tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25299407012677310972024-02-19T07:19:55.872-08:00 Mfon's BlogMfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-55282916425384559272015-08-19T18:24:00.001-07:002015-11-11T18:22:22.986-08:00It was more than tears...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxLk7mp8_aMfTzcIxbbXTNx6VKPzpcZrE4q01z3U36_8JVBD3L2k3E1nLRhXNIRgfoFN8L1ze7DHyjklBOcLGOSnVpnEajnA9CXup54i1yf9JJjnmKBFtLDfheZcT1uoOBI1eunNt_gzMd/s1600/1610795_10204290217636457_9170225851963293375_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxLk7mp8_aMfTzcIxbbXTNx6VKPzpcZrE4q01z3U36_8JVBD3L2k3E1nLRhXNIRgfoFN8L1ze7DHyjklBOcLGOSnVpnEajnA9CXup54i1yf9JJjnmKBFtLDfheZcT1uoOBI1eunNt_gzMd/s320/1610795_10204290217636457_9170225851963293375_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Seriously I did not want to cry. I wanted to be strong.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was dying inside... I was breaking inside but on the
outside I was trying to show everyone that I was strong... The more I faked
boldness, the more lonely and empty i felt.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was hurting but no one cared. Family seem not to care, they said nothing to
me… I was meaningless to them. Maybe they see me as a troublesome boy, I didn’t
know.</div>
<a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But only two people showed love;<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My mum told me... you got to be strong and my brother said
things will be alright.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was 14 years old. I had just lost my Dad on this same 20<sup>th</sup>
of August many years ago.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This was the only person together with my mum who understood
me… who once fainted because I broke my hand while playing with my brother.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At that point I prepared myself to die. I was going to jump
into the grave alive! I told no one, I was silently awaiting the burial…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On that morning of the burial, it was a Saturday, my Dad
corpses was being prepared for burial…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I lost control.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I ran into the room where he lay, I jumped on his lifeless
body… I kissed him, I hugged him. They had to pull me away to dress him up.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Guess what?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had a very strong faith that he will wake up! Ever since I
heard of his death, I had been praying for God to raise him and I believed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So that morning… I was expecting him to wake up. He will
wake up and everyone will be shocked! Then they took him to Church… on our way
home to finally put him in the grave, I was walking in front of the ambulance,
the tyre of the car rolled over my leg, I felt no pain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As the Pastor was praying… he said ‘dust to dust…’ I was
still expecting him to open the casket and come out.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When it was time to cover the stones… I guess my brother or
someone read my intentions to go in… as I was about to let myself in, someone
grabbed me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I didn’t remember what happened from that point onward…
except I remember someone said, maybe a family member ‘let’s see how he will
survive now that the Dad is no more’<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next day I was still expecting him to wake up! I will go
to the grave, hoping to hear him screaming ‘someone open this grave and let me
out’<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then I will gladly look for hammer and break the concrete.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, ever since then… my life has never been the same… A mighty
void was created. I forcefully recoiled into my shell to take a second look at
a world better imagined that seen.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Abel Udo Ekene SNR was and is the best Dad ever!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As am writing this… I will soon go to bed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And when I awake in the morning, I will be on the way to
Akwa Ibom.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then I will sit on his grave… I will remember those days…
maybe tears will fall from my eyes or maybe a smile on my lips. It been a long
journey but am still Daddy’s boy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />I will be writing more at my new public blog www.abelabel.com</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Mfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-86474889323841156662015-08-09T00:42:00.000-07:002015-08-09T00:47:55.083-07:00In my darkest hours…<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmVKiW9s7BlTzvsGdn8iPfiZVwI-A3TGhoJ3LCgj4RAOE1dHsCAVQ8PCrXiXi2BcKo1LQoWEmQDdbUclntVGNZfUSpc6rxEZt9Nc_BGDcBG-aFzKvHepUHvtOt72aSFBdkQs-IUiVqd1r/s1600/trees-in-the-darkness-artistic-hd-wallpaper-1920x1200-4345.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmVKiW9s7BlTzvsGdn8iPfiZVwI-A3TGhoJ3LCgj4RAOE1dHsCAVQ8PCrXiXi2BcKo1LQoWEmQDdbUclntVGNZfUSpc6rxEZt9Nc_BGDcBG-aFzKvHepUHvtOt72aSFBdkQs-IUiVqd1r/s320/trees-in-the-darkness-artistic-hd-wallpaper-1920x1200-4345.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In that moment where nothing makes sense, that moment where all you hear is your heart beating…<br />
I close my eyes and begin to imagine.<br />
Wait, imagine or dream? I don’t really know the difference right now.<br />
<br />
I see my casket lowered into the ground… When did I die?<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Then I begin to shiver in fear.<br />
<br />
Then my heart becomes weak… I begin to shiver like a child sleeping in a room full of ice.<br />
<br />
I can see people who never showed me loved… people who never respond to me, even people who have done nothing but hurt my soul, I could see them right there.. . They are looking sad but am not sure how genuine it is. I had nothing against them.<br />
<br />
I see my friends weeping… those who really care; I see them in pains… I could feel their pain.<br />
<br />
It felt good to know I was loved by this very few people…<br />
<br />
But just then… Everywhere becomes dark.<br />
<br />
I could see nothing!<br />
<br />
I coulnt see my nails which are white… Everywhere was quiet.<br />
<br />
The fear, torment and horror in my heart at that moment, you can’t imagine.<br />
But no matter how I fear or panic, there was no heart attack there. I have to face the silent and horror of the moment.<br />
<br />
I remember growing up in Ikot Ntuen, somewhere in Oruk Anam, Akwa Ibom, Nigeria, and Africa if I must add.<br />
<br />
Yes I remember those quiet nights where Daddy was not home and Mummy was away. I had to wait in the night with my sibling for them to return. Then every sound I hear, it was as if a ghost is coming for us.<br />
<br />
But this place was worst… I had no idea what comes next.<br />
<br />
Then I begin to cry, Do Ghosts cry?<br />
<br />
Is devil coming for me? Am I going to hell?<br />
<br />
Then I heard footsteps coming!<br />
<br />
I look for a place to run… but there is no running here… my feet fail me.<br />
<br />
Then bow to the ground and cover my face with my hands…. I didn’t want to see the torment coming to me.<br />
<br />
The footsteps stop right in front of me.<br />
<br />
And then a voice called my full name which only few know ‘Mfon Abel Udo Udom Ekene-Eyene’<br />
<br />
Who knew my name? Should I open my eyes…<br />
<br />
Then..<br />
<br />
I open my eyes!<br />
<br />
There was God!<br />
<br />
Everywhere was now bright! There was God! I could see gold everywhere… It was awesome.. Then I looked at myself… I was transformed!<br />
<br />
It’s time to go to Church, I have to stop this story here my friends….. Well its partly fiction and partly part of my imaginations…<br />
<br />
But one thing is sure, there will be God. Even in the dark hours… when you die… when no one will be there, there will be God.<br />
<br />
Don’t ask me how he looks like… There will be God!</div>
Mfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-3748460325781713402015-07-31T16:14:00.001-07:002015-07-31T16:14:26.340-07:00In the lonely hour...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYbSqW_N7wDE_LAuVWHEbb8Ctg1jdR_nBKkL8ojUWgNwxYbzfaRaFxNltvUwn5J1IyAv2sc20OVUX2RWjKabgE4Uo0D17QsC-5evchgvQg8USddknSETZYRmS9xRwevGWXU1-5X0e9xD1t/s1600/IMGA0004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYbSqW_N7wDE_LAuVWHEbb8Ctg1jdR_nBKkL8ojUWgNwxYbzfaRaFxNltvUwn5J1IyAv2sc20OVUX2RWjKabgE4Uo0D17QsC-5evchgvQg8USddknSETZYRmS9xRwevGWXU1-5X0e9xD1t/s320/IMGA0004.JPG" width="180" /></a></div>
I was so alone... So I decided to talk a walk.<br />
<br />
Everywhere was dark, it was about 10pm. I walked for 10 minutes and then I sat beside the road.<br />
<br />
As I watch the cars pass by... I wonder if the woman that will someday be my wife is inside one of them...<br />
<br />
I also wonder if she is in this country... Is She in South Africa? Jamaica? America? China?, Togo? where?<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Then I said to myself 'If only I can just see her face' So I close my eyes and tried to imagine but my brain saw nothing. I laughed at myself....<br />
<br />
Suddenly I heard the sound of thunder, I wondered if a bomb was exploding. Before I knew it, it was raining.<br />
<br />
So I started to run towards home.<br />
<br />
As I run...<br />
<br />
The Thunder was stronger<br />
<br />
The rain was bigger... I was getting weight!<br />
<br />
Why me?<br />
<br />
<br />
Just then I hit something and fell down.<br />
<br />
I was weak... I couldn't stand. Then I touched my knee, I was bleeding.<br />
<br />
I could feel my soul leaving my body... I could hear hymns on the other side. I was helpless, where am i going?<br />
<br />
Just the I heard a beautiful voice. She said 'Mfon, Sorry I took so long but am here now'<br />
<br />
At the sound of her voice my pains flee. She touched my knee and I stopped bleeding. The sound of the thunder was fading and I didn't notice if the rain was falling anymore.<br />
<br />
My heart was beating, I have found the one!<br />
<br />
I still could not see her face! I was waiting for the lightening of the thunder to come, So I can see the face of the angel sent from of above. My own Angel!<br />
<br />
Just then, My phone was ringing.<br />
<br />
It was my brother 'Mfon come and open the gate, I am outside'.<br />
<br />
I woke up, so it was a dream?<br />
<br />Mfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-69468365653653973472015-07-24T04:07:00.000-07:002015-07-24T04:07:28.776-07:00BREAKING NEWS: NASA Just Confirmed the Discovery of Another Earth<div style="background-color: white; color: #545252; font-family: Abel, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.8em; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQCbVvD3mFeWt9SoTPDpuLXnjyQ1hG3gXJtVePNUfB3Yqc1dqVvM-CW0hqdhHg4odexDdViyzjGBiqReb1NyA58s8ORi5Pk7eYh-rjt-9IvPsk_vewxospU0vMFobxnI_11d6DErBiYBsk/s1600/452b-artistconcept-comparison-with-earth-kepler-+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQCbVvD3mFeWt9SoTPDpuLXnjyQ1hG3gXJtVePNUfB3Yqc1dqVvM-CW0hqdhHg4odexDdViyzjGBiqReb1NyA58s8ORi5Pk7eYh-rjt-9IvPsk_vewxospU0vMFobxnI_11d6DErBiYBsk/s320/452b-artistconcept-comparison-with-earth-kepler-+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Today, NASA announced that scientists have found an Earth-like planet, Kepler-452b about 1,400 light years away from us. This new Earth-twin exists at such a distance from a star Kepler 452, where water could exist. This discovery (and more) is a result of about analysis of four years’ data from the Kepler Space Telescope which has been looking for Earth-like planets orbiting other stars similar to our Sun.<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="su-row" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">
<div class="su-column su-column-size-4-5">
<div class="su-column-inner su-clearfix">
<span class="su-dropcap su-dropcap-style-flat">T</span>his Earth-like planet, or what people are calling Earth 2.0, orbits its star in a habitable zone i.e. a region where water could exist in liquid state. During its four year work, Kepler Space Telescope found about 500 exoplanets, out of which 12 are of size comparable to the Earth. This Earth-like planet receives about 10 percent more light than Earth currently does and in another 1.5 billion years, Earth will receive the same amount of sunlight. This means, Kepler-452b is Earth’s older cousin.</div>
</div>
<div class="su-column-inner su-clearfix">
</div>
</div>
<div class="su-column-inner su-clearfix" style="background-color: white;">
<div style="color: #545252; font-family: Abel, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.8em; margin-bottom: 10px;">
Kepler-452b is the first one to be confirmed as a planets and its star possesses an interesting similarity to our Sun. It is just 12 percent brighter than our Sun and four percent heavier. This Earth-like planet Kepler-452b orbits at about same distance as Earth, taking about 385 days to complete one full revolution.</div>
<div style="color: #545252; font-family: Abel, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.8em; margin-bottom: 10px;">
Let’s take a quick look at what we know about the Earth 2.0 so far:</div>
<ul style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 25px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="color: #545252; font-family: Abel, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><em>It is about 60% larger than Earth 1.0 and the closest exoplanet so far.</em></li>
<li style="color: #545252; font-family: Abel, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><em>It is at a distance of 1,400 light years from Earth.</em></li>
<li style="color: #545252; font-family: Abel, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><em>It is rocky, thus confirming a sold surface.</em></li>
<li style="color: #545252; font-family: Abel, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><em>It orbits its very own star named Kepler 452 at a distance near-about same as Earth’s orbital distance.</em></li>
<li style="color: #545252; font-family: Abel, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><em>It completes one revolution is every 385 days.</em></li>
<li style="color: #545252; font-family: Abel, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><em>Earth 2.0’s star is about 6 billion years old i.e. about 1.5 billion years older than our Sun.</em></li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #545252; font-family: Abel, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.8em; margin-bottom: 10px;">
During the long-awaited announcement, NASA said that it right now they don’t know if there’s life on Kepler-452b. The Kepler data analysis head said:</div>
<div class="su-quote su-quote-style-default" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">
<div class="su-quote-inner su-clearfix">
“It’s simply awe-inspiring to consider that this planet has spent 6 billion years in the habitable zone of its star, which is long than the age of the Earth. That’s considerable time and opportunity for life to arise somewhere on the surface … should all the necessary ingredients and conditions for life on this planet [exist].”</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<div style="color: #545252; font-family: Abel, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.8em;">
Stay tuned with fossBytes we’ll keep you updated with the news of Earth 2.0.</div>
<div style="color: #545252; font-family: Abel, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.8em;">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: #545252; font-family: Abel, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.2000007629395px;">africanleadership.co.uk</span></span></div>
</div>
Mfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-91288748454078507132015-07-20T10:02:00.001-07:002015-07-20T10:03:08.935-07:00Prankster showers Sepp Blatter with fake dollar bills at Fifa press conferenceEarlier today...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3haXzcoU4UV_X_wPA9APcc4s-xaa0vEP_Yh9BrBnm8Kjpw1nQBE43qnDwQv7zfbiMZDJrDa8Dca5zTuPvWAv0hKp7Ht4pPSZ1kb3CtKevLRMEeKF9L9HYey9kny424-Z4EhTsPz91Pxfz/s1600/e.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3haXzcoU4UV_X_wPA9APcc4s-xaa0vEP_Yh9BrBnm8Kjpw1nQBE43qnDwQv7zfbiMZDJrDa8Dca5zTuPvWAv0hKp7Ht4pPSZ1kb3CtKevLRMEeKF9L9HYey9kny424-Z4EhTsPz91Pxfz/s320/e.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Guardian Text Egyptian Web', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1rem; padding: 0px;">
The Fifa president <a class=" u-underline" data-component="auto-linked-tag" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/sepp-blatter" style="-webkit-transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out; background: transparent; border-bottom-color: rgb(220, 220, 220); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0.0625rem; color: #005689; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none !important; transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out;">Sepp Blatter</a> walked out of a press conference after being showered with fake dollar bills by the British comedian Lee Nelson.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Guardian Text Egyptian Web', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1rem; padding: 0px;">
Nelson, whose real name is Simon Brodkin, illegally gained entry to the <a class=" u-underline" data-component="auto-linked-tag" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/fifa" style="-webkit-transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out; background: transparent; border-bottom-color: rgb(220, 220, 220); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0.0625rem; color: #005689; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none !important; transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out;">Fifa</a>headquarters in Zurich and poured dozens of fake banknotes over the stage around where Blatter was seated after announcing himself as a North Korean World Cup delegate.<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Guardian Text Egyptian Web', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1rem; padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7-wybOxsrWI/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7-wybOxsrWI?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Guardian Text Egyptian Web', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1rem; padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<aside class="element element-rich-link element--thumbnail element-rich-link--upgraded" data-component="rich-link" data-link-name="rich-link-1 | 1" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; float: left; font-family: 'Guardian Text Egyptian Web', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0.3125rem 1.25rem 0.75rem -15rem; width: 13.75rem;"><div class="rich-link tone-news--item " style="background-color: #f6f6f6; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; position: relative;">
<div class="rich-link__container" style="position: relative;">
<div class="rich-link__image-container u-responsive-ratio" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.25s ease; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392); overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 132px; position: relative; transition: background-color 0.25s ease; width: 220px;">
<img src="http://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2015/7/20/1437393524233/Sepp-Blatter-005.jpg?w=460&q=85&auto=format&sharp=10&s=58b5cd905e414e37f6d4a1c51baa161e" itemprop="contentURL" style="border: 0px; height: 132px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 220px;" /></div>
<div class="rich-link__header" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Guardian Egyptian Web', 'Guardian Text Egyptian Web', Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; line-height: 1.5rem; min-height: 2.25rem; padding: 0.25rem 0.3125rem 0.75rem;">
<h1 class="rich-link__title" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<a class="rich-link__link" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="background: transparent; color: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Fifa announce presidential election will be held in February 2016</a></h1>
</div>
<div class="rich-link__read-more" style="padding-left: 0.3125rem;">
<div class="rich-link__arrow" style="display: inline-block; height: 1.5rem; width: 1.5rem;">
<svg height="24" viewbox="0 0 24 24" width="24" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g fill-rule="evenodd" fill="none"><path class="rich-link__arrow-icon" d="m12 0c-6.627 0-12 5.373-12 12 0 6.627 5.373 12 12 12 6.627 0 12-5.373 12-12 0-6.627-5.373-12-12-12m.21 19l-.637-.668 4.888-6.326h-11.465v-1.01h11.465l-4.888-6.333.637-.668 6.79 7.158v.685l-6.79 7.157"></path></g></svg></div>
<br />
<div class="rich-link__read-more-text" style="color: #005689; display: inline-block; font-family: 'Guardian Egyptian Web', 'Guardian Text Egyptian Web', Georgia, serif; font-size: 0.875rem; height: 1.875rem; line-height: 1.625rem; padding-left: 0.125rem; vertical-align: top;">
Read more</div>
</div>
<a class="rich-link__link u-faux-block-link__overlay" href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jul/20/fifa-presidential-election-february-2016-sepp-blatter-michel-platini" style="background: transparent; bottom: 0px; cursor: pointer; left: 0px; opacity: 0; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; right: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 200%; top: 0px; white-space: nowrap; z-index: 2;"></a></div>
</div>
</aside><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Guardian Text Egyptian Web', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1rem; padding: 0px;">
“This is nothing to do with football … we need to clean here first,” Blatter said before leaving the stage while the money was cleared and Nelson was ejected from the building.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Guardian Text Egyptian Web', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1rem; padding: 0px;">
Blatter was speaking at the Fifa executive committee meeting, which had been called to set the date for the extraordinary elective congress, which has now been<a class=" u-underline" data-component="in-body-link" data-link-name="in body link" href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jul/20/fifa-presidential-election-february-2016-sepp-blatter-michel-platini" style="-webkit-transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out; background: transparent; border-bottom-color: rgb(220, 220, 220); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0.0625rem; color: #005689; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none !important; transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out;" title="">confirmed as 26 February next year</a>.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Guardian Text Egyptian Web', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1rem; padding: 0px;">
Last year, <a class=" u-underline" data-component="in-body-link" data-link-name="in body link" href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jun/01/world-cup-2014-comedian-jason-bent-england-team-lee-nelson" style="-webkit-transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out; background: transparent; border-bottom-color: rgb(220, 220, 220); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0.0625rem; color: #005689; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none !important; transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out;" title="">Nelson attempted to board the England World Cup plane</a> and mingled with the players. Earlier this summer, <a class=" u-underline" data-component="in-body-link" data-link-name="in body link" href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/28/kanye-west-glastonbury-gig-interrupted-lee-nelson-stage-invasion" style="-webkit-transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out; background: transparent; border-bottom-color: rgb(220, 220, 220); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0.0625rem; color: #005689; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none !important; transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out;" title="">the comedian interrupted Kanye West’s</a>hotly anticipated headline slot at Glastonbury festival.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Guardian Text Egyptian Web', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1rem; padding: 0px;">
“I am still alive, the waves of the tsunami have not taken me away,” Blatter said on returning to the stage.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Guardian Text Egyptian Web', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1rem; padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD2w7aXAhQ_cFloBj_RwM2HxyxN8BA0XL4h4Yttt7Uo53DbFjyc9nF6yJjbkafhNd6zp3Z_Dnv9hAwFv5-yGEMwajPLYpryZshBiSq6vw5uUH4p6kiKX_DdOmrhrQJbSYnD_phvMs4TJYG/s1600/05bdc99b-7c36-48e1-bf53-7addcdb5b566-2060x1236.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD2w7aXAhQ_cFloBj_RwM2HxyxN8BA0XL4h4Yttt7Uo53DbFjyc9nF6yJjbkafhNd6zp3Z_Dnv9hAwFv5-yGEMwajPLYpryZshBiSq6vw5uUH4p6kiKX_DdOmrhrQJbSYnD_phvMs4TJYG/s320/05bdc99b-7c36-48e1-bf53-7addcdb5b566-2060x1236.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggI8hbeTYIwCtMlhvpFvt9_D4lsweBWJakA9kxO8pde5OidOwEybDcGVW9JW6YmYR1o0UNwn2sBpaGczudWkeAznb9wGsYugHjfF4ywDOClNp2LcXq_h_BvnaM0J6bN-yZICpqzEIm9nns/s1600/blatternotes5_3381585b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggI8hbeTYIwCtMlhvpFvt9_D4lsweBWJakA9kxO8pde5OidOwEybDcGVW9JW6YmYR1o0UNwn2sBpaGczudWkeAznb9wGsYugHjfF4ywDOClNp2LcXq_h_BvnaM0J6bN-yZICpqzEIm9nns/s320/blatternotes5_3381585b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGt97u0m7yme9SBZdKqaOJn48pDP68jnBJiSEi0E5KbAmJbmZw3Zdrbf2nI6U2l3CSCC4vFwVhQBRKVkuYfQjzZhAWkBM5EWK5fUPxmUleEsGV69VWIeBC3YdRNki5Pbs_0QVs9sx7pjcy/s1600/2AB29F1700000578-3168276-Blatter_calls_for_security_as_Brodkin_addresses_those_in_attenda-a-51_1437403199473.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGt97u0m7yme9SBZdKqaOJn48pDP68jnBJiSEi0E5KbAmJbmZw3Zdrbf2nI6U2l3CSCC4vFwVhQBRKVkuYfQjzZhAWkBM5EWK5fUPxmUleEsGV69VWIeBC3YdRNki5Pbs_0QVs9sx7pjcy/s320/2AB29F1700000578-3168276-Blatter_calls_for_security_as_Brodkin_addresses_those_in_attenda-a-51_1437403199473.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyf6UT9ZHhDQ4Q62hvhpqADqCA7z2gFtNva53_Zd-PeOF5VmTU-qrgLDfvHv3y4KLB5exYx3NfilC6fL-0jyeqkgc8MA_c8_kor_07g59j9RQCmkXargS2JEA21ZKV4umzBnGMeKxWFS7r/s1600/2AB2D9BB00000578-3168276-As_Brodkin_was_dragged_away_the_comedian_threw_a_load_of_bank_no-a-49_1437403199446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyf6UT9ZHhDQ4Q62hvhpqADqCA7z2gFtNva53_Zd-PeOF5VmTU-qrgLDfvHv3y4KLB5exYx3NfilC6fL-0jyeqkgc8MA_c8_kor_07g59j9RQCmkXargS2JEA21ZKV4umzBnGMeKxWFS7r/s320/2AB2D9BB00000578-3168276-As_Brodkin_was_dragged_away_the_comedian_threw_a_load_of_bank_no-a-49_1437403199446.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Guardian Text Egyptian Web', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1rem; padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
Mfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-11913879405428793952015-07-20T09:33:00.001-07:002015-07-20T09:33:33.928-07:00Chief of Army staff doing press ups with other soldiersThis picture has surfaced of the Chief of Army staff <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Major General Tukur Buratai</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"> sweating it out with other soldiers on training</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4TCQbPQzTiVxssx1qUwCW0Yyu0QB6B-FrNOML5DSbz_unN74KIiXGZzbD-bd6Lg9LFDEdb8aWHROmSBUI0IxEaYd8mpGgkoua2gX9zRfzAQOuPsi_jA5DeMugCHFB9NF6yC-NmXxQSy8p/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4TCQbPQzTiVxssx1qUwCW0Yyu0QB6B-FrNOML5DSbz_unN74KIiXGZzbD-bd6Lg9LFDEdb8aWHROmSBUI0IxEaYd8mpGgkoua2gX9zRfzAQOuPsi_jA5DeMugCHFB9NF6yC-NmXxQSy8p/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span>Mfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-80899024958484398942015-07-20T09:23:00.000-07:002015-07-20T09:23:08.538-07:00PHOTOS: Buhari meets Obama at the White House<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm4npXW1IZhya5P1aVMVSlw67XrhM9fqQi38tFJHwuZrG1gd9rmQTiHT2p7ylgfNPrfDSGszLODjQvCVRlcnriiMcRsoN7IwefYIu9Z7H3ek70RfFpXe_1Bf9lIcqhl0Y6sMiHtKo4o1Ck/s1600/481407074.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm4npXW1IZhya5P1aVMVSlw67XrhM9fqQi38tFJHwuZrG1gd9rmQTiHT2p7ylgfNPrfDSGszLODjQvCVRlcnriiMcRsoN7IwefYIu9Z7H3ek70RfFpXe_1Bf9lIcqhl0Y6sMiHtKo4o1Ck/s320/481407074.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmXDhyphenhyphenoljh_DjFbJrcs2stWhIjIDxgTkTnE_7Sc3DeM32FFmCi7bT7sm-aiaKJMMUbVcuWDZkLCxSfHLMwnZIBxkwUdoEkhn8uWk8KWj8xbnw_Nkgl-DDXfxu0fROpwUFZXHzZeJ6XBlL/s1600/481411194.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmXDhyphenhyphenoljh_DjFbJrcs2stWhIjIDxgTkTnE_7Sc3DeM32FFmCi7bT7sm-aiaKJMMUbVcuWDZkLCxSfHLMwnZIBxkwUdoEkhn8uWk8KWj8xbnw_Nkgl-DDXfxu0fROpwUFZXHzZeJ6XBlL/s320/481411194.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnxyYR2GNXEcWWMEa9B1Im3mKURggGyMkcR_IKc38ZfZIo6iS-QgdJMAS69kbrOWlqTrdl-3yJP1_Uedj3MLbOgYfyMC7RP5Wm1yc7mZdL7clRu36sJthFkI2IYN3dIf8UMSZ15wLz0j4t/s1600/_84384988_gettyimages-481406206-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnxyYR2GNXEcWWMEa9B1Im3mKURggGyMkcR_IKc38ZfZIo6iS-QgdJMAS69kbrOWlqTrdl-3yJP1_Uedj3MLbOgYfyMC7RP5Wm1yc7mZdL7clRu36sJthFkI2IYN3dIf8UMSZ15wLz0j4t/s320/_84384988_gettyimages-481406206-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmw29BKRF_GeiJ1yKluntk9l_mKSPzp85UGzeROtDeO5k7ceWClwIqiR0wpdoR2EZDMt4NAOqd_N_nB71d35A0J_qL0_XRaZhPWeHCrAFdhSwS-V5omc7ADK0nfza20066QeLUXsZnUd2a/s1600/481411192.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmw29BKRF_GeiJ1yKluntk9l_mKSPzp85UGzeROtDeO5k7ceWClwIqiR0wpdoR2EZDMt4NAOqd_N_nB71d35A0J_qL0_XRaZhPWeHCrAFdhSwS-V5omc7ADK0nfza20066QeLUXsZnUd2a/s320/481411192.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_BPTIiBsrZQtyOtu3vXHhI3-C13I0y-ZU3w9GzLKW1IqHlhP2P7teQo6XqnvjVOE_Ew0hJVADMjXieQR_PDlclV7JRmD3jFLMC6wHf0gdt7raIN_m3kz3p-EvxQsdFr2WhbQuVVxSxWLI/s1600/481406678.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_BPTIiBsrZQtyOtu3vXHhI3-C13I0y-ZU3w9GzLKW1IqHlhP2P7teQo6XqnvjVOE_Ew0hJVADMjXieQR_PDlclV7JRmD3jFLMC6wHf0gdt7raIN_m3kz3p-EvxQsdFr2WhbQuVVxSxWLI/s320/481406678.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Mfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-24859162417947892192015-06-09T00:55:00.002-07:002015-06-09T00:55:23.017-07:00Faster Than Google Chrome? Nigerian Teenagers Create New Web Browser<div style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: 'lucida grande', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr1cFDhKTTfWOfUTpvdLG7xpuZLpNd4bGVItvUlOHI1P3otfcGk-bIRmOHWacB84bHiB10FdJHDz5nYMNYCK7XpZpXgrqi_-u0hc2bp7yYvZi7kxavgYUhcpV54y370XhZLXAqCG-nw24v/s1600/brothers1-300x166.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr1cFDhKTTfWOfUTpvdLG7xpuZLpNd4bGVItvUlOHI1P3otfcGk-bIRmOHWacB84bHiB10FdJHDz5nYMNYCK7XpZpXgrqi_-u0hc2bp7yYvZi7kxavgYUhcpV54y370XhZLXAqCG-nw24v/s1600/brothers1-300x166.png" /></a></div>
Two Nigerian brothers have proven that they hold wisdom far beyond their years. At 13- and 15 years old, <a href="http://urbanintellectuals.com/2015/06/05/13-15-yrs-old-nigerian-brothers-built-mobile-web-browsering-alternative-to-google-chrome/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #1da0c1; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Anesi and Osine Ikhianosime have created a faster mobile web browsing experience</a> that rivals Google Chrome.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: 'lucida grande', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
Hailing from Lagos, these brothers pinpointed a common problem. Although browsers like Google Chrome work on high-end smart phones, these applications often slow down on low-end phones commonly found in the developing world. Using their love for coding and technology, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT-U1SCK8tk" rel="nofollow" style="color: #1da0c1; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the dynamic duo created Crocodile Browser Lite</a>.<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: 'lucida grande', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
