NIGERIANS TOP LIST OF PRIVATE JET OWNERS IN AFRICA

With Nigeria holding the record of a country with the highest private jet ownership in Africa, the aviation sector has brought into sharp relief the paradox of a nation that is endowed with huge oil resources but where only a few are wealthy. In a country where the average Nigerian lives on less than $1 a day, there is a super rich class of business moguls, bankers, preachers, politicians and oil magnates whose private ownership of jets is more than that of any other country. A top official of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said that the ownership of the state-of-the-art jets in Nigeria had grown to over 200 in 2012 from 50 in 2008. Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State had on October 7, 2012 acquired a brand new Bombardier Global 5000 (N565RS) for his exclusive use. He is said to glide all over Rivers State while holding the throttle levers himself. The jet was primarily bought from Bombardier in Canada for $45.7 million through the Bank of Utah Trustee account.  Amaechi traded off the state’s current Embraer Legacy 600, saying it was too expensive to maintain.  $5 million was added to the proceed of the traded plane that enabled the government to buy the latest airplane. The oil-rich Rivers State already owns an AW139 helicopter, which it leased to a commercial airliner. The state then turned around to patronize the airline’s VIP Sikorsky S76C helicopter. Last year, the state government sold its Dash 8-Q200 aircraft to Cross River State for $6 million. Cross River State then leased the plane to Aero Contractors to undertake commercial flights to and from Obudu airstrip in the state. Amaechi is just one of many state chief executives that own airplanes. Aircraft manufacturers like Bombardier, Gulf Stream, Embraer, Hawker Siddley and Challenger have made Nigeria their huge market because of the demand for these aircraft types by wealthy Nigerians

HURRICANE SANDY UPDATE

Hurricane Sandy, a massive storm described by forecasters as one of the largest to ever hit the United States, has picked up speed and is moving northwest at 28 mph. Maximum sustained winds are 90 mph. Landfall is expected early this evening along the southern Jersey coast. The Category 1 hurricane, threatening nearly 50 million people, is expected to make landfall around 8 p.m. Monday in New Jersey. Storm surges of up to 11 feet are expected in New York City, and rescue efforts are already under way for people who ignored evacuation orders on the coast of Delaware.

Reference: yahoo news

AGAIN, OBAMA WIDENS POLL LEAD OVER ROMNEY

Nine days ahead of presidential election, the excitement in the air all over the United States (U.S.) is reaching feverish pitch with incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama who is running for a second and final term stretching his lead in the polls on the Republican candidate, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. The journey, which started on January 3 this year with the Lowa caucus convergence and followed quickly by the New Hampshire primary will climax with the main decisive event-voting on Tuesday November 6 2012.This year’s exercise, will be the 57th quadrennial presidential election. The candidates have already held the third and final debate on the 22nd of this month. The earlier debates were held in the university of Denver Colorado on the 3rd of this month and also at the Hosfstra University in Hempstead, New York on the 16th. Election oracles and sundry analysts are currently making wild predictions. One of which is the popular analyst Nadeem Walayat who said Obama sought to avert a replay of the “disaster” of the first debate and in so doing put the poll direction back in his favour as the gap between Romney and himself is starting by the same calculations, to widen again

NIGERIA, SOUTH AFRICA DRIVE AFRICA’S GROWTH

Nigeria and South Africa account for major portion of Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) report said. It said intraregional trade and financing links within sub-Saharan Africa have been expanding significantly in recent years. However, it recognised that there is a long road to travel in terms of achieving close economic integration at the regional and sub-regional level. “As this integration proceeds and economic linkages deepen, the importance of spillover effects from large countries to the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, and within their own sub-region, will grow: closer economic linkages inevitably imply increased exposure to shocks, both favorable and unfavorable, in partner countries,” it said. IMF African Department senior economist Cheikh Gueye said that to a large extent, South Africa is shaping the structure of trade within sub-Saharan Africa. He said that at least 12 countries in sub-Saharan Africa export to South Africa and this represents one per cent of their GDP

