Arise Fashion Week Ends Sunday in Grand Finale, Fashion Awards

The Arise Magazine Fashion Week will today draw to a close with a grand finale showcasing world class designers and models to round off the five-day fashion extravaganza at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Outstanding designers and models that emerge tops during the five-day show will also be honoured at an awards ceremony this evening.

Seventy-seven designers from six continents, including India, Europe and Africa, have participated in the top-rated show that drew the galaxy of stars in the global fashion industry to Nigeria.

Today’s show will feature 18 fantastic designers display their creative talent, with British fashion designer of Ghanaian descent Ozwald Boateng, who opened his first shop on Savile Row at the age of 23, closing the runway for the week.

The Arise Magazine Fashion Week, which wraps up today is the second in the series held by the London-based Arise fashion magazine, a publication of Leaders & Company Limited.

‘Unemployment Rate Contrast FG’s Economic Growth Figures’

Despite statistics by the Federal Government that showed that the nation’s economy has witnessed appreciable growth in the last few years, the 2011 Annual Socio-Economic Report, by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), has some worrying data on the labour market.

The NBS report obtained by THSDAY revealed that unemployment has grown from 12.3 per cent of the labour force in 2006 to 23.9 per cent in 2011.
The report also showed that Nigerians in the 15-64 age brackets available for, and in search of employment were unable to find one.
Analysts however, believed the 15-64 age bracket was a stringent definition since it includes those who would feature separately in similar surveys as underemployed.

Experts also advised government to revise its growth numbers since simple economic theory stipulates that economic growth must conform to social change.

Meanwhile, the NBS report also revealed that unemployment rate is higher in rural areas (25.6 per cent in 2011) than urban (17.1 per cent), which “helps to explain the rapid growth of the population in the largest cities such as Lagos. New entrants to the labour market averaged 1.8 million per year in 2006-11, and are forecast by the NBS to exceed 8.0 million in 2015.”

Analysts at FBN Capital believe the disparity in the economic growth and unemployment figure is as a result of the poor quality of data available for assessments.

According to FBN Capital, “It may be asked why the rate of unemployment has soared when Gross Domestic Products (GDP) growth has settled above 7 per cent per year and when population growth is estimated at a little below 3 per cent per year.

“A partial answer could lie in the quality of the data. The NBS will shortly release its new accounts series. The first reweighting for almost 20 years will produce a large increase in nominal GDP and, quite possibly, a slight fall in historic growth rates.”

The structure of the economy, the experts said, provided a more telling answer. “Manufacturing has shed tens of thousands of jobs in the past decade. Textile companies in the north have suffered greatly in this respect. Nigeria is producing less and importing more of its consumption needs.

“In the public sector the unemployment rate should rise now that the federal government is reporting savings from the elimination of ghost workers. There will also be losses as the FGN’s transformation agenda overhauls public agencies such as the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

“In the economy as a whole, the increase of the national minimum wage from N7,500 to N18,000 per month is very likely to limit job creation. Unemployment does not directly create fiscal costs since there is no welfare state. However, as noted by the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido, in an address on 6th February, this year, there is little doubt that it contributes to social unrest.”

How can a couple agree to kill their only Son? please see

ASABA-  AN Ogwashi-Uku High Court in Delta State has convicted a couple for killing their only son with a gun as a result of scuffle between them.

Prosecution had told the court that one Mr. Monday Ugwu, a vigilante member at Ogwashi -Uku returned home on the 8th of April 2007 at about 6.30am from his beat to confront his pregnant wife over the whereabouts of a wheelbarrow he borrowed the previous day.

Not satisfied with the explanation from the wife, he was said to have flogged her leading to a scuffle. In the process, his wife furiously ran and took a locally-made one single barrel gun kept behind the door. She smashed it on the ground and in the process, the gun exploded and hit their only child, a four-year old ,  Chibuese Ugwu.  The boy died later that day at  the Federal Medical Centre, FMC, Asaba.

Sentencing the two accused persons, on the 14th of December last year,  the presiding Judge, Justice. T.O. Diai stated that “the court has considered all the circumstances and is saddened about the events which gave rise to this charge against the accused persons, a husband and wife.