Currently ready for download in the Google Play store, the application has garnered rave reviews with a 4.7 out of 5 star rating.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: 'lucida grande', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
“This is the best mobile Web browser I have ever used in my life. The user interface is excellent and it is so easy to open and close different tabs,” said David Rhodes, a reviewer and user of the popular app.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: 'lucida grande', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
As self-taught problem solvers, the pair used educational websites such as Code Academy, Code Avenger as well as popular tech guides to create the app. Yet, this love of coding began far before Crocodile’s success. </div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: 'lucida grande', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
Anesi and Osine set their sights on creating their own technology company during their pre-teen years. With a popular app on the market, the Ikhianosime brothers now hope to further expand their budding technology company, Blu Doors, inspired by the Microsoft Windows platform. </div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: 'lucida grande', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
These brothers also wish to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology to gain access to more educational resources in the tech realm.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: 'lucida grande', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGZ5fZw5ANRj8mxNnFJOr_EF1MeeV8LJzkOBTqpkpz6tsWjsQghSGDAyiw1I3Msw690HgoZ0FsigcitrdSQJ3vlbztroq3nvfHXSm7ocPFvURTlenboWFwBHGaS87pwgHUWxEvyM1dc4Xf/s1600/060815-National-Nigerian-Teenagers-Greate-Popular-Web-Browser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGZ5fZw5ANRj8mxNnFJOr_EF1MeeV8LJzkOBTqpkpz6tsWjsQghSGDAyiw1I3Msw690HgoZ0FsigcitrdSQJ3vlbztroq3nvfHXSm7ocPFvURTlenboWFwBHGaS87pwgHUWxEvyM1dc4Xf/s320/060815-National-Nigerian-Teenagers-Greate-Popular-Web-Browser.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: 'lucida grande', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
<br /></div>
Mfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-37691652417556664312015-06-09T00:49:00.001-07:002015-06-09T00:50:18.357-07:00Nigerian Student In Japan Solves 30-Year-Old Maths Equation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEier_B6hQjcQz3Ltu5sHm0q-VTHy9LtHctuDJ9DYYecpSqOWAK8cPs0YSKsBrnbnK26c6HreQFEHf4tHeE5XsL3KFOshGhrsHBXumZ5F3Rd0Gc_tZFQYYSHy7JpMwPcGFwEsoMsqAdc3mye/s1600/5-300x261.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEier_B6hQjcQz3Ltu5sHm0q-VTHy9LtHctuDJ9DYYecpSqOWAK8cPs0YSKsBrnbnK26c6HreQFEHf4tHeE5XsL3KFOshGhrsHBXumZ5F3Rd0Gc_tZFQYYSHy7JpMwPcGFwEsoMsqAdc3mye/s1600/5-300x261.png" /></a></div>
A Nigerian student has broken a 30-year-old maths equation and achieved the highest grades at a university in Japan for 50 years.<br />
<br />
Ufot Ekong, who studied at Tokai University in Tokyo, achieved a first class degree in electrical engineering and scored the best marks at the university since 1965, the Flotilla Magazine reported.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
He began his success early at the university, solving a 30-year-old maths equation in his first semester.<br />
<br />
Throughout his university career Mr Ekong has won six awards for academic excellence.<br />
<br />
The brilliant mathematician worked two jobs alongside his studies to pay his way as a student.<br />
<br />
Mr Ekong also speaks English, French, Japanese and Yoruba and won a Japanese language award for foreigners. He is currently working for Nissan and already has two patents for electronic car design to his name.<br />
<br />
Tokai University is a prestigious private university based in the Japanese capital, which was founded in 1924. It is focused on the sciences and technology and roughly 60 per cent of all students are enrolled in these schools.<br />
<br />
INDEPENDENT.CO.UKMfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-40688051106524438142015-01-29T00:41:00.000-08:002015-01-29T00:41:06.646-08:00Bill Gates reveals his biggest regret in life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNiyBDozXLhSTmtPKeETrmy0mW2w7UnYs8rVUNU3BDnuLJvhYApH5U3j01zuJP__RPVAruaD78J4aPWSdgGBmrcyVYFRB51yGVg5roXgXZ7soxeF23SEfC5GQH-KQB7RstVW_Y49ooWcyj/s1600/sad-bill-gates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNiyBDozXLhSTmtPKeETrmy0mW2w7UnYs8rVUNU3BDnuLJvhYApH5U3j01zuJP__RPVAruaD78J4aPWSdgGBmrcyVYFRB51yGVg5roXgXZ7soxeF23SEfC5GQH-KQB7RstVW_Y49ooWcyj/s1600/sad-bill-gates.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
He has more money than anyone in the world, yet even Bill Gates suffers from regrets like ordinary people.<span id="more-62907" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The former Microsoft founder who has a personal fortune of $79 billion has admitted his biggest regret in life is not ever learning a second language.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
During Reddit’s Ask Me Anything online chat session, the billionaire confessed to feeling “pretty stupid” for not being able to match the language skills of others, including Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s ability to speak fluent Mandarin.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
“I feel pretty stupid that I don’t know any foreign languages,” Mr Gates wrote.</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
“I took Latin and Greek in high school and got A’s and I guess it helps my vocabulary but I wish I knew French or Arabic or Chinese.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
“I keep hoping to get time to study one of these – probably French because it is the easiest. I did Duolingo for awhile but didn’t keep it up. Mark Zuckerberg amazingly learned Mandarin and did a Q&A with Chinese students – incredible.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
As well as admitting to his linguist failings, he revealed despite his wealth he is not a big spender.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
“I am pretty basic when it comes to clothes and food. My big splurge is having a plane to fly around in,” he said.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
“I play tennis so I invest in shoes and racquets to help but they don’t make a big difference.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Mr Gates reportedly uses a Bombardier BD-700 Global Express as his private jet which costs around $50 million to buy.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Outside of his questions about his wealth, the philanthropist was asked which life lesson he learned “the hard way”.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
To which, Mr Gates’ response was quite unexpected.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
“Don’t stay up too late even if the book is really exciting. You will regret it in the morning,” he said.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
“I am still working on this problem.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
This is the third time Mr Gates has answered questions live on Reddit.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
To prove his identity to users of the wesbite community he posted a video to his official Youtube account where he appears in a Love Actually parody thanking Reddit for hosting the interview.</div>
Mfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-83710699265612914202015-01-29T00:37:00.001-08:002015-01-29T00:37:23.374-08:004 Movies Every Entrepreneur Should Watch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb3NB8Fd0rcqMnvOFijHdfCOokqgZsSIkdiQSR39AJkwx52pUHj9FkB2wxrzEgp6AifgZOIMBxDKy2fbMEhViwi7j70EticvVAMyReuz0rC87fPi_vqy4Fy7UOQvdqyq05vwK7WK38vpee/s1600/20150127175557-film-movies.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb3NB8Fd0rcqMnvOFijHdfCOokqgZsSIkdiQSR39AJkwx52pUHj9FkB2wxrzEgp6AifgZOIMBxDKy2fbMEhViwi7j70EticvVAMyReuz0rC87fPi_vqy4Fy7UOQvdqyq05vwK7WK38vpee/s1600/20150127175557-film-movies.jpeg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 30px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px;">
As I look back on my entrepreneurial life, I find it interesting to think about the information that has influenced my entrepreneurial framework. I’ve found that much of my knowledge about entrepreneurship has been formed by books that I have read over the years. However, upon some reflection, it occurs to me that certain films have also made a significant impression on me, directly impacting and shaping my business philosophy.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 30px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px;">
The following four films fall into this category, and I believe that all entrepreneurs can find something of value to take from them:</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<hr style="background-color: #f1f1f1; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #f1f1f1; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; height: 1px; line-height: 30px; margin-bottom: 24px;" />
<h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 24.7px; line-height: 28.5px; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px;">
1. Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview</h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpk94hegZRCDXm8IbYIohNFMNuXsZLpzBlRGKLN_tptZUb7e7RrpCWxigaCACcZzzvlvW4y7DCfb_QSGvxuGwMzACsYFDYkBFgXqtutOeqYa68PxDDRk9Tl942W5G4becZcNvkefmbvQZQ/s1600/1422379485-movies-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpk94hegZRCDXm8IbYIohNFMNuXsZLpzBlRGKLN_tptZUb7e7RrpCWxigaCACcZzzvlvW4y7DCfb_QSGvxuGwMzACsYFDYkBFgXqtutOeqYa68PxDDRk9Tl942W5G4becZcNvkefmbvQZQ/s1600/1422379485-movies-1.jpg" height="209" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 30px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px;">
One movie that first comes to mind as a good reference point for entrepreneurs is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Steve-Jobs-The-Lost-Interview/dp/B008GJVAW4" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2093d2; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Lost Interview</em></a> of Steve Jobs. It’s a particularly helpful documentary for people who are interested in starting a technology company, but there are also valuable lessons here for all entrepreneurs. The beauty of the documentary is in its simplicity. In fact, it’s a stretch to even call it a documentary; it’s better described as a largely unedited, hour-and-a-half conversation with Steve Jobs.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 30px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px;">
I realize in advance that Steve Jobs tends to be a controversial figure, to the point that even mentioning his name provokes strong reactions. However, I would like to strip away popular impressions of the man from the quality of what he has to say in this interview. In the film, Jobs talks very candidly, through a blend of personal anecdote and philosophy, about the core things necessary to start and run a successful company. One of the things that strikes me is his ability to focus on product quality and content as the single most important ingredients in a company’s success. While this seems obvious, he has an unusual ability to explain it clearly and in a manner that resonates. The interview also serves as a fascinating character study, having been conducted shortly after Apple fired him as CEO back in the 90's. He speaks with remarkable candor in the film, making for a highly watchable and engaging documentary.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 30px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 24.7px; line-height: 28.5px; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px;">
2. Tucker: The Man and His Dream</h2>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjWQH_YwPyrYe2rNgz9pDUqv-StJ5LgAee_XImUoWNprj8BY53tVKOhVhIZL3xZo4c1IcBmgeSK3F3TJnGx9B-IDgIy8s81FUOwbCEEqvH72GGa8i3tbQGpjcPrerTwEDHCRYDJHjExIEB/s1600/T.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjWQH_YwPyrYe2rNgz9pDUqv-StJ5LgAee_XImUoWNprj8BY53tVKOhVhIZL3xZo4c1IcBmgeSK3F3TJnGx9B-IDgIy8s81FUOwbCEEqvH72GGa8i3tbQGpjcPrerTwEDHCRYDJHjExIEB/s1600/T.jpg" height="209" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 30px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px;">
Another film that I’d recommend to entrepreneurs is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tucker-The-Man-His-Dream/dp/B00004Y62V" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2093d2; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Tucker</em></a>, which stars Jeff Bridges as Preston Tucker, a car-manufacturing entrepreneur from the 40s. The movie, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is less than a documentary but more than a typical Hollywood script. I first saw this film in the late 80s, when I was starting my first “big boy” company, and it gave me a glimpse at the zeal and energy that true entrepreneurs possess. Tucker’s enthusiasm is electric and contagious in the film. On the flip side, the story also graphically, and somewhat depressingly depicts the struggles that Tucker faced in trying to compete with the auto giants in Detroit. In a way, it can give the quintessential big-picture optic of what it’s like to dream and start a company, spanning across the full spectrum of emotions involved.</div>
<hr style="background-color: #f1f1f1; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #f1f1f1; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; height: 1px; line-height: 30px; margin-bottom: 24px;" />
<h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 24.7px; line-height: 28.5px; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px;">
3. Startup.Com</h2>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikIwPW9eBjsG4ncj4HqqIewjatqCdDSw0_Zxk0skNpidfCrlWGLq0hd_orMn-W4sH86gNtI8H5uzyr_SeGUITcVj6qlOwfz6NvzbbOxh4N5wAn8Idua_EUOwdl-EdMvBDfbe_6QKh1rVBq/s1600/s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikIwPW9eBjsG4ncj4HqqIewjatqCdDSw0_Zxk0skNpidfCrlWGLq0hd_orMn-W4sH86gNtI8H5uzyr_SeGUITcVj6qlOwfz6NvzbbOxh4N5wAn8Idua_EUOwdl-EdMvBDfbe_6QKh1rVBq/s1600/s.jpg" height="209" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 30px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0256408/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2093d2; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Startup.com</em></a> is a documentary about govWorks, a failed startup company from the dotcom-bubble era. The filmmakers were granted an astonishing level of access to the company and its leadership, providing a fly-on-the-wall perspective of a company’s meteoric rise and abrupt fall.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 30px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px;">
The film can, in many ways, be considered a companion to Paul Hawken’s <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Growing a Business</em>. While Hawken provides a roadmap for running a business successfully, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Startup.com</em> is a one-stop shop in how not to start and run a business. The film portrays the company’s leadership as more concerned with fluff than substance, the antithesis of the Steve Jobs portrayed in <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Lost Interview</em>. We see the founders raising huge sums of money and hobnobbing with Bill Clinton, while, right under their noses, the company’s infrastructure and product quality is collapsing. Any experienced entrepreneur will totally empathize with the stupidity of the entrepreneurs (since we all have made similar mistakes), but somehow the mistakes are grandiose and larger-than-life in scope. There’s something in this film for every kind of entrepreneur. For seasoned business owners it may provoke a sense of self-reflection and humility, and budding entrepreneurs can learn from the mistakes made by the film’s protagonists.</div>
<hr style="background-color: #f1f1f1; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #f1f1f1; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; height: 1px; line-height: 30px; margin-bottom: 24px;" />
