The Talking Picture

: L-R:  Mr. Oludare Kafar, Marketing Manager, GOtv, Mrs. Fatima Babanmallam winner of a Trip to the 2014 Grammy Awards and Mrs. Busola Tejumola, Consumer Insight Manager, MultiChoice Nigeria during the presentation to winners of the MultiChoice Nigeria @ 20 Anniversary Promo on 11th of October, 2013.

Photo Credit: Akin Farinto

The Talking Picture

L-R: Mr. Oludare Kafar, Marketing Manager GOtv; winner of a Trip to the 2014 Grammy Awards, Mr. Emmanuel Igoche along his wife Mabel and Mrs. Busola Tejumola, Consumer Insight Manager MultiChoice Nigeria during the presentation to winners of the MultiChoice Nigeria @ 20 Anniversary Promo on 11th of October, 2013.

Photo Credit: Akin Farinto

The "No Work, No Pay" Rule and the ASUU Strike

Photo Credit: Google

The industrial action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has assumed  a new dimension , as strong indications have emerged that the Federal Government may have implemented the “NO Work, No Pay” rule. By this, it is implied that the striking university lecturers may no longer be smiling to the bank at the end of the month, if they continue with their industrial action against the Federal Government for not implementing the agreement it reached with the body a couple of years ago.

Meanwhile, some members of ASUU have confirmed that their September salaries are yet to be paid, as against what was obtainable in previous months of the strike. It was however gathered that the government has passed a directive to the various universities governing councils to stop payment of salaries of the striking lecturers.

As the on-going strike action enters the fourth month, there is need for an urgent and a drastic step to be taken to forestall its adverse effect on the education sector. If this is not checked, it will result in fallen education standard and a great “deservice” to the youth- the leaders of tomorrow. Hence, the timely resolution of the impasse.

In conclusion, we therefore urge the Federal Government to reconsider and reverse its decision on the “No Work, No Pay” rule, in order to ensure a quick resolution with ASUU. I wish there was a “NO Performance, No Pay” rule for political office holders in Nigeria, as this will ginger and motivate them to deliver on their electioneering campaign promises made to the masses before they assumed office.

Let’s remember that education births knowledge, and knowledge is power!

NIGERIA- A CRUMBLING EDIFICE?

The Nigerian Flag

As I sat to work in my office, on a particular morning, I got an e-mail on daily news report, in which one of our nation’s leader described “Nigeria as a crumbling edifice”. Then I began to ponder if these words of his were actually true or just a figment of his imagination, or a mere balderdash. So I resigned from going deeper in my thoughts about the name given to Nigeria A CRUMBLING EDIFICE.  An edifice is said to be a structure that has foundation and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place. And truly Nigeria is stagnant, and then I came to realize the true meaning of an”edifice”. An edifice also means a building, but it doesn’t mean just any building that merits to be called an edifice, it must be a building of important value, a mini temple, or a towering sky- scraper.

Growing up I have always looked at Nigeria as a great nation, a nation that would build the future generation of great minds. But today it’s not all that glitters is gold, the Nigeria of today is different from the Nigeria of yesterday, some say is evolution but I say we are moving faster than our shadow. The leaders of yesterday are still the leaders of today, and if not checked they might remain the leaders of tomorrow. so tell me how can we move forward  if all we can think about is the downfall of one another, tribes against tribes, brothers against brothers?  It’s like all hell has been let loose in my beloved country- Nigeria. The youth are jobless as a result of turning out too many graduates at the same time, and high rate of unemployment .So this takes me back to my question,  “Is Nigeria an edifice?”
 And the answer is YES.

Nigeria is said to be a country blessed with rich human and natural resources, and it’s to be used for the well-being of every Nigerian.  But these resources are squandered amongst the rich, and the rich keeps getting richer, while the poor keeps getting poorer. Enriching the lives of people who live in the country is supposed to be our NUMBER ONE goal in this nation, but the reverse is the case. The politicians are there for their selfish interest, and they come out to say the nation is stagnant,  what have they done to make it a moving country, moving from greatness to greatness, promoting the rich heritage of our beloved country-Nigeria.  

