PHOTO: This Girl Was Bullied For Her Skin Color. Now She’s A Badass Model.

Bullies, be gone.
Khoudia Diop is a 19-year-old from Senegal who has faced bullying throughout her life simply because of the color of her skin.
“I was picked on by other kids, when I was a bit younger because [of the darkness] of my skin tone,” she told The Huffington Post. “But this is something that is actually quite normal in Senegal. It’s not a nice feeling and I’ve had to learn to love myself more every day and tune out the negativity, which helps a lot!”
(A 2015 survey revealed between 52 and 67 percent of Senegalese women use skin lightening products, Quartz previously reported.)
Diop’s story of overcoming bullying and rising to success touched thousands. She’s now aspiring to be a model and is also working with The Colored Girl, Inc., a group that promotes self-love and celebrates women of all backgrounds.
She’s also amassed an Instagram fanbase of over 200,000 and shares words of wisdom and empowerment with her followers.
We have lots of new offers and amazing projects in the works and I’m excited for the future!” she told HuffPost. “I’m currently also enrolled in school, full time. So I’m pursuing my degree and am going to continue modeling as well.”
This summer, she made a stunning appearance in The Colored Girl’s The Colored Girl: Rebirth campaign.

Diop turns the other way from those who try to tear her down and hurt her with cruel words.
“I’ve learned to ignore the negative people and just be a living example of confidence and self-love. I let my life, and success, speak for itself,” she said.

TRAGEDY: 7 children die during raids

At least seven children were among the 22 civilians killed in air strikes Wednesday that hit a school and the surrounding area in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, a monitor said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said “warplanes — either Russia or Syrian — carried out six strikes” in the village of Hass, including on a school complex.
The raids hit the village around 11:30a.m, an activist with the opposition Idlib Media Centre told AFP.
“One rocket hit the entrance of the school as students were leaving to go home, after the school administration decided to end classes for the day because of the raids,” the activist said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Other activists from the province circulated a gruesome photograph on social media of a child’s arm, seared off above the elbow, still clutching the strap of a dusty black rucksack.
The authenticity of the picture could not be independently verified.
The Observatory, a Britain-based monitor of Syria’s five-year conflict, initially reported two schools had been hit but later clarified that it was a school complex made up of multiple buildings.
Idlib province is controlled by the Army of Conquest, an alliance of rebel groups and jihadists including the Fateh al-Sham Front, which changed its name from Al-Nusra Front after breaking off ties with Al-Qaeda earlier this year.
The province has come under increasing bombardment in recent weeks, according to the Observatory.
Syrian government forces and their Russian ally have been criticised by rights groups for indiscriminate attacks on civilian infrastructure.
More than 300,000 people have been killed since Syria’s conflict erupted in March 2011.

60 ‘Bauchi girls quit schools to raise funds for their wedding’

The Chairman, House Committee on Women Affairs, Bauchi House of Assembly, Mrs. Maryam Begel, on Wednesday said that female students in some schools in the state were being withdrawn to engage in menial jobs to generate capital for their marriage.

She said that an interactive session she had with 60 girls of a particular secondary school in the state revealed such practice.

She said, “I had an interactive session with 60 girls of a particular tertiary school in Bauchi state and what I gathered from them was shocking.

“They complained that some parents were in the habit of withdrawing their daughters from school when they reach JSS two or three.

“They said such parents initiate their daughters into engaging in menial jobs to generate funds that would be used in buying items preparatory to their marriage.

“The girls were so disturbed and were lamenting that a lot of their colleagues have had their education either temporarily suspended, or completely terminated, on such grounds.”

Begel, who once served as a Child Protection Officer with an international non-governmental organisation, ‘Save the Children’, lamented that such action by parents was inimical to the development of the Girl-Child at a time campaign was being intensified to encourage the education of female children.

Speaking on the reluctance of most Northern state governments to domesticate the Child Rights Act, Begel blamed this development on those that started the campaign for its application.

She said, “From the beginning, the effort at explaining the content of the document was scanty as a lot of people had not been adequately sensitised.

“Most of the contents of the document are also backed by our religions and tradition, for example, Right of child to education, good health and humane treatment.

“Alongside the rights enshrined, are also obligations. The campaigners however ignored the obligations and harped on the Rights, thereby giving a negative perception of the document.”

She said that the document can be domesticated to tally with traditional and religious demands, but added that such move is too late because the negative impression created in the minds of most people, is already deep-rooted.

She said, “As it is now, no political office holder or lawmaker in some Northern states of this country will be willing to talk about the document.

“In fact, you dear not touch the issue, even with a long stick, otherwise you kiss goodbye to your political career.”

PHOTO: FAKE TRUMP STEPS OUT WITH TWO BIKINI-CLAD LADIES

A Donald Trump impersonator appeared Tuesday outside New York’s Trump Tower accompanied by two bikini-clad models, causing a stir in a staged promo event for a British artist.

British photographer Alison Jackson became famous for using body doubles of famous people and setting them up in photographs of imagined and unusual situations.

Jackson’s best-known pictures include Marilyn Monroe undressing in front of President John F. Kennedy, Queen Elizabeth washing dishes, and President Barack Obama on a cigarette break.

