouqui’s third studio album which is set for release at the end of this month.The song is produced by JMETZ, recorded by Kollo at the countrysydes studio and mastered by Mixmaster Jay for Bouqui’s Place Entertainment
Having released two hot singles “Sokuyokoto and Emi Lelei featuring Midnight Crew” off her forthcoming studio album titled “ Mark Of The General”, the exhilarating gospel/Inspirational music queen “B.O.U.Q.U.I” is back for the umpteenthtime with another praise invasion single “GOOD & BAD” featuring Obiwon.
With the chorus clamoring on ‘whether he good or bad…..’ the song featuring Obimo crooner “Obiwon” is deemed to praise the heavenly LORD in all situations and at every circumstances of life. Bukola Afolayan with the stage name Bouqui on the song magically unravels a diverse praise style with an Igbo lyrical dexterity to complement the striking vocal delivery by Obiwon.
The song ‘Good & Bad’ will not only pave the way for Bouqui’s forthcoming album “Mark Of The General” but will also earmark a great return for the dark skinned singer ‘Obiwon’.
Good & Bad is the last single off Bouqui’s third studio album which is set for release at the end of this month.The song is produced by JMETZ, recorded by Kollo at the countrysydes studio and mastered by Mixmaster Jay for Bouqui’s Place Entertainment
DOWNLOAD: DJ ECool – Bestof EME [Mixtape]
World Renound DJ, ECOOL (Member of The “Hottest Coalition of Nigerian DJs”) puts together a compilation of the HOTTEST EME (Wizkid, skales, Banky W,Dj Xclusive, Shaydee, Niyiola) Tracks out there up till date Friday, Aug 10 2012. Listen/Download/Share/ Comment/ Feedback.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
South Africa claim first rowing gold
LONDON(AFP) – South Africa stunned favourites Great Britain and Denmark to claim their first ever Olympic rowing gold medal in the lightweight men’s four on Thursday in front of a 25,000 crowd.
All eyes were on the host nation to follow up Wednesday’s gold in the women’s pairs, and Denmark, champions at the Beijing Games four years ago.
But the South Africa four — James Thompson, Matthew Brittain, John Smith and Sizwe Ndlovu — gate-crashed their party in gripping fashion.
Seemingly out of contention in the first 1500m they exploded in the closing quarter to overhaul the Danes and then Britain to rewrite their country’s and the Games’ rowinghistory.
Denmark took control from the start, with Britain, featuring Northern Ireland brothers Richard and Peter Chambers, looking dangerous in lane three.
The British four started to press Denmark, forwhom Eskildi Ebbesen was seeking a fourth Olympic title.
But the big guns had no answer to South African’s finishing surge, the winning crew falling over themselves in jubilation after crossing the line in front of a capacity crowd at Eton Dorney.
World champions Australia came in fourth.
“That was brutal, we were fighting, fighting, fighting,” said Richard Chambers.
Teammate Rob Williams added: “It’s a tough event, we wanted to win gold, so silver’s not fantastic, but it is a medal at our home Olympics…”
In other finals action the all-conquering United States team, unbeaten in the past fouryears, added women’s eight gold to their Beijing and world championship titles.
The USA comfortably held off Canada in silver with the Netherlands filling the bronze position.
New Zealand world champions Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan won gold in the men’s double sculls.
The Kiwi pair overhauled Italy’s Alessio Sartori and Romano Battisti late on, with longtime leaders Luka Spik and Iztok Cop of Slovenia taking bronze.
All eyes were on the host nation to follow up Wednesday’s gold in the women’s pairs, and Denmark, champions at the Beijing Games four years ago.
But the South Africa four — James Thompson, Matthew Brittain, John Smith and Sizwe Ndlovu — gate-crashed their party in gripping fashion.
Seemingly out of contention in the first 1500m they exploded in the closing quarter to overhaul the Danes and then Britain to rewrite their country’s and the Games’ rowinghistory.
Denmark took control from the start, with Britain, featuring Northern Ireland brothers Richard and Peter Chambers, looking dangerous in lane three.
The British four started to press Denmark, forwhom Eskildi Ebbesen was seeking a fourth Olympic title.
But the big guns had no answer to South African’s finishing surge, the winning crew falling over themselves in jubilation after crossing the line in front of a capacity crowd at Eton Dorney.
World champions Australia came in fourth.
“That was brutal, we were fighting, fighting, fighting,” said Richard Chambers.
Teammate Rob Williams added: “It’s a tough event, we wanted to win gold, so silver’s not fantastic, but it is a medal at our home Olympics…”
In other finals action the all-conquering United States team, unbeaten in the past fouryears, added women’s eight gold to their Beijing and world championship titles.
The USA comfortably held off Canada in silver with the Netherlands filling the bronze position.
New Zealand world champions Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan won gold in the men’s double sculls.
The Kiwi pair overhauled Italy’s Alessio Sartori and Romano Battisti late on, with longtime leaders Luka Spik and Iztok Cop of Slovenia taking bronze.
Push to preserve Fela Kuti’s legacy15 years after death
LAGOS (AFP) – The spirit of Fela Kuti haunts his old house — the musician’s colourful clothes in the bedroom, his shoes on a rack — but the marijuana smoke, his many wives and his beguiling sax playing are long gone.
Thursday marks 15 years since the death of Kuti, the Nigerian Afrobeat musician who became a global icon thanks to his unique sound, his wild lifestyle and his harsh criticism of his country’s corrupt military regimes.
He is far from forgotten, both here and in many places abroad, and his family has beenworking to further preserve Kuti’s legacy, including efforts to turn his last house into a museum — the reason his bedroom was left as is.
