NIGERIAN STUDENT WINS RESEARCHER'S OF THE YEAR AWARD IN SOUTH AFRICA

A young, passionate Nigerian, Toyosi Craig was recently honoured with the YOUNG RESEARCHER OF THE
YEAR AWARD 2016 in South Africa. The award, which is dubbed Renewable Energy Research Excellence Award (RERE), is jointly organised by Renewable Energy Centre of Research and Development (RECORD), and South African National Energy Association (SANEA).

According to the organisers, the award “recognises the contribution of young upcoming researchers to renewable energy in South Africa”, and it is given on the basis of merit, innovation, novelty and applicability.

Elevated Sight Magazine caught up with Toyosi Craig, who opened up on a number of issues bothering on his experiences in South Africa and some of the challenges young people are confronted with in Nigeria. Read, enjoy and don’t forget to share!

ESM: Can we meet you?

Toyosi: My name is Toyosi Craig. I am a Nigerian. I am an engineer. I do innovation management and systems analysis. I am currently doing a PhD in engineering management with a special focus on solar energy, in Stellenbosch University, South Africa. I am more of an advocate for good governance and good citizenship and helping others help themselves.

ESM: Why South Africa?

Toyosi: Like a friend would say, I left Nigeria without combing my hair. I initially came here for a Master’s degree in Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering in 2014 and I have been around since then. I have led a lot of inventions and innovations in Nigeria, for which I couldn’t find any support or funding. I initiated a lot of Startups. Some of them include: a pounded yam making machine that pounds two man-size meal in 20 seconds; conversion of Jatropha seed oil to make diesels; making of tiles from sawdust and used pure water sachets, among many others. But as you know, no one was ready to support. Nigerian society and multinationals only fund upcoming dancers, musicians, models and the likes.

ESM: Tell us about your experiences so far in South Africa


Toyosi: The truth is I never expected what I met in SA. I initially wanted to go to Canada or UK, which my parents couldn’t afford. But I really thank God I am here. Getting to know that some of the schools here are world class; I am fully funded, my research group for example invented some solar heliostat ahead of Google engineers. We have jet fighters that we work on. There are innumerable drones, a micro satellite in the space, what else do you want as an engineer. The computers available are almost 80% of the student population in number, just to mention a few.

ESM: Tell us about the recent award you received

Toyosi: To God be the glory, I was honoured as the young researcher of the year in the energy sector of South Africa.

My Master’s degree project was an innovation, which was widely appraised around the world. It is a parabolic solar cooker that tracks the sun and can cook at night or when there is no sun because it saves heat. The system was adapted for African conditions and can be used to set up small heat based factories in rural areas. Also, it eliminates the solar cooker users’ exposure to sun as the cooking section is separated from the heat receiver.

ESM: What would you consider as significant difference in studying in South Africa as against Nigeria?

Toyosi: SA takes education as a priority and their educational system is highly funded and all research have focus and applications, either industry based, public sector based or for the societal good. They have structures and great research policies.

The truth is SA is far ahead when it comes to Research, because the government, the industries and the universities are on top of their games and working together. I promise you, we have the population who are willing to go to school in Nigeria but there is very little support. The reverse is the case in SA.

ESM: Are you looking forward to contributing to the development of Nigeria and in what area?


Toyosi: Contributing to Nigeria and Africa as a whole is not just my dream but my destiny. I believe my calling is to wipe out hunger from Africa, which can be achieved through several approaches.

The first thing I am passionate about is giving identity to all Nigerians. It has failed many times, but without it we cannot plan. I have the model and I hope I can implement it someday, so that we can know each Nigerian and each person’s life can be valuable.

The second is electricity; we have made a lot of headway in Solar Energy and other renewable energies in South Africa. I am looking forward to helping in that area back home. I have actually sent a lot of documents home.

Lastly, some of our citizens are losing focus and are really depressed; you may not know but it is the truth. I hope I can inspire many to rediscover themselves. I was also frustrated sometimes ago, but I didn’t give up. We just need an enabling environment and we can be all we are meant to be. I believe Nigerians are the smartest people God made.

ESM: What do you think we can do to improve our educational system?