For a big-bang opening for her new photo exhibit, titled “Private,” Jackson hired the same Trump impersonator she used her photo shoots.

A crowd quickly gathered as a dozen bikini-clad women in high heels, as part of the stunt, surrounded the impersonator waving signs with slogans like “I am not a slut,” and “Grab America by the pussy” — a reference to Trump’s brags in a 2005 video that fame lets him grope women without their consent.

“Respect us!,” “Don’t touch our bodies!” then women chanted around the fake Trump, a reference to the women who came forward claiming that the real estate billionaire groped them.

After several minutes the fake Trump took off, briefly walking down Fifth Avenue amid a forest of pedestrians taking pictures with their smartphones and cameras, then climbing aboard a taxi.

Organisers told AFP that the impersonator then travelled to Times Square, and then went to the HG Contemporary Gallery for the Jackson exhibit. Check pics below:

LIFE IN MANCHESTER BIT OF A DISASTER – MOURINHO

Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho, has said he has struggled to adapt to life in Manchester, labelling his living arrangement in the city as “bit of a disaster”.

The Portuguese has endured a mixed start to his stint as United’s boss, having lost three of his nine league games, including a 4-0 hammering in the hands of Chelsea on Sunday.

Away from the pitch, the 53-year old said he was far from settled in England’s north-west city, staying without his family for the first time.

He said, “For me it’s a bit of a disaster because I want sometimes to walk a little bit and I can’t.

“I just want to cross the bridge and go for a restaurant. I can’t, so it is really bad.

“Buy a house? I do not know, I do not know. The reality is that my daughter will be 20 next week; my son will be 17 in a couple of months.

“They are very stable. So, they are in an age where they can’t chase me like they did before. So, for the first time the family lives in a different way.

“We try to feel it, we try to see the evolution of our feelings and see how we cope with the situation.”

Mourinho also expressed frustration at dealing with the constant attention of the paparazzi.

He said, “You know the history of the paparazzi. For the hotel and the brand that sponsors me, the clothes brand, it’s amazing because they are there every day.”

“Everybody knows the name of the hotel. Everybody knows the last arrivals of that brand. So, for them, it is amazing.”

Mourinho will seek a quick response from his side after the defeat against his former side when they take on rivals Manchester City in the League Cup this Wednesday.

Fani-Kayode must not die in detention – PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party has said a former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, must not be allowed to die in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The PDP said the arrest of the former Spokesperson for the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation was what it described as the latest in a series of plans designed to further harass and intimidate its members and supporters using the security and intelligence apparatus of the Nigerian State.
Spokesperson for the former ruling party, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, stated this in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday.
Adeyeye alleged that since his arrest, the former minister had not been able to take his medication.
He said, “What is not common knowledge is that at the time of his arrest, Fani-Kayode was ill and taking medication.
“Since his arrest, he has been denied access to his medication and medical doctors who are
conversant with his medical history.
“As of the time of writing this statement, officials of the EFCC have continued to deny Fani-Kayode access to his medication.
“The only conclusion that can be reached is that the All Progressives Congress- led Federal Government and EFCC want Fani-Kayode to die in detention.”
Adeyeye accused the EFCC of detaining “an obviously weak and ill man.”
He alleged that the the action of the commission violates the constitutional rights and
freedoms of the Nigerian people, and called on the government to halt such action.
“The Federal Government cannot, and must not, be allowed to continually infringe on the rights of the very people it swore to uphold,” he added.
The former minister of works called on all well meaning Nigerians to urge the Federal
Government to desist from what he described as “its path of human rights abuses.”
Read also: Fani-Kayode slumped in EFCC custody, says aide

ASUU tackles Buhari for dissolving OAU Governing Council

A visitation committee set up by the National Executive Council of the Academic Staff Union of Universities has faulted the dissolution of the Governing Council of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

The committee also submitted that the Visitor, President Muhammadu Buhari, erred for approving the suspension of “an already concluded process for the appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor”.

The committee said this in its report presented at the ASUU NEC meeting held at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma.

The committee, in the report obtained by our correspondent, said the actions of President Buhari contravened the Universities Autonomy Act.

The Autonomy Act was a product of the agreement reached between the ASUU and the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The document titled, ‘Report of ASUU visitation Committee to OAU, Ile-Ife’, read in part, “From our findings, the Governing Council followed due process of selection of the VC to its conclusion. The committee recommends that the action of the visitor in dissolving the council be condemned for violating the ASUU-FG agreement.”

The committee was headed by the national Vice President of ASUU, Prof. V. E. Osodeke, and it had eight members, including two zonal coordinators and three immediate past zonal coordinators.

The committee was set up in the wake of the crisis that rocked the OAU branch of the union and the university following the appointment of a new VC.

It will be recalled that the Non-Academic Staff of Universities and Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities and some academic staff of OAU had expressed displeasure with the process that produced Prof. Ayobami Salami as the 11th VC of the institution.

Subsequently, NASU and SSANU took the matter to the High Court at Osogbo, Osun State, and thereafter embarked on a strike, which led to the closure of the university for several weeks.