Femi Kuti, son of legendary afrobeat musician and activist Fela Anikulakpo-Kuti, performs on stage with his children at the New Afrika Shrine in Lagos on July 29, 2012. Nigeria marks on August 2, 2012 fifteen yearssince the death of Kuti, the Nigerian afrobeat musician who became a global icon thanks tohis unique sound, his wild lifestyle and his harsh criticism of his country’s corrupt military regimes. AFP PHOTO
“It’s gone beyond a Nigerian story,” his son Femi Kuti, also a musician, said recently before taking the stage at the family’s New Afrika Shrine club in Lagos. “It’s gone beyond an African story. It’s like jazz.”
Kuti’s legend has in some ways only grown since his death aged 58 in 1997 from an HIV-related illness, especially following a recent Broadway musical about his life that drew rave reviews.
His outsized personality and social activism made him a hero to many while he was still alive, and his funeral in the giant economic capital of Lagos drew massive crowds into the streets.
The saxophone player was a harsh critic of Nigeria’s corrupt elite, lashing out in songs like “Coffin for Head of State” or “International Thief Thief”, but with irresistible grooves that combined jazz, traditional music and other sounds.
His songs repeatedly landed him in trouble with the authorities, including arrests and theburning, allegedly by soldiers, of his compound, which he had christened the Kalakuta Republic and declared independent.
His original Shrine club where he regularly performed was shut after his death, but his family later opened the New Afrika Shrine at another location.
He was also known for marrying 27 women on the same day, most of them his dancers, and his love of marijuana was well-documented.
To some, echoes of his campaign for justice can still be heard in Lagos.
His name was invoked repeatedly during a national strike and mass protests in January over the removal of fuel subsidies, which caused petrol prices to double.
President Goodluck Jonathan was eventually forced to partially reinstate the subsidies.
Seun Kuti, another of Kuti’s sons, played politically charged concerts before thousandsat the main protest site in Lagos. Femi and his sister Yeni Kuti also helped lead rallies there.
For Kunle Tejuoso, who runs a record label as well as a bookstore and music shop that caters to Lagos intellectuals, Fela Kuti was “bold enough to shout out and use music as a weapon against a very, very vicious system.”
Kuti was raised in a middle-class family and studied music in England, but was able to connect with ordinary people even after his fame grew, Tejuoso said.
“He stuck to the basics, he stayed with the people, and I think he was immersed in his music,” he said at his store, which sells framed photos of Kuti.
– ‘Be with the people’ –
“And to get to that music, you have to be withthe people. In order to get the message across, you have to understand what they’re saying.”
Asked whether his father’s legacy had more to do with music or social activism, Femi Kuti said they were equally important.
“You cannot forget the fight for social justice, making, especially, Nigerians aware of their predicament,” he said.
Nigeria is Africa’s most populous nation and largest oil producer, and is often ranked as one of the world’s most corrupt countries. It was ruled by successive military regimes before a return to civilian government in 1999.
But it was not only Nigeria’s leaders that concerned Kuti. Femi points out that he was also intent on speaking out against the injustices of colonialism. Nigeria, a former British colony, gained independence in 1960.
After the first Kalakuta Republic was destroyed, Kuti moved to the three-storey building his family is now seeking to turn intoa museum in Lagos, with renovation work underway.
His pyramid-shaped tomb sits out front, the building situated on a narrow road in a crowded neighbourhood.
“It is very important to me, and this is why we buried him here in the first place — because we wanted to turn this place into a museum after he passed away,” said Yeni Kuti as she stood on the building’s rooftop terrace.
The Lagos state government has provided thefamily with 40 million naira (200,000 euros,$250,000) for the museum, according to Yeni,who estimates they will have to raise around 25 million naira more to complete the job.
The aim is to open the museum in October during “Felebration”, an annual series of events honouring Kuti around his birthday.
They plan to install glass around his bedroom so fans can see inside, with exhibitsin other rooms in the house and a small hotel.
“It’s a global issue of mankind oppressing one another for wealth, for corruption, greed,” Femi Kuti said. “And my father is just part of this big story.”
Thursday marks 15 years since the death of Kuti, the Nigerian Afrobeat musician who became a global icon thanks to his unique sound, his wild lifestyle and his harsh criticism of his country’s corrupt military regimes.
He is far from forgotten, both here and in many places abroad, and his family has beenworking to further preserve Kuti’s legacy, including efforts to turn his last house into a museum — the reason his bedroom was left as is.
Femi Kuti, son of legendary afrobeat musician and activist Fela Anikulakpo-Kuti, performs on stage with his children at the New Afrika Shrine in Lagos on July 29, 2012. Nigeria marks on August 2, 2012 fifteen yearssince the death of Kuti, the Nigerian afrobeat musician who became a global icon thanks tohis unique sound, his wild lifestyle and his harsh criticism of his country’s corrupt military regimes. AFP PHOTO
“It’s gone beyond a Nigerian story,” his son Femi Kuti, also a musician, said recently before taking the stage at the family’s New Afrika Shrine club in Lagos. “It’s gone beyond an African story. It’s like jazz.”
Kuti’s legend has in some ways only grown since his death aged 58 in 1997 from an HIV-related illness, especially following a recent Broadway musical about his life that drew rave reviews.
His outsized personality and social activism made him a hero to many while he was still alive, and his funeral in the giant economic capital of Lagos drew massive crowds into the streets.
The saxophone player was a harsh critic of Nigeria’s corrupt elite, lashing out in songs like “Coffin for Head of State” or “International Thief Thief”, but with irresistible grooves that combined jazz, traditional music and other sounds.
His songs repeatedly landed him in trouble with the authorities, including arrests and theburning, allegedly by soldiers, of his compound, which he had christened the Kalakuta Republic and declared independent.
His original Shrine club where he regularly performed was shut after his death, but his family later opened the New Afrika Shrine at another location.
He was also known for marrying 27 women on the same day, most of them his dancers, and his love of marijuana was well-documented.
To some, echoes of his campaign for justice can still be heard in Lagos.
