February 2018sm edition by The Voice magazine

ISSN:2588-8807

ISSN:1571-3466

Motto: Actuated towards Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s advancement

Volume 20. NO. 169 February 2018

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First complete African magazine published in The Netherlands since August 1999

Jebi Love aspirations

Interview With: His Excellency, Ambassador Oji Ngofa says I will protect all Nigerians in The Netherlands

President Weah assumes office in 1 Liberia www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com

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Contents

The Voice Magazine Volume 20. No 169 February 2018 Edition

24-26

10-16

44-47

ARTICLES 4 - Editorial: Lessons from President Weah election in Liberia. 7- Rwandan visa on arrival for all nations around the world 8 - Dr. Adewunmi Alayaki honoured 9 - Feedback- Page for your letters and opinion Page 22- Iceland becomes first country to legalize equal pay Page 23 - Doctors of the World helps people without papers to the doctor Page 27 - UCF: New political party in Holland brings racism, afro pain points to local elections in 2018 Page 32- President George Weah set goals for his sixyear term Pages 36 -41 - Welcome reception for Nigerian Ambassador to The Netherlands. Page 48 - African School launched in The Hague, The Netherlands. Page 53 - The Voice Achievers Award 2018 goes to Dubai... Page 55 - Africa’s ‘City of Innovation’ to Host Conference on ‘Uniting Africa’ Page 58-59 - Another African making waves in UFC Page 60 – Liverpool’s Salah aims to become Egypt’s greatest Pharaoh Page 61 – Africa’s 2018 World Cup teams to share $2.5m CAF support - No easy draw for African teams at the 2018 World cup final

HAPPY & PROSPEROUS 2018 TO ALL OUR CUSTOMERS AND READERS. WE LOVE YOU ALL. ENJOY 2018

SUBMISSIONS: Articles and photographs for publication are welcome but the publisher while exercising all reasonable caution cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage. Please ensure that all materials are sent by e-mail to our official email. For other inquiries, e-mail us as well at: info@thevoicenewsmagazine.com www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com

Editorial

Lessons from President Weah election in Liberia. Starting 2018 with this piece of good news is great for Africa. Once again we witnessed a peaceful transition of power in Africa’s oldest republic, Liberia with the election of exfootballer, George Weah as President. This development causes for optimism although he faces major challenges ahead. He was voted in on the platform for change particularly among the youths therefore there would probably be no room for honeymoon for him and his vice-president as soon as they assume office. Boosting the economy will be especially important for the new president, since many of his supporters - young, perennially unemployed or underemployed, and struggling financially are those most in need of opportunities now. The first test was the democratic institutions put in place like the judiciary, the party that came third after the first round had complained that there were irregularities and they should be allowed on the ballot at the second round of voting but the court had no enough evidence to warrant that so the elections went ahead putting Weah against former Vice-President Boakai, who served as deputy to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for 12 years. It was a fierce contest but at the end, George Weah won and his opponent accepted his loss with grace. Boakai offered the president “a hand of goodwill, friendship and gratitude” and urged Liberians “to work even harder to promote reconciliation”. It is also on record that Mr. Boakai is the first presidential candidate in Liberia since the introduction of multi-party democracy that has come out to concede defeat and congratulate his opponent and call for his supporters to rally behind the government. This is a signal that electoral democracy is not a zero-sum game any longer in Liberia. Politics in Liberia, which declared its independence in 1847, were dominated for decades by one-party rule, before a military coup in 1980. Then a period of uncertainty followed, eventually leading to back-to-back civil wars between 1989 and 2003 which left an estimated 250,000 people dead and the country’s economy and infrastructure in ruins. This year’s elections were the third since the end of the devastating conflict 14 years ago, while Liberia continues to struggle to reach its former self. The task now is on President George Weah to bring about the aspirations of the Liberian people. Even in the Diaspora, few Liberians we have spoken to welcome his election and change and departure from the old brigade. The end of Sirleaf’s era finds the country facing several challenges. Last year, Liberia ranked 177th out of 188 countries on the human development index scale, which measures life expectancy, access to education and standard of living, according to the UN Development Fund. About 64 percent of Liberians live below the poverty line, and 1.3 million citizens live in extreme poverty, the World Food Programme estimates. Inflation skyrocketed in recent years and economic mismanagement resulted in massive inflation, while the Ebola crisis of 2014 and 2015 also hit the economy 4

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hard. During his campaign, President Weah promised to “create more jobs, provide free education and free healthcare, but there were limited details on how those are going to be achieved” so it is time for business now and no more talk. But despite the often broad, thin-on-details Pastor Elvis Iruh promises, the footballer-turnedEditor-in-Chief politician’s message for change struck a chord with young Liberians who see in his meteoric rise an expression of their dreams for a better future. For many of his supporters, President Weah “represents their story”. He grew up in the slum where he honed his football skills to eventually go on to international sporting stardom. One of the biggest controversies before and during the election was his choice of Vice-President; he went for Senator Jewel Howard-Taylor, the ex-wife of former Liberian president and strongman Charles Taylor. Taylor was a central figure in the country’s first and second civil wars, which were waged between 1989 and 1997, and from 1999 to 2003, respectively. Taylor was sentenced to 50 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Sierra Leone and presently serving his term in United Kingdom. The last hurdle is fighting corruption in Liberia. How would President Weah tackle the issue of corruption in the administrative system of the country? Does he has the strength to confront corruption, with is effort at national reconciliation. This is a call that remains to be seen how he plans to work it out. The nation is watching to see his first few steps as he forms his cabinet in the next few months. Will he establish Liberian Anti-Corruption Commission and gives it the full power to prosecute people? “It’s a long road, but Liberians are really up for some actions to be taken against people who economically have really stolen from their country. As we congratulate President George Weah, a well-known personality to our publisher who encountered him as a footballer says he is a humble man who will not allow the new position to change his personality. He will work for the good of Liberians. It is on this note we welcome you to our very first edition of the Voice magazine for 2018. We do hope you all had a wonderful end of year celebration last year and looking forward to a blissful year in 2018. We are ready to serve our best and the stories, interviews in this edition are specially packaged for your reading pleasure. Do drop us a message on your comments and feedbacks. Happy New Year 2018 to you all. President Elvis Iruh Publisher/Editor-in-Chief

The Voice magazine The Voice magazine is editorially independent although we enjoys the support of our readers, subscribers, advertisers, non-governmental organizations and individuals of like minds; however the magazine publishers are in no way af filiated to any of these bodies or to any other publishing institution or political interest or group. The Voice magazine strives to foster awareness among the African audience and bridge the widening gap between Africans and the rest of the world in news gathering and dissemination. The Voice is published digitally online except on demand, we print hard copy. If you want to receive a copy, send us your email address. On the Editorial board are Pastor Elvis Iruh, Jonathan Mgbejume, Sandra Iruh-Monsels, and Henry Oduenyi READ THE VOICE ON LINE AT www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com Our Affiliate partner: www.thenigerianvoice.com Registration NO: (Kvk. Nr. 34.110.928) TAX (BTW) NO: NL806215809B01 ISSN: 1571-3466 (For Print edition) ISSN: 2588-8807 (For Digital edition) For payments, use these bank details: Stichting Paddi Europa SNS Bank Account No: NL29SNSB0908374372 Swift Code: SNSBNL2A OR Stichting Paddi Europa Knab Bank Account No: NL77KNAB0725202238 Swift Code: KNABNL2H

Graphic Designers David Banjoko (Graphic designs) Wil Gomersbach (Web Master) George Adegite Handy Tims Printer: Drukkerij Palteam www.palteam.nl THE VOICE MAGAZINE TEAM Publisher: Stichting Paddi Europa Editor-in-Chief Pastor Elvis Ndubuisi Iruh elvisiruh@thevoicenewsmagazine.com Founding/Contributing Editor Edward Idahosa Ogbee apexbest2000@yahoo.co.uk Managing Editor Henry D. Oduenyi (Nigeria Office) henry@thevoicenewsmagazine.com Associate Editor Late Lucky Osahon (London, UK) hlosahon@hotmail.com Project Coordinator Ifeyinwa Ezeagabu i.ezeagabu@thevoicenewsmagazine. com Advert Executive Faith Ehanire ehanire4607@gmail.com Project Editor (Nigeria) Chiedu Harris Ify henry@thevoicenewsmagazine.com BUREAU CHIEFS Gbenga T. Okunlola (London) teejayok@gmail.com Joel Savage (Belgium) juskosave@yahoo.com Femi Ikutiyinu (London) afpaprint2000@yahoo.com Collaboration with National Infinity Magazine, Lagos

CORRESPONDENTS ABROAD Nicholas Noghayin Ehioghiren (Madrid, Spain) nicholasmicnita@yahoo.com Barrister Eze Eluchie (Nigeria) paddingr@yahoo.com Kehinde Aig-Imoru (Nigeria) aigimoru@yahoo.com Rev. Tammy Abusi (Port-Harcourt) t.abusi@thevoicenewsmagazine.com Eubaldus Enahoro enabadus2000@yahoo.com Principal Photo Editor: Azeez Badris fatim_26@hotmail.com PA to Publisher Lilian Akintokun (Mrs) raven_lilian@yahoo.com MEDIA CONSULTANT Jonathan Mgbejume Abeka Salmin Abdallah Mildred Kleinbussink Pastor Duncan Spier Engr. Barry Igbeare Ambassador Laila Rahhall EL Aftani You can as well contact our Office Address: Stichting Paddi Europa Inz The Voice Jeroen Boschplantsoen 82 1318 HH Almere The Netherlands Land Line: +3136-8801341 Tel.: +31 (0)6-48519292 Mobile: +31 (0)6-84999548 E-mail: info@thevoicenewsmagazine.com www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com In memory of our late colleague, LUCKY OSAHON

OUR MISSION STATEMENT

The Voice magazine is published in the Netherlands by Stichting Paddi Europa and it is published online to a worldwide audience around the world. It is registered at the Chamber of Commerce Amsterdam. The Voice aim to serve as a vital link among African readers in the Diaspora and we provide objective information and organizes opinion exchange among African people both in the continent and abroad. Thus it strives to foster and enhance complete understanding of developing c ountries problems and bring information to help address those issues. TV

Volume 20

NO 169

February 2018 www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com

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RWANDA BEGINS VISA ON ARRIVAL FOR ALL NATIONS AROUND THE WORLD

he Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and East African Community of the Republic of Rwanda presents its compliments to the Diplomatic and Consular Missions (Resident and Non Resident) as well as international and Regional organizations accredited to Rwanda, and has the honour to communicate the following NEW VISA Regime of the Republic of Rwanda. 1. 30 days visa upon arrival: Citizens of all countries to get visa upon arrival without prior application starting from 1st January 2018. Before that, only Nationals of African countries and few others were getting visa upon arrival. 2. COMESA Member states to get 90 days visa upon arrival. Citizens of COMESA Member states to get 90 days visa on arrival (on payment of the prescribed fee) as provided by Article 4 of the COMESA protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Labour, Services, Right of Establishment and Residence. Rwanda ratified the protocol on 13th July 2016. Currently citizens of COMESA Member states were getting 30 days on arrival as other holders of African passports. 3. Rwandans living abroad with dual nationality allowed to use national IDs on entry. Waive visa fee to Rwandans traveling on foreign passports in possession of a Rwandan Identity card for countries that permit dual nationality only. Initially Rwandans traveling on a foreign passport in possession of a valid Rwandan passport were the only granted visa free on arrival. The ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and East Africa Community of the Republic of Rwanda avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the Diplomatic and Consular Missions (Resident and Non Resident) as well as international and Regional Organizations accredited to Rwanda the assurances of its highest consideration. NEW VISA REGIME Reference to Cabinet meeting of 08-11-2017 that approved the establishment of new visa regime for the Republic of Rwanda; the Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration would like to inform the public the following New Visa Regime: 1.

Reciprocity: Rwanda will grant visa free of charge

with 90 days validity to the following countries on reciprocal basis: Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, Ghana, Guinea, Indonesia, Haiti, Senegal, Seychelles and Sao Tome and Principle. This is in addition to Democratic Republic of Congo, East African Community Partner States, Mauritius, Philippines and Singapore. This takes immediate effect. 2. Visa waiver for diplomatic and service passports – The Government of Rwanda has entered into Visa Waiver Agreement for holders of Diplomatic and Service passports with; Djibouti, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, India, Israel, Morocco and Turkey. This take immediate effect. 3. Visa on arrival to all national: Citizens of all countries

to get visa upon arrival with validity up to 30 days without prior application, starting 01 January 2018. Before that, only nationals of African countries and few others were getting visa upon arrival. 4. COMESA Member states to get 90 days visa upon arrival- Citizens of COMESA member States to get 90 days visa on arrival (on payment of the prescribed fee) as provided by Article 4 of the COMESA Protocol for Free Movement of Persons, Labour, Services, Right of Establishment and Residence. Rwanda ratified the protocol on 13th July 2016. Currently, citizens of COMESA member states were getting 30 days on arrival as other holders of African passports. This take immediate effect. 5. Rwandans living abroad with dual nationality allowed to use national IDs on entry – Waive visa fee to Rwandans traveling on foreign passports in possession of a valid Rwandan passport were the only granted visa free on arrival. This take immediate effect. 6. Foreign residents to use their Resident ID cards for entry – Returning residents holding valid residence permits with corresponding resident cards will be allowed to use them on entry, including using electronic gates (Automated Passenger Clearance System) at Kigali International Airport. End.