Nigeria is said to be a crumbling edifice, because we are just a nation that is stagnant and not moving forward. But I feel the problem of Nigerians today is more talks, less action. Look at the ongoing ASUU strike, you would find out that the children of the people involved in the crisis don’t attend Nigerian schools. We need to take a stand, we need to set our priorities right, knowing the difference with our wants, needs and desires. Adapting to a life-style worth emulating.

I dream of a better Nigeria, where we would not be just a crumbling EDIFICE, but a structure built on solid ground, where the youth would get jobs immediately after school, where the statement  “the youth are the leaders of tomorrow ” would come to actualization. A Nigeria where you and I would live in peace and harmony without tribalism, discrimination, anarchy or doom, where there is no unlawful killing, where there is hope for all.

I believe in a better Nigeria, I believe in a better Nation, together we can make our beloved country a standing edifice in the sight of all, and together we will. Stand strong for one another because united we stand, divided we fall. Together we can make Nigeria a Nation of important value.

I believe in our future, I believe in the leaders of tomorrow, I believe in hope,  I believe in truth, I believe in love, I believe in  the colours of our skin, I believe in trust ,I believe in the nation at large, I believe in Africa, I believe in Nigeria, I believe in you, I believe in me.

Author: Anita Eiremiokhae

The Talking Picture

L-R: Mr. Segun Fayose, Head, Public Relations, MultiChoice Nigeria; Dr. Wesley Okiei, Senior Lecturer, University of Lagos; Mrs. Aderonke Bello, Chief Executive Officer, Innovative Technology Literacy Service Limited and Prof. Funso Falade, Facaulty of Engineering, University of Lagos during the Nigerian adjudication of the 2013 DStv Eutelsat Star Awards at Golden Tulip Hotel, Festac, Lagos on 2nd of October, 2013.

Photo Credit: Akin Farinto

Nigeria @ 53

As a patriotic Nigerian, I strongly believe in the Nigerian Project and its future. But if the truth must be told about the state of our nation and if we must tell ourselves the truth, Nigeria is almost becoming a failed state. At 53, i.e. after five decades and three years of Nigeria’s existence as a nation, we cannot boast of constant power supply, adequate security and greater prosperity for the citizens.

As a die-hard optimist I know that Nigeria will survive all these ordeals, but not on a platter of gold and not without sacrifice. The question here is, for how long will the period of sacrifice last? Nigeria as a nation is plagued with problems such as bribery, corruption and injustice both in high and low places, by both the rule and the ruled. Our leaders are unable to deliver the goods and services to give Nigerians a decent standard of living and dignity.

Nigerians are a very reasonable people, and all they expect from the government is provision of basic social and infrastructural amenities that would make life easy for them. But unfortunately, our leaders have performed below this expectation, and as a result, the people have lost hope in the ability, policies and programs of the government. What then is the way forward?

The  remedy to this national calamity is to imbibe a spiritual- psycho-socio-political rebirth i.e. to have a rethink and entrench positive change in all spheres of our national life. As a social crusader and a prophetic voice to the nation, I am glad to announce to Nigerians that our REDEMPTION is near, if not nearer than we think. Some people may think the succor will come as an aftermath of the 2015 general elections in the country, but I am sorry to announce  that 2015 will only provide the much needed platform for the change to come, the so-called Nigerian dream(s) will come true in 2019, and the dividends will start pouring in come 2020.

God bless Nigeria!

