Mobile news firm”s database hits 81million

The data base of Global Reach out ,a one stop shop  for mobile short message services[sms] is now said to be past the 81million mark.
In an exclusive interview recently in Lagos, Nigeria, The Chief Executive officer of the company Mr Quadri Abubakar that the company provides platform for mobile alerts to residents in various states in Nigeria through sms with the formidable GSM number database of residents in all states nationwide.
He explained that the purpose for this was to transmit headline news and scoops via SMS so that this kind of innovation will help to drive home the demand for the newspaper in the mindset of Nigerians.
He added that in addition to giving headline news alert ,they also provide logistics for real time news alert  and this helps to ensure that sizzling real time news is transmitted through short message services  with reference to full details in the print media.
He listed clients that they have worked for in the past or at present as Microsoft ,Samsung, Coca-Cola, Indomie, VcONNECT, Chicken Republic, Forever Living Products ,Swift Networks ,Redeem Christian Church of God Action Congress of Nigeria ,LG ,PDP ,Tanla connecting the dots among many others.
Shoprite beats UTC, Spar, others At Biggest piggery farm on pork procurement

Shoprite is said to be the retail outlet that  has the largest chunk of the market in  the field of pork meat procurement.
Investigations at the Oke –Aro Adiyan Pig Farm along the borders of Lagos State and Ogun State revealed that the retail giant has been buying pork meat for processing in the last four years.
In an exclusive interview with a pig farmer in the farm reputed to be among the biggest in sub-Saharan Africa, Mr Aziz Hamzat said that in the last four years the management for Shoprite buy pig meat from an average of four times in a week  correlating to at least 30 pieces on a daily basis.
He noted with joy that they have had no problems with Shoprite and other big clients  as they have met their needs whenever there was a demand to that effect.
He revealed that a retail outlet like the UTC super stores collect at least 15 pieces of pork meat in a week while Park”n”Shop ,also called Spar  collect specific parts like lungs ,liver, bellies and laps but will not be able to tell  the actual quantity.
His words:”At the moment we sell a pig depending on its Measurement, N275 per kilogram ,the one’s we have been selling to our big clients averagely weigh about 30 kg
“I know that herbalists use it too for their activities aside from Egun  people who virtually worship the animal as they adore it a lot so much that they include it as part of their bride price
“There are lots of Chinese related concerns too that usually come to us to give there order  through a lot of intermediaries”
Mr Hamzat pointed out that a lot of farmers were in  the habit of coming to them to buy the animal dung of their piggery for usage in their respective farms as a manure.
In an  investigation at the farm recently ,18 different varieties and shapes of pigs were seen been taken to warri in Delta state through a big truck meant for that purpose.
A trader who spoke on anonymity said that they came to Oke-Aro Adiyan Pig Farms  because they were searching for a suitable market for their products.
It was discovered  that pig could be slaughtered and dissected  directly in the farm before been weighed on a big balance to ascertain their weight so as to determine the price in which it will be sold.
It was gathered that after the pork meat has been weighed they are usually washed thoroughly before they are transported into a waiting van ,which then carries the consignment into the open market.

Interview with the Chief Executive officer of Kabiyesi Motors, Mr Jaiyeoba Folajoba on the automobile business in Nigeria.

Interview with the Chief Executive officer of  Kabiyesi Motors, Mr Jaiyeoba Folajoba on the automobile business in Nigeria.

Question: Why car business?

If you look at the Nigeria of today you will know that you need something to motivate you to push on with life otherwise you will easily get discouraged.
For example, if you are to go for a contract appointment and you get there late or you do not have a good car in place to take you it could mean the end to that opportunity.
When you are driving your own vehicle ,there is always a feeling of joy as it allows you to be able to think with a clear cut mind set.
In this part of the world due to our prevailing circumstances ,owning a car is considered as a status symbol  and I tell you that no matter how brilliant you are if you go to an event on mere foot you will not be recognized .

Question: How long have you been passionately attached to the automobile sector?

When you move  around you see a lot of cars that have broken down, I used to wonder whether there was no quality car  available in Nigeria.
It was in  the course of my study on the automobile industry that I discovered that Peugeot  was the best. The fuel efficiency is very high  and at 1.5 litres of oil it can drive you to a distance like Ibadan in Oyo State.
I  began to tell myself that if Peugeot can give up this unique selling point  then I do not mind going into the trade on a full time basis.
Most of our top line executives travel by air because they feel that the roads are very bad but I tell you that if you use a good   car like a Peugeot you do not need to go by air at all cost.
I wanted to study aeronautics engineering but for poor funding and this was why I now decided to venture into auto -business .

Question: How has it been setting up your own business?

If you do not have an asset  or loans  then you will not be able to get to the top, the kind of system we run does not really look at what a man has to offer.
Recently , the Federal government started a project called “YOU WIN” and I submitted my application towards the project  and was eventually shortlisted .
We went for the seminar for a week in Abuja but after this we heard that they will give us a loan worth N10 million   but after this I did not hear from them again.
In setting up a garage ,you will need  a  good land facing a  main road ,you will need at least N5m to acquire your license from a manufacturing automobile company  and maybe you will have to put aside another N2m for workers welfare in the first year.

Question: Have you gotten any form of support so far?