In a bid to resolve the matter, President Buhari on July 1 announced the dissolution of the Governing Council of the University.

He also ordered that the process for the appointment of a new VC to replace Prof. Bamitale Omole be suspended “pending the outcome of the subsisting court case”.

In August, following the instruction of the Visitor, the Senate of the varsity met and appointed Prof. Anthony Elujoba as VC in acting capacity.

Last Monday,the High Court at Osogbo struck out the case filed by NASU and SSANU challenging the appointment of Prof. Salami as the validly appointed VC of the university.

In his verdict, Justice M. A. Onyetenu stated that the court did not have jurisdiction to entertain the case.  He asked the appellants to take the case to the Industrial Court at Ibadan, Oyo State.

CHECK OUT: Nigerians Win Big At The Recently Concluded MAMAs Award

The 2016 MTV Africa Music Awards took place on Saturday night at the Ticketpro Dome in Johannesburg, hosted by Bonang Matheba.
It was a big night for Nigerian musicians as Wizkid walked away with three major awards namely: Artist of the Year, Best Male and Best Collaboration, while co-host, Nigeria’s Yemi Alade took home Best Female, while Tekno was named Best Breakthrough Act.
South Africa also fared quite well as Cassper Nyovest picked up Best Live Act, while Emtee was deemed Best Hip Hop and Caster Semenya got the 2016 Person of the Year as Hugh Masekela was given the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Kenya didn’t disappoint either, as Sauti Sol got the award for Best Group.
Again, Patoranking featuring Nigeria’s Wande Coal got the Song of the Year in partnership with Google with “My Woman, My Everything”.
The Video of the Year went to “Niquer Ma Vie” – Youssoupha (Congo), directed
by Antony Abdelli & Jose Eon, while the Best Pop & Alternative went to
Shekinah & Kyle Deutsch (South Africa) as the Best Francophone went to
Serge Beynaud (Ivory Coast).
The Best Lusophone was C4 Pedro (Angola); the Personality of the Year in association with DSTV was Caster Semenya (South Africa) and the Legend Award went to Hugh Masekela.
The Best Collaboration in partnership with ABSOLUT: DJ Maphorisa feat. Wizkid & DJ Buckz – “Soweto Baby” (South Africa/Nigeria), while Africa Reimagined was Vivian Onano and Mary Taedzerwa, as the Best International was Drake (U.S.A.).
It was a night of music and celebration as Soweto Gospel Choir gave a hearty rendition of Korede Bello’s ‘Godwin’ at the opening, while Kwesta turned up the heat with his hit single as Stonebwoy brought some reggae flavour to the show.
Comedian AY decided to give Minnie Dlamini a quick performance before announcing the winner of the ‘Best Live Act’, Cassper Nyovest as Patoranking, dressed in a Jamaican inspired outfit took to the stage to perform ‘My woman, my everything’.
Fashion designer Sheba announced the Best Female in Africa as Yemi Alade, and Alade, who won for a second year in a row, performed with her ‘Azonto’ freestyle, backed by drummers and dancers.
Also, Nigeria’s Falz performed ‘Soft work’, while Ycee performed ‘Jagaban’.
The MTV Africa Music Awards, also known as the MAMAs, was established in 2008 by MTV Networks Africa, now Viacom International Media Networks Africa, to celebrate the most popular contemporary music in Africa.
The Award was conceived and created by the SVP and MD of the MTV Networks in Africa, Alex Okosi.
Earlier, African artists had been included in the MTV Europe Music Award, where MTV Base Africa viewers voted for Best African artist in the 2006 and 2007[1] MTV Europe Music Awards.
The first awards show was held at the Velodrome in Abuja, Nigeria on Nov. 22, 2008 and was broadcast around the world on Nov. 29 in conjunction with Airtel and local television channels in Africa (Reuters/NAN)

Griezmann named La Liga’s best player ahead of Messi & Ronaldo, Simeone best coach

Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann has beat Lionel Messi and others to emerge as the best player in the Spanish League.

The supporters’ award went to Griezmann who did not attend the ceremony.

At the award ceremony in Valencia on Monday night, Atletico coach Diego Simeone was named best coach for the third time in four seasons.

Messi claimed the Aritz Aduritz prize for best striker, while Luis Suarez was named World Player. Cristiano Ronaldo who has been tipped for Balon d’Or glory did no receive any honour.

Atletico Madrid duo Jan Oblak and Diego Godin were named best goal keeper and defender, respectively, while Real’s Luka Modric was recognised as the best midfielder.

Marco Asensio of Real Madrid was named best emerging player for his display while on loan at Espanyol.

How Nigeria can get out of recession – Obasanjo

For the country to get out of recession, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called for an increase in the volume of trade internally and externally and the establishment of a commodity exchange to ensure stability in the prices of agricultural produce.

Obasanjo made the suggestion in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Monday during the opening of the 8th National Council on Industry, Trade and Investment currently holding in the state capital.

He advised the government to also put in place an aggressive coastal shipping system to boost trans-African trade with other countries on the continent from the current 12 per cent to about 22 per cent.

He explained that there was a need to spend less on goods that the nation could do away with, earn more from the manufacturing sector and borrow to finance critical sectors of the economy.