The Talking Picture: The Nigerian Who Bought the London Gatwick Airport

Mr. Adebayo Ogunlesi

Mr. Adebayo Ogunlesi



Mr. Adebayo Ogunlesi


Mr. Ogunlesi was born to the family of Prof. & Mrs. T.O Ogunlesi of Makun, Sagamu Ogun State Nigeria. His father is the first Nigerian professor of medicine. Mr. Ogunlesi attended Kings College Lagos, Nigeria after which he received his B.A. with first class honors in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, from Oxford University, his J.D. magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School and his M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.
Adebayo Ogunlesi is currently Chairman and Managing Partner of Global Infrastructure Partners, a $15 billion joint venture whose initial investors included Credit Suisse and General Electric. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Goldman Sachs. Prior to his current role, he was Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Client Officer of Credit Suisse, based in New York. He previously served as a member of Credit Suisse’s Executive Board and Management Council and chaired the Chairman’s Board. Previously, he was the Global Head of Investment Banking at Credit Suisse. Since joining Credit Suisse in 1983, Mr. Ogunlesi has advised clients on strategic transactions and financings in a broad range of industries and has worked on transactions in North and South America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In 2009, Global Infrastructure Partners acquired the majority in London Gatwick Airport in a deal worth £1.455 billion.
Prior to joining Credit Suisse, Mr. Ogunlesi was an attorney in the corporate practice group of the New York law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore. From 1980-81 he served as a law clerk to Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall of the United States Supreme Court.
Ogunlesi is a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association. He was a lecturer at Harvard Law School and the Yale School of Organization and Management, where he taught a course on transnational investment projects in emerging countries.
He is married to an optometrist Dr. Amelia Quist-Ogunlesi. ( Culled from Wikipedia)



Glen James: A Good Samaritan

Mr. Glen James

 

" Honesty , they say, is the best legacy." This could be said to be true about Mr. Glen James, a former Boston Courthouse employee, who found and returned  a backpack containing traveller's cheques and cash worth $42,000 to the Police recently in the U.S.

 

According to the report given by the Boston Police Commissioner, Mr. Edward Davis, when honouring the good Samaritan on Monday, he said, " Mr. James found the backpack at the South Bay Mall in the city's Dorchester neighbourhood on Saturday evening. He flagged down a Police Officer and handed it over."

When handing over the backpack he found at the weekend, he told the Police that he would not have kept back " even a penny" of the money he had found in the backpack even if he were desperate.

 

As a way of showing appreciation and honouring the good Samaritan for his worthy character, a well-wisher, Mr. Ethan Whittington,set up an online fund raising scheme. And ever since it was launched on Monday afternoon, more than 4,000 people have gone to the fund, donating in excess of $105,000. Mr. Whittington said when he started the fund raising scheme to honour Mr. James, he expected to raise a couple of hundred dollars, and has been pleasantly shocked by the huge response and support shown by the people. Also, on an update on the donation site, Mr. Whittington said: " Donations just keep pouring in. I have had people willing to donate computers, clothing, food etc. I am also speaking with a few folks about the possibility of a house or apartment." Source- (Mail Online)

 

 

Aliko Dangote: A Nigerian with a Difference

Alhaji Aliko Dangote




Just recently, the Forbes Magazine declared Aliko Dangote as the world's richest African. This indeed, is  not surprising to business analysts and Nigeria's economy watchers, who know this worthy ambassador well. Aliko dangote, 56, who was born on the 10th April, 1957 into a wealthy Muslim family from Kano state of Nigeria, read Business Studies at the Al- Azhar University, Cairo and currently serves as the Chairman and CEO of Dangote Group, a multi-billion naira conglomerate with over 11,000 employees  and the largest Industrial conglomerate in the whole of West Africa- (Wikipedia)

One outstanding attribute of Alhaji Aliko Dangote, that I value so much is his humility, which is noticeable in the simple manner he portrays himself. Alhaji Aliko Dangote, (MFR, GCON), whose net worth is valued at $16.1 Billion USD as of March, 2013, is one of the few Nigerians who believe in and are ready to bulid Nigeria. This is evident in the way he has invested in the Nigerian economy. It is not an overstatement to state that Aliko Dangote is a man of honour , worthy of emulation by other rich Nigerians, who invest our money in foreign countries.


According to  Sir Winston Churchill, a former Prime Minister of Britain. "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give", Aliko Dangote has not only made a living, he has also made a life by what he has given to better the lot of our great nation, Nigeria. In a bid to put an end to the incessant fuel scarcity in the country,and not being satisfied by his previous achievements, Alhaji Aliko dangote has taken a giant step to build the first privately owned Oil Refinery in the country.This,  according to him, will go a long way to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians, by ensuring the availabity of petroleum products in the country, so as to stop us from importing what we have in excess.


