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President Buhari’s First Semester Report Card | By: Etcetera

We often use benchmarks as measures of progress. ‘How is your favourite football team doing at the beginning of this season?’ ‘How many words does your one-year-old son say in a minute?’ And, of course, there’s the time-honoured measure of how well a new president is doing after 100 days in office.
In case you hadn’t heard, that benchmark is here for President Buhari. You may feel it’s a little impertinent for me to issue a report card for President Buhari on his performance during his first 100 days in office. Yes, I’m not his teacher, and he’s not my student. But what the heck? It’s a free country and everyone else is doing it. So here it goes:

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1) Confidence:- Buhari has brought back confidence in governance. Especially in tough times, the confident presence of a leader begets confidence in those that he or she leads. With his steady demeanour, optimistic outlook and command, Buhari embodies confidence. The number of incompetent heads of parastatals he has sacked so far reflects that sentiment. The percentage of Nigerians who think the country is on the right track is up. Grade: A1

2) Pace of Governance:– When the pressure is high, leaders need perspective. They need swift action. Buhari is working on so many things all by himself that it’s sometimes hard to keep track of all of them. He has too much on his plate. He should get into perspective and allow others do the job where he can’t. It won’t be a surprise to discover that the president is in charge of his travel itinerary, meeting schedule and other range of issues on his plate. He runs the risk of edging toward a burn out. Well, some argue that the president is keeping a pace that works for him. Grade: F9 
3) Communications:– Effective leadership communication is outcome oriented and audience specific. President Buhari is clearly not an articulate communicator and he doesn’t do enough to shape his message to the audience. Hearing Mr. President pronounce APC leaves you lost and wondering if you heard him correctly. 
Maybe his media aides should have used this as an excuse to exonerate him from the hundred things he promised to have achieved before his first 100 days in office that has now capped him as a liar. Buhari’s tone of voice usually stays within a fairly narrow range. He could do better here. Grade: F9 

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4) Team Player: – There are two major factors on this distinction. The first is to get a great team in place. The second is to get your ego out of the way and allow the team to do their job. Buhari has stumbled here and most people will agree that his failure to appoint ministers in his first 100 days in office has been a setback to governance. Whether you agree with me or not, Buhari can’t be president and ministers all by himself. We need competent hands to man the various ministries. You cannot achieve a lot in three and half months without the support of a team. Good leaders are the keepers of the what, not the masters of the how. Assembling a strong team also helps in establishing an agenda. Buhari needs to realise that he’ll likely never have more momentum than he has now if he doesn’t put a team on the ground. Grade: F9 
5) Accountability and Responsibility: President Buhari has done fairly well with the campaign for government officials to be held accountable for their actions or inactions. He has brought a sense of transparency and has taken some interesting first steps in promoting government accountability. I think this is an area where there is a lot more to do however. For instant, there hasn’t really been a clear explanation yet as to how he is going to tackle corruption and how the country will avoid being ripped apart by government officials in the years to come. Grade: C 
6) Economy: – This has so far been one of the president’s worst subjects. He may be making a grave mistake focusing all his attention on recouping looted funds instead of providing the basic needs of the people. Never in history has this approach successfully led a country out of recession. This might lead to an unhappy ending, and more inflation. The continuous drop of the nation’s currency is stark reminder that we are still in the worst slump in 50 years. Grade: F9 
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7) National Security:– Nigerians are still not experiencing any sense of security. People are dying and getting maimed everyday on the streets by hoodlums and touts. Boko Haram insurgents are still using the yet to be found Chibok girls for their bombings. Armed robbers are having a field day carting away properties. The country is still not safe. Grade: F9
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Entertainment

Asset Declaration: Buhari, Osinbajo only listed their belongings – PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party has described the recent declaration of assets of President Muhammadu Buhari and his deputy, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as mere list of belongings adding that they failed to produce copies of their declarations, detailing the exact nature and value of respective assets. They have however urged them to release copies of their assets declaration forms submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, in a statement in Abuja today, said “We have noted the release of a flimsy list of belongings of President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo by the Presidency, who want such to pass as the public declaration of assets as pledged by the President. Nigerians are not deceived by this poor attempt at window-dressing designed by the Presidency to hoodwink the unsuspecting populace in a desperate bid to shore up its diminished image.



