Songstress Waje celebrated her birthday with friends and colleagues at Sailors in Lekki last night. Omawumi, Tiwa Savage, Sasha, Toke Makinwa, Kaffy, Mai Ataifo, Noble Igwe, Latasha Ngwube, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu and many others were at the birthday shindig. More photos after the cut...
http://gistactivist.blogspot.com/2013/09/exclusive-photos-from-wajes-birthday.html

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has arrested 30 people for alleged pipeline vandalism in Isheri Olofin area of Ogun State.

photo The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has arrested 30 people for alleged pipeline vandalism in Isheri Olofin area of Ogun State.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the suspects were arrested on Saturday morning after a combined team of NSCDC officials from the Lagos and Ogun state commands engaged in a gun duel with some pipeline vandals.

Among those arrested are a 12-year-old boy, Azeez Ajani; a 13-year-old boy, Michael Oyedotun, two pastors, six women and 20 others.

The Commandant, Ogun State Command, Mr. Akinwande Aboluwoye, said over 20,000 litres of stolen fuel were recovered from the vandals.

He said, “We got a tip-off that the vandals were going to operate early on Saturday morning, so we intensified surveillance. They were arrested with their canoes and 400 jerry cans of petrol, each jerry can contained 50 litres.

“The vandals had engaged us in a gun duel and when the heat became too much, they abandoned the products, jumped into the water and escaped. However, we were able to apprehend their cohorts who live in the area.”

Aboluwoye said the canoes had been set ablaze while security had been beefed up in the area.

A resident, who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, said the suspects carried out pipeline vandalism in an organised fashion.

She said, “The men usually come at midnight to break pipelines. The children assist them in loading the petrol into kegs, which are later kept inside the houses of residents. The role of the women is to source for buyers who usually come during the day to buy the fuel at cheap prices.

“When I realised this trend, I quickly informed the NSCDC to avert a fire disaster.”

The suspects, however, denied the allegations, saying they were not pipeline vandals, but new residents of the area.

The 12-year-old suspect said, “I am a tailor’s apprentice in the area. My father is late and my mother lives in Ajah. I don’t know anything about pipeline vandalism. I leave home very early everyday and I come in late at night so I never know what is happening in the area.

“The only thing I know is that when I wake up in the morning, I usually see jerry cans in the area.”

The 13-year-old suspect, who also claimed to be a tailor’s apprentice, said he was about to bathe in the Ogun River when he was apprehended by the NSCDC officials.

“My parents live in Ifo, I only moved to the area recently. Please, I know nothing about this. My parents don’t even know that I have been arrested.”

A pastor, Nikuleyi Adesola, said he was arrested while leaving church with two other female members.

“I am a carpenter and also a pastor. I live in a mission house. I was with two female members when the civil defence men order us to come out. I am not a vandal,” he said.

The commandant said the suspects would be charged to court, adding that past investigations had shown that women and children were also involved in the illegitimate business.
http://gistactivist.blogspot.com/2013/09/photo-12-year-old-others-arrested-for.html

woah....mehnnn this lady wants people to misbehave sha...lol looking realy hot.. see more pics below.
http://gistactivist.blogspot.com/2013/09/photos-check-out-anita-josephs-new.html

Eight Paraguayan bus drivers had themselves crucified in sign of protest against being kicked out of a transportation company. The company rejected their plea for higher pay, and fired them instead.
The drivers, from the northern town of Luque, are on their backs, nailed to wooden crosses laid out on the ground. Large nails pierce their hands at the base of the fingers.
They said they took the action in a desperate bid to be heard.
They have been nailed down for 15 days, according to Mrs. Olga Ferreira de Lopez, a member of Paraguay’s House of Congress who is monitoring the situation.
“There have been infections… Their state of health is getting complicated,” she told Reuters.
Some of the drivers’ wives are taking turns being nailed to crosses alongside their husbands.
“I’m joining today. Tomorrow it will be another mother and the following day it could be another because we have to defend our rights,” one of the wives told reporters at the scene.
“I’d like to make a special call to the president to please come see the inhumane situation we are going through,” she said.
The transportation company has promised to rehire five of them and help the remaining three find work. But the protesters say they will not stop until they all get their jobs back.

