Saturday 23 June 2018

Police deploy 5000 personnel, 2 helicopters and 2 Armoured Personnel Carriers to APC Convention venue

AS the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, holds its national convention today, the police have announce the deployment of 5,000 personnel to provide security in around the convention ground.
APC National Convention 2018
Also, two helicopters and two Armoured Personnel Carriers, according to the police, were deployed for similar reason.

Force Public Relations Officer, Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police, Jimoh Moshood, announced the security measures in in statement yesterday.

According to the statement, the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, “has directed the implementation of a robust Security arrangement to ensure a secured and hitch-free convention.”

The 5,000 police personnel deployed, the state disclosed, comprised “the Police Mobile Force (PMF), the Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU), Special Protection Unit (SPU), the Explosive Ordinance Department (EOD), the Police Mounted Troop, The Dog Section (K9), the Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department (FCIID), The Police Air-wing and the Force Armament Unit.”

They were deployed ” under the supervision of the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Department of Operations, to ensure adequate security for all the accredited participants at the convention.”

The statement added that security coverage have been provided also at all the accreditation centres.

“In addition, two Police Helicopters, six Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) are already deployed for the security of the convention. Personnel of other security and safety agencies are also being deployed to complement the Nigeria Police Force in ensuring adequate security and a hitch-free convention, “the statement further said.

It further read:” Only accredited delegates accredited party officials bearing the APC clearance/identification tags will be allowed into the venue.

” Personnel of all Security and Safety agencies deployed for the security of the convention must also wear the certified identification tag conspicuously at the venue. Only one aide will be allowed to follow their principals into the venue of the convention.

” The Nigeria Police Force hereby warns all unauthorised individual(s) and group(s) who have no business with the convention to steer clear of the venue. The full weight of the law will be applied on any person or group of persons who try to disruptthe orderliness and conduct of the convention.

“The Personnel deployed are under strict instruction to be civil, polite but strict and firm in the discharge of their duties during the convention.”

The statement said there would ” be diversion of traffic from all the routes to the Eagle Square from Ahmadu Bello Way, Shehu Shagari Way and other roads leading to the venue of the convention.”

“Road users and other members of the public are advised to use alternative routes, “it advised.

” Any member of the public with complaint or observation on security issue can call the following numbers 08032003913, 08061581938, 07057337653for immediate response, “it said.

Courtesy: Vanguard

Tuesday 19 September 2017

FOR THE RECORD: President Trump UN Speech 2017

Mr Secretary General, Mr. President, world leaders, and distinguished delegates, welcome to New York. It is a profound honor to stand here in my home city as a representative of the American people to address the people of the world. As millions of our citizens continue to suffer the effects of the devastating hurricanes that have struck our country, I want to begin by expressing my appreciation to every leader in this room who has offered assistance and aid. The American people are strong and resilient, and they will emerge from these hardships more determined than ever before.

Fortunately, the United States has done very well since Election Day last November 8. The stock market is at an all-time high, a record. Unemployment is at its lowest level in 16 years, and because of our regulatory and other reforms, we have more people working in the United States today than ever before. Companies are moving back, creating job growth, the likes of which our country has not seen in a very long time, and it has just been announced that we will be spending almost $700 billion on our military and defence. Our military will soon be the strongest it has ever been. For more than 70 years, in times of war and peace, the leaders of nations, movements, and religions have stood before this assembly.

Like them, I intend to address some of the very serious threats before us today, but also the enormous potential waiting to be unleashed. We live in a time of extraordinary opportunity. Breakthroughs in science, technology, and medicine are curing illnesses and solving problems that prior generations thought impossible to solve. But each day also brings news of growing dangers that threaten everything we cherish and value. Terrorists and extremists have gathered strength and spread to every region of the planet. Rogue regimes represented in this body not only support terror but threaten other nations and their own people with the most destructive weapons known to humanity.

Authority and authoritarian powers seek to collapse the values, the systems, and alliances, that prevented conflict and tilted the word toward freedom since World War II. International criminal networks traffic drugs, weapons, people, force dislocation and mass migration, threaten our borders and new forms of aggression exploit technology to menace our citizens. To put it simply, we meet at a time of both immense promise and great peril. It is entirely up to us whether we lift the world to new heights or let it fall into a valley of disrepair. We have it in our power, should we so choose, to lift millions from poverty, to help our citizens realize their dreams, and to ensure that new generations of children are raised free from violence, hatred, and fear.

This institution was founded in the aftermath of two world wars, to help shape this better future. It was based on the vision that diverse nations could cooperate to protect their sovereignty, preserve their security, and promote their prosperity. It was in the same period exactly 70 years ago that the United States developed the Marshall Plan to help restore Europe. Those these beautiful pillars, they are pillars of peace, sovereignty, security, and prosperity. The Marshall Plan was built on the noble idea that the whole world is safer when nations are strong, independent, and free. As president, Truman said in his message to congress at that time, our support of European recovery is in full accord with our support of the United Nations.

