Bomb Blast Kills Scores at Abuja Motor Park

A Bomb blast has rocked a crowded bus station near Abuja the capital city of Nigeria, official said.

A loud blast rocked a bus station packed with commuters heading to the capital Abuja on Monday, with many people feared injured, the rescue agency spokesman told AFP.

“This morning there was an explosion at the Nyanya Motor Park,” Manzo Ezekiel of the National Emergency Management Agency said. “Rescue teams are already on ground. There were so many people there at that time, so we think there must have been some injuries,” he added.

Dublin South FM interview with Trendy Africa magazine’s Tosan Aduayi

Hello Tosan, can you give us a background as to how you got into the media industry?

“As a journalist I started my career in 1992. I left university as a graduate in accounting……When I left my university I had a passion for autos…So I ended up writing articles for different people. I was really creative about writing…So I came across people running a magazine and they said: ‘Oh Tosan, could you write a piece for us on any general interest topic?’ And then I wrote a piece on electronics at that time. And it was published in Crown Prince. That was the beginning of my journalistic career. That was in 1992. But in 1994, I was actually employed to write as the contributing editor and columnist for a weekly called ‘Fame Weekly’ in Lagos. At that time I was the first motoring columnist for ‘Fame’ and that was in June 1994. That was the beginning.”

What made you to leave Nigeria to establish in America?

I relocated in 2003 but before then, I was a motoring correspondent at Fame weekly in 1994 then I left to join a new weekly; ‘Encomium’ in 1996. I joined an international magazine called ‘Ovation’ in 1999. I was actually a motoring editor but ended up being one of the international feature writers. My publisher then, would send me on assignments internationally, you know, out of the country. That was a period of travelling and at that time, I was travelling to so many countries to do features and reports. But along the line the opportunity to travel to the USA came and I jumped on it. I however had other things going for me but here came an opportunity to gain some experience. That’s what it was mostly about. It was an opportunity to increase my knowledge, based on what I was doing. So that was what eventually happened. So I left as an ‘Ovation’ correspondent and when I got there I became the bureau chief of ‘Ovation International’. After a couple of years I had my own vision for different things and creative ideas…I conceptualized a photo blog and website in 2004 but I didn't want a clash of interest. So I left that on the side. Eventually when I now informed my publisher that I was leaving (2008), I commenced publishing ‘Trendy Africa Magazine’. We just published our 20th edition in January 2014. So we actually have a physical magazine as well as a web presence.”

You’ve been a journalist from the 1990’s. What do you think are the problems journalists face in Nigeria?

“Well at the moment, I would think, it is mostly logistic issues. But I must add, real quickly, the challenges journalists face, in terms of content, way back, have been nearly negated with the advent of the internet. Nowadays the information comes to you at the tip of your finger, via your smartphone or any other hand-held device that you have. Back then the issue was how quickly did news or content get to you as a journalist? How quickly could you move from a point to another point to actually experience the breaking news? Those were the issues then. But today you don’t really have to get up from your table, because media is not about being a journalist now. Everybody is news hungry and the world has so transformed that news is now so dynamic. Everything happens every day, every minute, and every second. So information flows on the web, which [leads] on to social media with Twitter, Facebook and all the others that are out there. So right now, in Nigeria, I would probably say that the issue is infrastructure, for instance we still have the power issue whereby we need to run our computers, we need to run, you know, our browsers. And when there is no power, or we don’t have other back-up amenities, then we lose that precious time to gather information and that seems to be a problem. Transportation issues too. But apart from that I guess the profession is really evolving and I’m really impressed with what is going on in Nigeria today. In terms of print, there still needs to be improvement in some quarters, but apart from that, Nigerians have really perfected the social media terrain. And the bloggers are doing very well – Nigerian bloggers are being featured on CNN because they have recorded an impressive number of views.”

Those Nigerian bloggers, are they really journalists? Do they know the media ethics? Do they know what to publish and what not to publish? Do you think social bloggers have an idea of what journalism is? Are these people just doing this for the internet’s sake?

“Well unfortunately or fortunately, I don’t think there is any guideline for people who becomes bloggers. It is the way the world has been designed, anyone can be a blogger. Google for instance has established a blog spot that allows any individual, who has a flare for writing, or who has a flare for entertainment to establish a site – free of charge! You know, so there is no ethics controlling that right now, unfortunately. The real professional journalists, you know, are not tapping into that resource. So you now find people who have taken advantage of this. For instance the chief bloggers in Nigeria, probably, may not have had corresponding experience with any media house, I don’t think most of them do have that. But at the end of the day they are doing very well. They’ve actually opened up an avenue for other people to tap into that industry and generate an income for themselves; residual income. And through that too, they’ve also been able to created employment for people. Some have writers, reporters and other staff who go out and source for content. Photographers too. They’ve actually created an industry, which is really good. I also have a pool of people – both here and in the US – who contribute to source for content. While they’re doing that, they also have means to get some residual for themselves. So at the end of the day it is a huge industry. The media world has really evolved to that point. In Nigeria, people tend to recycle a lot of things, but the consumers know the real people. Consumers can tell who they want to view.”

