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2016-08-07T04:24:00.001+01:00

Please More Info coming, but in case you need to ask urgent questions please call 07034616262

RIP BRANAMA

2014-06-13T22:53:00.000+01:00

An official statement from Kefee's UK publicist confirming her passing.

Find it below:

On behalf of the family….It is with a great sadness but grateful hearts that we announce the passing to glory due to lungs failure this morning of our God’s mouth piece, chorus leader, daughter, wife, sister, friend Kefee Branama Queen … May her beautiful, gentle and precious soul rest in perfect peace. Amen!!

PS: In contrast to all earlier rumors and stories in circulation, I do state that Kefee wasn’t 6 months pregnant and neither did she have pre-eclampsia.

For the family
Adeline Adelicious Adebayo, (Kefee’s UK Manager) AJETUN

A few weeks ago, news broke that Nigerian gospel singer, Irikefe Obareki, better known as Keffee, had collapsed on an airplane on her way to Chicago, USA.

Nigerians and fans of the Branama singer went into serious prayers for her, wishing her well and a speedy recovery.

Few days later, the doctors came out with the verdict that she had suffered what they called a pre-eclampsia-pregnancy induced high blood pressure and that she had very little chances of survival.

Just yesterday, it was reported that she had come out of her long coma but early this morning, we got the shocking news that the much loved lady had lost the battle and had given up the ghost.

Pulse.ng put a call to her manager who confirmed the sad news, saying that Keffee died in the early hours of today. Her younger brother also confirmed the very disheartening news.

We are deeply saddened at the sudden death of the singer and pray God to grant her soul eternal repose while wishing her husband, Teddy Esosa Don Momoh, family and loved ones the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

Rest in peace Keffee.

PULSE

who should i believe now different stories, well kefee RIPP but let's see what linda has to say cos i know people trust her so much with all this kind of TATA FO

Feeling so sad today...lost my vibe! One minute you're here happy, making plans, looking forward to a great future...and the next minute it's all over! May your beautiful soul rest in peace. You'll be missed.

LINDA

well that's from linda she isn't happy so nothing to say

Full List of Winners at the MTV Africa Music awards 2014

2014-06-08T08:58:00.000+01:00

Full List of Winners at the MTV Africa Music awards 2014 (MAMA Awards 2014)

Nigeria reigned supreme at the MTV Africa Music awards 2014 last night with Davido, Tiwa, Flavour, Clarence Peters winning in their various categories..

The List of Winners at the MTV Africa Music awards 2014 below:

Artist of the Year:
Davido (Nigeria)

Best New Act
Stanley Enow (Cameroon)

Best Rap artiste
Sarkodie(Ghana)

Song of the Year:
Mafikizolo feat Uhuru ‘Khona’ (South Africa)

Best Female Artist
Tiwa Savage(Nigeria)

Best Group
Mafikizolo(South Africa)

Best Music Video
Clarence Peters(Nigeria)

Personality of the Year:
Lupita Nyong’o (Kenya)

Transform Today Award
Clarence Peters (Nigeria)

Best Live Act
Flavour (Nigeria)

Best Collaboration:
Uhuru feat DJ Buckz, Oskido, Professor, Yuri Da Cunha – ‘Y-tjukutja’ (South Africa/Angola)

BREAKING NEWS: Ex-NAFDAC Boss, Dora Akunyili Is Dead

2014-06-07T16:35:00.000+01:00

Former Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and former Minister of Information, Professor Dora Akunyili has died at the age of 59.

In a statement sent on behalf of her family by former Anambra state Governor, Peter Obi, it says that Dr. Akunyili died in a Specialist Cancer Hospital in India on Saturday morning, after a two-year battle with cancer.

In spite of her illness, she was unwavering in her belief in a better Nigeria, that was why she defied her condition and was part of Anambra State Handover Committee and a delegate at the National Conference.

“Dr. Akinyili was full of concern for Chibok girls, security and other challenges facing the country, she remained prayerful for the release of those girls and for God to help President Goodluck Jonathan to overcome all the challenges facing the nation.

She therefore urged all Nigerians to remain prayerful and committed to building a better society for our children”.
Dr. Akinyili was born on July 14, 1954 in Makurdi, Benue state; she was a renowned Pharmacist and administrator.

She once ran for the Senatorial chair for Anambra Central on the platform of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in 2011 but lost.

Until her death, she was a delegate at the ongoing National Conference.

Source: CHANNELS

Soon You Won't Have To Type In Your Credit Card Number On Your iPhone

2014-06-07T15:54:00.000+01:00

Apple plans to make online shopping a little easier this fall.

iOS8, the new iPhone operating system that's coming out later this year, will let you scan your credit card when buying something in Safari. Instead of typing in numbers, you'll be able to hold up your card and have the iPhone automatically recognize the numbers and punch them in for you.

Here's what it will look like, with photos courtesy of 9to5 Mac:

Apple debuted both the new iPhone and Mac operating systems in San Francisco on Monday. Though you can't get the updates until this fall, a few developers already have access -- and the credit card feature is just one of several changes that are coming to your phone and computer. The company also has plans to make texting easier, and might be changing the font on the Mac for the first time ever.

Some apps like Uber already use similar technology to the new card-scanning option, allowing you to hold your credit card up to your phone and get the information off of it. PayPal recently bought the app Car.dio, which does just that.

In iOS 7 (what you have now), Safari can save your credit card info when you enter it, and then auto-fill it for you when making your next purchase. The iOS 8 update will also let you scan and save cards to auto-fill for future purchases, 9to5 Macreports.

We have to wonder how hard it would be to take a surreptitious pic of your neighbor's card -- say, while paying at a restaurant -- and use it for a purchase. But that probably wouldn't be any easier than just looking and writing down their number.

10 Buildings That Look Like Penises (PHOTOS)

2014-06-07T15:49:00.000+01:00

In an episode from the sitcom "How I Met Your Mother," Ted's firm designs a skyscraper for a bank. The only problem is that it looks like a giant penis.

Architects in real life can't seem to avoid the same aesthetic.

Here are 10 buildings that look like penises. Two of them are twins.

Feel free to construct your own puns. Nothing moves a list like this along like double entendres.

Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images

The headquarters of the People's Daily newspaper in Beijing, China, gave people the shaft daily while it was under construction. Sadly, the finished building became this.
Dwight Burdette/Wikipedia

The Ypsilanti Water Tower was, ahem, erected in 1889, but its builders might not be too thrilled with its colorful nickname. Locals call it the "brick dick," according to Cabinet Magazine, which bestowed the edifice the title of "Most Phallic Building In The World."
Moment Editorial/Flickr Vision/Getty Images

Torre Agbar, the 466-foot-high home of Aguas de Barcelona in Spain, was designed by French architect Jean Nouvel. No, he didn't call the style "Modern Illuminated Dildo."
Mohd Rasfan/AFP/Getty Images

"Johnson" and "Johnson"? Malaysia's Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur proudly rise 452 meters above street level.
Simon Dawson/Bloomberg/Getty Images

London's 30 St Mary Axe, affectionately known as "The Gherkin," keeps a stiff upper well, you know. It's 180 meters tall but girth counts too, doesn't it?
Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images

HK magazine wrote that Two International Finance Center in Hong Kong is alternately called "The Shaver" and "The Giant Penis." No kidding.
Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Buffalo City Hall in New York seems to get less mention as an architectural schlong, but if you just use your (dirty) imagination a bit...
Education Images/UIG/Getty Images

The Kansas State Capitol Building in Topeka comes with its very own Cupid-like archer at its reservoir tip. (OK, it's a Kansa Indian warrior, but go with us on this one.)
Moment Editorial/Flickr Vision/Getty Images

When The New York Times calls you a "great phallic monster of truly monumental ugliness," you know you've been accepted as a member. Congratulations, Oriental Pearl TV & Radio Tower in Shanghai.

First couples wed across country in same-sex marriages

2014-03-30T00:14:00.000+01:00

Gay couple Neil Allard and Andrew Wale after they were married. Photo: REUTERS/Luke MacGregor

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The first same-sex marriages in England and Wales have begun after a change in the law has given gay and lesbian couples the right to marry for the first time in history.

The law changed at midnight, with a number of gay couples getting married within seconds in Britain.

LOVE this pic of Sheffield's first equal marriage at midnight.Congrats Kyle & Richie! @sheffieldstar#sheffieldissuper http://t.co/xlvQ5d6PxN

Larry Lamont and Jerry Slater take part in a symbolic same-sex marriage outside the Scottish Parliament. Credit: REUTERS/Russell Cheyne

Scotland passed a similar law in February; the first same-sex marriages are expected there in October. Northern Ireland has no plans to follow suit.

Once vows were exchanged at 00:00am this morning, John and Bernardo were legally wed #samesexmarriage http://t.co/Kg9tGWCMKV

Peter McGraith (L) and David Cabreza marry in Islington Town Hall. Credit: REUTERS/Olivia Harris

A rainbow flag flies with the Union flag above British Cabinet Offices. Credit: REUTERS/Neil Hall.

Gay couple Neil Allard and Andrew Wale after they were married. Credit: REUTERS/Luke MacGregor

today the flag has been raised around Parliament Square. proud to be living my life in this country. #equalmarriage http://t.co/L9C1l6LBfD

More than 2,000 people and a host of famous faces gathered to see comedian Sandi Toksvig and her partner Debbie renew their wedding vows at a public ceremony to celebrate the introduction of gay marriage in the UK.