All I have with me now is our company’s certificate of incorporation, though I have heard of people saying that some people may want to invest as venture capitalists but I have not gotten such a break through  yet but am still praying and searching.

Question: What is the future of the automobile sector in Nigeria ?

It has a bright future as a lot of people want to be mobile ,as you are bringing in new products and services you will need a transport platform to distribute them into different locations.

Question :Are there people like you who started the hard way?

I will not like to mention names but there are so many out there in the market place that started with absolutely nothing.
I know that the Federal government  was sponsoring people for training at Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Limited and from there onwards the graduands were given soft loans to start up a business on their own.
But nowadays things have changed as the reverse is the case as you now have to fight for yourself.

Question: Your interest seems to lie in Peugeot ,why is this so?


This is because they actually trained me and if I decide to sign any form of agreement with them I will have to display their products in front of my show room or warehouse.

Question: Is it possible to do other auto-deals ?

It is very possible and in our current proposals we are looking at Nissan, Kia, Toyota and Ford vehicles.



Question: How do you intend to market Kabiyesi Motors?

We intend to be special ,our first strategy is that we want to visit all the palace in the Federation and meet with all the major monarchs for networking sessions.
Our agenda is that we will want to bring back the glory of Peugeot to Nigeria , we want to make sure that every Nigerian has a Peugeot brand in his garage.
It is a vehicle that I do know that is good for somebody   that is coming up very strongly in life as it will help you to save for other things.
We want to partner with the press so that all the potentials inhibited in us will be revealed to the general public ,we intend to organize auto-fairs  which will help us to raise our profit margin.

Question: Are there Non-governmental organization that are willing to support your philosophies?

I am not aware of any charity organization that is supporting budding entrepreneurs in the field of automobile.
How do you intend to survive the politics of the automobile sector?

Since Peugeot is an Federal government  assisted project ,it then means that we will be working with vital security organs of the state in the course of carrying out our business and with that in mind we can do our auto affairs without any form of hindrance.
We are also thinking of how we can partner the GSM providers  and see how we can do things together .
Question: when do you hope to open your garage to the general public for business?

As soon as we have a breakthrough in the field of   finance we will be able to open up our own garage, the source of our financing at the moment is personal.
Apart from what I put in on a personal basis, I also get support from some of my close friends purely due to goodwill.

Question: Are you frustrated by what you have seen so far?

I am not in any way frustrated because am not the only one that has passed through this rough road before ,if God opens a book for you it will remain on but if you help him to open a book then you will regret it.
Latex Foam fights Vitafoam for Nigeria ,West African market Vitafoam Nigeria will have to brace up for a fierce challenge on the local and the sub-regional market due to the assault of Ghanaian manufacturing giant ,Latex Foam.
Investigations on the matter in Lagos, Nigeria revealed that the Ghana firm has finally decided to confront the business strength of their rivals.
A source at Sunbird African Media who will not want his name in the print said in a terse reply to enquiries on the matter that Latex Foam indeed was renewing its strength to battle for a chunk of the Nigerian market and the sub-regional market as well.
Vitafoam Nigeria Plc owns at least 90 percent of Vitafoam Ghana Limited with the company producing flexible, reconstituted and rigid foam products to the consumers, Latex Foam Ghana Limited on the other hand has presence in Niger Republic and nearby Burkina Faso where they have maintained a strangled hold on the respective markets aside from their pole  position in the Ghana market where they are the undisputable market leader.

Fresh battle for soul of newspaper market

Media Trust Limited , publishers of The Daily Trust Newspapers  have declared that they were now more than ready to finally take over the market from  the  grips of other newspapers rated above them.
In an exclusive phone interview ,The General Manager of the Daily Trust Newspapers, Abuja ,Alhaji Aliyu Akoshile said that the trump card they were wielding against their rivals is that they have strengthened up in the highly volatile North East market.
Alhaji Akoshile in a very exciting tone at news that his company now publishes Nigeria’s second most influential newspaper brand after The Punch Newspapers noted that they were the only Nigerian newspaper company with four printing plant.
He listed places like Maiduguri ,Abuja, Lagos, Kaduna, Kano as being among the places they actually print from in Nigeria.
His words:”Am surprised that Infotools of South Africa in its survey of the media market did not include the North East in its analysis
“The Boko Haram insurgency has not in any way affected our business as we have coped quite well ,it will surprise you to know that despite the security problems which has led to a lot of tensions nationwide ,people always loved to and want to read always
“Though there are some other Nigerian newspapers that print from Lagos, Abuja simultaneously or from other locations but no Nigerian newspaper prints from four different locations or even Miaduguri like Daily Trust Newspapers.
He paid tributes to the reportorial and unique style of The Premier tabloid Newspaper as its style has marked it out as a brand to look out for in the market sooner than later.
He explained that in the Lagos Zone of the newspaper market ,Media Trust Limited do not have a full blown printing press but actually synergize through a partnership with Vanguard Media Limited.
As at press time it was gathered exclusively through moles at The Punch Newspapers   that three new printing machines were being shipping into the country from India as the battle for the soul of the print media hots up.
It was learned that The Punch Newspaper sell at least 90 percent of its product upon production from their plant along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway with 90 percent been pre-paid.
It was gathered that The Punch Newspapers was attempting to start printing in Port Harcourt and Benin  as it hopes to consolidate on earlier gains.
The trio of The Punch ,Daily Trust and Complete Sports are said to be the most market accepted brands in the newspaper market presently by a recent independent survey commissioned by a  Steam Broadcasting Communications limited in conjunction with  Infotools  of South Africa .