<h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 24.7px; line-height: 28.5px; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px;">
4. Man on Wire</h2>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyS5PJZXPH4KREi67R3QpuUujqd2kbajJ2i0pIaXVcIEr5mAMVyM5J3rP86HF8uIBhrMzWEarZTNaPMNEQp1A0fJ7O__rjpbo_9AGoDiWpZwPDhj8c26lfM0VnqE5Un7yoASDU8Rz_7iez/s1600/m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyS5PJZXPH4KREi67R3QpuUujqd2kbajJ2i0pIaXVcIEr5mAMVyM5J3rP86HF8uIBhrMzWEarZTNaPMNEQp1A0fJ7O__rjpbo_9AGoDiWpZwPDhj8c26lfM0VnqE5Un7yoASDU8Rz_7iez/s1600/m.jpg" height="209" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 30px;">The last film that I recommend is, on a superficial level, totally unrelated to entrepreneurship. </span><a href="http://www.manonwire.com/" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2093d2; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 30px; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Man on Wire</em></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 30px;"> tells the story of Philippe Petit, a career tight-rope walker who wants to apply his trade on an extraordinary scale: walking from one of the World Trade Center’s towers to the other on a wire. The story involves the intricate plans among the conspirators to achieve this highly illegal and unsanctioned feat in the early 70's. To any reasonable person, there’s no logical end point to Petit’s entire project. Even when he attempts to describe the motivation behind walking between the two towers, it sounds highly whimsical. He does it, simply, because he wants to. This deeply resonated with me as a business owner, because, in a way, starting a business takes a similar mindset. As an entrepreneur, you have a song you want to sing, and you simply have to sing it, even if it makes no sense to anyone else. It’s comforting to know that there are others out there who share this kind of instinct.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 30px;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 30px;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 30px;">Written by </span><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #363636; display: inline !important; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase;">
<a class="name" href="http://www.entrepreneur.com/author/brian-hamilton" rel="author" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #363636; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 5px; outline: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase;">BRIAN HAMILTON</a> </div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 30px;">and published on </span><span style="font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 30px;">entrepreneur.com</span></span></div>
Mfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-34988679787072225492015-01-29T00:11:00.000-08:002015-01-29T00:11:17.120-08:003 unique trends shaping Nigeria’s startup ecosystem<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG-vr2bHYwHpZ5rChCoIx9sy6XlidZ53XQzbGbdvW4LhlJim6Xlqo5DntY6_b3ywe8hOzihW0oII0TfTEa0iF_WjRIORMzH1fOUF3Gc1u_r4fUgor0asonRzQ320X6foueMltRiStZcvMj/s1600/440-space.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG-vr2bHYwHpZ5rChCoIx9sy6XlidZ53XQzbGbdvW4LhlJim6Xlqo5DntY6_b3ywe8hOzihW0oII0TfTEa0iF_WjRIORMzH1fOUF3Gc1u_r4fUgor0asonRzQ320X6foueMltRiStZcvMj/s1600/440-space.png" height="168" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
In April last year, it was announced that Nigeria’s economy had overtaken South Africa’s, making it the biggest on the continent. This coincided with some notable happenings in the tech space. For one, arguably one of the largest pan-African startup initiatives, <a href="http://www.demo-africa.com/" style="color: #005689; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Demo Africa 2014</a>, was hosted in Lagos for the first time. Microsoft Ventures also <a href="http://ventureburn.com/2014/12/microsoft-ventures-comes-nigeria-88mph-partnership/" style="color: #005689; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">announced</a> that it’s expanding its mission to facilitate startups to include the West African country last month. Not to mention the <a href="http://ventureburn.com/2014/12/crunchbase-data-shows-2014/" style="color: #005689; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">massive rounds of investments</a> that went to Nigeria tech companies — only seconded by South Africa.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
To learn more about what makes this environment so special, Ventureburn recently chatted to the Nigerian accelerator 440′s founders about what trends are shaping the startup ecosystem.</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
The 440 accelerator programme is a joint venture fund between 88mph and the West African-based L5Lab founded by Kresten Buch and investor Chika Nwobi. Last year, the organisation saw just under 500 entrepreneurs apply for the three-month in-take of which nine (<a href="http://440.ng/startups/" style="color: #005689; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">see them here</a>) of them got investments through the programme.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Read more:</strong> <a href="http://ventureburn.com/2013/11/the-west-african-startup-landscape-its-not-just-about-nigeria/" style="color: #005689; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The West African startup landscape: it’s not just about Nigeria</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
As is reflected in the initiative’s interesting cohort of startups last year, the scene is very different from what you’ll find in Nairobi, Kenya, Cape Town, South Africa or Europe for that matter. “Entrepreneurs are more aggressive,” challenges Buch.</div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; background-image: url(http://ventureburn.com/img/box.png); background-repeat: no-repeat; border-bottom-color: silver; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0.2em; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; margin: 8px 0px 12px; padding: 0px 0px 3px 32px; text-transform: uppercase;">
1. UNIQUE CULTURE</h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
One of 440′s startups is PrayerBox, which Buch describes as being a Twitter for religion. “Religion is very big in Nigeria,” he says. “For instance, it’s not unusual for most of the founders of the companies to pay a certain percentage of their salary to their churches.” This is only one aspect which makes the local culture so interesting.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
“Religion and mobile is not a real combination you would make in Europe. We normally don’t venture into these types of social media companies but looking at Nigeria, it could actually work compared to some place like Silicon Valley. It’s a risky play, but an interesting one,” Buch notes.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
Another dynamic that fits in well with the ecosystem’s culture is the fact that Nigerians are aggressive. Aggressive in the sense that they are much more competitive and hard-working than people are in Cape Town or Nairobi. “When you’re in Lagos, you’re there to work,” quips Buch. “They are more hungry and work a lot harder than Capetonians or Europeans.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
In a survey conducted by the <a href="http://ventureburn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Accelerating_Entrepreneurship_in_Africa_source_Ventureburn.pdf" style="color: #005689; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Omidyar Network in 2013</a>, 72% of survey respondents believed the establishment of entrepreneurial ventures in Nigeria is driven primarily by necessity.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
“Side hustling is a big trend here. People who build tools to manage their side business tend to be successful. One of our startups has built a tablet app that helps people see what’s going on with their store,” he explains. Moreover, other businesses like major ecommerce stores Konga and Jumia have created marketplaces alongside their primary business models that have proven to be successful.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
Konga’s online marketplace wants to give the country’s many offline businesses, salesmen and entrepreneurs a storefront in the cloud with the ability to scale and expand their services.</div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; background-image: url(http://ventureburn.com/img/box.png); background-repeat: no-repeat; border-bottom-color: silver; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0.2em; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; margin: 8px 0px 12px; padding: 0px 0px 3px 32px; text-transform: uppercase;">
2. ECOMMERCE</h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
There’s no denying the fact that ecommerce is big in Nigeria. Just looking at the numbers, last year we saw a record amount of investments flow into the market. An <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201410280999.html" style="color: #005689; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">estimated 2 million people</a> are using etailers in the country, which could contribute to <a href="http://businessdayonline.com/2014/09/e-commerce-has-potential-to-contribute-20-to-nigerias-gdp/" style="color: #005689; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">about 20% </a>of the GDP.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
Exhibit A: Nigerian ecommerce player Konga secured US$40-million from South Africa’s Naspers. One month later, its competitor Jumia got US$150-million from Africa Internet Group, backed by Germany’s Rocket Internet.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
“There are two critical things that make ecommerce in Nigeria so popular,” Buch points out. “Firstly, the market size is much bigger than, say, South Africa. Secondly, the retail space is extremely under-developed. From a selection point of view, there’s a huge opportunity to fill that gap and compete with prices.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
Given these trends, getting to the market early is a wise bet. Thus, four of 440′s startups are ecommerce related, from women’s fashion, men’s fashion, online fruit retailer and electronics. All of which are also the most resource-intensive, with one or two of them having secured investments of up to US$120 000.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
Another one of the accelerator’s participating startups, called GingerBox, delivers fruit to company offices all over Lagos.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
“The retail space is very underdeveloped in the Nigerian market which means there are a lot of opportunities to sale specific things via online channels,” reiterates Nwobi. “This makes these niche services very attractive investments.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
Another dynamic Buch mentions is that, unlike South Africa where ecommerce is purely a convenience play, Nigeria actually thrives on this scalable system. “In Lagos, where there’s a massive amount of traffic and not a lot of options, online shopping seems a natural fit,” he says.</div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; background-image: url(http://ventureburn.com/img/box.png); background-repeat: no-repeat; border-bottom-color: silver; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0.2em; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; margin: 8px 0px 12px; padding: 0px 0px 3px 32px; text-transform: uppercase;">
3. ESTABLISHING LEADERS</h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
Role models are important for startup ecosystems. In the US there are the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs and so on, which have all created near cult followings. Even in South Africa there are a couple of success stories firing up some of the budding startups. These include big exists like<a href="http://ventureburn.com/2011/06/visa-snaps-up-sa-mobile-financial-services-company-for-110m/" style="color: #005689; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Fundamo</a>, <a href="http://ventureburn.com/2014/07/first-data-buys-out-vinny-linghams-gyft/" style="color: #005689; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Gyft</a> and the recent <a href="http://ventureburn.com/2015/01/breaking-sa-radar-startup-ikubu-exits-garmin-technologies/" style="color: #005689; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">iKubu</a>.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
Not only do these all play a role in validating that there is a lot of talent locally, they produce leaders and role models with large pockets, sometimes keen to give back to the community.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
“We’re starting to see some of the older startups like iRoko, Jobberman, Konga, Jumia and WakaNow start new companies,” Nwobi points out.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
He further says that alongside these leading tech companies are new Venture Capital funds. “Last year we saw about six or seven other Venture Capitalists enter the scene, so there’s an increased supply of seed level companies. We hope to see between 20% and 30% of this year’s applicants to be more experienced startups.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
To name but a few, president Goodluck Jonathan last year <a href="http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/jonathan-launches-50m-venture-capital-fund-fourth-phase-of-youwin/194402/" style="color: #005689; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">announced</a> a US$50-million small business fund and billionaire Tony Elumelu <a href="http://ventureburn.com/2015/01/100m-tony-elumelu-entrepreneurship-programme-calling-applications/" style="color: #005689; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">launched</a> the US$100-million Entrepreneurship Programme. Other funds include GroFin, Sahel Capital, Actis Capital and of course 440.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
Many of these figures are staggering. And they should be, considering that more than 80 million of Nigeria’s 170 million citizens living in or close to urban areas and the total consumption projected to rise to US$1.4-trillion a year by 2030. Though having said this, the country still faces a lot of challenges including the fact that an estimated 70% live under the poverty line.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Image via <a href="http://techcabal.com/2014/10/10/meet-nine-startups-440ngs-first-accelerator-cohort/" style="color: #005689; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">TechCabal</a></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 23.9360008239746px; padding: 5px 0px;">
Source: ventureburn.com</div>
Mfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-30502778430998179252015-01-29T00:03:00.004-08:002015-01-29T00:03:47.587-08:00How a Nigerian Internet Start-up Grew Revenue from $250 to $1 Million in 3 Years<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCc4Amx2uFTzsd4-nPu-lmOqQgQdmm0Jq8QhF6jSeZsfMN1U3TWb6MbOtUBKdjy-M6jOK9J5ljGnOZaAXyAwJR_Lnt71wrIQECaOfDhpmG0gz8-cZ64nVsW6qY9nGOwlnF0CGn4bY8Lssl/s1600/press-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCc4Amx2uFTzsd4-nPu-lmOqQgQdmm0Jq8QhF6jSeZsfMN1U3TWb6MbOtUBKdjy-M6jOK9J5ljGnOZaAXyAwJR_Lnt71wrIQECaOfDhpmG0gz8-cZ64nVsW6qY9nGOwlnF0CGn4bY8Lssl/s1600/press-1.jpg" height="320" width="214" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
In 2008 Abasiama Idaresit returned to Nigeria, after studying for a degree in Information Systems & Management at the London School of Economics. He had one thing in mind: to see how the Internet could help transform the business landscape in Nigeria. That, in fact, was the focus of his dissertation -- the impact of technology on small businesses.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
"I've always loved the Internet; wanted to see it change a lot of things in Africa -- marketing, operations..." he tells me, at his office in Lagos.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