The success of the United Nations depends upon the independent strength of its members. To overcome the perils of the present, and to achieve the promise of the future, we must begin with the wisdom of the past. Our success depends on a coalition of strong and independent nations that embrace their sovereignty, to promote security, prosperity, and peace, for themselves and for the world. We do not expect diverse countries to share the same cultures, traditions, or even systems of government, but we do expect all nations to uphold these two core sovereign duties, to respect the interests of their own people and the rights of every other sovereign nation.

This is the beautiful vision of this institution, and this is the foundation for cooperation and success. Strong sovereign nations let diverse countries with different values, different cultures, and different dreams not just coexist, but work side by side on the basis of mutual respect. Strong sovereign nations let their people take ownership of the future and control their own destiny. And strong sovereign nations allow individuals to flourish in the fullness of the life intended by God. In America, we do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example for everyone to watch.

This week gives our country a special reason to take pride in that example. We are celebrating the 230th anniversary of our beloved Constitution, the oldest constitution still in use in the world today. This timeless document has been the foundation of peace, prosperity, and freedom for the Americans and for countless millions around the globe whose own countries have found inspiration in its respect for human nature, human dignity, and the rule of law. The greatest in the united States Constitution is its first three beautiful words. They are "We the people." Generations of Americans have sacrificed to maintain the promise of those words, the promise of our country and of our great history.

In America, the people govern, the people rule, and the people are sovereign. I was elected not to take power, but to give power to the American people where it belongs. In foreign affairs, we are renewing this founding principle of sovereignty. Our government's first duty is to its people, to our citizens, to serve their needs, to ensure their safety, to preserve their rights, and to defend their values. As president of the United States, I will always put America first. Just like you, as the leaders of your countries, will always and should always put your countries first.

All responsible leaders have an obligation to serve their own citizens, and the nation state remains the best vehicle for elevating the human condition. But making a better life for our people also requires us to with work together in close harmony and unity, to create a more safe and peaceful future for all people.

The United States will forever be a great friend to the world and especially to its allies. But we can no longer be taken advantage of or enter into a one-sided deal where the United States gets nothing in return. As long as I hold this office, I will defend America's interests above all else, but in fulfilling our obligations to our nations, we also realize that it's in everyone's interests to seek the future where all nations can be sovereign, prosperous, and secure.

America does more than speak for the values expressed in the United Nations charter. Our citizens have paid the ultimate price to defend our freedom and the freedom of many nations represented in this great hall. America's devotion is measured on the battlefields where our young men and women have fought and sacrificed alongside of our allies. From the beaches of Europe to the deserts of the Middle East to the jungles of Asia, it is an eternal credit to the American character that even after we and our allies emerge victorious from the bloodiest war in history, we did not seek territorial expansion or attempt to oppose and impose our way of life on others. Instead, we helped build institutions such as this one to defend the sovereignty, security, and prosperity for all. For the diverse nations of the world, this is our hope.

We want harmony and friendship, not conflict and strife. We are guided by outcomes, not ideologies. We have a policy of principled realism, rooted in shared goal, interests, and values. That realism forces us to confront the question facing every leader and nation in this room, it is a question we cannot escape or avoid. We will slide down the path of complacency, numb to the challenges, threats, and even wars that we face, or do we have enough strength and pride to confront those dangers today so that our citizens can enjoy peace and prosperity tomorrow.

If we desire to lift up our citizens, if we aspire to the approval of history, then we must fulfill our sovereign duties to the people we faithfully represent. We must protect our nations, their interests and their futures. We must reject threats to sovereignty from the Ukraine to the South China Sea. We must uphold respect for law, respect for borders, and respect for culture, and the peaceful engagement these allow.

And just as the founders of this body intended, we must work together and confront together those who threatens us with chaos, turmoil, and terror. The score of our planet today is small regimes that violate every principle that the United Nations is based. They respect neither their own citizens nor the sovereign rights of their countries. If the righteous many do not confront the wicked few, then evil will triumph. When decent people and nations become bystanders to history, the forces of destruction only gather power and strength.

No one has shown more contempt for other nations and for the well-being of their own people than the depraved regime in North Korea. It is responsible for the starvation deaths of millions of North Koreans. And for the imprisonment, torture, killing, and oppression of countless more. We were all witness to the regime's deadly abuse when an innocent American college student, Otto Warmbier, was returned to America, only to die a few days later.