http://gistactivist.blogspot.com/2013/09/photo-fired-bus-drivers-stage-protest.html

Rita Dominic looks stunning in an outfit by Ugonna Umeruo's House of Nwocha at the Nigerian Entertainment Awards last night in New York.Report says she received an award.
READ MORE:  http://news.naij.com/45888.html
 Big Congrats to her!
See photos below....
http://gistactivist.blogspot.com/2013/09/photos-checkout-actress-rita-dominics.html

The singer's mum has been living in the US for many years while Dammy lived in Nigeria.
They recently reunited when Dammy traveled to the US for the Nigerian Entertainment Awards...
See photo and tweet below....
http://gistactivist.blogspot.com/2013/09/photos-singer-dammy-krane-reunites-with.html

 Mohammed Afar, the resident of Aleppo area in Syria is 11 years old. The modified Kalashnikov assault rifle he carries stretches to more than half of his height.
Over the top of his faded yellow jacket a Free Syrian Army (FSA) vest holds three extra clips, each full with live ammunition, and a walkie-talkie. An FSA badge sits on one side and a rendering of the Islamic Shahada, in Arabic calligraphy, on the other.
He says he does not miss school or want to stay at home with his mother and two sisters.
“I want to stay as a fighter until Bashar is killed,” he says, referring to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The fighters surrounding him, all claiming to be from Liwa al-Tawhid, pass him a sniper rifle and offer to take him to a frontline, so he can demonstrate his shooting.
The father of the boy, Mohammed Saleh Afar refers to his son as “ great shot” and “a little lion.”
Over the course of its grinding 21-month insurgency, Syria’s children have endured numerous abuses.
Caught-up in shelling, airstrikes, and sniping, they have additionally been subject to arbitrary arrest, torture and rape, as reported by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria in August; which, additionally, noted “with concern reports that children under 18 are fighting and performing auxiliary roles for anti-Government armed groups.”
Both the Geneva Conventions and the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Children carry provisions that call for not using combatants under the age of 15, while the International Criminal Court’s Rome Statute makes it a war crime.
Mohammed quickly disengages his magazine and presents it, before skillfully reinserting it, but not chambering a round. The older fighters surrounding him – some of whom are little more than boys themselves – praise his speed and mirror his father’s earlier statements, calling him a “good shot.”
He says he admires the fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra – composed of hardline Islamists subscribing to Takfiri ideology – and recently designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States. Al-Nusra have proven effective in battle, winning itself scores of supporters.
Many of its fighters previously cut their teeth on other frontlines of the global jihad – notably Iraq and Afghanistan, but also throughout Central Asia and the Middle East.
The group’s rise has imbued the opposition with an unmistakable Islamicist hue while raising fears of a sectarian bloodbath in the event that Assad falls: Syria is home to Sunni, Alawite, Druze, Christians and Yazidi.
“They [Jabhat al-Nusra] know Islam and Sharia. They know what it means to be a Muslim,” Mohammed
“When my father goes to the frontline, he takes me with him,” says Mohammed. “He says to be careful and we find a safe place to shoot from.”
According to a November Human Rights Watch report, some opposition groups fighting in Syria “are using children for combat and other military purposes.”
“Even when children volunteer to fight, commanders have a responsibility to protect them by turning them away,” said its children’s researcher, Priyanka Motaparthy, in the report.
“Children are easily influenced by older relatives and friends, but their participation in armed hostilities places them in grave danger of being killed, permanently disabled, or severely traumatized.”
Yet Mohammed’s father – his long and graying beard styled in the fashion favored by religiously conservative Salafists – sees little wrong with his son’s participation.
“I put my trust in God,” he says.
The other members of the unit agree. The 11-year-old is kept safe, they claim, and never taken to frontlines that are too dangerous.
“There are other boys fighting too,” Mohammed says. “Some, but not much.”
http://gistactivist.blogspot.com/2013/09/photomeet-11-year-old-boy-whose-dream.html

