Mark Zuckerberg in Lagos, Nigeria

Today, we welcomed Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder to Lagos, Nigeria.  

This will be Mark's first trip to the sub-Saharan Africa and he decided to choose Nigeria first. He came down to talk to developers and entrepreneurs trying to help take technology to the next level. He was also concerned about the startup ecosystem in Nigeria. 

Mark visited the Co-creation HUB (CcHUB) in Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria.  He was able to share some quality time with the kids at the summer coding camp and other entrepreneurs who frequently visit CcHUB to develop and launch their apps and websites.

Mark Zuckerberg will be touring other parts of Nigeria to see how well the country have developed technologically. 

NIGERIA HITS BIG MONEY WITH NEW MINERAL RESOURCE!!!

It seems like President Muhammadu Buhari dreams to make Nigeria one of the top 20 countries to trade might be coming to reality.

An Australian firm has discovered a rare mineral resource that could turn Nigeria’s economic fortunes around. The mineral resource, a 90 per cent nickel was discovered at Dangoma in the north-west state of Kaduna state. Owner of the Australian firm, Huge Morgan says the federal government is in the best position to announce the discovery. Solid minerals minister, Kayode Fayemi is yet to speak on the new mineral resource. Premium Times is reporting that Nigeria has hit pay dirt with the discovery of a rare mineral resource in the northern part of the country.

The discovery is unusual because the nickel is found in smallballs up to 3mm in diameter of a high purity in shallow soils in what could be the surface expression of a much bigger hard-rock nickel field.

“The nickel balls, rumoured to grade better than 90 per cent nickel and thought to be a world first given their widespread distribution, offer the potential for early cashflow from a simple and low-cost screening operation to fund a full assessment of the find that has exploration circles buzzing,”the newspaper was quoted as reporting.

Premium Times also quoted Morgan as saying that he expects the federal government of Nigeria to make an official announcement but reports that Olayinka Oyebode, chief press secretary of minister of solid minerals development, Kayode Fayemi, said he had no details of the discovery.Oyebode however confirmed that Fayemi is scheduled to be in Australia next week as one of the speakers at a three days Africa Down Under mining conference at Perth’s Pan Pacific Hotel, Australia.I know there is a mining conference coming up in Australia where the Honourable Minister is supposed to make a presentation.

“But I don’t have an advance knowledge of what he’s going to talk about but, generally speaking, he’s going to market Nigeria,”Oyebode was quoted as saying on Monday, August 29.

Meanwhile, Fayemi has warned newly deployed federal mines officers to pay maximum attention to matters relating to the procurement, transportation, storage and use of explosives in their respective states. He declared that they would be held responsible for any diversion of explosives to unauthorised persons.Fayemi gave the warning during a meeting with the 37 newly deployed officers in his office on Tuesday, August 9 while assuring them that they would be adequately equipped for the assignment.

Three Working Days for Civil Servants

Governor Rochas Okorocha, Imo state, issued a three day working policy on the 1st of August for civil servants. According to the policy, workers are to work between Mondays and Wednesdays.

The Nigeria Labour Congress refused to abide by the new policy given and carried out a protest. Few days after the protest, Okorocha confirmed that cutting the working days would not interfere with the salaries being paid.

"I will not cut workers salaries because of two days" he stated

On his return from overseas, he informed journalists present that the remaining two day, Thursdays and Fridays, would be set aside for agricultural activities. He also noted that workers who refuse to come to their post without written permission from the Head of Service or Chief of Staff, would loose the position to his fellow community member

 He informed them that cutting the working days is beneficial as workers were not prudent enough and nothing was produced in the state. Dedicating two day for agricultural activities would ensure that community members take active parts in activities, putting enough effort. And this indeed would increase government revenue for the development of Imo and the economy as a whole as agriculture is a means of revenue generation. He stated that workers had been paid up to August, 2016 and promised to pay pensioners owed. 

He also stated that over 3000 fresh computer graduates would be employed into the civil service and expressed genuine sadness about the fact that over 95% of imo state workers were computer illiterates. 

Okorocha made very clear his intentions for the civil servants to avoid further demonstrations by The Nigeria Labour Congress.

JOE CHINAKWE WHO NAMED HIS DOG BUHARI

The Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2 Command, Abdulmajid Ali addressed the situation regarding the dog who was named Buhari by Joe Chinakwe.  According to the police, Joe was seen walking around the streets claiming his dog was named Buhari. Joe claimed he named his dog after his neighbor after been questioned by the police. He also said he always name his dogs after his role models just like his last dog called Nelson Mandela. 

