Saturday Newswatch www.newswatchdailyng.com
-Tradition built on Truth
Vol. 01, No. 22
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Celebrating Cele Ce l brati le ting women off substance
I’m very lucky, even as 4th wife Story on Pg. 44-46
- Fatima Bamanga Tukur
FLIP OVER Pg. 48
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Masculine Story
Nigeria’s banking sector not ripe for e-commerce – IT expert
give them my credit card details right over the phone. South Africa and some of these other countries had the same. But it is really in the last three or four years when we started seeing penetration of internet services to some homes in Nigeria. Obviously, we know that without adequate quality internet service, e-commerce is really not a reality. But despite the lateness and because of our huge population, the effect has been massive. When you take just 10 per cent of 150 million, you get 15 million and that’s what seems to be the major driving factor in the growth and expansion of e-services in Nigeria. Our population, not the quality of service. So, you see companies struggling to meet the rapid demand of these new customers with failures of services that impact on e-commerce. Presently, there are over 18 million cards in circulation with a three-year growth rate of 20 per cent, and this growth will be fuelled by better online security as well as cheaper internet access which we continue to see on a daily basis in Nigeria. Now to your own offering. Could you tell us how Shopfromamerica.com started and how you have evolved over the past two years?
Starting from a simple idea, Shop From America Nigeria Limited has now become a viable force in Nigeria’s e-commerce arena. With a US partner and a shipping company, the firm has grown from serving just Lagos to having an additional outlet in Abuja and a distribution network all over Nigeria. The Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Nduka Udeh, is a First Class honours graduate of the University of Benin in Electrical/Electronics, and a Masters degree holder in Telecommunications and Information Systems from the University of Essex in the UK. He also doubles as the CEO of American Airsea Cargo and Afro Link LLC, both in the US. In this exclusive interview with BENJAMIN OMOIKE, he speaks on e-commerce in Nigeria, the challenges of doing business in this country and internet fraud, among others. Excerpts:
W
hat is your take on the performance, of the major players in e-commerce in Nigeria?
Well, to be more specific now, when we talk of major players in e-commerce, we need to look at the banks, the gateways of which the major players now are InterSwitch and E-tranzact, and obviously, companies such as our shopfromamerica. com that provide these services to Nigerians. First, my first interaction with banks in Nigeria when we were starting shopfromamerica.com about two years ago showed that we still don’t have a banking system that is geared towards developing ideas, entrepreneurship and small businesses, which are the driving forces of any economy. It will be a mitigating force against e-commerce as well. What you have is a bunch of marketers who stand in the forefront and that have been given outrageous targets of cash inflows, asking you to make a deposit of millions before they even start talking to you. They call it ‘building a relationship’. Now, if when we started, we had N100m to play with, then why do we need you or bother to talk to you? We never asked for loans or anything, but for a review of our offering and what we have for the Nigerian public. But most were of the view that we must bring in deposits before they even start listening to what we had to say. A lot of this depends on the knowledge of the individuals you are dealing with. We dealt with some banks and I was not too impressed with
their outlook and the experience of their staff that we dealt with. Others also tried but of all, Oceanic Bank proves to have an IT and e-commerce department that understands the future. We work closely with their head of e-commerce and he has proved to be extremely knowledgeable on trends and developments in the industry, not just in Nigeria; but globally. Secondly, the gateways InterSwitch that basically pioneered switching between accounts would have been more successful had they educated Nigerians very well on the security and fraud implications of e-commerce. Their re-education came a little too late after most Nigerians had been burned too badly and the scar was already there; even after their new publicity campaign on security of their products. They are even suffering with it. At least, I know of one lawsuit on the issue of ATM fraud. Their offering, verve card, is great but they need to improve on their awareness campaign if they are to remain the market leaders. It is sad that after all this, cards are still being issued without proper materials to educate the holders. Despite the advancement in the US, when you get a new card, it still comes with a pamphlet that explains the dos and don’ts of using your card. I think it is time Nigerian banks embraced this fully. E-tranzact has been more attentive and has developed schemes that, though not fully widespread, have great potentials for the Nigerian environment. Their mobile payment solutions are more convenient for Nigeria because of the mobile nature of our internet service, as most people access the net on their phones
and Blackberries these days. I like them in particular because some of their services are cheaper to set up. Compared their PayOutlet solution that is free to that of Paydirect from Interswitch that started at over N1m and for now, I don’t know what it goes for. You see that they understand what will make retailers move towards their platform. We have signed up for PayOutlet with E-tranzact and it offers the complete suite of what we want in a payment solution.Thirdly, the retailers, website owners, merchants, etc, have been seriously disappointed at the attitude of Nigerians towards online security, mainly because of the limited education. Really, I don’t blame Nigerians, you know. What is your assessment of e-commerce in Nigeria? E-commerce is still in its infancy in Nigeria but it is growing astronomically. When I say infancy, I refer to the amount of people that have embraced e-commerce compared to the general population. Now, when making an assessment, we always need a basis of comparison. In Africa, we can compare Nigeria with countries such as South Africa, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, etc., that have similar GDP’s but in making these comparisons, we need to realize that Nigeria entered the IT race rather late and she is still playing catch up in e-commerce. As of nine or 10 years ago - around 2003 when I was based in Cairo - individuals then had direct internet access in their homes and these services were readily affordable. I could stay in my room, order food over the phone and
I have been in America for over seven years working as an Electrical Engineer with General Electric, but at some point, was acting more as a shipping and procurement services provider. My large number of friends in Nigeria wanted various things from US and they sent me money to buy them. These included cars, computers, clothes etc. So, I saw an opportunity there. We did a test run with two companies about four or five years ago. One was in Lagos and the other in Port-Harcourt and ran for about a year. Things went fine but we had limitations that having direct control of an establishment could only take care of. So we set up a branch in Nigeria and that was how we started on the ground here as ShopFromAmerica Nigeria Limited. We talked to the banks, but most were interested in what they called ‘building a relationship’, by which they mean come and deposit N20m with us first. When we talked to Oceanic, we saw a team that had great foresight. So we started, with customers placing orders over the site, coming to our office in Lagos, placing orders over the phone, etc. But we still needed to lower overall cost of these offerings to Nigerians to make the four to five business days transit time of products well worth it. We were able to set up American AirSea Cargo, our own partner shipping line to directly handle these orders and shipments. Hence, we have the whole chain of logistics from the time the customer pays to when we deliver, and with direct control can ensure we have the efficiency we need in all areas. Since then, we have expanded with an office in Lagos and Abuja and staff strength of 21 people. We know more people are coming on board gradually. We now have a dedicated customer service team taking calls from customers, chatting with them live on both shopfromamerica.com and aascargo. com hence providing real time information to customers as soon as they need it. So you mean products are delivered in four or five days? Of course! We normally have two flights a week out of the US and each takes three business days to get to Nigeria because they transit through Europe. And that’s because we use just cargo planes. The 911 attack in US caused a lot of policy changes that prevented us from using normal flights that would have lowered delivery time to just one day. Hence, we have to use just cargo planes. Once they are on ground, it takes us 24 to 48 hours for clearing, bringing the total transit time to Lagos to four or five business days and for all other locations in Nigeria to six to seven business days. So, if you request for a product today, over 95 per cent of the time, we meet this delivery schedule. This is the same transit time for other major shippers, but American AirSea Cargo does the same for about 60 per cent savings to customers, and that is why we have been a huge hit in Nigeria. A charge of $100 with FEDEX/UPS or even DHL comes out to about $25 to $30 with American Air-
