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Messages - smartoo

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126
Health and Welfare / 10 Confessions Of Someone With Depression
« on: March 19, 2014, 08:40:45 pm »
1. There’s a difference between sadness
and depression, and though that doesn’t
take away from a diagnosis, it is
empowering as a distinction.
Though you may feel depressed, a person
who has depression is not always a
“depressed person,” in whatever way —
hyperbolic or otherwise — that phrase has
come to mean. I was diagnosed with clinical
depression, anxiety, and obsessive
tendencies when I was a teenager, but I
probably exhibited symptoms of depression
long before that. Still, I didn’t understand
why sometimes I would just feel sad, and
sometimes I’d suddenly just find everything
to be entirely too much and shut off from
the rest of the world at the drop of a hat.
Those moments were stronger than your
run-of-the-mill sadness. Slowly, you learn to
distinguish what is just feeling sad and
what is depression, and you begin to
strategize when it comes to seeing each one
through.
2. One of the most useful strategies I’ve
found, plain and simple: make it a point to
laugh every day.
Especially on the days when things just feel
godawful and sad and like there is nothing
really worth laughing about, I force myself
to laugh — and to make myself laugh if I
can. I think up little jokes, I talk to friends
who I think are funny, I watch a show I
really love, anything to just remind myself
that you can be sad and laugh in the same
day, and even at the same time. Your
depression is only one facet to you, no
matter how much it may loom over you and
cloud the rest of your emotions, but forcing
a little bit of laughter in daily works
wonders. (Honestly, it’s when I’m saddest
that I tend to make the most jokes. It
provides for a good distraction).
3. Still, there are some days when things
just hurt. That’s nothing to run away from.
That’s something to embrace as — wait
for it — normal.
The expectation that life is supposed to be
breezy all the time is dangerous. It’s not
breezy all the time, even to the most well-
adjusted individual. Expecting life to always
be easy leads you further down the rabbit
hole of feeling terrible when you’re trying to
force yourself to be better, to be less
depressed, to just “snap out of it.”
Sometimes, you can’t. Often, you shouldn’t.
My bad hours and days happen most when
I’m forcing myself to take a break and can’t
escape my own thoughts and fears and
anxieties with work or friends. Things will
just hurt, and I’ll find myself wondering if
people on the subway know that the girl
sitting next to them is fighting off a panic
attack — they have to know, right? Oh god
it’s so obvious is usually my train of thought
— or I’ll sit in the shower and just let the
water run over my body, or I’ll listen to sad
music and just cry. Because you can’t always
escape those emotions. Every now and
again, it just hurts for no reason at all, and it
becomes tiring to try to outrun the
heaviness of it all. Sometimes you just have
to feel it.
4. I know a bad day doesn’t mean a bad
life. We all know that. Maybe it’s time to
learn that a bad month or a bad few years
or a bad experience or relationship
doesn’t either.
I know I have a good life, filled with
amazing friends and a wonderful family. I
genuinely love my job (and a lot of people,
with or without depression, don’t always
feel that way about their jobs, so I know
that makes me a little weird in its own
merit). I have tons of things to be thankful
for, and I am thankful for them.
My brain is just wired a little differently —
whether it’s chemical imbalance or a rocky
adolescence or just too much emotion
zooming around my head is up for debate.
It’s probably a combination of the three, and
none of those hold any bearing on how I
value the world I’ve made for myself. It’s just
an entirely different matter I’m dealing with.
You can have a wonderful life and still be
depressed. The latter doesn’t mean you’re
any less grateful for the former.
5. I know I am lucky that my depression is,
for the most part, manageable. It really
can be.
Most forms of depression are, and whether
that is due to medication, therapy, exercise,
or a combination of those or anything else
varies from person to person. I hated the
way medication made me feel, and I know
that was probably a matter of not finding
the proper medication or dosage, but after
cycling on and off more pills than I care to
remember, I had to make the decision that I
didn’t want to send my body through any
more chemical roller coasters in the hopes
of finding what might work for me. I began
running and eating a plant-based diet
instead, and that works for me. Some people
find the right dosage on the first try, if
medication is what they want. Some people
aren’t so lucky, and they do try multiple
prescriptions before finding the right thing.
A lot of people go to therapy. Some people
turn to exercise, or other methods of
sorting their brains out. No one choice is
better than the other. No one coping
mechanism is for more “serious” or “mild”
cases of depression than the other, and no
one prescription is a cure-all for every form
of depression. We’re each all trying to deal in
our own way, and however that way is
made manageable is the way you ought to
go.
6. … You know the dementors in Harry
Potter? I wish those were real creatures.
Really, I do. Explaining away something with
spectral, undead, happiness-feeding evil
creatures that suck your soul out of your
body and leave you as a dark shell is A) a
pretty accurate description for depression
anyway, and B) sounds a lot cooler than
synapses misfiring and needing to get some
endorphins pumping in my brain again.
Also, I’d like an excuse to eat chocolate like
that.
7. If I let you know I’m feeling depressed,
I’m genuinely not trying to drag you down
with me.
If anything, knowing that another person I
love and care about feels affected by a mood
that, for the most part, I largely can’t help is
enough to make me feel guilty on top of the
myriad of emotions I’m already sorting
through. It’s not a good feeling. I’m not
asking you to try to “fix” me, or to take on
the burden of my sadness — I wouldn’t
wish that on anyone. Letting someone know
you’re depressed is not a cry for help — it’s
just a method of reaching out and hopefully
feeling less alone.
8. There are entire days where you feel
like a completely normal human being –
whatever that is.
And there are days when it feels like winter
is endless and everything is just
overwhelmingly heavy, but talking about
those days feels like dwelling. You have to
sift through them, of course, but sometimes
it helps to just enjoy the good days for what
they are. Understanding why they’re good
sort of defeats the point — sometimes you
just have to revel in the fact that you feel
good. Analyzing it would only put stress on
it, and I imagine that sometimes people who
don’t have depression aren’t all that
consumed with breaking down the concept
as to why they’re happy — they just are, in
that moment. And someone who has
depression often needs to cling that much
more tightly to the good days, and enjoy
them for what they are.
9. You don’t have to look like the
stereotypical “sad person” to have
depression.
After all, tons of really successful people —
including comedians, who always seem to
be the antithesis of what people imagine
depression to look like — have had
depression. Some of them beat it, some of
them cope with it, and some of them
unfortunately don’t. You never know what
kind of battle someone is facing. Sometimes,
even putting that much more effort into
how you look or how you present yourself
can keep your demons at bay, if only for a
few hours or a day. If that is all you need to
get through another moment in the here
and now, then that will serve as enough.
Beautiful things often come from the most
tortured places, and making art and
laughter and culture from a place of
depression is no different.
10. I don’t want you to treat me like I’m
fragile. This isn’t about being “lesser” for
experiencing a human condition. This is
about being honest about something that
a lot of people deal with.
And I don’t always need to talk about the
stuff that’s on my mind, but sometimes, it
does help to sort things out. But there is a
difference between going to a friend for
commiseration, and seeking out therapy,
and most people with depression know that
it’s unwise and even a little unsafe to treat a
friend as a therapist. (This is why though
I’ve been in therapy for over a decade, I
can’t provide any more insight than my own,
whatever that is worth in the scope of
someone else feeling less alone.) But if I tell
you that I’m feeling depressed, I don’t want
you to tiptoe around me. I’m just letting you
know so that you understand that whatever
it is that is dragging me down isn’t on you.
That’s not your burden to bear. And even
your just being around me and treating me
like I’m still just another normal human
being with a correctly calibrated emotional
spectrum helps. Treat me like I’m me, not
like I’m going to shatter at every moment.
That helps more than you could ever know.

