Due to the fact that married couples do some strange sexual stuffs, sex-related injuries are very common and they happen simply because somebody gets a little carried away.
How common are sex injuries? From the number of various clients visiting my office, I do have comprehensive statistics of at least one-third of adults suffer some form of injury related to sex each year. While sexual activities are highly physical, like any physical activity, they come with risks of injury. Although many can be prevented with bit of preparations and improved communication between couples, but love-making sometimes can really be a battlefield and getting hurt in the heat of passion could be a subject seldom discussed.
The most common sex injuries are a pulled muscle, back injuries and heart attack. Did you know that penis can ‘break’ when it is erect. While an erection contains no actual bones, the penis does contain tubes that fill with blood during an erection. It’s the lining of these tubes that can rupture in response to heavy trauma or bending.
One client describes this, “My wife climbed on top. While thrusting her hips back in forth against my thrust rhythm, she decided to lean back without communicating this to me and I was not prepared for her quick descent backwards. I knew it was broken. Oh, it’s so painful.”
A broken penis is often accompanied by a snapping sound and dark bruising and requires immediate attention. Penile fractures are not actually fractures but rather a hard tear in the tissue of the penis. They occur when the erect penis is bent forcefully; there may be a popping or cracking sound. It affects about 10 per cent of men. Penile fractures are relatively uncommon, so you can still have fun doing lots of thrusting and bending in the bedroom. Just be wary of any quick movements that might bend the shaft excessively; so pay close attention.
Muscle strains are common during any type of physical activity and sex is no exception. Considering the fact that you can burn around 200 calories in a 30-minute sex session, it’s no surprise that many spouses report sex as the cause of many injuries. And since sexual arousal can release endorphins that reduce the experience of pain, these couples don’t realise they’re hurt until after sex is over. To help prevent muscle strains, pick positions that are comfortable. If they are not, make small adjustments to the angle of your hips or use your partner’s hands for more support.
You can get ‘burnt’ down below, I had one woman who came in because her husband had performed oral sex on her too quickly after eating a spicy meal and drinking spicy ‘pepper-soup’ and she sustained painful sore burns from the hot sauce.
Common bumps and bruises are what happen daily, in the heat of the moment, it’s easy to smack your head against the headboard or scrape your knees along the carpet. Many of these injuries can be prevented by purchasing lots of pillows and creating a soft nest in and around your bed. Not only do pillows provide padding for soft landings, but they can be used when trying new positions.
Be careful; objects can easily lodge into your vagina. When inserting objects or sex toys into your vagina, smooth-edged toys with a flared base are recommended to ensure nothing gets lost in your uterus. Natural lubricants are also essential to sex play, as they help minimise friction and reduce the risk of small tears that can lead to infection. Sometimes these objects can lead to small tears or cuts in the vagina, which can occur when sex is more vigorous and there isn’t enough lubrication. Women will often not feel any pain until after sex, because sexual arousal usually raises pain tolerance. But if the cuts are sizeable and bleeding doesn’t stop on its own, a woman should seek medical attention to prevent infection. ….. To be continued next week.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
1. Sex and sports don’t mix:
My wife is a sports lady; she plays table tennis for a big club in the state. Ever since she became popular in the game, my sexual need has become a thing of insignificance. Each time I plead with her, all she says to me is ‘sex and sports don’t mix. I need my energy for my career and we need the money for a better life.’ My need is no longer her concern. What do I do?
- Mr. David Ogundipe
Sports stars earn millions, they are celebrities. Male sports stars are generally in great shape, however, this great shape may trigger high level of sexual activity which can actually be detrimental to their careers because of the strain it piles on their joints and muscles on top of their already demanding training schedules. But it has been discovered that this may not be the case for a female sports star. Sex therapist recognises the fact that the situation for female athletes is often very different, that is, sexual intercourse increases their alertness and readiness to perform. So, take time to explain this to your wife with a loving attitude and be her friend also.
2. I am sick and tired of my wife making expensive jokes about my penis
I think my wife is a sex sadist or what should I say? Each time it is time for us to make love, she naturally derives pleasure in making jokes about my penis. If it is not about the size, it will be about the shape or about the performance or about the colour. She has a way of saying something nasty that will immediately deflate my libido and arousal. One day, I had to beat her up after her nasty joke but she always claims it is a way of getting her in the mood for sex. I am confused. What can I do?
- Sunny Kingsley
One of the first-class counsel I give to couples about to wed is never to make jokes about their partners’ sex organs, because the most toxic thing you would want to do to really turn anyone off is to make a funny comment about his penis, her breast or vagina. Partners take these comments and jokes very personal and it can affect their total well-being for life. Let your wife know that your penis is like the centre of a man’s world, and tell her every man is so sensitive about it. So, if during sex or right before it, she passes funny comments to get herself in the mood for sex, she has not only destroyed your mood but also rejected your person. This is the worst thing she could do to turn you off completely.
3. I can’t explain what my wife wants?
Can you kindly explain the science of a female desire linked to her breast? I am clueless how to satisfy my wife’s fantasies, she only gets aroused when I only satisfy her breast. To her, I should treat her breast in a special way but all my efforts have amounted to a rigid stony ground on bed. How do I get through her? Do you have an idea how to give her breast a special treat? And she is really busty anyway.
- Nurudeen Oba
First and foremost, you have to mentally register her breast as one of your ‘turn-ons.’ Once in a while, deliberately let your eyes wander around her breasts and before you know it, you will begin to discover how absolutely gorgeous those breasts are. Make it a habit to be fascinated with her breasts each time she lifts her shirt over her head, and watch as her large breasts bounce whenever she moves around. You will realise that sometimes, you will notice a hard on by just looking at her breasts. It will really become a turn-on. During the time for love making, make sure your eyes roam on her breasts. Encourage her to laugh; this will make her breasts to jiggle. Learn how to undo the hook of a brassier in a very seductive manner, allowing her bra to hang loose over her large breasts; this will make the nipples hard, standing at attention and begging to be sucked. At such moment, take each one of them in your mouth and suck gently. What you will notice is that immediately your wife will throw her head back and groan softly, then let out a cry of pleasure and invariably collapse in pleasure. At this point, you have given her breasts a good treat which will make her satisfy you also. When it comes to the craving for sexual variety, researchers have discovered that women want sex just as much as men do, but men do not take out quality time to locate their hot spots.
4. My husband was an ex-hardcore sex worker
With my husband, sex irritates me big time. I don’t even enjoy it anymore all because my husband was an ex-hardcore sex worker. Each time we are making love, my husband must scream so hard and say some dirty languages. As a matter of fact, he is so obsessed with dirty talks and the worst of it all is that he mentions some strange names that make me think promiscuity just runs in his veins. If sex is not on agenda, my husband is a nice, kind-hearted person, but as soon as it’s time for sex, I feel like an ‘ileya’ ram going to be slaughtered’. This looks like a sex prison to me, please help.
- Mamiska Itanda
Have you ever sat your husband down and really had a heart to heart discussion about this? If no, you just have to summon courage and nicely share your fears with him. While discussing with him, let him know that mentioning names of ex-sex-partners is the height of low respect for you. Let him know that you deserve some respect as the legal wife. On the other hand, you should know that some spouses regard screaming as sexy. But many spouses do not realise that screaming can only be sexy if their partner is also a screamer. Most of the time, partners could get turned off when their ear drums are getting ready to explode. For hardcore sex workers, who have formed the habit of screaming, they just have to deliberately work on it to change if it is offensive to their partners. Try to turn down the volume. Besides, the neighbours may hear you! Same precaution goes for obsessive dirty talk.
Saturday, 16 November 2013
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT HIV/AIDS
A medical research report in Nigeria has come up with a figure that over 7 million Nigerians have been medically proven to live with HIV while close to 5 million have been suspected to be positive to HIV. But these people have not come out boldly to either be tested for HIV or treated due to the myths and misconceptions surrounding the infection. It has also been noted that all over the world, HIV should have become a forgone issue if majority of the world populace had developed a positive disposition towards the virus and various methods of treatment, control and possible eradication.
For nearly 30 years, HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) have been shrouded in many myths and misconceptions. Although unanswered questions about HIV remain, researchers have learned a great deal. Here are the top few myths about HIV, along with the facts to dispute them.
It is believed that one can get HIV by being around people who are HIV-positive. But evidence shows that HIV is not spread through touch, tears, sweat, or saliva. You cannot contract HIV by breathing the same air as someone who is HIV-positive; by touching a toilet seat or doorknob handle after an HIV-positive person; by drinking from a water fountain; by hugging, kissing, or shaking hands with someone who is HIV-positive; by sharing utensils with an HIV-positive person or by using exercise equipment at a gym. But you can definitely get it from infected blood, semen, vaginal fluid, or mother’s milk.
It is also a held-belief that people should not worry about becoming HIV positive, that new drugs will keep any one well. This is a misconception because, inasmuch as antiretroviral drugs are improving and extending the lives of many people who are HIV-positive, many of these drugs are expensive and produce serious side effects. None yet provides a cure. Also, drug-resistant strains of HIV make treatment an increasing challenge.
An average man believes that one can contract HIV from mosquitoes, because HIV is spread through blood. People have been worried that biting or bloodsucking insects might spread HIV. Several studies, however, show no evidence to support this even in areas with lots of mosquitoes. When insects bite, they do not inject the blood of the person or animal they have last bitten. Also, HIV lives for only a short time inside an insect.
In the early years of the scourge, the death rate from AIDS was extremely high. But today, antiretroviral drugs allow HIV-positive people and even those with AIDS to live much longer, normal, and productive lives. Neither is AIDS a genocide phenomenon; an HIV victim can live his life to the fullest.
Another belief is that HIV victims receiving treatment can’t spread the virus; yes they can. Although when HIV treatments work well, they can reduce the amount of virus in the blood to a level so low that it doesn’t show up in blood tests. Research shows, however, that the virus is still ‘hiding’ in other areas of the body. It is still essential to practise safe sex, so you won’t make someone else become HIV-positive. Couples who are both HIV positive have many reasons to practise safer sex and please do not believe that while practising safer sex wearing condoms can protect you both from becoming exposed to other (potentially drug resistant) strains of HIV.