The former President also advocated financial discipline with the necessary political will to implement the various policies and programmes of the government aimed at taking the country out of recession.

Obasanjo also kicked against the constituency projects by members of the National Assembly, saying this must stop.

In his address, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said that the current recession would be short-lived.

He said changes would come “once the Federal Government is able to resolve the issues concerning pipeline vandalism and focus on a sustainable diversification policy.”

Osinbajo said that the loss of about 60 per cent of the gas for power generation and 60 per cent of revenue were largely responsible for the economic challenges currently facing the country.

He dismissed predictions that the recession would last till around the year 2020 and assured Nigerians that the Federal Government would not rest until the problem was resolved.

Osinbajo expressed optimism that despite the drop in electricity generation to less than 3,000 megawatts, Nigeria could still meet the 7,000MW target by 2017.

He said work on critical transmission stations would be completed by the first quarter of next year.

He explained that the Federal Government was currently working on eight to nine transmission stations across the country to achieve the 7,000MW generation capacity.

“The President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government is equally working on increasing gas supplies to enable the Federal Government increase power supply throughout the country towards improving the energy needs of the country,” the vice president stated.

He lamented the menace of vandals, which he noted had caused the drop in gas supply to the power stations, adding that the Federal Government was already working on ways of ending the activities of vandals, which constituted an act of economic sabotage.

Osinbajo said the Federal Government was already encouraging a privately-owned refinery to refine 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day to ease the problem of petroleum products’ supply across the country.

HMMMM: MAN RAPES 2-YEARS-OLD GIRL (PHOTO)

The Commissioner of Police in charge of the Abia State Police Command, Adeleye Oyebade, on Monday paraded a suspected rapist, identified as Emeka Asibiriobwu, who was accused of defiling a two-year-old girl kept under his care.

Oyebade said the suspect was arrested by the officers of the Abia State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Umuahia, the state capital.

He said the suspect, who was still being investigated by policemen attached to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, had raped the girl at Oriendu, a suburb of the state capital.

The police boss said, “The suspect was arrested when the mother of the victim raised the alarm on sighting her daughter crying, while blood and fluid were gushing out of her private parts.

“The victim was taken to a hospital where the rape case was established. The suspect has confessed to the crime and will be arraigned in court after the conclusion of police investigation.”

It was learnt that the suspect, who could not state his age, however, denied raping the victim.

He claimed that the mother of the victim did not keep her daughter under his care on the day the incident took place.

He said, “My neighbour just accused me of raping her daughter; but I didn’t do it. I have told everyone in our community that I have no hands in the ugly incident.”

Ex-FCT minister arrested for alleged contract fraud, N1tn land deal

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Mohammed.

A top source in the anti-graft agency told our correspondent on Monday that the former FCT minister was arrested around 10.39am on Monday and taken into custody for interrogation by a team of operatives, who were awaiting his arrival.

The source said Mohammed was still writing his statement as of the time of filing this story.

It was gathered that the commission commenced discreet investigations into the activities of the former minister following a petition against him in 2013 while he was still in office.

“We have been on the probe for some times. As we are talking now, the former minister is writing his statement,” the source said.

It was learnt that the EFCC was investigating the ex-minister for alleged fictitious contracts worth N1bn and the allocation of 12 properties and 37 commercial plots of land to a suspected front of Mohammed and a controversial Abuja land swap deal put at N1tn.

It was learnt that prior to the arrest of the ex-minister, the EFCC had interrogated top directors of the FCT.

Those quizzed, the source added, included the Director of Treasury, Ibrahim Bomoi, his counterpart  in charge of Land, Babayo Mainasara, and the Director in charge of Abuja Geographical Information Service, Ms Jamila Tangaza.

The commission was also said to have quizzed the son of the former minister, Samshudeen Bala, and one Tariq Hammoud, said to be a front for the minister.

“His arrest is the high point of the investigation in which the owners of 16 companies have been questioned by the EFCC for being linked to allegations of awarding fictitious contracts,” he stated.

It was further learnt that as the investigation progressed, the commission seized four houses said to be owned by the former FCT minister, and his son in August.

The commission put the value of the seized houses at N872m.

It was learnt that commission had secured a temporary asset forfeiture order in August to seize two houses, located at number 1 and 3 Muktah Street, Asokoro, Abuja.

The commission was also said to have confiscated three duplexes from the ex-minister’s son, valued at N225m.

Efforts to confirm the arrest of Mohammed from the Head of Media and Publicity, EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, did not succeed as calls to the mobile of the commission’s spokesman failed to connect.

MUST READ: 48-year-old hands over family to son, commits suicide

A 48-year-old man, Segla Hunvu, has committed suicide in the Mowo, Badagry area of Lagos State.

Our correspondent learnt that Hunvu, who stayed on Jogbenu Street, Torikovi Town, Mowo, was found dangling with a rope around his neck on Thursday.

A relation, who did not want his name in print, told PUNCH Metro that Hunvu had informed his eldest son, a few days to the incident, to take care of himself and his younger ones.