ELUMELU, DANGOTE MAKE FORBES AFRICA PERSON OF THE YEAR NOMINEES

Mr. Tony Elumelu and Alhaji Aliko Dangote have been nominated for the Forbes Africa Person of the Year 2012. Three other nominees are Dr. James Mwangi, Joyce Banda and Stephen Saad. According to the statement issued by Forbes, “the Forbes Africa Person of the Year has announced the top five candidates for this year’s title.” The statement added that the winner of this award would have had an influence on the events of the year gone by on the African continent and encouraged all and sundry to vote for whom they believe deserves the title. However, voting will end on Thursday, 1 November 2012 and the winner will be revealed at an event in Nigeria: BusinessWorld 

LIL WAYNE HOSPITALIZED & RELEASED

NEW YORK (AP) — Lil Wayne's management team says the rapper is on "mandated rest" after a severe migraine and dehydration caused him to be hospitalized.

In a statement released Friday, the Blueprint Group says Lil Wayne was released from the hospital treatment and will return to work soon. They added that the New Orleans-based rapper appreciates his fans' support and love.

No further details were released.

The 30-year-old multiplatinum performer is working on a follow up to his last album, 2011's "Tha Carter IV."

Source: http://www.lilwayne-online.com

VIRGIN ATLANTIC EMPLOYS 10-YEAR-OLD BOY AS MANAGER

British mega carrier, Virgin Atlantic, has appointed a 10-year-old boy to test and approve its newly refurbished Boeing 747 jumbo plane. A statement by the airline office in Nigeria said the pint-sized primary school pupil, Billy Yeomans, was chosen from over 600 applicants to become the airline’s first Junior Approvals Manager in an initiative spearheaded by the founder of Virgin Atlantic, Sir Richard Branson. Yeomans, who is from Chichester, was appointed after winning a nationwide search to find the next Sir Richard Branson, the British business mogul. The statement said that Billy, a plane crazy, aviation and adventure enthusiast, surprised judges by creating his own plane cabin in his family home, collecting over 30 aeroplane safety cards and navigating his father on a flight to Switzerland.” The statement said, “Billy had free reign of the plane, which is fresh from a 95,000 hour refit, for a day at Gatwick Airport and will submit a full report to Sir Richard, giving his verdict on the newly refitted 747 fleet. Whilst on board, Billy was given exclusive access to the in-flight entertainment system, after dipping into some movies and then settling on playing a game he described it as ‘brilliant’. Billy then tasted a new 747 menu, which is being launched along with the refitted cabins, and was served by the glamorous Virgin Atlantic cabin crew throughout”:

APPLE INTRODUCES 8-INCH IPAD MINI, UPDATED FULL-SIZE IPAD

Apple has introduced a new, smaller iPad called the iPad mini.

The little tablet, which comes in black and white, has a 7.9-inch screen size with a 1,024x768-pixel resolution. This is the same resolution as the original iPad, meaning the same software will be supported.

The iPad mini is 7.2mm thick, which is thinner than the full-size model, and is about half the weight. It has HD cameras for FaceTime video calls and photography, including a five-megapixel lens on the rear.

On the inside is an Apple A5 chip, as seen in the iPhone 4 and the new iPod touch, as well as 4G LTE, 10 hours of battery life and the new eight-pin Lightning USB port connector. It has 16GB, 32GB and 64GB of storage

UK pricing starts at £269 from 2 November.

Apple has also announced a faster full-size iPad, which features a new Apple-designed A6X chip that company says has twice the performance of the previous model.

The new model is visually the same as the previous design, and comes in the same specifications.

ADELE GIVES BIRTH TO A BABY BOY

Adele is no doubt singing lullabies these days: The Grammy Award-winning singer is a new mom, according to a report from Us Weekly. The baby boy is the first child for Adele, 24, and the second for her boyfriend, Simon Konecki, 38, who has a 5-year-old daughter with ex-wife Clary Fisher.

Adele is officially a mother, reportedly giving birth to a baby boy.

In June, the “Skyfall” singer announced she was pregnant with her current boyfriend Simon Konecki. The baby arrived last week on Friday and the couple are excited to be new parents.

But will there be wedding bells? Shortly after the 24-year-old shared the news of her pregnancy, there were rumors that Konecki was planning to propose. She cleared up any talk about an alleged marriage on Twitter back in August, tweeting, “I’m not married…Zzzzzzz.”

Adele has yet to announced a follow-up to the successful 21, but sources say that there will be a few lighter tunes inspired by the joys of pregnancy and motherhood.