He started peddling his dreams. Without success. "For the first eight months I didn't make a dime," he recalls. "People literally chased me out of their offices."</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
By Internet-age standards in Nigeria those were early days. Facebook was just picking up, and no one had heard of Twitter; Internet advertising was almost unheard of at that time.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />But Abas kept at his proselytizing.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
Until <a href="http://www.babymstores.com/africa/samples.html" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #683db9; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">Baby M</a>.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
Baby M was a small business that catered to the needs of new mothers and their babies. It operated out of one store in Ikoyi, Lagos, near where Abas lived, and also had a network of sales agents who combed the streets of Lagos in search of customers. Monthly revenues were in the region of one thousand dollars.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
Abas tried to convince Baby M's proprietor to give him a chance to show how the Internet could help her advertise cheaply and find new customers. At first she wasn't very keen. Until Abas offered a money-back guarantee in the event that he failed to fulfill his promise.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
With nothing to lose, she gave him N40,000 (approx $250) -- his debut earning as an internet marketing consultant.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
The results were phenomenal. Within three months, says Abas, Baby M's revenues<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLiKbKq2y1M" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #683db9; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">grew</a> from $1,000 a month to $100,000 a month, immediately overwhelming her capacity to fulfill orders.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
That feat attracted the attention of Google, which has since developed it into an Internet marketing case study.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
Shortly after, Abas incorporated Wild Fusion, to do for other businesses what he'd done with Baby M.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
Wild Fusion has since grown remarkably, from its founder's first $250, to over a million dollars in revenue in 2012. It is now on course to double that, in 2013.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
It was the first Nigerian company to become a Google Adwords partner, and today provides digital marketing and online media-buying services to a client list that includes names like Unilever, Pepsi and Diamond Bank in Nigeria, and Vodafone in Ghana.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
The future is clearly very promising.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
While global corporate spending on traditional mediums (TV, radio, print) has either declined or stagnated in the last few years, Internet advertising budgets have steadily grown, and will continue to, into the foreseeable future.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
The shift is beginning to be noticeable in Nigeria, and everyone -- from <a href="http://gtbank.com/media-centre/gtbank-in-the-news/14-media/press-releases/342-gtbank-introduces-social-banking" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #683db9; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">banks</a> to beer companies (<a href="http://www.bellanaija.com/2011/01/27/200000-fans-sign-up-for-guinness-vip-new-interactive-football-entertainment-platform-for-mobile-phones/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #683db9; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">here</a> and <a href="http://techloy.com/2013/02/28/nigerian-breweries-launches-star-music-mobile-app/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #683db9; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">here</a>) -- is now seeking to actively engage consumers on the Internet.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/ICTFactsFigures2013.pdf" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #683db9; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">According to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)</a>, Africa's 27 percent average annual growth (2009 - 2013) in household Internet penetration is almost double that of the next fastest contender, Asia and the Pacific. Africa is also the world's fastest growing market for mobile broadband.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
Wild Fusion <a href="http://www.ventures-africa.com/2013/08/nigerian-digital-agency-wild-fusion-expands-to-kenya/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #683db9; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">has just opened a country office, in Nairobi, Kenya</a>; its third, after Nigeria and Ghana.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
It is also currently building its first proprietary technology, which it plans to license to small businesses and which will provide them with an easy-to-use interface for deploying online advertising.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
In five years Abas envisions offices across Africa, and annual revenues of $100 million.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
***</div>
<strong style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Abasiama Idaresit's 5 Tips for small businesses seeking to use the Internet for marketing:</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"></span><br />
<ol style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; counter-reset: li 0; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; list-style: none outside; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Have a simple, mobile-friendly website with your products/services clearly, alongside contact details.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; list-style: none outside; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ensure you have social media presence for your business, and link all your social media platforms to one another (this will help your business visibility on search engines)</li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; list-style: none outside; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Start small and test to see what kind of advertising works best for your business: Search, Display, Social Media, or Mobile</li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; list-style: none outside; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Track and measure traffic using free web analytics tools such as Google Analytics</li>
<li class="last" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; list-style: none outside; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Compare the results from the various advertising options to see which one delivers the greatest value for your business, and focus on that.</li>
</ol>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Originally Published in Huffington Post</span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Mfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-17575196513170331802014-09-27T00:13:00.000-07:002014-09-27T00:14:20.153-07:00Wife-Beater? Tiwa Savage and Tunji Billz Marriage Allegedly Heading For The Rocks!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj06lbHENha8cHUpT69M1IVM6HA0SlekbhkVGeXJtuT4-dkBt5T4ltmSSTQgedGjXh0c1lBuq7Lq7C7kMpcLvJankjyouc1HUB2rdITD-ccXRS1uPZla8yx8HnJyb5bhOrGJxvkSn7UsnqB/s1600/Tiwa-and-Tee-Billz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj06lbHENha8cHUpT69M1IVM6HA0SlekbhkVGeXJtuT4-dkBt5T4ltmSSTQgedGjXh0c1lBuq7Lq7C7kMpcLvJankjyouc1HUB2rdITD-ccXRS1uPZla8yx8HnJyb5bhOrGJxvkSn7UsnqB/s1600/Tiwa-and-Tee-Billz.jpg" height="182" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Rumors of a strain in the 5-month wedding between Tiwa Savage and Tunji ‘Tee Billz’ Balogun surfaced this week, and it seems there’s a lot more wrong in th</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">e union.<br /><br />The Wanted singer had reportedly fired Tee Billz as her manager, and now a new report alleges that Tee-Billz beats his wife.<br /><br />According to blogger Kemi Filani, Tee Billz has been beating Tiwa Savage even before they got married.<br /><br />She wrote,<br /><br />Their marriage is barely five months old (they got married in Dubai in May) but Tiwa can’t hold it in anymore…she’s tired of putting up with Tunji…..he beats her, cheats on her etc…so many incredible stories i can’t even put here…but she’s finally ready to call it quit and it all revolves around her money.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /><br />Three different sources in their inner circle confirmed this. “Kemi, it’s nothing new abeg. We were shocked when she accepted to marry him, he’s bn beating her even before he asked her to marry him but love is stupid sometimes. When she agreed to marry him fine, we said ‘okay, do a private and not a big wedding in case things fall apart but they said no…it’s money sharing formula that is worrying them” one of the sources in the circle confidently told me.<br /><br />What does this mean for the couple? Neither has made an official statement regarding the stories.</span>Mfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-64538155153036297402014-05-11T07:44:00.000-07:002018-05-17T07:45:14.263-07:00<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Meet the twenty 20 years old Nigerian
Entrepreneur who is set to restructure Nollywood. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In
a country where young people are hardly given big chances, it is very unusual to
see a 20-year-old ditch a good job in pursuit of building his enterprise. His
name is </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/john.darey"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">John Nelson Kalu</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, a 100 level student at
the University of Lagos Akoka. But there
is more to him that you will imagine, this twenty years old is working on a
project that he believes will re-shape the Nigerian entertainment Industry. John Nelson Kalu, a very talented graphic and
technologist is currently working with broad mead ventures, also known as the
design studio but to ensure that he achieves his aim, he is already making
plans to quit the company and start on his own. This is a rare courage from 20
years old. Let me spare you the suspense, below is a heart to heart chat with the
young and very elegant John Nelson Kalu. John Nelson Kalu speaks passionately
about his plans. This is definitely someone to watch out for!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mfon Abel Ekene:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Nice to meet you John<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">John Nelson Kalu</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">:</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yes, sir. Good morning</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mfon</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">: </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So tell me about you and what you do</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">JNK:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Am a graphic designer and a
technologist and also an aspiring entrepreneur.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mfon:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hmm, so what have been doing so far
as a graphic designer, technologist and aspiring entrepreneur?</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">JNK</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">: </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Well, presently I work with broad mead ventures, also
known as the design studio. I think am just starting on my own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mfon</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">: Can you explain what you mean by 'I
think am just starting on my own.'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">JNK</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">: It necessitates the fact that very
soon my work at my present place of work, broad mead will be over. It is just
like resigning from where you work and starting a business of your own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mfon</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">: Oh! Can you talk about this your new
start up?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">JNK</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">: It is about building a cartoon show
for Nollywood, more like home video but basically for kids. Cartoons come in
many genres and command a diverse viewing audience so this one is basically a
home movie for the kids.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mfon</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">: Wow! Have you made any move
already?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">JNK</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">: I have already approached a cartoon
company. Presently, we are holding serious discussion about it. Cartoon is a
big part of the entertainment industry for kids so the media company is happy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mfon</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">: That is good. You look so young,
how old are you and what is your level of education?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">JNK</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">: Am 20.*laugh*</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mfon</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">: </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Huh?</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">JNK</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">: </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yes, 20. 100 level in university of Lagos state.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mfon</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">: </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At such a young age, considering our society, how are
you coping with the challenges that come your way on this mission, like when
people try to doubt?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">JNK</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">: </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It probably goes without saying but you do need to
have at least a little drawing talent. You don't have to be the reincarnation
of Leonardo Davinci to draw cartoon characters. Most cartoon characters can be
broken down into simple shapes, which are fairly easy to draw. Creativity has
to be a strength. It’s best to have
characters that are easy to draw over and over again. And you will want to
write a script that invites the viewer into the world your cartoon, and also
getting to speak with competent cartoonist that can speak life into these
cartoons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mfon</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">: Are making any effort to reach out
to people or co-operate bodies for support on this?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">JNK</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">: Of course! I have a presentation to
do on Sunday. But I want to put a pilot out first so people can get to see how
real it is and also know it’s worth the investment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mfon</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">:</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What impact are you hoping to make with this start up? How do
you see it changing the live of Nigerians especially the kids?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">JNK</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">:</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Very good question. One thing, kids will stop watching
ungodly programs on TV. I am not discriminating. I mean the program our kids
watch should have positive impact in their lives and not the other way round.