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Masculine Story Sea Cargo. Now, who can beat that?
since you ship all over Nigeria?
So this ‘You Shop…We Ship’, or E-Procure has greater savings. Can you expatiate?
Well, we can’t do everything alone. We outsource some areas. We work very closely with the most reliable distribution company in Nigeria. We tried various companies and were able to reach a good arrangement with Red Star Express, typically Fedex, in Nigeria to deliver these items to all locations in Nigeria, apart from Abuja where we have an office also. Our choice of them follows from the fact that they are virtually the only company that offers online tracking, so customers can continue tracking their shipments from where it stops on our website. Believe me, only Fedex, UPS and DHL have the facilities we have on our site now as we offer online account management, billing, order tracking and lots more. We have run trials and these things work like magic to the delight of Nigerians.
There is a Nigerian bank now that has changed all their cards to MasterCard, and they advertise this by telling their customers they can shop with it anywhere abroad. What percentage of their customers is opportune to go abroad? Probably not up to one per cent. The remaining 99 per cent are not even using the cards to shop in Nigeria. Only a very few do because most are afraid of fraud. But our research shows that most people (because of the trust for US companies e.g. Amazon) will gladly use those cards there, and also because of the low cost of items in the US. So, with E-Procure, we can open the market to these 99 per cent of their customers. This affords making it possible to generate more funds for the bank as they make money when these cards are used, not when it’s in their wallet sleeping. This is also the same for all banks that offer these cards, as long as its Visa or Mastercard, it can be used abroad. Now, how does E-Procure work? The key to our system is advanced software programming that enables our system at www.aascargo.com to automatically assign a unique or virtual address to every individual customer. Basically, you get your own virtual US address that you can channel all your purchases to. Now, we have three levels of services for the E-Procure system. First is the one time use account – for someone who just wants to have an address to ship something for one time. Secondly, personal account – for people who desire to use their credit cards constantly and they can have subscriptions for a month, six months or one year. The reason for the subscription is for us to constantly check (when the subscriptions expire) that they are still the same person; and with subscription you get lower shipping rates, consolidation option and lots more. Thirdly, business account – designed for companies and businesses that offer multiple shipments for their various offices. A company with procurement office in, say, Lagos can use the system to coordinate purchases to various locations and have us manage the dispatch to these various locations. What about fraud? Won’t this system be breached by the so-called Yahoo Boys? No system in the world is full-proof. Even the US military, with their most advanced security system, have people hacking into their sites constantly. Even the banks and merchants have losses due to charge backs and other e-commerce related charges. What you can do is to have security in mind prior to designing such a system with the aim of minimizing potential security issues and this we have done. Now, any bank that signs up to have their cards acceptable through the system should be ready to provide us verification of the details of each card holder. What we do is a verification of each account holder before the address is issued to you. So, there is a KYC( Know Your Customer) in place for this. Without this address, you can’t use our system and you will be blocked or not approved. So, we have some detailed information that we request from each member as well as a subscription fee to the service. It’s a small fee that accounts for the time used to do a KYC or know your customer before access is given to them. Once a customer is verified as a genuine bank customer, their account is approved and they are automatically issued their unique address. We will refine it as time goes on and any hole we notice will be plugged. So how do you carry out the distribution
w
this WEEK cONTENT
So what other challenges have you encountered in Nigeria? Well, like I have stressed many times, e-commerce would have grown much more rapidly if the proper education of card owners was carried out from the beginning. But from our own perspective as merchants, fraud has also been an issue, and we have dealt with a few Nigerians seriously. I remember a case of someone who used a fraudulent card to purchase about $8,000 worth of gift cards on shopfromamerica.com and then used the gift cards to purchase various electronic products on the same site. We knew it was fraud and blocked him off but needed to teach him a lesson. So, we packaged some fake items, got two police men and acted like UPS making a delivery to him. Just as he signed for the products, we arrested him and had him refund whatever it cost us to deal with him. Now, I don’t know the amount of money moving in Nigeria through e-commerce but I know it is in billions yearly as of now, and of this, a portion involves fraud. So it’s about time the government looks into training a special branch of the police to handle e-commerce fraud. They should have all the knowledge needed. I say this because this first experience was terrible in dealing with the police. Apart from us having to give them money to buy biro and paper, we had to fuel the car to take us to the thief ’s house. So, you see where issues of fraud monitoring and law enforcement in this area are a problem. You really don’t want to know the rest of how the case was muddled up and they finally let the thief go. Now, the banks and the gateways, most especially CBN, need to really come together and help to draft policies on E-fraud. Policies that will ensure the government has an arm in the police force trained and dedicated to these crimes, because like it or not, e-commerce is going to become a big part of the Nigeria economy in a few years time. All these have been a learning experience and we have developed fraud monitoring solutions such as IP blocking. This has been very effective because we noticed at one time that a consistent IP address was responsible for a lot of fraud attempts in a day. We traced this to an internet café where you may have one, two or three people trying to make an attempt at once, and once blocked, they can not make any purchase off our site, coming from that IP address. We do this by automatically monitoring failed transactions, number of transactions from one IP or time used to place an order, so as to be sure it was not from an injection script. Other measures are the KYC scheme we worked out with Oceanic Bank, as well as monitoring the trends of customers’ orders. And these have reduced fraud drastically. Even, putting up a sign on our site that we take fraud seriously has helped in reducing fraud attempts. All these things cost money. We also had to procure a $100,000 site security assurance seal on our site, guaranteeing customers of the security of their transactions to the tune of $100,000. So, we are doing well in this regard and so far, no Nigerian has come to us to talk about fraud issues off our site.