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Celebration

Dr. Adewunmi Alayaki honoured

o God be the glory for this Medical Icon Leadership Award given to our friend and Goodwill Ambassador, Dr. Adewunmi Alayaki, the Executive Director of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hope General Hospital Limited, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. The award was by the Black Heritage

International. It was held at the Premier Hotel, Ibadan. This took place two weeks after receiving another prestigious award at The Voice Achievers Award 2017 and he was guest speaker at the award ceremony in Amsterdam in The Netherlands. .... Congratulations Dr. Adewunmi Alayaki.

Congratulations to you, Dr. Adewunmi Alayaki

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FEEDBACK Dear Editor,

The IG of Police called the mass killings in Tiv land, a communal crisis.

We are not surprised by his assertion. The attack was planned and well coordinated. The Cattle Breeders Association had threatened not to abide by the anti-grazing law. They called for mayhem. The world heard it, security agencies were quite aware, but as usual, they looked the other way and blood flowed. Thereafter, they are now sending security men there. What for? It is an afterthought, Government of APC donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem interested in protecting life and properties. No wonder, IG said it was a communal clash. Clash between who and who? God, who gave you power will no doubt ask for proper accounting. Blood of the innocent is flowing and crying for justice and judgment. The weak and defenseless will get heavenly justice, if there is

THE FAULT IS IN US ALL IN NIGERIA!

he blame for what Nigeria has become falls on you and me. Not Buhari, not Jonathan, not Obasanjo and definitely not Abacha. Our wickedness stinks to the heavens as we go about our daily lives, pulling down everyone and everything to become rich. We import substandard products, fake drugs and expired baby food unfit for human consumption and we have the nerve to complain about leadership? We even steal from widows, orphans, and refugees. We take their food and sell it for profit. No conscience. Nothing is

no government in the land to act. I am weeping as lam writing this. When did Fulani men who have lived with us, now know how to handle sophisticated weapons? Questions and questions. Pastor Maigida Mike Ameh Port Harcourt, River State, Nigeria

sacred. No one is spared. We build substandard roads, schools, houses, hospitals, all for profit at the expense of human life; an invaluable item which all our profit and contract sum cannot buy. One would think this behavior is reserved for urchins but it would surprise you that this is the character of many decent looking people who appear to be normal but are not any better than Boko Haram members. They are church members, Muslims, husbands, wives and sadly youths. We pervert justice and pretend we do not know right from wrong just to serve our selfish interests. Slave traders pale in comparison to what we do to ourselves. We are wickedness personified. So much hatred flows in our blood and we transfer it to our children. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s evident in what we say and do. We have fasting and prayer sessions all year long, night vigils and deliverance when the actual problem is we. We simply cannot learn to love others. It is me, me, me. That is all that ever matters. It is sickening. Anyone who cannot love has no business in politics, Government and in Nigeria. Until we understand this, we will continue on this path of destruction. I can Change, You can Change, They can Change and we can Change. Change starts with me.... Professor Isa Hussaini Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Maiduguri

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The Dutch government agrees to a structural platform to redefine bi-lateral engagements with Nigeria says Nigerian Ambassador to The Netherlands , Ambassador Oji Ngofa

mbassador Oji Nyimenaute Ngofa becomes Nigeria’s sixth Ambassador in The Netherlands the Voice magazine has been privileged to interview for our readers. I must confess I met a good match during this interview. A man of knowledge, wisdom and despite on a short notice, he was prepared for the questions and the task before him to represent Nigeria properly in the diplomatic field in The Netherlands. He received three editorial staff of the Voice magazine in his office including Mr. Jonathan Mgbejume, Pastor Duncan Spier and Pastor Elvis Iruh who moderated the interview. We spoke on ranging subjects and issues. Kindly sit down and relax to enjoy this special interview and a very happy New Year to you all. TV: Thank you for having us in your office sir. First, tell us a little bit about yourself before your appointment as Ambassador? Ambassador Ngofa: Okay, before my appointment, I was first in the private sector. At some point I thought that I have to give more. I am a kind of person driven by the desire to be part of any group that pursue public interest. I mean what is in the interest of the people and the good of the people. So I left the private sector to join politics. It wasn’t quite easy at the beginning but I wouldn’t bore you with all the details but eventually I became the Chairman of Eleme Local Government Council in 2008 and I was reelected in 2011. TV: That is in River State of Nigeria? Ambassador Ngofa: Yes, River State of Nigeria. Of course Eleme as you know is very popular, Eleme is the industrial hob of the country. It is where you have most of the industries in River State; there are two refineries located there, Fertilizer plant, two sea ports, the Federal Offshore terminal, Federal Light terminal, two Petrol Chemical complexes, Eleme Oil & Gas Chemicals, all of these are in Eleme so it is a very important Local Government in Nigeria. I was appointed Caretaker Committee chairman after I have exhausted my two terms mandatory service, twice as a matter of fact before I left there to join the National office of the party (APC) as the deputy National Secretary and a member of the National working committee, from there I was appointed as Ambassador of the Federal Republic of 10

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Nigeria and to meet you here Pastor Iruh with your team. (Laughs) Thank you sir. TV: Congratulations again on your appointment as our Ambassador? Ambassador Ngofa: Thank you very much TV: You have been here for about two months now. Have you been privileged to see the Nigerian community in The Netherlands? Ambassador Ngofa: Oh yes, oh yes, I think that is where I have managed to see you twice. We are trying to resolve the little issues that I met on ground. And we are almost through with the resolution of that problem. We think part of the problem is the constitution of the Nigerian Union here. So there is a committee working on that and at the end of their deliberations, we would have been able to resolve all the issues. I am sure you are part of some of the meetings and I am happy to say that they have decided to shield the sword as a follow up of our last meeting; the two groups nominated 3 members each and I appointed a chairman to look into the defects that gave rise to the crisis and the conflicts. That is being done and by the second week of January 2018, it should have been completed. And the leadership of NNA-L will remain as it is for now while we resolve all the other differences. We belief that by the next election, to my understanding in June 2018 or thereabout, we would have completely taken care of the situation. And a new leadership will emerge that would embrace everybody under one strong platform.

TV: This is good news to hear of this development. This is the first time we had two years break without an Ambassador. That vacuum affected how Nigerians relate with the Embassy. Are you able to catch up with all that has happened in your absence? Ambassador Ngofa: (Laughs) well, you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t catch up with all that has happened in two years absence in two months. A lacuna that has been created for over two years to be fixed in two months but what is important is that we have shown tremendous presence; the entire country and the diplomatic community now know that we have an Ambassador here. They are all aware, I have presented my letters of credence and we have started very strongly with our bi-lateral engagements with our host and I can tell you that we have broken through in an area that has been so difficult in the past and that is getting the Dutch to agree to a structural platform to redefine our bi-lateral engagements. They have agreed to that now as I speak to you. We have just received an MOU and that is the reason why I came to the office today to deal with that. We have gotten an MOU from our national office to send to them and we look at it because before now our bi-lateral relationship has been fundamentally on ad-hoc basis. They deal with immigration today if that is what suits them. They deal with one isolated issue if that is what suits them but looking at where we are as a country and what our interests are, we think that our engagements with them should be holistic because we consider them a very critical partner; they have been in Nigeria for so long we have been trading for so long in several things, you know we think it is time we know that we have got to the point of mutual benefit from the kind of relationship that we have shared over the years. And that can only be done when there is only legal framework. There is a basis we can hold each other accountable and responsible to our commitment. To hold each other accountable, this is what I have pushed for and graciously they have agreed. The documents are already with me and within the next few weeks, we would fine-tune it, get them to Nigeria before we sign it. TV: It is good to hear this development. It is one of the questions on my list. Ambassador Ngofa: Yes, in fact everybody was surprised how this happened within a short time while all the other former Ambassadors have tried to get it done. Well, my attitude is different, I just go for something I belief in and I am restless until I get it done. TV: One of the problems we have as Nigerians is that we know the Dutch receive good cooperation at our Embassy when they do require visa to travel to Nigeria but we do not get a reciprocated action from the Dutch Embassy in Nigeria? Ambassador Ngofa: Yes, it is true that we do not receive a reciprocating gesture from them. It will surprise you that we have dealt with this within the short time we are here as

well. Of course, their policy is an European policy, it is a Schengen policy as you know, what we have agreed in respect of Nigerians coming to The Netherlands is that French and Belgium embassies at home will just be a point of intake but we and them here in The Hague will determine who comes here; that is by the side what we have agreed in order not to compromise the entire European policies which they made us to understand but for us to make a lot of things easier for all because I pointed it out to them these different fields that we are all discussing and there are serious restriction of movements, how do we achieve all that we set out to do together? There must be person-to-person contacts, people must move freely but with all these policies we have a situation where we make

it easier for you and you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make it easier for us. So we let them know that it makes it so difficult for us and we cannot continue that way. I even pointed it out to the King when I had the opportunity of discussing with him. I told the King that this treatment is not right and it should not continue. So otherwise it will not augur well for the future we are looking at in terms of bi-literal cooperation. I think it was from that point the message must have got to them because the Foreign Ministry sent for me the following week after discussion with the King. TV: How was that experience, riding on the royal horse to the palace with the whole city watching you? It must have been special and unique? Ambassador Ngofa: It was quite amazing but I was humbled by the humility of the King. In fact, many people were wondering why it took longer than necessary my visit. I was with him for over 30 minutes; people were like what has happened? We were talking and laughing as if we have met before. His chemistry was great and I think it went well to start for me because if I can relate well with the King then that would solve a lot of problems for us here. Continued on Page 12

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Continued from Page 11 TV: One of the challenges facing our missions abroad is under staffing. What is the situation here sir? Ambassador Ngofa: Well, as you have rightly observed, it is a good point you have made. I have also seen it but before I came that has been taken cognizance of and we are expecting some posting. In fact, some had actually been done, they will resume in January 2018. We had some key desks that has not been covered at the moment, we have one person covering like 2 or 3 desks and so it is a problem from the National authorities and they are aware like you said. This is a very key and strategic Embassy because we deal with both bi-lateral and multi-lateral issues and we think we have been laid back on our multi-lateral responsibilities for some time now but we have a reason for that and we think it is time now to shift and move forward, a bit more visible for Nigeria than it has been. As you know, Nigeria is a world leader in the African continent and we have to demonstrate that leadership role at all times and we think it is time to puff our chest up diplomatically speaking (We all laughed) once more. TV: I am here to speak on behalf of Nigerians. Some complains that we get includes, administrative cost for issuance of passport, unfriendly attitude of Embassy staff. Have you heard any of these complains and what are you doing to address them? Ambassador Ngofa: I was in Rotterdam recently at a Nigerian Restaurant where I was hosted by few friends; somebody walked up to me and said Ambassador thank you that we no longer pay 40 euros administrative charges and I was happy that some of the changes we have brought here have also circulated down to the people. Now those

are the things before I came. The headquarters had already stopped the payment of the 40 euros as administrative cost but it was not implemented here yet but when NIDOE delegation raised the issue with me, I challenged my Consular department and they said they don’t collect such fees except through the agents so I asked what have they done to educate the people? To let them know that they don’t have to pay even to the agents so I directed that they should reflect that on our website and put up a notice to 12

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that effect. I am sure if you go to the website now, you will see it there. So people know that the 40 euros is canceled and I also want you to publish it please. They don’t have to pay it anymore. It is no longer applicable but I hear that some agents just include that, just to ripe off unsuspecting

customers. So that is part of what we are dealing with here. Also we have a clear directive from the Presidency in easing the ways of doing business that consular matters should be taken more seriously; one of the directives in effect is the issuance of visa to foreign business interests within 48 hours. We have not achieved that yet but we are working towards that, we know some of the challenges which includes that such directives run against existing laws that the Embassy has to work with. For instance there are certain categories of visa applications that require clearance from the headquarters before you can issue visas. Those laws are still there, you know the way things are? If you just go ahead in compliance with the new directives, you also run contrary to the existing laws. So these are some of the things we are still trying to fine tune. For instance, if you are a Dutch journalist that is going to Nigeria, the Ministry of Information must approve your visit, you know the bureaucratic process, we have to write to them and wait for their reply so it cannot happen within 48 hours. It is not possible. But outside of that category, we are dealing with this since I came here because I have realized that most of the reputation problems over other Nigerian Embassies suffer from are actually from the consular department. We all saw the video that went viral from London on social media. What stops the Ambassador walking out there before the camera and address the problem publicly? If you are sure of yourself. I will do that. If I get anybody here, I will walk out there to address the issue, whichever way you want it, I will give it to you right there provided I am on the right path. But that is the problem. I can tell you that I am taking the issue of consular services very serious here. I don’t want anybody to give us a wrong interpretation of what we are doing. We also urge you that whatever is going on out there, we may not know or hear everything, always contact me. Let us know about it and we would act upon it.