His name was invoked repeatedly during a national strike and mass protests in January over the removal of fuel subsidies, which caused petrol prices to double.
President Goodluck Jonathan was eventually forced to partially reinstate the subsidies.
Seun Kuti, another of Kuti’s sons, played politically charged concerts before thousandsat the main protest site in Lagos. Femi and his sister Yeni Kuti also helped lead rallies there.
For Kunle Tejuoso, who runs a record label as well as a bookstore and music shop that caters to Lagos intellectuals, Fela Kuti was “bold enough to shout out and use music as a weapon against a very, very vicious system.”
Kuti was raised in a middle-class family and studied music in England, but was able to connect with ordinary people even after his fame grew, Tejuoso said.
“He stuck to the basics, he stayed with the people, and I think he was immersed in his music,” he said at his store, which sells framed photos of Kuti.
– ‘Be with the people’ –
“And to get to that music, you have to be withthe people. In order to get the message across, you have to understand what they’re saying.”
Asked whether his father’s legacy had more to do with music or social activism, Femi Kuti said they were equally important.
“You cannot forget the fight for social justice, making, especially, Nigerians aware of their predicament,” he said.
Nigeria is Africa’s most populous nation and largest oil producer, and is often ranked as one of the world’s most corrupt countries. It was ruled by successive military regimes before a return to civilian government in 1999.
But it was not only Nigeria’s leaders that concerned Kuti. Femi points out that he was also intent on speaking out against the injustices of colonialism. Nigeria, a former British colony, gained independence in 1960.
After the first Kalakuta Republic was destroyed, Kuti moved to the three-storey building his family is now seeking to turn intoa museum in Lagos, with renovation work underway.
His pyramid-shaped tomb sits out front, the building situated on a narrow road in a crowded neighbourhood.
“It is very important to me, and this is why we buried him here in the first place — because we wanted to turn this place into a museum after he passed away,” said Yeni Kuti as she stood on the building’s rooftop terrace.
The Lagos state government has provided thefamily with 40 million naira (200,000 euros,$250,000) for the museum, according to Yeni,who estimates they will have to raise around 25 million naira more to complete the job.
The aim is to open the museum in October during “Felebration”, an annual series of events honouring Kuti around his birthday.
They plan to install glass around his bedroom so fans can see inside, with exhibitsin other rooms in the house and a small hotel.
“It’s a global issue of mankind oppressing one another for wealth, for corruption, greed,” Femi Kuti said. “And my father is just part of this big story.”
FG Still Grants Rice, Palm Oil Waivers
The House of Representatives and the Federal Ministry of Finance are in disagreement over import waivers on rice and palm oil granted to some individuals from January to 2012 to May 2012, after the Minister of Finance announced the suspension of such waivers in September lastyear.
Chairman House Committee on Finance Abdulmumin Jibrin said on Thursday July 19, 2012, during a debate on the alleged non-implementation of the 2012 budget by the Federal Government at the plenary session of the House that documents submitted to his committee by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) indicate that the government was still granting import waivers to some fewindividuals to import such items despite policy stopping it.
He said analysis of the documents shows that“on the average, the government has grantedminimum of N2 billion waivers per month from January to date to import rice, palm and vegetable oil”, adding that in the month of May 2012 alone, the government granted N39 billion waivers to some few individuals.
But Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, the Senior Special Assistant on media to Minister of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told Daily Trust on telephone yesterday that no such waivers were given after the policy statement last year.
“I can tell you authoritatively that between January and May, no such waivers were given,” he said.
Nwabuikwu said the only waivers given within the period were the regular ones givento ‘companies that use Nigerian gas to power;to companies that purchase police and military equipments and to development partners like nongovernmental organisation (NGOs) in the area of health. He also said waivers are given to returning Nigerian diplomats.
On September 22nd 2011, Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said that waiver requests would from then be granted by the ministry and sent to the Economic Team for consideration.
She said in Washington DC, at a seminar that,“all those who usually go to see the Presidentat night will no longer be allowed to do so. If they have any proposal, it must be presentedto the Economic Team. We are also going to hold a retreat with the private sector to discuss policy inconsistencies caused by the pressure they exert on the government.”
On 30th November 2011, Daily Trust exclusively reported that the Federal Government granted rice and palm oil import waivers amounting to about N150 billion to 10 companies, with one of them securing the duty write offs 164 times since February 2011.
The companies that previously benefitted from import waivers include Connotation Concepts Limited, which registered its nature of business as ‘Bookshops and Stationery Stores; Energy Resources Management Limited.’ The company got rice import waiverapprovals 34 times.
Other beneficiaries are Network Supplies Limited which got rice import duty waivers 36times that year amounting to N5billion in taxes; Olam Nigeria Limited, Presco Industries Limited and Sopon Nigeria Limited.
Speaking on the floor of the House during thedebate last week, Rep Jibrin also reeled out figures from the various revenue generating agencies indicating that there have been ‘unprecedented increase’ in revenue generation in the first six months of 2012; surpassing the budgetary projection by about30 percent.
He said such revenues are from the Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation and the Department of Petroleum Resources.
“Some people are determined to put it in ourpsyche that Nigeria does not have money. We are left with only one option which is to compel the executive to do the right thing,” Jibrin said.
The National Assembly is currently embroiledin dispute over the implementation of the 2012 budget, with the lawmakers threatening consequences should President Goodluck Jonathan fail to implement the budget hundred per cent by September 18, 2012.
But yesterday, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe said that no country achieves 100 percent budget implementation.
Okupe who is reacting to National Assembly-Presidency’s face-off over budget implementation told reporters in Abuja that that he sees the current misunderstanding between the members of the NASS and the Federal Government, especially the Minister of Finance as something that is not very healthy and not necessary.”
The finance minister has insisted that the budget has been implemented 56 per cent but the National Assembly believes that less than 40 per cent has been implemented.
