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Dejo Richards the ex-husband of popular Nollywood star actress, Monalisa Chinda has re-married. The former boss of Questionmark got married to Olayemi Omolade Olayinka at the Ikoyi Registry. The couple, family members and well wishers later moved to Ikeja for the reception and engagement ceremonies.
Yemi, as the new bride is popularly known as Mimi and she works in as a marketing executive in the United States of America. She is also a cousin of Ayo Animashaun of ceo, Hip Hop World Awards.
Sources disclosed that the ceremony was planned to be low key but people came in large numbers to be part of the ceremony.Entertainers such as K1 the Ultimate (King Wasiu Ayinde), Kween and others were at the ceremony. Yemi, the new step mother of Monalisa’s daughter for Dejo Richards is said to be very cool. Dejo Richards and Yemi met about eight months ago and today they are married.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
On 25th of January 2011, I came across a Press Release on Page 27 of the Monday, January 24 2011 edition of THISDAY Newspaper. The advert was from the Committee of Chief Compliance Officers of Banks in Nigeria (CCCOBIN) titled UPDATE OF BANK ACCOUNT INFORMATION.
The Press Release was in apparent support of the Central Bank of Nigeria Directive directing all bank customers to update their bank accounts’ information on or before January 31, 2011 without failure. The CCCOBIN urged all Nigerians to support the exercise, warning that “the CBN has directed that operations on the accounts of customers who fail to update their information would be suspendedâ€.
I went to to the website of CCCOBIN as given on the Press Release www.cccobin.org and tried to get a contact detail for them in order to register my protest at the lack of consideration given to the millions of Nigerians who live outside Nigeria and who have accounts with banks in Nigeria. The email address given in the website is info@cccobin.org.ng , so I sent my protest to this address. Wonders of wonders, the email bounced back. I had urged over 2000 people on my Contact list to register their protest to this email address, and many of then responded to tell me their messages bounced back undeliverable.
When are we ever going to learn to do things the way they should be done, for crying out loud?
How can we get the CBN and Governor Lamido Sanusi, who has just been conferred, and deservedly too, the Man of the Year Award in Nigeria for 2010, to listen to Nigerians abroad, and review this directive to at least ease the concerns of these set of Nigerians?
Below is my message sent to CCCOBIN and just a few of the many responses I received.
Sirs
I have no exception to your support for the CBN Directive regarding the update on bank information of their customer. In fact I applaud this directive.
However, the CBN, and with your support have fallen victim of the so called “Nigerian Factor”, the usual “fire-brigade approach” to very serious matters, and a deficiency of thoughtfulness and lack of concern for the society at large.
It does not matter that the date for the update has been extended to 31 January 2011, but the fact that in proposing this exercise, careful thought has not been considered for the millions of Nigerians living outside the country and who have at one time or the other opened all kinds of accounts in all the banks operating in Nigeria. And this even includes those with Domiciliary Accounts with foreign currency in them.
Obviously, the Central Bank of Nigeria has not thought of the inconvenience and impracticality that this will cause to these millions of Nigerians. Throughout this exercise, not once have I heard or read of the CBN’s consideration for these set of Nigerians
Is the CBN and yourselves saying that these millions of Nigerians should come to Nigeria simply and only because of updating their account details with their banks, while spending hundreds of dollars, pounds, etc. just to come and participate in this exercise, so that they will be able to operate their accounts?
Are you now saying that failure of these Nigerians to come to Nigeria to update their accounts will result in the suspension of their accounts with considerable sums of Naira in such accounts?
If this is so, all the banks in Nigeria will have a fight on their hands as you cannot legally bar these Nigerians from operating their accounts.
I submit that whenever such matters of national interest are considered, due consideration MUST be given to the millions of Nigerians, who are living abroad and still have a stake in the well-being, economic development and socio-political issues of this country.
Nigerians are not living in isolation. Nigerians are no longer confined within the boundaries of the entity called Nigeria – we must have a voice.
Nigerians living outside the country have not voting rights; and the CBN wants to deny us access to the millions, if not billions of money we despatch home everyday.
