Friday, June 17, 2016

Former President Jonathan Fails To Clinch $5m Mo Ibrahim Prize

Goodluck Jonathan has failed to clinch the prestigious $5 million Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership despite meeting a key criterion.
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation, which instituted the prize, said on Thursday that no former African leader met the requirements for the 2015 version of the yearly award.
Namibia's former president was named winner of the the world's richest award that has seen a dearth of worthy candidates, for "good governance" in Africa, last year. 
Hifikepunye Pohamba, 79, is only the fourth winner of the $5 million annual prize, launched in 2007 with the aim of encouraging and rewarding good governance across a continent where the likes of Nelson Mandela -- who bowed out gracefully from office -- remain the exception.
While elections are now the rule in Africa, many leaders seek to force through constitutional changes in order to stay in power, sometimes well into old age, while others die in office or are forced to flee.
The prize, which was instituted in 2006 by Sudanese telecoms entrepreneur, Mo Ibrahim, rewards former African leaders who demonstrated sterling qualities while in office.
The prize rewards democratically elected ex-leaders who left office in the last three years; served their constitutionally mandated term; and demonstrated exceptional leadership.
The prize also “showcases unsung heroes of the African continent; recognises African leaders who have dedicated their tenure of office to developing their countries, improving the welfare and livelihoods of their people and paving the way for sustainable development; offers opportunities for leaders who have left national office to continue in other public roles across the continent; encourages the engagement of African citizens in the leadership debate.
The  award is also “a standard for excellence in leadership in Africa, and not a ‘first prize’, there is not necessarily a Laureate every year,” the foundation said.
The seven-man panel said in a statement that no African leader met its requirements.
The democratic credentials of former President Goodluck Jonathan have been globally celebrated and received yet another boost with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in the United States recognizing him as the leader that provided the best moments for democracy in Africa in 2015. 
In its “The Year in Review” report for 2015, the Center in March 2016 highlighted Nigeria’s 2015 elections and praised Jonathan’s classy role in ensuring a smooth transfer of power in Nigeria which “became a big confidence boost for Africa’s mass movements for democracy.”
Apart from Jonathan, who left office in May 2015, another former African leader who quit in the last three years is Yayi Boni of Benin Republic.
A winner enjoys $5m over 10 years and another $200,000 yearly for life. A winner can also ask for another $200,000 for good causes he or she supports.
So far, only the former presidents of Mozambique, Joaquim Chissano; Botswana’s Festus Mogae; Namibia’s Hifikepunye Pohamba; and Pedro Piers of Cape Verde have clinched the award.
Ex-South African President Nelson Mandela was awarded an honorary prize in 2007. 
www.elombah.com


Establish NYSC farms to ease unemployment - Ikpeazu to FG

Abia State Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, has advised the Federal Government to think of establishing farms across the 36 states, using members of the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) as drivers of a youth agricultural initiative. 
The Governor, according to a statement issued on Thursday by his Chief Press Secretary, Comrade Enyinnaya Appolos, said this when he received the Director General of NYSC, Brig. Gen. Sule Kazaure, who paid him a one day working visit at Government House Umuahia. 
Governor Ikpeazu said the policy will make it mandatory for Corp members to be trained by experts in various aspects of agriculture during their one year national service, and every state will provide farm. 
He said that upon the completion of their service year, the Federal Government will make Agric loans accessible to them to go into various aspect of farming.
Ikpeazu said that the scheme will provide employment as it will encourage youth involvement in agriculture and reduce the number of white collar job seekers.  
The governor said, "I've thought about how to solve the problem of unemployment in Nigeria and I think that the best way to solving this problem Sent from my iPad
According to him, "NYSC is a vehicle that can drive government policies including agriculture and achieve good value chain in the industry".
He promised that the erosion site at the orientation camp will be visited and the female hostel looked into, promising that government will continue to assist the NYSC in the state.
Ikpeazu also pleaded with NYSC to consider awarding contracts for the production of uniforms and boots to Aba tailors and shoe makers to support his administrations drive for patronage of made in Aba goods and services. 
He assured that the state Government will guarantee high quality products as well as provide industrial capacity machines and high quality inputs to a consortium of tailors and shoe makers at Aba to meet the demands of NYSC in a timely manner.
The governor stated that the state is also ready to supply uniforms and boots to military men in the country at competitive prices.
Earlier, the DG of the NYSC, brig Gen Suleiman Zakari Kazaure said that he was in the state for a routine inspection of the camp facility for the batchA stream 2 of the NYSC.
He thanked the Governor for the cordial relationship between the state and the NYSC team in the state.
He also appreciated his achievements in the state including his benevolence to the NYSC.
He further requested him to assist in the area of erosion control in the camp, fix the dilapidated female hostel and provide borehole.
He as well urged him to do something about the subvention payable to NYSC.
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What the oil companies won't tell

