For those who would like
to be updated, here's a
little info for you. More
than a month after he
went to India for kidney
surgery, veteran music
producer OB Jezreel is yet
to undergo the surgery.
The delay was necessary
to enable OJB undergo
several pre-transplant
treatment before the
main surgery. He has now
concluded all necessary
medical tests and will
have the procedure in the
coming days.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, walked of
his press conference ahead of their
Champions League clash against Steaua
Bucharest, after he was questioned about
Kevin de Bruyne’s absence from the squad.
When he was asked about the Belgian’s
omission, he replied: “This is fantastic
because no one asks me about [Juan] Mata.
You have spoken about Mata for three
weeks. Now you’re asking about Kevin.
“You are impressed in the players
who are not playing. He was not
selected. It was my decision. Only 11 can
play and I tried to decide, by what they do
on the pitch when they play and in training
…
“This fellow knows me for nine years and
that I make mistakes, but I try to be honest
all the time. I was honest with Juan
because of what he’s done in training and
what he’s done in the game he played, and
so he plays. With Kevin I didn’t like the
match he played against Swindon, and I
didn’t like the way he was training. But you
only ask about the guys who were not
selected. Thank you.”
Having said that, he turned over his chair
and left the room.
Ooh la la! Kim Kardashian and Kanye
West were spotted hitting at Paris
Fashion Week, donnin all black for
astar-studded Givenchy show on
Sunday.The pair sat front row
alongside Ciara and Lily Collins.
Kardashian wore a sheer, bosom-
bearing dress designed by Givenchy's
creative director, Riccardo Tisci,
whom she later thanked for creating
the design especially for her. Kim
shared some photos of the couple's
trip to Paris on her Instagram
account. The day before the fashion
show, on Saturday, they strolled
through Paris arm-in-arm and
without their daughter North
anywhere in sight.It was hardly the
only glimpse fans got of the lovebirds
over the weekend. The same night
the two attended the Givenchy show,
Yeezy made a smile-filled appearance
on Kim's E! show, "Keeping Up With
the Kardashians." In the episode, the
rapper posed for group photos at
Kim's baby shower, which was held
just days before Kim gave birth to
North in June.Earlier this year, little
sister Khloe Kardashian confirmed
that Kanye would be making some
kind of cameo on the current season
of "Keeping Up" but didn't divulge
too many details. "I wouldn't say
[Kanye] is like a main person, fixture
on the show, but he's definitely on
because he's a part of Kim's life," she
told MTV News back in May. "But,
he's not on like we are."
The 53 gold-plated iPhone ordered by the
Nigerian Government safely arrived the
country without any issue, Ameebo.com
can authoritatively report.
The iPhones valued at N662m from Gold
and Co, a British luxury products
company to mark her 53rd independence
anniversary. It is however not clear who
and who will be getting the phone but it
is our hope that the federal government
takes into consideration federal
character.
“Until we totally change the way we elect our leaders, until
we remove private money from public campaigns, lying
will be the de-facto method of governance in this country.”
– Peter Schuyler
Dear President Jonathan,
I’m not supposed to ask how you are the way I asked my
grandparents when I wrote letters to them in those days,
because I know that you are very fine. I should even be
flogged if I ask such useless question from you. So the best
way to phrase it is how is America? Kedu m’aka America? Oh
yes, I must ask you that since I know that it’s not all the
people that went there truly had it all fine. But for you, it’s
very obvious that you are more than fine, even finer than the
United States President, right there in his own country.
I would have even called you while you were there, but my
Airtel number has been tampered with by people who
obviously hate my reports and write-up, hence I cannot call
or receive calls. They have made it possible for me to stay
away from the internet for a full day; hence I could not even
send you a mail. I tried to even send message to your wife,
who is a Facebook friend, but I have also be reported to Mark
that my Facebook is a source of terror to people who feel they
own Nigeria and Africa, hence I have been blocked from
sending messages for some time, probably until I ‘repent’ and
play ball. I tender my unreserved apology for the lack in
communication.
I understand that you will be having a media chat tomorrow
with selected media practitioners, who were picked by
Reuben Abati, media men that will not ask you the real
questions that the masses would have wished to ask you. I
won’t bother to waste my megabyte in sending you questions
via twitter, knowing that they won’t read it for you to answer.
Please I advise you; do not try to use your signature language
of “I don’t give a damn” this time around; else the real media
(social media) will chew you raw and make mincemeat of
you. I do know you will also deny spending 6 billion Naira
for the UN trip, but please, do us a favor by accepting the
blames if need be and not give excuses or defend yourself.
But before you go on the ‘hot seat’, take 20 minutes of your
time to read my sincere letter to you. I’m told that you read
any of my reports and write up and this will be no exception.
I’m sorry for not writing this letter to you earlier, as I had
been busy, just the way you are busy. I read the text of your
speech delivered to the UN general assembly and I must
confess, once again, you disappointed us. As I write, I cannot
remember one memorable thing written in that speech, an act
that leaders are known for. I cannot remember the last time
that true world leaders made speeches and writers like us did
not pen down one or two lines as quotes. You sure need a
speech writer and if you need my services, I will gladly offer
it to you pro bono.
Anyway, that’s not the essence of my letter to you. How do
you find your hotel room in your favorite hotel, where
everything is working and you did not need to call the hotel
services to pump water for you? Did you also observe that
when you got in, there was no special display on the hotel
brochure saying, “24 hours light with standby generator and
internet facilities? That is what most of us enjoy in America
when we lodge in hotels, as there is a 24 hours internet
service and power supply.
When you got to the Venue of the UN assembly, the streets
were sealed off by security, but did you observe that there
were no battalions of armored tanks with helicopters
hovering over the place? Did you also notice that the
residents there talked to the security men with smiles on their
faces? Can you remember that there was no stop and search
on any of the citizens who drove past or walked down the
road? That is how it is done everywhere in America, where
we don’t have gun trotting men harassing citizens because
Obama is around. Don’t think it’s due to America’s age; far
from it. It has been so even when they celebrated 20 years of
Independence.
GEJ, how did you see the fox news you watched four days
ago, where President Obama was being reported on negatively
and yet there was no cry from his media aide that such stories
were false or did you check International Newsdesk websites
(it was even reported there on how you spent 6 billion Naira
for your UN trip) were citizens frown at the few security in
the UN assembly complex, which they feel intrudes on their
‘free movement’ and yet his party members did not have to
cry that they were opposition voices and the Senators did not
attempt to pass a law regulating the social media?
You were in America when Kenyan President delivered his
heart touching speech to the country on the mall incident, but
do you recall that he never blamed the insurgents on his
political foes who want to make Kenya ungovernable to him.
That is your fellow African President, in case you think I’m
comparing you with Obama too much.
When you were driven to the New York Stock Exchange
building, your multitudes of aides stayed back and you did
not see vehicles clearing the way because the President of
Africa most populous country is passing. You sure did not feel
embarrassed as you had to drive gently without some
irresponsible sets of military men driving and swinging on
the road just to announce you presence. That is America for
you; nobody gives a damn if you are the President.
By the way, what was that grammar you said to Obama that he
must fix Nigeria? You obviously must have taken a shot of
vodka to have used the word ‘must’, or don’t you know that
in America, that word is forbidden? How would you expect
Obama to fix Nigeria if he must fix Africa? Did we vote for
Obama to lead Nigeria? If that is your language of saying that
the problems of Nigeria are two big for you to handle, quietly
tender your resignation letter as soon as your Presidential jet
land. Obama should fix while you loot. When you budgeted 6
billion Naira for this trip, did you seek Obama consent?