Chairman House Committee on Finance Abdulmumin Jibrin said on Thursday July 19, 2012, during a debate on the alleged non-implementation of the 2012 budget by the Federal Government at the plenary session of the House that documents submitted to his committee by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) indicate that the government was still granting import waivers to some fewindividuals to import such items despite policy stopping it.
He said analysis of the documents shows that“on the average, the government has grantedminimum of N2 billion waivers per month from January to date to import rice, palm and vegetable oil”, adding that in the month of May 2012 alone, the government granted N39 billion waivers to some few individuals.
But Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, the Senior Special Assistant on media to Minister of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told Daily Trust on telephone yesterday that no such waivers were given after the policy statement last year.
“I can tell you authoritatively that between January and May, no such waivers were given,” he said.
Nwabuikwu said the only waivers given within the period were the regular ones givento ‘companies that use Nigerian gas to power;to companies that purchase police and military equipments and to development partners like nongovernmental organisation (NGOs) in the area of health. He also said waivers are given to returning Nigerian diplomats.
On September 22nd 2011, Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said that waiver requests would from then be granted by the ministry and sent to the Economic Team for consideration.
She said in Washington DC, at a seminar that,“all those who usually go to see the Presidentat night will no longer be allowed to do so. If they have any proposal, it must be presentedto the Economic Team. We are also going to hold a retreat with the private sector to discuss policy inconsistencies caused by the pressure they exert on the government.”
On 30th November 2011, Daily Trust exclusively reported that the Federal Government granted rice and palm oil import waivers amounting to about N150 billion to 10 companies, with one of them securing the duty write offs 164 times since February 2011.
The companies that previously benefitted from import waivers include Connotation Concepts Limited, which registered its nature of business as ‘Bookshops and Stationery Stores; Energy Resources Management Limited.’ The company got rice import waiverapprovals 34 times.
Other beneficiaries are Network Supplies Limited which got rice import duty waivers 36times that year amounting to N5billion in taxes; Olam Nigeria Limited, Presco Industries Limited and Sopon Nigeria Limited.
Speaking on the floor of the House during thedebate last week, Rep Jibrin also reeled out figures from the various revenue generating agencies indicating that there have been ‘unprecedented increase’ in revenue generation in the first six months of 2012; surpassing the budgetary projection by about30 percent.
He said such revenues are from the Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation and the Department of Petroleum Resources.
“Some people are determined to put it in ourpsyche that Nigeria does not have money. We are left with only one option which is to compel the executive to do the right thing,” Jibrin said.
The National Assembly is currently embroiledin dispute over the implementation of the 2012 budget, with the lawmakers threatening consequences should President Goodluck Jonathan fail to implement the budget hundred per cent by September 18, 2012.
But yesterday, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe said that no country achieves 100 percent budget implementation.
Okupe who is reacting to National Assembly-Presidency’s face-off over budget implementation told reporters in Abuja that that he sees the current misunderstanding between the members of the NASS and the Federal Government, especially the Minister of Finance as something that is not very healthy and not necessary.”
The finance minister has insisted that the budget has been implemented 56 per cent but the National Assembly believes that less than 40 per cent has been implemented.
New Police DIG, Seven AIGs Appointed
The Police Service Commission yesterday announced the promotion of top police officers which included a new Deputy Inspector General, seven Assistant InspectorsGeneral and 32 commissioners.
Assistant Inspector General Philemon I. Leha,the new DIG, replaces late Haruna John who died in a helicopter crash in Jos on March 14.
Also killed in the crash were the pilot, Assistant Commissioner Garba Yalwa, the co-pilot, Chief Superintendent Alexander Pwol-Ja and the late DIG’s orderly, Sergeant Sonatian Shirunam.
Chief Information Officer to the Commission Ferdinand Ekpei said in a statement that the promotion was based on the recommendations of Inspector General Mohammed D. Abubakar.
“The Eight AIGs are: Christopher T. Dega, Aliyu Musa, Bala Hassan, Mohammed J. Abubakar, Tambari Y. Mohammed, Ibrahim Abdu, Julius A. Ishola and Alex Emeka Okeke now AIG medical services.
He said the Commission also promoted 32 deputy commissioners to commissioners and91 assistant commissioners were made deputy commissioners. The promotions are with effect from the August 1, 2012.
The Commission has approved the promotion of a sergeant to assistant superintendent II with effect from July 7, 2010
He said the Commission approved various disciplinary measures against some senior officers ‘for acts unbecoming of superior police officers’ at the meetings.
A superintendent of police was dismissed; a chief superintendent was compulsorily retired while another superintendent was demoted to the rank of deputy superintendent.
Chairman of the Commission Parry B.O. Osayande enjoined the police to redouble their efforts towards the maintenance of law and order as the Commission is keenly monitoring their service delivery pattern to the nation and would not fail to sanction erring ones adequately said.
Assistant Inspector General Philemon I. Leha,the new DIG, replaces late Haruna John who died in a helicopter crash in Jos on March 14.
Also killed in the crash were the pilot, Assistant Commissioner Garba Yalwa, the co-pilot, Chief Superintendent Alexander Pwol-Ja and the late DIG’s orderly, Sergeant Sonatian Shirunam.
Chief Information Officer to the Commission Ferdinand Ekpei said in a statement that the promotion was based on the recommendations of Inspector General Mohammed D. Abubakar.
“The Eight AIGs are: Christopher T. Dega, Aliyu Musa, Bala Hassan, Mohammed J. Abubakar, Tambari Y. Mohammed, Ibrahim Abdu, Julius A. Ishola and Alex Emeka Okeke now AIG medical services.
He said the Commission also promoted 32 deputy commissioners to commissioners and91 assistant commissioners were made deputy commissioners. The promotions are with effect from the August 1, 2012.