Toyosi: First thing, government should start giving university scholarships to as many students as possible to study AT HOME. We don’t have an education sector goal. As you can see, companies don’t trust our graduates because most lack required skills. It is fundamentally wrong for a high school graduate willing to study more, to not be able to, because there are no enough spaces in schools or because he/she cannot afford private schools. We are yet to get it right yet. It’s not supposed to be difficult for a high school student to graduate and proceed to higher institution for his/her primary discipline of interest.  In SA, if you do well in your matric (equivalent to our WAEC and NECO), you will not only study your dream course, you will also be funded 100%.

Education is expensive no doubt, but we have to decide whether or not we want the best for our people. We need proper structures that would encourage research. There is a lot to do. And we haven’t started yet.

ESM: What are your plans for the future?

Toyosi: My plan is simple; wipe hunger out of Africa. This has to start with Nigeria. We have the largest population, abundant natural resources, an amazing weather, and fertile soil. Whatever would help reposition Nigeria, and for Nigerians to achieve their maximum potentials, that I am committed to doing to the best of my ability and capacity.

Double Celebration For Gov. Dickson As Wife Delivers Quadruplet; Appeal Court Upholds Election

Bayelsa First Lady gives birth to quadruplet
by Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa
After many years of marriage without a child, the First Lady of Bayelsa State, Dr. Rachael Dickson, has given birth to quadruplet in an undisclosed hospital in the United States of America (USA).
A statement signed by Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seriake Dickson, said the development contributed to the season of celebrations in the governor’s family.
The statement said: “The season of celebrations continues in the family of Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State as his wife, the First Lady, Dr. Rachael Dickson just put to bed in the United States of America.
“She was delivered of a quadruplet; a bouncing baby boy and three beautiful baby girls. Mother and children are doing well.
“This is particularly good news for the family and Bayelsans because this bundle of joy is coming after many years of praying and waiting upon the Lord.
“Governor Dickson thanks friends, family members and Bayelsans for their prayers and support and enjoins them to continue to pray for the family”.

Recession: Obiano abolishes school levies, wheelbarrow tax, others

The Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, on Tuesday said he foresaw long suffering as a result of the recession in the country.

Consequently, he said he had abolished some levies and taxes in the state to cushion the effect of the economic downtown on the people.

This was contained in his special broadcast to the people of the state on Tuesday afternoon.

He said, “Following the formal announcement by the Federal Government that the nation’s economy has gone into a recession, I consider it my duty, as your governor, to distil the message of the economic situation of the country down to the grassroots.

“Following this development too, I am happy to announce to you that I have come up with a stimulus package that will ease the pain of the recession and help our dear state bounce back to prosperity.

“Brothers and sisters, our country’s painful journey into the current recession is fairly known to us.

“The events that triggered this decline are very well documented in the public domain.

“So, I will not go through the details of how we arrived where we are.

“I wish to assure you that after a careful study of the situation, I am more convinced now than ever before that with our fundamentals, our infinite capacity to come back from deficits and our implicit faith in God, our story should be different in Anambra State.”

He said the state’s intervention would come in four key areas.

In the area of tax relief programme, for example, he said, “Special Intervention Programmes (would be) for Small and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs and Large Enterprises.”

The governor said the objective of his Tax Relief Programme was to evaluate existing taxes, levies and fees in the state and introduce some waivers, and in some cases, scrap the collection of some illegal levies imposed on the people.

He said these would go a long way to cushion the impact of the recession on households in the state.

The text read in part, “I hereby suspend the sale of consolidated emblems in Anambra State.

“I suspend the collection of Hawkers Permit on all streets in the state.

“I suspend the collection of Wheelbarrow Tax in all markets in the state.

“Lastly, I abolish the imposition of unapproved levies on students in public primary and secondary schools in the state.

“All these pronouncements shall take immediate effect.”

He said the state would do these as the governor’s role “is to envisage challenges and provide solutions that will ensure a speedy comeback from difficult situations that require the power and might of a state government.”

The governor said that his agricultural policy and various other intervention measures would sustain hope and life for his people in the prevailing hard economic situation.

Credits - Punch

RECESSION: NIGERIA NEEDS ECONOMIC REVOLUTION TO SURVIVE - OTUNBA GBENGA DANIEL.