On the other side, her song Skyfall is the No2 in this week World's Best Selling Single Chart

33 WOMEN DROWN ON WAY TO BURIAL CEREMONY

A commercial bus conveying mostly women on a burial trip from Lagos to Benin plunged into River J4, near Ogbere on the Ijebu-Ode-Ore Expressway on Friday, leaving no fewer than 33 persons dead.

The Head of Operation of the FRSC in Ogun, Mrs Cecilia Alao, said that the accident occurred at about 12 noon when the driver of the 36-seater coastal bus slept off.

Alao said that the exact number of passengers and the registration number of the vehicle were yet to be ascertained.

She said that all the victims, apart from the driver, were women travelling from Lagos to Benin to attend a burial ceremony.

The FRSC head of operations, who described the rescue operation as difficult, said that the command engaged the services of local divers who helped to rescued three of the passengers.

‘’We also hired a crane to pull the vehicle from the driver but after trying from 12 p.m to 6 p.m, we could not find the bus and other victims apart from the three.

‘’All other efforts to locate the vehicle and the victims proved abortive, the operation will continue over the night as we are not going to relent in our efforts,” she said. Alao said that the three survivors had been taken to hospital at Ore in Ondo State.

Reference: PM News

LIFE SERIES: LIFE & PURPOSE

In race between Lion and Deer

Many times the Deer wins.

Because

Lion runs for food

& Deer for life.

''Purpose is more important than need''
Live Your Life With Purpose 

TAI SOLARIN’S WIDOW, SHEILA SOLARIN, PASSES ON

Madam Sheila Solarin (Nee Tuer), the wife of Dr Tai Solarin, the educator and author who established the famous Mayflower School, Ikenne, Ogun State, has died. British born Sheila Mary, who was a co-founder of the Mayflower School, died today October 21st 2012 at Babcock University Teaching Hospital in Sagamu. She was 88 years old. Tai Solarin died in 1994 at the age of 71. May her soul rest in peace...amen.

Sheila Mary Tuer (nee Shiela Solarin) is a British woman married to the late Tai Solarin. She was recently an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II on 17 October 2007 for services to education in Nigeria. She currently runs Mayflower School on behalf of her late husband Tai Solarin.

Nigeria.Sheila met her husband while both were in the forces following the World War II.

In 1952 they decided to move to his native Nigeria, and both worked in Molusi College ijebu Igbo

But they disagreed with the politics of the day and religious discrimination in schools, and decided to build their own in a town called Ikenne.

On 27 January 1956, Tai Solarin and his wife founded the first and only secular school in Nigeria, Mayflower School, Ikenne, Ogun State.

SUSPECT ACCUSES POLICEMAN OF JOINING IN THE LYNCH OF ALUU FOUR

More revelations are emerging on how four University of Port Harcourt undergraduates were killed as a suspect in custody, David Ugbaje, Tuesday accused a policeman of participating in the lynching of the deceased. He said the policeman joined the mob in the killing of the four students at Omuokiri, Aluu, in Rivers State on October 5. Also yesterday, the police announced that they had arrested the fleeing principal suspect in the murder, Lucky, alias Bright, who raised the false alarm that labelled the students as armed robbers, which prompted the rage of the mob. Lucky was said to owe one of the victims some money and they had gone on a debt-recovery mission, when he accused the deceased of trying to rob him.

Ugbaje told journalists Tuesday in Port Harcourt, when the police paraded him and 12 other suspects for their alleged involvement in the crime, that one of the policemen who met them when the mob was beating the students joined them in beating the victims. He explained that it was after the policeman had partaken in the beating that he requested that the students be handed over to them, a request which the mob refused. As Ugbaje narrated, “Along the line, two policemen came around, one of the policemen was pleading that the boys be left alone, but the other one even joined us in beating the boys. After beating the boys, the policemen now said let the boys be handed over to them. The crowd said no: We no go gree. The policemen now told us that whatever this will result to, they (the crowd) will bear the consequences”