The Cynthia Osokogwu’s case which reverberated round Nigeria in 2012 seems not to have sent the right message to young ladies as many of them have fallen victims to criminals who use the internet to lure them into sex.
photo
This danger in internet usage was brought to the fore again on Tuesday, August 27 when a 22-year-old boy, Seun Olutayo, of Idi-Osan, Ologuneru area of Ibadan allegedly seized the opportunity of connecting with a teenager to lure her into his house and raped her in the process. The girl was said to have been rescued after the deed had been done, while the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Eleyele Division, DSP Olawole Ayoola, ordered Olutayo’s arrest. The rape suspect is currently cooling his heels at the police station at Eleyele, Ibadan.
Lola Arowosafe (not real names), the 18-year-old girl, was waiting to start her tertiary education in November. She already sat for her post-UTME at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, and was awaiting the final result. In order not to be idle, she made up her mind to take up a clerical job if she could lay her hands on one.
In the process of a chat on togo on the internet, she saw an advert declaring a vacancy for the post of a sales girl. The follow-up on the job later cost her her virginity as Olutayo allegedly raped her.
Narrating her experience in the hands of the suspected rapist, Lola said she met him on togo about a month ago.  “About a week before the incident, Seun advertised a vacancy for a sales girl in a supermarket at Eleyele. I asked him about the details and he explained to me that it belonged to his sister. I explained everything to my mother and she said I should make sure that the supermarket is not farther than Eleyele because of where we live.
“When I got to Eleyele on August 27, I called Seun, asking for the name of the particular supermarket. He replied that his sister was ill and could not come to the supermarket. He said his sister asked me to come and check her at home. He described how I would get to the place and immediately I got there, he came to the junction of the house to pick me.
“When I entered the compound, I noticed that everywhere was quiet while the neighbourhood was also deserted. I was very scared. As I was about to step into the house, I asked him to call his sister out but he came up with another story that she went out to get some things for her illness. That was when I told him that he should call me when she is back but as I turned to go, he pulled me into the sitting room with the extension of my braided hair, hit my head against the wall and locked the door.
 “I was shouting but he ordered me to keep quiet, saying that there were two the guys inside and if they should come out, the three of them would take their turns with me. Meanwhile, I already had an accident on my right hand which was plastered and bandaged so I could not use both hands to resist him.
“He pushed me down on to the rug, pinned me down with one hand while he used the other hand to pull off my skirt. He then forcefully had sex with me. The experience was so painful because I was still a virgin. After he had finished, he pulled off his singlet and used it to clean my inner thighs and legs because I was bleeding seriously.
“I was very weak thereafter but he pushed me out of his house and shut the door. I fainted there but a after a short while, I came round and dragged myself on. A resident of the neighbourhood who is a nurse stumbled on me and bought me a tin of milk to give me strength but I could not drink. I tried to narrate what happened but I was too weak. But I told her to look inside my bag where I kept the singlet which Seun used to clean my blood.
“My mother called and the woman picked the call and told her to come to Idi-Osan area of Eleyele. I was taken to hospital for treatment. He never told me that he wanted to have a relationship with me.”
Olutayo however said his action was not intentional, as he wanted to have a relationship with the girl. According to him, “I met the girl on togo. I placed an advert for vacancy in a supermarket for a manager and she said she needed a job. A woman told me in passing that she would need a sales girl for her shop but there was also a micro-finance bank in Ologuneru area which needed someone to be staying in a shop adjoined to it. I promised to help the girl secure one of the two.
She came on August 27. Before she came, I told her I liked her. I told her I wanted her to be my girlfriend and she did not object.
“When she came on Tuesday, August 27, I went to pick her at the junction of the house. I told her to be patient, promising to work on getting her the micro-finance bank job. When she was about going, I asked her about my discussion on love, telling her that I like her.
“We started having sex and I never knew she was a virgin. When she saw blood, she said told me I would regret what I did. I was pleading with her, telling her that I didn’t mean to hurt her. I promised to take her to the hospital but before I came out of the room, she had already left. She was found by some residents of the area whom I saw trying to give her milk because she was weak.
“She called her mother and described where she was, telling her to come and take her home as she was too weak to walk. She was taken to a nearby hospital. She might have thought I raped her but it was not intentional.”
When told that neighbours testified that luring and molesting young girls was the suspect’s stock in trade, Seun denied it, saying that people usually say different things when such things happen. He revealed that when he saw how the girl was bleeding, he assisted her by using his singlet to clean her up and mop the rug that was also stained with blood.
When contacted, the police image maker in Oyo State confirmed the story, DSP Olabisi Okuwobi-Ilobanafor, saying that the suspect would soon be transferred to State Criminal Investigation Department, Iyaganku, for further investigations.
http://gistactivist.blogspot.com/2013/09/i-went-in-search-of-job-but-was-raped.html