Nigeria needs a complete revolution in technology as well as other aspects of endeavours to enhance and boost the Nation's production capability, in order to survive the prevailing economic hardship.
The immediate past Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel made this assertion today, while speaking on a radio programme in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The former Governor, who explained that Nigerians have chosen evolution, which is a longer process over revolution, said no "Nation can develop without local contents".
He noted that only Nigerians can develop Nigeria, stressing that 'no Nation would develop our country at the detriment of their own Nations'.
Otunba Daniel said, "It is criminal for any Nation to be importing without producing to meet the Country's needs, thus there must be urgent plans to support production processes in Nigeria".
"All the big countries of the world built their nations by themselves. I didn't award any of my contracts to any foreigner throughout my 8 years. Ogun State Road Maintenance Agency, OGROMA was a typical example of direct labour that was evolving. What are the billions you hear daily on building bridges? if they continue building at that prices, when are we going to get roads to my village?, he asked.
While observing that economic problems in Nigeria have created various security challenges, the engineer turned politician, hinted that all the policies he operated as a PDP Governor, were based on empirical research and that was why welfare policies and programmes like the teaching service scheme, OGUNGRAD, TRACE and OGEGEP among others were formed to reduce the high unemployment in the State.
Otunba Daniel, said Nigeria needs a fundamental change and a strong will to tackle importation by starting a technological revolution that would improve production processes and evolve over time.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW WHEN DIRECTED BY THE POLICE TO WRITE A STATEMENT

If the police ask you to write a statement, which they normally do when they stop you on the road and take you to their station or when they invite you to their station, you should know how to write a good statement that will not implicate you.

First, whether you write a statement as a witness or as a suspect, you must understand that your statement is very likely going to be used against you either in court or for the purpose of blackmail by some officers (not all). Therefore, take your statement writing as a serious matter.

Remember that you have right to refuse to write a statement until your lawyer is present. But this normally leads to argument and hostile reactions from the police, and it may likely be a pretext for them not releasing you immediately.

There are no hard and fast rules as to the content of a statement. It is supposed to be what you know in relation to an incident or the reason for you being brought to the station. Since the statement is not just a general view on anything you like, it is important that you know the reason for which you have been brought to the station.

For those who have been suspected of committing an offense, make sure that before you start writing a statement, you ask the officer the offense for which you have been brought to the station. If he tells you that there is no offense, that they just want you to tell them all you know, you can politely say: No, Sir. The police force is meant to enforce the criminal law. Therefore, the police would not have any justification to bring you to the station except if they suspect that an offense has been committed somewhere by somebody - either you or someone else. And you need to know the offense and the person suspected before you could write your statement.

Also, if you were arrested or invited as a result of a petition written against you, you must demand to read carefully that petition before you start giving your statement.

When you start your statement, make sure you explain in your statement the reason for which you have been asked to make your statement. For instance, you can say something like: "I was stopped while driving my vehicle with registration number xxxxx on ________ street in _______ city. After showing my papers to officer xxxxxxx, I was taken to the police station and informed that  my car was suspected of being stolen car"

Then you make your statement. You will see that the police will not like this. But you should be able to state the summary of the circumstances that led to you having to make a statement in the station.

I will say more about writing statements at police stations. For now, just get the idea that you should explain why you are making a statement and the offenses you were told you were suspected of. You should state that in your statement before you begin to write other things

POST SCRIPT: The reason you have to state in your statement the reason for making a statement is obvious. Your statement when read by a third party can only make sense in the context of the matter that prompted the statement. So, if you didn't state the matter to which your statement relates, the police may change the matter down the line. Initially, you thought you were arrested because of stolen vehicle, but the police later charged it to kidnapping. If a judge is reading your statement in a kidnapping case, he will think you were evading the issues. He will think you were dodging the matter that you don't want to answer the question. And he will form a negative opinion of you based on your presumably inconclusive and evasive statement . So be careful and be wise

(C) Lady Kuku Ikpidungise

LEARN FROM MY PAST MISTAKES - BY OTUNBA TUNDE ALABI

Friends, please learn from my mistakes!

As a teenager I heard that a teenager got drowned in a swimming pool so I vowed not to go near water. I did not learn swimming. Unfortunately, my inability to swim was what denied me a good job after graduation. Now I can swim but the job was gone.