This picture is located somewhere deep in the heart of the Niger Delta. It is a flow station protected by a high barbed wire fence. It has only two entrances. This flow station is heavily guarded round the clock 24/7. The flow station is said to be unique because its contents aren't the usual brand of crude oil. As a result, this station is said to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. It is about a mile to the nearest village. For its protection and sensitivity, this piece will skip its other details.
On the day the #IntrepidWarrior visited the sight, about four uniformed and heavily armed soldiers were guarding the facility. As soon as they spotted the visitor, their alarm signals must have gone off simultaneously. Their immediate reaction gave the impression of the fact that this facility must be highly priced. The #IntrepidWarrior spoke with them briefly, introducing himself as a visitor who just wanted to see the progress the facility had brought to the nearby community. He told them he grew up about some miles not too far from there. A short time later, he left.
That evening, it was learnt that the #Avengers had sent word that they were going to storm the facility and advised the soldiers to vacate the place in their own interests, for their own safety. The militants made it known to the soldiers that the four of them won't be a match for them. And even if they called for reinforcement, they could only make matters worse. According to the villagers, the soldiers packed their bags and hurriedly left the flow station that evening. They knew better not to confront the #Avengers whose recent exploits is known far and wide, all the way to Wall Street and Washington DC.
The #IntrepidWarrior was curious and waited to see the end of that little unfolding drama. True to their promise, the #Avengers, at exactly by 12 midnight, stormed the facility in two gunboats. But on this visit, they scouted the peremeter fencing and other vital information and perhaps marked the flow station as a prime target to be destroyed at their time of convenience. The Niger Delta is crisscrossed with thousands of such oil and gas facilities. They could storm any at their whim and caprice. Almost all the oil and gas facilities are vulnerable to a large degree.
Given the above scenario, one must wonder how the military expects to annihilate the militants by bombing them out of existence without heavy collateral damage? Can the army really bomb the #Avengers out of existent and risk losing the war itself? Can the administration risk losing whatever is left of the oil and gas industry, and in the process further put its military generals in collison with the Hague for war crimes? Already, the army has been indicted by Amnesty International for killing unarmed IPOB demostrators. Can the military therefore, ill afford to take another indictment for the gross abuse of human rights violations in the Niger Delta?
While these issues dominate both sides of the impasse, there are other things that occupied the mind of the #IntrepidWarrior. He was not far from one of the tributaries of the River Nunn. Under the shining moonlight, he could clearly see how the river was heavily polluted. In the village, the natives lamented their fate and told stories of the good old days when food, fish and virtually everything was bountiful. Looking around, there were no relics of the past to offer them a sense of nostalgia. To most of them, their paradise was gone forever. The multi-million dollar flow station in no way was about to alleviate their poverty and miserable lives. It is that sense of hopelessness that have drawn them to sympathise with the mission of the #Avengers.
So far in the Niger Delta, Ogoniland has become the gold standard in epic pollution matters. But traverse through the region and one cannot even imagine the sense-defying devastation of the ecosystem and how it might take several hundreds of years to reinvent the Niger Delta as it were. It is preposterous to talk about the Niger Delta ever getting back to her natural God-given state. However, the greater tragedy is that the people of the Niger Delta have nothing to fall back on because the socio-economic and political system have completely eliminated them from the equation. The only variables in the oil and gas industry are three constants: the govt (g), the oil giants, (og) and the cabals [C]. The equation has no place for the little guys called the natives!
After several years, it has dawned on the people that the federal government and the oil giants have no appetite for meaningful dialogue that would put the actual owners of the resources in the drivers seat. Over the years, it has become self-evident that Nigeria's over-dependence on crude oil has produced an elite class whose lifestyles are tied to the oil and gas industry like an umbilical cord to a new-born baby. Consequently, weaning Nigeria's power-drunk political class off the Niger Delta must take an epic battle for the ages. No one is sure how long this epic battle will last. It is this million dollar question that the #Avengers are trying to decipher. It is dubbed the fight between David and Goliath as they confront the military that is armed to the teeth.
Even so, a few things are going for the little man David. The #Avengers can boast of state of the art weapon system within a short time if pushed to the outer limits of their endurance. There's already talk they possess surface to air missiles systems capable of expanding the theater of war. Besides, it is no brainer for the militants to acquire other types of deadly low platform striking capabilities that could rock far away locations outside the region. They could also add another dimension to the situation by hiring mercenaries to aid them as needed. This possibility could be more than ugly.
However, their best advantage is that they know the terrain like the back of their palms. They already have the targets figured out. And they can strike at them no matter any air, sea or land bombardment. The army could chew more than they can handle if they underestimate this David of the Niger Delta. This is an inconvenient truth that the oil giants cannot tell.
__________ Ebi B Asain


