Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog: 12/27/2009 - 01/03/2010

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Thursday 7 January 2010

Photo of the day















Don Jazzy, Dbanj OBJ and a dancer on stage...
You pipul should leave our ex president alone...what kind of caricature is this now?
lol

Google's Nexus One - Web meets phone.




















I'm in love. Head over heels in love...lol

Google's Nexus One with T-Mobile was unveiled two days ago and they say it's the best Android powered phone to date. Whatever that means...all I know is that it's hella sexy and I want one. It costs about $529 and works in most countries. Too cute!!!

EFCC confiscates assets belonging to Erastus Akingbola


The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has begun the process of seizing properties belonging to ex-Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Intercontinental Bank and 'Church Elder', Erastus Akingbola.

The agency yesterday sealed up his main house on 12, Ruxton Street Ikoyi, Lagos. (Pic of house below), 15 exotic cars found in the home were also seized.

A Lagos Federal High Court ordered the interim confiscation of Akingbola's properties in Lagos, the United Kingdom, Dubai, and Accra in Ghana.


Among the properties to be seized are Amazing Grace Plaza, Ligali Ayorinde Street, Victoria Island, Lagos; properties, cars, and personal assets on Milverton Road, Ikoyi; at 2 Bedwell Road, Ikoyi, Lagos; 26 Chester Terrace, London; 65 Gove-End Road, London; and 8 Connaught Street, London.

Also confiscated are his shares in Intercontinental and Access Banks, Tropics Securities, Tropics Property, Tropics Holdings, Summit Finance Company, Tropics Finance and Investments Company, Yankuri Nigeria, Regal Investments Nigeria, Bankinson Discount House, and Associated Discount House.

The Courts also restrained the ex-bank chief  from touching the N346 billion in his bank accounts pending his arrest and prosecution for alleged mismanagement of depositors' funds and abuse of office

















His house in Ikoyi...pics thanks to Next.

Money is great surely, but what does anyone want with one million cars, one million houses, one million bank accounts, shares in one million companies? It's not like we have a million years to live...

Please share your thoughts on this...

Quote of the day

If he cheats with you, he will cheat on you.

You agree?

Change-A-Life Annual January show

Change-A-Life Presents Annual January 1st Live Show

The Change-A-Life foundation on the first day of each new year, has traditionally hosted a live TV program to usher in the new year on a note of hope as well as showcase its achievements over the year. The hour long show was presented by Change A Life's founder award winning talk show producer Funmi Iyanda, and televised live on the NTA Network and LTV 8.

The show was opened by acclaimed Nigerian music artiste Asa, discussing her hopes and dreams for the country and its people as we mark the fiftieth year of Nigeria's independence.

Since its inception, the Change-A-Life January 1st show has always been supported by the office of the incumbent governor of Lagos State. This year, Lagos' number one citizen, His Excellency Babatunde Raji Fashola, was on hand to lend his support for the foundation as well as kick off the new year with a message to the citizens of Lagos that we still live in a society that recognizes and rewards hard work, honesty, dedication and kindness.

The governor presented the “Acts of Selfless Service” awards -- recognizing ordinary citizens who have performed extraordinary deeds. One such person was Sergeant Odogwu, a police officer who found and returned Funmi Iyanda's laptop. The governor also presented awards to the top three students on the Change-A-Life scholarship scheme who distinguished themselves academically. John Bassey, Tobenna Akaeze and Folarin Olamide were given laptops as a reward for their hard work and academic achievement.

The foundation recorded new additions to its scholarship scheme, taking on to the program, Qudus Olojede and Samuel Urja-Uti, sons of the deceased Ibrahim Olojede and Friday Uti who were both shot on October 1st 2009 by the Nigerian police. Change-A-Life also gave scholarships to five teachers from the Whanyinna Nursery and Primary, Makoko to attend teaching college.

Change-A-Life's mission is to act as a bridge between people with potential, yet great need and the people, agencies and organizations that have the capacity to help and are willing to help these people. The scheme which is solely not for profit was founded by Funmi Iyanda in 2002.

Over the years Change-A-Life has affected the lives many children and people through its scholarship, healthcare, counselling and micro-finance intervention scheme. The scholarship scheme currently supports 98 children.

Pictures from the show...


Wednesday 6 January 2010

To Todd Moss - Nigeria is NOT a failed State!

The USA Deputy Secretary of State Jacob Lew in reaction to the Nigerian government seven-day ultimatum given to the United States authorities to remove Nigerians from their watch list, described the Nigerian action on CBS News as “so predictable” and that the US is more concerned about the safety of American Citizens. The snub came as former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs during the Bush administration Todd Moss describe Nigeria as a “FAILED STATE” with no visible leader to partner with the USA.


Below is the article he wrote

After the plane bomber, where in the world is Nigeria’s President?