127
Health and Welfare / Same words different meanings around the world
« on: March 19, 2014, 08:30:19 pm »
Wanted a can of food and received a
condom? Was hungry and got a slap? This
is a dictionary for the same words with
different meanings in different countries.
Double-meaning words, Different meaning
in different languages:
Asked for a condom?: If you are browsing
through a shop in france while looking for
champignon mushroom can or oysters, its
better you won’t ask the shop owner in
English – since preservatives sounds much
like préservatifs in french – which means a
condom.
A slap in a bar: In spanish, Tapas are, of
course, the small dishes that that compile a
colorful meal, but you shouldn’t be ordering
that in Brazil – Tapas in the brazilian dialect
means – Slap.
Don’t make a scene out of it: If you are
traveling around south america, moving
from country that speaks Spanish like
Argentina or Peru into Brazil, you would be
better not to use the Spanish you have just
learned. In most spanish dialects making a
cena means to cook a meal. in portuguese it
actually means to make a scene, or – cause a
riot. Oficina means “a place to fix your car”
in Portuguese but “Office” in Spanish;
Escritorio is an office in Portuguese but a
work table in Spanish.
Who smells it: Won is a word that you
should be careful using around eastern
europe. in Polish it means “good smell”, but
in russian it means the exact opposite –
Stink. There are a lot of mistakes and
confusions between Slavic dialects. If you
want to sit on the couch you better know
Divwan (Диван) means couch in russian but
in Polish its “carpet” (Divan). Another word
is Odwet which means an answer to a
question – but in polish it means “Revenge”.
same words different meanings
My clumsy kid: Schlimm is a nickname for a
successful smart child in Dutch, but in
German it means stupid and unsuccessful.
Double-meaning 2, Words with two
meanings in the same language:
In many languages there are words that are
pronounced similar to other words, if you
don’t speak the language you are going to
have a difficult time understanding the
differences. For example – Cat in france
(chat) is pronounced like ‘chatte’ which
means “female”- for animals and for
humans.
A duck in france – Canard and Connard are
pronounced almost the same, but the
second word means, amongst the rest,
“Idiot”. Pera with one R means ‘pear’ in
spanish, but ‘perra’ is a word that is very
similar to the word ‘****’ in the english
language.

128
Health and Welfare / 6 poisonous foods we know and eat
« on: March 19, 2014, 08:26:40 pm »
Beans, potatoes and dry fruits are just
part of the foods we consider to be
beneficial to our health, but can actually
be considered as poisonous foods. Let’s re-
think this.
Among almonds that contains cyanide,
deadly poisonous mushrooms and blowfish
filled with tetrodotoxin, there are a few
more day to day foods that seems innocent
that can cause us quite the damage.
Hallucinations, vomiting, poisoning and even
stomach aches can be the result of
acquiring too much of the following foods:
1.Red Beans
Beans have a good reputation of a healthy
food, but red kidney beans has to be cooked
in boiling water for over 10 minutes at least
to expel the poisonous part of it that is
caused by phytohaemagglutinin . Just
cooking the beans in water without boiling
it can harm you even more and may double
and even triple the poison part in it. Experts
say that a heat blow removes the active
poison so it wouldn’t be able to attack to
our body cells.
poisonous foods
2. Nutmeg
A fine spice that just a pinch of it on a pasta
dish will do no harm, but eating a large
amount of it might lead to a series of
physical reactions such as headaches,
nausea, dizziness and even hallucinations.
The nut has psychoactive material called
Myristicin.
Experts say that every spice we’ll consume in
large quantities – like rosemary, oregano
and more – will make us over active.
poisonous foods
3. Brazil Nut
A different kind of a nut we should keep
watch on and eat low quantities of is the
Brazil nut, the one shaped like half a moon.
It contains Selenium, and large quantities of
it can be poisonous to our body. It is
recommended to eat up to 3 brazil nuts a
day to avoid the selenium poisoning.
Experts say that nuts are problematic when
it comes to the human body, They are
allergenics together with the fact that they
are poisonous – and then the reaction could
be worse the just poisoning. Nuts may be
good for the heart but they contain a lot of
chemicals that can do harm.
poisonous foods
4. Apricots, plums and cherries
Don’t worry, This is not about the wonderful
fruits but their seeds that contain poison
from the cyanide family. Notice that
sometimes there is a warning sticker on
different foods like jams, spreads, milk
products and so on stating “Might contain
seeds”. And in anyway it is not
recommended to crack, swallow or chew
these seeds.
Experts say that its important to check the
ingredients if seeds is one of them – and if
so, eat low quantities of that specific
product.
poisonous foods
5. Potatoes
Potatoes with green spots are the kind that
was picked before time from economical
considerations and contain a poisonous
solanine that does not wear off even when
cooking and baking. Experts say that its not
always helpful to take off the green part and
it’s better to not use this specific potato at
all.
poisonous foods
6. Dry fruits
Most of the dry fruits that are sold in our
markets go through the process of
industrial drying that includes using sulfur
and potassium sorbate. It is recommended
not to eat large amounts of dry fruits to not
damage the digestive system. Experts say
that exposure to large amounts of sulfur
might cause a sensitive stomach and other
digestive problems. All of the grains that
were not properly stored – may contain
fungus that is dangerous to us called micro-
toxin. Those fun guesses might also be
found in certain organic foods.