Here we are; waiting for you to explain to us how many
people you took to US and how many billions you budgeted,
since your aides are denying the report, you are busy asking
a black man like you who does not earn half the salary you
earn to run your government for you.
Before I continue, I want to point out to you were you goofed
in your watery speech to the UN; you kept using the word
“Mr. President” while addressing them; or weren’t you told
that Prime Ministers and Monarchs were in attendance?
When you spoke on the Syrian issue, you condemned the
continous use of chemical weapons there, but you refused to
state Nigeria stand on the issue, whether the US should use
the instrument of war on Syria or not. Was it part of the
weakness you have in you, that you could not tell Obama that
we reject his planned invasion to Syria?
You were asking for support for Nigeria seeking a non
permanent seat of the UNSC in the 2014-2015. What rubbish
support? Do the people back home support you, before you
stood up to ask the world to support you? On what ground do
you have to combat terrorism, when few members of the
Boko Haram sect have grounded the North. Didn’t you hear
over there that the man, Shekau who was alleged to be dead
is not dead, but alive and kicking as he gets ready to make our
soldiers scamper for their own safety? When next you want to
ask for international support, please seek our collective
consent before you embarrass us in the comity of nations.
Did we hear you right that you are offering assistance to
Kenya in order to combat terrorism? Common, don’t make us
laugh; you must not play April fool with everything. How can
you render assistance when you have worse scenario in your
birth place? What manner of assistance will you offer when
Borno state burns and your soldiers kill innocent citizens in
Apo and tag them “Boko Haram”? Please stop taking serious
issues like jokes; we beg of you.
Do you know I forgot to ask you how the roads you were
driving on is? Sorry my dear president. Did you hear any
bump sound as you drove past the various buildings in New
York and did you see that there were no patch roads? Those
roads are over 55 years, built by ministers of works like the
ones you have in Nigeria and none of the money allocated for
it went into building of mansions for themselves.
You watched the CNN more often there; I hope you remember
that there was no time in all the days you stayed that you saw
the First Lady of America, Michelle Obama appearing and
making long speeches? You didn’t see her, not because she
hates publicity, but she knew that she is not an elected official
who should be seen often; rather she was in the white house
taking care of the home.
You wife must have learnt a great lesson seeing that nobody
in America knew who she was, as you people entered the
$10,000 hotel. Did you see that she was greeted casually as
you entered the lift with her, with nobody falling over
themselves on who will bow down first before the Jesus of
Okirika? Certainly, America don’t give the f**k who you are
as they go about their duties.
We have a version of the African Union First Ladies meeting,
which is hosted by your wife after the African Union meeting
is held, with even a proposal by her to waste our collective
wealth on an African Union first ladies peace mission
building. Do you think Michelle Obama cannot do a thing like
that and name it United Nations first ladies anti-terrorism
building? She can, but American Senators will never allow
her, hence she can’t even dream of it. Who will take the land
of former President George Bush wife and give to her in the
first place? That is the America you stayed and enjoyed.
I forgot to ask you about your arrival and departure at John
Kennedy Airport. Did you see that there was no stern looking
security frisking passengers as you have in MIA? All the
passengers you saw there are going to live at the exact time
on their ticket and failure to do some may attract penalty from
the America Government. It’s not like the Arik airline I fly to
Abuja, when I leave by 10.30pm, when my ticket bears 8am,
and no government official listens to me when I complain.
That’s America for you and if you think I’m lying, tell your
pilot to delay for five minutes when he is supposed to take off
and watch for yourself how he will be arrested and queried,
before he would be allowed to go after an apology from you.
I didn’t forget to ask you how it felt like to look through
Pierre Hotel windows at night and there was light
everywhere, without sound of generating sets deafening your
ears. They are not magic o. They are electric light with some
powered by solar, should you be thinking otherwise. When
you got to the meeting, I’m 100 percent sure that there was no
blink of light for a second; that is America for you where
money is used for the right purposes.
The call you made across New York did not have to ‘cut’ as
you answered as there was neither network failure, but the
call you made to Nigeria I know had to ‘cut off’ annoyingly at
every 2 minutes; typical of a system that don’t work, which
you head. I bet you that should you have network problem
America, that telecommunication network will be very sorry
for themselves.
You have enjoyed America with our money and have seen the
civility of governance to respond less to criticism and work
hard to earn even the praises of your enemies. We do not
expect you to be the best for there are no best men anywhere.
The only places where best men exist are in weddings; just as
there are no saints even in the temple; yet we have men who
remained immortal. This you can be. Jona, Kedu m’aka
America?
These little things matter…
There are a lot of interesting and
random phopias out there.
Dendrophobia is the fear of trees.
Blennophobia is the fear of slime.
And neophobia is the fear of
anything new. However, the fear of
long words may have the most ironic
(and cruelest name).
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliopho
So let’s say you do have this phobia.
You’d be terrify to name your
ailment. Kind of a conundrum.
There were three men living together
in London. An Afro-American, a West
Indian and a Nigerian. They were all
starving because they didn't have
money to buy food.
However upon coming close to a
posh London restaurant in this
classy neighbourhood, they decided
to come up with a plan.
The Afro-American went in first. After
being seated, he ordered a three
course meal with white wine. When
he had finished the meal, the waiter
came by with the bill. "LISTEN MY
MAN, I ALREADY PAID YOU!" - the
Afro-American shouted! The waiter
was very confused because he could
not remember being paid. But
because he did not want to cause
any trouble, he let the brother leave.
Five minutes later, the West Indian
walked into the same restaurant and
ordered a five course meal with red
wine. When he was finished eating,
the waiter came by to collect the
money for the food. "HEY, HEY,
LOOK AT ME CROSSES. BUT AH PAID
YOU ALREADY!" - the West Indian
shouted. This time the manager came
and had to calm down the West
Indian, because he did not want
anything to upset the other
customers. He let the guy go.
Ten minutes later, the Nigerian
walked in. And you know how we
are. He sat down. Lit up a cigarette,
and ordered the most expensive
meal on the menu, plus two bottles
of Beer. After he had finished, the
waiter came to collect the money for
the meal, But before the Nigerian
could say anything, the waiter spoke
to him."Sir, I have been having all
sorts of problems all day and I can't
understand it. Two other people like
you came in earlier and ate, and they
say that they paid me but I don't
remember getting any money from
them so, " Before he could finish,
the Nigerian interrupted, rather
emphatically, "OGA I SORRY FOR YOU
OOOO. BUT DAT NA YOUR PROBLEM.
I JUST WANT YOU TO GIVE ME MY
CHANGE!!"
For the third time in the past two months,
another policeman has been caught on
video demanding a bribe of N10,000 from
a motorist.
The footage, secretly filmed by a
passenger at the back seat of a vehicle in
Onitsha, Anambra State, has so far
received thousands of hits on YouTube.
The three-minute 18-second video which
first appeared on the YouTube channel of
one Tola Tim, has since become an
Internet sensation.
In the video, a policeman apprehended
the driver of a vehicle that was coming
from Akure, Ondo State to Umuahia, Abia
State. The policeman sat in the front seat
with the driver, and after checking the
vehicle particulars, declared that he had
discovered some discrepancies between
the documents and the chassis number.
In the video, the policeman explained that
the number ‘0’ was the last number on
the chassis number inscribed on the
vehicle, while number ‘3’was the last
number on the documents presented to
him for perusal.
The driver was seen arguing with the
policeman that he had asked him to veer
off the road in order to enable him
(policeman) do proper checking of the
vehicle. Once the alleged discrepancies
were discovered, the policeman insisted
that he would collect N10,000 before he
would release him.