I strongly believe that this singular act by Alhaji Aliko Dangote is a clarion call to other well-to-do Nigerians to change for the better, by joining hands with progressives like him (Dangote) to build and move Nigeria forward, and create the enabling environment for our dear nation to take its place of pride among other great nations of the world.  

The Talking Picture

(L-R) Dare Art- Alade; Martin Mabutho, General Manager, Marketing and Sales, Multichoice Nigeria and John Ugbe, Managing Director, Multichoice Nigeria at the DStv All- Star Basket ball Match held inside the Indoor Sports Hall of the University of Lagos Sports Center on 14th September, 2013 as part of the celebration to mark the 20th Anniversary of Multichoice Nigeria.
Photo by: Akin farinto





(L-R) Martin Mabutho, General Manager, Marketing and Sales, Multichoice Nigeria; John Ugbe, Managing Director, Multichoice Nigeria; Sound Sultan and Tijani Umar, President, Nigerian Basket Ball Federation at the DStv All-Star Basket Ball Match held inside the Indoor Sports Hall of the University of Lagos Sports Center on 14th September, 2013 as part of the celebration to mark the 20th Anniversary of Multichoice Nigeria.
Photo by: Akin Farinto



Mind Your "Lingua"

Photo Credit: Google


Language as a system of communication consisting of sounds, words and grammar, is human-specific i.e. it is basically about humans.One major fact about language is that , though it is dynamic, its changes must be based on strict observance and adherence to linguistic rules. Whenever languages are in contact, interference is bound to occur at all levels of linguistic description.The ability of an individual to be aware of this interference and not blunder grammatically marks him as having the mastery of the language.







Photo Credit: Google

Idioms in English language refer to expressions in a fixed order that have a particular meaning that is different from the meanings of each word on its surface structure.

Below are some examples of idiomatic expressions:

Example 1

Grey Area- An area where rules are not clearly defined.

Example 2

Bite the bullet- Accept something unpleasant without complaining.

Example 3 

Powder one’s nose- To go to the toilet / to ease oneself.

Example 4

A bun in the oven- To be pregnant

Example 5

Out of sync- Not in agreement

The word for now: Aberration- A temporary change from the typical or usual way of behaving

Welcome To Segun Alabi's Blog : The Dark Side of the Internet

Welcome To Segun Alabi's Blog : The Dark Side of the Internet: The Internet is seen as a source of knowledge, wisdom and resources for all kinds of information. It is one of the recent technologies ...

The Dark Side of the Internet

The Internet is seen as a source of knowledge, wisdom and resources for all kinds of information. It is one of the recent technologies that has made the world a global village. People are able to make friends, go to school and do business without leaving their homes. Job seekers no longer have to go from one street to another, but rather they use the Internet to find and apply for their dream job. Online shopping is now common and distance-learning institutions and open universities provide extensive online resources that aid education.

However, the recent story of the Delta State-born 2009 second runner-up of the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria, MBGN, and the only daughter of General Frank Osokogu (rtd), Cynthia Udoka Osogu (24), whose body was discovered in a Lagos morgue a month after she was declared missing, having been murdered by the people she met on Facebook, has made some people question the safety of the Internet.

It is a sad fact that in modern media everything either has to be an evil, corrupting influence, destroyer of children and rapist of culture. Unfortunately, because it is a recent invention, the Internet - for all its potential - is repeatedly turned into Beelzebub's tool. The BBC once asked on its website: “Could you live without the Internet?” There were responses as straightforward as, “No, I couldn't”; “It has taken over my life”; “I was never like this before”; and responses as extreme as, “Kill all PCs”and “I would gladly do without many other things before I give up my Internet access”.

Another dark side of the technology is manifest in spurious activities of the online paedophiles. These days, Internet paedophiles are the “big bad wolves” of the online world. They look for children in their favourite age group. Particularly, they want children who do not get along with their parents and are just looking for someone to talk to. Because communication on the Internet is public and can be seen as anonymous, children often feel they are safe.