“They have lost their only son as a result of the carelessness of the 1st accused (husband) person in keeping a loaded gun behind a door in their apartment and the uncontrollable rage displayed by the 2nd accused (wife) person. Taking all these into consideration I hereby pronounce the following sentences on the accused persons. 1st accused person: sentenced to three years imprisonment. The sentence is to run from the date of remand in prison custody. 2nd accused persons: find of N5,000 or two years imprisonment with hard labour”.

From the available court record, the 1st accused person has been in custody for about three years, having jumped bail and re-arrested.

BOKO HARAM’S THREAT LETTER TO NLC

From: Boko Haramistgroup <bokoharamistgroup@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, Jan 23, 2012 at 7:20 PM
Subject: warning….
To: “gsec@nlcng.org” <gsec@nlcng.org>

WARNING : I said it recently, the so call robbers Labour Union & his wife TUC, are bastards traitors that dey will disappoint Nigerians, how can dey submits to the pressure, who sent them is not on fuel subsidy alone,i am talking about d highest CORRUPTION in the land. What was a stay at home protest will that yield any result? The Battle Line is Drawn.BADLUCK wants WAR, he belives in his IJAW MILITANTS.
the man did not understand what Nigerians want. On #65 i stand. Is the most Useless President Nigeria ever had. his. PHD is questionable.

  Am using this oppoutunity to tell abdulwahed omar to resign with imediate effect,NLC AND TUC be prepared for fire at your head offices and offices nationwide soonest (friday 2012).

 

 

 

 

The problem with Nigeria. by https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000057421055

The problem with Nigeria.
I live here in Nigeria now, by choice I might add, thankfully.
Its not a bad place to live if you are afforded the means and the oppurtunity to vacate her shores in case of a force majeure or illness or something worse.
Nigerians simply are the problem with Nigeria. The general individual prevailant attitude in Nigeria is one of dire personal survival, even at the peril of other citizens. You observe this attitude in the general populace everywhere you go in Nigeria.
Standing in a queue in a bank, driving on the street, surging with a crowd to enter a place of worship, or just being any where there is two or more people. People here are constantly jostling for position or a head up. This attitude which fosters no camraderie amongst neigbours is deeply rooted in the Nigerians psyche of get it now or loose it.
Survivability is a God given attribute and should be encouraged when done with a humanistic attitude. Our appointed leaders and politicians whom are supposed to stand as beacons of exemplary behaviour go to great extent to magnify this narcisitic scourge of a behavior by hording wealth looted at the coffers without regard to moral injunction or common sense.
The so called men and women of God has over the years converted to singing the apothesis to wealth and ostentaciousness rather than the God wisened homelitics of morality that should be thier office. Again the wanton and excessive need to survive at all cost is to blame.
My fellow Nigerians dare to do unto others as you would have done to you. this is the credo and song of change that should be ringing from our lips like a mantra. “Be the change you want

We ‘re on Northern govs’payroll – Boko Haram

LAGOS —The Boko Haram sect has cited the stoppage of its monthly financial support for the recent attacks on northern states, claiming that the group was until recently being bankrolled by some northern governors.

The claim by the group came as it also alleged that former President Olusegun Obasanjo was in its firing range last September but was spared because of his tolerance of the sharia Islamic code during his presidency.

An unnamed high ranking official of the group alleged that the Ibrahim Shekarau administration in Kano made a monthly N10 million donation to the group while the Bauchi Governor, Alhaji Isa Yuguda besides financial commitments was also an admirer of the military prowess of the group.

The group has, nevertheless, dismissed any personal grouse with President Goodluck Jonathan, alleging that the problems with the administration were carryovers from what it claimed to be the callousness of the Yar‘Adua administration in waging war against the group.

The allegations were made by a high ranking official of the group to the online publication247ureports.com.

Mr. Michael Ishola, Chief Press Secretary to the Bauchi State Governor, Alhaji Isa Yuguda, however, debunked the claim as a “very, very strange allegation.”

The newly appointed Special Adviser (Media) to the Kano State Governor, Mallam Halilu Dantiye on his part, claimed ignorance of any monthly payment to the group by the Ibrahim Shekarau administration which the present administration succeeded as he claimed that there was no such issue contained in the handover note.

Noting that the attacks on Kano and Bauchi arose from the stoppage of the financial support to the group by some northern governors, the official in the disclosures to the publication said that the entire northern governors have ongoing relationships with the group.

“Most of them pay us monthly to leave their states alone”.
It was alleged that the Shekarau administration reached an agreement as far back as 2004 to be paying a monthly support of N5 million to the group which was later raised to N10 million sometime in 2009.