As controversy continues to trail her new video, I Wish, sexy singer, Waje, has explained the reasons behind her decision to feature in it in her ‘birthday suit’.
In an exclusive chat with The Entertainer, Waje, who recently joined Globacom’s expanding league of brand ambassadors, said that her decision to bare it all was to highlight the plight of women who are victims of heartbreak across the globe.
photo
“It’s a form of art. Music is a language, which involves a lot of expression and to be able to express yourself properly, you have to paint a picture for your viewers to understand. I Wish is the story of a vulnerable woman which was the picture I wanted to paint; a woman heart-broken, helpless and vulnerable. I wanted to draw attention to the plight of heartbroken women. I wanted to be as close as I could to nature for that video hence the Nood scenes,” she disclosed.
Born Aituaje Iruobe, it would seem she was destined to make it big in music that has opened a lot of doors for her. The graduate of Social Works from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) started singing at an early age and that earned her scholarship, courtesy of late Benson Idahosa’s of Church of God Mission.
“Music has always opened doors for me,” says Waje, who hit the limelight after she did one of the verses on P-Square’s massive hit, Do Me, in 2007. “Throughout my secondary school, I never paid school fees because my singing got me a scholarship from the late Bishop Benson Idahosa. By faith, I even saw more happening back then; I saw myself bringing back home a Grammy. I have always known that God will bless me through music. There is more to come because I am here to stay. I am currently collaborating with Coca Cola on a project. These kind of things make you want to work harder because you see that your hard work is paying off at last.”
http://gistactivist.blogspot.com/2013/09/why-i-posed-Nood-waje-photo.html

Hip hop star Eminem has just picked on Khloe Kardashian and her husband Lamar Odom.

In his new track 'Berzerk', the Grammy winning star called Khloe Kardashian the 'ugly Kardashian' and mocked Lamar for marrying her.
He raps:

"The say that love is as powerful as a cough syrup and styrofoam. All I know is I fell asleep and woke up in that Monte Carlo with the 'Ugly Kardashian'. Lamar O. sorry, we done both set the bar low."

This is not the first time Eminem is mocking a celebrity, he had mocked Christiana Aguilera, Carson Daly, Moby, and Kim Kardashian calling her a man in his 2009 track 'we made you'
http://gistactivist.blogspot.com/2013/09/eminem-calls-khloe-kardashian-ugly.html

A certain twitter Handle created in the name of Nonso Diobi has been Scamming People of Cash and Valuables on the social networking platforms, Twitter and BBM.

 We have gathered different Mails from fans on how he is demanding huge amounts of money from them and Recharge cards.

 His account is @NonsodiobiworId . He’s not the real Nonso and he’s been duping people of money for a while now. The real nonso handle is @Nonsodiobiworld.

  You can't spot the difference, can you? The difference is in d 'world', the fake one uses ‘worid’ but uses the capital letter ‘i’ to make it look like world.

 Here is a mail from one of our readers. ''Hello,my name is Sandra Yesterday, I opened a new twitter account and followed d fake nonso.

 I asked for a follow back and he did. Then I DM’d him and asked for his pin. After much (silly) arguement, he added me.

 Then we started chatting on bbm and he asked me if I was a student or working.