lead Wole Soyinka to t of announcemen ards The Future Aw 2013 winners – pg. ML 48
Celeb Check: er c Check out you nrele e lebrities with D – pg. ML 52 Outfits
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Saturday Newswatch, June 15, 2013
Love story of Hadjia Fatima and Alhaji Bamanga Tukur Hajia Fatima Bamanga Tukur is the fourth wife of National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Delta State by birth, Hajia Fatima, who clocked 50 recently, spoke with MIKAIL MUMUNI about her love life, and passion for the less-privileged, at the family residence of the Tukurs in Abuja.
C
an we meet you? I am Hajia Fatima Bamanga Tukur; I am from Delta State precisely, Agbaramatu Kingdom, I am an Ijaw woman born and brought up in Lagos 50 years ago. How was your growing up like? Fantastic! I have loving parents
and they took care of their children. What about schools attended? I attended Corona Nursery School; Ireti High School and Anglican Girls High School. I also attended School of Nursing, England. I am a
Physiotherapist by profession. You are married to Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, National Chairman, PDP. How has it been so far? It has been fantastic. I knew him 30 years ago and we got married four years later. He is a fantastic
father, loving husband and a great grand-father. I understand him and he understands me. How did the relationship start? Oh, don’t start; it is a private matter (laughs). As a Delta woman, married to a
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I have a very deep passion for the welfare of children; I always love to help them. Anytime I am at my husband’s home town, I see children of various ages with no means to go to school. Perhaps, their limitations could be a N3,000 or N5,000 amount to buy books and all sorts. Interestingly, despite the fact that education, especially at the basic level in the north is free, some still cannot afford lesser stipends to foot their bills in buying their school materials.
a muslim on my own, not because I married Alhaji Bamanga Tukur. I became a muslim the day I read a book ‘Jesus Christ the Prophet of Islam’. I was in England when I got converted to Islam, though my father is a Knight in the Catholic Church while my mum is also a Christian. You are married into a polygamous home. What are the challenges? In everything in life, you have to be patient. When you are married into a polygamous home, you have to allow patience live inside you. If you fail to allow patience live inside you, you will not be happy at all. Presently, and with all sincerity, I have peace of mind. In fact, I will say I am the luckiest housewife on earth. So what position are you amongst his wives? I am the fourth and last wife of the house. My husband is a Muslim and he is entitled to four wives. Given your husband’s busy schedule, how do you cope with his absence?
muslim, how did Alhaji convince your parents while asking for your hand in marriage? Before I got married to my husband, I was already a muslim. I was converted to Islam before I met my husband. In fact, I became
I can cope because I can manage crowd. I like entertaining guests by way of cooking. While he is holding his meetings, I entertain his guests. What are those things that are of primary concern to you? I have a very deep passion for the welfare of children; I always love to help them. Anytime I am at my husband’s home town, I see children of various ages with no means to go to school. Perhaps, their limitations could be a N3,000 or N5,000 amount to buy books and all sorts. Interestingly, despite the fact that education, especially at the basic level in the north is free, some still cannot afford lesser stipends to foot their bills in buying their school materials. Also, I am concerned with ing perpetrated by some people. We have a situation where some sell babies at N2.5 million or even less than that. The reality, however, is that if we all play our different roles as parents, we would have been able to address all these challenges effectively. So where are you coming in concerning this? To start with, I recently did a public launch of my non-governmental organization called The Crying Child
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wholly address problems faced by these children. The organization will work with other relevant organizations with each of each state of the federation while a coordinator will be in charge of injecting a lot of funds to ensure we achieve an all round and impactful eradication of child
tinue to love each other, carry each other along and continue to individually and collectively stand on their legitimate and constitutional rights to ensure that we are not relegated in the scheme of things as far as Nigeria’s socio-political and economic activities are concerned. As for the children, they should believe they have mothers out there who are really concerned about their welfare. When I say mothers, such person might be the biological or non-biological mother, it doesn’t matter.
How much are we looking at here? I am going to start the project with my personal funds because anything you intend to do, you fund and put the rest in the hand of the Almighty Allah, with prayer because without prayer, one cannot succeed in life or one’s aspiration. How much of your personal money are you committing to the NGO? I can’t say it now because I can’t predict how many people we are looking at because there are even lots of people I presently support that I don’t even talk about. Some
And for the Nigerian man? I think you should ask my husband that question. I am not into men issues, perhaps due to my background. While I am concerned with the kids and women folk, I think the men should also support the women too.
would write solicitation letters to my husband, some would write to me; like I have this group of blind people in Abuja that I assist in some villages, which I don’t even talk about. When you do it, you don’t say it but leave the praises to Almighty Allah.