Free at last, as Nigeria floats its currency - The Economist

For Godwin Emefiele in Nigeria, the added twist is that both problems are partly his fault. 
The central bank’s policy of trying to maintain the value of the naira, Nigeria’s currency, in the face of a slump in the price of oil, which used to account for about 90% of the country’s export earnings, has failed miserably. 
Now it is being scrapped.
Mr Emefiele tried heroically to conserve the country’s dwindling reserves of foreign exchange. 
In effect, he –
- banned the import of a huge range of goods, from tinned fish to toothpicks; 
- arbitrarily rationed the supply of dollars from the central bank to importers; and,
- threatened to clamp down on people trading dollars on the black market. 
Mr Emefiele maintained this policy even as other oil exporters such as Russia, Angola and Kazakhstan allowed their currencies to slide to make exports more competitive and to dampen demand for imports.
Despite the central bank’s best efforts to defend the peg of 197 naira to the dollar, it continued its slide on the black market, where a dollar costs more than 360 naira. 
Since most importers have to get their dollars on the black market, rather than through the tiny allocations released by the central bank, the price of almost everything in Nigeria has soared. In May annual inflation jumped to almost 16%.
Foreign investors have pulled back, and reserves have slumped. Factories have closed their rusty doors, shedding tens of thousands of jobs. 
In recent weeks airlines including United, an American carrier, and Iberia, a Spanish one, have stopped flying to Nigeria because they cannot take money from ticket sales out of the country. 
Ramming home the foolishness of the policy was the revelation that the economy shrank in the 12 months to March, its first contraction in over a decade.
On June 15th Mr Emefiele finally relented. 
After patting itself on the back for “eliminating speculators” (in reality only those with pals in the central bank had access to cheap dollars they could sell for a quick profit on the black market) and stoking domestic production (manufacturing contracted by 7% in the 12 months to March), the central bank explained that it would introduce a “flexible interbank exchange-rate market” starting on June 20th.
If the currency is allowed to find its natural home, it may settle somewhere between 280 and 350 naira to the dollar, traders reckon.
Many people were surprised by the extent of the currency’s liberalisation after so much talk of the central bank introducing some sort of two-tiered exchange rate. 
Some see the hand of the president, Muhammadu Buhari, in the new policy. 
Mr Buhari had previously blocked proposals to devalue the currency, saying it would “kill” the naira and hurt the poor. 
Yet in recent weeks he has softened his stance, and is thought to have insisted that the central bank should go for a fully-floating exchange rate rather than some sort of dual rate, which would only have fuelled yet more corruption.
Even so, private-sector bankers are wary. They fret about lingering controls. 
The central bank says it will intervene in the market “as the need arises”. 
The new policy “sounds almost too good to be true,” says Alan Cameron, an economist at Exotix, a bond-trading firm in London. 
“Having seen so many false dawns in the past six months, I think many will need to see the new system operating before they believe it.”
But if Nigeria does what it says it will, it can expect a surge of investment. 
Some big private-equity firms say they have been eyeing up deals, but waiting for news on the currency. 
Nigeria will have an easier time borrowing $1 billion abroad to help meet a budget deficit of about 2% of GDP. 
A second quarter of negative growth looks inevitable, and with it a recession. But the worst may soon be over.