Expert urge govt to empower Nigerians economically to fight hackers

A n information technology expert and the Marketing manager of Libra Computers and ICT Learning Centre ,Mr Victor Kalu has pleaded with the government to try to empower all Nigerians so that the dangers associated with computer hacking will be eliminated.
In an exclusive interview in his office in Lagos, Nigeria, Mr  Kalu said  that if the purchasing power of an average Nigerian was good he was sure that they the market will be strong enough to demand for only quality products.
He explained that it was critical for the government to re-orientate the masses towards this direction as it was not that Nigerians did not like good things but did  not have the opportunity for quality.
He cited an example of a product like the I -pad and the I-Pod which a lot of Nigerians own as part of their personal property despite the cost implications.
His words:”recently,I went to buy a Ford vehicle  and I had seen this online  but when I went to buy the same product at a Nigerian auto shop they had stripped it of all of its high tech features
”If you want to buy a brand new  Dell Computer ,you will spend N160,000 ,but the  same Dell quality at a cheaper price will go for a used brand at N20,000 TO N25,000 with the same life span”
Mr Kalu noted that it was high time that Nigerians learn to ask for the best like Americans do always irrespective of the situation.
He enjoined local investors and traders to come up with innovations that will stand the test of time as this will go a long way in preventing the sales of cheaper and foreign computers into the local market.
Kalu Speaks:”the government has tried so many times to ban the importation of fairly used electronics ,I think they gave it a higher tariff and people protested against it and they relaxed there postures
“Do you know how many mobile phones have being stolen in this country and yet come to think of it we do not have a single mobile phone manufacturer”
He affirmed that if local firms were encouraged to look in this area it will destroy the issue of hacking.
The computer expert pointed out that buyers of computers in this part of the world usually buy them for normal usage but quickly added that if a man buys a computer the man that has an access to its virgin state  was not the end user but the retailer.
According to him the retailers usually reformat the gadgets and then insert localized software’s to there advantage.
He however pointed out that the situation undergoes a reversal when using a mobile phone by a consumer that was previously used before selling, saying that it was the end user that get the private details of the previous owner.
Kalu added that people also buy up used computers because consumers believe that imported products were more durable  and had a lot of technological advantage.

CABLE THEFT STALL PEACE TELECOMMS

The Peace Telecommunications Limited has declared   that it will not be expanding any time soon due to the activities of vandals who were in the habit of stealing their cables.
In an exclusive interview with  in Lagos, Nigeria, Chief Executive officer, Barrister Livingstone Arueye said that the company   went through hell in the hands of a bandit that it made the mistake of employing as  they did not know was a petty thief.
He noted that they were  using heavy wired facility cables in the past  and this normally attracts thieves to them  as the men of the underworld normally cut them due to the presence of  copper  which can be use in making ear rings and necklace ..
His words:”At the peak of our operations, we had at least 2000 subscribers  because of the way our cables are been vandalized  we have stopped any plans to expand for now
“We had a staff called “Kenneth”but we did not  know that he was a common thief, we caught him three times vandalizing our cables
“On the first occasion ,he had done this and it was the jelly in the cable which stained him that gave him away when he came to wash the stain from  his body as his colleagues saw him
“There was an occasion too that he was nabbed by a police woman in Area” G”,where he had gone to vandalize our cables ,the last incident was when he conspired with another co-worker to steal some of our cables with a van
“His partner in crime later confessed that he was paid a paltry N3,000 to agree to do the crime,he is so cunning that after the initial incident  and we forgave him after a lot of pleas on his behalf  and with an understanding that there will be no such incident again yet eh hatched another trick
“He had the habit of coming to report to me  that one of our cables have either being stolen or destroyed  and I can tell you now that this was a smart ploy by him so that nobody will point accusing fingers at him or suspect him of theft in the company again”
It would be recalled that on the 19th of August,2006 ,Peace Telecommunications Limited’s signals went off air .
It was discovered as at then that the winds as at then  blew apart certain wire cables of the company .
A source at the engineering department  of the company said that there were over 150 lines affected as a result of the incident and wondered why it happened at the time despite the logistics in place.
He urged customers not to be dismayed by the sad incident as their team of engineers were working around the clock to bring back their favorite product.
Arab Contractors set to commence demolition job On Lagos road project

Arab Contractors O.A.O Nigeria Limited will soon be starting the demolition of every structures within the five centimeter radius of their road project along Ifako-iJaiye area in Lagos.
Investigations by  in Lagos revealed that the project which is expected to be completed by December,2013  was only started in September,2012.
It was discovered that several properties ranging from privately owned buildings, public institutions, commercial outfits  were earmarked for demolition  soon due to their contravening the five centimeter standard regulated gap between a major road and buildings of any type
This reporter saw all the display of the Egyptian outfit’s power of construction engineering in full display as caterpillars excavated the floor
Investigations showed that casted materials already been put in place to fill up the open drains aside from the floor of the drainage canals.
When this reporter called it was gathered that the site engineer was not on location as he has gone to Ikorodu area of Lagos on an official assignment.
It was discovered that there were two main containers on the side of Ifako-Ijaiye road complete with various equipments for the project.
Certain parts of the road were seen marked out with tapes in order for the company to work properly aside from company personnel directing motorists to other directions so that they will not disturb there job.
Arab Contractors O.A.O Nigeria Limited was established in 1991 with the objective of contributing to the great developmental efforts taking place in Nigeria.
Within a short period of 10 years ,the company has the privilege of completing several projects and giving employment to over 3,000 Nigerians .
Projects such as Dams, bridges, culverts and protection, Irrigation, hydraulic structures such as weirs, builders, spillways, ducts and channels, schools, hospitals and buildings are some of what  Arab Contactors have handled in Nigeria.

