BUHARI FROM GENERAL TO DEMOCRAT

The president-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, is to drop the title ‘General’ from his name after he is sworn in on May 29,2015.
His media team disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday, May 17, in Abuja.
The statement signed by, Mallam Garba Shehu, Buhari’s director of media and publicity, also released the official portraits of the president-elect and his vice, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.
The one paragraph statement reads:
“From May 29, 2015, the president-elect and vice-president-elect are to be respectively known and addressed as Muhammadu Buhari, President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria and Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

The official portrait of the president-elect Muhammadu Buhari

The official portrait of the vice president-elect, Professor Yemi Osinbajo

It is worth mentioning, that Nigerian supported Buhari’s decision to drop ‘General’ title but suggested replacing it with other handles.
“We Africans we have respect for our elders. So if they removed the General from his name. Then we will call him as Baba Muhammad Buhari,” Umaru Danlami Adamu wrote.
 “Correction to Mallam Shehu Umar. The General’s name wouldn’t suppose to be Muhammadu Buhari alone, it deserves to be Mallam or Alhaji Muhammadu Buhari,” Abubakr Madaki suggested.
“An anticipated clarification. We as his fans will start right away. We are suggesting AMB (Alh Muhammadu Buhari)”, Muhammad Tanko Baba wrote.

 “I like simplicity. How many of the British or American presidents use those empty titles or didn’t they go to school? ” Adetokunbo Bishop Adeeko wandered.
“Once a General, always a General, you can’t drop General’s title just like that,”  David Ayele insisted.
Earlier this week Chief Timipre Sylva, the head of the All Progressives Congress transition committee ,gave new details on the swearing-in ceremony of the president-elect. He stated that Buhari’s inauguration would not be flamboyant quoting the dwindling economy as the reason for the decision.

NIGERIAN MOST CORRUPT AGENCIES

 

1. NNPC:
Records speak for itself, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) doesn’t even know the amount of crude oil it imports daily. There are possibly over 100 different means which the NNPC uses to siphon government revenue. From fraudulent subsidy payments to intentional delay of imported products to incur and accumulate demurrage with shopping companies. They’re mostly responsible for the over $600 billion dollars alleged by the EFCC to have been stolen from Nigeria since 1999.
2. NPA:
Working for the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) can even be more rewarding than working for the NNPC. Thousands of illegal deals worth millions of Naira are settled under the table at the ports on a daily basis. Government ends up not recording most of these criminal deals. So many criminal waivers, unrecorded imports, direct cash settlements rather than legal payment channels, undercharges, auction sales etc.
3. Customs:
Nigerian customs officials attached to courier agencies target goods coming in from overseas. Once your package arrives, you’d be expecting the normal courier charge and taxes, then you hear the bad news; Nigeria customs is holding your package. They’ll usually give you a fictitious extra bill, citing some flimsy reasons and stipulated policies and conditions which cannot be found anywhere on their website. Instead of allowing the goods get to your local courier office, they’ll rather invite you to Lagos and that’s when you get desperate because you don’t want to travel all the way to Lagos to collect a package. So you decide to negotiate and pay. Mode of payment is usually their private accounts or other means which will not be eventually traced back to them, not government’s purse. Sometimes also, their charges are genuine, but settled through private channels, So government gets little or nothing from the illegal transaction.
Their illegal 0perations with ‘The Immigration Service’ at Nigeria’s borders also ensure that Cars and other goods are imported into Nigeria illegally with taxes and charges that are never documented or paid into government’s purse.
4. FIRS:
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is another criminal organisation in Nigeria.They target multinationals and big companies. The richest among them work in Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and other cities with numerous big companies. They help you evade tax in so many different ways (evading and avoiding tax are different things, one is criminal, the other is legal) and collect huge rewards for their excellent criminal maneuvers. Hundreds of billions or possibly trillions therefore go unrecovered annually.
5. NIMASA:
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is a regulatory body saddled with various maritime related responsibilities including; administration and regulation of shipping licenses, carrying out aerial and coastal surveillance, control and prevention of maritime pollution, providing maritime security. About 40% of Nigeria’s income is budgeted for this agency to develop maritime infrastructure and fund the operations of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria. NIMASA has been involved with various levels of fraud on many occasions running into Trillions of naira.

HISTORIC NIGERIAN IN JAPAN UNIVERSITY

Nigerian student Ufot Ekong has broken a 50 year record in Japan after graduating with a first class degree and best overall student from Tokai University in Tokyo Japan.

Ufot Ekong and his awards

The talented student graduated from the university with a first class degree in robotics and electrical engineering.
This is the first time a Nigerian could achieve such success since 1965, Nigerian Bulletin reports.
It was also gathered that Ufot won Japanese language award for foreigners and solved a mathematical equation that could not be solved 30 years ago in his first semester.

Utof is receiving his award

Asides from studying hard and paying himself for the education, Ufot works at Nissan. He has already made two patented products. Recently, he developed an electric car that could go as fast as 128 kilometers per hour.

Ufot’s mum and electric car

Asides from being a Saxophone master, the young Nigerian speaks English, Yoruba, French, Japanese.
Undoubtedly, bright future is waiting for Ufot Ekong, who made the nation proud.

AVOID THESE WOMEN

While we can all agree that nobody is perfect, there are actually a few things that would adversely affect a relationship if a man chooses to partner with a woman with some not-so-great attributes.
VICTORS presents you with the 10 kinds of woman a man should think twice about making a wife.

