WATCH VIDEO: KORAN CONVERTED A MUSLIM MAN TO CHRISTAINITY

REVOLVING ROUND YOUR VISION - by Aina Oyinda

I still wonder how possible it's to achieve success without a vision. Actually,what inspired this write up was the story of a hundred and six year old woman, Ms Virgina Mclaurin who was able to fulfil her dream of visiting USA white house, even at age 106; she had a vision that age, marital status, resources and other factors couldn't stop. Realy, it's amazing seeing people not giving up on their life vision/goal regardless of circumstance, and I must confess that those are the true winners because they guide their vision like only eternity can stop them. Vision is a fore-sight of an achievable and realistic short term or long term goal. Vision is having a purpose and knowing where you 're heading towards. Life without vision is catastrophic because one would live in a zig zag way without achieving the major; well, life without vision is totally undefined. A vision-driven being has got the key to becoming anything and achieving any desire. However, my analysis revealed that environment plays a vital impact on people's vision. Environment can either influence your life goal positively or negatively, the kind of association in an environment influence vision. At times, people tend to lose their vision when they end up in an unchallenging and uninspiring environment;in that case, such people should rather fight with the mindset in maintaining the vision. Yay, the mind is like a controller to the physical happenings; you've got to fight and focus from the inside, even if the outside is not inspiring or not looking like it. To maintain a vision, let there be a plan in writing, work towards the plan, keep working even if you don't meet up with the plan at a constrained time, keep pushing and remember that quitters never win. Get a vision today, recover your lost vision, focus on your vision, let your marital status or whatever not stop you, keep it up till you meet up with the vision. Shalom!

(Aina Oyinda)

Banks give condoms to ladies to lure male clients to bring in deposits – Ex-banker