ASSESSING NIGERIA MOVE TO CASHLESS ECONOMY

A full page analysis in ThisDay newspaper examines Nigeria’s journey to a cashless society, which is basically aimed at reducing the use of cash in the country. According to the report, despite some hiccups suffered by the cashless policy since its introduction in Lagos State January this year, there is a general consensus that Nigeria’s transition to a cashless society is essential for the country’s economic transformation. This, according to experts, will bring about efficiency in the payment system. The experts, who spoke at a two-day conference tagged: ‘Nigeria Transiting to a Cashless Society: Possibilities and Challenges,’ expressed optimism that the cashless policy will go a long way in bringing a lot of people into the banking system. The conference, which took place in Lagos, was organised by De Novo (a strategy brand and media firm) and Legal Reach, a UK-based law firm, and sponsored by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Senior Payment System Expert in Payment Systems Development Group at the World Bank, Ceu Pereira, who spoke at the conference, advised the CBN and other stakeholders on the project to take issues about consumer protection very serious. But Pereira expressed satisfaction over the recent creation of a Consumer Protection Department at the CBN. She stressed that the cashless policy has been a very effective tool used by a lot of countries to foster financial inclusion. But the Director, Tele-Banking, Globacom, Mr. Tunde Kuponiyi, stressed the need for a review of the mobile money framework such that it will allow operators to have increased role in the delivery of mobile money services.

Source: ThisDay

OBAMA, ROMNEY IN SECOND DEBATE SHOWDOWN

United States President Barack Obama on Tuesday night sought to redeem himself after a lackluster first debate encounter with his Republican rival, Mitt Romney.

The 90-minute debate which was in a town hall-style setting was held at Hofstra University, New York. The two White House contenders took questions on domestic and foreign issues from an audience of about 80 undecided voters.

Obama was heavily criticized after his first debate on October 3 for appearing listless and ill-prepared against Romney, who was far more engaged and aggressive.

Obama lost the October 3 debate on style, and failed to even highlight issues thought to be Romney’s Achilles’ heel such as Romney’s business record at Bain Capital, the “47 per cent” video and his refusal to release more income tax returns.

D’BANJ NAMED 2012 BEST AFRICAN ACT BY MTV EUROPE MUSIC AWARDS

Nigerian music star, D’Banj, has been named the Best African Act of the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards, having received the most votes from fans across sub-Saharan Africa.

The artiste who has won several awards like the Best African Act at the 2007 MTV Europe Music Awards; Artist of the Year at both the 2008 and 2009 MTV Africa Music Awards; and Best International Act: Africa at the 2011 BET Awards will now compete against India’s Alobo Naga&the Band and Ahmed Soultan from the Middle East for the chance to represent the region in the Worldwide Act category.

On the MTV website,D’banj was described as: “Nigerian singer and songwriter as well as harmonica guru. Winner of the 2007 Best African Act EMA, he brings Afrobeat into the 21st century.”

The representative for the Africa/India/Middle East region will be announced on October 30, along with the other regional winners from Europe, Latin America, North America and Asia Pacific.

These five regional nominees will then battle for votes for the “Worldwide Act” distinction, and the winner will be named at the show in Frankfurt.

Voting has already started on the official website, www.mtvema.com.

The 19th  annual awards show will be broadcast live from Frankfurt on Sunday November 11 and will be hosted by supermodel, TV host and entrepreneur, Heidi Klum.

FELIX BAUMGARTNER MADE SUPERSONIC WORLD RECORD

Before the live coverage of the daredevil fall, I was watching a documentary on CNN about the first Egyptian to climb Mount Everest, suddenly the live coverage came on and there he was up in the sky with balloon to a height far away from the Earth and guided by his project crew from New Mexico.

Before his free fall to the earth, I was watching the determination of an Egyptian who embarked to climb Mount Everest and did something any of his countrymen have never done before but here was another outrageous record breaking coverage of another man trying to do what any other man had not done before.

Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner jumps from more than 24 miles above Earth, breaking the speed of sound before he releases his parachute. The 43-year-old broke the record for the highest jump set by Joe Kittinger at 19.5 miles in 1960. Joe Kittinger was part of men in charge of this particular project.

Lesson: don’t let other put you down but believe in yourself and your dream even if is the least thing people believe.

     "The only way to define your limits is by going beyond them." - Arthur Clarke

     d'prince

GOODNIGHT PAIN: RIP ALUU 4.

"Thieves, thieves" he screamed, it was almost funny. Not until more voices joined the chorus as they screamed and shouted on us.

