CBN Appeals To Nigerians To Embrace Cashless Policy

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Wednesday urged Nigerians to embrace the new cashless policy of the bank to enhance economic growth.
Mr Aaron Yeduma of the Shared Services Department in  CBN, Abuja, made the call  during the bank’s sensitisation workshop on cashless policy in Lafia.
Addressing the participants, Yeduma described the policy as long overdue for the Nigerian economy to embrace global best economic and financial practices.
He said the advantages of the policy included fostering transparency and curbing corruption and modernisation of the country’s payment system.
Other advantages, according to him, are reduction in cost of banking services, reduction of risks and armed robbery as well as meeting the challenges of Vision: 2020. Continue.

Facebook buying messaging app WhatsApp for $19B

NEW YORK — Facebook is buying mobile messaging service WhatsApp for $19 billion in cash and stock, by far the company’s largest acquisition and bigger than any that Google, Microsoft or Apple have ever done.
The world’s biggest social networking company said Wednesday that it is paying $12 billion in Facebook stock and $4 billion in cash for WhatsApp. In addition, the app’s founders and employees — 55 in all — will be granted restricted stock worth $3 billion that will vest over four years after the deal closes.
The deal translates to roughly 11 percent of Facebook’s market value. In comparison, Google’s biggest deal was its $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility, while Microsoft’s largest was Skype at $8.5 billion. Apple, meanwhile, has never done a deal above $1 billion.
The deal’s price tag stunned Gartner analyst Brian Blau. “I am not surprised they went after WhatsApp, but the amount is staggering,” he said. Continue.

Ericsson to manage 75% of MTN Nigeria network infrastructure

 

MTN Nigeria has selected Ericsson as the managed services provider for 75 per cent of its network infrastructure, making Ericsson MTN’s biggest managed services provider across Africa.

Ericsson is to take on responsibility for the management, optimisation and field maintenance of MTN Nigeria’s network infrastructure in Lagos, Abuja, Enugu, Port Harcourt and Asaba, constituting 75 per cent of the company’s local network – which counts 45 million subscribers.

MTN said the move is intended to allow the operator to focus on core business issues, and to concentrate on providing excellent customer service across all its network offerings.

“This engagement with Ericsson is a logical step forward in our strategy execution and is consistent with our commitment to deliver a bold new digital world to our customers across Nigeria,” said Michael Ikpoki, chief executive officer (CEO) of MTN Nigeria.
“Leaving the management and maintenance of our infrastructure to Ericsson will allow us to focus even more on adding value to the customer experience on our network. We consider this partnership a joint investment in the growth of the telecommunications industry in Nigeria and a great opportunity to strengthen ICT knowledge and specialization locally.” Continue.

Seeking the Strategy Behind Kerry’s Climate Speech in Indonesia

koUpdates below | I’m hoping that someone can identify some smart strategic angle behind Secretary of State John Kerry’s climate speech in Jakarta on Sunday pressing Indonesia, in essence, to forsake its ample reserves of fossil fuels in its push to develop its economy. I can’t.

You might say the aim was to push the tropical country to curb deforestation, but that issue was barely mentioned. The speech focused mainly on coal and oil. There was an unsubtle dig at the World Bank’s stance on coal there: “[G]overnments and international financial institutions need to stop providing incentives for the use of energy sources like coal and oil.”

But the long speech was mainly focused on Indonesia itself and had a chiding tone that I can’t see doing anything to further Kerry’s goal of leading efforts to craft a new international climate agreement by late 2015.

Here’s a slightly expanded version of a Tumblr item I posted when I caught up with the speech earlier tonight: 

Nigerian actors meet Jonathan with requests

Members of Actors Guild of Nigeria, AGN on Tuesday asked President Goodluck Jonathan to sack of chief executives of the Nigeria Film Corporation and National Film and Video Censors Board.
Ibinabo Fiberesima, President, AGN made the request when members of the Guild paid a solidarity visit to President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The President of AGN said only those with passion for the entertainment industry should be appointed to head the regulatory agencies.
“Mr. President, Your Nollywood is in dire need of purposeful, practical, dynamic and experienced leadership at the helm of affairs of the two regulatory agencies whose function border on our industry, that is, the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) and the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB).
“Those that have been appointed to run those agencies have shown lack of capacity to put the industry on the path of growth especially in this transformational period.
“We implore Mr. President to review those appointments and appoint administrators with passion, zeal and total dedication to the development of the film Industry, said the AGN President.
Ibinabo added that while Nollywood, the Nigeria film industry has been acknowledged as capable of employing over five million people, it is in dire need of a modern, responsive legal environment for it to continue to thrive and remain relevant to this administration’s transformation agenda.
“The present Copyright Act is now grossly inadequate particularly in digital and Internet environment.
“The criminal sanctions for piracy and other copyright infringements have become ridiculously low and no longer as sufficient deterrence to infringers,” said Ibinabo.
The AGN President specifically asked the the President to ensure the full implementation of the revised National Film Policy (NFP) and to present the bill on the setting up of the Motion Picture Practitioners Council of Nigeria (MOPPICON) as an Executive bill to the National Assembly to be speedily be passed into law. Continue.

