Odinkalu to Okorocha: Your action amounts to narcissism

The Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission in Nigeria, Prof Chidi Odinkalu, has described Gov. Rochas Okorocha’s decision to erect billboards to celebrate a photograph he took with President Barack Obama in the United States as narcissist.

 

The billboards which carried an inscription – new faces of change – were said to be installed in strategic locations in Imo State.

 

Showcasing a photograph of Okorocha with Obama and Buhari in a handshake, the billboards made it to the Internet earlier this week. This caused a spark on social media. Some users of different online communities criticised the governor, describing the action as petty.

 

When most people thought the online spark had stopped, Odinkalu has gone after the governor on Twitter. He said his action amounted to narcissism or a complex.

 

According to him, the billboards do not, in anyway, represent the change Nigerians opted for.

 

“Let us say it clearly to Gov. Rochas and all: This is not a change. At best, it is narcissism, or worse, a complex,” he tweeted.

 

Okorocha, through his Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, had distanced himself from the billboards. The denial statement, interestingly, had come before Odinkalu took him up on the issue.

 

“To say the least, the Imo State governor or the state government he superintends did not place the photographs on a screen or billboards, and was not aware or informed of such development. And he could not have authorised anybody or any group to do that since it was totally unnecessary.

 

“At the level God had placed the governor even before he became a governor in 2011, he would not have authorised anybody to begin to advertise or display his photographs with the American President,”Onwuemeodo said.  

 

The governor’s spokesperson said investigations had revealed that some politicians in the state erected the billboards with good intentions, unknown to them that their action would have negative impacts.

 

“They had thought that by doing the adverts they were going to impress the governor. And we can understand that. The government has, however, told them to put a stop to that. We are aware of the fact that Imo people love their governor and do certain things to appreciate him,” he explained.

                                                                                                       

The billboard issue was, perhaps, the biggest social media controversy in the week. With Odinkalu’s remark, many people had started revisiting it on Thursday

 

On Facebook, one Angela Agoawike said Okorocha’s handshake with the American President added nothing positive to the lives of an average Imo citizen, unless if it, indeed, attracted investments to the state.

 

“No one said Okorocha should not enjoy his moment. A handshake with the US President could, indeed, be a big deal for some people. But, I doubt if it is of any importance to the suffering people of Imo unless if it will bring with it investment opportunities.

 

“Then, we will begin to understand the relevance of erecting huge billboards with such photos. This is simply an ego venture for the governor. The photo should have remained in his living room and not on the streets of Owerri,” said Agoawike, a self-professed anti-child violence campaigner.

 

It is not only Okorocha that is fussing over a social backlash of an ‘hand shake’ with Obama. Chairman of Heir Holdings, Tony Elumelu, is also entertaining questions on the importance of showcasing a photograph with Obama.

 

On his Twitter page where he uploaded a photograph taken with the leader in Nairobi, Kenya, one Seun Okonma asked, “What is in this for Nigeria?”

 

Segun Osoba says Amuka is Osobas' father figure

Former Ogun State Governor, Segun Osoba, has described Sam Amuka, publisher of Vanguard Newspapers Ltd as a father figure in the Osoba family.
He says this at the ongoing launch of Voices from Within in honour of the renowned journalist.
The former governor, a journalist himself, sensationally, goes into his youthful days at the Daily Times with Amuka and Tony Momoh, describing the Vanguard founder as a pioneer of several things in the media industry.
He says Amuka pioneered magazine and the cartoon many people enjoy today.
He pleads with Amuka to stay throughout the programme, who he says, has mastered the act of dodging important events where he is being honoured.  

God abandoned Nigeria 50 years ago, says gay rights activist

Bisi and his boyfriend

A gay rights activist, Bisi Alimi, caused a stir on Wednesday as he mocked Nigeria on the Facebook.

Alimi, the first Nigerian to declare publicly his support for same sex union, noted that the country “will go down soon unless it stopped praying to God and started acting”.

He wrote from the United Kingdom where he is on a self-imposed exile.

Soon after his comment, which many considered unpatriotic and mocking, was published, hundreds of Nigerians responded on Facebook, blogs, Twitter and Instagram. 

Responding from Abuja, one Chinelo Peters described the words used by Alimi as derogatory and unpatriotic.

He urged him to re-channel his frustration into a positive cause that could impact on the country instead of complaining from the UK. 