My perspective has a lot of intuitive appeal in this era. Our content are going
to be very distinct one that impact greatness into this kids and Characters
that’s highly worthy of emulation. Every parent wants their children to model
positive a character that can inspirethem to want to become their very best..
Our content will not contradict that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mfon</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">: </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You are very Confident about this. What gives you such
confident?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white;">JNK</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white;">:
</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Creative and
innovation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mfon:
Where do you hope to be in five years’ time?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">JNK:
To be globally recognized.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mfon:
On a personal level, what kind of person is John Nelson Kalu?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">JNK:
A nerd.. Very reserved, calm and collective.. I just love to figure things out
a lot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mfon:
And hopefully you will figure this out to the end<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">JNK:ahhahah.
Yeah. Serious thought is been put to Zirock. Oh, the name is zirock of the
company.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mfon:
Thanks for your time.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2529940701267731097" name="_GoBack"></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">JNK</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">: </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">My pleasure. I hope to
talk to you some other time. Thank you, Mfon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Mfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-9391650080572774352014-02-24T09:20:00.002-08:002014-02-24T09:20:28.861-08:00Egypt Military announces they have found treatment of aids and hepatitis C<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg98TteCSyWDd_Fgpn-O3az2tmf2FuEQTv4lWpMNg-VDDFQegD5Wznks9Jv_IXSs1_CgdtT1wU0S430MDTSHNwYwrGN7cX8h9oYEgdbesae2dZtvOqF8WukpzP5zt1_tTzdvK672lbs5LPY/s1600/Egypt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg98TteCSyWDd_Fgpn-O3az2tmf2FuEQTv4lWpMNg-VDDFQegD5Wznks9Jv_IXSs1_CgdtT1wU0S430MDTSHNwYwrGN7cX8h9oYEgdbesae2dZtvOqF8WukpzP5zt1_tTzdvK672lbs5LPY/s1600/Egypt.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Egypt's military claims its engineers have made an
"unprecedented" scientific breakthrough by developing a device that
can detect AIDs and hepatitis C infections without the need to take blood
samples.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Armed Forces and the Ministry of Health formed a
research team to prepare for the application of an aids and hepatitis C
treatment starting June 30 in military hospitals, head of the military
engineering department Taher Abdallah said in a press conference on Sunday.</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The conference was held to announce a “breakthrough” in
medical history, accomplished by Doctor Ibrahim Abdel Atty after 22 years of
research.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The treatment has no side effects and takes 20-hour periods
at a 95 percent success rate, Abdallah said, adding that the military would not
export the treatment outside of Egypt, but would seek international approval
for it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Representative of the Ministry of Health Nadia Ragab said
the ministry tested and approved the treatment that shows that Egypt has
scientists operating on the highest international level.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sally Emara, supervisor of the research and the treated
patients, said the results of the treatment are “outstanding” and thanked the
military for adopting such a “giant research project.”</div>
Mfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-61216292561473389322013-11-06T06:16:00.001-08:002013-11-06T06:16:40.748-08:00Don Jazzy’s kindness and Wande Coal’s humility.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0cm;
mso-para-margin-right:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0cm;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://twitter.com/mfonabel" target="_blank"><img alt="https://twitter.com/mfonabel" border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xJanrLytrvPT8-RViXP5DNF_bOL9uVQcHJ9ZVP3CfQjaJkF91gYvwyvhTs_9qpb6YOs9Ayr2OHOaNoCgc8uie2g-I9i_i5Edb7ibg0zzg4tBCc-k7Y1mDhFRUTSLtECwvYl1UaktyH9e/s320/wande.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The fracas between Don Jazzy and Wande Coal is currently enjoying
top trend on twitter, while so many fans are taking this so called quarrel too
serious, I believe that these two respected folks will probably settle their
differences soon over a bottle of beer.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some fellow on twitter are already dedicating some tweets to
infuriate the hate between these two. It keeps one wondering if it is a crime
to have misunderstanding once in a while. As long as there is human blood and
hormones, there is bound to be misunderstanding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After misunderstanding comes settlement.
There are two qualities that these two men possess that should bring them
together again as best of friends. apart from talent, these was the same quality that brought them together, kindness and humility.</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not so long ago, Don Jazzy had a split with D’banj and
everyone expected them to be enemies for life. But to the surprise of everyone,
the Marvin Boss and the Kokomaster have been spotted together, even performing together
with D’banj having some good words to say about the Don.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One thing people should realize is that nothing last
forever. Change is constant in life. Someday people a sperm will become a child
and a child will become a man. Life goes on. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wande Coal is a good guy. He is one of those music guys that
has managed to stay out of regular controversies. At least I have not heard
people report that he impregnated a secondary school girl. He is not one of
those guys that work into a place and makes sure everyone noticed that he is
there. He is just an humble easy going guy! Yes, he is really an easy going
guy, who is grateful to God for lifting him up from the bottom to the top.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don Jazzy on the other hand is a kind hearted human. I have
heard many people say the Don is generous. Everyone may have their own weakness
but kindness is something that the Don is fond of. Even on twitter, the Don has
extended help to numerous fans and has impacted many people through his kind
heart.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So for those trying to take side and infuriate this dark
time in the relationship between this two brothers, I believe the effort is doomed
to fail, because at the end, Wande Coal’s humility and Don Jazzy kindness will
bring them together.</div>
Mfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-45960045853245379572013-10-14T08:20:00.001-07:002013-10-14T08:20:26.116-07:00Five Reasons Why Mandela Must Not Die…<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZnPTUEvBgyh7I_EvX6-uIaXYKkVWeMnD-61rJHde4SbFsTg88sJR1WZiU09UhLNsqcBovCYrWxpArsT8VTFHx8EhES_ohPigpJyHh4GOevG7Ccd4PHX4k7GQtxRFlQzZ_ygK4aHXQbiF/s1600/nelson-mandela-268x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZnPTUEvBgyh7I_EvX6-uIaXYKkVWeMnD-61rJHde4SbFsTg88sJR1WZiU09UhLNsqcBovCYrWxpArsT8VTFHx8EhES_ohPigpJyHh4GOevG7Ccd4PHX4k7GQtxRFlQzZ_ygK4aHXQbiF/s1600/nelson-mandela-268x300.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After many weeks of tension over the health of African
living legend, Nelson Mandela, attention over his health has dropped after his
return from hospital. #MfonList takes a look at top five reasons why the great
icon, Nelson Mandela must not die; perhaps these factors have slight role in his
lengthy life span so far.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->He is loved In Africa and beyond: Nelson Mandela
has achieved something many African leaders and even global leaders have failed
to achieve, that is, winning the love of majority of his people. It is very
difficult in Africa, for up to 50% of the population of a country to sing the
praise of it’s leader in office or out of office. Usually, the people who sing
the praise of leaders are those directly benefiting from such leader, or those
with tribal link with such Leader. This is something the great Icon has
surpassed. He has not just won the love of majority of South Africans; he has
crossed the boundary, into all Africa and even beyond to the international
community! This is rare! And many years
after he left office, the love never ran out, it seems it goes stronger day
after day! Many will go out of their way to pray for the well being of this
great man.</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->It will be great if he clocks 100! It is not
every day that a centurion is buried! Few leaders ever live to reach the age of
100 and most of these leaders can be found in the Holy Bible. Despite all the
torment, torture he has been through, the icon is still breathing! It will be
amazing if he lives and reach the century mark! And even with additions!</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->His presence alone makes a difference: He has
become a symbol of freedom, goodwill and victory over oppression. There are
very few people in the world that will not cherish an opportunity to meet with
the icon. And even more so, fewer people will turn down his advice. Nelson
Mandela is one man whose presence can create an atmosphere of love, unity and
optimism!</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->4.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->He is an inspiration to many: So many people
have made this great African, their mentor even without ever meeting him. They
see him as a source of courage and encouragement. And these inspirations have
helped many find the strength to dare to be to be different. If the great
Mandela lives on, more people will find inspiration.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->5.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->To make his loved ones happy: The happiness and
joy his presence brings to his family and people is priceless! There is no
substitute for it!</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you have more reasons, feel free to drop a comment!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Follow on twitter <b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="https://twitter.com/mfonabel" target="_blank">@mfonabel</a></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiazLaojfB9HL1Dh5gHV_tFF7ufQ4479wsyk5t4gFVbFvGVOcc1eabX7JEUp33aBWGZKPmeA8Z8XPHH1dqmqVxrl9yy_xjFKxw204RJhyphenhyphenqSTNSFB6qFGZbwGq8iXTorelYR2AipQPRMm21K/s1600/nelson-mandela-004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiazLaojfB9HL1Dh5gHV_tFF7ufQ4479wsyk5t4gFVbFvGVOcc1eabX7JEUp33aBWGZKPmeA8Z8XPHH1dqmqVxrl9yy_xjFKxw204RJhyphenhyphenqSTNSFB6qFGZbwGq8iXTorelYR2AipQPRMm21K/s320/nelson-mandela-004.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnsDbMr1fe2NrjQNYJHkN9giY_p1d92Di0PQERVLgqXPw-LqDXAKVSsIT7oblvfB7NfY4sgDDAmTRWpUbSO2_u847KGbEVmh56fdMpYlvB3aAdF2x21vw9xDpkkAH5fflfpcYb49UBpz0V/s1600/nelson-mandela.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnsDbMr1fe2NrjQNYJHkN9giY_p1d92Di0PQERVLgqXPw-LqDXAKVSsIT7oblvfB7NfY4sgDDAmTRWpUbSO2_u847KGbEVmh56fdMpYlvB3aAdF2x21vw9xDpkkAH5fflfpcYb49UBpz0V/s320/nelson-mandela.jpg" width="230" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPIPzoDo07v3ClHl_CJTwFpucG8j3lMP52HEyB1lenmfzG_Qx-v17hnm-ZaCe3aXE6AUZIaSDCzBjuiv1-zsN_BHnqgCZusFfqSSm5OyJYD1RMlMnjvrFOwKMiqLhIlQjLKHanpP9B93Sv/s1600/nelson_mandela222.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPIPzoDo07v3ClHl_CJTwFpucG8j3lMP52HEyB1lenmfzG_Qx-v17hnm-ZaCe3aXE6AUZIaSDCzBjuiv1-zsN_BHnqgCZusFfqSSm5OyJYD1RMlMnjvrFOwKMiqLhIlQjLKHanpP9B93Sv/s320/nelson_mandela222.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Hx9ze6-_8pDWmvAKgeDb-JeSnm9ufmmwdxXoSM9KtI-sBu45_GYi7WleZMvEvJOyCwar9T0JEMUUbwQPEBLfVQbR8N6vJx-WE2YDlUsx-eQCtysepfRJgR0r5qISE3D8dLVENYDMir8A/s1600/nelson+Mandela+333.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Hx9ze6-_8pDWmvAKgeDb-JeSnm9ufmmwdxXoSM9KtI-sBu45_GYi7WleZMvEvJOyCwar9T0JEMUUbwQPEBLfVQbR8N6vJx-WE2YDlUsx-eQCtysepfRJgR0r5qISE3D8dLVENYDMir8A/s320/nelson+Mandela+333.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
Mfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-61520354442393585172013-10-11T07:10:00.000-07:002013-10-11T07:10:39.071-07:00D’banj: I’d love to marry Genevieve!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi13xL3AL_fmSrDL2EgjIC4l6E7su5bh9W5Z0Dmva2o6e_5xm9MfMJ9k8eTWCLAEkBEuzmiZlOP2BcDzaOxOHWLV5Qmg3E9m3k2ry7Vm0e1q7UkgjtKfZ4bKX0Ym4vi7ueuVDmBqg0PF0-S/s1600/D%E2%80%99banj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi13xL3AL_fmSrDL2EgjIC4l6E7su5bh9W5Z0Dmva2o6e_5xm9MfMJ9k8eTWCLAEkBEuzmiZlOP2BcDzaOxOHWLV5Qmg3E9m3k2ry7Vm0e1q7UkgjtKfZ4bKX0Ym4vi7ueuVDmBqg0PF0-S/s1600/D%E2%80%99banj.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Singer, Dapo Oyebanji, aka D’banj, finally opened up on his love life in a rare meeting with journalists in Lagos on Wednesday.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The self-styled Kokomaster was clearly
in his elements as he talked at length, amid occasional bouts of
laughter, about his career and other issues that were important to him.