129
Besides the N12m allowance scheduled to
be paid to each delegate to the ongoing
national conference by the Federal
Government, some of the delegates have
reportedly requested that their personal
aides also be paid by the government.
Some of the delegates voiced out their
concerns at the inaugural sitting on
Tuesday, March 18, 2014.
Senator Mohammed Jibrin, a delegate from
Jigawa State, asked the leadership of the
conference to tell the delegates the number
of aides each of them were expected to
have.
“We need to know the number of aides we
are to employ,” he demanded, speaking of
drivers, personal assistants, and others.
Another delegate, a lady also asked the
management of the conference who was
going to be responsible for the welfare of
their aides.
The allowance given each delegate would
include money for accommodation,
transportation, and part of feeding (the
delegates are to have free lunch at the
venue of the conference).
It was learnt that some delegates met in
Abuja on Monday shortly after the
inauguration of the conference by President
Goodluck Jonathan where the welfare of
their aides was discussed.
Some then argued that the organisers of the
conference ought to inform them about the
number of aides they were to employ and
who would be responsible for their salaries.
Another delegate was said to have given an
example of the members of the National
Assembly whose aides he said, were being
paid by the Federal Government.
“This does not affect the salaries and
allowances of these lawmakers,” one of the
delegates argued.
In her response at the inaugural meeting,
the Conference Secretary, Mrs. Valeria
Azinge, however said there was no
provision for personal aides of the
delegates.
She informed the delegates that the Federal
Government had monetised their
accommodation, transportation and sitting
allowances.
“You will all receive your pay slips in two
weeks intervals and we won’t disclose what
is paid to you in the open. Each and every
one of you is however free to divulge it, but
that will not come from us,” Azinge said.

130
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is set to
embark on a six day working tour to
Namibia, Rome, Holland, Namibia and Italy.
President Jonathan will join other world
leaders, including President Barrack Obama
of the United States, President Francois
Hollande of France, Prime Minister David
Cameron of Britain and Chancellor Angela
Merkel of Germany at the 2014 global
Nuclear Security Summit which opens at the
Hague in Holland on Monday, March 24,
2014.
This was made known by the President’s
spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, on
Wednesday, March 19, 2014.
The state visit will kick off on Thursday,
March 20, 2014 as the President,
accompanied by the First lady, Dame
Patience Jonathan, will leave Abuja for
Windhoek for a two-day state visit to
Namibia in the course of which he will
participate in a business forum aimed at
boosting trade and economic relations
between Nigeria and Namibia.
President Jonathan will also attend the
celebration of Namibia’s 24th Independence
Anniversary as a special guest of honour on
Friday, March 21.
The President will then depart for Rome and
the Vatican for talks on Saturday, March 22,
2014 with Pope Francis and Monsignor
Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of
State.
President Jonathan will leave Italy for the
Netherlands after conferring with the Pope
and he is scheduled to lead a high-powered
Nigerian delegation to talks on Sunday with
the Dutch Prime Minister, Mr. Mark Rutte and
senior officials of the Dutch Government
before the opening of the Nuclear Security
Summit on Monday, March 24.
President Jonathan will, later that day, meet
with the Chief Executive Officer and other
high-ranking officials of the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation’s largest
joint venture partners, Shell Petroleum
International, which has its headquarters in
the Netherlands.
The President will also witness the signing
of an investment agreement between
Nigeria and Dutch textile giants, Vlisco and
meet with Nigerians living in the
Netherlands during his visit.
He will be accompanied by the Minister of
Defence, Lt.-Gen. Aliyu Gusau (rtd.), the
National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki
(rtd.), the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb.
Aminu Wali, the Minister of Petroleum
Resources, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke, the
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investments,
Dr. Olusegun Aganga, the Minister of
Communications and ICT, Mrs. Omobola
Johnson and other senior government
officials.
President Jonathan will leave the
Netherlands for Abuja at the conclusion of
the Nuclear Security Summit on Tuesday,
March 25.

131

Violence broke out today, Tuesday at
Dangote Cement Factory in Gboko, Benue
State. One of the worker was said to have
stolen a spare tyre and was caught by the
army. When his colleagues tried to get him
off the hook, an angry soldier shot the
young man and killed him instantly.
The incident has triggered a riot with
shelling of gun fire. An eye witness said he
saw two dead bodies and one seriously
injured victim.
The Cement Factory is now locked down
with staff are trapped inside the premises
stranded.
It will be recalled that there was a similar
incident last year that claimed thirteen lives
and over one hundred trucks.

132
1. On a road trip, you start to think of the
other cars as your travel companions, and
feel a tinge of sadness when you exit the
highway.
2. You immediately go back and read an
email right after you hit send.
3.You’d rather take an inferior parking spot
and walk than stress yourself out looking
for the perfect spot.
4.When you take a shower, you make a
bucket with your arms to catch as much
water as you can and splash it all onto the
shower floor.
5.Long phone call = pacing around the
entire house.
6.You procrastinate when getting into the
shower, but hate getting out once you’re in.
7.You spell out Wednesday like Wed-nes-day
in your head when you’re writing it. Also
Feb-ru-ary.
8.You get lost in thought while reading, but
don’t notice until you’re three pages past
where you stopped paying attention.
9.When you’re in a store where you’re not
planning on buying anything, you start to
get paranoid that security thinks you’re a
shoplifter.
10.You rehearse arguments in your head,
just in case it should ever come up.
11.You set your alarm earlier than you need
to so you can hit the snooze button several
times.
12.You always feel relieved when you get
home and nobody else is there.
13.Sometimes you check *just one more
time* to make sure you can’t actually move
things with your mind. (Guilty of this one)
14.You start reading interesting things on
the internet and just stop a third of the way
through because you lose patience.
15.You need to check behind the shower
curtain every time you go in the bathroom.
16.And weirdly you still need to double-
check that there’s no one behind you even
when you’re looking in the bathroom
mirror.
17.You OFTEN feel phantom phone
vibrations in your pocket even when your
phone didn’t vibrate.
18.You get nervous about making small talk
with hairdressers.
19.You sometimes talk to people as if they
already had the context of what was going
on inside your head.
20.You feel guilty that you’re not helping
when a repair guy is fixing something in
your house.
21.You immediately forget someone’s name
right after they’ve introduced themselves.