Peters said on the Facebook, “You are a Nigerian but in an asylum in the UK. Why do you refer to Nigeria as that country? If you do not like something and you are passionate about doing it differently, you need to champion the change you desire. 

"Come back home to assist. It is inappropriate to describe your country with derogatory adjectives.

He also urged Alimi to study the lives of people who had effected changes in different parts of the world, saying they were individuals who never cast aspersion on their countries.

Another Facebook user, Allwell Opara, said Alimi would not have used “abusive” language for his country if he had proper understanding about the stages the UK facilities he used to assess Nigeria went through.

According to Opara, patriotic citizens built the UK not the likes of Alimi. 

                                                                  

Opara added, “It is so sad that this is coming from someone I thought would be more reasonable and sensible on social media. If Nigeria is cursed, it means every Nigerian, including Alimi, is cursed. 

"No matter how long you live abroad, the blood of a Nigerian flows in your veins. We love our country while we hope for a change one day.”

Even those who agreed with Alimi condemned his choice of words, describing it as “offensive and unbecoming of a civilised individual”.

For instance, a foreigner, Thierry Limpens, said, “You analysed right but I will not use the same words.”

Besides urging Nigerians “to stop praying and start acting”, Alimi noted, “Nigeria is not an experiment.”

He had added, “|Some idiots will come here now and start posting how their God is going to redeem them. Okay, here is the thing: if there is, indeed, anything like hell fire, it is in Nigeria where all Nigerians are roasting. 

"So, if you want to remind someone that they will go to hell fire when they die, you might as well link it to your current experience.”

Describing Nigerians as hypocrites, he asked why God had not intervened in their affairs if he truly existed. According to him, it is either God does not exist or that he has given up on the country 50 years ago.

Alimi, a Theatre Arts graduate, also revealed that power and Internet challenges had frustrated the conduct of an online interview he scheduled with a Nigerian TV on Tuesday and Wednesday.

It was on this basis that the self-confessed gay went to Facebook to ‘teach’ Nigeria how it could overcome its challenges.

Alimi is not a stranger to controversy. He had received international attention in 2004 when he admitted during an NTA programme – New Dawn with Funmi – that he was a gay.

He also had a running battle with his alma mater, the University of Lagos, which threatened to withhold his certificate.

The university had claimed that he “was not going to be a worthy alumnus”.

Many had linked the Nigeria’s move to have same sex marriage probation law in 2006 to the controversy generated by Alimi’s interview with the NTA. 

Cyber criminals take over virtual office of Embassy of Nigeria in Beijing

Yesterday, we had a swell time discussing what the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington DC is doing wrong, everything it is doing wrong, including the poor ‘reception’ it accorded President Muhammadu Buhari who was there last week.

Today, we moved on to its counterpart in Beijing, China. You can only guess what it is this time. I bring to you everything you must know before you click to do business with it.  

The Embassy of Nigeria in Beijing, China, may have been grappling with the activities of Internet fraudsters.

Online searches today show that the portal of the foreign mission has been duplicated by unknown individuals who may have been taking advantage of loopholes in the official communication channels.

The embassy is currently linked with, at least, three functional websites – nigeriaembassy.cn, beijing.ngembassy.org and embassypages.com.

With the three sites carrying similar contacts such as office address and telephone contacts, it may be difficult for a visitor to identify the genuine portal. Each of them also claims to be the official communication channel of the embassy.

Visitors to nigeriaembassy.cn, which is actually listed on the embassy list found on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, are welcome with a notice describing beijing.ngembassy.org as illegal. It says that the Nigerian government is taking necessary step to take down the site.

“This site, beijing.ngembassy.org, is illegal site and government is taking necessary lawful action against the culprit,” it warns.

Unfortunately, content of the website used by the supposed diplomats to disclaim an “illegal” portal itself appears suspicious.

The site which is built around five main headings – about Nigeria, the embassy, consular, immigration and mails – flaunts the coat of arms of Nigeria, portraits and photographs of former President Goodluck Jonathan and Chinese leaders.

While many local agencies and even non-governmental bodies have changed the portrait of Jonathan in line with tradition, there is nothing on the site said to be operated by the country’s diplomatic station in China to show that the country now has a new President.

Its news section contains some of the directives given by the Federal Government during the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease last year. There is also a photograph of airport personnel screening a foreigner.

The second site, which is described as illegal, is also seriously pushing for recognition. It publishes phones numbers, contact email address and physical office address contained in the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s domain.

