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Pep Guardiola could be fined by UEFA for wearing a 'campaign' tshirt.

Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola could be fined by UEFA for wearing a t-shirt that supported a campaign to investigate the death of a journalist at last year’s World Cup.

The former Barcelona manager donned the shirt with the inscription “Justica para
Topo” to a Champions League news conference held ahead of Bayern’s quarterfinals, second-leg match against Porto ‎on Monday.
UEFA said the T-shirt was “political, offensive or provocative”‎ adding that it prohibit the use of “sporting events for manifestations of a non-sporting nature”. The case will be dealt with on May 21.


Thought it ended with Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal celebration charge. 

Xenophobic attacks: South African President to meet with foreign nationals.

President Jacob Zuma of South Africa will on Friday meet with foreign nationals affected by xenophobic attacks in the country.  
Below is a statement issued by the South African Presidency.

President Zuma will meet with organisations representing foreign nationals. President Jacob Zuma will on Friday, meet with leaders of organisations representing foreign nationals resident in the country at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest House in Pretoria.

“The President will meet with leaders representing foreign nationals from within Africa and also Pakistan and Bangladesh. 


The meeting is part of building lasting partnerships with stakeholders in the country to ensure that the shameful attacks on foreign nationals do not recur in the country. 

Foreign nationals have for years been successfully integrated into many communities in the country and government thus seeks to gain lessons from these successes.”

Opinion: 10 reasons why Dieziani Alison-Madueke must go to jail | By: Churchill Okonkwo

To say that corruption under Goodluck Jonathan exceeded epidemic level is an understatement. Under Jonathan’s Presidency, we witnessed an unprecedented level of reckless acts of corruption.
It was thus not surprising that a 72-year-old former dictator-General Muhamadu Buhari (GMB)- capitalized on this singular factor to win a historic presidential election with the slogan of change.
You can now understand why those of us that voted for the General way back in 2003 (knowing fully well that he was not going to win) are tickled with this victory. 
Though we are thrilled, we are also cautiously optimistic, conscious of the fact that tackling corruption in this present Nigeria is a tall order. However, we are confident that the right steps can and should be taken to reduce it significantly. 
Here are a few fundamental ideas that if implemented, can by their very nature, curb corruption. personal character and leadership by example which we have in GMB.
The second crucial element is the need to set example to deter will be offenders from engaging in corrupt acts. And what better way is there to do that than sending the symbol of corruption in Nigeria in the past 4 years- Diezani – to prison.
Below are ten good reasons why the beautiful bride and amazon of corruption in Jonathan’s administration – Diezani – must go to prison.
1.) For the light of the fight against corruption to be turned on in the dark alleys of NNPC and the “fake” deregulation of the downstream oil sector aka “oil subsidy”, Diezani Alison-Madueke MUST go to prison. 
Releasing the $20 billion audit report will not only send Diezani to prison but will also expose the public officials behind the unaccounted SURE-P’s N1.8 trillion and send them to prison as well.  Also, sending Diezani to prison  means that Femi Otedola and Farouk Lawan can be made to account for the over $3m fuel scam ‘bribe’.
2.) Diezani  MUST also go to prison so that the likes of Tinubu and Rotimi Amaechi and all the crooks in APC that sponsored Buhari’s campaign can be made to account for their stewardship in public office. Sending Diezani to prison will also deter them from engaging id corrupt acts under GMB.
3.) If Diezani  is sent to prison, the $1.1 billion paid to the London account of Malabu Oil and Gas by Goodluck Jonathan can be recovered and Dan Etete and Sani Abacha’s son, Mohammed sent to prison
4.) Diezani  MUST go to prison so that corrupt former Head of State Abdulsalami Abubakar can be made to account for $3 Billion he squandered in 6 month. The same man is now parading himself as a “statesman”, “peace maker” and broker for Diezani in a attempt to shield her from prosecution
5.) Diezani  MUST go to prison so that Nigerian Police Force, Immigrations, Customs and SSS can be reformed. Marilyn Ogar, the spokesperson for Nigeria’s secret police must be punished for the N15 million worth of kerosene she got from PPMC for going after the opposition APC.
Mind you, this is not witch-hunting, but the only way the Police IG under Buhari can be discouraged form allowing him/her self to be used by politicians against perceived PDP “trouble makers”.
6.) Diezani  MUST go to prison so that the Resident Electoral Commissioners in Katsina, Sokoto, Brono, Rivers, Delta and Akwa Ibom can go to jail for conniving with politicians to rig the last general election
7.) Diezani  MUST go to prison so that Stella Oduah can go to prison over the purchase of N225 million naira bulletproof car. The report on that scandal should also be made public so that the conspirators and collaborators in the aviation ministry and Coscharis can also go to prison.
8.) Diezani  MUST go to prison so that dirty deals in the oil sector exposed by the Ribadu Report in 2012 but quickly buried by the corrupt administration of Goodluck Jonathan can be resurrected and offenders severely punished.
9.) If Diezani  goes to prison, the foreign and local oil companies that induce and bribe public official for favorable contracts in Nigeria will be prosecuted and if convicted go to prison
10.) Diezani  MUST go to prison so that the cases of former governors (now distinguished senators) that has been ongoing for “eternity” can be expedited and offenders convicted and jailed.
ICCP, EFCC, or whatever name(s) they are given should be re-organization and re-engineering as a matter of urgency. Our courts have been sending petty thieves to jail every day. So, it’s not a case of judicial system. Rather, it is a case of corrupt Chief Judges, Attorney General, and judges bribed to stupor that they turn a blind eye. 
What is called for now is radical reform of our judiciary by appointment of judicial activists with the integrity, clean hands and guts to send their colleagues to prison for aiding corrupt public officials. That in my interpretation of the change Nigerians voted for.
Talking about keeping the government clean, I learned from the Singapore experience that it is easy to start off with moral standards, strong conviction and determination to bid down corruption. 
But it is difficult to live to these good intentions unless the leaders are strong and determined enough to deal with all transgressors and without exception. Tinubu and Rotimi Amaechi in particular MUST therefore, not be spared.
Finally, my message to the GMB is that we the people are watching his actions and inactions as he starts the difficult journey of delivering the much needed change. The fight against corruption should be hit by an earthquake-like jerk. 
A group of activist prosecutors with proven record of sending the corrupt to prison must be assembled to go after the symbols of corruption in NNPC, Ministries, Nigerian Customs, Internal Revenue, Ports, and Governors etc. 
Heads must be made to roll. That is the only way to mark the true beginning of the beginning in the fight against corruption in Nigeria.
Credit: Opinionriver.com‎