Remember that sometimes, a partner can be HIV-positive and not have any symptoms for years. The only way for you or your partner to know if you’re HIV-positive is to get tested. It’s also true that oral sex is less risky than some other types of sex. But you can get HIV by having oral sex with either a man or a woman who is HIV-positive. So couples should always use a latex barrier during oral sex.
QUESTION/ANSWERS
1. She fears she may also be infected for life
How do I deal with itchy eczema that is permanently on my pubic area? I have noticed this since I was a child. Back then, it always prevented me from sleeping well and the best my parents could do was to assure me it would disappear with age. I have treated it with anything available all to no avail. Now after a few years of marriage, my wife does not only tease me but after frantically trying to help cure it, she has stayed away from our bed. She says she will return when I find a permanent solution to it. She fears she may be also infected for life. Besides, the scare from the itching makes her irritated. What can I do?
- Mr. Baidola Kuba
Because eczema is so visible, it can lead to self-esteem issues and sexual humiliation. Long time eczema can be a bit difficult to cure, especially when you have applied different medications to no avail. The other option you have is to go natural. How you wash your skin is important. Always take a cool bath every day and use a gentle cleanser instead of soap and avoid scrubbing that area. While the area is still damp, apply local shea-butter with honey as moisturizer. Do this two to three times a day, including after bathing and every time you make use of toilets.
Try not to scratch or rub your skin when it itches. This will only worsen the itching and inflammation. When you scratch, you can break the skin and open it up to infection. Instead, rub local pap smear or white part of the egg on the surface; this can help control itching and soothe the skin. Avoid irritating pants or trouser fabrics like wool or coarsely woven materials. Wash all new underwear / clothes before you wear them in order to remove potentially irritating chemicals. Use a mild laundry detergent that doesn’t have fragrance or dyes. Rinse your underwear/clothes twice to remove traces of soap. When you’re too hot, your eczema can get worse. High temperatures can make you sweat, which can make the pubic area itchy and irritated. In cold season, heated cover clothes often have low humidity, which dries skin and causes itching. Avoid using lots of blankets so you won’t sweat while you sleep. And take a cold shower after you exercise.
2. He has no feelings for me
I’ve been married for eight years and I love my husband dearly. But sometimes when we make love, it seems like he has no feelings for me but only for himself. He is a little rough at times. Afterward, I can’t help feeling I’ve been taken advantage of. I want to enjoy sex, but I feel degraded because of his approach. What can I do to resolve this problem?
- Moji Mojola Lawrence
It’s as if you’re preparing a sumptuous, elaborate feast of your husband’s favourite food but there’s no plate set for you on the table. You’re left out of your own sexual relationship, which must be lonesome and frustrating. Not much can happen to change this until your husband really hears your hurt. Your letter doesn’t indicate that you’ve tried to talk to him about this. Don’t expect him to read your mind or that he should know. Be prepared to verbalise your needs, feelings, and desires. Think about how you are expressing them now. Feelings have a way of coming out, often non verbally. Maybe your husband will catch on if you try a different technique for expressing your feelings. It often helps to use first-person statements or emotional word pictures. As you express your feelings, find out about your husband’s feelings too. Don’t assume that he intends to be unfeeling or unkind. Sometimes, what comes across as sexual selfishness may be something else, such as fears or frustration in disguise. Maybe he has even been wishing all along that you wouldn’t hold back, not realising that his own behaviours are keeping you from becoming vulnerable. He may actually welcome your suggestions and some solutions.
3. If wishes were horses, beggars will ride
I trust you can come to my aid. I am a happily married man in my late 60s who can no longer perform sexually as well as I used to; or as I would have loved to. Maybe it is what you call ‘mid-life sexual crisis.’ Getting an erection is not my problem, but the erection is not sufficiently hard and I am not able to maintain the erection for a reasonable length of time. Sometimes while in the middle of the act, I simply lose erection, even before ejaculation. I do not have the problem of quick ejaculation because if my erection is hard enough and I am able to sustain the erection, I can experience a delayed ejaculation. I would at least wish to go for two rounds of sex before I stop and this will satisfy my wife, who luckily is very understanding. In short, I need to do something about it and quick if I am not to frustrate my wife who is some 15 years younger. She does not deserve to be frustrated. Can you please recommend to me which supplements will be best for my situation? My wife thinks I can’t be helped. She said if wishes were horses, beggars will ride. Please prove her wrong.
- Babs Okafor
First and foremost, I would appreciate it if you can practise more of kegel exercise and also take a lot of vegetable and local spices such as ginger, garlic, walnut, bitter kola and the likes. Drinking of local vegetable fluid, coconut water would help in rejuvenating the nerves, veins and arteries of the penis. From the look of things, your erectile challenge is more of age-related than any other. You can use some of our natural herbs from Vietnam. These herbs have put smiles on the faces of many people suffering from erectile challenges.
4. Normal testosterone but no sexual drive
I am 38 and remarried in March 2013. My doctor tested me twice this year and I have normal and healthy testosterone levels, but I feel as if I have no desire to have sex. This problem happened during our first week being married. I have a very hard time getting an erection, and an even harder time keeping an erection. Neither self-stimulation nor with the aid of sexual mental or graphic images seem to help. Most times, I can go flaccid as soon as I want. I also have a hard time enjoying it during sex, I rarely feel anything. Often I have to check the shaft of my penis during sex to verify that I still have an erection, because I barely feel anything. I never had this problem before I got remarried. I was able to easily (willingly and unwillingly) get an erection and sustain it several times a day. My thoughts were often crowded with the desire to be sexually involved. I have often wondered if I’m going through unusual stress, but that is not the case either. In the past, stress has always increased my desire for sex. Do you think there’s something psychological going on?
- Jimson
Have you checked your blood sugar recently? High blood sugar can block the formation of hormone that causes the relaxation of the blood vessels in your sex organ so that it swells and becomes harder but not feeling. And also, when last did you check your oestrogen levels…? (All males have some oestrogen, just as all women have some testosterone); they may be a little high; if that is the case, you need to balance it up. If your hormones, testosterone and oestrogen are all still normal, it is probably psychological. You said it happened virtually overnight, beginning a week or so after you got married; maybe, (I mean no disrespect) it has something to do with your new wife. Has she offended you and it is hard for you to forgive her? Or is she not looking the way you imagine while on bed? Maybe some sexy lingerie would help; there may also be a need for you to do some thinking ‘out of the box.’ Do some ‘non-conventional’ things; use your imagination, and as long as you don’t hurt each other, it’s okay to try!
For nearly 30 years, HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) have been shrouded in many myths and misconceptions. Although unanswered questions about HIV remain, researchers have learned a great deal. Here are the top few myths about HIV, along with the facts to dispute them.
It is believed that one can get HIV by being around people who are HIV-positive. But evidence shows that HIV is not spread through touch, tears, sweat, or saliva. You cannot contract HIV by breathing the same air as someone who is HIV-positive; by touching a toilet seat or doorknob handle after an HIV-positive person; by drinking from a water fountain; by hugging, kissing, or shaking hands with someone who is HIV-positive; by sharing utensils with an HIV-positive person or by using exercise equipment at a gym. But you can definitely get it from infected blood, semen, vaginal fluid, or mother’s milk.
It is also a held-belief that people should not worry about becoming HIV positive, that new drugs will keep any one well. This is a misconception because, inasmuch as antiretroviral drugs are improving and extending the lives of many people who are HIV-positive, many of these drugs are expensive and produce serious side effects. None yet provides a cure. Also, drug-resistant strains of HIV make treatment an increasing challenge.
An average man believes that one can contract HIV from mosquitoes, because HIV is spread through blood. People have been worried that biting or bloodsucking insects might spread HIV. Several studies, however, show no evidence to support this even in areas with lots of mosquitoes. When insects bite, they do not inject the blood of the person or animal they have last bitten. Also, HIV lives for only a short time inside an insect.
In the early years of the scourge, the death rate from AIDS was extremely high. But today, antiretroviral drugs allow HIV-positive people and even those with AIDS to live much longer, normal, and productive lives. Neither is AIDS a genocide phenomenon; an HIV victim can live his life to the fullest.
Another belief is that HIV victims receiving treatment can’t spread the virus; yes they can. Although when HIV treatments work well, they can reduce the amount of virus in the blood to a level so low that it doesn’t show up in blood tests. Research shows, however, that the virus is still ‘hiding’ in other areas of the body. It is still essential to practise safe sex, so you won’t make someone else become HIV-positive. Couples who are both HIV positive have many reasons to practise safer sex and please do not believe that while practising safer sex wearing condoms can protect you both from becoming exposed to other (potentially drug resistant) strains of HIV.
Remember that sometimes, a partner can be HIV-positive and not have any symptoms for years. The only way for you or your partner to know if you’re HIV-positive is to get tested. It’s also true that oral sex is less risky than some other types of sex. But you can get HIV by having oral sex with either a man or a woman who is HIV-positive. So couples should always use a latex barrier during oral sex.
QUESTION/ANSWERS
1. She fears she may also be infected for life
How do I deal with itchy eczema that is permanently on my pubic area? I have noticed this since I was a child. Back then, it always prevented me from sleeping well and the best my parents could do was to assure me it would disappear with age. I have treated it with anything available all to no avail. Now after a few years of marriage, my wife does not only tease me but after frantically trying to help cure it, she has stayed away from our bed. She says she will return when I find a permanent solution to it. She fears she may be also infected for life. Besides, the scare from the itching makes her irritated. What can I do?
- Mr. Baidola Kuba
Because eczema is so visible, it can lead to self-esteem issues and sexual humiliation. Long time eczema can be a bit difficult to cure, especially when you have applied different medications to no avail. The other option you have is to go natural. How you wash your skin is important. Always take a cool bath every day and use a gentle cleanser instead of soap and avoid scrubbing that area. While the area is still damp, apply local shea-butter with honey as moisturizer. Do this two to three times a day, including after bathing and every time you make use of toilets.
Try not to scratch or rub your skin when it itches. This will only worsen the itching and inflammation. When you scratch, you can break the skin and open it up to infection. Instead, rub local pap smear or white part of the egg on the surface; this can help control itching and soothe the skin. Avoid irritating pants or trouser fabrics like wool or coarsely woven materials. Wash all new underwear / clothes before you wear them in order to remove potentially irritating chemicals. Use a mild laundry detergent that doesn’t have fragrance or dyes. Rinse your underwear/clothes twice to remove traces of soap. When you’re too hot, your eczema can get worse. High temperatures can make you sweat, which can make the pubic area itchy and irritated. In cold season, heated cover clothes often have low humidity, which dries skin and causes itching. Avoid using lots of blankets so you won’t sweat while you sleep. And take a cold shower after you exercise.