Calls made to operators of the website on Tuesday were answered by a lady who manned the supposed telephone room. The job of the lady who slowly counted her words was simple: she simply picked the call and gave extension lines of her colleagues in charge of visa and other commercial services.

In more than five occasions, calls made to the supposed embassy officials were rerouted to either ‘commercial services’ or ‘visa office.’ But there was no response from both sections. On two occasions, the instruction was re-echoed in Chinese Language.

The third site – embassypages.com – would pass as the genuine portal of the Nigerian representation in China, except that it is different from the URL address found on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Like beijing.ngembassy.org, this portal displays the office address, phone and fax numbers given by the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

In terms of content and functionality, it is many steps ahead of the supposed genuine portal.

Perhaps, the most suspicious features are the non-diplomatic sites and activities, such as an online dating platform, that are linked to the site. Content on the plugin Twitter and Facebook pages also appears suspicious.     

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ogbole Amedu-Ode, who spoke on the issue, said he was not aware of the situation. He said that he would speak with the embassy on the issue today, as it was already 2am in Beijing when he was called.  

Nigeria’s embassy puts country's population at 120m

Whereas modern websites are updated on hourly basis to reflect changing trends, the portal of the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington DC chooses to remain an archive. Even it that, the information it feeds the international community about Nigeria is at best outdated.

For instance, the embassy still pegs the country’s population at 120 million.

“Much has been said and written about Nigeria, her people and culture, economy and politics, that sheds light on the tremendous potential of this African giant. However, little is known to the outside world about the many exciting tourist attractions available in Nigeria: historic sites nestled amid rivers and rain forests. There are also museums, festivals, music and dance. These are just some of the spectacular sights and sensual delights awaiting travellers to Nigeria. Nigeria has the largest population of any country in Africa (about 120 million),” it said. 

The portal, however, matches its contemporaries in terms update on commercial services. Its consular section contains details of charges and the number of days it takes to produces a visa.

According to the diplomatic office, a visa takes 10 working days. But applicants could request for “expedited service”, in which case, they are charged higher. For this service, a visa is delivered in three to four days, depending on the category.

For both passport and visa, all an applicant needs is a visit to the site to get detail information in terms of charges, requirements, documentation process, document collection and visiting hours.

An applicant seeking replacement for lost passports pays a $350 penalty in addition to $30 processing fee.

Fresh and renewal adult applicants are charged $106 each while the under-aged and the elderly pay $77. In all cases, a $30 additional processing charge applies.

Information glean from the site on Monday says the consular has stopped the handling of correction in the US.

“Henceforth, applicants wishing to amend the details on their Nigerian passport are required to effect the changes in Nigeria. The embassy will no longer entertain request in that regard,” the site states.

  

See awful things Nigerian embassy has done on Buhari's visit to US

Buhari with Obama in Washington 

If there is an institution in the United States where individuals expect to find relics of President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent visit to the country, it is the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington DC.

Unfortunately, there is no much information on its website – its virtual office as it were – to showcase the much-publicised visit.

Day after the President has returned, its photo gallery, a section visitors would expect to view photographs of Buhari’s official engagement in the US, was black.

There were also no traces of the speeches of the President. Remarks by host President Barack Obama and other dignitaries at different meeting organised for the visiting Nigerian team were also missing on the site.

But for two posts titled, ‘Buhari has integrity, clear agenda – Obama’ and ‘Nigeria committed to good governance, fighting corruption,’ there was nothing on the site to tell visitors that the President was in the country last week.

The embassy culled the stories from Nigerian newspapers. One of the reports, which where placed under its announcement heading, was illustrated by a passport-size photograph of the President while the second was accompanied by a picture he took with Obama.

In this age of instant documentation, there was no video recording on a website hosted by Nigeria’s ‘home’ in the US, an opposite of the noise around the visit. On the video gallery of the embassy’s site were two video clips – one of them is a narrative of major socio-economic milestones of the country while the second was a 2009 fashion week.

Visitors are introduced to the digital office of the embassy by photographs depicting the country’s diverse cultures and tourist sites, such as the Zuma Rock in the Federal Capital Territory.

Fayose’s 10 awful Salah gifts to Buhari

Just a day after the celebration of Ed-efitr, Gov.Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State has a basketful of gifts, awful for President Muhammadu Buhari.

The gifts are streaming from his Twitter page as I write. This are 10 outstanding 10:

1. Be democratic

He urges Buhari to shun dictatorship and embrace democracy. Two months into Buhari’s administration, Fayose says the country is already drifting into dictatorship, the major luggage Buhari carried through his first three shot at presidency as well as the fourth that gave him success.