He said, “Hunvu came to the Ajegunle, Apapa area on Monday to see his younger brother, Michael Hunvu. We did not know he came to bid us farewell. He had earlier told his eldest son, who is a teenager, to take good care of himself and his younger ones.

“He did not come out clearly to say he wanted to kill himself. Nobody knew the reason he killed himself. It is suspected that he was frustrated.”

PUNCH Metro learnt that Michael reported the matter at the Morogbo Police Division.

A police source told our correspondent that after Hunvu left the Ajegunle area, he entered his house when his children were not around and hanged himself in a room in the house.

He said, “The children tried reaching him on the telephone, but calls made to him did not connect.

“It was after some days that his body was found in the room.”

Our correspondent learnt that policemen, who visited Hunvu’s apartment, found him hanging from the rope, took photographs and deposited the corpse in a morgue.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the incident, adding that the family members had requested the corpse for burial.

SOURCE: PUNCH

TRAGEDY: Harvest Of Deaths In Creative Community- Death Of Four Writer's

For the art and culture sector, the past few weeks have brought a lot of gloom. From the literary to the film and broadcasting arenas,  four people have died in their prime.

The first to submit to the pang of death was Nike Adesuyi-Ojeikere, a Lagos-based writer said to have battled cancer.

Apart from the fact that she was a very inspiring poet, down-to-earth and painstaking with her craft, Adesuyi-Ojeikere was instrumental to the development of the Association of Nigerian Authors, especially the Lagos chapter.

No wonder, tears for the amiable woman, who passed on at the age of 48, have been multiple and sustained. Only on Saturday, her  former colleagues, including Odia Ofeimun and Jumoke Verissimo, gathered at the Centre for Contemporary Arts in the Yaba area of Lagos, where they held a memorial conversation and reading for her.

The tears were still very fresh when a seasoned broadcaster, Taiwo Oladokun, died in a road accident along Abuja-Lokoja Road. This again stung many members of the arts community more than a deadly bee. From the Arts Writers Organisation of Nigeria, to the National Association of Theatre Arts Practitioners, shock and grief ruled the waves. Here was a man who, apart from having been a media adviser to former culture ministers – Adetokunbo Kayode and Edem Duke –  disclosed plans to deepen his stakes in the film sector a few days before his demise.

Unlike Adesuyi-Ojeikere whose remains were interred in Lagos about two weeks ago, the  broadcaster , who also died at age 48, has yet to be laid to rest.

According to a senior member of AWON and a lecturer at the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Mr. Sola Balogun, the writers’ body is planning to hold a programme in honour of the man who bagged a PhD from the University of Ibadan, worked with NTA and was a an official of the Centre for Black and African Civilisation.

On November 5, 2016, the writers community and their environmental counterpart are supposed to be celebrating the 21st anniversary of the demise – via judicial murder – of writer and Ogoni freedom fighter, Ken Saro-Wiwa. It is a date that many people look forward to. But the story took a new twist last week when a son of the deceased, Ken Saro-Wiwa jnr., also passed on.

He was not a firebrand warrior like his father. But Ken Saro-Wiwa jnr. also made an impact in the creative and environmental worlds. It was such impact that made former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo  and Goodluck Jonathan to engage him in an adviser’s capacity on matters relevant to the emancipation of the Niger Delta.

Perhaps, the most dramatic of the losses is that of Prince Afam Chiazor, an actor and filmmaker. He was said to be on the set of a movie in Abeokuta, Ogun State, when he had a cough. That was on Saturday, October 22. Some complications were said to have followed, which forced his colleagues to rush him to a hospital. Chiazor, who was the president of the Cinematographers Association of Nigeria, was said to have been declared dead on arrival at the hospital.

PYE: 18 KEY POINTS FROM JONATHAN’S SPEECH AT OXFORD UNION

Former President Goodluck Jonathan spoke at the Oxford Union of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom on Monday, October 24th, 2016.

His focus of discussion was on the theme “Promoting Youth Entrepreneurship”.

The former president said he believed in the Nigerian youth and indeed African Youths.  He further mentioned that his conviction was not only an emotional one, but one grounded in his experience with youths from all over the continent.

That was why according to him, his administration introduced initiatives and policies to enable Nigerian youths take their own destinies in their hands.

Here are 18 key points from his speech.

1.   I provided infrastructure in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions and gave undergraduate students financial assistance in the form of Bursary awards.

2.   I started building two special post primary schools for gifted and talented children.  The relevance of the gifted children school is obvious. For the talented children, the idea is to develop their natural talents in addition to sound education so that at graduation they can make a living from their God given talents if they choose to do so.

3.   We initiated a program to encourage the best brains of the State. We selected through competitive entrance examinations the most brilliant pupils in our primary schools and sent them to the best secondary schools in the country.

4.   The idea was for the State Government to take care of the best brains from the post primary through the tertiary level of their educational career and ensure that they attend the best institutions anywhere in the world. It was designed for a minimum of 100 pupils to be selected for this program annually. I left the State after one year and five months to contest election as the Vice President, and therefore could not see the idea through.

5.  I launched a similar program on assumption of office as president called the Presidential Special Scholarship Scheme for Innovation and Development [PRESSID]. This scheme nurtured a select cadre of professionals, to serve as facilitators for accelerated, sustainable, economic and technological advancement.

