World’s richest man, Bill Gates has donated $4.6billion worth of his Microsoft shares to charity, his biggest donation since he set up the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000. A report by a US Securities & Exchange Commission states that the Philanthropist’s donation comes in the form of 64 million Microsoft shares, valued at $4.6billion and representing about 5% of his current $90bn fortune. Gates now has his stake in Microsoft reduced to 1.3% from 24% in 1996.
Kevin Prince Boateng and Las Palmas have reached an agreement to terminate his contract with the club. The German-born Ghanaian footballer cited “irreversible personal reasons” for leaving the club. The midfielder who scored 10 goals for Las Palmas in 2016/17, the most he’s even managed in a single campaign will formally say goodbye to Las Palmas in a press conference this afternoon. Kevin has been linked to a move to Eintracht Frankfurt.
What’s an el-clasico without drama?
Cristiano Ronaldo has been handed a five-match ban for taking his shirt off and diving and pushing the referee following his dismissal in the Supercopa de Espana played against Barcelona last night. The Madrid forward who scored one of the three goals of the night was furious after he was shown a second yellow card for slipping easily into the Barcelona box.
As an officer in the Army, I took to farming believing that is the future of the country and that on a personal level, I could better sustain my family. Our lands are so fertile that I did not need much fertilizer; the inputs were minimal and the yields were much. Our climate, by God’s grace is predictable; it rains when it should rain and the sun shines when it should; so why not take advantage of what nature has freely given us as Nigerians.
When in July 2015, His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari appointed me Special Adviser on Niger Delta and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, I had the primary responsibilities of streamlining the Programme and transforming it back on track, working for peace in the Niger Delta and sustainably reintegrating some 30,000 Amnesty beneficiaries back into society. Although we have various integration programmes which include education, vocational training, professional training in Aviation and Maritime, automobile engineering, entrepreneurial training and tourism and hospitality; I had no doubt that the best way to integrate such a huge number of beneficiaries quickly and sustainably, is through aquaculture and agriculture.
However, I also realized that this requires a lot of planning and painstaking implementation; like other programmes, we had to conceptualize, plant, culture and water the ideas to the germination and harvest stages. We approached a number of agencies and embassies especially the Israeli Embassy. We have also gone into partnership with various Agricultural bodies. But as a basic step, we had to get the beneficiaries interested so they can buy into the Programme.
In keying into the Federal Government’s Agriculture Initiative, we presented our ideas and the facts on the ground. The facts are that agriculture creates mass sustainable jobs and empowerment; advanced technology and high yield varieties ensure good harvest, and costs can be drastically reduced by building locally fabricated integrated feed mills which rely entirely on local products. Also, our country of over 180 million people is a huge market in itself and additionally, the ECOWAS (West African Region) provides a market that is more or less limitless. On the national level, we know that in taking to agriculture, the country is moving towards food self- sufficiency and security.
I am happy at the level of enthusiasm for agriculture amongst Amnesty Beneficiaries and to harvest this, we had turned to the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) with an agreement to train an initial one thousand beneficiaries and youths at its Bio-Resource Centre in Odi, Bayelsa State. Unfortunately, budget delays have not allowed us to take full advantage of this agency which uses technology and the principles of science to produce high yields in farming. However, the Presidential Amnesty Office has trained and began to empower Amnesty Beneficiaries in crop farming, fishery and poultry. As at June, 2017, 1,000 Amnesty beneficiaries across the nine Oil-Producing States are being trained in agriculture and will be empowered to establish their own farms. These include 105 Beneficiaries undergoing training in Agro-Business with the Songhai Rivers Initiative at the Songhai Farms, Rivers State, and 100 Beneficiaries training in fish farming under kabocastle Services at its Perecastle Fish Farm, Patani, Delta State. Also, an average of 25 Beneficiaries each are being trained in fish farming in six centres including the Delta State University by Gedisco Energy solutions, Infinite Farms in Ozoro, Delta State and Orus Resources Farm, Aluu, Rivers State.