STIGMA DROVE OWNERS TO SELL 'NEWSWATCH'

The stigma of been aware of the truth behind the death of their professional colleague ,late Mr Dele Giwa was what drove the owners of the company to actually sell it to another investor.
Investigations  exclusively on the subject in 2009 showed that while the extremely dubious directors were busy feeding fat on the Dele Giwa legacy they actually had a Babangida mole inside the company,
Checks showed that when the company was formed ,Chief Alex Akinyele who was at some point the image maker of the Nigerian Customs was made a member of the Board of Directors ,however when Mr Giwa got enmeshed in the “Gloria Okon affair” and eventually got blown apart by a letter bomb sometimes later ,the Ondo high Chief was made Minister of Information.
it was learned that this was one of a grand plan by the “gap -toothed”General to cover up his tracks which was consistently blown open by the deceased lawyer, Chief Ganiyu Fawenhinmi.
When Chief Akinyele left the Newswatch Board to launder the government’s image and help to cushion up the system due to the tension created by Chief Fawenhinmi ,another mole by the name of a certain Mike Adenuga Junior was installed as a Board Member in the company.
At this time in history it was easy for the racket to have been perfected as Mr Mike Adenuga Junior was not yet a recurring decimal in Nigeria’s politics and business life like he is today.
Today,Mr  Mike Adenuga has since transited into becoming an “Otunba”,a chieftaincy title in his native Yoruba land depicting the fortune that has smiled on him after returning to Nigeria from the United States where he did menial jobs like Security guard,taxi driving  among others to keep body and soul together while finishing his university education about the same time.
Investigations by  on the Dele Giwa letter bomb saga  showed that long before the reporter was mowed down by assailants who remained at large till date ,the journalist was actually under surveillance without his knowledge.
Checks showed that Talabi Street off Adeniyi Jones Avenue in Ikeja where the “Star Editor” lived before an early death was probably the largest civilian owned military barracks in the world.
It was learned that landlords  wanting to be in the good books of the regime at the time rented ,leased or sold their properties to various  formations in the military top brass and since Talabi Estate Resident Association normally had a meeting of landlords and tenants monthly it was easy for the Babangida regime to monitor what was happening in the area.
It was discovered that due to the several warnings of military zone inscription at Talabi Street back then ,an air of intimidation was unleashed on residents and passer –by  by the military so as to maintain sealed lips on the motive behind the Dele Giwa murder.
The Difference Newspaper gathered as at then albeit exclusively  that a former military administrator of one of the south western states and who later became a diplomat under a civilian dispensation  was in fact the dispatch rider  from Dodan Barracks who gave the mail that sent Mr Dele Giwa to a journey of no return.
When This reporter  called at what was called  First Foundation Hospital at Opebi in Ikeja,Lagos to ask questions on Mr Giwa’s medical history  as that was where he gave up the ghost it was discovered that the health institution was no longer offering out-patient  services in Nigeria but was now selling bio-medical engineering equipments.
Forensic checks showed that the same organization was now offering the same out -patient facility in the United States though they were the first beneficiary of any government health care contract at the Presidential Villa, Aso Rock, Abuja.
It was learned that by legal norms the public did not have the right to ask for any form of information if it has ceased to exist or operate and this was why it meant that the press,the police and the judiciary will not be able to ask questions in the future  about the case file of Mr Dele Giwa.
When this reporter paid a visit to Mr Bala Dan Abu, then an Editor with New swatch  over the Dele Giwa saga,he simply threw the reporter out of his office despite protocols observed insisting that he was not served a prior notice .
Three years down the line, Messrs Ekpu,Mohammed and others are about  the greatest laughing stock in the entire media community both in Nigeria and globally for shooting themselves in the legs by selling the Newswatch Magazine to business mogul, Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim .
Shortly after the sale of the company,the Founders of Newswatch Magazine suddenly woke up to realize that they had no office or baby to look up to again and then they started to shed crocodile tears all over the place .
Today the war of words between Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim  and the Founders of Newswatch magazine is now a subject of a major case study in “how- not –to- do –evil”.
It was uncovered  that despite the names of Mr Dele Giwa boldly written as the Founder of the magazine the royalty accrued to him was negligible aside from  the fact that none of his family members  ever sat on the Board of Directors of the Newswatch magazine,25 years after the death of the founder.
They recently tried to wipe away public sentiments by placing advertorials in  a news magazine to honor the memory of their deceased colleague ,Mr Dele Giwa .