2. Put Boko Haram under house arrest.

Rather than putting Dasuki and other dissenting voices, he charges the President to put members of Boko Haram in house arrest so that Nigerians could have peace of mind. Guess Fayose is right on this. Nigerians truly need a break from the mad bombing.

Invade Boko Haram territories not Nigerians’ homes

Dasuki’ home, both Abuja and his country home, were invaded at the weekend. Fayose says it is Boko Haram and its territory that deserve invasion. Isn’t that right? I am just thinking whether the territories have actually not been invaded.

3. Do justice

Buhari should do justice, across board. That is not my request; it is Fayose’s. This was the cardinal promise he made during campaign and at inauguration. Do justice Buhari – I think emphasis is mine. Added Fayose, an injury to Dasuki is “an injury to all.Ttoday, it is Col. Dasuki, tomorrow it can be any other person.”  

4. Nigerians are coming for you

Except Buhari puts its feet down to say no to injustice and suppression of opposition, Fayose says Nigerians are coming for him. There is no doubt about that. Nigerians will go after anybody who suppresses opposition, including Fayose.

5. Obey the rule of law

The Ekiti State governor says Buhari must obey the rule of law. How did it sound to you when you heard that Dasuki’s home was invaded without an arrest warrant? Fayose says it was wrong to have done that.

“Instead of seeing his return to power as an opportunity to revenge against those perceived to have wronged him in the past, President Buhari should be magnanimous in victory, act like a leader and father of all Nigerians,” he pleads.

6. Pay attention to governance

According to Fayose, the President has really not paid adequate attention to governance, the reason he was elected. The governor is leading the vanguard for a change. I join him for there is need for urgent attention to the socio-economic challenges that face Nigeria – Naira crash, insecurity, armed robbery, infrastructure and, most importantly, power.

7. Do something about falling Naira

This really concerns me directly because my income has lost over 50 per cent to Naira crash in the past six months. My salaries buy fewer and fewer commodities every month. Bahari must do something and do it fast. Where are the fiscal policy managers that should complement the responsibilities of the Central Bank? We need a Finance Minister, and a sound one for that matter.

8. Stop the witch-hunting of Ekweremadu

This is because no law says only the ruling party can occupy principal offices of the National Assembly. Lawyers please we need to hear from you on this. Should the Deputy Senate President be removed because he is not a member of the ruling APC? I would rather believe lawyers, the learned sorts mind you, than Fayose. The last I checked, he was yet to be called to the bar.

9. Check the excesses of those following you

He is also calling on the President to check the excesses of overzealous party men and security officials.

10. Live by your promise

Fayose recalls the sensational promise – I call from nobody, I belong to everybody. Nigerians may not remember any promise made by Buhari but they will surely remember the statement that made headlines globally. 

Stay away from public funds, Ezekwesili, others warn pilgrims

Ezekwesili

The approval of a concessional exchange rate for intending pilgrims by President Muhammadu Buhari has drawn the ire of key Nigeria's social media influencers who, on Tuesday, demanded the reversal of the decision.

The bloggers took their annoyance online,  calling on the government to hand-off issues relating to pilgrimages to concentrate on finding solutions to socio-economic challenges that face the country.

The President had on Monday approved N160 to a dollar exchange rate for intending Christian pilgrims, a gesture that some of the critics see as ‘pilgrimmage subsidy’.

Critics of the decision, which included key supporters of Buhari during last presidential poll, said the forex discount extended to pilgrims, plus the age-long sponsorship of religious tourism, undermined the developmental needs of the country.       

A former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, who responded to the intense Twitter campaign, said Nigerians must “collectively agree that using public fund for religious pilgrimage by a few is an opportunity cost” millions of poor masses could not afford.

She warned the Central Bank of Nigeria and other relevant agencies against going ahead with the decision, saying such was not a “sweet deal.”

Tweeting on the subject also, Japheth Omojuwa, a leading blogger, noted that the subsidy suggested that the government placed priority on religious fulfilment of the citizens above their capacity building. Otherwise, he asked, why has the government not extended a similar gesture to Nigerian students who were schooling abroad?

According to him, the country would do better if the enormous resources Nigeria frittered away through pilgrimage budgets yearly were spent building schools to reduce the number of its out-of-school children which run into several millions.     

“If we drew up a scale of preference for Nigeria, would the sponsorship of pilgrims be ahead of putting 11 million kids in school?” he questioned.