The agreement also reportedly included infrastructural support. The support was, however, allegedly stopped at the inception of the Kwankwaso administration in May 2011.

The publication alleged that the Kwankwaso regime also turned against the group dismantling its infrastructure in the state.

“We warned the Governor of the consequences. We concluded on Kano in December 2011,” the source said. Shekarau’s spokesman, Sule Yau did not respond to the allegations yesterday as he did not respond to a text message sent to him. Mallam Dantiye Special Adviser to Governor Kwankwaso claimed ignorance of the alleged support saying that nothing like that was contained in the handover note received from Shekarau.

On Bauchi, the publication reported that Governor Yuguda reached a similar agreement with the leadership of the group for the payment of N10million monthly to the group alongside the provision of training grounds on the many mountains scattered in Bauchi State. The governor it was reported also promised to give them security against arrests by the federal government.  The agreement was supposedly reached in June 2008 but mid 2011, the governor reportedly stopped the disbursement of the funds.

Mr. Michael Ishola, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Yuguda also refuted the allegation against Governor Yuguda. “It is a very, very strange allegation, because the Isa Yuguda I know cannot be involved in such an allegation. We in Bauchi have been living in peace. We are not involved in that,” he told Vanguard yesterday.

Why we didn’t kill Obasanjo — Boko Haram

While noting the group’s reservations on the mediation initiated by President Obasanjo with the group through Babakura Fuggu, in-law of Mohammed Yusuf, the slain founder of the group, the publication disclosed that the new leader of the group, Imam Abubakar Shekau, had considered priming Obasanjo for assassination as the September 15, 2011 exchange approached.

According to the publication:  As Obasanjo concluded his secret meeting the previous day at the Green House with three other religious group [Jamatu Nasirl Islam, JNI and CAN] in Jos, the capital of Plateau State on the Wednesday of September 14, 2011, and took off the following day to Borno State, the terrorist group, according to the source, marked the former President within their ‘firing range’ from the moment he landed in Borno State at minutes after 11am till he departed the State in the late afternoon of the same day. According to the source, “we were not sure of him”.

“He was going to be a big catch” said the source who explained that the leadership halted the operation as Obasanjo went inside the residence of Babakura.

“Obasanjo was good to us. We had no problem with Obasanjo. We had him. We could have taken him out”, as he recalled that the sharia movement took off during the period when Obasanjo was president. “The problem started during the late President Yar’Adua regime. Goodluck only inherited the problem. We have no problem with Goodluck. But his Ijaw people around him are deceiving him”.

See details  here

JTF kills 4 Boko Haram members in Maiduguri

In a seeming fight back, the Joint Task Force (JTF), “Operation Restore Order” in Maiduguri, Borno State claimed success in gunning down four operatives of the Boko Haram sect in the town. The four were reportedly killed yesterday in Pompomari ward of Maiduguri , the Borno State capital.

According to a Press statement signed by the Field Operations Commander of the JTF, Col. Victor Ebhaleme the quartet was apprehended along with bomb materials.

He said: “Four members of the sect involved in the killings in Maiduguri metropolis and its environs and have been under the surveillance of security agencies were shot dead”.

The statement further claimed that, various Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) materials prepared for detonation were equally recovered from their Golf Saloon car.

The statement further warned those still harbouring the sect members to desist from such acts, urging them to report all suspects to security agencies for prompt action

Nigeria, US join forces against Boko Haram

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s effort to combat the activities of the Boko Haram sect received a boost yesterday as it resolved to collaborate with the United States in the fight against the group.

The meeting between the two countries held under the aegis of the US-Nigeria Bi-national Commission had US Deputy Assistant Secretary, Mr. William Fitzgerald leading the American side, while the Nigerian side was led by the Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary, Ambassador Martins Uhomoibhi in company of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Gen. Andrew Azazi (Rtd.)

Both the Nigerian and US officials met in Abuja to formalize a response to the general insecurity in the northern part of Nigeria. Before retreating to a closed door meeting, Fitzgerald disclosed that, due to the intensity of the insurgent activities in the North, the security working group was split into two, with one group focusing exclusively on tackling the Boko Haram menace, while the other would focus on security of the Niger Delta region.

