Cleric names Boko Haram sponsors, forwards list to Senate, supports claims with video clips

A Maiduguri, Borno State-based cleric, Pastor Kallamu Musa Ali Dikwa, has unmasked those behind the activities of the dreaded Islamic sect popularly known as Boko Haram and forwarded their names to the Senate President, Senator David Mark, for necessary action.

The Nigerian Tribune authoritatively learnt that the cleric chronicled the activities of the sect in an open letter to the Senate President entitled, “Open letter to the Senate president: My Suggestion on how to tackle Boko Haram,” dated 17th June, 2011 but was received by the office of the Senate President on November 2, 2011.

Further investigation by the Nigerian Tribune showed that alarmed by the claims of the cleric in the open letter, which was supported with five DVD-CDs containing video clips of the activities of the sect and their sponsors, the Senate president reportedly referred the matter, along with the five DVD-CDs, to the appropriate Senate committee for a thorough investigation on February 29 this year but nothing was heard since then, because of the names of the prominent Nigerians and top government officials mentioned.

In the open letter, the cleric suggested that the Freedom of Information Act should be used to extract the phone numbers of the leaders of the Boko Haram group from journalists who had been receiving text messages and press releases from the group from time to time.

He advised that the government should start the crusade of ending the Boko Haram menace in the country by fishing out its officials and security agents supporting the terrorist group since it had now been established that the group was being supported by prominent Nigerians, top government officials and decurity personnel.

The cleric, who identified the head of one of the prominent Federal Government agencies as the financial secretary of the group, alleged in the letter that the “Islamic Revolution has a security committee” with a former principal officer in the Senate, as well as a former governor from the North as members, saying that the main aim of the group was to Islamise the country through Jihad.

Pastor Dikwa also revealed all his interactions with the now late leader of the group, Mohammed Yusuf, since 2006 till he was killed and why he was killed and why the group continued to attack churches, security personnel and installations.

When contacted, the Special Adviser to the Senate President (Media), Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, said that he was not aware of the said sensitive letter but promised to find out from the appropriate quarters.

However, another top aide to the Senate president told the Nigerian Tribune in confidence that the office received the letter and, as usual, passed same to Senator Mark and that he immediately sent it to the appropriate quarters for a thorough investigation because of its sensitivity.

According to the source, “it is true, a letter like that was received from a cleric. I can’t remember his name again but the Senate president acted on it. Maybe the investigation is still in progress, I don’t know. But now that you are raising it [the issue], we will find out. The claims of the cleric are nothing that can be overlooked; something will have to be done.”

Meanwhile, a London-based charity organisation, Al-Muntada Trust Fund, has been accused by a British member of parliament of funding Boko Haram in Nigeria, according to a report released by British newspaper The Guardian on Sunday.

David Alton, a member of the House of Lords, raised concerns about the Al-Muntada Trust Fund’s activities with Foreign Office minister, Lord Howell, in July, as well as with the United Kingdom’s Charity Commission and the Metropolitan police.

However the charity commission stated that while it was aware of concerns regarding Al-Muntada’s affiliations with Boko Haram, it was unable to confirm whether those concerns were directly related to the London-based Al-Muntada, since there were several other charity organisations registered under the same name, according to The Guardian.

Nevertheless, the London-based Al-Muntada is notorious for being a platform for radical clerics, The Guardian reported.

Nigerian state security also has concerns with Al-Muntada allegedly funding Boko Haram, according to Nigerian media reports.

Boko Haram has been conducting violent activities in Nigeria since 2009, usually by blowing up churches. The Nigerian Army announced on Friday the killing of seven suspected Boko Haram members and the arrest of 13 others, according to BBC news.

BBC news quoted Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa who said the killings and arrests took place after “a group of gunmen suspected of being Boko Haram,” attacked a military checkpoint.

The attacks came a day after Boko Haram released a statement claiming responsibility for attacking a number of mobile telecoms installations, according to Reuters.

In their statement, Boko Haram explained their actions, accusing the mobile installations of giving security personnel information about them, vowing to “continue attacking them until they stop,” Reuters reported.

Boko Haram also vowed not to “leave any correspondent or staff of the Voice of America (VOA), alone”, according to VOA. The Islamist group accused VOA of having taken “the task of harming our religion.”

Boko Haram, a term which means that western teachings are prohibited, is an organisation seeking to impose Islamic Shari’a law in Nigeria, especially in the Muslim-majority North. It is affiliated with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

Genevieve Nnaji: Still Standing Tall

Genevieve Nnaji grew up in Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria. She is fourth of eight children and was brought up in a middle-class environment. Her father worked as an engineer and her mother as a teacher. She attended the Methodist Girls College Yaba before heading to the University of Lagos. While at the university, Genevieve began auditions for acting roles in Nollywood productions.