One of the subjects was about his rumoured relationship with Nollywood
actress, Genevieve Nnaji.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Judging by the manner in which the
actress’ name kept popping off his lips, it was obvious that D’banj had a
very soft spot for her.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Aware that the grapevine had bristled
with the rumour that he was romantically involved with Genevieve, ever
since she appeared in the 2010 video of his hit song, ‘<i>Fall in Love</i>’, the singer said the actress had played a role in his success.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“Apart from the fact that she is my
friend, she has been a part of my success. There is no way you are going
to tell my story that Genevieve’s name will not come up because she
featured in my biggest song of all time, <i>Fall in Love</i>. So if <i>E True Story</i> comes to Nigeria to interview me, she will definitely be called upon to tell my story,” he said.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As if to confirm that there was more to
his relationship with the actress than he had always admitted, D’banj
added, “I would love to have Genevieve as my wife. We never can tell
what God plans for us in the future. I have studied her and I realised
that anyone that has her as his woman has found himself a treasure. Just
like the Bible says, any man who finds a wife, finds a good thing.”</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkltYd3iSIoBP1jEZkGSf_wIlHLKa2ZhudCwJdYe4pxGPG7Psu_MDBm80YMd8m_LDpD382kyCz9V0lnqopZblfAWCY_1twup8Ok-mbmsNep8oLHHZ5gf4R2O-tZKUADXIee9ObyaME78jr/s1600/DG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkltYd3iSIoBP1jEZkGSf_wIlHLKa2ZhudCwJdYe4pxGPG7Psu_MDBm80YMd8m_LDpD382kyCz9V0lnqopZblfAWCY_1twup8Ok-mbmsNep8oLHHZ5gf4R2O-tZKUADXIee9ObyaME78jr/s320/DG.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTu1JbwbwQqsrok5IrxBapWHS5POFUMDLHnDEw7Gm7IxScOsIC8lmgrTROr0xaKuUlY_oMBwlYWxx3Stx_GacBWSDHz9g16OpKtOlQ7njar2EqIRp-FCBAVBGF7YLsMK2E9ckHLCddEs8J/s320/DG2.jpg" width="320" /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Perhaps the fans and admirers of the
‘love birds’ will have to brace themselves for a symbolic wedding of two
of the most celebrated artistes on this side of the globe in the
nearest future.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Meanwhile, D’banj plans to celebrate
the 10th anniversary of his music career anytime in 2014. As expected,
the singer aims to roll out the proverbial drums to celebrate in style
what he describes as the overwhelming success of his foray into the
Nigerian music scene.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The one-time harmonica wielding artiste has, indeed, made tremendous progress in his career since his monster hit, ‘<i>Tongolo</i>’ was released in 2004.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The artiste, who wormed his way into the highly competitive international music market after signing on to Kanye West’s <i>G.O.O.D Music</i> in 2011, no doubt, has finally found his bearing as an entertainer since he parted ways with <i>Mo’Hits</i>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“So much has happened in the last 18
months and I am very thankful to God. By the Grace of God, I have
remained relevant for nearly a decade in the music industry and I have
released hit songs every year. Also, I am glad that I have been chosen
to headline the Hennessy Artistry this year. This is one brand that
understands the importance of aligning with the entertainment industry.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“My career is barely 10 years old. But with the success I have achieved so far, it feels
like three decades already. Within my first 10 years as a musician, I
have recorded the biggest song and shot the most viewed music video of
all time, ‘<i>Oliver Twist</i>’. I must say I am humbled and getting ready to take over,” he said.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Without mincing words, D’banj noted that
the history of his career and the resulting accomplishments will be
incomplete without mentioning his humble beginning with the defunct <i>Mo’Hits</i> <i>Records</i>. The mere mention of his erstwhile colleagues, including Don Jazzy, seemed to awaken nostalgic feelings in him.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“If I say I don’t miss Don Jazzy, I am
lying. I have spent the better part of my career with him. I was married
to him in a way (laughs). So I miss everything about <i>Mo’Hits</i>:
the family, the movement, and the vibe of being in the studio with him. I
miss the jokes and the arguments, but I have since keyed into the
notion that nothing can stop a moving train.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioak-UwbHCOSPqnRHUSXECPV9OavFuFX8EGoKGjzrvvOkU67wr-KVDPDRKlTkU88YkpqdwYHpSJD5gl9m8E9C7znbrPC-4QCOPqdIlK8ebNnqx10TU31vdkJY8d7rnAhMaBxukqXepb0Cf/s1600/DD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioak-UwbHCOSPqnRHUSXECPV9OavFuFX8EGoKGjzrvvOkU67wr-KVDPDRKlTkU88YkpqdwYHpSJD5gl9m8E9C7znbrPC-4QCOPqdIlK8ebNnqx10TU31vdkJY8d7rnAhMaBxukqXepb0Cf/s1600/DD.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“Nevertheless we can always do music together. The track, ‘<i>Top of the World</i>’ was produced by a Grammy Award Winner. The songs ‘<i>Finally</i>’ and ‘<i>Don’t Tell Me Nonsense</i>’ was produced by my producer while ‘<i>Oliver Twist</i>’ was produced by Don Jazzy. So, why won’t I have him on my 10 years anniversary album?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“I have never said I am a musician; I am
an entertainer. Some people say I can pick up a microphone and become a
comedian. Therefore nobody should come and ask if I want to go into
acting because they should know I am already an actor. It depends on
when the right script and concept lands in my hands.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“For now, I am concerned about achieving
new things and breaking new grounds. By the time I enter Hollywood, I
believe that I’ll become as successful as I have been as a singer. The
movie titled ‘I am Banga Lee’, starring Genevieve, to be released in
2014, won’t be a bad idea,” He said.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It seems that the world is at the
Kokomaster’s feet. Yet, he is not in denial of the fact that his fans in
Nigeria are his greatest assets.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“The <i>Hennessey Artistry Tour</i>
afforded me the opportunity to meet my fans here in Nigeria. I have not
travelled across the country in a long while because I am abroad all the
time. Most of my fans complained that they have not seen me since 2007
and I reallised that I need to be in constant touch with my fans down
here.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.punchng.com/entertainment/arts-life/id-love-to-marry-genevieve-dbanj/" target="_blank">Punch</a></div>
Mfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-31026175885940688582013-09-04T05:50:00.004-07:002013-09-04T05:50:54.432-07:00Agriculture Can Make You Have Your Own Private Jet – Jonathan Tells Young Farmers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbcKhR49Nk32VLrbThTZZCrgaY5Kz9HrQcKjNkH9-tyENkZesonCZR-zn-d8LGG1qSiKtVuMv7BSYaxkc9SX3xZvsE5rCbBJdc2WldEENwtEYHfKsw6TAALBNAqYMicmhn6GF1p2QhvbZr/s1600/19th+Nigerian+Economic+Summit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbcKhR49Nk32VLrbThTZZCrgaY5Kz9HrQcKjNkH9-tyENkZesonCZR-zn-d8LGG1qSiKtVuMv7BSYaxkc9SX3xZvsE5rCbBJdc2WldEENwtEYHfKsw6TAALBNAqYMicmhn6GF1p2QhvbZr/s1600/19th+Nigerian+Economic+Summit.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #5e6066; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria while addressing the 19<sup style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 10px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">th</sup> Nigerian Economic Summit, on Tuesday, encouraged youths of the nation to participate in the agricultural sector which can help them become private jet owners.</strong></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #5e6066; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The President commended the youth who are now shifting away from the mindset that agriculture is a “simple poverty-alleviation programme” and encouraged them “to begin to think that agriculture can make you have your own private jet.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #5e6066; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The economic summit, which provides an opportunity to discuss issues with a view to providing practical solutions, is organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, National Planning Commission and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #5e6066; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The summit is also the “foremost platform for dialogue between the public and private sectors,” for which the President thanked the organisers, for ensuring consistency for the annual event.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/V0DMZUY3z2s?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #5e6066; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #5e6066; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
In his address, the President stated that the summit is coming at a critical time in the nation’s political history, following the launch of his administration’s mid-term report on the transformation agenda, on May 29th.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #5e6066; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
He stressed the government’s determination to “lay a solid foundation for the transformation of the country’s agricultural sector for enhanced growth and development”.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #5e6066; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
“The country is more determined than ever to unlock the great potentials of agriculture in order to ensure food security, create jobs and generate wealth,” he said, adding that it is “part of our continued effort to demonstrate our drive and commitment to work with the private sector to make agriculture once again, the main stay of our economy”.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #5e6066; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
This year’s summit focuses on the agricultural sector, which the President said he is not totally in agreement with because “you cannot discuss agriculture without discussing land. You cannot discuss agriculture without talking about farm managers, agronomists, agric engineers and agric economists, and that is education.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #5e6066; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
He highlighted other sectors of the economy such as transportation, trade, finance and petroleum.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #5e6066; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
He also expressed satisfaction in the participation of middle class citizens adding that the involvement of the middle class signals the “beginning of a proper revolution”.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #5e6066; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The 19<sup style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 10px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">th</sup> Nigerian Economic Summit currently on-going, is the third in the Goodluck Jonathan administration.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #5e6066; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The event which is broadcast by Channels Television in Abuja has members of the National Assembly, Federal Executive Council, Members of the Economic Summit Group, Captains of industries and other guests in attendance.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #5e6066; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="http://www.channelstv.com/home/2013/09/03/agriculture-can-make-you-have-your-own-private-jet-jonathan-tells-young-farmers/" target="_blank"><b>Channels</b></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #5e6066; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
Mfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-16101331308359499892013-08-21T16:24:00.002-07:002013-08-21T16:24:55.435-07:00DMX Arrested For Marijuana Possession In South Carolina, spokesman said he had no drugs on him.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoABvAqJdqGD35G7c9v2YEpvIkayOGqDjkA2pUqxH0NPXsSFXWCOSf5DReepfoebgKYnCFZ2SPGPPaOICx_16ulwIXm2u06-ipVY6YCXSGdKiKjX9j8c521uxDDWxBbW8K7aZK1jX1Eciq/s1600/dmx-mug-shot-november-2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoABvAqJdqGD35G7c9v2YEpvIkayOGqDjkA2pUqxH0NPXsSFXWCOSf5DReepfoebgKYnCFZ2SPGPPaOICx_16ulwIXm2u06-ipVY6YCXSGdKiKjX9j8c521uxDDWxBbW8K7aZK1jX1Eciq/s320/dmx-mug-shot-november-2010.jpg" width="294" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The rapper known as DMX has been arrested again in South Carolina and charged with possession of marijuana, police said Wednesday.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
The 42-year-old entertainer, whose real name is Earl Simmons, was a passenger in a truck that was stopped late Tuesday for an illegal U-turn, according to police in the City of Greer.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
Officers arrested Simmons after realizing that he had an outstanding warrant for driving under suspension, authorities said. Police also found marijuana in the truck, and Simmons and the driver, 39-year-old Anitra Shalawn Rhodes of Greenville, were charged with simple possession.</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
Lt. Jimmy Holcombe said Wednesday that Simmons had been released from jail. Court records listed no attorney for Simmons, and there was no answer at a phone number listed for him.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
Domenick Nati, a spokesman for the rapper, said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press that Simmons had been traveling with his assistants and had no drugs on him when police searched the truck.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
Nati said Simmons was released Wednesday morning and was back at his home in South Carolina.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
This is Simmons' second arrest in as many months. In July, he was arrested by Greenville County authorities on the driving under suspension charge, as well as driving under the influence. Last year, he was charged in Spartanburg County with suspicion of driving without a license.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
In 2011, Simmons was arrested in a Phoenix suburb after a trooper clocked him driving at 102 mph. At the time, Simmons had been recently released from prison on probation revocation for failing to submit to drug testing and driving without a license.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
The rapper's string of hits starting in the late 1990s included "Party Up (Up in Here)" and "Get at Me Dog."</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/21/dmx-arrested-marijuana-possession_n_3790787.html" target="_blank"><b>huffingtonpost</b></a></span></span></div>
Mfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-18904872425372271372013-08-21T08:23:00.002-07:002013-08-21T08:23:49.388-07:00Court sentences 25-year-old woman to jail for pouring hot oil on lover who refuse to marry her<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigvNeuZloxZruGMB1R_nplfEmigpnWWQ3zTVknQytgCtIfxBcVNAYwGEReh6bdwrCrEGD1Iy7kMNyNV6M35JDl5MYLiiIXde3rSTG64xYDJ9oBC_BWPtVyU7yD2qORUad-wSxbCUfbnAby/s1600/hot-oil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigvNeuZloxZruGMB1R_nplfEmigpnWWQ3zTVknQytgCtIfxBcVNAYwGEReh6bdwrCrEGD1Iy7kMNyNV6M35JDl5MYLiiIXde3rSTG64xYDJ9oBC_BWPtVyU7yD2qORUad-wSxbCUfbnAby/s1600/hot-oil.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: arial, verdana, tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