He said: “Today marks a new beginning, security issues in the North have taken up new significance, so we have chosen to split the regional security cooperation and the Niger Delta. The regional security cooperation has its own working group which will meet today (yesterday) and tomorrow (today).”

“I bring on behalf of the US government, the deepest condolences on the heinous attacks that have taken place during the past few days first in Kano and then Bauchi State. We deplore swiftly the reign of terror that has existed in the north of the country for many months. And we stand with you to work together to find a way to bring peace to the north,”  the US envoy added.

Ambassador Adefuye was quoted as saying that “the United States government has proposed that the Niger-Delta and regional security component of the commission be split into separate entities and the first meeting on regional security should hold immediately on 23 and 24 of January. We have agreed to this proposal.

“We are receiving adequate support and assistance from our international friends without compromising our independence and freedom of action.”

THE POWER OF VISION!

Vision is the God given ability to see and capture the blueprint for your life – family, career, business, academics and humanitarian assignments. Everything we see around us today was once in the dreamland but through the power of VISION, innovation and creativity they were all brought forth for the benefit of mankind. Your success in life can be predictable when you understand and embrace the power of vision

 

1.     The Basic Components – The Future, The Present and The Past

2.     Your Keys – Your Gifts, Talents, Abilities, Opportunities …

3.     How to get Vision – Look Up, Look Within and Look Around You

4.     Vision Boosters – Focus, Diligence, Faith, Stewardship, Service …

5.     Vision Pitfalls – Laziness, Indiscipline, Bad Association, Weak Character …

6.     Your Action Point – Determine to be the best in your life pursuits

 

You were created to add value; you can’t afford to be a liability on your environment. Where there is no vision people cast off restraints but blessed is the one who can see and capture the future. In the midst of this seemly challenging environment, what can you see this week?

I see value, solution, increase, promotion and enlargement!

Court Gives Sanusi Go-ahead to Sell Union Bank

The Court of Appeal in Lagos Thursday gave the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the go-ahead to sell Union Bank of Nigeria Plc.

The court, in a judgment delivered by Justice Helen Ogunwumiju, dismissed the appeal filed by some aggrieved shareholders of the bank praying the court to stop Sanusi from going ahead with his plan to sell the shareholdings.

Justice Ogunwumiju, who by the judgment affirmed the decision of the lower court, added that the appeal lacked merit and consequently dismissed it.

She further held that the appellants ought to have raised questions for determination in their originating summons.

The shareholders, led by the President of Progressive Shareholders Association (PSA), Boniface Okezie, had urged the appellate court to set aside the ruling of Justice Binta Murtala-Nyako of the Federal High Court in Lagos.
Nyako had, while ruling on the preliminary objections filed by the respondents, struck out the suit on the ground that the plaintiffs failed to raise questions for determination in their originating summons.

The shareholders, which included Rasheed Olatundu, Basil Ubah and Waheed Sonibare, had in their Notice of Appeal filed by their lawyer, Chucks Nwachuku, urged the court to set aside the ruling of the lower court and exercise its powers under Section 16 of the Court of Appeal Act to hear and determine the applicants/appellants’ originating summons.

The appellants in their grounds of appeal argued that their originating summons followed the specified procedure as mandated under Rule 2 (2) of the Companies Proceedings Rules, adding that the procedure did not require the formulation of question for determination.

The appellants maintained that the method of originating summons to be used for commencing applications under the Companies Proceedings Rules is Form 2.

Specifically, the shareholders wanted an injunction restraining Sanusi and the incumbent management of Union Bank from “entering into any arrangement with any person, institution or authority, including themselves and the Federal Government to dispose any share of the bank or to transfer its control, management and assets to any person or authority” pending the determination of an appeal.

Other defendants in the suit included Nigeria Deposit Insurance Commission (NDIC), Federal Attorney General, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the bank’s Managing Director, Funke Osibodu, who was sued on behalf of herself and others appointed by Sanusi to the Union Bank board.

According to the statement of facts in support of the originating summons, the shareholders argued that the action of Sanusi in removing the directors of Union Bank and other banks in the country was informed by his (Sanusi’s) desire to become “Grand Managing Director General”.

The shareholders, who are claiming N100 billion as damages for Sanusi’s action, alleged that the removal of the directors was done in bad faith.

But counsel to the bank and CBN, Prof. Konyinsola Ajayi (SAN) and Kola Awodein (SAN), urged the court to dismiss the suit on the ground that it was incompetent