I would therefore call on the Central Bank of Nigeria and you, the Committee of Chief Compliance Officers of Banks in Nigeria (CCCOBIN) to do a rethink on this issue and come up with a satisfactory solution to this problem. Nothing is written in stone and we do not have to re-invent the wheel. This exercise could have been thought of and implemented in an entirely different manner that will eliminate concerns and inconvenience not only to those Nigerians in Nigeria, but also to those scattered all over the world.
This message has been Bcc’d to over 2000 contacts who will perhaps be getting in touch with you to protest
Akintokunbo A Adejumo Ibadan, Nigeria
Responses from Concerned Nigerians, Home and Abroad.
Sirs I am in support of this memo 110%. Please let me know what others in Diaspora want to do, if consideration is not given to us. If not for committed citizens like you, most of us are not even aware of such exercise. Thanks for your commitment to make Nigeria a better country to call home.
Mojisola Ogunsina Odegbami United States of America
Good cause, valid points. For those of us living in Nigeria, it has not been bed of roses either. You can hear of Banks telling us that the address on NEPA bill is not in tandem with the address quoted on the form or that ONLY driving license, National Passport or National I.D is recognized for this exercise. Must all of us know how to drive, carry a national passport with all its attendant hiccup at securing or a National ID exercise that was not concluded and making millions of us not possessing the card?. I am still waiting for my account to be suspended and you can be sure that a lot of litigations will have to follow.
I just hope that sense of reason will prevail and things will be done normally.
BABALOLA, A.O. Lagos, Nigeria
Thanks Brother. That’s why NEPA, NITEL, WATER WORKS or so are NOT working. I support CBN but they must give Nigerians living abroad time to get complete the exercise. CBN, Please, Consider us and give us more time. Announce it on CNN, SKY, Fox News and other suitable networks to reach millions of Nigerians. Regards. Emiola Odewumi. United Kingdom
Dear Sir/Ma, I consider the CBN directive (account updates) an ill advised policy especially for us living overseas. How could you/CBN give a deadline, when most of Nigerians in Diaspora have not even hear about the on going process. I do not hesitate in asking you/CBN to come up with proper arrangements that will take into account those of us living overseas or maintain the status quo for us in Diaspora. Chinedu Vincent Akuta Leicester-UK
Hello Mr Adejumo Thanks for this very important message which you have sent to these people Do you think they don’t know what they are doing? In actual fact, they know quite vividly that Nigerians who live abroad account for the biggest percentage of savings/investments in Nigeria. The investments have been rising from one year to the next for the past decade or two. It is quite obvious they are very much up to a trick! That indeed is my opinion. If they are not, tell me what they may do with billions of hard earned money of Nigerian who live and work abroad after the deadline of 31st January. Quite rightly, you have made it clear to them that this set of people will not just keep quiet and watch them take away what is not theirs. Even if people want to travel out to Nigeria for this reason, the timing may be another factor. In my case, I may not be able to take time off work until after June. Are they saying I will forfeit my money? They surely need to think again. Best wishes, Mr Adejumo Ade Arogundade London, UK
This is very thoughtful of you on behalf of Nigerians in Diaspora. In the very essence every body has at one time or the other provided these banks resident addresses overseas and the know this. Nigeria thinking is always very short-sighted and I wonder if Nigerians in Diaspora are no longer Nigerians? Last year Nigeria in Diaspora remitted legitimate over USD10B. Does this not make them think how to maximise the potential of this group of people when the reverse is the case for those inside the country?
To even think of it the banks have not written anybody in this regard instead one have to contact them for situation update as if their service is a privilege.
Thank you very much
Andy Egbase Calgary, Canada
Sirs,
To add to what Mr. Adejumo has written here. Some of us in diaspora have been trying to get in touch with our various banks for more information on the on-going exercise. All to no avail, this so saddening, and so discouraging when we contribute so much to the Nation’s economy. Kindly help us look into this, as this is a serious cause for concern.