The driver’s appeal that there was an
unintended mix-up somewhere and that
the vehicle was not a stolen one fell on
deaf ears. A nursing mother who sat at
the back also appealed to the policeman.
The man in uniform bellows, “Settle us.
Just give us N10,000 make I waka comot.
Or is it too much? If I knew you stole the
vehicle, I won’t collect money from you.”
But the driver, on noticing the adamance
of the policeman, said he won’t give in to
his demands.
“It is three much! I want you to take me to
your station. I’m not afraid of anything. I
can go back to Akure. At worst, I will miss
my appointment in Umuahia. Why will I
part with N10,000 on the vehicle I didn’t
steal? No sir! I can’t do that.
“I will rather go back to Akure, get the
registration officer and other supporting
documents, come back with another
vehicle and clear myself. And that is to tell
you that I have not done something
wrong,” the driver said.
The unidentified driver also calmed the
nerves of the apprehensive nursing
mother who clutched a baby girl to
herself. “My sister, don’t worry! At worst,
you will sleep in a hotel with your baby
when I go back to Akure,” the driver
added.
The policeman replied, “Eh eh. It is three
much. Wetin make am too much?” After
ruminating over the issue for some
seconds, the policeman, who was armed
with a gun, ordered, “Driver, come down.”
And the video went dead.
Meanwhile, outrage has trailed the
incident on various social media
platforms. Those who have watched the
video online describe the encounter as a
pointer to the depth of rot and decay in
the Nigeria Police Force.
They urged the Inspector General of
Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, to
conduct an orderly room trial to ascertain
the policeman’s culpability in the alleged
crime and place appropriate sanctions on
him if found guilty.
An anonymous reader on
eliteink.blogspot.com says apart from
condemning the act of corruption and
sacking the culprit, more needs to be
done to cater for the welfare of the rank
and file of the police.
The reader said, “If you have a police
officer as your relative, you will
understand better. The income they get
can’t even feed them alone not to talk of
their families. The country doesn’t cater
adequately for their needs. Many police
barracks look like refuse dumps and they
are expected to live there with their
children.”
But a YouTube user, Paul Saint, argued
that there is no excuse for being corrupt,
attributing the behaviour to greed.
Saint stated, “This has nothing to do with
the service welfare of the police.
Corruption in Nigeria has nothing to do
with low or high salary pay. If you are
corrupt, no matter what you earn, you
will still find ways to illegally enrich
yourself. Most cases of corruption
recorded in this country are perpetrated
by persons who are otherwise
fairlycomfortable with bribes.
“Corruption is as a result of greed only.
Not poverty or low pay. We must
condemn corruption at all times and not
make excuses for it. But even if they are
not well paid, there is no excuse for
corruption. The most corrupt persons in
Nigeria started off with collecting less
than N10,000 and because we excuse
them or celebrate them, they step up their
demands to millions and billions. Well
paid or not, do not demand or collect
bribe.”
It will be recalled that three cops have so
far been dismissed by the police
authorities after being filmed demanding
bribes from motorists.
A police sergeant, Chris Omeleze, who
was caught on video camera extorting
N25,000 from a motorist in Lagos in
August was the first casuality of the social
media whistle-blowing.
Two traffic policewomen, corporals
Elizabeth Itolor and Jennifer Azingbe, who
were also videotaped receiving N100
bribe from a commercial bus driver at the
Oshodi/Apapa Expressway were
dismissed earlier this month.
There was a mild drama at the office of
the Lagos State Police Commissioner in
Ikeja on Friday as three suspects, who
were arrested by the Special Anti-Robbery
Squad, were paraded before the House
Committee on Police Affairs.
The suspects, Abiodun Ogunjobi, aka
Godogodo; Felix Sunday, aka K Money;
and Nwanyim Uche; pleaded for amnesty.
Godogodo had been described by the
police as the most wanted criminal in the
South West for the past 10 years.
He told the lawmakers that he had built
six houses from his loot and never kept
money in the bank in order not to be
traced by security agents.
He said, “I never drank, womanised or
attended social events. Such vices made
one vulnerable and made it easy for the
police to find and arrest you. I had no
friends. I never kept money; I used all of
it to build the houses.
“We don’t kill policemen except on one
occasion when we went to rob in Ajah
area of Lagos State. On that particular
day, we had ended the robbery operation
and were on our way back when my
friend, Odun spotted a police patrol van.
Odun opened fire and killed all of them
because he needed their AK 47 rifles.
“The unfortunate thing about crime is that
you never have peace of mind. The police
were always after me and I never lived in
one particular house for more than a
year. I regret my action now and I would
be happy if I am given amnesty.”
The other robbery suspect, K Money, who
was among the robbers that attacked
bureau de change operators at the
Murtala Mohammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos,
and killed two policemen, said the gang
made $4m (N600m) in the operation.
He said he got N45m and became a car
dealer.
He said, “I set up a showroom and
registered my company. I bought many
Tokunbo (foreign used vehicles) from
Cotonou (Benin Republic)and started
selling them.
“When policemen started chasing me and
my boys, I was completely disorganised
and the business suffered. I plead for
mercy sir.”
Uche was said to be a member of the
gang that kidnapped the Chairman, Ejigbo
Local Council Development Area, Mr.
Kehinde Bamgbetan; and a High Court
judge.
The Officer in Charge of SARS, Abba Kyari,
told the lawmakers that Uche’s cohorts
were killed during a shootout with his
men a few months ago.
Kyari explained that the modus operandi
of Uche’s gang was to kidnap their victim,
keep him in a house in the Agbara area of
Ogun State while Uche would watch over
him. The rest of the gang would then
relocate to a hotel and negotiate a
ransom with the victim’s family.
After collecting the ransom, the suspects
would flee to Ghana for some months
before returning for another operation.
Uche, while weeping profusely, said, “I
never knew I would be involved in such a
thing, I never knew I could stoop so low
in life. I plead for mercy.”
The lawmakers, who commended the
police for the remarkable achievements,
berated the suspects for their dastardly
acts.
A member of the committee, Udo Ibeji,
said, “Now, you people (suspects) are
pleading for mercy. You are all able-
bodied men, why didn’t you work like
other members of society? If you are set
free, what of the innocent civilians and
policemen you have killed?”
Last week, terror stared the world in the
eyes for days, but the good news is that it
flinched; just that it took four days. It did
not stop at that; the terrorists, for the
first time on the continent, fed the world
with details of their carnage and the
warped thinking of their leaders. It
reminds one of how dangerous the world
has abruptly become.
One would have thought the terrorists
who championed the despicable act in
Kenya were ragtag religious extremists,
but given the simple sophistication that
the use of social networking site, Twitter,
demands, we know better.
The militants were online and offline.
While the Westgate Shopping Mall was
the location of its offline activities, Twitter
was their choice of online assaults.
Following no one but with thousands of
followers, @HSM Press, until it was shut
down, continued to tweet horror and
fear. The individuals handling the account
wrote in Somali, Kiswahili, Arabic and
English, further expanding their reach.
The account was opened on December 7,
2011.
Based in Somalia, Al-Shabaab maintains
an alliance with al-Qaeda. Their grouse
with Kenya was the presence of Kenya
Defence Force in Somalia and the
attendant consequence.
Al-Shabaab tweets would possibly have
attracted no attention, but they keyed into
the mainstream of what was happening in
Kenya by using the trending hashtag,
#Westgate. The tweets were as sordid as
they were despicable. The handlers gave
names of the terrorists who were holding
the country and the world hostage. They
informed people that the group was a mix
of people of different nationalities — U.S.,
Britain, Finland, Kenya and Somalia. It
was like having journalists from prime
media organisations, with the Al-Shabaab
terrorist in the mall to tell the news from
its own perspective.