How do you see journalism in Nigeria in years to come?

“Oh, there is a lot going on. Even in the middle of all the issues that we face today, you know: terrorism, structure, governance, I can assure you that because there’s so much news content out there, there is simply so much attraction for investment in the industry. And with the investment in the media industry there will be immense growth which will attract other professionals to latch on to it and that also pushes for expanded growth. So I can see growth down the line. Ok let me even give you an example. I observe lots of media houses promoting their web content. Guess what, the captains of the industry in the web world; the Microsoft’s, the Apple’s, the Google’s – all have a presence in Africa. They are all coming to Nigeria to actually look and see emerging opportunities because the market is so huge that they’ve had to come here to come and see for themselves what’s going on here. So that tells you something that there’s something in here that’s actually growing that has attracted the interest of the founders of the world’s largest, wealthiest companies. So that gives us hope. That’s what I see there.”

Now we’re back to the physical magazine, which is the print magazine. Tell us about it…

“We’ve been publishing the physical magazine since 2008. We just published our 20th edition in January. If you go on our website there is a link called ‘Subscription’. If you click on ‘Subscription’ you will see all the covers of our magazine from inception.”

How easy was it to come with your own magazine after your previous beat?

“It was challenging…Issy, I’ve always said something, and you know…What I feel…Doing anything in this business, you must have passion. For you to keep your brand or your tabloid alive you must have that passion to drive it. So when I had my vision to start ‘Trendy’, I went in with a passion for it. So anybody who knows the publishing industry will tell you it is an expensive industry. I went in with a set quality mind; the quality that I had been used to for several years. So I went all out to go for the highest quality possible on a budget. To search for funds wasn’t easy so I had to dive into my savings and, of course, I worked it out, you know, and there is no guaranteed return when you start publishing an actual tabloid. So it wasn’t easy at all for a couple of years. As a matter of fact I can tell you right away, Issy, that we’ve not actually broken even. But, we are still driven by passion. We still believe that one day we will break even and surpass where we are. Our work code is: ‘Keep the quality, keep the content rich and keep the brand alive’. That’s what we’re doing.”

How do you get content from America like the Oscars, Barack Obama’s inauguration?

“It is hard work, I must tell you, hard work and experience. There are a lot of things that come into play and you know that every trade has its own secret. But to get to that, you must have knowledge and experience. I knew what it was to establish a solid media house. When I started, I didn’t start just to be printing and publishing and showing my face; I had a plan. You must know what you’re doing. You can’t be egocentric or you’ll not go too far. So we did all that and in doing that we put ourselves out there in the right quarters. So to get all the accreditations to cover the US presidential inauguration, I had already done the ground work well ahead of time. You have to establish your brand properly. I’ve always known how to create content. We are also blessed to have professional correspondents in Hollywood and other industries. That’s how we’ve kept our brand going.”

People that are thinking of opening a magazine – what do you think they should do?

“One thing, make sure you have a passion first of all; two, make sure you understand the industry of magazine publishing; three, make sure you have a long time plan. The web has actually undercut a lot of publications in terms of printing. Everything is going on the web…”

How do people make their money from online media?

“Well, they have advertising slots once you design your website. The most common one is Google. It depends on how many hits you have on your page. The more views you get, the better potentials for increased revenue”

Do you actually focus more on a particular community, or is it a general magazine for everybody?

“My magazine is a lifestyle magazine. We do celebrate professionals, we celebrate culture, we report on health, we report on motoring, we report on food, we report on fashion; we are a multi-content magazine. We have blue chip advertisers who have supported us throughout the years. The editorial board decides what goes into the magazine”

Where can people buy the magazine?

“You can subscribe for it and we mail it out”

What is next for you now?

“We are poised to be a one stop media house for international news content with a focus on African culture, public relations and communications. Our next drive is to create a presence in different parts of the world. We are going interactive…We have a TV channel……So we have a creative team working with us to gain a captive audience. We are also going multilingual – French, Spanish, Portuguese. We want to be a one stop shop.”

 Where do you see 'Trending Africa' 10 years from now?

“Oh…in 10 years we will have branches that will have been built under our present umbrella that will increase our structure tremendously and create employment opportunities which will enable us impact the economy wherever we find ourselves. Our brand will be enriched and make us a voice to be reckoned with. That’s where we see ourselves in 10 years.”