AGNES Esosa works in the mar­keting unit of a popular commer­cial bank and was given a N500m target in 2015. Coincidentally, that was the same year she was to wed, so she was caught in a web of con­fusion as she ran around for two important projects.
One of the projects was the struggle to meet her target and re­tain her job and the other, a nice wedding to fulfil a lifetime dream.
The lady weeps every morn­ing, for several reasons including how to maintain a tough balance; dodging men’s laps while squeez­ing some deposits off them, yet remaining faithful to her fiancee.
When she spoke with Saturday Sun on phone a few days ago, she had this to say: “I’m on proba­tion at work as I speak with you because I didn’t meet my target and the marriage didn’t work. That’s even the worst thing. My fiancee complained bitterly that I never had time for him even dur­ing weekends. This is because I must chase one depositor or the other and when they fix weekend appointments, who am I to reject them? I’m the first of six children and the breadwinner of the family after the death of my father and a poor mum. I tried my best. Some men would even insult you.”
On the frequent demand for sex by prospective depositors, she said “Imagine a man demanding to sleep with you as the only condi­tion before obliging your request to open an account with your bank as if the money is mine. The bank even told me to resign about two weeks before my fiancee ended our relationship, but some people pleaded for my retention. That was in January. So, I’m one leg in, one leg out. Women are endangered species in Nigeria and I really don’t know when this would end.”
Unfortunately, that is Nigeria’s version of 21st century banking where the traditional banking ide­als have been overtaken by insa­tiable appetite for deposits which has also put immense pressure on staff, especially the women; who are now largely seen as corporate prostitutes.
Until the fall of the 1990s, the dream of several young school leavers was to work in the banks since the oil sector was seen as the exclusive preserve of influential Nigerians.
In those days, an average graduate undergoing the mandatory National Youth Service saw banks as good place to work and even as they pre­pare toward writing the necessary ex­aminations that would land them the plum job.
The attractions then, which includ­ed fat salaries, housing/furniture loans and free medical care made the bank jobs almost irresistible. Bankers too knew how to flaunt their jobs through their well-tailored suits, shining shoes and trendy cars which made them the envy of many.
Today, after over 10 years, the glamour seems to be fading slowly leaving many of them to ask, what went wrong? Experts and ex-bankers heap the blame on a lot of factors in­cluding dwindling economy, casuali­sation, desperate search for deposits, unhealthy competition among the banks, army of jobless youths among others.
However, one of the reasons the banking profession appear to have lost its glamour according to some experts is the numerous abuses that some managers have brought into the practice.
Ogbonnaya Nwosu, a former bank executive blamed the declining sta­tus of the industry on the emmergen ce of new generation banks in the 90s which according to him, changed the banking landscape.
“A bank like Standard Trust, now UBA was a game changer. It was one of the new generation banks that brought some new innovations into the sector but changed a lot of things also. The traditional ones like Union Bank, First Bank, Bank of the North and all that, were not as aggressive as the new generation banks in terms of their desperation for deposits.
“The old first generation banks maintain the sanctity of banking un­like their new generation counter­parts’ insatiable appetite for deposits which has since reduced bankers to corporate beggars. It’s no longer news that female marketers are now veiled prostitutes who hustle every­where in search of deposits. Many marriages have been destroyed as the new generation banks have changed everything. Throughout my 35-year in the industry, there was nothing like marketing executives runing around for deposits. Bankers were respected. In fact, they were worshipped I dare say. Everyone wanted to become a banker. Today, I don’t want my last daughter to become a banker. I can’t stand the fright. The finer you are, the more likely you’ll be thrown into the dreaded marketing unit with unrealis­tic deposit targets. I don’t wish that for my enemy, let alone my daughter”, he said.
When Saturday Sun visited the electronic section at the popular Alaba International Market in La­gos last Friday, three female bank­ers from one of the new generation banks were spotted dancing skel­ewu before an importer, all in a bid to make him open an account with their bank. One of them who iden­tified herself as Rose told Saturday Sun that dancing for the importer and his boys was much easier than be­ing harrassed sexually.
“My brother, this bank work is something you’ll do because there is no job out there anymore. Every man wants to sleep with you before giving you as little as N10,000 deposit. No man wants to deal with you decently and professionally. It’s that bad. If you refuse, a thousand and one girls are ready to take such deposit because in today’s banking, every kobo counts. The bank management knew there are thousands of jobless graduates and it’s soldier go, soldier come thing”, she lamented.
Casualisation
Another worrisome trend that has made banking profession lose its at­traction is the degrading practice­called casualisation.
According to Remi Oladunjoye, a banker with one of the newly-merged banks, most of the staffers in the banking halls and some other units are contract/casual workers as some banks don’t want their workers union­ised under any guise.
“These bank managements prefer National Diploma holders to universi­ty degree holders.They register firms for consultancy services and outsource some jobs to them. These guys now bring in ND holders as causal staff­ers. Only some intakes with univer­sity degrees are staffed. So, the two categories of staffers have different career paths and as such different pay packets. Banks prefer the ND hold­ers or casual staff because they are cheaper for them pay. They are not entitled to a lot of things and they are okay for the banks since there are no jobs out there. So, with a good num­ber of staff being contract workers, and earning slashed emoluments, the allure of job is gone”, he said.
Meanwhile, some financial experts are of the view that the banking sec­tor has lost its focus having been distracted by the search for deposits from customers without serious com­mitment to core business of financial intermediation for national economic growth .
This is more so as dwindling econ­omy and the introduction of the Trea­sury Single Account (TSA) has dealt a hard blow on banks having been prematurely weaned from govern­ment’s liquidity breasts.
Many banks are being forced to think outside the box to remain afloat and not relying on deposits from gov­ernment’s ministries, departments and agencies. These developments have also created such other chal­lenges as unhealthy competition among banks now putting immense pressure on staff and management.
For many who sadly had taking to banking as a profession, it has been lamentations and stories of re­grets and unfulfilled dreams.
Job insecurity
Confirming the trend in the sec­tor to Saturday Sun, an ex-banker, Nze Wilfred Nwachukwu, said “I was a victim of this wicked and ex­ploitative act in 2012 after putting in three-year of service and I was retrenched without any benefit of pre-information. I was only sent off the job without genuine reason.”
He explained that in December 2012, more than 500 outsourced staff including himself were re­trenched through SMS without any benefits from the bank.
“The current practice now is re­cruiting people without employ­ment letter as outsourced staff and at the end send them off after using them to achieve their objectives. Contract staffers in most banks don’t have leave, allowances or medical capitation but render the same service with those who are staffed.
“The outsourced staffers are be­ing used as cheap labour and sacri­ficed at any time without due pro­cess. The ugly side of this is that they are the ones that perform the ‘heart of the job’ while most of the top shots relax and earn fat salary.
“It is so pathetic that people will be indiscriminately retrenched all because they are contract staff or ‘restructuring’ which is the dubious term banks use,” he stated.
He called on Nigerian Labour Congress to urgently look into the issue of downsizing in the banking industry and other employers of la­bour.
A staff of another highly rated new generation bank that just an­nounced the downsizing of its staff with the claim of shoring up perfor­mance, opening opportunities for new hands and enhancing service delivery, who simply gave his name as Kingsley said, “I got my letter of disengagement on a Wednesday, I was devastated, but at the same time I knew it will get to this point, because most of the commercial banks in Nigeria hold very fat ac­counts of government agencies and ministries that run into billions of naira.