We saw it in the assassination of the dictator's brother, using banned nerve agents in an international airport. We know it kidnapped a sweet 13-year-old Japanese girl from a beach in her own country, to enslave her as a language tutor for North Korea's spies. If this is not twisted enough, now North Korea's reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles threatens the entire world with unthinkable loss of human life. It is an outrage that some nations would not only trade with such a regime, but would arm, supply, and financially support a country that imperils the world with nuclear conflict.

No nation on Earth has an interest in seeing this band of criminals arm itself with nuclear weapons and missiles. The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea. Rocket man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime. The United States is ready, willing, and able, but hopefully this will not be necessary. That's what the United Nations is all about. That's what the United Nations is for. Let's see how they do.

It is time for North Korea to realize that the denuclearization is its only acceptable future. The United Nations Security Council recently held two unanimous 15-0 votes adopting hard-hitting resolutions against North Korea, and I want to thank China and Russia for joining the vote to impose sanctions, along with all of the other members of the Security Council. Thank you to all involved. But we must do much more.

It is time for all nations to work together to isolate the Kim regime until it ceases its hostile behavior. We face this decision not only in North Korea; it is far past time for the nations of the world to confront another reckless regime, one that speaks openly of mass murder, vowing death to America, destruction to Israel, and ruin for many leaders and nations in this room.

The Iranian government masks a corrupt dictatorship behind the false guise of a democracy. It has turned a wealthy country, with a rich history and culture, into an economically depleted rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed, and chaos. The longest-suffering victims of Iran's leaders are, in fact, its own people. Rather than use its resources to improve Iranian live, its oil profits go to fund Hezbollah and other terrorists that kill innocent Muslims and attack their peaceful Arab and Israeli neighbors.

This wealth, which rightly belongs to Iran's people, also goes to shore up Bashar al-Assad's dictatorship, fuel Yemen's civil war, and undermine peace throughout the entire Middle East. We cannot let a murderous regime continue these destabilizing activities while building dangerous missiles, and we cannot abide by an agreement if it provides cover for the eventual construction of a nuclear program. The Iran deal was one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into. Frankly, that deal is an embarrassment to the United States, and I don't think you've heard the last of it. Believe me.

It is time for the entire world to join us in demanding that Iran's government end its pursuit of death and destruction. It is time for the regime to free all Americans and citizens of other nations that they have unjustly detained. Above all, Iran's government must stop supporting terrorists, begin serving its own people, and respect the sovereign rights of its neighbors. The entire world understands that the good people of Iran want change, and, other than the vast military power of the United States, that Iran's people are what their leaders fear the most. This is what causes the regime to restrict internet access, tear down satellite dishes, shoot unarmed student protesters, and imprison political reformers.

Oppressive regimes cannot endure forever, and the day will come when the people will face a choice. Will they continue down the path of poverty, bloodshed, and terror, or will the Iranian people return to the nation's proud roots as a center of civilization, culture, and wealth, where their people can be happy and prosperous once again? The Iranian regime's support for terror is in stark contrast to the recent commitments of many of its neighbors to fight terrorism and halt its finance, and in Saudi Arabia early last year, I was greatly honored to address the leaders of more than 50 Arab and Muslim nations. We agreed that all responsible nations must work together to confront terrorists and the Islamic extremism that inspires them.

We will stop radical islamic terrorism because we cannot allow it to tear up our nation and, indeed, to tear up the entire world. We must deny the terrorists' safe haven, transit, funding, and any form of support for their vile and sinister ideology. We must drive them out of our nation. It is time to expose and hold responsible those countries whose support and fi — who support and finance terror groups like al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, the Taliban, and others that slaughter innocent people.

The United States and our allies are working together throughout the Middle East to crush the loser terrorists and stop the reemergence of safe havens they use to launch attacks on all of our people. Last month I announced a new strategy for victory in the fight against this evil in Afghanistan. From now on, our security interests will dictate the length and scope of military operation, not arbitrary benchmarks and timetables set up by politicians. I have also totally changed the rules of engagement in our fight against the Taliban and other terrorist groups.

In Syria and Iraq, we have made big gains toward lasting defeat of ISIS. In fact, our country has achieved more against ISIS in the last eight months than it has in many, many years combined. We seek the deescalation of the Syrian conflict, and a political solution that honors the will of the Syrian people. The actions of the criminal regime of Bashar al-Assad, including the use of chemical weapons against his own citizens, even innocent children, shock the conscience of every decent person. No society could be safe if banned chemical weapons are allowed to spread. That is why the United States carried out a missile strike on the airbase that launched the attack.

We appreciate the efforts of the United Nations' agencies that are providing vital humanitarian assistance in areas liberated from ISIS, and we especially thank Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon for their role in hosting refugees from the Syrian conflict. The United States is a compassionate nation and has spent billions and billions of dollars in helping to support this effort. We seek an approach to refugee resettlement that is designed to help these horribly treated people and which enables their eventual return to their home countries to be part of the rebuilding process. For the cost of resettling one refugee in the United States, we can assist more than 10 in their home region.