Those intending to visit holy lands, he suggested, should be encouraged to spend personal resources instead of transferring their costs to the already-overburdened public purse.

He said the federal and state governments could take a cue from Kaduna State which has successfully terminated sponsorship of foreign religious trips.

Omojuwa, a leading voice on Nigerian social issues on social media, asked, “Why is Nigeria about the only country that sponsors pilgrims to Israel? Is it because of God or because of corruption? How many times have we heard of the government sponsoring poor people on a pilgrimage? It is the elite, the privileged class that benefit from it.

“Loads of people travel in the guise of pilgrimage only to escape and not return home or use the opportunity to transact their private businesses.”

The blogger described the practice as an “unprogressive end” an administration that claimed to be progressive cannot afford. He urged the government to take care of the earthly needs of Nigerians while leaving religious institutions to fret over where the souls of the citizens would go when after death.  

Also blogging on the issue, Kayode Ogundamisi, an influential member of the  online community, said the government had no business spending the country’s dwindling resources on religious matters.

In his post, Ikenna Gabriel also pointed out the contradiction in Nigeria’s claim to secularism and the special status it has given to Christianity and Islam over the years. Gabriel observed that the country had, at the expense of other religious groups, treated the two religions with kid gloves.

Meet Nigerian first Facebook user and learn how you can make $500 from 10 tweets

Kemi

For Nigerian social media community, Kemi Omololu-Olunloyo she is controversial, arrogant and abusive. But the 50-year-old daughter of a former governor of old Oyo State, Omololu Olunloyo, says Nigerian youths instead misunderstand her and what she does on social media.

While many spend time abusing her on social media, the United States/Canada-trained pharmacist says she earns between $50 and $150 every time she publishes three tweets for her foreign clients who are mainly musical artistes.

In an online chat, Kemi, who has spent 25 years on social media, says Nigerian youths are missing the commercial side of the platform because they chose to abuse her and others who mean well for the country.

“In a good month, one can make between $2,000 and $5,000 or even more depending on what you are putting out on each platform,” says Kemi, who describes social media as her life.  

With good content, according to Kemi, young Nigerian tweeters, can monetise their accounts and earn decent living promoting companies and artistic works. Advising those who hopes to key into the “big opportunity”, she urges them to stop using their handles “in a negative way”.

“You may want to open a separate handle and launch it for a business. Twitter is the best avenue for young Nigerians. Look it up, Indonesia teens make $10 to 20 per post, tweeting for every small business out there,” she observes.

With millions of Nigerian youths spending several hours each week on soccer, Kemi says sports present huge prospects for those who want to commercialise their passion.

“Nigerian youths can do what Indonesians teens have done monetising soccer tweets. They spend so much time with soccer. Why not make money on it?” she asks.

While her critics say she is aggressive, Kemi says she is just being assertive, a major trait, which according to her, drives a successful social media entrepreneurship.

For the pharmacist, who spent 37 years in the United States, she is just beginning to get positive reviews from a few Nigerians who appreciate her for “being blunt, real and transparent” about all issues affecting the country.

“I have gone after the masses, pastors, politicians, educationists and others. Many Nigerians are silent about the issues they need to be discussing. Many are scared,” she adds.

Based on her huge following on MySpace, Kemi claims that the Facebook team contacted her to join the newly established university social network as “beta tester” in February 2004, making her the first Nigerian to sign up on the popular site.

Bill Cosby admitts sedating women for sex

Bill Cosby has admitted securing Quaaludes with the intention of given them to young ladies he wanted to explore for sex. He admitted that he had given sedative to a woman and "other people" in a report by the AP.

The AP had gone to court to compel the release of the documents; Cosby's lawyers had objected on the grounds that it would embarrass their client.

The 77-year-old comedian was testifying under oath in a lawsuit filed by a former Temple University employee. He testified he gave her three half-pills of Benadryl.

Cosby settled that sexual-abuse lawsuit for undisclosed terms in 2006. His lawyers in the Philadelphia case did not immediately return phone calls Monday.

Cosby has been accused by more than two dozen women of sexual misconduct, including allegations by many that he drugged and raped them in incidents dating back more than four decades. Cosby, 77, has never been criminally charged, and most of the accusations are barred by statutes of limitations.

Cosby resigned in December from the board of trustees at Temple, where he was the popular face of the Philadelphia school in advertisements, fundraising campaigns and commencement speeches.