“Some of these funds are not withdrawn for six months or even more and banks trade with them and make profits. So, once you shut that angle of business, certainly, the banks will bleed. So, if, other people are not expecting sacks, then they must be day dreaming”.
A worker with another bank, who proffered anonymity, said that the Nigerian economic policies right now is directly or indirectly affect­ing every sector.
According to him, with the im­plementation of TSA, removal of CoT and the restrictions on foreign currency transactions, banks no longer make enough profit thereby making them to resort to downsiz­ing.
“Secondly, the incidence of out­sourcing in the banking industry cannot be over emphasised in the recent times. This is done so as to reduce the cost of doing business, however, the issue of the employee welfare varies from bank to bank but people have not got much choice but to endure it because of the unemployment problem in the system,” the source said.
Another bank executive in one of the tier-2 banks confirmed to Satur­day Sun that plans are ongoing to downsize for the reason of restruc­turing the bank for better perfor­mances. The source stated further that most of the staff to be laid off are those on temporary appointments. He said, “The problem is that, if you lay off permanent staff at once, you also have to pay them all their entitlements otherwise they will take you to court. Yes, majority of the people we truly do not need are unfortunately the permanent staff, but because of the confusion and litigation that will follow, we de­cided to sack those with temporary appointments. It was a painful deci­sion, but we have to do it in order to save the bank.
“The bank is planning to prepare their disengagement letters and most of them will be communicated soon. I tell you, not only here, all the banks will follow this line. That is the situation”.
For Thomas Ayeni, who had a dream to work in a bank ever since he was in the high school, it was a long wait of about five years after graduation before his dream could be fulfilled. During the waiting pe­riod he took appointment as a teach­er, and eventually, one of his uncles, who equally worked in a bank pro­vided the link for him. It was indeed a dream come true as he worked in the logistic department of one of the old generation banks then. He was paid a good salary and lived in a standard apartment, which he could not afford as a teacher.
It was all a good story as he moved up the ladder. But a twist came to his upmobile and secured world in 2004, when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) came up with the policy to prune the existing 89 banks in the country to 25. This brought a lot of challenges to the banks coupled with the N25 billion capitalisation target.
The banks had to devise several ways to survive. Though his bank survived and he likewise was lucky to be counted among the last men standing after a huge rationalisation that shook the industry. But since then, it has never been business as usual. Things have really fallen apart with lots of undue pressure.
When the heat was too much, he sought a way out. He discovered that some of his colleagues who had left the sector in the heat of the merger had sought greener pastures abroad. He contacted them and he eventually joined the bandwagon. Though he had been able to move his family with him, but he was not happy with the job he does, which is a way apart from his career line. But his case as he said, “ it’s that of a bird in hand, I have no choice now than to take what I have . If I have my way I won’t hesitate to return home, but even the present eco­nomic situation in the country has further put us all in a tight corner.”
If Ayeni, an ex-bank worker, was disillusioned, Mofe Ajani, (not real name), a much younger banker still in the system is presently devas­tated. Ajani, an HND holder joined his bank in 2008, but he was em­ployed with his ND certificate, and from 2008 to 2015, he has never been promoted and still remains on the same salary he earned when he joined the bank eight years ago. According to him, the practice in most of the banks was to employ ND holders as tellers, whom they will pay poorly as against the uni­versity graduate.
To say that he is frustrated is an understatement as he said he could not wait to get out of the system. He said, “I had high hopes of working in the bank after bagging a degree in accountancy. I was told I could only be employed with my ND certificate, I didn’t really mind, because I thought things would be normalised later. But I was wrong, as I’ve been on the same salary now for eight years, no promotion and even the new staff just coming into the bank, earn the same salary as those of us who have spent these long years. The implication is that even if we spend 15 years, we will still be on the same salary, as we have some of our colleagues who have spent up to those years earn­ing the same salary.”
Speaking on why banking job is no longer attractive to him, Ayeni said there is no job security in addi­tion to lack of promotion.
“There is no job security, which is the most important thing for an employee. You can go to the of­fice in the morning and get booted out in the evening. You will only be directed to report at the head­quarters and before you return, you are off the system. There is a case of a senior manager who was just employed and because he said he could not work with some top man­agers, those managers were asked to go, just like that.
“We also have unrealistic tar­get to meet, most especially those in the marketing department and failure to do that means end of the job. The female workers are more stressed. In the banking job, you resume at 7.30am, but there is no closing time. Though the bank clos­es to customers at 4.00 pm, and we are mandated to leave the premises by 6pm, but that is only official, as most often,we have to reconcile our books and may have to attend meet­ings at other branches. At the end of the day, we may not get home until midnight, it is abysmal for a mar­ried woman who leaves home by 6.a.m and gets home 12 midnight. ”Our appraisal module is equally unrealistic, it is done twice in a year, and you are expected to score above 80 percent, withunrealistic, it is done twice in a year, and you out no record of query, for those in market­ing if they fulfill this, they will be promoted in a year, for those of us in the operation it is two years of four appraisals. The target is so stringent that it’s been very difficult for us to meet.” ­
On the qualification, Ayeni said those who came in with ND were often advised to update their certificates for conversion, but lamented that even after doing that, the man­agement failed to promote them.
“It is unfortunate, we train the new hands and still get paid the same salary. The man­agement employs graduate now on contract as customer relations officers with lesser sal­ary, everyday the job gets lesser and lesser attractive”, he lamented.
Ayeni said the unfortunate thing is that bankers, due to the nature of their jobs are often cut off from the society. “Practically, a banker after leaving the job finds it difficult to fit into the society. We hardly have any so­cial life, leave the house as early as 6 in the morning and get back late in the night, Sat­urday, we go to work to attend to the ATM and on Sunday, there may be some meetings to attend, so by the time you retire, you will find out that there is nobody to relate with, and all these with nothing to show for as re­tirement benefits, unless you belong to the top management.” Labour unions react
Former General Secretary of the Asso­ciation of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI), Peter Obukese Orere, traced the problem to 2004, when the CBN decided to reduce banks from 89 to 25 for more effectiveness and liquida­tion. He recalled that this was followed with merger and acquisition as banks struggled to meet the N25 billion capitalization set by the apex bank.
He said, “The result of this was that we see banks looking frantically for deposits. Therefore, they threw caution to the wind and devised all means to meet the CBN’s target. The banks, most especially the new generation banks went all the way out to employ young girls to get deposits. There were times banks gave condoms to ladies to go about looking for new clients to bring in deposits, it’s as bad as that.”
Orere recalled one of the sordid cases the union had to intervene before the lady bank­er’s job was saved.
“ There was a pathetic case where a rich client specifically called a bank manager to send a female banker to his hotel room in Sheraton if ever the bank would get his de­posit. The manager called the lady who had just delivered a baby to report at the hotel or else she would lose her job. The lady went to the hotel, with her baby and the husband, but equally reported to us. It was the union that saved the situation, there were several cases like that. Though the banks often denied the cases, but we got those reports on daily basis.
Orere said the merger period was the worst in the history of banking in Nigeria, adding that the banking institution never recovered from that damage.