By Issy Taiwo for ‘Our Africa’ 

ABOUT TRENDY AFRICA MAGAZINE

Trendy Africa is an award winning multimedia solutions concept that has evolved from years of experience and vision. Our focus is to report, document and present the positive values and attributes of Africa, Africans and the world at large.

Trendy Africa reports on but is not limited to aspects of life such as human development, finance, Health, Sports, Fashion, Tourism, Personality profiles, Social Events, Automobiles, Religion, cuisine and daily News.

We are collectively building the brand through self determination, unwavering passion and the will to make a difference in lifestyle and entertainment media with a primary focus on Africa.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT;
www.trendyafrica.com 

Nigerian Medical Doctor Killed by Husband in Texas

Tall, elegant and brilliant Nigerian medical doctor Isioma Ebegbodi was murdered in cold blood by her Nigerian husband in Texas, USA on Saturday March 22, 2014. She attended Queen's College Yaba Lagos and later proceeded to University of Lagos to study Medicine. She was until her gruesome murder a medical resident physician at Marshfield clinic in Texas.

What really went wrong between a 36 year old wife and her 63 year old husband? Was she suffering in silence until the tragedy happened? So many questions with limited answers.

A 63-year-old Nigerian man was later charged with murder after he confessed to the shooting to death of his wife around 3a.m. on Saturday March 22, 2014 in west Harris County, Texas USA.

Martin Ebegbodi went to a neighbor’s house and asked him to call police after getting into a fight over argument and then shot his wife, 36-year-old Isioma Ebegbodi. The Harris County Sheriff's Department arrived at the house in the 19700 block of Youpon Leaf Way and arrested Ebegbodi.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

Annually on 8 March, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate achievements. A global web of rich and diverse local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking events through to local women's craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades and more. International Women's Day has been observed since in the early 1900's, a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies.

1908

Great unrest and critical debate was occurring amongst women. Women's oppression and inequality was spurring women to become more vocal and active in campaigning for change. Then in 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.

1909

In accordance with a declaration by the Socialist Party of America, the first National Woman's Day (NWD) was observed across the United States on 28 February. Women continued to celebrate NWD on the last Sunday of February until 1913.

1910

n 1910 a second International Conference of Working Women was held in Copenhagen. A woman named a Clara Zetkin (Leader of the 'Women's Office' for the Social Democratic Party in Germany) tabled the idea of an International Women's Day. She proposed that every year in every country there should be a celebration on the same day - a Women's Day - to press for their demands. The conference of over 100 women from 17 countries, representing unions, socialist parties, working women's clubs, and including the first three women elected to the Finnish parliament, greeted Zetkin's suggestion with unanimous approval and thus International Women's Day was the result.

1911

Following the decision agreed at Copenhagen in 1911, International Women's Day (IWD) was honoured the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on 19 March. More than one million women and men attended IWD rallies campaigning for women's rights to work, vote, be trained, to hold public office and end discrimination. However less than a week later on 25 March, the tragic 'Triangle Fire' in New York City took the lives of more than 140 working women, most of them Italian and Jewish immigrants. This disastrous event drew significant attention to working conditions and labour legislation in the United States that became a focus of subsequent International Women's Day events. 1911 also saw women's 'Bread and Roses' campaign.

1913-1914

On the eve of World War I campaigning for peace, Russian women observed their first International Women's Day on the last Sunday in February 1913. In 1913 following discussions, International Women's Day was transferred to 8 March and this day has remained the global date for International Women's Day ever since. In 1914 further women across Europe held rallies to campaign against the war and to express women's solidarity.

1917

On the last Sunday of February, Russian women began a strike for "bread and peace" in response to the death over 2 million Russian soldiers in war. Opposed by political leaders the women continued to strike until four days later the Czar was forced to abdicate and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote. The date the women's strike commenced was Sunday 23 February on the Julian calendar then in use in Russia. This day on the Gregorian calendar in use elsewhere was 8 March.

1918 - 1999

Since its birth in the socialist movement, International Women's Day has grown to become a global day of recognition and celebration across developed and developing countries alike. For decades, IWD has grown from strength to strength annually. For many years the United Nations has held an annual IWD conference to coordinate international efforts for women's rights and participation in social, political and economic processes. 1975 was designated as 'International Women's Year' by the United Nations. Women's organisations and governments around the world have also observed IWD annually on 8 March by holding large-scale events that honour women's advancement and while diligently reminding of the continued vigilance and action required to ensure that women's equality is gained and maintained in all aspects of life.

2000 and beyond

IWD is now an official holiday in Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China (for women only), Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar (for women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal (for women only), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia. The tradition sees men honouring their mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc with flowers and small gifts. In some countries IWD has the equivalent status of Mother's Day where children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.