POWER TUSSLE ROCKS NIGERIAN GUARDIAN NEWSPAPERS

The immediate professional future of the Editor of The Guardian Newspapers, Mr Debo  Adeshina is now shrouded in a lot of uncertainty.
As at press time,he has been confirmed as the Editor-in-chiefof the brand by the  board of the company
Informed moles inside The Guardian Newspapers said exclusively that there were moves to show him the door by the management which is now headed by a Chief Operating officer and represents the interests of the deceased publisher ,Mr Alex Ibru.
A mole explained that there   have been barrage of petitions leveled against Mr Adeshina even from within the organization due to several years of accumulated gross professional misconduct.
He recalled that one of the weekend editors was placed in an acting capacity for eight years due to Mr Adeshina ‘ s evil machinations.
He went down memory lane to recall how Mr Adeshina at the height of his glory slapped Mr Moses Jolayemi , now the Chief Executive officer of Newswatch magazine over an editorial matter but quickly added that the latter replied him instantly.
According to the mole ,there was an air of mistrust among the senior editors of the newspaper as they jostle for who to take over from Mr Adeshina .
He pointed out that the new management has redeployed Mr Adeshina to Head the Abuja Bureau of the newspaper ,once affectionately dubbed “The flagship of the Nigerian print media industry”
He revealed that the bureau Head of the newspaper in Abuja,Mr Martins Oloja had been posted to the head office as Acting Editor preparatory to full installation as substantive editor.
In his opinion, though a soft landing seems to have been given by the company’s management to save Mr Adeshina’s face,he however doubts whether he will want to bite the dust so easily without a fight.
He lamented that the one month long 2008 labor crisis which led to well over 2,000 workers been booted out of the company prompting a case being filed at the Industrial Court as reducing productivity.
His words:”an employer can sack his staff ,there is really nothing the government or anybody can do to compel him to behave otherwise”
Once upon a time ,on January,22nd ,Mr Debo Adeshina under an evil influence conspired in The Guardian Newspaper newsroom to forge a reporters report which was meant to be published on the moneyline pages of the business pages of The Guardian Newspapers.
He had sacked Mr Dipo Okubanjo and Mr Peter Demeyin on the same day all in an attempt to deal with his object of hate on the business desk whom he also  fired.
Every noble effort put forward by the duo of the then Editorial Consultant  ,Dr Jide Oluwajuyitan and the Editorial Board Chairman,Dr Reuben Abati to sort out the crisis was rebuffed by Mr Adeshina for reasons best known to him despite evidence to show that he was witch haunting the hapless reporter.
Due to the forgery scam ,some bankers lost their jobs in the Northern part of the country as they reacted to the report  written about them on impulse  despite not reading the entire body of the reportage.
 checks revealed that the body of the report  was different from the actual headline which is believed was the handiwork of Mr Adeshina.
It would be recalled  between 2007 and 2008,Economic News Media enterprises now defunct ,through its publications like First Voice Newspapers and Business and Economy Newspapers had written at least seven reports about the forgery scam.
The resultant effect of the reports and the burning of The Guardian Newspapers effigy in a protest by the victim led to The Guardian Newspapers  which had not promoted any of its staff for eight years  then to suddenly select some lucky few and promoting them.
Forensic checks by  also showed that this was why the entire work force decided to down tools in November,2008  for a whole month in an attempt to get a share of the cake the owners of the company were distributing as at then.
Further sporadic campaigns by the victim on several locations on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter which went viral over two years ago and is still on –going has not made life easy for the company as the noose tightened around the crooks.
It would appear that the highly controversial Nigerian Press and Practice Bill which was promoted by Honourable Abike Dabiri-Erewa  about two to three years ago  before it was thrown out by the National Assembly after a public hearing was actually hatched inside Rutam House as words went round during numerous conclaves that The Guardian Newspaper had bitten more than it can chew.
It is not known how Mr Gbenga Omotosho ,Editor of The Nation Newspapers ,Prince Femi Kusa will react to the latest development but it is believed that Mr Omotosho had suddenly taken a career in writing news columns rather than lazing around in the newsroom so as to launder his battered public image due to his involvement in a similar scandal ,all proven with documented facts and figures.
Analysts  believe that the continued presence of Mr Omotosho in the saddle as editor is due to his camaraderie with the publisher  of the newspaper, Ashiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu rather than for ability or ethical reasons.
Checks also showed that erstwhile Associate Editor of the business Desk of the now rested   Comet Newspapers had to seek refuge as Personal Assistant to the Chief Executive officer of First Bank Plc from his position as Media Manager when the heat became too much for him to bear over the scam.
To the ordinary eye and the uninitiated  this will have been a routine promotion exercise but it was learned that as a Special Aide to the Chief Executive officer of First Bank Plc,he has the opportunity by the dictates of his office to check letters,phone calls,emails and other messages intended for his principal.
it was gathered that what Mr Jide Ogundele does is to simply remove and destroy any form of documentation which can make him lose his job and this is how he has survived the blitz over the newsroom fraud which he equally participated in.
Insiders agree that the need to quell a possible riot at The Guardian Newspapers over attempts by editors to cover-up the forgery scam led to the management of the company to plead with the management of the Nigerian Police to grant them the need of armed police officers and armored tanks so that they can crush any form of internal or external rebellion.
It would be recalled that in the days immediately after the  death of The publisher of The Guardian Newspapers, Mr Alex Ibru, Prince Femi Kusa ,the Former Deputy Managing Director and the now rested The Comet Newspapers was attacking the deceased on an internet forum in order to give the impression to those he had offended in the past  the believe that he was innocent when in fact he allowed himself to be used to cementing a culture of fraud at The Guardian Newspapers.
It is not known as at press time,the immediate fate of other principal characters of  the scam like Mr Eluemuno Emeka Izeze ,Managing Director of The Guardian Newspapers ,Deputy Editor in Charge of Business and Economy ,Mr Ade Ogidan who were both involved in the fraud.
However,it is expected that developments at Rutam House along Oshodi-Apapa Expressway in Lagos will jolt Mr Val Amanze ,Regional Editor ,Daily Independent Newspapers and Mr Tunji Oketunbi ,the then Nigerian Union of Journalists Chapel Chairman who literarily handed Mr Adeshina the opportunity to go scot free from his dubious acts.
Mr Oketunbi is now the image maker at the Accident Investigations Bureau in Lagos,Nigeria.
The Guardian Newspapers was so great at the peak of its success  that sales and advertising in  a day according to insiders was not less than N10million.
Signs that the brand was deeply in trouble showed about two years ago when its marketing unit goofed publicly as it started begging consumers to pick up The Guardian Newspapers for free and then pay later ,not even Coca-Cola will make this mistake.
In between 2004 when one of the greatest reported newsroom hatchet operations in the newspaper world took place inside Rutam House, a lot has happened globally.
In the United Kingdom for instance ,tabloid brand News –of-the-world  newspapers had to quit business amidst paying three hundred million pounds to victims of phone hacking.