“Though as unions we protested, but the then CBN Governor assured us that job would not be lost, but rather more branches would be created, but the opposite was what we got, with more of our members losing their jobs without adequate severance pack­ages.
The CBN had instructed the banks to pay the workers ten years exit packages, but some only paid five, while others refused to pay anything at all. So the society loses in­terest in banking jobs, and it becomes less attractive.”He explained that technology in form of ATM and others further worsen the situation, as banks now need to employ less hands to attend to customers.
The new TSA, he believed may further spell more doom for the industry and may force most of the existing banks to return to the old ways of attracting depositors.
The Vice President of ASSBIFI, Amina Danesi, in her candid opinion believed that the banking industry was losing the attrac­tion primarily due to the unrealistic target given to the workers.
She noted that banking industry is natu­rally supposed to mediate between those who have surplus and the destitute, but la­mented that the capitalists of this world have no satisfaction with what they have and the undue rivalry among the banks has further destroyed the tenets of the industry.
“The quality of people running the indus­try now is questionable in terms of morals and etiquette. There is need for us to return to the old ways to understand the code of ethics in the sector”, she said.
She said that due to the unrealistic target, a lot of damage had been done, both to the industry and the employees.
She stated that many homes have been broken while people now see female bankers in the marketing department as prostitutes.She also recalled a story where a senior manager who did not care how her subordi­nates meet their targets lost her marriage to one of the ladies she sent out to get deposits under any means.
According to her, “The Senior manager put undue pressure on the young lady to get her deposit, telling her she cared less how she gets it, in spite of the fact that the lady told her that she knew nobody. When the pres­sure became unbearable, the young banker by providence, was introduced to a big man, who turned out to be the husband of her boss, the man fell in love with the young banker and eventually divorced his wife, the lady’s superior and married the young banker.”
Danesi said the trauma that most of the ladies used for marketing and unrealistic tar­get suffered was enormous and unbearable, which include physical, psychological and social.
“With most of the female bankers in the marketing being looked down upon as pros­titutes, it may affect good hands from com­ing into the industry”, she warned.
She however said that the unions in the industry have been doing a lot of sensitisa­ton and encouraging workers on the need to know their rights and appropriately fight for their rights.
“For those who have courage to come to the unions, we have been there for them, but some people prefer to suffer in silence, a lot of them enter without understanding their rights.“Capitalists of today will suppress people and forbid them from crying out. There was a case of sexual harassment from a top ex­ecutive against a junior staff. The union was informed, after a thorough investigation, the bank executive was forced to resign.”
On the TSA, the labour leader said it ought not to have any negative impact on any bank who knows its onions and very professional.
“Banks did not start with getting govern­ment money. It’s just a fraction of our earn­ings. Those relying on TSA are lazy, if we move to market we will get more. You will marvel how much a bank can get from a market like Idumota and other markets all over the country. I think it is time to think outside the box. It is time for banks to go out and see how we can support the real sector, the manufacturing sector. How much is bank putting into agric, we need to develop products that will make farmers able to re­pay their loans.”
Saturday Sun findings also showed that banking jobs have become less attractive because of measures impairing on the prof­itability and operations of the sector, which include the recent implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), the com­plete phasing out of Commission on Turn­over (CoT), foreign exchange challenge and other previous regulatory headwinds of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Another disturbing finding revealed that job seekers and those in the system today no longer consider banking employment as a plum job because of the exploitation and enslavement of workers as most financial institutions are fully involved in outsourc­ing a number of job functions, a develop­ment that has seen some of them transfer a significant number of their employees to third-party companies. The recent practice in the sector see these recruiting firms en­gaging workers known as ‘contract staff’ without letters of engagement; denied of all substantial benefits accrued to work­ers as specified by labour law and could be sacked at will. Also, the syndrome of corporate prostitution has taken toll on the lives of mostly women in the banking sec­tor. Some banks are crossing the line when it comes to, professionalism, ethics and se­curing the rights of every employee in their their bid to grow deposit base for profit­ability. In order to attract the big shots to invest with such banks, female workers are let loose as bait and tagged “market­ers.” Thus, the female bankers have turned to prostitution by condition and not by choice. The toll this ugly “flesh trade” has taken on the private lives of those con­cerned, the self worth of the persons con­cerned and by extension, the entire moral status and image of the nation is quite great and it makes the issue a national tragedy.They have to convince the wealthy men to save millions with them by whatever means they can. The big men often ask to sleep with such ladies in return, so as to seal the deal. Failure for such a lady to meet up her exorbitant annual target would require the immediate termination of her job.
In his submission, a former Corporate Affairs Manager of Afribank, Mr. Lanre Alabi, maintained that banking is still a dream job in terms of prestige, pay, op­portunities for growth, and continued rel­evance in the scheme of things.
“It pays well and it gives the right chal­lenges. Note that there are three commodi­ties that can never be in short demand. They are food, money and health products. As long as people will continue to need money, they will continue to need the ser­vices of banks,’’ he said.
Alabi, who is now the Lead Consultant at Prospers Strategy and Marketing Com­munications Limited, argued that banks are not in isolation of the economy be­cause government policies dictate the di­rection of the economy, adding that as the economy changes direction, the structure and business portfolio of banks equally change, leading to strategic realignments in human capital.
He maintained that in the 70s-80s, when armchair banking was the order of the day, there was no need for bank marketers.
Comparing modern day banking with what obtained in the 70s-80s, Alabi said today’s bankers survive by observing the trends of the movement of funds especially in emerging businesses.
‘‘They innovate and create services that best suit the needs of customers. Not many people go to the banking hall these days. They need to ask themselves how do you reach out to someone you don’t see or may not likely see? They need to be able to de­vice creative methods of reaching out to the customer to create value that improves the customer, not diminish him,’’ the ex-banker noted.
According to him, marketing came to the front burner in the 90s to the present, stressing that as long as there is competi­tion, marketing will continue to be on the front burner and the dynamics will con­tinue to change.‘’Every job has its own peculiarities in terms of time, challenges, and expecta­tions. For the banks, it is even more in­teresting in terms of prestige and reward. A permanent secretary in a state earns N450,000 a month while a manager with 10 times more tasks earns much more than that. In banks, the reward is commensurate with the work you are given. Bank workers get targets and are constantly challenged to create, innovate and achieve results. These may be stressful but the pay is worth the stress,’’ he noted.
Alabi stated that the economy is read­justing to current realities because the gov­ernment believes that a good starting point is to curb corruption, eliminate wastages, stop rent seekers on their tracks and stimu­late investment in the real sector, adding that for every policy, new opportunities emerge.
‘‘Where there are opportunities, there are banks. Every entrepreneur needs money to actualise his vision. This is what banks provide. Banks on their own are innovating and expanding their scope of businesses.
They are recruiting new staff to help them actualise their new goals while at the same time letting off others whose services are no longer required due to realignment of their business operations.’’