“We ask, is the resort to a mere list, instead of true copies of the declaration, not a ploy to give the Presidency a window for denial inconsonance with their widely observed inclination for flip-flopping, back tracking and brazen denials of their statements and actions?”


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The statement continued, “All we want is credibility, integrity and sincerity of purpose. We are not questioning how a President, who by December last year, declared that he had only N1 million in his account, could suddenly now list N30 million in the same bank account by May 29, and after an expensive campaign; we are not yet demanding the public declaration of his assets in his wife’s name.



“We are not even applauding the multiplication of his cows from 150 to 250 in a space of three months, arising from his dual and conflicting pronouncements on this issue.”

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Entertainment

Nse Ikpe Etim, Dakore Akande, Omoni Oboli and Ireti Doyle dazzle in new promo shoot

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Dakore Akande, Omoni Oboli, Nse Ikpe Etim & Ireti Doyle look dazzingly beautiful in this promo shoot for a new movie, titled Fifty is sold out. Directed by Biyi Bandele and produced by Ebony Life Films, 

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The movie centers on the lives of Lagos’ contemporary and glamorous upper class, sharing the world of four women as they rise above adversity to stand as they truly are; modern African women.

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Entertainment

Short Story: The Meeting | By: Sueddie Agema

By 10:00 AM, the garage square was filled to capacity. The garage was the name for the place where people usually came to board vehicles to their different destinations. At least, that was its primary function. If it was a stadium or football match, a lot of people would have left. However, there was a serious issue to be discussed. The elders who had been in support of a resolution through speech had done a good job of convincing people to attend. It seemed the whole town was in attendance:

“Violence is not the answer” they had preached to the impromptu gathering of youth the day before “The soldiers have called all of us to a meeting so as to resolve all issues. As you all know, the people had posed in military uniforms and caused destruction to our parts. They killed some people too. We asked the soldiers who said they know nothing of it. We, the elders, cautioned patience and forgiveness. You children with the hot blood of aggression we are known for, decided to avenge the pride of our village. The rapes and ravages had gone too far. The Kumbu people had indeed gone too far.


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“Still, our grey hair has taught us that this isn’t the answer. We have seen the Biafran war, the Boma war and know that though both are holes, the mouth is a far better talker than the barrel. You thought with your hands instead of brains, as youth is wont to. Six of the military dressed men were seen in a part of the village. Whether they were our previous visitors, we cannot say. You caught them and brought them to our headquarters, Gbaagol. You stripped them and humiliated them publicly.