TV: I must admit that in two months you have been here, you have made yourself accessible to Nigerians, helping to resolve the rift among Nigerians. It is commendable sir. Sometimes it is difficult to access the Ambassador! Ambassador Ngofa: (Laughs) I am a grass root Ambassador if you like to call me so. Like I said earlier I am driven by working with people. The whole idea of leadership is about people. I just don’t understand when you claim to be a leader and you are not in contact with people. Where is the leadership? Whatever we do or whatever service we offer, we don’t offer it to ghosts or elements, we offer them to human beings and we must be in touch with those people to know how they fill; you must have a feedback mechanism, that is what is all about so as for me I am a strong believer in intellectual discourse, whatever you can offer or bring to the table to improve on what we already have I am always open to it. I don’t see why any public officer should be afraid of meeting with the people. TV: You mentioned improving bi-lateral relationship with Holland. In the past we have had business seminars and symposiums to attract investors to Nigeria. Do you have plans for such in the coming times? Ambassador Ngofa: Yes, a whole lot will come up as we go into 2018. One of the things I did as I came was to schedule a meeting with The NetherlandsAfrica Business Council (NABC) and in fact at the time I came, they already scheduled their end of year match making program. I had to practically gate crashed. And I asked them to include me and I was there in Rotterdam. A lot of tremendous interest in Nigeria, one of the things going on right now that will serve our purpose is that the Dutch have shifted their policies from mere trading, selling finished products to us; now they want to establish production lines, they want to manufacture with us, train our people here and export them to other African

countries, this is their new policy of engagement and I think it will do us a lot of good so it is up to us now to key in and see how we can leverage on their expertise and ensure that we just do not have knowledge transfer but capacity building so that a lot of these can be beneficiary to us. I continue to point out to them that this is the right direction to go; the reason is that we

shouldn’t be seen at all times as those who just want to migrate for economic opportunities here. We should be seen as those who can be benefited from as well. There are opportunities on both sides than us being seen as a burden to them. There is a whole lot we can offer apart from those who want to cross through Libya or illegal routes through the Mediterranean sea, all of us know that our country is seriously resourced in a whole lot of things, intellectually, materially, so we try to point out this positive sides, luckily for us, the Dutch are in Nigeria, they are still in Nigeria, doing great things, Shell is in Nigeria, Friesland Campina and Heineken are in Nigeria. Nigeria is probably one of their most profitable markets in the world. They can take the huge advantage of the vast population we have in Nigeria. Dreading, mining, Agriculture and so

many other sectors are available to them to invest. We are in a catholic marriage, Nigeria-The Netherlands, no divorce. We must find a balance in everything that we do. It should be mutual. And not just because they have the advantage of having technological advancement; if you want to stop this illegal immigration problem we are talking about, then send the said opportunities there (Africa). The moment the people has that economic opportunity, they have no need to take that risk. Who will want to do that if you have all you want in Edo State, sorry if you are from Edo State. (We all laughed). TV: It is okay sir; we all know what the problems are. Ambassador Ngofa: (Continues) We would have no need to take this dangerous route of going from Edo State to Kano State, to Niger, Libya and on the sea. Is that not madness? Then you are not even sure you will get to your destination. And the unfortunate thing is that when you get to Italy, Spain, France, Germany or Holland, you are starting life totally afresh with uncertainty of the future, uncertain of anything, some of those who do these are probably in their 20s or 30s, by the time you go through all that process and if you succeed, it takes nothing less than 5 to 10 years before you can get your foot on the ground. And you are gone; honestly it makes no sense to me. Continued on Page 14 www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com

“You must treat Nigerians with respect” - Ambassador Ngofa

Continued from Page 13 TV: What could be done with this situation now sir? Ambassador Ngofa: It is not really the wish of these people, the world is a global community now and when they hip up what is happening here, the people have access to the internet; you mean this is actually happening in The Netherlands, we will go there and see for ourselves. So you now has a duty to make sure that whatever you have produced here that have attracted them is available to them there or take it back to them there at the source so they don’t need these dangerous routes to get here and cause everybody the problem we are seeing now. This is my focus. TV: Officially we have at least 10,000 Nigerian professionals living and working in the Netherlands. Through NIDOE, there were promises of more engagements with Nigerians but that seem not to have materialized and… Ambassador Ngofa: (Cut in). NIDOE was established by President Obasanjo administration. The whole idea was to leverage on the expertise of Nigerian Diaspora, get the best and as I have always said our best access is in the Diaspora as far as I am concern. The whole idea was to use NIDOE as a platform to discover the relevant skills from time to time that the country would need but you know the dynamics and the politics of it. It would not happen just over night as we expect it especially when the visionary who saw the vision is no longer the President. The people who had come after him had not seen the purpose to sustain that vision. I think it is quite fundamental for us to do, this is my personal opinion or view but those who came after Obasanjo didn’t see the need for that. My engagement with NIDOE also have shown that they too are not pushing as much as they should for instance, the law that protect and guides what they do was just recently passed into law. I think with the necessary advocacy, with the necessary dialogue, with the relevant persons and of course that also has to do within the framework of the administration, every administration considers a priority so it is something that will happen but not automatically but I think that it is the right direction to go. I think that is the way to go and the Diaspora must not fill so comfortable in their comfort zones; you also must push for it. I know the tendency is to say we have the skills, we have the know-how, if they don’t want it, let them wallow on whatever they are doing but we have to create a means of integrating it. The biggest challenge in Nigeria is the interrogative – HOW! Because we really look 14

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at us, the resources are there both human and material. Others benefit from it but we have not been able to as a people. I know leadership is a basic factor, to translate that to prosperity. We have not been able to do that. Why is that a huge challenge to us? Until we are able to get it, the difference I tell everybody between these people and us here is because they have been able to translate the individual know-how and make it available to the society so every person benefits from it. And that is not the same with us; we are in an environment where nobody appreciates your individual intellectual property so they take it abroad. So until we are able to create a platform. TV: So what can you do from your Embassy here to help out the Diasporans? Ambassador Ngofa: What we can do here at the Embassy is to get all the details of Nigerians here, not just the professionals alone. I thought those data should be available but they are not. TV: Nigerians are reluctant to register with the Embassy for fear of their particulars being used against them? Ambassador Ngofa: Rather, registering with the Embassy is to your own advantage except you are not doing anything legitimate. I cannot as an Ambassador be part of any process that would treat Nigerians in a bad way. I would rather go back to where they brought me. I don’t see why you should be afraid, if you have problems, come to us. Every day we get letters of those they want to deport or those that have one issue or the other. I ask them what they have done. We have an MOU on that but we ensure that all the letters of that MOU are met before any person is taking out of this country. We have a committee; we meet with the people involved and ask them what the issues are.

TV: We often tell them to contact the Embassy, as we are all Nigerians, it is there right? Ambassador Ngofa: Please no Nigerian should be afraid to contact the mission or me. We are here to help them and work with them. Most times it is the consular department that has regular interface with these kinds of people. I have told them, you must treat Nigerians with respect but they tell me some times you tell them just to fill out a form, they don’t know how to do it. I tell them, teach them how to fill the form. If you don’t treat them with respect, they keep isolating themselves from the Embassy and they are the ones who give bad report about us. And when that goes everywhere that is the impression people create about us. One person here as Ambassador can’t do any magic. We all are ambassadors; we are interpreted by our own conducts and how people perceive us. We have suffered severe reputational problems and people just stay far away and just judge us because of what they pick from one or two persons. But when you come closer, it is not exactly as people say and this type of situation is created through inability of our people to relate well with others. This is very important. If someone comes and he has not done it properly, show him or her how to do it and ask him to bring it back. You have shown concern in its plight and don’t shout and tell the person just to take it away. You too learnt how to do it what you do now at the mission. Some body taught you too. I have had issues with them here from time to time I walk there to ask how are you finding the place? Just to see that I exact the necessary supervision to create such a vision of what I want to see in the Embassy. But it will take a bit of time. TV: People say you are youthful and energetic. How youthful is our Ambassador? Ambassador Ngofa: (Laughs). You tell me. For me how do you define a youth? But for me, whatever responsibility or assignment you are given, you must put in your best. You must bring the necessary energy, the right kind of passion and I think those things are the qualities that define a youth. You are not a lay back, you want to govern from the front line, and those for me and if that is what makes you think l am youthful then I say yes. Then if it is in terms of age, I am 49 years old. I am not a baby at all. (Laughs all around the table) TV: Congratulations again sir Ambassador Ngofa: Thank you. TV: Next election is next year (2019) and we pray it all goes well but with all your plans for the mission. How do you plan to execute them within the short time frame? How can we enjoy your stay as our Ambassador? Ambassador Ngofa: I don’t know, that is not within my reach but I am strongly hopeful that APC will return to power in 2019 and I am saying this on the strength of the fact of the reality as I see it on the ground. I know it has not been easy, the government has not lived up to our expectations but when you look at it very critically, you will see signs of direction, commitment to the three fundamentals especially in respect to our economy, security and anti-corruption war. Those are the things I consider as fundamentals because those were the actual

ground President Buhari administration campaigned for the elections. The politics of it I will not touch but it has not been the way we want it but the actual deliverables like security, economy and anti-corruption wars despite the misgivings, I can tell you it is no longer business as usual in government in Nigeria. Every government official knows the consequences of their actions now. Just getting out of recession will take a little while to recover to the full capacity of our economic potentials where everybody will fill the impact. We run an economy based on individual externalization of their stolen wealth so when you are connected to that individual or that group was the few who are enjoying the wealth of the country. Government never translates the wealth of the country into massive infrastructural development that will affect the people. It is when you build public facilities that the wealth of the nation can get to the people who owe the wealth. But we had a situation where few individuals less than 5% of the population were getting 80% of the resources of the population of the country. That is why you saw a few people that time who could buy private jets and living so big at the detriment of others. Now, how many private jets in the last two years? None. Nobody can try it under President Buhari. For the first time, a lot is been spent on capital budget instead of recurrent expenditures, paying workers’ salaries, something even a fool can do that every month. To think out of the box and to see how the wealth of the nation can be distributed to all; a creative leadership that affect the vast majority of the people. This is the direction this government is going. It is not easy because we are used to the old system; we also come from a country where we depend on one product, Oil. And when the price of this product collapsed in the international oil market in 2015 and 2016, the country nearly collapsed because the economy collapsed and the people suffered. And the people do not understand it. It was just coincident that President Buhari came to power when the prices of crude oil fell but those who were in the know predicted it. That it was going to come, that is why government should find solutions ahead, plan and look ahead and now President Buhari suffered the consequences of the myopic attitude of the previous administration and he has to struggle but one credit you have to give the President is that he is very prudent. He is not after the nation’s money. He is not corrupt; he is not interested in creating a source of financial dynasty around him. The saving grace of the government is that he has remained focus on key issues – economy, security and anti-corruption. No matter who is involved, he does not compromise and that is what has saved this country. And this is driven from his personal integrity that people are even afraid to raise the issue of corruption around him. One thing I know for sure is that we cannot afford to go back to where we came from. This is my take, whatever is the problem with the present administration, it is something we can deal with and move on. They are not fundamental as the mindset of the PDP administration that we had in the past where nobody belief in Nigeria any more. Continued on Page 16

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I will do everything within my power that no Nigerian is maltreated says Ambassador Ngofa Continued from Page 15 TV: Your advice to Nigerians reading you now? Ambassador Ngofa: Well I want to advise them strongly to remain united. I have appealed to the various groups to remain united, work together, live within the laws of our host country because I would find it difficult to defend anybody who has gone against the laws. But I will do everything within my power that no Nigerian here is maltreated. We are here and our mission charter is well defined, part of why we are here is to ensure that Nigerians living here are not taken for granted. That they do their legitimate businesses within the atmosphere of freedom and justice. Luckily for us we live in a country where the whole issue of justice and freedom and liberty are held very high and serious too so it makes our job easier. I will continue to advise them to live in peace among their neighbors and among themselves because we are one. At the end of the day, no matter what you say, no matter how you look at it, we are one people. And people back at home are expecting a lot from us. Like I often say Nigerians in the Diaspora are the external within. You are Nigerians who happens to be outside the geographical area called Nigeria. But everything you do, you are a Nigerian. They address you and perceive you in what we call faulty generalization. What you do can be considered what Nigerians do so it is important we take into cognizance how we conduct ourselves? Even before I came here, I met a

lot of people who have lived in Holland before and they tell me the Dutch people are good. It is because of the impression of one or two persons. Until I got here, I have been to other European countries but not The Netherlands so I am looking out too to see this sort of good gestures from the Dutch. So far so good, it is the same thing with us as Nigerians. As much as possible, tell them I consider us all as ambassadors of Nigeria. The only difference is I am just President Buhari principal envoy, I have the papers and others donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. (We all laughed and on this note we ended our first interview with Ambassador Ngofa). TV: Thank you very much Mr. Ambassador Ambassador Ngofa: Thank you very much too. Honestly at the end of the day we are all ambassadors of Nigeria and we must work together for the good of our country. TV