The new millennium has witnessed a significant change and attitudinal shift in both women's and society's thoughts about women's equality and emancipation. Many from a younger generation feel that 'all the battles have been won for women' while many feminists from the 1970's know only too well the longevity and ingrained complexity of patriarchy. With more women in the boardroom, greater equality in legislative rights, and an increased critical mass of women's visibility as impressive role models in every aspect of life, one could think that women have gained true equality. The unfortunate fact is that women are still not paid equally to that of their male counterparts, women still are not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women's education, health and the violence against them is worse than that of men.

source: internationalwomensday.com

Why I signed the Anti-Gay Bill: Pres. Museveni

“Homosexuality, contrary to my earlier thinking, was behavioural and not genetic. It was learnt and could be unlearnt. I told them to put their signatures to that conclusion which they did. That is why I declared my intention to sign the Bill, which I will do”.

Before I react to Obama’s statement, let me, again, put on record my views on the issue of homosexuals (ebitiingwa, bisiyaga in some of our dialects). Right from the beginning of this debate, my views were as follows:

• I agreed with the MPs and almost all Ugandans that promotion of homosexuality in Uganda must be criminalized or rather should continue to be criminalized because the British had already done that;

• those who agreed to become homosexuals for mercenary reasons (prostitutes) should be harshly punished as should those who paid them to be homosexual prostitutes; and • exhibitionism of homosexual behavior must be punished because, in this  part of the world, it is forbidden to publicly exhibit any sexual conduct (kissing, etc) even for heterosexuals; if I kissed my wife of 41 years in public, I would lose elections in Uganda.

The only point I disagreed on with some of the Members of Parliament (MPs)and other Ugandans was on the persons I thought were born homosexual. According to the casual observations, there are rare deviations in nature from the normal. You witness cases like albinos (nyamagoye), barren women or men (enguumba), epa (breastless women) etc.

I, therefore, thought that similarly there were people that were born with the disorientation of being attracted to the same sex. That is why I  thought that it was wrong to punish somebody on account of being born abnormal. That is why I refused to sign the Bill and, instead, referred it to our Party (the NRM) to debate it again.

Yoweri K. Museveni Gen. (Rtd) 

In the meantime, I sought for scientific opinions on this matter. I am grateful to Ms. Kerry Kennedy of the USA who sent me opinions by scientists from the USA saying that there could be some indications that homosexuality could be congenital. In our conference, I put these opinions to our scientists from the Department of Genetics, the School of Medicine and the Ministry of Health.

Their unanimous conclusion was that homosexuality, contrary to my earlier thinking, was behavioural and not genetic. It was learnt and could be unlearnt. I told them to put their signatures to that conclusion which they did. That is why I declared my intention to sign the Bill, which I will do.

I have now received their signed document, which says there is no single gene that has been traced to cause homosexuality. What I want them to clarify is whether a combination of genes can cause anybody to be homosexual. Then my task will be finished and I will sign the Bill.

After my statement to that effect which was quoted widely around the world, I got reactions from some friends from outside Africa. Statements like: “it is a matter of choice” or “whom they love” which President Obama repeated in his statement would be most furiously rejected by almost the entirety of our people.

It cannot be a matter of choice for a man to behave like a woman or vice-versa. The argument I had pushed was that there could be people who are born like that or “who they are”, according to President Obama’s statement. I, therefore, encourage the US government to help us by working with our scientists to study whether, indeed, there are people who are born homosexual. When that is proved, we can review this legislation.

I would be among those who will spearhead that effort. That is why I had refused to sign the Bill until my premise was knocked down by the position of our Scientists. I would like to discourage the USA government from taking the line that passing this law will “complicate our valued relationship” with the USA as President Obama said. Countries and societies should relate with each other on the basis of mutual respect and independence in decision making.

“Valued relationship” cannot be sustainably maintained by one Society being subservient to another society. There are myriad acts the societies in the West do that we frown on or even detest. We, however, never comment on those acts or make them preconditions for working with the West.

Africans do not seek to impose their views on anybody. We do not want anybody to impose their views on us. This very debate was provoked by Western groups who come to our schools and try to recruit children into homosexuality. It is better to limit the damage rather than exacerbate it.

I thank everybody.

Yoweri K. Museveni Gen. (Rtd) is president of Uganda

The State Department had earlier released the statement below;

This is a tragic day for Uganda and for all who care about the cause of human rights. Ultimately, the only answer is repeal of this law.

The United States is deeply disappointed in the enactment of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda. For the four years since the bill was introduced, we have been crystal clear that it blatantly violates human rights obligations that Uganda’s Human Rights Commission itself has recognized are enshrined in Uganda’s Constitution

Today’s signing threatens a dangerous slide backward in Uganda’s commitment to protecting the human rights of its people and a serious threat to the LGBT community in Uganda.

We are also deeply concerned about the law’s potential to set back public health efforts in Uganda, including those to address HIV/AIDS, which must be conducted in a non-discriminatory manner in order to be effective.