2. He has no feelings for me
I’ve been married for eight years and I love my husband dearly. But sometimes when we make love, it seems like he has no feelings for me but only for himself. He is a little rough at times. Afterward, I can’t help feeling I’ve been taken advantage of. I want to enjoy sex, but I feel degraded because of his approach. What can I do to resolve this problem?
- Moji Mojola Lawrence
It’s as if you’re preparing a sumptuous, elaborate feast of your husband’s favourite food but there’s no plate set for you on the table. You’re left out of your own sexual relationship, which must be lonesome and frustrating. Not much can happen to change this until your husband really hears your hurt. Your letter doesn’t indicate that you’ve tried to talk to him about this. Don’t expect him to read your mind or that he should know. Be prepared to verbalise your needs, feelings, and desires. Think about how you are expressing them now. Feelings have a way of coming out, often non verbally. Maybe your husband will catch on if you try a different technique for expressing your feelings. It often helps to use first-person statements or emotional word pictures. As you express your feelings, find out about your husband’s feelings too. Don’t assume that he intends to be unfeeling or unkind. Sometimes, what comes across as sexual selfishness may be something else, such as fears or frustration in disguise. Maybe he has even been wishing all along that you wouldn’t hold back, not realising that his own behaviours are keeping you from becoming vulnerable. He may actually welcome your suggestions and some solutions.
3. If wishes were horses, beggars will ride
I trust you can come to my aid. I am a happily married man in my late 60s who can no longer perform sexually as well as I used to; or as I would have loved to. Maybe it is what you call ‘mid-life sexual crisis.’ Getting an erection is not my problem, but the erection is not sufficiently hard and I am not able to maintain the erection for a reasonable length of time. Sometimes while in the middle of the act, I simply lose erection, even before ejaculation. I do not have the problem of quick ejaculation because if my erection is hard enough and I am able to sustain the erection, I can experience a delayed ejaculation. I would at least wish to go for two rounds of sex before I stop and this will satisfy my wife, who luckily is very understanding. In short, I need to do something about it and quick if I am not to frustrate my wife who is some 15 years younger. She does not deserve to be frustrated. Can you please recommend to me which supplements will be best for my situation? My wife thinks I can’t be helped. She said if wishes were horses, beggars will ride. Please prove her wrong.
- Babs Okafor
First and foremost, I would appreciate it if you can practise more of kegel exercise and also take a lot of vegetable and local spices such as ginger, garlic, walnut, bitter kola and the likes. Drinking of local vegetable fluid, coconut water would help in rejuvenating the nerves, veins and arteries of the penis. From the look of things, your erectile challenge is more of age-related than any other. You can use some of our natural herbs from Vietnam. These herbs have put smiles on the faces of many people suffering from erectile challenges.
4. Normal testosterone but no sexual drive
I am 38 and remarried in March 2013. My doctor tested me twice this year and I have normal and healthy testosterone levels, but I feel as if I have no desire to have sex. This problem happened during our first week being married. I have a very hard time getting an erection, and an even harder time keeping an erection. Neither self-stimulation nor with the aid of sexual mental or graphic images seem to help. Most times, I can go flaccid as soon as I want. I also have a hard time enjoying it during sex, I rarely feel anything. Often I have to check the shaft of my penis during sex to verify that I still have an erection, because I barely feel anything. I never had this problem before I got remarried. I was able to easily (willingly and unwillingly) get an erection and sustain it several times a day. My thoughts were often crowded with the desire to be sexually involved. I have often wondered if I’m going through unusual stress, but that is not the case either. In the past, stress has always increased my desire for sex. Do you think there’s something psychological going on?
- Jimson
Have you checked your blood sugar recently? High blood sugar can block the formation of hormone that causes the relaxation of the blood vessels in your sex organ so that it swells and becomes harder but not feeling. And also, when last did you check your oestrogen levels…? (All males have some oestrogen, just as all women have some testosterone); they may be a little high; if that is the case, you need to balance it up. If your hormones, testosterone and oestrogen are all still normal, it is probably psychological. You said it happened virtually overnight, beginning a week or so after you got married; maybe, (I mean no disrespect) it has something to do with your new wife. Has she offended you and it is hard for you to forgive her? Or is she not looking the way you imagine while on bed? Maybe some sexy lingerie would help; there may also be a need for you to do some thinking ‘out of the box.’ Do some ‘non-conventional’ things; use your imagination, and as long as you don’t hurt each other, it’s okay to try!
Who emerges as Anambra governor?
EZEEMO, NGIGE, NWOYE or UBA?
Today, a sizable proportion of the 1.87 million voters in Anambra State is expected to participate in the election of a governor for the 22-year-old state. Any of the candidates of the various political parties, who emerges as governor, would take oath of office on March 17, 2014.
The last time the people of Anambra voted on February 6, 2010, more than half of the voting population could not find their names in the voters’ register. At the end of the day, only about 300,000 people voted, just a little less than 20 per cent of the voting population.
But today, all the participants in the election have certified that the voters’ register is in good shape after several reviews by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The race had been long and windy for most of the candidates. But at the end of the day 23 men, no woman, are on their marks, getting ready for the final dash across the finishing line today.
Up till Thursday last week, when the Supreme Court declared former student leader, Tony Nwoye as being eligible to contest, one of the major political parties, the Peoples Democratic Party, was not certain about whether it would eventually present a candidate for the election.
So, it turned out a relief for the PDP that finally, Nwoye would, would be its standard-bearer in the election. Whether the late entry would take a toll on the party’s performance in the election is a matter to be determined by the electorate. Some other political parties have issues similar to the PDP’s as there are subtle disputes over candidatures.
Issues that could shape the election
Four years ago, the issue of zoning of the governorship was not on the agenda. Of the six top contenders for the office of the governorship then, three of them; Dr. Chris Ngige (Action Congress), Peter Obi (All Progressives Grand Alliance) and Uche Ekwunife (Progressive Peoples Alliance) were from the Anambra Central Senatorial Zone, the other three, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo (Peoples Democratic Party), Andy Uba (Labour Party) and Nicholas Ukachukwu (Hope Democratic Party) were from the Anambra South Senatorial Zone; and this was not considered a serious issue during the election. In this election, however, zoning became prominent after the people of Anambra North Senatorial Zone declared that nobody from the zone had been elected governor since the state was created in 1991 Thus began the clamour for Anambra North to produce the governor.
Incidentally, Anambra North zone is the least developed in terms of infrastructure and human resources. Their leaders had reckoned that the zone’s limited access to government must have been responsible for the slow development of the area. They, therefore, moved that for them to support any political party such a party must zone its governorship candidacy to Anambra North.
After many meetings and declarations by political leaders from the zone, the state Governor, Peter Obi, was sold on the idea of Anambra North producing the next governor of the state.
He repeatedly explained that his position was in the interest of equity and fair play. After an initial resistance from some members of his party, the governor had his way and member of the party, Chief Willie Obiano, emerged at APGA candidate.
The PDP eventually elected its own candidate, Mr. Tony Nwoye, from Anambra North, a development that thrown the race wide open given the fact that the two other prominent candidates, Ngige and Ifeanyi Uba of the Labour Party come from Anambra Central and Anambra South respectively. Those who have argued against zoning have said that allotting the position of governor to zones in rotation could divide the state along sectional lines. They have also said that zoning had the potential of promoting mediocrity over merit. Also, they argued that zoning had never been an issue within Anambra political class, which had always contested the governorship of the state irrespective of zones.
‘Godfather politics’ also came up for debate during the electioneering. Apart from the candidate of the Labour Party, Ifeanyi Uba, and that of the Progressive Peoples Alliance, Godwin Ezeemo, who are believed to be personally funding their elections, virtually all the other candidates have godfather figures behind them.
Instructively, none of the candidates actually appeared with blueprints on how to end the major concerns of the people, which are mainly insecurity, provision of water and poor state of roads.
At a point the campaigns degenerated into mudslinging and destruction of the campaign posters and billboards of opposing candidates.
Then came the political debates organised by broadcast organisations and interest groups in the state. These debates exposed the public speaking capabilities of the candidates.
At the end of the campaigns, certain messages came out about the agenda of the five leading candidates. Obiano of APGA kept emphasising his resolve to continue with the programmes of Governor Peter Obi anchored on the Anambra Integrated Development Strategy. He, however, added a four-sector development agenda anchored on industrialisation, agriculture, oil and gas and education.
Ngige of APC, who was governor between 2003 and 2006, anchored his campaign on the need to return him as governor to complete the developmental programmes, he initiated when he was governor. Ubah of the LP promised to deploy his entrepreneurial skills to attract development to the state, a similar campaign approach by Ezeemo of PPA.
The PDP candidate, Tony Nwoye, whose candidacy was only secured barely a week before the election, scarcely made out a programme of action. He did not participate in any of the political debates. His camp spent most of the time left consulting traditional rulers, opinion leaders and the respective leaders of their town unions. Whichever way the people vote today will depend on the sentiments of where the candidate comes from, political party affiliation and pecuniary factors. While the Catholic Church played an influential role in past elections, the Church’s influence might not make much difference this time around because all the top contenders are Catholics who have contributed substantial support to the church.
Chances of the major contenders
To many observers, the election is too close to call. Some people have predicted that the winner might not emerge at the first ballot, given that the eventual winner will not only have to win the majority of votes cast, but will also have to have a spread of votes, winning at least 25 per cent of the votes in 14 of the 21 local government areas. The way it looks, it is only the PDP and APGA candidates that can have the needed spread given the nature of their support base, which cuts across the entire state. APC looks good to garner huge votes and if it wins the majority vote, its win might be flawed in spread of votes. APC’s candidate has a cult following among the masses, he is most popular in the two Idemili local government areas, which incidentally have the highest voting populations.