Out of the goodness of our hearts, we offer financial assistance to hosting countries in the region and we support recent agreements of the G20 nations that will seek to host refugees as close to their home countries as possible. This is the safe, responsible, and humanitarian approach. For decades the United States has dealt with migration challenges here in the Western Hemisphere.

We have learned that over the long term, uncontrolled migration is deeply unfair to both the sending and the receiving countries. For the sending countries, it reduces domestic pressure to pursue needed political and economic reform and drains them of the human capital necessary to motivate and implement those reforms. For the receiving countries, the substantial costs of uncontrolled migration are born overwhelmingly by low-income citizens whose concerns are often ignored by both media and government.

I want to salute the work of the United Nations in seeking to address the problems that cause people to flee from their home. The United Nations and African Union led peacekeeping missions to have invaluable contributions in stabilising conflict in Africa. The United States continues to lead the world in humanitarian assistance, including famine prevention and relief, in South Sudan, Somalia, and northern Nigeria and Yemen.
We have invested in better health and opportunity all over the world through programmes like PEPFAR, which funds AIDS relief, the President’s Malaria Initiative, the Global Health Security Agenda, the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery, and the Women Entrepreneur's Finance Initiative, part of our commitment to empowering women all across the globe.
We also thank — we also thank the secretary general for recognising that the United Nations must reform if it is to be an effective partner in confronting threats to sovereignty, security, and prosperity. Too often the focus of this organisation has not been on results, but on bureaucracy and process. In some cases, states that seek to subvert this institution's noble end have hijacked the very systems that are supposed to advance them. For example, it is a massive source of embarrassment to the United Nations that some governments with egregious human rights records sit on the UN Human Rights Council.
The United States is one out of 193 countries in the United Nations, and yet we pay 22 percent of the entire budget and more. In fact, we pay far more than anybody realises. The United States bears an unfair cost burden, but to be fair, if it could actually accomplish all of its stated goals, especially the goal of peace, this investment would easily be well worth it. Major portions of the world are in conflict, and some, in fact, are going to hell, but the powerful people in this room, under the guidance and auspices of the United Nations, can solve many of these vicious and complex problems. The American people hope that one day soon the United Nations can be a much more accountable and effective advocate for human dignity and freedom around the world.

In the meantime, we believe that no nation should have to bear a disproportionate share of the burden, militarily or financially. Nations of the world must take a greater role in promoting secure and prosperous societies in their own region. That is why in the Western Hemisphere the United States has stood against the corrupt, destabilizing regime in Cuba and embraced the enduring dream of the Cuban people to live in freedom.

My administration recently announced that we will not lift sanctions on the Cuban government until it makes fundamental reforms. We have also imposed tough calibrated sanctions on the socialist Maduro regime in Venezuela, which has brought a once thriving nation to the brink of total collapse. The socialist dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro has inflicted terrible pain and suffering on the good people of that country.

This corrupt regime destroyed a prosperous nation — prosperous nation, by imposing a failed ideology that has produced poverty and misery everywhere it has been tried. To make matters worse, Maduro has defied his own people, stealing power from their elected representatives, to preserve his disastrous rule. The Venezuelan people are starving, and their country is collapsing. Their democratic institutions are being destroyed. The situation is completely unacceptable, and we cannot stand by and watch.

As a responsible neighbor and friend, we and all others have a goal — that goal is to help them regain their freedom, recover their country, and restore their democracy. I would like to thank leaders in this room for condemning the regime and providing vital support to the Venezuelan people. The United States has taken important steps to hold the regime accountable. We are prepared to take further action if the government of Venezuela persists on its path to impose authoritarian rule on the Venezuelan people.

We are fortunate to have incredibly strong and healthy trade relationships with many of the Latin American countries gathered here today. Our economic bond forms a critical foundation for advancing peace and prosperity for all of our people and all of our neighbors. I ask every country represented here today to be prepared to do more to address this very real crisis. We call for the full restoration of democracy and political freedoms in Venezuela. The problem in Venezuela is not that socialism has been poorly implemented, but that socialism has been faithfully implemented.

From the Soviet Union to Cuba to Venezuela, wherever true socialism or communism has been adopted, it has delivered anguish and devastation and failure. Those who preach the tenets of these discredited ideologies only contribute to the continued suffering of the people who live under these cruel systems. America stands with every person living under a brutal regime. Our respect for sovereignty is also a call for action. All people deserve a government that cares for their safety, their interests, and their well-being, including their prosperity. In America, we seek stronger ties of business and trade with all nations of goodwill, but this trade must be fair and it must be reciprocal.