The Commission has approved the promotion of a sergeant to assistant superintendent II with effect from July 7, 2010
He said the Commission approved various disciplinary measures against some senior officers ‘for acts unbecoming of superior police officers’ at the meetings.
A superintendent of police was dismissed; a chief superintendent was compulsorily retired while another superintendent was demoted to the rank of deputy superintendent.
Chairman of the Commission Parry B.O. Osayande enjoined the police to redouble their efforts towards the maintenance of law and order as the Commission is keenly monitoring their service delivery pattern to the nation and would not fail to sanction erring ones adequately said.
Subsidy Scam
Lagos — An Ikeja High Court yesterday refused to grant bail to one of the oil marketers, Oluwaseun Ogunbanbo who is being prosecuted alongside others on the ground of his previous criminal records even as others were admitted to bail.
Ogunbambo, who was charged with Habila Theck and Fargo Energy Limited for allegedly defrauding the Federal Government by illegally collecting N980 million Petroleum Support Fund, PSF, was ordered to be remanded in Ikoyi Prison pending the commencement of his trial.
Ogunbambo was docked on a six-count charge of conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence, forgery and use of false documentsto obtain N976, 653, 110. 98 from the Petroleum Support Fund.
Babajide Koku, SAN, who represented him had urged the court to grant bail to the accused on liberal terms, assuring that he would not jump bail or interfere with the trial.
Although, Ogunbambo’s counsel told the court that his client has never had a criminal case against him, the prosecution however told the court that the accused had always been jumping bail in all the cases filed against him, making it difficult to arraign him.
Prosecution counsel, Mr Rotimi Jacobs opposed the bail application on three grounds. According to him, Ogunbanbo was having a criminal allegation levelled against him by Stanbic IBTC Bank where he was said to have collected loans to the tune of N230million and N430million respectively with forged documents and had since jumped bail.
EFCC alleges accused has dual identities
The second ground was that he was sometimes arrested at Dublin Airport with cash, which he refused to declare to the authorities. He said the Ireland Embassy had already petitioned the EFCC over the matter and Ogunbambo’s two passports had been seized by the anti-graft agency but that he still has another passport with which he has been travelling outside the country.
The third ground he said was on his multiple identities.
According to the prosecution lawyer, “Ogunbambo changes name as he likes. This is a clear case from the past rulings by the court. The facts are unique. We have shown that the evidence against the accused are quite heavy and the charge a serious one. Heused different names. His name is just a wearing apparent, which he changes as he likes. If he is in the UK, he is Benson Adekunbo Oladapo Sobowale but in this case he claimed to be Oluwaseun Ogunbambo. Hejumped bail. We can’t find him and a defendant can’t be tried in absentia,” Jacobs told the court.
The prosecution, however, raised no objection to the bail application of the second defendant, Habila Theck, who he said had lived up to his undertaking with the EFCC.
Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo, in his ruling held that ordinarily he would not have refused him bail because it is a constitutional right and the offence is bailable.
He said the issue of dual identity cast huge question on the accused and therefore the bail application failed and is hereby refused.
Justice Onigbanjo however granted bail to the second defendant, Habila Thech in the sum of N20million and two sureties each in the like sum.
One of the sureties must be employed in the federal civil service on grade 14 and verified by the Head of Service. The second surety must be employed by Lagos State and possess property valued at N100million and must submit original title of the property to the court after verification by the Land Registry. The accused was also required to deposit his international passport with the EFCC while the accused must report every Monday of the month to the agency.
Court grants bail to Arisekola’s son
Meanwhile, another Ikeja High Curt judge, Justice Habeeb Abiru granted bail to AbdulahiAlao, son of Ibadan based business man, Alhaji Alao Arisekola in the sum of N100 million over his alleged involvement and his company, Axenergy oil in a N1.9 billion oil subsidy scam
Arisekola’s son was last week arraigned before Justice Habeeb Abiru, who refused to hear his bail application following an objection raised by Economic and Financial Crimes, EFCC’s counsel, Mr Rotimi Jacobs, who said he would file a counter affidavit on point of law.
The defence counsel, Babajide Koku, SAN, had argued that Alao never had any criminal record and should be presumed innocent until proven guilty by the court.
“We depose that he will not jump bail. He is afamily man. He will be available whenever required. He has a name to protect. Our prayer is that your lordship grant the first defendant bail on liberal terms.”
However, EFCC counsel, Rotimi Jacobs argued that the court should consider the fact that the amount involved in the case washigh and the judge should refuse the bail application.
In his ruling, Justice Abiru granted him bail inthe sum of N100 million with two sureties who must be residents and owners of landedproperty in Lagos.
Ogunbambo, who was charged with Habila Theck and Fargo Energy Limited for allegedly defrauding the Federal Government by illegally collecting N980 million Petroleum Support Fund, PSF, was ordered to be remanded in Ikoyi Prison pending the commencement of his trial.
Ogunbambo was docked on a six-count charge of conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence, forgery and use of false documentsto obtain N976, 653, 110. 98 from the Petroleum Support Fund.
Babajide Koku, SAN, who represented him had urged the court to grant bail to the accused on liberal terms, assuring that he would not jump bail or interfere with the trial.
Although, Ogunbambo’s counsel told the court that his client has never had a criminal case against him, the prosecution however told the court that the accused had always been jumping bail in all the cases filed against him, making it difficult to arraign him.
Prosecution counsel, Mr Rotimi Jacobs opposed the bail application on three grounds. According to him, Ogunbanbo was having a criminal allegation levelled against him by Stanbic IBTC Bank where he was said to have collected loans to the tune of N230million and N430million respectively with forged documents and had since jumped bail.
EFCC alleges accused has dual identities
The second ground was that he was sometimes arrested at Dublin Airport with cash, which he refused to declare to the authorities. He said the Ireland Embassy had already petitioned the EFCC over the matter and Ogunbambo’s two passports had been seized by the anti-graft agency but that he still has another passport with which he has been travelling outside the country.