As President Obama stated, this legislation is not just morally wrong, it complicates a valued relationship. Now that this law has been enacted, we are beginning an internal review of our relationship with the Government of Uganda to ensure that all dimensions of our engagement, including assistance programs, uphold our anti-discrimination policies and principles and reflect our values.

From Nigeria to Russia and Uganda, we are working globally to promote and protect the human rights of all persons. The United States will continue to stand against any efforts to marginalize, criminalize, and penalize vulnerable persons in any society

Recent Attacks by Boko Haram

Unspeakable violence and acts of terror like the ones committed by Boko Haram last week in northern Nigeria are horrific, wrong, and have no place in our world. Last Saturday, a brazen attack on the village of Izge, Nigeria, near the border with Cameroon took the lives of more than one hundred innocent people. Not less than a week had passed before Boko mounted another attack in Bama, setting 1,500 buildings ablaze, killing more than 115 people and leaving many others injured. We support Nigerian authorities' efforts to investigate these cowardly acts and to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The people of northern Nigeria deserve to live free from violence and from terror. That’s why the United States is providing counterterrorism assistance to help Nigerian authorities develop a comprehensive approach to combat the threat posed by Boko Haram while protecting civilians and ensuring respect for human rights. We stand with the people of Northern Nigeria in their struggle against violent extremism, and remain a committed partner of the Government of Nigeria as it works to root out Boko Haram and associated groups.

In a recent development, Nigeria has sealed a portion of its northeastern border with Cameroon to block the movement of insurgents and other criminal groups, the military said on Sunday. The closure has been imposed in Adamawa state, one of three states in the northeast placed under emergency rule in May following waves of attacks by Boko Haram Islamists.

The military has launched a major offensive in the area aimed at crushing the Islamist uprising, which has killed thousands since 2009. Nigeria has alleged that the Islamists have set up bases in sparsely populated areas of its northeastern neighbours, including Cameroon, Chad and Niger, and flee across the border after staging attacks to avoid military pursuit.

"What I did was completely seal off the borders, no going in, no going out," said Brigadier General Rogers Iben Nicholas, the top military commander in Adamawa. He said the measure had been in place since Monday and that it has already curtailed "the influx of miscreants (and) terrorist elements" into Nigeria. "Other security agencies like the customs, immigration services have been told. Our soldiers and police are also there working together to ensure that nothing crosses into Nigeria," Nicholas said.

Despite the state of emergency, Boko Haram has continued to carry out attacks in the northeast, with more than 300 people killed already this year. Adamawa has been less hit by violence than the other affected states, Borno and Yobe, but it is thought to provide key transport routes for the insurgents. The full 2,000-kilometre (1,200-mile) porous border stretches from Borno down to the southern Niger Delta region.

Aside from curbing the flow of suspected insurgents, the several-hundred-kilometer closure in Adamawa will also affect traders and other residents. Nicholas said the military was working with traditional rulers on both sides of the border to inform people about the closure.

Source: John Kerry, Secretary of State, Washington, DC, AFP

Togolese Efforts to Combat Wildlife Trafficking

Secretary Kerry called Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe today to commend his government on the major strides being made to combat international wildlife trafficking, including the recent arrest of three major illegal wildlife traffickers in Togo. Togo has sent a strong message to the world about its commitment to protecting Africa’s elephant populations. 

In the last month, Togolese authorities have made multiple seizures of illegal ivory, totaling more than four tons. Individually and collectively, these are the largest seizures of illegal ivory in West Africa’s history. In a separate incident in August 2013, the Government of Togo arrested notorious wildlife trafficker Emile N’Bouke. Togo’s efforts contribute to the worldwide struggle against illegal wildlife trafficking and the U.S. continues to partner with Togo in combating this transnational threat.

Wildlife trafficking is a multi-billion dollar criminal enterprise that has expanded from a conservation concern to a security threat. The increasing involvement of organized crime in poaching and wildlife trafficking promotes corruption, strengthens illicit trade routes, destabilizes economies and communities that depend on wildlife for their livelihoods, and contributes to the spread of disease. In July 2013, President Obama signed Executive Order 13648 to marshal the efforts of the U.S. Government to meet this challenge at home and to assist foreign governments combating wildlife trafficking and related transnational organized crime.

In November 2013, the State Department also announced its first reward offer of up to $1 million under the President’s Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime for information on a prominent wildlife trafficking network in Southeast Asia.

source: State department

Okonjo-Iweala serves up Reps with Academic Response on State of the Economy

They asked for comprehensive answers to fifty ‘knotty’ questions on the Nigerian economy. But the members of Nigeria’s House of Representatives Committee on Finance, have probably gotten more than they expected: a 102 page response from the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Released Wednesday night by Paul C Nwabuikwu, her Special Adviser, her responses were spiced with tables and graphs and provided almost doctoral dissertation to the committee’s well publicized questions.