Thursday, June 16, 2016

Being Good Tempered

It is hard to live or work with people who are unpredictable.
This page is about the other side of the coin: how to cultivate a good or even temper.
Like Friendliness, good temper is a quality that makes people easier and more pleasant to be around.

People with 'good temper' are often referred to as amiable or equable, meaning that they are easy to get along with. They tend to have good emotional intelligence and be charismatic.

Definitions of ‘temper’
‘Temper’ is an interesting word. It derives from the Latin temperare meaning to moderate or restrain, hence the idea of ‘tempering’ as ‘moderating’. We talk about someone being a ‘tempering influence’, meaning that they are able to restrain those around them.
But 'temper' is also used to mean both state of mind or mood, and uncontrolled anger. We describe people as being ‘in a temper’ when they are cross or angry. So the use of ‘good’ is important here to signal the element of moral goodness that is required to be able to manage temper and anger.

The Importance of Anger
Being good-tempered does not mean tolerating unpleasant or bad behaviour, or never getting angry.
Being too malleable or persuasive is not the same as being good-tempered.
The man who is angry at the right things and with the right people, and, further, as he ought when he ought, and as long as he ought is praised.


Aristotle
Sometimes anger is necessary and important. For example, if your own or someone else’s rights have been infringed, you may rightly feel anger, and the need to correct the situation. Good-tempered people are able to do this well, and without causing offence. Like friendly people, they are master of their emotion and do not let it master their reason.
Good temper governs anger, not the other way round.


Good-tempered people can assert themselves appropriately to ensure that they and others are treated with respect. To learn more about assertiveness see our page Assertiveness an Introduction


What Should Make You Angry?
There are many things that can irritate us, from lateness through to rudeness, or even just being tired and a bit stressed.
But rightful anger, Aristotle suggested, is only felt by those who are good-tempered when they have been treated with contempt, spite or insolence.
·        Contempt is an unpleasant feeling about something that you consider unimportant. If you have been treated with contempt, you may feel that your views or feelings have been treated as less important than someone else’s, or that you have been overlooked in some way. You may have a burning feeling that you have been treated unfairly.
·        Spite is taking action to ensure that someone else does not get what they want. The action is taken simply because you want to stop them, not because you want that something yourself.
·        Insolence is doing or saying things that cause others to feel ashamed or embarrassed.
In all three, there is an element of pleasure in causing pain or hurt; these are not inadvertent actions, but deliberate.
This is partly why it is so unpleasant to be on the receiving end of any of them; someone is making a deliberate effort to hurt you in some way.
When you feel anger, and you think you have been treated with contempt, spite or insolence, take a moment to check that you have not climbed the ‘Ladder of Inference’.
A simple question or two can uncover whether you are making unjustified assumptions about the motives of others.