A 25-year-old woman identified as Victoria Alonge was, on Monday, sentenced to one-year in jail by a Karu Senior Magistrate court for pouring hot oil on her boyfriend, Roland Nna, over his refusal to marry her.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: arial, verdana, tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The Senior Magistrate, Omolola Akindele, summarily sentenced Alonge without an option of fine after the convict admitted to the court that she committed the offence.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: arial, verdana, tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Alonge was arraigned on a one-count charge of causing grievous harm to Nna, her boyfriend, who resides in Kurudu, Abuja.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: arial, verdana, tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The Police prosecutor, Cpl. Paschal Njoku, had earlier told the court that Nna reported the incident at Kurudu Police Station on August 11</div>
<a name='more'></a>.<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: arial, verdana, tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The prosecutor told the court that Alonge went to Nna’s house at about 4:30 a.m. on the fateful day and poured hot oil on him while he was asleep, resulting in grievous injury.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: arial, verdana, tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
He said she was immediately arrested by the police, after which she confessed to the crime.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: arial, verdana, tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Njoku said that while in detention, Alonge threatened to inflict more harm on the victim.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: arial, verdana, tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The prosecutor, however, urged the court to summarily punish the accused because she did not deny the charge brought against her.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: arial, verdana, tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
In her defence, Alonge told the court that her estranged lover dated her for over four years and promised to marry her, only for him to change his mind after falling in love with another woman in Abuja.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: arial, verdana, tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
“I did that to teach him a bitter lesson because he refused to marry me after dating me for over four years,” Alonge said. “He fooled me and my parents and ditched me after finding a new lover here in Abuja. I live in Lagos with my parents.”</div>
Mfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-3176073557056927062013-08-21T07:55:00.000-07:002013-08-21T07:55:56.898-07:00Mother of a legend: Meet Don Jazzy's Mum!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgorgjzTWxDQLJWfF00bEhgkKWRRo5bbFTZzck_oG3ofc_p0NOpmTA77tZEInkAR7sK9ULUEP-Hvtiv5g0888yBdG6UT8pCmPbV7Yr7Flj4bI_j-VsPk6KLkbSGksD3fahS4u8nfCdQQAh7/s1600/don+mum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgorgjzTWxDQLJWfF00bEhgkKWRRo5bbFTZzck_oG3ofc_p0NOpmTA77tZEInkAR7sK9ULUEP-Hvtiv5g0888yBdG6UT8pCmPbV7Yr7Flj4bI_j-VsPk6KLkbSGksD3fahS4u8nfCdQQAh7/s320/don+mum.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Have you ever wondered how the mum of world famous Don Jazzy looks like? well if you have been looking to have a peep, then here it is. this are two picture of the mother of the great Nigerian producer and artist. She was photographed last week Friday at Kevin Lucciano-Gabriel's wedding in the UK. According to </span></span></span><a href="http://maestromedia.blogspot.com/2013/08/when-we-met-don-jazzys-mom.html" style="background-color: white; color: #b41e20; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">Maestromedia</a><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> who took the photos, Don Jazzy's mum flew in from her base in Dublin, Ireland to attend the wedding. Am sur eyou know that the woman has given birth not just to Don Jazzy but to another crowd winner D'Prince.You can say the mother of hip hop.</span></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9LWfu71G1B1zjSMFx52IcISmTWd5uhv_8AiV50GtWCD7N08-XttMFah1FxAvy41VRTQykxXvOzs6Ht2BCtMu4ZJlEsVKWAFdd2-5wHdoYbqnvzLY_q7eFMAjD3oKw-D6_yb_2Sh3__F6/s1600/don+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9LWfu71G1B1zjSMFx52IcISmTWd5uhv_8AiV50GtWCD7N08-XttMFah1FxAvy41VRTQykxXvOzs6Ht2BCtMu4ZJlEsVKWAFdd2-5wHdoYbqnvzLY_q7eFMAjD3oKw-D6_yb_2Sh3__F6/s320/don+2.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Shout out to the DON</span>Mfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-71715777905639738272013-08-21T07:30:00.002-07:002013-08-21T07:30:42.850-07:0012 year old Emmanuel Mensah becomes Glo Ambassador? (Photos)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyKwEj4A47sO5XIS_zIR_Ri5ssSir-7OBAx6OxtxcYb5b9C3Dt4TaUleqsGKMCUNZ6Wtovkx_Lt3t5kiBX8RB-ISpXON62537NKKus-8YVg8NOoq7KP67AiLE1N8M7_5jS4Ae0zOaCyUbC/s1600/gh2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyKwEj4A47sO5XIS_zIR_Ri5ssSir-7OBAx6OxtxcYb5b9C3Dt4TaUleqsGKMCUNZ6Wtovkx_Lt3t5kiBX8RB-ISpXON62537NKKus-8YVg8NOoq7KP67AiLE1N8M7_5jS4Ae0zOaCyUbC/s1600/gh2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.1875px;">After news broke that young </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.1875px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Emmanuel Mensah</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.1875px;">was not going to be part of the Glo X Factor competition, nobody really knew what he was doing until writer and photographer Chuks Ineh spotted him in Abuja.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.1875px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.1875px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.1875px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Emmanuel Mensah</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.1875px;"> who has been flying down to Nigeria almost every weekend now for the past 4 weeks has been on Glo ‘Slide and Bounce’ Tour with his counterparts the Nigerian Glo ambassadors.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.1875px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.1875px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.1875px;">He is enjoying the fabulous life of a celebrity in 5 star hotels but always under the watch of his big brother and manager Henry.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.1875px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.1875px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.1875px;">His future is bright and recently he sang to the delight of Nigerians in Abuja and he was equally praised by MI for his great talents.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.1875px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpLAognXW3oRXZ2e0ooKJGqMHifKpsE7SovMswQ2NGgrA-qU4q5W5wxDpCzZatZ6U7qjziRlvs2W2V7Nzd8lwuhhcnr7VlLnZqVzHN4u99jTSnM7hYJwUM5ofVBKAfvuxQ4Q9YOZmt-LW5/s1600/gh3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpLAognXW3oRXZ2e0ooKJGqMHifKpsE7SovMswQ2NGgrA-qU4q5W5wxDpCzZatZ6U7qjziRlvs2W2V7Nzd8lwuhhcnr7VlLnZqVzHN4u99jTSnM7hYJwUM5ofVBKAfvuxQ4Q9YOZmt-LW5/s320/gh3.jpg" width="57" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.1875px;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/entertainment/artikel.php?ID=283173" target="_blank"><b>ghanaweb</b></a></span></span>Mfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2529940701267731097.post-20826482524098153462013-08-19T02:56:00.000-07:002018-05-17T07:40:29.774-07:00I started small as a trader in cement - Aliko Dangote, richest black person in the world<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEyk7NTDVnLgUrfMV3esb1o4J_BCpE5aQOH98fQpODztjMZA1NAjxbwOwQYXD4G7kzavux7hieNOrDbjGFP1QZniOCjeCHGM8Zx1oI9HLlCIo0vt_scdO9nD19zvIMPON17AvWzL_TO9c2/s1600/dangot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEyk7NTDVnLgUrfMV3esb1o4J_BCpE5aQOH98fQpODztjMZA1NAjxbwOwQYXD4G7kzavux7hieNOrDbjGFP1QZniOCjeCHGM8Zx1oI9HLlCIo0vt_scdO9nD19zvIMPON17AvWzL_TO9c2/s320/dangot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The business mogul, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, was at the Lagos Business School to give a lecture. He ended up sharing his life experiences and advice with both budding and established entrepreneurs. The event served as a catalyst for today’s lessons from the man who has worked hard to become the richest black person in the world.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
It is an open secret that the Dangote Group, a diversified conglomerate with interests across a range of sectors in Africa, has over 18 subsidiary companies, with several interests in cement, sugar, flour, salt, pasta, beverages and real estate, with new projects in development in the oil and natural gas, telecommunications, fertilizer and steel. But did you know that the Dangote Group started as a small trading firm in the year 1977?<br />
By identifying what you, as an entrepreneur, should do, we tell the story of how the Chairman of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, got to where he is today.</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">See and maximise opportunities</strong><br />
This is one of the qualities that have made Dangote a successful business man in Africa. He possesses a knack for seeing opportunities beyond what others could see.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
For instance, in April this year, he announced plans to invest $8 billion in building an oil refinery with capacity for around 400,000 barrels a day by late 2016. That is three years from now.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Of the amount, he revealed at the World Economic Forum on Africa held in Cape Town, South Africa, that he had raised $4.5 to build the refinery, securing loans from a consortium of banks.<br />
Some have said with that singular move, if all goes according to plan, Dangote stands a great chance of becoming the richest man in the world.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Passion</strong><br />
A lot of business moguls have said that entrepreneurs need passion to pursue their vision in order to make it a reality. And that passion has served as catalyst to becoming the man Dangote is today. Being a person who had always had an eye for business even at a young age, he passionately pursued his ideas vigorously, becoming more than just an entrepreneur. “I can remember when I was in primary school, I would go and buy cartons of sweets and I would start selling them just to make money. I was so interested in business, even at that time,” he said of how he started off.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Start small</strong><br />
With a small token from his grandfather and a latter loan he took from same, he started a business. Now, he is the richest man in Africa, with net worth of $16.1 billion, as of March 2013, in Forbes’ estimates.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Explaining, Dangote said “for me, I started small as a trader in cement. Then I left cement around 1978. Because there was this armada and cement was difficult to get at that time. I had my own money which my grandfather gave me free, but then he gave me also an additional loan of N500, 000 (about $3,000) which was big money in those days. The money was quite a substantial amount then. The loan was supposed to be paid back whenever I was okay-maybe after three or four years. But I paid the loan back within six months.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Don’t eat your seed money</strong><br />
At the time, Dangote was given the N500, 000 loan in 1978, which he could have easily used to chase cars, houses and whatever caught his fancy. Back then, a Mercedes Benz car was sold for N5,000 while a Volkswagen Beetle went for N900 to N1,000. But he didn’t do any of those, instead he invested the money and he was able to pay back the loan in six months, as against the originally thought three or four years.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Get an education</strong><br />
Aside his formal education – a degree in Business Studies and Administration from School of Economics & Business, Al Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt, he made himself available to get as much informal education as possible, from his grandfather, an uncle, the environment, the business climate and life in general.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
“All my business acumen and instincts I inherited from my maternal grandfather. As his first grandson, he poured his business wizardry into me. I would not have been where I am today without him; a very great man, loving and caring.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
“I started with the business of cement, which was giving us a lot of money because at that time, Nigeria was making so much money and we were doing a lot of constructions. On a vehicle which I normally get from my uncle, I was making about N1,350 to N1,400 per day, and I had an allocation of about three to four trucks including Saturdays and Sundays. Later, I realised I was making a lot of money though then, I didn’t have a lot of ideas of what to do. It was only cement business that I knew and I was stuck to it up till 1980, when I started knowing Lagos, becoming a Lagosian, understanding where to go and finding people to buy import licenses from. Within three months, I paid my grandfather back because I had no further need of his money,” the man was quoted to have said in a biography.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Slow and steady wins the race</strong><br />
Today, the world knows Dangote as a billionaire but did you know that he took him 30 years to amass $1 billion? His journey is a very interesting one, showing all the features of luck, opportunity, hardwork and providence, but most of all patience.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Invest in your environment</strong><br />
Dangote believes that taking your wealth outside the shores of the country wouldn’t help the country’s economy, therefore, he charged entrepreneurs to invest in their country, saying, “let me tell you this and I want to really emphasise it. Nothing is going to help Nigeria like Nigerians bringing back their money. If you give me $5 billion today, I will invest everything here in Nigeria. Let us put our heads together and work.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Be accessible</strong><br />
“I am someone who doesn’t switch off my phone. My phone is on 24 hours. My day is not really very structured because of several issues. The demand of my time is really extremely high; especially in Nigeria you have a lot of ceremonies, and unnecessary ones,” Dangote said at a lecture at the Lagos Business School.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Don’t waste time</strong><br />
When attending business meetings or conferences in other countries, he said he could not afford to waste time. He explained that “sometimes I go all the way from here (Nigeria) to China, and spend only five hours in China and come back. That’s why I don’t take my private jet to China because the pilots need hours to rest, and the hours that they need, which is nine hours, I don’t have. So I have to take Emirates.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Have a routine and invest in your health</strong><br />
Dangote said he starts his work days around 5 a.m., being the most productive for him, in his own admission. He also said he tries to fit in time to exercise most mornings, which helps him prevent stress. “Exercise is better than any medicine I can take. Exercise and sleep,” he said during the lecture. He is an ardent jogger.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Relax, let go of stress and worries</strong><br />
At one time, Dangote said he had trained himself not to let stress or worry affect his sleep, recommending that other entrepreneurs train themselves in this. “Even if someone had to tell me I would die tomorrow, I would still sleep.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
On how he relaxes, he said, “my only enjoyment is to sit around and talk with my friends, and exercise. I like to exercise, and if people are doing weddings or whatever I like to show up for 10-20 minutes and then I go.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
Mfon Abe Ekenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971161570240533757noreply@blogger.com0