Banking on the incumbency factor, Obiano of APGA could come out with a good spread of votes and he is expected to lead in local governments like Anaocha, where the governor comes from, Anambra West, Ogbaru, Onitsha North, Onitsha South, Awka North, Njikoka and one of the Orumba local government areas. Anambra East where both the PDP and APGA candidates come from could be fairly shared by the two parties. The PDP candidate, Nwoye is blessed with a large membership base of the PDP which is spread across the state. He is most likely to win in Ayamelum, Oyi, Dunukofia and Ihiala. The divisions within the ranks of the party may create problems for him in Nnewi South and Aguata.
The Labour Party candidate, Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah, is very likely to win in his home local government, Nnewi North and Ekwusigo. He will have sprinkling of votes across a few other local government areas, considering that his party has little traditional support bases across the state. The fifth candidate is Godwin Ezeemo, who has been very active in the field and whose philanthropic gestures might win him some good support from the voters. But his impact may not be very strong, even in his home local government, Aguata.
Significance
The governorship election in Anambra State is significant for a number of reasons. One of them is that it is one state where the influence and clout of the ruling party at the federal level, the PDP, has been cut down drastically. In the last election held on February 6, 2010, the PDP came a distant third behind the Action Congress of Nigeria and the All Progressives Grand Alliance. In other states, it has been PDP winning or coming second.
Curiously, PDP is the party from which virtually all the other parties emerged following irreconcilable differences within the ranks of the party.
Since 2003, the governorship election in Anambra State has always presented a keen contest among four or more parties, thus giving the electorate a wide range of choices to make.
In 2003, it was APGA represented by Peter Obi, ANPP represented by George Muoghalu, Alliance for Demcoracy represented by the then Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju and PDP represented by Dr. Chris Ngige. The election was manipulated in favour of the PDP. But the court reversed that three years later and declared Obi the winner. Since then the governorship election in Anambra State has elicited passionate attention.
Home to some the world’s most creative entrepreneurs, Anambra, however, presents a picture a poorly governed state, whose abundant human and material resources had often fallen in the hands of wrong managers.
Former Vice-President Alex Ekwueme, who is one of the founding founders of Nigeria’s present democracy and a prominent citizen of the state when asked to identify the problem with Anambra State, said: “Anambra State is all chiefs, no Indians.” It is an indication that there cannot be an effective leadership in a community where everyone considers themselves good enough to lead, and not to follow. The incumbent governor, Peter Obi, shocked by the parlous state of affairs in Anambra since it was created raised a poser in his campaign posters in 2003; “Is Anambra Cursed; or Are We the Cause?” The eight years he spent governing the state would have given him an answer, which he is yet to make public.
Today, a sizable proportion of the 1.87 million voters in Anambra State is expected to participate in the election of a governor for the 22-year-old state. Any of the candidates of the various political parties, who emerges as governor, would take oath of office on March 17, 2014.
The last time the people of Anambra voted on February 6, 2010, more than half of the voting population could not find their names in the voters’ register. At the end of the day, only about 300,000 people voted, just a little less than 20 per cent of the voting population.
But today, all the participants in the election have certified that the voters’ register is in good shape after several reviews by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The race had been long and windy for most of the candidates. But at the end of the day 23 men, no woman, are on their marks, getting ready for the final dash across the finishing line today.
Up till Thursday last week, when the Supreme Court declared former student leader, Tony Nwoye as being eligible to contest, one of the major political parties, the Peoples Democratic Party, was not certain about whether it would eventually present a candidate for the election.
So, it turned out a relief for the PDP that finally, Nwoye would, would be its standard-bearer in the election. Whether the late entry would take a toll on the party’s performance in the election is a matter to be determined by the electorate. Some other political parties have issues similar to the PDP’s as there are subtle disputes over candidatures.
Issues that could shape the election
Four years ago, the issue of zoning of the governorship was not on the agenda. Of the six top contenders for the office of the governorship then, three of them; Dr. Chris Ngige (Action Congress), Peter Obi (All Progressives Grand Alliance) and Uche Ekwunife (Progressive Peoples Alliance) were from the Anambra Central Senatorial Zone, the other three, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo (Peoples Democratic Party), Andy Uba (Labour Party) and Nicholas Ukachukwu (Hope Democratic Party) were from the Anambra South Senatorial Zone; and this was not considered a serious issue during the election. In this election, however, zoning became prominent after the people of Anambra North Senatorial Zone declared that nobody from the zone had been elected governor since the state was created in 1991 Thus began the clamour for Anambra North to produce the governor.
Incidentally, Anambra North zone is the least developed in terms of infrastructure and human resources. Their leaders had reckoned that the zone’s limited access to government must have been responsible for the slow development of the area. They, therefore, moved that for them to support any political party such a party must zone its governorship candidacy to Anambra North.
After many meetings and declarations by political leaders from the zone, the state Governor, Peter Obi, was sold on the idea of Anambra North producing the next governor of the state.
He repeatedly explained that his position was in the interest of equity and fair play. After an initial resistance from some members of his party, the governor had his way and member of the party, Chief Willie Obiano, emerged at APGA candidate.
The PDP eventually elected its own candidate, Mr. Tony Nwoye, from Anambra North, a development that thrown the race wide open given the fact that the two other prominent candidates, Ngige and Ifeanyi Uba of the Labour Party come from Anambra Central and Anambra South respectively. Those who have argued against zoning have said that allotting the position of governor to zones in rotation could divide the state along sectional lines. They have also said that zoning had the potential of promoting mediocrity over merit. Also, they argued that zoning had never been an issue within Anambra political class, which had always contested the governorship of the state irrespective of zones.
‘Godfather politics’ also came up for debate during the electioneering. Apart from the candidate of the Labour Party, Ifeanyi Uba, and that of the Progressive Peoples Alliance, Godwin Ezeemo, who are believed to be personally funding their elections, virtually all the other candidates have godfather figures behind them.
Instructively, none of the candidates actually appeared with blueprints on how to end the major concerns of the people, which are mainly insecurity, provision of water and poor state of roads.
At a point the campaigns degenerated into mudslinging and destruction of the campaign posters and billboards of opposing candidates.
Then came the political debates organised by broadcast organisations and interest groups in the state. These debates exposed the public speaking capabilities of the candidates.
At the end of the campaigns, certain messages came out about the agenda of the five leading candidates. Obiano of APGA kept emphasising his resolve to continue with the programmes of Governor Peter Obi anchored on the Anambra Integrated Development Strategy. He, however, added a four-sector development agenda anchored on industrialisation, agriculture, oil and gas and education.
Ngige of APC, who was governor between 2003 and 2006, anchored his campaign on the need to return him as governor to complete the developmental programmes, he initiated when he was governor. Ubah of the LP promised to deploy his entrepreneurial skills to attract development to the state, a similar campaign approach by Ezeemo of PPA.
The PDP candidate, Tony Nwoye, whose candidacy was only secured barely a week before the election, scarcely made out a programme of action. He did not participate in any of the political debates. His camp spent most of the time left consulting traditional rulers, opinion leaders and the respective leaders of their town unions. Whichever way the people vote today will depend on the sentiments of where the candidate comes from, political party affiliation and pecuniary factors. While the Catholic Church played an influential role in past elections, the Church’s influence might not make much difference this time around because all the top contenders are Catholics who have contributed substantial support to the church.
Chances of the major contenders
To many observers, the election is too close to call. Some people have predicted that the winner might not emerge at the first ballot, given that the eventual winner will not only have to win the majority of votes cast, but will also have to have a spread of votes, winning at least 25 per cent of the votes in 14 of the 21 local government areas. The way it looks, it is only the PDP and APGA candidates that can have the needed spread given the nature of their support base, which cuts across the entire state. APC looks good to garner huge votes and if it wins the majority vote, its win might be flawed in spread of votes. APC’s candidate has a cult following among the masses, he is most popular in the two Idemili local government areas, which incidentally have the highest voting populations.
Banking on the incumbency factor, Obiano of APGA could come out with a good spread of votes and he is expected to lead in local governments like Anaocha, where the governor comes from, Anambra West, Ogbaru, Onitsha North, Onitsha South, Awka North, Njikoka and one of the Orumba local government areas. Anambra East where both the PDP and APGA candidates come from could be fairly shared by the two parties. The PDP candidate, Nwoye is blessed with a large membership base of the PDP which is spread across the state. He is most likely to win in Ayamelum, Oyi, Dunukofia and Ihiala. The divisions within the ranks of the party may create problems for him in Nnewi South and Aguata.
The Labour Party candidate, Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah, is very likely to win in his home local government, Nnewi North and Ekwusigo. He will have sprinkling of votes across a few other local government areas, considering that his party has little traditional support bases across the state. The fifth candidate is Godwin Ezeemo, who has been very active in the field and whose philanthropic gestures might win him some good support from the voters. But his impact may not be very strong, even in his home local government, Aguata.
Significance
The governorship election in Anambra State is significant for a number of reasons. One of them is that it is one state where the influence and clout of the ruling party at the federal level, the PDP, has been cut down drastically. In the last election held on February 6, 2010, the PDP came a distant third behind the Action Congress of Nigeria and the All Progressives Grand Alliance. In other states, it has been PDP winning or coming second.
Curiously, PDP is the party from which virtually all the other parties emerged following irreconcilable differences within the ranks of the party.
Since 2003, the governorship election in Anambra State has always presented a keen contest among four or more parties, thus giving the electorate a wide range of choices to make.
In 2003, it was APGA represented by Peter Obi, ANPP represented by George Muoghalu, Alliance for Demcoracy represented by the then Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju and PDP represented by Dr. Chris Ngige. The election was manipulated in favour of the PDP. But the court reversed that three years later and declared Obi the winner. Since then the governorship election in Anambra State has elicited passionate attention.
Home to some the world’s most creative entrepreneurs, Anambra, however, presents a picture a poorly governed state, whose abundant human and material resources had often fallen in the hands of wrong managers.
Former Vice-President Alex Ekwueme, who is one of the founding founders of Nigeria’s present democracy and a prominent citizen of the state when asked to identify the problem with Anambra State, said: “Anambra State is all chiefs, no Indians.” It is an indication that there cannot be an effective leadership in a community where everyone considers themselves good enough to lead, and not to follow. The incumbent governor, Peter Obi, shocked by the parlous state of affairs in Anambra since it was created raised a poser in his campaign posters in 2003; “Is Anambra Cursed; or Are We the Cause?” The eight years he spent governing the state would have given him an answer, which he is yet to make public.