At the Institute of Oceanography, University of Calabar, Cross Rivers State, 96 Beneficiaries are undergoing training in fish farming. The Ma-Atari Farms, Port Harcourt are training some Amnesty Beneficiaries in agriculture and poultry farming, the Ogbebor Leadership Institute, Ologbo, Edo State is training some in rubber processing, TSC Services is training 24 in General Agri-Business at the Edo State College of Education, Iguoriakhi, Edo State while Eunirusk Investment is training 18 in Cassava, Corn and Oil Palm at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State. Forty eight Amnesty beneficiaries are being trained in crop farming by the Faculty of Agriculture, Imo State University. The training in agriculture is designed as a full value chain ; from farming, production, processing, packaging, marketing to Agri-Business Management.
By our planning, each farm will require the services of at least four farmers. This has the prospect of creating 4,000 farm workers in the Region under this phase. Also, some leaders of the Amnesty Beneficiaries have bought our argument that building houses is not sustainable as they have to be serviced and maintained, but in contrast, taking to agriculture is a money-yielding venture.
So many of them have bought into the agriculture revolution. One of them is into large scale rice farming in Bayelsa State while another which has taken to plantain cultivation, is emerging as the biggest farmer in Bomadi, Delta State. It is not only the consciousness of the Amnesty Beneficiaries that need to be transformed but also that of the Niger Delta and country as a whole; oil is a wasting asset, it may dry up in the foreseeable future. In contrast what the future foresee is that agriculture would enrich us all. So let us start with the basic policy of eating only what we grow, and growing what we eat. Change should begin with each of us.
*Brigadier General Paul Boroh (Rtd) is the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme. A professional peace practitioner and now a farmer.
I’ld like use this medium to extend my warm wishes to this beautiful colleague, Laila Ijeoma of lailasblog.com who is a year older today. God bless you real good. Below is her interview in Vanguard Newspapers.
In a chat with Saturday Woman, she says she has no regrets a year after taking this huge leap of faith as she now has all the time to focus on her family and continue to grow her blog even bigger.
Why did you dump your bank job for full-time blogging?
I started blogging as a joke in 2012; I wasn’t looking for money because I was already gainfully employed at that time. All I wanted was an outlet to share my life with Nigerians, inspire them with my stories. So I started a Facebook group called, ‘True love for my man’- that should be around 2010. That was the first social media account I used to gather people together and we chatted about love and heartbreak. My big dream had always been to have a top Nigerian talk show, so I later started a show on radio. I eventually had to put it on hold because it was so demanding. Being married, a mum to 3 boys, working at the bank, there was a lot to do in just 24 hours every day and the whole schedule nearly ‘killed’ me, so I had to drop the radio show. Along the line, I discovered blogging through a colleague at the bank where I worked; he owned a blog, after he introduced me to it that fateful day, I got hooked. I realized I could reach out to people through it with much less stress compared to a radio show. I told him I would love to have mine and he helped me set it up. I didn’t even take it serious then. But as I kept on sharing stories, and I read comments from my audience, I knew this was what I was born to do. I have always been a science student in school, I knew nothing about blogging, and I had zero celebrity friends, zero celebrity sources for my stories but I didn’t let that stop me.
How difficult was it juggling being a banker, blogger, wife and mother of three boys?
It was a crazy, hectic schedule! On a daily basis, I woke up 4am; go to bed sometimes 12 midnight. And the next day, I still have to go to work. No excuses. I was able to run my life like that for four years because I was purely fuelled by passion. I just love blogging, there’s this irreplaceable, beautiful joy it brings me. As with every new venture, the beginning is usually slow.
How long did it take for your traffic to skyrocket?
It took about 6 months after I made the first post on my blog for my traffic to start skyrocketing.
Did the traffic immediately translate to money for you?
No it didn’t. My traffic didn’t translate to so much money till 2014. That was the year this particular company contacted me and ran an advert with me that lasted for a full year and changed my life.
Would you say blogging is lucrative in Nigeria?
As long as you are a passionate blogger, as long as you are in blogging because you enjoy what you are doing, as long as your blog, its concept, its contents are original, not a rip off of another blogger’s website; blogging is the best thing that can ever happen to you. The rewards will blow your mind! It’s already an open secret that blogging can make you a billionaire. You get lots of free stuff from brands too. People just call you up. They want to advertise on your website and they are handing out their products and services to you for free so you can review them and share with your readers. Then you have the best reward; you are recognised as a voice that can start a change. You are respected. People want to read what you have to say about a situation. Readers are so addicted to your blog that they wake up in the morning and can’t wait to read what is on Laila’s Blog today. As a blogger, you can comfortably work from home in your pyjamas.