Omobonike Adejumo London, UK
Kudos. In fact when I opened my accounts, one in 2003/4, a couple of others in 2006/7, these Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements were in place (definitely 2006/7) and I complied with them at the time. Why do we have to go through this process again? I really struggle to see the reason for this messing about!!! ‘Femi Okutubo Publisher The Trumpet Newspaper, UK
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
In the memory of many Igbo people of Nigeria, late Celestine Ukwu is a paragon of wisdom. He is a true philosopher who is in-depth in analyzing the social world.
His musical ingenuity is a fruit of deep reflection on mankind in general. His creativity is emblematic for the entire spectrum of Igbo music industry, past present and future.
He is a musician with a profound originality. Although died and gone, his legendary works linger on in the socio-cultural life of the Igbo people.
Music no doubt has a universal language. The rhythmic poetical flow of music is enjoyed by all people irrespective of culture or language. The content or the expression anchored in a piece of music obviously tells how an individual person or a group of people perceives and interprets the world. Music therefore is a passionate expression of reality in philosophies. Musicians are also known as poets who are also known as thinkers and philosophers. In music, a subjective attempt is made to recreate the objective reality. Therefore music is all about a passionate expressions of life, birth, death, love, pain, injustice, happiness, rejection, oppression, politics, religion, ethics, fear, anxiety, sickness, poverty, richness etcetera.
The Igbo culture is among the cultures in the world that expresses its worldview in music. Sometimes, decoding the meaning of musical expression is like decoding coded lines of poetries. At other times, the meaning enshrined in a piece of music stands very intelligible. In the case of Celestine Ukwu, one sees a true born philosopher. He is a conscientious reflector on things. As a talented musician, he is a social observer. In his music—‘Ije Enu’, he was meticulous in reflecting about social event not only relevant in his days but also for the futuristic time.
‘Ije Enu’ in the nearest English philosophical equivalent (not necessarily literarily) means ‘the journey’. But by the way of expansion of meaning, it could also apply to the ‘life’s journey’’ or ‘the earthly life’. In a more comprehensive analysis, it could mean the pendulum of human existence, the enigma of life or the dilemma of life’s journey. In this piece of music, Ukwu made a quick philosophical polarization of two worlds that exists in one single world as he perceived—pain and happiness. These two are intrinsic in human experience. The analysis of the implication of this particular music stands very relevant in the evolution of the human existence and experience. No human is immunized to the idea happiness and pain which the pursuit and the avoidance often dictates actions according to the hedonists. In Celestine Ukwu’s point of view, the world is dualized in human experiences. On the one hand is a misery-stricken humans; on the other hand, the affluent. The earth is replete with terrible inequality that while a great many are rejoicing other as in bitter agonies. While some are rich, others are poor. While some are full, some are hungry. While some are educated, others are illiterate. The gap between the haves and the have-nots is endemic.
Celestine Ukwu in that iconic piece of music also understood the fact of the contingency of the human existence. Nothing is permanent. Change is a fact of universal experience. Those who have it today often presume the world is at a standstill. But often times things would sway and they find themselves at the needy edge. While those who started from the scratch might eventually see themselves at the apex of the ladder rejoicing. Human existence is permeated with inconsistencies that none could claim a stern permanency.
Due to this undulating and corrugated flow of things, it is worth remembering that those who laugh today might see themselves weeping tomorrow and those who cry today might find themselves cheery tomorrow. This philosophical approach ought to be the deciding principle of how we humans live and treat one another. No human being is the master of all things. One might be rich in one thing but lacking in several others. Everywhere around us, we have seen star celebrities fallen from grace to grass. We have seen rich people reduced to paucity. We have witnessed great nations loosing their world dominance. A case in mind is Egypt and ancient Roman Empire and also the British imperial Empire. We have also seen some countries struggling out of historical poverty to a new dawn of techno-scientific and industrial era like China and India.
Going forward to analyze the philosophy behind Celestine Ukwu’s ‘Ije Enu’, human arrogance and pomposity has little or no longevity in a constantly evolving universe. He made it clear that: ‘Oburo k’ anyi si chee ka ife uwa si adi’—the world does not always function according to our wish. So in whichever position one finds oneself, it should not be a criterion for self aggrandizement and the tyrannical maltreatment of the others. In the same respect, those who are down today should not all be weepy because change could happen at any moment.