Joe and his dog where detained while he was peacefully walking around the street. The police claimed he was a threat to the president. Did they really say threat? What about when he named his past dog Nelson Mandela, one of the greatest man to be alive? Even if he named his dog the President name, don't we have freedom of speech.  No matter what, the police should have never crossed paths with this man when there are other real crimes they should be focusing on.

According to the statement Joe made to the press, he said his dog was abused and put to rest. They killed his dog and made him pay for his bail for a crime that has no meaning. This is a cruel act. There is something wrong in the actions of this police men and I hope President Muhammadu Buhari can address the press regarding this issue, because every life matter.

Joe Chinakwe deserves an apology from the Zone 2 police department and if possible from the president.

God Bless Nigeria

Nigeria Paralympics Athletes in Rio 2016

The Nigeria Federal Ministry of Sports alongside with the Paralympics Committee of Nigeria have named several athletes who will be competing in the Paralympics in Rio, Brazil 2016.  I really applaud Nigeria for putting in time and money to making sure Nigeria make a name in the Paralympics.  The Paralympics will be held from 7th - 18th September, 2016 in Rio.

Below, are the list of all 23 athletes competing at the Paralympics in Rio 2016:

Athletics Athletes:

• Hannah Babalola
• Eucharia Iyiazi
• Lauretta Onye
• Lovina Onyegbule
• Flora Ugwunwa
• Friday Aibangbe

Table Tennis Athletes:

• Ahmed Koleosho
• Faith Obiorah
• Emmanuel Nick

Powerlifting Athletes:

• Nsini Ben
• Lucy Ejike
• Ndidi Nwosu
• Bose Omolayo
• Josephine Orji
• Esther Onyema
• Latifat Tijani
• Yakubu Adesokan 
• Roland Ezuruike
• Abdulazeez Ibrahim
• Nnamdi Innocent
• Opeyemi Jegede
• Paul Kehinde
• Tolu-lope Taiwo

There are alot of athletes to watch in the Paralympics in Rio,  for example Ahmed Koleosho have been dominating every competition all over the world and he is one of the best 3 Table tennis player in the African continent. Stay tuned and support all these wonderful individuals as they showcase their talents this September in Rio 2016

Picture: Ahmed Koleosho

EXTRACTION OF CRUDE OIL IN NIGERIA

    Nigeria employed a mono economic strategy,focusing on the extraction of crude oil only, forgetting all other vital sectors of the economy . This indeed was beneficial to the economy while there was still huge demand for Nigerians "golden" oil. This myopic strategy employed by the Nigerian leaders indeed brought about economic growth and development. But this strategy, also brought about the present problem we're facing in Nigeria "The drastic slide in oil price". Now this so called "golden oil " of ours is taking us nowhere or is it?

     According to former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Charles Soludo, the current slide in oil price is indeed a blessing in disguise, a great opportunity for the nation to explore and develop other vital sectors of the economy.

    He said "every disappointment is a blessing and I see the drop in the price of oil as a great opportunity for the nation to discover and harness it's rich potential "
Words of wisdom indeed.

The former apex governor stated this at the celebration of the creation of Delta in Asaba.

    Now due to the drop in oil price, the Nigerian leaders are beginning to see the need for other sectors once neglected, bringing about the exploration and development of this sectors such as the manufacturing sector, the Finance and insurance sector, Building construction (infrastructural development) etc. Growth and development In this other sectors serves as a means of hope for Nigeria.

  “A lesson for all of us is that for every loss, there is victory, for every sadness, there is joy, and when you think you’ve lost everything, there is hope".

   We do not have to depend on oil alone because we are a blessed nation, blessed with the finest of natural resources. But do not be mistaken, the importance of the Oil and gas sector cannot be written off. Therefore, the government should do something about the current situation In the economy as we are loosing investors. The economy needs this investors for growth and development purposes, Nigeria needs all the help it can get. So although the current slid is a blessing, it is also national crisis that needs immediate solution.

    The growth and development of other sectors in the economy depends on the oil and gas sector. The government should learn to employ the balanced growth strategy which involves focusing on all sectors equally. The oil and gas sector is a foundation, it pushes and influences other sectors so it cannot be forgotten all because we are focusing on others sectors now. The government should monitor each and every sector in the economy to combact the fall of any as a result of being neglected. This is indeed a solution that could in fact bring balanced economic growth and development, this is an opportunity, a great opportunity for our country Nigeria.

God Bless Nigeria

Bring Back Our Girls Mr. President

We are all still confused on where President Muhammadu Buhari is going with the issue of the 276 girls kidnapped the night April 14th, 2014 in Borno state, Nigeria.  It is approximately 2 years 4 months ago and 11 days.  