Technology made it easier, given the
instant nature of Twitter and the huge
use of the micro-blogging site.
It’s to the credit of Twitter users that the
account was suspended following
complaints and reports to the networking
site. In a short while, a duplicate account
was set up by the terror dispensers,
reveling in the joy of the attention they
were getting and the momentary
‘successes of their endeavour.’
The new handle @HSM PressOffice
showed how tough terror groups have
come to mimic their offline experience in
resilience. The strategies of the terror-
loving group have been to change names
and open new accounts while continuing
their activities.
About five of the accounts of Al-Shabaab
were suspended while #Westgate lasted.
That the accounts managed to gather
followers in hours may be another reason
to view terrorism as a monolithic threat of
the current world order. A couple of
Twitter handles sympathetic to their cause
cheered them on and retweeted their
views.
Twitter terms specify that tweets must not
have specific threats of violence against
others. Users also may not engage in
targeted abuse or harassment.
Harassment, in this view point, involves
sending messages to a user from multiple
accounts and sending abusive messages
to others. Twitter needs to enforce this.
Al-Shabaab’s handle was suspended
earlier this year, following the posting of
pictures of a murdered French soldier,
threats to kill Kenyan hostages and
threats to the Somalia President, Hassan
Sheikh Mohamod, among others.
It is on record that social networks are
the favourite outlets for Internet-related
terrorism. Twitter, YouTube and Facebook
are the preferred means through which
terrorist organisations route their strategy
of releasing propaganda, recruiting
members, teaching members new
approaches in terrorism and capturing
intelligence of the target location or
group.
These avenues work for them because of
the low cost, easy accessibility and huge
reach of their messages. Nigeria’s
terrorist organisation, Boko Haram, has
consistently used YouTube to make
popular its announcements and
intentions.
The most recent is the denial of the death
of Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the
group who was believed to have died
following a mortal wound encountered
during a shoot-out with law enforcement
agents.
For them, it also holds the benefit of
allowing conversation with their audience
and gauging public mood on the subject
while watching with mockery from their
hideouts. Al-Shabaab did not only use
Twitter during the four-day Kenyan
encounter to broadcast, they also
engaged — a clear evidence of how
deadly it is when a warped mind is
deceitfully intelligent.
Videos, audios and texts in digital formats
are known methods of doing this. The
Taliban is known to maintain a Twitter
presence since 2011 and has a little less
than 10,000 followers. The Lebanon-
based terrorist group — Hezbollah —
also maintains a presence on same. Even
Hamas is known to give information
about its activities and milestones on
Twitter, in addition to creating fear by
blowing casualty figures out of
proportion.
Twitter’s censorship, so far, only covers
tweets in countries known to have laws
that such tweets have broken. Anything
outside that sees the San Francisco-based
company keeping mute.
Twitter responds, “As we continue to grow
internationally, we will enter countries
that have different ideas about the
contours of freedom of expression. Some
differ so much from our ideas that we
will not be able to exist there… Starting
today, we give ourselves the ability to
reactively withhold content from users in
a specific country, while keeping it
available in the rest of the world.”
There is still an ongoing debate on
whether this is a slur on free speech or
not. Social media networks owe the world
an obligation. It needs to permanently
delete content produced by terror
organisations from public domain but
archive same for assessment by defence
departments who may want to
understand and analyse the character of
these enemy groups.
Law enforcements may not be able to
learn much about operations of these
terror groups from their tweets alone,
because it is not used for operational
activity. It is simply used to keep their
activities alive.
In 140 characters, Al-Shabaab took the
attention of the world hostage; but Kenya
fought a good battle. The nation met the
Al-Shabaab militants gun for gun, tweet
for tweet. Sixty-seven lives have been
snuffed out untimely, about 61 others
still unaccounted for, and there are
currently thousands of mourners
following the siege.
The world is in shock, but the collective
resolve to end terror is stronger. Twitter
may not be about to block all users with
extremist views, but it needs to work with
security agencies. Mounting an attack on
the defenceless is repugnant, irrespective
of the motivation and reasons behind it.
What the world needs is more tweets of
kindness, empathy and compassion. To
tweet and boast about another’s death is
not just extremism, it is erroneous
zealotry.
My heart goes out to the grieving people
of Kenya.
Meet Elugbaju Temitayo Samuel (@eliteinks)the sole author of eliteink.blogspot.com.
When did u start your blog?
Well I have created a lot of websites, blogs, both mine and for others, but i started eliteink.blogspot.com early this year.
What made you think of a social media blog?
I saw the list of young bloggers, all they did was blog about science and animal, so i decided to stand out. Which has been helpful since i started. I dont base it on only gossips, i post, sport, jokes, quotes, touching stories.
How many views did you get per day?
At first i was the only one viewing my blog, but now am getting nothing less than 3000 visits per day with the help of my roommate 16(Oluwadamilare) also a student of Ekiti State University 200 level, plant science.
What has been your greatest challenge?
Been a University student studying Industrial Chemistry, my parent were concerned about my grades but with God involved i was understood.
Well what did you have for youths like you?
I will tell like my pals out there to keep close to their aims, "everything is achieveable".
Mikel Obi’s low scoring rate has attracted
criticisms but the Chelsea midfielder
seems to have rediscovered his scoring
boots for the Blues and the Super Eagles,
reports ’TANA AIYEJINA
Seven years, 185 games, one English
Premier League goal. That is the story of
Nigerian midfielder, Mikel Obi at English
giants Chelsea.
Mikel has been a part of Chelsea since the
summer of 2006. And having played 282
games, winning the FA Cup four times,
the Europa League once, the Champions
League once and the Premier League
once, Mikel has had a successful career.
But one thing had eluded the 26-year-old
Nigerian over the years until September
21, 2013 — his first ever Premier League
goal.
The goal finally came that Saturday
against Fulham, when Frank Lampard’s
84th minute corner kick was headed
down for Mikel by skipper John Terry and
the Nigerian blasted home frfom inside
the six-yard box to the joy of manager
Jose Mourinho- who has often been
accused as having changed Mikel’s
attacking style to a more defensive
approach- and Chelsea owner, Roman
Abramovich.
The goal sealed a 2-0 win and brought
back the Blues to winning ways, having
not won since their second league match
against Aston Villa.
Mikel’s last goal in England before then
was in the 2006/07 season.
“I have been trying to reach him to no
avail. I’m absolutely delighted because I
always tell him he can do it whether at
club or national team level, but he has to
move closer to the goal area,” the man
who is being credited to have ‘revived’
Mikel, Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi
said.
Mikel actually started scoring again under
Keshi, after a four-year goals drought,
and the former Nigerian captain is
hopeful that his midfielder keeps the
scoring touch.
“He (Mikel) has done it on one or two
occasions with the national team and
there should be nothing special about his
scoring for Chelsea. But a lot also
depends on how Mourinho wants him to
play for the club. I am sure the goals will
start pouring in for him now”, he said.
Even though he had represented Nigeria
at the 2003 U-17 World Cup and scored a
goal as the Golden Eaglets crashed out in
the group stage of the tournament,
Mikel’s awesome talent caught the eye
two years later at the U-20 World Cup in
Holland.
A mainstay in Coach Samson Siasia’s
midfield, Mikel served as the engine which
powered the entire Flying Eagles team to
the final, only to lose to a Lionel Messi-
inspired Argentina side 2-1.