In the music, Ukwu’s philosophical advice stands out: every human should approach life with humility irrespective of wherever life puts them down. This is because both our ingress into and egress out of the world’s dais is full of uncertainties.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has expressed a very deep concern over the high level of inflation caused by government spending in the build up to the 2011 general elections, will inflict on the economy.
However, in the interest of the overall well being of the economy, the apex bank has come out with pre emptive monetary policy measures aimed at controlling the inflationary monster.
Governor of the CBN, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, briefing the media after the maiden edition of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting for 2011, stated that the committee noted that the risk of inflation was on the upward side as a result of the liquidity injections from the likely increase in government spending in the run up to the 2011 general election in the country, purchases in the Asset Management Company of Nigeria, rising global energy and food prices and the expected pass through to the domestic economy.
The apex bank, noting that the existing subsidy regime on petroleum products was not sustainable in view if the current government finances, stated that inflation remained a major concern that could not be ignored in short to medium term.
Mallam Sanusi disclosed that the committee noted the inability of the apex bank to record a single digit level of inflation and had thus emphasised the imperative of addressing both the supply and the demand side factors that determine inflation dynamics in Nigeria.
“One of the ways to keep aggregate demand in check is to restrain debt-financed government spending in the medium term. This calls for a review of subsidies and other recurrent expenditure categories that constitute a drain on the national budget as well as improving the revenue base » the apex bank boss disclosed.
Meanwhile, against the backdrop of clamour against government borrowing, the Debt Management Organisation, (DMO) has disclosed that the country cannot do without borrowing, stressing that borrowing is imperative for any economy worth its salt.
Also the DMO has put the external debt portfolio of Nigeria at US$4.78 billion as at December 2010.
In an interactive session with the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria(FICAN) in Abuja, the Director General of DMO, Dr Abraham Nwankwo said that the multilateral debts(mostly soft loans) constitute the bulk (92.45%) of the external debt stock.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
With the increasing number of bank customers using Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), there are possibilities of printing the card in Nigeria. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi said printers of security documents such as ATM cards, plastic money and other items have chances of tapping into the huge market, provided they meet up with internationally recognised standard in the industry. But he said it was a long term project that operators in that sector should prepare themselves to tap into.
“I think in the long term, it is possible to produce ATM cards in Nigeria once there is established client security and quality around what is produced. I think local operators should be able to print Nigeria passports, vehicle papers, ATM cards, ballot papers, national identity cards, vehicle registration licences and even plastic money,” he said.
ATM cards are at present supplied to the Nigerian markets by InterSwitch and ValuCard. Sanusi, who spoke during the inauguration of SuperFlux International Limited ultra-modern factory in Lagos, said such printing job is a business that relies a lot on integrity, quality and trust. But once people are satisfied that there is security around the production process, and there is continuity in the business process, they will become interested in engaging the services of such firms.
SuperFlux is a high level printing firm that handles printing jobs for commercial banks.
Talabi said the company started the cheque book services at a time when the service gap was very wide in terms of delivery and integrity. Today, those efforts have not only led to reduction of fraud and assured delivery but also a structured and well administered standards and accreditation process.
Perhaps the largest security printing factory in Nigeria, the new ultra-modern factory by Super Flux Limited is yet another benefit of the Bankers’ Committee’s ongoing efforts at rejuvenating the economy. Specifically, the factory was partly financed under the CBN-BOI project refinancing scheme accessed by Super Flux through its relationship with Access Bank.
Tokunbo Talabi, the President and Chairman of Super Flux Group, reiterated his organisation’s vision, saying “At Super Flux we want to be the leading facilitator and backbone for secure transaction, documentation, processing and communication, guaranteeing world-class process integrity.”
He said the Management of the Bank of Industry (BoI) for its partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on rejuvenation of the economy. He said partnership of this nature is the catalyst that required for the much needed economic revival in Nigeria.
Sanusi commended the management of Super Flux Group for effective utilisation of the opportunity presented by the CBN-BOI intervention packages and urged the company to remain committed to standards and quality. He also used the occasion to call on other entrepreneurs to emulate Super Flux Group by taking advantage of the Bankers Committee economic development packages.