Assessing Your Temper
The first step towards mastering your temper, and becoming ‘good-tempered’, is to work out how you react when you are angry. There are four main types of temper or anger:
·        Hot-tempered people react quickly. Their anger flares up instantly, but also dies down fast. Five minutes later, they will probably have forgotten that they have been angry. But those around them may not forget so quickly, and may be confused and hurt by the rapid change.
·        Choleric people are also quick to anger, and are ready to be angry with anyone, on any occasion. They are also described as ‘prickly’.
·        Sulky people hold a grudge, and may take a long time to calm down. They are hard to appease when they have become angry.
·        Bad-tempered people tend to be angry at the wrong things, more than they should, and take longer to calm down. They often want to ‘get even’.
Consider which of these you tend towards. You may find that it helps to think through specific occasions, and consider with whom you get angry, how much, whether it is in proportion to the offence, and how long you stay angry afterwards. This will also help you to work out your ‘triggers’, so that you are aware of when you are likely to be angry, and can remain in control.

Managing Your Temper
It may also be helpful to consider some very specific questions when you feel ‘righteous indignation’, which will support the development of ‘good temper’.
These are:
·        Can I do anything to improve the situation or compensate me (or those to whom wrong has been done) for the losses, and punish the wrongdoers? If not, then it is time to calm down and move on.
·        Will what I can do regain the respect that I feel that I have lost? If not, don’t do it.
·        Is it really worth it? How much respect have I lost, and how much has the wrongdoer gained as a result of the insult? And how much do I have to lose if I take action?

‘Don’t get mad, get even’


Sally was working on a difficult project, which took a lot of time and energy, and involved careful compromises on several different aspects. One day, on the phone, a colleague from another department suggested that her work on the project would be very different if she had children, because then she would “care more”. She was furious: he had brought into question her professional competence. She stormed off to complain to her boss, Richard.
Richard was always calm. He greeted her story with gentle amusement, and allowed her a chance to vent. He agreed that it was outrageous to have questioned her professional integrity.
Then he said, “Don’t get mad, get even. By which I don’t mean get revenge, but get your relationship back onto a calm, professional footing. You can’t work effectively otherwise, and it’s you who will suffer more.
He was right, and she recognised that immediately. Sometimes you have to put your anger aside, and work together for the general good.
It is also worth asking whether you are really, genuinely angry with the person who has provoked you, or whether you are just looking for a fight. Are you, perhaps, a bit short on sleep and taking it out on the world in general? Are you feeling irritable about something or someone else?
Before you react, and especially if you are very hot-tempered, ask yourself if it’s really worth it.
Use your reason to master your anger and you will be well on the way to developing a ‘good temper’.

‘Turning the other cheek’
Christianity preaches that if someone hits you, you should ‘turn the other cheek’; in other words, not react angrily but allow them to hit again if they wish to do so. 
No matter who says what, you should accept it with a smile and do your own work.


Mother Teresa
Aristotle’s teaching was slightly different, and perhaps more ‘human’, since he believed that it was acceptable and human to be angry if someone was contemptuous of you.
Which ideal you choose to aspire to is of course up to you, but you should strive never to be contemptuous of those who do not either aspire or achieve the same as you.
You should also not beat yourself up if you have difficulties in living up to your ambitions. We are all human, after all!