His ball holding and dribbling skills,
excellent distribution of passes and
leadership qualities stood him out in a
Nigerian side that also paraded talented
players like Taye Taiwo, Chinedu Obasi,
late Adefemi Olubayo, Dele Adeleye and
several others.
These qualities didn’t escape world
football ruling body, FIFA, who named the
Jos-born player second only to the
inimitable Messi for the Adidas Golden
Ball for the tournament’s best player.
Besides, Mikel also had an eye for goal,
converting a penalty kick in the crucial
final group game against Switzerland help
the team qualify for the second round.
After his performance in Holland, it was
apparent that Mikel’s Norwegian club, Lyn
Oslo, would no longer be able to hold on
to their prized jewel.
Mikel joined Chelsea in 2006 and after
initial glimpses of his attacking prowess,
he scored two FA Cup goals in his first
season. Lots of his fans were caught in
awe as the player gradually withdrew from
his attacking style to a more defensive
role.
The story was not different even at
national team level. The 26-year-old
scored at the 2006 and 2008 Africa Cup of
Nations but had to wait four years before
he hit the back of the net again in a 2013
AFCON qualifier against Liberia in Calabar,
courtesy of a penalty kick.
However, traces of the old attacking Mikel
began to show at the 2013 AFCON in
South Africa, with the midfielder given a
more attacking and free role by Keshi.
“Keshi gave Mikel a free role in the
national team. He can move forward as
he likes because there is a capable backup
in Lazio’s Ogenyi Onazi. The coach wants
more scoring options,” Ben Alaiya, Eagles
media officer said.
He added, “In today’s football, all that
matters is the totality of the game. It’s a
collective effort where everybody must
make a contribution. Godfrey
(Oboabona), a defender, scores for his
club and the national team. So, I think
Mikel’s scoring is an addition for the
squad.”
Mikel set up several goal moves as Nigeria
claimed the African title for the third time.
Reveling in his new-found form, Mikel
headed to Brazil with a fresh drive and to
the relief of his fans, he scored a superb
goal for Nigeria in the 2-1 defeat to
Uruguay.
Former Golden Eaglets captain, Shegun
Fetuga, says Mikel’s latest goal is a good
omen ahead of the final 2014 World Cup
qualifiers against Ethiopia.
He said, “We saw him score for Eagles
and now that he has started scoring in
the Premier League, it will boost his
morale. I am happy that the positive
development is coming at a time we will
be playing Ethiopia for a ticket to next
year’s World Cup.”
Congratulations to Olawale.
He has been a contender with 17 other
contestants for MTN Project Fame West
Africa Season 6. Olawlae Ojo will get 5
million naira, an SUV and a recording
contract.
MTN Project fame winners are First
runner up Immaculate – Everyone knew she
was a big contender too and she had
always believed she would win. She will
get N3m plus a 2013 sedan car.
Second runner up – Margret will get N2m
and a saloon car,
Third runner up – Niniola will get N2m
cash.
Fourth runner up – Omolayo
Fifth runner up – Roland
Congratulations to all of them.
Rihanna has been treating fans to pictures of herself
dressed in a retro-style stripper's costume on Instagram.
The R&B star, who last week shared snaps from her recent
working holiday in Thailand, shared the images from what
appears to be a video shoot for her track Pour It Up.
In most of the snaps she wears a platinum blonde wig and
elaborate necklace, along with a lavender-coloured
bodysuit.
And in two more black-and-white images she wears a more-
revealing fishnet bodystocking, with the words "Pour It Up"
concealing her nipple in one snap.
An assistant smothers something on her legs in one of the
pictures, which she has captioned "lube me baby".
Asides using physical threats of violence
at Automated Teller Machine points,
fraudsters have found other ways of
robbing unsuspecting Nigerians via their
ATM cards, ARUKAINO UMUKORO writes
A few weeks ago, Bola, as she preferred
to be addressed, who just relocated to
Nigeria from the UK, received a rude
welcome to the world of Automated Teller
Machine transaction in her country of
birth.
She had just collected her ATM card from
her bank and was looking forward to
withdrawing money with it later that
evening.
On getting to the ATM point at Mushin
area, she met five persons there waiting.
Two left immediately after making their
withdrawals, while the other three men
asked her to go ahead and make her
withdrawal.
“It seemed as if they were waiting for
somebody,” Bola recollected. She was
mistaken.
Being her first time of using the ATM
card, she changed her Personal
Identification Number and then
proceeded to withdraw N20,000. “It was
around 7.30pm, and I was all by myself.
Then I felt something like a gun pressed
on my back from behind, the other guys
had surrounded me and they demanded
that I gave them all the money. Knowing
that it was futile to argue with them, I just
did what they asked.”
Just then, her phone rang out loud. It
was a message informing her of the
transaction. One of the guys snatched the
phone from her, checked the message
and realised she still had some money
left.
“They asked me to withdraw the rest of
the money in my account. It was like a
movie. I lost N80,000 that day,” she said,
adding that she felt numb after the
incident and couldn’t tell anybody about
it, until recently.
Many Nigerians have fallen victim to such
incidents. And like Bola, they may not
report it to the police or bank authorities
for sundry reasons.
An expert on security matters, Mr.
Obadare Adewale, pointed out that
fraudsters now resort to the threat of
physical attack to rob their victims at ATM
points because they cannot clone ATM
cards like they used to do in the past.
“This is because the new ATM card,
whether for debit or credit, is a chip-and-
pin type. This ensures that the embedded
microchip makes the card extremely
difficult to counterfeit or copy if it’s lost
or stolen. With the chip-and-pin, it is not
possible to fraudulently duplicate and
steal other people’s money using their
ATM cards, unlike before, when ATM
cards were magnetic fibre cards which
could be cloned. As a result, card-cloning
fraud has drastically reduced in Nigeria.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria has
mandated all banks in the country to be
EMV compliant. Nigeria has joined
countries like France and UK, although
the US still uses magnetic fibre cards,” he
said.
According to Wikipedia, EMV, which
means Europay, MasterCard and Visa, is a
‘global standard for inter-operation of
integrated circuit cards and IC card
capable point of sale terminals and
automated teller machines. It is used for
authenticating credit and debit card
transactions.”
Many countries, like Nigeria, are said to
prefer chip cards because the feature
makes purchasing abroad easier.
As a result of this security development,
fraudsters have developed other means of
robbing people of their money. Adewale
recounted a recent occurrence.
“It happened at a shopping mall, I don’t
want to mention the name. A woman’s
handbag was stolen from where she
forgot it. The bag contained her ATM
debit card and her driving licence.
Unfortunately for her, the fraudsters were
able to guess correctly that her date of
birth was her PIN. That was how they
started withdrawing and spending her
money,” he said.
This is the reason why the Executive
Director, Business Development, Nigeria
Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc, Mrs.
Christabel Onyejekwe, advised that
people should avoid using their dates of
birth as PIN numbers.
“Those fraudsters could get it after three
or four attempts. Don’t use your birth
date because it can be easily known. First
and foremost, make your pin very
distinct,” she told SUNDAY PUNCH.
Another method fraudsters use nowadays
is through ‘phishing’ emails.
These are scam emails sent to many
where the bank customer is asked to click
on a link to ‘complete the upgrade of their
Internet banking account to a safer
platform.” Sometimes, some people
innocently fill the fraudulent form sent to
them which would expose their bank
statement and transaction details.
“In some cases, these fraudsters, fronting
as bank officials, also call customers on
the phone to request for their Internet
banking token details. That was how a
bank customer lost over N6m.
“On no account should you reply any
email like that and do not click on the link
or give somebody your PIN number or
token details on the phone. No bank will
ask you for such details on the phone,”
Adewale said.