Thisday bomber bags life jail with hard labour
Mustapha Umar, the Boko Haram member who bombed a plaza housing the offices of some newspapers in Kaduna in April 2012, was on Friday convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour by an Abuja Federal High Court.
Three persons lost their lives in the bomb attack in the premises of SOJ Plaza, located at R9, Kontagora Road, by Ahmadu Bello Way, Kaduna, which is occupied by Thisday Newspaper, The Moment Newspaper and The Sun Newspaper.
Justice Adeniyi Ademola, who delivered judgment in the one-count terrorism charge filed against Umar by the Federal Government amid tight security at the court premises, awarded the sum of N150m as compensation to the families of the three persons who died in the incident.
Justice Ademola convicted and sentenced Umar for violating provisions of the Terrorism Prevention Act, 2011.
In the course of the trial, which lasted just seven months, the prosecution, led by S. S. Labaran, called a total of 10 witnesses, including police officers who rescued Umar from a mob which attempted to lynch him after he survived the suicide bomb attack.
Umar, 34, incurred injuries from the attempted suicide attack, as well as beatings he received from the mob.
Interestingly, the police officers had informed the court that at the point of his rescue from the mob and subsequent arrest, Umar had wept bitterly, expressing regrets that his failure to die in the attack had cost him an opportunity to make heaven as a martyr.
The witnesses also told the court that Umar carried out the attack with a white Honda Academy car with registration No. AL 306 MKA, which was laden with improvised explosives, including 12 camp gas cylinders which were collectively wired to the steering of the vehicle.
Although Umar had said that the white Honda Academy belonged to him, the prosecution witnesses had informed the court that the plate number on the vehicle belonged to a different car, whose owner was killed when it was snatched at gun point.
Besides the testimony of the witnesses, the prosecution’s major evidence against Umar was the video recording of an interview in which he admitted the charge, shortly after his arrest.
In the said video, which was tendered and played in court, a relaxed Umar was seen owing up to the crime, and explaining his motive for carrying out the bomb attack – which was largely to avenge an alleged insult on Prophet Mohammed by Thisday Newspaper.
After the video had been tendered and played in court, Umar, who admitted that he was the person in the video, recanted his confession, claiming that he confessed under duress.
Denying the charge, he claimed that he was an innocent bystander at the premises of SOJ Plaza, having come there to sell perfumes on the day of the bomb attack.
But after evaluating the oral evidence of the witnesses as well as that of Umar, who testified in his own defence, Justice Ademola held that the prosecution witnesses were articulate and reliable.
Three persons lost their lives in the bomb attack in the premises of SOJ Plaza, located at R9, Kontagora Road, by Ahmadu Bello Way, Kaduna, which is occupied by Thisday Newspaper, The Moment Newspaper and The Sun Newspaper.
Justice Adeniyi Ademola, who delivered judgment in the one-count terrorism charge filed against Umar by the Federal Government amid tight security at the court premises, awarded the sum of N150m as compensation to the families of the three persons who died in the incident.
Justice Ademola convicted and sentenced Umar for violating provisions of the Terrorism Prevention Act, 2011.
In the course of the trial, which lasted just seven months, the prosecution, led by S. S. Labaran, called a total of 10 witnesses, including police officers who rescued Umar from a mob which attempted to lynch him after he survived the suicide bomb attack.
Umar, 34, incurred injuries from the attempted suicide attack, as well as beatings he received from the mob.
Interestingly, the police officers had informed the court that at the point of his rescue from the mob and subsequent arrest, Umar had wept bitterly, expressing regrets that his failure to die in the attack had cost him an opportunity to make heaven as a martyr.
The witnesses also told the court that Umar carried out the attack with a white Honda Academy car with registration No. AL 306 MKA, which was laden with improvised explosives, including 12 camp gas cylinders which were collectively wired to the steering of the vehicle.
Although Umar had said that the white Honda Academy belonged to him, the prosecution witnesses had informed the court that the plate number on the vehicle belonged to a different car, whose owner was killed when it was snatched at gun point.
Besides the testimony of the witnesses, the prosecution’s major evidence against Umar was the video recording of an interview in which he admitted the charge, shortly after his arrest.
In the said video, which was tendered and played in court, a relaxed Umar was seen owing up to the crime, and explaining his motive for carrying out the bomb attack – which was largely to avenge an alleged insult on Prophet Mohammed by Thisday Newspaper.
After the video had been tendered and played in court, Umar, who admitted that he was the person in the video, recanted his confession, claiming that he confessed under duress.
Denying the charge, he claimed that he was an innocent bystander at the premises of SOJ Plaza, having come there to sell perfumes on the day of the bomb attack.
But after evaluating the oral evidence of the witnesses as well as that of Umar, who testified in his own defence, Justice Ademola held that the prosecution witnesses were articulate and reliable.
Thursday, 14 November 2013
A message to social banks
Right before I planned my trip to that town, I had it all mapped out. I could still remember the streets and the location of the house where I grew up. Unfortunately, upon getting there, I was lost.
Things were not the way I left them. Things have changed. Buildings have been remodelled, new ones have been built and even the house I lived in has changed. As I ponder on this, I realised that changes have occurred in our lives and businesses. Yesterday’s customers are not where they used to be. They have moved but banks still think they are still where they left them yesterday. Today’s customers now spend more time on social media platform; thanks to mobile phones.
Recently, Facebook’s Director of Product Management for Platform Monetisation, Deborah Liu, said to banks at Money2020, “Your customers are here – engage them here.” More bank customers spend as much as 25 per cent of the time spent on mobile devices on Facebook and other social media platforms. Only a few Nigerian banks are doing pretty well on social media; others are only updating their platforms. This should serve as a wakeup call for banks to look hard at how their customers are using social media and see if their social media efforts are sufficient.
According to The Global Retail Banking Digital Marketing Report 2013, the average spending on social media for banks now is “miniscule,” and has “plateaued.” More can be done on the social media platform for banks apart from engagement and interaction. Some banks feel it is easy to go social but do they really scale? Social media can work for banks in two ways: as a channel and a disrupter.
Social media can serve as a channel, a communication conduit that has the potential to strengthen the relationship between banks and customers in ways dating back to the glorious days of relationship banking, when bankers knew their customers by sight. Social media helps your brands to be human. It helps large banks build human relationships at scale. Relationships are created and retained via social media not by Customer Relation Management software. Gathering data about customers is not being social. As more than 50 per cent of Africa’s populations are in their 20s, things are changing; expect more changes. Retail banking has changed to “Social Retail Banking”.
Going social can also disrupt the way banks interact with customers. There is information flowing on social media about your bank. Information flows both ways in the social media conversation and this can work to the bank’s benefit or harm. Social media brings tremendous complexity for banks. Social media is disrupting the way people functioned over the years. Customers are connected at an unprecedented scale. They now have more information about anything at their disposal. More specifically, customers may have more information than the marketing person speaking with them may have.
This may also pose a great challenge for brand management. Bank marketers operating over social media represent their organisations. People feel they are talking not to a person, but to the bank. When a customer has a problem with a bank attendant, say the customer service, for instance, if he dislikes or registers his discontentment with the person, he actually takes his disapproval up with the bank socially. Check the social media sphere to prove me wrong. In fact, check your social media platforms.
Since there might be complexity in managing social media for banks, here are my suggestions:
Implement a bi-directional conversation across all social media platforms: Banks using social media use it mainly for conversation — to enhance customer care. Make your conversation more bi-directional. This enhances your retail marketing. It reaches your customers right on time, transact business with them and likewise put them in the customer retention funnel. Bi-directional conversation is connecting. Let it work across your platforms.
Your customers do not trust you: We are talking about their money here. Do you think they trust you? So, narrow your message. Creating a hype or buzz via social media, which is what many banks are doing, does not make them social organisations. Every customer wants to know how good a firm is. However, achieving this is not by throwing your adverts on their faces. Relate, connect and engage with them. Interestingly, the place to accomplish this is the social media.
Mobile and social are collaborating to transform the way consumers interact with the world. Today’s customers do not care about you, but you need them. They do not have time to look for you; let your social networks find them wherever they are. Let your customers transact business in a place they actually want to be. Will you find them on social media?
Things were not the way I left them. Things have changed. Buildings have been remodelled, new ones have been built and even the house I lived in has changed. As I ponder on this, I realised that changes have occurred in our lives and businesses. Yesterday’s customers are not where they used to be. They have moved but banks still think they are still where they left them yesterday. Today’s customers now spend more time on social media platform; thanks to mobile phones.
Recently, Facebook’s Director of Product Management for Platform Monetisation, Deborah Liu, said to banks at Money2020, “Your customers are here – engage them here.” More bank customers spend as much as 25 per cent of the time spent on mobile devices on Facebook and other social media platforms. Only a few Nigerian banks are doing pretty well on social media; others are only updating their platforms. This should serve as a wakeup call for banks to look hard at how their customers are using social media and see if their social media efforts are sufficient.
According to The Global Retail Banking Digital Marketing Report 2013, the average spending on social media for banks now is “miniscule,” and has “plateaued.” More can be done on the social media platform for banks apart from engagement and interaction. Some banks feel it is easy to go social but do they really scale? Social media can work for banks in two ways: as a channel and a disrupter.
Social media can serve as a channel, a communication conduit that has the potential to strengthen the relationship between banks and customers in ways dating back to the glorious days of relationship banking, when bankers knew their customers by sight. Social media helps your brands to be human. It helps large banks build human relationships at scale. Relationships are created and retained via social media not by Customer Relation Management software. Gathering data about customers is not being social. As more than 50 per cent of Africa’s populations are in their 20s, things are changing; expect more changes. Retail banking has changed to “Social Retail Banking”.
Going social can also disrupt the way banks interact with customers. There is information flowing on social media about your bank. Information flows both ways in the social media conversation and this can work to the bank’s benefit or harm. Social media brings tremendous complexity for banks. Social media is disrupting the way people functioned over the years. Customers are connected at an unprecedented scale. They now have more information about anything at their disposal. More specifically, customers may have more information than the marketing person speaking with them may have.
This may also pose a great challenge for brand management. Bank marketers operating over social media represent their organisations. People feel they are talking not to a person, but to the bank. When a customer has a problem with a bank attendant, say the customer service, for instance, if he dislikes or registers his discontentment with the person, he actually takes his disapproval up with the bank socially. Check the social media sphere to prove me wrong. In fact, check your social media platforms.