Paedophiles use social networking websites & chat rooms (sometimes posing as children or teenagers themselves) to initiate conversations with likely victims. They are skilled at eliciting as much information as possible about location, interests and even sexual experiences from children. The next step for the paedophile may be to show examples of pornography, both adult and child. If they can’t physically touch a child, they try to coax him/her into doing something sexual. If they can accomplish that, then such hapless child is more willing to meet and participate. The children will not talk about what they are going through. So who will tell the parents?

Last year, a Canadian girl, sixteen-year-old Amanda Todd committed suicide as a result of the harassment she was getting from someone she met online. The story started with an online paedophile persuading her to take off her clothes while the person watched on video chat. As time went on, the paedophile blackmailed her with the picture. Of course, there are many Amandas out there; and without the Internet, such an act could have been difficult to perpetrate!

Even worse than this lack of confidence over new technology is the media and politicians failing to monitor the threatening aspects of Internet technology. As yet, the Nigeria cybercrime bill has not been passed as legislators are somewhat indifferent to it. The bill titled, “A Bill for An Act to Protect Nigeria’s Cyberspace and Provide for the Prevention, Detection, Response and Prosecution of Cybercrimes and Related Matters” seeks to provide for measures of prevention, prohibition, and combating of cybercrimes and threats to the cyberspace and to prescribe punishment for cybercrimes.

Meanwhile, some people believe that they can address some dark sides of the Internet, most especially in matters relating to civil rights and spyware. In 2011 and early 2012, those behind PIPA (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act) and SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) decided to intervene. SOPA is a proposed law with the goal of giving the US government and copyright holders additional tools to curb access to "rogue websites dedicated to the sale of infringing or counterfeit goods"; those registered outside the U.S are specifically targeted. PIPA, just like SOPA, is a United States bill introduced by U.S. Representative Lamar S. Smith to expand the ability of U.S. law enforcement to fight online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods. Its provisions include applying for court orders to bar advertising networks and payment channels from conducting business with infringing websites, as well as stopping search engines from linking to them, and requiring Internet service providers to block access to them. This law is expected to expand existing criminal laws to include unauthorised streaming of copyrighted content and imposing a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

As sexy as these two approaches are, they did not go down well with most people; those pushing the Acts were referred to as loonies. Organisations and corporations such as Google, Yahoo!, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, AOL, LinkedIn, eBay, Mozilla Corporation, Riot Games and Wikipedia among others opposed SOPA and warned that it would have a negative impact on online communities. Additional concerns like the impact on common Internet functions such as links from one site to another or accessing data from the Cloud were also raised. It was so controversial that January 18, 2012 was declared “SOPA Blackout Day” and almost all the notable websites across the world protested. Google, blacked out its logo to protest the two Acts – under the Google logo was a message that read, “Tell Congress: Please don’t censor the web!”. While written supposedly to make it easier to stop pirating of music, movies, and other media, opponents argue that the Acts are so penalising and over-reaching that they would essentially criminalise sharing and creativity. The billionaire Facebook developer, Mark Zuckerberg, in reaction to the Acts said the Internet was the most powerful tool for creating a more open and connected world and “poorly thought out laws” would “hurt the Internet”. The reason for the outcry against these Acts is not farfetched: the Internet operates on an international basis while the law operates on a territorial basis.

In like manner, some Acts are in place to counter paedophilia. The likes of Megan's Law established by the US, Pervert-Justice, Predator Hunter, Silentlambs and LambsRoar are really doing well in reducing the attack on children online. Also, members of Anonymous, a loosely associated “hacktivist” group, have been described as "cyber-vigilantes who seek to out anyone who presents with a sexual interest in children". Despite the laudable efforts, however, some perverts are still bent on circumventing them; one of them – the faces behind Paedophile Protection Act.

As it appears, contemplating stopping the Internet, judging from some of the dark sides of it, could amount to wiping out the entire human race. Is this not an indication that people who appreciate its efficacy cannot really do without it?