Written by Todd Moss (Todd Moss is vice president and senior fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington DC. He served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs during the Bush administration.)
Tuesday, 05 January

Amid all the media frenzy around the Nigerian underwear bomber and how America should have stopped him before he tried to blow up a passenger plane on Christmas Day, a critical piece to the counter-terrorism puzzle seems to have been missed: where in the world is the Nigerian President? Normally, after such a horrific incident, President Obama would be on the phone with his counterpart, discussing what went wrong and agreeing on ways to work better in the future to prevent such attacks. But this couldn’t happen because Nigeria’s President Umaru Yar’Adua left his country for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia on November 23rd and hasn’t been seen or heard from since.

Yes, you read that right: the whereabouts of the leader of Nigeria—America’s most important strategic ally in Africa, the fifth largest source of U.S. oil imports, and home to 150 million people—are unknown. It is also not clear if he is alive or dead.

The situation is so uncertain that Nigeria’s parliament is openly considering sending a delegation to Saudi Arabia to find out the truth. A major opposition party yesterday demanded, quite reasonably, some “proof of life”.

The mystery over Yar’Adua is so bizarre as to be comical—if the consequences weren’t so severe. His absence has thrust the country into an immediate constitutional crisis. The President failed to delegate authority to his deputy before travelling, effectively leaving no one in charge. This 43-days-and-counting power vacuum is being swiftly filled by an insular cabal bent on exploiting the situation for their own gain.

Complicating matters, the vice president—ironically named Goodluck Jonathan—is a Christian and an Ijaw, part of a minority group from the southern Niger Delta region and far from the power centers of the northern Muslim elites who expect one of their own to run the country. There is much speculation that insiders are scheming now of ways to keep Jonathan from ever assuming power. In an ominous sign, a new chief justice was quickly (and possibly illegally) sworn in last week.

These developments all put Nigeria’s future at great risk. A decade of constitutional democracy is threatened by the specter of mass violence and a possible military coup.

The failed terrorist attack by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on Northwest Flight 253 highlights that Nigeria’s power void is dangerous for the U.S. as well. The foundation of a counter-terrorism strategy is to build cooperative partnerships with friendly nations. This means sharing information and helping to build security capacity in places like Yemen, Afghanistan, and Nigeria.

But we cannot have a partnership if there is no one on the other end of the line. Nigeria cannot be a reliable ally if it is consumed by its own corruption and political machinations. In this way, Nigeria is rapidly becoming more like Somalia—a failed state with no real government to cooperate with—than a real partner.

What can the United States do? First, it should insist on an immediate public declaration of President Yar’Adua’s health and fitness to govern. If the President’s staff refuse to oblige, then the U.S. should encourage the national assembly to assert its constitutional responsibilities when it reconvenes on January 12.

Second, if, as seems likely, Yar’Adua is in fact incapacitated, the U.S. must demand that the constitution be followed and power transferred to the vice president. The long-term security of Nigeria depends on entrenching the rule of law and this must supersede any palace intrigue or political bargaining.

Third, it is clear that whatever the outcome over the next few weeks, Nigeria will remain on a knife’s edge until elections in 2011. Any hope for a more stable country hinges on a credible election next year. Yar’Adua came to power in a deeply flawed poll in April 2007 and almost no steps have since been taken to fix the broken system. The U.S. is in a unique position to push for and help deliver a better election that would strengthen the authority and legitimacy of the next government.

Last, the U.S. can support Nigeria’s vibrant civil society that is clearly fed up and is increasingly demanding change.

The case of the missing Nigerian President is a wake up call to the United States about the vulnerability of many of our global partners. How we respond is not only crucial to the future of an important ally, but a critical test of our strategy for building partnerships in troubled places to combat the global ills of our time.
The end
***

Dear Mr. Todd, I agree you wrote a lot of truth in your article, we do recognize that we have a lot of issues in Nigeria that we need to tackle if we are to progress as a nation, I agree that we are led by corrupt leaders, I even agree that we have a dysfunctional government and like you said it's quite comical that we do not know the whereabouts of our President, I mean where does that happen? But I do not agree that we are a FAILED State.

You see, every nation in the world has it's own problems; some worse than others, we are not in denial, we do know what our problems are in Nigeria and hopefully one day we will resolve some of them. But despite all the problems we have faced over the years, Nigeria is still standing, and will continue to stand because Nigerians are stong willed, we are a peace loving people, and we are blessed.

How many African countries live off us? How many countries in the world rely on our natural resources? Please give us a break! You can not discredit 150million people because of the failings of a few people. Instead of trying to tear us down why don't we work together to grow our nation?

By the way, is he indirectly telling the US Govt to invade Naija? Eti po to...

PS, this is the only home I know...if I don't defend it, where else will I defend? I think it's time we stop pointing out all that is wrong with our nation and start looking for solutions.

What's your thoughts on this?

Slu..ssh @ Swe Bar pictures

Nobleconcept presents Slu...ssh @ Swe Bar


Pix thanks to werunthings.net

100 lawyers give Yar'Adua January 31 ultimatum to resign


One hundred legal practitioners under the auspices of Lawyers of Consciences have given President Umaru Yar'Adua till January 31, 2010 to resign or be removed by the National Assembly, failing which the group will be left with no alternative than to mobilize their learned colleagues and the Nigerian electorate to “take their destiny into their hands by any legitimate means possible.”