 I said I was working,then he asked me to send him 1 million naira to fix a situation,I laffed it off. Afterwards he said he was joking but I was very smart. Then later,he asked me to send him 1500 mtn recharge card. That was when I munched d convo and deleted him.

 The guy has been getting money from gullible ladies! He did d same thing to a certain mimmy bekee. She has his acc number too. Pls help stop this dude! I’ll send u pics'' .

Read chats below....
click to view more...
http://gistactivist.blogspot.com/2013/09/actor-nonso-diobi-duping-people-on.html

Bigger boys things, Obagoal shared his luxury cars and beautiful houses on Instagram. Too much money things... Enjoy brov!
 
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nOT-UiJr0bs/UiQ4-bs4dWI/AAAAAAABYro/BgHl8Hqv8kE/s1600/7.jpg

Nigerian celebrities stormed the States for the NEA over the weekend and they seem to be having a nice time over there. Check out shots from their arrival.
http://gistactivist.blogspot.com/2013/09/photo-basket-mouth-iyanya-phyno-olamide.html

Controversy never seizes to follow US-based Nigerian actress, Judith Opara Mazagwu, a.k.a AfroCandy. The mother of two, in this piece with SEYI SOKOYA, opens up on what prompted her porn movie, Destructive Instinct, why she won’t comment on Beverly’s statement  and why her wards will not see her works, among other issues. Excerpts:
Your recently released movie entitled “Destructive Instinct” has generated mixed reactions. Surely you expected this to happen.
Well, you should know that the  people that are condemning my movie are not my fans. They are pure haters. My fans do not condemn me, but they love everything I do. They are even happy that I could beat the odds to release the movie regardless of all the setbacks. I don’t care about the people that are speaking negatively about the movie. They should get used to it because this is just the beginning. It is what it is! Their bad comments and attacks did not stop me, can never stop me and will never stop me.
Is it true that you want to bring the movie to Nigeria ? 
Yes. I was even preparing to release it in Nigeria this month, but there is a little discrepancy with the marketers. They want the original version with the sex scenes, but we are still discussing on some issues. I didn’t get naked and didn’t have sex in the movie and will regard it as the usual or normal movie. So, we are still on it and as soon as we reach an agreement, I will drop it.
How convinced are you that the Censors Board will not ban the movie in Nigeria?
I already told you the marketers said I should leave that for them to handle. That is why they are asking for that version. I guess they know better.
Is it true that the main reason you produced the porn movie was to gain publicity here in Nigeria?
Publicity was not the intention. I was trying to break a record in Africa, not just in Nigeria. But the fact is that this kind of movie I made does not come without ‘publicity’. You know.
What is your grouse with Mercy Johnson, Uche Jumbo, Ini Edo and some other Nigerian actresses?
I have nothing with or against any of the actresses  .
It was reported that you always took Ini Edo along with you to locations back then. Does the relationship remain the same?
I never had any relationship with any of them. As for Ini Edo, I worked on the same productions with her director who had to beg me to pick her up from the bus stops. One was at the Amuwo Odofin. We were shooting a movie in Festac and she had no car then, while I already had my first car. The second time was at Ogba. That was years back.
Do you see these actresses ahead of you now?
I see myself as AfroCandy. I am who I am and doing my things in my own ways. I am not competing with any actress, neither am I trying to be like any other. So, I don’t see myself amidst anybody. Sometimes I make references just to let people know what is on, instead of just letting them judge me by mere assumption.
Don’t you feel you are missing as you are not based in Nigeria?
I live in a country where most of them long to live. I don’t think I am missing anything because I can still do whatever I want to do from America. The only thing is, I took a break to focus on raising my daughters as a single mother. I have to stay closer to them.My first has turned 18 and she is very responsible. I will loosen up a little bit to pay attention to my career though, so I will be doing more now. And whether I am in Nigeria or not, you won’t know the difference.
But Uche Ogbodo and Cossy Orjiakor remain your true friends in the industry?
I think I answered you before.
As a mother and an actress, which of your movies do your children like most?
I don’t discuss that with my children. I only give them a hint of my projects. They don’t even have to see my projects to like them, or approve of them, especially now that I have started doing more of explicit projects. Explicit stuffs are not for children.
But people, especially the under-aged, could gain access to these explicit stuff considering the level of technology we have today.
Well, you can’t control what children see on the internet, but your job as a parent is to educate them on the implications. If they are responsible kids, they stay away from such things. My kids are very intelligent, smart and very responsible. They know what to stay away from.
You recently celebrated your birthday. How fulfilled are you?
Very fulfilled.
How did you celebrate it?
I was too busy trying to release my movie. For now, it is all business before pleasure for me. When I achieve all I am working toward, I shall relax and celebrate birthdays because I don’t believe in chasing grasshoppers while the house is on fire.
How did you feel seeing your  social media walls flooded with loads of birthday wishes?
It felt good.
You have more male fans than the females
I think so.
Maybe they got attracted to your weird postures?
The fact is that I am a female. More of the opposite sex should naturally be attracted to me.
Were you impressed with the turnout to your recent “Dick” auditioning?
I was overwhelmed, not just impressed. I even twitted about it. I got more responses than I expected.
What prompted the auditioning?
I cannot go into details about that for now.
In your last interview with the Sunday Tribune, you promised to remarry soon. Any plan towards that yet?
No plans yet. Like I said, I am too busy for that.
http://gistactivist.blogspot.com/2013/09/those-who-say-im-sx-starved-are.html