The day that I wanted to start learning driving was when a young man drove himself to death on Aba road in Port Harcourt. I mourned the guy, thanked God that I didn't know how to drive so that I won't die. I abandoned learning how to drive. Two weeks after, a juicy employment opportunity propped up and I came top in written and oral interview only to lose out because I couldn't drive. The position came with a Toyota Hilux attached which must be self driven.

Sometimes ago, I was offered a Nigerian representative of a Chinese  company but because I didn't see far into the future I declined. The company is today well established in Nigeria and some other African countries and I'm just here on Facebook ���

I later realized that my problem was the quality of my thinking. I was narrow minded and saw tragedies instead of opportunities. Everything changed from the moment that I realized my mistakes.

If you are the type that sees only calamities in every situations then you need to change your mindset. Stop being a pessimist, every calamity brings its own opportunities. Look deeply.

The last time Lekki was flooded some poor people were thankful to their gods that they were not Lekki residents because they saw only tragedies they didn't see the opportunities.

When the stock market crashed some poor people celebrated their luck because they had no investment in the stock market. They saw disasters they didn't see opportunities.

Now that the country is effectively in recession, don't resign your faith. Don't see doomsday, look deeper and see the opportunities. A critical time like this demands for critical thinking. Be strong. Be strengthened.

Learn from my mistakes in the past!

God bless you.

Tunde Alabi
17th September, 2016

NIGERIANS CONSUMING "ARSENIC CHEMICALS" FROM IMPORTED RICE - AGRIC MINISTER

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, on Wednesday in Abuja said Nigerian businessmen demanded 2.5 billion dollars (about N492 billion) a week for importation of goods and services into the country.
Ogbeh made this known in a meeting with officials of VICAMPRO, an indigenous Agro Company investing in production of Irish Potato on Wednesday in Abuja.

He said that the ministry was willing to support local investors with capacity to produce goods and save the country’s foreign exchange.

He said that the consumption of rice in the country was rising and that a lot of people were not aware that the rice had some degree of arsenic.

The minister said that consuming rice in large quantity on a regular basis was a bit of health risk, adding that substituting it with potato would be welcomed development.

“The volume of importation of virtually everything into this country is too much.

“The demand for dollars in this country as at today is 2.5 billion a week; this is the quantum of dollars Nigerians are asking for to import things.

“Since 1986, we began this habit of importing everything and doing virtually nothing at home to sustain ourselves; now, we do not have the dollars and people are very hungry.

“This day was coming anyway, no matter who was in power; we have the most ridiculous method of devaluing our currency; every week, we auction the dollar and naira goes up.

“We sat and were hoping that by devaluation, we are going to arrive at Eldorado; if we continue like this, it will be a thousand naira to a dollar,’’ he said.

While commending the investor, Ogbeh said that any private sector effort that would develop local production of goods would be fully supported by the ministry.

“We should aggressively take the West African market; there is no reason why we should allow Irish potato from Ireland and France and Belgium into West Africa; it is the same story with onions.

Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of VICAMPRO, Mr Michael Agbogo, said that potato could bring value worth over one trillion naira annually if properly harnessed.

He said that potato was the fourth most important crop in the world and that a barrel of oil was an equivalent of 14 kilogrammes of potatoes.

According to Agbogo, while current price of crude oil will fetch the country about N16,000 per barrel, the equivalent in potato will fetch the country N39,000.

He said that in terms of value, potato had three times the value of crude oil, adding that it was a huge industry the country could get into.

Agbogo said that Egypt and Algeria were the leading potato producing countries in Africa, with Egypt producing four million tonnes annually from about 100,000 hectares of land.

He said that Nigeria, which had close to 500,000 hectares, was struggling to produce one million tonnes of potato per annum.

Credits- Daily Post.