Ajimobi’s wife denies money laundering arrest in London

Wife of Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, Florence
| credits: www.mrsfajimobi.com

Wife of Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, Florence, has denied reports of her arrest by the Metropolitan Police in London.

Speaking with journalists in a telephone interview on Tuesday, the governor’s wife described the news of her arrest as the handiwork of the opposition trying to discredit the Ajimobi-led administration in the state.

An evening newspaper had, on Tuesday in its online version, published a report entitled ‘Anxiety over Florence Ajimobi’s alleged arrest in UK.’ An online agency, Newsleak,also claimed that the wife of the governor had been arrested in London for money laundering.

Asked if she was invited by the police since her arrival in London, she said, “No, not at all. I came back with my daughter on Sunday. Now, I am getting ready to come back home. I have not been invited by the police and I don’t know what all this is about.”

On the reason for her latest trip abroad, she said she took her 14-year-old daughter back to school after her holiday.

She said, “I have a 14-year-old daughter who has been here since 2007. She came to Nigeria for two weeks; we left Nigeria on Sunday morning. That is my mission here.

“I read the report here in England. I was shocked. I read it but there is no iota of truth in everything they wrote. I’m sure it is the work of the  opposition and I am surprised that some people can descend so low to write falsehood.

“I am expected back in the country tomorrow (today) morning.”

Asked to confirm the allegation that she had since the inception of the administration travelled for 52 times, she simply said, “It then means I am not living in Nigeria. Maybe, when I travel back, I will show you my passport to count how many times I have travelled.

“I want you to deal with facts. If you look at my passport since 2007 and compare the way I travelled then with the way I travel now, you will discover that I travel less now.

“My daughter is complaining that I am not regular here. I make her come to Nigeria more because I can’t afford to spend 10 days or more over here.”

Meanwhile, the governor has instituted a N1bn suit against the Independent Communications Network Limited, publishers of PM News for the report.

One of the governor’s aide, who preferred anonymity, said, “So far the governor has spent 68 weeks. How do you reconcile the claim that the First Lady has travelled 52 times since the inception of this administration? Does it mean that she travels every week?”

Don’t abandon people with disabilities in flooded areas —CCD

OCTOBER 31, 2012 BY SODIQ OYELEKE 1 COMMENT

A non-governmental organisation, Centre for Citizens with Disabilities, has called on the government at all levels and stakeholders in the country to extend their support to people with disabilities in the flooded parts of the country.

The Executive Director of the group, Mr. David Anyaele, made this call on Tuesday in Lagos at a press conference on Nigerians with disabilities at the camps set up for people displaced by flood across the federation.

He said the group had received numerous distress calls from persons living with disabilities in some parts of the country flooded in the past one month.

He added, “Unfortunately, under emergency situations, it is the vulnerable groups like women, children, persons with disabilities and the aged that suffer the most. This is because they are usually too weak, poor, voiceless and helpless to have access to the general emergency response that is made available by government, development institutions and individuals.

“In humanitarian emergency situations, persons with disabilities are amongst the most vulnerable groups of the society and tend to be disproportionately affected by the impact of disasters.

“At the same time, they often remain invisible, even though their number statistically makes up approximately 10 per cent of any population. Persons with disabilities, be they of physical, sensory, intellectual or psychological nature, are most often not included in the various stages of disaster response and in disaster preparedness measures, neither as recipients of aid to meet their basic as well as specific needs, nor as active stakeholders and designers or planners of aid measures, voicing their own needs and opinions.”