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Victory Outreach is a Pentecostal Church, Bible based believing people in the trinity of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. What would you like to know? Our vision? Which activities we organize? Or would you like to hear testimonies about how we follow God? One thing is certain, we would like to get to know you and therefore you are more than welcome to visit one of our services. You can visit us every day of the week. You may have been a believer for many years already. Or you might still be searching for the meaning of life and asking yourself whether or not there is God. Within Victory Outreach Almere we would like to help you find the answer. We will gladly teach you the exact meaning of â&#x20AC;&#x153;a living faithâ&#x20AC;?. With us you will truly see and experience the supernatural power of the living God. You can always count on love and comfort when you need it. You will discover that we have a wonderful diversity of people with lots of different backgrounds, characters and personalities. But there is one thing we have in common. We all follow the same God, Jesus Christ. In that diversity and love for God we are a family where you are more than welcome. We personally hope to meet you during one of our services. God bless you as you come in Jesus Christ name. Amen

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Iceland becomes first country to legalize equal pay

new law making it illegal to pay men more than women has taken effect in Iceland at the beginning of this year 2018. The legislation, which came into force on the first day of 2018, makes Iceland the first country in the world to legalize equal pay between men and women. Under the new rules, companies and government agencies employing at least 25 people will have to obtain government certification of their equal-pay policies. Those that fail to prove pay parity will face fines according to the new law. “The legislation is basically a mechanism that companies and organizations evaluate every job that’s being done, and then they get a certification after they confirm the process if they are paying men and women equally,” said Dagny Osk Aradottir Pind, a board member of the Icelandic Women’s Rights Association. “It’s a mechanism to ensure women and men are being paid equally,” she said. “We have had legislation saying that pay should be equal for men and women for decades now but we still have a pay gap. Iceland, an island country in the North Atlantic Ocean that is home to approximately 323,000 people, has a strong economy, based on tourism and fisheries. For the past nine years, the World Economic Forum (WEF) as the world’s most gender-equal country has ranked it. The Global Gender Gap Report uses markers such as economic opportunity, political empowerment, and health and survival to gauge the state of gender equality in a country.

Since the reports began in 2006, Iceland has closed around 10 percent of its total gender gap, making it one of the fastestimproving countries in the world. Iceland’s center-right government, as well as the opposition, in a parliament where nearly 50 percent of all members are women, supported the new legislation. “I think that now people are starting to realize that this is a systematic problem that we have to tackle with new methods,” said Aradottir Pind. “Women have been talking about this for decades and I really feel that we have managed to raise awareness, and we have managed to get to the point that people realize that the legislation we have had in place is not working, and we need to do something more,” she added. The Icelandic government plans to completely eradicate the wage gap by 2020. According to the latest WEF report, the top five best performers in the global gender gap are Iceland, Norway, Finland, Rwanda and Sweden. Yemen, on the other hand, is currently the lowest-ranked of the 144 countries measured in the report. The war-torn country has been low-performing in terms of economic participation and opportunity for several years. Fifty-two countries fell below the global average in 2017, including China, Liberia and the United Arab Emirates, while 60 saw their overall gender gap decrease. Hungary was the only European country to be ranked lower than the global average, having scored poorly on political empowerment.

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Doctors of the World helps people without papers to the doctor

ou are sick, but you don’t have a health insurance. What can you do? You receive a high bill from the hospital, but you don’t have papers and no health insurance. What can you do? Many migrants in the Netherlands without a residence permit don’t know that they have the right to visit the doctor for a medical consult and that their safety is guaranteed. Everyone is entitled to medical care, with or without papers, with or without an insurance, with or without money. Doctors of the World helps people without a residence permit to gain access to healthcare because we believe that everybody, regardless of their background, is entitled to physical and mental wellbeing.

(churches, mosques, community houses) about healthcare and how to get care without a residence permit Would you like to host a group presentation of Doctors of the World for your own organization and ‘followers’ ? Please contact our Outreach coordinator Carola Leering at: 020—4652866 or 06-28444803 (Monday, Wednesday or Thursday) Email: zorgrecht@doktersvandewereld.org 3. Provide information via our telephone help-desk. We provide information about rights and obligations and answer questions of people without a residence permit. Healthcare providers, support organizations and other stakeholders can also make use of our help-desk service for advice on access to health care for migrants without a residence permit.

How does Doctors of the World help people without a residence permit? 1. Consultation hours in Amsterdam and The Hague We help with health care-related questions, such as enrollment with a General Practitioner (‘huisarts”) or midwife. We will also contact other institutions when there are any problems in your way to healthcare. Where can you find us? Four days a week our healthcare bus, the mobile office of Doctors of the World, runs in Amsterdam and The Hague. On our website you can see where this bus is located and at which time. and on what day. Phone helpdesk: 020-4083424 Website: www.doktersvandewereld.org/need-help-2/ Email: zorgrecht@doktersvandewereld.org 2. Giving group presentations at various locations

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I dream of having a television station in future says Jebi Love

are to dream and that is exactly what this young intelligent, ambition and hardworking Nigerian born lady, Jebi Love is doing and definitely the sky is her foundation. She is turning her hobby and passion into reality by starting a radio talk show, reality interaction with her fans through her Facebook page and now it has taken a whole new dimension. Now she is a motivational speaker, event show host, counselor for people who needs advice on issues of life and being a wonderful mother to her daughter. She is our guest on face to face in this New Year edition of The Voice magazine. The Voice Publisher/Editor-in-Chief had this special interview with her to talk about her life and ambition for the future. She did not disappoint. Excerpts from our chat with her. Happy reading: TV: Jebi Love. Is this your real name and why do your fans call you this name please? Jebi: Jebi Love is not my real name or official name my parents gave to me. When I started my talk show, it became my brand name and many of my fans had come to know me and address me as such. So I am proudly called Jebi Love. I took up the name since 2001 and I am comfortable with it. TV: So it means you will not tell me your real name for

now? Jebi: I will tell you sir but it is not for publication. I am proud of my name and my root from Nigeria but when you have a following with a brand name, you want to maintain that or else you confuse your followers with two different names. For now, I remain sincerely yours, Jebi Love. TV: Tell our readers a lit bit about yourself? Jebi: I am a lady in my 30s. I was born and brought up in Benin City, Edo State of Nigeria. An Esan by tribe from Edo State. I studied Mass Communication at Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, also in Edo State. I am a media personality, I worked as a radio presenter (Host of ITZJEBI ON AIR) and also as a presenter at URBANVIBEZRADIO based in Antwerp, Belgium. I host red carpet events, work as an actress, a counselor like a therapist to my queens and kings through my show. I am also a motivational Speaker at conferences. I am a Christian. I live and work in Belgium with my daughter.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;And the name of my TV flagship is JEBITV. You can find it on Facebook and join me live and follow meâ&#x20AC;?. 24

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TV: How did you pick interest in the media? Jebi: I have always loved the Media. I have always wanted to be a newscaster. Back then in Nigeria, I read a lot of newspapers and even practice with the mirror in front of me on how to cast the news mimicking my television idols. Because then, there was no teleprompter so the news was typed (smiles) although journalism was my second choice but I loved the media. My first choice was to read Law and become a lawyer. But when I got admission into the Federal Polytechnic in Auchi, I fell in love with Mass Communication (Broadcast in particular not print media). During my industrial training at ITV Benin and EBS Benin, both television stations in Nigeria, I was blessed to learn a lot from people I respected so much that I can’t even start mentioning their names here because they are so many of them who inspired me in this profession. TV: Can you give us some names please? Jebi: Yes of course, I have interviewed the likes of DAVIDO, TEKNO, SKALES, STEVE CROWN, I GO SAVE, KLINT DA DRUNK, VICTORIA IHAMA, STELLA DORMOKUKUS, TONY AIR, TONY AKINYEMI, to mention but a view. And the name of my TV flag is JEBITV. You can find it on Facebook and join me live. TV: How do you get feedback with what you are doing on the social media like Facebook? Jebi: I call my followers, ‘My Queens and Kings’. These are dedicated fans to my show so I am making it into my fan club on social media that includes viewers, listeners and fans. They do call in, send in their messages through my Facebook in box or they can email me or telephone depending on the program content. They let me know how much they enjoyed my program, some do criticize me as well, some gives words of encouragement and some call for counseling or needing information. TV: You handle several topics on different subjects on your program. How do you come about the choice of what to discuss on your talk show? Jebi: Actually, concerning topics or subjects I have treated on my program. It is based on day-to-day life experiences; some through emails or letter sent to me or inspired by our day-to-day activities. And some through revelations and sometimes through my team or from my viewers or listeners. We do discuss the subject matter together or I handle them myself. We are all learning through the whole process including myself. TV: Recently in the news is the issue of illegal immigration from Africa to Europe! What is your take on this? Jebi: On the issue of illegal immigration. I have said it on repeated times that it boils down to illiteracy and poverty. If the educated youths are employed and well paid in their countries of origin, they won’t run away from their Fatherland to risk their lives on the sea and if the Governments make the necessary plans for their youths or kids, they will go to school and not be brainwashed

easily by anyone to go seek for a better future in a foreign land. TV: What is your vision for your talk show in the next few years? Jebi: My Vision is to expand in all areas of my career. My aim is to own a television station. And through that I will be able to create job opportunities for our youths both in Africa and here in the Diaspora. TV: How will you access the African press in the Diaspora? Are they living up to your expectation or do you expect more from them? Jebi: The African press in the Diaspora need to buckle up. Be sure in what is published out there. Too much copy cats and competitions, which is uncalled for anyway. So what I expect from them is to step up their game and be up to date with their coverage of things. TV: You attended the Voice Achievers Award 2017 for the first time, what was your impression of the event? Jebi: Yes I did attend the Voice Achievers Award for the first time last year (2017) and I must say I am impressed. I was glad I was there to witness the event first hand. I made business connections, which is very important in this field.

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Continued from Page 25 TV: If you have to advice the organizers, what would it be? Jebi: What I would advise the organizers on is more food next time (smiles). I love my food but by the time it was my turn, the food was finished (smiles). On a serious note, there are a lot of talented individuals doing well in their chosen field and are not recognized yet. We have to search for them and also let them know they are appreciated and supported. And maybe every year a talented individual can be chosen to be an Ambassador for the Event and this individual gets to work on a project (Aids, domestic violence, child abuse etc.) alongside some important personalities from the event e.g. Ambassadors, journalists, Doctors or Lawyers among others. TV: Apart from your talk show, do you do any other thing for a living? Jebi: Apart from my talk show, I work as a care Nurse. My Job focus is more on the elderly patients. Making sure they have the best of care before they pass on. TV: Where do you see yourself in the next five years? Jebi: In the next 5 years, I see myself as the owner of a Television station, Married, Inspiring more lives positively

l i k e I am currently d o i n g , enjoying a b o o m i n g career with lots of sponsors, becoming a household name, Brands Ambassador and also able to broadcast to a more larger audience like in their millions. Because now I am reaching just few hundreds or thousands. TV: Are you in contact with your country of origin, Nigeria and if you do, what advice do you have for those inspiring to power? Jebi: Yes of course. Nigeria is my country. The current administration should give our youths a chance to make our country great again. “OUR MUMU DON DO”. TV: Lastly, when you are not in the studio, what else do you do and how do you relax? Jebi: If l am not in the Studio or at work, I spend time with my daughter. I read books or read items online, watch movies and I sleep a lot. I love my private time. One thing most people do not know is I like to be quiet when I am at home. I listen to music and put my phone on silence TV: Any word for the readers of the Voice magazine? Jebi: To your readers. Be you. Let no one set you on a race to failure. Push and press for success with time you get better and get to your destination. I wish you all success and greater heights in this New Year 2018 TV: Thank you for the interview Jebi: Thank you sir, it is a privilege. God bless us all.