The group stated that if by the expiration of its ultimatum of January 31, President Yar'Adua has not come back to actively assume and perform his functions as the president, and he neither resigns nor is removed by the National Assembly in the application of sections 144 and 146 of the 1999 Constitution to enable the vice president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan be sworn-in, it should not be held responsible for whatever may result from such legitimate action(s).


What's your thoughts on this?

Photo of the day




















Only in Naija sha...lol
Not funny really...quite risky for those kids

Stella Damasus looses dad


Stella Damasus lost her dad on monday January 4, 2010 at the Federal Medical Centre Asaba. May his soul rest in peace..amen.

Tuesday 5 January 2010

Pastor Taiwo Odukoya re-marries


 
 Pastor Taiwo and Bimbo Odukoya

Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, Shepherd of Fountain of Life Church has re-married, four years after the death of his first wife, Pastor Bimbo Odukoya in a plane crash (Dec 12 '05).

He married a South African, Simangele Zulu,a music director based in the UK, today Tuesday 5th of January at the Civic Centre in the presence of some church and family members.

Source: Encomium magazine

I read this news and was actually happy for him but the person with me said she felt it was too soon for the pastor to re-marry. She thinks as a pastor, he should have remained single for a little while longer as a mark of respect for his dead wife.

I think it's better to re-marry than 'live in sin' (as a pastor)

What do you guys think?

Also, is four years not enough to mourn and move on from a dead spouse?

Nigeria is not a terrorist country


All air passengers bound for the United States from foreign countries will face tightened random screening efforts under the new U.S. Transportation Security Administration rules, with special attention given to travelers from these seven countries...

Yemen
Pakistan
Cuba
Iran
Sudan
Syria
...and
NIGERIA

Passengers flying from these 7 countries will be patted down and have carry-on luggage searched under new security procedures starting January 4.

All because of this boy....
























Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. Poor soul !!!

His act should not be used to judge Nigerians or criminalize us...we are not a terrorist country.

Nigeria is not a terrorist country
Nigeria is not a terrorist country
Nigeria is not a terrorist country
Nigeria is not a terrorist country
Ngieria is not a terrorist country.

They cannot blacklist NIGERIANS this way because of what one person did. Umar acted on his own...

But how do we fight this stigmatisation? What do we need to do to take our name off this list?

Girl, 25, looking for a wealthy partner - culled from GQ Magazine..
























My name is Nancy, Please help me I don't know what I am doing wrong?


Ok, I’m tired of beating about the bush. I'm a beautiful (Spectacularly beautiful) 25 year old girl. I’m articulate and classy. I'm looking to get married to a guy who makes at least half a million dollars a year. I know how that sounds but bear in mind half a million is middle class in New York City, so i don't think I’m over reaching.

Are there any guys who make $500k or more who could send me some tips? I've date a business man who on average of $200- $250k, but that's where i seem to hit a roadblock. 250k won't get me to central west park.

I know a woman in my Yoga class who is married to an investment banker and lives in Tribeca, yet she is not as pretty as I am, nor is she a genius. So what's she doing right? How do I get to her level?

Here are my questions

1. Where do single rich guys hang out?
2. What are they looking for?
3. Why are some plain Janes married to extremely wealthy guys
4. What kind of jobs should these men have?
5. Most importantly how do you decide on marriage instead of dating

P.S looking for marriage only. Please in replying hold your insults, I wouldn't be looking for these kinda guys if I couldn't match them in looks, sophistication, culture and keeping a nice beautiful home.

Response from a guy named John


Hello,

I read your posting with interest and have thought about your dilemma.
Here's my analysis. (And I am not wasting your time, I make over 500K a year, I fit your bill)
Your offer from the perspective of a guy like me is just a really bad business deal. What you suggest is a simple trade. You bring your looks to the party and I bring my money. Fine, but here's the pain.

My money will probably continue into perpetuity, in fact it's likely my income will increase but it's an absolute certainty that you won't be getting anymore beautiful. So in economic terms you are a depreciating asset and i' m a growing asset. Not only are you a depreciating asset, your depreciation is accelerating. You are 25 now and will probably stay hot for another 5 years, but less each year. Then the fade begins in earnest. By 35, stick a fork in you.

In Wall Street terms you're a "trading position" not a “buy and hold" hence the problem with your word Marriage. It doesn't make business sense to "buy you" (which is what you are asking). So I’d rather lease. Lest you think me cruel, I add this, if my money where to vanish so would you, so when your beauty fades I need a way out as well. Thus a deal that makes sense is dating, not marriage.

I've learnt about efficient markets. So I wonder why a girl “as spectacularly beautiful and classy" as you has been unable to find your sugar daddy, if you are so gorgeous. It's hard to believe the $500k hasn't found you, even if only for a try out.

You could always make your own money, then we wouldn't need to have this conversation. I hope this helps. If you want to enter into some sort of lease, let me know.
***

Damn!!!
Imagine the look on Nancy's face after reading John's reply...
LOL!

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