Sandi Toskvig (Right) and Debbie Toskvig dance during a mass sing-along of Bring Me Sunshine.Credit: Justin Tallis/PA Wire

We're still crazy about each other. I can't believe my luck - look how gorgeous she is. I want a piece of paper to say she won't ever leave me.

– SANDI TOKSVIG

Facebook Begins Its Quest To Replace Reality

2014-03-27T13:30:00.000+01:00

occulus rift

Now, logging onto Facebook means looking at photos of a friend’s birthday party. With Facebook’s latest acquisition, it soon might mean joining the party itself. Or at least feeling as if you’re doing so.

Imagine you slip on a pair of goggles, fire up Facebook and immediately have the sense you’re stepping into someone’s home. When you turn your head left, you see your friend's living room and a half-dozen people leaning against his couch. Take a few steps forward and you’re staring at champagne glasses in the kitchen, listening to Daft Punk pound over the din of cocktail party chatter. At the end of the night, your skin tingles with pleasure as you enjoy a passionate kiss with your date. Yet back in the real world, there's still no one around you.

It may sound futuristic, but Facebook’s new deal signals nothing short of Steven Spielberg-level ambitions. With its acquisition of virtual-reality headset creator Oculus VR, Facebook suggests that it hopes to make reality obsolete -- that the social network is looking ahead to a future in which face-to-face communication is indistinguishable from Facebook-to-Facebook communication.

Facebook announced Tuesday that it would pay $2 billion for Oculus VR, a two-year-old, Irvine, Calif.-based company that has developed a virtual-reality headset meant to give video game players the most realistic possible experience of digital worlds. Slipping on the Oculus Rift headset “provides a truly immersive experience that allows you to step inside your favorite game and explore new worlds like never before,” wrote Engadget in a recent review.

While Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the first step will be to help Oculus VR develop as a platform, his ambitions for the technology extend far beyond that to mimicking real-life experiences -- from giving people the impression they’re looking at chalkboards in a classroom to simulating the sense they're in a thundering stadium at a live sports event.

“After games, we're going to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences. Imagine enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face -- just by putting on goggles in your home,” wrote Zuckerberg in a post on Facebook. “This is really a new communication platform. By feeling truly present, you can share unbounded spaces and experiences with the people in your life. Imagine sharing not just moments with your friends online, but entire experiences and adventures.”

Zuckerberg already sees the simulacrum universe created by Oculus VR as a convincing stand-in for real-world interactions.

“The incredible thing about the technology is that you feel like you're actually present in another place with other people,” he wrote. “People who try it say it's different from anything they've ever experienced in their lives.”

Of course there also has to be gold in them virtual hills to warrant Oculus VR's 10-figure price tag. Oculus could make money for Facebook through the sale of its headset and Rift-specific games. But a more natural route for Facebook, which has never produced its own hardware, would be to sell ads in its lifelike world. Picture Budweiser cans -- paid for by the beer maker -- popping up in your virtual party. Or sponsored Pottery Barn furniture replacing your friends' retro chaise. At the very least brands like Zara or Hyatt might create immersive worlds for Rift-wearers to explore.

Though the Oculus acquisition came as a surprise to many, it’s not so far in a sense from Zuckerberg’s original vision of his social network: Facebook began on college campuses as an online abstraction of offline relationships. People connected with friends and classmates, not strangers. They used real names, not pseudonyms.

With virtual reality and the Oculus Rift, Facebook is continuing the push to move the "real" world onto the Internet. And there's no telling where that stops. Instead of mirroring our offline interactions, Facebook's next move could be to replace them entirely.

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Facebook buys Oculus Rift VR company for $2 billion

2014-03-27T11:12:00.001+01:00

Mark Zuckerberg has described VR as the ‘next major computing platform after mobile’, as Notch pulls support for Minecraft.

Virtual reality has an unexpected new champion, as Facebook announces it has bought Oculus VR for $400 million cash and 23.1 million Facebook shares, plus another $300 million in potential bonuses. Not bad for a company that first shot to fame with a Kickstarter campaign for the Oculus Rift headset.

The obvious question though is what does Facebook want with what was a start-up company aimed primarily at hardcore PC gamers?

‘Mobile is the platform of today, and now we’re also getting ready for the platforms of tomorrow,’ said Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. ‘Oculus has the chance to create the most social platform ever, and change the way we work, play and communicate.’

‘The incredible thing about the technology is that you feel like you’re actually present in another place with other people. People who try it say it’s different from anything they’ve ever experienced in their lives’, wrote Zuckerberg on Facebook.

‘Immersive gaming will be the first, and Oculus already has big plans here that won’t be changing and we hope to accelerate. The Rift is highly anticipated by the gaming community, and there’s a lot of interest from developers in building for this platform,’ he added.

‘We’re going to focus on helping Oculus build out their product and develop partnerships to support more games. Oculus will continue operating independently within Facebook to achieve this’.

The response from hardcore gamers and developers has been predictably reactionary, with Minecraft creator Markus ‘Notch’ Persson immediately cancelling an Oculus Rift version of Minecraft. In fact he got so angry about the whole deal he then went on to write a blog about how virtual reality is going to change the world but Facebook is ‘creepy’.

Many ordinary Kickstarter backers have also been demanding their money back, but as you might imagine gaming isn’t really what Facebook is interested in.

‘This is just the start’, wrote Zuckerberg. ‘After games, we’re going to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences. Imagine enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face – just by putting on goggles in your home.’

‘Virtual reality was once the dream of science fiction. But the internet was also once a dream, and so were computers and smartphones. The future is coming and we have a chance to build it together. I can’t wait to start working with the whole team at Oculus to bring this future to the world, and to unlock new worlds for all of us’.

All of which is fair enough, but $2 billion does seem an awful lot when virtual reality has been a commonplace idea for many years now and Oculus VR don’t own any important patents on the technology. This is evident from Sony’s recently unveiled Project Morpheus, which many have already described as superior to Oculus Rift.

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Microsoft Is About To Leave One-Third Of All Computers Vulnerable To Hacking

2014-03-25T13:00:00.000+01:00

Hundreds of millions of computers running everything from ATMs to the power grid will be vulnerable to hacking next month when Microsoft stops supporting its old Windows XP operating system.

Hackers have been holding onto flaws in Windows XP and waiting to exploit them until after the software giant stops issuing security updates on April 8, experts say.

Adam Meyers, vice president of intelligence at Crowdstrike, a cybersecurity firm, said it was “fairly dangerous” to continue using the 12-year-old operating system because after the deadline “victims can’t defend themselves.”

“I certainly wouldn't run Windows XP after the 8th," Meyers said in an interview.

Microsoft announced six years ago it will no longer provide security patches or technical support for the out-of-date software. Yet about one-third of computers around the world -- or about 500 million PCs -- still run Windows XP.

On Microsoft’s website, a clock ticks down to next month’s Windows deadline and a note warns customers that after April 8, not even anti-virus software will protect PCs that run the obsolete operating system.

“Without critical Windows XP security updates, your PC may become vulnerable to harmful viruses, spyware, and other malicious software which can steal or damage your business data and information,” the site says.

In a statement, a Microsoft spokesman said consumers should upgrade to Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, which costs $120 to install. The company will continue to update anti-malware products for Windows XP users through July 14, 2015. “We realize there are some who are still completing the migration process,” the spokesman said.

A wide range of institutions will face increased security risks next month because they still run the old software.

For example, hundreds of thousands of federal government computers still operate Windows XP, including many PCs that contain classified military and diplomatic information, according to The Washington Post.

About half of the estimated 4,000 electric utilities in North America also still use computers with the outdated Windows software, according to Patrick C. Miller, founder of the nonprofit Energy Sector Security Consortium.

Miller said many utilities still run Windows XP because it costs millions of dollars and takes years to upgrade all of their computers to newer software. To pay for the upgrade, utilities must ask state commissions to increase rates on consumers, and some of them have been denied, he said.

Miller said his biggest concern is a hacker attacking the unpatched Windows software in order to cause a blackout on a hot summer day. "And we don't know how long the blackout would last because there's no fix from the vendor," Miller said.

Nadya Bartol, a cybersecurity expert at the Utilities Telecom Council, said most of the country’s utilities have computer networks with multiple layers of security. She said the hacking risk depends on where those PCs are located within the network.

“We should be concerned and we should replace these operating systems,” Bartol told HuffPost. “But we shouldn’t be alarmist.”

In addition, only 38 percent of the nation’s some 425,000 cash machines will have upgraded from Windows XP by April 8, according to David Tente, the executive director of the ATM Industry Association.

Some banks have negotiated extensions with Microsoft or paid the company for custom support after the deadline. Still, numerous IT technicians are visiting ATMs around the country to replace the outdated Windows software by hand, a process that takes about an hour each time, Tente told HuffPost.

ATMs running the software pose little risk to consumers, but could cost banks if a hacker finds a way to trick the machines.

“There have been cases where hackers have fooled the ATM into thinking it’s dispensing dollar bills when it's really dispensing twenty dollar bills,” Tente said.

He said such risks are unlikely to increase immediately after April 8.

“But over time, there’s a greater risk of flaws that can be taken advantage of because you don’t have those patches coming in,” he said.