Since there might be complexity in managing social media for banks, here are my suggestions:
Implement a bi-directional conversation across all social media platforms: Banks using social media use it mainly for conversation — to enhance customer care. Make your conversation more bi-directional. This enhances your retail marketing. It reaches your customers right on time, transact business with them and likewise put them in the customer retention funnel. Bi-directional conversation is connecting. Let it work across your platforms.
Your customers do not trust you: We are talking about their money here. Do you think they trust you? So, narrow your message. Creating a hype or buzz via social media, which is what many banks are doing, does not make them social organisations. Every customer wants to know how good a firm is. However, achieving this is not by throwing your adverts on their faces. Relate, connect and engage with them. Interestingly, the place to accomplish this is the social media.
Mobile and social are collaborating to transform the way consumers interact with the world. Today’s customers do not care about you, but you need them. They do not have time to look for you; let your social networks find them wherever they are. Let your customers transact business in a place they actually want to be. Will you find them on social media?
Wednesday, 13 November 2013
EXPOSING THE PATHETIC LIES OF NANS PRESIDENT YINKA GBADEBO.
BY INIBEHE EFFIONG
"Conscience is like an open wound only truth can heal it"
=Utman Dan Fodio.
Fellow Nigerians, ever concious students and comrades in the struggle. I greet you all.
Yesterday, Mr Yinka Gbadebo a.k.a Ayelefe, the NANS President, posted a bilated quasi responds to my article on Sahara Reporters which has gone viral on net.
In an attempt to confuse gullible Nigerian students and the general public, he lied serially & distorted facts just to assert himeself as a responsible fellow.
Before proceeding, let me opine that what Yinka posted does not qualify as a reply to my article as he deliberately evaded the salient and incontrovertible facts stated in my article. Accordingly, I will limit my comments here to the laconic averments in his post.
LIE NO. 1,
The most offensive of his lies is his averment that he "secured" the release of 40 out of the 44 UNIUYO students arrested & detained on June 12 in collaboration with Ubon Marcus the NANS Vice President Special Duties & the UNIUYO SUG President. He also lied by saying that the remaining 4 students could not establish their studentship.
The truth is that Yinka did not contribute in anyway to the release of those students.
When those students were arrested, I was contacted initially by Mr. Yinka Sadam (the ex-NANS President & Ayefele's close ally) on the 6th of July, 2013, at about 12:30am. This was after he had read my first article on the matter on Sahara Reporters. He appluaded my efforts and promised that something will be done. Ayefele then contacted me directly. We exchanged calls and sms frevently.
The release of the 40 students out of the 44 can be attributed to two initiatives;
1)Parents of the students.
2) Civil Liberties Org(CLO)/ the SUG President of UNIUYO.
First, let me say that the 40 students so far released regained freedom through the order(s) of the State High Court. Non, I repeat non of the students was released based on political intervention. Yinka Gbadebo & Ubon Marcus were talking about political solution which they never succeeded
I contacted an Abuja based Human Rights Lawyer, Mr (Barr) Abdul Mahmud, the Chairman of the Public Interest Lawyers League (PILL) who is himself a former NANS President. He accepted to represent all the students in court pro bono (free of charge). His only condition was that I should get the NANS President to issue him with a Letter of Authority to represent the students to avoid the embarrassment of being seen as a busy body. I spoke with Yinka Gbadebo, Yinka Sadam & Ubon Marcus severally on this issue requesting them to just issue a Letter of Authority but NOTHING WAS DONE.
Majority of those students had personal lawyers hired by their families to secure their release. What the liar Gbadebo does not know is that I established contacts with atleast 80% of the families of those students.
The first student that was release is Ede Joshua, my colleague in the Law Faculty. He was represented by a lawyer from the Christian Lawyers Fellowship of Nigeria. NSRM followed him to court.
Again, students whose families had no lawyers were represented pro bono (free) by lawyers hired by CLO which I happen to be the Assistant State Secretary in Akwa Ibom. The SUG President merely provided some logistics.
I facilitated their release by assisting some of the CLO lawyers with information & contacts with families of those students some of which thought I was the SUG President but I corrected them.
NSRM visited them in Prison on more than one occassion.
They were not released at once but occassionally.
All of them spent atleast 1 month in custody.
LIE NO. 2
Ayefele lied by posting that he took action on the killing of 4 students in Nasarawa. Yet, the evidence he provided shows otherwise. The Link attached to his post shows that the protest to the Army Headquaters was led by Late Comr Donald, NANS Senate President.
LIE NO. 3.
He claimed that he went to Damaturu when Boko Haram killed students. Please check the Link he attached. His Media Consultant, Maxwell, only issued a Press Statement.
LIE NO. 4
Instead of responding to my averment that he misappropriated donation by FERMA Chairman for Donald's burial, he went boasting about completing a house in his honour. I challenge Yinka to deny that millions of naira was not donated and embezzled by him.
If he does that then I will come out with more facts since the big masquarade has chosen to dance naked.
Note that in my article, I admitted that Yinka's only action(s) are normally; compromised protests and empty press statements.
I never said he should be held responsible for these killlings,
I said he has not done anything effective to stop it or bring culprits to justice.
Refering me to a psychiatric hospital is childish.
Now, I leave the judgment to men of conscience to decide who is a liar between Inibehe Effiong National President of NSRM & Yinka Gbadebo
"Conscience is like an open wound only truth can heal it"
=Utman Dan Fodio.
Fellow Nigerians, ever concious students and comrades in the struggle. I greet you all.
Yesterday, Mr Yinka Gbadebo a.k.a Ayelefe, the NANS President, posted a bilated quasi responds to my article on Sahara Reporters which has gone viral on net.
In an attempt to confuse gullible Nigerian students and the general public, he lied serially & distorted facts just to assert himeself as a responsible fellow.
Before proceeding, let me opine that what Yinka posted does not qualify as a reply to my article as he deliberately evaded the salient and incontrovertible facts stated in my article. Accordingly, I will limit my comments here to the laconic averments in his post.
LIE NO. 1,
The most offensive of his lies is his averment that he "secured" the release of 40 out of the 44 UNIUYO students arrested & detained on June 12 in collaboration with Ubon Marcus the NANS Vice President Special Duties & the UNIUYO SUG President. He also lied by saying that the remaining 4 students could not establish their studentship.
The truth is that Yinka did not contribute in anyway to the release of those students.
When those students were arrested, I was contacted initially by Mr. Yinka Sadam (the ex-NANS President & Ayefele's close ally) on the 6th of July, 2013, at about 12:30am. This was after he had read my first article on the matter on Sahara Reporters. He appluaded my efforts and promised that something will be done. Ayefele then contacted me directly. We exchanged calls and sms frevently.
The release of the 40 students out of the 44 can be attributed to two initiatives;
1)Parents of the students.
2) Civil Liberties Org(CLO)/ the SUG President of UNIUYO.
First, let me say that the 40 students so far released regained freedom through the order(s) of the State High Court. Non, I repeat non of the students was released based on political intervention. Yinka Gbadebo & Ubon Marcus were talking about political solution which they never succeeded
I contacted an Abuja based Human Rights Lawyer, Mr (Barr) Abdul Mahmud, the Chairman of the Public Interest Lawyers League (PILL) who is himself a former NANS President. He accepted to represent all the students in court pro bono (free of charge). His only condition was that I should get the NANS President to issue him with a Letter of Authority to represent the students to avoid the embarrassment of being seen as a busy body. I spoke with Yinka Gbadebo, Yinka Sadam & Ubon Marcus severally on this issue requesting them to just issue a Letter of Authority but NOTHING WAS DONE.
Majority of those students had personal lawyers hired by their families to secure their release. What the liar Gbadebo does not know is that I established contacts with atleast 80% of the families of those students.
The first student that was release is Ede Joshua, my colleague in the Law Faculty. He was represented by a lawyer from the Christian Lawyers Fellowship of Nigeria. NSRM followed him to court.
Again, students whose families had no lawyers were represented pro bono (free) by lawyers hired by CLO which I happen to be the Assistant State Secretary in Akwa Ibom. The SUG President merely provided some logistics.
I facilitated their release by assisting some of the CLO lawyers with information & contacts with families of those students some of which thought I was the SUG President but I corrected them.
NSRM visited them in Prison on more than one occassion.
They were not released at once but occassionally.
All of them spent atleast 1 month in custody.
LIE NO. 2
Ayefele lied by posting that he took action on the killing of 4 students in Nasarawa. Yet, the evidence he provided shows otherwise. The Link attached to his post shows that the protest to the Army Headquaters was led by Late Comr Donald, NANS Senate President.
LIE NO. 3.
He claimed that he went to Damaturu when Boko Haram killed students. Please check the Link he attached. His Media Consultant, Maxwell, only issued a Press Statement.
LIE NO. 4
Instead of responding to my averment that he misappropriated donation by FERMA Chairman for Donald's burial, he went boasting about completing a house in his honour. I challenge Yinka to deny that millions of naira was not donated and embezzled by him.
If he does that then I will come out with more facts since the big masquarade has chosen to dance naked.
Note that in my article, I admitted that Yinka's only action(s) are normally; compromised protests and empty press statements.
I never said he should be held responsible for these killlings,
I said he has not done anything effective to stop it or bring culprits to justice.
Refering me to a psychiatric hospital is childish.
Now, I leave the judgment to men of conscience to decide who is a liar between Inibehe Effiong National President of NSRM & Yinka Gbadebo
Yinka Gbadebo-Led NANS, Blood Of Nigerian Students And The Ghost Of Stewardship
By Inibehe Effiong
Nigerian Students under the aegis of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) have had successive presidents leading them. NANS which was birthed in 1980 as a successor to the National Union of Nigerian Students (NUNS) which was proscribed by the despotic and anti-students military dispensation of Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo has been terribly and serially abused, exploited, factionalized, monetized and wickedly politicized. The emergence of Mr. Yinka Gbadebo a.k.a Ayefele as the 26th president of NANS at its last Convention held in Uyo on the 18th December, 2012, is a terrible mistake of history that will haunt the student movement in Nigeria for years to come.