6.    Each year, through competitive examinations, we selected between 100-to-120 first class graduates and sent them to the top universities in the world to study for higher degrees. These students were drawn from various STEM disciplines. Let me mention here that Oxford University was an integral part of this program and indeed, a favourite for most of our applicants.

7.    My administration also gave a series of educational incentives to university students across the country.

8.    We established twelve conventional Universities and a specialised Maritime University.  To assist the disadvantaged children in Northern Nigeria, we built 165 special schools known as “Almajiri School” that integrated Islamic culture into Western education.

9.  The foundational theme of my Administration was ‘The Transformation Agenda’. It was conceived to engage the latent potential in the entire nation, and to stimulate and enable higher productivity. And this was also the foundation of our youth development drive.

10.  The Transformation Agenda sought to address the problems of youth job creation, with emphasis not just in getting our young citizens employed, but in assisting them in acquiring the right skills, and providing the requisite support. This was to enable them set up and run their own businesses; thereby becoming employers of labour themselves.

11.  My Administration came up with various programs to encourage young entrepreneurs. The most popular is the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria “YouWIN”.

12.  It was a unique intervention launched in 2012, which targeted youth with unique business proposals in startups and expansion of existing enterprises. YouWin is structured as a competitive cyclic initiative which invites and reviews Business Plans submitted by Youth. Young people who wanted to be entrepreneurs were asked to submit their business proposals. The best business plans were chosen based on relevance, profitability, demand and practicability. The winners were trained and given grants.

13.  We launched The Graduate Internship Scheme ‘GIS’. The objective of this program was to provide temporary work experience for fresh graduates, to enhance their capacity to attract permanent jobs.  Eligible graduates are posted to corporations and companies in the private and public sectors. They received practical training and mentorship for a one-year period, within which remuneration is paid by the government.  This enabled the young graduates to acquire relevant experience.

14.  We also increased the allowances due to Youth Corp members by more than 100% in 2011. This was in line with our policy of youth empowerment and development.

15.  To ensure that the Nigerian youth benefits massively in the ICT revolution, we created a special Ministry of Communication Technology. We wanted the Nigerian Youth to be self-employed and exploit the advantages of ICT.  The Ministry, among other things, improved broadband penetration, set up ICT incubation centres in Lagos and Calabar.

16.  The efforts of the Young software engineers at the Lagos Co-Creation Hub (CC Hub) became so successful that it did not only give birth to many thriving start-ups, but their activities also attracted the attention of Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg who chose it as his first stop during his first ever visit to Africa.

17.   We identified Nollywood as a sector that can employ many young people. We provided a grant of $200m and for the first time, Nollywood became a major contributor to our GDP. In 2014, Nollywood contributed 1.4% to our GDP.

18.  We encouraged our young people in that sector. I was to launch a Fund to encourage sporting activities in the Country but I had to bow out by 29th of May 2015. Nigeria has a crop of talented youth but the nation has not properly keyed into the global sports industry.  The Fund would have been a catalyst to promoting the Nigerian sports industry by promoting training, welfare of athletes and manufacturing of sporting equipment among other things.

Recession: Dangote Sacks 36 Expatriates, 12 Nigerians

The current recession rocking the Nigerian economy has hit one of the biggest employers of labour in the country outside of the government as the Dangote Group, belonging to Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has fired 48 members of staff.

Our correspondents gathered that those sacked were made up of 36 expatriate and 12 Nigerian workers from the group’s headquarters and one of the subsidiaries, Dangote Cement Plc.

Though no official of the group was willing to speak on the matter on Sunday, one of our correspondents gathered from highly placed sources that the decision to sack the workers was not unconnected with the current high cost of running business in the country occasioned by the unavailability of foreign exchange and the unprecedented hike in the naira to dollar exchange rate.

It was further gathered that the huge amounts in foreign currencies being paid to the expatriate workers had become a burden on Dangote due to the steady depreciation in the value of the naira and the difficulties of raising enough dollars.

Consequently, the industrialist, according to sources, has decided to replace the expatriates with Nigerians, who have acquired the requisite experience on the job, as paying them in naira will be less problematic.

For the affected Nigerians, it was gathered that most of them had disciplinary issues, which made it easy for the group to do away with their services.

When contacted on Sunday, the Group Head, Corporate Communications, Dangote Group, Tony Chiejina, said he could not speak on the development.

However, in a letter signed by the President/Chief Executive Officer, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, dated Thursday, October 20, 2016,the firm stated that it was constrained to take the “tough” decision as economic factors had affected the cost of production.

The letter, which was titled: ‘Recent Retirement Exercise’, however, appreciated those affected for their contributions to the growth of the group.

The letter read in part, “This year has been a very challenging year for us as a business. The unavailability of foreign exchange coupled with an unprecedented hike in the exchange rate has resulted in increased costs across the organisation.

“This called for a proper review and adjustment of our costs across board to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the deployment of our factors of production in a bid to eliminate redundancies that we know exist, which resulted in some tough decisions, which means losing staff, including some of our colleagues.