“Nigeria is my country. The current administration should give our youths a chance to make our country great again”. 26

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UCF: New political party in Holland brings racism, afro pain points to local elections in 2018 The Netherlands is richer in a national political party. U-Buntu Connected Front (UCF), led by politician Iwan Leeuwin has launched its offensive to participate in the municipal elections on 21st March 2018 for seats in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. In a press release, the party states that the perspective for its political actions is based on the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa that U-BUNTU has as a starting point for the “new national umbrella norms and values after the abolition of the apartheid system.” “In the explanation of Madhiba Nelson Mandela: if people are treated well and equally, if they have equal opportunities and the room to develop and develop their talents, if they are not constantly criminalized, considered inferior, or become racist approached, they will undoubtedly perform better at all levels of society, “says the new political party. The message indicates that the main goal of UCF is to engage in active politics in the broadest sense of the word, but also emphasizes that it will work to reduce racism and afro Afro bias and to raise awareness of the effect of slavery of the Netherlands. “If it is up to UCF, all racist phenomena that refer to the objectionable Dutch slavery and colonialism will

disappear altogether. There must be a ban on all (cultural and historical) traditions that contain racist elements. Starting with an approach aimed at the public spaces in the Cities where UCF is part of the City Council. UCF party leader, Iwan Leeuwin, who is currently chairman of the FIL (Iwan Leeuwin Group) in the Amsterdam Zuidoost district, says that Amsterdam and Rotterdam serve as indicators for the next national elections, in 2021, for a national Parliament. For the municipal elections of March 21st, 2018, he is the party leader for UCF in Amsterdam. In Rotterdam UCF is represented by other members. He also said this about the name of the party: “That’s a good thought. We have not gone ice in one night. A survey was held among key persons from the constituency. Experts have also been consulted at home and abroad. We also told the story about the position of Dutch citizens in particular of African origin in the Dutch national political party structures and the political governing bodies. Also about the ineligible places on the various lists of the participating parties in the elections for the Second Chamber of the State’s General held in March 2017. The deprived position of citizens with an indigenous background is also worrying. UCF wants to change this in such a way that their visibility is promoted and the opportunities are increased. This will also be implemented on the candidate list. “ Read more about the main lines of UCF here.

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President George Weah set goals for his six-year term

iberian President George Weah has set modest goals for his six-year term, calling for Liberia to start exporting crops and repairing decrepit infrastructure, in his first interview to a global audience, he put emphasis on agriculture as a target of his administration to improve the welfare of his people. President Weah rode on a wave of youth support to capture more than 60 percent of the vote in last year’s Presidential re-run election, but he will need to manage expectations as he attempts to revive one of Africa’s worst-performing economies. He replaces former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female head of state and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, in Liberia’s first democratic transfer of power since 1944. She served 12 years as democratically elected President until she step aside as the constitution of Liberia permits only two terms of six years per term. Seated outside his unfinished new house on a quiet dirt backstreet near the capital Monrovia, where a concrete sign announces, “Friends of Weah say welcome”, the 51-year-

old ex-soccer star began to tentatively fill in some of the gaps in his vague campaign promises. “I want for us to be self-sustaining so we can export,” he said, appearing at ease in a dark blue dress shirt and gold watch. “The government has a responsibility to have agricultural programs so people are able to grow their own food.” “Ghana exports, our neighboring countries export - we have the capacity to export,” he continued. “They export and we can do the same.” Liberia spent years recovering from civil wars from 19892003 that killed hundreds of thousands of people and then was hit more recently by low prices for its chief exports, iron ore and rubber, and an Ebola outbreak from 2014-16 nearly paralyzed the country. More than 60 percent of Liberians depend on agriculture 32

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for their livelihood and multinationals like Malaysia-based Sime Darby have invested heavily in palm oil plantations. But the sector has languished due to low productivity, forcing Liberia to import more than 80 percent of its staple

foods. President Weah has also made repairing Liberia’s hollowedout infrastructure a priority. He grew up in Monrovia’s Clara Town slum and he can look out on the derelict lots and gutted streets from the upstairs balcony where he spoke to the press. “The roads for connectivity are vital. We have partners and we have revenue that we will make sure will come in to build our roads,” he said. President Weah, who starred for top European clubs such as AC Milan and Paris Saint Germain, Chelsea in the 1990s, has parlayed his rags-to-riches biography into political success but faces criticism that he lacks the experience and knowledge for the job. He has in turn promised to surround himself with first-rate advisers and appealed to Liberians living overseas to return home to join him to work together to bring Liberia back to a place of glory in Africa and in the world. “We will have economists who will put us on track. They will look at what is in the coffers and then work out how to move forward,” he said. In the days since he became president, security guards in sharp suits and ties have appeared outside the house and a new watchtower rises above 10-foot walls reinforced with barbed wire. But President Weah insisted that his newfound status would not go to his head. “I don’t want my title to define my character,” he said as he walked the property, exchanging jokes with the staff. “I don’t think as a president I will change.” Time will tell if he will remain the same George Weah the ordinary people sings his praise.

Ndubuisi traditional engagement…. Before the close of 2017, Mr. Ndubuisi Ezeagabu started the process of marriage by going to ask the hand of his heartthrob, his beautiful fiancée, Miss Chukwube Ogechukwu Anene in a traditional dowry and introduction ceremony. The colourful event took place at Umuokpu, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria. With his family and friends accompanying him on this first leg of his journey to be married. The traditional bride dowry settled, refreshment and entertainment out of the way, it is now the full preparation for the wedding ceremony. According to vine sources, it would happen something in 2018 by God’s grace. The real wedding ceremony will soon announced. Congratulations on behalf of the Publisher of The Voice magazine to both of you. TV

Congratulations Ndubuisi & Chukwube on your engagement. It is the lord’s doing and marvelous in our sight. TO God be all the glory......

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EVENTS LISTING, INVITATION AND TICKETING WEBSITE DEBUTS A new website designed for event organizers and users has launched. Inviterite is the next-generation platform intended to assist event organizers with the creation of stunning listings and sending email invitations to the attendees at the press of a button. Public, private and business events can all be listed, as well as sending bespoke invitation notes and sale of tickets. All these are built in to the platform, complemented by a user-friendly and aesthetically-pleasing 3-step process with features that are easy to navigate. Inviterite aims to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with existing providers of service in this sector, by creating a niche market with added values and a platform that is backed by a vibrant digital media and marketing outlet. It will consistently improve upon both the mechanisms and dynamics of its operations without disruption to the users. Franklyn Frantos, Co-Founder of Feferity Media Group Limited, owners of Inviterite said: “We have in Inviterite an all-encompassing event listing, invitation and ticketing portal where no facet of celebration or social activities are ignored. Grand celebrations, small group private events, formal ceremonies and social get-togethers are all allowed on our platform. Users of this website will be treated warmly as clients, and not just as some obscure website visitors logged on somewhere. This way, we aim to build a community of client-users who will have at their disposal functional data sets built up from constant patronage and which can then be used to assist in planning future events.” We also have a vast understanding of the nuances of events organizing among the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups. These would be brought to the fore and used to the fullest advantage to ensure events are completed to perfection. Inviterite will massively deploy social networking media promos for more visibility of users’ events prior to its holding. What’s more, we are allowing users free access to this platform, so no commissions or charges are incurred whether organizers list free-of-fees or fee-based events. Event organizers are enjoined to register on our platform and upload current and future events. It doesn’t matter if they are listed elsewhere already. It would simply increase the events’ visibility. Visit https://inviterite.co.uk to register and use this exciting new service. And, remember.... It’s FREE! -EndsNotes to editors * Inviterite is the first event listing website designed to consider, specifically Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups in its provisions. * The portal has both the capability and the resources to fully engage the vast array of social and formal events, specific to these groups, thereby making the most success of events listed on the site. * The services are being provided free as neither fee nor commission is charged for the usage. * Inviterite is powered by Feferity Media Group Ltd, a consolidated media outfit, publishers of Feferity magazine (online/ digital and print editions). The online edition is due to go live early in October while the preview (print) edition will be on the newsstand 1st week in December. * Feferity will offer event organizers who use Inviterite the requisite pre-and post-event media support to make their events exceed expectations in terms of success. (Public, Private and Business Event Listings, Invitation & Tickets) Feferity Media Group Ltd Kemp House, 160 City Road, London EC1V 2NX United Kingdom Tel: 03330 110 781 Web: inviterite.co.uk Facebook: Inviterite; Twitter: @inviteriteuk Pinterest: Inviterite; LinkedIn: Inviterite

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Welcome reception for Nigerian Ambassador & h

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his wide Amb. & Mrs. Ngofar to The Netherlands Photos by Fatai Badmus

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Welcome reception for Nigerian Ambassador & h

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his wide Amb. & Mrs. Ngofar to The Netherlands Photos by Fatai Badmus

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Welcome reception for Nigerian Ambassador & h

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his wide Amb. & Mrs. Ngofar to The Netherlands Photos by Fatai Badmus

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Passing tribute to Pastor Emelius Eduard Henry Hongerbron 8th Nov. 1936 - 27th Nov. 2017.

any things happened last year (2017) regrettably some happened so fast that we didn’t even have time to grief with our loved ones and friends. I loss a father figure in my life. A pastor, a shepherd, a friend but he preferred to be called a ‘brother’. I met him just nearly three years ago through his daughter, Stephanie TimmermanHongerbron. Our father and son relationship blossom. He was advised me from time to time and always encouraging me. I was privileged in 2015 to have him recognized at The Voice Achievers Award for Spiritual Leadership as he has given

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more than five decades of his life to building God’s people and its kingdom. He served the lord with his last breath. Truly a great man of God and he would be dearly missed. Brother Hongerbron spoke as many languages as he was opportune to learn. He was a living encyclopedia. He has since been buried on 2nd December 2017. May his soul rest in peace. Our condolence from The Voice magazine team and The Voice Achievers Award committee to the whole family of Hongerbron.

Adieu Lucky Osahon (a.k.a Oscar): We lose a gem in The Voice magazine fold

ucky Osahon, I still refuse to address you as LATE because you will not be late to us at The Voice magazine. You are a friend, a brother, a colleague and a confidant. You were born to impact people’s lives and that you did with the years God granted you here on earth. You impressed and everyone who has meant you have kind words to say about you. Personally this is not those write ups to praise sing a person when he is no longer around. I told you to your face how appreciative we are as an organization to you and personally your impact on my work and me. I cannot remember precisely the date we met but my good friend, Edward Ogbee brought you to me that you were interested to be part of The Voice magazine team. We held a couple of meetings in your home at Roermond in The Netherlands and the rest is now history. We connected at once and in fact Edward was out of the picture as our friendship blossom to becoming family friends. We visited your home with the rest of the team, ate together and drank together and we also worked together. You and your ex-wife hosted us happily. We worked together as family at the Voice magazine. Severally I did work with you, circulating and distributing the magazine within the Netherlands and across the border to Germany and Belgium. You were a networker, where you cannot handle things, you call me to it. “My Editor I have spoken to the First Lady of Edo State, she is ready for the interview. You can send a reporter to go with me for the interview?” These are your words to me; you continue to provide business contacts. When I travel to Benin City, you get me the best hotel deals by calling your friends who are hoteliers to give me good discount. You make sure I don’t over spend my budget. You always ask after my Dad when you visit Nigeria and at the turn of the New Year. He did asked after you and painfully I had to tell him you left us. On the family

front, a loving father to your three kids in Holland, a very fun person to be with and you never disappoint on your promises. Then you decided with your ex-wife to relocate to Nigeria. You told us at a meeting in your home, I had my reservation but you and your family was excited about it. You sold your house in Holland and set off to Nigeria, Abuja to be precise. Unfortunately for a period of two years, we lost contact while you struggle to set down but things did not work out as you have planned. The end result was a break up with your ex-wife; you had that set back and decided to relocate to London. You assured me that the next plan was to move back to Nigeria, as you were tired of living in Europe. True to your word, you went back to work, you went back to study at University of Roehampton. I visited you twice in London, saw you moved rooms trying to minimize spending too much on rent while you had unfinished projects in Nigeria. You made it to two of our award ceremonies; you introduced me to another friend of yours, Chief Jacob Idinye who has become my personal friend. We spoke severally, we share visions, dreams, and we enjoy chats and looking ahead to great time in 2018. One thing on your mind was your final plan to move back to Nigeria. Your last words of advice have become divine and I keep them to heart. My faith in God does not allow me to query God on his reason to take you home at this time of your life when you still had unfinished dreams. But one thing for sure is your plan to relocate to Nigeria finally. Yes, you did finally relocate to Nigeria where you have finally found rest although we never expected it this way. The Voice magazine Editorial board and our staff send their condolence to your children and the rest of your family. You will always remain in our hearts and remain part of our team to the very end. Adieu Lucky Osahon and rest in peace. You rose to become an Associate Editor with The Voice magazine. Thank you for sharing part of your life with us. Pastor Elvis Iruh on behalf of The Voice magazine team.