He said that no country can develop by selling primary products and that’s why the apex bank is supporting local firms in Nigeria in their drive to move from primary production to manufacturing. “The Central Bank of Nigeria is committed to supporting large scale manufacturing. We need to subsidise and support real sector operations in the country. We equally need to move from primary products to manufacturing,” he said.
He said the company is one of the nearly 400 companies that have benefitted from the CBN support of the real sector. “Throughout the country, we have about 400 companies that have benefitted from the CBN support. Some of them were at the verge of closing down, some were operating below capacity, while others had already shut down before we intervened. And these have all been revived by providing low cost long term funding for them,” he said.
Sanusi said those revived companies have created enormous jobs and insisted that every worker that is employed will automatically change aggregate demand and by extension, lead to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth. This explains the needfulness of building a viable economy, he said. He explained that in economic of scale, one will discover that the amount of capital put in, gets the entrepreneur much, much further than if he is just doing primary production.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), on Tuesday, denied the allegation, which was credited to Amnesty International and Friends of the Earth International, that it was not environmentally friendly, insisting that since 1996 it had been reporting its oil spill data across the Niger Delta region.
The company, while reacting to the case which comes up today before the Dutch parliament in a joint complaint filed against Shell by Friends of the Earth International, Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands) and Amnesty International for almost all oil leaks in the Niger Delta, maintained that those spill were due to sabotage.
The Media Relations Manager of Shell Companies in Nigeria (SciN), Mr. Precious Okolobo, stated that the company had never hidden its oil spill over the years, as every oil spill had been independently investigated by a joint inspection team comprising SPDC, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and members of the community.
The complaint, which was filed with the Dutch National Contact Point to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Tuesday, January 25, questioned Shell’s operations, disclosed that the company’s activities in the Niger Delta were characterised with non-transparent, inconsistent and misleading figures.
While stressing that Shell’s activities had peddled on the causes of oil leaks in Nigeria, both the Friends of the Earth Netherlands and Amnesty International pointed out that during the public hearing, which would hold in The Hague, the parliamentarians would also hear about the environmental and social impacts of Shell’s operations from scientists and other experts.
But Shell’s spokesman, in a statement, said: ““Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has reported oil spill data since 1996. A degree of transparency unmatched by any other operator in Nigeria. We have stepped up the level of transparency this year with weekly updates of oil spill status that includes publishing Joint Investigation Visit reports and photographic evidence.
“Every oil spill is independently investigated by a joint inspection team comprising SPDC, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and community members whose scope includes the cause and volume.
“The discrepancy between the originally reported figure for 2008 and the updated one was explained at length in our reporting exercise in early 2009 involving publication of the facts in briefing notes and on the web.
“We also deliberately drew attention to the change in face-to-face meetings with a number of interested organisations including AI and FOE at the time to ensure transparency. The spill in question was 44,000 barrels.
“It was not included originally because it had not been certified in time by the independent joint inspection team. This is normal practice and every year there are a number of spills where the investigation process has not been completed by the reporting deadline and adjustments have to be made later.
“Where they are significant we ensure that we draw attention to them as we did in this case.
More than 70 per cent by volume and number of incidents over the past five years is due to sabotage, including militant action and oil theft. As per Peter’s letter, the term “sabotage†encompasses all these categories.
“This figure was 98 per cent for 2009. We stand by these figures and publish them annually because we can back them up if necessary,†Okolobo added.
Environmental Rights Action (ERA) had also accused Shell of not present the entire truth bof its oil spill in the Nigeria Delta, noting that a three-year investigation conducted by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) funded with $9.5million provided by Shell had concluded that only 10 per cent of the pollution in Ogoniland was caused by equipment failures and Shell’s negligence and that the rest was caused by local people stealing oil and sabotaging pipelines.
The UNEP report, which relied heavily on data from Shell, was leaked to international media last year by Mike Cowing, head of a UNEP team that carried out the investigation.