The third ground he said was on his multiple identities.
According to the prosecution lawyer, “Ogunbambo changes name as he likes. This is a clear case from the past rulings by the court. The facts are unique. We have shown that the evidence against the accused are quite heavy and the charge a serious one. Heused different names. His name is just a wearing apparent, which he changes as he likes. If he is in the UK, he is Benson Adekunbo Oladapo Sobowale but in this case he claimed to be Oluwaseun Ogunbambo. Hejumped bail. We can’t find him and a defendant can’t be tried in absentia,” Jacobs told the court.
The prosecution, however, raised no objection to the bail application of the second defendant, Habila Theck, who he said had lived up to his undertaking with the EFCC.
Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo, in his ruling held that ordinarily he would not have refused him bail because it is a constitutional right and the offence is bailable.
He said the issue of dual identity cast huge question on the accused and therefore the bail application failed and is hereby refused.
Justice Onigbanjo however granted bail to the second defendant, Habila Thech in the sum of N20million and two sureties each in the like sum.
One of the sureties must be employed in the federal civil service on grade 14 and verified by the Head of Service. The second surety must be employed by Lagos State and possess property valued at N100million and must submit original title of the property to the court after verification by the Land Registry. The accused was also required to deposit his international passport with the EFCC while the accused must report every Monday of the month to the agency.
Court grants bail to Arisekola’s son
Meanwhile, another Ikeja High Curt judge, Justice Habeeb Abiru granted bail to AbdulahiAlao, son of Ibadan based business man, Alhaji Alao Arisekola in the sum of N100 million over his alleged involvement and his company, Axenergy oil in a N1.9 billion oil subsidy scam
Arisekola’s son was last week arraigned before Justice Habeeb Abiru, who refused to hear his bail application following an objection raised by Economic and Financial Crimes, EFCC’s counsel, Mr Rotimi Jacobs, who said he would file a counter affidavit on point of law.
The defence counsel, Babajide Koku, SAN, had argued that Alao never had any criminal record and should be presumed innocent until proven guilty by the court.
“We depose that he will not jump bail. He is afamily man. He will be available whenever required. He has a name to protect. Our prayer is that your lordship grant the first defendant bail on liberal terms.”
However, EFCC counsel, Rotimi Jacobs argued that the court should consider the fact that the amount involved in the case washigh and the judge should refuse the bail application.
In his ruling, Justice Abiru granted him bail inthe sum of N100 million with two sureties who must be residents and owners of landedproperty in Lagos.
Ice Prince, Brymo, Dencia’s Twitter Account Verified: Omotola,Don Jazzy, 2Face, P-Square, OthersLeft Out
Reports have it that Dencia and members of Choc Boys; Ice Prince, Brymo, Jesse Jagz excluding MI had their Twitter accounts verified. In view of this they have now joined the likes of Asa, D’Banj, Osaze Odemwinge, Genevieve Nnaji, Oluchi and Nneka who already have their twitter accounts verified.
Also, top stars like 2Face, P-Square, Don Jazzy, Omotola and many other Nigerian celebrities were left out in the twitter verification exercise. This has left many to question twitter ’s criteria for account verification of its users.
Findings revealed that a twitter account is verified when a user, who is a public figure isbeing subjected to activities of impostors, who create ‘fake’ accounts in the name of the original user. This causes problems faced by some celebs when some of their fans find it difficult to identify their true twitter accounts.
With respect to the above criteria, some havequestioned the rationale behind Dencia ’s twitter account being verified when top stars Omotola, 2Face, P-Square, Don Jazzy and others have not had their twitter accounts verified by social networking site.
Also, top stars like 2Face, P-Square, Don Jazzy, Omotola and many other Nigerian celebrities were left out in the twitter verification exercise. This has left many to question twitter ’s criteria for account verification of its users.
Findings revealed that a twitter account is verified when a user, who is a public figure isbeing subjected to activities of impostors, who create ‘fake’ accounts in the name of the original user. This causes problems faced by some celebs when some of their fans find it difficult to identify their true twitter accounts.
With respect to the above criteria, some havequestioned the rationale behind Dencia ’s twitter account being verified when top stars Omotola, 2Face, P-Square, Don Jazzy and others have not had their twitter accounts verified by social networking site.
Nigeria and South Africa
Act One: The Prophet and the Pariah, 1960–1993
The annus mirabilis of African independence in 1960 saw the birth of Nigeria amid great hopes that a political and economic giant could take its preordained place in the African sun. In the same year, South Africa was about to be expelled from the Commonwealth for the killing of 69 unarmed blacks in Sharpeville. South Africa’s foreign policy, like Nigeria’s, was paradoxically suffused with a missionary zeal. While Nigeria advocated economic development, apartheid’s leaders talked patronisingly about their country having special responsibilities to spread Western values north of the Limpopo. In the three decades that followed, both countries failed to achieve their leadership aspirations for very different reasons.
In the case of Nigeria, its attempts at seeking greater political influence in West Africa through economic means were frustrated by France, which encouraged francophone states to create rival trade blocs.
South Africa, by contrast, dominated the Southern African Customs Union and established, alongside Botswana, Swaziland, and Lesotho, the common market that eluded West Africa. But since South Africa was diplomatically isolated and forced to bear the brunt of international sanctions, Nigeria was the prophet, South Africa the pariah.
Nigeria attended meetings of the Frontline States of Southern Africa, chaired the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid, and hosted a UN antiapartheid conference.
After Nelson Mandela’s release from jail in 1990, he visited Nigeria to express his gratitude, and received a $10 million campaign contribution for the African National Congress. There were great expectations that these developments would mark the birth of a strong alliance between Africa’s two economic powerhouses.