Microsoft introduced Windows XP in 2001. Back then, reviewers praised the software for being easy to use and not crashing as often as previous Windows versions. The operating system remained on millions of computers for years because its replacement, Windows Vista, was plagued with numerous problems.

Now, Microsoft is trying to adapt to a landscape that is less focused on desktops and more focused on mobile devices. Windows 8.1, which was released last fall, includes many touch-screen features and was designed for both tablets and desktops.

But even as Microsoft pushes customers to upgrade from Windows XP, the company has struggled to keep up in a post-PC world. In the months after the Windows 8 was release, PC sales dropped 14 percent.

Malaysia Prime Minister: Flight MH370 Ended In The Indian Ocean

2014-03-25T08:58:00.001+01:00

Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak announced on Monday that according to new data, flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.

The prime minister said that analysis by a British company has concluded that the last position of flight MH370 was in the southern Indian Ocean.

"This is a remote location ... it is therefore with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that according to this new data, flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean," Razak said.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 went missing more than two weeks ago after taking off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing with more than 200 passengers on board. French and Chinese airplanes looking for debris of the jet had spotted several objects in the ocean on Monday.

Flickr/glassguy12345

Juniper released its top 10 tech trends for 2014 today. And if the research firm is right, our cities are going to get smarter, our money is going digital, and we’ll be printing a lot more products at home.
Here’s a quick overview:

Cities will get smarter
Cities will get increasingly smart as sensors and cloud-enabled apps connect transportation, metering, healthcare, lighting, and environment data, and make it actionable.See what Sensity is doing, building a billion-node planetary network of sensors — in street lights. Also, see what IBM is doing in San Francisco and Cisco is doing in Lake Nona, Florida
Mobile money will continue to grow — as will “mAgri”
Mobile money is enabling banking and financing systems in the developing world via mobile wallets, which should continue to grow both there and in developing countries. And as mobile grows in Africa and Asia, so will the provision of data, including data on better crop management, yield, and product tracking.See the latest data on howmobile penetration in Africa is reaching 80 percent and how African companies are using mobile payment solutions like mPesa.
Wearable devices will proliferate
Google has Glass and Samsung has a smartwatch, but Apple’s iWatch and many other smart wearable technologies are coming out soon. Juniper says 2014 will be a “watershed year” for wearable — but privacy will be an issue as cameras go everywhere.See how Google Glass could change our lives for the worse, how competitors are already shipping smart glasses for vertical markets, and what Apple might do with an iWatch.
iPads and tablets will grow in education
Tablet computing is increasingly attractive and affordable in education, Juniper says, and are likely soon to go mainstream in place of full desktop PCs or even laptops.See what Apple and LA Unified School District are doing in a potentially “hundreds of millions” deal and how even the OLPC (one laptop per child) is going tablet.
Mobile fitness devices will grow even bigger
On my desk I’ve got a sleep bracelet that someone snapped on my wrist at a conference, a Jawbone Up, and a Fitbit Flex. In 2014, these mobile fitness devices will start to focus on the whole range of health and start to enter the tougher and more challenging healthcare industry.See more details on the proliferation of mobile fitness devices, a fitness bracelet that actually knows what you’re doing at the gym … and a smart shirt that knows your emotions — and if you’re having a heart attack.
LTE subscribers will double and 4G LTE will start to roll out
LTE will hit the bigtime, Juniper says, with global users doubling in 2014. And even faster networks will debut.See how T-Mobile and other U.S. carriers already have most of the USA covered with LTE, and how you can even get free LTE data.
Device context awareness will accelerate
More wearables, more devices, and more intelligence: Our devices are going to get smarter about where we are, what we’re doing, and what they can do to help us. Google Now is a good current example, Juniper says.See how some think Google has now beat Apple’s Siri, and what some think are the top 10 wearable technology design principles.
Ouya and other “microconsoles” will disrupt home gaming
PlayStation and Xbox may have captured all the recent headlines about gaming systems, but Ouya is only 20 percent of the cost of the latest Xbox. As such it — and other cheap interlopers — pose a threat at the low end of the market, while other computer-based gaming systems pose a threat at the high end.See how Microsoft is turning the Xbox One into the center of your digital home and which of the two mega-consoles is likely to win. And, why some feel the Ouya is a better buy.
Personal clouds will explode
The public cloud is the NSA’s playground, some might think. So they’re turning to private cloud solutions and network-attached storage devices, right in the home.See how Pogoplug is now powering over one million personal clouds, and how BitTorrent Sync is starting to displace public file-sharing and cloud storage companies.
3D printer sales will jump
3D printers were hot in 2013, but they’ll increase significantly over the next 12 months, Juniper says, as HP, Samsung, and Microsoft join the party.See how even the space station will get its own 3D printer in 2014, and why 3D printing and guns make good bedfellows.

Most of Juniper’s predictions make a lot of sense, and you can see the budding trends right now. One, however, makes me wonder. Technologists have been promising us smart cities for years, but the question is whether cities have the money to make it happen.
2014 will let us know.

South Africa plans 'historic' funeral for MandelaPublish

2013-12-08T07:24:00.001+01:00

Children pose in front of a poster of Mandela at the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s Centre of Memory in Houghton, Johannesburg. PHOTO/AFPnewvision

A grieving South Africa started preparing Saturday to host a unique gathering of world leaders for Nelson Mandela's funeral, as his family expressed their profound sadness and loss at the anti-apartheid icon's death.

Across the country, ordinary South Africans gathered in groups large and small, to both mourn and celebrate the life of the prisoner turned president who transformed their country and became a global symbol of hope and freedom.

Presidents, religious leaders and cultural figureheads from all corners of the world are expected for the funeral, which will see a cortege with Mandela's coffin pass through the streets of Pretoria on three consecutive days.

The memorials and events will culminate in Mandela's burial on December 15 in his boyhood home of Qunu.

His family on Saturday compared the loss of their adored patriarch to the trauma of separation during his long incarceration in Robben Island.

"The pillar of the family is gone, just as he was away during that 27 painful years of imprisonment," family spokesman Temba Matanzima told journalists in Johannesburg.

"His presence was like a baobab tree that provided a comforting shade that served as protection and security for us," he said -- referring to the massive tree with its famously thick trunk.

Mandela's close friend George Bizos spoke of his difficulty in bearing the loss of man he knew for the better part of seven decades.

"I am 85 years old, I realise that none of us is here forever. But I have to be stoic about it," he told AFP.

"I do feel the loss of friendship that started in 1948 and has continued to usually bad times, trials, arrests, visits to Robben Island, other jails.

"We'll try and bear it. None of us are here forever."

Throughout the day, thousands of people gathered outside the residence in Johannesburg where Mandela died Thursday night, aged 95, surrounded by family and friends.

'It's not a sad day'

The mood was by turns sombre and celebratory, as some left floral tributes and lit candles, while others danced and sang in honour of their first black leader, known affectionately as Madiba.

People hold up balloon lamps bearing the image of late Nelson Mandela during a commemorative ceremony outside his former home. PHOTO/AFP

"To me it's not a sad day. It's a day of hope, for us to be able to determine the future," said salesman Khabile Mgangame.

"We must take it from where he left off," he said.

A large police barrier blocking the road was transformed into a multi-coloured bank of flowers, flags, photos and messages.

While some focused on his role in dismantling apartheid and forging the modern, multi-racial South African state, others recalled the common touch that was one of Mandela's particular political gifts.

"I am here because we have lost our friend," said domestic worker Temperance Luthuli.

On a nearby lawn, a makeshift shrine had been set up with candles burning on a square of blackened grass, surrounded by a horseshoe of flowers.

Mandela's body will lie in state for three days from Wednesday, with the cortege taken out each morning to give as many people as possible the opportunity to say farewell.

Formal memorial events begin Sunday with South Africans invited to go to churches, mosques, synagogues and other places of worship.

"We should, while mourning, also sing at the top of our voices, dance and do whatever we want to do, to celebrate the life of this outstanding revolutionary," said President Jacob Zuma.

An 'historic, unprecedented' funeral

The mood was by turns sombre and celebratory. PHOTO/AFP

On Tuesday around 80,000 people are expected to attend a memorial service in the Soweto sports stadium that hosted the final of the 2010 World Cup.

The organisational and security logistics are daunting, and the military cancelled leave for troops and reservists to help with crowd control.

Minister for the Presidency Collins Chabane stressed that people could follow all events related to the "historic, unprecedented state funeral" live on television.

"This will help to reduce congestion and potential disaster," Chabane said.

US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle will travel to South Africa together with former first couple George W. and Laura Bush.

Another former US leader, Bill Clinton, who was in office when Mandela became South Africa's first black president, will also attend.

In a tribute shortly after the revered statesman's death was made public, Obama mourned Mandela as a "profoundly good" man who "took history in his hands and bent the arc of the moral universe towards justice".

After his release from prison, Mandela was elected president in 1994 and unified his country with a message of reconciliation after the end of white minority rule. He shared the Nobel Peace Prize with South Africa's last white president, F.W. de Klerk, in 1993.

Palestinians and Israelis, Beijing and the Dalai Lama, Washington and Tehran all paid heartfelt tribute to Mandela, describing him as one of the towering figures of the 20th century.