For too long the American people were told that mammoth, multinational trade deals, unaccountable international tribunals, and powerful global bureaucracies were the best way to promote their success. But as those promises flowed, millions of jobs vanished and thousands of factories disappeared. Others gamed the system and broke the rules, and our great middle class, once the bedrock of American prosperity, was forgotten and left behind, but they are forgotten no more and they will never be forgotten again.

While America will pursue cooperation and commerce with other nations, we are renewing our commitment to the first duty of every government, the duty of our citizens. This bond is the source of America's strength and that of every responsible nation represented here today. If this organization is to have any hope of successfully confronting the challenges before us, it will depend, as President Truman said some 70 years ago, on the independent strength of its members. If we are to embrace the opportunities of the future and overcome the present dangers together, there can be no substantive for strong, sovereign, and independent nations, nations that are rooted in the histories and invested in their destiny, nations that seek allies to befriend, not enemies to conquer, and most important of all, nations that are home to men and women who are willing to sacrifice for their countries, their fellow citizens, and for all that is best in the human spirit.

In remembering the great victory that led to this body's founding, we must never forget that those heroes who fought against evil, also fought for the nations that they love. Patriotism led the Poles to die to save Poland, the French to fight for a free France, and the Brits to stand strong for Britain. Today, if we do not invest ourselves, our hearts, our minds, and our nations, if we will not build strong families, safe communities, and healthy societies for ourselves, no one can do it for us.

This is the ancient wish of every people and the deepest yearning that lives inside every sacred soul. So let this be our mission, and let this be our message to the world. We will fight together, sacrifice together, and stand together for peace, for freedom, for justice, for family, for humanity, and for the almighty God who made us all. Thank you, God bless you, God bless the nations of the world, and God bless the United States of America. Thank you very much.
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FOR THE RECORD: President Buhari’s speech at the UN (2017)