Her responses also in a way offered justifications for her 30 month helmsmanship of Nigeria’s economy.

Despite the doubts cast by the House Committee on the health of the Nigerian economy, Okonjo acknowledged the challenges but insisted the economy is showing real and measurable progress in many areas and that it is not stagnant, contrary to popular perception.

She insisted capital expenditure is consuming more money than when she assumed the role of co-ordinating minister; more jobs are being created, quoting the National Bureau of statistics that reported 1.6million new jobs in 2013.

She insisted roads, rail and other infrastructure are being improved and that the country is saving for the future and planning better for the present.

She said the Jonathan administration, contrary to the impression given by some critics, is making impact in the areas that, according to credible opinion polls, Nigerians are most passionate about.

According to her, the Jonathan administration is making a headway in job creation, a central focus of the administration as a total of 1.6 million jobs were created last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Of the 1.6 million jobs, 250,000 were seasonal and were created in the dry season farming in 10 northern states. In manufacturing, the Onne Oil and Gas Free zone created an estimated 30,000 direct and indirect jobs. The government special intervention programme YouWin supported young entrepreneurs, creating over 18,000 jobs. The SURE-P Community Services prgramme has also created 120,000 job opportunities, she said.

Key Nigerian highways which witnessed significant progress include Kano-Maiduguri road, the Abuja-Lokoja road, the Apapa-Oshodi road, the Onitsha-Enugu-Port-Harcourt road and the Benin-Ore-Shagamu road. Preliminary work has commenced on Lagos-Ibadan road and the Second Niger Bridge, she added.

The Railway Modernization Programme involving the construction of standard gauge lines is underway. The 1,124 km Western line linking Lagos and Kano is now functional while work on the Eastern line linking Port Harcourt to Maiduguri is about 36% complete. The Abuja-Kaduna Standard Gauge line has attained 68% completion, and the Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri Line which is presently 77% completed, will be completed next year. The annual passenger traffic on our railways has increased steadily: rising from 1 million in 2011 to 5 million in 2013.

She refuted the charge that Nigeria is racking up debts under her watch as Finance Minister. On the contrary, she said, the opposite is true.

But some of her responses also offered sobering insights into the Nigerian economy.

She disclosed how the escalating theft of crude oil in Niger Delta, is affecting foreign exchange inflow and the depletion of Foreign reserve and the Excess Crude Account. An average of 300,000-400,000 barrels of crude was stolen daily in 2013, she said, which is about 15 per cent of Nigeria’s daily production.

She also explained additional reason the Foreign Reserve fell from $48 billion at the end of 2012 to $42 billion at the end of 2013: the Central Bank in a bid to avoid a wide depreciation of the Naira, sold more foreign exchange. $10.8 billion was sold between the fourth quarter of 2012 and the third quarter of 2013. In contrast, the CBN sold $4.3 billion in the remaining part of 2012.

She also blamed oil theft and volatile oil prices for the depletion of the Excess Crude Account, plunging precipitously from $8.6bn in 2012 to $2.2 billion in 2013. AMCON she said has a total debt exposure of N4.67 trillion, out of which it had paid N1 trillion. It is due to pay another N868billion this year.

To the House Committee’s question on the financial implications of import waivers and exemptions to the Nigerian treasury, Okonjo-Iweala provided three tables, which however showed that Nigeria forfeited N26 billion last year on waivers, in contrast to the N8.5billion forfeited in 2012. In all, 2013 proved to be the most reckless in terms of granting waivers and exemption: N59.41billion was the cost to the national treasury. In 2011, the figure was N55.3bn and in 2012 it was N55.96bn.

What may be worrisome to watchers of Nigeria’s economy lies in Okonjo-Iweala’s disclosure about key government agencies, such as the NNPC and the Nigeria Customs Service not meeting their targets, consecutively the last three years. The NNPC proposed to generate N7.7trillion last year, But a month to the end of the year, it was able to generate N5.78trillion. The NCS planned to bring N914billion. But by the end of November, it had not even met half of the target as it generated just N433 billion. Only the Federal Inland Revenue Service has overshot revenue target, the past three years. In 2011, its target was N697 billion, but it raised N828billion. In 2012, its target was 715.4 billion. But it raked in N846 billion. Last year, the FIRS raised its target to N982 billion. But it exceeded the target by N3.4 billion at the end of November.