The group, in its recommendations, urged state and other agencies involved in the emergency management process to take adequate measure to ensure that relief materials and other supports to displaced persons are distributed without discrimination against persons living with disabilities.

Some of the recommendations read, “The state and other emergency management agencies should ensure that all mechanism for data capturing and impact assessment are designed to reflect the needs of persons living with different forms of disability.

“All emergency management institutions should ensure that water and sanitation measures at the relief camps include options that are easily accessible to persons on wheelchairs, the visually impaired and those with other forms of disability.

“The state and other agencies for emergency management should pay adequate professional medical attention to newly injured or disabled persons to avoid medical complications, secondary disabilities or even fatal outcomes, and avoid aggravation of injuries or new disabilities by inadequate transportation of injured persons during evacuation.

“They should equally pay adequate attention to the emotional and social needs of disaster victims to help them overcome normal trauma symptoms, including providing professional psychologists to handle disaster victims that are displaying severe traumatic symptoms to avoid long-term psychic disability.

Racism, Obama and the US presidential election

Viewpoint illustration
| credits: Bennett Omeke

In exactly six days — Tuesday, November 6, 2012 – Americans will go to the polls to cast their votes. In practice, they will elect the next US president; but in reality, all they would be doing is elect Presidential Electors who, in turn, will cast their ballots on December 17, 2012 at the Electoral College. Unlike in other presidential systems around the world, the US Constitution does not allow Americans to directly elect their president and vice-president. This constitutional peculiarity is enshrined in Article II, Section 1, Clause 2, and also in the 12th Amendment.

Because of this seeming constitutional anomaly, it is possible for a candidate to win the nationwide popular vote, but still lose at the Electoral College. This scenario has happened four times in the US history – the most recent being Al Gore, in 2000. Historical records show that in 1824, Andrew Jackson received more popular votes, but John Q. Adams went on to win at the college. Samuel Tilden won the popular vote in 1876, but Rutherford B. Hayes went on to win the Presidency. And in 1888, even though Grover Cleveland won the most votes, Benjamin Harrison went on to beat him at the college.

As Americans ready themselves for the November election, a majority of my social and political friends believe that President Barack Obama will lose – if not the popular vote — but certainly the Electoral College ballot, to Governor Willard Mitt Romney, his Republican challenger. This would make Obama a one-term president. One-term US presidents are George H. Bush (1989-1993), Jimmy Carter (1977-1981), Gerald Ford (1974-1977), Herbert Hoover (1929-1933), William H. Taft (1909-1913), Benjamin Harrison, Martin Van Buren, Grover Cleveland, John Quincy Adams, and John Adams.

There are 538 total votes in the Electoral College and a candidate must win a majority: at least 270 electoral votes. The strangeness of this system means that a candidate who wins 11 of the 12 prized states, while losing 39 other states, can be elected president. The prized states are Georgia, California, Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Texas, Florida, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, and North Carolina. The idea that President Obama may lose this election is what is baffling many political observers and commentators in and outside of the United States.

To understand why Obama’s defeat will reverberate around the world, one must understand where the US was during the George W. Bush’s Presidency. He had committed America to two financially bleeding wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan. And especially in the last three years of his Presidency, the economy was in a shamble. For instance, unemployment was very high, and the housing market had collapsed. There was problem at Wall Street and Main Street. In many foreign capitals, America became a joke. The psyche of the everyday American was also severely affected. This, in a nutshell, was the condition President Obama inherited.

Slowly but steadily, President Obama has guided the country out of the doldrums. If he was a Republican President — considering how far he has moved the country away from the abyss — he would have won this election by a landslide. And in fact, his place in history would have been assured owing in large measure to his foreign policy and national security achievements. After all, this is a man who killed Osama bin Laden (along with hundreds of his followers), and in the process made America safer. In four years, this President has done far more for America than Bush did in eight agonising years. Yet, the Republicans and millions of Americans do not seem to appreciate his competence, brilliance, forward-looking nature and programmes.

If Obama loses this election, it would be because of one single issue: Race! Racism and racial inequality are still very much a part of the American experience. That is to say that 147 years after the end of slave trade, America has yet to overcome its sordid past. Many Americans, over the age of 60 – especially if they are Republicans and reside in the southern part of the country – cannot bring themselves to accept a Black man as the leader of the free world. For them, it is incomprehensible: a young Black man born of a Kenyan father? Oh no!

What hasn’t this President done in the areas of health care, immigration, welfare, work and retraining programmes, and institutional reforms? He has championed children and women’s issues; been an advocate for the Middle Class; a supporter of the poor, the needy and the disenfranchised; helped the homosexual community; helped with student loans and housing programmes. And even his Supreme Court appointees are not extreme. In fact, nothing about this President is extreme or irrational. Except in few places, he has raised America’s profile and reestablished its prestige around the world. As they say, Americans are back in the game!

Again, if President Obama loses this election, it will have nothing to do with his character or intelligence; or because he is limited in his worldview and vision for the country. No! It will boil down to one thing: his skin colour! Millions of older Americans are still stuck in the slave owner mindset. According to the Associated Press (October 27, 2012), “Racial attitudes have not improved in the four years since the United States elected its first black President.” Frankly, race relations and racial inequality are not likely to improve significantly anytime in the next six decades.