The president of the United Nation’s General Assembly, Your Excellencies, Heads of States and governments, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen.
On behalf of the government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I congratulate you, Mr. President, on your election to preside over the 72nd session of the United Nations’ General Assembly. I also wish to express my country’s appreciation to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Antonio Guterres, for his steady leadership and this body’s dedication to the search for a peaceful and equitable world through the charter of the United Nations.
Every year we gather here to deliberate on the affairs of the world. Sometimes we implement what we talked about and move humanity an inch closer to that ideal relationship as members of the world community. At other times, we have our talks and end up not implementing anything to the disappointment of millions and millions of people around the world who look up to this body to provide leadership in a world that is constantly oscillating between advancement and doom. In all of these, we often forget that what we have accomplished in the last 72 years is unprecedented in the annals of human history. The world may be badly governed, but the fact that there is a form of governance agreed upon by all is an accomplishment in and of itself. So, I congratulate us all.
Mr. President, as we say in Nigeria, he who does not look ahead remains behind. Our charge now is to aspire to make this world better for the next generation. We, the generation that knows how the world was before the United Nations was formed, must bequeath to those coming behind us a better United Nations that would be in a position to deal with the challenges of tomorrow. To accomplish that, we need to fast forward the reformation long proposed in this chamber.
To restructure or not to restructure is no longer the question – the United Nations must be restructured for it to remain relevant in years to come. How to restructure the United Nations should be our priority number one. Several ideas are out there. All that we need is to get them together and agree on what works for majority of the people of this world. As a leader of one of the leading African nations, I want to see a United Nation’s Security Council that is expanded to have one or two African permanent members with veto powers. It is a fair thing to do – one that will benefit the world by giving it a chance for a more balanced outlook to matters of importance to us all. As we have learned in Nigeria, sometimes you need to change in order to remain the same. It is the first principle of renewal.
In the continent of Africa, the post-colonial era is going into a new phase. In another generation, there would not be any African alive who could remember when European powers once governed Africa. That emerging generation is creating new challenges for the African order left behind by the colonial powers. My generation is managing that challenge with the hope of leaving behind nation states that are less prone to crisis. We cannot continue to pretend that conflicts that emerged as a result of our colonial heritage have been resolved. Across our continent, they are still there. In some cases, bad governance is exacerbating these conflict points.
Here are some of the things we are doing to make sure that we bequeath to the upcoming generations of Africans a continent that is healthy, wealthy and well grounded in law and order. We are close to enshrining in the African Union’s creed the fundamental principle of democracy, which says that a credible people’s mandate should determine who governs any nation across Africa. We are taking it a step further by pushing to make that mandate limited. We believe that Africa has numerous talents and no man or woman should be in the leadership saddle for an inordinate time. We are also working hard to expand the African market and open it up for our people to benefit from the free flow of goods, services and knowledge across the continent. It is the only path to prosperity for over one billion people in Africa yearning for opportunities to show the world the potentials they have.
As Africans, we will continue to build partnerships across the world. As we stretch our hands out for friendship, we do so with the expectation that our hands would be met not with pity and charity but with respect and dignity. Africans have a lot to offer the world, not just its minerals and human potentials. We are committed to resetting that old perception with a new one that proclaims Africa as a land ready for business. Those who have taken the steps to invest in Africa can attest to the mutual benefit that comes with it.
In areas of infrastructural developments, research and security, we urgently need a respectable and mutually beneficial partnership with the world. Integration of the continent and expansion of prosperity can only come when there are good roads, constant electricity, clean water and descent healthcare for our people. The United States government, The European Union, private investors and non-governmental organizations are getting involved in these ventures. Africa will continue to welcome the world in every enterprise that will uplift our people.
It is only when we add value and build capital that we will reduce the grim statistics of Africa’s child mortality rate from preventable deaths. It is only then that we can reduce deaths on the Mediterranean Sea of African youths running away from conflicts and poverty. The challenge is ours. We accept the responsibility. As in the past, we know that we do well when we share skills and expertise. That was how we were able to work together with partners around the world to reduce the AIDS epidemic. That was how, in the last two decades, we were able to defeat diseases like polio, tuberculosis and ringworm in several parts of Africa. Africans have always been appreciative of the assistance we receive. We have also paid back to the international community with our involvement in Peace Keeping missions across the world.
Mr. President, on matters of security, there is no gainsaying that when one part of the globe is insecure, all parts of the globe become potential victims of that insecurity. The activities of several extreme groups jeopardize not just the nation where they emanated but everyone far and in-between. The free movement of fighters and weapons has all but made the issue of security a global problem. As we have learned in Nigeria, you compromise the security of the whole when components of the sum are not fully valued, appreciated and integrated with the whole.
We in Africa have been partners in the quest for a secure world. We will continue to be committed to the mission until all threats to peace across the world are eliminated. In Nigeria, we have degraded the capability of the Boko Haram terrorist group. We are on the path to eliminating the last of their safe heavens. We have also secured the release of some of our abducted Chibok Girls. We are working hard to secure the release of the rest and to finish the job of closing the Boko Haram chapter and get the North East of Nigeria back to a peaceful region that it used to be.
Along this line, Mr. President, we at the United Nations need to do more to bring about a more equitable world where a large group of people does not feel suppressed, undervalued and alienated. Last year, I talked about the need for Palestinians to have their own state. Progress has not been made on that matter in the past one year. It is one of those problems that we must not punt to another generation. Any glaring unfairness, like the Palestinian case, diminishes our moral authority to preach and lecture the world on other cases. As we have learned in Nigeria, our stubborn self-righteousness blocks our ears from hearing the cry of those that we left on the fringe of society and blocks our eyes from seeing and reading the handwriting on the wall.
In the urgent matter of the nuclear stand off with North Korea, we hope that calm heads prevail. And as our ancestors say, that the disobedient fowl does not wait to be put into a pot of soup before it obeys. We in Africa hope that North Korea and, indeed, all the nations with nuclear weapons will hasten to eliminate them all. We don’t aspire to have nuclear weapons in the continent of Africa, the cradle of mankind. We will preserve Africa in case the nuclear-armed nations of the world decide to destroy themselves in their so-called mutual assured destruction. Should that happen, be assured that there will be a place in Africa for those of you who will be lucky enough to survive your self-inflicted annihilation. While we do not wish for that, we have this saying in Nigeria that, “na when soldier slap you, you go sabi say police na your friend.”
Mr. President, Nigeria is always willing to work with the United Nations and other international organizations to advance human progress. May the United Nations continue on its challenging task of being an instrument for peace, and may the goals that this General Assembly “for peace and a decent life for all on a sustainable planet” be accomplished in our time.
Thank you all for listening.
Muhammadu Buhari,
President, Federal Republic of Nigeria
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Friday 2 June 2017

The Reason This Navy Seal Makes His Bed Will Convince You to Do the Same

Sometimes being an adult is hard. Sometimes going into work every day is hard. Sometimes, I come home from the office and question if I accomplished anything at all. You know those moments, right? When you don’t remember that you’re out of toilet paper until you’re already back in your apartment, and it’s raining out, and the thought of leaving again feels impossible?
Well, what if I told you that I found a way to make even those days feel productive? I hope you said, “That’d be awesome, Alyse!”

I started making my bed every day — and it makes all the difference for my mornings and for my night.

Sure, you can argue that this barely compares to the routines of top CEOs, but this seemingly simple habit does come from a commander of the US Special Operations Command — so, it’s actually pretty legit.

Why is making your bed every morning so important? US Admiral William H. McCraven, who spent 36 years as a Navy SEAL and was required to keep his room spic and span during his service, says in his 2014 commencement speech at the University of Texas that it’s extremely motivating for the day ahead:
If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task, and another, and another. And by the end of the day that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed.