Source: PMNEWS

OSHIOMHOLE DECLARES FULL SUPPORT FOR COSON

Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole on Friday, January 10, 2014, in his office in Benin called on all government agencies and private institutions in Nigeria to henceforth obey the law and ensure that they pay copyright royalties for all the music they use in public. According to Governor Oshiomhole, ‘Nigeria must enforce its copyright law the way it is done in any other civilized part of the world. We are now in a democracy. Democracy is basically about enforcing laws. If you don’t enforce the law why should I be a governor here? It is the law that keeps me here’

R-L (Front Row): COSON General Manager, Mr. Chinedu Chukwuji; Mr. Banky W; Prof. (Sir) Victor Uwaifo; COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji;   Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, Edo State Governor; Mr. Sunny Neji; Prince Biodun Egwakhide, COSON Consultant in Edo State; Chief Osayomore Joseph at the recent visit of the COSON delegation to the Edo State Governor to boost the society’s licensing drive in the state.

The Governor was speaking during a meeting with a delegation of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), the nation’s sole government approved collective management organization for musical works and sound recordings. In the delegation led by COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji were the likes of music icon, Prof. (Sir) Victor Uwaifo, Mr. Sunny Neji, Banky W, Osayomore Joseph and numerous members of COSON in Edo State. Also in the delegation were COSON General Manager, Mr. Chinedu Chukwuji and COSON Coordinator in Edo/Delta States, Prince Biodun Egwakhide.

L-R: COSON General Manager, Mr. Chinedu Chukwuji; Mr. Sunny Neji; Prince Biodun Egwakhide, COSON Consultant in Edo State; The Esama of Benin Kingdom, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion; COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji; General Manager of Independent Television and Radio, Benin, Mr. Ogbeide Uwumwonse; Mr. Banky W at the visit of the COSON delegation to the Esama of Benin Kingdom recently to boost the society’s licensing drive in Edo state

According to Governor Oshiomhole, ‘If we are in a democracy then we must enforce laws as it affects intellectual property rights. On that I will like to join your campaign. In this state, we have a lot of TV stations both those owned by government and private individuals. We have a number of radio stations, FM stations that thrive on playing music 24/7. We have a lot of hotels, the Obituary industry is thriving; they play live sometimes they invite DJs, they copy your works, they make the money while your people are laboring for the next album. It is something I believe Nigeria should take on board. 

What we need is to enforce the law the way the America government enforces laws on copyright, the way the British government and the European Union deal with those who violate copyright. We need to send people to prison. People think laws are advice, they are not advice. You don’t sermonize to people to desist from crime, you sanction. That is what the so called rule of law is all about - the ability to reward good behavior and also to sanction negative behavior including theft of intellectual property, calling it by its proper name’.

L-R: COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji presents a copy of his book, Copyright, Neigbouring Rights and the New Millionairesto Governor Adams Oshiomhole during the visit of the COSON delegation to the Edo State Governor recently to boost the society’s licensing drive in the state.

Addressing the governor, COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji informed him that the delegation was in Benin to flag off a comprehensive licensing of users of musical works and sound recordings in Edo State in accordance with the laws of Nigeria. Chief Okoroji introduced Prince Biodun Egwakhide who is coordinating the licensing project on behalf of COSON in the state and also told the governor that if Nigeria must significantly increase its GDP and offer employment to its masses of employed, the nation must offer effective protection to the creative industries to which a lot of young people flock to naturally. He reminded the governor that copyright royalty is not a tax as the money does not go to government but to the creator of a work because a worker is entitled to his wages.

Promising full support for COSON, Governor Oshiomhole said, ‘If there is any role you want me to play, if there is any campaign you want me to join, I will join you because I believe that there are a lot of our young people whose only talent is music and if they are not protected, they would be poor even when they are supposed to be potential millionaires, even billionaires. With advancing technology, the challenge has even become much more. I think you need to harass all of us in government particularly federal government and also state governors to lend their voice to ensure that the copyright law is enforced so that our young people who are gifted in this area, who can make money from their own God given talent as well as entertain society and relax our nerves can do so.’

The governor went on to say, ‘with this political tension, the only way to bring down your blood pressure is sometimes to listen to cool music or even dance it out as I do sometimes. Be assured of the support of the Edo State government and you are assured of my own personal support. As for Edo Broadcasting Service, I will talk to them but this matter goes beyond EBS. It shows the extent to which private and even government owned stations, NTA, AIT, FRCN Channels, EBS, ITV, Silverbird, we are all violating and you must therefore initiate a method to deal with everybody that violates. We will direct EBS to do what is right in law but if they are doing it alone and there are no sanctions on those who are not doing it, we will not make much progress. 

I am not going to be the last governor here, what will then happen is that after my tenure, things return to normal. We have to compel the Nigeria state to protect Intellectual property rights.The Attorney - General should protect Intellectual property rights in Nigeria and when it is violated including when they are violated in public functions, the state should protect its artistes, its creative people and that should be our central message .’

The COSON delegation also met with the Esama of Benin, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion who pledged that all organizations owned by him such ITV and independent Radio would comply immediately with the payment of music copyright royalties to COSON.