Act Two: King Baabu and the Avuncular Saint, 1994–1998
These hopes were soon dashed by the unexpected souring of relations between Abuja and Tshwane (Pretoria). It is important to understand the two protagonists in the second act of this drama: General Sani Abacha and Nelson Mandela. In his 2002 play King Baabu , Nigerian Nobel literature laureate, Wole Soyinka, depicted Baabu as a brutish and corrupt general who exchanges his military attire for a monarchichal robe. The play is a thinly disguised satire of General Abacha’s debauched rule between 1993 and his death in 1998. In power, Abachawas ruthless and reclusive, but hardly as inept as the caricature depicted by Soyinka and Nigeria’s political opposition, who greatlyunderestimated him. Abacha proved to be a political survivor who understood how to control Nigeria’s army and buy off the country’s political class.
Nelson Mandela is the starkest contrast one can imagine to Abacha. An educated, middle-class lawyer and a cosmopolitan anglophile, this Nobel Peace laureate spent 27 years as apolitical prisoner and embodied his people’s aspirations for a democratic future. Under Abacha’s autocratic rule, it was Nigeria, and not South Africa, that was now facing mounting criticism over its human rights record. Having abandoned its apartheid past,South Africa was widely acknowledged to be the most likely political and economic success story in Africa. The nadir of relations between the countries was reached after the hanging by the Abacha regime of Nigerian environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight of his fellow Ogoni campaigners, duringthe Commonwealth summit in New Zealand in November 1995. Mandela believed he had received personal assurances from Abacha ofclemency for the ‘Ogoni nine’ Feeling deeply betrayed, he called for oil sanctions against Abacha’s regime and Nigeria’s expulsion from the Commonwealth. Even Mandela’s status, however, failed to rally regional support against Nigeria. It took a deus ex machina event – Abacha’s sudden death in 1998 – to transform this tale of the prophet and the pariah into a tale of two prophets.
Act Three: The Philosopher-King and the Soldier-Farmer, 1999–2008
Thabo Mbeki and Olusegun Obasanjo assumed the presidencies of their countries in 1999. Mbeki, a Sussex University-trained economist, often wrote his own speeches, fancied himself as a philosopherking who developed the idea of an ‘African Renaissance’, and was widely celebrated as the intellectual father of the New Partnershipfor Africa’s Development. Obasanjo, a career soldier and engineer, established one of Africa’s largest farms in his hometown of Ota upon retirement as military head of state in 1979, before returning as civilian leader 20 years later.
From his first-hand experience as head of theANC office in Lagos, Mbeki developed much respect for Nigeria’s sense of fierce independence. Both he and Obasanjo worked closely at managing African conflicts and promoting norms of democratic government through the African Union. Bilateral trade increased during this period, with Nigeria becoming South Africa’s largest trading partner in Africa, a relationship now worth $3.6 billion a year. Nigerians, however,complained of predatory behaviour by South African companies, accusing them of prodfiting from the Nigerian market – three times larger than South Africa’s – while refusing to open up their own.
There were also strains in bilateral relations which were addressed by eight binational commission meetings between 1999 and 2000. Annoyed at the di‡ culties experienced by Nigerians in obtaining visas to South Africa, Abuja imposed stricter visa requirements of its own on South Africans. Nigerian diplomats complained about reports of their compatriots as drug-traffickers and criminals in the South African press.
Act Four: The Era of the Khalifas,2209-2012
Khalifa is the term used in northern Nigeria for kings-in-waiting. Two such khalifas – both former deputy presidents – are now presidents of Nigeria and South Africa: Goodluck Jonathan and Jacob Zuma. Both have been accused of weak, indecisive leadership. After the election of Zuma as South Africa’s president in …††„, Tshwane co-operated closely with Angola, having identified it as its key strategic ally. This created tensions with Nigeria by appearing todowngrade the ‘special relationship’ between the two countries. The fact that South Africa isthe only African representative in the Group of 20 and BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) groupings has exacerbated this. There were further disagreements over differing approaches to tackling the conflicts in Côte d’Ivoire and Libya in 2011. During the post-election crisis in Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria adopted a belligerent stance towards LaurentGbagbo, who refused to stand down after losing elections. South Africa provocatively sent a warship to the Gulf of Guinea in Nigeria’s traditional West African sphere of influence.
Libya revived diplomatic rivalry. Though bothcountries voted in the UN Security Council to support the intervention, Nigeria became one of the first African countries to recognise the country’s National Transitional Council. South Africa delayed recognition of the NTC and accused Nato of abusing its mandate in Libya. These damaging disagreements together with the tit-for-tat deportations of each others citizens in March in a row over fake vaccination cards highlight the importance of Abuja and Tshwane re-establishing a common strategic approachif Africa’s voice is to carry weight on the global stage.
Encouragingly, the first meeting of the binational commission in four years took place in May, with both sides agreeing to relax visa requirements. They also agreed to strengthen African regional bodies in the areas of peace, democracy and development.Let’s hope, in the words of the Bard, that all’s well that ends well.
Dr Adekeye Adebajo is executive director of the Centre for Conflict Resolution, Cape Town, and author of The Curse of Berlin: Africa After the Cold War; and UN Peacekeeping in Africa.
The annus mirabilis of African independence in 1960 saw the birth of Nigeria amid great hopes that a political and economic giant could take its preordained place in the African sun. In the same year, South Africa was about to be expelled from the Commonwealth for the killing of 69 unarmed blacks in Sharpeville. South Africa’s foreign policy, like Nigeria’s, was paradoxically suffused with a missionary zeal. While Nigeria advocated economic development, apartheid’s leaders talked patronisingly about their country having special responsibilities to spread Western values north of the Limpopo. In the three decades that followed, both countries failed to achieve their leadership aspirations for very different reasons.
In the case of Nigeria, its attempts at seeking greater political influence in West Africa through economic means were frustrated by France, which encouraged francophone states to create rival trade blocs.