Flags flew at half-mast in numerous countries, including the United States, France and Britain, and at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Once considered a terrorist by the United States and Britain for his support of violence against the apartheid regime, at the time of his death Mandela was an almost unimpeachable moral icon.
Source

GRAMMY AWARDS NOMINATION LIST 2014

2013-12-08T06:44:00.001+01:00

The nominees have been named for the 2014 Grammy Awards, and it seems to be a good year for rappers.

Jay-Z had the most nominations with 9, while fellow rappers Kendrick Lamar & Macklemore and Rya Lewis have 7 apiece.

Pharell and former N-Sync singer Justin Timberlake also have 7 nominations.

Nigeria is lonely represennted by Femi Kuti, who grabbed a nomination for Best World Album

The Recording Academy announced the nominations Friday during a concert at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. The 56th Grammy Awards will be held on Jan. 26 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

See Full List Of Nominees Below:

Record of the year

Get Lucky — Daft Punk & Pharrell Williams

Radioactive — Imagine Dragons

Royals — Lorde

Locked Out Of Heaven — Bruno Mars

Blurred Lines — Robin Thicke Featuring T.I. & Pharrell

Album of the Year

The Blessed Unrest — Sara Bareilles

Random Access Memories — Daft Punk

Good Kid, M.A.A.D City — Kendrick Lamar

The Heist — Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Red — Taylor Swift

Song of the Year

Just Give Me A Reason — Jeff Bhasker, Pink & Nate Ruess, songwriters (Pink Featuring Nate Ruess)

Locked Out Of Heaven — Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine & Bruno Mars, songwriters (Bruno Mars)

Roar — Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin, Bonnie McKee, Katy Perry & Henry Walter, songwriters (Katy Perry)

Royals — Joel Little & Ella Yelich O’Connor, songwriters (Lorde)

Same Love —- Ben Haggerty, Mary Lambert & Ryan Lewis, songwriters (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Featuring Mary Lambert)

Best New Artist

James Blake

Kendrick Lamar

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Kacey Musgraves

Ed Sheeran

Best Pop Solo Performance

Brave —- Sara Bareilles

Royals — Lorde

When I Was Your Man — Bruno Mars

Roar —- Katy Perry

Mirrors —- Justin Timberlake

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

Get Lucky — Daft Punk & Pharrell Williams

Just Give Me A Reason — Pink Featuring Nate Ruess

Stay — Rihanna Featuring Mikky Ekko

Blurred Lines — Robin Thicke Featuring T.I. & Pharrell

Suit & Tie — Justin Timberlake & Jay Z

Best Pop Instrumental Album

Steppin’ Out — Herb Alpert

The Beat —- Boney James

Handpicked — Earl Klugh

Summer Horns — Dave Koz, Gerald Albright, Mindi Abair & Richard Elliot

Hacienda — Jeff Lorber Fusion

Best Pop Vocal Album

Paradise — Lana Del Rey

Pure Heroine — Lorde

Unorthodox Jukebox — Bruno Mars

Blurred Lines — Robin Thicke

The 20/20 Experience — The Complete Experience — Justin Timberlake

Best Dance Recording

Need U (100%) — Duke Dumont Featuring A*M*E & MNEK

Sweet Nothing — Calvin Harris Featuring Florence Welch

Atmosphere — Kaskade

This Is What It Feels Like — Armin Van Buuren Featuring Trevor Guthrie

Clarity — Zedd Featuring Foxes

Best Dance/Electronica Album

Random Access Memories — Daft Punk

Settle — Disclosure

18 Months — Calvin Harris

Atmosphere — Kaskade

A Color Map of the Sun — Pretty Lights

Traditional Pop Field
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

Viva Duets — Tony Bennett & Various Artists

To Be Loved — Michael Bublé

The Standards — Gloria Estefan

Cee Lo’s Magic Moment — Cee Lo Green

Now — Dionne Warwick

Rock Field
Best Rock Performance

Always Alright — Alabama Shakes

The Stars (Are Out Tonight) — David Bowie

Radioactive — Imagine Dragons

Kashmir — Led Zeppelin

My God Is the Sun — Queens Of The Stone Age

I’m Shakin’ — Jack White

Best Metal Performance

T.N.T. — Anthrax

God Is Dead? — Black Sabbath

The Enemy Inside — Dream Theater

In Due Time — Killswitch Engage

Room 24 — Volbeat Featuring King Diamond

Best Rock Song

Ain’t Messin ‘Round — Gary Clark Jr., songwriter (Gary Clark Jr.)

Cut Me Some Slack — Dave Grohl, Paul McCartney, Krist Novoselic & Pat Smear, songwriters (Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, Pat Smear)

Doom And Gloom — Mick Jagger & Keith Richards, songwriters (the Rolling Stones)

God Is Dead? — Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi & Ozzy Osbourne, songwriters (Black Sabbath)

Panic Station — Matthew Bellamy, songwriter (Muse)

Best Rock Album

13 — Black Sabbath

The Next Day — David Bowie

Mechanical Bull — Kings Of Leon

Celebration Day — Led Zeppelin

…Like Clockwork — Queens Of The Stone Age

Psychedelic Pill — Neil Young With Crazy Horse

Alternative Field
Best Alternative Music Album

The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You — Neko Case

Trouble Will Find Me — The National

Hesitation Marks — Nine Inch Nails

Lonerism — Tame Impala

Modern Vampires Of The City — Vampire Weekend

R&B Field
Best R&B Performance

Love And War — Tamar Braxton

Best Of Me — Anthony Hamilton

Nakamarra — Hiatus Kaiyote Featuring Q-Tip

How Many Drinks? — Miguel Featuring Kendrick Lamar

Something — Snarky Puppy with Lalah Hathaway

Best Traditional R&B Performance

Please Come Home — Gary Clark Jr.

Get It Right — Fantasia

Quiet Fire — Maysa

Hey Laura — Gregory Porter

Yesterday — Ryan Shaw

Best R&B Song

Best Of Me – Anthony Hamilton & Jairus Mozee, songwriters (Anthony Hamilton)

Love And War – Tamar Braxton, Darhyl Camper, Jr., LaShawn Daniels & Makeba Riddick, songwriters (Tamar Braxton)

Only One – PJ Morton, songwriter (PJ Morton Featuring Stevie Wonder)

Pusher Love Girl – James Fauntleroy, Jerome Harmon, Timothy Mosley & Justin Timberlake, songwriters (Justin Timberlake)

Without Me – Fantasia Barrino, Missy Elliott, Al Sherrod Lambert, Harmony Samuels & Kyle Stewart, songwriters (Fantasia Featuring Kelly Rowland & Missy Elliot)

Best Urban Contemporary Album

Love And War – Tamar Braxton

Side Effects Of You – Fantasia

One: In The Chamber – Salaam Remi

Unapologetic – Rihanna

New York: A Love Story – Mack Wilds

Best R&B Album

R&B Divas – Faith Evans

Girl On Fire – Alicia Keys

Love In The Future – John Legend

Better – Chrisette Michele

Three Kings – TGT

Rap Field

Best Rap Performance

Started From The Bottom – Drake

Berzerk – Eminem

Tom Ford – Jay Z

Swimming Pools (Drank) – Kendrick Lamar

Thrift Shop – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Featuring Wanz

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration

Power Trip – J. Cole Featuring Miguel

Part II (On The Run) – Jay Z Featuring Beyoncé

Holy Grail – Jay Z Featuring Justin Timberlake

Now Or Never – Kendrick Lamar Featuring Mary J. Blige

Remember You – Wiz Khalifa Featuring The Weeknd

Best Rap Song

…Problems – Tauheed Epps, Aubrey Graham, Kendrick Lamar, Rakim Mayers & Noah Shebib, songwriters (ASAP Rocky Featuring Drake, 2 Chainz & Kendrick Lamar)

Holy Grail – Shawn Carter, Terius Nash, J. Harmon, Timothy Mosley, Justin Timberlake & Ernest Wilson, songwriters (Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl & Krist Novoselic, songwriters) (Jay Z Featuring Justin Timberlake)

New Slaves – Christopher Breaux, Ben Bronfman, Mike Dean, Louis Johnson, Malik Jones, Elon Rutberg, Sakiya Sandifer, Che Smith, Kanye West & Cydell Young, songwriters (Anna Adamis & Gabor Presser, songwriters) (Kanye West)

Started From The Bottom – W. Coleman, Aubrey Graham & Noah Shebib, songwriters (Bruno Sanfilippo, songwriter) (Drake)

Thrift Shop – Ben Haggerty & Ryan Lewis, songwriters (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Featuring Wanz)

FULL COVERAGE: Grammy nominations 2014

Best Rap Album

Nothing Was The Same – Drake

Magna Carta…Holy Grail – Jay Z

Good Kid, M.A.A.D City – Kendrick Lamar

The Heist – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Yeezus – Kanye West

Country Field

Best Country Solo Performance

I Drive Your Truck – Lee Brice

I Want Crazy – Hunter Hayes

Mama’s Broken Heart – Miranda Lambert

Wagon Wheel – Darius Rucker

Mine Would Be You – Blake Shelton

Best Country Duo/Group Performance

From This Valley – The Civil Wars

Don’t Rush – Kelly Clarkson Featuring Vince Gill

Your Side Of The Bed – Little Big Town

Highway Don’t Care – Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift & Keith Urban