Finally! Keshi returns as Super Eagles manager.

After months of speculation, Stephen Keshi has returned as Super Eagles manager. He signed a 2 year contract today nine months after his initial deal expired.
The contract signing took place in the presence of top NFF executives and the media today.
“We lost in the past, we drew and we won. But we have to move forward now. This is a new page in Nigerian football and what happened in the past has happened. I have what it takes to take d country forward,” Keshi said.
He continued, “We need the media. I cannot do this alone. I will work with office of the NFF to move our football forward.”
On Keshi’s contract delay, NFF vice President Seyi Akinwunmi explained that the delay in his return was occasioned by the elongated and unwarranted crises the organization had last year. “The NFF have agreed to continually sponsor Keshi on refresher courses.” He added.

Meet Mr Solomon Arase, the new Inspector General Of Police

Mr. Solomon Arase, the Head of the Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department has been appointed the Acting Inspector-General of Police by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
He succeeds the former IG of Police, Mr Suleiman Abba who was relieved of his job few hours ago.
A Fellow of the Nigerian Defence College, Mr. Arase holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Law, as well as Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Political Science and Strategic Studies.

Footballer proposes to his girlfriend on the pitch

Ivan Novoseltsev, a Russian Premier League club FC Rostov player proposed to his basketball player girlfriend, Katerina Keyru last night. Immediately after his side beat Torpedo Moscow 1-0, the 23 year-old knelt down in front of his girlfriend who was on the pitch with him and popped the question. Of course she said Yes.

Photos: Nigerian entertainers walk against piracy

Nigerian entertainers held a peaceful walk against piracy which has eaten deep into the fabrics of the industry. They converged at Ikeja, carried placards and walked through Awolowo way to Governor’s office at Alausa. They were addressed by Governor Fashola. Roll call of attendees; Kunle Afolayan, Kehinde Bankole, Yemi Sodimu, Adebayo Salami. (Oga Bello), Yemi Solade and many more.

The failure of propaganda | By: Tola Adeniyi

This piece could have been titled the failure of money or the collapse of falsehood, or better still the battle of facts and fiction; any of the titles would best have described the running battle between public relations and raw propaganda in the run-up to the recently concluded Elections in Nigeria.