Man hangs self in Ibadan two days after wife’s death

The man’s wife died on Saturday.
Barely 48 hour after his wife was confirmed dead by doctors at the University Teaching Hospital, UCH, Ibadan, a 40-year-old man, Anthony Bankole, on Monday reportedly hanged himself.
Mr. Bankole was said to have committed the suicide at his uncompleted building site at Olodo area, Kumapayi, Ibadan, after leaving his rented apartment at Abayomi area of Iwo Road around 5.49 a.m.
A family source said the deceased told him he was going to use the Automated Teller Machine, ATM, when he was leaving in the morning, but later sent a text message to disclose his intention to commit suicide.
The source said Mr. Bankole, whose wife died last Saturday, gave no sign he wanted to take his life.
“I even gave him money for his transport fare and told him not to stay out long.
“He lost his wife on Saturday and she is still in the mortuary; so I thought he needed money to pay or arrange for her burial,” he said.
Mrs. Bankole, who operated a business centre at the University College Hospital, UCH, died shortly have a fight with her husband.
The source, who lives near the couple, narrated how her death occurred.
“We heard him (Mr. Bankole) shouting for help around 2 a.m. on Saturday. And with the help of another neighbour, she was rushed to the hospital; meanwhile she was already foaming from the mouth,” the source said.
Mr. Bankole’s corpse has been deposited at Adeoyo Hospital, Yemetu, Ibadan, mortuary.

Controversy trails Nigeria’s stance on adequate stock of children vaccines

The NPHCDA had complained of inadequate vaccine.
Three months after raising the alarm of a potential shortage of immunization vaccines for children, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA, has said the federal government now has adequate supply of necessary vaccines.
PREMIUM TIMES had reported how the shortage of the vaccines put millions of Nigerian kids at risk based on NPHCDA’s earlier statement and views of Nigerian experts, including scientists of the Nigerian Academy of Science, NAS.
The scientists had last week released a press statement warning of the danger of the stock-out of the vaccines. Continue.

Appoint Technocrat As Aviation Minister, Experts Urge Jonathan

Aviation experts have appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to avoid the mistakes of the past by appointing a technocrat as minister of Aviation.
The immediate past Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah and three others were last week relieved of their job.
The experts under the aegis of Aviation Round Table (ART), Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), took the position yesterday after an emergency meeting of the groups.
Speaking to reporters in Lagos, AON chairman, Captain Noggie Meggison traced the problems of the sector to the appointment of people who have no business in the industry which he described as sensitive.
The airline chief said it would take a non-professional over a year to learn the terms and the entire industry gamut, stressing that the sector could no longer allow such long period of learning.
He regretted that the industry lost over 200 lives in a space of three years to accidents he noted could have been prevented.
Also, President of National Association of Airline Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), Isaac Balami stated that it was right to ‘put a round peg in a round hole’; a situation he said would help the sector to grow.

NIGERIA: Stella Oduah Finally Bows Out

Aviation experts have appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to avoid the mistakes of the past by appointing a technocrat as minister of Aviation.
The immediate past Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah and three others were last week relieved of their job.
The experts under the aegis of Aviation Round Table (ART), Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), took the position yesterday after an emergency meeting of the groups.
Speaking to reporters in Lagos, AON chairman, Captain Noggie Meggison traced the problems of the sector to the appointment of people who have no business in the industry which he described as sensitive.
The airline chief said it would take a non-professional over a year to learn the terms and the entire industry gamut, stressing that the sector could no longer allow such long period of learning.
He regretted that the industry lost over 200 lives in a space of three years to accidents he noted could have been prevented.
Also, President of National Association of Airline Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), Isaac Balami stated that it was right to ‘put a round peg in a round hole’; a situation he said would help the sector to grow.

Kwara, Kogi Yoruba want to be grouped with South-West

People in Yoruba-speaking areas of  Kwara and Kogi states have requested for a boundary adjustment which will accommodate their desires and interests  to be grouped with their kiths and kins in the present South-West geopolitical zone of Nigeria.