You clocked 50 recently, how do you feel about it? I am at peace with myself and with the rest of the world. What is your message to the Nigerian child and women alike? I want Nigerian women to con-
Support the women in what aspect? They should support the women particularly in their fundamental human rights, active participation in the political affairs of the country as well as considerable empowerment initiatives.
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Saturday Newswatch, June 15, 2013
LifeStyle w
CAP BRANDING WITH
NIGERIAN MEN PART (2) For or kegites,`’by kegit ke gites ites `’b it ’b by tth their h ir ffi hei fingers ingers and d carriability carriability, we shall know them`’ is a common slogan that aptly illustrates icons and branding affinity. So we can borrow a leaf by saying `’by their caps, we shall know them’ because there are Nigerians that have used their caps to define their styles. They are easily identified and known with these styles of cap which have come to be regarded as part and parcel of them. Another peculiar thing is that most men known to have peculiar cap styles are not men of small measure, they are the movers and shakers of Nigeria. SOLA BODUNRIN-SANUSI paradesNigerian men with self-styled branded caps.
Alex Ekwueme Ibikunle Amosun The Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun is one other politician who has created his own style. From his days in the Senate, “SIA�, had evolved the “onilegogoro� cap style which is fast becoming a fad in and around Ogun State.
Gooduck Jonathan President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is reputed to have further popularised the bowler hart aka ‘resource control’ cap. So popular has he made this type of cap that even people who are not from the Niger Delta region have come to identify with it.
Not many have seen Nigeria’s Second Republic Vice President, Dr Alex Ekwueme putting on any other cap save for his now famous red cap. The cap in Igbo land symbolizes honour and is normally worn by titled men. They are highly respected by their people and other tribes.
Atiku Abubakar Ever heard of a type of cap called atiku? Obviously, it is named after former vice president of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Throughout his reign as the vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was known with a particular design of cap which has its origin in the northern part of the country, where he hails from. Perhaps unconsciously, the former number two citizen helped to popularise the cap style by wearing it regularly Even till date you Atiku still wear his cap.
Ona Ekhomu Ona Ekhomu, unlike most people with branded caps, is not a politician but a security expert that believes in branding. And to brand his image and trade, Ona has a particular skull cap in varying colours as the occasion dictates. And to stand him out with his cap, Dr. Ekhomu pushes his cap a little bit above his eyelashes.
Ganiyu Solomon Anyim Pius Anyim Another man that has been consistent in his style is the former Senate President and current Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim. Anyim wears the respectable red cap.
Senator Ganiyu Olarenwaju Solomon or GOS, as he is fondly in 1999 as the Chairman of Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State. Since then, he has been known to adorn a particular cap. It tells the story of his faith - Islam - as it has the symbol of Islam encrypted on it. To GOS, the cap comes in different colours to match whatever colour he wears at a given time.
Lai Mohammed
Victor Umeh Victor Umeh, factional national chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) is a man that knows how to stand tall in the the crowd. His is a red cap which is typical of titled Igbo men. But his is the long version, with a turnup at the base.
Spokesman of the Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN) is known to have two designs for all his caps. Fashion-wise, Alhaji Lai Mohammed is walking in the shadow of the national leader of ACN, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the man he once served as Chief of Staff. But in place of the sleeping 8 in Tinubu’s cap, Mohammed’s has letter ‘L’ for Lai design on all his caps which come in various colours and this he complements with the late sage, Awolowo’s frame of glasses. If he is not wearing the Tinubu-like cap, he is found in Senator Ganiyu Solomonlike head gear.
Olorunimbe Mamora Former speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly and later Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is another man that has carved a niche for himself in terms of covering his head. He has a singular design for all his caps; the design captures the
Jesse King Musician, Jesse King, popularly known as Buga, has successfully created his own style. His cap is reminiscent of Owu-Abeokuta war chiefs of old. He introduced the cap in the video of his debut album `Buga`, and since then, the long cap with a well rounded end, which stretches almost to his waistline has become his identity.
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Saturday Newswatch, June 15, 2013
Tripping.. I’m delighted my cancer is gone Vast Of Bracket
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I’m grateful the cancer was an early discovery, even though it should have been earlier than when it was discovered. It actually took more than 3 months for Nigerian doctors to discover I had cancer after taking several pain-killers and medicine for headache; we had to fly to London for treatment after it was discovered. We spent a whole lot of money, but we thank God for life. My greatest weapon is God and then training. I train a lot even when I was sick. I discovered that it is one of the biggest weapons to fight sickness. One thing about cancer is once discovered on time, with the right medication, it will be cured forever. I’m healthy now and there is no more trace of cancer in my blood again.� Vast of the musical duo, Bracket
stated this in a chat with journalist over his recent diagnose, treatment and recovery from the killer disease - cancer!