And I can bet many aspiring politicians not only in Nigeria or Africa but the world over have a lot of lessons to learn from the way and manner media was deployed to guarantee success or to guarantee failure.
Most of the so-called media managers had no clue whatsoever about what media management was all about. In fact the simple rudiments of communication were lost on most of them. Quite a number of those who were paid huge sums of money to launder the image of their employers hardly understood what constituted image talk less of what constituted laundering.

Many people assumed, erroneously though, that once you can speak fluent English, or Hausa or Igbo or Yoruba you are home and dry with communication. There is a gulf of difference between a mastery of language and the art of communication. That one speaks good English does not mean that one knows the art and science of persuasion or that one knows what to say at appropriate times.
It should also be realised that pure mastery of language does not imply that whoever has that mastery is also adept at public and human relations. Yet human and media relations are very critical in the art and science of public relations practice.
What happened in several quarters in the build up to the Elections was the false notion that a sharp cutlass is all that is needed to weed the grass without considering the state of the mind of the handler of the cutlass or his expertise in cutting grass.
So many characters that have had the opportunity of being published once or twice in some newspapers started parading the corridors of politicians brandishing their so-called portfolio and because of the limited knowledge of their clients they cornered fat contracts. This was more so with clients that had more cash than sense, and were hell bent to win elections by hook and crook.
It may not be necessary to mention which political party did what or which politician wasted dollars on propaganda, but attempt will be made to speak on the different approaches employed by different parties.
What was clear and what informed the title of this piece was that while a political parry employed public relations strategy and astute media management, another party relied heavily on propaganda, trouble shooting and outright falsehood. In electioneering, what matters most to the electorate is visibility. Your facts and claims must be visible and verifiable. Outright lies will achieve opposite result from what is intended.
There should also be consistency. A party hinged its claim to purposefulness on simple cardinal points. And as we do in Public Relations; the Party remained consistent and focused harping on the cardinal points which in no time became a sing song.
And where it attacked its major opponent, it chose only three or four of the opponent’s failings and harped on such failings to no end. As a result, its opponent was identified with only the failings it was branded with.
Party A also chose symbol, an arrow head. The symbol was well packaged, refined and corporately branded such that the symbol became a towering figure to be trusted and believed.
Party B spent the whole world oozing out raw propaganda, creating falsehoods and spent a hell of time not on what it could or would do if voted into power, but throwing punches like a blindfolded boxer. In the end, Party B became odious and nauseating simply on the strength of the stench coming out from the belly of its chief propagandists.
Insults do not win an argument. And throwing tantrums at one’s opponent is not the best way to win sympathy from observers. In a society where respect for elders is mandatory, any propagandist that disrespects the norm in the name of electioneering will only succeed in losing the love and affection of the generality of the society that upholds the norm of respect for elders.
It is also important to mention that media communicators for a political party must speak with same voice and in the same language. But where you have a cacophony of voices with unrhymed tunes there is always the danger of confusing the listeners and the electorate.
All in all, it was a colossal waste of resources, especially money and materials because propaganda does not come cheap. Of all the forms of relevant communication genres; marketing, advertising, public relations, propaganda is the most expensive. And apart from in battle, propaganda does not actually achieve much. Those who therefore expended all their resources on cheap propaganda have now learnt to their chagrin that outright lies and mischief do not win elections.
For the purpose of those who may be seeking to learn a lesson or two from this piece, anyone wishing to handle media campaigns either for politicians or political parties must first and foremost recognise the symbol of his campaign and package the symbol properly before setting out to market the symbol or object/subject.
If the arrow head of the campaign especially in political matters is rotten, no amount of propaganda can wash it clean. The first thing to do in the circumstance is to use what is called silent persuasion to make the symbol a bit acceptable before you can market it with extensive public relations and defence.
Unfortunately, everybody thinks he or she is a communication expert or public relations guru, and many patrons do not know the difference. It is now hoped that with the recent experience as an eye opener Nigerians and all those seeking g public office in the future will be more guided in their choice of who can best help them put their message across and who can win them friends as opposed to those whose tantrums will garner enemies in droves.
It can be said without fear of contradiction that the recent electoral  battle was fought, won and lost as media management dictated.
It was not all about money. As a two-term Chairman of Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, I should know.

Credit: 247nigerianewsupdate
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