BARRY ROUX TWITTED ABOUT LADIES

If you Start sleeping around,  you start falling around.... Barry Roux

HERE IS A LIST OF THINGS U NEED 2 TEACH UR CHILD(REN) AT EARLY AGE:

1: Warn your Girl Child Never to sit on anyone's laps no matter the situation including uncles.

2: Avoid Getting Dressed in front of your child once he/she is 2 years old. Learn to excuse them or yourself.

3. Never allow any adult refer to your child as 'my wife' or 'my husband'

4. Whenever your child goes out to play with friends make sure you look for a way to find out what kind of play they do, because young people now sexually abuse themselves.

5. Never force your child to visit any adult he or she is not comfortable with and also be observant if your child becomes too fond of a particular adult.

6. Once a very lively child suddenly becomes withdrawn you may need to patiently ask lots of questions from your child.

7. Carefully educate your grown ups about the right values of sex . If you don't, the society will teach them the wrong values.

8: It is always advisable you go through any new Material like cartoons you just bought for them before they start seeing it themselves.

9. Ensure you activate parental controls on your cable networks and advice your friends especially those your child(ren) visit(s) often.

10. Teach your 3 year olds how to wash their private parts properly and warn them never to allow anyone touch those areas and that
includes you (remember, charity begins from home and with you).

11: Blacklist some materials/associates you think could threaten the sanity of your child (this includes music, movies and even friends and families).

12. Let your child(ren) understand the value of standing out of the
crowd.

13: Once your child complains about a particular person, don't keep quiet about it.

Take up the case and show them you can defend them.

Remember, we are either parents or parents-to-be.
and remember "THE PAIN LASTS A LIFETIME"

Industry reels in shock as Frank Edoho, wife separate

Katherine Edoho & •Frank Edoho

When the news first filtered into our newsroom many never believed it but when it became the most celebrated item on most internet social network, it seemed like a dark cloud had been cast on the horizon.

Celebrity Special Marshal Chris Nwandu who was evidently worried about the spate of divorces involving entertainment practitioners decried the new development and asked “What is happening to our industry?

A shocked former PMAN President Admiral Dele Abiodun in telephone interview expressed his shock disbelieve and prayed that “may the story not come to pass”.

As we speak, MTN Who Wants To Be A Millionnaire’s anchor, Frank Edoho, may have finally announced his separation from Camerounian wife, Kathrine if his recent tweets on social network Twitter is to be taken seriously.


According to Frank who said they’d been separated for more than a year now, he described his estwhile wife as a good woman and mother.

He however described his marriage as “not working”, asking his fans to ignore past stories published by the press.

“We’ve been separated for over a year now and I want to say Kathy is a great mum & a good person But it wasn’t working. Forget press stories,” he twitted.

Speaking further, he expressed his undying love for his family, and that it wasn’t his intent to hurt his family.

He further twitted his regret to breakup from wife, citing irreconcilable differences.

“Hey ppl! just want u to know that I wld never do anything to hurt my family. But sadly, I am separated from wife & it’s irreconcilable!”

With fans wanting to make him cough out what went down between him and Kathrine, Frank simply ignored the call. He however described the problem between the two of them as a jaw-dropping one.

The Who-Wants To-Be-A-Millionnaire anchor person went on to advise his fans who are planning on walking down the aisle soon about the importance of hooking up with their soulmates.

“When I talk about what really went down, jaws will drop and then u’ll learn that if u want to get hitched, make sure it’s your soul mate! pls!”

Concluding his tweet on the subject, Frank thanked fans for standing by him while the struggle lasted. He stressed that reconciliation isn’t an option for him no matter what.

“ Hi Tweeps! Thanks for all your support.There’s no reconciliation for me on this matter. No more ball-and chain 4 me. I’ve had it! I’m out!”

In a bid to finally put an end to their union, the presenter has allegedly filed a divorce suit against his Camerounian wife.

Man City take on PSG in Champions League last eight

Manchester City have been drawn against Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Friday.

Holders Barcelona and their feared attacking trident drew fellow Spaniards Atletico Madrid, while Bayern Munich will face Benfica and Wolfsburg take on ten-time winners Real Madrid.

The two legs of the quarter-finals will be played between April 5-13, with the semi-finals on April 26/27 and May 3/4.

The final will take place in Milan on May 28.

Quarter-final draw

Wolfsburg (GER) v Real Madrid (ESP)

Bayern Munich (GER) v Benfica (POR)

Barcelona (ESP) v Atletico Madrid (ESP)

Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) v Manchester City (ENG)

Queen Elizabeth Rules Out Gay Marriage In Uk- Says “Marriage Is For Man And Woman

Queen Elizabeth II opposed the legalization of same-sex marriage in England because of her deeply held Christian values, a close friend has reportedly told a London-based newspaper.