At 36, Obiora Obiwon returns with ‘Testify’ In response to music enthusiasts and most especially his fans, gospel `r n b` crooner, Obiora Obiwon returns with a technoinfused hip hop song titled “Testify�. In one of the tracks, he elicits the help of gospel music elite, Mike Abdul of the Midnight Crew, who adds a fuji-flavoured cameo to the already infectious groove. On the production, Obiora continues to synergize with Phat - E credited with “Obi Mu O� the original version and the remix as well as the inspirational “F.a.t.h.e.r 2.0� single. The result is an undeniable jam filled with zest and celebration over strongly spirited but yet simple faith-based lyrics. Obiwon, who announced a full-time gospel music ministry events scene nationwide with his “The in 2008, has steadily impacted Rebirth Band�. the gospel music and christian
Mo’ Abudu to launch cable TV channel
T
alk Show host and TV Producer, Mosunmola Abudu, aka Mo Abudu, popularly known for her talk show ‘Moments with Mo’ will, at the end of this month, launch a new cable channel that will be viewed across Africa. The channel, Ebony Life TV, Africa’s first global black entertainment network, will broadcast all of its programming to over 46 African countries via the DSTV platform, and globally through key TV Channels in the UK, the United States, Brazil, Canada and other parts of Europe. According to Ms. Abudu, “the Western media has sold us the best of the West, even Asia has joined that race; it is time to not only sell Africa to the world, but to ourselves. And we are now in a position to take indigenous African brands to the rest of the world, giving everyone
the best of both worlds, it doesn’t get any better.� Sources said the beautiful broadcaster disclosed that the whole project is billed to gulp N 2billion.
Star Trek 2013 com
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he anticipation preceding the 1st leg of the Star Music Trek regional concerts started with a `blow out` show at FESTAC with superstars: Psquare, M.I, Ice Prince, Sound Sultan, KCee, Kas and other exciting artistes live on stage. Compere of the event, Gbenga Adeyinka, set the crowd reeling as he dished out from his rich repertoire of jokes. Also, the scintillating performances of thumping dance steps and pulsating rhythms from fan favourites, P Square, M.I, Ice Prince, Sound Sultan, Kcee, Kas and Crystals sent the crowd into frenzy. Special surprise performances from African China took fans down memory lane with his hits. Other artistes expected to perform at the nationwide event includes 2face, D’banj, Psquare, Timaya, Wande Coal, Obesere,
Prezzo abused me
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enyan rapper and BBA former housemate, Prezzo, is now officially divorced. The high court of Nairobi approved the divorce case filed by his wife in May 2012, and ordered that the marriage be dissolved. The judge ordered Prezzo to pay a monthly child support of Sh50, 000 for the upkeep of their baby who was born in March 2009. According to her, Prezzo physically and verbally abused her, causing her mental stress and anxiety, and failed to abide by his financial responsibilities which led her into requesting financial assistance from her parents for the upkeep of their child. He drinks heavily and consumes narcotic
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Ebube Nwagbo & M ’13 beauty pageant
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head of the much-awaited Miss Global Nigeria 2013, actress, Ebube Nwagbo has just concluded a deal with the pageant organisers as the official hair sponsor. The pretty actress, the sole distributor and franchise owner of an international beauty & hair company that manufactures Posh Hair, will be giving each of the 22 contestants a 22 inch long Posh Hair. According to the beautiful actress, “my hair is very expensive but because of the long standing relationship I`ve shared with the organisers, I want to make the pageant one of the best in the country, that’s why am supporting the pageant by taking care of contestants` hair, and everyone knows that hair is one of the glamours that exudes beauty, am convinced that with the gorgeous hair-do, contestants will have the courage and poise to dazzle judges and the audience on the grand finale,� Ebube told the pageant President at a meeting in Lagos recently. Also to make the event a
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Saturday Newswatch, June 15, 2013
..
Tayo Mustapha
eyimusty@yahoo.com
mes with frenzy
Wole Soyinka to lead announcement of The Future Awards 2013 Winners
T Mr Raw, Raw Dr. Dr Sid Sid, JMartins, JMartins Naeto C, C Tiwa Savage, Sheyi Shey, and many others while fans in Aba, Abeokuta, Agege, Asaba, Enugu, Nnewi, Owerri, Lokoja, and Surulere will also get a taste of the excitement as the concert will also tour these cities over the next two months. The internationally acclaimed road show ends with a major finale on August 10th at National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
e physically - WIfe
drugs almost on a daily basis after which he subjects me to verbal and physical abuse she said.
Miss Global Nigeria
he Central Working Committee for The Future Awards, has formally announced the judges for 2013 awards which includes nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka as well as the judges for Young Person of the Year - The Africa Prize. The Africa Prize is presented in partnership with the youth office of the African Union Commission. The awards are judged over a two-month period, supervised by a central working committee, a board of judges and an independent audit committee, an 8-year rigorous process with checks and balances that has produced many of Nigeria’s most prominent young leaders
Emeka Ike and President Jonathan @ Rhythm ‘N’ Play event
N in the h past d decade. d The Th Board d off Judges is made up of the country’s brightest young journalists across print, electronic and online media, and the independent audit committee is made up of distinguished Nigerians across sectors. album.”
How Bash Ali was ‘bashed’ by Minister’s security aide
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igerian boxing legend, Bash Ali, 57, was reportedly manhandled by policemen after attempting to see the Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi in Abuja last week. According to eye witness account, the boxer, who is seeking to become the oldest man to hold a world boxing title, and wants to have his defencee fight staged in Nigeria, jostled to have audience with President Jonathan, who was at the Abuja National Stadium to inaugurate ‘Rhythm ‘N’ Play on Thursday. Ali reportedly scuffled with Jonathan’s aides, which attracted the attention of Mr. President. After having been allowed to approach aides and denied audience with the the president, and after stating his minister. “There is no respect in this mission, Jonathan directed the country for the people who should boxer to see the Minister of Sports be respected. How can I, when all I for further discussion on the am trying to do is lift up my counmatter. Ali, however, alleged that try’s name, be assaulted by a bunch of when he tried to see Abdullahi scoundrels all in the name of protectat a private luncheon held with ing their master? I was already a world celebrities and a few others, he champion when they were in primary was manhandled by the minister’s school?” Ali fumed.