Makes sense, right? Instead of scrolling mindlessly through your phone as soon as you wake up, you can complete a single chore that you won’t have to do later and get the ball rolling to be productive for the rest of your work day.

McCraven goes on to make another significant point on why this habit is life-changing:
Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that the little things in life matter. If you can’t do the little things right, you’ll never be able to do the big things right. And if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made — that you made. And a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.

This is exactly how I feel since I started doing this first thing every day. When I wake up sour or exhausted, making my bed eases me into a better mood. (Does the thought of doing chores make you cranky? Remember that this will only take two minutes — max). When I feel overwhelmed, doing this small thing helps me regain my focus. Plus, seeing the end result proves I can accomplish something. And when I’ve had a rough day, coming home to my made bed is as welcoming and reassuring as a hug.

So, if you want to start every day with a clear and collected head, pulling your bed together will ensure you are put together and ready for anything that comes your way.

And, if this habit doesn’t work for you, or the thought of putting in the two minutes truly exhausts you, try out these one-minute morning routines.

Originally published at www.themuse.com on May 7, 2017.

Tuesday 6 December 2016

Annang Festival of Arts and Culture (AFAC)

Annang Heritage Preservation Inc. (AHPI), organized the first ever Annang Festival of  Arts and Culture (AFAC), the celebration of Annang heritage in the entire 8 local government area that make up Annang clan, however the major event is scheduled to take place at the popular ancient city & the first local government area in Nigeria, IKOT-EKPENE, The RAFFIA CITY and capital of Annang people from 12th  – 19th  of December, 2016.  

AFAC is parked with numerous events, aimed to stress on the importance of Annang arts and cultures and further leverage the untapped potentials of Annang cultural heritage. Features of the event are but not limited to Cultural Carnival, Masquerade display, Utue ekpe, Uta, Ajor, Ikara, Udughe (traditional wrestling), Mbobo, Arts and Craft Exhibitions, and Seminar. 

Annang women who are skilled in cooking will have the opportunity to display their God given culinary skills for the world to see. If you are an Annang woman or from Akwa Ibom State and believe you have what it takes to cook for the world to eat, you can contact the AFAC team for a space at the event venue. 

AFAC expects to host over 10,000 people daily, it’s an event that is not just for the Annang people only but it has so much tourism potential and can attract tourist to Akwa Ibom State in general.  Plan to attend with your family, see the true culture of the people first hand.
Don’t wait to be told!

For inquiries, sponsorship and participation contact:
07030448318, 08065839513, 08085058705, 08032560600

Tuesday 1 November 2016

AMA AWARDS 2016

Africa Modeling Ambassadors' Awards (AMA Awards), a unique modeling awards event with a unique vision is a platform that brings together company's brand ambassadors all over Africa from different sectors of movies, music, sports, comedy and conventional models to celebrate and appreciate them. The vision of the event is to bring together different company's brand and their ambassadors, in form of an exhibition, where the different adverts done by the different ambassadors of the different companies involved are showcased and previewed by the audience, and the best of the nominees in each category of the awards emerges as the winner in each category. Africa Modeling Ambassadors Awards was founded in 2013 and has been hosted by different governments since its inception.

Eighteen (18) winners shall emerge from eighteen different categories of awards which include TV Commercial Modeling Awards: best TV commercial sports model, best TV commercial movies model (male and female categories), best TV commercial music model (male and female categories); Print Commercial Modeling Awards: best telecom provider model, best beverage model, best comedy model, best brewery model, best promotional model; Web Modeling Awards: best web tv model (male and female categories), best web banner model; Glamour Modeling Awards, Best Corporate Modeling Award, Best Reality TV Anchor Model, Best Catalogue Modeling Award and Best Audio Voice Model. For each category of the awards, the nominees will be called and each nominee with his or her nomination advert will be shown on the projector for the audience to see.