You Can’t Make Old Friends – Kenny Rogers With Dolly Parton

Best Country Song

Begin Again – Taylor Swift, songwriter (Taylor Swift)

I Drive Your Truck – Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington & Jimmy Yeary, songwriters (Lee Brice)

Mama’s Broken Heart – Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally & Kacey Musgraves, songwriters (Miranda Lambert)

Merry Go ‘Round – Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves & Josh Osborne, songwriters (Kacey Musgraves)

Mine Would Be You – Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington & Deric Ruttan, songwriters (Blake Shelton)

Best Country Album

Night Train – Jason Aldean

Two Lanes Of Freedom – Tim McGraw

Same Trailer Different Park – Kacey Musgraves

Based On A True Story – Blake Shelton

Red – Taylor Swift

Best New Age Album

Lux – Brian Eno

Illumination – Peter Kater

Final Call – Kitaro

Awakening The Fire – R. Carlos Nakai & Will Clipman

Love’s River – Laura Sullivan

Best Improvised Jazz Solo

Don’t Run – Terence Blanchard, soloist

Song For Maura – Paquito D’Rivera, soloist

Song Without Words #4: Duet – Fred Hersch, soloist

Stadium Jazz – Donny McCaslin, soloist

Orbits – Wayne Shorter, soloist

Best Jazz Vocal Album

The World According To Andy Bey – Andy Bey

Attachments – Lorraine Feather

Liquid Spirit – Gregory Porter

WomanChild – Cécile McLorin Salvant

After Blue – Tierney Sutton

Best Jazz Instrumental Album

Guided Tour – The New Gary Burton Quartet

Money Jungle: Provocative In Blue – Terri Lyne Carrington

Life Forum – Gerald Clayton

Pushing The World Away – Kenny Garrett

Out Here – Christian McBride Trio

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album

Brooklyn Babylon – Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society

Night In Calisia – Randy Brecker, W¿odek Pawlik Trio & Kalisz Philharmonic

Wild Beauty – Brussels Jazz Orchestra Featuring Joe Lovano

March Sublime – Alan Ferber

Intrada – Dave Slonaker Big Band

Best Latin Jazz Album

La Noche Más Larga – Buika

Song For Maura – Paquito D’Rivera And Trio Corrente

Yo – Roberto Fonseca

Egg¿n – Omar Sosa

Latin Jazz-Jazz Latin – Wayne Wallace Latin Jazz Quintet

Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance

Break Every Chain [Live] – Tasha Cobbs

Hurricane – Natalie Grant

Lord, I Need You – Matt Maher

Overcomer – Mandisa

If He Did It Before… Same God [Live] – Tye Tribbett

Best Gospel Song

Have Your Way – Calvin Frazier & Deitrick Haddon, songwriters (Deitrick Haddon)

If He Did It Before… Same God [Live] – Tye Tribbett, songwriter (Tye Tribbett)

If I Believe – Wirlie Morris, Michael Paran, Charlie Wilson & Mahin Wilson, songwriters (Charlie Wilson)

A Little More Jesus – Erica Campbell, Tina Campbell & Warryn Campbell, songwriters (Erica Campbell)

Still – Percy Bady, songwriter (Percy Bady Featuring Lowell Pye)

Best Contemporary Christian Music Song

Hurricane – Matt Bronleewe, Natalie Grant & Cindy Morgan, songwriters (Natalie Grant)

Love Take Me Over – Steven Curtis Chapman, songwriter (Steven Curtis Chapman)

Overcomer – David Garcia, Ben Glover & Christopher Stevens, songwriters (Mandisa)

Speak Life – Toby McKeehan, Jamie Moore & Ryan Stevenson, songwriters (Tobymac)

Whom Shall I Fear (God Of Angel Armies) – Ed Cash, Scott Cash & Chris Tomlin, songwriters (Chris Tomlin)

Best Gospel Album

Grace [Live] – Tasha Cobbs

Best For Last: 20 Year Celebration Vol. 1 [Live] – Donald Lawrence

Best Days Yet – Bishop Paul S. Morton

God Chaser [Live] – William Murphy

Greater Than [Live] – Tye Tribbett

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album

We Won’t Be Shaken – Building 429

All The People Said Amen [Live] – Matt Maher

Overcomer – Mandisa

Your Grace Finds Me (Live) – Matt Redman

Burning Lights – Chris Tomlin

Best Latin Pop Album

Faith, Hope Y Amor – Frankie J

Viajero Frecuente – Ricardo Montaner

Vida – Draco Rosa

Syntek – Aleks Syntek

12 Historias – Tommy Torres

Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album

El Objeto Antes Llamado Disco – Café Tacvba

Ojo Por Ojo – El Tri

Chances – Illya Kuryaki And The Valderramas

Treinta Días – La Santa Cecilia

Repeat After Me – Los Amigos Invisibles

Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano)

El Free – Banda Los Recoditos

En Peligro De Extinción – Intocable

A Mi Manera – Mariachi Divas De Cindy Shea

Romeo Y Su Nieta – Paquita La Del Barrio

13 Celebrando El 13 – Joan Sebastian

Best Tropical Latin Album

3.0 – Marc Anthony

Como Te Voy A Olvidar – Los Angeles Azules

Pacific Mambo Orchestra – Pacific Mambo Orchestra

Sergio George Presents Salsa Giants – Various Artists

Corazón Profundo – Carlos Vives

Best American Roots Song

Build Me Up From Bones – Sarah Jarosz

Invisible – Steve Earle & The Dukes (& Duchesses)

Keep Your Dirty Lights On – Tim O’Brien And Darrell Scott

Love Has Come For You – Steve Martin & Edie Brickell

Shrimp Po-Boy, Dressed – Allen Toussaint

Best Americana Album

Old Yellow Moon – Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell

Love Has Come For You – Steve Martin & Edie Brickell

Buddy And Jim – Buddy Miller And Jim Lauderdale

One True Vine – Mavis Staples

Songbook – Allen Toussaint

Best Bluegrass Album

It’s Just A Road – The Boxcars

Brothers Of The Highway – Dailey & Vincent

This World Oft Can Be – Della Mae

Three Chords And The Truth – James King

The Streets Of Baltimore – Del McCoury Band

Best Blues Album

Remembering Little Walter – Billy Boy Arnold, Charlie Musselwhite, Mark Hummel, Sugar Ray Norcia & James Harman

Cotton Mouth Man – James Cotton

Get Up! – Ben Harper With Charlie Musselwhite

Seesaw – Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa

Down In Louisiana – Bobby Rush

Best Folk Album

My Favorite Picture Of You – Guy Clark

Sweetheart Of The Sun – The Greencards

Build Me Up From Bones – Sarah Jarosz

The Ash & Clay – The Milk Carton Kids

They All Played For Us: Arhoolie Records 50th Anniversary Celebration – (Various Artists)

Best Regional Roots Music Album

The Life & Times Of…The Hot 8 Brass Band – Hot 8 Brass Band

Hula Ku’i – Kahulanui

Le Fou – Zachary Richard

Dockside Sessions – Terrance Simien & The Zydeco Experience

Apache Blessing & Crown Dance Songs – Joe Tohonnie Jr.

Best Reggae Album

One Love, One Life – Beres Hammond

Ziggy Marley In Concert – Ziggy Marley

The Messiah – Sizzla

Reggae Connection – Sly & Robbie And The Jam Masters

Reincarnated – Snoop Lion

Best World Music Album

Savor Flamenco – Gipsy Kings

No Place For My Dream – Femi Kuti

Live: Singing For Peace Around The World – Ladysmith Black Mambazo

The Living Room Sessions Part 2 – Ravi Shankar

Best Children’s Album

Blue Clouds – Elizabeth Mitchell & You Are My Flower

The Mighty Sky – Beth Nielsen Chapman

Recess – Justin Roberts

Singing Our Way Through: Songs For The World’s Bravest Kids – Alastair Moock & Friends

Throw A Penny In The Wishing Well – Jennifer Gasoi

Best Recording Package

Automatic Music Can Be Fun – Mike Brown, Zac Decamp, Brian Grunert & Annie Stoll, art directors (Geneseo)

Long Night Moon – Sarah Dodds & Shauna Dodds, art directors (Reckless Kelly)

Magna Carta…Holy Grail – Brian Roettinger, art director (Jay Z)

Metallica Through The Never (Music From The Motion Picture) – Bruce Duckworth, Sarah Moffat & David Turner, art directors (Metallica)

The Next Day – Jonathan Barnbrook, art director (David Bowie)

Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical

Rob Cavallo

Dr. Luke

Ariel Rechtshaid

Jeff Tweedy

Pharrell Williams

Best Music Video

Safe And Sound – Capital Cities | Grady Hall, video director; Buddy Enright, video producer

Picasso Baby: A Performance Art Film – Jay Z | Mark Romanek, video director; Shawn Carter & Aristides McGarry, video producers

Can’t Hold Us – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Featuring Ray Dalton | Jon Jon Augustavo, Jason Koenig & Ryan Lewis, video directors; Tricia Davis, Honna Kimmerer & Jenny Koenig, video producers

Suit & Tie – Justin Timberlake Featuring Jay Z | David Fincher, video director; Timory King, video producer

I’m Shakin’ – Jack White | Dori Oskowitz, video director; Raquel Costello, video producer

ASUU Strike 2013 Update: Nigerian Government Again Calls to End Strike

2013-12-07T09:53:00.000+01:00

ASUU President Dr Nasir Fagge, left, and Nigerian Minister of Education Nyesom Wike. (ASUU; Facebook)

The Nigerian federal government called on the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to end its several-month-long strike and accused the opposition All Progressives Congress of politicizing and manipulating the industrial action.