Nnaji started her acting career as a child actress in the then-popular television soap opera Ripples at the age of eight. She was also featured in several commercials, some of which include Pronto beverage and Omo detergent.

In 2004, she became the face of Lux soap in a highly lucrative sponsorship deal. In 1998, at the age of 19, she made her debut in the growing Nigerian film industry with the movie Most Wanted. Her subsequent movies include Last Party, Mark of the Beast, and Ijele. She has starred in over 80 Nollywood movies.

Nnaji received several awards and nominations for her work, including the Best Actress of the year award at the 2001 City People Awards and the Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 2005 African Movie Academy Awards.

In 2004, she signed a recording contract with EKB Records, a Ghanaian record label, and released her debut album, One Logologo Line, a mix of various styles of urban music.

Nnaji in 2008, launched a clothing line, "St. Genevieve", which donates its proceeds to charity. In May 2010 she was appointed as the official "Face of MUD" in Nigeria

Flash Point

She won the Best Actress at the inaugural AMAA and was voted as the official face of Lux beauty soap for sub-Saharan Africa in 2004.

She appeared in Maria Claire Magazine alongside Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez, Paris Hilton, Jennifer Aniston, and Catherine Zeta-Jones in an article The Most Beautiful Woman in Your World, in which she emerged fourth.

She was the first woman to host The Gulder Ultimate Search and also the first host of "Gulder Ultimate Search--Celebrity Showdown." Gene as she is fondly called by her friends and colleagues loves Angelina Jolie for her humanitarian work.

Gene was voted the sexiest Nollywood actress in a poll conducted by Vanguard Newspaper in 2008, even as she has been dubbed the 'Julia Roberts of Africa' by Oprah Winfrey and Cable News Network (CNN). TELL In its 20 years of publishing, News/Politics magazine, has never had a Nigerian entertainer on its cover until Genevieve Nnaji graced one of its June 2011 editions.

At the peak of her career she ranked #19 in Forbes "40 Most Powerful Celebrities In Africa"

Psquare brother vats anger on NGOs

JUDE Engees Okoye has recently voiced his opinion and anger on Nigerian NGOs .

He wonders what the numerous Non-Government Organizations are contributing to the save Debbie project.

The save Debbie project went viral on the net recently with the sole aim of helping Deborah Idiagbonya Osarere recover from a breast cancer attack.

The elder brother to Psquare communicated his displeasures via twitter saying “I still can’t believe that #savedebbie is still trending when we have NGOs and Charity Organizations. Where are they now? God help us all”.

Mean while other top artistes have shown their support in kind and financial donations. One of such artistes is Mo’Cheddah, who spent time with the breast cancer victim last week. The former Knight house artiste said “Life is a privilege not a right, appreciate it and live it, It felt cool being with Debbie”

Davido, Wizkid At Loggerheads, May Take Fight To Streets Like Pasuma, Osupa Saheed

Disturbing news exclusively reported by NET about two young singers, Davido and Wizkid may get dirty if it is not quickly dealt with by icons in the industry.

According to what NET reported, all seem not to be well between the two former close pals. At the September 2, 2012 NEA awards held in New York, USA, Davido reportedly walked out on Wizkid when the latter mounted the stage to perform at the event.

Sources then revealed to us that Davido stood outside doing nothing but may have intentionally walked out because he didn't want to see his 'rival' perform while he would be watching.

Report says that strain in the relationship between Davido and Wizkid may have started when news went round that Davido was signed on D'Banj's record label. This, as it was reported, caused his relationship with Wande Coal to hit the rocks as Wande' boss, Don Jazzy was no longer in good terms with D'Banj after their reported split early this year.

Both Wizkid and Davido were reported to be learning the ropes from Wande Coal, who they took as mentors, until Don Jazzy, as reported, ordered Wande Coal to cut off his relationship with Davido after the latter decided pitched tent with the Kokomaster, D'Banj.

It was even reported that Davido had initially planned to feature Wande Coal and Wizkid in two different songs of his but both stylishly shunned him. First, Wande Coal was reported to have told the 'omo baba olowo' to pay 1.5million Naira to have him on his song. Davido was reported to have wanted to go ahead to provide the cash, but his manager, Asa Asika stopped him.

Secondly, Wizkid was reported to have told Davido that his beat, which he reportedly made for the collabo to featured Wizkid on, was below standard. This, as reported, angered Davido and the battle line was drawn from that moment.

Wizkid was said to have declined doing any duet with Davido because of Wande Coal, who was reported, may have told Wizkid to do so.

These disappointments by his 'friends' was reported to have led Davido to have done the song in his album titled ‘All of you,’ where Davido said he was better than ‘everyone’, but paying tributes to the likes of 2face, P-Square and D’banj as mentors.