How Varsity Students Defrauded Seven Ladies on Facebook

The police in Lagos State have arrested a 26-year-old undergraduate, Ademola Adebayo, for allegedly defrauding seven ladies he met on Facebook.
Our correspondent learnt that Adebayo, a 400-Level student of Computer Science, allegedly lured the ladies by uploading some rich pictures on Facebook, and asking his victims to meet him at a location, usually a hotel on the pretext that he had deals for them.
PUNCH Metro gathered that when the ladies showed up at the agreed location, the suspect would dispose them of their phones and other valuables.
The police alleged that Adebayo worked with an accomplice, 35-year-old Toheeb Fetuga, who had also been arrested.
It was learnt that the suspect was arrested by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Ikeja, where one of the victims reported the matter.
Adebayo told PUNCH Metro that he had defrauded seven ladies of their valuables.
He said, “One of the ladies I defrauded was Rita. She came to a hotel in the Oyingbo area. We had met on Facebook and I agreed to do a deal with her. She was a woman willing to have a sexual affair with me for money.
“I invited her to the hotel and asked how much she would take. She said $1,000, and I said it was okay. I collected her phone. I asked her to come for the money at a hotel in the Victoria Island area. So, she believed me and left.
“I checked the contacts on her phone and that was where I got the contacts of other ladies I defrauded. I was trying to lure another friend of hers when I was arrested. I have done it to seven ladies. I usually meet the young women on Facebook, and it is either I add them or they add me.
“I usually uploaded rich pictures on Facebook, which attracted them to me. Fetuga was the one I usually gave the valuables to sell. He sold each of the phones for N6,000.”
Fetuga, on the other hand, said although Adebayo brought the phones to him, the undergraduate lied to him that the owners were badly in need of money.
He said, “He came to me that he wanted to sell the phones. When I asked him where he got the phones from, he said some ladies in his school were in need of money to complete their projects and examinations.
“He had come about seven times and I gave him about N6,000 for each of the phones. We usually met at different places. He would call and say we should transact business.”
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, said investigations were ongoing into the matter.

Credits- Punch Metro

PHOTO SPEAKS: OJUDE-OBA 2016

PHOTO SPEAKS: GOVERNOR AMOSUN CELEBRATES SALAH WITH KIDSKIDS.

PUBLIC NOTICE: BEWARE OF FRAUDSTERS - NIGERIA CUSTOMS SERVICES

• Have you ever received an auction offer of choice vehicles through Facebook, or any other social media platforms?
• Was the price ridiculously low?
• Was it supposedly from the Nigeria Customs Service?

If your answer to these questions is YES, then you might be a potential victim of internet fraudsters. They use many ploys, but the most popular is using fake Facebook accounts opened in the name of the Comptroller-General of Customs or any Customs Officer.

You are therefore deceived to believe that you are chatting with the “Comptroller-General of Customs or any Customs Officer” who might even refer you to an Officer in Seme Border or any department of the Service.

Beware, the discussions that will eventually lead to a request that you pay some money into some private account is pure scam!

Below is one of such Facebook accounts created by a fraudster. The account name is Adeniyi Elizabeth.

Many have been deceived.
Many have been scammed.
They are fraudulent. Don’t patronize them.

BE WARNED! STOP and THINK before you click!

LESSONS FROM RIVERS STATE FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF CHANGE - By Oraye St. Franklyn

It would be recalled that sometime last year, while speaking on a live radio interview session that was broadcast on Rhythm 93.7 FM, Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, the Governor of Rivers State in responding to callers said, and most profoundly, that "We are elected to proffer solutions. We were not elected to give excuses." A statement that, about a year later, has turned out to be beyond the lucrative convenience of political rhetoric.

Governance in Rivers State in spite of the distracting and negative engagement of the All Progressives Congress, APC, which has experimented every conceivable antidemocratic measure to derail it, has remained on course with very positive local, national and international acceptance ratings from keen observers and Rivers people themselves. Right from the very start, the Wike-led government has remained astutely committed to the business of governance. Almost every sector of governance is receiving attention in spite of the obvious paucity of funds that the State, just like others in the country, are bedevilled with. Something no one can deny is that Governor Wike has not given a single excuse not to perform his sworn duties.

This, it must be said, is not for want of cogent and verifiable reasons to relapse to the national malady of palpitating excuses constantly being dished out by not just cabinet members or the Federal Government but by the President himself, who has not stopped blaming the incoming Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for his inability to deliver on his campaign promises. The truth is, there's no money in the system. And it is not necessarily the result of PDP's contestable 'misgovernance', but of the inability of the APC to administer governance even at the most basic level and its penchant for demarketing Nigeria.  How Rivers State manages to thrive remains not only a mystery but a good reason to be consulted by the APC for counsel.