The Executive Director of ERA, Mr. Nnimmo Bassey, who is also chair of Friends of the Earth International, said: “Shell can no longer continue this sanctimonious charade which relies on its own cooked up data. It should take full responsibility for the pollution of the Niger Delta and embark on thorough clean up of the environment. It must also stop gas flaring which not only fouls our air with a toxic cocktail but is also an economic drain.â€
Shell has been operating in Nigeria for more than five decades, while the ERA, which is the Nigerian chapter of Friends of the Earth International and Milieudefensie, has been consistent in identifying and criticising the company’s unending pollution of the environment in the Niger Delta and failure to stop flaring gas, which has been prohibited by Nigerian law since 1984.
Shell’s activities are also linked to the incessant strife in the Niger Delta region.
Geert Ritsema, who will speak on behalf of Friends of the Earth Netherlands/International, said: “The pressure on Shell to clean up its mess in Nigeria is increasing by the day. Last year, the company was removed from the Dow Jones Sustainability Index due to pollution in the Niger Delta, and recently Wikileaks showed that Shell uses political influence in Nigeria to manipulate the situation in the country. We call on Dutch politicians to make a point of Shell’s responsibility for the problems the company causes in Nigeria.â€
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
The two groups said in an e-mailed report today that they filed an official complaint with the U.K. and Dutch governments against Shell over breaches of basic standards for responsible business set out by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Shell denied the allegation.
The oil producer uses figures that purport to show that as many as 98 percent of oil spills in the Niger Delta are caused by sabotage, Amnesty and Friends of the Earth said. Under Nigerian law, when spills are classified as being the result of sabotage, Shell has no liability, they said. Nigeria is the largest oil producing nation in Africa.
“Shell’s figures are totally lacking in credibility,†said Audrey Gaughran, Amnesty’s director of global issues. “The oil spill investigation system is totally lacking in independence.â€
Every oil spill is independently investigated by a joint inspection team representing the company and government officials along with local community members, Shell said today by e-mail. The 98 percent figure was reported for the spills in 2009 and “we stand by these figures and publish them annually because we can back them up if necessary,†the company said.
In the past five years, less than 30 percent of spills at Shell’s joint venture in Nigeria have been due to corrosion, human error and equipment failure, the company says on its website. “The majority have been caused by sabotage or theft.â€
Assessment of damage from crude spills in part of the Niger River delta was being hindered by “angry mobs,†Mike Cowing, an official of the United Nations Environment Program, said in August. Shell’s Nigerian unit was funding the study, he said at the time.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS operators in Nigeria have registered 11 million SIM cards, the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) has announced.
The Nigerian government as part of efforts to enhance security of lives and property ordered telcom operators to register SIM cards of their subscribers.
Telecom experts however stated that the number of registered SIM cards is still a far cry from the number of connected lines in the country.
The number of connected lines in Nigeria is currently put at 110 million with 80 million active subscribers and a teledensity of 53 per cent.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah however said that the commission will in the next few months, enter into a contract with KPMG to commence the full registration of all subscribers, having secured National Assembly approval of the commission’s 2010 budget.
There was widespread condemnation of the NCC’s involvement in the exercise which led to long delays in passing the agency’s 2010 budget- where over N6 billion was earmarked for the registration.
Juwah however ruled out compensation for network operators who had spent their resources registering the 11 million subscribers so far, saying “compensation was not part of the agreement they reached with the NCC and Federal Government.â€
The NCC boss also used the occasion to announce that number portability will by May this year be implemented in the country.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
MINISTER of State for Education, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is a leading personality in the Delta Chapter of the party.
He has been a keen participant in the affairs of the party and is now playing a leading role in efforts at building bridges between the major tendencies in the State.
In an interview with newsmen he articulates the challenges facing the party in the State, argues that something must give way for a lasting peace to come to the State chapter of the party and proffers lasting measures to strengthen the party in the State. Excerpts:
The problem with Delta PDP As you will agree with me, the election that is coming up in April, the PDP is synonymous with Nigeria, it is either you accept PDP or you accept that Nigeria is finished. Nigeria is PDP, PDP is Nigeria as it is today, we don’t know about tomorrow. So that extent, it will not be wise for us to go public with our strategy, but I said prior to the January 6 re_run, I would bring leaders of the party in the state to a roundtable. Delta state is predominantly a PDP state and we cannot hide away from that fact.
