Infrastructure Investments & Development of Micro,Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria: Remove the Bottlenecks; Experts Tells FG.

If Nigeria government can properly fund the critical infrastructures such as power, road network and communication which experts believe should be the responsibility of any nation's government such efforts will promote the growth and development of Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs)in Nigeria. Prof.Olukunle Frank
Odumosu  Acting Director General NISER made the statement in his welcome address at NISER Research Seminar Series (NRSS) the 11th and last of the series for the year 2015 at the NISER Headquarters lbadan.
He noted that though any investment on infrastructures is a capital intensive project that often involves long term cash flows but if it is done it will not only expand the productive capacity at enterprise level but will increase the GDP of the nation .
He added that infrastructure investments and development is very important and also "a key for the development of any nation'.
Prof. Odumosu later commends  the participants for their interest on regular participation and promised that every policy papers presented to the public will be treated with dispatch to the appropriate authority.

In his overview of the seminar topic the chairman Prof.P A Okuneye.Dept.of Agric.Econs and Extension. Federal University of Agriculture (FUNAAB) Abeokuta implore Federal government to provide the enabling environment with adequate infrastructure for the development of micro small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs)in  the country this according to him will reduce  the labor market growth.

Dr. Foluso Modupe Adeyinka of Economic Policies Research Dept. (EPRD)NISER Ibadan who represented the research team to present the paper titled Infrastructure Investments and Development of Micro. Small and  Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria  noted that the objectives of the papers is to assess how  the contribution of MSMEs infrastructure investments affects the development of the country and reiterate some of the lingering problems that hinder the growth and development of the MSMEs in Nigeria; bring to the fore strategic

options in the reform growth and development of MSMEs and as well propose some policy recommendations as a way forward. On the research methodology and data analysis. Dr. Modupe Adeyinka stated that both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to analyzed the data collected, these according to her include simple descriptive statistics such as the measure of central tendency and the tabulation of data by firm size on infrastructure type; while research findings was on accessible, affordable and adequacy. Speaking on policy recommendations experts urge the three tiers of government through SMEDAN to play its role in the provisions of critical infrastructures, cheeck multiple taxation and involve the financial institutions to provide soft loan at very lower interest rate for the Micro, Small and Medium-sized enterprisers in the country all these things will expand the production capacity and give room for competition at the international market

SECURITY:Area Commader Frowns at Okada/Micra Cab Operators;DPO Harp on Manpowers as Koyewon Tasks Stakeholders

The Nigeria Police again reiterate its commitment towards the protection of lives and properties of the citizens and let them sleep with their two eyes close. Superintendent (SP.)Aderemi Balogun. Divisional Police Officer for Moniya Divisional Headquarters Ibadan made the comments while welcoming the new Area Commander Agodi Command Assist.Commissioner of Police. (ACP) Aloysious Chimezie who is on familiarization visit of
his division.

Speaking further on the challenges. Balogun stated that his division apart from housing the local Government Headquarters and it is also a gateway station that links Oke ogun. Oyo.Ogbomosho. Iddo way to Ogun
state and lagelu way to Osun state, this vantage position according to the DPO place a lots of burden on the division which have six outstations with strength of one hundred and sixty two personnel out of which thirteen are on special duty at 'B'ops,three on Peace Keeping Mission and five hospitalized,noted that the division only relied on one hundred and thirty nine personnel that now policing the division
porous environment.

In his address the Area Commader.ACP.Aloysious Chemezie show his displeasure over the behavior of both Okada/Micra cab operators in the state. He said police will no longer tolerate their nefarious activities in the state.
ACP.Chemezie while calling for partnership with the police on crime management and prevention observe that police alone can not win the crime war without the support of the community call for civility between the public and the police, stressing that with the arduous task a head of the police member of the public need to rally round them rather than crucify them when ever there is any little mistakes.
He urge the Okada operators to have identification code and not to violate the traffic and criminal laws.
The area commander latter sound note of warning on his men to always have good human relationships with members of the community they serve and promote morality with good virtues.