Nigeria loses two icons on June 12
A scintillating night of fun is the involvement of one of the nation`s frontline fashion designers, Tessy Onakala of Needlekraft Couture. The Edo State born beauty is the official clothier and will be clothing the contestants in the evening wear segment. Tessy has started working to make sure the girls all appear gorgeous on the grand finale of the event.
fter our story of last week concerning Fatai Rolling Dollars, the music icon finally succumbed to death on June 12. Energetic Fatai, who did many collabos with young acts including Idris Abdulkareem, died at Marritol Hospital, Surulere, Lagos. Aged 85, Fatai is survived by three wives, including a German, and 16 children. Also, the composer of Nigeria’s National Anthem, Pa Benedict Odiase passed on during the week. He composed “Arise O Compatriots” in May 1978. Pa Odiase retired in 1992 as a Deputy
Commissioner of Police after serving as Director of Music in the Nigeria Police Band.
ollywwod actor, Emeka Ike, was made a sports ambassador at the Rhythm ‘N’ Play event that held last week at the Velodrome of the Abuja National Stadium. Rhythm N’ Play is an initiative of the Nigeria Academicals Sports Committee (NASCOM) inaugurated last year by the Minister of Sports, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi. The campaign is aimed at enhancing mass youth participation in sporting activities in Nigeria. At the launch by President Jonathan, some celebrities were made ambassadors which includes Nollywood star, Emeka Ike who ambassadorial responsibility is to help promote grassroots sports in the country. Other ambassadors include hip hop act, Ice Prince, Chelsea FC of England and Super Eagles forward, Victor Moses.
Yes International holds 2nd anniversary
S
ociety magazine, Yes International, will on Wednesday hold its second anniversary and cocktail party at The Coliseum Events Centre, Opebi, Lagos. Dr. Leo Stan Ekeh, Chairman, Zinox Computers is the guest speaker while Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, former Minister of External Affairs is expected to be the chairman of the occasion. Ekeh, an IT guru, will be speaking on the topic – RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS IN NIGERIA, My Experience. Guests of honours include The Secretary to Ogun State Government, Barrister Taiwo Adeoluwa and former Lagos State Commissioner for The Environment, Dr. Muiz Banire. According to the
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Pub ub bli li her lish lis her/Ed her/ /Edi dit it r-i ito r in-Ch n Chi hi f off YES hief International, Mr. Azuh Arinze, the essence of the lecture is to impart the entrepreneurial spirit on a lot more Nigerians; reduce unemployment as well as enlighten more entrepreneurs on how to succeed in their ventures.
Nigerian oil tycoon loses £17.5m divorce settlement to Prezzo Britishabused wife me physically - Wife
N
igerian oil tycoon, Michael Prest, 51, lost a legal fight with his estranged English wife earlier this week in a landmark court case over a £17.5m divorce settlement. The Supreme Court ruled that properties owned by Michael’s companies did count as his, and therefore should be counted as his assets in the high-profile divorce battle between him and ex-wife Yasmin, 50. Lawyers say the decision, which overturned an earlier Appeal Court ruling that Mr Prest’s companies could not be taken into account when calculating the divorce payout, could have significant implications for divorcing couples. This morning’s Supreme Court judgment, which followed a hearing in London in March, was the latest round of a lengthy legal battle between the couple, who married in 1993 and spent most of their time in their £5m matrimonial home in London’s Maida Vale. Mrs Prest, who has four
children by her ex-husband, said after the decision was announced: “I’m delighted and relieved that the Supreme Court has ruled as it did. I’m grateful to the judges for the care and thought they gave the case. It is more a case of satisfaction and relief than celebration. None of this would have been necessary if Michael had been sensible and played fair”.
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Saturday Newswatch, June 15, 2013
Fashion&Style
Let the
dres
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Saturday Newswatch, June 15, 2013
Fashion&Style
ss flow Laide Sotunde
M
axi dresses are elegant, comfortable and chic; they are long, loosely flowing evergreen dresses that will never go out of fashion. They are simply loved by women of any body shape, size or age. The advantage of maxi dresses is that they are very comfortable to wear and come with less draft in your nether regions and unlike miniskirts, have less chance of people catching a glimpse of your nether regions. Furthermore a long flowing dress is versatile for both formal and informal occasions. With the right accessories, you can go from sleek and classy to trendy and chic.
Side bun
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Saturday Newswatch, June 15, 2013
Lifestyle
Celeb style
check T YOUR
CHECK OU
S E I T I R B E L CE RFECT WITH PE
OUTFITS
INI EDO
T
ips for healthy and beautiful feet. Are you one of them who pay attention to the whole body but forgets the feet? Let me tell you something, those who are well groomed take lots of care of their feet. Here we are giving you 10 tips to take care of your feet easily. 1. KEEP YOUR FEET CLEAN When you walk it is your feet that get more than a fair share of dirt, dust and other harmful elements. Hence, they tend to get dirtier than any other part of your body. To make your feet look good, the important thing is to keep them as clean as possible. Wash
them with warm water and soap. Make sure that you regularly trim your toe nails. There isn’t anything dirt. 2. MOISTURIZE Just the way you moisturize the skin on your face and your hands, see that you moisturize your feet as well. Use a nice moisturizer that suits your skin. Before moisturizing your feet remove dead skin with a pumice stone. These steps will keep your feet soft and supple all year round. a week. This will improve blood 3. REFRESH YOUR FEET circulation and keep the toes soft. Soak your feet in warm water once Take out your nail polish at the
month don’t apply any nail polish on your toenails, and let them breathe.