133
God 4give U...don Known wat u are saying...read ur ppl wel..prophet still exist@felox

134
Mobile Phone / Difference between compiler and interpreter.
« on: March 19, 2014, 03:59:46 pm »
In computer, both compilers and
interpreters are used for the same purpose.
They convert one level of language to
another level. A compiler converts the high
level instructions into machine language
while an interpreter converts the high level
instruction into some intermediate form and
after that, the instruction is
executed.Difference between compiler and
interpreter is given below:
Compiler
A compiler is defined as a computer
program that is used to convert high level
instructions or language into a form that
can be understood by the computer. Since
computer can understand only in binary
numbers so a compiler is used to fill the gap
otherwise it would have been difficult for a
human to find info in the 0 and 1 form.
Earlier the compilers were simple programs
which were used to convert symbols into
bits. The programs consistes of avery simple
and they contained a series of steps
translated by hand into the data. However,
this was a very time consuming process.
More sophisticated compliers are created
using the simpler ones. With every new
version, more rules added to it and a more
natural language environment is created for
the human programmer. The complier
programs are evolving in this way which
improves their ease of use.
There are specific compliers for certain
specific languages or tasks. Compliers can
be multiple or multistage pass. The first pass
can convert the high level language into a
language that is closer to computer
language. Then the further passes can
convert it into final stage for the purpose of
execution.
Interpreter
The programs created in high level
languages can be executed by using two
different ways. The first one is the use of
compiler and the other method is to use an
interpreter. High level instruction or
language is converted into intermediate
from by an interpreter. The advantage of
using an interpreter is that the high level
instruction does not goes through
compilation stage which can be a time
consuming method. So, by using an
interpreter, the high level program is
executed directly. That is the reason why
some programmers use interpreters while
making small sections as this saves time.
Almost all high level programming
languages have compilers and interpreters.
But some languages like LISP and BASIC are
designed in such a way that the programs
made using them are executed by an
interpreter.
Compiler
1)A complier converts the high level
instruction into machine language.
2)Before execution, entire program is
executed by the compiler.
3)List of errors is created by the compiler
after the compilation process.
4)An independent executable file is created
by the compiler.
Interpreter
1)An interpreter converts the high level
instruction into an intermediate form.
2)After translating the first line, an
interpreter then executes it and so on.
3)An interpreter stops translating after the
first error.
4)Interpreter is required by an interpreted
program each time.

135
Mobile Phone / Biggest change in your iPhone with iOS 7 update
« on: March 19, 2014, 03:56:49 pm »
This is becoming a great advancement in
the field of technology that a new iOS 7
update is released for the iPhone users.After
the hard work of about six months, Apple
has finally released the first major update to
the operating system i.e. iOS 7. This great
update has been designed by Jony Ive.
There are the major changes in buttons and
fonts and also a new feature of CarPlay,
we've gathered all the changes that will be
coming to your iPhone in iOS 7.
1) The slide to unlock along with slide to
power down animations have both been
changed.
ios-7-feature1
2)Buttons are now in circles rather than
rectangles.
ios-7-feature2
3)Keyboard is now bolder
ios-7-feature4
and the shading on the Shift key has been
reversed.
ios-7-feature3
4)Options for turning off transparency
throughout the interface.
ios-7-feature4
5)New feature for turning it off on the the
dock.
ios-7-feature5
6)There's now an option to put shading
around text on buttons for telling the
location of selected feature.
ios-7-feature6
7)There is a feature to set the font of
many Apple's apps of their own wish.
iphone-feature
7)iOS 7 brings CarPlay(with the compatible
vehicle) which lets you use iOS on your
car's built-in infotainment system.
ios-7-feature7
8)You can control music from iTunes or a
third-party apps with it.
ios-7-feature8
9)Use Apple Maps for navigation.
ios-7-feature9
10)In iPhone 5S,some users face that
Touch ID degrades over time, iOS 7 fixes
that problem.
ios-7-feature111
11) iOS 7 will also improve the significant
performance overall.
ios-7-feature12
Overall , iOS 7 update bring a major change
in the field of technology.Hope you enjoyed
this new exciting iOS 7 update ......

136
Mobile Phone / Huawei MediaPad X1 Specs & Price
« on: March 19, 2014, 03:55:19 pm »

Huawei MediaPad X1 is an impressive 7-inch
Android Tablet with super fast 4G LTE with
up to 150Mbps and a sleek design. The
tablet runs on Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
powered by a 1.6GHz quad-core processor.
Huawei MediaPad X1 supports voice calls
and SMS and features 2GB of RAM and 16GB
of built-in storage.
Super fast 7-inch Tablet
Huawei MediaPad X1 comes with 4G LTE for
super fast downloads up to 150Mbps
making it great for video streaming and
other broadband services. It has features a
brilliant 7-inch display with a resolution of
1200 x 1920 pixels. It spots a 13 megapixels
camera on the back and a 5 megapixels
camera in front.
Essenlially, the Huawei MediaPad X1 is a
phablet (a combination of a phone and a
tablet). You can watch movies and browse
the web with the brilliant 7-inch display and
you can also make call and send SMS and
MMs. Huawei MediaPad X1 also features
Reverse charging which enables you
recharge or power your other devices via
your tablet.
Price and Availability
Huawei MediaPad X1 tablet will be available
in some countries starting April 2014,
though we can't confirm pricing or
availability for Nigeria at this time. We expect
Huawei MediaPad X1 tablet Price in Nigeria
to range from N90,000 to N105,000 at
launch.
Huawei MediaPad X1 Specs
A brief specs of Huawei MediaPad X1 tablet:
Dimension: 183.5 x 103.9 x 7.2 mm
Weight: 239 g
Display: 7-inch Touchscreen (1920 x 1200
pixels, 323ppi)
Processor: 1.6GHz quad-core Processor
Graphics: GPU
Memory: 2GB RAM
Storage: 16 GB
Up to 32GB Memory card
Operating System: Android 4.2.2 (Jelly
Bean)
Rear Camera: 13MP Camera with 1080p HD
Video, LED Flash, Autofocus
Front Camera: 5MP Camera
Micro SIM
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n (dual-band for LTE
model)
Bluetooth 4.0
GSM/GPRS/EDGE
Fast 3G (HSPA+) Internet
Super Fast 4G LTE
Voice Calls & SMS
Stereo Speakers
DTS Sound
Microphones
Image Editor
Document Viewer
3.5mm jack
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Digital Compass
GPS
Colour: Snow White, Diamond Black
Reverse Charging
Battery: 5000 mAh Li-Po Battery
Battery Life: Up to 15 Hours Browsing Time

137
The president send her name to the
Senate for confirmation.
President Goodluck Jonathan has sent the
name of Zainab Bulkachuwa to the Senate
for confirmation as the President of the
Court of Appeal.
Ms. Bulkachuwa is already a judge at the
court.
The nomination must be confirmed by the
Senate before the judge can be sworn-in.
Ms. Bulkachuwa will head Nigeria’s second
highest court at a time Nigeria’s judiciary is
also headed by a female.
Mariam Aloma Mukhtar was appointed first
female Chief Justice of the Federation by
President Goodluck Jonathan in 2012.
Mr. Jonathan had approved the appointment
of Justice Bulkachuwa as the Acting
President Of The Court Of Appeal in
November 2012 after the retirement of
Justice Dalhatu Adamu.
Mrs Bulkachuwa was born in March 1950
and represents Gombe State at the Appeal
Court.
She was called to the Bar in 1976, and
elevated to the Appeal Court in 1998.
Before then, she served as a judge in the
High Court of Bauchi State and was at a time
the Chief Judge of Gombe State.
Her profile on the website of the Court of
Appeal listed the celebrated matters she
handled to include the Sokoto State
governorship election petition of 2007 and
the case instituted by former Governor
Timipre Sylva last year to challenge the
nomination of Seriake Dickson as the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate.
Prior to her appointment as President, she
was the Presiding Judge of the Abuja
division of the court.
She is due to retire in 2020, the court says.
After she was sworn in as acting president
on November 23, 2012, Justice Bulkachuwa
expressed happiness for attaining such an
enviable position in a male-dominated
society.
She promised to assess plans on ground in
order yo come up with workable strategies
that would take the judiciary to a higher
level.
“I feel happy, I feel elated, but I also thank
God for bringing me to this stage.
“I have to see what is on ground and then
make my plans,” she said.
Comment