“In a ‘feat’ not known to our parts, you cut them apart, organ for organ before burning them. The smoke went to the skies and spread all the way to the barracks where their absence was noted. The soldiers came and picked the offenders. They wanted to crush us but we, the elders, intervened and reached a truce. They said they would meet with us at the garage by ten a.m. for a meeting of the two sides. We suggested the town hall for its symbolic stance but they insisted they wanted a wider place. They insisted. Let us thank God this is a democratic country now. Only God knows what would have happened if they had the right to instant might as then. Still, they are the holders of our guns and we have to cooperate with them. Remember ‘mistaken fire’?” They all laughed at this. Mistaken fire was another name for ‘accidental discharge,’ a situation where people of the armed forces shot someone and claimed it was a mistake, an accident.
“Everyone is meant to be there. The focus is men but still; bring your wives and children so they can learn. The women are the teachers: When they watch such things, they usually learn how to instruct the little ones in ways that they should grow.”
Igba, the elder, would have been delighted at the impact of his words that had brought so many. It did not matter that the farms were not in season and that the garage was in the market which enabled people to excuse their wares in a few minutes. It did not matter that a lot of people were just plain bored and needed some entertainment which they believed the public redress would bring. It also did not matter that a few people were afraid of what would befall their town if the soldiers met an empty park. What mattered was that an elder had spoken and people had decided to hearken to his words. The old order of the wisdom of the elders was coming back. Technology and civilisation had surely not taken everything after all. These were people who loved peace.
They all came, noting the soldiers at the gates. They noted that soldiers were in full gear too. Well, who knew what they wanted to demonstrate to the people? The women tried their best at controlling their children who kept running about. The time moved on as everyone waited for the Army Chief – the Big Oga, who had promised to come. The elders seated regally in the centre, began to fan furiously, ceremony lost. Of all days, the sun had decided to up its heat notches up today. The elders began to question the wisdom in wearing their traditional uniforms of thick materials of black and white stripes. On cold days, it was a pleasure as it kept them warm. On this day though, they served as punishment. The others who custom didn’t force to put on such, smiled. They were sure happy not to be that old, for once.
At 11:00, it was getting obvious that the Big Oga was not going to come. The people, who were highly uncomfortable as it was, began to disperse. The gates were barred, sending puzzles. Then,
Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!!!
A shrill whistle rang freezing all civilian movement in shock. Not so for the military personnel whose lightening precision held everyone more shocked. The gates were locked, all exits blocked. The ring around the gathered people was noticed in that instant. There was absolute silence till the cry of a baby tore it. It seemed the order or agreed sign, for the (more than) numerous holes began to spit out fire in that instant. Several people dived to the floor, trampled as others ran in varying directions on them and more, falling; all being brought down.
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Tratataaaaaataaaaaaaataaaa!! sang the song of the moment. The dance to the tune was immense as several fallings and dodging ending in eventual falls were seen. The old tried to muster the energy lost in youth to pull tables or whatever to take cover. It was useless for the space was open, the shooters experts. The choice hadn’t been a mistake. Slowly, the pile rose up till not a single person was left standing.
The khaki wearers jumped down from their various vantage points as their leader led the way. He kicked over the bodies to be sure. The babies lay with bullets designing their cherubic features, torn: Women with red all over reminiscent of pregnancy, menstruation and others: Pregnant women lay down too with bullet poked and riddled stomachs. Thus lay unborn babies tasting the realities of a harsh life before being born into a world they would never see. Able bodied men were left useless by metals, smaller than the finger of babes, enough to end their destinies. There lay big bellied elders whose wisdom the bluntness of bullets had wiped out in brains splattered all over.
A soldier pushed a body aside to be sure. He saw the man breathing heavily, groaning. The heavily black and white striped cloth didn’t help much.

“Wh – wh- wh – wh…” he struggled to say something, a question perhaps. A bullet to the fore head completed it for Chief Igba.

“Anofia!” the Sergeant shouted sending a ball of spittle to end the sentence, the bullet not enough. The word, translated, meant ‘wild animal.’ “Next time, they would know who to mess with. Boys! Let’s go!”
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Su’eddie Vershima Agema won the Association of Nigerian Authors’ Joint Prize for Poetry 2014. He blogs at http://sueddie.wordpress.com, @sueddieagema on Twitter. He can be reached at [email protected].
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Entertainment

President Buhari, Osinbajo declare assets.

President Muhammadu Buhari and his Vice, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, have declared their assets. A statement  by the Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu reads
“Documents submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), show that the retired General has indeed been living an austere and Spartan lifestyle, contrary to what many might expect of a former Head of State of Nigeria and one who has held a number of top government positions, such as governor, Minister of petroleum and the head of the Petroleum Development Trust Fund (PTDF).

“The documents submitted to the CCB, which officials say are still being vetted and will soon be made public, show that prior to being sworn in on May 29, President Buhari had less than N30 million (150,753 United States Dollars) to his name. He also had only one bank account, with the Union Bank. President Buhari had no foreign account, no factory and no enterprises.

“He also had no registered company and no oil wells.

“The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) who had been a successful lawyer before his foray into politics declared a bank balance of about N94 million and 900,000 United States Dollars in his bank accounts.

“President Buhari declared however that he had shares in Berger Paints, Union Bank and Skye Bank.

“This is entirely unlike what one might expect from a former head of state of a country like Nigeria,” a source who was given the document to handle said.

“The documents also revealed that President Buhari had a total of five homes, and two mud houses in Daura. He had two homes in Kaduna, one each in Kano, Daura and in Abuja. One of the mud houses in Daura was inherited from his late older sister, another from his late father. He borrowed money from the old Barclays Bank to build two of his homes.

“President Buhari also has two undeveloped plots of land, one in Kano and the other in Port Harcourt. He is still trying to trace the location of the Port Harcourt land.