We could have run at least to save our lives, but our intentions were genuine and little did we know how the day would end.

From a handful of young men shouting and throwing questions at us, it escalated to a crowd of angry mob. There was no way we could escape this one, so we calmed down. They pushed us around and then stripped us all. These men pulled us pants down; we were more than embarrassed, the whole community watched, I recognized few faces from the crowd. Obviously they were so afraid to say "stop" then the beating started.

I wished it was just a nightmare. But it was real, these men were determined. They dropped heavy rocks on our heads, they pounded our faces with large planks, blood covered our eyes, they matched and kicked us right on our bleeding nostrils, we couldn't breathe.

'Bring tire' one of the men repeated, until they brought the tires. 'Oh God' we watched the crowd watch us, we raised hands of plea, we couldn't speck, some hid, some shot videos, and took pictures. There was no one to stop this. This was the point we knew it was over.

We felt pain, helpless, hopeless. I thought of my siblings, I wondered how my mum would take this. She would fall apart. I begged God to hold her for me, comfort and make her strong for me.

I prayed same 4 my friends. Then we started crying, we cried together the tears gave us headaches. We looked up high, the sky was still. Rings of tires landed on our necks, they kept hitting us, but we were numb already they set us ablaze. We rolled around tried to reach each other, I wondered who would give up first, and the fire burned our bodies. It hurt, it hurt, it hurt and then it hurt. But suddenly the pain stopped. Then I couldn't hear any other thing but silence. I thank God the pain was over and God's glory was revealed. GOODNIGHT PAIN. RIP ALUU 4

DID YOU KNOW? : THE PIANO HOUSE

The Piano House, Huainan, China. 

This unique piano house was built recently in An Hui Province, China. Inside of the violin is the escalator to the building. The building displays various city plans and development prospects in an effort to draw interest into the recently developed area.

VAMPIRERS DIARY6: HOW WE MADE MILLIONS FROM SELLING STOLEN FUEL – SUSPECTS

Some suspects arrested for alleged oil bunkering, have said they made millions of naira from the illegitimate business.

The suspects were on their way to deliver petrol to a Chinese-owned rubber processing and manufacturing company in Ikorodu, Lagos State when they were nabbed by operatives of the Police Special Task Force on Anti-Pipeline Vandalism Unit, Force Headquarters annex, Lagos.

PUNCH Metro learnt that a truck, with registration number XX574APP, laden with 33,000 litres of petrol, was recovered from the suspects.

The suspects are Alison Vitus, Polycarp Ajeh, Amechi Iloama, Onekule Roman and Chukwuebuka Ezema.

Vitus, who is based in Delta State, said he was into genuine oil business before he was introduced to bunkering by a man he identified only as Papa.

DAVIDO & HIS NEW CAMARO 2013

From a rich background and with a polished crew, Davido is one of the new artistes on the block with great taste. His good taste reflects in his various videos that have good outputs, high graphics resolution and exotic locations. He recently added to his chain of cars a Camaro 2013

A brief about the Camaro:

The 2013 Chevrolet Camaro is poised to battle the updated Ford Mustang.  The Camaro in V-6 and standard V-8 guises remains basically the same as the 2012, with a few minor changes and one major one. There are new 18- and 20-inch wheel designs, a new rearview mirror — it's actually pretty cool — and a new shift knob and hill start assist for manual-transmission models.

It's the MyLink multimedia and navigation system, however, that folks have been waiting for.

MyLink, sans the navigation functions, is standard on all LT, SS and ZL1 models for 2013. Base, LS cars retain the 2012's simple radio.

The system sort of floats in the middle of the dash in a somewhat awkward position. Clearly, the original car's designers never fathomed needing a 7-inch touch-screen for anything.

MO YAN BEATS ACHEBE TO CLINCH NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE

According to Swedish Academy in Stockholm, Chinese author Mo Yan has been awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature. The Chinese beats the Nigerian author Chinua Achebe to win this year prestigious prize for literature.

The Swedish Academy praised his work which “with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary”.

The 57-year-old is the 109th recipient of the prestigious prize, which was given last year to Swedish poet Tomas Transtroemer.

Presented by the Nobel Foundation, the award – only given to living writers – is worth 8 million krona (£741,000).