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Saturday Newswatch, June 15, 2013
LifeStyle
ETIQUETTE with Sola Bodunrin Sanusi olubod4@yahoo.com
EATING OUT WITH YOUR CHILD
H
GENEVIEVE
4. GO BAREFOOT ONCE IN A WHILE while. Don’t put on any shoes and walk
on sand or grass. I can assure you that you will love the experience. 5. AVOID HIGH HEELS ALL THE TIME Yes, high heels look smart and sexy. But wearing them often can result in several feet problems. Instead of pencil point heels, try other substitutes like platforms, ballets and crocs. Your feet will be grateful to you. 6. Get a massage Massage your feet regularly and improves blood circulation. Visit a foot spa at regular intervals. Treat your feet right and they will remain healthy and beautiful.
ow well has your child taken to the etiquette lessons you are giving to him? Can you beat your chest that if you go to public places to dine you will score yourself high concerning your child? At this point, a dressed rehearsal of dining out might be carried out to score yourself on how far you have gone. But in case you still need more tips on your child’s etiquette to avoid embarrassment or making excuses for his bad manners, see this. How can I get my child to behave in restaurants? t *U MM IFMQ B HSFBU EFBM JG IF T been learning table manners at home. Before you leave, talk with your child about what to expect. Tell him that it will be fun to share this special meal. Explain that there will be other people in the restaurant who won’t want to be disturbed, so he’ll have to use a soft voice and think about his table manners. t .BLF JU FBTZ PO IJN CZ choosing a restaurant that’s not too crowded or too leisurely about serving. You may even want to call your order in ahead of time. Make sure your child is well rested when you take him out to eat and that he’s hungry (but not to the point of meltdown!). t 8IJMF ZPV SF UIFSF QSBDUJDF reading the menu with him, talk about the decor, and praise him for being so well mannered. If he drops a utensil, teach him to leave it on the floor and politely ask the waiter for a new one. If he’s game, show him how to place his utensils on his plate to show that he’s finished. t .PTU MJLFMZ ZPVS DIJME XJMM enjoy the novelty of the outing. If he’s not up to the task once you’re in the restaurant, though, don’t reprimand him in public; just give him reminders. t "OE JG IF NJTCFIBWFT JO B way that disturbs other diners, leave without fanfare. Explain that he wasn’t able to stay because his behavior was unacceptable. Now that he’s school age, your child can make the association between behaving well and getting to do more fun things, so be sure to point out that correlation! t "OPUIFS XBZ UP IFMQ ZPVS child learn how to be a savvy diner at restaurants (or at Grandma’s next holiday) is to role-play at home. Maybe he’d enjoy a tea party, where you emphasize good manners to his teddy bears. Or maybe he’d find a fancy dinner — with your best china
and tablecloth, candles and dress-up clothes — inspiring. You might exaggerate your good manners (pinkies up!) for fun. Some good rules for you and your child t %JČFSFOU GBNJMJFT BSF DPNGPSUable with different rules, so you get to decide. One family might be fine with everyone coming to dinner in their bathing suits or pyjamas, for example, while another may require that everyone gets dressed for dinner. Your family may enforce the “no elbows on the table� rule, while another has no such rule. t :PV MM XBOU UP NBLF TVSF UIBU your child learns to be polite, but there’s some leeway on what that means. Teach your child basic good manners, and even some fine points for fun, but don’t get too hung up on formalities. Good manners are really about being considerate of others. If your child keeps that in mind, he’ll do well. t ćFSF BSF B DPVQMF PG SVMFT ZPV might not want to enforce at mealtimes, though. One is the old “clean your plate� rule. You want your child to learn to stop eating when his body says it’s full, not when everything in front of him is gone. So offer small portions, refilling as necessary, and respect his decision to stop eating. t "U BHF ZPVS DIJME JT CFUUFS able than he was as a toddler or preschooler to sit at the table until everyone is finished eating, but you still may not want to require it at every meal. If your grade-schooler is finished eating and the rest of the family is just settling in for a long discussion about the local election, there’s no point in making him stay put. t " CFUUFS JEFB NJHIU CF UP MFU him ask to be excused whenever he’s finished. You might want to say that once he leaves he can’t come back for more food, though, so he won’t get in the habit of coming and going throughout the meal.
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Saturday Newswatch, June 15, 2013
COSON`s Music Foundation At the swearing-in ceremony of members of the Police Service Commission in Abuja on Wednesday
President Goodluck Jonathan (4th left), Vice-President Namadi Sambo, Chiarman of the commission, Sir Mike Okiro, and other members.
Events of `Wetin lawyers dey do sef`
Workplace & Enterprise Readiness Programme held at the LCCI,Lagos.
L-R Mr Akerele Tope, Mr Olayiwola Adeyemi and Mr Olatunji Simi.
L-R Mr Abiodun Balogun, Mr Richard Aigbirior and Mr Privilege Adegboyin.
Members of the Commission taking their oath of office. Photos: ANAYO OPARA
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L-R Managing Director/CEO, , Mr.Abimbola Olayinka; Chairman, Mr. Francis Adefarati and Company Secretary, Mrs. Shade Ogundare.
L-R National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association, Mr.Sunny Nwosu, Mrs. Chinye Egbochi of Resort Securities & Trust Ltd. and Lekki Branch Manager, Resort Savings and Loans Plc, Mr. Segun Taiwo Photos: Godwin Irekhe
PHOTOS:SAMUEL ALUKO.
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R-L Mr Kayode Lambo, Head, Corporate Communications, Mr Hassan Usman, Mr Roberts Orya, Managing Director/CEO, Nigerian Export Import Bank and Prof Okey Chris Iheduru.
R-L Mr Adedapo Adeleke, Mr Ibrahim Yusuf, Special Adviser (CPSO) to the President and Dr Ogho Okiti. PHOTOS: SAMUEL ALUKO
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Saturday Newswatch, June 15, 2013
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Onikan, Lagos.
L-R Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; Mr Yomi Badejo, CEO, CMC Connect; Prof Francis Oluyemi Fagbohun and Miss Moyo Oyatogun.
L-R Alhaji Abudulai Abukari, Consul General, Ghana High Commission; Barrister Onyekachi Ubani and Prof Itse Sagay (SAN). PHOTOS: SAMUEL ALUKO
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R-L: Chairman of the occasion, Chief Felix Fagbohungbe (SAN); representative of NAFDAC D.G, Mr. Kingsley Ejiofor and representative of Director, Prosecution & Legal Services, NDLEA, Mr.Yohanna Mahele.