Nigeria's president struggling ahead of election campaign

Lagos (AFP) - Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan is facing an uphill battle if he seeks re-election next year, after a series of unprecedented setbacks that have raised doubts about his political survival. The perceived damage to the 56-year-old's stock has led to questions about whether he can bounce back and whether his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could be heading for its first national electoral defeat.

Last month, Nigeria's former head of state Olusegun Obasanjo accused Jonathan in a critical, 18-page open letter of failing to tackle widespread corruption and piracy as well as kidnapping and rampant oil theft. He even claimed that Jonathan was training a private militia to silence critics on a political "hit list".

The dust had hardly settled on the resulting row when the PDP lost its parliamentary majority, as 37 lawmakers in the lower House of Representatives joined the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Some PDP members of the upper house Senate are now expected to follow suit, handing a further potential advantage to the main opposition, just as parties gear up to hit the campaign trail.

"I think he (Jonathan) is a very weakened president at the moment," said political analyst Clement Nwankwo, director of the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, in the capital Abuja. "He's been a failure and he really has to do a lot to win back popular support," Nwankwo told AFP.

Political commentator Dapo Thomas suggested that with the PDP riven with in-fighting, it was now make or break time for Jonathan. "He has to choose between the service of the party and the realisation of the damage of his own political ambition," said Thomas, from Lagos State University.

"He has to drop one and allow the party mechanism to operate freely." Jonathan, a Christian from southern Bayelsa state, stepped up from vice-president to become acting head of state in February 2010 when Umaru Yar'Adua fell ill. He took over the top job after Yar'Adua's death, going on to secure a popular mandate in the 2011 presidential elections.

Jonathan has yet to announce whether he will run for re-election in 2015. But he has been accused of ignoring an unwritten PDP rule that presidential candidates rotate between Nigeria's mainly Muslim north and the Christian majority south. That issue is seen as a contributory factor to the defection of five high-profile state governors to the APC in November, which in turn prompted lawmakers to cross the floor.

He is also widely seen as having failed to address major concerns about graft, inadequate development and poor infrastructure, and to end the bloody Islamist insurgency in northern Nigeria.

The president vaunted his government's achievements of sustained economic growth and job creation in his New Year's message while the PDP denied it was irretrievably damaged.

The recent defections were an example of democracy in action, said national publicity secretary Olisah Metuh, even as the APC hailed the apparent shift in the balance of power as a new dawn for Africa's most populous nation. "We have seen movement on one side maybe in the last quarter of last year," he added.

"Let's wait until April. Maybe the PDP will be larger that it was before. "In 2014, we are predicting that the PDP will be larger than it was before. Don't forget that the PDP got the people elected. It's a party that Nigerians love." Nwankwo acknowledged the opposition's hand had been strengthened but said the defections were still no guarantee of electoral success and presidential power could yet help swing support back to the PDP. Nevertheless, he suggested the problems may have reached such a point that recovery was impossible, forcing Jonathan to make way for another candidate. Thomas said the longer the president failed to tackle the issue, the more damage it would do to the PDP.

Jonathan needed to rule out standing again as soon as possible and remove the party chairman Bamanga Tukur, who is seen as having been parachuted in as the president's man, he added. "It's better that he does it now so he can save the party," said Thomas, who lectures in international relations and history. "I don't see the party's fortunes improving. I see continuous decline of the party because the defections are going to continue to be on the increase for as long as this disenchantment persists."

By Phil Hazlewood (AFP)

New Care Pharmacy Opens in Fort Worth

New Care Pharmacy is a complete service-oriented pharmacy in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Texas. Our mission is to provide great customer service you've come to expect from a local and independently owned pharmacy, with all the products, services and low prices of large chain stores. 

New Care Pharmacy offers; 

-> Prompt and courteous service
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900 Jerome Street, Suite 100, Fort Worth, Texas

Nigerian Kills Pregnant Wife in New Jersey, USA

On Friday, authorities arrested an East Orange man in connection with the death of his wife. At 6 a.m. on December, 27, officers were dispatched to an apartment at 39 South Munn Avenue, authorities said.

Upon arrival, they found Fatoumata Owoseni, 26, unresponsive. The Maryland woman was nine months pregnant at the time.

Fatoumata’s husband, Babatope Owoseni, 33, was arrested and charged with murder. Owoseni is being held at the Essex County Corrections Facility, bail has been set at $750,000. On Tuesday, Acting Prosecutor Carolyn Murray commended investigative and legal staff members for their work on this case and others.

“I would like to thank the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Task Force investigative and legal staff, along with our state and federal partners who continue to work around the clock to solve these cases,” Murray said in a press release, “They have given up precious time with their loved ones to bring justice to these individuals that we have charged.”

Source: CBS News