The view formed part of the communique issued by the Kwara South Consultative Forum (KSCF), at a conference themed: “Kwara Yoruba and the national conference, at Omu-Aran, in Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, at the weekend.
The communique, signed by chairman and secretary of the organisation, Sir Chief J. A. Aderigbe and Mr Simeon Daramola, respectively, said their demand was hinged on Section 8 (2) of the 1999 Constitution.
The communique read thus: “It is in the best interest of the Yoruba people of Kwara State to request for a boundary adjustment, which will accommodate the desires and interests of the Yoruba of Kwara and Kogi states to be appropriately grouped with our kiths and kins in the present South-West geopolitical zone of Nigeria, with whom we share common boundary, culture, tradition, folklores, artifacts, mores, among others.
“Yoruba people of Kwara State reject vehemently their minority status in the North, where they have been permanently disadvantaged, especially in seeking limelight political offices and key economic advantages, as we are like bat (neither animal nor bird) in the North, where as a result of our language and culture we are regarded as Yoruba and as a result of demographic partition, the South-West regard us as northerners. We have the greatest chunk of our people in the South-West Nigeria.

Erotic tiles go on display – for one night only

BBC reports,
Hidden fragments from graphic tiles that were found in 1962 are shown for the first time at the Museum of London.

A series of 18th Century erotic tiles, depicting graphic scenes, will go on display for the first time at a late-night Valentine’s Day event in the Museum of London.
The eight tiles are so explicit that they have been locked away since they were discovered in 1962, after a fire at a London pub.
“We can’t normally display them because they are so graphic,” said museum curator Jackie Keily. “It is a fascinating glimpse into the sexual history of London; so few of these artefacts survive.”
Historians believe the tiles were originally used to decorate a fireplace in a brothel or gentleman’s club. The pub where they were found, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, is now a historic tourist attraction.
“Erotic material – such as these relief tiles – was widely available in the 18th Century, if one knew where to go and had the means with which to acquire it,” says Kiely.
"For obvious reasons these tiles are not normally out on public display, so we are pleased to show the complete set for the first time ever."

Oscars: Science and technology awards handed out

The Academy Awards for Scientific and Technical Awards have been handed out at a ceremony in Beverly Hills.

The awards, which are held separately from the Oscars ceremony on 2 March, recognise more than 50 of the most creative behind-the-scenes operators.
Joshua Pines, who worked on the film Coraline, was honoured for developing image-processing mathematics to standardise colour.
He called the evening "this year's annual Winter Olympics for geeks."
The awards were handed out by actors Kristen Bell and Michael B. Jordan.
Christopher Nolan, the British director of The Dark Knight, also made a surprise visit later in the evening.
The writer-director accepted the film lab Oscar, and described film processors as alchemists who "(turn) silver and plastic into dreams".
The Oscar will be on permanent display at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles when it opens in 2017.
Twenty-one awards were handed out, the Gordon E. Sawyer Award went to Peter W. Anderson for his contributions to 3D technology.
Award winner Dan Piponi, who was part of the team which pioneered simulating smoke and fire in films such as Avatar and Puss In Boots, said: "Nobody told me if I wanted to get an Academy Award, I should study mathematics."
On Sunday 2 March, the technical achievements of films such as Gravity, Iron Man 3 and Star Trek Into Darkness will be celebrated at the full Academy Awards ceremony.

Kenya arrests over banned Wolf of Wall Street film

Dozens of pirate DVD traders have been arrested in Kenya for selling banned copies of The Wolf of Wall Street, Kenya's film censors told the BBC.

Kenya Film Classification Board banned the Oscar-nominated film in January for its "extreme scenes of nudity, sex, debauchery, hedonism and cursing".
But many Kenyans have already watched it on pirated copies sold in small DVD shops for about $0.57 (£0.35).
Those arrested could face a fine of up to $1,160 or several years in jail.

The new Martin Scorsese film is about the stockbroker Jordan Belfort and his real-life rise and fall in the financial world of 1980s-90s New York. Continue.

Hundreds flee north Nigeria town fearing attack

Kano — Residents of a northeast Nigerian town said Saturday hundreds of them have fled their homes for fear of attacks by Boko Haram militants who killed 43 people this week in a nearby village.
About 400 men fled Bama on Friday to Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, 35 kilometres (22 miles) away following warnings from residents of Gombale village, where Boko Haram Islamists gathered for a planned attack on Bama, Usman Adam, one of the fleeing residents said.
"All able-bodied men, around 400 in all, have fled to Maiduguri after we received warning from Gombale residents across the river that Boko Haram were converging in the town for an impending attack on Bama," Adam told AFP.
Adam said only men are fleeing because they are mostly the victims of Boko Haram attacks as the assailants believe that some men, recruited as members of a vigilante group (or civilian JTF ? Joint Task Force), are aligned with the army. Continue.

Little progress made as Syria peace talks close in Switzerland

(CNN) -- As a second round of peace talks ended Saturday with little progress in ending Syria's civil war, U.S. President Barack Obama and Jordan's King Abdullah spoke about Syria's distressing humanitarian crisis during an earlier meeting in California.