RANGE ROVER SPORT ACCESSORIES - Watch Video

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Outstanding in all Forms.

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How to Make Coconut Rice - by Miguel Peters

Coconut rice is a simple, flavorful dish that goes great with curries, stir-fries, chicken, or beef. In fact, pretty much any protein or vegetable can be paired with this coconut-flavored rice. If you want to know how to make it, just follow these steps.

Ingredients

Using a Saucepan
2 cups basmati rice
1 cup coconut milk
3 cups water
1 tsp. sea salt.

Follow the Steps Below


1
Place the rice in a colander or sieve. Place 2 cups of basmati rice in a colander or sieve and rinse the rice under running, cold water until the water is clear. Just make sure the rice doesn't actually fall through the sieve. You can place the sieve over a bowl to catch any of the rice that may fall out.


2
Drain the rice. When you're done, add it to a saucepan with the cup of coconut milk, 3 cups of water, and the tablespoon of sea salt.


3
Bring the mixture to a boil. Stir it occasionally to keep the rice from clumping together.


4
Reduce the heat and leave the rice to simmer for about 10-12 minutes. If the water is absorbed really quickly and the rice is still hard, then you can add a little bit more water to the mixture and keep stirring it to make it more fluffy.

5
Serve. Serve the rice on its own, or pair it with beef, chicken, or a vegetable mixture.

US ELECTION : Could the Republican party ever look as diverse as Brooklyn?

In this first collaboration between BRIC TV and Guardian US, host Brian Vines, inspired by a GOP election ad hailing diversity, searches for Republicans of color in Brooklyn, New York. Along the way he finds a young activist in Brownsville, a neighborhood that is 77% African American, chats with a self-proclaimed old-timer conservative, and a rides along with a Haitian cabbie who likes Donald Trump

Jack Dorsey says he's never blocked anyone on Twitter

Twitter CEO and cofounder Jack Dorsey gave an interview to The Today Show on Friday morning in which host Matt Lauer asked Dorsey about the problem of harassment on the site.

"It’s disappointing, but reflective of the world," Dorsey said. "We see as much optimism as we see negativity."

He went on to explain that he sees Twitter as "empowering dialogue" so that people can talk about issues.

Lauer asked Dorsey whether he ever gets trolled on the site. "I get some complaints. I get some nastiness every now and then," Dorsey said.

Most people would just block someone if they're getting abuse online, but Dorsey hasn't done so. "I’ve never blocked anyone. I want to see what people are saying and I want to hear from them," he said.

Dorsey isn't the only famous person who has never blocked anyone on Twitter. Another high-profile user who has the same policy is President Obama. A 13-year-old child in the US claimed that he had been blocked by the President, a claim that was quickly denied by the White House.

Microsoft updates Windows 10 Maps app with better search and driving interface

As promised yesterday, Microsoft has added new features and made a series of tweaks to its Windows 10 Maps app. Users of the updated version of the app will be able to view multiple search results on the same map, follow redesigned turn-by-turn instructions when driving, and see favorite spots offline, among other smaller changes. You'll now be able to view both restaurants and hotels on the same map, for example, and see a selection of routes layered on top of each other.


Microsoft foreshadowed an "exciting update" to Windows 10 Maps on Reddit yesterday after it was revealed Here, the mapping app that became the de facto choice for Windows Phone users over the past few years, would no longer work with Windows 10 from March 29th. The new updates to Windows 10 Maps go some way to softening the blow of that loss, and answers the most common request from users to update its driving UI, but Microsoft still has some way to go before its lackluster mapping app rivals better alternatives available on iOS and Android.

The update to Windows 10 Maps will be available to Windows Insiders first. There's currently no indication when it'll arrive with regular users, but with March 29th under two weeks away, Microsoft will want to move fast to paper over the gap left by another big app's departure from its platform.

Apple engineers may quit before being forced to code insecure version of iOS for the FBI

A report in the New York Times suggests that if US courts compel Apple to create an insecure OS to help the FBI crack the San Bernadino shooter’s iPhone, the engineers tasked with building the software may quit or shirk their duties instead of complying with the judicial order.

It isn’t clear if the government is ready for this sort of spanner in the works. In a court filing, Apple said that it would require between six and 10 engineers to create what it’s calling ‘GovtOS’, all of whom would have to be drawn together from different departments like coding, compliance and testing.


Former federal prosecutor Joseph DeMarco told the New York Times, “If — and this is a big if — every engineer at Apple who could write the code quit and, also a big if, Apple could demonstrate that this happened to the court’s satisfaction, then Apple could not comply and would not have to.”

DeMarco adds that if If they refused to code the OS rather than quit, Apple could be held in contempt of court. Riana Pfefferkorn of the Stanford Center for Internet and Society said that Apple could face daily fines if a judge was of the opinion that it was deliberately delaying compliance.

While this scenario may be years away, it’s scary to think about how the outcome of such a divisive case could boil down to the beliefs and values of a handful of employees, and how they’d be tested with the whole world watching.

The company has previously argued that being forced to create a backdoored iOS would be a violation of its constitutional rights. We’ll have to wait and see how well that holds up in court.

NYSC Batch B Confirmed for July/August 2016

Following the recent development in the NYSC, this year 2016 will have 3 batches as planned late 2015. It has been Confirmed that, batch B 2016 will start by July/August 2016 if everything goes as planned, then the official timetable for it will be released also.  All applicants for BATCH B,  should check the Senate list of their Institution before proceeding to the Online Registration.

For further details drop your comments below

Why I don’t wear pants -Baby Blanche

Due to the kind of clothes she likes to wear and is comfortable in, Baby Blanche has revealed in an interview,  that she hardly wears panties when she’s going out.