South Africa, by contrast, dominated the Southern African Customs Union and established, alongside Botswana, Swaziland, and Lesotho, the common market that eluded West Africa. But since South Africa was diplomatically isolated and forced to bear the brunt of international sanctions, Nigeria was the prophet, South Africa the pariah.
Nigeria attended meetings of the Frontline States of Southern Africa, chaired the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid, and hosted a UN antiapartheid conference.
After Nelson Mandela’s release from jail in 1990, he visited Nigeria to express his gratitude, and received a $10 million campaign contribution for the African National Congress. There were great expectations that these developments would mark the birth of a strong alliance between Africa’s two economic powerhouses.
Act Two: King Baabu and the Avuncular Saint, 1994–1998
These hopes were soon dashed by the unexpected souring of relations between Abuja and Tshwane (Pretoria). It is important to understand the two protagonists in the second act of this drama: General Sani Abacha and Nelson Mandela. In his 2002 play King Baabu , Nigerian Nobel literature laureate, Wole Soyinka, depicted Baabu as a brutish and corrupt general who exchanges his military attire for a monarchichal robe. The play is a thinly disguised satire of General Abacha’s debauched rule between 1993 and his death in 1998. In power, Abachawas ruthless and reclusive, but hardly as inept as the caricature depicted by Soyinka and Nigeria’s political opposition, who greatlyunderestimated him. Abacha proved to be a political survivor who understood how to control Nigeria’s army and buy off the country’s political class.
Nelson Mandela is the starkest contrast one can imagine to Abacha. An educated, middle-class lawyer and a cosmopolitan anglophile, this Nobel Peace laureate spent 27 years as apolitical prisoner and embodied his people’s aspirations for a democratic future. Under Abacha’s autocratic rule, it was Nigeria, and not South Africa, that was now facing mounting criticism over its human rights record. Having abandoned its apartheid past,South Africa was widely acknowledged to be the most likely political and economic success story in Africa. The nadir of relations between the countries was reached after the hanging by the Abacha regime of Nigerian environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight of his fellow Ogoni campaigners, duringthe Commonwealth summit in New Zealand in November 1995. Mandela believed he had received personal assurances from Abacha ofclemency for the ‘Ogoni nine’ Feeling deeply betrayed, he called for oil sanctions against Abacha’s regime and Nigeria’s expulsion from the Commonwealth. Even Mandela’s status, however, failed to rally regional support against Nigeria. It took a deus ex machina event – Abacha’s sudden death in 1998 – to transform this tale of the prophet and the pariah into a tale of two prophets.
Act Three: The Philosopher-King and the Soldier-Farmer, 1999–2008
Thabo Mbeki and Olusegun Obasanjo assumed the presidencies of their countries in 1999. Mbeki, a Sussex University-trained economist, often wrote his own speeches, fancied himself as a philosopherking who developed the idea of an ‘African Renaissance’, and was widely celebrated as the intellectual father of the New Partnershipfor Africa’s Development. Obasanjo, a career soldier and engineer, established one of Africa’s largest farms in his hometown of Ota upon retirement as military head of state in 1979, before returning as civilian leader 20 years later.
From his first-hand experience as head of theANC office in Lagos, Mbeki developed much respect for Nigeria’s sense of fierce independence. Both he and Obasanjo worked closely at managing African conflicts and promoting norms of democratic government through the African Union. Bilateral trade increased during this period, with Nigeria becoming South Africa’s largest trading partner in Africa, a relationship now worth $3.6 billion a year. Nigerians, however,complained of predatory behaviour by South African companies, accusing them of prodfiting from the Nigerian market – three times larger than South Africa’s – while refusing to open up their own.
There were also strains in bilateral relations which were addressed by eight binational commission meetings between 1999 and 2000. Annoyed at the di‡ culties experienced by Nigerians in obtaining visas to South Africa, Abuja imposed stricter visa requirements of its own on South Africans. Nigerian diplomats complained about reports of their compatriots as drug-traffickers and criminals in the South African press.
Act Four: The Era of the Khalifas,2209-2012
Khalifa is the term used in northern Nigeria for kings-in-waiting. Two such khalifas – both former deputy presidents – are now presidents of Nigeria and South Africa: Goodluck Jonathan and Jacob Zuma. Both have been accused of weak, indecisive leadership. After the election of Zuma as South Africa’s president in …††„, Tshwane co-operated closely with Angola, having identified it as its key strategic ally. This created tensions with Nigeria by appearing todowngrade the ‘special relationship’ between the two countries. The fact that South Africa isthe only African representative in the Group of 20 and BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) groupings has exacerbated this. There were further disagreements over differing approaches to tackling the conflicts in Côte d’Ivoire and Libya in 2011. During the post-election crisis in Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria adopted a belligerent stance towards LaurentGbagbo, who refused to stand down after losing elections. South Africa provocatively sent a warship to the Gulf of Guinea in Nigeria’s traditional West African sphere of influence.
Libya revived diplomatic rivalry. Though bothcountries voted in the UN Security Council to support the intervention, Nigeria became one of the first African countries to recognise the country’s National Transitional Council. South Africa delayed recognition of the NTC and accused Nato of abusing its mandate in Libya. These damaging disagreements together with the tit-for-tat deportations of each others citizens in March in a row over fake vaccination cards highlight the importance of Abuja and Tshwane re-establishing a common strategic approachif Africa’s voice is to carry weight on the global stage.
Encouragingly, the first meeting of the binational commission in four years took place in May, with both sides agreeing to relax visa requirements. They also agreed to strengthen African regional bodies in the areas of peace, democracy and development.Let’s hope, in the words of the Bard, that all’s well that ends well.
Dr Adekeye Adebajo is executive director of the Centre for Conflict Resolution, Cape Town, and author of The Curse of Berlin: Africa After the Cold War; and UN Peacekeeping in Africa.
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