So you prefer blogging to banking?
I did banking for 10 years in one of the best banks in Nigeria and I enjoyed it. But I wasn’t self-fulfilled, I wanted more. Again, I was already blogging for over 3 years alongside my day job. Truth is as time went on, it became harder running my blog, bank job, family and taking care of myself efficiently. I wanted to wake up in the morning to the joy of knowing that all I had to do for that day was write about the trending stories in Nigeria and not miss any story just because it happened while I was offline. I also wanted to spend more time with my very supportive husband and children every day.
How would you compare your income now to when you were a banker?
It has been tremendously rewarding, spiritually, family-wise, and financially. You know with a steady day job, you don’t have to worry about getting your paycheck at the end of the month. There are days I worry- what if I don’t make money this month? That was why before I quit my bank job, I made sure I saved up my salary and had at least 6 months’ salary set aside. I actually had a full year salary saved up before I made the leap and resigned. If you don’t plan properly, things can actually go wrong and your dreams won’t come out the way you planned them; you will fail and life will become miserable. I’m so glad I conquered my fears of what if something goes wrong and took the leap. My friends, family, parents thought I was crazy when I first mentioned it. But after they saw I wasn’t going to quit blogging and that I had prepared for the worst; they rallied round and supported my decision to leave banking. Having them behind me made me stronger and I left.
Any regrets so far?
None whatsoever; my income tripled. My kids wake up in the morning they see mummy. Mummy takes them to school, mum brings them back, mum tucks them into bed every night, mummy helps them with their school assignments, things I couldn’t do before. I love what I do now and it gives me so much joy. I just miss my former colleagues once in a while.
What are the challenges you face as a blogger, especially those peculiar to the Nigerian blogosphere?
My biggest challenge is internet network; there are times I wake up to blog and I discover my internet isn’t as fast as I need it to be. Sometimes, it’s entirely down so I can’t even blog. Second challenge is power; a laptop is to a blogger what the Bible is to a Pastor. Laptops can only work if they are charged. Because I am online at least 18 hours daily, I spend a lot on fuel for generators.
What stands you out from other bloggers?
You can be very sure that out of the over 50 stories you read on Laila’s blog in a day, at least 50% are our original stories. Again, we deliver stories as they are happening. You will read breaking news, trending stories first on Laila’s blog before they appear on other websites.
In your estimation, what’s the future of blogging in Nigeria in the next five years? With a computer today, anybody can build a global business from his/her bedroom, with a bit of creativity and sheer determination. Every day, we have over a hundred new bloggers coming online. Vlogging is now a huge thing! Five years from now, I see more younger people doing big things, conquering boundaries, becoming millionaires through blogging in Nigeria. I also see blogging in Nigeria becoming more professional. I am a registered member of this CAC registered bloggers’ association called The Guild of Professional Bloggers in Nigeria.
Aside blogging, any future plans?
I have this huge passion for taking care of orphans and vulnerable children, kids under the age of 18 years who are at high risk of lacking adequate care and protection. Right now I have 10 under my care, children my husband and I take care of. We have plans of taking that number up a notch.
Any tips for upcoming bloggers who look up to you?
One Mr. Mohammed Mustafa Ahmedzai once said ‘The easiest job on earth is starting a blog but the toughest job is maintaining it.” And this is simply because patience matters in blogging, and most upcoming bloggers don’t have that! Experienced bloggers will tell you that you should only start to think about making money from your blog at least after 6 months of blogging. But every day, I get emails from new bloggers with 1-2 month old blogs asking you how to apply for Adsense. These new bloggers apply for AdSense and most times, they are rejected and you see them quit blogging. From the day anybody starts blogging till the day he/she ends her blogging career, there are lots of problems you’ll face. Solving these problems and moving ahead is not easy as it sounds! And that’s another reason upcoming bloggers quit blogging easily. So my first tip for them will be to have patience. Without it, their eyes shall not see the billions blogging can drop in their bank accounts. If your main reason for blogging is money and you have no patience for earning it, then you’re not going to earn from blogging at all!