“I love all kinds of lingerie that make a woman feminine because I’m a woman, but I hardly wear panties. This is not because I don’t want to wear them but because the clothes I love to wear wouldn’t permit me to,” she said.

“I try as much as possible to act as a lady and not to let my panty lines show just because I like to wear dresses that hug my figure. So if I wear clothes and the outline of my panty is glaring like that I don’t like it,” she explained. “Being a lady is not only about wearing make-up and Brazilian hair but also comprises the propriety of whatever you’re wearing,” says Baby Blanche. She adds that she does not worry much about thoughts that she may be sexually assaulted by unscrupulous men because she makes sure she doesn’t go to awkward places at awkward hours.

Peter Okoye’s manager denies P-Square’s break up

Following the news making the rounds that Nigeria’s RnB stars, Peter and Paul Okoye of the P-Square fame have finally gone their separate ways, the former’s  new manager, Olatunde Michael has refuted the rumour, insisting that the singing twins are still together despite the odds.


Olatunde  (Reporter)  made this startling disclosure, while in a chat with WG. “Peter is still very much with his brother,  Changing his name to Mr.P has nothing to do with breaking up with his twin  brother or going solo,”Olatunde hinted.

Meanwhile, the duo’s publicist, Bayo Adetu was unable to confirm the news, stating that “there is no official statement to that effect, at least for now.”

However, recent events indicate that all is not well with the Okoye brothers. Earlier in the week. Peter unveiled his new management team and equally released his solo single,  ‘Look into my Eyes‘ under his new stage name, ‘Mr P‘.  His twin brother, Paul  who is now called Rudeboy equally released his own debut single titled, “ Call heaven”, where  he lamented the death of their parents and how it has affected the once enviable musical group.

Lassa fever killed 101 people in Nigeria in six months

Lassa fever killed 101 people in Nigeria over a time span of six months, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) said Saturday.

Cases of the hemorrhagic disease, both confirmed and suspected, stood at 175 with a total of 101 deaths.

The NCDC said as of today, "19 (including Abuja) states are currently following up contacts, or have suspected cases with laboratory results pending or laboratory confirmed cases."

Health authorities say the virus is under control, but there are fears that the actual scale of the outbreak is under-reported.

Large quantities of drugs, including Ribavirin tablets, and bottles of hand sanitizers have been distributed across the country to stop the spread of the deadly virus.

The epidemic was first reported in January, but the first case of the disease occurred in August 2015.

Last year, 12 people died in Nigeria out of 375 infected, while in 2012 there were 1,723 cases and 112 deaths, according to the NCDC.

In neighboring Benin, at least nine people have died of Lassa, with a total of 20 suspected cases, health authorities said February 2.

The number of Lassa fever infections across West Africa every year is between 100,000 to 300,000, with about 5,000 deaths, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The disease belongs to the same family as Marburg and Ebola, two deadly viruses that lead to infections with fever, vomiting and, in worse case scenarios, hemorrhagic bleeding.

Its name is from the town of Lassa in northern Nigeria, where it was first identified in 1969. The virus is spread by rats or after coming in direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person.

Nigeria building collapse death toll hits 30

The death toll from the collapse of a five-story building in the Nigerian state of Lagos has reached 30, officials say.

The Lagos state government said on Wednesday that more bodies have been pulled out from under the rubble in the city of Lekki.

Earlier reports said 15 people had lost their lives. A total of thirteen people have been rescued so far.

According to Lagos officials, the building collapsed as the owners had added more floors despite lacking a permit.

A construction worker said the building’s owners had continued work after heavy rainfall had caused the house to shift.

The state government said in a statement that "it has also been discovered that in a brazen act of defiance and impunity, the owners of the building ... criminally unsealed the property and continued building beyond the approved floors."

Such incidents are common in the state of Lagos’ populated areas, where structures are built with poor materials.

In September 2014, some 120 people lost their lives when a guesthouse in a northern suburb of Lagos caved in.

Located in the southeast of Lagos, Lekki is home to the state’s most expensive real estate and has developed rapidly in recent years, with many wealthy Nigerians and expatriates owning properties there.

Does Trump have skills to handle Israeli-Palestinian issue?

It's a stunning testament to the durability of the all but forgotten Israeli-Palestinian peace process that it made a brief appearance during this week's Republican presidential candidate debate in Miami.

The proximate cause was a question about what has now become Donald Trump's standard talking point -- quite unusual for either a Republican or Democrat during an election year -- that he'd remain "neutral" on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

So what's the dump on Trump when it comes to Israel? And what are the odds that any of the candidates, particularly the likely party nominees at this point -- Hillary Clinton and Trump -- might actually be able to do an Israeli-Palestinian deal should they find themselves in the White House come January 2017?

First, the easy part. In presidential election campaigns it's pretty much standard operating procedure for candidates -- whatever their personal views -- to compete for the title of who loves Israel the most. And given the dysfunctional relationship between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama, as well as the Iran nuclear deal, this pro-Israeli bidding war is in full swing.

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, for example, has taken to referring to the West Bank and Gaza as Judea and Samaria -- the term used by Israeli settlers and the right. Meanwhile, Ted Cruz, among others, has promised to tear up the Iran deal and move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

On the Democratic side, Clinton has pledged to take the U.S.-Israeli relationship to the "next level" and promised to invite Netanyahu to Washington during her first month in office. Bernie Sanders has for his part said little on the issue during the campaign. And although he has expressed consistently pro-Israeli views in Congress, as a progressive and liberal he has also been very critical of Israel's treatment of Palestinians. Indeed, speaking this week in Dearborn, Michigan -- an area with a heavy concentration of Arab-Americans -- Sanders expressed the hope that we could have a "level playing field" on the issue.