“By the time we finish with the strike, the crisis will take its toll on states as many of them won’t be able to pay allowances,” Minister of Information Labaran Maku said, adding that the strike is starting to damage the Nigerian education sector, reported the Osun Defender.

He said that some states might not be able to pay allowances on lecturers by the time the strike ends.

Maku also accused the All Progressives Congress of manipulating the strike.

“I know ASUU very well. ASUU went into the strike out of the conviction that they would get more resources for the universities but opportunists in the [Congress] who do not know that the umbrella is now standing on top of the APC symbols are trying to make gains out of it,” he said.

The All Progressives Congress, he added, “[are] trying to take advantage of the strike by pretending that they have something better to offer. But they have nothing to offer, nothing except criticism.”

The ASUU has been on strike since July, and the union has said that the federal government failed to honor a 2009 deal that would upgrade facilities and improve the welfare of lecturers.

Maku said that the federal government has provided N200 billion for the upgrade and N65 billion for striking teachers.

“In every country in the world, there are challenges in the education sector, but these vary. You cannot address a 30-year-old problem in one moment,” he said.

This comes a day after the Bobboi Kaigama, the president of the Trade Union Congress, said the strike will end by Monday–a deadline set by the federal government.

“We will mediate and call back both parties to the negotiation table,” he said, reported the New Mail. “The good thing is that they are both committed to ending the strike.”

Kaigama said that leaders in the National Labor Congress are also taking part in the talks.

“Myself and my colleague from the NLC will ensure that this issue is quickly resolved. The most important thing is that both parties want a quick end to the strike. What is happening right now is as a result of a break in communication,” he said.

TOKE MAKINWA WHAT AN OUTFIT

2013-12-06T06:40:00.001+01:00

I couldn't just imagine her, I mean Toke Makinwa wearing tissue or used Tissue to wrap her body. would you be comfortable with this. i know what tissues are been used for cleaning your ass.

6-MAN GANG ARRESTED FOR RITUAL KILLING(viewer discretion advised)

2013-12-06T06:29:00.001+01:00

The Nkwerre Vigilante Network this week arrested a six-man gang specialized in the sale of human parts for rituals and transplant in Nkwerre, Imo State.

The men confessed to kidnapping their victims at various locations in the state and using their parts for ritual purposes. Some parts they sold to people who needed them for transplant.

The men, who are mostly bricklayers, confessed that they sell the parts from N500k to N1million, depending on the parts in demand. Two of the ritual killers were found to be pastors.

The men took the vigilante network members and some policemen to their hideout which is a forest in Umugara Village in Nkwerre. There, police found the decomposing corpses of some of their victims, mostly women and children.

Prof. Iyayi ACCIDENT OR ASSASINATED

2013-12-06T06:19:00.002+01:00

The nature of two holes on the late Professor Festus Iyayi’s body gives life to suspicions by his colleagues that he may have been shot.

Along with grief, anger will be the dominant emotion when Professor Festus Iyayi is buried this week in his hometown, Ugbegun in Edo State. The two feelings have mixed, predictably with unsavoury outcomes, since the former president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, died on 12 November in an auto accident on the Lokoja-Abuja Expressway.

Iyayi was travelling to Kano in the company of three other ASUU members for a meeting on the ongoing strike by members of the union when a police escort van in the convoy of the Governor Idris Wada of Kogi State rammed into the bus the university teachers were travelling. Iyayi died instantly, while three his colleagues were seriously injured.

Wada, who was severely injured in an accident involving his convoy last year, was widely criticised by ASUU and the wider public for his failure to learn from his own experience and for allegedly failing to stop to assist the victims.

The escort vehicle was said to have veered off from its lane to hit the bus bearing the ASUU members, a claim the Kogi State government denied.

The Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, called for an official inquiry into Iyayi’s death and urged the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, to curb the recklessness of official convoys.

The FRSC also got a slice of the criticisms, following an accusation that it was shielding the driver of the vehicle that smashed into the bus conveying Iyayi and his colleagues.
One week after, ASUU dismissed the view that Iyayi’s death was accidental and forcefully contested the official claim that his heart was pierced by a strange object at the accident scene. The association pointedly blamed the death on the government and “its agents”. In a statement issued by the University of Benin chapter of the union, ASUU said Iyayi did not die in an accident, but was “wilfully” murdered. The union said it will demand concrete answers from the government for the alleged murder. It demanded that an autopsy be performed on Iyayi’s corpse and warned government officials to stay away from the burial.

“His burial should not be an avenue for government officials to score cheap political points, as we will resist any state involvement in the burial,” the union raved. Civil society groups in Edo State also demanded an inquiry into Iyayi’s death.

Was Iyayi murdered? ASUU believes it has what constitutes prima facie evidence to support its suspicion. Members of the union point to two holes, one in the chest and another in the back, as offering a less than complicated indication that Iyayi was shot. Photographs of Iyayi’s corpse obtained by this magazine, show holes that look like entry and exit bullet holes.

USB 3.0 will be reversible

2013-12-05T23:46:00.002+01:00

Finally, users of cameras and other accessories need not worry if they are plugging their devices into computers the right way, as the next generation of Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection will be reversible.

The USB 3.0 Promoter Group said the new USB Type-C connector will also allow thinner and sleeker product designs and provide a growth path for performance enhancements for future versions of USB.

“While USB technology is well established as the favored choice for connecting and powering devices, we recognize the need to develop a new connector to meet evolving design trends in terms of size and usability. The new Type-C connector will fit well with the market’s direction and affords an opportunity to lay a foundation for future versions of USB,” said Brad Saunders, USB 3.0 Promoter Group Chairman.

Among the key features of the Type-C connector are:

Smaller size, similar to the USB 2.0 Micro-B
Usability enhancements, so users need not be concerned about the plug orientation and cable direction
Support for scalable power charging

The new specification is expected to undergo industry review in the first quarter of 2014, and a final specification may be published by mid-2014.

However, it also noted the new Type-C plug and receptacle may not directly mate with existing USB plugs and receptacles, including Types A, B, and Micro-B.

Still, this did not stop Intel from being excited about the new USB standard.

Alex Peleg, Intel's vice president for platform engineering, said they are looking forward to see the new thin Type-C connector.

That connector will "enable an entirely new super thin class of devices from phones to tablets, to 2-in-1s, to laptops to desktops and multitude of other more specific usage devices," he added.

Roland Sperlich, TI Consumer and Computing Interface Product Line manager, added the new connector offers more flexibility and higher performance.

Adapters

The Verge said the USB 3.0 Promoter Group will also have to include a specification for adapters and cables, to prevent existing USB chargers from suddenly becoming obsolete.

"But the need for a new USB port is in many ways overdue, as recently highlighted by Apple's sleek Lightning connector and devices like the Galaxy Note 3 with its speedy but clumsy and oversized Micro USB 3 port," it added. — TJD, GMA News

Nelson Madiba Mandela DIES @ 95

2013-12-05T23:40:00.001+01:00

Nelson Mandela, who led the emancipation of South Africa from white minority rule and served as his country’s first black president, becoming an international emblem of dignity and forbearance, died Thursday. He was 95.

Mr. Mandela had long declared he wanted a quiet exit, but the time he spent in a Pretoria hospital in recent months was a clamor of quarreling family, hungry news media, spotlight-seeking politicians and a national outpouring of affection and loss. The vigil even eclipsed a visit by President Obama, who paid homage to Mr. Mandela but decided not to intrude on the privacy of a dying man he considered his hero.

Mr. Mandela will be buried, according to his wishes, in the village of Qunu, where he grew up. The exhumed remains of three of his children were reinterred there in early July under a court order, resolving a family squabble that had played out in the news media.

Mr. Mandela’s quest for freedom took him from the court of tribal royalty to the liberation underground to a prison rock quarry to the presidential suite of Africa’s richest country. And then, when his first term of office was up, unlike so many of the successful revolutionaries he regarded as kindred spirits, he declined a second term and cheerfully handed over power to an elected successor, the country still gnawed by crime, poverty, corruption and disease but a democracy, respected in the world and remarkably at peace.

The question most often asked about Mr. Mandela was how, after whites had systematically humiliated his people, tortured and murdered many of his friends, and cast him into prison for 27 years, he could be so evidently free of spite.

The government he formed when he finally won the chance was an improbable fusion of races and beliefs, including many of his former oppressors. When he became president, he invited one of his white wardens to the inauguration. Mr. Mandela overcame a personal mistrust bordering on loathing to share both power and a Nobel Peace Prize with the white president who preceded him, F. W. de Klerk.

And as president, from 1994 to 1999, he devoted much energy to moderating the bitterness of his black electorate and to reassuring whites against their fears of vengeance.

The explanation for his absence of rancor, at least in part, is that Mr. Mandela was that rarity among revolutionaries and moral dissidents: a capable statesman, comfortable with compromise and impatient with the doctrinaire.