As with all things in life, it is up to the individual to find a balance between both the negative and positive aspects of the Internet. Enough awareness and education should be able to assist in dealing with the other side of the Internet. And if I may ask, could you do without the Internet?

Author: Dave Agboola

The DStv Offer

The Talking Picture



The Plight of Salary Earners!



Award Winning Books: Changing the Perspective

“Some people won’t buy your book unless they see that winner thing on the cover. I am not sure if it is all good – but that is the way the industry works”. This statement was made by award-winning author Helon Habila in an interview with African Writing Online. His comment speaks to the anxiety of many readers who are anxious to know if a book has won an award before reading it as, presumably, the more famous the author the better the book. 

Since reading this, I have been wondering about the great books we miss and the writers we ought to embrace but neglect because their works have not received “official” recognition – not to mention the knowledge we miss out on – because of this notion of “award-winning equals good.”

So many award-winning authors have one time or the other failed by delivering below our expectations. While growing up, I remember falling in love with the works of writers like Stephen King, the renowned king of horror novels; John Grisham (the Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award recipient), and Sidney Sheldon (an Academy Award-winning American writer) among others. I began to know them with the mind-set of award-winning. But some of them have sometimes let me down – take, for instance, Grisham’s A Painted House. (I want to believe some of your favourite award-winning authors might have failed you at one time or the other too!)

I recently decided to read any book I come across – whether the writer has won an award or not – just based on the synopsis printed on its back. You would be amazed if I should tell you how much I had missed in neglecting some books because their authors are not award winners: from Femi Oguntuase’s Scoundrels in Uniform to Bartholomew Gill’s The Death of an Irish Tinker and a host of other foreign and Nigerian novels.

Prizes have come to assume much significance in the Nigerian literary industry. For an author to be taken seriously, he or she has to have a string of prizes to their name. The point here is that the way the industry works, as noted by Habila, is a problematic standpoint that needs immediate attention not only from the players in the industry but also us, the consumers.

This view was once shared by Laura Miller, a senior writer for Salon in her article on what makes a book great. According to her, some so-called great books, otherwise known as award-winners, if well scrutinised, would come out not to be near winning an award at all! In her another related article, Miller was of the opinion that prizes are now “the means by which many people now decide which books to buy, when they bother to buy books at all”. In the critiquing piece, she showed her disgust at the way awards are being churned out these days. In fact, Miller was so bothered about awards in the UK that she compared the National Best Books Awards as “vanity book awards – a new twist in the age-old practice of profiting off the dreams of aspiring writers”.

Apparently, we need to start embracing our writers, awards or no awards. Come to think of it, as prolific and entertaining as Cyprian Ekwensi was, he only received one award over the course of his sixty-year writing career. If we continue to read books based on the number of awards won by their authors, Ekwensi would be quickly forgotten – and how bad would that be?  Similarly, with all the books Chinua Achebe wrote, many expected him to be crowned a Nobel Laureate, but this was not the case. This does not detract from the excellence of books such as Things Fall Apart, Chike and the River, Arrow of God and Anthills of the Savannah among others.

Kola Onadipe was another great writer known for his skills in putting engaging stories together for the reading pleasure of children. With over twenty-two books to his credit including Koku Baboni, Sugar Girl and The Boy Slave, Onadipe never received any awards. But the quality of his work speaks for itself. If award-winning mind-set held sway in Onadipe’s time as it does today, maybe his work would never have been known.

Aside from the money made from publishing books or the need to tell stories, a big reason behind writers finding themselves in the world of writing is the desire to be famous. And being famous these days seems to stem from the number of awards accrued during your career. Nevertheless, we need to start encouraging unknown writers by giving their books a chance. The award-winners of today did not start out as winners, but were encouraged to persevere by the people who read their works regardless.

It is time we stopped looking to see ‘award-winning’ on the cover of a book before reading it. Besides, you never can tell: such books might not be as good as you expect. We as readers should let the focus be on the joy of reading, not minding whether the author is famous or not.

What prompts you to read a book by an author whose work you have never come across before? Let us know in the comments.

                                                                                                       

Author: DAVE AGBOOLA