During his Sallah day message to Nigerians, while President Muhammadu Buhari, with due respect, was still whining about his personal misgivings about whatever and everything that is known as PDP, Governor Wike was calling for national cohesion and peace among Nigerians in order to wade through the current economic storms. Governor Wike would have been right to blame the APC for the current calamities. But he didn't. He was even quoted to have said bad economies do not recognise political affiliations. That is leadership! Something that is currently in short supply in today's Nigeria at the national governmental level.

Consider also the fact that without even any fanfare, Rivers State, through the Wife of the Governor, Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike, was the first to begin a campaign, and a serious effort, on advocating behavioural change through her weekend character-building programme, RivEthics; a programme that is impacting lives and making a noiseless difference in the State and country. Today we hear of supposed national rebirth campaign christened 'Change Begins With Me' whose drivers do not have either the capacity or credential to succeed with its mandate, given the litany of deceptions and failures that have become material inhibitions to their success. Not only is trust for government by the populace lacking, it has shown itself to be unworthy of public trust given the apartheid, parochialism, fundamentalism and even victimisation that have badly tainted whatever is left of its value.

Nigeria is at a watershed moment in its history. Things have become so rapidly precarious that the palpable fear of impending cataclysm is a momentous reality. Change has happened. Bad, devilish change. Yet, the APC-led government is occupied with giving daily and repeated excuses. In the same country that Rivers State is a shinning example? Is it any wonder insecurity is framed and farmed within her borders to derail her progress? Is it any wonder desperate efforts remain on course to derail her government? Is it any wonder?

Rivers State under Governor Wike had made progress, in spite of the monumental plundering it suffered in the hands of the very drivers of the APC, who have not stopped wailing about the PDP. Yet, no one hears of a single excuse for non-performance. There are too many lessons to learn from Rivers State. But most importantly, its governmental success exposes the All Progressives Congress as classically incompetent and even a liability to Nigerians unborn.

Governor Wike said, "We are elected to proffer solutions. We were not elected to give excuses." What could be more profound?

How Buhari Govt. Can Fix Nigeria’s Economic Crisis – Okonjo-Iweala

The immediate past Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said on Monday that having a handle on Nigeria’s spiralling inflation, foreign exchange problem, fiscal deficit and debts control were key to resolving the country’s current economic crisis.
Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala, who spoke on Aljazeera TV programme, The Stream, said focusing on the basic issues of macroeconomic stability was crucial to fixing the country’s economic challenges.
“If you don’t pay attention to the fundamentals of having a stable and good exchange rate policy, inflation under control, manageable fiscal deficit and debts, there will continue to be trouble in the economy,” she said.
Nigeria is facing its worst economic crisis in decades. The economy slipped into recession after contracting in the first two quarters of 2016.
Inflation jumped from 16.2 per cent in July to 17.1 per cent in August 2016, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Since the introduction of the floating foreign exchange policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which freed the Naira from a band of N197-N199 to the dollar, the currency has been in a free fall against other international currencies.
From about N281 to the dollar at the beginning of the policy in June, Naira crashed to about N420 to the dollar shortly before the Sallah holidays on Friday.
Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala, a former World Bank Managing Director, told Al Jazeera that she remained optimistic that solutions to the country’s economic decline could still be found.
Asked what would be her top three priorities to resolve the country’s current economic crisis if she had remained the finance minister, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said she would prefer the current managers of the economy talk about it.
“I have contributed the best I could to the country. It is still the most interesting country in the world. It is better to leave those who are managing now to say what they would do.
“All I can say is that there are solutions. Nigeria is a vibrant country. I love it so much. I know it is going to come out of this one way or another,” she said.
On if President Muhammadu Buhari were to ask her to come and help in resolving the country’s economic crisis, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said: “One of the things you learn as you get wiser is to talk less as you grow older.
“I have spent my time contributing to the country. It will be better to leave those managing the economy to do what they know how to do.
“I served my country for seven years and it was a great honour. The second time was very tough, but it was still an honour. I am not the only person who is a repository of knowledge. There are other people who can equally try their hands in running the economy.”
On the continental scale, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala, expressed regrets the economic gains recorded in Africa have started being eroded in the last two to three years.
“On the continent, we have seen a period when the economy was doing relatively well. It’s only in the last two to three years that things have started to go a bit south.”
She spoke about the job initiative of the Goodluck Jonathan government, YOU-WIN.
“The whole idea was to have a business plan competition. Beneficiaries were expected to create jobs to employ six people or more.
“Each created 9-10 jobs. The World Bank did an evaluation of it and found it good. I do believe the government should come in. We started a peer to peer mentoring. Now, one of the things I want to say is that creating employment is not only about struggles, it is about managing success,” she said.
On how the anti-corruption war was fought during her time in government, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala described it as “a very tough fight”.
“It was tough. I must thank my team. You don’t do it alone. I had the support of an economic team in the Ministry of Finance. At the end of the day, you need to have some principles,” she said.