Still, the prize for the most unusual set of views, particularly for a Republican candidate in a field of pro-Israeli hawks, goes to Mr. Trump. He's clearly done his fair share of obligatory and heartfelt nods to the pro-Israeli community over the years.

For example, Trump proudly refers to his role as grand marshal in the New York City Israel Day parade; he did a campaign video for Netanyahu in 2013; during the Miami debate he proudly referred to the fact that his daughter and son-in-law are Jewish; and he has said repeatedly that he'd be the best candidate on Israel among the Republican field.

Obama nominates Merrick Garland to Supreme Court

President Barack Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland, who is respected across political lines, to the Supreme Court Wednesday, in an epic power play targeting the resolve of Republicans who have vowed to block any replacement for the late Justice Antonin Scalia until a new president takes office.

GOP leaders, caught in the undertow of an election in which the conservative grass-roots are already in revolt, immediately renewed their refusal to consider Garland, 63, saying their reservations were not personal but motivated by a desire for the American people to weigh in on Scalia's replacement. The showdown is even more fraught than most Supreme Court fights, since Obama's choice could tilt the ideological balance of the court away from conservatives -- possibly for years.


In a speech in the evocative ceremonial surroundings of the White House Rose Garden, Obama praised Garland as "one of America's sharpest legal minds," making a case that he was so eminently qualified for the job in terms of legal learning, experience and temperament that any attempt to ignore his appointment could only be the result of base political motivations.

"I have selected a nominee who is widely recognized not only as one of America's sharpest legal minds, but someone who brings to his work a spirit of decency modesty, integrity, evenhandedness and excellence," Obama said. These qualities and his long commitment to public service have earned him the respect and admiration from leaders from both sides of the aisle."

Senate Republicans do not plan to vet or have hearings on Garland, let alone a vote on his nomination. Obama and Democrats argue that with 10 months left in his term, there is plenty of time for the Senate to take up and confirm a new justice. The gravity of Obama's announcement on Wednesday was part of an attempt to pressure Republicans, especially senators with an eye on their own legacies or those who face tough re-election fights, to peel away from their leadership.

Candidates reject UTME scores, demand scrapping of JAMB

Some candidates who sat for this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, organised by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, have rejected their scores to the examination being sent to their phones, saying the results are beyond their expectations.

For Anuoluwapo Oni, “I wrote the exam on March 5 but my result was tampered with as another person’s result was sent to me and posted on the JAMB website. Please note that I am not the only one with this problem, and we need a platform to voice our complaints.”

For Joy Ezeani, “2016 UTME candidates, especially those that took their exams on 8th to10th of March 2016, are pleading with JAMB officials to stop scoring us too low. The systems we used were not good as they were always tripping off and we would have to wait for the server to come up. That really wasted our time.”

In the same vein, Femi Adeoti said “JAMB is intentionally failing candidates and most of my friends and classmates are negatively affected. If you do very well, JAMB will score you 36 or less. I am really pained because I am a distinction student from Yaba College of Technology, so I wonder how I can score 184 in ordinary UTME. Please help us get our messages across.”

Calling for the scrapping of JAMB as its objectives have been compromised, 22 years old Umar Ali from Kano State, said this year’s examinations show that JAMB can’t organise credible assessment of students for admission into tertiary institutions.

He said: “The CBT mode of examination is a very good development if there is constant electricity, but this year’s exam was conducted at a time when electricity generation is below 1,570 MW. “

Bermuda Triangle "Mystery" Solved? Scientists Pinpoint Deep-Ocean Craters as Likely Cause

A group of scientists caused a stir this week when they suggested a new explanation for the huge number of ships and planes that seem to have disappeared in the mysterious Bermuda Triangle.

The scientists think deep deposits of oil and methane gas burst through the seabed and formed deep-ocean craters half a mile wide and 150 feet deep off the coast of Norway. They speculate that the huge methane bursts could churn up water, affecting ships, and even escape into the atmosphere, which could threaten aircraft.

The scientists suggest the methane bursts may be responsible for the supposed graveyard of shipwrecks and plane crashes in the Bermuda Triangle.

The Bermuda Triangle, the area of the Atlantic Ocean cornered by Bermuda, Puerto Rico and Miami, Florida, is often called the "devil's triangle."

Estimates vary widely for how many people, ships and planes have been lost there. Some say more than 100 ships and planes have disappeared in this location over the last several decades.

The line between fact and fiction has blurred over time, and the Bermuda Triangle is now steeped in wild theories involving things like aliens, portals to other dimensions and the lost city of Atlantis.

Is the Bermuda Triangle mystery even real? Probably not, many experts say.

According to journalist Larry Kusche, some of the ships and planes that allegedly sank in the Bermuda Triangle were completely made up by writers. Moreover, others that "mysteriously sank" actually went down during violent storms, and some ships that were lost far outside the Bermuda Triangle's perimeter get lumped into the total.

Additionally, the Bermuda Triangle is a path for many major cruise lines and trade routes, so it sees more ship traffic than many other parts of the ocean.

"The region is highly traveled and has been a busy crossroads since the early days of European exploration," John Reilly, a historian at the U.S. Naval Historical Foundation, told National Geographic. "To say quite a few ships and airplanes have gone down there is like saying there are an awful lot of car accidents on the New Jersey Turnpike — surprise, surprise."

So there might not be a mystery to solve at all. These types of methane bursts that the scientists describe are a well-documented phenomenon in other areas, but other scientists debate how much they could really interfere with ships and aircraft.