Ayefele who was rusticated from the Ekiti State University (EKSU), for assaulting the University’s Vice Chancellor is currently a diploma student of Local Government Studies at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile/Ife, Osun State. Incidentally, he was born on 26th of April, 1980 – the same year that NANS came into existence. Thus, one would have expected him to take cognizance of the historicity of his emergence as NANS president.
Under the watchful eyes of Yinka Gbadebo as NANS president, the blood of innocent Nigerian students have been unabatedly wasted with atavistic impunity especially by the Nigeria Police Force, an institution acknowledged by it present head, IGP Abubakar, as a killer squad. Few examples will suffice.
On 25th February, 2013, four students of the Nasarawa State University were gruesomely murdered while protesting against water scarcity and power outage. About seventeen students were arrested.
Two days after, on February 28, 2013, Seyi Fasere, a 400 level student of the Ekiti State University was shot dead by the Police. He had gone to his home town Ilupeju to collect his tuition and on his way back, the bus conveying him ran into armed robbers at Oye Ekiti. The driver veered off the road while all occupants disembarked and fled into the bush. Several minutes after the armed robbers had left; Police came, combed the bush and found Seyi Fasere hiding like all others. However, the one hundred thousand naira he had collected from his parents for his school fees was found on him and this as far as the Police were concerned was enough evidence that he was an armed robber. He was taken to the Police Station and shot dead by a Police man notoriously known as “Akobi Esu” (Devil’s Firstborn).
Again, on 27 May, 2013, Ahmed Dayo, an ND I student in the Department of Accounting of Kwara State Polytechnic was shot inside a cab by Police men escorting a bullion van belonging to a first generation bank. Reportedly, the armed Police escort stopped the taxi and attempted to shoot at one of its tyres because it was getting too close to the bullion van. Unfortunately, instead of the bullet hitting the tyre, it hit Dayo in the vehicle and damaged one of his legs.
Likewise on the same 27 May, 2013, Ibrahim Momodu, a student of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) was shot dead by CSP Carol Afegbai, the Divisional Police Officer of Ogida Division.
On 12th June, 2013, students of University of Uyo (UNIUYO) embarked on a peaceful protest, the protest lasted for several hours without any representative of the University Management or the corrupt and docile Student’s Union Government coming out to address the protesting students, instead, anti-riot police men were invited to suppress the protest. In the most unprofessional manner the trigger happy police men fired teargas canisters and live bullets endlessly and carelessly leading to the death of Kingsley Udoette, a 200 level Zoology student of the University. He was hit apparently by a stray bullet of the warring Police men since no other person has been identified to have fired a shot during the duration of the crisis.
44 innocent and poor students were indiscriminately arrested mostly at the male hostel of the University at Udi Street in Uyo which is situated outside the premises of the University and on the streets while struggling to return home following the closure of the school. I did everything within my power to secure the freedom of those students form unlawful detention, including media campaign (two of my articles titled: 1) Unlawful Detention of UNIUYO Students and (2) Still on the Unlawful Detention of UNIUYO Students: A Month After, were published by Sahara Reporters and other media platforms). In the course of this particular struggle, which is yet to end, I was contacted severally by phone by Yinka Gbadebo, I impressed on him about the pathetic situation of those students and the need for him to act timely. He promised to take necessary actions to secure the release of those students. Yinka Gbadebo reneged; he totally turned a blind eye and deaf ear to this case. As at today, Friday 8th November, 2013, 4 out of the 44 UNIUYO students arrested since the 12th June when that crisis broke out are still being detained at the Uyo Prisons, almost five months after the crisis.
I will not say more on this very case here, except that Comrade Donald Onukaogu the late Senate president of NANS and four others died on their way to intervene in that crisis. Instead of giving his dead colleagues a “befitting burial” Yinka Gbadebo saw their death as another opportunity for pecuniary gains and self-aggrandizement. Engr. Jide Adeniji the Chairman of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), and Patron of NANS reportedly donated millions of naira to NANS for the burial of the late NANS leaders. The money was grossly misappropriated resulting in a scandal which Yinka has battled fruitlessly to suppress.
Many more students have been murdered in cool blood under the dispensation of Yinka Gbadebo, including those killed by the Boko Haram sect in the Kano College attack and other places. Yinka Gbadebo-led NANS has done practically nothing to arrest the lust for blood of Nigerian students by the Police or bring the culprits to justice except pockets of compromised protests and empty press statements. I doubt if NANS has a record of these killings.
Yinka Gbadebo has done incurable damage to the memory of the fallen martyrs and living heroes who led NUNS/NANS and the student’s movement in Nigeria responsibly and fearlessly. He should look into history, not all his predecessors exuded his current perfidious character, (Segun Okeowo, Kunle Adepeju, Akintunde Ojo, Chima Ubani, Chris Abashi, Omoyele Sowore, Emma Ezeazu, Chris mammah, Banji Adegboro, Ben Oguntuase, Olusegun Adeboro, Labaran Maku…) are great examples of student leaders who tested battle and stood for principles in the many theatres of war, (anti-SAP and removal of oil subsidy riots between 1989 and 1991, June 12 protests, anti-military campaigns, etc).
What will be the legacy of Yinka Gbadebo? Instead of taking a responsible and pro-student stance in the likely to be ended four months old ASUU strike, he has chosen the side of the oppressor. He has taken over the propaganda machinery of a government that does not appreciate the sanctity of agreements from Doyin Okupe, Reuben Abati, Labaran Maku and Reno Omokri. Today, we have a NANS president who speaks out of the abundance of the stomach, a NANS president without integrity, principles and accountability, a NANS president who is a willing tool in the hands of a corrupt political class. The order day, he travelled to Onitsha in Anambra State to endorse the candidature of Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah for the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Anambra State (a man linked to fuel subsidy fraud and whose company, Capital Oil and Gas, has been taken over by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria because of his indebtedness).
Yinka Gbadebo finds it pertinent to issue a strong worded press statement castigating the political killing(s) in Ekiti State which he blamed on Governor Kayode Fayemi but cannot secure the release of UNIUYO students in custody or bring to justice those who take delight in shedding of innocent blood of Nigerian students.
Nigerian students and Nigerians in general should stop taking Yinka Gbadebo and his gang seriously. He had since lost the legitimacy to remain in office. Whenever the history of student’s movement in Nigeria is told, the name Yinka Gbadebo will be remembered not for accountability, integrity or principles but for treachery, indiscipline and inanities.
Let me end by adverting the minds of Yinka Gbadebo and other student leaders who belong to his cast of mind, who trade with the blood of innocent, voiceless and helpless Nigerian students that there is a ghost of stewardship that will hunt them in the fullness of time.
Inibehe Effiong is a Final Year Law student of UNIUYO, Human Rights Activist and National President of Nigerian Student’s Rights Movement (NSRM).
e-mail: inibehe.effiong@yahoo.com
Nigerian Students under the aegis of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) have had successive presidents leading them. NANS which was birthed in 1980 as a successor to the National Union of Nigerian Students (NUNS) which was proscribed by the despotic and anti-students military dispensation of Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo has been terribly and serially abused, exploited, factionalized, monetized and wickedly politicized. The emergence of Mr. Yinka Gbadebo a.k.a Ayefele as the 26th president of NANS at its last Convention held in Uyo on the 18th December, 2012, is a terrible mistake of history that will haunt the student movement in Nigeria for years to come.
Ayefele who was rusticated from the Ekiti State University (EKSU), for assaulting the University’s Vice Chancellor is currently a diploma student of Local Government Studies at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile/Ife, Osun State. Incidentally, he was born on 26th of April, 1980 – the same year that NANS came into existence. Thus, one would have expected him to take cognizance of the historicity of his emergence as NANS president.
Under the watchful eyes of Yinka Gbadebo as NANS president, the blood of innocent Nigerian students have been unabatedly wasted with atavistic impunity especially by the Nigeria Police Force, an institution acknowledged by it present head, IGP Abubakar, as a killer squad. Few examples will suffice.
On 25th February, 2013, four students of the Nasarawa State University were gruesomely murdered while protesting against water scarcity and power outage. About seventeen students were arrested.
Two days after, on February 28, 2013, Seyi Fasere, a 400 level student of the Ekiti State University was shot dead by the Police. He had gone to his home town Ilupeju to collect his tuition and on his way back, the bus conveying him ran into armed robbers at Oye Ekiti. The driver veered off the road while all occupants disembarked and fled into the bush. Several minutes after the armed robbers had left; Police came, combed the bush and found Seyi Fasere hiding like all others. However, the one hundred thousand naira he had collected from his parents for his school fees was found on him and this as far as the Police were concerned was enough evidence that he was an armed robber. He was taken to the Police Station and shot dead by a Police man notoriously known as “Akobi Esu” (Devil’s Firstborn).
Again, on 27 May, 2013, Ahmed Dayo, an ND I student in the Department of Accounting of Kwara State Polytechnic was shot inside a cab by Police men escorting a bullion van belonging to a first generation bank. Reportedly, the armed Police escort stopped the taxi and attempted to shoot at one of its tyres because it was getting too close to the bullion van. Unfortunately, instead of the bullet hitting the tyre, it hit Dayo in the vehicle and damaged one of his legs.
Likewise on the same 27 May, 2013, Ibrahim Momodu, a student of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) was shot dead by CSP Carol Afegbai, the Divisional Police Officer of Ogida Division.
On 12th June, 2013, students of University of Uyo (UNIUYO) embarked on a peaceful protest, the protest lasted for several hours without any representative of the University Management or the corrupt and docile Student’s Union Government coming out to address the protesting students, instead, anti-riot police men were invited to suppress the protest. In the most unprofessional manner the trigger happy police men fired teargas canisters and live bullets endlessly and carelessly leading to the death of Kingsley Udoette, a 200 level Zoology student of the University. He was hit apparently by a stray bullet of the warring Police men since no other person has been identified to have fired a shot during the duration of the crisis.
44 innocent and poor students were indiscriminately arrested mostly at the male hostel of the University at Udi Street in Uyo which is situated outside the premises of the University and on the streets while struggling to return home following the closure of the school. I did everything within my power to secure the freedom of those students form unlawful detention, including media campaign (two of my articles titled: 1) Unlawful Detention of UNIUYO Students and (2) Still on the Unlawful Detention of UNIUYO Students: A Month After, were published by Sahara Reporters and other media platforms). In the course of this particular struggle, which is yet to end, I was contacted severally by phone by Yinka Gbadebo, I impressed on him about the pathetic situation of those students and the need for him to act timely. He promised to take necessary actions to secure the release of those students. Yinka Gbadebo reneged; he totally turned a blind eye and deaf ear to this case. As at today, Friday 8th November, 2013, 4 out of the 44 UNIUYO students arrested since the 12th June when that crisis broke out are still being detained at the Uyo Prisons, almost five months after the crisis.