What’s your biggest wish in life?
I wish to make the world a better place by saving abused and vulnerable children and making sure their oppressors get severely punished for their wickedness
We have a new addiction in our lives and it’s called the mindless worship of gadgets.
We can’t do without our gadgets and the main culprits are smartphones and tablets.
Our popular gadgets are simply inanimate electronic devices that are designed to serve a purpose. For instance the primary function of a cellphone, regardless of its make, is to make and receive calls. Anything else after this is secondary: but people tend to spend their every waking moment glued to them, switching from one app to another, texting, streaming videos and checking Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates. To them the outside world becomes a nonentity as they continue to worship, devoutly, the electronic device in their hands. Take away anybody’s smartphone and they’ll become suicidal!
And there’s the gadgets themselves: the pricier, apparently, the better. How many of us still worship the God of Apple? We can’t wait for the next iPhone, iPad, iWatch or i-whatever to hit the stores before we rush out to buy it, whether we need it or not: in turn we’ve turned our God, the Apple Corporation, into one of the richest companies on Earth.
Any gadget bought, today, is not worth what you pay for it. Being slaves to consumerism the big corporations prey on our insatiable appetite for more and sell us useless upgrades, often for more money. Can anyone tell me what is the main discerning difference between an iPhone 4 and iPhone 6? None really, just a few added features and you’re prepared to pay through the nose for it!
Whilst these devices are handy, a necessity in the 21st century, alarming new statistics suggest we are allowing them to take over lives.
Our physical community structure is breaking down as more and more people are shunning physical contact with others in favour of virtual online relationships: we date online, socialize online and talk to each other online. Apps are being developed almost on a daily basis to enslave us more to our smartphones; you don’t even need to go out on to the street and hail a taxi anymore – just uber-it!
The inherent danger we expose ourselves too is that these devices we entrust our lives to are not safe: they can easily be taken over by hackers with evil or criminal intent. What happens to you when a hacker takes over your Facebook, Twitter or bank accounts? You’ll be in trouble! With no back up or means to access your accounts you stand to lose a huge chunk of your life.
And there’s also the health risks: repetitive strain injury from endless pressing away with your fingers and eye strain from staring at the screen for too long. Psychologically you become more and more isolated from the community and the world around you as your entire life is conducted through the touchscreen of your smartphone.
People should learn to rely less on their electronic gadgets and use them primarily for what they were designed for. They are designed to complement our lives and not take them over. A cell phone is designed to receive and make calls and not to be stared at every five minutes checking for social media updates!
Tony blogs at http://www.archangel641.blogspot.co.uk
Paris Saint-Germain’s new player won’t make his debut with the French league side again as Barcelona are yet to submit a transfer clearance to French football authorities.
French football governing body, LFP, said in a statement that they are yet to receive the International Transfer Certificate (CIT) from the Spanish football federation and will launch an official procedure with FIFA. “The Spanish federation of football has until Thursday night to send the CIT to the French Federation of football, who send it back to the French professional football league, and then Neymar can play with PSG this weekend.”
Toke Makinwa has taken up a top spot in Twitter’s trend list again. She’s trending for her views on Whatsapp calls which was aired on her vlog.
Toke Makinwa reckons Whatsapp calls aren’t appropriate for personal relationships, adding that guys should make proper phone calls. She says Whatsapp calls should only be allowed if the guy is abroad (because of the different time-zones).
And as usual, Nigerians came out in droves to attack her and question her sense of reasoning. There was no holding back.
Check out the video that generated the hues.
https://twitter.com/d_problemsolver/status/895186478518677505
Below is our top reactions.
https://twitter.com/Iam_Abdulaxis/status/895188881984933889
You people will not debate and be outraged at rich people children getting free pass to work in DPR, it's Toke Makinwa you're angry at.
— -Oluwadamilare (@ofjay) August 9, 2017
I dont see anything wrong in Toke Makinwa's view. That's her own perspective maybe from experience or what she has witnessed or noticed.
— Hafeez Oshundairo | #OgunState first Son (@TheReal_Hafeez) August 9, 2017
In a way I can relate with what Toke Makinwa said.
Being too much of an innocent texter negatively affected my last relationship.— Ayo (@theyarnspinna) August 9, 2017
So Toke Makinwa now dictates the suitable platform meant for communication?