Kemi Olunloyo seem to have a lot of opinion to share but the recent one has hit the nerve of many Christians with what she wrote on her facebook page about Redeem Christian Church of God General Overseer, Pastor E.A Adeboye.
Read her facebook posts below
http://gistactivist.blogspot.com/2013/09/pastor-adeboye-needs-to-sleep-with-one.html

At least 200 occupants of three distressed buildings in Mushin Local Government area of Lagos state were weekend evicted by the state government.
The government has also continued the demolition of one of the three buildings; a four-storey, located on 34 Adeyemi Street. The two remaining buildings awaiting demolition are a two-storey and a shopping complex located on 32 and 33 Adeyemi Street respectively.
The evicted occupants while lamenting the government’s action alleged that they paid N100,000 to an unnamed official of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA, to allow them remain in the distressed buildings for another year before demolition.
Some of the buildings marked for demolition, it was gathered had been erected over 22 years ago and were never renovated, but the landlords kept collecting rents worth over N200,000 each annually.
Apart from the distressed buildings, five other buildings were also marked for demolition for allegedly contravening approvals among others. Sources say they may be demolished in a matter of days.
General Manager of LASBCA, Mrs. Abimbola Animashaun-Odunayo, while reacting on the development, said, “The occupants were evicted because the buildings are unsafe for habitation. They have obvious cracks and can collapse any moment. This was the reason for government action. They are dangerous for habitation and if they collapsed today, about 200 occupants of the houses will suffer severe injury. We have to be proactive to ensure that buildings especially distressed ones do not collapse on the occupants.
“To avoid loss of lives, a new slogan has been adopted; ‘kill the house, before it kills us’. We have issued the landlords of the affected buildings notices thrice directing their tenants to vacate the property. But they refused.”
On the alleged bribery, she said: “I believe they made such allegation because they were upset. They believe that if they say that we can pardon them. Earlier, they appealed for a week extension, but we turned it down. We are all human beings. We have seen a lot of collapsed buildings and we have seen the number of causalities that died as buildings caved in. Why will anyone collect money from someone when we know that such building can collapse any moment? We have conscience.”
http://gistactivist.blogspot.com/2013/09/200-occupants-of-distressed-buildings.html

 In 1988, Michael Jackson on his video release of  ”Smooth Criminal” shocked all his fans by a move of more than 45 degrees towards the earth challenging the gravitational force of earth.  Actually, he was successful in doing that with the help of a string in the video.
But, It was difficult to apply this idea of string during live performances. So he found an amazing and idealistic solution of this problem with the help of his two friends.
He made his shoes cut in V shape. On the dance floor during a live performance, the bolts were hided which gets sticked to the heels of the shoes. With the help of this he used to bent more than 45 degrees without any problem.
People couldn’t see the bolts and used to enjoy Jackson’s dance a lot. Michael Jackson named those shoes “Anti Gravity Shoe” and in 1993 the shoe were patent.
http://gistactivist.blogspot.com/2013/09/michael-jacksons-anti-gravity-shoe-and.html