In his own address the Chairman PCRC Moniya Divisional Headquarters Chief Olaiya Babalola (aka) Koyewon stated that all hands are now on the deck to totally wage war with the criminals in the nooks and
cranny of the state
He enjoin stakeholders to provide useful information to the police in order to make the society crime free.Adding"no security, no life.' Chief Koyewon later lauds the DPO and his officers for effective coverages of the division and finally presented token gift on behalf of the executives and members of the Moniya Division PCRC to the visitor.

Oceans Of Blood and the Power Of Truth - By FFK

 
Another article from Femi Fani Kayode

"The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it but in the end, there it is" – Sir Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of Great Britain (1940-1945 and 1951-1955).

Nothing empowers the spirit more than the truth. Nothing warms the soul more than the truth. Nothing dispels the darkness more than the truth. 

Nothing emboldens the noble more than the truth. Nothing sheds the light more than the truth. Nothing enlightens the ignorant more than the truth. Nothing frees the enslaved more than the truth. Nothing liberates the mind more than the truth.

  

Nothing purges the evil more than the truth. Nothing hurts the vile more than the truth.  Nothing troubles the murderous more than the truth. Nothing exposes the reprobate more than the truth.  Nothing burns the slanderer more than the truth.

Nothing chains the liar more than the truth. Nothing heals the wounded more than the truth. Nothing brings the peace more than the truth. Nothing torments the oppressor more than the truth. Nothing haunts the wicked more than the truth. Nothing punishes the tyrant more than the truth. Nothing humiliates the proud more than the truth. Nothing restores our hope more than the truth. Nothing serves justice more than the truth. Nothing delivers the captive more than the truth.  As Churchill said, ‘’the truth is incontrovertible’’. It is overwhelming and it is irresistable. It is powerful and it is beautiful. 

It cannot be destroyed.  It cannot be denied.  It cannot be suppressed. It is eternal.  It will always be revealed at the appointed time. It may be ignored for a season but it will eventually resurface to torment the deceiver.

With truth comes the opportunity to repent and to forgive. With truth comes justice,  healing, peace, love, restoration, reconciliation, reparation, redemption and the chance for new beginnings. Without truth there can be none of these blessings or virtues: only darkness, deceit, ugliness, suspicion, hate, carnage, violence and the enthronement and celebration of bitter and wretched souls. Without truth evil goes from strength to strength. Without truth the wicked crush innocent souls. Without truth the oppressor continues to thrive and flourish but with truth the righteous rise and reach the top.  Without truth nations wither and perish but with truth they prosper and excel. 

Yet what truth resides in our beleagured country?  A country that feeds fat on lies and revels in deceit. A country that refuses to teach its children our history in order to cover up the many wrongs and injustices of the past. A country whose elders refer to the oppressed and dissolusioned as desperate ''miscreants''. A country whose leaders refer to those that seek to enforce their legitimate rights as ''money-loving drug dealers and skillful scammers''.

A country that cannot make a distinction between those that seek to peacefully exercise their right of self-determination and those that terrorise, kill and maim others in an attempt to impose their faith. There are many truths that the Nigerian people will have to come to terms with before our nation can be at peace with itself.

An ocean of blood has been shed in the name of a united Nigeria yet the perpetrators of state-sponsored violence have never been brought to book. Many souls have been wasted in trying to keep us one. How much more blood has to flow before those that have ruled us from time immemorial accept the fact that nations cannot be established by subjugation and tyranny but only by justice, equity, truth, equal rights and consensus.

  

The truth of the Jos massacre in 1945 where hundreds were slaughtered cannot be denied. The truth of the Kano riots in 1953 where thousands were butchered cannot be denied. The truth of the pogroms in the north in 1966 where hundreds of thousands were killed cannot be denied. The truth of the slaughter of millions of innocent civilians, women and children between 1967 and 1969 during the Nigerian civil war cannot be denied.

The truth of the Asaba masssacre in 1969 where 1000 little boys and old men were rounded up in the town square and shot in the head cannot be denied. 

The truth of the massacre of hundreds of thousands of Christians and ethnic minorities all over the north and particularly in the Middle Belt throughout the 80’s and 90’s cannot be denied. The truth of political sharia with its attendant violence, trauma, blood-letting and butchery from 2000-2003 in the far north cannot be denied.