138
A workshop organised by the Nigerian
Communications Commission, NCC,
weekend, to educate Nigerian Legislators
on some intricate parts of telecom
business/investments, incidentally exposed
that Nigerians make a massive monthly
investment of over four hundred billion
naira on recharge cards alone.
This whopping sum, may have demystified
the age long cliché that ‘Talk is cheap’.
Besides, the investment on recharge cards,
surprisingly dwarfed the ones made on
House Rent, Petrol, Kerosene and electricity
–options, known to have squeezed the
economies of average Nigerians for several
decades.
From the statistics of an ICT expert, Mr.
Gbenga Oyebode of Aluko & Oyebode law
firm, Nigerians spend 149.1bn on House
rent, 128bn on Petrol, 144.8bn on
Kerosene, and 91.8bn on electricity monthly.
At the workshop themed: “ICT
infrastructure as key driver for economic
development: what role for the legislature?”
Oyebode reeled out these figures to
postulate the impact of ICT infrastructure
on economic development.
However, he noted that “a study by the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development, OECD, shows that
broadband penetration contributes
significantly to economic growth. But
notwithstanding all of the potential of ICT to
GDP, Nigeria still lags behind due to
insufficient development of ICT
infrastructure. Today, broadband
penetration is estimated at 6% in Nigeria.
Another facilitator and Principal Partner,
Kayafas Konsult Ltd, Mr Stephen Bello, also
echoed Oyebode’s view that broadband is
at its infancy in Nigeria with less than about
2% of the population having access to it.
He however added that the cost is still
exorbitant even for corporate bodies. “We
are still far from ITU targets which
recommend that 50% of citizens and 40%
of households by 2015 should have access
to broadband. However, the recent policy
framework and spectrum auction by NCC
are designed to boost broadband
availability in Nigeria.”
Meanwhile, the Executive Vice Chairman of
the NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah while briefing
the legislators at the workshop said that
the Nigerian National Broadband Plan seeks
to promote broadband deployment,
increase broadband adoption and usage,
and ensure the availability of broadband
services at affordable prices. Juwah argued
that the effect of this would be an increase
in competition in the industry, a downward
impact on prices, and improved quality of
services to subscribers.”
The workshop also provided operators the
opportunity to give their perspectives on
the Open Access Model of the NCC, meant to
deepen broadband penetration. In a paper
titled:Broadband and Infrastructure
development in Nigeria: Operators’
perspective of the Open Access Model,
Executive Officer, MainOne, Ms. Funke
Opeke, contended that “operators have had
a mixed reaction to the Open Access model.
Large, incumbent operators with most of
the existing infrastructure have not been
very enthusiastic about the plan. Since open
access will drive convergence of
infrastructure costs to a common
benchmark, it will become increasingly
difficult to gain benefits from proprietary
infrastructure, higher tariffs, which make it
difficult for new entrants/smaller players to
participate in the telecoms value chain in
Nigeria. Currently, the bigger you are, the
more you can maximize value across the
entire value chain, from value added
services like ring tone, content distribution,
to network connectivity services, corporate
connectivity, Internet service.”
She also added that “open access implies
barriers to entry will not be as high and
thus new players could come into the
market if they think they can do better
without having to build out and replicate
the infrastructure owned by any of the big
boys. Smaller players are excited at the
opportunity – but daunted by the
challenges and need support. The example
of Superflux is a good one. Indigenous
entrepreneurs that are raising money locally
will need support if we do not want to stifle
their growth. This is a proven model in
other parts of the world, so we need
government to support them.”
Joseph Tegbe of KPMG, also made a case for
the Open Access Model. Based on the
various challenges in the country and the
trend of deployments in other jurisdictions,
he sought to convince the lawmakers that
the Open Access Broadband Deployment
Model is suited for Nigeria as it wouldthe
gaps in broadband deployment, through
the deployment of new fibre and leveraging
existing fibre infrastructure;available the
new network infrastructure and services to
all telecom operators on a fair and non-
discriminatory basis at a regulated price;
minimise duplication of rollout and
unnecessary environmental impact; Help
realise the objectives of the National
broadband plan with a minimum
broadband speed of 1.5 Mbps to the
general population; Facilitate faster and
wider broadband penetration nationwide
andsharing of infrastructure.

139
President Goodluck Jonathan has reportedly
ordered embattled Minister of Interior, Abba
Moro, to refund the N1,000 application fee
collected from job seekers.
Whilespeaking with reporters after the
weekly Federal Executive Council, Nigeria’s
minister of information, Labaran Maku also
announced it has canceled the recruitment
exercise, that a panel has been set up to
conduct another recruitment exercise.
There has been an increased clamor for the
minister in charge of the recruitment exec
rise be fired. However, a Presidency source
told SaharaReporters that the minister, Abba
Moro is a close ally and nominee of the
Senate President, David Mark making it
impossible for President Jonathan to fire
him from office.
Meanwhile the House of Representatives,
while condemning the tragedy, called on the
Federal Government to take steps towards
identifying relatives of the deceased victims,
and offer them automatic employments,
since in members’ opinion, the victims died
in active service to the nation.

140
Turkey’s national carrier
denied on Wednesday allegations of arms
shipments to unknown groups in Nigeria,
which has been ravaged by violence
between the army and Islamist militants.
“Turkish Airlines, in accordance with
company policy, does not ship arms to
countries … where there is a power vacuum
or conflict,” the airline said in a statement
sent to AFP.
“There have been no arms shipments from
Turkey … to (Nigeria),” it added.
In a tape posted on YouTube on Tuesday,
Mehmet Karatas, an airline executive,
allegedly tells Mustafa Varank, an advisor to
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that
he feels guilty over the national flag carrier’s
arms shipments to Nigeria.
“I do not know whether these (weapons)
will kill Muslims or Christians. I feel sinful,”
Karatas is allegedly heard saying.
The leaked audio tape has the potential to
harm the airline’s image — which is 49
percent state-owned and is in an aggressive
push to become a global player.
It was the latest in a series of recordings
implicating Erdogan and his aides in
corruption and other abuses of power
ahead of crucial local polls on March 30.
The Turkish premier, in power since 2003,
has dismissed most of the tapes as “vile”
fakes put together by his political
opponents.