They are aggrieved persons in the state that are members of the PDP and such aggrieved persons will be reached out to, we will find out a way forward, it is not a winner takes all situation, we must as a people work together. A governor’s life span in office is at most eight years, what you do after eight years, we have seen a situation where a governor had come and after eight years, he is neither a friend nor a visitor.
So we cannot continue in that rancor and my own position, as investor in this part of the world, is that this rancor, do not take us anywhere. We are the losers for it, we have lost a lot, this state is like a ramshackle state, because of this rancor, people are playing to the gallery, people are enjoying the divide and rule situation and it is about time we put an end to it and run the state properly.
Uduaghan is not the issue Governor Uduaghan is not the issue in Delta PDP, the party is bigger than every member, you saw what happened to the national chairman of PDP, Chief Okwesileze Nwodo, not too long ago.
I mean before that day, the man was sure that he was the chairman but the party took a decision and in the interest of the party, we acted. So, that will come to Delta, don’t worry.
A flag bearer of the party today may not be the flag bearer tomorrow, which is PDP for you, the dynamics of PDP are very unique, and we take the best decision at the best time. Uduaghan has the ticket today as the flag bearer, so be it, but what I am saying is that PDP is sacrosanct, PDP is above me, I may have personal interest, anybody may have his own interest, but PDP interest will suppress that of any other person.
PDP is charge of Delta The result of the last election in the state showed that PDP won the election. Whatever your perception is your perception, but, in the state today, there is a governor and that governor is a PDP governor, which means he won the election. So, until it is proved to the contrary, PDP won the election.
Parallel PDP For your information, your tongue and your mouth do quarrel. I am sure at your age, you must have bit your tongue over 10,000 times but it is still your tongue and it is still there, so we will resolve our issues beyond your expectations.
Clark deserves respect In a situation such as the one we find ourselves, something must give way; it is either the people want to respect leadership, the truth is that respect begets respect, both parties must respect themselves, the most senior Deltan today in politics is Chief Edwin Clark and we must give to him what is due him and we move forward from there.
Chief Clark has a perception and he is our father, he is the leader of the party, by age_ that is the first and living Minister of the Federal Republic, incidentally, from this state. His counterparts in other states of the country, some of them can no longer talk, but, they are still leaders and highly respected. I have asked the governor once, what does Chief Clark need any more in life? Look, it is a life of give and take. The state is not a personal property of Uduaghan, Clark or Kenneth Gbagi, it belongs to all of us equally.
I don’t believe Uduaghan called for my sack Nigeria is a state of many parts, you hear something, if you take them too strong to your heart at times _ you will get a bit confused. It is interesting to note that the news as to the Governor’s Forum pointed at Governor Uduaghan as having requested the forum that Orubebe and myself be sacked, not even redeployed, while the news was not yet published, as I was boarding the plane to Lagos, Uduaghan had phoned me, saying he just heard rumours that he said Orubebe and myself should be fired and such discussion came up at the Governor’s Forum.
And actually that there was nothing like that and such a thing could not have come from him. In any case, I want to give credence to what Uduaghan had said to me, because he would be a mad man to actually to take such route. So having said to me that he did not say so and that some people were trying to set him up from the media point of view, I believe that it is only a mad man that will take such route and in any way, the Governors’ Forum does not control Mr. President, I work for Mr. President and I want to leave it at that.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
THE usual predatory political elite mock him, claiming that he is too rigid and fixated to certain moral categories and therefore unamenable to the free bargain of politics or the “scratch my back, I scratch yours†that has dragged our public affairs to the pit.
According to them, General Buhari with his Spartan and incorrigible orientation would not permit the massive returns of investments in securing public office and therefore would render politics unprofitable for “rational†investment.
To them, General Buhari would turn them in one single swoop into Spartan, disciplined and austere lots, with no designer cars, perfumes, wines and massive houses scattered all over the world.