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Cabals govern Nigeria and herdsmen attacks in Benue are to wipe out Christianity says Bishop Timothy Yahaya

ishop Timothy Yahaya of the Anglican Communion, Kaduna needs no introduction for those who read the newspapers in Nigeria. He is a charismatic and out-spoken Bishop who is not afraid to bear his mind out on matters affecting the church, the people and the nation, Nigeria. The recent killings in Benue State where part of our interview discussion and he spoke clearly on the state of Nigeria. I pray that those in authority read this interview and take to heart his words. Bishop Yahaya was frank on the issues affecting Nigeria. Join me as I chat with Bishop Timothy Yahaya. Excerpts: TV: Short introduction of yourself? Bishop Yahaya: My names are Timothy Yahaya. I was born in Zaria and I am the Anglican Arch-Bishop of Kaduna as of today. TV: How long have you been a Christian? I think this is a good way to start this interview. Bishop Yahaya: I was born into a Christian home, that is one part but I gave my life to Christ specifically by the grace of God in 1984 so for me born into a Christian home is different from having an encounter with Jesus Christ. My father was a Priest so I knew all the rituals of the church but I didn’t have Jesus Christ in my life. TV: Coming from the North, the impression we often get outside is that all the Northerners are Muslims. And I hear that you were born into a Christian home so how has it

been from your childhood? 44

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BishopYahaya: From my childhood, we had some experiences that were not pleasant to say the least because of our religion and where we came from. The truth about the North is, the North is a mixed breed, even in Sokoto, you have indigenous Christians, in Kano, you have indigenous Christians, in Maiduguri, you have indigenous Christians but because they are been marginalized. When I say marginalization, I mean terrible marginalization. They don’t seem to know that their country belongs to them. In amenities, you don’t give them what belongs to them; education-they have to struggle for it; even if that State offers scholarship some are denied scholarship because of their faith. So you can go on and on. When you see a bad road in communities, you discover that the community having such problems are predominantly Christians. TV: When you say being marginalized but our constitution says freedom of religious practice for all. Which I think it has greatly been respected in the South, the West so how come it is a problem in the North? Bishop Yahaya: Well, I think this country called Nigeria is a place where you need to live in some parts of this country to understand the situation and ask yourself this question, are we living in two different countries or applying two different constitutions to govern this country? Because let me give you an example, when I lived in Kebbi State for instance, a NITEL staff cannot climb a NITEL pole, you have to take permission. When you have money, you cannot build an upstairs, you have to take permission or else they will tell you that you cannot do it. Many other things like that so you find out that when you talk about freedom of religion, freedom of religion is on paper in some parts of our country. What do I mean? Churches that have been there before and during the colonial times, the lands are been taken over even though they have C of O. The recent one we fought over is the Cathedral that is over 108 years old, that is in Zaria, the Cathedral of Zaria. The government wants to bulldoze it down. Also attacks on the church in Gusau, they have been going through series of attacks and untold hardship because they have bulldozed the churches there.

TV: Why are they destroying the churches? Bishop Yahaya: They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want the presence of the churches there any longer. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want the presence of Christianity there anymore; it is as simple as that. TV: What is the population of Christians in a State like Kaduna?

Bishop Yahaya: My brother I cannot give you a clear figure or statistics but Kaduna State, the entire Southern part of Kaduna are Christians. You will have pocket of Muslims who came from elsewhere to live among the Christians or to settle there so you are not talking of a minority per say; and there are some gimmicks happening in this country known as Nigeria. If you check how they allocate ballot boxes at elections which determines who become a leader; a community that qualifies for 10 ballot boxes if they are Christians, they are given 3 ballot boxes; a community on the other side that qualifies for 3 boxes get 10, 15 or up to 25 ballot boxes and that is how they win elections and that is how the people are marginalized. TV: What are the Christian bodies doing about these things since they have the information? Bishop Yahaya: There is a body known as the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). They can shout, shout and shout but there is a group of people that whenever they have made up their minds on what they want to do, they are not ready to soft peddler so what do you do? TV: How does this affect the church itself in the North? I mean the people. If you as a Bishop speaks like this! Are they free to come to the place of worship? Or there is the fear of uncertainty? How do you handle that with the people? Bishop Yahaya: (Laughs). There are times when the persecution comes to the point where the people are killed. In that case, some people will withdraw and stop coming to church. They are afraid for their lives. But obviously, you know what happens when

someone is born in a particular place in the country for 30 or 40 years, he or she lives all their lives there. The reason is that this is the only place he or she knows but someone can come from Niger Republic and claim to be a citizen of Nigeria and go through the ladder to the top most position in this country. But someone who is a Nigerian from another part of the country but because of his religion, he stays in a particular state, married there, give birth to his children there; born and breed there but they will tell you that you are a non-indigene so the implication for you as a Christian; when your children want a job; they cannot find a job. They cannot be admitted to some schools because of their religion or faith. How do you explain that? So you find that we as Christians have the psyche of the fact that God is always on our side and he will help us out. We believe also that it is not enough reason(s) to leave those areas. And fortunately or unfortunately some Christians were born there-by-there parents and they are indigenous Christians in those areas and you can imagine the type of things they are going through. In fact in some States, Christians are in the majority of the work force there. But when it comes to giving strategic appointments, they are left out just because of their faith. TV: The impression we are given is that the North is more organized, more opportunities than those of us in the South. Working together and mobilization and the rest but hearing this from you does not point to that? Bishop Yahaya: Whatever you hear, never forget there is political correctness. What I am saying now is not popular. It is political incorrectness because then some of them will say this is incitement of the people. This is the language they will use but when you go and live there, you will see things for yourself. And you will understand what I am talking about. You can imagine what is happening to the Middle-Belt now. The Fulani herdsmen will come and destroy a whole community, the Benue State people are now crying to Mr. President for help. Just at the turn of a new year, a whole community was wiped out from the face of the earth and the President cannot do anything about it. As it is on the papers, gruesome images of how Christians are slaughtered by these herdsmen. My brother nothing has changed. It will go silent for a while but it is going to be back and with vengeance and they will be back again. The attacks had been predominantly in the MiddleBelt. Why? The Middle-Belt is a Christian belt so the intention is to wipe out these people; that is my belief. The intention is to wipe out these people. It is an agenda and the government pretend not to know the source of the problem. We need to address these issue s before it destroys the nation. Continued on Page 46 www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com

Continued from Page 45 TV: What about the Boko Haram crisis? Bishop Yahaya: Boko Haram crisis is somebody breathed. A cat in his house and he has forgotten he has rats in the house too; that is what happened. When the Boko Haram started, it was attack on the church, they touched one church to the other but when counsel is not of God, it turns to a free for all conflicts and that is what we had in our hands, things changed and that is the truth. Initial attacks were on the church. Go to churches today in the North, they have spent huge amount of money to build wall barriers today and if you put that money together it is not a small amount of money and some things that happened. For you to explain in real terms, at times it is so difficult because who will even listen to you? TV: Well, we had a past government that people felt gave a lot of opportunities to Christian bodies like CAN that you mentioned but some say the Christians abused it and used the opportunity to enrich themselves. What do you say to this? Bishop Yahaya: That is not true. If there is anybody that the previous administration favoured, it was the Muslims. And the same Muslims dealt with him at the end of the day. Right it down and go and check the statistics how many Ministers came from Christians or DGs were Christians. Most of the top political appointments were Muslims. The people that use the highest weapon of propaganda are Muslims. This is the truth; they are very good in propaganda. For everybody to come and bamboozle you here and there and all sort of stories, they are folktales and in this country, don’t give them the appointments, they will cause you enough troubles. So to stop them from causing you problems, you give them appointments so you can have some peace. It is unlike Christians, you don’t give Christians appointments, they don’t go about causing any trouble anywhere in the country. TV: What is the way forward for Nigeria? Bishop Yahaya: Well, the way forward for Nigeria is when we sit together if we believe we are a family and talk to ourselves frankly and honestly. We need to talk in reality of things now. Not a kind of straight jacket arrangement. Let us sit down to talk about this union called Nigeria. This is the truth; we need to discuss this Nigeria ……

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TV: But we have done this in the past? Bishop Yahaya: No, then they have ‘no go areas’. You can’t discuss this or that, if you want to stay as a nation and there are areas you cannot discuss. Then it is a joke to me. TV: Whose fault is that? Bishop Yahaya: The fault is that of the administration who put it together in the first place. They decided they want to have a conference, if there should be a conference, it should be an open conference. Whatever the people discuss should be open. Who nominated those at the last conference? Nigeria is a country where funny things happen. Some people you call stakeholders are not stakeholders, they are not holding anything for anybody. And that is why the country is suffering; Cabals govern Nigeria; they have formed themselves into a class of oligarchy; they keep handing over to themselves. Even not a country like Nigeria, someone of 80 years of age is still seeking political office.. TV: Everywhere we go around the world, we hear people say Nigeria has the potentials to be great and successful. When you take a Nigerian to another country or system, he or she function well and excel. So what is the problem back at home? Bishop Yahaya: Nigeria is a place where mediocrity is number one. Excellence is sacrificed at the altar of mediocrity. Now this is a country where they say we want to be one Nigeria but they have entrenched tribalism and nepotism in our constitution. They talk about Federal character meaning everything has to come to the center. For instance football in Nigeria, what is wrong if all the players of the national team that can bring us the world cup is from Enugu State for instance? Are we going to allow them to represent us or bring in the federal character policy? The question would be how they all can come from Enugu State! TV: I remember in those days Bendel Insurance of Benin had 9 players out of 11 players in the National team? Bishop Yahaya: Yes that was in those days (Laughs). But now they call it federal character. A character that has no foundation on excellence, how can professors in Nigeria today when they are professor of Energy and Power, if they go outside of this country, they perform very well but in Nigeria, they cannot perform. Everything that has become a blessing to other nations had become a curse when it comes to Nigeria or a problem.

TV: Still on my question, what is the way forward? I live in the Diaspora. I have dreams to come back home. They ask me what you are doing out there when you could be useful to your country. On the other hand we have people agitating for the breakup of the country….. Bishop Yahaya: We need to bring back the fear of God to change things and start teaching the fear of God in our nation again. A lot of people are into politics just to loot this country. Not because they love this country or its people. The physique of a typical Nigerian is that every opportunity I have, I must cut corners, quick way to make money or loot if possible. The only thing I know that can help a nation is when the heart of a man is regenerated then it will help this country but when we still have people who are Godless, you can find a University Professor going to bed with a girl of 18 to make her pass her examination. He could be her grandfather. If that man is Godly, he will see that girl as his granddaughter and treat her as such. When a man is 78 years old and he is still stealing, he is Godless because he doesn’t even realize that he is getting closer to his grave. How long will a man live? So for me, the way forward is that we need to arise and pray that God should take over our country. If God cannot do a surgery on this country my brother it is very difficult. A lot of people are expecting something to happen in this country but how can it happen? When the people who are leaders of Nigeria don’t belief in the Nigeria project! You go into their houses, their plates, shoes, toothpaste even pants are all from Dubai or other parts of the world. And look for their children, they are not in the country; they have kept them somewhere else in the world because they have destroyed the educational system here in Nigeria. What about health care? So the way forward is to bring back godliness and the citizenry has a part to play in this. I also blame them until they arise and say this is our right, you must give us our rights. Things will change but when citizens don’t even know, the level of illiteracy is too high. The citizens cannot mobilize themselves. Okay in other countries of the world, you can’t do what leaders do in this country and get away with it. The citizens will come out on the streets and you will stop the rubbish you are doing. So for me, when people have godliness and the citizens know their rights and ready to fight for it then things would change in this country. TV: Your style of preaching I like very much but where you are based, do you feel threatened with your messages? It could be tagged as harsh or hard words to hear?

Bishop Yahaya: (Laughs). I am preacher to start with and a preacher is supposed to be a messenger. A messenger does not change the message, he pass the message as handed over to him. So whose messenger are you? A messenger to deceive the people or to tell the people the truth? The gospel is undiluted as it is given to us; it is the key to eternal life and if it does not offend sinners, it can never save them. And secondly, the Bible tells us that in the last days, people will gather for themselves people who have itching ears and they want to hear only what they want to hear, the fact that sin is sin one hundred years ago till today so weather people want to hear it or change does not matter, our God is a timeless God. No matter what they do, it is not just a style, it is the gospel. When the Prophets of old were preaching, was it easy for them? John the Baptist was beheaded, he declared the counsel of God the way it was. John called them by their names - brood of vipers. Was it a very soft message? So when people don’t want to hear the truth today, they complain but for people like me, I am not looking for popularity. Okay. I have a call and a mandate and the mandate is to preach the gospel of peace and pure undiluted truth and show them the way to the cross. The Bible says you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. No matter the corners we cut about the gospel, it still remains the gospel. And we should be able to tell people what is right is right and what is wrong is wrong. Medical doctors don’t cut corners, if you are suffering from cancer, they tell you it is cancer. If you are suffering from heart disease, they tell you it is heart problem. Why is it that we want God to cut corners with his ministers? Why can’t we say it the way it is? And it is unfortunate that it is in this end times people are going to hell through the church. And the minister of the gospel has to be careful because they would be held responsible. Some define grace to an extreme position; they do the same with mercy and love. They say love is a hate speech. You don’t love people that is why you preach the way you do! They are all entitle to their own opinions but when we get to heaven, we would all know but I am happy that heaven is not coming to people because of their success here on earth. That is not what the Bible tells me, he is coming to reward faithfulness. Are we faithful in declaring the full counsel of God to his people? That is my stand. TV: Thank you very much Bishop Bishop Yahaya: Thank you my brother. God bless you.