141
Tasty and refreshing, there are lots of
medicinal benefits associated with Zobo
drink. Victor Okeke reports.
We call it Zobo locally but it is known as
Hibiscus Sabdariffa or Roselle in most other
English speaking countries. Zobo drink is a
popular street-side juice usually sold in refill
bottles. Zobo is a supplemental herb that is
derived the plants calyces, which are the
collection of sepals separating the blooming
flower from the stem. It is usually soaked
into water and drank for its medicinal and
refreshing benefits.
There are lots of medicinal benefits
associated with Hibiscus as it contains a lot
of anti-oxidizing agents and vitamins.
According to Dr. Kurtis Frank, although it has
a variety of claims medicinally, it appears to
have evidence to support its role in reducing
blood pressures in persons with elevated
blood pressure.
Zobo can be taken hot or cold and as iced
drink, it is a remedy for quenching thirst
effectively. It is often recommended as an
alternative to artificially prepared
commercial sport drinks that are marketed
to physically active individuals. This cooling
and thirst quenching benefit is probably
because of the diuretic properties of Zobo,
which helps in the excretion of excess fluid
from the body.
The plant also has antihypertensive
properties. According to esgreen.com, this
was noted in a study of 70 people were a
half of the people drank Zobo tea daily and
the other half took 25 mg of
antihypertensive medicine twice daily. After
a month, 79 per cent of the tea drinkers
experienced a ten point reduction in blood
pressure, 84 per cent of the ones that took
the pharmaceutical drug also experienced
the same reduction in blood pressure.
Some tea drinkers use Zobo drink as a
weight reduction therapy. Our body
produces an enzyme known as amylase
which functions to breakdown complex
sugar and starch molecules in food. When a
person consumes too much carbohydrate-
rich food, that individual is most likely going
to gain weight. According to health experts,
Zobo contains a substance that prevents the
production of amylase. A person regularly
taking Zobo drink can thus prevent too
much absorption of carbohydrate and
consequently not gain excess weight.
According to the book “Healing Herbal
Teas,” fresh Hibiscus flowers contain around
6.7 mg of ascorbic acid, a form of vitamin C,
which is one the more essential nutrients
needed by the body. Along with this,
Hibiscus is known to have anti-inflammatory
and anti-bacterial properties. Thus, Hibiscus
is often used as a supplement to help treat
coughs and cold. Because of its cooling
effect, it is especially effective in reducing
the discomfort of fever that may accompany
such ailments.
It is important to note, however, that higher
doses of Hibiscus do exert some toxic effect,
although none of these have been reported
in humans, that being said, they have not
been disproven either. It would be better to
avoid taking too much Hibiscus, especially
since many Hibiscus benefits are not dose-
dependent.
How to Prepare Zobo Drink
Ingredients: 2 cups of dried Zobo leaves, 5
cups of water, ½ bunch of pineapple, 2 tbs
of vanilla extract, ¼ cup of sugar, 1 ½ tbs of
ginger.
Procedure: Lightly rinse the Zobo leaves in
cold water. Wash the pineapple and peel the
skin, slice and set it aside. Add the water in a
pot and bring to a boiling point. As soon as
sit starts boiling, add the rinsed flowers,
pineapple and ginger. Cover and boil for 15
minutes, turn off the heat and allow cooling
for 5 minutes. Using a large bowl, sieve the
mixture to get the juice. Pour the drained
mixture into a pitcher, add additional water
if desired and vanilla extract. Taste to gauge
the level of sweetness before adding sugar.
Stir and refrigerate, best served chilled.

142
The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
yesterday declared that the high wave of
insurgency and sectarian violence across the
country are sponsored to undermine the
person, office and administration of
President Goodluck Jonathan.
The party accused the “opposition” of
sponsoring the attacks, adding that the
tactic is to distract the president, constrain
the successful delivery of his transformation
agenda so as to portray him as non-
performing and finally ridicule his score card
when time of reckoning comes.
The party, in a statement signed by its
spokesman, Oliseh Metuh, further declared
that Jonathan was being persecuted solely
because he hails from a minority part of the
country.
The party however said Jonathan has
performed beyond expectation, arguing that
no leader in the history of the country had
faced the magnitude of persecution that the
president has been subjected to since he
assumed office.
The statement reads in part: “It is beyond
conjecture that the Nigerian version of
terrorism is the product of a narrow political
persuasion that defies logic and reason.
“We accept the reality of terrorism as a
global phenomenon; however, the peculiar
trend of the Nigerian version which subsists
on a welter of nebulous demands and
masked identities, hacking down innocent
Nigerians -women, children and the elderly
in an awful scorched earth fashion, and in
an obstinate ridicule of dialogue, defies all
reason and logic and only summarises a well
considered agenda of national
destabilisation for a purely selfish political
cause. We pointedly finger the opposition.
“We recall statements by some politicians,
vowing to make the country ungovernable
for President Jonathan on the eve of the
2011 general elections, and therefore adjure
Nigerians to rise against this brute ideology
of violence from which a tiny clique of the
political class intends to benefit ultimately. It
is the climax of wickedness only heard of
the Lucifer in the distant bosom of hell fire.”
“Ironically, this is in spite of his humility and
his fidelity to the orthodoxy of all democratic
norms and values. This is in spite of his
proven commitment to the unity and
progress of every party of Nigeria
irrespective of tribe and religion. Ironically,
this is in spite of his proven competence
and record delivery of his electoral
promises.”
The PDP, therefore, commended the
president for not only effectively containing
the insurgency but beating down
distractions and detractions to post
unprecedented landmark achievements in all
sectors of the economy in the last two and
half years he has been at the helm of affairs.
The party listed some of the achievements to
include the revolutionary efforts in the
works sector with the dualisation and
rehabilitation of major trunk roads across
the country, in addition to the repair of
Third Mainland Bridge and the
commencement of the works on the Second
Niger Bridge.
Also listed are the resuscitation of the inland
waterways and the railway system which
had been abandoned for years, the
establishment of Almajiri education system
and the setting up of nine new federal
universities across the country.
Others, according to the party, include the
completion and commissioning of key
power stations across the country, the new
automobile policy, the revolution in the
housing sector with the establishment of
the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company
(NMRC), the first of its kind in the country,
which is tailored to deliver 75,000 houses
every year for Nigerians, in addition to a
million direct and indirect jobs as well as the
Agricultural Transformation Agenda through
which six million farmers have received
inputs in a programme that targets an
increase in domestic food production by an
additional 20 million tonnes and creating
3.5 million jobs before the end of 2015.
“This is in addition to the investments in job
creation through the YouWin and SURE-P
projects as well as the widening of the
ambit of the PDP ideology of transferring
wealth from public institutions to the private
sector wherein hardworking private
individuals are now thriving in
manufacturing, trade, commerce and other
critical sectors of the economy”, the party
said.
It, therefore, called on all well meaning
Nigerians to resist those behind the
sectarian violence and insurgency in the
country and shore up support for the
president in his efforts to deliver the
dividends of democracy to the people.

