Category: News

MoU: Institute for Advancement of Journalism Partners Nigeria Celebrity Journalist – Adeniyi Ifetayo Moses

IAJ has been equipping thousands of journalists across the continent of Africa! In a very recent development – IAJ is set again to increase its milage in the world’s most populous black country – NIGERIA.

 

Demonstrated through series of social media messages and pictures released by Adeniyi IFETAYO – the Publisher of Megastar Magazine; Senior Correspondent at BEN TV London, IAJ is consummating an ‘International Journalist Training Partnership and Professional Collaboration’ via an ‘MOU’ with Nigeria’s award-winning celebrity journalist – Adeniyi Ifetayo Moses.

 

Handing over the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the Project Coordinator – Dimakatso Mathe expressed deep belief that Africa is indeed set for another journalism boost through this fete with the 28year old institution – ‘IAJ’!

 

Recently at the institute’s headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa –
Niyi (as he’s fondly called by his numerous clients and admirers) was commissioned to promote the institution in Nigeria and coordinate the activities of other journalists, writers and communications experts who will like to sharpen their skills in journalism by exploring new strategies in Media, Publications and Journalism at the Institute for Advancement of Journalism in South Africa.

 

According to the 1st Secretary – Political of the South African Embassy Abuja – Boipelo Lefatshe, aside other undisclosed commitments of the collaboration – the bilateral relationship between the two biggest economies in Africa would definitely culminate into a unique professional integration of the two nations so soon. Through ‘SMS’ – Lefotshe said – ‘the MOU is a great news which will entrench deeper cooperation in the educational sectors of the two countries respectively. She also affirm that ‘both the beneficiaries and benefactors of this journalistic initiative would definitely be better for it very soon’

Petrol price now N212.61 per litre – PPPRA

The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) has revealed in a new monthly template that the price of Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol, has reached N212.6 per litre.

 

 

According to the template which the PPPRA released on Thursday, petrol is expected to sell at a lower retail price of N209.61 and at an upper retail price of N212.61 which is usually followed by marketers.

The expected ex-depot price as seen in the template is N206.42, while the landing cost is N189.61.

The template, published on Thursday night, shows that the retail price of petrol will be between market band of N209.61 and N212.61. Nigerian marketers usually sell at the upper band.

 

 

With ex-depot price standing at N206.42 per litre, the March template shows that the landing cost for petrol per litre is N189.61.

This is despite the Nigerian Petroleum Corporation saying there won’t be any change in the price of PMS in the month of March.

 

 

The NNPC had promised that petrol price would remain static in March to allow smooth negotiations between the government and labour unions, but the PPPRA template follows the increasing price of crude at the international market as well as instability in exchange rate.

Details coming…

– Culled from Punch

Trader Duped of $36million in Turkey

A commodities trader was given painted stones instead of $36m (£26m) of copper from a Turkish supplier in a fraudulent deal last summer.

Geneva-based Mercuria Energy Group says it’s been the victim of cargo fraud following its purchase of 10,000 tons of copper blister.

When the cargoes started arriving in China, it found containers full of painted stones instead.

 

 

The bizarre case happened despite security and inspection controls.

Last year, Mercuria agreed to buy the copper blister, an impure form of the metal, for delivery to China. About 6,000 tonnes was loaded for shipment in more than 300 containers on eight vessels.

But before its journey from a port near Istanbul, the copper was switched with paving stones, spray-painted to resemble the semi-refined metal.

 

Mercuria, one of the five-biggest oil traders in the world, is seeking redress in Turkish and UK courts against the copper supplier Bietsan Bakir.

Turkish police have taken a number people into custody in relation to the fake copper scheme.

“Suspects have been taken under custody who are thought to be involved in the various parts of this organised crime against Mercuria,” the company said in a statement while thanking the Istanbul Financial Crimes Department.

 

 

It appears the copper was initially loaded into the first shipment of containers, before being surveyed by an inspection company. Seals used to prevent fraud were fixed to the containers.

But the containers were opened and the copper replaced with paving stones, Istanbul law firm KYB told media. The fraudsters switched between fake and real container seals to avoid detection.

 

 

Once the vessels were at sea, Mercuria paid $36m over five installments.

The fraud wasn’t discovered until the ships began arriving in the Chinese port of Lianyungang later that month.

“There has been a criminal investigation petition by the buyer against the seller and two intermediaries,” Turkish police said in a statement. “It’s been determined that the incident is the outcome of fraud perpetrated in an organised manner.”

 

 

In cases of non-delivery a trader could make a claim against a cargo’s insurance policy. But Mercuria found that just one out of seven contracts used by the Turkish company to insure the cargo was real. The rest had been forged.