According to the military, they have tried several methods to get back the girls which has all been a failure.  President Muhammadu Buhari has barely addressed this issue unlike other economical issues.  The president has indirectly shown us that every life doesn't matter. If the president really cared, the girls would have been returned by now.  The United States of America have offerred in the past to help with their forces to return the girls back to their respective families, but the president refused. We all know the United States barely offer to help a country without asking for something in return. I understand why the president refused, but he is yet to share why he refused? I'm sure the lives of our girls are way more important than whatever the United States requested. 

Now that this situation has been in the air for so long, has the government seeked help from other nation if we lack the intelligence system to rescue our girls? The answer is we don't know, because they are not updating the families and the nation that they are seeking other means to help.

I would have expected the president himself to come out and explain to the nation what is the status of our girls.  Mr. President please address the families of the girls.  The world needs to cry out loud once more to please help these families get back their children. 

One of the campaign promises of President Muhammadu Buhari was that his administration will rule as a transparent government but that's not the case now.

We need to know what is going on!

God Bless Nigeria

Emir Sanusi on Nigeria Economy

HRH Emir Sanusi ...

I'm a friend of this administration but if they decide to run Nigeria aground, I will become the opposition. You are not good friends if you sit down with Government officials and don't tell them the truth. I will continue to say the truth.

"Nigeria must drop the habit of borrowing to pay salaries and service recurrent expenditures.

"There is nothing happening today that we didn't forecast years ago because all actions have consequences.

"Industrialisation potentials of Northern Nig was documented by Ahmadu Bello in 1962, 54 years after, there's nothing to show.

"We created billionaires from Oil subsidies in the past. We are making the same mistake with Forex Subsidies.

"As an Emir, I can seat in my garden and make phone calls to access $10M @ N197 per $ then sell it off at nothing less than N300. With just a phone call, I'm making a profit of over a billion naira. That is what people are doing now.

"Any system that allows you sit in your garden & make a billion naira without investing a Kobo is a wrong system.

"We created the recession we are in now and I hope the President won't make the mistakes Jonathan made.

"We are not being sincere when we say we are in a recession because of the fall in oil prices. What happened to other sectors?

"I understand it's painful when we pay for expensive fuel but we must understand no system is perfect. 

"Petroleum subsidy empowers a small group of criminals rather than the poor masses it was meant for.

"If you must subsidise anything, please it should be for production rather than consumption.

"In 2011, we earned $16B from Oil revenues.
$8b was spent for LCs while the remaining $8b was spent on subsidising fuel. We spent a whooping $8billion on subsidising fuel. Not a dime was spent on infrastructure, education or schools.

"To get out of this recession; FG must set the FX rate to incentivise capital inflows, catalyse FDI & FDI funding. FG must set interest rates at levels that deter capital flight dollarization.
FG must eliminate wasteful and abuse prone subsidies. FG must address failure in the power sector value chain starting with the DISCOS.

FG must digitise state land registries and streamline relevant legislations.
FG must re-priotize public spending towards investment in human capital.
Lastly, the FG must protect infant industries specifically labour intensive manufacturing."

~ HRH SLS in Kaduna today.

Source: Kaduna Ministry of Budget

This is what the country have become today. Even the rich know there is a problem. There are so many other situations that were not addressed in this letter, but this solidifies how bad the economy has become.

Please share your thoughts and let the government hear our cry.

God Bless Nigeria

Nigeria Consulate New York 2016

As we all know, there was a protest held at the Nigeria Consulate in New York recently. Officials claim they are trying to avoid the break down of the equipments, due to the heat constantly generated from the systems and the lack of air conditioning system to cool of the equipments.

There have been several complains over the years about that particular branch.  First of all, the customer service is horrible and frustrating. Most things are not handled in a professional and orderly manner.  Most customers who attend this branch gamble weather or not if they are going to collect their passport that same day or if they have to come back. They seize to provide any information to guarantee your passport collection.

What really suprised me was the fact that one of their head officials yelled at several people for not understanding some of the instructions on the steps to get their passport. One of the rules to keeping customers and clients is to never disrespect them in anyway.  We have heard several incidents just like this in the past, but we were more shocked when we witnessed it ourselves.

There are several floors in that building, but only 3 or 4 floors are been used to process the passports and to serve as waiting rooms.  Waiting rooms have no air conditioning systems and barely any comfortable chair to wait.

I highly recommend the Nigerian government to fully inspect this branch and ammend all the loose ends otherwise we will be loosing some of the opportunities Nigeria can be benefiting from world traders.