The bitter truth of Boko Haram and the relentless slaughter of hundreds of thousands of innocent Nigerians by Islamic fundamentalists in northern Nigeria from 2009 up until today cannot be denied. The truth of the murder of dozens of young youth corpers and hundreds of other people in the far north in 2011 cannot be denied. The truth of the brutal slaughter of innocent Nigerians by Fulani herdsmen over the last 20 years and up until today cannot be denied. O Nigerians, who has bewitched thee? Why do we hate truth and those that speak it with such passion?  Like the ostrich, we have buried our heads in the sand and we act as if these things never happened. We refuse to acknowledge the evil within us and we refuse to honor the dead by atoning for our sins and calling for retribution and justice. 

These horrendous events cannot be denied and neither shall they ever be forgotten. The blood of the innocents that were slaughtered by these relentless Huns speaks through the ages and from generation to generation.  That blood cries out to God in heaven and it calls for vengeance. It is time for justice to be done. It is time for those that consistently kill and shed blood in their ignoble quest to rule us forever to be brought to book. It is time for the Tutsis of Nigeria to be brought to heel. It is time for those that starved millions of little children to death in the name of crushing Biafra to be exposed. 

It is time that those who seek to play down these events and who seek to cover up their complicity in genocide be called out and shamed.  It is time that some of our elders and so-called leaders are sent to the International Criminal Court for genocide and murder and for crimes against humanity. It is time to rediscover our humanity. It is time for the ancient leaders and guardians of the Nigerian state to admit that they have built our so-called unity on nothing but murder, carnage and the blood, guts and bones of millions of slaughtered innocents.

 It is time for them to apologies to the Nigerian people for their insufferable conspiracy of silence and their insatiable greed. It is time for them to tell the truth about our blood-soaked and frightful history, to confess their sins, to kneel down before the Ancient of Days and to beg Him for forgiveness. It is time for them to start fearing the Lord of Hosts, to stop hating the messenger and to start dealing with the message.

Nigerian man sentenced to 30 years in prison for human trafficking in SA

Durban Regional Court on Tuesday, October 27, handed Emmanuel Uche Odii, a 30-year jail term for human trafficking. National Prosecuting Authority spokeswoman Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said that the 32-year-old was handed the sentence following his conviction in August on two counts of human trafficking, two counts of kidnapping, one of rape, one of sexual assault, one of assault, one of running a brothel.

His South African accomplice Bonginkosi Shange, 46, was handed a five year jail term for two human trafficking charges while his Nigerian accomplice, William Ojiaku, 30, was convicted in the on charges of kidnapping and handed a two year jail term that was suspended for five years
.
She said the three men had used the false promise of employment to exploit the two victims in the case. Odii had paid Shange (a South African citizen) a sum of R1 000 for each woman he recruited.
The first victim was 19 years old when she was offered a job as a domestic worker by Ojiaku in June 2010.

     "Travel arrangements were made by the accused and the woman went to Pretoria. On arrival, she was taken to a flat where she was sexually assaulted and raped by accused 1 [Odii]," said Kara.
She said the woman was then taken to another flat where she saw women bringing in men to have sex with. Odii told her that she would have to do the same, and when she refused she was kept locked up in the flat.

In August 2010 the second victim, an 18-year-old girl, was offered a job to take care of Odii’s flat while he was out of town. She accepted the offer. Thereafter travel arrangements  were made and she went to Pretoria.

Odii threatened her and forced her to smoke rock cocaine which had a serious effect on the young woman’s health and resulted in her being hospitalised later.

The victim was also told to conduct prostitution for the financial benefit of Odii. In aggravation of sentence senior state advocate Val Dafel told the court that human trafficking is regarded as the fastest growing criminal activity in the world and it generates billions of dollars in earnings for traffickers. She urged the court to deliver sentences that would act as a deterrent to other would-be offenders.

HID Awolowo to be buried in a gold casket and a white damask cloth she bought and kept 36 years ago

Wife of Late sage, Obafemi Awolowo, Mrs H.I.D Awolowo who died on September 19th, will be buried on November 25th in a white damask cloth she bought and kept for this purpose 36 years ago. Her daughter, Reverend (Mrs) Tola Oyediran, revealed this, saying

“Mama in her unique way had kept a white damask to be laid in her casket whenever she died since the day she stopped her fabric sales business. And if I am not mistaken, I think she stopped selling fabrics around 1979; meaning that since then, she had kept that damask for that purpose. That is her wish and it will be like that.”she said

Oyediran also revealed that Mama will be buried in a gold casket which will be brought in from the United States of America. She will be buried beside her husband inside the Awolowo mausoleum in the family compound in Okenne, Ogun state.