For the ‘honourable’ members and their “distinguished†colleagues, Buhari presidency would mean no “Ghana-must-go†sack will accompany every piece of government legislation and the trumpeted “over-sight functions†of the executive, will not be a little disguised extortion and arm-twisting. For professional lobbyists for ministerial appointments and other assorted appointments, they will not have profitable returns it now enjoys because to be minister or special adviser under General Buhari will no longer bring returns on the massive scale.
Why are the Nigeria political elite dead scared about the General Buhari presidency? Strangely they have harried their dead scare of the Buhari presidency to the ordinary Nigerian who would admit that none of the hordes of presidential pretenders, especially in the ruling PDP could match General Buhari’s integrity and proven competence, yet in the same breath claims that it is not likely that General Buhari would become president.
Prodded on as to the annoying caveat,the average Nigerian retorts that the “powers that be would not allow him, no matter how Nigerians vote. Yours sincerely, only refrain to this seemingly mystification of the so-called invisible elite and the powers that be is, vote General Buhari and let’s see who will stop himâ€. The Buhari campaign organisation and all those who appreciate the need to rescue the fatally wounded Nigerian project is to mount a proactive campaign to rescue the ordinary Nigerian from the myth that an ‘invisible’ ‘elite’ would stop the general, should Nigerians freely elect him.
Today, Nigeria is a paradigm of entrenched corruption, wasted opportunities and easily the most mocked nation on earth. Yet, the majority of Nigerians stand idly while the clique of political predators and their contractor-cum-business allies that passes off as entrepreneurs, continues to vandalize our common patrimony, as they sedate us to slumber with their unique political lexicon that mocks virtue and integrity and glamorizes theft and felonies.
Interestingly, the same clique that mocks General Buhari’s integrity and competence as non-tradable political goods, would ooze crocodile tears, should the General fall, claiming that Nigeria has missed the best president it deserves as they did to Chief Obafemi Awolowo, whom they branded the best president Nigeria never had, even when they worked tirelessly to stop him.
Truly, the trajectory of Nigeria’s contemporary history would have been different had Chief Awolowo mounted the saddle. Like General Buhari, Chief Awolowo craved to lead Nigeria, because he has a plan but each time in the past, the country would fell to the reluctant persons who have goodluck and patience as it is today.
Chief Awolowo was diligent, methodical and have clear plan of the direction he wanted to take Nigeria. He identified those critical and very strategic items that could give the country a credible and sustainable jump-start; education and health. These two items are the most solid instrument to create the enabling skilled manpower, which is at the core of the human resources component for any meaningful and sustainable development.
The Mahathier Mohommeds of Malaysia, even highly revered Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, Mr. Suharto of Indonesia, all leveraged outstanding development in their respective countries because of enormous investment and focus on this important foundational requirement. Chief Awolowo was very clear and persistent on the criteria, but was obstructed. In our time, the Nigerian project most mortal danger is the grip of a monstrous canker worm called corruption.
Only a man, who is tested and found to be above fray, is capable of confronting the monster. Even the mortal enemies of General Buhari admit that no living Nigerian or even dead ones have attained the high offices, which the elites shamelessly call “plumb offices†and came out with an astounding record of decency as the General. That is why, for lack of any tangible thing to taint him, the political elites and their media hangers-on claimed that he is a religious fundamentalist and ethnic bigot. How, someone who is a religious fundamentalist could serve and reach the pinnacle of a secular and Western-modeled military is a question that this unintelligent theory cannot explain.
And more so, having served as head of state, which policy decision did he initiate to compromise Nigeria’s secularism to buttress the allegation of religious fundamentalism.
The 2011 election is the defining moment for the future of Nigeria and the choice Nigerians face is grim. The puerile show and saber-rattling of the candidates in the ruling PDP is diversionary, but somehow resonate in the Nigeria’s mainstream media as the real contest.
It is time to translate General Buhari’s universally acknowledged credibility, discipline and integrity to potent political instrument of change. No better time is available than now and no investment in this or even prayer is too much. For the avoidance of doubt , no one claims that Gen. Buhari’s presidency is the final solution to what ails Nigeria, but definitely could be a genuine framework to begin the search, because the country’s deeper problems like most other African countries is the false start.
BY CHARLES ONUNAIJU, a journalist, writes from Abuja
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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