                The 2016 edition of Africa Modeling Ambassadors' Awards will be hosted by the Government of Imo State in Owerri at the International Convention Centre, which has a seat capacity of ten thousand (10,000). The time is 5pm prompt. The event is going to be like a gathering of eagles, and anybody would not want to miss this prestigious event because all your favorite celebrities will be present. The red carpet show is going to be awesome, as it will be anchored by Omonla of WAP TV. Celebrities like Kanu Nwankwo, Nkem Owoh, John Okafor, Genevieve Nnaji, Flavour, Harrysongz, Tu Face, Ini Edo, Tiwa Savage, Patience Ozokwor, Eniola Badmus, Chidinma, Waje, Omawunmi, Manka Nadine, Ebube Nwagbo, Alex Ekubo, Uti Nwachukwu, Frank Edoho, D'banj, Chidi Muokeme, Jim Karutu, Dr. Olamide Okoisor, Chief Zebruddaya, Omotola Jalande Ekeinde, Mercy Johnson Okojie, Kate Henshaw, Jackie Appiah, Hafeez Oyetoro, John Okafor, Chika Ike, Kcee, J. J. Okocha, Akpororo, Victor Ikpeba, Chioma Chukwuka Akpotha, Tu face, Genevieve Nnaji, AKA, Phyno, Pete Edochie, Bovi, Basket Mouth, Ali Baba, Sunny Nneji, Segun Arinze, Diamond Platnumz, Francis Odega, Patoranking, Diamond Platnumz, Korede Bello, Dr Sid, Don Jazzy, Mike Ezuruonye, Van Vicker and Richard Mofe Damijo will be there live at the event. Of course, the Governor of Imo State, His Excellency Owelle Rochas Okorocha who is also the Host will be there present. Other distinguished guests and awardees like Senator Ben Bruce of Silverbird Group, the Deputy Senate President of Nigeria, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, His Excellency Chief Willie Obiano, the Executive Governor of Anambra State, Dr Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma of Innoson Group and the President of Mozambique, His Excellency, Mr. Filipe Jacinto Nyusi are expected to be at the AMA Award 2016 event.

                Also, at the AMA Awards 2016 event will be featuring Miss AMA Awards 2016 beauty Pageant, where conventional models from all over Africa will compete for the Miss AMA Awards crown. The queen will be decided by a panel of judges who will be present at the event. The queen also becomes the official face of Africa Modeling Ambassadors (AMA). In addition, she receives a cash prize of five thousand dollars (1Million Naira), a two weeks all-expense-paid trip to two African countries, is involved in peace crusades and tours all over Africa for a year and finally she stands a chance to get an endorsement deal as a company's brand ambassador.

                AMA Awards is a platform under the umbrella of Africa Modelling Ambassadors (AMA). The organisation has up to fifteen consultants in over ten African countries, and directors in different departments, who are working tirelessly and selflessly to keep the vision alive. The organization was founded/established in 2013 by Prince Chukwu Roland Ogbonnaya, who is also the president of the organization.

                Prince Chukwu Roland is a computer scientist, a journalist, a multimedia technologist, film producer, director, cinematographer and editor. He is also the CEO of Talk2talk Media and Vice President of Actors' Guild of Nigeria (AGN) South-East Zone. He was the former Chairman AGN Ebonyi State Chapter, former management consultant of Edon Audio-Visual Studios and former lecturer in multimedia technology in a private polytechnic called Savannah Institute of Technology Abakaliki.

                To vote for your favourite celebrity ambassador, visit www.tiny.cc/amaawards. For more information, enquiries and sponsorship details with regards to Africa Modelling Ambassadors, AMA Awards or Miss AMA Awards 2016, call +2348033269843 or +234803766786.


Monday 25 July 2016

Whaling is a major cyber security threat

According to Clint Boulton the Senior writer at CIO; Fraudsters are using legitimate executive names and email addresses to dupe unsuspecting employees to wire money or sensitive documents to their accounts. The CTO of the Boston Celtics, for one, is fighting back.

A clever variant of phishing scams is proliferating among enterprises, forcing CIOs to up their game even as they are still refining their cyber security practices to contend with various zero-day attacks. Called whaling, the social engineering grift typically involves a hacker masquerading as a senior executive asking an employee to transfer money.

Jay Wessland, CTO of the Boston Celtics.

"We have seen a few of those," says Jay Wessland, CTO of the Boston Celtics. He says atypical example he's seen involves someone pretending to be CEO or CFO who emails a high-level employee in the finance department to wire money or W2 tax forms. He says whaling attacks, a form of business email compromise also known as "CEO fraud," have increased over the past few months.

FBI says whaling is becoming big trend

Whaling is becoming a big enough issue that it's landed on the radar of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which last week said that such scams have cost companies more than $2.3 billion in losses over the past three years. The losses affect every U.S. state and in at least 79 countries. The FBI said that it has seen a 270 percent increase in identified victims and exposed losses from CEO scams since January 2015. For example, Mattel lost $3 million in 2015 to one CEO fraud scam, while Snapchat and Seagate Technologies also fell prey to similar schemes.

Unlike typical phishing or spearphishing scams, in which an attacker typically includes a malicious URL or attachment, whaling is a pure social engineering hack targeting relationships between employees, says Steve Malone, director of security product management at Mimecast. Whaling fraudsters either gain access to an executive's email inbox, or email employees from a fake domain name that appears similar to the legitimate domain name. They ask the intended recipient to take some action, such as moving money from a corporate account to an account the fraudster has set up, Malone says.