When the question was put to Mr. Mandela in an interview for this obituary in 2007 — after such barbarous torment, how do you keep hatred in check? — his answer was almost dismissive: Hating clouds the mind. It gets in the way of strategy. Leaders cannot afford to hate.

Except for a youthful flirtation with black nationalism, he seemed to have genuinely transcended the racial passions that tore at his country. Some who worked with him said this apparent magnanimity came easily to him because he always regarded himself as superior to his persecutors.

In his five years as president, Mr. Mandela, though still a sainted figure abroad, lost some luster at home as he strained to hold together a divided populace and to turn a fractious liberation movement into a credible government.

Some blacks — including Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Mr. Mandela’s former wife, who cultivated a following among the most disaffected blacks — complained that he had moved too slowly to narrow the vast gulf between the impoverished black majority and the more prosperous white minority. Some whites said he had failed to control crime, corruption and cronyism. Some blacks deserted government to make money; some whites emigrated, taking capital and knowledge with them.

Undoubtedly Mr. Mandela had become less attentive to the details of governing, turning over the daily responsibilities to the deputy who would succeed him in 1999, Thabo Mbeki
Check out Nelson Mandele Centre for Memory for more about him

HEADIES AWARD 2013 FULL LIST

2013-12-05T22:58:00.001+01:00

See the full list of nominees below:

BEST RECORDING OF THE YEAR
A non-voting category for the best single recording by an artiste or group in year under review.

I WISH – WAJE
GOOD MORNING – BRYMO
NATURAL SOMETHING – SOUND SULTAN
THIS YEAR – JAYWON

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
An individual responsible for producing the most acclaimed song or album in the year under review.

PHEELZ – DUROSOKE
DTUNES – SHO LEE
DEL B – LIMPOPO
LERIQ – LIKE TO PARTY
LEGENDURY BEATS – EMI NI BALLER

BEST MUSIC VIDEO
A voting category for the best conceptualist, best directed and most exciting video in the year under review. This award goes to the video director.

ALINGO – JUDE OKOYE/CLARENCE PETERS
OLIVER TWIST – SESAN
GAGA CRAZY – AJE FILM WORKS
AZONTO– MOE MUSA
YES/NO – CLARENCE PETERS

BEST R&B/POP ALBUM
A category for the best R&B/Pop Album in the year under review (by single individual or group).

IYANYA VS. DESIRE – IYANYA
O.B.O. – DAVIDO
R&BW – BANKYW
BLESSED – FLAVOUR
AWAY & BEYOND – 2FACE

BEST R&B SINGLE
A category for the best R&B single in year under review (by single individual or group).

DON’T LET GO – CAPITAL FEMI
GOOD GOOD LOVING – BANKYW
LIKE TO PARTY – BURNA BOY
RICH & FAMOUS – PRAIZ
OMOTE – ESE PETERS

BEST POP SINGLE
A category for the best pop single in year under review (by single individual or group)

IHE NE ME – 2FACE
The KICK – WANDE COAL FT DON JAZZY
GOBE – DAVIDO
CATCHING COLD – TUNDE EDNUT
UR WAIST – IYANYA
GOODY BAG – D’PRINCE

BEST REGGAE/DANCEHALL SINGLE
A category for the best Reggae/Dancehall single in year under review (by single individual or group).

I WISH – WAJE
RIHANNA – OREZI
GIVE IT TO ME – GENERAL PYPE
GO DOWN – BABA DEE

BEST RAP ALBUM
A Non-Voting Category for the Best Album By A Rap Artiste Or Group In Year Under Review.

OGA BOSS – ILL BLISS
THE SECOND COMING – VECTOR
YBNL – OLAMIDE
BOOK OF RAP STORIES – REMINISCE

BEST COLLABO
A voting category for the best R&B, Pop or Hip-hop collaborative track (including cameos).

GHOST MODE – PHYNO FT. OLAMIDE
TONY MONTANA (REMIX) – NAETO C FT. D’BANJ
BADDEST BOY – EME FT. WIZKID, SKALES & BANKYW
EZIOKU – LYNXXX FT. IKECHUWKU, ILL BLISS & PHYNO
EMI NI BALLER – CHIDINMA FT. SUSPECT & ILL BLISS
BABY MI DA (REMIX) – DR. VICTOR OLAIYA FT. 2FACE

BEST RAP SINGLE
A voting category for a single (released on-air) recording of a rap.

MAN OF THE YEAR – PHYNO
ANAM ACHI KWANU – ILL BLISS FT. PHYNO
DUROSOKE – OLAMIDE
2 MUSSHH – REMINISCE
GHOST MODE – PHYNO FT OLAMIDE

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE (MALE)
A non-voting category for the single male artiste with the most outstanding vocal performance on a single song or album.

RICH AND FAMOUS – PRAIZ
OMOTE – ESE PETERS
DON’T LET GO – CAPITAL FEMI
YES/NO – BANKYW

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE (FEMALE)
A non-voting category for the single female artiste with most outstanding vocal performances on a single song or album.

I WISH – WAJE
TOH BAD – NIYOLA
IRAWO – SEYI SHAY
TOTALLY YOURS – ZAINA
ONLY YOU – NIKKI LAOYE

NEXT RATED
This category is a voting category for the most promising upcoming officially unreleased (or signed) act in the year under review.

SEAN TIZZLE
DAMMY KRANE
BURNA BOY
SEYI SHAY
PHYNO

HIP HOP WORLD REVELATION
A voting category for the best new artiste in the year under review.

W.A.J.E – WAJE
OMO BABA OLOWO – DAVIDO
FRENZY – D’PRINCE
THE YEAR OF R’N’B – CAPITAL FEMI

LYRICIST ON THE ROLL
A non-voting category for the Rap Artiste with the best lyrical depth and performance on a single song or album.

OLAMIDE – VOICE OF THE STREETS
BOOGEY – SANCTUM
MODE 9 – LET IT GO
PHYNO – MAN OF THE YEAR

BEST STREET-HOP ARTISTE
A voting category for the artiste whose songs are inspired by the streets. Such song should captain lingua, which may also be originated by the artiste and popular on the street.

TERRY G – RUN MAD
DUROSOKE – OLAMIDE
MY DEAR – DAMMY KRANE
SKIBO – SOLID STAR
ALAYE – LKT

BEST ‘ALTERNATIVE’ SONG
A voting category for the artiste whose songs reflect any form or style of music which falls outside the mainstream of recent or past popular musical trends.

REPETE – BLACKMAGIC
OMO PASTOR – AJEBUTTER FT. BOJ
FEEL ALRIGHT – SHOW DEM CAMP FT. BOJ & POE
THIS YEAR – JAYWON

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
A voting category for the best album (solo or group) in year under review, that meets judges requirements of excellence (in every realm: Songwriting, production, rendition and promotion) and acceptability (Sales and popularity).

IYANYA VS. DESIRE– IYANYA
O.B.O. – DAVIDO
R&BW – BANKYW
BLESSED – FLAVOUR
YBNL – OLAMIDE

ARTISTE OF THE YEAR
Most critically and commercially adjudged artiste in the year under review. Overall most successful artiste for the year under review.

IYANYA
DAVIDO
WIZKID
FLAVOUR
OLAMIDE
ICE PRINCE

SONG OF THE YEAR
A voting category for the most popular song in the year under review. This category is usually decided by voting.

DUROSOKE – OLAMIDE
UR WAIST – IYANYA
ALINGO – P-SQUARE
SHO LEE – SEAN TIZZLE
LIMPOPO – KCEE

BEST AFRICAN ARTISTE
A non-Nigerian award category for an individual African artiste with the most outstanding album and astonishing achievements in year under review.

R2BEES
MAFIKIZOLO
LIQUID DEEP
SARKODIE
MICASA

HALL OF FAME
Special recognition for excellence and outstanding impact to the entertainment industry.

ONYEKA ONWENU

Enyeama keeps 11th consecutive clean-sheet!

2013-12-04T08:24:00.001+01:00

Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama claimed his 11th consecutive shut-out and 14th overall to displace Salvatore Sirigu as a late Nolan Roux goal gave Lille 1-0 win over Marseille.

The result means the Super Eagles number one is now just 140 minutes shy of the French League record of consecutive clean-sheets held by Bordeaux goalkeeper Gaëtan Huard.

To do so Enyeama only needs to keep Bastia out, and deny PSG for 52 minutes.

The former Enyimba man only needed to protect his net for four minutes against Marseille to slip ahead of Sirigu.

And despite the frenzy of those opening five minutes, the Nigerian barely had to do much. But then Marseille upped the ante, and it took brave, if sometimes insane, goalkeeping from the Super Eagles number one man to hold on to his record.

First he pushed out Pierre Gignac's crossed curler away after 17 minutes, then made a monster save on 24 minutes from the same man as Marseille came dangerously close to ending his run.

An initial attack for the away side appeared to have peters away, but the ball fell to Mathieu Valbuena, who slotted Gignac into the box, onside and one-on-one with Enyeama, but the Lille man sprinted off his line to make an unbelievable block.

Valbuena knocked the ball over to the left for Dimitri Payet to whip in a cross. What followed was chaos.

Gignac shrugged off his marker to hit what looked an almost certain goal from point-blank range. But Enyeama somehow found a way to make the stop and in the game of pinball that followed, Lille only just managed to clear their lines.

An unbelieving Gignac could not help himself as he went over to pat the goalkeeper on the back.