Hilarious
— Optimus Prime (@Impulse___) August 9, 2017
Toke makinwa is just like those vendors in bus parks that sell you "how to be a milionaire" but they aren't millionaires. Deadass broke lots
— E. (@WalkWithEmem) August 9, 2017
Whatsapp calls are more secure than regular calls, but Toke Makinwa won't tell her followers because she doesn't know. Issorait!!
— Afụ Nwa na Tuwita! (@iam_realjayson) August 9, 2017
Toke Makinwa is like a babalawo that will give you the power to make money but is never rich himself!!!
— Angelina's Spawn (@PercyVeranz) August 9, 2017
Toke Makinwa, pls stop giving relationship advice. You need it more.
Your video on "Whatapp call" is the height of your immaturity😣— Kemi Ariyo (@d_problemsolver) August 9, 2017
https://twitter.com/Rouvafe/status/895193121205743616
https://twitter.com/iamTestedOkay/status/895171890028969985
https://twitter.com/f1rstlayD/status/895196851401609216
https://twitter.com/Burmese_Tyga/status/895187313847930881
Toke Makinwa is just like most Nigerian ladies. They always feel you are heavily consuming their data when you call them on whatsapp.. 😂😂😂
— Doctor YazzY (@Dr_Yazzy) August 9, 2017
Dear Lord,
What wrong did we commit as Nigerians to deserve humans like Toke Makinwa, Diezani, Lai Mohammed, Speedy, Bobrisky?
Forgive us🙏— Paul Mogbolu (@Iammisterpaul) August 9, 2017
LMFAO I just watched the video. I actually thought the Toke Makinwa lady was a smart person. Fine face but dust filled brains 😂😂😂
— Ayo FBI (@PureMinD__) August 9, 2017
https://twitter.com/Burmese_Tyga/status/895186864126259200
https://twitter.com/Beanchesterr/status/895203335095164928
I fear for people that take Toke Makinwa for a role model sha. Was there a manual that came with whatapp call saying it's for the unserious?
— imabong (@ima_george___) August 9, 2017
There's absolutely nothing wrong with WhatsApp calls. It was created by the world's richest young man. Who is Toke Makinwa to play it down?
— Saliu Elénugbórò (@VillageParrot) August 9, 2017
Toke Makinwa should stop giving relationship advice. I mean, after being a runs girl, your marriage still failed woefully. Sit down!
— Saliu Elénugbórò (@VillageParrot) August 9, 2017
Lol… Girls are actually blind to see that toke makinwa is out to destroy u all .. keep consuming her standards😂😂😭😭
— MANDEM UNCHAINED (@kvngSpice) August 9, 2017
Sometimes i feel like Toke Makinwa is too beautiful for the rubbish she says.
And also too beautiful for the insults she receives.
— Major. (@king_adze) August 9, 2017
AfroMillionsLotto; a brand new lotto with a minimum jackpot close to a billion naira is to be launched in support of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) clubs by the League Management Company (LMC) in partnership with British-based Ofertas365.
The lotto, due to be live later this month, has jackpots larger than every lottery in Nigeria combined, and the biggest available anywhere in Africa!
All 20 NPFL clubs are to be branded with their own page on the lottos website where people can buy tickets online for the twice-weekly draws, as well as enjoy a range of Instant Win games offering big-money prizes.
The benefit for the clubs is that each will receive a percentage of the revenue raised from their lottery site to increase income to fund player development, supporting stadium and pitch improvements as well as community-based projects.
LMC Chairman, Shehu Dikko described AfroMillionsLotto as one of the most exciting commercial developments in club football in Nigeria in recent times and suggested that it would positively impact football financing extensively.
Dikko said, “The LMC bought into this partnership because of its realistic potential to revolutionize our clubs’ commercial operations, thanks to the money lotto will bring in. Lotto has proven to be extremely successful with English Premier League clubs and we hope to replicate its success here in Nigeria.”
In his own comments, James Leppard, CEO of Ofertas365, said “We are delighted to work with Africa’s largest and most prestigious football league in launching AfroMillionsLotto, which will offer players, whether they are football fans or not, the ability to win truly life-changing jackpots.”
