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It’s been almost a week since the Governorship elections took place across Nigeria and quite frankly it’s been a relief – the tension that once filled the air is slowing evaporating. However, I want to point out that Nigeria was … Continue reading
Entry #80 – As the hunt for WikiLeaks‘ Founder Julian Assange came to an end some days ago, so did my hunt for the website (okay it only took me a minute, honest!). Could you blame me for typing ‘wikileaks.com’ in the first place? Well thanks to Google I didn’t have to search for long. You would think that a website that publishes Top Secret information for the public would choose a web address (or URL) that isn’t…well…Top Secret! But for geeks and hackers alike, they can tell at a glance that http://213.251.145.96/ is the WikiLeaks website (You can thank me later). The reason why I couldn’t resist blogging about this website is that it stole the front pages of a couple local Nigerian newspapers last Friday (and later I’ll tell you what was ‘leaked’ ). Now that you’ve probably had a glance at the controversial website I’d like to go through some of the pros and cons I found.
Good inflow: The Pros
Bad Plumbing: The Cons
It seem like WikiLeaks has finally reached the pinnacle of its popularity since its first ever launch in 2006. The verdict (good or bad) on Julian Assange probably wouldn’t stop further leaks from being published. There is no telling what other revelations the public will eventually get to know about. I personally look forward to more leaks if they will force governments and high-profile organizations to get their act together 😉
I decided to surf the Net for the latest news (my favorite news channel) and I was shocked to learn about the attack in Central London experienced by Lady Camilla and the Plant Whisperer aka Prince Charles.
Thankfully neither of the couple was hurt but the car took quite a kicking from angry young protesters. Why did they decide to vent their anger on the unlucky pair? Sources reported that the British government had approved plans to spike up tuition fees. I can see why students would get a little pissed off. They’re already up to their knees in debt and this bold move by the coalition government would bring the debt level up to their necks! Imagine working a 9 to 5 job and spending a third of your working life paying off all the debt you accumulated during university. I don’t think Prince Charles is to blame, nor is Camilla, but perhaps the protesters feel the Royals are just passive about the whole thing. Silence or ‘doing nothing’ could be seen as support for whatever the British government decide to impose on its economy.
The other key thing to remember is that the protesters are well aware that Prince Charles is exempt from paying taxes…because the royal family do not pay taxes – that’s for the ‘commoners’.
The coalition government, like any other government, is obviously under pressure to find a way to boost the funds in the country’s piggy bank so fiscal policies involving Taxation would seem a good way to go. However I’ll be sitting with my bag of popcorn as I watch how on earth the British Parliament is going to wriggle itself out of this mess. If arresting all the protesters is their grand solution then they’d better start building more prison facilities pronto!
I’ve decided to come clean on the small business I’ve been doing for the past 2months (and this is my second pastime)
My company name is TRIONIalerts and it specializes in sending the latest football news to your mobile phone everyday, including news on transfers, purchases, injuries, score summaries and fixtures. It doesn’t matter if it’s the English Premier League, Spanish, Italian or African Football. This service is a must for all soccer/football fans and it is (ridiculously) affordable. You don’t have to send an SMS each time you want the news; you pay for a month and get news sent to your phone for 30days – It’s that simple!
If you are interested but still in doubt, send your mobile number and area code to trionialerts@gmail.com for a FREE trial! What have you got to lose?
You can also check out the dedicated Facebook page which was created on August 25, 2010. Just search for Trioni Alertz 😀
NB – This service was originally targeted for Nigerians at home and diaspora but it is now available to people who can pay in either GBP, USD, EUR or NGN (Nigerian Naira).
Iron Man
The hottest news that is sweeping the country (Nigeria) right now is the recent sacking of 5 Managing Directors by the governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Yes, the end was nigh for the fraudulent five on 14th August 2009 at a monthly meeting held in Abuja. I like to think of the whole ordeal as something straight out of The Apprentice…with Sanusi staring down at the MDs through his spectacles sternly and then shouting and pointing suddenly going, ‘ YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU AAAAAND ESPECIALLY YOU WITH THE PRIVATE JET..YOU’RE ALL FIRED! NOW GET THE F*** OUT OF MY OFFICE!!!’