I will not say more on this very case here, except that Comrade Donald Onukaogu the late Senate president of NANS and four others died on their way to intervene in that crisis. Instead of giving his dead colleagues a “befitting burial” Yinka Gbadebo saw their death as another opportunity for pecuniary gains and self-aggrandizement. Engr. Jide Adeniji the Chairman of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), and Patron of NANS reportedly donated millions of naira to NANS for the burial of the late NANS leaders. The money was grossly misappropriated resulting in a scandal which Yinka has battled fruitlessly to suppress.
Many more students have been murdered in cool blood under the dispensation of Yinka Gbadebo, including those killed by the Boko Haram sect in the Kano College attack and other places. Yinka Gbadebo-led NANS has done practically nothing to arrest the lust for blood of Nigerian students by the Police or bring the culprits to justice except pockets of compromised protests and empty press statements. I doubt if NANS has a record of these killings.
Yinka Gbadebo has done incurable damage to the memory of the fallen martyrs and living heroes who led NUNS/NANS and the student’s movement in Nigeria responsibly and fearlessly. He should look into history, not all his predecessors exuded his current perfidious character, (Segun Okeowo, Kunle Adepeju, Akintunde Ojo, Chima Ubani, Chris Abashi, Omoyele Sowore, Emma Ezeazu, Chris mammah, Banji Adegboro, Ben Oguntuase, Olusegun Adeboro, Labaran Maku…) are great examples of student leaders who tested battle and stood for principles in the many theatres of war, (anti-SAP and removal of oil subsidy riots between 1989 and 1991, June 12 protests, anti-military campaigns, etc).
What will be the legacy of Yinka Gbadebo? Instead of taking a responsible and pro-student stance in the likely to be ended four months old ASUU strike, he has chosen the side of the oppressor. He has taken over the propaganda machinery of a government that does not appreciate the sanctity of agreements from Doyin Okupe, Reuben Abati, Labaran Maku and Reno Omokri. Today, we have a NANS president who speaks out of the abundance of the stomach, a NANS president without integrity, principles and accountability, a NANS president who is a willing tool in the hands of a corrupt political class. The order day, he travelled to Onitsha in Anambra State to endorse the candidature of Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah for the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Anambra State (a man linked to fuel subsidy fraud and whose company, Capital Oil and Gas, has been taken over by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria because of his indebtedness).
Yinka Gbadebo finds it pertinent to issue a strong worded press statement castigating the political killing(s) in Ekiti State which he blamed on Governor Kayode Fayemi but cannot secure the release of UNIUYO students in custody or bring to justice those who take delight in shedding of innocent blood of Nigerian students.
Nigerian students and Nigerians in general should stop taking Yinka Gbadebo and his gang seriously. He had since lost the legitimacy to remain in office. Whenever the history of student’s movement in Nigeria is told, the name Yinka Gbadebo will be remembered not for accountability, integrity or principles but for treachery, indiscipline and inanities.
Let me end by adverting the minds of Yinka Gbadebo and other student leaders who belong to his cast of mind, who trade with the blood of innocent, voiceless and helpless Nigerian students that there is a ghost of stewardship that will hunt them in the fullness of time.
Inibehe Effiong is a Final Year Law student of UNIUYO, Human Rights Activist and National President of Nigerian Student’s Rights Movement (NSRM).
e-mail: inibehe.effiong@yahoo.com
Iyayi: NBA calls for investigation into car crash
» IHUOMA CHIEDOZIE, ABUJA
The Nigerian Bar Association on Wednesday called for investigations into the car crash that resulted in the death of a former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Prof. Festus Iyayi.
Iyayi died in a car crash that involved the convoy of Kogi State Governor, Idris Wada, on Tuesday.
NBA President, Okey Wali, SAN, who reacted to Iyayi’s death in a statement, said the association received the news with shock and sadness.
“We sincerely hope that the circumstances of the ghastly motor accident will be investigated towards ensuring better safety on our roads,” Wali said.
Expressing shock and sadness at the development, the NBA President also described Iyayi as a great patriot.
Wali said, “It is with shock and sadness that we received the news of the death of the former President of ASUU, Professor Festus Iyayi.
“He was a great patriot, who no doubt contributed tremendously as ASUU President to nation building and educational development in our country Nigeria.
“Our deepest condolences go to his family and the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
“May the gentle soul of late Professor Festus Iyayi rest in perfect peace. Amen.”
- PUNCH News
The Nigerian Bar Association on Wednesday called for investigations into the car crash that resulted in the death of a former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Prof. Festus Iyayi.
Iyayi died in a car crash that involved the convoy of Kogi State Governor, Idris Wada, on Tuesday.
NBA President, Okey Wali, SAN, who reacted to Iyayi’s death in a statement, said the association received the news with shock and sadness.
“We sincerely hope that the circumstances of the ghastly motor accident will be investigated towards ensuring better safety on our roads,” Wali said.
Expressing shock and sadness at the development, the NBA President also described Iyayi as a great patriot.
Wali said, “It is with shock and sadness that we received the news of the death of the former President of ASUU, Professor Festus Iyayi.
“He was a great patriot, who no doubt contributed tremendously as ASUU President to nation building and educational development in our country Nigeria.
“Our deepest condolences go to his family and the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
“May the gentle soul of late Professor Festus Iyayi rest in perfect peace. Amen.”
- PUNCH News
Arik Air staff nabbed with cocaine
Two staff of Nigeria’s largest airline – Arik Air have been arrested at the
Heathrow Airport in London for suspected drug trafficking, Nigeria’s anti-drug agency boss, Ahmadu Giade confirmed on Tuesday.
The Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency disclosed they had opened investigations after the Arik Airline workers were allegedly caught with cocaine.
NDLEA spokesperson, Mitchell Ofoyeju said the allegations constituted a national embarrassment.
“We are aware of the arrest and we have opened an investigation”, Ofoyeju said.
Sources told PMNews early today [May 21] that the two Arik Air staff were arrested for cocaine.
They left the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, on Tuesday morning and arrived Heathrow about six hours later, the source said.
Banji Ola, Arik Air spokesperson said he did not have details. Ola did not know when the plane left Lagos and did not even know the names of the cabin crew involved.
“We are aware of the arrest and we have opened an investigation,” Ofoyeju said.
Banji Ola, Arik Air spokesperson said he was not aware of the incident or flight details.
In December 2011, a 29-year-old Arik Air cabin crew, Ms. Chinwendu
Uwakaonyenma Ogbonnaya was arrested in London for drug trafficking.
She was jailed for five years last year. After serving her jail term in London, Ogbonnaya is expected to be deported back to Nigeria.
TB Joshua and Pastor Oyakhilome are labelled cultists
Ghanaian Bishop Isaac Owusu Bempah, Founder and Leader of the Glorious Word Power Ministries International, has labeled two of Nigeria's celebrated pastors as partners in winning souls for the devil.
In the words of the controversial Owusu Bempah, the founding President of Believers' LoveWorld Incorporated, also known as "Christ Embassy", Dr Christian Oyakhilome (popularly known as "Pastor Chris") and General Overseer of The Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Prophet Temitope Balogun (aka TB) Joshua, are not "true men of God", but leaders of occults, winning souls for the devil.
This claim, according to Owusu-Bempah, is based on God's revelation to him in a vision as well as his own analysis of the scripture, works and conduct of the two
popular heads of two religious organisations in Africa.
Owusu-Bempah said he once heard Pastor Chris saying he saw nothing wrong with homosexuality and lesbianism, and wondered which true man of God would lead his flock with such beliefs.
"No doubt he [Pastor Chris] is a friend and partner of TB Joshua", Owusu-Bempa noted last week, claiming both men are dubious men of God who have a pact
with the devil.
For Owusu Bempah, Nigerians have allegedly realized the dubious character of the Nigerian televangelist faith healer and founding president of Christ Embassy and his partnership with TB Joshua and have consequently chased him out of the country to South Africa, where he presently resides.
On TB Joshua, Owusu-Bempa claimed he once saw him with his feet on the floor preaching, an incident he said revealed to him that TB Joshua was not from God.
"When you see anyone claiming to worship God who worships with his feet on the ground, he's an occultist. And TB Joshua is an occultist.
"Ask yourself how TB Joshua, who claims God called him, worships with his feet on the ground? Let me tell you if you go to any church and you see the
leader worshiping with his feet on the ground, it's a sign of demonism; it's occultic. People like that follow spirits that are not of God. It is occultic."
According to him, God later revealed that TB Joshua was an occultist who did not draw his spiritual powers from God.
"Some time ago, I used to like TB Joshua. I was watching him on television, and the Lord opened my eyes. I saw him with horns on his head, and he had the face of a wolf. His tongue was that of a snake and he had blood smeared
all over his mouth."
"Immediately, I rushed into my bedroom, and the Lord told me that he wasn't from Him, but was working under the authority of bad spirits," the pastor added. "That was when I realized TB Joshua was demonic and not of God."
The man who has himself been labeled a false prophet by some of his critics, advised Ghanaians not to be misled by signs of wonders and so-called men of God whose powers do not come from God.
He also accused TB Joshua in particular of sometimes faking miracles to win the confidence of his flock. "He can perform a clean miracle today and contaminate it with a lot of fake ones".
Joshua claimed his "own junior pastor went to his church to be healed. He was forced to sit in a wheel chair and made to claim before the cameras that he had received his healing even though he hadn't. He returned to the country and within two weeks, he passed away", Owusu-Bempah stated.
He again cautioned Ghanaians not to be in a hurry to attend the services of Prophet TB Joshua since he is the"anti-christ."
"If you are a pastor who worked under him and he gets to know you want to reveal his secrets, he kills you directly," Owusu-Bempah alleged.
"If no one is willing to say this, I will say it: TB Joshua is the anti-christ and an agent of the devil... I know of a pastor who attended his church, and when he should tell you about what he saw, your mouth would drop," he stated.
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