This is a government that signed an agreement with us on January 24, 2012, to the effect that they would inject N100 bn as funding into the universities in the first month; and that before the end of 2012, they would inject another N300 bn.”Dr Olusegun Ajiboye, ASUU University of Ibadan branch chairman, August 14, 2013.
Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala increasingly is cutting a sorry figure as Finance Minister. And nothing has demonstrated this fact more than her utterances on the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.
To start with, she announced, as if it was true, that government cannot pay the N92 billion causing the present palaver. She turned out to be wrong on three counts at least – none of which does her reputation as a global financial expert any good. It was poor defence and exposed her as someone who did not do her homework very well before commenting on a vital national issue.
First, as Dr Ajiboye pointed out, N92 billion represented a figment of the imagination of the former World Bank Managing Director. Ajiboye, a valid representative of all the ASUU creditors, told us that the amount due to them was N87 billion; not N92 billion. Even for a wasteful administration, overpaying by N5 billion would have been reprehensible. There is a lot of good work which government can do with N5 billion instead of throwing it away carelessly. Throwing public money away carelessly was what led to the fuel subsidy scam which tarnished her reputation in 2011/2012 when she jumped into the fray without checking her facts properly.
Second, her statement about government’s inability to pay lacked credibility and was soon discredited by the President. There is a distinct difference between “can’t pay” and “won’t pay”. The former admits of financial weakness or destitution; the latter connotes willful refusal to honour an agreement into which government voluntarily entered.
For the Minister of a government which allowed the country to be defrauded of over N1 trillion to claim that government cannot pay N92 billion or less than one per cent, is an insult to the intelligence of Nigerians and discredit to government itself. As if to prove that the Minister spoke, not for government but herself, the President a few days after ordered that more than N92 billion be released to the universities. That order by Jonathan had elevated Okonjo-Iweala’s claim from the realm of the incredible to a colossal lie. Where will government find N100 billion to carry out the President’s instructions if it cannot afford N92 billion?
But, all those pale by comparison with Dr Okonjo-Iweala’s real contribution to this awful national calamity. Read Dr Ajiboye’s assertions again and the astute reader can readily see the genesis of this whole mess. In January last year, long after the 2013 budget had been presented to the National Assembly, obviously with no provisions for paying the N87 billion owed to ASUU, the President, who at that time was facing a national revolt on account of fuel price increase from N65 per litre to N141 did not want another ASUU strike to add to the uprising. So, government, perhaps ill-advisedly and hastily promised ASUU N400 billion additional money; that brought the total debt payable in 2013 to N487 billion.
Call it incompetence or lack of courage and/or integrity, but given a 2012 budget, from which any provisions for ASUU had been excluded, promising eleven per cent of last year’s budget to the academic staff of universities was fraudulent. When Jonathan Swift, 1667-1745, wrote that, “Promises, like pie-crusts, are made to be broken”, (VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS p203), he must have had a government like the present one in mind. It is one government on whose promises nobody should rely. So 2012 ended without government honouring its agreements. That was bad enough.
Any financial officer, involved in budgeting, knows that when planning the budget for any year, you must take into account all the bills past due as well as those likely to fall due during the year – if the decision is to pay. They can only be ignored if there is a willful and conscious decision not to pay and to damn the consequences.
The fiasco this time around has occurred because the Finance Minister either forgot to make provisions for paying the N487 billion, not even N92 billion as she claimed, or because she deliberately excluded those outstanding bills. Forgetting such a huge liability demonstrates incompetence and gross negligence – for which the nation is now paying dearly. Remembering that the debts are long overdue and deliberately ignoring them is proof beyond reasonable doubt of lack of budgetary integrity. It does not require the towering intelligence of a Harvard graduate to predict the outcome of that benign neglect of government’s obligations.
Unfortunately for the government, for the Minister and all the other stakeholders, “All things do help the unhappy man to fall”, according to Shakespeare, 1564-1616, this years budget is in shreds. The same Finance Minister has been leading the government officials telling us about the shortfall in revenue on account of alleged crude oil theft. As much as 400,000 barrels a day is stolen – apparently with government helpless to check the pillage.
A recent report estimated that oil revenue in July of this year dropped by 42% compared to the same period last year. By a cruel twist of fate, the country had moved from won’t pay closer to can’t pay. There is no money in the budget to pay ASUU N487 billion; that is certain. Just as sure is the fact that, even if Okonjo-Iweala had not been careless, there probably would have been no money to pay the entire bill.
Realising the government’s partly self-imposed predicament, Jonathan had approved part payment of the outstanding debts. Ordinarily, that should have induced Nigerians to rise up and urge ASUU to accept the half-loaf and wait till next year for the balance. However, given government’s reputation as a dead-beat, on whose words nobody can rely, there has been no outcry against ASUU for refusing the offer. This is the closest thing to an economic Mexican stand-off that anyone can imagine and only divine intervention can resolve the mess – thanks to the Finance Minister; who should know better. Nobody, with the minutest experience in drawing up budgets should have made that mistake.
The most important question now is: will the 2014 budget reflect the payment due to ASUU – even if the lecturers accept the offered half-loaf? If it does not, ASUU’s return to the campuses will be short-lived. They will be out again in 2014.
Finally, the Finance Minister has probably antagonized the one group every public office holder should avoid at all costs. University dons are not only articulate, they are the most vocal group in the country and the most influential opinion molders. Henceforth, they will cease every opportunity to cut her down to size. This episode, however it ends, has once again raised the possibility that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala might not be around much longer. She was recruited to build confidence in the government’s economic policy team.
Starting with her staunch defence of the subsidy removal, based on falsified data, she had stumbled from one controversy to another. Instead of offering solutions, she is increasingly perceived as part of the problem. She probably has not come across that famous statement by Arthur Dewing in the Harvard Business Review, October 1923. “Behind the facts of economics are the facts of psychology..the emotions of fear and confidence…”. A lot of people are losing, or have lost confidence in the Minister. That’s bad for her and bad for Nigeria.
Source: Vanguard
http://gistactivist.blogspot.com/2013/09/asuu-strike-blame-finance-minister.html