Did those MDs see this coming? (Doubt it). Did those MDs deserve this? (Hell yeah!) Does anyone disagree with Sanusi’s actions? (Who the bloody hell cares? Its too late crying over spilt milk anyway). The banks in question were amongst 10 that were ‘stress’ tested to see whether, put simply, they would be able to pay up if per chance all their respective customers were to demand for their money all at once. Those banks are off the Nigerian stockmarket for obvious reasons.Meanwhile, there’s another 14 banks left to be tested so there’ll be a lot of fingernail clippings in the waste-bins of those MDs.
A Nigerian newspaper disclosed that there were hints of further shake-ups in the banking industry. Customers and bankers alike are all kind of anxious to know what other possible ‘executions’ lie in wait. I’m more interested in knowing whether Sanusi will eventually end this never-ending deposit mobilization drive aka corporate begging – which pretty much entails bankers who run around the streets literally begging customers to open accounts with them and/or fund the accounts. Such bankers (or ‘marketers’) have been taunted by their immediate bosses to get funds in at all costs. Marketers are losing sleep, falling ill, working late, paying money to cover shortfalls in promises of ridiculously high interest rates, snatching accounts from within their bank’s network, etc all in a bid to beat the pressure and stay in the job.
Sanusi may be our last hope. He appears not to be worried about taking difficult decsions and he seems to want to get Nigeria back into full gear – he just injected N400billion to jumpstart the economy. The audacious CBN governor is akin to a Nigerian Harry Potter who has succeeded in proving that he has a few tricks up his sleeve…and by the look of things, he’s just getting warmed up…
This pic is the way I remembered Michael Jackson as a child and will always remember him. He’s the reason why I would sing or hum a tune in the shower every morning. He’s the reason why I still keep pairs of trousers that have outgrown me. He’s the reason why I body-pop whenever I’m in front of a mirror (alone). He’s the reason why I moonwalk whenever I’m on a slippery surface (again, alone). He’s the reason why most of the CDs in my car don’t get as much airplay on a daily basis. He’s the reason I’ve become a fan of Usher, Chris Brown, Ginuwine, Sisco and Justin Timberlake. He’s the reason I have a romantic, imaginative and sensitive side. He’s the reason I’m writing this impromptu post at 6am in the morning even though I should be getting ready for work. He’s probably the reason why it’s been raining non stop since 4am this morning…and perhaps the reason why it still looks dark outside. He’s the reason why the world is in mourning today. His performances were electrifying and his legacy is unprecedented. For this and generations to come he is a music legend, a dancing maestro, a philanthropist, an icon of our time. He is and will always be remembered as the KING OF POP. Michael, I salute you…I miss you…and I’ll see you Neverland… 🙁
R.I.P Michael J. Jackson (1958-2009)
Okay, the idea is pretty simple. Forget the convetional company stocks & shares. How about shares based on real people? Obama shares, Madonna stocks, Beckham securities, Federer bonds. It sounds ludicrous but wouldn’t it be more fun? You could naturally keep up with the news on your portfolio by listening to CNN, SkyNews, ESPN, MTV News, etc. and you would be able to know how well they’re performing. You wouldn’t have to wait for your broker to tell you when to sell or when to buy. After recent happenings, today I’d be selling all my Brown shares in the US and the UK (Chris and Gordon) and investing more in Beyonce, Jonas Brothers and SpongeBob Squarepants.
I guess the only problem would be how much value you would put on all these celebrities in the first place. Hmm…I’ll have to go back to the drawing board 🙁
The electricity supply in the country has been abysmal. Some areas have had only 4 -12hrs of power supply per day while some have even less or none at all. Lagos has become a noisy commercial zone with all the domestic and industrial generators blaring away. There are reports of some companies even moving their operations to neighbouring countries in order to enjoy constant power supply and save on their diesel costs – It has come to that. I can’t afford to run a generator all night while I sleep so I toss and turn most nights and many times I’ve considered sleeping in my air-conditioned car. Boy, am I pissed with the spate of things…
It’s therefore no surprise that I put a sheepish grin across my face when I read today’s news headline in The Punch – ‘Yar’Adua (my president) sacks PHCN MD over poor power supply’. IT’S ABOUT F@?#ING TIME!!!!