Bietsan Bakir, the Turkish firm which sold Mercuria the copper, did not respond to requests for comment when contacted by Reuters. More hearings on the case are expected this week.

Cameroon repatriates 5,000 Nigerian

The Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, has announced that 5,000 Nigerians refugees have been repatriated to the state from Cameroon.

According to a statement on Zulum’s Facebook page, the handing over took place on Monday and was led by Cameroon’s Minister for Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, and other officials of his country.

 

 

The returnees were part of thousands of Nigerians, mostly from Borno, who since 2014, fled in batches to Minawao camp located in Mokolo, far north region of Cameroon, to escape Boko Haram’s killings.

The statement said, “Cameroonian officials, led by Minister for Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji have repatriated and handed over first batch of 5,000 Nigerian refugees to Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum.

 

 

“The hand over took place on Monday, at a brief ceremony in Amchiide, a border community between Nigeria and Cameroon, close to Banki in Bama local government area of Borno central.

“The returnees were part of thousands of Nigerians, mostly from Borno, who since 2014, fled in batches to Minawao camp located in Mokolo, far north region of Cameroon, to escape Boko Haram’s killings. Many Nigerians in uncertain numbers, some accounts saying more than 60,000, fled to the camp from parts of Borno and Adamawa but over the years, the number came down following isolated returns.

 

 

“The handover ceremony was attended by top officials from Cameroon, including Governor of the Far North Region, Midjiyawa Bakary and officials of United Nations High Commission for Refugees, UNHCR.

“Cameroonian Minister for Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji Paul announced that President Paul Biya had approved a big relief package which included food items, mattresses, blankets and other non-food items for distribution to all 5,000 returnees as support.

 

 

“The Minister commended Governor Zulum for constructing homes where the refugees were to be resettled.

“Governor Zulum had approved funds and supervised the ongoing construction of over 6,000 urban and low-cost resettlement houses sited in Banki, Gwoza, Kondugu, Kaga and different others, with a substantial number already completed. The majority of them are used for resettlement of refugees and internally displaced persons.”

 

 

Zulum appreciated the donation made by the Cameroonian President and thanked him and other officials and host communities for taking good care of the Nigerian refugees in the last six years.

“I wish to sincerely convey our deepest appreciation to the government of Cameroon under the distinguished leadership of President Paul Biya, for the enormous support to my fellow Nigerians who took refuge in the Minawao [refugee] camp. We remain eternally grateful,” Zulum said.

“The repatriation was to implement the outcome of a tripartite commission meeting held in Marwa, Cameroon, February 10, 2021, which was attended by officials from Cameroon, the UNHCR and a Nigerian delegation that comprised Governor Zulum and top officials from federal ministries of foreign affairs, humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development, the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs as well as Zulum’s special adviser on monitoring and evaluation, who chairs a technical committee on the repatriation, Engr. Lawan Abba Wakilbe.”

Kayode Ajulo urges police to release arrested OPC men

Following the arrest of some three members of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) who were involved in the capturing of suspected kidnap kingpin, Iskilu Wakilu, civil right lawyer, Dr. Kayode Ajulo has urged the police to release the arrested individuals.

Saying the arrest was an unfortunate development in the first place, Ajulo urged the police to release the OPC men without any further delay.

 

 

Speaking through his aide, Wole Adepoju, the Mayegun Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba said the issue at hand is such a sensitive one and therefore must be treated as such.

Ajulo said complains about Wakilu’s activities in Ibarapa area of Oyo state have been so rife that it was expected the police would have done something about it but nothing seemed to be coming forth. He further said it was regrettable that the police would now turn against the OPC operatives who made the job of the police easy by turning in the alleged kidnap kingpin.

 

 

Also, he said the police ought to have recognized fact that the arrested men were not acting in isolation but as members of an age long sectional group saddled with responsibility of defending integrity of Yorubaland and as a matter of exigency, backed by the sons and daughters of Yoruba land to ensure that pockets of insecurity being witnessed in the South West doesn’t degenerate further than it is. He argued that it is better Wakilu was apprehended and handed over to the police, rather than being killed outrightly. He therefore said the arrest of the OPC men by the police is fittingly and unwittingly sending wrong signal to the populace.

 

 

Ajulo added that, by extant law, citizen arrest is lawful as anyone having reasonable suspicion can arrest a suspect and within reasonable time hand such suspect over to the authority.

On a final note, while the former national secretary of Labour Party urged the police to free the detained OPC members, he advised that the police should hence desist from action that may make it appear to be partisan in a matter that involves two or more ethnicity as this, as it could cast a stain on its image.