The AP went on to report that, “In all, 51 per cent of Americans now express explicit anti-black attitudes, compared with 48 percent in a similar 2008 survey. When measured by an implicit racial attitudes test, the number of Americans with anti-black sentiments jumped to 56 per cent, up from 49 per cent during the last presidential election…Those views could cost President Barack Obama votes as he tries for re-election.” The saving grace – the only saving grace – is if millions of young White Americans forsake their parents and grandparents and align with other liberal, progressive, and independent-minded Americans to do what is right for their country and for the international community.

Hurricane Sandy fallout may affect Lagos –Govt

Lagos State Commissioner for Waterfront Development and Infrastructure, Mr. Adesegun Oniru

The Lagos State Government on Tuesday warned residents of the state to prepare for the ripple effect of Hurricane Sandy in the state.

 Hurricane Sandy is a 2012 late-season violent tropical storm that has affected Jamaica, Cuba, the Bahamas, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the eastern seaboard of the United States of America.

The Commissioner for Waterfront Development and Infrastructure, Mr. Adesegun Oniru, said the government was projecting that within seven to 14 days, the state would experience the ripple effect of the hurricane in its coast lines.

 He explained that the government based its projection on, “experience, records and study of past happenings” and had started taking precautionary measures.

 Oniru said, “This warning is not to cause panic in Lagos, but to place us all on alert that if we notice anything unusual in our coast lines, we should not go near the waters but rather call government attention.

“This storm has hit the Caribbean and is now in USA. We always get a ripple effect of such happening in Lagos.

“This wind started in Africa, went west gathering more wind and later turning to hurricane. We expect a splash back effect. It could be on our coast lines and shore lines, it could be more than that. And it may not happen at all. Everybody must be vigilant. Let us be careful around our oceans and lagoons.”

The commissioner said the government was planning to protect Kuramo, Oniru, Majidun, Alpha beach and other areas affected by the last ocean surge in the state.

The Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on the Environment, Dr. Taofeek Folami, urged the residents of the state to avoid flooding effect of the storm by refraining from dumping their refuse into drainage channels.

The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Lateef Ibirogba, urged the  state residents not to  panic, saying the alert was for them to know what to do to prepare for such occurence.

I climbed a chair to see the President

 BY MAUREEN AZUH

Ignore whatever other Punch journalists are doing there,” the News Editor, Mr. Ademola Oni, bawled at me. “Whether they are talking to officials or any other person, don’t bother. Just get the human angle to the story. Speak with the residents, especially those who escaped from their houses.”

The instruction came immediately I entered the newsroom. That was around 4 pm on Sunday. As a feature person, I had some other stories I needed to tidy up for Monday edition. At such a critical moment, I had no reason to give an excuse.

As I set out, I started calculating how to get to the usually traffic-ridden area without wasting time and missing any story in the process. At Berger, I asked a motorcycle (okada) rider to carry me there, but he refused, despite the fact that I was ready to pay whatever he wanted. Others I approached also declined.

“There’s heavy traffic on that road. We were told a plane landed on someone’s compound,” one of them told me.

So, I had no option than to take a bus to Ogba, from where I boarded a motorcycle to Ishaga. Ishaga was in a terrible state when I arrived there. It was like all the residents of Lagos were asked to gather there. It was not difficult locating the crash site. The crowd led and I just followed.

At the site, it was quite difficult to see or hear anything meaningful. People were everywhere; every available space was taken over. At that point, I jumped over a low fence, after wading through the crowd and approached a man. Fortunately, he witnessed the crash. He also directed me to a house beside the affected buildings, where he said I could find people to speak with.

But just as I was about to leave for the house, a Navy helicopter flew towards the compound, causing everyone to scamper for safety. The stampede and the dust raised by the helicopter was so much that I had to hide my head under the shirt of a young man who was also struggling for safety too. It was good that the guy did not mind as I grabbed his shirt. In fact, he did not even notice until the helicopter landed. With dust all over my body, I still managed to speak with more eyewitnesses.

Day two was better. It was Monday and the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, was expected at the scene. So, the crowd was managed by heavily armed soldiers and riot policemen. On arrival, I boldly approached one of them holding a sniffer dog.

“Yes?” he barked.

“I am a reporter with The Punch,” I told him.

“I have admitted over 15 Punch people into this place. Na everybody for una office wan come here?” he retorted. At the end, he allowed me to pass through the barricade.

I spoke with more residents, who were not evacuated from their homes. By 1pm, the President’s arrival was announced. All journalists were asked to stay in a place, guarded by armed soldiers. At last the President decided to address us. I had always thought I was tall enough for a woman but I was proved wrong when I could not see the President and his entourage. I quickly looked for a chair which I stood on to have a clearer view. But trust gentlemen of the press, I shared the chair with two other journalists.

Tuesday, being the third day, was much better. The evacuation of victims was over and the officials were more relaxed and friendly. Getting them to speak was easier as some of them even spoke without much prompting.

In all, it was a memorable experience – hectic and terrifying too. The corpses I saw in a day were more than the number I had ever seen in my life. But it was not all about tears and agony. Trust Nigerians to find humour in everything. A young man approached me and asked me to interview him.

“I witnessed it. I was drinking beer across this street when the plane crashed,” he said.

But from experience, I know people do not usually volunteer to give information to journalists. I later found out that he was a reporter. like me.