Nigeria’s Largest Airline, Arik, Suspends Operations.

Nigeria’s largest airline, Arik Air Limited, has announced the suspension of its flight operations, blaming a delay in insurance documentation.
Arik’s Public Relations and Communications Manager, Olabanji Ola, said the airline will resume operations as soon as the problem is resolved.
Reports that Arik had cancelled flights on Tuesday morning and afternoon had fueled speculation that the airline might have become the latest casualty in the financial crisis plaguing Nigeria’s aviation sector.
But Mr. Ola said the delay in “approval of documentation” was caused by the Sallah public holiday which was followed a “long weekend”.
“At the present time, all flights of the airline have been cancelled for Tuesday, 13 September, 2016 and the airline has stated that it would be getting in touch with passengers to provide an update on rescheduling of their flights,” Mr. Ola said. “This situation is likely to continue for the next few days until such time that NAICOM (National Insurance Commission) approves a waiver on a priority basis for the new insurance company to renew the policy.”
Mr. Ola said passengers had been notified of the development via text messages but customers in need of information could contact Arik through its customer care lines or visit its website.
The statement was silent on compensation, but Mr. Olabanji told PREMIUM TIMES by telephone that the airline was taking care of all concerns arising from the crisis.
“We’re addressing all issues relating to the disruption,” Mr. Olabanji said. “But I am not going to get into specifics about compensation at this point.”
On Tuesday , thousands of passengers were left stranded across the country as the Sallah holidays came to an end. It means many workers may be unable to resume duties on Wednesday.
The development came two weeks after two other national carriers, Aero Contractors and FirstNation, suspended operations on August 31 and September 1, respectively.
While Aero blamed a difficult business environment for its decision to close down and send staff on indefinite leave, FirstNation said it wanted engineers to carry out a routine maintenance of its fleet.
Nigeria’s economic crisis had seen operational costs — including the prices of aviation fuel— skyrocket in recent months, forcing some international airlines to source fuel and engine parts from other West African countries.
Local and international flights operators have increased the prices of their tickets.

"AVERAGE BABALAWO MEMORISES OVER 20,000 PAGES OF ODU IFA"

People often ask me if there is a "complete" written copy of the Odu Ifa.  However, within the Odu Ifa it explains that there is no babalawo who knows all of the Odu Ifa because the pages in the Odu Ifa are infinite.  It is like asking is there a complete written copy of the science of the universe. No such book could ever be written.

However, that doesn't mean that there aren't books about science or condense versions of the Odu Ifa.  Most recognize the Odu Ifa as consisting of 256 odu (wombs/books).  The most abridged versions present each Odu as a poem, 4 pages long on average for each of the 256.  However, the Odu are called books because each Odu really consists of numerous chapters.

The average well trained babalawo will know of 16 chapters for each of the 256 Odu.  This makes a total of 4,096 holy chapters.  A chapter is on average 5 pages (using a standard modern font), which suggests there are 20,480 oral pages that make up the average well trained babalawo's repertoire of the Odu Ifa sacred texts.  Compare this to the mere 1,200 pages of the average Christian bible.  We should not be surprised that the Christian religion brings so much havoc when it is such a short piece of information and missing so many key lessons from the ancestors.

Many of you will gasp at a book 20,480 pages long and can't imagine reading it let alone memorizing it as babalawos have.  This is because the human memory has been greatly weakened by literate culture.  Even Socrates (an illiterate Greek philosopher) warned against the destruction of memory due to the spread of literacy.  Modern people have no idea of the true capabilities of the human mind, especially in regard to its memorization ability.  Because we store all our information in written form, we have reduced our brain's function to 7%.  In antiquity, the average African oralists used much more of his brain, which allowed him to memorize such long lengths of information and teach it to the next generation.

Credits- Babalawo Osunniyi Facebook Page

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