It has become a common method so
much that many banks now send
disclaimer emails to their customers.
When these fraudsters don’t resort to
physical attack or send phishing emails,
they look for loopholes whenever online
transactions are being carried out.
“For Internet transactions, referred to as
‘card not present’ transaction, you need
the Primary Account Number, that is the
number at the front of the card, the Card
Verification Value, the three numbers at
the back of the ATM card, and your PIN
number.
“And what most of these fraudsters do is
that they carelessly roam about in places
where these transactions are done. So, if
you hold your card carelessly, someone
can quickly cram the digits in front of the
card and the three digits at the back of
the card. Then, they can do transactions
on your behalf. Some websites only need
the PAN and CVV, but some others may
ask for the PIN also,” Adewale added.
Although the use of ATM card details for
such online purchases and transactions is
quite secure because, like Onyejekwe
noted, “they are registered merchants and
dealers.”
She advised people to do such online
transactions in secure and registered
cyber cafes.
“Don’t walk into cyber cafes that are not
registered. There are registered cyber
cafes on the Nigerian Communications
Commission website,” she said.
Since the ATM was introduced into the
Nigerian market over a decade ago, there
has been a rapid growth in the volume of
transactions with ATM cards nationwide.
Fraudsters have also found different
methods to beat whatever security
measures put in place.
However, this worrying trend is not only
common to Nigeria.
In April, US federal prosecutors said $45m
was stolen in a few hours after a global
network of hackers hacked a database of
prepaid debit cards and subsequently
used it to loot financial institutions
around the world. A US lawyer had
described it as “a massive 21st-century
bank heist.”
Also, statistics released by the European
ATM Security Team in April showed that
total ATM related fraud incidents
increased from 20,244 in 2011, to 22,450
in 2012. While losses due to ATM related
fraud attacks rose by 13 per cent from
€234m to €265m.
The report noted that the rise was due to
an increase in losses due to card
skimming attacks, which rose 12 per cent
from €232m to €260m.
“The majority of ATM related card
skimming losses continue to be
international (losses outside national
borders by criminals using stolen card
details) with most occurring in countries
outside of Europe. Such losses increased
by 21 per cent when compared to 2011.
The top three locations for such losses
were the USA, the Dominican Republic
and Brazil,” the report stated.
Protect yourself from ATM theft
• Get in the habit of using the same ATM
for your transactions. Become familiar
with it and be able to recognise changes
to the machine.
• Use ATMs inside banks rather than on
the street (where they’re easier for
thieves to access).
• If you’re visiting an unfamiliar ATM that
is not inside a bank, examine it carefully
for devices. Card or cash trapping devices
need to be glued or taped to the card
reader or cash dispenser. Look for ‘extra’
cameras beyond the basic and generally
obvious ATM security camera.
• Never rely on the help of strangers to
retrieve a confiscated card.
• Never use an ATM when other people
are lingering.
• Report confiscated cards immediately. If
you can, don’t leave the machine. Instead
call the bank from the ATM where your
card was taken using a cell phone.
• Don’t use ATM with extra signage or
warnings posted on the machine.
• Never follow a link in a supposed bank
email notice. If you are wondering if your
bank has really contacted you via email,
then close the email and directly type
your bank’s website address into your
browser. Visit your account and look for
update notices directly on your account
or bank’s website. The email is almost
always a phishing scam.
It is no longer news that the Inspector
General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar,
got married to a northern beauty, Zarah, a
few weeks ago. The marriage rites, which
spanned several days, were lavish in all
ramifications and attracted the crème of
society. Indeed, it was an opportunity for
people to see the other side of Abubakar,
who, apart from being in his finest
elements, was all smiles while the
ceremonies lasted.
Setting aside his demanding schedule, a
smitten Abubakar took time off work to
be with his new bride. The couple was in
Dubai to observe their honeymoon and
just returned.
Two men today pleaded not guilty at the
Old Bailey to murdering Lee Rigby.
Michael Adebolajo, 28 from Romford, and
Michael Adebowale, 22 from Greenwich, are
accused of killing Fusilier Rigby as he
returned to Woolwich Barracks on May 22.
The father of one died from multiple cut
and stab wounds when he was attacked in
Artillery Place.
Members of his family wept in court during
a 45-minute hearing today. His estranged
wife Rebecca, 30, the mother of his two
year old son Jack, wiped away tears as she
watched proceedings from the side of the
court.
Adebolajo and Adebowale also pleaded not
guilty to conspiring together to murder a
police officer and denied separate charges
of attempting to murder a police officer on
the same day. Both men appeared at the
Old Bailey today via a video link from high
security Belmarsh Prison.
Adebolajo asked to be known by the
Islamic name Mujahid Abu Hamza and
Adebowale asked to be known by the name
Ismail Ibn Abdullah. Both wearing red T-
shirts and pale trousers, Adebowale and
Adebolajo appeared from separate rooms
for the hearing. Adebowale sat in front of
an HMP Belmarsh sign.
But, in spite of her using a false passport in
South Africa, she was able to slip out of the
country in February 2011. Since then the
29-year-old mother of three, dubbed the
"White Widow" by British media, has
managed to elude key intelligence agencies,
including those of South Africa, the US and
Britain.
Lewthwaite, at the time pregnant with her
second child, was given her nickname when
her husband, Germaine Lindsay, killed 26
people in a suicide bomb attack in London
in 2005.
She expressed remorse for the attack, but
now appears to have thrown in her lot with
Somali extremists. Interpol issued an
international arrest warrant for her this
week in connection with a 2011 criminal
case in Kenya.
Although she was not linked directly to the
deadly Westgate attack in Nairobi,
international investigators are convinced
that Lewthwaite is the chief financier,
recruiter, coach and trainer for al-Shabab
in East Africa.
Lewthwaite travelled in and out of South
Africa, held down a R24500-a-month job,
rented a house in suburban Johannesburg
and ran up debts totalling more than
R60000.
Reports of Lewthwaite's possible link to the
Westgate attack were sparked when Kenyan
Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed said a
"British woman" was involved . New reports
yesterday claimed she may have been
stationed in a "secret lair" close to the mall.
The Sunday Times has confirmed through
two independent intelligence sources that
Lewthwaite was flagged locally as a person
of interest when she landed in South Africa
on a Virgin Atlantic flight in 2010.
She was monitored at the request of two
foreign intelligence agencies and was
suspected of having links to a wanted al-
Shabab bomb-maker, Habib Ghani.
Ghani is believed to have been killed by one
of his own bombs in a remote village in
Somalia two weeks ago.
Local intelligence officers confirmed that
her arrival and movements were
documented and that she had lived with a
Cape Town family for two months and later
surfaced in Johannesburg.
"We handed the information over to the
FBI," said a source.
State Security Ministry spokesman Brian
Dube would not confirm or deny whether it
had, at the behest of foreign intelligence
agencies, monitored her, saying:
"Confirming or denying the nature of our
investigations would be self-defeating
because it will compromise the very same
work that we do."
What was seemingly not known when the
local operation on Lewthwaite started in
2010 was that the elusive Briton had
already obtained a South African identity
document and passport through a "late
registration of birth" process.
The Sunday Times has confirmed that she
signed a lease agreement with property
agency Chas Everitt in November 2009 - as
Natalie Faye Webb, an employee of a halaal
pie business then registered in Lenasia.
She lived in the three-bedroom house in a
quiet cul-de-sac in Bromhof, northern
Johannesburg, until August 2010, when the
lease expired. She left the country four
months later.