143
A resident of Abuja, Biliaminu Mamuda, 22,
has been sentenced to six months
imprisonment without an option of fine by
an FCT Senior Magistrates' Court at Karu
after stealing a motorcycle.
In delivering his sentence, Magistrate Bashir
Alkali said: "Having listened to the accused
person, who has admitted the charges
contained in the First Information Report
(FIR), I hereby use my discretion to try him
summarily.
"The convict is hereby sentenced to six
months' imprisonment without an option of
fine, to serve as a deterrent to others out
there."
According to the prosecutor of the case, Cpl.
Francis Udofia, Mamuda and two others,
who are now at large, snatched a
motorcycle from one Imodi Ransome at
Karu.
Udofia said the convict had hired Ransome,
a commercial motorcycle rider, to take him
from INEC office in Karu to Nyanya.
"On their way, the accused person asked the
victim to stop at a deserted area where two
other people appeared from the bush and
attacked him.
"They succeeded in snatching his
motorcycle. But an alarm raised by the victim
attracted passersby who apprehended the
accused while trying to escape with the
motorcycle.
"His two gang members managed to escape
and they are currently at large," said the
prosecutor, who put the value of the
motorcycle at N120,000.

144
Dr Olushola Osho, the Chief Consultant
Cardiologist in a private hospital in Ikoyi,
Lagos said on Tuesday that many Nigerians
with cardiovascular problems were
unaware of their condition.
Osho told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
that cardiovascular diseases referred to
ailments that affected the heart and blood
vessels and by extension, the brain and
kidneys.
“The reason why cardiovascular conditions
also take prominence is that they are the
most cryptic medical things that can hit
people without their knowing.
“Some cardiovascular conditions, especially
high blood pressure will be in people
without any symptoms in the person; they
won’t feel anything, just feel well.
“And the first time the person knows that
anything is wrong is that they are probably
dead or they’ve suffered a massive heart
attack from which they may survive and
subsequently do very badly.
“Or suddenly suffer a very big stroke from
which they don’t recover or they recover
badly or they suddenly find themselves in
kidney failure.“
Osho noted that most Nigerians were in the
habit of ignoring their health problems and
allowing their condition to worsen thus
becoming injurious.
“So it is sensible to know that some of these
conditions, particularly the cardiovascular
ones, will not tell you anything.
“They also present in a very similar way to
any other medical condition like malaria,
body aches and pains, headaches, which
people dismiss very easily.
“Or quickly take one or two tablets and they
may get a respite and think that is the end.
“So these are reasons why people must look
out for themselves and check.“
Osho urged the public to go for regular
medical check-up to be able to detect
illnesses early enough.
He said that regular exercise and healthy
dieting had the capacity to promote the
health of the heart and blood vessels.
He said almonds, whole grains, fish rich in
Omega-3 as well as fruits and vegetables
contained dietary nutrients with the
capacity to boost the wellbeing of the heart.

145
Fresh Democratic Party on Tuesday
threatened fresh litigation against the
Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC), for alleged disobedience of court
order against its de-registration,
The threat is in protest of persistent refusal
of INEC to re-register and recognise Fresh
Democratic Party in election materials being
prepared for the coming elections.
The party founded by Pastor Chris Okotie,
told reporters that the action was a
disrespect to the Federal High Court,
“defiance to the rule of law and
constitutionalism.”
Following INEC’s de-registration of some
parties in December 2012, Fresh Party had
challenged the legality of the action, which
got a favourable ruling from Justice Gabriel
Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in
July 2013.
National Legal Adviser to the party, Kola
Dopamu, noted that though INEC filed an
appeal against the ruling after five months,
the judgment, however, stands, restoring
hope in democratic system in the country.
He said: “One would have expected that INEC
being a democratic institution would give
effect to the judgment and allow Fresh
Democratic Party to participate. Alas! This
was not to be.
“INEC has refused to give recognition to our
party in sharp contrast to the judgment of a
competent court and the constitution that
they all profess to uphold,” he said.
“We think what should be targeted is a
concept of organic and not just mechanic
democracy that preserves the rule of law,
separation of powers that is participatory
and pluralistic. The reprehensible and
egregious disobedience of a lawful order of
a honourable court is an affront to the rule
of law.”
He further said that members of the party
were disappointed by their non-recognition
in the recent Anambra State election, but
would not be laid-back to watch continuous
contempt of court proceeding, as Ekiti and
Osun states elections draws near.
A Lagos lawyer who represented the party
in court, Fred Agbaje, said Fresh Democratic
Party would be returning to court to get
injunction against Ekiti, Osun and the 2015
general election, until Fresh Party is
recognised.
Agbaje said what was challenged in court
was the “innocuous provision” in Section 78
of Electoral Act 2010/11 that purportedly
gave INEC the power to de-register any
party. He said, following the ruling, which
upturned the provision, all related parties
accepted the judgment except INEC.
“Experience has taught me that when you
expect Federal Government parastatals to
behave reasonably, they often don’t. We
could have challenged this during the
Anambra election, but for our policy of
pacifism,” he said.

146
Political Issues / Rivers: Amaechi swears in new Chief Judge
« on: March 19, 2014, 03:21:36 pm »
Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi has
sworn in the new Chief Judge of the State.
He is Justice Peter Nwoke Chukwuma
Agumagu, who was sworn in following a
judgement delivered by a Federal High Court
sitting in Rivers State.
At a brief swearing-in ceremony in
Government House, Port Harcourt, Tuesday,
the new Chief Judge took the oath of office
in the presence of the state governor.
In his charge to the new Chief Judge,
Governor Amaechi congratulated him and
urged him to be dedicated in the discharge
of his official responsibilities.
Recalling that he was sworn in after series
of legal battles, Amaechi, however, appealed
to him to see beyond the contest and be fair
and treat everybody equally.
“My Lord, let me congratulate you on this
your appointment. The actual phrase would
be ‘at last’ and I was a bit worried with the
way people in the judiciary fought over who
would be the Chief Judge of the State.
“I was more than worried when there was
an attempt to take away the power of the
Governor to appoint a Chief Judge and rest it
somewhere else, and I was wondering if
there was no need to ask for the
interpretation of the constitution.
“Today, we recognize and accept in total the
judgement of the Federal High Court of
Nigeria and we say to you congratulations.
“Don’t forget that in every office in Nigeria,
virtually every office in Nigeria not even a
bishop is appointed without a contest, so I
hope that you would see what happened as
a mere contest and treat everybody equally
and be fair and ensure that you remain as
dedicated as you have always been”.
He thanked the Federal High Court in the
state for ensuring that justice was done on
the matter.
“I would on behalf of Rivers State thank the
Federal High Court for helping us out of this
bondage. I would say to the Federal High
Court that our brothers who by privilege of
their position in high office, should not
abuse their office again.
“They should learn to treat such things on
merit not based on cronyism and hope that
this will settle once and for all the challenges
and disagreements in the judiciary. I pray
that political interference will not come in
any more”.
The Chief Judge, Justice P. N. C. Agumagu in a
brief chat with journalists after his
swearing-in pledged to ensure that justice
delivery would be given its pride of place.
“My agenda for the judiciary is to see a
better judiciary, to make sure that justice
delivery is given the pride of place and also
to make sure that all staff of the judiciary get
the best during my tenure”, he said.