Over four hours of torrential rain has left several parts of Makurdi the Benue State capital flooded with no fewer than 180 houses submerged in the unexpected deluge.Also lost to the downpour which started around 7pm Saturday night, were property, household items and valuables valued at more than N200 million.
Areas badly affected by the flood included Demekpe, Gyado Villa, Wurukum, Idye village, Achusa and Mobile Police Barracks on Naka road and Wadata.
When Vanguard visited some of the affected areas, many residents were seen battling to rescue their property and valuables from their flooded homes and neighborhood while some could not find access to the houses to save their valuables from being swept away by the flood.
At Demekpe, one of the victims, John Adamgbe told Vanguard that he lost most of his valuables and important documents to the flood. “My family and I were preparing to have our dinner when the rain started around 7pm. We knew we were in for trouble when the rain became torrential and was not showing any signs of stopping. As at 9pm it was as if the heaven would come down and the entire place was like River Benue and we started battling to save my five children from being swept away while most of our property and valuables had already gone under water.”
When contacted, the General Manager of Benue State Emergency Management Agency, BSEMA, Mr. Adikpo Agbatse warned residents of Makurdi town to desist from dumping refuse on drainages to avert the flooding of the town, adding that he had commenced a tour of the affected areas after which he would issue a statement on the devastation.
Source: Vanguard
http://gistactivist.blogspot.com/2013/09/flood-wreaks-havoc-in-makurdi-submerges.html

 Comedian and Radio personality Yaw on set, dressed Like a Lady. Who’s going to pick him up. lool
http://gistactivist.blogspot.com/2013/09/photo-popular-comedian-dressed-like-lady.html