This, as reported, may have been the brain behind the absence of EME and Mavin records crew at Davido's OBO album launch concert held in July 2012 in Lagos.

As at press time, we were unable to contact either parties to react to the story, but we hope to get their reactions soon as we get them.

For now, it is being feared that fans of both promising artistes might result to abusive ways in handling this news. It is also feared that this does not result to fights being experienced by fans of Fuji musicians who take such developments sentimentally like the reported hatred between fans of Pasuma and Saheed Osupa.

Reforming Electricity in Nigeria: A Bright Spark Is Extinguished

 
ALTHOUGH Nigeria has almost as many inhabitants as Brazil, it produces only 5% of the electricity. Many Nigerian leaders have tried to boost the state’s power supply, but many more have become rich by obstructing it, earning fees from private generation and stealing official funds meant for new power plants. When he was elected last year, President Goodluck Jonathan promised to make electricity reform his big thing, hoping to transform the lives of millions of Nigerians who have spent decades in the dark.
But the resignation of his power minister on August 28th over a conflict of interest has exposed the rot in a process that seemed to be running relatively smoothly. Bartholomew (“Barth”) Nnaji, a respected technocrat who had been minister of power since last year, was meant to sell six generating companies and 11 distribution companies. Months ago he declared that a firm in which he owns shares held in a trust was involved in the bidding. It is not unusual for Nigerian politicians to engage in business overseen by their office; what is unusual is for any of them to resign.
Mr Nnaji’s supporters say that opponents of privatisation belatedly and unfairly engineered his departure. “Nnaji was the best person for the job,” says an adviser at the presidential task-force on the reform of power. “But he was getting in the way of other interests.”
The minister had certainly made enemies. He took on trade unions opposed to mass job cuts. A key aspect of privatisation is unbundling the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, a bloated and ill-managed monopoly, with thousands of “ghost” workers on the payroll. Two-fifths of the staff are apparently listed as drivers. Mr Nnaji tried for months to negotiate redundancy terms, as otherwise serious investors are unlikely to bid. It remains to be seen whether the unions have won the battle. Privatisation may be delayed.
Mr Nnaji also warred with the vice-president, Namadi Sambo, who owns companies with interests in the public power sector, oversees the government’s national privatisation council and heads a programme to build ten new state power stations that Mr Nnaji hoped to privatise. This may have hastened his departure.
Worrying signs have also emerged over transparency. Watchdogs were at the last minute relegated from being active participants in evaluating bids to observers, says a consultant. Their role is important because firms may win bids with lofty promises but fail to get finance or honour their contracts. This has hampered past privatisations. The current list of bidders is longer than expected and includes many local firms. Preferred bidders may be announced next month.
According to the government, the power sector needs $10 billion of investment a year for at least a decade. Mr Nnaji’s resignation is troubling investors who feel he brought expertise to a process that had previously been paralysed by corruption. Watched by foreign development agencies, eligible bidders have so far been selected in a clean and efficient manner. When a bid from Nigeria’s richest tycoon, Aliko Dangote, arrived apparently minutes late, it was rejected.
Most important for investors, a new tariff system, which will see a gradual increase in electricity prices over the next two years, came into effect in June. It is meant to ensure profitability. President Jonathan imposed the new tariffs despite worries that they would spark mass protests. In January Nigeria came to a standstill when he removed fuel subsidies. He partially reinstated them. This time, taking no chances, he agreed to new electricity subsidies for the poorest households for at least two years. But he no longer has a high-profile power minister to hide behind.
SOURCE:The Economist

Woman Who Has Up To 100 orgasm a Day Left In Agony As Even Doing A house Work Can Trigger A Climax