147

Prominent African Actor, Van Vicker is
currently using crutches after getting
injured during a friendly football match
between the Actors Guild of Nigeria, aka
Nollywood and Ghana’s Gollywood on
Thursday, March 6, 2014.
The Actor was one of the eleven players that
represented Ghana at the Kumasi Sports
Stadium; he was however substituted after
he got injured.
He was immediately rushed to Sunshine
Hospital in Ghana for treatment.
The Actor has directed and produced a few
films and he is happily married with kids.

148
The Federal Government on Tuesday
declared that subsidy on premium motor
spirit (PMS) commonly called petrol and
Kerosene (DPK) can no longer be sustained.
Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani
Alison-Madueke, who stated this in Abuja at
the ongoing Nigerian Oil and Gas
Conference, explained that the subsidy
payable to marketers on imported refined
petroleum products was weighing down
the economy.
“Now that reforms in power sector are
underway, the next focus should be reforms
in the downstream sub-sector, she said.
“The continued regulation of the
downstream sector has its positive and
negative impact on the economy. But the
negative effect is more than the positive.
“The subsidy policy cannot be sustained any
longer. This is because the subsidy payment
did not benefit the poor it was targeting but
rather, it is benefiting the rich.
“The industry needs to move to the next
level by increasing revenue and curbing oil
theft and pipeline vandalism” Alison-
Madueke insisted.
The Minister, however, blamed the scarcity
of petrol on sabotage, diversion, hoarding,
panic buying and rumours of imminent
pump price increase.
She also outlined challenges confronting the
government to include perennial oil theft,
pipeline vandalism and non-passage of the
controversial Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB)
that has been lying in the National Assembly
for years now.
“The PIB is still with the National Assembly
and we hope that it will be passed very
soon. However, we have been confronted
with the menace of pipeline vandalism for
decades and it has become much more
prevalent in the last few years.
“In 2013 alone, all the major crude oil
pipelines were severely damaged and
vandalised at different points in time. The
Bonny–Escravos line from the refinery was
not spared either.
“Needless to say that pipeline vandalism and
sabotage created significant losses for the
country.
“This includes direct and indirect costs for
the provision of security, crude oil and
petroleum products losses, production and
environmental degradation and associated
remediation cost to that and resulting
escalation of project implementation cost
that go along with it,” she said.
Despite these challenges, the Minister added
that, “a stable 2.3 million barrels per day
production of crude oil was achieved in
2013 and with the capacity to boost
production to 3 million barrels per day.
“Gas production also increased from 6.3
trillion standard cubic feet per day to 8.1
trillion standard cubic feet per day also in
2013.”
Government had partially regulated the
downstream sector with diesel selling at
N150 per litre.
Kerosene also sells at N150 per litre even
though the product is being subsidised by
government.
The issue of building new refineries to
address the issue of fuel importation has
never received the blessing of the
government.
Meanwhile, Group Managing Director (GMD)
of the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC), Andrew Yakubu, has
confirmed that the Federal Government lost
over $11 billion worth of oil revenue in 2013
due to incessant attacks on major pipelines
and crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region.
Yakubu, who also spoke at the conference,
said in 2013 alone, Nigeria lost 300,000
barrels of crude oil per day (bpd).
“By implication, computing these figures at
an average price of $100 per barrel, it would
results in a total loss of $10,950,000,000 in
2013 alone.
“Nigeria has faced unprecedented
challenges with regards to losses in
production occasioned by incessant
vandalism of crude oil export pipelines and
domestic crude oil and petroleum product
pipelines.
“In 2013, Nigeria suffered severe attacks on
its critical export pipeline system leading to
the loss and or deferment of about 300,000
bpd.
“This deferred production or loss is
equivalent to the total production of
Equatorial Guinea and larger than the entire
production of Ghana, Congo Brazzaville,
Cameroun and Gabon,” he lamented.
Expressing concern over the colossal loss,
the NNPC boss stated that the Federal
Government has taken steps to curb the
menace and put the nation’s oil sector on
the part of sustainable growth.

149
Barely few weeks after been kicked out
of his residential as well as his school
apartment, Actor Emeka Ike has allegedly
run off to Abuja with two of his kids,
deserting his wife and the other two
kids in Lagos.
According to reports, Emeka Ike
abandoned his German wife, Emma in
search of greener pastures in Abuja. He
left her because he felt she wasn’t
supportive enough.
Celebrity blogger, Stella Dimokokorkus
wrote thus:
“To say that Emma and her two kids are
going through hell is an
understatement. I am pained that he
would subject her to such a degrading
level of existence and go free. There
have been allegations also that there is a
lot of spousal abuse going on but I
cannot out-rightly say that because the
woman has not come out herself to cry
out.
It is a pity that some men are babies and
use children as scape goats to carry out
revenge against their spouses.”
At the moment, the Actor is yet to
respond to the allegation.

150
The
Nigerian navy said on Tuesday that it had
arrested 22 Chinese nationals for fishing in
its territorial waters without permits and
travel passports.
Four foreign vessels and their crew were
held in the operation, Commodore Godwin
Ochai told reporters in Onne, outside the
southern oil city of Port Harcourt.
“When our troops went on board… they
discovered that the four vessels had no
immigration documents, neither did its 22
crew members have international
passports,” he added.
“We discovered that the suspects did not
have any form of permit to engage in
fishing activities in the nation’s territorial
waters.”
The suspects, who were arrested last Friday,
were later handed over to Nigeria’s
immigration service for further
investigation, Ochai said.
The impounded vessels were carrying
several tons of fish. Television footage
showed images of the Chinese nationals
being paraded before reporters.
Ochai alleged that the Chinese had breached
international maritime laws and procedure
by fishing in Nigerian waters without
authorisation.
“The Nigerian navy… will continue to go
after both foreign and domestic threats
capable of undermining the nation’s security
and economy,” he said.
“We will go after them, arrest them and put
them forward for prosecution.”
A Nigerian immigration officer, Briggs
Dawaye, said that a thorough probe wou

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