The estate agency was visited by the Hawks
last year. They wanted information on
Lewthwaite, including copies of the ID, bank
statements and pay slips she provided to
secure the property.
Chas Everitt's Randburg manager, Dave
Pride, said that although he never met
Lewthwaite, he was told by staff that she
was an "ordinary person". Her R24500
salary was paid directly into her Standard
Bank account.
"I'm told she was just like everyone else,
nothing out of the ordinary. Her bank
account and details she gave us all checked
out ... She fell behind on the rent at one
stage, but caught up and when she moved
out she didn't owe anything," he said.
The current occupants of the Bromhof
property said they were shocked to learn
the home was once occupied by the
notorious "White Widow". Other
neighbours said she was a loner and was
rarely seen outside. Two of them said they
had seen Lewthwaite with a nanny at times.
A woman who lives with her two children in
the Bromhof house that Lewthwaite
occupied said: "We were watching this
Kenya story unfold on the TV and two days
later we hear this woman, whose face is all
over, lived here. It feels surreal."
The main tenant said: "I find myself lying in
bed at night wondering if she was lying
here planning these attacks."
Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor said
records showed that Lewthwaite first
arrived in South Africa in 2008. She left the
country in February 2011 as Natalie Faye
Webb.
Pressed for details, home affairs deputy
director-general for immigration services
Jackie McKay said he did not have the
"clearance" to provide them .
On Thursday, Interpol issued an
international arrest warrant for Lewthwaite
in connection with the 2011 criminal case.
It stems from a raid on a property in
Mombasa in December 2011 when the
police found explosives, AK47 ammunition
and Lewthwaite's fake South African
passport. She is being tried in absentia
along with another British national.
Although present when the police pounced,
Lewthwaite got away by pretending to be
South African Natalie Webb.
Meanwhile, Kenyan authorities continue to
count the cost of the deadly four-day
standoff with the militants.
By yesterday, more than 70 people were
confirmed dead and close to 200 injured.
The local Red Cross said at least 61 were
still missing.
Cape Town businessman James Thomas
was among the 18 foreigners killed. He is
scheduled to be buried on Wednesday.
There has been some international criticism
about the fact that the Kenyans requested
the Interpol red notice only in the
aftermath of the Westgate attack. It has
now also emerged that the Kenyan
government had been warned of an attack
to be launched in September and that it
had failed to act on the warning.
Lewthwaite's stay in South Africa is one of a
number of signs that point to an a l-Shabab
presence in the country:
In May 2010, the Sunday Times revealed
that local intelligence services were accused
of being slow to react to warnings that al-
Qaeda and al-Shabab operatives were
planning an attack during the World Cup;
Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state at the
time, met Minister of International
Relations Maite Nkoana-Mashabane in 2009
and warned that al-Shabab was recruiting
in South Africa. She said the minister was
also aware of this;
In 2009, intelligence sources also told of a
threat to the US embassy in Pretoria. It
allegedly originated from a public phone in
the Southgate mall in Johannesburg.
Another call was made to parliament; and
Just before the 2010 World Cup, intelligence
agencies told the Sunday Times that they
had intercepted a telephone call from
Khayelitsha in the Western Cape to known
members of al-Shabab. During the
recorded conversation, the parties
discussed an alleged plot " to blow up
American interests".
Somali expatriates in Mayfair,
Johannesburg, told the Sunday Times that
they feared the al-Shabab link to the
Kenyan attack could be damaging for their
community.
"It's not fair that there's been fear here
this week because people did bad things
elsewhere," said businessman Said
Abdullah. - Additional reporting by Sibusiso
Ngalwa and Sapa-AFP
A luxury housing development under
construction by developer Haji
Hafizullah Caravan in a suburb of K
Afghanistan.
By Jamieson Lesko, Producer, NBC
News
KABUL, Afghanistan -- High-rise condos
and luxury dwellings with price tags that
wouldn't be out of place in many U.S.
cities are reshaping the Afghan capital's
skyline.
Mud-brick homes precariously stacked
on hillsides now peer down at cranes as
the counterintuitive construction boom
extends from suburban dream homes to
slick shopping malls and office
complexes.
Despite some grim predictions about the
country's future when Western forces
withdraw next year, wealthy Afghans are
throwing caution to the wind and
investing millions of their own dollars to
build in grand ways that they hope will
redefine this war-torn city.
Developer Haji Hafizullah Caravan says
he has poured "tens of millions" of
dollars into a sprawling suburban
housing complex which features 500
luxury homes and apartments.
“When Kabul was destroyed, it brought
me a lot of pain," said Caravan, recalling
the despair of the country's civil war in
the 1990s. “I prayed that one day I
would have the strength to change this
destruction to construction. I made the
decision to rebuild Kabul.”
And rebuild he has. Caravan beams with
pride as he speaks of the $1 million-plus
home he’s building for his family within
the neighborhood. A grand staircase
greets visitors from two sides as they
enter its foyer. Crystal chandeliers hang
in the spacious dining room. A large
swimming pool and cascade fountain
adorn the backyard. The bathrooms
boast multi-jet spa showers, a striking
feature for a capital city plagued with
open sewers.
“It is the most beautiful house in Kabul,”
he said. “I want to show it to the world!”
If you build it, they will come
Caravan, 53, is putting his fortune on the
line in the belief that things are about to
get better in Afghanistan, not worse.
Akbar Shinwari / NBC News
A grand staircase at the personal h
of developer Haji Hafizullah Carava
a suburb of Kabul, Afghanistan. "It i
most beautiful house in Kabul," Car
boasted. "I want to show it to the
world!"
Saleem Caravan City, the suburban gated
community he's building in the east of
Kabul, is showcased with ads on
television and YouTube.
In an animated promotional video, a
"fembot" voice takes prospective owners
on a virtual tour, challenging them to
"discover a new art of living" in "dream
houses" that are "models of
contemporary-style aesthetics."
Set to modern music, the tour soars
through models of state-of-the-art
kitchens, home cinemas and down tree-
lined streets full of upscale restaurants,
shops, a mosque and a kindergarten
school.
The homes feature six bedrooms and
three living rooms and range from
$250,000 to $300,000, depending on
how close they are to the city.
Caravan seems to ascribe to the "Field of
Dreams" theory: If you build it, they will
come.
But will they? About 50 percent of the
homes in Saleem Caravan City have been
sold, he says. But just 10 percent are
actually occupied.
"Unfortunately the 2014 rumors made
our sales a little slow. The people who
have money want to delay and not to
spend right now,” Caravan said. “But I do
not have any faith in the 2014 rumors.”
Caravan hopes to sell the rest of the
community's homes “in the next couple
of months,” but the current market
conditions are bleak.
Fears of 2014 pullout
According to realtor Mohammad Khan,
Kabul property prices have decreased as
much as 35 percent since 2011, and
prices in the rental market are down
about 55 percent.
Khan, 47, attributes this to anxiety over
whether the security situation will
deteriorate after coalition troops pull
out. Fears of chaos and civil war have
many keeping their wallets shut.
“Buyers nor sellers know what will
happen," he said.
Another factor is the current exodus of
Western aid workers and contractors, as
their projects - and the dollars that came
with them - have begun to wind down.
The compounds they used to occupy for
average rents of $12,000 - $20,000 a
month now sit vacant.
Homemade “For Sale” and “For Rent”
signs are strewn across balconies and
doorways on many streets in upscale
neighborhoods.
Akbar Shinwari / NBC News
A pool at a housing development un
construction in a suburb of Kabul,
Afghanistan.
For some, the decision to invest in
property runs far deeper than faith in
the market. Rather, it’s a patriotic duty
to give back to their homeland.