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“In addition to the homes in Daura, he has farms, an orchard and a ranch. The total number of his holdings in the farm include 270 herds of cattle, 25 sheep, five horses, a variety of birds and a number of economic trees.
“The documents also showed that the retired General uses a number of cars, two of which he bought from his savings and the others supplied to him by the federal government in his capacity as former Head of State. The rest were donated to him by well-wishers after his jeep was damaged in a Boko Haram bomb attack on his convoy in July 2014.
“As revealed by the same forms, highlights of the Vice-President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo’s asset declaration include his 4-bedroom residence at Victoria Garden City, Lagos and a 3-bedroom flat at 2 Mosley Road, Ikoyi. The Vice President also has a 2-bedroom flat at the popular Redemption Camp along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and a 2-bedroom mortgaged property in Bedford, England. Aside from these, the Vice President has no other landed properties on the form.
“Apart from his law firm, known as SimmonsCooper, the Vice-President also declared shareholding in six private companies based in Lagos, including Octogenerium Ltd., Windsor Grant Ltd., Tarapolsa, Vistorion Ltd., Aviva Ltd. and MTN Nigeria.
“According to details shown on the form, the Vice-President has about ninety four million naira, nine hundred thousand US dollars and nineteen thousand pounds in Nigerian Banks with the foreign currencies kept in local domiciliary accounts. His personal vehicles are one Infinity 4-Wheel Drive SUV, one Mercedes Benz and a Prado Jeep.
“As soon as the CCB is through with the process, the documents will be released to the Nigerian public and people can see for themselves.”


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Entertainment

Danny Welbeck ruled out for months after knee surgery

Arsenal have announced that Danny Welbeck has undergone surgery on his left knee and will be out for a “period of months”.Welbeck, 24, sustained a knee injury in April, and had been working towards a comeback in training for the Gunners.
However, the Premier League club have announced that the former Manchester United forward has instead undergone surgery and will now be out of action for an extended period of time.

A statement on the club’s official website read: “Danny Welbeck has undergone surgery on his left knee after being unable to sufficiently step up his rehabilitation work.
“The striker has been working throughout the summer to recover from the injury sustained at the end of April.
“It had been hoped he would avoid surgery but after increasing his training workload, the injury to his cartilage did not respond as well as hoped and the decision was taken last week for him to undergo surgery by a leading specialist in the field.

“Danny is now expected to be out for a period of months and everyone at Arsenal wishes him well.”
Arsenal were the only side in the top five European leagues not to sign an outfield player this summer — only bringing in goalkeeper Petr Cech from Chelsea — with Arsene Wenger claiming that Manchester United’s £36 million signing of Anthony Martial shows that big clubs have to pay over the odds to improve their squads.
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Entertainment

Charles Novia thinks Tayo Faniran is the worst actor on TV.

Nollywood producer/ movie critic, Charles Novia has described ex-BBA housemate, Tayo Faniran’s acting as the worst on TV. Citing his recent appearance on MNET’s TV series, Tinsel, Charles Novia adjudged his performance as poor and implied that he is an unsuitable replacement for Gbenro Ajibade (Soji in the series)

“My award for the worst actor on Nigerian TV presently, would be the ex-BBA housemate, Tayo Faniran who’s standing in for Gbenro in TINSEL. I have been watching his act on the series and it’s either the casting director lives in Mars or there’s suspended reality there somewhere. All this ‘fine boy, come act’ crap Producers shove in the faces of viewers have to stop! It’s killing the arty side of a noble profession 

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Talent is like a mirror; you can’t fake it. Tayo shouldn’t be on screen as an actor in the first place.Come on! Whose bright idea please? His projection is zero, articulation like a kid with a toffee stuck in the mouth and visualisation of xter absolutely terrible! Haba!  I know he’s got a lot of fans and all but that’s not helping this case.Either he goes for actin lessons or sticks to presenting that show 

Acting is serious business and not to be trifled with. Reality shows are not to be used as automatic back passes for tepid actors. Yep!  His counterparts before him, ex-reality show ‘stars’, are not much better too. However, Tayo is dovetailing on bad precedents too. There must be something else the dude can do better and I am sure he can, if they stop lying to him about any acting ambitions. D.O.A. 