 
Some people fake them, others ache for them but for one woman, the big ‘O’ is the bane of her life… as she has to endure up to 100 orgasms a
day.
Kim Ramsey, 44, has a medical condition which makes her feel constantly aroused.
Even the slightest pelvic movement – on a train, in a car, doing domestic chores – can trigger a climax, but the sheer volume has left her tired, in pain and unable to have a normal relationship.
Ms Ramsey, a nurse originally from Hitchin, Hertfordshire, suffers from Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder (PGAD).
Doctors believe the incurable syndrome was caused by an accident in 2001 when she fell down some stairs.
This may have led to a Tarlov cyst on her spine, at the point where a woman’s orgasm originates.
‘Other women wonder how to have an orgasm – I wonder how to stop mine,’ she told The Sun.
Ms Ramsey, who has since moved to Montclair, New Jersey, first noticed the problem in 2008 after having sex with a new boyfriend.
She said: ‘I had constant orgasms for four days. I thought I was going mad.
‘We tried everything to make it stop. Squats, deep breathing, I even sat on frozen peas but the orgasms and sexual arousal continued for 36 hours – I must have had around 200 orgasms during that period. The pain and exhaustion was excruciating.’
Ms Ramsey said she now finds it hard to go about her daily life as she is worried she will not be able to control the sexual arousal.
She said she no longer feels like she has control over her own body: ‘Imagine feeling aroused for no reason other than you got up that day.
‘I’ve even had one in public. I was travelling home on the train and it was a bit of a bumpy ride.
‘Every jerk of the train or vibration made me more aroused and it was a 40-minute journey so there was nothing I could do.
‘I just had to bite my lip and sit on my hands and hope no one noticed.’
Although the sensations experienced during PGAD may seem like arousal, they are not actually based in any sexual desire, thoughts or behaviour, and it is unconnected to libido.
Any pressure on the genitals can result in increased intensity – and also bring on the urge to urinate.
Due to shame, guilt and fear of rejection, it is not clear how many people have the condition, as some patients may suffer in silence.
Ms Ramsey added: ‘Both women and men just don’t seem to get it – they seem to think it’s a great thing and, believe me, it’s really not.’
 
Despite going to several specialists about her condition, doctors remain unable to help.
The condition is very rare and there has so far been very little research into it.
Ms Ramsey only received an official diagnosis, in Pennsylvania, in June and will travel to London next month to see a PGAD expert.
She said: ‘At the moment I am able to work. But without the correct treatment this condition can limit my ability to work. I don’t want that. It’s already destroyed my chance of having a relationship.’
GENITAL DISORDER MAY BE AS COMMON AS 1 IN A 100
Dr David Goldmeier, an expert on sexual medicine at Imperial College in London said: ‘Persistent genital arousal disorder is a newly recognised condition, where the sufferer complains of long periods of genital arousal that are not associated with sexual desire.
‘PGAD sufferers experience intrusive, unsolicited and spontaneous genital arousal that can be unrelenting. This arousal can persist for hours, days or even longer.
‘This can be highly distressing for a woman and despite attempts to relieve it with sexual activity or orgasm, this often doesn’t help or can worsen the symptoms.
‘Tarlov cysts are small jelly like cysts that form around the sacral area of the spine. They are a common finding in normal people. One current research paper suggests that a lot of women who have PGAD have Tarlov cysts, but this is contentious.
‘There is very little research into Tarlov cysts and PGAD. But due to the relatively high occurrence of Tarlov cysts currently observed in women who suffer from PGAD symptoms, it would seem advisable to suspect Tarlov cysts as a possible underlying factor in the cause of PGAD.
‘Tarlov cysts can cause problems with the pelvic nerves and are reported to produce genital symptoms that bear similarities to those described for PGAD.
‘Spontaneous genital arousal is quite common but it’s those women who can’t control the arousal which is uncommon.
‘I see around 20 women a year with this condition, it may be as common as one in 100 we just don’t know.
‘Sometimes it may resolve on its own, there is no cure but there are a number of ways to manage the symptoms such as meditation and pelvic floor exercises along with pain medication for the patient.’
SOURCE: By Nich Enoch, Daily Mail

Presidency Silent As Rumour Of First Lady's Dealth Spread

(News Express) A rumour about the purported death of Nigeria’s First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, has started making the rounds as she remains incommunicado for the third straight week.
Following enquiries by anxious Nigerians who wanted to know if the story of the First Lady’s alleged death is true or not, News Express put a call across to Dr. Reuben Abati, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, around noon. His phone rang but was not picked.
News Express then sent a text message to Dr. Abati, requesting his comment on the news. About four hours later, the presidential spokesman is yet to reply even though the phone showed that the message was delivered. Dr. Abati had on Tuesday evening last week (Sept. 4) dismissed Dame Jonathan’s reported illness as a rumour after News Express and some other media reported her medical trip to Germany.
As reported by News Express on Sept. 5, a spokesperson for Horst Schmidt Klinik, the hospital in Wiesbaden, Germany, where Dame Jonathan is believed to be receiving treatment, had revealed that she was in a bad state of health when she arrived the hospital for treatment two weeks ago.
The official disclosed that initial records showed that the Nigerian President’s wife had earlier been treated for food poisoning back home before being brought to Horst Schmidt Klinik, where she underwent a major surgery for a ruptured appendix to remove the poisons in her intestine.
Though admitting that Dame Jonathan travelled to Germany, presidency spokesmen had claimed that she went for a rest but kept sealed lips on her whereabouts.
Horst Schmidt Klinik is gradually becoming a choice hospital of Nigerian top government officials. It was the same hospital that late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua once received for kidney-related ailments.