The Chibok Girl who defied Boko Haram

Mass kidnappings of children in Nigeria have been making global headlines recently and this has been hard to watch for a young woman who was abducted in an infamous attack on a school in Chibok.

Naomi Adamu is quiet. As she talks she rarely makes eye contact, keeping her voice low and steady.

Upon meeting her, few would suspect she survived one of the most harrowing experiences a young woman could go through. But her timid demeanour belies an extraordinary strength of character.

 

 

Naomi, 24 at the time of the attack, was the oldest of more than 270 students from the Chibok Government Secondary School for Girls abducted by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram in April 2014.

Her classmates referred to her as Maman Mu, Our Mother. Her education had been interrupted by health problems as a child.

She is now the main protagonist in a new book on the so-called “Chibok girls”.

 

 

The book explores the girls’ time in captivity in detail, and shows how the social media campaign that made them famous also made it harder to secure their release. Their fame had made them precious commodities, too valuable to let go.

During the three years she spent with Boko Haram, Naomi refused to bow down to pressure to marry one of their fighters, or convert to Islam.

Instead she and another classmate wrote secret diaries in textbooks they were given to write Islamic verses. She kept them hidden in a makeshift pouch tied to her leg.

 

 

“We decided that we should write down our stories,” she tells me, “so that if one of us got to escape, we could let people know what happened to us”.

She shows me one of the diaries, a lined text book with a fraying cover. In it is a letter to her dad, written just before Christmas of the year they were kidnapped.

 

“Dear my lovely dad, I miss you so much in this moment.

“Dad, I want to see you, I’m so worried about you and mum and the rest of the people at home.

“I wasn’t aware that this could happen to me, none of us who Boko Haram kidnapped realised that. By the Grace of God dad, I miss you so much.

“I want you to help me in prayer all the time so that I will defeat the devil each time he comes to torment me. So dad, I will like to stop here.

“I miss you so much. Goodbye have a nice day.

“Your lovely daughter, Naomi Adamu. Wish you a merry Christmas.”

 

Besides being separated from their loved ones and not knowing how they were doing or if they were even alive, the girls suffered many hardships.

They were moved frequently to avoid detection by the myriad armed forces looking for them, including the Nigerian military, foreign mercenaries and American drones.

 

 

Apart from a brief period in the town of Gwoza, captured by Boko Haram in late 2014, they spent most of their time in camps in the Sambisa forest, the group’s main hiding place.

“It was a very difficult time for us in Sambisa,” Naomi explains, “there was no food, no water. We even had to use soil to clean ourselves up when we were on our periods.”

 

 

Senior Boko Haram militants were constantly trying to get Naomi to marry one of their fighters. They believed seeing her get married would help convince the younger girls to follow her lead.

Every time she refused she would be beaten brutally and threatened with death.

When I ask how she knew she would not be killed for refusing to obey her captors, Naomi says she was not ready to get married.

 

 

Her insubordination led her and others to be introduced to the leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau. But during the meeting he made a surprising revelation.

“Shekau told us that he didn’t abduct us to marry us off, but because he wanted to put pressure on the government to release his men who were in detention.”

The discovery strengthened her resolve and soon there were other rebellions.

 

 

When the militants kept her and some of the more stubborn students apart from their peers, depriving the weaker girls of food in order to force them to marry, Naomi and her friends smuggled food to them.

They sang hymns in front of their guards, quietly at first, then more boldly. Most of the kidnapped students were Christians. They wrote down their favourite Bible verses and prayers in their diaries.

 

 

She was eventually freed in 2017 along with 81 other girls, following years of painstaking negotiations between a small team of Nigerian volunteers and a Swiss diplomat.

At the time she thought Boko Haram was on its last legs.

“I didn’t think Boko Haram would still be active today because when we left there, they were splitting into two groups, so we thought they were over. Some of them were in Sambisa, whilst some were Kangaroua.”

 

 

But the social media campaign to free the girls, led by celebrities including the US first lady at the time, Michelle Obama, had propelled them to fame and shown Boko Haram how valuable school children were as captives.

– Culled from BBC News

Oprah’s Meghan Interview: Serena Williams Defends Her Friend

 

 

When Serena Williams battled Simona Halep in the women’s final at Wimbledon on July 13, 2019, looking on from center court was Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton seated next to Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle.

 

 

When not focused on the back-and-forth on the grass, the two were seen smiling and engaged in conversation. The image of the two beaming royals — one a seasoned vet and the other, still navigating her way through the family firm — made international headlines because the outing followed a spate of negative stories accusing Markle of making Duchess Kate cry during a dramatic family rift.