Below is a copy of the email I received from someone I’ve never had contact with before but who obviously stumbled across my profile. This seemingly random act is known as Phishing and it is used by fraudsters to try tricking you into disclosing more info about yourself. Please take note below and do not fall victim… even if they send you beautiful photos!!! I’ll put comments in brackets to guide you through.
* * * * *
Hello Dearest Heart (Obviously doesn’t know my name!)
I thank you very much for honoring my invitation,like i told you before age or distant can’t deny any good love,i hope that this my mail find you in good health dearest heart.
my name is miss Nina Jonson dabah from Liberia,i live my country because of the evil men that killed my father when he was about to have a dinner with his colleagues in abroad and he travel with some of his friends to a conference meeting
in united Kindom Belfast London;and they thought that the man will loose everything about his carear since that I’m the only daughter and also the only child in my family,my mum died in Spain when she was battling a sickness called heart failure
in the year 2005,while my late father died, he only gave my mother a year before he gave up the ghost,please dearest heart let this my life history touch your heart,that was how i became an orphan
in my life,i loose my parents and everything about my family is now a thing of the past,my late father was a good business man who has many investment in my country home Liberia,but I’m still a little girl who is about 22 years old now,
the enemies that killed my father is after my life and i rum away from my country to a near by country here called Senegal where I’m now as a refuge, (cue the violins, a tear falls down my cheek, oh so sad!)
i need a gentle man who can be sincere to me who will love me and be truthful to me,that was the reason why i came acrose to your profile and i was very much move by what i found in your profile,
and all my heart told me that you are a god fearing someone who can stand for the truth to show me a real love, (and I guess I’m that someone right?)
dearest heart i have a lot to tell you because what i found in you make me to be very much interested in you,i have all my father documents here with me,also his account in abroad,which is in London bank,i have all the documents that proof all this that I’m telling you now honey,
Please i have not told anyone except you and the Reverend about the existence of this and i will like you to please keep it secret to other people because since it is MONEY all eyes will be on it. Remember i trust you dearest heart that is why i am giving you all this information!
my love is for you and you alone. (Biatch, what’s love got to do with it?)
Now I have informed the bank about my plans to claim this money and the only thing they told me is to look for a foreign partner who will stand on my behalf due to my refugee status and the laws of this country.You will have 20% of the total money for helping me and the remaining money will be managed by you in any business of your choice while i go back to my studies (You don see mugun abi?). In this regards i will like you to contact the bank immediately with
the information i will give to you soon after you get back to me ,tell them that you are my foreign partner and that you want to know the possibilities of assisting me transfer my $9.7 million dollars deposited by my late father which i am the next of kin to your account in your country.(L & G, here’s the bait which is all mouth-wateringly delicious…to scrumptuous for the desperate and greedy to resist)
Then all i need now is your full contact information,such as number,country of origin and also your bank information if there is any. Am glad that God has brought you to see me out from this situation and i promise to be kind and will equally need you in every area of my life including investing this money since i am still too young to manage it.i am just 22yrs (This is the catch, well if you take the bait at this point you become ‘hooked’)
As i told you before,this camp is just like a prison and my prayers is to move out from here as soon as possible. Please make sure that you will help so that after the transfer of the money to your account, you can send some money from that money for me to prepare my traveling documents to meet with you in your country.I will send some more pictures latter when i know your mind about this. (This is more like putting the finishing touches to your work of art)
Also help me to pray and thank Father Reverend Daniel Jonathan whom i have been useing his computer to write this message to you since the other day, i will be sending to you his office telephone number on my next email so that you can call to speak with me because i really want to hear your voice. Dearest heart i am in love with you please be a gentle man and also a trustworthy person that can show me real love,take good care of yourself for me, i miss you
Yours belove one Nina (Wow! That was quite a show, very entertaining…really had me going, lol)
__________________________
..xTx..