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African School launched in The Hague, The Netherlands. Maybe the best news of the year 2018, with a high population of African immigrants in Europe, keeping with African culture, history, and languages to the young generation has been a challenge for many years. That might be history in the future, with an opening of a new kind of African school. It is a Saturday Co-curriculum school that starts from 13.45 to 16.45 for children and Adults. The school is open to anyone who is interested in the African culture, history, Languages (Swahili, Lingala, Kinyarwanda, Kiganda, Acholi, Twi, Yoruba, Shona and

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Igbo etc), oral literature in the form of storytelling and African Dance. It was officially opened on the 13th January 2018. It is located on the Bezuidenhoutseweg 40, The Hague. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a five minutesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; walk from the central station. Upcoming locations will be in Rotterdam, Utrecht, and Enschede. For more information on the school visit website at http:// www.afrikaanseschool.nl

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The Voice Achievers Award 2018 goes to Dubai... Plans are on the way to have The Voice Achievers Award 2018 held in Dubai, United Arab Emirate. After an impressive turn of events in Amsterdam, one of the awardees and a new Vice-President for The Voice magazine for Arab countries, Ambassador Laila Rahhall EL Aftani told the audience she would do her very best to ensure that the Voice magazine and its project – The Voice Achievers award gets more prominence in the Arab world. Under the umbrella of the African Arab league; the Voice magazine signed a partnership deal with Ambassador Laila EL Aftani before she left Amsterdam to open an office in Dubai and start working towards this year’s award event in Dubai. The date was agree upon starting from 24th to 28th October 2018. The theme was also agreed upon- Africa/ Arabia Summit 2018. It would be a celebration of African Fashion, Arts, Culture and other areas of business interest in collaboration with the Voice Achievers Award ceremony. For the first time, all past awardees of The Voice Achievers Award is expected to attend and be inducted into a Hall of

Fame for the Voice Achievers Award. The details and the modalities will be worked out in the next few months and the details released to the public to start preparation. The contract was signed by President Elvis Iruh on behalf of the Voice magazine and the Award committee while Ambassador Laila Rahhall EL Aftani signed on behalf of Ambassador Emad Tariq Al Janabi, the President of the African Arab League, to witness the signing was Ambassador Dr. Adewunmi Alayaki, the Executive Director of Hope Hospitals in Nigeria. Expectation for 2018 awards includes introduction and induction of past awardees, decoration of The Voice Achievers Awardees with their prestigious PIN; recognizing The Voice Ambassadors and introducing Ambassadorial ID Card with photo of honoraries Theme: HEART OF AFRICA - African Arts & African Fashion show - Charity/board room dinner/dance - Bridge between 2 cultures – Africa/Arab - Truly exciting times ahead and we look forward to having this great event outside of the Netherlands for the first time in 2018. If you want to be part of this great event, in box us at info@thevoicenewsmagazine.com

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Africa’s ‘City of Innovation’ to Host Conference on ‘Uniting Africa’

ext year Rwanda, one of Africa’s most technologically ambitious countries, will take over the Chairmanship of the African Union. It will also play host to eLearning Africa and the organizers are predicting that it will be the biggest conference in the event’s 13-year history. They believe it could play a significant role in pushing forward the African Union’s 2063 Agenda. The conference, which is being jointly organized by ICWE GmbH and the Rwanda Convention Bureau under the patronage of the Rwandan Government, usually attracts well over 1,000 participants from all over the world. They are not only teachers, academics and learning experts, but political leaders, policy makers, investors, technologists, business leaders and entrepreneurs too. The conference is also the occasion for an annual round table meeting of African education and technology ministers. In Rwanda, participants in eLearning Africa will have a chance to see for themselves the achievements of an

African Government, which has set about using technology to transform education. In 2014, the Government signed an agreement to incorporate information and communication technology into the country’s schools and colleges. The benefits of “a new system of teaching that emphasizes the use of computers and Internet to impart knowledge” are already starting to be felt across the country. And now the Government is confident that by 2020 all schools in the country will have at least two smart classrooms and all subjects will have been digitized. eLearning Africa 2018 will take place from 26 - 28 September in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali, which has gained a reputation for its ICT-based initiatives in a variety of sectors. So great is its apparent enthusiasm for new technological solutions that some observers have referred to it as the “Innovation City of Africa.” In addition to its technological prowess, Kigali is also one of Africa’s most attractive cities - eLearning Africa participants will be able to take advantage of its bustling streets, ridges, valleys, and lush hillsides, not to mention Rwanda’s world renowned Gorilla trekking tours, only a short journey away. “It is wonderful that Rwanda is now setting a real example for other countries in technology-assisted learning and hosting a conference whose theme is „Uniting Africa“, says conference organizer, Rebecca Stromeyer. „I am confident that eLearning Africa 2018 in Rwanda will be the biggest and most exciting eLA yet.” Under the overall theme of „Uniting Africa,“ conference participants will discuss how the benefits of technology can be shared and help to improve education across Africa, making a reality of the African Union’s 2063 Vision of a “transformed continent.” A call for papers has been issued and will remain open until 30 January 2018. The organizers are looking for contributions on subjects including “creating opportunities through education,” “boosting competitiveness and ICT-centric growth,” “matching skills demand and supply,” and “overcoming barriers.” eLearning Africa 2018 - 13th International Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Skills When: September 26 – 28, 2018 Where: Kigali Convention Centre, Kigali, Rwanda Contact: ICWE GmbH Ms Rebecca Stromeyer E-mail: info@elearning-africa.com www.eLearning-africa.com Tel.: +49 (0)30 310 18 18-0

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Libya: “No brother in the jungle” By Reuben Abati

rab countries have a tradition of slavery dating back to centuries. This has persisted despite the existence of international conventions and legal frameworks classifying slavery as a crime against humanity. The current situation in Libya, involving slavery and human trafficking, has been brought to global attention because we now live in the age of communication where nothing good or bad can be hidden forever. But the situation is far worse than has been depicted. The Nigerians who have been brought back from Libya have told heart-rending stories of woe and misery: how they were sold into slavery by the Arabs and by their own Nigerian brothers and sisters, how they were subjected to all forms of indignity including rape, extortion, and torture, and how living in Libya is now the equivalent of a trip to hell. Quite a number of issues deserve closer interrogation to enable us appreciate the depth of this crisis. The Libyan story today is a sorry advertisement for the abuse of NATO and the failure of the American foreign policy process. The multinational coalition that intervened in the Libyan civil war in 2011 and made the removal of Libyan strongman Muammar Ghadaffi its primary objective must by now be full of regrets. It is instructive that former US President Barack Obama has described the failure to think through the consequences of that intervention as the “worst mistake” of his Presidency. The character of that mistake lies in the fact that NATO and other forces despite the division among the global powers on the question of Libya, saw the internal crisis in Libya as an opportunity to deal with a man who had been labeled at various times as the “mad dog of the Middle East”, and who was gradually expressing “imperialist ambitions” – “the king of kings of Africa” with a pan-African vision. NATO’s intervention was an act of vendetta, an orchestrated punishment for a man who had been declared guilty of dictatorship. It was most convenient for the multinational coalition, with its eyes fixed on Libya’s oil, to support the rebels. The result is the mayhem that has overtaken Libya since the fall of Ghadaffi. Under Ghadaffi’s watch, Libya was a stable, organized society. Following the bloodless coup that led to the flight into exile of King Idris 1 in 1969, the new leader, Muammar Ghadaffi, not only abolished the monarchy, he embarked on a mission of unifying the various clans under the umbrella of Libyan nationalism. He seized control of the country’s oil infrastructure from Western interests and redistributed wealth by creating a welfare system. The average Libyan had access to free housing, free medical care, and free education. The government provided infrastructure, and although Ghadaffi soon became a practical dictator, he managed to grow a sense of Libyan identity and unity. Seeing himself as a pan-Africanist, he encouraged closer relations with other African nations. Many Africans from Egypt, Sudan, Nigeria and other African countries lived and worked in Libya, even if many of them took the menial jobs that

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an average Libyan would not touch – at that time. The country’s foreign reserve was about $200 billion. Its life expectancy and literacy rates were among the highest in Africa and the Arab world. The average Libyan enjoyed many opportunities except the freedom to be different or query the government and the Constitution. Those who removed and killed Ghadaffi didn’t realize how much of a potentially divided country Libya was, and the extent of Ghadaffi’s efforts in managing the centrifugal tendencies. After Ghadaffi, Libya imploded. Anything is possible in Libya today because there is no responsible government in charge. People are resorting to self-help. Anybody that is armed exercises authority and does anything to make money. The welfare state has collapsed, criminality is widespread: kidnapping, slavery, violence, the economy is in shambles. Clannish and sectarian differences now predominate. The country is drifting. Most of the people are like prisoners, including those who are gainfully employed. In the absence of a government, the international community appears helpless. This is the setting for the chaos and the humanitarian crisis that has overtaken that country. Libya remains nonetheless, a major transit point and exit route for many Africans seeking to escape illegally into Europe. Libya, a country whose land area is almost twice the size of Nigeria, has over 2,000 kilometers of Mediterranean coastline from the Egyptian border to the Tunisian border. Frustrated by the objective conditions in their own countries, in the form of crippling poverty, mis-governance, unemployment and the difficulty of getting a visa or being able to buy a ticket to Europe, many Africans, particularly West Africans opt for the cheaper, albeit illegal option of sneaking into Europe through the desert and across the Mediterranean sea, with Libya and Algeria as the most popular exit points. This has always been a risky venture, but the traffic continues to grow. It is also an organized criminal operation involving gangs at home, and along the route. Nigerians constitute the majority of these illegal migrants. Organized by a criminal gang at home, they usually travel through Niger, which is a contiguous, ECOWAS country. In Niger, another gang of human traffickers, mostly Touaregs take over from their Nigerian partners to take the illegal migrants across the desert to Libya. Only about 60-70% eventually make it to Libya. Many die along the way because of the harsh desert conditions and they are buried in the sand. Those who eventually make it to Libya are not necessarily lucky. They may be kidnapped at the border by rampaging Arab militants, turned into slaves, and asked to contact their families back home to pay ransom. The men are beaten; the women are raped. Continued on page 57

Continued from Page 56 The images that we have seen from Libyan slave camps are sad. Arab racism has been an issue and violence towards foreigners is not necessarily new in Libya, but it is getting worse because now the issue is not strictly racism but the people’s desperation for survival in a state that failed. It is estimated that about 500, 000 – 700, 000 Nigerians are trapped in Libya. The Obasanjo government once had to repatriate over 17, 000 Nigerians from that country. In the light of recent developments, the Buhari government has also repatriated over 1, 000 Nigerians from Libya in 2017 alone, but there is no hope that all of them can be brought back home. Many will like to return home, but they don’t even have the means to transport themselves to the evacuation points. Those that are not enslaved are still hoping to make enough money to be able to cross to Europe. They wash cars, work as farm hands or as security guards, or prostitutes, and they get exposed to all the dangers imaginable. The few who manage to make the final journey to Europe are not always lucky either: they could perish in the sea like the 26 Nigerian girls who recently drowned while trying to cross into Italy. The saddest part of it all is that Nigerians are also involved in the trafficking and dehumanization of their own compatriots. In a shocking account by one Sunday Anyaegbunam, a Libyan returnee, who left Nigeria in April 2017, with his wife, we are told that: “The Nigerians selling people in Libya are more wicked than many of the Arabs. I have never seen people so heartless as the Nigerians who bought and sold me. There are many of them in Agadez and Sabha, who are making so much money from selling their own people. But there are other West Africans doing the business too. When you approach them and say “please, my brother, help me”. They would tell you: “No brother in the jungle”. Libya is indeed now a jungle in the hands of armed militants, the Islamic State, tribal gangs, and an interim leadership authority. The jungle is a dangerous place: which is why it is surprising that more Nigerians would prefer to abandon there own country and go to the jungle. About 70% of the Libyan returnees are reportedly from Edo State, and in general most of them are from Edo, Delta, Imo, Anambra and Rivers states. But this is not enough reason for this problem to be treated as Southern Nigerian or Christian. This should not be about North or South, or Christian vs Muslim. It is unacceptable for every Nigerian issue to be reduced to this kind of division, the same way some Nigerians tend to dismiss Boko Haram as a Northern problem. This is a crisis that affects all of us. It is embarrassing that Nigerians are deserting their own country and flocking to Europe in