 

 

The match, and those images of a seemingly friendly pair, became a subject of conversation Sunday night during Oprah Winfrey’s bombshell CBS special, Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special. Markle countered the many tabloid claims by saying she ended up in tears after Duchess Kate got upset over dresses for the flower girls at Prince Harry and Markle’s 2018 nuptials.

 

 

“That’s when everything changed,” Markle said, claiming that after the bad press made its way into the world, the Palace’s communications team did nothing to protect her from what she said was a false narrative. “A few days before the wedding, she was upset about something with the flower girl dresses. It made me cry and it really hurt my feelings. In the context of everything going on, it didn’t make sense to not just be doing whatever else was doing was to be supportive.”

 

 

But what about that day at Wimbledon, Winfrey asked? She wanted to know whether Duchess Kate was embracing her or being helpful as she was finding her way in this new royal reality, especially at an event like Wimbledon when Markle was supporting a champion on the court. Though Winfrey didn’t mention Williams by name, she said “your friend” to Markle as it’s widely known that the two are close friends. Williams even attended Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding. Markle said that while everyone welcomed her, “it’s nothing like what it looks like.”

 

 

After the two-hour special aired, Williams took to Instagram to show support for “my selfless friend” Markle. “She teaches me every day what it means to be truly noble. Her words illustrate the pain and cruelty she’s experienced,” read the post. “I know firsthand the sexism and racism institutions and the media use to vilify women and people of color to minimize us, to break us down and demonize us. We must recognize our obligation to decry malicious, unfounded gossip and tabloid journalism. The mental health consequences of systemic oppression and victimization are devastating, isolating and all too often lethal.”

 

 

During her interview, Markle told Winfrey that after experiencing racism, intense tabloid scrutiny and negative headlines, and a lack of protection from the institution’s publicity arm, she was plagued by thoughts of suicide. At her breaking point, Markle told Prince Harry she was having thoughts of self-harm and she hoped to check into a facility but was told that was not possible by Palace officials.

 

 

“I want Meghan’s daughter, my daughter and your daughter to live in a society that is driven by respect,” Williams said of Markle, now expecting a baby girl to join the couple’s son Archie. “Keep in your memory the fruitage of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control. Against such things, there is no law.”

 

 

Williams was not the only celebrity to speak out following the interview which was trending on Twitter and will deliver much discourse in the days to come as it airs in England Monday night. Winfrey is also appearing Monday morning opposite longtime friend Gayle King on CBS This Morning to show new clips that didn’t make Sunday’s final cut.

 

 

Amanda Gorman, the inauguration poet who became an overnight sensation, also shared words with her 1.5 million followers on Twitter. “Meghan was living the life Diana should have, if only those around her had been as brave as she was,” Gorman said, in reference to Prince Harry’s late mother. “Meghan isn’t living a life without pain, but a life without prison. This isn’t Meghan’s princess ‘happy’ ending. But sometimes change, the decisions that bring us the most hurt, aren’t about happiness but healing.”

Jeff Bezos’ Ex-Wife MacKenzie Scott Remarries Teacher

MacKenzie Scott, one of the richest women in the world, is off the market. The very private billionaire, who divorced Amazon founder Jeff Bezos after 25 years of marriage, has quietly wed Seattle teacher Dan Jewett, according to a blog post from the groom.

It’s unclear when the newlyweds tied the knot; Scott could not be reached for comment. The news trickled out Saturday after Jewett posted on Scott’s Giving Pledge page, and was first reported in the Wall Street Journal.

“I have been a teacher for the majority of my life, as well as a grateful student of the generosity of those around me,” he wrote. “This has meant doing my best to follow their example by passing on resources of all kinds — from time, to energy, to material possessions — when I have had them to give. And now, in a stroke of happy coincidence, I am married to one of the most generous and kind people I know — and joining her in a commitment to pass on an enormous financial wealth to serve others.”

Scott, 50, received $36 billion when her divorce was finalized two years ago. The fortune has grown to an estimated $53 billion, most of which the novelist and philanthropist has pledged to give away. Scott’s personal wealth has grown significantly during the pandemic, along with Amazon’s share price. “This pandemic has been a wrecking ball in the lives of Americans already struggling,” she wrote in a Medium post in December. “Meanwhile, it has substantially increased the wealth of billionaires.”

She apparently met Jewett through Seattle’s Lakeside School, where her children attend classes and Jewett taught high school science. The elite private school for grades 5-12 boasts Bill Gates as an alumni.

Scott shared the happy news on her author bio on Amazon’s website: “She lives in Seattle with her four children and her husband, Dan.”