1. The Bitter Woman: You know that woman that always seems to be angry at the menfolk all the time? Perhaps she has had her heart broken one too many times, but this woman is always bashing on men and talking about how they are no-good or useless. A man might not want to settle down with someone so bitter as it is guaranteed that when the opportunity arises, she would hurl hurtful insults and intense, hateful words his way due to all her unresolved anger.
2. The Selfish Woman: If you want a happy home and a partner that wants your happiness as well as hers, then you should steer clear of the selfish woman. A wo
man who is determined to make sure she always comes first would not be able to build a cheerful and loving home with you.
3. The Materialistic Woman: A woman obsessed with material things would certainly not make the best wife. If all she cares about are material possession over family, faith and spiritual fulfillment, then she will not make the best partner.
4. The Flirty Woman: Are you attracted to that woman that always seems to flirt with one person or another? She flirts like a butterfly from one man to another and makes all men feel like she is interested in them. Well, beware, because a habit like that might be hard to break after marriage and you would not want to start hearing that your wife has had flirty conversations with all the men in the neighbourhood.
5. The Party Freak: She is invited to every party and attends them all. She is always dressed in the most flashy clothes and is the ultimate party girl. She lives for the next big gathering and cannot say no to an invitation. Such woman might not be the type to settle down in a marriage.
6. The Spoilt-Brat: A woman who grew up having everything handed to her and has never had the experience of actually working for something is unlikely to make the best wife. No matter how much you might be willing to provide her with the kind of lifestyle she grew up with, remember, marriage comes with kids and kids require sacrifice. If she has never had to work or make sacrifices for anything in her life, it is unlikely that she would start now.
7. The Attention Seeker: While some women naturally like attention, when it becomes an obsession, then it is not a good idea. A good husband makes sure he has time for his wife, but this cannot happen 100percent of the time so a good wife should understand that.
8. The Gossip: Does she always seem to never mind her own business? Is she always focused on what someone else is doing or how someone else is living their life? Then you do not need this kind of woman as a wife. A man needs someone that would build a home with him and this requires some focus on her own plans and her own life. If she is too busy minding someone else’s business, then you are fighting a losing battle.
9. The Commitment-Phobe: A woman who finds it difficult to commit to anything (school, jobs, family, friendship, etc) would also not be able to commit to a marriage. If she seems to lose interest in everything quickly and is always looking for the next thing to jump into, then you would have a hard time keeping her focused in her marriage.
10. The Disrespectful Woman: If she seems to always be disrespectful and rude (even if it is to people she considers beneath her standards) then you need to think twice about marrying her. Respect for a fellow human being is a very important attribute in who we choose to spend the rest of our lives with so it is definitely not something that should be taken lightly.

Africa is Self sustainable

The new study says Africa could become a major exporter if leaders show political will

A new book claims Africa could feed itself within a generation, and become a major agricultural exporter.

The book, The New Harvest, by Harvard University professor Calestous Juma, calls on African leaders to make agricultural expansion central to all decision-making.
Improvements in infrastructure, mechanization and GM crops could vastly increase production, he claims.
The findings are being presented to African leaders in Tanzania today.
The presidents of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi are holding an informal summit to discuss African food security and climate change.
Speaking to the BBC ahead of the meeting, Professor Juma said African leaders had to recognize that "agriculture and economy for Africa are one and the same".
"It is the responsibility of an African president to modernize the economy and that means essentially starting with the modernization of agriculture," he said.

Stagnation

"More African countries are going to have to think about new genomics techniques

Professor Calestous Juma", Harvard University

Global food production has rocketed in recent decades but has stagnated in many parts of Africa, despite the continent having "abundant" arable land and labour, says Professor Juma.
He estimates that while food production has grown globally by 145% over the past 40 years, African food production has fallen by 10% since 1960, which he attributes to low investment.
While 70% of Africans may be engaged in farming, those who are undernourished on the continent has risen by 100 million to 250 million since 1990, he estimates.
The professor's blueprint calls for the expansion of basic infrastructure, including new road, irrigation and energy schemes.
Farms should be mechanized, storage and processing facilities built, while biotechnology and GM crops should be used where they can bring benefits.
But what was needed above all else was the political will at the highest level.
"You can modernize agriculture in an area by simply building roads, so that you can send in seed and move out produce," he told the BBC.

"The ministers for roads are not interested in connecting rural areas, they are mostly interested in connecting urban areas. It's going to take a president to go in and say I want a link between agricultural transportation and then it will happen."
He believes there is great scope to expand crops traditionally grown in Africa, such as millet, sorghum, cassava or yams.
He sees areas where farmers will need to adapt to tackle a changing climate - cereal farmers may switch into livestock, he says, while others may chose more radical options.
"Tree crops like breadfruit, which is from the Pacific, could be introduced in Africa because trees are more resistant to climate change."
He also envisages genetic modification playing a growing role in African agriculture, with GM cotton and GM maize, which are already being grown on the continent, just the start of things to come.
"You need to be able to breed new crops and adapt them to local conditions... and that is going to force more African countries to think about new genomics techniques."

Kitchen sink

George Mukkath, director of programmes at the charity Farm Africa, welcomed the study, but said with many African states investing less than 10% of their GDP in agriculture, politicians had to "put their money where their mouths are".
"It's what we've been shouting about for several years," he said. "African productivity is low. If there's an investment then African farmers are very capable of producing enough food not only to feed themselves but also for the export market."
But Dr Steve Wiggins, a research fellow at a British think-tank, the Overseas Development Institute, said that modest practical changes were preferable to long wish-lists.
"It's perfectly possible to get Africa on a much higher growth rate but I wouldn't have such a long list of things to do, particularly if I thought it was going to bring about all government investment," he said. "To make a difference, you don't need to throw the kitchen sink at the problem."
He also warned that Africa's urban centres could not be ignored, not least because they provide important markets for African farmers.