For the love of gaming: Xbox One S


Microsoft on Monday unveiled a leaner Xbox One model and a lineup of coming games as it strived to make up lost ground on Sony’s market-leading rival PlayStation 4.
Xbox team head Phil Spencer used a Microsoft press event on the eve of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) video game extravaganza to introduce an Xbox One S that will be priced at $299 when it hits the market in August.
“This is just the beginning,” Spencer said. “We see opportunities on the horizon.”
At a separate event later in the day, Sony put the spotlight on a line-up of big, beautiful games and announced that a keenly-awaited virtual reality headset that works with PS4 consoles will be released on October 13 a price of $399.
Sony late last year cut $50 off the price of PS4, making the console available for $350. Microsoft had earlier made a similar move, lowering the Xbox One price to $350 by unbundling it from a Kinect motion-sensing accessory.
Xbox One S was described as being about 40 percent smaller than its predecessor.
With an eye on the future, Microsoft is also working on a powerful new version of Xbox One designed as a platform for exquisite virtual reality and ultrahigh-graphics games, according to Spencer.
“Delivering the world’s most powerful console is exactly what we want to do,” he said.
The upgraded Xbox One model, dubbed “Project Scorpio,” will be released at the end of next year, in time for the prime gift-giving holiday season, according to Microsoft.
Scorpio was announced early to provide game makers and other software savants time to create content or experiences for the beefed-up Xbox One.
Spencer promised that the Scorpio version of Xbox One would enable virtual reality experiences without any sacrifice of performance.
– Play anywhere –
Microsoft also announced that players would be able to hand Xbox One games off to Windows-powered computers due to a new “Play Anywhere” capability.
“Gamers have never had more choice in how and where they play,” Spencer said.
Despite trends toward play on smartphones, tablets, and personal computers, industry heavyweights are not giving up consoles which have long ruled the lucrative sector.
Sony heads into E3 as a market leader, having sold more than 40 million PS4 consoles since they launched in late 2013.
While Microsoft has not released current sales figures for its Xbox One console that debuted in the market at nearly the same time, industry estimates are that they are roughly half those of PS4.
– Grand games galore –
Given that PS4 and Xbox One are in their third year on the market, and the Nintendo Wii U is in its fourth year, console makers will be out to fuel interest with big new games and enhanced features, according to analysts.
Sony provided glimpses at coming PS4 titles including a new “God of War,” along with “Spider-Man,” and “Days Gone.”
Revered game maker Hideo Kojima appeared on stage to reveal his new studio’s first project, a game called “Death Stranding.”
Sony promised more than 50 games for PlayStation VR will be available within months after the launch, among them zombie-shooter “Resident Evil,” one based on the iconic “Star Wars” franchise, and another on the comic book dark knight “Batman.”
Xbox One game announcements included exclusive blockbusters “Gears of War” and “Halo” titles, and an intriguing new “We Happy Few” by Compulsion Games studio.
Virtual reality, streaming play and titles tailored for smartphones are expected to be hot themes at E3.
Demonstrations of content for Facebook-owned Oculus Rift headgear are once again expected to draw crowds on the show floor, which opens on Tuesday.
Oculus began selling its Rift virtual reality headsets earlier this year for $599, a price which does not include the cost of a computer that can handle the processing and graphics demands of the technology.
HTC set a price of $799 for Vive VR gear, which also requires computer systems that can handle the rich experience.


Stolen N300m: Senate President Saraki Recovers N52 million From Accountant; Will Deport Beninois Staff

Senate President Bukola Saraki is conniving with the Nigerian Immigration Service to deport members of his domestic staff reportedly involved in the theft of N300m in his bedroom in Ilorin, Kwara State. Last weekend the Kwara Police Command recovered N52m from one "Alhaji Ishmail," reported to be Saraki’s domestic accountant.  The police investigators have so far refused to disclose their findings concerning the theft of the huge sum of money, in two tranches, last month.

Senate President Bukola Saraki is conniving with the Nigerian Immigration Service to deport members of his domestic staff reportedly involved in the theft of N300m in his bedroom in Ilorin, Kwara State.
Last weekend the Kwara Police Command recovered N52m from one "Alhaji Ishmail," reported to be Saraki’s domestic accountant.  The police investigators have so far refused to disclose their findings concerning the theft of the huge sum of money, in two tranches, last month.
A police source, however, told Saharareporters that they have arrested several persons below over the theft. 
The names of the suspects were given as Isaac Nuhu, Oyeniyi Oluwatoyin, Johnson Oluwafemi, Ayoko Ohibu, Tunde Abolade, Buhari Mufutau, Sunday Dalumo, Abel Gbewa, Ajani Bamidele. Ojo Makonde, Femi Adebayo, Haruan Sheidu, Alimi Yinusa, Muhammed Gambari, Emile Abayomi, Shola Owolabi, Nathaniel Ahouangnimon, Akinboboye, Cletus and Achwuche.
Nationals of Benin Republic on the list are being deported by the NIS at the instance of Mr. Saraki.