Accountability: Make Security Vote Open,Cleric Tasks FG

Until the amount on security votes allocated to all head of administration in the three tiers of government made open,efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari to end fraudulent practices in the polity
may be a mirage.
Prophet. Dr.Johnson. A.Ilori.General Overseer.Feast of  the Spirit Ministry International made the remarks while delivering his feast of Pentecost convention 2015 messages with the theme "The Mighty Hand of God" at the ministry headquarters in Ibadan.  The cleric lamented that in Nigeria today , we have governors, chairmen and other elected representatives whose "financial status were almost nothing to write home about when being swore into office " but who within a short period in office changed their life styles beyond imaginable economic
status.
"This is after undisclosed amounts meant for security votes that not accounted for at the end of there tenure have been allocated to their offices",he noted. further he observe that Nigerians ate not opposed to giving security to our  elected leaders against likely unbecoming occurrences,but we
have rights to know how much is spent on security so as to make them the true representatives of the people,he asserted.
Prophet llori however pointed out that the non accountability for security votes will continued to attract more people to want to get the appointment at all cost and warn, "if such system continues unchecked, no amount of anti- corruption crusade and law can check the fraudulent practices in the society. Both Mrs Funke Taiwo.Mrs Tunrayo
Lawal. Mr Sunday Adenuga and Deaconess Abigael Ojeyemi were ordained
as deacon, deaconesses and evangelist.

Security: Moniya DPO Cautions Okada/Micra Cab Operators

Police and the citizenry can be described as fish and water. Citizens are guided and protected by certain norm and rules in any given society.

In an attempt to maintain peace in the society the Nigeria Police

system like any other operatives systems worldwide have to respects

the rights of individuals and that of the communal one,it also give

adequate protection and observation of the suspect person's right as

it does to the complaint in other words, no person's rights can be

taken away without affront to justice; all these are what the new Nigeria Police reforms now stand for. Superintendent Aderemi Balogun. Divisional Police Officer. Moniya Police Divisional Headquarters Ibadan Oyo state made the remarks at interactive section with stakeholders at the monthly Town Hall meeting in his division.

Further he noted that Nigeria Police under the Inspector general  of

police already make sacrosanct there maintenance of law and orders,

guarantee the security of individuals, investment and protect the

fundamental human rights of the citizens as a sustainable development in every nooks and cranny of the country. While reiterating his division's commitment to make his jurisdiction

crime free he confirmed that Ijaye-Iseyin and other trouble area roads which was security risk for the motorists and travellers has now become a thing of the past. The DPO later warn both Okada/Micra cab operators to desist from violation of the traffic laws as his men will not relent in arresting erring operators.

In his royal response Baale Oniware of iwareland Engr. Muyiwa Ademola Daramola lauds the initiative of the new IGP to create the forum which his highness described as interactive and problem solving foral between the police and the people in each community.

The royal father however urge stakeholders to be security cautious. He finally applaud the Moniya DPO and his men for their good and

effective community policing and strategies.

Corruption must be kicked out of Nigeria - Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called on all Nigerians to work towards kicking out corruption in the country. He made the call while speaking with journalist at his home in Abeokuta, Ogun state to mark Nigeria's 55th independence celebration yesterday October1st. According to him;

"Corruption must not have resting place within our society. We must kick corruption out because it destroys almost everything and I am not talking about corruption of money.
Corruption of attitude, nepotism, favouritism, they are corruption in different forms and all aspects of corruption must be kicked out of our society"he said He said at 55, Nigeria had not done badly as a country ".Fifty-five years in the life of a nation is comparatively young, growing and when you look at the life and history of those that you may call settled societies or reasonably mature countries, we are not doing too badly. They have had missteps just like we are having missteps; they have made mistakes and most of them have learnt from their mistakes” he said.