If that was great, his next save, or double save, was the stuff of insanity. First he pulled off another point-blank stop from Florian Thauvin, then somehow still found the awareness and agility to get up to turn away Payet's vicious drive.

And to crown Enyeama's efforts at the back, Roux finished Marseille off in injury-time, heading into the bottom corner from Idrissa Gueye's cross.

Lille move into second place, a point behind PSG, who have a game in hand.

Video shows rescue of ship's cook after three days under water

2013-12-03T22:50:00.002+01:00

Newly released footage reveals moment Nigerian crew member is rescued after surviving in air pocket of sunken tugboat

Ship's cook Harrison Okene spent three days under water after his tugboat sank off the coast of Nigeria. Photograph: DCN Diving Group / Barcroft USA

Footage has emerged of the moment a ship's cook was rescued by divers after surviving for three days at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in an air pocket on a sunken tugboat.
Harrison Odjegba Okene, a Nigerian cook, survived by breathing an ever-dwindling supply of oxygen in an air pocket. As the temperature dropped to freezing, Okene, dressed only in boxer shorts, recited the last psalm his wife had sent by text message, sometimes called the Prayer for Deliverance: "Oh God, by your name, save me … The Lord sustains my life."
Okene believes his rescue in May after 72 hours under water at a depth of 30 metres (about 100ft) is a sign of divine deliverance. The other 11 crew on board the Jascon 4 died when it sunk.
Divers sent to the scene were only looking for bodies, according to Tony Walker, project manager for the Dutch company DCN Diving, which was working on a neighboring oil field 75 miles (120km) away.
The divers had already pulled up four bodies. So when a hand appeared on the TV screen Walker was monitoring in the rescue boat, showing what the diver in the Jascon saw, everybody assumed it was another corpse.
"The diver acknowledged that he had seen the hand and then, when he went to grab the hand, the hand grabbed him," Walker said in a telephone interview on Tuesday.
"It was frightening for everybody," he said. "For the guy that was trapped because he didn't know what was happening. It was a shock for the diver while he was down there looking for bodies, and we [in the control room] shot back when the hand grabbed him on the screen."Video footage released by DCN DivingOn the video, there's an exclamation of fear and shock from Okene's rescuer, and then joy as the realisation sets in. Okene recalls hearing: "There's a survivor! He's alive."
Walker said Okene couldn't have lasted much longer.
"He was incredibly lucky he was in an air pocket but he would have had a limited time [before] ... he wouldn't be able to breath anymore."
Okene was in the toilet at 4.30am on 26 Maywhen the tug, one of three towing an oil tanker in Nigeria's delta waters, gave a sudden lurch and then keeled over.
"I was dazed and everywhere was dark as I was thrown from one end of the small cubicle to another," Okene said in an interview with Nigeria's Nation newspaper.
He groped his way out of the toilet and tried to find a vent. He discovered some tools and a life vest with two flashlights, which he stuffed into his shorts. When he found a cabin that felt safe, he stayed put, getting colder as he played back a mental tape of his life.
He worried about the 10 Nigerians and the Ukrainian captain who would have locked themselves in their cabins as standard procedure in an area stalked by pirates..
As the water rose, Okene made a rack on top of a platform and piled two mattresses on top. He survived on one bottle of cola.
"I started calling on the name of God … I started reminiscing on the verses I read before I slept. I read the Bible from Psalm 54 to 92. My wife had sent me the verses to read that night when she called me before I went to bed."
Okene thought he was going to die, he told the Nation, when he heard the sound of a boat engine and anchor dropping, but failed to get the attention of rescuers. He then waded across the cabin, stripped the wall to its steel body and banged on it with a hammer. But "I heard them moving away. They were far away from where I was."
By the time he was saved, relatives had already had been told the sailors were dead.

Okene was rescued by a diver who first used hot water to warm him up, then attached him to an oxygen mask. Once free of the boat, he was put into a decompression chamber and safely returned to the surface.

Source

Paul Walker Crash Story: Actor Was With Friend Roger Rodas

2013-12-03T00:32:00.000+01:00

Investigators sought to determine the cause of a fiery crash that killed "Fast & Furious" star Paul Walker while the actor's fans erected a makeshift memorial Sunday near where the Porsche he was riding in smashed into a light pole and tree.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said speed was a factor in Saturday's one-car crash, though it will take time to determine how fast the car was going.

Because Walker is so closely associated with the underground culture of street racing portrayed in the popular "Fast & Furious" film franchise, the fatal accident had an eerie quality — a tragic end for a Hollywood hero of speed.

The crash also killed Walker's friend and financial adviser Roger Rodas, according to Walker's publicist, Ame Van Iden. She said Walker was a passenger in the 2005 red Porsche Carrera GT when they drove away from a fundraiser in the community of Valencia, about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

Sheriff's deputies found the car engulfed in flames when they arrived at the site of the crash, near the fundraiser at Rodas' sport car dealership. Officials have not identified either person found in the car.

On Sunday, fans of Walker, 40, gathered to leave flowers, candles and memorabilia from the action movies. His "Fast & Furious" co-star Tyrese Gibson broke down when he visited the crash site.

"Paul is the heartbeat of this franchise and we're gonna see to it that his energy and presence lives on forever," Gibson later posted on his Instagram account. He also posted a video of the film cast and crew recently celebrating Walker's birthday.

Sheriff's deputy Peter Gomez said investigators are working to determine how fast the car was traveling and what caused it to go out of control, including whether the driver was distracted or something in the road prompted him to swerve.

After the Porsche crashed into a light pole and tree, it burst into flames. The downed light pole had a speed limit sign of 45 mph.

Universal Pictures has not said what it plans to do with "Fast & Furious 7," which currently is slated for release in July.Walker rode the "Fast & Furious" franchise to fame, starring in all but one of the six action blockbusters, beginning with the first film in 2001. He had been on break from shooting the seventh installment; production began in September and while much of the film has been shot, it's incomplete.

Walker and Rodas had thrown a fundraiser benefiting victims of the recent typhoon in the Philippines. The event was held by Reach Out Worldwide, a charity Walker founded in 2010 to aid victims of natural disasters.

The fundraiser and toy drive took place at Rodas' custom car shop, Always Evolving, in an area of warehouses and office parks. Rodas, 38, and Walker co-owned an auto racing team. Rodas competed in 10 Pirelli World Challenge GTS races this year, the racing organization said in a statement.

Attendees rushed to the crash, which was nearby but out of sight, to try to put out the flames with fire extinguishers.

One attendee of the event, Jim Torp, said he heard the loud sound of a car's engine revving and then an explosion. Walker and Rodas planned a quick ride, Torp said.

"The last words Paul said to anybody were, 'Hey, I'll be back in five minutes. All right?' And that was it," according to Torp.

Torp said Rodas had a young son, whom he tried to stop from running to the accident scene, but could not catch him in time.

Walker left behind two completed films. He stars in the upcoming Hurricane Katrina drama "Hours," which Lionsgate's Pantelion Films is to release Dec. 13. He also stars in "Brick Mansions," a remake of the French action film "District B13" that Relativity plans to release next year.

His "Fast & Furious" co-stars reacted in shock the actor's death. Vin Diesel posted a photograph of him and Walker arm-in-arm on Instagram with the message: "I am absolutely speechless." Lucadris said on Twitter: "Wherever you blessed your presence you always left a mark, we were like brothers."

Walker is survived by his 15-year-old daughter.

ASUU Rejects Government’s Order To Resume

2013-12-03T00:07:00.000+01:00

The striking Academic Staff Union of the Universities (ASUU) has rejected the Nigerian government’s ‘Back to Class’ order, describing it as a political blackmail.

The government had on November 28 threatened to sack lecturers that failed to resume duties by December 4.

Responding to the seven day ultimatum issued by the Supervising Minister of Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, the union maintained that it would not be cowed by the threat.

“We shall never succumb to this. Our country is our union’s constituency. We shall bow only to what we, as academics, are convinced will serve the interest of Nigeria and its people,” the National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Mr. Nasir Faggae, told reporters on Monday in Abuja.

The Federal Government, in a meeting with the uinon, agreed to deposit part of the funds that the union had requested for the revitalisation of public universities in Nigeria to meet international standard. President Goodluck Jonathan and the leadership of the union was at the meeting held on November 4, but the union said it had simply added clauses that will guard against failure of implementation.

“ASUU’s invoking of the non-victimisation clause, rather than being an introduction of a new demand, is a common position that the government should know about,” Mr. Faggae said.

The members of the union suggested that the 200 billion Naira (about 1.3 billion dollars) agreed upon, as 2013 revitalisation fund for public universities, be deposited with the Central Bank of Nigeria and disbursed to the benefiting universities within two weeks.

“Out of the 52 branches of ASUU, 48, which is 92 per cent, advised conditional suspension of the strike if certain conditions are met,” the union’s leader said emphasising on the unions readiness to suspend the strike if the agreement is met.

The salaries of the lecturers of the Federal universities have not been paid since they embarked on strike on July 1, but the union has said that the suspension of their salaries would not deter them.

“If the agreement is implemented as it is, within 3 to 5 years, we will see Nigerian Universities competing effectively with their peers in Africa, Asia and to an extent those in the western world,” he said.

The union urged the Federal Government to implement the agreement to enable them go back to class.

Source: Channels Tv