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I rest my case. And my opinion is basically my opinion, though I am sure this one is mostly everyone’s muted opinion too. 



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Entertainment, Sports

LVG unfair to Victor Valdes but that didn't influence my decision – Pedro

Recent Chelsea signing Pedro has denied reports that he turned down a move to Manchester United to avoid working under coach Louis van Gaal. Pedro, 28, signed for Chelsea last month from Barcelona despite reported interest from the Red Devils.

It was widely reported that conversations with former Barca teammates such as Cesc Fabregas and Victor Valdes caused Pedro to reconsider United, while reports in Spain suggested his doubts were due to the strained relationship between Van Gaal and some of his Spanish players. Van Gaal announced in July that Valdes has no future at Old Trafford and has left the former Barca goalkeeper out of his Champions League squad, while David De Gea has not played this season and missed out on a deadline day move to Real Madrid.
But when asked if his decision to join Chelsea and not United was based on the difficult situation between Van Gaal and his Spanish keepers, Pedro told Marca: “No. It’s true that I don’t like that treatment for my colleagues, especially for Victor, who has been a reference as a teammate and as a professional. “I don’t believe it’s fair but it didn’t influence my decision.”

Pedro — who scored on his debut to help Chelsea to a 3-2 win over West Brom on Aug. 22 — says the Blues were more proactive in acquiring his services, adding: “I just saw that Manchester didn’t take that step, that they were taking too long and I needed a team to start. Chelsea were more decisive.”

Pedro, who is in Madrid with the Spain national team preparing for Euro 2016 qualifying games against Slovakia and Macedonia, says he spoke to former Barca teammate Valdes before making his decision.

“Yes, a lot,” he said. “He told me that the club [United] was very good and there was a great fan following, that his only problem was the situation with the coach.”

When asked if Valdes recommended that he not sign for United because of Van Gaal, Pedro answered: “Absolutely not. He spoke very well of the club. It’s a great club but I believe I have chosen well to join Chelsea, I’m convinced. “I had an important chat with [Chelsea coach Jose] Mourinho, who told me that he wanted me, that with me they would have a better team and he said many things that I liked to hear. “That combined with the possibility to live in London was what made me decide.”

Pedro signed a four-year contract with Chelsea and so far is thrilled.
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Entertainment

Eden Hazard admits dip in form

Chelsea midfielder Eden Hazard says Jose Mourinho is right to suggest that he needs to up his game.
Hazard, 24, was the star player for the Premier League champions last season, picking up both the PFA and Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year awards.
Chelsea have had a stuttering start to their title defence, however, claiming just four points from their opening four matches. Defeat against Crystal Palace last weekend prompted Chelsea boss Mourinho to single out Hazard for criticism, saying that it should be “a good responsibility” for the Belgian to try to match his form from last season.

Currently on international duty, Hazard has readily accepted Mourinho’s assessment.
“It’s obvious,” he told French sports daily L’Equipe. “You don’t need to know too much about football to compare what I did last season and what I did this season. I’m not as good. “It’s more of a collective problem than an individual one. We’re professionals. We knew this season was going to be more difficult… but within the squad we have the quality to bounce back.”

Now in his fourth season in London, Hazard said he hoped Belgium’s upcoming games against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Cyprus would have a knock-on effect for his club. “Individually and collectively, we’re not up to scratch,” the former Lille player said of Chelsea’s start to the season.
“Starting with me. “We had a difficult month in August. I hope that the international break will allow me to rediscover my form.”
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Entertainment, Sports

“I wish I could take away this pain.” Bereaved Enyeama apologises for pulling out of Super Eagles squad

Super Eagles captain, Vincent Enyeama has apologized for pulling out of this Saturday’s 2017 Nations Cup qualifier match. Recall that the Lille skipper opted out after receiving the shocking news of his mother’s demise.‎
A bereaved Enyeama tendered his apology via his Instagram page on Wednesday night. 

“So sorry I won’t make it out there to wear this shirt. So sorry that I won’t be standing there singing the anthem of my sweet NIGERIA. #WEARENIGERIA. I wish that this darkness didn’t come in daylight. I wish that I could turn back the hand of time. I wish, I just wish that I could take away this pain. let the rain wash away this pain.”‎ 

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