L-R: Vice Chairman, NAJUC, Ikeja Branch, Mrs. Yejide Gbenga-Ogundare; Media & Communications, Pan-African University, Mr.Tomi Vincent and Sub-Editor, Daily Newswatch, Mr. Kola Bola. Photos: Godwin Irekhe
Inauguration of FC Barcelonaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Foreign Fan Supporters Club in Lagos.
The Green Lagos Season Two held at MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos.
L-R Mr Chris Adegbile, Nigerite Ltd; Nkiru Asika, Enterprise Creative; Omolola Omoteso of Cares Global Network.
L-R Special Guest of Honour/Foreign Fan Clubs Supporter, FC Barcelona, Antonio Freire , presenting a FC Barca plaque to the President, Board of Trustees, Penya Barca de Lagos Club, Mr. Leslie Oghomienor
R-L Mrs Awofeso Caroline, Mr Toyin Gbede, Nigerite Ltd, Mrs Orundami Funke and Mrs Tayo Dalegan
L-R: President, Board of Trustees, Penya Barca de Lagos Club, Mr. Leslie Oghomienor; Chief Commercial Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Ammar Kamar; former FC Barcelona star, Mr. Gbenga Okunowo and Senior Vice President, Board of Trustees, Penya Barca de Lagos Club, Mr. Kayode Adeleke
PHOTOS: SAMUEL ALUKO
Photos: Godwin Irekhe
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Saturday Newswatch, June 15, 2013
My kitchen
TEXT LAIDE ON Tel: 08127617040 laide4love2003@yahoo.com
Few of its
benefits
EYE HEALTH " vone genistein protects against x-ray induced cataract formation in rats. Soy is particularly high in genistein. Other recent research indicates that soy may also act as a radioprotectant. A radioprotectant would be administered prior to exposure to ionizing radiation to mitigate radiation damage. This could have health treatment, radiation contamination cleanup, and space travel
DIABETES AND KIDNEY DISEASE
Home-made delicious
Soy milk! Laide Sotunde
H
ealthy soy milk can be made easily at home. Here is how to make your own soy milk for a fraction of the cost when compared to shop bought soy milk. If you make soy milk regularly then you may purchase an automatic soy milk machine or soy milk maker which will save you a good deal of time. The following steps form the process of making soy milk Step 1 - soak the soya beans Soak your soya beans overnight in a large bowl of water (they will swell up to 3 or 4 times their dry size). The amount of soaked beans to use is about one cup per litre of milk required. Once you have made soy milk a few times you can try varying the proportions of beans and water to make either thicker milk or thinner milk depending on your tastes. Step 2 - crush the soaked beans Put a cup of beans in your food blender and add 3.5 cups of water. Blend for a minute until all the beans are broken down. Step 3 - strain the ground bean liquid Strain the resulting liquid through a cheese cloth into large pan. Wrap the cheesecloth around the remaining bean pulp and squeeze the cloth so as much of the liquid is extracted as possible. Once you have extracted as much of the liquid as possible, unwrap the cheesecloth
, Now remove any foam off the top of the milk liquid in the pan using a sieve or ladle. This straining stage affects the smoothness of the milk by influencing the amount of fibre in the milk. If you remove the hulls of the soya beans before you grind them in the blender you will make smoother milk.
You can if you wish repeat this straining stage to remove further shafts from the liquid. Step 4 - Boil the soy milk Place the pan on the oven hob and heat until the milk starts to boil. Be careful and make sure to use a pan much deeper than the amount of milk you have as when the milk starts to boil it will quickly foam up and over the sides of the pan if you are not careful. Boil for about 5 minutes then remove the milk from the heat and allow to cool. Step 5 - flavouring Plain soy milk can have a slightly bitter beany taste and as such many people like to flavour their milk and if you buy soy milk from a shop in a carton then it will often be flavoured. Vanilla and chocolate are popular shop bought soy milk flavours. The Chinese often use savoury flavourings to flavour their milk and use soy milk to make almost soups by adding soy sauce, spring onions, pickled vegetables etc. Vanilla and sugar is a common flavouring and these should be added when the milk starts to boil. Step 6 - using your soy milk You now have your healthy homemade soy milk that is free from artificial preservatives, flavourings and additives. Once cool, the soy milk is ready to drink and can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 days. You can use your soy milk to make ultra healthy smoothies combining the high protein, low cholesterol of soy milk with fresh fruit and other health supplements.
A number of research studies indicate that soy foods may help with diabetes and kidney disease. Legumes and soybeans in particular, have a very low glycemic index, making them an important component of a healthy diabetic diet. Soybeans were recognized to be helpful in controlling blood sugar as early as 1917. In that year, the Journal of Medical Science reported how diabetics who consumed soybeans passed less sugar in their urine, evidence of improved diabetes con provides this effect, so soy foods
HEART HEALTH The FDA has stated that consuming 25 grams of soy protein per day, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce heart disease by reducing cholesterol in the blood. Soy protein achieves this LDL (bad cholesterol) levels, leaving HDL (good cholesterol) levels unaffected.
CANCER # Cancer Society dietary guidelines to reduce cancer risk and they contain various anti carcinogens. Studies show that the typical Asian diet results in lower rates of breast, prostate, and colon cancers, compared to the typical Western diet. The mortality rate from breast and prostate cancers in Japan, which has the highest soy consumption, is about one fourth that of the USA. This Asian diet is comprised mostly of plant foods (legumes, fruits, and vegetables) and is low in fat. The Western diet has lower amounts of $ $ in complex carbohydrates, and is high in fat. A particular difference is that soy is a dietary staple in Asian diets, but is not common in the Western diet.