'Come back and serve your country!'
Construction company owner
Mohammad Shafiq acknowledges that it
may be less risky to invest elsewhere,
but he takes pride in his choice to build
here.
His business, the New Jan Group, has
just finished renovating a Kabul hotel
with plush amenities.
“I have made all my money here, so I
should invest here,” he said. Shafiq's
advice to Afghans is to return home.
“Nothing bad will happen in 2014, come
back and serve your country!” he
implored.
Slideshow: Afghanistan: Nation
at a crossroads
Shah Marai / AFP - Getty Images
More than ten years after the beginni
the war, Afghanistan faces external
pressure to reform as well as ongoing
internal conflicts.
Launch slideshow
Caravan echoes this sentiment, urging
investors to “not to be afraid of the
situation here."
He added: "They should take advantage
of this chance. Such a chance will not be
given to them again."
Caravan refuses to be intimidated and
doesn't fear that the resurgent Taliban
will rise to power again after the pullout.
“I invested here... I want to live here and
I want to die here,” he said. “I will leave
it to history to show who destroyed
Kabul and who rebuilt Kabul.”
NBC News' Akbar Shinwari and Khyber
Shinwari contributed to this report.
One day to go just calm your balls, it is gonna be a blast.
Controversial Nollywood actress and singer
Tonto Dikeh on Saturday tweeted that she
also sell cars. According to her, She is an
entertainer, an engineer, aspiring car link
owner, an investor.
JOB INTERVIEW INTERVIEWER: Tell me the
opposite of good. AKPOS: Bad.
INTERVIEWER: Come. AKPOS: Go.
INTERVIEWER: Ugly. AKPOS: Fine.
INTERVIEWER: You are wrong! AKPOS: You
are right! INTERVIEWER: Shut up! AKPOS:
Keep talking! INTERVIEWER: Ok now stop all
that. AKPOS: Ok now carry on all that.
INTERVIEWER: Get out! AKPOS: Come in!
INTERVIEWER: Oh my GOD. AKPOS: Oh my
devil. INTERVIEWER: You are rejected.
AKPOS: Im selected.
Around the corner i have a friend,
In this great city that has no end,
Yet the days go by and weeks rush
on,
And before i know it, a year is gone,
And i never see my friends old face,
For life is a swift and terrible waste,
He knows i like him just as well,
As in the days when i rang his bell,
And he rang mine.
If, we were yonger then
And we are busy, tired, men.
Tired of playing a foolish game,
Tired of trying to make a name.
"Tomorrow" I say "I will call on Jim"
"Just to show that i'm thinking of
him"
But tomorrow comes and tomorrow
goes,
And distance between us grows and
grows.
Around the corner!-yet miles away,
"Here's a telegram sir--"
"JIM DIED TODAY"
Gov. Aregbesola of state of Osun, at the
launch of MASCOT for NUGA, the Nigerian
Universities Games. Right is the Vice
Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University
(OAU) Ile-Ife,
Professor Bamitale Omole; A popular
comedian, Mr Bayo
Bankolé, A.K.A Boy, stands at the back of
Aregbesola. Photo Sikiru Adeoye
The burial has taken place in Nairobi of
Mbugua Mwangi, nephew of Kenyan
President Uhuru Kenyatta, who was among
the 67 victims of the Westgate Mall attack
by terrorists from the Somalia’s Shabaab
terror group.
Mwangi’s fiancee, Rosemary Wahito also
died in the attack. Both were buried
together Friday.
Wonders is impossible to end has Happier made himself a name breaking the world record as the first goat to skate perfectly.
A fresh crisis hit the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) on Friday as a Federal High
Court in Abuja endorsed another
National Secretary for the party.
Justice Abdul Kafarati ordered that the
PDP and the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) should list
Professor Wale Oladipo as the National
Secretary of the party in place of Prince
Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who was ordered
removed by the judge in January this
year.
The National Executive Committee (NEC)
of the party had, in June this year
appointed Dr Remi Akintoye from Lagos
as the party’s acting National Secretary
pending the determination of an appeal
of the court order by Oyinlola.
Prof Oladipo was a nominee from a
“South-West extra-ordinary zonal
congress.” The court further ordered
both PDP and INEC to delete the name
of Oyinlola from their records as PDP’s
National Secretary.
Justice Kafarati also extended to July 13
this year the time limit he had granted
in his January 11 judgment for the
conduct of the zonal congress.
The court also deemed Prof Oladipo’s
nomination by the congress as
replacement for Oyinlola “as proper and
in due compliance with the January 11
judgment.”
The ruling followed a Motion on Notice
filed by the Ogun State chapter of the
party, through its chairman and
secretary, Adebayo Dayo and Semiu
Sodipo respectively, seeking for the
replacement of Oyinlola.
Joined as defendants in the suit were
Oyinlola, PDP and INEC.
Saturday Tribune recalls that the court
had, on January 11, ordered the
removal of Oyinlola from office and the
conduct of a fresh congress by the
South-West PDP for the purpose of
nominating a replacement.
Justice Kafarati further discountenanced
arguments by Oyinlola and PDP that the
court was functus officio, having earlier
delivered a judgment in the case.
He held that the fresh application was
neither meant to reopen the case nor to
effect changes on the earlier delivered
judgment, but to regularise the steps
taken in compliance with the judgment.
On Oyinlola’s argument that the court
could no longer consider the
application because he had appealed
the judgment, the judge held that the
application would have no effect on the
judgment and the appeal filed.
He noted that there was no evidence
before the court that the record in
respect of Oyinlola’s appeal had been
transmitted to the appellate court.
Justice Kafarati held that the mere filing
of a notice of appeal does not serve as
a ground to stay proceedings.
The judge, however, refused attempt by
applicants’ counsel, Babs Akinwunmi, to
move a motion ex-parte seeking leave
for substituted service of court
documents relating to a pending
contempt case on Oyinlola, factional
Chairman of PDP, Kawu Baraje, and a
chieftain of the party, Sam Sam Jaja.
Akinwunmi had told the court that the
applicants had made unsuccessful
attempts to effect personal service of
the documents on the three alleged
contemnors.
The judge advised the applicants to file
fresh affidavit indicating the failed
attempts they had made to serve the
defendants.
Apart from Oyinlola, there have been
two other contending groups in the PDP
angling to land the post: the Lagos
group led by Chief Bode George, which
produced the NEC-sanctioned acting
secretary, Akintoye; and the Kasamu
Buruji group, which believes it should
produce Oyinlola’s replacement having
been the one that got him removed.
There are other party leaders who
showed interest in contesting for the
post, but an Osogbo High Court in
August restrained the party from
conducting the election for the post
pending the determination of Oyinlola’s
appeal.
Meanwhile, Governor Godswill Akpabio
of Akwa Ibom State, has declared that
the fate of over 167 million Nigerians
cannot be left in the hands of the
opposition “which continues to change
its name like chameleons.”
“The opposition is in disarray. They
have changed name six times. I urge
Nigerians to rely on PDP to deliver the
much-expected dividends of
democracy,” he said.
Akpabio spoke on behalf of the PDP at
the burial of the wife of the former
Minister for Information, Justice Regina
Obiageli Nwodo.
The governor, who fell short of
mentioning the All Progressives
Congress (APC) and the New Peoples
Democratic Party (New PDP), said the
present administration would not hand
over the reins of power to such political
office seekers in the country.
When contacted on the ruling, one of
the leading contenders to the position,
Chief Ebenezer Babatope, said his
loyalty to the party and commitment to
the aspiration of President Goodluck
Jonathan remained absolutely
unchangeable, and declined further
comments.