droves despite the risks of illegal migration. In the 70s, many Nigerians were proud and happy to live at home, but since the introduction of austerity measures in the 80s and the gradual collapse of the Nigerian economy, a new kind of economy has since developed around dangerous choices. The consequences are not limited to the tales from Libya. There are Nigerians in jail or on the death row across the world, in China, Thailand and the Middle East. We need to have a strong policy in place to check illegal migration. Massive enlightenment campaigns should be organized to educate the populace about the associated dangers. There is an assignment here for the National Orientation Agency (NOA), a strategic agency, which has been relatively sleepy since 2015. Our youths should be told that there is no safe route to Europe through the desert or a boat ride. Everybody should wake up – government, civil society, and all the people who have abdicated their responsibilities at the level of the family unit. The human trafficking gangs in the country especially in the identified major centres should be tracked, identified and sanctioned. Government should create a conducive environment for our youths to make a living at home. Government has a constitutional responsibility to empower all Nigerians and to guarantee their security and welfare. Nigeria should also engage the government of Niger. What can we do to prevent illegal migration through Niger? This has to be a joint responsibility between Nigeria and Niger. Although Chad is not in ECOWAS, quite a number of Nigerians also travel through that route. Joint border patrol and exchange of useful intelligence between Nigeria and her neighbors would be advisable. The Federal Government of Nigeria and its agencies, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Edo State Government and the International Organization on Migration, CNN, Pastor Temitope Joshua’s The Synagogue, Church of All Nations (SCOAN) and every other group or agency that has responded decently and responsibly to the plight of the Nigerians from Libya, and the evil of slavery in Libya, deserve to be commended. In spite of the deviousness of a minority who earn a living by dehumanizing their fellow human beings, it is heartening to see that warm blood still flows in the heart of mankind. The Edo State government has put in place perhaps the most comprehensive rehabilitation programme for the Libya returnees: counseling, accommodation, vocational training, and take off grants after training. These are worthy steps, but they are at best short-term. The long-term measures for all governments should be good governance, public enlightenment and concerted international action against slavery and all forms of cruelty and inhumanity. www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com

Sports

Another African ma

rancis Ngannou was born in Cameroon on September 5, 1986. He moved to Paris where he is now engaged in Martial artist. As a CameroonianFrench professional mixed martial artist, he is currently competing in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is currently ranked the No. 1 contender by UFC and ESPN as of December 17, 2017 and he is been predicted to become a world champion in 2018 as he has demolished all his opponents so far. He currently holds the record for highest punching power ever measured by the UFC, at 129,161 units. He broke the previous record set by kick boxing champ Tyrone Spong, which was at 114,000 units. Ngannou was born and raised in the village of Batié, Cameroon. Ngannou lived in poverty and had little formal education growing up. At 12 years old, Ngannou started working in a sand quarry in Batié because of a lack of funds. As a youngster, various gangs approached him in his village to join them. However, Ngannou refused and instead decided to use his father’s bad reputation as a street fighter as motivation to do something positive and pursue boxing. At the age of 22, Ngannou began training in boxing, despite reluctance from his family in the beginning. After training for a year, Ngannou stopped training due to an illness. He did various odd jobs to make ends meet, until at the age of 26, he immigrated to Paris, France to pursue professional boxing. After Ngannou reached Paris, he had no money, no friends and no place to live. After living homeless on the streets of Paris, he began

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training for free in August 2013 under Fernand Lopez Owonyebe at the MMA Factory. Being a fan of Mike Tyson, Ngannou was originally interested in learning how to box until his coach introduced him to the sport of MMA. Reflecting on his journey across continents and his decision to become an MMA fighter, Ngannou said: “When I started, I had nothing. Nothing. I needed everything. But when you start [to earn money], you start collecting things: I want this, I want this, and I want that. The purpose is not collecting things, though. The purpose is to do something great. Finish the dream you started. I want to help my family, first, of course, but then I want to give opportunity to children in my country like me who have a dream to become a doctor or something. If I reach my dream, it will give me the opportunity to help those in my country who have their own dreams and nothing else to fulfill them. I want to give some opportunity for children like me who dream of this sport and don’t have an opportunity like me. The last time I was in Cameroon, I brought a lot of materials for boxing and MMA to open a gym. Now I just bought a big space to start the gym, as well. A lot of children now in Cameroon, because of me, they have a dream. They say, ‘I will be a champion in MMA. I will do boxing like Francis,’ because they saw me when I was young. I didn’t have anything. I didn’t have any opportunity. And today, they see me, and they are dreaming. They are thinking that something is possible. Even when they are so poor, something is possible in life. … It’s not easy. It’s so hard, but it’s possible.”

aking waves in UFC

Ngannou started his MMA career mostly fighting in the French promotion 100% Fight, as well as other regional promotions in Europe. Ngannou made his promotional debut against fellow newcomer Luis Henrique on December 19, 2015 at UFC on Fox 17. He won the fight via knockout in the second round. Ngannou next faced promotional newcomer Curtis Blaydes on April 10, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 86. He won the fight via TKO at the conclusion of the second round. In his next bout, Ngannou faced another newcomer in Bojan MihajloviÄ&#x2021; on July 23, 2016, at UFC on Fox 20. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Ngannou faced Anthony Hamilton on December 9, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 102. He won the fight by submission in the first round, and earned his first UFC Performance of the Night bonus. Ngannou faced Andrei Arlovski on January 28, 2017, at UFC on Fox 23. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. The win also earned Ngannou his second Performance of the Night bonus. In the highest profile fight of his career, Ngannou faced Alistair Overeem from Amsterdam on December 2, 2017 at UFC 218. He won the fight via knockout in the first round in a superlative manner that everyone is scared of him now. It is just a matter of time for him to have the title around his neck. Ngannou is scheduled to face Stipe Miocic for the UFC Heavyweight title on January 20, 2018 at UFC 220. The world is waiting for this fight. TV

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Sports Liverpool’s Salah aims to become Egypt’s greatest Pharaoh Egyptian international Mohamed Salah says he does not want to be remembered as a national football great, he aims to be the greatest “Pharaoh” – alias of the Egyptian senior national team. The 25-year-old who plies his club trade with Liverpool were speaking to the BBC after he was announced the broadcasters’ best African footballer of 2017. “I have always followed my way, and I want everyone in Egypt to follow my way. Since I left Egypt, in my mind, I want to be the best Egyptian

ever. I work hard and try to be different from them.” He was the Pharaohs top scorer as they qualified for the Russia 2018 World Cup. HE scored seven goals in all including the all-important penalty that secured

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qualification against Congo Republic at home. The year, however, started with heartbreak for the team as they were beaten by Cameroon in the finals of the last AFCON played in Gabon. At the club level, he has been on form for Liverpool since joining this season. He has dreams to retain the gong next year. A good season plus a good World Cup outing would just do the trick: “I am very happy to win this award. It’s always a special feeling when you win something. You feel like you did a great year, so I’m very happy. I would also like to win it next year!” He has had club stints with English Premier League side, Chelsea, before moving on to play with Roma in the Italian league from where he joined Liverpool. His rise to the top football accolade meant that he beat off competition from fellow teammate Sadio Mane (Senegal), Victor Moses (Nigeria, Chelsea), Naby Keita (Guinea, Leipzig) and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon, Dortmund). Egypt’s national team is record CAF African Cup of Nations titleholders with seven trophies to their credit. The team has churned out many footballing greats as much as Egyptian sides have also flown the flag in intercontinental tournaments.

Levi (9) gave away the captain’s armband to encourage teammate Ajax Youth Indoor tournament. The passionate captain made his mark playing for Ajax O10: “I am always in the middle of the ground with our team. My job is to scream very loudly. “When asked why he grabs the legs of his teammate, he says:” It’s a tradition, I do it to encourage everyone! “The team has recorded great victories at KRC Genk (11-1), Zeeburgia (0-2), Soccer Plus (4-0) and FC Groningen (150), this performance brought them to play in the finals. Joost van Dam coaches the team and they were too strong and powerful for Zeeburgia. They won 4-0 over Zeeburgia. Nevertheless, Levi is not only looking at his own team: This team is doing very well. We won everything and the atmosphere is good. I find the Amsterdam Youth Indoor a nice tournament and

Levi Acheampong (10) is a young African/Dutch talented kid with great football skills but he is not only a good footballer; he shows great example ship of leadership at a young age. As the captain of Ajax O10 during a tournament recently at Amsterdam Youth Indoor tournament, the young boy gave up his captain’s armband when he saw that a teammate was not performing to his best as a way of encouraging him to do better. The young Ajax player, normally plays for Ajax O10 but this game, he played alongside the Ajax O9 team. He also wore the captain’s armband there. After 2 games, he found a better destination for the armband with his teammate, Andreas Cross. “I gave my captain’s armband to a teammate because he did not have that much confidence”, explains Levi. Normally he makes a lot of goals, but not this game. I made the switch and wanted to give him a helping hand. With the band around his arm, he started

to score again! “

I think it is very nice that Zeeburgia became 2nd. That is a great achievement for them because they are an amateur club. Finally, he talks about his own qualities: I play central in the midfield. But the trainer can actually put me anywhere. Front left, right back or middle, that makes little difference to me. Yet the midfield is my favorite position. “ “I can also play both attack and defend, but I am a bit more of an offensive type. My example is Paul Pogba, because he is strong on the ball, makes actions and has a good shot. These are also a bit of the qualities that I would like to develop. “ Over his long-term dreams, the Ajax player powerfully says: “I hope to have a very good career and a positive future in football!” Congratulations on your 10th birthday LEVI........ www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com

Africa’s 2018 World Cup teams to share $2.5m CAF support

he continent’s football governing body, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) says it will give each of the five World Cup bound teams $500,000 to help in their preparations for the tournament in Russia next year. A CAF statement read in part: “it was decided that CAF will grant a financial subsidy of $500,000 (Five Hundred Thousand dollars) to each of the five African teams. The financial package will be used mainly to strengthen and improve the technical supervision of each team. “In addition, CAF will provide each African representative with “fieldwiz” equipment, a technological device and physical performance measuring tool for outdoor team sports players.” CAF in November constituted an ad hoc committee led by its first vice-president Kwesi Nyantakyi to map out what support it could give to Africa’s representatives at the global football showpiece. “The committee, which has CAF Executive Committee member Kalusha Bwalya and presidents of the Football Associations of the five qualified countries as members, met in Moscow, Russia, on the sidelines of the draw for the FIFA World Cup scheduled for 1 December 2017,” the CAF statement added.

AFRICA’S REPRESENTATIVES AND THEIR WC ‘RECORD’

1. EGYPT – The Pharaohs are making their first world finals appearance since Italy 1990 2. MOROCCO – The Atlas Lions topped African zone Group C in qualification 3. NIGERIA – The Super Eagles have only missed one tournament since their debut at USA 1994 4. SENEGAL – In their debut at Korea/Japan 2002, the Lions of Teranga reached the quarterfinals

No easy draw for African teams at the 2018 World cup Five African teams were part of 32 others that were entered into a draw for the group stages of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The five African teams are Senegal, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria and Tunisia. It turns out that from the final draw, Morocco and Nigeria did not have an easy draw in their respective groups as they face top footballing sides. But for the remaining three countries, they would have to work hard to go beyond the first group stage of the tournament. Nigeria will be facing former World Champions, Argentina. The Super Eagles recently beat them by 4 – 2 in a friendly. Aside Argentina, they will face Croatia and Iceland in Group D. On paper, Nigeria should be able to make it through this group

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5. TUNISIA – At Argentina 1978, the Carthage Eagles became the first African team to win a World Cup match WHICH GROUPS DO THEY FIND THEMSELVES IN GROUP A Russia – Saudi Arabia – Egypt – Uruguay GROUP B Portugal – Spain – Morocco – Iran GROUP D Argentina – Iceland – Croatia – Nigeria GROUP G Belgium – Panama – Tunisia – England GROUP H Poland – Senegal – Colombia – Japan

alongside Argentina but no one could write off Croatia and Iceland for now. In Group B, Morocco for their part will face current European champions Portugal and former World Champions Spain as well as the Islamic Republic of Iran. No easy match for them in this group. Tunisia have work to do as they come up against Belgium, England and Panama in Group G. Egypt in Group A will put aside all diplomatic engagements when they come up against Saudi Arabia in the group stages. They will also have to deal with the home fans when they face hosts Russia. The other team in the group being Uruguay. In Group H, Senegal seems to have a quiet group as well. They will face Poland, Colombia and Japan as Sadie Mane and his charges look to do better than the Teranga Lions’ last outing. TV