“On Friday, October 14, 2016, we began the process of staff cutbacks as it is imperative to review our human capital deployment for the required cutbacks that would ensure efficiency and eliminate redundancies in the allocation of human resources.

“This first phase of this exercise involved the cutback of 36 expatriate staff across the Dangote Cement Plc and Dangote Industries Limited, and 12 local staff members in Dangote Industries Limited.”

As an organisation with international operations, the group promised that it would continue to review and restructure its human capital deployment to ensure “optimal allocation of skill sets and size of the workforce each function requires.”

The group urged the workers to shun lateness, improper dressing and other unsavoury behaviours in the workplace.

Bloomberg had in its latest ‘Billionaire Index’ reported that Dangote had lost $5.4bn of his fortune this year due to the fall in the value of the naira and the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria to ration dollars to stem huge capital outflows in the wake of Nigeria’s worst economic crisis.

Dangote had recently urged the Federal Government to sell off the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company and other dormant but huge capital-generating enterprises and reinvest the proceeds in the economy to bring the country out of the current economic recession before the end of the fourth quarter.

Dansa Foods Nigeria Limited, which claims to be a member of the Dangote Group, has reportedly been unable to pay its workers for the past six months.

The company is being run by Alhaji Sani Dangote, a brother of Aliko, who is the Executive Chairman, with Aliko’s shares embedded in the firm.

Multiple sources in the Dangote Group claimed that Dansa Foods was not part of the group but was an independent company owned and run by Aliko’s brother.

However, in a statement announcing its participation at the just concluded Lagos International Trade Fair, the group listed some of its subsidiaries as Dangote Sugar Refinery, Dangote Agrosacks, NASCON Allied Industries Plc (Dangote Salt), Dangote Rice Limited, Dangote Cement Plc and Dansa Foods Limited.

It was reported that the company, which produces Dansa Juice and other goods, had laid off more than half of the workforce following dwindling sales and high cost of production caused by high exchange rate of the naira.

It was gathered that the company had suspended the production of Dansa Juice and other products, and was only producing Mowa Bottle Water.

As a result, the workers have reportedly embarked on a strike to press home their demand.

WHOOPS: Robbers Hijack Tanker, Divert N4.5mFfuel

The police in Lagos are on the trail of some suspected robbers, who allegedly hijacked a tanker laden with 33,000-litre fuel valued at N4.5m on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The robbers were also said to have abducted the vehicle’s escort, Shittu Oluwasegun.

It was learnt that the product was to be delivered to a filling station in Ore, Ondo State, before the tanker was hijacked in the Sagamu, Ogere, Ogun State end of the expressway.

The police said a man, identified simply as Lateef, from whom the tanker was hired to transport the fuel, allegedly connived with the robbers.

Our correspondent gathered that the owner of the product, Muyideen Adebayo, had sometime in September, rented the tanker for N170,000 through one Muyideen Abdulhameed and Tunde Adeleke, who reportedly presented themselves as managers.

The robbers, who were reportedly five in number, including Lateef, ambushed the tanker driver and the escort, Oluwasegun, around 7.30pm on the expressway.

They allegedly hijacked the tanker and whisked Oluwasegun away in a car.

“When we got to Ogere, Lateef stopped the driver and said he was the owner of the tanker. He left with the driver for about an hour before they came back.

“Immediately the driver and I entered the vehicle to continue our journey, a car waylaid us. One of the occupants pointed a gun at me, forced me into the car and drove off. Lateef was among them. They later dropped me off near a bush after collecting my mobile phone,” Oluwasegun told the police.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the case was reported at the Trinity Police Station and referred to the Special Ant-Robbery Squad, Ikeja, leading to the managers’ arrest.

One of the suspects, Adeleke, said, “I don’t know anything about the robbery. I am a truck driver. Muyideen (Abdulhameed) told me that he rented out tankers. Mr. Adebayo met with me and said he needed a tanker to transport fuel to Ore. I introduced him to Muyideen and they discussed. He paid N100,000 in advance.”

Abdulhameed, who is also a truck driver, said, “I don’t have any truck or tanker. The tanker in question is owned by Lateef and I rented it from him for that trip. When I was told that the tanker had been stolen, I immediately called him but he didn’t pick my calls. He later switched off his phone.

“I don’t know where he lives. We met at a prison in Ogun State.”

The two suspects were subsequently brought before an Ikeja Magistrate’s Court by a police prosecutor, Inspector Benedict Aigbokhan, on three counts bordering on conspiracy and robbery.

The charges read in part, “That you, Muyideen Abdulhameed, Tunde Adeleke and others at large, on September 9, 2016, at about 7.30pm along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in the Ikeja Magisterial District, while armed with a gun and other weapons did kidnap one Shittu Oluwasegun, the escort in charge of a Daf tanker with number plate, AAA871XB, loaded with 33,000 litres of petrol, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 269 (1) and punishable under Section 269 (3) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.”

The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges and were granted bail by the presiding magistrate, Mrs. O.  Olanipekun, in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties each in like sum.

The case was adjourned till November 17, 2016.