Jordan is a refuge for war-battered Syrians, and both leaders urged an end to the warfare that has caused such a mass exodus. They also discussed a possible United Nations sanction to pressure the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Meanwhile, in Geneva, U.N. mediator Lakhdar Brahimi apologized to the Syrian people, saying he was "very, very sorry" that, despite two rounds of talks, "we haven't done very much."

In minimal progress, the two warring sides have agreed to an agenda for a third round of talks, but they have not agreed on how to tackle it, Brahimi said. Continue.

Uncertain future for Syria peace talks after round two ends in gridlock

A week of fruitless negotiations between the Syrian regime and opposition has come to an end. It's unclear whether or not the talks will continue. But there's no question about who bears responsibility for the stalemate
At the conclusion of the second round of the Syria peace talks in Geneva, UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi sent the delegations home to think about the future of the stalled negotiations. The meetings between the representatives of the Assad regime and the opposition Syrian National Coalition had been "laborious," according to Brahimi.
"I think it is better that every side goes back and reflects, and takes their responsibility: Do they want this process to continue or not?" Brahimi said, seemingly exhausted.
Since the Geneva negotiations began at the end of January, the Syrian government has not budged a millimeter. During the first round of talks in early February, the regime's delegation announced that it would only discuss the issue of "terrorism." And during the second round of negotiations, the regime used every opportunity that presented itself to defame the opposition as "terrorists."
"Those who carry arms against their own people and their governments are terrorists,” said Faisal Mokdad, the deputy foreign minister of Syria. Continue.

Italy president to conclude talks to form new government by Saturday

(Reuters) - Italian President Giorgio Napolitano has accepted the resignation of outgoing Prime Minister Enrico Letta and will immediately begin formal consultations to form a new government and complete them by Saturday, a statement from Napolitano's office said.
He is expected to ask centre-left leader Matteo Renzi to form a government, after Renzi's centre-left Democratic Party, the largest party in the ruling coalition, withdrew its backing from Letta on Thursday.

OAU will win NUGA football gold, says Egbunu-Olimene

The head coach of the Obafemi Awolowo University is confident that his boys will emerge victorious at the end of the Nigeria Universities Games

Coach Chike Egbunu-Olimene, the trainer of the Obafemi Awolowo University football team, is very optimist his boys will get the gold medal at the 2014 edition of the Nigeria Universities Games (NUGA).

OAU is the host of the 24th edition of the bi-annual inter-university sports competition and the team handler believes his wards are well-prepared and will live up to expectations.

“The team has been given the best of preparations in terms of training and tune up games. We can’t wait for the commencement of the football event because we are fully prepared,” Olimene told Goal.

“I can assure you we will come out victorious and my aspiration is to win the gold medal which is very realistic not because we are the hosts but because of the talents at our disposal.

“I believe in my boys and am cork sure they will not disappoint.”

When asked about the likely team that he thinks could stand as hindrance to their gold medal ambition, the tactician was bold to say there is no cause for alarm.

“The word fear has never been in my dictionary and why should I even be scared? Football is a game between two sides with eleven men each. I can tell you other teams are actually scared of us because they know the stuff we are made of.

“Like I was hinted that some institutions will be parading machineries, they are welcome afterall machineries are human beings and not spirits. We are very prepared for any team and I can bet you that any team that comes our way will sure return home empty handed,” he concluded.

Federal University of Technology, Mubi are the defending champions of the football event won at the last edition hosted by the University of Benin.

Would you like to increase your influence in 2014

Would you like to increase your influence in 2014 especially in media and entertainment industry? Would you like to acquire new skills or deepen an existing one in 3D Animation, Directing, Digital video editing, Motion graphic, Graphic design, Website Design, Acting, Screen Writing, Cinematography, Cosmetology and Costuming?

TIC Film School, a reputable media company with extensive experience and credible list of clients is offering flexible training in all the courses above. The training starts from Monday, 17th February, 2014 and registration has commenced. Continue...

Lazio threatens legal action after claims that teenage footballer is 41

Italian giants Lazio have been forced to release official documents to prove that their player, Joseph Minala is actually 17 years old and not a man in his 40s. Most people don't believe Joseph (pictured left with a team mate) is a teenager. He sure doesn't look like one. (Read the initial story here)

Lazio also threatened legal action after a Senegalese news reported that the Cameroonian footballer was actually 41. Lazio and Minala's agent have produced paper work to prove Minala is actually 17. 

"Lazio denounce this latest attempt from hostile figures to throw a sinister light on this club. We reserve the right to take action against those responsible for the protection of the good name of the company and the footballer.' the club said in a statement.

Joseph also addressed the report on a Senegalese website that he confessed he's 41

'I have read the alleged statements posted on the website in which it says I confessed my real age which was different to what was stated in my official documents. They are false statements that have been attributed to me by people who do not know.'

Minala has had to delete his Instagram and Facebook pages because of the abuse he got over his pics.