In a gracious note, Bezos (who also owns The Washington Post) seems genuinely thrilled for his ex-wife: “Dan is such a great guy, and I’m happy and excited for the both of them,” he said in a statement.

It also appears that Jewett’s days in the classroom are over. In his posting, Jewett said he and Scott “are united in that understanding and in our excitement for all we have to learn from so many people working in service of others. With that as a foundation, I join with the kindest and most thoughtful person I know in making this pledge, grateful for the exceptional privilege it will be to partner in giving away assets with the potential to do so much good when shared.”

Is Dubai’s Princess Latifa still Alive? – UN ask UAE

The UN says it has not received any evidence from the United Arab Emirates that Dubai’s Princess Latifa is still alive, a fortnight after seeking proof. The United Nations Human Rights Office asked for evidence that the daughter of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum was still alive after a video shot by the princess was broadcast by the BBC.

“We raised our concerns about the situation in light of the disturbing video evidence that emerged this week,” Liz Throssell, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said at the time.

“We have asked for a proof of life – we have asked for further information.”

 

 

In the video, Princess Latifa, now 35-years-old, said she was being held captive in a “villa jail” in Dubai and that she feared for her life.

A spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Rupert Colville said: ”We’ve held discussions with representatives of the UAE government here in Geneva, but I don’t have any particular progress to report.”

He said that proof of life of the princess had “not yet” been received.

 

 

In February, a statement sent by the United Arab Emirates embassy in London from Princess Latifa’s family insisted she was “being cared for at home.”

Also in February, a handwritten letter from 2019, which was only given to police by the princesses friends last month, was revealed.

In the letter, Princess Latifa urged British police to reinvestigate the disappearance of her sister, Shamsa, who was was kidnapped on the orders of their father after fleeing the family’s estate in Surrey over two decades ago.

 

 

The letter, which was received by Cambridgeshire Constabulary, said: “All I ask of you is to please give attention on her case because it could get her freedom … your help and attention on her case could free her. She has strong links to England … she really loves England, all of her fondest memories are of her time there.”

It is understood Shamsa fled the family’s Longcross Estate in Surrey. Shamsa was forcibly taken, flown by helicopter to France and by private jet back to Dubai.

About Governor Douye Diri’s Silent Touch

Hiding in the shadows and doing things under the cover of his easy going nature, Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa has set his state alight with his work. 365-plus days in office and the former Senator representing Bayelsa Central is still a son of miracles. Indeed, who else could have gotten so much done in so few days?

 

 

He is neither stiff-necked, needlessly ceremonious, nor likely to peg an award for taking office shots or blaring his many good deeds. Diri is not that sort of man. Where one finds him is where he prefers to be: at work, thinking up ways to polish the fortunes of his Bayelsa people. Not afraid, not dawdling, not denting his work table with an anxious head.

 

 

So much executed, so little praise sought! In the beginning, the assumption – based on his phenomenal mode of obtaining the gubernatorial chair – was that he would laze about, or commandeer new projects and abandon old ones. But old ginger is spicier, as experienced minds can tell that Diri is no slouch.

 

 

From the projects of the past administration to those he approved of himself, the Miracle Governor has left nothing unturned. It is to the merit of this boundless sense of propriety that some formerly-ongoing projects have been completed and commissioned; that some formerly-derelict constructions are currently underway and nearing completion.

 

 

Is the completion of the water project in Ovom Town, Yenagoa LGA, not deserving of a glass raised to Governor Diri in salute? How about the Kaiama Referral Hospital; or the state-of-the-art Incinerator at the Bayelsa Medical University Complex; or the Imiringi Community Bridge in Ogbia LGA — all, aside the Ovom Water Project, were commissioned on the same day!

 

 

What about the ongoing projects? The complex to harbour Radio Bayelsa, Niger Delta TV and New Waves Newspaper is underway. So is the construction of the Elebele Community Bridge (Ogbia LGA), and the Igbedi Road in Kolokuma/Opokuma LGA that stretches 4.5km.

 

 

Then there are the ‘deserted’ roads (from the past administration) that Diri has taken up: Glory Drive Road from Igbogene to Onopa; Igbogene to Elebele/AIT Outer Ring Road; Sagbama-Ekeremor Road; Yenagoa-Oporoma Road; Isaac Boro Express Road; and several others.

 

 

To think that Governor Diri was recently accused of taking a laissez-faire approach to his duties!

 

 

That Bayelsans can rest easy for the next three years is an occasion for satisfaction, and something the rest of Nigeria can look forward to discovering in their own State Governors.

Exit mobile version