RECESSION: Aso Rock Policemen Protest ‘Discriminatory’ Allowance

Some policemen attached to the Police Mobile Force 24, State House, are not happy over their alleged exclusion from the payment of the outstanding allowance to security men attached to the Presidential Villa, Abuja recently, The PUNCH has learnt.

The PUNCH had reported exclusively that President Muhammadu Buhari had cleared the backlog of allowance of security agents, thereby dousing the tension that was brewing among the operatives.

It was reported that the President, through the Office of the National Security Adviser,  also effected over 50 per cent increase in the security agents’ allowance popularly referred to as the Risk Cautious Allowance.

Multiple sources among the policemen told our correspondent on the condition of anonymity on Thursday that about 288 personnel were exempted from the payment of the allowance.

The sources claimed that those who were exempted from the payment were allegedly tagged “Peoples Democratic Party policemen.”

One of them claimed that the only problem authorities had with them was because they worked in the Presidential Villa under the last administration.

He said the “discriminatory payment” was already causing disaffection among the policemen who were supposed to be working in unity.

He said, “We are calling on the NSA to come to our aid and ensure that this injustice is redressed.

“We all suffered together and we are supposed to smile together. The discrimination is not necessary.

“If our services are no longer needed, we should be paid our entitlement and then they can transfer us.

“Why will some people be smiling, while others are not? We deserve to be treated better.”

When contacted, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, denied the allegation.

Shehu said as far as the government was concerned, everyone entitled to the allowance had been paid.

He noted that there were some officers who were used to free money and would do anything to inflate the list of beneficiaries.

“There is no free money anywhere. Those who are entitled to the payment have been paid. Only security men around the President are entitled to it. Government won’t allow officers who will inflate the list for their selfish purposes,” the presidential spokesman said.

SOURCE: PUNCH

PHOTO: NEW iPHONE 7 & 7PLUS OFFICIALLY RELEASED: iPhone7 hits Korean stores in Note 7’s absence

The Apple iPhone 7 went on sale in South Korea on Friday, seeking to fill a void left by arch-rival Samsung on its home turf following a damaging recall fiasco over the Note 7 smartphone.

The South Korean electronics giant discontinued the Note 7 — one of its key iPhone challengers — on October 11 following reports that replacements for combustible models were also catching fire.

The decision is set to cost Samsung billions in lost profits, and there are already signs that Apple is reaping some of the benefits.

An official at mobile carrier Korea Telecom (KT) said the first batch of 50,000 iPhone 7s they put up for pre-order a week ago sold out in 15 minutes.

In South Korea, retail prices for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus start from 869,000 won and 1.02 million won respectively, for their basic 32GB models.

CBN Gives 310 Youths N930m To Start Business

A total of 310 youths, including members of the National Youth Service Corps, on Thursday received N930m from the Central Bank of Nigeria to establish profitable ventures in different sectors of the economy.

Each of the youth, who emerged through a rigorous competitive process, received N3m under the Youth Entrepreneurial Development Programme. The first set of the loans was disbursed through Heritage Bank.

Speaking at the disbursement ceremony, the Governor, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, said the YEDP was introduced in March 2016 by the apex bank as part of efforts to reduce the nation’s un-employment rate, which had increased to 13.3 per cent in the second quarter.

Emefiele, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, Alhaji Suleiman Barau, said the programme was to ensure that the creative energies of the over 64 million Nigerian youths were harnessed to stimulate growth, address restiveness and promote economic development.

He said, “To realise this objective, the bank, in partnership with the National Youth Service Corps and Heritage Bank, began the pilot seven months ago to inspire and harvest the entrepreneurial abilities of Nigerian youths towards creating over one million direct jobs by 2020.

“The programme is open to youths of between 18 and 35 years who are serving corps members, graduates or artisans. All youths in this category are eligible to apply and will be pre-qualified for training on entrepreneurship before they can access credit lines of up to N3m at a single digit interest rate.

“The programme is premised on the provision of timely and affordable credit to identified youth entrepreneurs with expected multiplier effects on job creation and economic growth.”

He added, “To overcome the bottleneck of collateral requirements for loans and ease access to finance, their academic and the NYSC certificates, third-party guarantees and movable assets are allowed as acceptable collateral under the programme.

“The programme is a revolving fund with a target to create more than one million direct jobs. We encourage all Nigerian youths that are interested in being their own bosses to apply online through the participating banks.”

Emefiele said the central bank had commenced the YEDP with other Deposit Money Banks such as Sterling Bank Plc and Fidelity Bank Plc, adding that discussions were ongoing with other banks to open their portals for the programme in order to have a wider outreach and fund more small businesses.

The Managing Director, Heritage Bank, Mr. IfieSekibo, said the bank had received more than 7,000 applications for the second batch of the programme, adding that the lender would soon be meeting with the CBN to expand the reach of the programme.

Sekibo, who was represented by the Executive Director, Lagos & Southwest, Corporate Banking, Heritage Bank, Mrs. Mary Akpobome, gave an assurance that some issues raised by some of the beneficiaries would be addressed.

The Director-General, NYSC, Brig.-Gen. SuleKazaure, encouraged the beneficiaries to remain focused and ensure that the loans were repaid to make for the extension of similar facilities to other corps members.